One of the recurring themes in the writings and legacies of the great spiritual teachers all the way down through time is the accent they each place on the preciousness of a human incarnation, especially one in which there is some kind of spiritual awakening. One of India’s teachers spoke of only three real miracles – the rarity of a human birth in this infinitely vast cosmos with its endless possibilities of life; a human incarnation characterized by spiritual awakening and interest; and the culmination of these in finding your path and your realized teacher, the Guru.

One of the things that always interests me about meditation is the feeling of close by discoveries, a sense of being near to a sudden insight or an understanding that can make your life different. Or a veil that could part to show you something, making you happier or closer to God, a little enlightenment experience that could come suddenly like a rainbow in your day. They seem to be a gift rather than an achievement, and though they rarely come, even the promise of them lifts your heart.

As my own years multiply I find meditation to be more of an abandonment to God than anything, perhaps recognizing that after a lifetime of struggles and strivings we haven’t really got the foggiest about anything, and that we can’t really reach the loftiest heights on our own. After so many years, after all the meditation practice and self-discovering and immersion in a path, there is a humbling sense of our littleness. Yet Guru encourages this feeling of being a child – and to having a child’s innocence, purity, sweetness, simplicity, its helpless dependence on the loving parent.

In a world full of outer enchantments and endless distractions, the great light, beauty and purpose of the human soul becomes lost to us, covered over just as easily as a single cloud can hide the power of the sun. But Guru’s path brings back to us, keeps close to us the sense of our sacred purpose; and encouragement, reassurance; the promise of joy and delight; the nearness of God. Our teacher has mapped out a lovely guidebook for those embarking upon the eternal journey, an exemplar and wayfarer pointing our own way back home.