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own path. And don't imitate anyone else's path. Imitation will not lead you to freedom. It is not a question of following one path or another; it is a question of seeking. Be a seeker and not a follower. And know the distinction well.
A follower is an imitator. A seeker also follows, but he is not an imitator. A seeker also follows, but he follows in order to seek, to discover. He remains alert, he remains aware. A follower becomes blind, he becomes dependent -- spiritually a slave. He throws his responsibility on someone else's shoulders and then hangs on. A seeker is responsible for himself. He's alert, responsible -- discovering something new every day, experimenting with something new every day. He's unafraid, vulnerable, open to any new light, ready to move into any dimension that comes to his vision. If he feels the path he is on is wrong, he will not say, "But I have invested so much on this path. Now I cannot change." He will throw the path, throw his whole investment in it, move back to where he was before and start learning again from A-B-C.
A seeker is always ready to change, but a follower is stubborn. He will close his eyes rather than see the light because he has invested so much.
One Jain monk came to me. He said that he had been a Jain monk for thirty years. "I know now that I have chosen a path that is not for me, but now I cannot leave it because if I leave, what will I do? I have no education. I was initiated into monkhood when I was just a child. These thirty years of monkhood have made me totally dependent on others. I cannot do anything; I cannot do any physical labor. And I am so respected! Even big capitalists come to me and bow down their heads. If I leave the monkhood -- and I know now that this is not for me -- these same people who touch my feet now will not employ me even as a peon. So what am I to do?"
There is much investment. The whole prestige. respect. honor is at stake now. So I told him, "If you are really a seeker, throw it all out. Be a beggar or be a fool, but don't be false. When you know this path is not for you then throw everything that comes to you through this path. Don't be false, don't be
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