The Master's self-appointed emissary

There was once a spiritual Master who had quite a few Centres all over the world. The Master used to encourage the disciples living in or near his ashram to visit these Centres. He knew that his spiritual children who lived far away were hungry for any kind of news from the ashram and it always brought them great joy whenever a disciple from the ashram came for a visit.

Whenever a disciple did come back from a visit to some distant Centre, the Master always used to ask him to come to the front of the room after the evening meditation was over and tell about his experiences. This also brought joy to the disciples in the ashram and in this way a close relationship between the different Centres was maintained.

One of the Master’s disciples, Satyavama, was a very wealthy widow who had a close connection with one of the small Centres in a different country. She had previously lived in that country and it was she who had first introduced the president of that Centre to the Master many years ago. Satyavama held a very high opinion of herself and she thought of herself as spiritual mother of that Centre. She corresponded frequently with the members there, giving them all kinds of advice and suggestions. Although she was only a fourth-class disciple of the Master, everyone at this Centre believed she was the Master’s most intimate disciple. Each time she came for a visit she was treated like a queen. The president asked her to run the meeting and showed her utmost deference. She even gave interviews to disciples who needed help with their inner or emotional problems.

Whenever Satyavama returned to the ashram and was invited to speak about her experiences, she used to give long, detailed accounts of all the wonderful things she had said about the Master. She also spoke a lot about how the disciples of that Centre were so devoted and surrendered to the Master.

One day, during a world-wide speaking tour, the Master and three of his really close disciples paid a visit to this Centre. The members of the Centre cooked the Master a most delicious meal. After the meal was over the Master said, “Now I would like to answer a few spiritual questions. Inwardly I am in touch with your souls, but outwardly you do not often have an opportunity to have my physical presence. So now that I am here, I would like to answer any questions you may have. Please ask.”

There was a long silence. Finally one of the disciples said, “Master, is it true that you put a curse on one of your disciples and made her infant die because she had displeased you in the inner world?”

“What?” The Master was shocked. “Where did you ever get that absurd idea? I am a spiritual man. I only give love and light and life. It’s unthinkable that I would curse any human being, and especially not a disciple.”

Another disciple asked, “Master, I have a great deal of faith in you. But there is something that has been troubling me. In your writings you always say that we have to accept the world and its responsibilities and live in society. So I don’t understand why you told a man to leave his wife and six children and go off to the Himalayan caves to meditate. Could you please enlighten me?”

Again the Master was shocked. “Where do you people get these ridiculous ideas? Whoever said I told anybody that? It’s all lies, lies.”

“But Master,” the disciple continued, “we heard this right from Satyavama’s lips.”

“Yes, Master,” the first disciple said, “she was the one who also told us about how you cursed that poor woman.”

Then the Master got furious. “These stories are all untrue. Just throw them out of your mind, like rubbish, rubbish!” For a full hour the Master spoke with them. He tried to reassure their minds and feed their hearts with Peace, Light and Bliss.

Later that evening, before going to bed, the Master was talking in his room with the three disciples he had brought with him from the ashram.

“Why does Satyavama say these horrible things?” one of the disciples asked.

“Why do human beings do anything? When she tells these juicy stories, it makes her feel important. At the same time, others think she is most intimate with me; otherwise how would she know these things?”

A second disciple asked, “But don’t they know enough to realise that these are all lies? After all you’ve done for them inwardly, don’t the disciples of this Centre have any faith in you?”

“Yes, they have faith. But when they hear ten bad stories about me even though they started with one hundred percent faith, this faith begins to weaken. The physical mind comes in and starts having doubts and then the real problem starts.”

“But how can Satyavama do this kind of thing? How can she say such things here and then come back to the ashram and stand in front of you with folded hands and lie right to your face? How can she look you in the eye?”

“How? How? It happens all the time. That is the fate of all spiritual Masters. You show somebody all love, all compassion, and then they just kick you.”

The third disciple said, “Master, you should throw her out of your Centre! Why do you need such disciples?”

“I should throw her. But God gave me a compassionate heart. So what can I do?”

A disciple then asked, “Well, what do you think is going to happen at the Centre here? They see you so seldom. Did they receive your Light today, or are they still doubting you?”

“They received, but the thing is that the mind will again come forward and they will start having doubts again. I put a very strong force on them, but who knows?”

Three weeks later, when the Master returned to his ashram, he found a letter waiting for him from the president of that Centre. The president said that the members of the Centre had decided to join the path of some other Master. That night, the Master spoke about his trip and mentioned that there was no longer a Centre at this particular place.

Afterwards, when the meditation was over and all the disciples were moving around, Satyavama approached the Master. “O Guru, I am so shocked to learn about the Centre. I tried so hard to inspire them and bring them closer to you, but it did no good. Even during my last visit a few months ago, I saw that they were becoming undivine. It’s such a blow to me because I was so close to them.”

“O Satyavama, my Satyavama,” the Master smilingly said, “your life of treachery has reached its zenith height. Indeed, you are the most perfect woman of deception in God’s entire creation.”