Page 203 - Complete Works of Dr. KCV Volume 1

Lecture -16
I was telling about the Manmatha and Gurumatha and I emphasized that Gurumatha is good upto a particular point and that point may be very near the Absolute Point also. But ultimately, it is ours to deal with the Absolute, and therefore, we have to guide ourselves by sheer 'negation' into the Ultimate. The practice of negation takes a series of steps which we call the stages in Surrender. And once we complete the act of negation on our part to the best of our ability, the Divine completes the task and takes us onwards.
Now the next point that is discussed in this work is the kinds of the disciples and the kinds of teachers that we are now having in this world. I do not want to speak very much about this because most of us know that there are different types of disciples and different types of teachers. We can generally say, 'as is the student so is the teacher and as is the teacher, so is the student'. We can decide that aspirants are of four stages or four kinds as Gita has stated: "Artharthi, Jijnasa, Jnani and Mumukshu (seeker after liberation). Arthi is one who is an absolutely depressed and therefore he wants some help and he seeks God to help him. And that is a man who is anxious to get release from the immediate suffering. It is 'immediate suffering' and not a very long suffering because, our urgency comes due to its immediateness. If a man is suffering from a chronic disease, I think, the need for going to a Doctor is very much minimized. Therefore, we who suffer from long disease, ignorance and family and so on, I think do not seek God with that earnestness with which a man who has been stung by a scorpion. So, as soon as that particular distress is removed, he forgets God. He forgets everything. So, God must be in that particular condition of constantly inflicting suffering to him, so that he can come to Him. It is a soothing desire. So that is the Arthi. There are many disciples who want wealth. May be, economically they are bad and therefore they require a minimum means for living. If that were so, God is prepared to accept that also. "If you constantly remember Me, I shall look after your worldly- affairs" - this is what God says - "Yoga Kshemam Vahamyaham".