Not all gurus looks like this… Photo: baronvonhorne
Ian MacKenzie shares his thoughts on finding authentic spiritual teachers, and how to tell the holy from the hubris.
Some years ago, I had a discussion with my friend over the value of spiritual literature. I had offered her a particular book (okay, I’ll be honest, it was The Celestine Prophecy) with the wish that she find some sort of insight into her own life.
Months passed. When I asked her about the book again, she confessed to tucking it into a drawer and promptly forgetting about it. After pressing her further, it was clear she had an aversion to even attempting to the read the book.
Granted, the Celestine Prophecy has its flaws. In fact, I can’t remember ever reading a novel where so many characters stared at each other “intensely.” But the narrative does contain an overall message that many around the world have found beneficial – the idea that there is more to life than what we tend to see with our eyes.
When I explained this to my friend, she remained unconvinced. “Why do I need to read about someone else’s version of spirituality?” she asked. “Why can’t I just find out for myself?”
I considered her question. “It’s true, you could do it yourself,” I replied. “But think about it this way: if you were about to head into an unknown jungle, wouldn’t you like to have a map?”
Union With The Divine
At the time, we were only speaking of spiritual literature, yet I feel the metaphor extends all the way back to the spiritual teachers… or as some call them: gurus.
The word guru tends to evoke mixed feelings in most people. You might conjure images of Indian sages who preach non-attachment on the hand, while using the other to pick the pocket of their devotees.
But to understand the true meaning of guru, you must first look to the Yogic system of beliefs, succinctly described by Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love:
Yoga is the effort to experience one’s divinity personally and then to hold on to that experience forever. Yoga is about self-mastery and the dedicated effort to haul yourself [to] a place of eternal presence from which you may regard yourself and your surroundings with poise. Only from that point of even-mindedness will the true nature of the world (and yourself) be revealed to you.
In this case, yoga can be swapped with any belief system that offers the tools and motivation to turn inward. To return to the question of my friend: of course you’re free to stumble about life on your own, making mistakes (and hopefully learning from them), until finally you arrive at the same place.
But often this stumbling causes much unneeded suffering to yourself and others. To use the same metaphor, it’s like trying to hack your own trail through the jungle again and again. Authentic spiritual literature can save us valuable time to practice self-inquiry much more effectively.
Finding A Guru
Fortunately, books can only bring us so far…which brings us to gurus. Elizabeth Gilbert offers her eloquent description:
A great Yogi is anyone who has achieved the permanent state of enlightened bliss. A Guru is a great Yogi who can actually pass that state on to others. The word Guru is composed of two Sanskrit syllables. The first means “darkness,” the second means “light.” Out of the darkness and into the light. What passes from the master into the disciple is something called mantravirya: “The potency of the enlightened consciousness.” You come to your Guru, then, not only to receive lessons, as from any teacher, but to actually receive the Guru’s state of grace.”
I’m sure you’ve experienced the presence of a graceful being at least once. They may not consider themselves gurus, but they appear to attract people to their calm; their inner peace permeates the air around them.
Photo: dey
Now imagine this presence offering you the guidance and wisdom to understand your own mind and self. If a book can quicken your path to enlightenment, the right guru can light a fire under your chakra.
So let’s say you agree with me on the value of having a relatively enlightened spiritual guide. How to actually find a guru that fits your heart?
If you take a stroll down the nearest big box book store, you’ll quickly drown under the warm smiles of “gurus” of every size, shade, and style. They’ll offer you spiritual laws of success, how to find the perfect love, how to attract a massive bank account, and how to banish suffering (along with those extra pounds on your hips).
In truth, offering enlightenment is big business. With the rising amount of people beginning to awaken from their slumber, many teachers fill the demand with their specific brand of spirituality.
How can you tell the holy from the hubris?
There’s no real guideline for how to discern the right guru for you. In fact, it may require much trial and error, along with intuition and insight.
15 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Choosing A Guru
With the help of my friend and Taoist teacher Casey, I’ve compiled 15 questions to ask yourself as you navigate the guru gauntlet. I’ve used the word “teacher” in place of guru, just to give the label a rest. Here they are in no particular order:
- Does the teacher ask you for money before he/she offers their teaching?
- Does the teacher believe in absolute certainty?
- Does the teacher encourage you to think for yourself?
- Does the teacher pose problems that only he/she can answer?
- Does the teacher focus primarily on ideas without action?
- Does the teacher make you laugh or smile?
- Does the teacher laugh at themselves?
- Does the teacher encourage you to talk to other teachers?
- Is the teacher in good spirit and health?
- Does the teacher mix physical, spiritual and mental techniques to help a student grow in a balanced manner?
- Is the teacher just following mass media or mass market trends?
- Does the teacher try to use complex language, other terms or jargon to hide what they don’t know?
- Do you like the other students?
- Does the teacher break their own system (make exceptions for themselves relative to their own rules of conduct)?
- Does the teacher show the unexpected?
To reiterate: do you need to find yourself a guru? Of course not. You’re free to experience existence on your own, discerning your own lessons from your experience.
On the flip side, there is a very real danger of becoming dependent on the guru for their presence, wisdom, and clarity. In this way, the relationship can mirror an addiction and in fact, become an obstruction in your spiritual path. An authentic teacher should merely lead you back to yourself, to realize truth on your own terms.
There’s a Zen saying: If you meet the Buddha on the road…kill him.
But that’s a topic for another article.
What do you think about choosing a guru? Share your thoughts in the comments!
About the Author
More By This Author
- Interview: Charles Eisenstein On The Ascent Of Humanity (4 comments)
- A Tribe The Size Of The Entire World (8 comments)
- Ask The Readers: The Spiritual Cost of Gadgets (4 comments)
Related Posts
14 Comments... join the discussion!
-
-
Good advice and article Ian. I think there’s a lot to be said for doing it on your own, but if you can find a reputable ‘guru’ you can trust then it might help.
↵ -
I am really averse for some reason to “choose” or buy into (literally these days) a particular guru. I am not looking for a guru and how the computer age delivers “wisdom” is kind of scary or suspicious. I have met, studied with, read the books or attended the classes or retreats of many wise people who have offered me guidance as I look for “enlightened conciousness”. For me personally, I come closest to this state while dancing, particularly Afro Caribbean Orisha or sacred dancing. For that experience, one needs a teacher/leader or community and a set of drummers, not available everywhere, sigh. Yoga also has a lot to offer me as does Shiatsu. I read voraciously and I pay attention to magazines (Parabola) and blogs and their authors….all have something to offer. However, I can’t get over the idea that spiritual guidance is now a market with a marketplace.
↵ -
Although I like and agree with much of what you wrote, especially the list, I am repulsed that you chose to quote Elizabeth Gilbert, hardly an enlightened being -contrary to what she thinks.
↵ -
Hi Nina – interested as to why you’re repulsed by Elizabeth Gilbert? I’m not a super-fan or anything, you just seem to have a strong opinion.
↵ -
I agree somewhat with NIna. I enjoyed her book but what a privileged person she was to spend a year (on the advances for her book) finding joy and enlightenment in Italy, India and Bali. She is a relentless seeker (her new book is a thorough look at marriage as she embarks on her marriage), willing to share her journey and I admire her for that. However, she is a writer and not a spiritual leader.
↵ -
Hi Andrea – Maybe there’s a bit of confusion. The quotes from Elizabeth Gilbert are about gurus in general; she wasn’t referring to herself as a guru at all.
↵ -
I agree with you….she is not portraying herself as a guru. Elizabeth Gilbert is a very curious, self reflective, and articulate person. She is a seeker and has become a professional seeker. As such she certainly can write about the source of enlightenment for herself or in general.
↵ -
You can also attend dharma talks given by a teacher. That can be a little less tricky, although less personalized as well.
↵ -
Is the teacher in good spirit and health?
Dear Ian:
Kathmandu has been my home now for over twenty-five years. I can humbley, but honestly say I have greater experience than most in evaluating up close genuine, authentic spiritual teachers: From Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche, to Truslhig Rinpoche, teacher to HIs Holiness the Dalai Lama incarnation of Ananda, Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, leader of the Bonpos, to Tinley Norbu Rinpoche, Dzongsar Kyentse Rinpoche, my own teacher Lama Wangdu.
As an anthropologist, I would simply comment that from a Tibetan perspective, the spiritual health, but not physical health, is a good evaluation tool for a teacher. For Tibetans, traditional belief is that great teachers who are bodhisattvas and generously take on students, also take on their karma and this shortens their life and impacts their health. When the 16th Karmapa died, he manifested numerous illnesses and died of not a single cause, said to be the collected karma he had taken on out of compassion from his students. My own teacher, Lama Wangdu, incarnation of the wily Mahasiddha Padampa Sangye, who shines with laughter, light and generosity of more than 10,000 suns, had a horrific heart attack, is overweight, and yet continues to give to others with every breath. There are many kinds of teachers: those who challenge you intellectually, and those, for which it is just like love: so deep and powerful you finally know you have come home. A good teacher is like a mirror: who with compassion reflects back that which we forget or chose to not see within ourselves.
↵ -
Thanks for sharing Carroll, some excellent further insight, especially the last quote “A good teacher is like a mirror: who with compassion reflects back that which we forget or chose to not see within ourselves.”
↵ -
Another question is: Do I need to have a guru?
It’s not that we’ll never need guidance but there are instances that we should just go on alone, trusting our own wisdom, intuition and spiritual skills. Physical, emotional, mental and spiritual distress too should rein us in in our search for a guru since what we are aiming towards is enlightenment and not escape.
↵ -
In our infancy of growth (with me it appears I am always in some infancy) it is helpful to have someone to help with the “pain” most find themselves in, but forever depending on someone other than yourself and the Christ in you is never growing up. I have found different people have been sent into my life at different times of trama and maybe even years later were no longer there or even needed. I would agree, the list would be important to determine if “your” Gruru was real.
I find it interesting that I have had several books relating to the Celestine Propercy in my library for some years and only yesterday I began to read these,
Um Um ?????.↵ -
Hi Guys,
Its a indeed a topic worth discussing. Im glad to come across something like this. But one thing I would like to share here, all that is mentioned about Guru is absolutely right and life can change drastically after you find one. (True Guru). Having found one myself, some 12 years down the line, life is a celebration for me. You dont really have to worry about your past as all your past sins are the only donation that HE takes from US there are about 3 million followers across the world. The future becomes insured once you start meditating on the words given by the Guru HIMSELF. Besides all form of guidance is provided even about worldly problems and definitely beyond this world as well. You can experience yourself by going through this link online. Online satsangs are held daily. I mean live telecasts. visit this link for detailed discription http://www.derasachasauda.in
Please get in touch with me for any further information.
↵
