The Beloved Faucet

By Juhi

There is a water tank on the roof of a house and multiple faucets throughout the house connected to the tank. A man who is thirsty can approach any faucet, receive the water and be fulfilled. What is essential is the tank, the choice of a particular faucet is inconsequential. Similarly, in spiritual life, Sri Ramakrishna = Sat-chit-ananda is the tank, and the Guru is the faucet. Only Sat-chit-ananda can quench thirst; the Guru is only one of many possible connections.

But how many even recognize their thirst? And how many feel the presence of water and understand that a faucet can give them water? How many Saunakas (of Mundaka Upanisad) are there who approach Angiras saying, “What will quench my thirst? I know you can quench my thirst, please quench it.”

Most men are drawn to some particular faucet. Ignorant of his thirst and the existence of water, a man hovers around a faucet thinking, “Oh, What a pretty faucet! How brightly it shines!” The faucet takes pity on the man and says, “Come here, you are thirsty, and you don’t know it. Come and drink this water.” The man has come to so love the faucet that he starts drinking, only because his beloved faucet told him to. And as he drinks, he recognizes his thirst, and that it is being quenched. He also understands that it is the tank supplying the water. He thinks, “It could have been any other faucet connecting me to this life-giving, life-sustaining water. But I was drawn to this faucet. This faucet first took pity on me and spoke to me. This faucet first showed me grace. I always loved this faucet, but on realizing all this, how much dearer is this faucet now!”

So saying, the man bows down to the faucet proclaiming, “All my love, all my gratitude, all my pranams to the faucet! All my love, all my gratitude, all my pranams to the Guru!”