(continued from previous post)
And how to do this?
Take, as another analogy, a ball of string and its coilings. At first, the winding process creates natural loops and knots and these are like sanskaras. The twists and knots put the string—representing Self—into a quandary, a puzzlement, such that it forgets its real Self and instead diverts and concentrates its mind on those very coils and knots that sanskaras have created. Now to reverse and unwind these coils, someone must take hold of the string (or handkerchief, if one wants to use this as an illustration) from the top and source of all the coiling and then wind backwards, so that all the turns and twists and loops in the string disappear automatically, one by one. The moment that all the coils are unwound, the string realizes itself—”I am the string, and I am FREE!” Originally, the string had no knowledge of its freedom. This experience it acquired by getting itself caught in the grip and binding of the turns and twists and coils. But when free from the coils, immediately it realizes that it was as free originally as it is now, with only this difference: that now it knows its state, whereas originally it did not.
As we have said, the unwinding can be accomplished if the ball of string is held from the top where the coils begin; the winding process has to be done in reverse from that point. And who is it who thus grasps the string (or hand kerchief) from the top where the twists and coils (sanskaras) originate, and turns and winds in the reverse direction? It is the Guru who does so! The moment yours string comes into his hands, the duty of unraveling the various knots and twists and coils in it falls on his head. In other words, once you surrender yourself to a Sadguru, you are sure to progress and advance towards Realization along the Mukti marg, which is the way to win freedom from the ceaseless rounds of births and deaths.
– “Meher Baba’s Tiffin lectures”, p27
20-May-1926; Meherabad