Timeless Stream

The Guru is not a solitary human figure in a white robe and sandals. The Guru is a timeless stream of light, love and creativity, flowing through the centuries. Yet the entire lineage may be concentrated in this now, through a particular human form, who is just the messenger. The messenger will awaken the Guru within you, who flowers from your core, releasing the all-pervading fragrance of the Goddess Shakti. She is the Holy Spirit who takes the form of your breath, nourishing both mind and body with the energy of bliss.

This is the process of initiation. It begins with a teacher who appears as the external Guru, and ends with the Self. While the external Guru is your Friend and Messenger, the true Guru is the awakened radiance of your deepest Self, who is more intimate to you than your mind, than your soul. This is Guru-tattva, the Guru principle within. Upon awakening, you know that the Guru is who you truly Are. Spirituality was a path from the Guru to your Self. And now you realize that the path was pathless.

Though omnipresent, the Goddess Shakti focuses her Grace through embodied channels. When you are ripe, you will meet one, in the form of the initiator, who will pour mysterious inebriating nectar into your hridaya-chakra. You will sip this fermented nectar through the Guru's whisper, the Guru's mantra, kindling the Self-luminous Guru-tattva.

You don't need to feel "worthy" in order to receive this gift of initiation. You don't need to be a saint or religious disciple. It's perfectly fine if you have been a rebel or a sinner. Your past doesn't matter. These distinctions are but veils of judgment in the mind. They dissolve in the radiance of Grace. All that is required is a ripened heart, full of wounded yearning and humbleness.

After the moment of initiation, it is up to you to tend the interior fire through sadana, the practice of morning and evening meditation, honoring again and again the divine Presence within you.

Mother Shakti’s fire will engulf you, illuminating every cell of your body. Then you will feel at home wherever you are on earth. You will meet, inspire, and ignite the flame of your Self in others. And your very Being - not thinking or doing but Being - will dispel the heavy gloom of earth’s sorrow. This is your real work. You are the light of the world.

Photo, Kazyak Henderson