Daily Meditation: Sunday, October 26, 1997

You decide one day to learn to play, let us say, the …

10/26/1997

You decide one day to learn to play, let us say, the violin. So you go out and buy an instrument and music books and you begin to play. For the first few days you practise one or two hours each day, but very soon your enthusiasm starts to wane and you stop. One week later you go back to your violin and then once again you stop. And so it goes on, practice followed by lazy inactivity, according to your mood. But now imagine for a moment that you have a violin teacher. You practise regularly because you cannot go to a lesson without having prepared. And your teacher is always there to correct your mistakes or to give you encouragement. For this same reason it is necessary to have a master if you want to make progress in your spiritual life, because you have to make an effort for him. You say you do not want a master, that you will manage by yourself, that there is no need for someone to guide you. Very well. Do as you wish. But if it is not a master, then it will be life that takes charge of teaching you, and life is likely to teach you some very hard lessons.