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We’ve all been there. At least I’ve been. We have a burning desire for some kind of truth. So, naturally, the first thing we do is venture out into the spiritual marketplace and look for a spiritual teacher.
We look for someone who is wise, witty, intelligent, compassionate, and, of course, enlightened. Basically, we are looking for a perfected human being to show us how we can reach this state of perfection as well.
And when we find this individual that resonates with us, oh boy, what joy. Here is someone who will show us the way out of suffering, or preferably carry us out of it.
So, we read, listen, and watch everything this spiritual teacher has to say. Everything this spiritual master says sounds beautiful and some of it even makes sense.
He tells us to be present, to not take things personally, to accept life as it comes, and to surrender to the flow of life. And if we do this enough, all suffering will be gone.
But no matter how much we practice, how many hours we spend in meditation, and how much bullshit we accept, something doesn’t feel quite right.
There is still suffering, there are still negative emotions and thoughts, and people still get on our nerves.
“Well,” we might wonder “perhaps I’m missing something here. Maybe I should look elsewhere for the missing piece.”
So, back into the spiritual catalog we look to find another one of those enlightened spiritual teachers.
And, of course, we do find this spiritual teacher. This teacher has the missing puzzle piece. So we start listening to everything he has to say.
This teacher says that all we need to do to be free from suffering is to find our true nature, as simple as that. So we start looking. We ask ourselves who we are. We try to remain as ourselves.
After some time of this, we once again feel like something’s missing. Why are we not there yet? Why are we still struggling and suffering? Why are we still riddled with negativity?
And, because it’s the only thing we know, we start looking for something else in the form of another spiritual teacher.
And the cycle continues. Always feeling like we’re getting somewhere, just to feel like we’re still missing an important piece.
Perhaps the question we should’ve asked in the beginning was, “What do I hope to accomplish here? What do I want from this whole spirituality thing?”
Many say that they want spiritual awakening or enlightenment or some such thing. And there are many in the spiritual marketplace that claim they have this thing and show you how you can get it yourself.
The Truth About Spiritual Teachers
“It’s ego – the false self – that exalts the guru and declares the teaching sacred, but nothing is exalted or sacred, only true or not true.” – Jed McKenna
But here is what no spiritual teacher likes to say.
Not only can you not get what you hope to get, but the spiritual teacher is what is in the way to whatever you hope to get.
In fact, many spiritual teachers claim to be or have something they don’t. Whatever it is they are or have is not what they claim it is, and yet they try to give you what they don’t have, and in fact, no one has.
There is no one to awaken or enlighten. That’s the awakening. No one is an authority on this subject and the only authority in your life are you.
No Buddha knows more than you do.
There is no path you can follow, there is only your path. And the path doesn’t lead anywhere because it’s a path from here to here.
But as long as you abdicate your responsibility to a spiritual teacher, you’ll always feel like you’re below the teacher. Your destination is not being a student to the teacher, although for most of us that will naturally happen and is nothing to be frowned upon. Everyone is a student sometimes and everyone is a teacher sometimes.
But to reach your destination, don’t stop at the person pointing you to your destination. And yet, you’ve always been at the end because it’s no different from the beginning.
There are no paths to spiritual awakening or enlightenment. But in retrospect, there are infinite paths.
If a teacher has meditated for decades and awakened, then he’ll most likely teach meditation. If a teacher has followed a guru, he’ll suggest finding a guru (luckily he’s one himself). If a teacher has practiced self-inquiry, he’ll teach that.
“If the Understanding is a house, some come in through the front door, some the back. Some enter through windows, perhaps slipping in unnoticed or perhaps smashing the window and setting off all the alarms. One may come down the chimney, another tear through the roof shingles one by one. One may fall from a great height and crash through the roof and land on the floor in a pile of dust and debris while yet another may hand his hat to the butler as he steps from the porch into the parlor.” — David Carse
This doesn’t mean that whatever practice the teacher has practiced was the causative force that led to his awakening. No spiritual teacher or practice can make the final understanding happen for you. There is always an unknown component to realization.
But if a practice or listening to a teacher happens, then it happens. Nothing wrong with it.
The Purpose of a Spiritual Teacher
“No other way is like yours.
All other ways deceive and tempt you.
You must fulfill the way that is in you.” – Carl Jung
Don’t get me wrong, a teacher can be useful in the same manner a screwdriver can be useful. But you don’t carry a screwdriver in your pocket everywhere you go, do you? You tighten or loosen the screw and then ditch the screwdriver.
Know that a teacher is nothing but a finger pointing towards, let’s use the classic analogy, the moon. But most of us start mistaking the words for the thing and that’s where we’re digging ourselves into a hole.
The teacher may point, but you need to look. You have eyes, you can look for yourself. Let me correct that. You must look for yourself.
After the Buddha has pointed, you kill him and walk along. Either you can confirm what a spiritual teacher is talking about for yourself or it means nothing.
The true spiritual teacher will never expect you to subordinate to him and accept his words at face value. A master will encourage you to think and not think for yourself. He will make it clear that he has nothing to give you.
So, I’m not trying to convince you to stop following any teacher or teaching, maybe just a little. More than that, I’m saying you don’t need a spiritual teacher. Because no matter how eloquently the teacher expresses these matters, it’s primarily intellectual satisfaction.
But if you want to get to the end of the road—the final understanding—the intellect and the teacher will be standing in the way. Discard both. Don’t worry nothing will be lost.
What to Do with Your Spiritual Teacher
“Only if you reject all the other paths can you discover your own path.” – U.G. Krishnamurti
Here is something you can do if you have a spiritual teacher or teachers you follow.
Ask yourself the following question:
Why do I listen to this teacher?
What do I hope to get from this teacher?
Can I confirm what the teacher says myself?
Have I seriously questioned everything the teacher says?
Have I put the teacher on a pedestal?
Do I feel below the teacher?
Mind you, there is nothing wrong with listening to someone solely for entertainment and upliftment. Nor am I saying that you can’t learn from other people.
But the difference between teachers in other areas and spiritual teachers is that spirituality (if we define it as moving towards some kind of truth) is about unlearning. Spirituality is about questioning everything and everyone.
If you want to learn a new skill, being open-minded and willing to learn from someone is without a doubt useful. But if you want to figure out what’s what, being ruthlessly discerning and inquisitive will serve you more.
In the end, however, it doesn’t really matter a lot. Who you listen to and who you ignore can’t take you off your path because, for you, there is nothing but your path.
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In the spirit of this article, please don’t take anything I say here too seriously either. Your only true spiritual teacher is life itself and it has been guiding and teaching you all the time. Just look and pay attention, and you’ll be where no one before you was.
“You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.” – Swami Vivekananda
Luka
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You say you have to get rid of spiritual masters. So, for consistency, there is no need to buy anything from you or expect anything from you.