Do we need Gurus? That’a a good question.
Imagine we are in darkness and we see that bright light flashing at far, wouldn’t we be drawn to it like a bee to pollen. Well, not all flowers use bees for pollination, some use them as a source of food.
Or, let us say we are in the dark with only a lighter as source of light and we see someone with a big torch, we may most likely be tempted to walk alongside that person. Remember in school how the child with the coolest toy was rarely contravened and blindly followed.
What is a guru or spiritual leader or whatever sophisticated name is being used nowadays? It is someone who has gain a certain knowledge before another one in the same field of interest, hence the tendency to follow, no need to reinvent the wheel.
The word knowledge is important here. We gain knowledge so that we may use it to achieve something, knowledge by itself does not achieve anything, it must be put to use so as to manifest something. Let us take the example of mathematics, we go on to learn the maths, the knowledge of maths can then put to use in a variety of field base on a person’s subjective field of predilection. The role of any good teacher would be to enlighten the mind of the student about the different prospects of the knowledge instilled. The teacher’s predilection should not become the student’s predilection, it could, if the student is making an informed decision.
So where do we stand?
- The first paragraph about the bee is related to the false gurus and the like
- The second paragraph is about sophism
- The third paragraph tells us that knowledge in itself is neutral it is the specific nature of the individual which will trigger the path where the knowledge will be put to use
Hence, we need more teachers and less gurus. Don’t get me wrong, gurus do have their importance, but the way things have been going on for eons now is delaying the enlightenment of so many. Do the maths..which is better? to have 1 enlightened individual every 10 years or 10 enlightened individuals every year.
Gurus and the kind are for those who have not yet felt the urge for change. For those already embarked on the journey, you should avoid contact with spiritual leaders altogether. The knowledge has already been imparted to you, it is just that you are not aware of it.
On a spiritual journey, the first hurdles are to let go of the old and to learn about empathy/compassion. It is only after having grasped the essence of empathy and compassion that one is ready to continue the journey. If you are following a spiritual leader, that person will put you at use in his/her field of predilection, it may have to do with environment, helping third world countries or any other genuine objectives. The thing is, you will learn only a fragment of what is empathy/compassion in relation to the field of predilection of that spiritual leader. There is nothing wrong to it, only that you will never reach you full potential that way, a bit like using a sport car to plough a field or a tractor to run a race, both are out of context. The road to empathy and compassion is a solo journey, you may have a partner with you, but even that is rare.
The followers referred to above are being delayed in their progression along the path, for the true seeker, one not caught in the embroilment of gurus, there would be a tendency to look down on these followers. DON’T. They are the blocks at the bottom of the pyramid for now, the bricks of the pyramid, however, is in a perpetual movement as if the bricks from the bottom flows to the top and back to the bottom endlessly. The resultant effect is not a brick reaching the top, it is the continuous improvement of that pyramid. And, that improvement is not a linear one, meaning no one person is more advanced that the other.
This is but the beginning of trying to understand the route to empathy and compassion. We’ll develop on that later on.
Thank you for reading.
Ciao
