Parable — The Sikh Guru and the Disciple
Once, there was a seeker who longed for spiritual enlightenment and sought a True Guru to guide her on the path. After much searching, she finally found a Guru renowned for his wisdom and spiritual realization. The seeker approached the Guru with humility and earnestness, expressing her deep desire to attain oneness with the supreme consciousness.
The Guru, filled with compassion, welcomed the seeker and said, “To realize the divine truth, you must first understand the essence of oneness. Go to the river and bring me a pot of water.”
The seeker eagerly followed the Guru’s instructions, fetched a pot of water from the river, and presented it to the Guru. The Guru said, “Now, pour this water back into the river and tell me what you observe.”
As the seeker poured the water into the river, she noticed that it seamlessly merged with the river, losing its individual identity. The water she brought and the river itself became one.
The Guru smiled and said, “Just as the water merges into the river, your true self must emerge and then remerge into the supreme consciousness. Just as the water in the pot is no different from the river, you are not separate from the divine. The key to spiritual growth lies in realizing this oneness.”
The seeker, enlightened by the Guru’s words, understood that her individual identity was an illusion and that the true essence of her being was interconnected with the supreme consciousness and, by natural extension, all people and all things in nature and the universe. With this realization, she embarked on a journey of spiritual growth, striving to dissolve her ego and merge with the divine whilst recognising that, at the same time, she must live in harmony and balance with her own needs, all people and all of nature.
This parable highlights the Sikh principle of oneness (Ik ōaṅkār) and the longing for spiritual growth. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing our inherent unity with the supreme consciousness and the need to transcend our individual ego alone to merge with the divine.
At the same time, recognise that this is not an ideal principle found in some abstract intellectual way but rather a reflection found in all people and all things in nature and the universe. Through the guidance of a True Guru, the seeker in the story represents the sincere spiritual aspirant who embraces the path of self-realization and strives to attain oneness with the ultimate truth.
More …
