Students

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What are students obliged to do then? Clearly, in order for a Master to be able to carry out his functions on behalf of the student, that student must agree to do certain tasks. Imagine that you took out insurance against the possibility of your lawn mower not working; you could hardly make a valid claim by keeping it locked in the garden shed. In order to show that it does not work, one must try to use it in the appropriate way. Well, in a similar fashion, the success of the master-student relationship depends on both parties observing the spirit of the agreement and each doing his best to fulfil his side of it.

Two people have entered into a mystical contract and have agreed to be bound by its terms. The key clauses are: one, that the Master will lead the Student to the top of the Sacred Mountain and impart the means for the full perception of truth, and two, that the Student will follow all instructions and co-operate fully with the Master's teachings to the best of his ability. Students do not become the Master's slaves because he is prepared to neglect his own interests in order to further theirs. Moreover, of course students are always free to break the contract at any time without penalty. They are simply barred from ever entering into such a contract again, i.e., they may never choose another guide.

The bond between them is best described as a "father and son relationship' and one does not mess about with it.

"I do not like being told what to do". Then you should not join the army, or the human race. You had best live on a small island where you can be totally self-sufficient. Otherwise, you have to learn a bit of comradely give-and-take. Stop behaving like a big-girl's blouse! It was weakness in the school playground to give in to a bully, but if you had to dismantle a bomb, fly an aeroplane, or deliver a baby, then you would wish to God you had taken training, and you would welcome help. People who brush aside all attempts to guide them are fixated on the adolescent's power-struggle with authority. A more mature personality recognises that it is sometimes all right to do as one is told. Of course, there are bruised, tormented souls that are unable to trust other people, and they may need to seek treatment. Most of us can see that it is absurd to commit "spiritual suicide" simply because you are nervous.

Can someone be his own Master? He can run his own business and sell copies of "The Big Issue" on the streets too. The pretended pride of independence displayed by people who are simply unable to or unwilling to get a job. Being your own Master is just another corny cliche that passes for "analytical thought" among people who rarely think at all. When he cannot find a path through life, one dropout will team up with a band of loud-mouthed wastrels and together they will embrace some eye-catching but irrelevant goal. I have heard it all before. Your fathers said it. Your grandfather said it. You are not even an original parrot spitting out these social profundities. You are obeying your genes. You are not free you are predictable, and Occultism would help you to rediscover your uniqueness. Therefore, I understand your feelings, but disagree with your reasons.

Do students change their minds? I am tempted to mutter that it has yet to be demonstrated that they possess a mind to be changed, but I will restrain myself. Yes, of course, many of them change their mind, and they are free to do so. Hence, I have often said that I have lost more students than I retain. I feel proud of this because, look around: other sects may be ruled with an iron fist, and quitters may be harassed, threatened, or even terrorised. With me, a student has only to hint that he needs to re-think his position, and I suspend all contact with him at once. I leave him free and untroubled to reach his final decision. When he has made his mind up-remembering the qualification I mentioned in the first sentence-I respect his decision totally.

Why do they change their minds? Superficially, there seem to be a wide variety of reasons, but once you delve beneath the surface, they tend to boil down to the same one. It is often the case that some other interest competes for their time. Alas, more often than not, this "other interest" turns out to be a member of the opposite sex. Fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, girl friends, or boy friends such people mean well and do not for one moment wish to cause problems. They get resentful. They do not understand why a Master should have such an influence over the individual that they love. It would be too easy to come and talk to me about it, or to satisfy themselves that everything is safe. No, they put pressure on their loved one to break it off. And you know what they say: the relentless drip, drip, drips of an acid tongue ...

Are you against marriage? On the contrary, I am all in favour of it, and when I have a student who is alone, I will do my best to introduce them to possible partners. In this area, I do not expect them to "obey my instructions"; but students who are in a permanent relationship do seem to be happier and more stable.

Do you use magic for your students? Yes, I do, but not in any spectacular way. I go about it quietly and I use my own judgement, always thinking of the student's best interests. If I underlined "magic" as one of the services that I provided routinely, then I could never be certain of someone's motives when they asked to be accepted as a student. I try not to encourage self-interest or selfishness. What I will promise is this: to do all in my power to help people become happy.

Do students ask you for help? A few do. As I was writing this, a young man telephoned to talk about his girl friend's depression. She is not one of my students, by the way, but I still did my best to advise him. However, the majority of students seem never to think of using my wisdom or skills. It is strange. Many will bend my ear and talk about their troubles; others will review books that they have read or describe television programmes that they have watched. They must think that I live in a monastery where such activities are forbidden! Largely though, few people actually ask me to use my magical powers. I think they forget about that aspect of my job. Still, considering that it is as strenuous as pushing a large aeroplane out of its hangar.. and the clearing-up business afterwards can be time-consuming.. I suppose I ought to be glad. However, I am not. I like to flex my magical muscles and hurl a few thunderbolts about. I am being whimsical, you realise.

Do you operate against people's will? No, though I may work in ways that they do not understand. On the whole, and unlike a stage illusionist, a real magician does not like to attract a lot of public attention. He is not in show business, he does not earn his living that way, and he would not wish to be pestered during the night by people wanting to cure warts or turn their neighbour's milk sour. Most students are content to leave matters as they are, and I work quietly in the background, putting their life to rights.

Do you rely on students? For a good laugh, yes .. but otherwise I never know where they stand. I am a full-time Teacher and therefore it could be said that without my students I would not have much to do. Then I would write my books or keep myself busy with many other creative projects that are under way. However, students are my main reason for being here, in this mess, I am tempted to add, but you may not be on my wavelength or appreciate the "pessimistic" humour.

As far as I can honestly tell, I do not nurse any other ambitions. Everything else I do is either to keep body and soul together or an irrelevant time-filler. I am counting on the better students making progress on climbing the mountain and becoming magicians themselves. Then we can combine our forces and as a sort of tribal powerhouse, we shall generate a tremendous amount of magical energy and fill the common reservoir. It is with just such a surplus of power that mankind may accomplish an even greater good.

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