“Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, which leads to perdition, and many are those who enter through it; for narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Matthew 7:13-14
The highway of the system is the broad path of the multitude made of possibilities and choices predetermined because they are inscribed in the system. It is the path already traced by others, the timeline for all, unique and already defined. Without the possibility of choice, there is just causality, and no capacity for evolution.
By perceiving only a single choice and therefore a single effect, we become a passive element in the causal chain initiated by the system. If we are in ignorance or unconsciousness, we remain under the influence of causality, we are kept imprisoned in this highway without even realizing it. And this broad path is comfortable because there is no doubt or questioning. Excesses, detours, wanderings, errors, deviations and imbalances are possible.
According to the Kybalion: “But the masters, knowing the rules of the game, rise above… placing themselves in contact with the higher powers of their nature, and dominating their moods, character, qualities, and the environment surrounding them; and therefore become influencers of the game instead of pawns – causes instead of effects.”
The more knowledge and awareness there is, the more one can play the role of cause and not effect. And therefore transform this highway of the multitude into a path just for oneself. But that means the path is getting narrower and narrower. Very quickly, the traveler realizes that this path becomes a ridge, even a razor blade. The narrowness of the path is commensurate with the evolution of individual consciousness: the more the being is freed from the multitude, the more he embodies who he really is in all his individuality and his unique characteristics, the narrower the path.
From a highway, it becomes a path. From a path, it becomes a path. From a path, it becomes a ridge. From a crest, it becomes a tightrope walker’s rope. This route is wide when descended because it is so easy to fall or descend. On the other hand, the ascent is slow, arduous and narrow. This path therefore transforms as consciousness advances into a tightrope line between two abysses. To traverse it, you must maintain a harmonious verticality, a fair balance.
This is the path of the golden mean of the Buddhist tradition: neither too much, nor too little: moderation and correctness in everything. Eat, but not too much. Sleep, but not excessively. Converse and connect with the world, but cultivate your independence. Neither abundance, nor asceticism…
The narrowness of the path is one of the indicators of spiritual advancement.