The Master is not a master over others, but a master of himself - and this self-mastery is reflected in his every gesture and his every word. He is not a teacher with a doctrine to impart, nor a supernatural messenger with a direct line to God, but simply one who has become a living example of the highest potential that lies within each and every human being. In the eyes of the Master, a disciple finds his own truth reflected. In the silence of the Master's presence, the disciple can fall more easily into the silence of his own being. The community of seekers that arises around a Master becomes an energy field that supports each unique individual in finding his or her own inner light. Once that light is found, the disciple comes to understand that the outer Master was just a catalyst, a device to provoke the awakening of the inner.
Here I would like to say something, which I have been keeping a secret my whole life. I had always wanted not to be a Master to anybody.... To be a master is a very strange job. You have to convince people about the heart by argument and reason, rationality, philosophy; you have to use the mind as a servant for the heart. The master's work is to take your mind away from you, so that your whole energy moves into your heart. Do you see the point? The word "master" creates the idea of the disciple, the follower. How can there be a master without a disciple, a follower? But in the spiritual sense of the word "master" means mastery of oneself. It has no relationship with any following; it does not depend on the crowd. A master can be just alone. The new man I have been talking about will be a master of his own self.