Hari
Om
'Freedays' are the 'gather our thoughts' days;
Q&As; a general review of the week so far…
Nothing
beats hearing from a true master. The video given on Choose-day this week may
be a quarter century old, but the message of the teachings is timeless; and
when delivered with the erudition and authority that Gurudev exudes, we wonder
at how we could not have thought of the nature of things for ourselves. Gurudev
had the wonderful touch, which all great teachers have, of making the most
complex principle applicable and meaningful to our daily life. What we do with
the gift of that teaching is our choice.
For
many of you, the concept of 'guru' may seem not just foreign but, almost
certainly, the worth of such a personage will have been questioned or doubted.
The simple fact is that we can learn nothing unless we have teachers. We may think we can, and for sure there are steps
which can be taken to try and understand any given subject or task; for many,
the entirety of life is spent in being self-taught. However, if we meet up with
a master in the field in which we are swinging haplessly about, one of two
things happens. We are either so arrogant, basking in the light of our small
achievements, that we cannot recognise the benefit to be gained from one with
true wisdom; or, we do recognise mastery
and are immediately embarrassed by our ridiculous efforts.
Sometimes,
it can seem that life-experience gives us the teaching. For practical living
matters, perhaps that is fine. However, in honing our skills in building, say,
or fine arts and music - anything of a higher functioning activity - to truly
improve and become masters ourselves, we need not just our own experience, but
the accumulated wealth of experience which comes from a lineage of teachers in
the field of choice.
No
teacher of worth will claim the knowledge under study as his or her own. Each
may have their own insights and fresh view of things, but the tried and tested
methods, plus the passing on of techniques and
how to think on the subject is their purpose, and those only come about from years of previous learning. Acknowledgement of their
teacher and their teacher's teacher will always be there; or, nowadays, acknowledgement of researchers and sponsors is made. The point being
that learning involves much more than 'DIY' technology! There is an entire industry built on offering DIY ('self help') solutions, duping the independent-minded and quick-fix-hopefuls out of their hard-earned cash. With DIY we are
inclined to start, then find a thing unfinished - we lose interest due to not
having someone to prompt and guide - we make a mistake and don't know how to
undo it - we blame our tools… With DIY we can have multiple projects on the go
but none of them satisfying us or adding value to life. DIY is fine… until it
isn't.
To
sit in the presence of one who has tried all the different and mischievous ways
of ascending the heights of Advaita, who knows all the tricks and shortcuts the
human critter is inclined to try to 'fast-track', who can teach by speaking as
if they are speaking to you and you alone, is a blessing indeed. To have that
privilege and to not find a sense of awe,
have an inkling of magic, or begin to appreciate the unravelling of mystery,
would suggest a closed or inattentive mind and silent ears!
Sometimes
it is because the mind is busy running egotistically ahead thinking 'I know
that… or I know better'!
Take this on trust… no one can know more or better
than a Mahatma. The very best one could ever hope for is to be able to equal
him.