If you are already well armed, not only will you overcome ordeals, you will also be strengthened by them

Spiritual Masters - their usefulness

"You wish to learn to play a musical instrument - say, the violin - and you think you can manage without a teacher. So you buy a violin and exercise manuals, and you start playing. For a while, you work one or two hours a day, but very quickly you become less diligent, and then you stop. A month goes by, and you pick up your violin, and then you stop again. And so it goes on, with times of regular practice alternating with times of neglect, according to your mood. If, on the other hand, you have a teacher, you work steadily so as to be up to scratch on the day of your lesson, and the teacher is always there to correct your mistakes or give encouragement.

It is for the same reasons that we need a spiritual master: to receive guidance and support for the efforts we make along the path of life. You say you are capable of making your own way? Very well, as you wish, but know that if you don't have a master, life will take it upon itself to teach you, and life can be terrible!"