Page 188 - Wisdom Unfurled

his guru under any circumstances and further that it is a divine dictate that the disciple will be courting all the miseries of hell if he ever thought of breaking off the connection at any time. The unknowing masses take it as gospel truth and submit themselves in abject fear to all the atrocities that may be perpetrated on them by the gurus.
The Master declares that there is not the slightest suggestion to the above effect in our scriptures and states emphatically that it is the birthright of every man to break off from his guru at any time he finds that he has made a wrong selection or misjudged the guru’s capacity or worth. He is free to seek another guru if at any stage he finds that his guru is not in a position to take him beyond the stage he has reached already. The true, selfless and conscientious guru must and generally would, as a matter of sacred duty on his part, direct the disciple to a more accomplished person under the circumstances so that the progress of the disciple may not suffer adversely. No moral or religious law prevents a sincere seeker from breaking off from aguru who denies the permission on selfish grounds and is at perfect liberty to seek a better person.
Turning His attention to ‘initiation’ proper the Master refers to the usual process of initiation conducted by the professional gurus who do not seem to appreciate its real significance. They seem to think it is all and enough to breathe a few ‘mystical’ words in the ears of the disciple and advise him certain ceremonial practices by way of worship. Their duty to the disciple ends there and nothing more is done by them for the betterment of the disciple except giving their Darshan every year and collect their annual tribute. The Master states clearly that the real initiation should be done only when true faith exists in the disciple and Divine love has taken root in him. Initiation signifies that the disciple’s link has been connected with the Supreme Power and as a consequence the spiritual force begins to flow continuously into him automatically according to his absorbing capacity. It depends upon the power and capability of the Master to establish a sound connection for which high caliber is needed. A sound connection once established shall continue until the disciple secures liberation which is not a far off matter in such cases to be attained after numerous lives. The question of breaking off the connection does not arise at all in the case of the disciple initiated in the right sense by a Guru of high caliber.
Types of Gurus
The Master gives a classification of the gurus under the following heads:-
Quacks- Those who go about advising and conducting the worship of trees, animals, insects, diseases (especially for instance, small-pox in the south of India where the disease is treated as the visitation of a tribal goddess), ghosts and spirits.