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1911 ]
Sad--Diva, Dharma and Guru.
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the highest sp ritual benefit bere and hereafter. There is a vast difference between the lay teacher and the spiritual guide; the former may be compared to a brittle pane of glass, the latter to as priceless brilliant diamond.
There are so many religious schocls and so many religious teachers, all differing niore or less from one another, in their mode of life, spirit of thinking, belief, knowledge, perception &c. Therefore these religious preceptors may be divided into three sorts, (1) wood-like or thuse compared to wood ( 2 ) paper-like or those compared to paper and stone-like or those compared 10 stone. Let us vow illustrate and justify the comparisons,
Wood is light. It can not be affected by water and can float in oceans, and help persons crossing them. Similarly woodlike spiritual guides are those, who are not affected by passions and pleasures of the world, who can cross the ocean of Sansar, and who liberate themselves and others who resort to them from the trammels of birth and deaths and griefs and sorrows by the light of knowledge and saintly virtues. These from the best sort of Gurus,
Next came the paper like Gurus. Paper may or may not · float. Water can affect ard włt it and make it too heavy to float or keep others resorting to it above water. Similarly paper-like Gurus can not cross the ocean of Sansar. They may preach piecemeal at random, do some good deeds and reap some Punya ( merit ), but they are affected by worldly-desires and passions and so they can not liberate themselves from births and deaths. It is far beyond their power to liberate others resort ing to them. . ,
The third sort is stone-like. Stone is too heavy to float. Throw a piece of stone on the surface of water and it reaches the bottom. It itself can not float, how can it help others resorting to it to float ? Similarly stone-like preceptors are toomuch affected by passions and love and hatred to cross Sansara and free themselves from incessant births.
