IT has been a tradition in India not to write down mahavakyas, great secret formulas – because if they are written, anyone can read them.
A person, who is not ready to receive these formulas, may not understand them the way they should be. He/she may become acquainted with the formulas but that acquaintance becomes a barrier. The person begins to feel that he/she knows. These secret formulas are not to be known through words, they can be known only through experience. A teacher or a master, would give these secrets to a disciple.
The disciple often has to wait for years; just be near the master, forget himself completely; just be attentive-whatsoever the master says, to listen; whatsoever he orders, to do. He has just to be obedient, serve, and remain there – constantly remaining in the presence of the master and waiting for the right moment. The disciple cannot decide when the time is right. He has to wait for the master to tell him. When the master finds that the disciple can listen with his/her total being, the secrets are handed to him/her, with words like: That Thou Art or Tat Twam Asi.
By Swami Chaitanya Keerti
