By practicing the spiritual Guide’s teachings we discover the essence of the state of an aspirant
by Justina Cojan
The way in which this relationship reverberates in our being on multiple planes of existence is given by a double perspective through which each aspirant can perceive its essence.
-From the first perspective we need to understand that the teaching postulated by the spiritual Guide is part of a fully assumed spiritual mission. The scholar or the scientist finds different ways of arranging words and creates an elevated language which will undeniably bring knowledge but will not lead to spiritual awakening. Spiritual study and practice differ totally from the effort to achieve a specialization or an academic title. A spiritual Guide is not only a mentor or a regular teacher because he transmits spiritual knowledge and teaches us another way of living in which the priority is no longer making a living and gaining material and social comfort. A spiritual Guide is that exceptional being who can offer others a teaching, his spiritual experience, his undeniable qualities as a spiritual father and friend. Each of us can be “impressed” or “marked” in a special way by the spiritual Guide and this will be achieved based on the trust and the sincere and constant openness that we have towards him and his teaching. And what is extraordinary is that, based on his teaching, we can even define or appreciate our own degree of spiritual evolution, if we have the necessary discernment. By practicing his teachings, we will be able to “define” our spiritual Guide, we will be able to more easily understand his message and get closer to the essence of the “characteristic” of a spiritual aspirant. He also provides us, as a working tool, an exemplification by which we can experience more than the state of a spiritual aspirant, but the state of a model spiritual aspirant, helping us to discover ourselves directly, as we truly are. Furthermore, we were offered, I could call it, a guide of the spiritual evolution entitled “From the mysteries of spiritual Enlightenment” which, if consulted systematically, we will be able to realize, if we are honest enough with ourselves, where we stand on the path of the spiritual becoming and which is our true level of evolution. Thus, at any time, we can enjoy the results obtained, we can encourage ourselves and make promises that we will persistently pursue in order to meet them. As a consummate teacher, he provides us with courses and each course is a possible evolutionary universe. This gives me a state of mind necessary to a further fruitful assimilation of his teaching. The chapter entitled “How we can recognize a spiritually enlightened human being” offers us an infallible method to acknowledge our degree of spiritual evolution, and moreover, to also appreciate other aspirants, with whom we are together on the spiritual path and from whom we can get a good and beneficial example when appropriate.
Careful and detached observation of the external behavior of those around us will reveal those attitudes through which human beings define themselves in the achieved spirituality, and which are:
“- a spontaneous openness and unconditional closeness to others. These human beings naturally offer from their fullness in every moment of their existence. By personal example they consistently demonstrate that oceanic, selfless, unconditional and spontaneous love is not only natural for them but also possible;
- an extraordinary skill of concentrating their attention, which is almost constantly focused both on what happens around them and on what happens within themselves;
- an amazing capacity to adapt to changes of all kinds which undoubtedly means in their case, a complete detachment;
– a huge reservoir of beneficial, subtle and almost inexhaustible energy, which grants them a capacity to work that can sometimes overcome 20 hours a day;
– they are mysteriously “awake” even during sleep and often get up before sunrise;
– their whole profoundly beneficial being almost constantly manifests and is engaged to create the conditions necessary for the spiritual illumination of other human beings who ask for help in this direction;
– they are the vehicle of a primordial Wisdom which translates in and through their words in an ineffable and still infallible manner;
– their personal needs are most often reduced to a minimum necessary to their existence;
– they always have control of some subtle forms of beneficial energy on which they maintain a certain discretion, especially in front of the skeptical and the obtuse;
– they only exhibit their paranormal abilities in well determined circumstances and they always do so solely for the purpose of helping those who really need this help in a beneficial and harmonious way;
– an aura of peace, compassion, love, joy, serenity and respectfulness surrounds them wherever they are;
– even if they live completely isolated, they do so solely for the benefit of other human beings;
– they almost always have a highly developed practical sense that applies even to the smallest details of daily life;
– their patience is almost inexhaustible with those who truly deserve it, regardless of external circumstances;
– their memory regarding fundamental aspects is exceptional.”
Our spiritual Guide also offers us a method, I will call it analytical, meant to help us answer the inquiring question whether and to what extent a spiritually enlightened being has reached the final stage of spiritual evolution. Observing the steps towards this final achievement, summarized in 7 stages, each of us can acknowledge our own progress and even more importantly, what we seek to become:
“- The first stage highlights the total ignorance or complete lack of knowledge of even a minimum amount of information concerning the nature of spirit and reality. This is, generally speaking, the case with the vast majority of human beings in the current era who merely blindly believe only in the five senses or only in mechanistical science and technology;
– The second stage highlights a more or less pronounced openness to other states of consciousness, which are produced either fortuitously or in an organized manner, such as through yoga practice. Sometimes the awakening of a spiritual interest happens due to the outbreak of ineffable inner resonance processes during reading a valuable spiritual text, the testimony of a great spiritual guide; sometimes just by living privileged experiences or even during the paroxysm of a painful existential crisis. In other cases, by systematically attending genuinely spiritual seminars, or even by experiencing an effective non-conventional therapy, can awaken in those human beings beneficial subtle forces they were previously unaware of;
– The third stage highlights the search, full of aspiration, for some effective methods of awakening and for a genuine spiritual path. This stage is often characterized by a feverish search and not infrequently bookish. Then we think only of our goal, something within us sometimes whispers that we are approaching the Truth. Ulteriorly, reading confirms this. We earnestly seek a Path, a spiritual Guide; we rush into what a great yogi once called a spiritual cocktail, i.e. a kind of hatha yoga, therapies, reading more or less mixed with meditation, martial arts or practices like Tai-Chi or biomagnetic therapy or even radiesthesia. There are some people who unfortunately get definitively fixed only at this stage and believe with the strength of the limited half-learned that they have found their way. Also in this category are those who, immediately after their first spiritual experience think they are fully enlightened and stop here. Others, however, at the end of this journey meet their true Path and spiritual Guide and their great spiritual adventure begins here;
– Stage four highlights the consequent, full of aspiration approach towards a genuine spiritual path. During this stage, human beings often gradually discover the barriers that prevent them from reaching real knowledge and progressively learn to eliminate these barriers. The specific methods used here vary according to the chosen path. These paths can change at a certain moment depending on our personal spiritual evolution and according to certain individual conditions. However, if human beings pursue to reach the Ultimate spiritual level they must never cease the spiritual practice. This will progressively extend over their whole existence. Otherwise they can regress. This level will be maintained unchanged for all the following stages;
– Stage five highlights the emotional stabilization and deep inner peace. As barriers dissolve and they are completely removed from the way of our consciousness, which here corresponds to the identification and control of the ultimate origin of our destructive feelings and emotions, mental agitation of our thoughts diminish and a deep euphoric state of peace is installed in us. This is an absolutely necessary condition for the stage to come, although there are some spiritual paths that take advantage of all the conflicts that occur in human beings, using them as a means to achieve direct and immediate transcendence. This stage is usually accompanied by a deep and accurate understanding of the nature of reality and the mind. The human beings now powerfully aim for the profound euphoric peace to be spread worldwide. Their love increases greatly;
- Stage six highlights the realization, or in other words the achievement of non duality. So far the human being has often been the theatre of manifestation for numerous phenomena in the sense of the Greek word meaning illusory “appearances”, such as visions of shapes and lights, inner listening of sounds, the perception of subtle energy vibration which then give rise to parapsychological events of different nature, regression to past lives or to previous phases of the existence of other human beings who come into contact with them. A competent spiritual Guide will help them understand that almost all of these phenomena are as illusory as a dream or as the regular physical universe. In all these experiences the living illusion of the separation between object and subject still exists, sometimes even with the risk of strengthening and perpetuating this illusion of separation. Complete dissolution of these fantasies gradually leads to the emergence of some deeply ineffable and conceptual holistic experiences. From the initial stage of dualistic knowledge we go now towards true divine knowledge, to that state of (impersonal) presence in which we realize with amazement that there no longer exists someone in particular who experiences. The huge love for all human beings then becomes divine Light and it reveals itself as what it has always been in reality, from the very endless beginning. The nature of reality is now acknowledged as deep illuminating flashes;
– Stage seven highlights spiritual liberation. Now God’s presence or true Knowledge is permanently installed, it remains constant and there is no possibility of ever losing it. Relative-absolute dichotomy is now obsolete. There are no more concepts and conditioning, but only a kind of immeasurable and radiant Supreme Space Light. Meanwhile, we discover with amazement that oceanic love and comprehensive Knowledge cross this body but don’t limit themselves to it. Only then we realize that this is a primordial condition which in reality has always existed in our being, but it has always been hidden by our previous ignorance. Now we realize that the veil of ignorance is completely dissolved.”
To realize the degree of progress that we have reached so far, the following passage of his teaching can be of real help: “To be very careful of the things that surround us, of human beings, the ones we love, of ourselves or of a certain aspect, is also a test of intelligence, love, consciousness, spiritual enlightenment and awareness of our degree of evolution.” Through an open and honest attitude towards our spiritual Guide, our understanding and knowledge will indisputably increase in scope and depth. In this way, the spiritual guide’s being can become a source of light for everyone consciousness. And to follow him unconditionally leads us closer to the characteristic of an aspirant. Our existence as such, as spiritual aspirants, must be aware at all times because only in this way, “when you become a disciple and follow a spiritual guide you become one with him.” The spiritual Guide’s attitude, of perfect harmony in any situation, includes you equally to your extent of openness, honesty and power to communicate inwardly with him. If a part of his teaching, whatever it may be, if a piece of advice received from him no matter when and where, enlightens us effectively, making us look at life as a whole, more clearly, always winning in harmony, it is no doubt that we are on the right path. Receiving his teaching in this way we have the revelation that everything we receive, everything that happens to us are countless gifts that he generously offers so we transform and become able to decipher the Ultimate Truth. Confirming the authenticity of this revelation I asked him for how long was he going to do this? He replied calmly and full of insurance: “until the end.” In conclusion, we can say that the first perspective on how a disciple regards his spiritual Guide must always be clear in his mind and heart.
yogaesoteric
May 2013
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