I don’t think I know something that if you knew, you’d be better off.
I think you know something that if you knew, you’d be better off.
~ Werner Erhard
You may be looking at a promising contemporary guru with extraordinary spiritual powers. Only one problem, he has a habit of seducing all his closest female disciples, and you may be next.
You might find a masterful guru who combines enlightenment and empowerment. He will help you see through other people, get to their inner core and work with them to always get your own way. Only one problem, he has a graduated series of tracks, each more expensive than the last. The initial class may have been in the hundreds of dollars. However, all his advanced classes are in the thousands, and his one-year mentorship program is in the tens of thousands!
Do these people want your body? Your money? Your soul? The really slick masters are cool about your body and your money. They just want you to lose yourself and increasingly focus on them. Power tripping? With vengeance!
And you thought it was all about God?!
Our Greatest Fear: Being a Fool
Many years ago, Werner Erhard, encyclopedia salesman turned enlightenment guru, observed that people will doubt the most precious experience of their lives, a realization that gave them the experience of being fully alive for the first time in years. They will throw this aliveness away in an instant, and exchange it for a lethal survival mentality if you simply ridicule them.
People will essentially deny their own experience to appear reasonable to the people they only mildly care about. Every time. Call a “Born Again” Christian brainwashed. Call a recipient of authentic satori deluded. They must fight an overwhelming impulse to conform to your low opinion of them.
Werner emphasized that this response is unconscious and mechanical. You don’t have much choice about it until you realize what is happening and stay true to your own experience. You weren’t deluded. Neither was your guru. Your so-called friend is merely throwing cheap shots at you.
After all, did you do this for yourself, or simply to look good?
How Come You Doubt Your Guru?
You may have come to a crucial turn in your relationship where you suddenly see him in a whole different light. This may be very early on where you are in the evaluation stage, or much further along where he has just done something that totally violates your standards of ethics. Even though gurus are divine, they are also very much human beings. In some cases, they may be only slightly ahead of you.
Are you doubting your guru because of what other people think, or are you listening to your own intuition? What do you want from your guru? In India, many people come to notable gurus seeking a fortune. Enlightenment is not their highest priority. A few gurus cater to this kind of market. For example, if your guru is known for psychic powers, rather than Christ-like love, why are you surprised that he hangs out a lot on the third chakra?
Is it possible that your guru is confronting you in very sensitive areas that you need to handle? Werner Erhard was brilliant at this. He refused to allow people in unfortunate circumstances to rest in victimhood. Werner was all about inner empowerment. He knew that playing victim entails a lot of suffering. He was willing to push people through their sad stories to awaken to Who They Truly Are.
Three Areas to Size Up a Guru
1. Is he enlightened?
The highest levels of enlightenment are exceedingly rare. The initial satori, or sudden flash, is only the beginning. Real Zen training can take many years. You are given koan after koan. It is never a one-shot deal. It is never simply a question of mouthing the right words. What is the space out of which your guru operates?
2. Does he know how to teach?
Many gurus are exemplary beings who demonstrate higher states of consciousness. However, they may lack the verbal skills, the perceptiveness or the ability to listen deeply to another human being. With some gurus, it may take much longer to get there than others. In this respect, it pays to shop around and be very selective.
3. Does he have a hidden agenda?
Some gurus are definitely in it for the money, even though they enjoy spiritual pursuits. Being a guru can be lonely, especially for those swami’s sworn to celibacy. Spiritual training can help people become more adept at amassing money, sex and power. This is why love of God precedes service to humanity. Without a deep relationship with the divine, it is all too easy for any of us to sell out.
Find a Guru, Find a Mate
Finding a guru is a lot like finding a lover, even a husband or wife. At first you casually date. At some point, you want to go steady. Soon, if all goes well, you get engaged to be married. Finally, you proclaim your undying love for bride or groom in front of all the world.
The controversial master, Swami Nithyananda, reminds us that if you don’t fall in love with your guru, he is not meant for you. You don’t even need to work at it. Ultimately, it is a matter of the heart. Baba Ram Dass met his guru, Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaji), in the late 1960’s. He is more enamored today with Maharaji than ever, even though his guru transitioned long ago.
Clearly, being selective is imperative. Also, giving yourself time to sort out your feelings is the most humane thing you can possibly do. Even the greatest guru of all time, Jesus Christ, had his disciples doubt Him more than once. Maybe that was necessary. Now, given the test of time, He lives forever in the hearts and minds of His devotees.
Do You Really Need a Guru?
Some of the greatest mystics, such as Ramana Maharshi, never actually had a guru. In his teens, Ramana was overcome by emotion at the death of one of his relatives. He then and there lay down in his room and played dead to realize what it meant. Of course, Ramana quickly came to realize that the True Self never dies. He then took a train to the sacred mountain of Arunachala and stayed there for 50 years. People began to flock to him, until they had actually built a small city around him.
I have had many gurus over my lifetime. Some have had a spectacular influence on me, even though I wasn’t in a personal relationship with them: Billy Graham, Ram Dass, Alan Watts, Werner Erhard and Deepak Chopra, for starters. I have also learned much from friends, colleagues and associates of every descript. I have begun to learn something from virtually everyone.
Ramana disclosed that God, Guru and Self were all the same. What he called the Self is the central “I” behind the entire Universe, behind every set of eyes you encounter. When you look for the Guru, you are looking for Who You Are. When you meet an Avatar, you witness Someone more YOU than you.
When you look for the Guru, you are looking for Who You Are.
The True Guru Always Within
Years ago, Ram Dass, in his classic, Remember Be Here Now, clued us in that the True Guru is on a different plane than the physical. When we are ready, He will appear to us in an appropriate form. Having Him as human makes it vastly easier for us to relate. For whatever reason, it is highly awkward to admit that He is in US, as well.
This is not just an Eastern realization. Jesus Christ, during His Passion, informed His apostles that it was necessary for His Spirit to come after He had left. They would be empowered from on high to do even more than He did. That is the Christ Consciousness. Jesus as an individual is the supreme example, pointing to a new humanity comprised of each one of us who has awakened.
Focus on those gurus with whom you feel most at home. Not in the sense of simply being comfortable, but who provide you the deepest fulfillment, who put you in vital touch with your own highest and best self. Seek a guru with your eyes wide open; you, yourself, are destined to become one for others.
Spiritual Mastery the Greatest Game
When talking about gurus, it is hard not to get serious, rather than lightening up about it. When you are enlightened, in the sense of being illumined within, you lighten up, as well. Finding out Who You Are is not the end of the world. It is the beginning of an exhilarating new life.
You can see it all as a glorious game. You needn’t see games as trivial. Romeo and Juliet is a play. But in what sense could you possibly call it trivial? The best things in life are games. Good games require sincerity, or good faith. You play all out, knowing it is only a game.
You are the Creator within His / Her own creation. You put yourself here to have a ball. Rather than raise Hell, why not make celestial whoopee! You, too, can be a guru!
Is Your Guru a Fraud? appeared first on http://consciousowl.com.
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