As the West became more and more in contact with the philosophy and culture of the East, there has developed a certain fascination with Eastern meditation masters, and today they are often portrayed on films and tv spouting timely words of wisdom at opportune times. However, these portrayals sometimes obscure the true nature and purpose of a meditation teacher, which is to show the student the vast realm of possibility that exists beyond the confines of the daily working-eating-sleeping grind. As my own teacher Sri Chinmoy says, "Spiritual Masters come into the world to convince you that God-realisation is your birthright. You can claim God as your very own."
Meditation teachers are like guides to a country, the country being in this case the student's own inner wealth that lies deep inside the heart, far beyond the reaches of the mind and its attempt to analyse. In fact, the chattering mind is the chief obstacle preventing the seeker of truth from going deep into the core of his being and accessing these jewels of peace and joy for himself. It is only when the mind is silent when this can happen; even without meditation, we have all had experiences of the peace and joy that comes to the fore as the mind's chatter recedes, such as watching a sunset or watching the innocent smiles of a child. However, to have this peace and joy on a constant and regular basis, the mind must be trained to remain quiet on command. Teaching with words often only serves to give exra information to the already overloaded mind, hence all genuine teachers teach meditation through silence.
But what does teaching through silence mean? Firstly, one has to realise that meditation is not a subject like history or geography - it is a fundamental capcity much more like walking or taking. And when we were learning to walk or talk, we did not do so through laborious study of a manual, we did it through seeing that those around us had already attained this capacity and following in their footsteps. Similarly when we see a spiritual teacher in high meditation, the inmost part of our being recognises this sublime meditative height and longs to reach the same level also. Many meditation teachers will advise their students to keep a picture of them on their meditation shrine, so they can feel in contact with that meditative height even in the teacher's absence.
As a student spends more time meditating with the teachers and studying his philosophy, an inner connection based on trust and empathy begins to build up between the teacher and the student. In the depths of his meditation, the student can feel the presence of the teacher acting as a source of guidance and encouragement, helping him past inner and outer obstacles he might not have been able to get past alone. This can happen even though the student and the teacher may be far apart. In addition the teacher also gives an example of how to take one's meditation into the outer world. For a teacher who is an enlightened soul, every action, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, stems not from the instincts or the 'autopilot' that governs most people's daily actions, but from a deep and profound awareness, love and compassion. Personal example can be a far more direct source of teaching than written philosophy; one only has to see how the example of people like Mother Teresa or Mahatma Gandhi influenced millions of people in the twentieth century. The example of a spiritual teacher gives the student a direct demonstration that a life of boundless peace is indeed possible, and inspires the student to claim it for himself.