who is a master?

Who is a master? What does this word master signify, in spirituality? It is simple: A master is someone who has become enlightened and is teaching. It could be a woman or a man.

The reason we have this term, a master, is that most people who become enlightened do not teach. Enlightenment is really an individual matter, very personal. Most people, when they become enlightened, have a good laugh at how foolish they have been, shrug their shoulders, smile and get on with life. Everyone who has tasted enlightenment knows that it cannot be spoken of. So it is madness to talk about it. But a few people are foolish enough to attempt to talk about enlightenment and these, assuming they are enlightened themselves, are the masters. Their endeavour, to help other people find their enlightenment, is not total folly, for words can help show the many erroneous paths, the difficulties that most of us encounter along the way. It can help show the obstacles to enlightenment so that those who are seeking can focus their efforts on removing those obstacles.

Furthermore, the enlightened ones carry an energy. In all human beings there is a flame somewhere deep inside – our essence, our essential nature. For those who are seeking, that flame is growing stronger. It is an energy, a mysterious energy, the energy of life, the energy of existence. Coming close, spending time with someone who has already become enlightened, allows this flame, this energy, to resonate and grow strong. So the masters who make themselves available energetically, as well as with words, can help those who are seeking in this mysterious energetic way, as well as through the concepts and words of the mind.

So, this is a master, someone who has become enlightened and feels to help others who are still seeking.