"The Chela and the Path contains personal instruction from the master El Morya for all spiritual seekers and chelas (students of a spiritual teacher). As El Morya Khan at the conclusion of the nineteenth century, he is known for his efforts in founding the Theosophical Society with the adept Koot Hoomi and for his far-reaching work in bringing together the ancient spiritual truths of the East with the traditions of the West. El Morya’s instruction came in part in the form of personal letters addressed to a handful of disciples of the “Mahatma of the Himavat.” Those letters are now on file with the British Museum in London. Now, with the incomparable skill of a Zen master, El Morya teaches us in The Chela and the Path to see beneath the surface of daily life and the ego of the lesser self to become who we really are. He calls us to “experience life with the faculties of the soul” as we learn and practice the keys to self-mastery on the spiritual path. A foundational work for all who aspire to a higher level of consciousness and spirituality."

The Chela and the Path contains personal instruction from El Morya for all spiritual seekers and chelas (students of a spiritual teacher). With the incomparable skill of a Zen master, El Morya teaches us to become who we are, to see beneath the surface of daily life. He teaches of the divine light above and the divine light below and the many layers of awareness that surround the soul. This book is foundational for those who would not only know their true potential, but fulfill it.

Wisdom on the Path of Enlightenment Chela is Sanskrit for “disciple” of a spiritual teacher, or guru. The guru-chela relationship is far more than that of ordinary teacher and pupil, since it involves a profoundly spiritual interrelationship. Now, in this new volume, William Wilson Quinn has compiled and organized selections from several extraordinary gurus–primarily of India and Tibet–who were highly advanced and authentic spiritual teachers. Their advice focuses on chelaship–of how to become, and remain, a chela of one of their qualified successors. Distilled to its essence, and borrowing from their words, this handbook succinctly offers a guide to cultivating the chela’s inner qualities and virtues, as well as his or her outer behaviors. These inner qualities include, among others, open mindedness, purity of heart, an eager intellect, a sense of duty to the spiritual teacher, and a willing obedience to the behests of Truth. For the chela, these inner pursuits are effective only when matched with corresponding outer behaviors such as loving kindness toward others, selflessness, and a genuine compassion and charity for all who suffer. For seekers of spiritual truth and students of the perennial philosophy wanting to explore spiritual wisdom at depth, The Chela’s Handbook offers a guide for becoming and remaining a chela, and thereafter traversing the spiritual path toward the ultimate goals of enlightenment and liberation from the wheel of death and rebirth.

How may it be possible for anyone, who has no independent means, to subsist upon entering Chelaship? Reply by H.P. Blavatsky. During the eleven years of the existence of the Theosophical Society I have known, out of the seventy-two regularly accepted chelas on probation and the hundreds of lay candidates — only three who have not hitherto failed, and one only who had a full success. Can the Mahatmas be selfish? True knowledge consists in getting at the root of all phenomena, and thus arriving at a correct understanding of the primal cause, the “rootless root,” which is not an effect in its turn but THAT, the ever incomprehensible Causeless Cause (Be-ness) of both spirit and matter, and the oldest dogma in Occultism. Is the desire to live selfish? The only difference between an ordinary man, who works along with Nature during the course of cosmic evolution, and an Occultist, is that the latter, by his superior knowledge, adopts such methods of training and discipline as to quicken the process of his evolution, and thus ascend in a comparatively short period of time to that apex of physical and spiritual perfection (a god on earth) towards which the ordinary man may take billions of years to reach. Beyond the Hall of Learning is the Great White Lodge, the magnificent hierarchy of Masters, Gurus and Chelas all over the world. Every aspirant to chelaship has a Guru, although he many not be aware of it. Guru is the chela’s benefactor. If we have reverenced our teacher, we will now revere our unknown Guru. We must place our hand in his hand with all love, and trust, and confidence, for it is to mighty Karma we have appealed, and the Guru is an agent of Karma. The faith and love between Guru and chela act as a stimulus to both, and as a purifier to the mind of the chela. The business of the Guru is to keep adjusting the chela’s progress, and not to submerge him with knowledge, or push him forward. The Guru–chela affinity is sacred and precious, not lightly taken up or lightly dropped.

This unique journal covers the history of the Radhasoami movement as founded by Shiv Dayal Singh in the mid-19th century, with unique articles on the various offshoots that have branched off from its inception. Includes essays on Eckankar, MSIA, MasterPath, and other American based gurus. Also includes special issues on the death of Julian P. Johnson and Soamiji's forgotten guru.