Though orphaned and living as a street urchin, ignorant of both his royal roots and the glorious destiny that awaited him, Arthur did not remain alone. He was given the gift of Merlin as mentor, magician, friend, and prophet of the Holy Grail. Merlin helped Arthur wake up to his true identity, path, and destiny. Clearly, Merlin was a guru of sorts. The guru wakes us up; protects and guides us on our journey through life; helps us to discover our identity in God; and empowers us to be a force for good in the world. Without Merlin, Arthur would have lived his life in utter ignorance and unnecessary suffering. Without the grace of the guru, we too are lost in ignorance and overwhelmed by suffering. The guru is the greatest gift God can give to us. Using the metaphor of the Hermit, Valentin Tomberg says this about our relationship to the guru:
“The Hermit is the master of dreams for all youth in every country who are enamored by the call to seek the narrow gate and the hard way to the Divine. Name for me a country or a time for which the youth—who are young, that is, living for the ideal—have not had their imagination haunted by the figure of a wise and good father (mother), a spiritual father (mother), a hermit, who has passed through the narrow gate and who walks the hard way—someone whom one could trust without reserve and whom one could venerate and love without limit… Which young Jewish man or woman from Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, or Romania would not have done as much to meet a Hasidic tzadik, that is, a wise and good father (mother), a hermit? Which young person in India would refuse to make every effort to find a guru, that is, a wise and good father (mother), a hermit?”
My Beloved Guru,
If I yearn for you,
You will come to me
As Merlin came to Arthur.
