Guest guest Posted August 5, 2000 Report Share Posted August 5, 2000 I thought this tied in well with recent discussions. Interesting. Kris > >Can a spiritual discipline be practiced without a teacher? > >"A spiritual discipline cannot be practiced without supervision of a >competent teacher." Thus proclaim tantric scriptures of the past, so say >respectable teachers of the present. The reason that this proclamation is >true has to do with the delusory, fiendish, and manipulative character of >the ego and its natural opposition to the spiritual longing of the soul -- >the key conflict to be resolved by the spiritual journey. > >The aim of a spiritual practice is to uncover Truth -- the absolute knowing >that there is one Divine entity playing many roles. Such absolute knowing >is >an intuitive "state" whereby one knows that everything happens in the >imagination of singular Supreme Entity. Our human ego, however, is >profoundly threatened by such spiritual knowledge because it has quite >another plan in its micromind. Its plan is to play God itself! > >Ego imagines itself Divine and continually strives to position itself at >the >center. Overtly or covertly, it incessantly attempts to manipulate the >world >to suit its own ambitions. The ego hopes to recruit all other inhabitants >of >the Universe to its petty mission and make them its servants. Indeed, this >is the "original sin" -- the sin of making everything personal and taking >everything personally. > >Ego’s sense of its solidity and its notion that it has a continuous >personality is, however, a grand illusion. In truth, it does not have any >independent existence and is but a collection of disjointed thoughts and >emotions -- which are frequently contradictory to one another. (This can be >verified through meditation.) > >Now we come to the punch line. The spiritual urge is a call of the soul -- >a >call full of longing for the Divine Who is at innermost core of each living >being. It is a call to come back to our real (spiritual) home. Yet, this >call is heard through the clouds of ego and these clouds mightily >complicate >the spiritual path. In fact, understanding and outwitting the ego’s soap >opera is fundamentally what the spiritual path is about. > >Ego plays with the soul to make it believe that it is the soul’s friend -- >all the while plotting to subvert the soul’s spiritual urge and to bring it >under control. Instead of being a way toward freedom, ego strives to >convert >the spiritual path into another ego-centered pursuit. Ego usually succeeds >in its mission until the soul’s call becomes strong enough to shout a loud >"No." > >The key difficulty with seeing the true nature of ego is that our soul >identifies with it. To see through this delusion takes a great deal of >sa'dhana', maturation and, most of all, willingness. Divine Grace, >particularly as it flows through the physical presence of your teacher, is >the key to separating the ego from the soul -- because your ego cannot >deceive your teacher, who can see through its games. > >And ego will play masterful games conceived with exceptional guile -- until >it is submerged in the greatness of the soul. A disciple needs a lot of >patience, remarkable intelligence, and persistent dedication to the Truth >to >expose the ego’s play to his or her awareness and convince him- or herself >that the ego must become a servant rather than the ruler of the disciple's >life. Unless a disciple is a spiritual genius hoping to reinvent the wheel >(an example of reductio ad absurdum), a guru will save a student a lot of >time. > >Of course, a person uncomfortable with an idea of engaging a spiritual >teacher is by definition not ready for serious spiritual discipline with >its >rigorous requirements. Many aspirants entertain hopes of learning -- yet, >they do not like being instructed, fail to follow directions, or object to >hearing the truth about their behavior. For such people, approaching a >spiritual teacher is a romantic fantasy but is scary in reality. A skilful >teacher will quickly let air out of such daydreaming. > >A key role of a spiritual teacher is to lend his or her spiritual power to >the developing disciple, while at the same time pushing him or her towards >gaining his or her own soul (spiritual) strength. Once the disciple >achieves >a definitive degree of soul strength, he or she will no longer require the >physical and emotional presence of the guru -- because he or she will be >able to hear and heed the commands of his or her soul -- wherein hides the >Universal Teacher Principle Itself. Once the aspirant is connected to his >or >her soul, the union (yoga) has been achieved and the purpose of the master >realized. And disciple becomes his or her own spiritual boss -- not a slave >to the ego. > >Making the ego a slave to the soul, rather than its ruler, heralds the end >to suffering, which is, of course, another definition of the spiritual >path. >This path -- whatever the name of the temporal religious tradition -- >consists of several natural stages. Among its first tasks is to expose >ego’s >shenanigans -- to seek how the ego tries to position itself at the center. >This is done through observing your reactions by being continuously aware. >Your teacher may provoke your ego at this stage to assist you in viewing >your particular soap opera. For this, you must learn to trust the >intentions >and instructions of your teacher -- therefore, the bond must be strong and >positive. > >Sa'dhana' (spiritual practice) leads to a very special kind of learning -- >the learning that is not accessible through the intellect. It is learning >to >intuit the totality of the Universe and Its current flow direction, rather >than investigating a specific phenomenon, as in scientific inquiry. A >person >is likely to fail on the path -- that is remain centered on the intellect >and the ego -- unless he or she has a strong personal urge and is gifted >with penetrating mystical capability and intuitional intelligence. Even if >the disciple has a well-developed intuition, he or she may be confused at >times. The teacher can bring order and clarity to such chaotic moments. > >A close relationship with a guru is characteristic of tantric tradition >because, being concerned with efficient spiritual development, it >recognizes >the matchless and incomparable role of the guru in showing the disciple the >fastest spiritual path known to humankind. One can assess the advancement >of >a disciple by the degree of his or her proximity to his or her teacher (not >to be confused with mere physical or emotional closeness). For the ability >to stand naked in Truth as represented by the Guru Principle is the key to >the warrior path, which is at the heart of tantra teachings. > >Even incarnate masters, when young, seek out a guru. What can ordinary >mortals like us hope to achieve without a teacher? > >— Acharyaji > >________ > >If you like these mailings, please help spread the word -- tell your >friends >and relatives. > >To from this list, please DO NOT reply to this message >because such unsubscription requests will be ignored. >Instead, please visit >http://www.abhidhyan.org/Contents/Abhidhyan-List_FAQ.htm. > > 1991-2000 Abhidhyan Yoga Institute, Inc. All rights reserved. > > >_____________ >abhidhyan-list mailing list >abhidhyan-list >http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/abhidhyan-list ______________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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