Deeper Than You Think

Despite the fact that men never have found a paradise on earth, many continue to hope for a Shangri-La here and now; and they seek a shepherd to guide them to it. They long for a god or goddess to dispense the “last word” on social, economic, political, moral, and spiritual matters—a source of certitude—a Leader.

Nor is there ever a shortage of egotists who covet such a role and desire above all else an army of followers. The result of this combination is a cult; the slightest deviation from the master’s mind is taboo.

The individual who would be his own man could never follow blindly after another, any more than he could tolerate or assume the responsibility for a band of blind followers.

To be in the vanguard of any line of thought is to leave a trail of sorts, and any responsible person will occasionally check his bearings. If he finds nothing but followers in his wake, he probably should write off his efforts as love’s labor lost.

However capable in his own right, the leader who inspires nothing but followers works for a lost cause—one that is unlikely to survive himself. No matter how unswerving their allegiance, human carbon copies never register full fidelity and must inevitably corrupt their master’s doctrine. And the master who encourages a blind following cannot logically escape a responsibility for the transgressions of his idolators.

To measure a teacher’s success, to evaluate his work, one must ask: Does the teaching induce in others what Aristotle termed “activity of soul”? Are his students learning to think for themselves and to will their own actions? Are they creatively thinking, writing, talking—each becoming his own man?

Unconcerned for a following, a true teacher continues to pursue his own studies, leaving his students to develop in the only way they possibly can: on their own initiative.

We should ever bear in mind that the unknown is infinite. No person, regardless of his pretensions, glimpses more than an infinitesimal fragment of the Truth. To merely focus the gaze of one’s followers down that narrow aperture of understanding glimpsed by “the leader” is no service to anyone. The successful teacher inspires others to join in the search for Truth, on their own volition and power; and growth in knowledge and understanding takes place only to the extent that some of his students surpass him. No leader or teacher ought to be satisfied with anything less than this.