June 23, 2001

Gurudeva once said,”So you’re on the spiritual path. Getting there was easy, staying on it is another thing.” I can’t emphasize enough how true this statement is. The obstacles and tests life throws at you really challenge your faith and perserverance when you are on the spiritual path. It is then that I have found myself frequently contemplating about the progress (if any) I am making on the spiritual path ever since I have started to experience God Skanda. Strangely enough, I have only thought about this to myself. I have never told anyone or asked anyone. But, as you know one can never hide anything from Divinity, including one’s thoughts. His almighty presence pervades every atom in the universe. Let me describe to you what Lord Skanda did to show me my progress report.

Yesterday, I dreamt that I was in a rural-like area. I had just come out from a house and was walking on an orange-coloured dirt road going to some destination. As I continued to walk along the path, I happened to notice someone in front of me. As I continued to walk, I noticed a very young and handsome boy (Murugan?) in front of my path. He was seated on the ground dusting some sand off of what appeared to be a picture buried underneath the ground. As I came closer to Him, He had just finished dusting all the orange-coloured sand off the picture. He then began dusting off sand from another picture right next to the first one. I looked at the first picture. It was a picture of a Vel. Even though it was just a picture, there was a bright light emanating from the entire Vel. The light encompassed me and almost blinded me. I then looked at the second picture that the boy had just finished brushing, it was a picture of Lord Murugan with Valli and Devayanai! It was the same picture that resides in our family shrine room. As soon as I realized what the two pictures were of, I awoke from my sleep.

This dream was very symbolic like many other dreams I have had. My understanding of this dream was that Lord Skanda is showing me His acknowledgment and His blessings of my daily recitation of the sacred Skanda-Jyothi mantras that He gave.

Furthermore, Murugan symbolically showed me that by chanting these two powerful mantras and by placing my highest in faith in Him, the dirt (or maya) is slowly being removed by His Grace. As He (i.e. the little boy in my dream) removes the karmic residue (or dirt) that is covering my soul, He is helping to bring forth the Divinity of my Highest Self, which is God Skanda who resides within me (i.e. underneath the ground waiting to be discovered)!