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can 'force' their attention, and that wisdom comes only to the one who applies himself to the 'daily conquest of the self'. He must approach the Masters unconditionally, free from worldly and prudential considerations. But we do not want to go unconditionally. We want to keep our comforts, pleasures and ambitions and, at the same time, reach the world of the Holy Ones. The Adept, according to Theosophy, never imposes his will on his disciple. He does not tell him what he must believe, because believing has no meaning. He wants the disciple's consciousness to awaken to the truth, which is something different. There are millions of people who believe that Jesus and the Buddha taught love. But they themselves have no love. Indeed, belief creates rigidity and fanaticism and is productive of harm, not good. In The Mahatma Letters, the Masters point out that religion is too often used as a crutch; but they want people to be self-reliant and free. One of the greatest of Masters, the Lord Buddha, said, 'Be a lamp unto yourself.' He taught: do not make an authority out of tradition, the scriptures, other people, or me; find out for yourself what is the truth. The importance of enquiry (vichara) is emphasized also in Vedānta. In At the Feet of the Master it is said that one must listen carefully to what the Master says for 'He does not speak twice.' The lecturer on a platform may repeat his ideas, because he wants to make his audience agree with him and think as he does. An advertisement is repeated again and again in order to condition the reader's mind. But the Adept does not try to impose his ideas; he does not want conformity or blind obedience. He gives a hint, makes a suggestion, in order to help the person's intelligence to grow. If the student has learned to think for himself, if he has listened carefully, he finds out for himself what is the implication of a statement. If somebody else tells him what to think and believe, he does not touch the depths of the teaching. The average Guru directs people what to do, what to think, what dress to wear. There are Gurus who like personal worship, who like their feet to be washed, who like being attended upon. There
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