Phony Teachers/Harsha

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In a message dated 5/14/00 8:29:28 PM Pacific Daylight Time,

hluthar writes:

 

<<

> Ha ha ha ha .... l loved this story, Harsha. So that's how so many of

> these phony lndian teachers got over here???? ))))

> love,

> jerrysan

>

 

Thanks for appreciating the humor Jerrysan Rinpoche. I was just making the

story up more or less. I am not cynical about gurus, just realistic. Being an

ordinary person, I understand that human beings at times exhibit weaknesses

of different types at different times. Most gurus are no exception to this

rule.

 

India is truly a land of spiritual geniuses. Its history and epics are

steeped in mysticism. It is a place where Yoga and Tantra have developed as

sciences and art forms. India's spiritual gifts to the world are undeniable

and overwhelming. Genuine spirituality and those who make religion a

profession have always existed side by side in India. This is true of other

cultures and countries as well. Just as spirituality is not the exclusive

domain of any particular religion or tradition, phoniness seems to be quite

universal as well. To a large extent, what is phony and what is genuine

seems to be in the eye of the beholder.

 

You have attained lofty heights Sri Jerrysan Rinpoche. Your standards are

high as they should be. I believe your compassion must be even greater.

Perhaps Jimmy Swagart's public confessions brought tears to your eyes and

when he asked for forgiveness, you really did without giving it a second

thought! Same thing with Jimmy and Tammy faye Baker. Hey, temptation happens!

When Oral Roberts went up to the top floor of his school and started fasting,

perhaps you were all choked up. When he asked people to send his organization

money or God would call him home, perhaps you looked in your

wallet to see what could be spared.

 

Like you Sri Jerrysan, I have seen many gurus "fall" over the years.

Sometimes the masters weep and ask their followers for forgiveness as well.

That kind of stuff does not bother me as it has been part of the landscape

for thousands of years. Even genuine yogis make mistakes or give into

temptation because they are human. This is the cyclical nature of life. There

is many a slip before the cup touches the lip! Today's phony is tomorrow's

Sage! One never knows.

 

Love

Harsha

>>

 

Dear Harsha,

As l sometimes do, l felt a twinge of regret after sending the above

statement to the list. l was really only trying to be amusing, but one must

be careful with humor, and l wasn't careful enough. Knowing you're from

lndia, l'm sorry if this clumsy attempt to be funny caused any offense. And

thank you for your thoughtful response. l hope you won't mind if l use it to

say more about this.

Ever since l first went there

15 years ago, lndia has always been my favorite country. l used to go there

every year and felt a special connection to the land and its people. As soon

as l would get off the plane l always felt as if l belonged there. l only

stopped going because of physical problems caused by k, and several times

l've wistfully told friends that if l'm ever able to travel again there are

two places to which l have to return: Kyoto and lndia.

 

So you'll get no argument from me in singing the

praises of lndia's legacy as the great mother of spirituality. lt's a feeling

that l always felt permeated the air there, from visiting sacred sites to

looking into the eyes of the poorest of its residents. One cannot be

unaffected by it. l think l got more out of being around poor people there

than the ashrams and teachers, which was a lesson in itself. l had to ask

myself, why am l more open to the downtrodden here than in my own country.

 

lt's difficult for me to even discuss gurus in general terms,

because l've found that so many of the cliches and platitudes about teachers

fall apart when specific cases are considered. Hey, blame it on my legal

background if you will , but l prefer facts to theories. Yet, in spiritual

circles there appears to be a remarkable resistance to looking at facts where

gurus are concerned. So many people prefer to live in denial and to cling to

comforting illusions. This makes a real dialogue impossible and prevents us

from ever getting to interesting questions, such as: who is this person? was

he always false or did he become false? if the latter is true, what

happened, and why? what lessons are to be learned for all concerned?

 

You mention Jimmy Swaggart, Tammy Faye and Oral Roberts. l think

part of the disillusionment that many of us feel is that we expected better

from the eastern masters. We've always seen Jimmy, Tammy Faye and Oral as

pond scum, long before revelations of their indiscretions, and we don't feel

it's asking alot to expect eastern teachers to rise above their level. lt's

like asking geniuses to do better than morons. Not necessarily to be perfect,

but to do better.

l also think it's not

unrealistic to hold a teacher to the same standard we set for ourselves. l

don't lie, defraud, cheat or harm people; l could certainly see myself being

tempted sexually, but l never have or would rape or sexually molest or

harrass a woman, much less a young girl or boy. Yet, most of the above acts

have become standard behavior for prominent gurus in the west - conduct that

would land anyone else in prison. lt goes beyond fallibility to the point of

criminality.

lf this phenomenon occurred infrequently

we wouldn't even be talking about it. But it is more the rule than the

exception. THAT is what troubles me. When highly immoral conduct becomes the

norm, when it becomes hard to find even one guru who hasn't fallen, then l

have to wonder. lt goes beyond moralizing to questioning the system and its

inability to produce role models. Where are they? Where are the realized

masters whom we can hold in high esteem? l ask this not mockingly, but

sincerely, because altho l assume there are a few out there, l don't

personally know of any, except you Harshaji )). We seem to have only a few

masters from the past and ourselves to look to.

 

You mention compassion. l can feel loads of

compassion for the sort of teacher you mention, one who is finally honest and

asks his students for forgiveness. The problem is, this is so rare. As you

know, nearly always the guru is enmeshed in lies and institutional denial to

the end. Most of them have perpetuated a structure built on deceit to such a

colossal height that there is either no desire or means to return to reality.

How can one feel compassion in such a situation? l honestly consider myself

as compassionate as anyone. (Before you take this as a display of ego, let me

hasten to say that l have my flaws, ha ha, it's just that lack of compassion

isn't one of them.) l humbly submit that compassion isn't the appropriate

reaction to an abusive guru who, like most, never comes clean or shows any

remorse for his misdeeds.

 

Ahhh .... enough,enough. Just a final thought. l'm including

American gurus as well as lndian, and the Tibetans have also displayed feet

of clay. ln fact, l was going to do a post on Tibetans, partly because this

area has become personally relevant to me right now. l don't claim to have

the answers where this subject is concerned. l just don't want to avoid the

questions.

 

love,

jerrysan