A friend asked us to share this with readers. It’s about the risks and signs of "gurus" who offer quick enlightenment processes, who appear to have miraculous powers and siddhis.
M Alan Kazlev has done a good job of popularizing the Intermediate Zone theory on how these kinds of gurus operate:
http://www.kheper.net/topics/gurus/IZ_guru.html#development.
In ‘’The Sensitives'’ Chapter 12: ‘’The Intermediate Zone'’, Paul Brunton
wrote:
1
The pathway of the mystical goal is strewn with human wreckage. Why? Several
reasons would be needed to give a complete answer but one of the most
important is this: Between the state of ordinary man and the state of the
matured mystic there lies a perilous and deceptive psychological region
which has been given various names in mystical literature. It has been
called the astral plane, the intermediate zone, the hall of illusion, and so
on. The early efforts of all aspirants in concentration, meditation,
self-conquest, and study, bring them into this region. But once here their
egoism becomes stimulated by the subtle forces they have evoked, their
emotional nature becomes more sensitive and more fluid, their imaginative
power becomes more active and is less restrained. The consequence of failure
to negotiate these changes properly is swollen vanity, superstitious
credulity, emotions run riot, and imagination gone wild. The safeguards
against all this are first, submission to the philosophic discipline and
second, submission to competent guidance.
2
During the early stages of the meditator’s career, ecstasies, visions, and
messages may manifest themselves. He may accept the encouragement they bring
to his feelings, but he should not accept the communications they make to
his mind without screening them severely. It is easy for the ego to fall
into self-flattering moods as a consequence of such experiences, and to pass
from them into spiritual pride and vanity. But even if he succeeds in
critically judging them, he must still remember and keep in mind that they,
and even the emotional raptures, pertain only to these early stages and that
he must become indifferent to and detached from them in the later ones.
Otherwise, they will hinder his further development and cause him to
stagnate.
3
These powers are latent in all men but active in few. To seek them before we
have sought the divine Soul itself is a premature, unwise, and often
dangerous enterprise.
4
All occult experiences and spirit visions are mental, and not spiritual, in
the sense that the mind has various latent powers which pertain to the ego,
not the Overself. The question of which is real can be answered differently
according to standpoint. He need not trouble about the occult side, which
would be a degeneration for him. His chief aim must be to realize pure
B-e-i-n-g, not to see or experience anything outside it. Only after this has
been done is it safe or wise to concern himself with anything occult.
5
While the aspirant is still unbalanced in personality, undeveloped in
capacity, and uninformed in attitude, his psychical "experiences" are not
likely to be of much real value or importance. Yet, precisely because of
this immaturity of his, he will exaggerate their value and magnify their
importance. One consequence of this is that they may not only obstruct but
even harm his progress if he dwells on them. Hence a competent teacher will
discourage most talk about them. He wants to hear that the aspirant has
begun to overcome an unworthy impulse, not that he has "seen" some mystical
vision.
6
It is natural for beginners to become excited or enthusiastic about the
psychic phenomena but to let them be overvalued or misunderstood is
dangerous to further progress.
7
He must not misdirect his intelligence at the bidding of his thirst for
occult powers, nor his devotion at the bidding of his yearning for a
teacher. He must not befog his outlook by acquired antipathies and picked-up
prejudices. He must beware of the neuroticism which often passes for
mysticism.
8
The beginner should not seek communications, messages, oracles, predictions,
or impressions from the divine. He inevitably lacks the capacity and
knowledge to discriminate between those that come from the true divine and
those that come from the pseudo-divine. Because the first class is rare but
the second common, he is more likely to be deceived than inspired. This kind
of effort may lead to dangerous results.
9
What novices regard as psychic gifts are more often psychic ills. What they
regard as spiritual development is more often spiritual affliction. They are
the victims of their visions. Farther from God and nearer to madness leads
the path of their heard voices and automatic writings.
10
Temptation begins when he becomes aware, through phenomena occurring in his
presence or by his thought, that occult powers are developing within him. He
may then come to regard himself as an extraordinary superman–which is
nonsense–or as a somewhat imperfect channel.
11
It is just as possible to use these occult powers evilly as it is to use
them beneficently. Indeed it is more possible. Therefore the way to them is
guarded vigilantly, both by Nature and by those who hold the necessary
knowledge.
12
Emotional vapourings may, at this early stage, be mistaken for authentic
inspirations; even neurotic ravings may be welcomed as sacred revelations.
Their content may even be partially or totally false.
13
He who would avoid unknown terrors should reject the pursuit of occult
powers and the courting of invisible spirits, until he understands what he
is doing. Let him learn before he moves, know light and shadow.
14
All occult development should be shunned until the character has been
thoroughly changed, the emotions purified, the will hardened, and
superstitions removed by knowledge. It may then come by itself as a
resultant by-product of advanced mystical practices in meditation. In this
way it will come safely and prove useful. In any other way, moral and mental
deterioration may ensue, personal dangers may be incurred, while general
futility may be the end of all.
15
The practices of psychism and occultism, with their pursuit of psychical and
occult powers, have this peril: that unless the seeker is quite well
informed he may be led astray from the correct path if he is at a lower
stage, or be kept too preoccupied with his own ego (or extensions of it) if
at a higher one. What might be useful adjuncts to a sage could become snares
to a seeker.
16
The reason why the Yogi is called upon to reject the miracle-making powers
which he earns is that unless he does so he is stopped in his onward
progress to the Highest. He must go on and on until he gains the latter;
"Neti, neti"–"Not this, not that"–must be his constant exclamation when
new privileges of a superhuman kind are presented to him. In brief, he is
not to be satisfied nor to stand still until he reaches his Goal. But once
he has won his way to the truly spiritual plane of being, he can then safely
turn around and pick up and use every occult power by which he has hitherto
refused to become ensnared.
17
These mysterious unrealized powers in man can only be safely developed by an
adept in philosophy, by a man who has already the knowledge to understand
what he is really doing and the character to do it without danger to himself
or others.
18
The siddhis represent the occult powers. They have no spiritual function, as
they are on a lower level, although men who have attained spiritual
realization may find themselves in possession of such powers. But also men
who are not so interested in spiritual realization as in realizing their
personal ambitions may deliberately seek and develop such powers.
19
He must understand that if he is clairvoyant and easily has visions, he is
actually hindered in his progress at a certain stage, whereas this will
become a great and helpful asset when he is more advanced. To get through to
the higher consciousness these powers of clairvoyant vision must die down in
him for a period and he must therefore co-operate and try to assist this
process by the effort of deliberately willed self-repression.
20
A time may come when he may seek to get rid of those occult powers which,
formerly, he sought so eagerly.
21
It is necessary to remember that a power which has been given may later be
withdrawn.
22
If a student is devoted to the lofty ideal of finding what is finest in
life, Nature mercifully withdraws possession of these supernormal powers
from him after he has become, through his own short but startling personal
experiences, both conscious and convinced of the wonderful power of Mind.
23
Then, of their own accord, they are mysteriously if slowly restored to him.
During all this time they have preserved matured and perfected themselves
through the unconscious workings of mind. Consequently he gains a superior
form of them, as it were. Whereas before they were fragmentary fitful and
sporadic, now they are ripe and forever to hand; whereas before they were
vague and dreamlike, now they are precise and sharp. Nevertheless, the more
authentic his possession of them is, the less will he speak of their
existence. For several reasons–practical, prudential, and mystical–it is
an unwritten law that they shall be owned and used in silence. Another
reason for this silence is, however, almost ethical. These perfected powers
arise when the ego is sunk, because they are powers belonging to the
universal Mind, not to the ego. Hence to the degree that he identifies
himself with the universal Mind he begins to manifest these miraculous
powers. Because they are pertaining to universal Mind he cannot honestly say
they are his. But neither can he honestly deny their presence in him. It is
better, therefore, to keep silent about them.
In other cases, where the initial motive is low and unscrupulous but the
patience to prolong meditation is high and determined, the loss of these
powers comes much later. The man who is interested in merely gaining these
powers for his own personal and selfish aggrandizement is entitled to
receive what he has worked for. But his motive may not only cause him to
injure others and thus bring down the eventual retribution of karma upon
him, but also cause him to fall afoul of malignant invisible forces. A
Mongolian philosopher with whom I once discussed the topic of developing
occult powers dryly remarked that a man who tried deliberately to do so
before being prepared by moral, mystical, and metaphysical disciplines was
to be compared to an infant lying helplessly on its back liable to all kinds
of dangers against which it had no shield.
24
That is not to say, however, that there are not strange faculties lying
latent in the human mind. On the contrary, because mentalism is a fact in
Nature, most successful yogis discover that some extraordinary faculties
automatically arise in them. They offer a fascinating field of exploration
to a properly trained competent investigator who has not only mastered the
subject in a rational manner, and knows enough of the dangers and risks
attending it, not only disciplined his mind and desires through the
scientific, metaphysical, and yogic courses, but also consciously brought
his ego within the framework of universal being. But amateurs who invade
this field through motives of mere curiosity or immoral exploitation sooner
or later discover that it becomes a region either of sheer time-wasting or
else of grave danger. Even the best of men will find his way through this
field with the utmost difficulty, while for most dilettanti it is an
undertaking which is usually foredoomed to failure. In any case these powers
not only are hard to get but may prove dangerous when gotten.
25
Psychic powers may develop of themselves as a consequence of mystical
self-culture but should not be sought as its end. The first way is safe, the
second is dangerous.
Tests, ordeals, temptations
26
The psychic experiences that may come to him on the Quest may be important
preliminary phases in which some truths are passed on from the Overself in
the form of mental pictures. Such a probationary period is usually filled
with tests and ordeals, temptations and tribulations. In this connection,
the events themselves are important to his personal life; but his reactions
to them are what is important to his spiritual life.
27
Mysticism and meditation are but stages on the way up; their value lies in
forming the fineness of mind, concentration of thought, and abstractedness
of mood which are required to reach the higher stage. Of themselves they
cannot bring us into truth or realization. If correctly practised they shape
the mental instrument, or if incorrectly done they damage it. Hence all
visions, psychic experiences, and occult initiations experienced in this
stage are not only transient but of no real worth in themselves, while many
are quite imaginary or the result of suggestion, however real to the
experience for the moment.
28
Before we can reach the reality we have to cross a world of fanciful
imagination and time-wasting delusions.
29
It is an unfortunate fact that some pilgrims become afflicted, either for a
while or for a whole lifetime, with a mild madness. Their insanity is too
mild to stop them from carrying on with their ordinary business of living,
but it is sufficiently developed to make them waste time and energy in the
pursuit of vain phantoms and absurd fantasies. If it takes the form of a
hunger for occult phenomena or a desire to get spiritually transformed
without working for it, they usually fall victim to some charlatan or
imposter who aggravates their sickness and spoils their chances of recovery.
If it takes some other form it is because they do not bring to the Quest
sufficient practical judgement, emotional stability, and logical capacity.
Such persons should abstain from meditation and limit their devotional
exercises to prayer. They should greatly curb their mystical studies and
give themselves up to the duller work of improving themselves. This work is
absolutely necessary as a prerequisite to entering the real Quest; otherwise
they will merely follow a hallucinatory one.
30
Another danger on the quest is a kind of mild madness during the long phase
when occult phenomena are sought everywhere, esoteric interpretations are
read into everything, and entry into the Overself is expected every day. No
natural cause, no physical explanation will be accepted for any event if a
supernatural one can be found. The worldly career may be marked by foolish
acts which not only harm the actor, but, unwittingly, sometimes others too.
Possessions may be squandered, opportunities thrown away, and false friends
cultivated.
31
They begin to see their persecution by evil spirits and to feel the
opposition by adverse forces, at every turn. But, in fact, the only enmity
they have to endure is that which they fearfully imagine into existence.
32
It is by trying, aspiring, daring, that the latent creative forces in us are
called into activity. Occultism teaches that all kinds of hindering and
hostile forces surround us to drag us down. But if a man believes an
influence or person or thing or environment to be hostile, if he thinks it
will make it impossible for him to progress, then it may well be so; he will
not progress. What occultism teaches is true, but it is not necessary to
burden oneself with doubt and pessimism. There is also a higher truth.
33
There exist murky regions, lower worlds, which are best left alone,
uninvaded, and not made visible by misguided efforts to become
"clairvoyant."
34
If his feet remain solidly planted on earth, if his emotion does not outrun
reason, if respect for fact is not failing, and if balance is kept always,
he is in no danger of verging on that mild insanity or of entering that
cloudy cuckoo-land which afflicts too many mystics.
35
Between his present stage and the ultimate goal, there lies a misty world of
fantasies, illusions, snares, absurdities, and dangers. Here he may become
as utterly confused about truth as beyond it he will become utterly
convinced.
36
For some persons these are perilous studies: incipient madness finds in them
its sun and water.
Danger signals, protective measures
37
Between the clear-cut solidity of the outer life in the sense-world and the
impalpable delicacy of the inner life in the divine spirit, there is a
region which many aspirants have to cross, but which a few succeed in
avoiding. This is a region of illusion, fantasy, and psychism, where the ego
uses its most cunning devices to entrap his emotions and entangle his
passions, weaves its most specious flattery to seduce his intellect and
imagination. On this part of his journey sensuality assumes the subtlest
forms, fancy weaves the strangest occult experiences. Vanity receives the
greatest encouragement through oracular or mission-bestowing messages, and
unbalance is heightened to the pitch of neuroticism, hysteria, or even
insanity. In this psychical stage of his development where error masquerades
as truth, he will unconsciously impose upon the world of reality forms which
properly belong to the world of sense. Here visions and messages,
experiences and phenomena, things seen, heard, or touched by the imagination
will constitute a subtle materialism designed to lead him astray. He must
protect himself by drawing upon a strong, impartial self-criticism and
self-denial, a strong, impersonal intelligence, and by seeking the counsel
of a competent guide.
38
One’s personal mystic experience is an important, perhaps the most
important, test of the truth; but it should not stand alone. It needs to be
checked by other standards. And it should be kept in the direction of the
true and highest goal–discovery of the Soul. It should be kept away from
the direction of occult phenomena. Psychic experience is something heard or
felt or seen or touched–it is a sense-contact and belongs to the body’s
realm. The senses may deceive a man–or be used to deceive him! For such
experiences involve the same five senses, albeit in another dimension, and
need even more checking than physical ones. They belong to a road that is
beset with temptations illusions and deceptions but in any case it is not
"the straight and narrow path" to the kingdom of heaven. Psychism easily
leads to a feeding and fattening of the ego, whose vanity glories in
"powers" which it can show off to impress other people or even use to
exploit them for its own benefit.
39
The dangers of letting his attention and energy be drawn aside from the main
quest into psychic, occult, and mediumistic activities must be looked for in
their early beginnings. It is then that they are easier to deal with. It is
then that he must be vigilant and hard with himself, for the cost of going
astray into these temptations is heavy.
40
It is true that to analyse with scientific detachment these most intimate
and precious experiences, visions, and messages could, if imprudently done,
easily destroy their value or prevent their recurrence. Yet this is
precisely what he has to do if he is to protect himself against
illusions.(P)
41
He must learn to discriminate between what is genuine and what is false,
what is good and what is evil, if he is to pick his way through this
deceitful region.
42
If he can catch any of these psychic manifestations at the very moment when
they begin, that is the best time to prevent their arisal altogether, for
then they are at their weakest. That is the proper time to nip them in the
bud.(P)
43
The region of prophetic visions, clairaudient voices, and predictive
messages opens up a veritable pit of possible illusions to the mystic. He
must beware of the sights and scenes, the self-glorifying revelations which
may present themselves to the mind during meditation. He would be better
employed chasing such phantasmagorias from the mind rather than seeking to
attract them! The mystic must put a stern check upon his imagination if he
wishes to pass safely through his apprenticeship. The last word is that the
course of meditation may or may not be accompanied by these occult
phenomena. Neither does their addition improve the value of the mystic
experience nor does their non-existence lessen it. Where they are genuine
and authentic communications from the Overself, their value lies rather in
personal but transient satisfaction or in immediate but momentary help.
44
A sincere motive is praiseworthy but not enough to give complete protection
for untried, untempted, inexperienced innocence against these psychic and
other dangers. It cannot be a substitute for cautious prudence, critical
judgement, and psychical knowledge.
45
The intellectual weakness which permits such credulity must be removed if
truth is ever to be found.
46
Humility is willing to question the reality of the figures it thinks it is
seeing, but conceit is not.
47
Open-eyed observation and clear-headed enquiry will supply the true facts
where fantastic imagination and psychic tendencies will largely misrepresent
them.
48
We must make no pretensions to secrets which we do not possess. Since what
we do not know is so much more than what we do know, it is better to be
humble and straightforwardly to say, "I do not know." It is then possible to
learn, to amend our ignorance; but once we pose as holding a knowledge which
in fact we do not hold, we put up the shutters of the mind and doom
ourselves to continued darkness.
49
He must endeavour to understand what has occurred, seeking to substantiate
his understanding by scientific methods. Not that there are no genuine
manifestations of this order; there are. Telepathy and telementation,
clairvoyance and clairaudience, revelation and inspiration are actual facts
in Nature, which means that they are not really supernatural but are
spontaneous workings of little-known powers of the human mind. But they
happen much less frequently than occultists believe, and what mostly passes
for them are the workings of disordered impressions and philosophically
untrained thoughts.
50
The man who exhibits repeated credulity thereby shows his unfitness for the
highest truth. The seeker must not only not practise self-deception but must
not let others practise deception on him.
51
All that is recondite, unusual, occult, and strange may attract a man but it
may not serve him unless he finds a compensating attraction in what is holy,
aspirational, divine, exalting, sublime, and wide. Without that it may
disserve him.
52
Those who have to deal with physical things whose manufacture depends on
precise measurements or practical skills cannot afford to work carelessly,
think nebulously, or lose themselves in false or misty imaginings out of
relation with the crude realities–certainly no carpenter and no engineer
dare do so. Yet so-called religious mystics, occultists, and psychics do,
for there is no way to show up their errors.
53
Those who give themselves to these studies do not necessarily suffer a
diminution of their intellectual integrity or emotional balance, although a
proportion do. This is because they are already neurotic, hysteric, or
irrational types. Such a person should first attend, or get a psychologist
to attend, to the restoration of mind or character, and leave mysticism
alone until this is done.
54
A student should try to use his will to stop any psychic development. He
should change his posture the instant he is aware of it: not remain lying
down, but either prop himself up in bed or get up and walk around.
55
If he seeks power at all, he does so not to establish it over others but
over himself.
56
These experiences and revelations are to be received humbly, or they will
become a source of harm rather than benefit, of swollen rather than
attenuated ego.
57
"You are seeking," Cleon said, "for what is not of the world you live in,
and you do not know how to judge soundly of what is under your
eyes."–Thucydides
58
One danger of occult experience, if outside the philosophical training, is
its inflation of the ego, causing the man to regard himself too highly and
to appraise his spiritual position beyond its real one.
59
By this rigid discipline, the seeker is safeguarded from the danger of
walking into his own mental creations under the belief that he is walking
into spiritual reality. But those who have not undergone this discipline
quickly fall into self-deception and stop there. They do not know that they
have to pass through and beyond these mental creations if they would reach
the reality behind them.
————————————
As an aside, I saw the comments on the Daism forum regarding Georg
Fuerstein.
Some folks just don’t learn. I read Georg Fuerstein’s explanation of his
revised Holy Madness book. Despite the suffering his fascination with tantra
brought him, he is still fascinated with Tantra as being the "highest path",
not recognizing his own issues behind that fascination, and stating:
"The fact is that the highest teachings within Tibetan Buddhism call for
what in Hinduism is known as "left-hand" Tantric concepts and practices. I
hasten to add that the Tibetan adepts do not consider the required sexual
activity in Unexcelled Yoga to be just that. On the contrary, when they do
speak about this secret level of spiritual engagement at all, they emphasize
that the practice of maithuna, or sexual congress, is exclusively a
spiritual and psycho-energetic event, downplaying the fact that an actual
live female partner is involved."
Too bad Fuerstein doesn’t first comprehend that, as it says in the Wikipedia
article on the subject of Vajrayana:
"Vajrayana has a rich array of vows of conduct and behaviour which is based
on the rules of the Pratimoksha and the Bodhisattva code of discipline. The
Ornament for the Essence of Manjushrikirti states:
Distance yourself from Vajra Masters who are not keeping the three vows
who keep on with a root downfall, who are miserly with the Dharma,
and who engage in actions that should be forsaken.
Those who worship them go to hell and so on as a result.
This expresses as well as other sources the need to build the Vajrayana on
the foundation of the Pratimoksha and Bodhisattva vows. Lay persons can
follow the lay ordination. The Ngagpa Yogis from the Nyingma school keep a
special lay ordination."
Anyway, here is his latest rationalization:
Extract :
Twenty years have elapsed since writing the first version of this book,
which was entitled Holy Madness. In the interim I have delved deeper into
the guru function, both theoretically and experientially, and also have
deepened my philosophical and practical understanding of Buddhism,
specifically the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, which is highly relevant to the
discussion of crazy wisdom.
Writing the first version of this book was a considerable personal struggle.
I had recently emerged from a deep-cutting guru-disciple relationship and
was in the process of integrating my first-hand experience of a crazy-wisdom
teaching. In fact, the original edition was the concluding phase in my
effort to integrate the many lessons to which I had been exposed. I wanted
to be as objective and fair as possible, without sidestepping the critical
questions that inevitably present themselves when considering the phenomenon
of holy madness, or what I here call "crazy wisdom." Looking back and
judging from the spate of letters I received in response to Holy Madness, I
believe I succeeded in this goal. I know that some readers would have liked
to see me simply condemn crazy~ wisdom as a teaching method; others expected
me to be more critical of ‘certain crazy-wisdom teachers; yet others were
upset that I found fault with their own teacher. On a topic that is so
highly controversial such diversity of opinion is inevitable. As a writer, I
can only endeavor to he responsible in my treatment.
For clarification, it was never my intention to make my book an exhaustive
exposé of crazy-wisdom teachers and the scandals surrounding them. My sole
interest was in providing enough background and color on individual teachers
and traditions to put some flesh on the dry bones of analysis. For a more
comprehensive coverage, which is not necessarily analytically significant,
readers might consult Andrew Rawlinson’s The Book of Enlightened Masters:
Western Teachers in Eastern Traditions (Open Court Publishing, 1997).
The present edition of Holy Madness, newly subtitled Spirituality, Crazy-
Wise Teachers, and Enlightenment, essentially reaffirms my earlier judgments
and conclusions, though it also amplifies my cautioning observations about
crazy wisdom. The changes and additions seemed to me to justify at least a
new subtitle. Although the phrase "crazy wisdom" has become more widely
known than "holy madness," largely owing to the Tibetan adept Chogyam
Trungpa, who is discussed in this book, I have retained the main title for
the sake of continuity.
In the case of Adi Da (see Chapter 4), I have had to adjust my earlier view
in light of more recent developments and also because of my improved
understanding of the concept of enlightenment within the tradition of
Buddhism, which offers what I now deem to be the most sophisticated model of
the spiritual path. Another significant adjustment for the better had to be
made in regard to Lee Lozowick. In keeping with his holy folly, Lozowick had
actually thanked me for my earlier "generous" snapshot of him, which at the
time I found amusing but also thought provoking. In rewriting this book, I
felt prompted to dig deeper into his life and work, and it turned out that I
had not been as generous in my assessment of him as I now feel I should have
been. While Lozowick has had a turbulent past as a teacher, over the years
he has demonstrated that the can grow as a person and teacher-a fairly rare
occurrence in the world of modern gurus. His enormous love for, and
discipleship under, the late Yogi Ramsuratkumar are both touching and
instructive. Because of my revised perception of him as a person and
teacher, I felt no hesitation in approaching Hohm Press, which he operates,
about publishing this new edition.
As far as other important changes in the book are concerned, I have thought
it imperative to add discussions of two contemporary figures-Sathya Sai Baba
(the controversial Hindu avatara) and Shoko Asahara (founder of the infamous
terrorist AUM sect in Japan)-who struck me as paradigmatic of what happens
when adeptship turns bad. In the case of the former, my treatment focuses on
the mechanism of psychological projection and mass hysteria. The latter case
of "spiritual" terrorism afforded me an opportunity to consider the always
possible psychopathology of leadership and blind faith. I also have added
three appendices that should help readers better grasp my position on some
of the issues discussed in this book, notably the nature of enlightenment.
Perhaps since the appearance of the first edition of this work, spiritual
seekers have become more savvy or cautious about teachers. Be that as it
may, they undoubtedly have become more disenchanted. Over the past twenty
years, many more "sacred" teachers of spirituality have lost their
respective halo, and their students’ projections stand revealed for what
they were: just idolizing projections that conceal rather than reveal
reality. Among other things, the wildly proliferating Tibetan Buddhism with
its sexually active adepts has caused both consternation and upset for two
reasons: First, because of Western students’ ignorance of the path of the
"Unexcelled Yoga" (AnuttaraYoga), which is Tantric through and through, and
second, because the Tibetan teachers themselves on the whole have done
little to dispel the widespread notion that Buddhist monks are inevitably
celibate. The fact is that the highest teachings within Tibetan Buddhism
call for what in Hinduism is known as "left-hand" Tantric concepts and
practices. I hasten to add that the Tibetan adepts do not consider the
required sexual activity in Unexcelled Yoga to be just that. On the
contrary, when they do speak about this secret level of spiritual engagement
at all, they emphasize that the practice of maithuna, or sexual congress, is
exclusively a spiritual and psycho-energetic event, downplaying the fact
that an actual live female partner is involved. Their reluctance or stealth
has prompted the Dalai Lama to warn Western seekers to choose their teachers
carefully.
In any case, the disappointments experienced by Western seekers with Eastern
gurus is in my view pail of a healthy development of recognizing and
withdrawing unhealthy projections and proceeding on the spiritual path with
sound realism. We must not idealize and certainly not idolize our teachers
but see them as they are-warts and all. Prior to his death, the Buddha
advised his disciples to rely on his teaching and nothing else. This good
counsel still holds true, for a teacher is only as good as his teaching.
Moreover, when a teaching has given rise to a long line of realized
teachers, as in the case of Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism, we can
reasonably assume that it contains the necessary elements for us to grow on
the spiritual path as well.
Teachers unquestionably have an important role to play, especially in the
more advanced stages of inner growth. They can catalyze much, but in order
to relate to them rightly, we must already be familiar with our
idealizations and other projections. In other words, to benefit from our
teachers, we have to be able to see beyond them to the teaching itself The
spiritual process is inherently radical-that is, it goes to the root of the
problem of our spiritual ignorance: the ego- and hence it is vastly
challenging. A good teacher is one who holds us to this process; to put it
colloquially: he or she will be in our face. Naturally, this will trigger
all kinds of emotions in us that we would do well to fully understand lest
they should get out of control. All too often, students become caught in a
love-hate relationship with their teacher, or they abruptly convert fervent
devotion and adoration into everlasting anger and disappointment.
Of course, as I have myself experienced, some teachers may help a student
part of the way but then become detrimental to further growth, because of
their own egoic motivations and shortcomings. In this case, it is
appropriate and necessary to modify the relationship or, when this is not
possible, to end it. When this happens, the disciple would do well to work
through any frustrations as quickly as possible and not forget that we must
bless all equally.
Experienced teachers will definitely he aware of the games their students
play out relative to them. They are not perturbed by this, but many Eastern
teachers also do not seem to be particularly interested in, or skillful at,
assisting their Western disciples to navigate the treacherous waters of
interacting with a traditional teacher. Many gurus or lamas underestimate
their Western students’ psychological complexity and unspoken expectations
of a teacher; they definitely fail to appreciate the intricacies of
transference and the inner conflict most Westerners experience vis-à-vis
authority. Were it not for the fact that some Western students have actually
attained to higher spiritual realizations, not a few Oriental teachers might
by now have given up teaching us.
From a larger perspective, the past century of East-West encounter -reckoned
from Swami Vivekananda’s celebrated speech at the Parliament of Religions in
1893-has been but a comparatively brief spell in a cultural osmosis that is
bound to continue for very much longer. More specifically, it can be viewed
as a period of valuable learning for both Western seekers and Eastern
teachers. As both psychologist Carl Gustav Jung and historian Arnold Toynbee
saw rightly, the westward movement of Eastern teachings is a most decisive
event in our time, which has already transformed the West. Perhaps we are
now entering a more mature stage in this process, where the enthusiastic hut
fumbling beginning steps make room for a more sober, deep-felt, and fruitful
integration. I consider the present book to he a contribution to this
sweeping cultural development. At the same time, I hope it will continue to
prove helpful-as the earlier version apparently has been-to those who are
trying to make sense of Eastern spiritual paths and their teachers.
More than ever I believe that a guru is essential in the higher stages of
practice, because the psycho-energetic work that is called for in
transcending the ego and conventional mind is truly formidable. As we
develop on the path, the ego becomes ever more subtle and elusive, and
having the brightly polished mirror of an advanced adept available is a
great boon. At the same time, as I have repeatedly emphasized in my
published writings and seminars, we must assume full responsibility for our
own spiritual process. Childish or adolescent responses to a guru, which
make us vacillate between emotions of dependence and independence, will
never lead us to enlightenment. Rather we must come to recognize the outer
guru as a liberating function within our own mind. But to discover the guru
function experientially, we require the psycho-energetic trigger and
spiritual guidance of a benign and hopefully realized "outer" guru. The New
Age insistence that we can and perhaps even should do without a teacher, in
my view, is mere wishful thinking.
Then again, as long as we approach our teachers uncritically, we are bound
to harvest disappointment, as indeed has been the case with numerous
seekers. Every childish projection we can bring into play in our quest for a
guru can undoubtedly be matched by some actual or so-called teacher out
there. We can do a lot of work on ourselves prior to entering a discipleship
with a qualified adept. In fact, we would be wise to do so, if only to avoid
burdening our eventual teacher with our neuroses. Then, when life brings us
the opportunity of a guru-disciple relationship, we will be better prepared
not only to differentiate between a true teacher (sad -guru~ and, let us
say, a not-so-true teacher but also to respond in a mature way to a true
guru.
In this book, I have much to say about crazy-wisdom teachers and gurus in
general. But, beyond this, I endeavor to portray the spiritual process
itself. It is misunderstood as often as are spiritual teachers. My
observations are based partly on my extensive study of Indic spiritual
traditions and partly on my own experience with the yogic process and
discipleship over many years.
This book, then, is far from being politically correct: First, I am writing
sympathetically about spirituality, demarcating it carefully from
conventional religion; second, I am doing so as an engaged spiritual
practitioner (of Vajrayana Buddhism); third, I advocate ancient spiritual
teachings, notably the Indic Yoga tradition, as important avenues of
self-exploration for contemporary spiritual seekers; fourth, I champion the
role of the guru, or authoritative spiritual guide, on the path of inner
growth; fifth, I refuse to outright condemn crazy wisdom, even though I have
concerns about the appropriateness in our time of its more extreme
manifestations. In other words, I do not shy away from taking a stance on
issues that are vitally important to any consideration of what constitutes a
viable spirituality for contemporary humanity.
It remains for me to wish the reader a safe and rewarding journey on the
spiritual path.
