In order to attract enlightenment from an enlightened being, the seeker must cultivate the following qualities:
• Simplicity: Simplicity is the first virtue on the path to enlightenment. Those who are overly educated, logical, learned, or intellectual will miss the point. • Humility: One should be willing to receive the grace of divinity. When it is raining, one should hold the vessel straight to receive water. If it is upside down, will you get the water? No! So, be humble. • Attitude of learning: Upanishad means sitting at the feet of the master ready to receive grace. Electrical energy flows from high-voltage to low-voltage. Similarly, spiritual energy flows from the master to the disciple. It is an important quality for the disciple to be able to sit at the feet of the master. An egoist cannot do that! Only the right disciple, who is willing to sit at the feet of the master, who is humble, simple, and receptive, will be capable of receiving that grace! • Gratitude: If you have gratitude in your heart towards that enlightened consciousness, if you have a sense of appreciation for the profundity of the phenomenon, that very gratitude and appreciation will enable you to catch fire any moment. Courage: The fifth and the most important quality of the right disciple is the courage to die, a willingness to let go. To use the metaphor of the lamp, the lamp should be ready to destroy its darkness. It should be ready to go near the fire to catch the fire. Most people are not willing to go near live fire, the living enlightened master, for it will burn you. Therefore, intellectual pundits will talk about the fire, will have study circles, will read books, but never approach the fire because they are not ready for it. |