Page 191 - Wisdom Unfurled

obeisance and contributions from their following.
Disagreeing with the view that knowledge being the preliminary stage of Realization is essential and indispensable, the Master says that knowledge is only an achievement of the brain whereas Realization is the awakening of the soul which is far beyond the scope of knowledge. Therefore the real teacher is not one who can explain to us the soundness of religious dogmas or who can prescribe to us do’s and don’ts but one who can impart the true impulse for awakening the soul and offer direct support on the path towards Realization. The awakening of the soul may be understood as enabling the soul to realize its true nature, one of interdependency between God and soul. It becomes reminded of the homeland and also becomes cognizant of the glory of God, its progenitor. Restlessness is now created for achieving the union with the Godhead and it becomes impatient to get rid of all the shackles that have kept it bound to the world of manifestation. It realizes its own folly in having desired and developed undue attachments for the things, places, persons and ideas which stand as obstacles on the path.
It starts now developing love and devotion to the Master who will unite it with the Divine Beloved and resolves desperately that there should no more be a return to conditioned existence. It wants to soar higher and higher keeping company with the spiritual guide who has freed himself of all limitations and bondages and is deeply rooted in the Infinite. It is like the caged bird which happens to see its companion soaring in the vast limitless skies and is thus induced strongly to follow suit but flaps its wings helplessly seeing that it is still trapped in its cage. Perhaps if it stopped eating and feigns death, its master may open the cage and the relieved prisoner will jump in joy beat its wings in wild enthusiasm and fly away keeping its already liberated companion in sight all the while so that it may join him eventually and for all time to come. Thus while judging the suitability of a person to be his spiritual guide, the aspirant must take into account not his learning or the capacity to work miracles but his practical achievements in the field of Realization.
Hence we should pray to God that we might be blessed with the association of such Great Teachers who can awaken our souls by their inner powers. The most important consideration for the aspirant in spirituality is to see that the guide himself is free from the bondage of samskaras, maya or ahankar and is firmly connected to the Absolute otherwise it will be suicidal for his spiritual growth.
Transmission (pranahuti) origin, nature and efficacy
The Master now turns His attention to the most significant feature of the system of Sri Ramchandra’s Rajayoga. He reveals a great secret or little known mystery which people in general do not know. It is a great wonder