The pilgrimage began in the planning, the lack of preparation, and the plane.  It continued in the car from airport to ashram, where I said to my traveling companions, “You had me at Nasrudin….”

It was 5:00 am and we were weaving in and out of rickshaws and motorcycles rushing by.

There was instant companionship and inspiration in our car.

We had just met, but we talked like old friends, comparing stories from different spiritual traditions.

Gary told a story about Nasrudin, the holy fool from Sufism:

Nasrudin sat in a temple with his feet on the altar.  The keeper of the temple entered the room and became quite distressed.  

“Mulla Nasrudin,” he said.  “You must remove your feet from the altar, for it is holy.”

Nasrudin replied, “Where would you have me put my feet then…?”

The implication is that holiness is not limited to temples and altars.  It exists everywhere.  Every place we stand is holy ground.

One of the volunteers, Sheetal, backed up the theme of holiness:

There is a Jain Temple in Gujarat.  Pilgrims walk barefoot to the top of the hill where the temple stands.  They walk barefoot because they know the path has been traversed by millions of spiritual seekers.  Each step contains the potential for enlightenment. 

“Can we go there?” I asked.

In my heart, I blended Nasrudin and the Jain Temple and recognized that the source of holiness is not India, altars, sacred temples, or barefooted-ness.

Holiness is everywhere.  It abides hidden in the infinite ordinary and seeks expression through our intimate recognition of it.  We metaphorically become barefoot as we cast off the shoes of separation and place our feet on the Holy Ground of All Being.  This is our pilgrimage, every day, wherever we are.

What is your metaphor for barefooted-ness?  What shoes of separation will you cast off?  Will you remember your innate holiness and allow every step and each action to reflect this infinite, intimate quality?