The Grace of the Guru
Jan 11, 2021The dream started with me tied to the ground, perhaps half buried but not all the way. All I could feel was that I couldn’t move.
My gaze moved up to the top of the mountain to find an army of warriors, dressed in red and gold armor, with arrows ready to fire. I knew there was no way of getting out; their arrows were all pointed at me.
As they positioned their arms ready to fire, I felt fear run through my body and the instinct to try to escape. I quickly realized that the attempt to run was futile. I was clearly tied and unable to even see how it was that I was tied down. Death seemed inevitable.
I suddenly heard a voice narrating over my dream. She whispered, “Stay very still. Be with the Guru.”
At that moment, I completely accepted and surrendered to my fate. I stopped fidgeting and lay very still chanting Om Guru.
As I lay there, I could feel the wind of the arrows landing all around my body. I opened my eyes to find that everyone had shot their arrow- except for one. The general, the most skilled warrior, aimed his arrow right at my forehead.
But he missed…
The arrow cleared my body and landed just above my head. The soldiers proceeded to retreat, making their way down the hill past my body. Following them were a variety of characters, all from different eras and cultures. They, too, made their way past my body as I continued to be still. Some tried to spook me as they passed to see if I would move, while others were very friendly and seemed to be there just for my amusement. As all of the characters moved past me, their faces began to fade out.
I wondered how it was possible that I didn’t die when the odds were so clearly stacked against me. How is it possible that not one single arrow hit my body?
I heard the narrator again before the scene completely faded. She said, “That is the grace of the Guru.”
This dream itself felt like the grace of the guru and left me with such a deep knowing that whatever is “destined” or fated by the stars does not compare to the power of the Masters.
If we pray with complete faith and devotion, those things that feel impossible are possible. The fears or circumstances that feel like they will crush our spirit, or even kill us, will not touch us.
The answer was very simple. Be still and be with the guru.
Our goal in meditation is to move past the turbulence of our thoughts, find stillness, and bathe in the silence. In the stillness, we can remain untouched and unaffected by whatever comes our way… We are only touched by Divine Grace.
