Ia and the Hermits

One morning Ia's disciples awoke to find that Ia had vanished in the night to parts unknown. They fretted and worried themselves over his absence, but Creassin took charge and, standing upon a stone so that he was above the others, shouted down, 'Are we all so weak of spirit that Holy Ia's absence causes us to mewl as helpless children? Does not Ia teach that all things must end, and does not Ia express that he himself is also bound to the Truth of Being? Ia shall not always be with us, and we must overcome our fears to continue his works without him!'

'Your words are true, Brother Creasssin,' said Destair, 'but Ia would not depart without any word or trace. Each other time he has left us, he has shared with us his intent and what lesson we are meant to finish during his absence.'

'This is itself a test,' argued Creassin. 'A test to see if our faith is such that we understand that we are being tested, even if we are not told as such!'

'Then if this is the case,' said Preston, 'we should meditate and come to understand for what this lesson is meant to be. Let us retreat into these woods, each alone, to think in solitude.'

Preston's suggestion resonated with the disciples, and Destair replied, 'Yes, and once we have arrived at our personal truths, gather once again to share them and to learn from one another, to teach among ourselves as Holy Ia teaches to us. We shall meet here again in this clearing at sunset.'

So all the disciples went off into the forest by themselves to meditate in silence and solitude. Not long after they all left, Holy Ia did return, and he found that none of his disciples remained in the clearing where they had spent the previous night. But Ia knew well where his disciples were, and he clad himself in the guise of a bent-backed and elderly man to meet with each of them.

Ia approached each of his disciples, feigning confusion and claiming to be lost within the vast forest, and he asked for direction back to the road and from there to the nearby villages and cities. While each of Ia's disciples, in their own way, did provide what information was asked of them, they each gave off impressions of being focused deeply on internal matters, and did not think to speak with the disguised Ia beyond what was necessary to answer his questions. Ia thanked each of them in turn for the help they gave, and once he had met with the last of them he returned to the clearing in his own guise to await their return.

As the sun set and Ia's disciples came one by one back to the clearing, Ia greeted each of them, and his disciples were overjoyed at their mentor's return. Ia asked of them what they had been doing alone in the woods, and each of them told Ia of a personal revelation they had reached during that day of focused meditation.

When the last disciple returned, Ia stood on the high stone and looked down at the bowed heads gathered beneath him. 'You placed before yourselves a task which had not been mandated, and each of you approached that task with dedication equal to that had I given it to you, and this fills me with hope and pride for your growth.

'But,' Ia continued, 'tell me, why did none of you continue the work you have been given? Even the lost old man who visited each of you was dismissed as unimportant and you did nothing to bring him upon the true path.'

Ia's disciples were chagrined, and they now suspected that perhaps the old stranger had indeed been Ia. They murmured among themselves for a while before Creassin finally answered for them. 'Holy Ia, we did not feel the stranger was a part of the task which we set before ourselves for the day.'

'The guidance and shepherding of the lost is your foremost task, be they lost among matters of the spirit or matters of the flesh, or even so simple a matter as lost in direction. Take heed, for every thing which you encounter invokes changes within the tasks which you pursue. Do not allow a focused narrowness of attention to prevent your greater understanding.'

Ia saw that his disciples took his words to heart through their chagrin, and he blessed them, and their disconsolate spirits were calmed.