The great gurus reclaim us, no matter how very rotten or useless we may have become. They put through hard treatment and provide protection in the process

 

Marpa throws Milarepa out of the house. 

(from "By His Grace"):

Dada Mukherji: In America, when your ironware or tools become rusted and useless, you throw them out. But in India, there is a class of blacksmith who collects this scrap iron which is no longer suitable for any kind of work. They go on removing the dross or rust, the external elements, from the pure iron that may be there. This is the thing the Guru does whenever a new disciple is chosen. He takes the rusted iron and puts it through hard treatment. The greater the dross, the hotter the fire the guru must use to reclaim the pure iron, to make it useful and valuable, to make it serve the purpose that is still there. The great gurus can reclaim us, no matter how very rotten or useless we may have become.

Those of you who have been in India know that, in place of plastics or glassware, clay pots are used as utensils. In each and every village there are potters who collect the clay, make it into a paste, and then try to bring a form or shape to it. Each utensil has got to be completely smooth, without any edge, without any leakage. When they put the clay on the wheel to shape it, two things are necessary. First, there must be some force or pressure used to shape the clay. Yet if the clay is unprotected or unguarded, the pressure would break the pot. So what the potter does is use one hand to go on beating the clay into shape, but the other hand is kept inside the pot, saving it and protecting it from the outward force or pressure. This is another thing the Guru does.

You have read the life of Milarepa. His guru Marpa was outwardly so very cruel and hard that even his wife was complaining, "Why do you do this?" But look at his inner heart, how very affectionate, how very soft, how very gentle, how very gracious the guru was in order to protect his disciple. So we find that the guru is compassion. But if merely compassion or softness takes form, not bringing any pressure, not applying any force, then the pot would not be made. So in our heart of hearts we should feel that when Babaji has drawn us to him, it is not merely a joke, you see that. If he has drawn us, he must certainly be interested in our welfare. He wants us to be worthy of something. If we have this faith or trust in the guru, then that would be the most valuable, the most precious thing for our spiritual journey, for our future growth and development.