The thing about true spiritual knowledge is the there is no new knowledge, only different ways of expressing it. So, I have written a little story which is old and maybe new at the same time. Jabari comes from the Swahili language and means “the brave one,” or fearless
The Jabari Tree
Once, in a faraway land, there was a special tree named the Jabari tree. The Jabari tree grew on a hill. It was a tree native to the land. No one remembered planting it. It was just always there. The tree was not so special looking as trees go, but the Jabari fruit was so exquisitely delicious that people would travel a great distance simply for a chance to taste it.
It was believed that the juice of the Jabari held special powers. When people who suffered for any reason tasted the Jabari fruit, the exquisite Jabari fruit would bring them such delight that it would overcome their suffering and end it forever. Once tasted, simply remembering the Jabari fruit would bring joy and delight.
The juice of the Jabari was so miraculous that when a child was born the first nourishment the people would give it was the Jabari juice. One drop was all it took to assure that the child would live a life free from suffering.
The demand for the Jabari fruit grew, and after a while the Jabari tree became bare of fruit. Even with this, people would come, simply to be in the presence of such a great tree. They would sit in its shade, smelling the aroma of its fragrant leaves and bark. And, it would bring them great peace.
Some would come to sit, and after sometime, when they felt refreshed, they would leave. Others would come to sit, and they stayed. The longer they stayed in the presence of the peaceful fragrance, it slowly began to draw them into a deep, quiet, and still place. The deeper they went, the more the fragrance seemed to overcome them, and they would lose themselves within its essence.
The Jabari fragrance would carry them like pollen on the wind to great heights, and faraway places filled with many wonders. There were glory filled, celestial realms, and mundane, worldly realms. All filled with Jabari fragrance.
Drifting in deep peace and wonder, they began to feel a rhythm in the movement of the current, like a primal ebb and flow, a tide, a breath of a life force that animated all creation, all creations. And, within the breath, was a song that thrills all. And, within the song, were words yet unsung. As they listened to the words unsung, the Jabari tree revealed itself with such power that it blew away all illusions, and revealed a brilliant revelation of the true nature of the Jabari tree. It was life itself.
The Jabari tree was nothing more than the water that fell from the sky that gave it softness, the sun that warmed the earth that gave it energy, the air that it took in that gave it renewal, and the earth it embraced, that gave it form. It was atoms, molecules, minerals, stardust, mutation, and transformation. It was everything that gave it life and form. It was the promise of life, the form of life, and life’s fulfillment. And, everything that made the Jabari tree special had made them special as well. The fragrance was their fragrance. The Jabari’s sweetness was their sweetness. The Jabari’s fruit was their fruit. For they now knew that it was not the Jabari tree that was special, it was life itself. And, they were alive!