When the question of learning or understanding mystical or occult subjects arises, the first thought that comes to the mind of a person in the East is that of discipleship. In the Vedantic language there is the guru and the chela; in Sufic terms we speak of murshid and mureed. Just as in every civilization we meet with the regard (called "pahal" in the East) of people for their relations--between father and son, mother and daughter, friend and friend, lover and beloved, husband and wife, master and pupil--so in the East there is the special regard between the spiritual teacher and his pupil.

They say to have learned even one letter or one word from someone, demands respect and consideration for him. So a person who walks on the spiritual path recognizes the goal towards which he is travelling, and realizes that the wealth he will obtain is so great that there is no return he can make which is in proportion to what he has received from his teacher. Therefore the chela (mureed, pupil) in the occult and mystical is more grateful to his master than any person in any other walk in life is to any other. Why is this? It is because he recognizes that there is nothing more precious and worthwhile in life than spiritual wealth and the light of wisdom. Whoever be the one who helped him to receive this light and wisdom, he is surely the archgate of heaven, the final goal into which he desires to enter. It is to this archgate that he makes his first bow. You find this expression in Hafiz and Sa'adi, and in many Sufi poets of Persia, calling their teacher the "arib," the arch, the arch of that gate which is the shrine of God.

People sometimes say the Eastern temperament makes their language, actions, and words so exaggerated. It is their nature to exaggerate. They have far too much tendency to overstate things. There is a reason for this attitude. First, there is the respect in which the teacher of spiritual attainment is held. Then there is the fact that the way to reach high spiritual attainment is by crushing the ego. It crushes the ego to bow one's head before anyone out of respect. The ego wants to say, "Here am I: you may think you are something, but I am something too." But there is no room for wisdom as long as the ego is there, because the ego closes the doors, saying, "Yes, you have your thoughts, and I have mine." So whenever a chela has that attitude towards the teacher, he cannot learn. It is not till the ego is crushed that the simple faith and perfect humility and innocence comes, which you see in the face of your Master, your Savior. It is not only the teaching which attracts you to Jesus Christ, it is His face of innocence. Any artist who tries to paint a picture of Him by intuition will portray that simple innocence, that simple innocence in the face of the Lord.

Not fatherhood but sonship has won the heart of the world. This is the first thing for the disciple to acquire, and he does it by crushing his ego. Now there are different ways by which the ego can be crushed. Even today, among the yogis, there is the custom that when the chela approaches the guru, his first lesson is to take the beggar's bowl, go from house to house, and bring that which he gathers to the other chelas sitting there. The youngest chela brings the food which he has begged for the others, and does not beg for himself. In his heart he is already a monk who has taken the bowl for others, those who are meditating and learning the truth. Although the beggar's bowl is in his hand, he may perhaps be better than a king because he is void of greed, he is crushing his ego, he is not thinking of what people will say when they see that "I am taking the beggar's bowl."