Inner and Outer Circles

Once Niranjan went back home for a visit. When he returned, the Master said, “Please tell me how you feel.” Niranjan replied, “Formerly I loved you, no doubt, but now it is impossible for me to live without you.” Then the Master explained to M.: “This illness is showing who belongs to the inner circle and who to the outer. Those who are living here, renouncing the world, belong to the inner circle; and those who pay occasional visits and ask, ‘How are you, sir?’ belong to the outer circle.”