Suppose there are five persons in front of you. Immediately you will feel that one person is drawing more of your attention, love and concern. That means you have an inner affinity with that person. So naturally, if you have to make a selection, you will select that person. You see thousands of people walking along the street, but when you see one particular individual, immediately you get joy because you have an inner affinity, an inner connection with that person. You may not know his name, you may not know where he lives or anything about him. But just because you have seen him, that is enough for you to get some joy. It is mutual inner affinity.
In the spiritual life also, if you have seen five Masters, the one that gives you the greatest joy is the one you will be drawn to. And then, if you go one step further and feel that you want to stay with this man all your life even if he does not give you realisation, then he is the right person. When you have that kind of love, when you feel that you don't need anything from him but you only want to be with him and serve him, then you can be sure that he is your Master.
The mother brings up the child, but she does not expect anything from him. The mother only wants the child to be happy. She does not say, "I brought you up for fifteen or twenty years: now you have to take care of me." Even when the child leaves his parents, the parents maintain the same love, the same affection, the same concern. Their love is unconditional. In the spiritual life also, when a seeker can offer that kind of unconditional love and surrender to someone, he can rest assured that he has found his own Master.
Seekers who are devoted to a Guru who is not in the physical sometimes ask whether it is necessary for them to find a living Guru. If the Guru is of a very high order and if the disciple has established a very deep connection with the Master and feels his presence all the time in his day-to-day life of aspiration, then he does not need another Guru. But if he has not established an inner connection with the Master during the Master's sojourn on earth, then it is not advisable for him to stick to that Master. If the seeker has not established an inner connection and if the Master is not of a very high order, then after the Master's passing it is advisable for the seeker to look for a new Master.
There is only one Guru and that is the Supreme. The Master is not the goal, but as long as he can show you the way to the goal, he will be of help. If somebody is an expert guide, then the road becomes a little bit easier. But the goal will not be denied a seeker even if his Master is not of the highest calibre.
As a seeker, you have to feel that you are at the foot of the Himalayas and the Master is at the top of the Himalayas. It is up to you how far you want to go, and there are many cases where the students eventually surpass the Master. When you were very young, your primary school teacher taught you. At that time it was necessary for you to study with him. If you had not studied in the primary school, you could not have gone on to high school and college. But once you have obtained your Master's degree and PhD, you will be able to teach your primary school teacher. Again, there are some teachers who have completed the university course and are able to teach all the classes right from kindergarten up to the highest course. But even if your teacher can only teach the elementary course, you will never be the loser. You will just go on to some other teacher if you feel that your original teacher will not be able to take you farther. And when you are on the verge of realisation, at that time you may feel that the Inner Pilot Himself is guiding you. If you cannot find a spiritual teacher or a Master for the last step, the Supreme Himself will guide you from within. Right from the beginning the Supreme will supply you with the primary school teacher, the high school teacher, and so on. He has to because, after all, it is His problem. It is His problem to take you to Him.From:Sri Chinmoy,The Inner Hunger, Agni Press, 1976
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