me. All who have read the book will know how inspiring
the Master's words are, and how they make each person who reads them
long to train himself for the service of others. I know myself how much
I have been helped by the loving care of those to whom I look for
guidance, and I am eager to pass on to others the help I have obtained
from them.

It seems to me that the Master's instructions can be universally
applied. They are useful not only to those who are definitely trying to
tread the path which leads to Initiation, but also to all who, while
still doing the ordinary work of the world, are anxious to do their duty
earnestly and unselfishly. One of the noblest forms of work is that of
the teacher; let us see what light is thrown upon it by the words of the
Master.

I will take the four Qualifications which have been given in _At the
Feet of the Master_, and will try to show how they can be applied to the
life of the teacher and of the students, and to the relations which
should exist between them.

The most important Qualification in education is Love, and I will take
that first.

It is sad that in modern days the office of a teacher has not been
regarded as on a level with other learned professions. Any one has been
thought good enough to be a teacher, and as a result little honour has
been paid to him. Naturally, therefore, the cleverest boys are not
drawn towards that profession. But really the office of the teacher is
the most sacred and the most important to the nation, because it builds
the characters of the boys and girls who will be its future citizens. In
olden days this office was thought so holy that only priests were
teachers and the school was a part of the temple. In India the trust in
the teacher was so great that the parents gave over their sons
completely to him for many years, and teacher and students lived
together as a family. Because this happy relation should be brought
back again, I put Love first among the Qualifications which a teacher
ought to have. If India is to become again the great nation which we all
hope to see, this old happy relation must be re-established.

I. LOVE

My Master taught me that Love will enable a man to acquire all other
qualities and that "all the rest without it would never be sufficient."
Therefore no person ought to be a teacher--ought to be allowed to be a
teacher--unless he has shown in his daily life that Love is the
strongest quality of his nature