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A disciple asks how to remove all her fears and her karma. (1) Fear is a thief who is forever afraid of being caught, afraid of facing the truth. That thief is hiding inside you, like the thief who hides when he sees a policeman. It's up to you to chase him away. I can't do it for you. It's something you must do, but you say you don't know how, and you want me to do it for you. It doesn't work that way. For example, it's the job of an ox-cart driver to hitch up the ox to the cart, prod it forward, and keep a grip on the reins to prevent it from wandering aimlessly. But if the ox resists and pulls in the direction it wants to go, then the driver has to whack it and yank even harder on the reins. That's how it works. The job of the ox is to pull the loaded cart. The driver's job is to sit behind and keep the ox on the right track. You are like the ox. The weight of the world is the loaded cart, which is hitched to the yoke around your neck, and you are pulling all this along with you. The guru (2) is the driver. It's his job to prod you from behind with a few whacks of wisdom to make you move forward. Each time you stray, he will rein you in firmly with the reins of love and guide you back onto the good path, instead of letting you follow the path of your thoughts. But you are the one who must do the pulling, not him. His job is just to show you and guide you. That's what he's doing every time he swats you with wisdom. You need to accept the road he shows you and let yourself be reined in by his wisdom and love. The driver won't pull the cart. That's your work. The load is yours, not his. His work is to show you, and your work is to understand what he shows you, and do it. If you follow his instructions, it will be easy for you. You won't feel the burden. But if you stray, and go off on your own path, then every time you go downhill, you will feel the weight of the world bearing down on your neck. It will bang against you, push you down into the ditch, and crush you. And whenever you go uphill, the cumbersome load will drag you back. However, if you accept the guru as the driver, he will take you on a level road. There will be no uphill or downhill, no heavy load holding you back, no yoke pressing down on you. And the wheels of the cart will easily bear the weight of the load. You will not be burdened or affected. If, without listening to him, you go your own way, the world will crush you again and again. Your thoughts and desires will bang up against you, push you down into a deep pit, and crush you. Your divisive attitudes about race and religion and color will crush you. All your burdens will flatten you. You will be plagued by the ups and downs along the road of your choosing, and lose sight of the smooth and level road he showed you. If only you will focus your attention on his wisdom and love and follow his lead, you'll discover that he's showing you a good short cut. The journey will be easy for you, and no harm will befall you. The thief of fear will not get anywhere near you. October 13, 1981 Footnotes: 1) The inherited qualities formed at the time of conception—the qualities of illusion, the qualities of desire, the qualities that are the essence of the five elements, the qualities of the mind, and all the thoughts, looks, and actions that arise from the connection to earth, to hell, and to illusion. 2) Although the word 'guru' simply means teacher, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen used it to refer to both the outer spiritual guide and the inner teacher of wisdom. A true guru is a perfected, God-realized being, one who has made God his only wealth, has severed all desires for worldly wealth, and has acquired God's qualities, acts accordingly, and contains himself within those qualities. The ultimate guru is God, whose constant voice of guidance can be heard within us, if we attune ourselves to it.
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