Daily Meditation: Sunday, January 27, 2002

The task of a master is to help his disciple free his …

01/27/2002

The task of a master is to help his disciple free his spirit. The disciple's spirit is like the king who has let himself be dethroned by his rebel subjects: they have locked him up in the dungeon and the kingdom is left in a state of anarchy. Unfortunately the disciple, despite feeling dispossessed and got at, does not always understand the help his master wants to give him. He is under the impression that his master's attitude and advice seek only to limit his freedom. So, what does the master need to do? Wait patiently until his disciple begins to understand the nature of his work. The only thing the master seeks to limit are the manifestations of the disciple's lower nature, the instincts and passions that have gradually come to silence his higher nature, his spirit. And if the disciple refuses to understand, it simply means that he does not yet know where his true interests lie. Like a child, this disciple enjoys sweets and likes the person who gives them to him, and all his master does is suggest he take some bitter-tasting quinine.