A disciple is as the word root indicates, a learner, one who is open to learning. When we become intent on spiritual liberation, we are open to learning how to follow the path of awakened living. We seek to know the truth about life and about ourselves. We become receptive and surrendered to higher guidance. We seek to develop a relationship with the Infinite. We develop this relationship by entering life with the pure intention to learn from it. We pray, we ask to know, we watch, we listen, we become willing to grow and to change. We learn.

With discipleship, one moves from being a seeker of the way to being one who has found a path and commits to the disciplined life it requires. We understand this journey more fully as we embark upon it, engage in the practices, work with a teacher, and begin to serve life as a devotee of God.

The universal path of discipleship includes the willingness to learn from a spiritual teacher, to be open to guidance from one who has followed the way we seek to know. This is a natural unfoldment of the inner life and when it occurs, we find the teacher who is right for us. If this is not the immediate case, there is no need to begin a frantic search. When there is surrendered devotion and a sincere prayer for support on the path of awakening, the forces of divine grace will bring forth and reveal the right relationship at the appropriate time.