Desire to Know Oneself

At a certain point

in his evolution, there awakens inside of man a desire to know himself, to know his purpose in life. When this

desire awakens, he is ready to begin sa'dhana, the "effort of completion," the practices of meditation by which he

will accelerate his evolution and hasten his journey home to the pure Consciousness from which he came. When this

desire awakens in him, his guide appears, the teacher who will lead him forward on the path of realization. Guru

means "dispeller of darkness," and the Master does exactly that; with His own divine powers, He clears the clouds

from His beloved disciples' minds. He helps them transcend all their negative tendencies so that their true nature

-- divine perfection -- may shine forth from within. For the Guru is verily the perfect expression of that Supreme

Consciousness. It is God who in the form of the Guru is drawing His beloved children to Himself. As the disciple

progresses more and more on the path of realization, as his perfect nature flowers more and more within him, he

feels the pervasiveness of love -- God's love, the Guru's love, love within himself -- and in ecstasy he sees love

everywhere. God, the Guru, his innermost self, and all creation, all become one.

-- Anandamurtii