How useless it is to go to a teacher who has only an intellectual--that is, a talking--knowledge of it, for help is clearly shown by an old Hindu story. Once upon a time a certain king developed a desire to obtain divine consciousness. He obtained a Brahmi pundit as his guide. For two months he received teaching but found that he gained nothing in the actual experience of divinity. He thereupon threatened the Brahmin with his royal displeasure. The pundit returned home in a sorrowful state of mind. He had done his best and did not know how to satisfy the king. His daughter, who was a girl of high intelligence, saw her father's distress and made him tell her the cause. The next day she appeared at the court and informed the king that she could throw light on his problem. She then asked him to order his soldiers to bind both herself and himself to separate pillars. This was done. Then the girl said, "O King, release me out of this bondage." "What!" answered the king, "You speak of an impossibility. I myself am in bondage and how can I release you?" The girl laughed and said, "O King, this is the explanation of your problem. My father is a prisoner of this world-illusion. How can he set you free? How can you gain divinity from him?"
-- Notebooks Category 1: Overview of the Quest > Chapter 6 : Student-Teacher > # 244
