Thirsty in the Desert
After he drank the last of his water, the thirsty man knew he had to find more, or he might not make it back to his car. As he struggled to walk through the heat, he saw a small hut in the distance. At first, he thought it was a mirage. But as he kept walking, he saw that it was real. Encouraged, he opened the door but found it deserted. The place looked as if it had been abandoned long ago.
He noticed a hand pump in the corner, with a pipe going down through the floor, presumably into a well below. Of course, he started pumping the handle vigorously, but no water flowed out. The well must be dry, he thought, or maybe there was a leak in the pipe. Or else the pump was just broken. After desperately searching the hut for something to drink, he found a bottle of water with a note attached: “Please use this water to start the pump. It works. After you’re done, please refill the bottle.” That was it.
This was a dilemma. If the pump was broken or the underground well had dried up and he used the bottle of water to get the pump started, he’d have wasted that small amount of water with no hope of finding more. Could the note be trusted? Maybe it was some sort of sick joke.
The man closed his eyes and tried to quiet his frightened, jittery mind. He felt that God had always looked after him, so he decided to trust him now. He poured the precious water into the pump and pumped the handle hard. Soon he heard a bubbling sound, and water poured from the spout. With a sigh of relief, he drank the water and quenched his thirst. After filling his bottle and the bottle in the hut, he added to the note: “Have faith. It works.”
In a way, we are in a similar situation. God has sent the Master to teach us how to get off the wheel of life and death and thereby quench our spiritual thirst. He asks us to trust in his teachings – no matter how long it takes for us to find the water of his grace, no matter if we don’t hear the bells and whistles inside, no matter what others say about our lifestyle. We need to trust him and use his water, his help, his grace, to prime the pump of Shabd by doing our daily meditation practice, living the vows, and being good human beings.