GROWTH HAS TO BE NOURISHED. There can be no growth without proper nourishment. This is the third role of the Master, that he 'feeds' the abhyasis with his spiritual transmission and nourishes them, so that growth continues to be strong and healthy. What we call transmission Master once defined as 'spiritual food'. The body lives and grows at the physical level, and so sustains itself on physical foods. The soul, being spiritual in nature, needs food of that plane. I once asked Master whether the transmission was the same in quality or whether it differed with the abhyasi's condition. Master answered that there could be no change in it as it is the subtlest force or power of Divinity, and hence unchanging. I was a bit puzzled as to how the same power could do everything Master claimed it could achieve, at all levels of development. I put this question to Master. Master laughed amusedly and said, "When we plant a seed we water it; when it comes up as a small seedling we water it; when it is a strong plant we water it; and we go on watering it all its life. The same water achieves the growth of the plant stage after stage."

On a different occasion Master described transmission in terms other than what I have stated above. He said, "The body is alive only because the soul is in it. At death the soul flies away, and then we say the person is dead, and call the body a corpse. So the body lives by the soul. How does the soul live? I will tell you. The soul lives by transmission which we can think of as the essence of Divinity.

Dr. Varadachari has called this 'Soul of the soul.' It is a correct description that he has given. He told me in Sanskrit it is pranasya pranaha which means the soul of the soul. So, really speaking, without transmission the soul is like a dead thing. The very first transmission makes the soul alive. It is the touch of Divinity itself. I am telling you a wonderful thing. Even a single transmission can make a great difference in a person's future. One transmission from a Master of calibre can transform a person instantly. The power is the same. But the will must be there. There must be an unfailing will. Then the result is wonderful. Really speaking this is the most important thing, that a trainer in spirituality must possess an unfailing will. I am telling you one more thing. When we doubt the efficacy of the power of transmission it really means we are doubting our Master. Then the work suffers. The power can be given by the Master, but you have to develop will power yourself. After all, in using any instrument force has to be applied. Suppose you want to cut wood and I give you a saw. The saw has to be moved with the full force of your arm. Then only will it cut the wood. Do you follow this? So an instrument alone is not sufficient. You have to use the force of your will to make it work effectively. Really speaking whether I transmit or a preceptor transmits, the result should be the same. But if will is not behind the transmission then the work is not properly done. So the abhyasi feels the difference."

The transmission is thus the only spiritually elevating power. This enables the abhyasi to grow from stage to stage, passing through region after region of spiritual existence, and so on to the Goal. Right through this divine journey the Master's active help and guidance are essential. This is unique in Sahaj Marg that the guru's role lasts until the abhyasi has been taken up to the highest level of spiritual existence open to mankind. In fact the need for the guru is progressively more as we grow. Master once explained why this is so. Master said, "As the abhyasi grows, the transmission and cleaning make yet higher approaches open to him. But at the higher approaches a resistance develops from above. It is as if nature opposes his development. Here the Master has to use the power at his disposal to take the abhyasi to the higher level. The abhyasi by himself cannot undertake this. There are certain regions where the abhyasi cannot even enter by himself.

(My Master, Shri P. Rajagopalachari, pp.139-141)