CONCENTRATION UPON ONE MASTER

 
Since the Master is for the aspirant a symbol of the Supreme Self, the problem of adjustment with the Master is the problem of realizing his own inner divinity and arriving at adjustment with all other forms of the Supreme Self. Through his allegiance to the Master, the aspirant realizes that all problems of life are aspects of one problem, so that he arrives at integration, which is different from mere compromise. To be able to help the disciple to achieve this difficult task, the Master becomes the nucleus of the spiritual idealism of the aspirant, because intensive concentration of psychic energy is necessary if the aspirant is to break through the many barriers that lie between him and his goal.

The supremacy of the claim of the Master is not to be challenged even by the reverence the disciple feels for Masters other than the one who has accepted him. All Masters are one in consciousness. One Master is not greater than another; the disciple must, however, place his own Master above other Masters, until he transcends the domain of duality and realizes unity.

Psychic energy would be dissipated unless there was recognized a supremely imperative claim among the many claims of life. Exclusive concentration upon one Master is usually indispensable for gathering up the psychic energy of the disciple. In rare cases, owing to special circumstances, the Masters may decide to share the spiritual work in relation to a particular disciple. And there are cases of disciples who have had to affiliate themselves to two or more Masters. But this is an exception rather than a rule; for Masters arrange the distribution of their work so that there is no conflict of loyalties.