Dependence on Others...

All dependence on another is futile, for what others can give
others will take away. Only what is your own at the start will re-
main your own in the end. Accept no guidance but from within,
and even then sift out all memories for they will mislead you.
Even if you are quite ignorant of the ways and the means, keep
quiet and look within; guidance is sure to come. You are never
left without knowing what your next step should be. The trouble
is that you may shirk it. The Guru is there for giving you courage
because of his experience and success. But only what you dis-
cover through your own awareness, your own effort, will be of
permanent use to you.
Remember, nothing you perceive is your own. Nothing of
value can come to you from outside; it is only your own feeling
and understanding that are relevant and revealing. Words,
heard or read, will only create images in your mind, but you are
not a mental image. You are the power of perception and action
behind and beyond the image.

I Am That
Sri Nisargadatta
Chapter 98