108 The Spiritual Life.
Self throughatranslucentveil; to the Heart's
Desireinmanifestedform.
Next, as objects of devotion, come the
Teachers who, having Themselves obtained
liberation, remain voluntarily within touch of
humanity, retaining human bodies while the
Jivatma enjoys nirvanic consciousness. They
stand, as it were, between the Avataras and
the earthlyGurus whoareTheirdisciples and
whohavenotyetreached liberation,buttothe
eyesof men on earth They are scarcedistin-
guishable from the Avataras Themselves,and
they draw men with the same overmastering
attraction. The Avatara truly is greater, but
thatgreatnessliesonthesideturnedawayfrom
earth, and wecan imagine no completer per-
fectionthanthatoftheMastersofWisdom.
Thencome,in more constantphysical com-
munication with men, the Guruswho are the
immediatespiritualteachersofthosewhosefaces
are turnedtothe steep path that leads tothe
heights,tothesnowymountainsof humanper-
fection. Still marred by weaknesses though
theybe,thesehaveadvancedsufficientlybeyond
their fellow-men to serve as their guides and
helpers; andforthemostparttheearlierstages
of progress are trodden bydevotion to them.
Further, as they are near the threshold of
