"Because if you reach the treasure very easily, you will not have grown; you will lose that treasure again. It will be a treasure in the hands of a child. The key will be lost, the treasure will be lost.

"So not only do you have to steal, but the master has to work in such a way that you become able to steal only when you are ready. He has to create many obstacles. He goes on hiding the treasure. He will allow you only when you are ready. Just your greed or your desire is not enough, but your readiness, your preparedness; you have to earn it. And it is like stealing because the effort has to be made in the dark, and the effort has to be made very silently. And there are a thousand and one obstacles on the path, temptations to go away, temptations to get distracted. The help of the master is really to make you more skilful, to give you the knack of how to feel whether the treasure exists here or not.

"Living with the master, surrounded by his climate, slowly, slowly, a certain awareness arises in you. Your eyes become clear and you can see where the treasure is. And then, you work hard for it. The master gives you a glimpse of the far-away peak of the Himalayas – snow-covered, shining in the sun – but it is far away and you will have to travel. It is going to be hard, it is going to be uphill. There is every possibility that you may get lost. There is every possibility that you may miss the goal, you may go astray. The closer you come to the peak, the possibility of missing becomes bigger and bigger, greater and greater – because the closer you come to the peak, the less you can see the peak. You have to move just by your own alertness. From far away you can see the peak; it is difficult to lose the direction. But when you have reached the mountains and you are moving upwards, you cannot see the peak. You have simply to grope in darkness, so it is more like stealing."