Guiding Light: Rivers as spiritual guides

Many people look at a river and are spiritually inspired by them. What is the inspiration and the spiritual message that a river gives us?

A river teaches us that its ultimate goal is to merge with the ocean. Every river flows for miles and finally reaches the ocean. It perseveres, it is focused on its goal to merge with the ocean. It faces challenges on its journey — boulders, turns and so on, but it continues to flow. This is also the reality of life.

What is the goal of human life? Why are we born? What are we meant to do? Human beings have to unite with God. We have to become one with the Divine. Unfortunately, we don’t realise this. We don’t live like a river. We are directionless. We are stagnant like a lake.

Most of us live as a body with a mind and ego. We remain a body that dies and we return as the mind and ego in a new body with our karma. We do not understand that our ultimate goal is to realise that we are the Divine Soul. We have to be united with the Supreme, the one we call God who is actually SIP, the Supreme Immortal Power.

Therefore, the river constantly reminds us that every river in the world eventually has to merge with the ocean and every human being has to be liberated from the body, mind and ego. Death is certain. Nobody can escape death. The death of the river, likewise, is also certain. The river has to die but when it dies, it doesn’t return. The river keeps flowing; a new stream of water flows into the river but it finally empties into the ocean. We human beings must also learn this from a river and not return as a new stream in a new body with karma. We should be liberated through enlightenment and become one with the Divine.

(The author is a spiritual leader and the founder of AiR Institute of Realization and AiR Center of Enlightenment)