Ariadne/Chapter Fifteen: On Oneness

Chapter Fifteen:
On Oneness

Hamilcar spoke with Ariadne in the evening:

“It would be good for the horses not to stagnate long in the stables. Would it be possible for me to give them a warm-up before dawn, without disturbing the townsfolk or the housekeepers? If needed, we can let the stableman know.”

“Of course, we can easily arrange it! Can I go too? I’ve never ridden a quadriga before…”

“Yes, Ariadne, we’ll go together!”

… They left three hours before sunrise.

Ariadne’s house was situated very well for such walks. They had built it on the outskirts of Croton, far from the bustling streets and busy districts. Aside from a wide street that bordered the house on only part of the vast garden, the house was completely free from contacts with civilization. And walking onto that one street immediately provided a vast view of the sea.

At first, the horses walked at a measured pace. Hamilcar skillfully restrained their urge to gallop. When the town buildings disappeared from view, Hamilcar allowed these beautiful animals to gallop as fast as they could go or wished to go.

A sense of spaciousness and freedom gripped Ariadne!

The full moon illuminated the road well. And this, together with the starry sky above them, made it feel as if they were flying through a boundless transparent starry ocean that filled all the space around them.

The horses raced, and Hamilcar stood almost motionless in the chariot. With barely perceptible body movements, he easily compensated for the jolts and maintained a stable balance.

Ariadne could not do that. She stood on the chariot in front of him and held onto the handrail. She felt as if behind her she had a wall to lean on. It was Hamilcar’s powerful body. And from it, there was a sense of safety and peace.

Soon, after having loosened the excessive tension in her body and the abundant delight at the beauty of what was happening, she connected — as a consciousness — with the state of Hamilcar.

The vastness of the starry sky was ahead of them, above them, and on all sides. The warm air hugged their bodies gently, making them feel almost weightless.

This amazing sensation was perceived as a kind of magic, allowing them to be in several worlds at once.

The entire cosmos — the entire living, moving, beautiful, and vast created world — was perceived by them from the stillness of the Great Calm of the Creator. Moving at great speeds and feeling one with this Divine Stillness, all sense of time disappeared…

Then Hamilcar stopped the horses and helped Ariadne down to the ground. They walked side by side with their bodies, while, as consciousnesses, they remained in a state of unity… There was no need to speak: they understood one another without words and were completely merged with one another.

Those states of Deep Quiet that Ariadne had managed before to enter for a short time in meditations, suddenly became her very Essence — the Essence that is the only Foundation of everything… It was as if Ariadne disappeared, and the infinity of Living Love-Calm filled everything with Itself, including her and Hamilcar’s bodies, the rare trees along the road, the silvered grasses in the moonlight, the distant hills, the vast sea clearly visible in the moonlight, and the infinity of the starry ocean…

This understanding and feeling of universal Harmony, of the Oneness of all things, was beyond description…

… They stood on a high steep bank. The gentle waves of the surf rustled softly below.

From where they stood, they were surrounded by beautiful expanses over the sea and land…

And everywhere, there was the great Transparent Peace, in Which everything exists, and from Which everything is created by the Living Divine Power.

The Eternity, Infinity, and Beauty of the Creator became the only tangible world…

… Ariadne returned to the perception of the world of the Creation. She looked at Hamilcar with gratitude for this Gift!

She felt the non-material Presence of Pythagoras and of many Others Who gave her this spiritual experience — the experience of living in the Unity of the Whole.

And then, as silently as they came, they just as silently returned to the house.

It was time to greet the dawn with the students of the School. Ahead of them, lay a day filled with the lessons of Pythagoras, Hamilcar, and the older students of the School…