In principle, everyone, at nearly any stage of his/her development,
needs a teacher. However, a good (non-misleading) teacher who doesn't limit the
learning potential of his/her students can be quite difficult to find.
In brief, the most serious problems with so-called "gurus"
can be expressed as follows:
1. Gurus are supposed to "show us the way
to The Light". However, for at least several hundred years no guru seemed
to be able to reach it. No guru today seems to speak from his/her own experience
of being accepted and admitted by The
Light. Can you guess what is the most likely outcome if "a blind person
leads another blind person" ?
2. When explicitly asked about The Light, many
gurus quote the statement of one of their ancestors:
"before enlightenment: chop the wood and carry water,
after enlightenment: chop the wood
and carry water."
By repeating and promoting such arrogant and ignorant statements about The Light
gurus totally DEGRADE the process of Enlightenment. Isn't it obvious that statements
like the one above imply that there is no point whatsoever in seeking Enlightenment
and The Light? By discouraging individuals from seeking The Light "gurus"
in fact reinforce darkness and ignorance by keeping people confused and misinformed
for centuries, if not for millenia.
The motive for promoting "chopping wood" statements
seems simple to notice: can you imagine what would happen if correctly instructed
and inspired people begun to reach and communicate with The Light before their
gurus do? Precisely the same motive is a basis for creating/reinforcing every
belief system and religion on Earth without exception... Amazingly, this tradition
continues... Can you guess WHY?
The Light is no less than the essence of the Universe, simply
because it is a source and a carrier of all imaginable information. Hence, whoever
chooses to disregard The Light - is bound to miss everything...
A genuine
Conscious contact with The Light actually changes our
lives irreversibly, simply because Understanding
cannot be "undone". Enlightened person may
seem to chop wood and carry water as everyone else, but
he/she does it for very different reasons... Unfortunately
no one can stop narrow-minded people who never reached The
Light from making misleading statements about Enlightenment...
3. Virtually all gurus demand and expect a total
"surrender" from their followers. As a brutal violation of The Freedom
of Choice and The Freedom of Thought, such a demand is an act against development
of Consciousness and The Purpose of the
Universe.
© Tom Chalko 2002, All rights reserved
