THE THREE-IN-ONE GURU

It was a sunny day. The wind played with the leaves of the trees, while the birds sat on the branches, watching this merry game. They were glad, and their joy filled the park with songs and chirrups.

The park was teeming with people — children, adults, men, women. And all the benches in the park were taken.

A young woman was sitting on a bench by a pond, smiling to herself. People passing by constantly glanced back to admire the joy she was radiating.

One of the passers-by was an elderly man, who wanted to sit in the beautiful park and simply smile for a while too. He sat down next to the young woman. They were both silent. After some time, a 15-16 year old youngster came along with an amiable “Hello! Can I sit here?” The smiling youth wanted to join the pleasant company.

For a while, the threesome silently enjoyed the beauty of nature.

Then the woman said in a soft voice, “I’m very happy today, for I have received an answer to a question that has been tormenting me for long. I have wronged many people, and they, in turn, had caused me such pain that I had become hard as a rock. For many years now, I’ve been trying to change myself, and be kind to people. I’ve tried to open my heart, and help others, but I was never sure whether I did enough to become a better person, and whether my ego was not too big still. Then I heard about the guru who lives in the very centre of our town, in a beautiful white building. I came to him today and asked him, “Isn’t my ego too big?”

And the guru replied to me, 'Let’s assume that your ego is a room, say of 20 square metres. If I were a four-year-old child living in a small room, and I came into this 20 square metres room, I’d say it is very big.

But if I were an old man living in a palace, and spending most of my leisure in a big hall with a view of the vast park in front of the palace; were I to enter that room, I’d say it is very small. Which of us would be right?

Both the child and the old man see the same 20 square metres room, but which of them are right in their judgement? Both of them are right, because they judge from their experience, they compare it with their own ego.

So do not ask others whether you’re good enough. Ask your heart, ask the God within you. Listen to your inner voice — only thus will you receive a truthful answer. Ask God to help you find God within yourself, and to live like God — in love.'

“I’m also happy, for I also met this guru today!” said the youth.

“I have many altruistic ideas, which would benefit so many people. But everything that I undertake ends in failure. For many years now, I’ve been looking for an answer as to why it is so. I asked the guru at the white house in the centre of the town about it.

The guru replied to me, 'Everything that you do can be likened to catching a train. If you run behind the train, it can leave without you.

If you try to run in front of the train, it can destroy you. You have to be in the train — only then will the train safely bring you to your destination. Similarly, everything must be done at the correct place and in the correct time for the actions to bear fruit.

How to recognize the correct place and time? Ask your heart, ask the God within you. Find God within you and let Him guide you.'

“This truly is a wondrous day. I’m happy too,” said the old man, “for I received an answer to my question. I meditate three to four times a day. I pray to God, and have abandoned all worldly possessions, my friends and acquaintances, even my family.

I devote all my time to God in prayer and meditation, but I don’t feel God’s presence. I was afraid that I was doing too little; that, perhaps, God didn’t like me. But now this guru has really helped me out. He asked me to imagine that I have a beautiful vase. The guru then asked me, 'What would you do if I gave you a wonderful flower, the bud of which had not opened yet?’

I said that I’d put it in the vase.

‘Imagine you do that and then take a look at the flower bud,’ the guru instructed.

In my thoughts, I put the flower in the vase and I saw that the bud wanted to open, but some unknown force was preventing it.
Then, as if he had read my thoughts, the guru asked me, ‘What is that force that’s keeping your flower from blossoming?’

I was worried. ‘I don’t know. Maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m doing too little to let my flower bloom? I am too bad a person for the flower to open.’

The guru said, ‘No. Take a look. Is there water in the vase?’

And really, my vase was empty.

Then the guru said, ‘You put the flower in the vase, but you forgot to pour in some water. The bud will open only if you put it in water. We often complicate simple things. We forget that we should love life and enjoy it. Each person you meet — be it a friend, a colleague, children, parents, neighbours, or simply passers-by — every person is like a flower given to you by God. You only have to accept them in your life – your vase, and pour in it some water – love; and then your relationships will blossom and you will feel God’s presence in every moment of your life.’

“Guru truly is a wise man,” concluded the elderly man.

“Man? No! Guru is a woman. Slender, with a pleasant smile and long brown hair and light blue eyes. She’s very much like me,” said the woman.

The youth gave a hearty laugh. “Oh my! What are you talking about? The guru is a nice guy. Some 15–16 years old. He wears the same clothes as mine!”

The old man objected. “I am maybe an old man, but my eyesight is still excellent. The guru is an elderly gentleman, neat and very self-possessed. We have much in common. We even use the same cologne!”

Three people were happy today. Each of them thought that he/she was the one who met the real guru residing in the white building in the centre of the town. And that the guru they met was the one that the whole world was talking about.

Now, which of them was right?

The guru from the white building in the heart of the town would say,

‘Ask your heart, ask the God within you. Listen to your inner voice — only thus will you receive a truthful answer. Ask God to help you find God within yourself, and to live like God — in love.’

Bhagavan Baba always stresses on four principal ‘F’s. The first is ‘Follow the Master’, next, ‘Face the Devil’, then ‘Fight to the End’, and finally, ‘Finish the Game’.

In the game of our life, our true Master, Baba says, is our Conscience, the Voice of God Within. When we listen and abide by this inner prompting, we easily face the ‘devils’ (our sorrows and negative traits) of our existence, definitely conquer them and come out of the game joyously. Life is a game, and we should enjoy it!  

By Ms. Rita Ivanova, Latvia

Illustrations: Mrs. Lyn, New Zealand

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- Heart2Heart Team