The Path to Great Harmony
In the time before the winds carried man’s understanding, the Great Spirit created all creatures, each perfect in their way. The bird was given feathers to soar and knew, without teaching, how to weave her nest. The hare was swift and clever, needing no counsel to flee the fox. All moved in harmony with the will of the Creator, their purpose clear and their work complete.
But man, the last to be shaped, was left unfinished. The weakest of all, without claws to fight or fur to shield him, he was set upon the earth, vulnerable and without knowledge. Unlike the beasts, man was not given perfection but the seeds of potential. In his incompleteness, the Great Spirit planted the power to grow—to become more than he was at his beginning.
The Great Spirit spoke to man: “Be mindful of what you take into your body, of where you walk and rest. The world leaves its mark upon your soul, shaping you into its likeness.” If a man wishes to walk the gentle path, to be as calm as the lamb and as peaceful as the deer, he must eat of the earth’s fruits—herbs, grains, and all that grows freely under the sun. These foods purify the blood and make the spirit light with peace and love. But if a man chooses the path of the predator, eating the flesh of the living, his blood will burn hot, and his spirit will be stirred with anger and strife. His heart will carry jealousy and a thirst for vengeance, for the blood of the beast carries these burdens into the one who consumes it.
The Great Spirit warns: “What you take into your blood will echo in your spirit. If you live by the death of others, then death will mark your soul. The body is fed by the gifts of the earth, but the spirit is nourished by the unseen air.”
Someone said: “I do not kill the lamb or the bird, but I eat what others kill.” The Creator answered: “To take life is a simple act, yet it is not the act itself that matters most, but what it leaves behind in your blood. Flesh poisons the body and clouds the spirit. Those who make themselves hunters of life cannot escape the discord it brings within them.”
Long ago, when the world was wild, man ate flesh to survive. It was given to him in the time of need. But now, the Great Spirit says it is no longer his way. Flesh has become a poison to man. Its smell will sicken him; its sight will bring sorrow. The butcher will feel shame, and his neighbors will say: “You reek of death.”
The Creator reveals: “Flesh has led you to drunkenness and waste, to the pipe and the narcotic. It has brought sickness to your body and decay to your soul. You ate death, and so you withered. From head to foot, you carry its stench. Even your children are born weak, and many do not live to see their first steps.”
The Great Spirit speaks of a new dawn, a time of Great Harmony. For this era, the Oahspe uses the term “Kosmon”. Just as the spider weaves her web without a teacher, and the bees make their hive in perfect unity, so too will man rise, guided by the voice within. No longer will he need books or long teachings; his hands will remember their work, and his heart will know its purpose.
“As I once gave you rule over the beasts,” says Creator, “now I command you to take dominion over the earth, the waters, and the air above. Bring warmth where there is cold and coolness where there is heat, for the good of all life.”
But before man can take this mantle, he must first cleanse himself. His blood, his body, and his spirit must be purified. He must walk away from discord and open his heart to the Great Spirit’s voice. Only then will man and Creator walk together as one, in harmony with all that was, is, and will be.
This is the path to the Great Harmony, the time of balance, awakening and spiritual unity. It is the way of peace, the way of Creator’s light. Let man take this journey, because it is his destiny to rise, not as a beast but as a being of spirit, whole and complete at last.
May the Great Spirit bless you,
Brother Good Medicine