The Benefits of having a Spiritual Master
As we need teachers for our outer knowledge—to illumine our outer
being—so also we need a spiritual Master to help and guide us in our
inner life, especially in the beginning. Otherwise, our progress will
be very slow and uncertain, and we may become terribly confused. We
will get high, elevating experiences, but we will not give them
adequate significance. Doubt may eclipse our mind and we will say, “I
am just an ordinary person, so how can I have this kind of experience?
Perhaps I am deluding myself.” Or we will tell our friends, and they
will say, “It is all mental hallucination. Forget about the spiritual
life.” But if there is someone who knows what the Reality is, he will
say, “Don’t act like a fool. The experiences which you have had are
absolutely real.” The Master will encourage and inspire the seeker and
give him the proper explanations of his experiences. Again, if the
seeker is doing something wrong in his meditation, the Master will be
in a position to correct him.
Why does one go to the university when one can study at home? It is because he feels that he will get expert instruction from people who know the subject well. Now you know that there have been a few—very, very few—real men of knowledge who did not go to any university. Yes, there are exceptions. Every rule admits of exceptions. God is in everybody, and if a seeker feels that he does not need human help, he is most welcome to try his capacity alone. But if someone is wise and wants to run toward his Goal, instead of stumbling or merely walking, then certainly the help of a Guru can be considerable. ~Sri Chinmoy