First, there is a mountain,
Then there is no mountain,
Then there is.
- Donovan, "There is a Mountain"
I'm taking a trip down memory lane this time, for a look at the music of Donovan Leitch. In Donovan's heyday, the 60's, he morphed from Scotland's folky, minor answer to Bob Dylan. He became a full-fledged flower child, dabbling in more mystical, even psychedelic, music. Still, it was always tempered with an underlying simplicity that made it both feel-good and feel-deep. A Gift From a Flower to a Garden is probably my favorite of his albums (in fact, on vinyl it was two albums and became a single CD later). This album is filled with wonderful songs and very much worth a listen. In other words, the guy is more than Sunshine Superman or Mellow Yellow; and more than the father of actors Donovan Leitch and Ione Skye. I mean, this guy influenced The Beatles, fer cryin' out loud.
[Pictures are of Donovan, then and now (age 63)]
On the surface, There Is a Mountain is a pleasant little ditty, with a Jamaican, ganja flair. The lyrics, however, contain the short verse above, which I consider to be one of the most succinct and elegant expositions of the enlightenment process that I've ever heard.
Consider: Initially, we are all in the state of duality, that place of Self and Other (First there is a mountain); with the beginning flush of enlightenment, the sense of duality falls away and we are struck with the realization that all is truly One (Then there is no mountain); finally, when the full realization of enlightenment infuses us, we realize that even though all is One, the illusion of separation remains (Then there is), and this illusion is true as long as we inhabit the material world.
Dude, this is heavy stuff.
The lyrics remind me of the Zen statement, "Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water." Simple, useful, accurate.
For those looking for a transcendent experience, there are plenty around to be had. However, true enlightenment requires actually being in the day-to-day. Of course, Donovan's lyrics have more advice for those of us who wish to attain enlightenment. While doing your ordinary routines, you must remember to Wear Your Love Like Heaven.
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