His Master's Voice
RCA Victor 78 RPM vinyl record label:
a dog listens intently to a gramophone,
head tilted toward the sound.
They called it His Masterās Voice.
The echo of that image inheres in every spiritual tradition.
When the Master is present, his message is not confined to words.
He may delegate disciples to write, to speak, to organize, to compose teachings, essaysāeven scriptures.
These are never perfect. They may reflect 90%, 80%āsometimes far lessāof Him.
It doesnāt matter, because the Master is still there. Correction is possible; transmission is alive. Presence fills the gaps.
More importantly, those who are drawn into his fieldā if they are sincereāwill be transformed; not by the words, but simply by proximity.
The Saį¹ gha flourishes under a living center.
But when the Master is gone, something subtle changes.
The Masterās living voice becomes a recording.
What was once flexible becomes fixed. What was once suggestive, metaphoric, becomes literal. What was once a gesture solidifies into doctrine.
The imperfect reflections remainā but now they cannot be corrected. They are preserved, repeated, defended.
And so, gradually, the echo replaces the voice.
This is why religious organizations become brittle.
Not because they are falseā but because they are faithful to something that is no longer alive in the same way. What once was dynamic becomes static, brittle.
They serve a necessary function: to carry forward a trace of the Masterās presence.
But a trace is not the Source.
And no recording, however clear, can replicate the One who was speaking Truth from the heart.
The true teaching is always anÄsavaį¹: free from impuritiesā which if allowed to remain, will ferment and spread.
yato vÄco nivartante aprÄpya manasÄ saha ā[The Absolute is] That from which words return, along with the mind.ā
It has to be seen, not learned; witnessed, not described.
Only the Masterāthe realized Masterācan show it to you.
Like this:
āYou will not be satisfied with reflected lightā finally you have to notice and recognize the Source of your Being. That is clarity; that is wisdom. That is Silence.ā
ā Next Series Post: Hearing and Seeing