"If you don't like my words, you are at liberty to leave at any
time," Master assured me. "I want nothing from you but your own
improvement. Stay only if you feel benefited."
For every humbling blow he dealt my vanity, for every tooth in my
metaphorical jaw he knocked loose with stunning aim, I am grateful
beyond any facility of expression. The hard core of human egotism
is hardly to be dislodged except rudely. With its departure, the
Divine finds at last an unobstructed channel. In vain It seeks to
percolate through flinty hearts of selfishness.
Sri Yukteswar's wisdom was so penetrating that, heedless of remarks,
he often replied to one's unspoken observation. "What a person
imagines he hears, and what the speaker has really implied, may
be poles apart," he said. "Try to feel the thoughts behind the
confusion of men's verbiage."
But divine insight is painful to worldly ears; Master was not popular
with superficial students. The wise, always few in number, deeply
revered him. I daresay Sri Yukteswar would have been the most
soughtafter guru in India had his words not been so candid and so
censorious.
"I am hard on those who come for my training," he admitted to me.
"That is my way; take it or leave it. I will never compromise. But
you will be much kinder to your disciples; that is your way. I try
to purify only in the fires of severity, searing beyond the average
toleration. The gentle approach of love is also transfiguring.
Pages:
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172