How to Relate to a Master -- Swami Kriyananda

The following passage is from the Gospel of St. Matthew (16:13-18):

When Jesus arrived at the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I, the Son of man, am?’ And they replied, ‘Some say thou art John the Baptist; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.’

Then he asked them further, ‘But who do you say that I am?’

And Simon Peter replied, ‘Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God.’

And Jesus turned to him, saying, ‘Blessed art thou, Simon, son of Jonah: for not by human nature was this truth revealed to thee, but by my heavenly Father. And I tell thee this also: Thou art Peter, which is to say, a rock, and upon this rock will I build my church, and never will the powers of darkness overwhelm it.’

Notice the contrast presented here between many people’s views of Jesus, the ‘son of man’ and Peter’s recognition in him of the infinite Christ Consciousness, the Son of God.

A saint in India was wont to say, ‘I am like a drum: As you beat me, so I sound.’ A master is not what he appears to human eyes. Yet his human appearance is an aspect of what he is. The distinction lies in the fact that he is infinitely more than what he appears. Thus, for those who see in him a great and wise teacher, he is that. For those who see him as a dear friend, he is also that. He appears differently to every person: as a gracious and charming individual; as a wonderful raconteur of wise stories; a delightful humorist; an inspired lecturer; an invincible opponent; a powerful crusader; a guileless child; a stern disciplinarian; the truest friend one could ever have. He is infinitely more than every possible definition of him, and more than the sum of all concepts of him––more even than people’s capacity to understand.

A master is like a mirror: Whatever qualities we present to him, he reflects back to us: not our errors, needless to say, but what our own souls perceive in us from their level of deeper wisdom. To each of us he represents the reactions of the eternal Self. Thus, even if people view him as the personification of kindness, he never fails to correct them, even sternly, if that is what they need at that moment. At the same time, behind each of those reflections he remains ever the same: wise, kind, all-forgiving, humble, resolute, and forever incapable of compromising with the truth. He is whatever each of us, in our soul, wants him to be; at the same time, he is beyond our mental concepts, unshakeably centered in infinite consciousness.

The author recalls once addressing a saint in India lovingly, `How tirelessly and selflessly you have given of yourself to others all your life!’ The saint, gazing at him with calm eyes, replied, ‘Is that how you see it?’

© “The Theosophist” (March 2001) published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, Chennai 600 02. Website: www.ts.-adyar.org. Reprinted with permission.

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