The Storm
A student of a spiritual teacher came to the main center, one day,
in a very dejected and sad state. The young man asked permission to
speak with his mentor and the student was ushered into a den-like
room by one of the center’s attendants.
After a short wait, the teacher appeared and sat down near the
student. The teacher requested that some refreshments be brought
for the two of them, and while they were waiting for whatever was
being arranged, the two of them engaged in light conversation about
this and that.
The young man knew his teacher would, when the time was
appropriate, ask about what was going on with the young man’s life.
Therefore, the student was content to let his teacher conduct the
meeting according to the latter’s nature and personality.
After the refreshments arrived and the two were left alone, the
teacher inquired: “Son, I could sense when I first came into the room
that you were upset by something, so, why don’t you tell me what is
burdening you, and, then, we’ll see what can be done to help your
situation.”
The young man was thankful for the opportunity to finally
discuss what was preoccupying his mind and weighing on his heart.
The student started slowly, but went a little faster as he got going,
talking about his concerns.
“Sir, I’m not trying to complain, but there is something with
which I am having a great deal of difficulty. I accept the idea that
everything has its purpose and, as well, there is a reason for
everything which happens, quite independently of whether I
understand what is going on, or not.
“But,” continued the young man, “there appears to be so much
evil in the world. Everywhere I look, evil seems to be on the rise and
goodness appears to be in retreat.
“I often get suffocated by it all. And, when I feel this way, I don’t
know what to do. I seem to become spiritually lost and paralyzed.”
When the student had finished, the teacher was quiet. The young
man had come to understand that the teacher had his own way of
resolving issues and that his spiritual guide didn’t always respond
directly to questions and problems which were posed.
After a few moments of silence, the teacher asked: “Do you know
what the weather forecast is for tomorrow?”
The student was somewhat surprised by the question but
responded with: “I believe it is supposed to rain.”
The teacher received the information impassively. He was silent
for a short while longer and, then, said: “Well, try not to become too
caught up in your worries about the seeming omni-presence of evil.
Do the best you can with this. I’m sure you will be helped to deal with
it.”
As he spoke the last words, the teacher arose, indicating that the
discussion had come to an end. The student also rose and thanked
his spiritual guide for the latter’s time and consideration.
The student left the teacher’s house in a slightly depressed mood.
He had hoped his guide might have said or done something which
would have resolved the problem, but such had not been the case,
and, consequently, he didn’t feel much better than he did when he
had gone to see the teacher – although no matter what happened,
seeing his teacher always helped make things a bit more bearable.
The next day, just as the young man had related to his teacher
during their meeting of the previous afternoon, it rained. The rain
was steady and, from time to time, quite heavy.
The student decided he would go out for a walk in the rain. The
storm was like his inner state made manifest, and traipsing about in
the rain, helped give expression to what was going on in him, and,
God willing, as surely as the storm would pass, so, too, his inner
storm might pass as well.
During his walk he came to the garden in the city’s central park
area. Feeling a little soaked, he took a seat in a gazebo and just let his
mind wander about the garden area.
Because of the weather, the garden was deserted, and the young
man was alone. However, this state of affairs did not last long.
Soon, a woman strolled into the park and began to move about
the garden in a strange sort of way consisting of various kinds of
jumps, gyrations and contortions. Whirling about here and there she
seemed to be trying to avoid something, but the student wasn’t
exactly sure what the woman was doing – except, behaving in an odd
manner.
The jumping about, sudden movements back and forth, along
with a sort of side-stepping motion with her hands down by her side,
as if the woman were trying to work her way through a narrow alley,
continued for most of the hour. Toward the end of the hour, the
woman stopped the wild gyrations, shrugged her shoulders, sighed
deeply, and started to dance in a most graceful way – in fact, the
dance was so elegant and beautiful to watch that the student was
transfixed by the motion.
Suddenly, the woman stopped her dancing. She abruptly turned
on her heels and quickly left the garden area just as the hour came
to an end.
The following day, the student had some spare time in the late
afternoon, and he returned to the spiritual center to meet with his
teacher in order to talk about what he had witnessed the previous
day. After a short wait, the young man was admitted into his
teacher’s presence.
When the young man took the proffered seat, his teacher asked:
“So, what brings you back to us so quickly?”
The student described everything which went on while he had
been sitting in the gazebo. The young man confessed that the whole
sequence of events puzzled him.
“What do you suppose the woman you saw was up to?” inquired
the teacher”
The young man replied: “I have been thinking about little else
since witnessing those strange events, but, I am sorry to say that I
really haven’t been able to figure out what was happening. It was all
very strange and sort of surrealistic.”
The teacher was silent for a moment, and, then, said: “You
know, son, based on your description, I think I might know what that
woman was doing That first part, the part where she was going
through all those wild gyrations and weird movements, I think she
was trying to squeeze in between the raindrops and avoid getting
wet.”
Then, the teacher asked: “Do you think she was successful?”
The student laughed and said: “No, she looked pretty drenched
despite all her activity.”
The teacher looked at the student for a few moments, as if
studying him. Finally, the guide said: “You know the problem with
which you came to me the other day – the one about evil seeming to
be everywhere – well, you can no more avoid being touched by evil
in this world than that woman could dodge the rain no matter how
much she tried.
“And, when you fully come to realize this, you will see, as that
woman in the park seemed to, that, perhaps, the only alternative is
to shrug and begin dancing amidst the storm as best you can.”
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