Gold Rush

Sutter’s Mill, California, was where the Gold rush of 1848 began. James W Marshall found gold and set in motion a sequence of events that would impact America, its citizens, the native American people and the world. 

As many as 300,000 thousand people rushed to California with the hope of acquiring the precious metal. People came from near and from far. They came by sea and by land. The left family and friends in the hope that their fortune was awaiting them in California. Those that came were called the 49ers, the result of the influx of seekers in the year 1849.   

Those that came by land suffered hardships and tragedy. The trails were rough, and the climate and elements were not inducive to ease and comfort. Conditions that today may be described as intolerable, still the 49ers continued on. Those seeking the rare metal passed through the territories of the native Indian tribes which led to disease and conflict and heavily impacted the food sources of the original people. 

Once they arrived, the gold they sought was not floating along California’s river and streams. The work was hard, they laboured long and pay days were few. The merchants and traders were the big winners in the American gold rush. Over pricing of picks and shovels, food and lodgings was standard. The path to riches was neither straight forward nor easeful. 

This spiritual seeker is also searching for a rare and elusive gem – Peace. The trail to peace requires some challenging labour. It requires us to think, speak and act in ways that may seem in contrast to the majority. Those on a “Peace Rush” will undergo conditions that others believe to be unacceptable, but they know the precious gem is more valuable than gold. They know that all the material offerings this beautiful world has to offer are like firefly’s in the night sky – short lived. 

Those prospectors of Peace are willing to dig through the debris of karma, to disperse the dust of illusion. The miners of Peace will sift through the sludge to release a single spec of peace. Peace that is priceless, unaffected by the stock market and the fluctuations of time and space. Just as the miner of gold is able to discern real gold from fool‘s gold, the discerning lover of Peace is able to discern lasting unalloyed peace from short term peace derived from sensory engagement. 

The path to Peace is clear. Living impeccably, loving endlessly, serving ceaselessly and seeing clearly. We may be asked to endure the challenging, but we will overcome. We will be asked to purify and lift ourselves out of delusion. We will traverse an ever-narrowing path, but we will be graced with more sure-footedness than our mind can imagine. Each moment will release  the opportunity to clear our path, and to walk on.  

Each time we strike peace our energy and determination is multiplied. The pricelessness of our true nature becomes more valuable than stocks and shares, more valuable than fleeting fancy. Our level of willingness knows no limits if we think something will reveal more peace. If we think something may bury our peace in an avalanche of unawareness, we will be uncompromising in the protection of our Peace. 

Whilst many of the 49ers did not strike it rich due to the fickleness of the human condition, the rivers and the earth and the amount of available gold, the prospectors of Peace are not destined for the same fate. The availability of Peace is infinite and achievable for those who are willing. The conditions may not be straight forward, but they are surmountable. Some may deride and say it is folly, however the seeker will be undaunted. They have tasted the real riches and no naysayer will sway them. The support of other beings of peace is tangible and the saints and sages of the divine realm are ever present and cheering loudly for your inclusion in team Peace. 

The journey is ours to undergo, the destination is inside and whilst the terrain may be filled with the potholes of fear and doubt, we will overcome. 

OM Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi 

Hanuman Das