Through a Glass Darkly

The following is from an article by Shubalananda who is a Kirtan Wallah from Western Massachusetts. He offers some very interesting insights about the nature of a true teacher or guru.

"Kirtan is part of the practice of Bhakti Yoga, or the yoga of love.  The practice is enhanced when guidance from a guru, and love for a guru, becomes included. At this point it is important to say that there are many false gurus in the world.  For every 100 you meet, 99 of them will be teachings rather than teachers, “almost theres” or “Wannabees”, offering practices and initiations before they have completed their own work. 

Remembering this, it equally important to know that meeting a true guru is a transforming experience.  I strongly suggest that everyone take every opportunity to meet every teacher you possibly can.  You never know when you will meet the one who resonates with your soul and awakens a consciousness within you which you could not imagine.  Just remember what my friend Chris says, “Open Heart Open Eyes”.

“Now I see though a glass darkly, but when that which is perfect is come, then I see as I am seen.”  This is from the Christian bible, according to Paul, and it is the key to the relationship with the guru. 

“Now I see through a glass darkly”, the glass being our desires, our psychology, our projections, the veil in front of our eyes that keeps us from seeing things as they are; our persona, all that must go, all that is in our way. 

“But when that which is perfect is come”…now, no one is perfect, as Shree Maa says “as long as you have a body you have more to learn”.  But there are a few beings that have found completeness in themselves, and therefore do not want or need anything at all from the outside. These beings are deep in the awareness that there is only One, that we all are really waves in an ocean of consciousness. So this being, wanting nothing, seeing only oneness, has complete unconditional love for you, as She does for Herself.  So when you meet a being who is very close to this perfection…

“I see as I am seen”. So when you meet a being with these qualities, you can get a glimpse through the eyes of this being, a glimpse of Her highest consciousness, which awakens you and puts you firmly on the path, and dispels all doubt, and heals many wounds, and gives the strength to heal the rest.  It is something to be held in great awe, this secret miracle of India.

So the Guru is merely a reflection of your own highest self (since they project nothing, they are able to reflect accurately back to you your own divinity). But when I wanted to learn how to play guitar like BB King, I went to BB and asked him to show me, and when I wanted peace of mind, happiness, personal strength, and love for all, I went to someone who has this and asked Her, “will you show me?” That’s the what and why of a guru."

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." -Antoine de Saint Exupéry

Another way to say the same thing might be:

‘People only see what they are prepared to see.’   — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Being an artist, the questions of perception is very important to me. Having been involved in a cult for so many years, the question of what one sees and what one doesn't see is an essential inquiry into the heart of this issue. I think that because a cult plays on what is most important to our beings - our identity, our spirituality, our search for the answers to life's most intimate questions - we can become blinded to what we do not want to see, what we are not prepared to see. 

Can one ever be prepared to see that one has been hornswoggled* into joining a group where you believe that the people you have laid down your life for do not, in fact, have your best interests at heart? More correctly, they have only their own interests at heart and couldn't care the least about anyone else.

Realizing that I had been royally hornswoggled, I felt like I needed to become a whistleblower for the sole purpose of preventing them from doing unto others that which had been done to me. We can call it a "public service announcement." 

*Hornswoggle - To get the better of (someone) by cheating or deception: to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.

Whistleblowers Get The WORST Deals

This is a very long story but let me start here in the present moment:

Last week, I was the subject of a deposition. One of the questions was: "What is the name of this  cult."

This is the answer to that question:

It has no name. It has many many names. We knew it as "school."

I will not call it "school" here. I will call it the cult because that is what it is. It's time to call a spade a spade.

If you want information about this group, there is plenty of it out there.

Everyone has their own story.

This is MY story.