Hari Aum.
I am going to write about the human intellect in the context of spiritual life today. This is based on a recent experience that I had.
The human intellect is valued by society. Those who are intelligent are considered fortunate and blessed, by materialists and spiritualists alike.
Interestingly though, some people use the term 'intellectual' as a sort of insult in spiritual life. We hear quotations such as "spiritual life is a journey from the head to the heart" and similar. There is truth in this statement. However, the intellect also has an important role in spiritual life.
Those who are labelled as 'too intellectual' are often looked down upon in spiritual circles, whereas those who talk a lot about devotion are smiled upon, regardless of whether or not they are really devotional.
I would like to share my views on the intellect here.
The intellect is like a knife. It can be used to help, it can be used to harm (like a knife in the hand of a surgeon versus a criminal). This applies to both in material and spiritual life.
In spiritual life, the intellect can be very helpful when it performs certain functions, for example:
1. It recognises the futility of trying to find happiness in material life. This is called 'viveka', spiritual intelligence. This is a fundamental quality required in any spiritual seeker.
2. It helps us with the practicalities of organising our sadhana- deciding where to do sadhana, calculating the time required for completion of the sadhana, helping us to obtain the materials required to perform this.
3. It recognises its own limitations. It recognises that there is something beyond it, that it cannot understand. It accepts this.
4. It recognises the difference between right and wrong.
In spiritual life, the intellect can be harmful, an obstacle to sadhana, when it acts in certain ways, for example:
1. All theory and no practice- when it refuses to practice any sadhana but spends all the time therorising and arguing with others about sadhana.
2. When it procrastinates and makes up excuses for not doing sadhana
3.When it becomes impatient and looks for results too soon, saying "I've been doing all this practice, why haven't I got the results yet?"
But. Let us be clear. The intellect is absolutely vital and necessary. There are a large number of fake Gurus and babas on this planet. Not a day goes by when, in some part of the world or the other, somebody is exploiting others in the name of religion- physical, sexual, mental, emotional, financial exploitation.
Here, the head and the heart must together recognise the problem of exploitation.
As the saying goes, "If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck!".
Similarly, if a so-called spiritual teacher looks arrogant, speaks arrogantly, and behaves arrogantly, then they probably are arrogant. And therefore, not a real Guru.
Often in spiritual circles, people become very gullible. When a so-called 'Guru' behaves negatively towards themselves or especially towards others, they quickly say, "Oh, he/she is probably doing for a good reason. They are probably treating that person badly, because that person needs this bad treatment for their spiritual development".
The world abounds in such fake Gurus today. As spiritual seekers, we need to take care when faced with them.
Let us remind ourselves of Krishna's description of a self-realised soul as "Sarva bhuta hite ratah"- one who works for the welfare of all beings. This is a real Guru. Such Gurus are rare but they have existed and do exist on our planet. We take inspiration from their actions and try to emulate their noble example. This benefits us as seekers.
When we follow fake Gurus, and start copying them, particularly in their nasty, arrogant ways, we harm ourselves spiritually.
I will explain this with an example. Recently, I attended a two-day session given by a spiritual Guru, who teaches a form of pranayama and chakra meditation as a spiritual practice. I had read a book by him and found it interesting. He says all the right things, sounds absolutely fine - on paper. He also does social work, as many Gurus today do. All of this looked positive and I wanted to meet him.
I am also aware that real Gurus cannot be easily understood by the intellect. A Guru may appear angry but it may be an act of compassion. We cannot easily judge.
Having said that, as mentioned above, this world is currently full of exploitative and unscrupulous fake Gurus. Therefore, we cannot simply throw out our intellectual function altogether. It alerts us when something is wrong and is a vitally important tool. It enables us to follow the right path spiritually.
This Guru held an interactive session after his talk. During this session, some people asked him questions. He answered some questions reasonably politely. However, to other people, he was extraordinarily rude, mocking their questions (even though these were fairly reasonable), making sarcastic comments about their appearance and sounding unnecessarily angry.
I was surprised at the 'Jekyll and Hyde' behaviour - he seemed quite normal one moment (particularly with his known followers who were very respectful to him) and very rude to others (who seemed to be new-comers and addressed him politely but not as their Guru).
Even more bizarrely, when he publicly insulted one the people who had made a harmless statement, his followers who were listening, loudly applauded his negative comments in approval and glee- thus adding to the humiliation of the person who had asked the question.
What astonishes me is that this person is a well-regarded Guru. He has a reasonably large following both among the rich and poor in society, all over the world. I am not naming him here as I do not wish to offend anyone. I leave it to readers to make their own opinion of him if they meet him.
After the interactive discussion ended, one woman and I had a discussion about the session. I mentioned that I found the Guru rather rude and hurtful to one of the questioners in particular and that this seemed unwarranted. This lady laughingly dismissed the episode saying that the humiliated person "probably needed it". I wondered whether she would be so accepting if she had been the target of the public humiliation.
I thought about this for a while and tried to convince myself that this Guru was probably really great and that my small intellect just could not comprehend his greatness, despite his seeming display of arrogance and lack of compassion- but both my head and my heart rebelled against this.
Finally, I gave in and said to God "I'm sorry. If this person is a true Guru, and his display of arrogance and cruelty to those people is just a show, then I'm sorry, I am not at a level when I can perceive it. I can only act based on the understanding I have now. I have to use the faculties available to me to understand the world- my current intelligence and conscience. And both of these tell me that this person's behaviour is unacceptable."
I then offered an obeisance to all true Gurus in the universe and said "I'm sorry if I don't understand you and if I have ever criticised or judged you in my ignorance. Please forgive me if I am lacking in my understanding of you. But I cannot currently bring myself to accept this sort of behaviour in a Guru, especially when there are so many fake Gurus around. I'm sure you can understand my position."
This Guru taught a pranayama and meditation practice which I cannot bring myself to practice. I ask myself- "If his practice has made him so arrogant, what is the use of my practising it?" I cannot bring myself to practice any teaching from him due to his negative behaviour.
I asked the Swami in the Sivananda Ashram (with whom I have a weekly online satsang) about his opinion of my experience.
I explained that I am not changing my main 'deeksha' (initiating) Guru- that will always be Swami Sivananda. I see all other teachers as 'shiksha' Gurus- who teach a specific subject. In all spiritual lineages, there can only be one main/deeksha Guru, but there can be unlimited 'shiksha' Gurus (from whom one learns a variety of material and spiritual subjects). The Swami from the Sivananda Ashram agreed with this approach- he told me that if there is something good in this person's teaching then I can accept it, if not, I should let it go. I have decided to let it go as it does not sit well with me.
I am writing this as a reminder to myself and my readers- to say that "All that glitters is not gold". Do not be fooled by talk of siddhis, pretence of humility and impressive talks and books.
And do not switch off your intellect. Keep it with you and switched on at all times. It is very important in this world of exploitative Gurus. As Sivananda says, "Use your common sense always".
Recognise a duck by its quack, and recognise a fake, quack Guru, by his arrogance, lack of compassion in practice -even if it all looks good on paper. Remember, many fake Gurus pretend to be genuine by speaking well and doing social work.
Beware particularly of those who show off a lot of siddhis (mystical powers such as materialising things, controlling weather, reading minds etc). Although all saints have siddhis, all those with siddhis are not saints. Real saints rarely discuss siddhis- rather they emphasise devotion to God and service of living beings as a manifestation of God. My Guru Sivananda was like this, and other genuine Gurus were like this too.
The essence of Guru is "sarva bhuta hite ratah"- one who wishes the welfare of all beings- and practices this in daily life at all times.
So, keep your intellect sharp, and keep your heart kind. And keep up the spiritual practice (be it japa or some other practice). This keeps the head and heart spiritually healthy. This formula, I feel, will be helpful on the spiritual path.
Do not be gullible and blindly accepting of everything- especially of cruelty or other negative qualities displayed by so-called spiritual Gurus. Remember, real Gurus are always compassionate and kind. They may be firm sometimes, but never cruel.
If the head and heart are both taken care of, then all will be well in spiritual life. This is my advice to myself and to you, based on my recent experience.
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
P.S. The true Guru is God, who as Krishna says in the Gita, resides within each one of us in our own hearts. The real Guru is so near to us. So, regardless of whether or not one has found an external Guru, it is wise to cultivate a relationship with the Inner Guru through spiritual practices, especially mantra japa (the way advised for Kali Yuga), and development of good character, which pleases the Inner Guru.
I am going to write about the human intellect in the context of spiritual life today. This is based on a recent experience that I had.
The human intellect is valued by society. Those who are intelligent are considered fortunate and blessed, by materialists and spiritualists alike.
Interestingly though, some people use the term 'intellectual' as a sort of insult in spiritual life. We hear quotations such as "spiritual life is a journey from the head to the heart" and similar. There is truth in this statement. However, the intellect also has an important role in spiritual life.
Those who are labelled as 'too intellectual' are often looked down upon in spiritual circles, whereas those who talk a lot about devotion are smiled upon, regardless of whether or not they are really devotional.
I would like to share my views on the intellect here.
The intellect is like a knife. It can be used to help, it can be used to harm (like a knife in the hand of a surgeon versus a criminal). This applies to both in material and spiritual life.
In spiritual life, the intellect can be very helpful when it performs certain functions, for example:
1. It recognises the futility of trying to find happiness in material life. This is called 'viveka', spiritual intelligence. This is a fundamental quality required in any spiritual seeker.
2. It helps us with the practicalities of organising our sadhana- deciding where to do sadhana, calculating the time required for completion of the sadhana, helping us to obtain the materials required to perform this.
3. It recognises its own limitations. It recognises that there is something beyond it, that it cannot understand. It accepts this.
4. It recognises the difference between right and wrong.
In spiritual life, the intellect can be harmful, an obstacle to sadhana, when it acts in certain ways, for example:
1. All theory and no practice- when it refuses to practice any sadhana but spends all the time therorising and arguing with others about sadhana.
2. When it procrastinates and makes up excuses for not doing sadhana
3.When it becomes impatient and looks for results too soon, saying "I've been doing all this practice, why haven't I got the results yet?"
But. Let us be clear. The intellect is absolutely vital and necessary. There are a large number of fake Gurus and babas on this planet. Not a day goes by when, in some part of the world or the other, somebody is exploiting others in the name of religion- physical, sexual, mental, emotional, financial exploitation.
Here, the head and the heart must together recognise the problem of exploitation.
As the saying goes, "If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck!".
Similarly, if a so-called spiritual teacher looks arrogant, speaks arrogantly, and behaves arrogantly, then they probably are arrogant. And therefore, not a real Guru.
Often in spiritual circles, people become very gullible. When a so-called 'Guru' behaves negatively towards themselves or especially towards others, they quickly say, "Oh, he/she is probably doing for a good reason. They are probably treating that person badly, because that person needs this bad treatment for their spiritual development".
The world abounds in such fake Gurus today. As spiritual seekers, we need to take care when faced with them.
Let us remind ourselves of Krishna's description of a self-realised soul as "Sarva bhuta hite ratah"- one who works for the welfare of all beings. This is a real Guru. Such Gurus are rare but they have existed and do exist on our planet. We take inspiration from their actions and try to emulate their noble example. This benefits us as seekers.
When we follow fake Gurus, and start copying them, particularly in their nasty, arrogant ways, we harm ourselves spiritually.
I will explain this with an example. Recently, I attended a two-day session given by a spiritual Guru, who teaches a form of pranayama and chakra meditation as a spiritual practice. I had read a book by him and found it interesting. He says all the right things, sounds absolutely fine - on paper. He also does social work, as many Gurus today do. All of this looked positive and I wanted to meet him.
I am also aware that real Gurus cannot be easily understood by the intellect. A Guru may appear angry but it may be an act of compassion. We cannot easily judge.
Having said that, as mentioned above, this world is currently full of exploitative and unscrupulous fake Gurus. Therefore, we cannot simply throw out our intellectual function altogether. It alerts us when something is wrong and is a vitally important tool. It enables us to follow the right path spiritually.
This Guru held an interactive session after his talk. During this session, some people asked him questions. He answered some questions reasonably politely. However, to other people, he was extraordinarily rude, mocking their questions (even though these were fairly reasonable), making sarcastic comments about their appearance and sounding unnecessarily angry.
I was surprised at the 'Jekyll and Hyde' behaviour - he seemed quite normal one moment (particularly with his known followers who were very respectful to him) and very rude to others (who seemed to be new-comers and addressed him politely but not as their Guru).
Even more bizarrely, when he publicly insulted one the people who had made a harmless statement, his followers who were listening, loudly applauded his negative comments in approval and glee- thus adding to the humiliation of the person who had asked the question.
What astonishes me is that this person is a well-regarded Guru. He has a reasonably large following both among the rich and poor in society, all over the world. I am not naming him here as I do not wish to offend anyone. I leave it to readers to make their own opinion of him if they meet him.
After the interactive discussion ended, one woman and I had a discussion about the session. I mentioned that I found the Guru rather rude and hurtful to one of the questioners in particular and that this seemed unwarranted. This lady laughingly dismissed the episode saying that the humiliated person "probably needed it". I wondered whether she would be so accepting if she had been the target of the public humiliation.
I thought about this for a while and tried to convince myself that this Guru was probably really great and that my small intellect just could not comprehend his greatness, despite his seeming display of arrogance and lack of compassion- but both my head and my heart rebelled against this.
Finally, I gave in and said to God "I'm sorry. If this person is a true Guru, and his display of arrogance and cruelty to those people is just a show, then I'm sorry, I am not at a level when I can perceive it. I can only act based on the understanding I have now. I have to use the faculties available to me to understand the world- my current intelligence and conscience. And both of these tell me that this person's behaviour is unacceptable."
I then offered an obeisance to all true Gurus in the universe and said "I'm sorry if I don't understand you and if I have ever criticised or judged you in my ignorance. Please forgive me if I am lacking in my understanding of you. But I cannot currently bring myself to accept this sort of behaviour in a Guru, especially when there are so many fake Gurus around. I'm sure you can understand my position."
This Guru taught a pranayama and meditation practice which I cannot bring myself to practice. I ask myself- "If his practice has made him so arrogant, what is the use of my practising it?" I cannot bring myself to practice any teaching from him due to his negative behaviour.
I asked the Swami in the Sivananda Ashram (with whom I have a weekly online satsang) about his opinion of my experience.
I explained that I am not changing my main 'deeksha' (initiating) Guru- that will always be Swami Sivananda. I see all other teachers as 'shiksha' Gurus- who teach a specific subject. In all spiritual lineages, there can only be one main/deeksha Guru, but there can be unlimited 'shiksha' Gurus (from whom one learns a variety of material and spiritual subjects). The Swami from the Sivananda Ashram agreed with this approach- he told me that if there is something good in this person's teaching then I can accept it, if not, I should let it go. I have decided to let it go as it does not sit well with me.
I am writing this as a reminder to myself and my readers- to say that "All that glitters is not gold". Do not be fooled by talk of siddhis, pretence of humility and impressive talks and books.
And do not switch off your intellect. Keep it with you and switched on at all times. It is very important in this world of exploitative Gurus. As Sivananda says, "Use your common sense always".
Recognise a duck by its quack, and recognise a fake, quack Guru, by his arrogance, lack of compassion in practice -even if it all looks good on paper. Remember, many fake Gurus pretend to be genuine by speaking well and doing social work.
Beware particularly of those who show off a lot of siddhis (mystical powers such as materialising things, controlling weather, reading minds etc). Although all saints have siddhis, all those with siddhis are not saints. Real saints rarely discuss siddhis- rather they emphasise devotion to God and service of living beings as a manifestation of God. My Guru Sivananda was like this, and other genuine Gurus were like this too.
The essence of Guru is "sarva bhuta hite ratah"- one who wishes the welfare of all beings- and practices this in daily life at all times.
So, keep your intellect sharp, and keep your heart kind. And keep up the spiritual practice (be it japa or some other practice). This keeps the head and heart spiritually healthy. This formula, I feel, will be helpful on the spiritual path.
Do not be gullible and blindly accepting of everything- especially of cruelty or other negative qualities displayed by so-called spiritual Gurus. Remember, real Gurus are always compassionate and kind. They may be firm sometimes, but never cruel.
If the head and heart are both taken care of, then all will be well in spiritual life. This is my advice to myself and to you, based on my recent experience.
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
P.S. The true Guru is God, who as Krishna says in the Gita, resides within each one of us in our own hearts. The real Guru is so near to us. So, regardless of whether or not one has found an external Guru, it is wise to cultivate a relationship with the Inner Guru through spiritual practices, especially mantra japa (the way advised for Kali Yuga), and development of good character, which pleases the Inner Guru.
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