"So the moment you raise a question about it the mind has already moved away. You are somewhere else, not here and now.

"Truth cannot be taught because words cannot convey it. Words are impotent. Truth is vast, tremendously vast, infinite. Words are very very narrow. You cannot force truth into words, it is impossible. And how is one going to teach without words?

"Silence can be a message. It can convey, it can become the vehicle. But then the question is not of the master's concern to teach it. The question is of the disciple's to learn it.

"If it was a question of teaching, then the master would do something.

"But words are useless – nothing can be done with them. The master can remain silent and can give the message from every pore of his being – but now the disciple has to understand it. Unaided, without any help from the master, the disciple has to receive it.

"That's why in the world of religion teachers don't exist, only masters. A teacher is one who teaches, a master is one who IS. A teacher is one who talks about the truth, a master is truth himself. You can learn, but he cannot teach.

"He can be there, open, available – you have to drink him, and you have to eat him. You have to imbibe him. You have to become pregnant with him. You have to absorb.

"A master is one who has become the truth and is available for all those who are ready to absorb him; hence Jesus says to his disciples: Eat me. Truth can be eaten; it cannot be taught. You can allow it to reach you, but it cannot be forced on you.

"Truth is absolutely nonviolent, it will not even knock at your door – even that much will be too much aggression.

"If you allow, if you are receptive, it is all there. If you are closed, if you are not receptive, for millions of lives you may search for it and you will go on missing it. And it has always been there, it has always been the case. Not even a single step was needed."