attributes which constitute the spiritual preparation of the disciple. As soon as the disciple is ready, the Grace of the Master descends; for the Master, who is the Ocean of Divine Love, is always on the lookout for the soul in whom his Grace will fructify.

The kind of love which is awakened by the Grace of the Master is a rare privilege. The mother who is willing to sacrifice all and to die for her child, and the martyr who is prepared to give up his very life for his country are indeed supremely noble; but they have not necessarily tasted of this pure love, which is born through the Grace of the Master. Even the great yogis with long beards who, sitting in caves and mountains, are completely absorbed in deep samadhi, do not necessarily have this precious love. Pure love which is awakened through the Grace of the Master is more valuable than any other method which may be adopted by the aspirant. Such love not only combines in itself the merits of all the disciplines, but excels them all in its efficacy in leading the aspirant to his Goal. When this love is born, the aspirant has only one desire; and that one desire is to be united with the Divine Beloved. Such withdrawal of consciousness from all other desires leads to infinite purity; therefore nothing purifies the aspirant more completely than this love. The aspirant is ever willing to offer everything for the Divine Beloved; and no sacrifice is too difficult for him. All his thoughts are turned away from the self and come to be exclusively centered on the Divine Beloved. Through the intensity of this ever-growing love, he eventually breaks through the shackles of the self and becomes united with the Beloved. This is the consummation of love. When love has thus found its fruition it has become Divine.

Divine Love is qualitatively different from human love. Human love is for the many in the One and Divine Love is for the One in the many. Human love leads to innumerable complications and entanglements; but Divine Love leads to integration and freedom. In Divine Love, the personal and the impersonal aspects are equally balanced; but in human love, the two aspects are in alternate ascendancy. When, in human love, the personal note is predominant, it leads to a man's being utterly blind to the intrinsic worth of other forms; and when, as in the sense of duty, love is predominately impersonal, it often makes him cold, rigid and mechanical. The sense of duty comes to the man as external constraint of behavior; but in Divine Love there is unrestrained freedom and unbounded spontaneity.