But he remained as ever the willing instrument in the hand of
God, the
child of the Divine Mother, totally untouched by the idea of being a
teacher.
He used to say that three ideas — that he was a guru, a father, and a
master
— pricked his flesh like thorns. Yet he was an extraordinary teacher.
He
stirred his disciples' hearts more by a subtle influence than by
actions or
words. He never claimed to be the founder of a religion or the
organizer of
a sect. Yet he was a religious dynamo. He was the verifier of all
religions
and creeds. He was like an expert gardener, who prepares the soil and
removes the weeds, knowing that the plants will grow because of the
inherent
power of the seeds, producing each its appropriate flowers and fruits.
He never thrust his ideas on anybody. He understood people's
limitations
and worked on the principle that what is good for one may be bad for
another. He had the unusual power of knowing the devotees' minds, even
their inmost souls, at the first sight. He accepted disciples with the
full
knowledge of their past tendencies and future possibilities. The life
of evil
did not frighten him, nor did religious squeamishness raise anybody in
his
estimation. He saw in everything the unerring finger of the Divine
Mother.
Even the light that leads astray was to him the light from God.
To those who became his intimate disciples the Master was a friend,
companion,
and playmate. Even the chores of religious discipline would be
lightened in his presence. The devotees would be so inebriated with
pure
joy in his company that they would have no time to ask themselves
whether
he was an Incarnation, a perfect soul, or a yogi. His very presence was
a
great teaching; words were superfluous. In later years his disciples
remarked
that while they were with him they would regard him as a comrade, but
afterwards would tremble to think of their frivolities in the presence
of
such a great person. They had convincing proof that the Master could,
by
his mere wish, kindle in their hearts the love of God and give them His
vision.
Through all this fun and frolic, this merriment and frivolity, he
always
kept before them the shining ideal of God-Consciousness and the path of
renunciation. He prescribed ascents steep or graded according to the
powers
of the climber. He permitted no compromise with the basic principles of
purity. An aspirant had to keep his body, mind, senses, and soul
unspotted;
had to have a sincere love for God and an ever mounting spirit of
yearning.
The rest would be done by the Mother.
His disciples were of two kinds: the householders, and the young men,
some of whom were later to become monks. There was also a small group
of women devotees.