Guru Sparky and Her “Ma”

Last November there was a young dog who would come visit our yoga class regularly. She loved to get up on stage and sit on the teacher’s pillow and be the center of attention. She picked up the name Guru Bambi from her resemblance to the Disney character and her desire to sit in front of the microphone during class to “teach”. One women fell in love with her and decided to adopt her and take her back to the US. Guru Bambi currently lives and teaches yoga in Washington, DC.

Last month a dog who bears strong resemblance to Guru Bambi started to come to my class. She was lively and animated, always wanting you to jump and play with her. I named her Guru Sparky to honor her apparent family tie to Guru Bambi and her playful nature. She is too shy to come into the classroom and never seems to want any of the food you offer her. She will, however, lie on her back for hours while you pet her belly.

One night for evening meditation, I led the Divine Shield Meditation. You sit in a particular fashion with one hand cupping your ear and chant “Maaaaa”, singing to the universal mother and listening for her response. For a half an hour, forty people from all over the world sang to our divine mother, chanting “Maaaaaaa” with all our hearts. As we closed the meditation, I spoke about the universality of the sound “Ma” and how it has come to represent the word for Mother in languages all over the world. We all share our divine mother and know her name.

Just then, Guru Sparky ran into the room with an older female dog. They ran around the room playing with each other for a few seconds and then ran out. Guru Sparky had heard our chant and wanted us to know that animals speak the language of “ma”, too. She introduced us to her mother. If we had been listening for a response from the divine mother, we could have heard no stronger message.

The mother of our soul is listening. She hears us. She might even come to play sometime.

Oh, and Guru Bambi? Your mom says “Hi!”