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brings a lesson with it. Therefore, Annie Besant said, looking back on her past, that while she would willingly let go of the pleasant things, she would not wish to forego any one of the difficulties she had had because she had learned so much from them. A spiritual man may not, therefore, give the sort of help that a person might wish for. His way of helping might be from a completely different point of view. J. Krishnamurti pointed to something important when he asked why we think that only the Guru can help? Everything in life can help- the people around us, the leaf that falls from the tree, the beauty that is everywhere - everything can help us if we are sensitive and receptive. Our receptivity must be equal to the Guru's desire to teach. Einstein's physics cannot be grasped by a man who is totally ignorant of mathematics. Even the greatest of musicians cannot teach a person who is too lazy to learn. One who plumbs the depths of what a teacher says (which may not be conveyed verbally at all), must be receptive. And it is not possible to be insensitive to life in general and receptive to the Guru alone. Either a man has receptivity or he does not. Again and again those who are not receptive have abused the spiritual teacher; they do not listen to his words; they reject him because they do not recognize him; they crucify a Christ. How many of us would be able to recognize a truly holy person were he to appear in our midst without a label? Labels may be false. To recognize a holy man, there must be something within us which vibrates in harmony with him; there must be the capacity to respond. If this is lacking, how can we profit from a teacher? A. Guru cannot help the man who is not ready to be helped, and it is only when the disciple is ready that the teacher appears, 'You must light the soul, in order that the teacher may see it.'
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