There is a road, steep and thorny, beset with perils of every kind—but yet a road, and it leads to the heart of the Universe. I can tell you to find Those who will show you the secret gateway that leads inward only, and closes fast behind the neophyte for evermore. There is no danger that dauntless courage cannot conquer. There is no trial that spotless purity cannot pass through. There is no difficulty that strong intellect cannot surmount. For those who win onwards, there is reward past all telling: the power to bless and save humanity. For those who fail, there are other lives in which success may come.

—H. P. Blavatsky

William Quan Judge and Damodar Mavalankar were declared by the Masters to be successful and accepted disciples—out of many who aspired for chelaship, and failed for one reason or another—in the last quarter of the 19th century. Human evolution is linked with spiritual evolution, and discipleship is for the whole of humanity to aspire for.

"Not only is man more than an animal because there is the god in him, but he is more than a god because there is the animal in him." Spiritual progress depends upon right relation of these two forces—animal and divine. We have allowed the animal to usurp the place of the god. So long as the animal rules, there will be desire for physical life, oscillation between pain and pleasure and keenest suffering. But man is the king who can resolve to evict the animal from the usurped throne and restore it to the god. Once we allow the god to rule the animal, we will be in possession of great force and power, hitherto unknown to us (Through the Gates of Gold). This is involved in our journey from discipleship to adeptship. But as the same book points out, do not fancy that this is easily done. Do not think that it is done by a religious or virtuous person—he only follows a certain discipline or a fixed standard to hold the animal in check. In An Epitome of Theosophy we are given a bird's eye-view of the spiritual development. Thus:

As to the process of spiritual development, Theosophy teaches:

First: That the essence of the process lies in the securing of supremacy to the highest, the spiritual, element of man's nature.

Second: That this is attained along four lines among others—

(a) The entire eradication of selfishness in all forms and the cultivation of broad, generous sympathy in, and effort for, the good of others.

(b) The absolute cultivation of the inner, spiritual man by meditation, by reaching to and communion with the Divine....

(c) The control of the fleshly appetites and desires, all lower material interests being deliberately subordinated to the behests of the spirit.

(d) The careful performance of every duty belonging to one's station in life, without desire for reward, leaving results for Divine law.

Third: That while the above is incumbent on and practicable by all religiously disposed men, a yet higher plane of spiritual attainment is conditioned upon a specific course of training, physical, intellectual, and spiritual, by which the internal faculties are first aroused and then developed.

Fourth: That an extension of this process is reached in Adeptship, Mahatmaship...attained by laborious self-discipline and hardship, protracted through possibly many incarnations, and with many degrees of initiations and preferment....(pp. 26-27)

Steps from (a) to (d) are preparatory, which, if sincerely followed, would bring us to a stage where we are ready to be guided by a Guru. The aspirants to higher planes of being need to undergo a specific course of training, for which guidance of a guru is necessary. But till such time self-discipline is needed. As H.P.B. says, "Of what use would Professor Clerk Maxwell have been to instruct a class of little boys in their multiplication-table?" We are assured, "When the pupil is ready the Master will appear." A story in Buddha's life speaks of his halting in a potter's cottage for a night, while on his journey to spread the Dhamma. Buddha has to share the room with a traveller named Pukkusati. Buddha learnt that the traveller had left home searching for the Exalted One. He said, "My faith is in Him, my mind approves of His teachings." When Buddha asked him if he knew where the Exalted One was at the moment, Pukkusati answered, Somewhere in the North." Buddha said, "You have never seen him, would you recognize him if you were to meet him?" Pukkusati answered, "No, I would not know him because I have never seen him." Then Buddha told him to listen carefully as he expounded the doctrine of sevenfold man. When the preaching was over, Pukkusati prostrated himself before Buddha and said, "I have found the Master!" With faith in the Doctrines he had learnt and practised, Pukkusati had prepared himself and was ready. So the Master came where he was.

But this meeting with the Guru in flesh and blood comes at a far later stage. Before this, there is a period of transition, in which the disciple has to prepare himself and in which he will be tested. As a Master of Wisdom says, to accept any person as a chela is not a matter of his personal will, but merit is the deciding factor. If one lived the life of moral and spiritual discipline, doing good works in the name of the Master, he would have forced that Master to accept him. Mr. Judge writes that first of all, the aspirant should ask himself, "When and how did I get a desire to know about chelaship and to become a chela? What is my motive in desiring to be a chela?" Secondly, "What is a chela and what does chelaship involve?" There are many sorts of chelas. There are lay chelas and probationary ones; accepted chelas and those who are trying to fit themselves to be even lay chelas." A lay chela is but a man of the world who affirms his desire to become wise in spiritual matters. H.P.B. defines Chela and Guru thus:

A "Chela" then, is one who has offered himself or herself as a pupil to learn practically the "hidden mysteries of Nature and the psychical powers latent in man." The spiritual teacher to whom he proposes his candidature is called in India a Guru; and the real Guru is always an Adept in the Occult Science. A man of profound knowledge, exoteric and esoteric, especially the latter; and one who has brought his carnal nature under subjection of the WILL; who has developed in himself both the power (Siddhi) to control the forces of nature, and the capacity to probe her secrets by the help of the formerly latent but now active power of his being—this is the real Guru. To offer oneself as a candidate for Chelaship is easy enough, to develop into an Adept the most difrficult task any man could possibly undertake. (Raja Yoga or Occultism, p. 1)

Before one can reach that state where one is ready to be taught practical Occultism by a Guru, one has to qualify oneself. One of the first things required is faith, which helps him firmly to believe in the existence of the Masters, because it would be a very long time before he could actually meet one of them. One of first qualifications for chelaship is: "Perfect physical health." It does not mean we are required to have body of an athlete or an acrobat, but it should be strong enough to take the stress which is involved in tearing away the lower from the Higher Self. Next, we need to develop absolute mental and moral purity and unswerving devotion and faith in the Law of Karma—so that at the first instance of pain and trouble we would not run to the nearest temple and make offerings, or resort to ceremonies and rituals to be relieved of the pain, but accept whatever troubles and trials come our way, and drink without a murmur whatever the cup of life holds for us, to its last bitter dregs.

H.P.B. points out, "No man or woman knows his or her moral strength until it is tried. Thousands go through life very respectably, because they were never put to the pinch." It is the very Law of spiritual life which makes certain that we have the right stuff in us before we can be accepted as a chela. As soon as one resolves to walk the path, Karma begins to precipitate far more rapidly than in the case of an average person. At every point we are required to make the choice and each choice will have definite results. The latent good and bad come to the surface and the chela has to deal with his passions and desires, unhelped. It is the fight between the chela's will and his carnal nature, in which "Karma forbids any angel or a Guru to interfere until the result is known." The aspirant should be ready to acquire mastery over his body, senses, pain, and recognize in his Atman the highest ruler; then only under the time-honoured rules he could be taken in hand by one of the Mahatmas.

Just as there are various degrees of disciples, so also there are degrees of Masters (Gurus). There is a guruparampara chain. In a sense, a school teacher, who has taught us our alphabet, is our guru and an important link in the chain. A child does well, if he holds this teacher in reverence and tries to follow what he teaches, with faith. This attitude of reverence is very important. In the East, a Guru is regarded as second only to one's parents in dignity. The relationship between Guru and Chela is far deeper, which bond we carry from life to life. In the eyes of the chela, Guru is the embodiment of Atman, i.e., Guru is a living vision, which he is going to find in himself. In the East, to be disrespectful to one's Guru, even in thought, is considered to be a great sin—something which harms the moral nature of the pupil. This Guruparampara chain extends from our present Guru to the highest Spiritual chief in whose ray or descending line we happen to be.

"The proper function of the Guru is to readjust and not to pour in vast masses of knowledge expressed in clear and easily comprehended terms." The faith and love which exist between them act as a stimulus and purifier for the mind of the chela.

When the true link is established between Guru and Chela, there is an inner osmosis and knowledge flows from Master's consciousness to the pure consciousness of the disciple. We are told that the disciple becomes the outpost of Master's consciousness, i.e., his consciousness is not encapsulated—the consciousness of the two works in a well-synthesized way.

It is the Master who, after accepting a chela, arouses the powers and faculties which are otherwise dormant in the latter. Although all potentialities and powers are in man, someone experienced has to guide in developing or in bringing out those potentialities. A wise teacher takes the chela ahead, only one step at a time. We need guidance in the process of development and unfoldment, so that we do not lose balance, i.e., do not get into serious psychological and moral problems. This is called Initiation. Even if a chela has certain powers, a guru can seal them till it is safe for him to exercise them.

A Guru tests his disciple in various ways. The test consists in seeing how well he responds to it. The attitude with which he responds decides everything. A story is told that a disciple, when he saw men revelling, merry-making and drinking, felt disgusted and also proud that he was not indulging in such things. The Guru of this disciple made him work through the brain of a drunken person, i.e., the disciple had to work through the physiology of another person with the drunkenness problem. This is possible through parakayapravesh—the power of temporarily entering the body of another. He was being tested to see if he could maintain stability under those conditions. A disciple has to go from initiation to initiation. From the final initiation, he emerges recognizing his true Self.

We are advised to deserve, before we desire, intimacy with the Masters. "Do you wonder that in the case of those who rush unprepared into the 'circle of ascetics' and before the ripe moment, insanity sometimes results?" (Letters That Have Helped Me). When we go unprepared in the presence of the Great Ones, we might find that the good and the bad tendencies resolve themselves suddenly—separate out like the two armies in the Mahabharata—and we may begin to experience the conflict, so that if we lack the necessary moral stamina, the struggle to overcome the base nature may prove to be strenuous. When a big ship is sailing, it is not right for a small boat to go near it, because the currents by the big ship in the surrounding water might cause the little boat to sink. So, before the little boat may go near, the ship is prepared through internal adjustment. Similarly, the Great Ones tone down or veil their magnetic influence before an ordinary person can go near them.

Ultimately, the only way we are guaranteed to attract the attention of the Masters is by serving humanity. It is said, "Where thought can pass, They can come." A Master of Wisdom writes:

Nature has linked all parts of her Empire together by subtle threads of magnetic sympathy...thought runs swifter than the electric fluid, and your thought will find me if projected by pure impulse, as mine will find, has found, and often impressed your mind....Like the light in the sombre valley seen by the mountaineer from his peaks, every bright thought in your mind, wil sparkle and attract the attention of your distant friend and correspondent...and it is our law to approach every such an one if even there be but the feeblest glimmer of the true "Tathagata" light within him.

This pearl of eternity is the Church or Temple of God within thee, the consecrated place of divine worship, where alone thou canst worship God in spirit and in truth....When once thou art well grounded in this inward worship, thou wilt have learnt to live unto God above time and place. For every day will be Sunday to thee, and wherever thou goest thou wilt have a priest, a church, and an altar along with thee.

—William Law