As the spiritual journey progresses the guru’s demands on the chela (disciple) intensifies. The demand on both sides for perfect truth increases.
The chela is no longer satisfied with partial truth and mere attached love for the guru. They are both seeking that the chela reach perfect truth. That is the only reason.
Not only is the coming down into human form a sacrifice by such a being, but the style by which they bring beings to perfect truth is the method of sacrifice. Christ is one of the most dramatic examples.
It would be remiss however, to think that the crucifixion was Christ’s greatest sacrifice. By far his greatest sacrifice was embodying himself at all, for he and his Father are one. For the Father to have created himself as the son, to push Himself away from the full light, that was the sacrifice for us.
We are not asked whether or not they should make that sacrifice; they make it whether we like it or not and they are doing it for us. Out of our incredible feeling of unworthiness and the incredible awe of knowing that you are not yet ready to make such a sacrifice for another being. For their perfect truth and freedom, the only response, the only thing you can do, is work on yourself to achieve perfected truth. That is the only way you can end their suffering and their sacrifice. Thus their sacrifice was not in vain. It worked perfectly, because it got you to perfected truth. It drove you into it.
As you approach perfect truth, you meet the guru on deeper and deeper planes.
You meet behind the level at which the manifested sacrifice is going on, the merger is happening. For when you achieve perfect truth, you and the guru have met as one. At that point you both know that eternity is only the play with God. From then on the work is merely the work: first, of choice — will you merge into God or will you stay separate? If you stay separate, all of the sacrifice and all of the suffering is the form of the play with God.
Then you and the guru and all of the beings who have stayed free and separate enjoy the dance of being perfect instruments of the will of God. Sitting by with a deep sense of pain at the unnecessary suffering created by the will of man and yet, allowing it to be. For such a being’s work is only with those beings who have started to reach towards God.
God gave man the freedom of choice to go against God, and man must suffer the karmic consequences in order for the system to be truly perfect. It is only God going against God, then awakening and returning once again to God. As such, it’s merely a web of illusion. Only at the moment when suffering is the greatest are we totally lost in the experience of suffering. The minute the hand is raised to return to God, all of the saints come forth to help us.
-Ram Dass
