Just as the guru takes us where we do not want to go, Merlin took Arthur where his unenlightened instincts would not take him: to the sword deeply lodged in a large stone. The sword represents our royal heritage, our God-given divinity. The stone is a metaphor for our tamasic tendencies: our ignorance, perceptual blindness, willfulness, and attachments to lesser gods. These tamasic tendencies keep us from seeing who we really are in God and tapping into spiritual grace and power. To liberate our divine heritage from the stone of tamasic energy we need the grace of the guru as well as courage and humility to face our destructive tendencies. As well, we need to practice the purification of mind and body, or tapas. The spiritual path is not a flight into enlightenment, but a journey that takes us into our darkest darkness where we will find our hidden light. Sri Yukteswar tells us, “Adeptship (liberation) is achieved by purification of man’s three bodies. It is also attainable through the grace of the guru. Purification comes through nature, penance, and mantras. Yajna, sacrifice, means penance (tapas). Penance is patience or even-mindedness in all conditions (equanimity amidst the essential dualities of Maya; cold and heat, pain and pleasure, etc).
Divine Guru,
Bring to my imagination
The sword in the stone.
And may this image
Bless me with understanding
Of what is true.
