Great spiritual teachers know not to take on other people’s karma. They don’t command or demand. If I tell you to tithe 10% of your income to the church, but then you don’t use your head, and do it even as your children starve, then I am partly responsible for their ill health. If I rail against abortion doctors and then you go out and blow up a hospital, that is partly my fault. A great teacher won’t tell you that you absolutely MUST do this, that you MUST believe that. A great teacher simply points, offers his own life as an example, and shows you love. You can follow, or not, even find your own way, and he will love you.

A great teacher is first and foremost a kind person and a caring soul.