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The ego is not the "enemy" of the enlightened. Instead, it is her teacher. As part of the Mind, it is also the creation of the One, and so, has a valid reason for existence.
Still, yielding to its domination (it is always wanting to control everything) is ignorance and darkness. So, especially in a spiritual teacher, we should look for the concealment of the ego, not its prideful display.
The ego is a small but real part of the identity of the Mind. Specifically, it is the "role" that Mind is playing in the "stageplay" of this earthly life. Everyone, including the sage, has one. But the sage, in wisdom, conquers or overcomes her ego with Love.
That means that she reidentifies with the Spirit of Love, or Lovemind. This process begins with a de-identification vis a vis the ego. She says, "I am not just this body," and, "I am not the identity that adheres to, or within, this body. I am not the timebased ego."
Gradually, her identity is transformed: "I am not a physical body" grows into, "I am a nonphysical mind." In time, that evolves into, "I am not just this conscious mind, but an ancient Mind that has lived for many ages-- a Soul." With the passage of more time, this realization blossoms into, "This Soul is part of the Mind of the One. So, It is Love Itself. I am an incarnation of Love, of the One."
This does not lead to selfconscious pride; if the thought leads there, it is anti-enlightenment. This realization leads to the egoless state. It is full enlightenment. This is becoming a sage, or master.
But, free of ego, and free of the need to manipulate others to approve of her (receiving her validation from within only) the sage or master would never, could never, claim to be a "sage" or "master." Thus, you can rest assured that anyone who ever claims to be any sort of "master" is working from an unhealthy ego; she is proving her absence of true masterhood. For one major mark of a master is always her humility. The unenlightened is always so very insecure that she feels that she cannot "afford" humility, and so, is very rarely humble.
So, any so-called "spiritual teacher" who puts herself "on display" is a fraud and a phony. Perhaps she is not simply deceiving, but selfdeceived as well. But any "teacher" who talks about herself rather than the Way is fake. You need to run, not walk, in the opposite direction!
Specifically, any teacher who tries to impress people with her "famous" students, or her "many" students is only pretending. The greatest masters in all human history, Jesus and Gautama (the Buddha(, did not value their disciples in terms of numbers. And anyone who tries to show you how "important" she is by saying that she has "thousands" of followers is only childishly, and ignorantly, selfdisplaying the ego.
Anyone who boasts of how "well-known" she is, how "famous," has also missed the entire point of enlightenment, and denied it. She is suffering from one of the most serious diseases in the whole of mysticism-- egotism. It is a disease that makes the pathetic ego-selfesteem feel better for a few minutes, but it seriously wounds the
Soulmind.
A teacher, in our world, must use an egoname. Jesus, Gautama, and other fine mystics used them. But, in the life of a true teacher, the ego or name must never be the center of the teaching, or the work. Any "teacher" who boasts or brags about her "many incarnations," and any teacher who amusingly claims to have been great beings from the past is laughable from a spiritual perspective. She is also quite pathetic. And she is certainly not enlightened-- not even close!
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Showing posts with label master. Show all posts
Showing posts with label master. Show all posts
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Saturday, March 10, 2007
The True Master
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When anyone calls another "Lord" or "master," the one being addressed is being acknowledged to have a Self of Love within. It is not the body of the person being addressed, and not her ego-identity, and not even the higher Self (soul), but the highest Self (Spirit).
When Jesus was called "Lord," it was not the man Jesus who was being addressed, but the Spirit indwelling his mind at the Core or Center. This was an address to the Spirit of pure Love that indwelled him. Jesus had erased his ego-self and "disappeared" (by absorption) into the infinite Mind of Love deep within him. As evidence of this change, he early changed his name from "Immanuel" to "Jesus."
People who say that they want to be "like" Jesus are always saying "Jesus... this" and "Jesus.... that," but Jesus himself never once used the name "Jesus" in his public teaching all during his life. So, people who are really being like Jesus are not your average "Jesus-people."
To be "like" Jesus is to draw all attention to the "Father," as the Master Himself did. It is to talk about the Infinite Immeasurable Reality at the Center of all Mind and all the cosmos. It is to speak about the One, the Ineffable, God.
Everyone is, deep within, this same "Lord" and "Master," as we manifest that deep interior Spirit. But a true master will never, under any conditions, refer to herself as a "master." This is one of the marks, in fact,of a fake, fraud, or phony. For this would divert attention away from the invisible Spirit and redirect it to ego, and to ego-praise. This is to miss completely and entirely the place of humility in the Way.
For deep humility, even silence, marks the true master. And a real master is never the "master" of others, or of people. A real master is she who has mastered the self, with its lower energies, weaknesses, and imperfections. A true Master has tamed her "lower nature" or "animal nature." She has under control her appetites, for food, sleep,sex, and other biodrives. She turns all energies heavenward, or heartward, towards the indwelling Godmind.
She never brags, boasts, or selfdisplays. She has no interest at all in "impressing" anyone, and does not even try. Instead, she finds peace and deep tranquility in silence and service. A mystic will teach if she is called to teaching. But outside of that talking, she will find great comfort in silence. A master avoids all extremes, and need not be silent at all times, but neither can she talk all the time, hogging conversation and grabbing the spotlight. she sows the seeds of Light and truth, but is never worried when people ignore her, as that is also part of their path to growth.
A true master will exercise gentle but firm control over her speech and actions. She will practice courtesy, friendliness, openness, kindness, goodness, and compassion. She will try not to eat too much or too little, sleep too much or too little, sexually engage neither too much nor too little. she will strive to find the moderate Way of balance in all bio-activities,and in all other areas of her life. She will not obsess about her self, or her career, or her accomplishments. Indeed, the true master will usually refrain from speaking about herself at all (unless she is directly questioned, and the answer can aid a student).
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When anyone calls another "Lord" or "master," the one being addressed is being acknowledged to have a Self of Love within. It is not the body of the person being addressed, and not her ego-identity, and not even the higher Self (soul), but the highest Self (Spirit).
When Jesus was called "Lord," it was not the man Jesus who was being addressed, but the Spirit indwelling his mind at the Core or Center. This was an address to the Spirit of pure Love that indwelled him. Jesus had erased his ego-self and "disappeared" (by absorption) into the infinite Mind of Love deep within him. As evidence of this change, he early changed his name from "Immanuel" to "Jesus."
People who say that they want to be "like" Jesus are always saying "Jesus... this" and "Jesus.... that," but Jesus himself never once used the name "Jesus" in his public teaching all during his life. So, people who are really being like Jesus are not your average "Jesus-people."
To be "like" Jesus is to draw all attention to the "Father," as the Master Himself did. It is to talk about the Infinite Immeasurable Reality at the Center of all Mind and all the cosmos. It is to speak about the One, the Ineffable, God.
Everyone is, deep within, this same "Lord" and "Master," as we manifest that deep interior Spirit. But a true master will never, under any conditions, refer to herself as a "master." This is one of the marks, in fact,of a fake, fraud, or phony. For this would divert attention away from the invisible Spirit and redirect it to ego, and to ego-praise. This is to miss completely and entirely the place of humility in the Way.
For deep humility, even silence, marks the true master. And a real master is never the "master" of others, or of people. A real master is she who has mastered the self, with its lower energies, weaknesses, and imperfections. A true Master has tamed her "lower nature" or "animal nature." She has under control her appetites, for food, sleep,sex, and other biodrives. She turns all energies heavenward, or heartward, towards the indwelling Godmind.
She never brags, boasts, or selfdisplays. She has no interest at all in "impressing" anyone, and does not even try. Instead, she finds peace and deep tranquility in silence and service. A mystic will teach if she is called to teaching. But outside of that talking, she will find great comfort in silence. A master avoids all extremes, and need not be silent at all times, but neither can she talk all the time, hogging conversation and grabbing the spotlight. she sows the seeds of Light and truth, but is never worried when people ignore her, as that is also part of their path to growth.
A true master will exercise gentle but firm control over her speech and actions. She will practice courtesy, friendliness, openness, kindness, goodness, and compassion. She will try not to eat too much or too little, sleep too much or too little, sexually engage neither too much nor too little. she will strive to find the moderate Way of balance in all bio-activities,and in all other areas of her life. She will not obsess about her self, or her career, or her accomplishments. Indeed, the true master will usually refrain from speaking about herself at all (unless she is directly questioned, and the answer can aid a student).
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