9th December 2013 By Paul Lenda Guest Writer for Wake Up World
The old paradigm of life-controlling and
mind-manipulating belief systems has left many to finally realize they
have been living in an artificial reality created by egotistical people
on power trips. This has led to a situation where many are wandering,
trying to find their own way in a world without many true leaders, and
as a result of this, a new market has developed which attempts to
showcase answers to those people who have become disillusioned with the
old dogmatic systems.
However, there are quite a few (an
understatement) in this new domain of contemporary spiritual guidance
that are taking outright advantage of people and creating circumstances
that vary very little from the old paradigm; they simply polished it and
gave the illusion that it’s something else.
There’s an influx of ‘enlightened masters of the universe’
pervading the spiritual sphere these days. Gurus and spiritual teachers
are popping up left and right. Many of them seem to provide an easy way
out of the voids many people feel they have within their lives, and as a
result these gurus and teachers make a ridiculously massive amount of
money… even earning social ranks akin to being glamorous superstars.
Yes, it seems there are those within the
spiritual arena who are looking at the qualitative aspects of
self-growth and seeing a marvellous money-making opportunity or a way to
have incredible power over others; a pyramid scheme is sometimes then
created and established.
This is very dangerous in that it can
negatively affect the perception of legitimacy on the entire spiritual
community and all that it encompasses.
As a result, genuine
spiritual teachers and self-growth coaches are often disregarded as
being ‘false gurus’ giving out spiritual-sounding nonsense that lacks
substance and is unhelpful for a person’s spiritual growth.
Being aware that there are such
enlightenment pyramid schemes can help us steer away from the false
gurus and find the genuine teachers that truly wish to help people and
the global consciousness of humanity. It is admittedly difficult at
times to see through the spiritual façade that some create as a front to
hide their true nature and intentions, even moreso with teachers who
were once very enlightening but the money and the fame got the best of
them.
Having others do the work for us, such
as various guru rating services that exist today, is dangerous as well
since we are putting our faith in a complete stranger to pick out
“authentic” and genuine spiritual teachers. Obviously there can be
plenty of deception, subjective bias, and decisions made without those
raters being fully informed about a particular person who stands in line
for the golden star of approval.
Identifying False Gurus and Spiritual Teachers
1. Charging Large Amounts of Money
Actions speak infinitely louder than
words. Anyone can proclaim magnificent and wonderful things. But do
these words live up to how the person lives and expresses themselves in
his or her daily lives?
Perhaps the biggest problem that I have
found is the issue of money. I have seen self-appointed gurus, spiritual
teachers, and whatever other title they go under charging unbelievably
large amounts of money for information, knowledge, or so-called ‘higher
wisdom’ that is available to everyone — by looking to sages who charge
little or nothing, and also by looking within for the answers via
meditation and other self-induced spiritual practices. I have also seen
several money embezzlement cases. If you’re paying someone $295 for a
spiritual ’12 strand DNA activation’ then you’ve probably just been
conned.
2. Giving Themselves Fancy Titles
While on the subject of empty words,
when looking to a potential spiritual teacher for guidance, notice if
that individual proclaims such magnificent titles referring to themselves
as being enlightened masters, self-realized yogis, or being a saint –
one of the ultimate delusions of grandeur following the narcissistic Christ Complex. An enlightened person finds no need for ego masturbation.
Those who have experienced the
Ultimate/Absolute Reality don’t continuously boast about how they have
achieved enlightenment and are better than others. They are in fact,
quite humble, perhaps sometimes too humble, but humble they are. They
understand that there is no benefit to themselves or their students to
make such declarations based on the realizations they’ve had about
Reality. There is no need to establish a hierarchical framework within
teachers and students work as we are all passengers on the same train,
separated only slightly in that we sometimes sit in different train
cars. We are all going the same direction, ultimately.
3. Inability to Take Criticism
Another sign of a con-man in guru’s
clothing is whether the person is able to take criticism or not. Those
who are not genuine spiritual teachers will get offended and defensive
over criticisms made towards them instead of looking inward and taking
into consideration what those criticisms are. How dare an unenlightened
mortal criticize them! Nobody is perfect, after all. But I have even
seen the sad situation of lawsuits being made by these so-called
enlightened masters against people who had the ‘nerve’ to point out
something they feel was incorrect, deceptive, harmful, etc.
4. Overly Focused on the End Goal
If you notice a spiritual teacher or guru having an almost-bizarre love affair with enlightenment
this and enlightenment that, be cautious. Many of these enlightenment
gurus focus on enlightenment itself instead of actually teaching others
how exactly to attain that state. They do not teach about all the
baby-steps leading up to the enlightening of one’s awareness in the most
authentic of ways. Even the revered Buddha did not reach enlightenment
overnight. Unless a spiritual teacher shows you a realistic way to reach
enlightenment, such as through a particular meditation
or awareness expanding technique, then you will be better off without
their help… and you will keep your hard-earned money as well.
5. Behaving Hypocritically
Beware of hypocrites!
This is perhaps
one of the simplest methods of weeding out spiritual “snake-oil
salesmen”.
Look if they practice what they preach. If they teach about
how you should meditate daily to promote your spiritual growth, do they
meditate daily?
Are they leading by example?
When they talk about
radiating love and light and all that is beautiful, are they doing so
themselves?
Nobody likes a hypocrite, especially if that hypocrite is
promising spiritual enlightenment.
6. Focusing on Fulfilling Egocentric Desires
One especially important aspect of a
guru or spiritual teacher that we should look into is their investment
in the material aspects of life.
Are they displaying behavior that is
indicative of being a neophyte on the spiritual path?
Do they overly
focus on money, sex, and power?
A dynamic Taostistic-like balance is a
necessity for a balanced life, but when dependence and abuse of the
material starts to emerge and creep into the mind then there is a
problem.
7. Displaying Spiritual Materialism
Spiritual materialism
is something that’s especially become more of an issue in recent years
and is worth becoming more aware about for anyone on the path to
self-realization and enlightenment. In Psychology Today,
Michael J. Formica defines: “Spiritual materialism is that process by
which the ego grasps at the accomplishments and progress of the self
upon the spiritual path; an act by which its very nature denies the
Self.”
The increased focus on spiritual
materialism is problematic. All the courses, teachings, books, and
workshops that focus on using the Law of Attraction to bring us riches
and worldly abundance hold materialist desires at their core, and do not
reflect actual spiritual growth messages.
Although spiritual growth and
self-actualization can lead to ‘like attracting like’, because of the
immense positivity we project outward, attracting riches is not the
purpose of attaining these mind states. These messages that use the
dynamics of attraction are not bad in and of themselves, but when they
are misrepresented as being a path towards higher spirituality, then
that is when we should be cautious of proceeding further. Do not become
lost in the illusion that faux spirituality creates.
8. Behaving Selfishly
Selflessness
should be the dominant quality in the spiritually-advanced soul, not
selfishness. Spirituality has no place for superstars and glamour. It is
not the spiritual teacher themselves that should be the focus, but
rather the spiritual messages and teachings. How can we attain our own
Self-realization if our position of awareness is focused externally on
the teacher, rather than internally on the Self?
9. Promising a Fast Path to Self-Realization
There is nothing directly bad with
spiritual workshops themselves, but when you see a spiritual teacher
giving a spiritual course that’s several hundred or thousand dollars and
lasts several days or even weeks do not expect to reach enlightenment
just by completing such a workshop. Yes, we all live busy lives and feel
as if we do not have enough time to dedicate towards our spiritual
growth, but let’s be realistic: it is highly unlikely you will become
self-realized in 3 weeks.
The processes of spiritual growth,
self-actualization, self-realization, and enlightenment can take years
or an entire lifetime – some even say multiple lifetimes. It’s said that
there is only one person in recorded history that attained
enlightenment in one lifetime (Milerapa)
and the way he attained the enlightened state was highly unorthodox, to
put it lightly. We would all like to believe that there is a fast lane
to these things, but this is not the case. Of course, there are always
exceptions and some reach the mountain’s summit faster than others. But
as a whole, it is a process that includes much dedication and time.
In closing…
These are several ways in which you can
spot a false guru, spiritual teacher, or other peddler of faux
spirituality. In this day and age where there are thousands of so-called
gurus, we have to be careful who we choose to listen, to because if we
make the mistake of following someone who is ego-centered in their true
intentions, then we will lose time, money, and opportunity costs (among
other things).
It is my hope that this article can help
others discern between the genuine teacher that wishes nothing more
than to help others become self-realized and experience spiritual bliss,
and those who proclaim they will do these things for you but in reality
are just emptying your bank account. Be mindful of who you decide to
listen to, and you will be thankful you spent some time to discern
between those who are looking out for others and those who are looking
out for themselves.
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