Text of the meditation
We know nothing higher than Goodness. The Teachers of humankind are few. A thousand years may pass without the advent of such a one; but when the true Teacher does appear, the distinguishing feature by which they are known is their life. Their conduct is different from other people's, and their teaching is never derived from any person or book, but from their own life.
The Teacher first lives, and then teaches others how they may likewise live. The proof and witness of their teaching is in themselves, in their life. Out of millions of preachers, only one is ultimately accepted by humankind as the true Teacher, and the one who is thus accepted and exalted is the one who lives.
The supreme aim of all religions is to teach people how to live.
James Allen (1864–1912), Book of Meditations for Every Day in the Year (1913) – public-domain text, gently modernised.
The original 1913 text is in the public domain.
