narrowness or ignorance, they exploit the weak and the credulous by holding before them the fear of hell or the hope of heaven. The God-man, on the other hand, has entered for ever into the eternal life of love, purity, universality and understanding; and he is, therefore, concerned only with the things that really matter and which eventually bring about the inner unfoldment of the spirit in all whom he helps. Those who are themselves in ignorance may, out of self-delusion or deliberate selfishness, use the same language as that of the God-man; and they might try to imitate the God-man in many of the external things, associated with the life of the God-man. But they cannot, by the very nature of their spiritual limitations, really imitate the God-man, in possessing perfect understanding, experiencing Infinite Bliss or wielding unlimited power; these attributes belong to the God-man by virtue of his having attained unity with God.

Those who are in ignorance, lack fundamental traits of the God-man; and if, out of self-delusion or hypocrisy, they try to pose as the God-man, their self-delusion or pretence is invariably exposed at some time. If a person gets committed to such a line of life out of self-delusion, it is an unfortunate case; he believes himself to be what he is not, and thinks that he knows when he actually does not know; but, since he is sincere in all that he thinks or does, he is not to be blamed, though he can become a source of danger to others, to a limited extent. The hypocrite knows that he does not know and pretends to be what he is not, for selfish reasons; but, in doing so, he creates a serious karmic binding for himself; and though he is a source of considerable danger to the weak and the credulous, he cannot go on indefinitely with his willful deceit, for, in the course of time, he gets automatically exposed for a claim which he is unable to substantiate.

In the performance of his universal work, the God-man has infinite adaptability. He is not attached to any one method of helping others; he does not follow rules or precedents, but is a law unto himself. He can rise to any occasion and play the role which is necessary under the circumstances without being bound by it. Once a devotee asked his Master the reason why he fasted; and the Master replied, "I am not fasting to attain perfection, since, having already attained perfection, I am not an aspirant. It is for the sake of others that I fast." A spiritual aspirant cannot act like one who has attained perfection, since the perfect one is inimitable; but the perfect one can, for the guidance or benefit of others, act like an aspirant. One,