My Teacher's Birthday (Jan 12)

 

He would be 106 today. I still overflow with gratitude for the silent whisper of his gift, grace-fresh this morning as it was at my initiation, 55 years ago. When one is ripe, either with yearning or pain or both, the Guru enters your life to nudge your true nature awake. Then you taste the sweetness of what was always already here. The Self outshines all its shadows. The Guru doesn't give you a new philosophy or religion, but a direct experience of God in the radiance of your heart, nearer than breath, more intimate than thought. The Guru doesn't come to be your therapist or fortune teller, your surrogate mommy or daddy. The Guru has one sole purpose in your life: to pour the stars down your spine, and ignite the boundless splendor of pure consciousness. Happy birthday, ancient Friend.