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Fwd: [abhidhyan-list] A thought for the week

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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

>

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>

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>

>

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