go to him he will be able to give you peace."

The king was very unhappy. He had a great deal of wealth and power and all the other things that make a person agitated. He did not have anything that gave him peace. But when the prime minister suggested that he go to Ravidas, he began to grumble. "He is a cobbler," he said, "How can a king ask for instructions from a cobbler?" But the prime minister persisted, "Your Majesty, you are so restless. I am sure that Ravidas can help you". At last, the king agreed to go to the saint. He disguised himself and went to Ravidas's shop. He walked inside, saluted the saint, and said ,"I am very unhappy and I lack peace. Pleases give me something that will bring peace to my heart."

Ravidas was an omniscient being. He knew who the visitor was, and he knew the state of the king's mind. Next to his workbench, he kept a stone pot full of water into which he dipped pieces of leather before he worked on them. Ravidas poured some of this water into a glass and gave it to the king. "Drink this." he said.

When the king saw the water, which was dark red and smelled liked leather, he was disgusted. "I am a king," he thought. " Why have I come here anyway?" pretended to be drinking, but he allowed the water to pour down his shirt. Then he quickly bowed to the saint and left.

When the king returned to the palace, he saw that his shirt was badly stained. He called the royal washerman and told him to wash it. He was surprised to see the king's shirt in such condition. After making several inquires, he found out that the king had gone to see Ravidas and that he had poured the water from Ravidas's stone pot onto his shirt. He gave the shirt to his daughter, explained her what had happened, and told her to wash the shirt very well.

The daughter was very intelligent and very pure. She took the shirt and sucked out all the stains. Then she washed it and gave it back to her father to return to the king.

From then on the girl had very deep meditations and her state became higher and higher. After a few years she had attained such a high state that people began to feel the same joy they felt in the company of Ravidas. Many people went to receive her blessings , and among them was the prime minister. After he had seen her, he went to the king and said," your Majesty, you are still so unhappy and agitated. Why don't you go to that ecstatic girl and see if she can gave you some peace?" The king was reluctant-after all, she was merely the daughter of a washerman yet his restlessness was causing him great pain. Finally he overcame his reluctance and went to the girl. He stood before her and said, "I am very unhappy, and I lack peace. Please give me your blessing so that I can attain peace."

The girl looked at him with great wonderment. "Your Majesty," she said, "Every thing I have, I obtained by sucking Ravidas's water out of the shirt you gave my father to wash!"

This is the value of the Guru's grace. To attain the Truth from him, we do not have to receive instructions. It is enough simply to imbibe his shakti, his power. But first we must understand its value and live our life in harmony with it.