Desire to Know Oneself

[Bruce]

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