For a moment, try to recall any incident or occasion
you have had in your thought, at any time in the months or years that
you have been coming here. Acknowledge those – don’t be
upset or unhappy about them – just acknowledge them and recognise
why they came to you and where they came from. Is it because our individual
conditioning allows us to look at the behaviour of a teacher and then
to compare between our perceived ideal of a teacher and what we actually
see in front of us? Is that the way the ego uses the intelligence
to separate the spiritual union between you and your teacher, or is
it just a matter of human logic? If it is so, is it justified, or
could that be a hurdle between you and your teacher?
When you have had a few moments to reflect upon your
own experience so far, your entry into the path and to recall an incident,
I’ll then take you through the perception from the teachers’
point of view and perhaps by the end of this session, you’ll
have a better understanding of where your relationship should be.
So take a few minutes to think and reflect, recall an occasion when
you may have had that doubt or hesitation and review the event. If
you can find the stem of it, fine, but if not, don’t worry,
I’ll take you further into the other side of the relationship.
Following a
pause for reflection …
One important fact is that without a teacher one would
be left stranded with the ego. In your time here you have, I hope,
had the experiences to allow you to see the importance of having a
teacher. But at the same time, don’t be too hard on yourself;
we are all human beings. When hesitation or questioning comes to you,
it is not part of a sinful process; it is part of being human. As
long as one acknowledges that, becomes aware of those doubts and deals
with them sooner, then it’s a positive step forward. That’s
much better than hiding them inside oneself, letting it quietly brew,
only to someday let it emerge in an almighty explosion that halts
your further spiritual ascendment.
Now let’s look at the teachers point of view.
The first question would be what reward does a teacher have by taking
students on-board? Essentially, it’s like taking a child who
wants to learn the alphabet, showing them patience, going through
things over and over again individually, putting in all that effort
to train the student, making them aware of some of the pitfalls and
showing them the light at the end of the tunnel.
Obviously, if it is a Sufi teacher, they are not dependent
and require no reward in providing this training. Their motivation
can only be the love of the Beloved in their heart and their seeking
union with the eloved for other human beings. That’s the only
reward and bonus that a teacher has.
