are in bondage, and they use their own bodies consciously to work in creation, in order to help other souls in their God-ward march. Such a God-realised soul is called a Salik, Sadguru or Man-God. The Salik or Sadguru finds himself in the centre of the entire universe, and everyone, high or low, good or bad, is at the same distance from him. In the Sufi tradition, this centre is called the Qutub. The Qutub controls the whole universe through his agents.
The foremost Sadguru who first emerged through evolution, and helped and helps other souls in bondage, is known as the Avatar. Avatar (God-Man) There is another difference between the Sadguru and the Avatar. When man becomes God and has creation-consciousness, he is called Sadguru (Man-God or Perfect Master). When God becomes man, he is called Avatar (God-Man or Messiah).
From the point of view of fundamental characteristics of consciousness and the nature of the work in creation, the Avatar is like any other Sadguru (Man-God). Neither the Avatar nor the Sadguru has a finite and limited mind, because after merging in the Infinite the mind becomes universal. The Salik or Sadguru or Man-God, as well as the Avatar, do not lose their God-consciousness even for a moment, although they may be engaged in all sorts of activities in relation to creation. Both work through the universal mind, which is theirs, when they desire to help other souls.
