The Slaying of the Minotaur

There is a Greek myth in which Theseus, a hero, is sent into a labyrinth, a maze of tunnels in the middle of which lives the minotaur, a horrible monster. Theseus’ task is to slay the minotaur, but the problem is that even if he were to find his way to the centre and slay the creature, how would he ever find his way out again in total darkness, a maze of dead ends and false turns?

This is a bit like us in the world. However bright life seems, do we ever know who we really are, where we came from and where we’re going? In this sense, life is a maze.

The solution is offered by Theseus’ friend and well-wisher, Ariadne, who secretly gives to Theseus a ball of tightly wound silken thread. The end of this thread, she keeps in her hand. It’s only the finest of threads, but it serves the purpose. As Theseus makes his daring journey to the centre of the maze he takes the thread with him, in fact he fastens it to his person, unwinding it as he goes. He does find the monster, he fights it and slays it in a fierce battle. Through all this, the thread has remained with him. As he starts to make his way out, he takes hold of the thread and consciously follows it all the way, gathering it up until he thankfully reaches the daylight.

The secret of his escape lay in this connection: firstly the connection with Ariadne, whose plan it was that he should find his way back to her. But that mental link between them would not have been enough without the ball of thread. The thread was the means to really connect them together and to enable Theseus to have something to hold on to and follow.

The presence and the purpose of Shabd can be explained by this analogy. Every created being is connected to the Creator – whether we call him God, Allah, Enlightenment, or Supreme Consciousness – by means of a current of audible, primal energy. Saints have always taught that if we wish to become conscious of the sound current and follow it to its source, we can do so. Access to that sound and that method lie within the human body at the centre between our two eyes. It is the Creator who has given us this link with himself and he has also sent to this world his saints who can show us how to slay the monster – conquer our minds – grab hold of the thread (the shabd) and return to our Creator.

Our relationship with the Master is that of love and devotion, of meditation. It is not any worldly relationship; it’s only a spiritual relationship. And the more we are filled with love and devotion for the Master, the nearer we feel to him. The Master is always near to us; it is we who are away from the Master. The more we are filled with love and devotion for the Master, the nearer we feel to him and the more we feel that he belongs to us and we belong to him. Actually, that is our own feeling. We come to that level of consciousness where we feel the nearness of the Master. Otherwise the Master is always near every disciple.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. III}