Section 41

One of the signs of the developed man is that he is virtually unrecognisable. The enlightened person knows he does not count and is just God’s instrument, so he is not trying to push anybody or collect followers to show his importance. He knows exactly where he is going and what he has to do, and just does it. While the masses of people are looking for all kinds of complexity, he is quite simple; he knows it is entirely up to God whether he is required to become famous or not.

For several years the Buddha had only a few people wandering around with him, and attracted great numbers only toward the end of his life. Mohammed too had only a few followers for ten or fifteen years, until others decided he would fit the role of the king they were looking for. On the other hand, there was a man in thirteenth-century Germany who influenced all the inner part of religious life yet never became known to the masses of people. The Tao does what it wants to do.