There are many known, unknown and hidden dangers and traps in the shady bylanes of the spiritual bazaar.
There are plenty of impostors in the garb of gurus and swamis,
and multitudes more of unsuspecting and gullible followers.
In this treacherous spiritual milieu, a naïve, blind follower could
easily end up as a ‘sitting duck’ for spiritual predators.
In what could be described as the case of ‘misplaced trust’, oftentimes
faithfuls get stripped of everything they possess - dignity, property, and sanity
by unscrupulous conmen.
In this clip, UG debunks any show of gratitude using a parody (of
a follower’s expression of gratitude),
“My encounter with you has helped me to come into
my own, (you helped me) to become me.”
These words capture the sentiments of a typical follower or
devotee.
Yes, there is nothing wrong per se about being grateful to
those who genuinely care for us or help us or benefit us. Gratitude is considered
as a virtue and being grateful, a noble act of civility and refinement.
Remember, gratitude is not an artifact of human value system
but natural instinct common among sentient beings. We witness its operation in mother
nature, in birds and animals too.
However, things are highly distorted in the spiritual
marketplace. It is an extremely treacherous transactional world where gurus are
salesmen selling ‘cheap and shoddy piece of goods’, where bogus spiritual help carries
a hefty price tag, and seekers end up being at the receiving end, relegated to the
role of hapless customers.
When the source of spiritual help itself becomes suspect or spurious or untrustworthy, one must be extremely watchful. In this context, any show of gratitude could be misplaced.
When trust and gratitude are carried to extreme forms like blind
loyalty or unquestioning servility, one is stepping into the danger zone of
abuse or exploitation by conmen.
****
UG always downplayed his role or influence in the success of people whom he touched. And there are many beneficiaries.
The young and incredibly talented Mahesh Bhat initially met UG
during his days of struggle in the film industry as a flop director, but later went
on to scale dizzy heights in Bollywood, winning several national and international
awards in his career.
Here is UG’s plain talk to Mahesh on expressing heartfelt gratitude
for everything that he had received from the master,
“Mahesh, if you think whatever you are today is
because of me, which I don’t think so, then do for others what you think I did
for you.”
Decades later, Mahesh Bhat still recalls every word of what UG
said that day. This has gone deep into his bones and become the credo of his
life,
“That has become my Dharma, my Kashi, my Mecca,
that is what I do, I live my master’s words.”
****
UG vehemently rejects all attempts to put him on a pedestal, or
enshrine him into a guru or guide,
“Nor will I be fooled by what you are saying (your sweet
words of gratitude). That is the end of it.”
UG raises a red flag not to be fooled or emotionally blackmailed by any speeches or acts of gratitude and not to be led up the garden path by one’s own followers, a great caveat for all wannabe gurus.
Even the best and the noblest among men meekly succumb to sentiments
of gratitude, praise, and adulation and fall into the trap of gurudom and
followership.
****
But first, why this thirst for spiritual experiences? Why this
craze for gurus?
The reason is not far to seek.
The emptiness or meaninglessness of life, the daily grind, the
misery, the harsh realities of life could all be so overwhelming that even the
bravest of hearts crumble under the pressure and seek for an escape route or even
an alternate reality.
The desperate search for peace, fulfilment, and happiness
leads seekers inevitably to the doorsteps of ashrams or spiritual gurus.
The lure of
spiritual life makes even the best and finest minds to abandon all caution, give
up all elemental reasoning and discrimination, and walk into the snare of unscrupulous
gurus.
Like drugs, the lure of spiritual goals is extremely seductive.
The spiritual bazaar is abuzz with all kinds of fly-by-night
operators - godmen, conmen, peddlers and scamsters.
There is a huge demand for spiritual services and a plethora
of spiritual goodies are on offer including ‘enlightenment’, ‘awakened state’,
‘blissful state’ or ‘eternal happiness’ and, what have you!
****
UG offers us a simple ‘safety net’ against all spiritual cons.
Firstly, he asks us to STOP in our tracks RIGHT NOW and stop chasing
after fictitious goals.
And here are his pointers to stay safe from all kinds of con
artists,
“What is a good man good for? Only for the bad man
to exploit.” (To be good in a treacherous world, is to be vulnerable
to predators)
“Stop looking for roses and there will be no
thorns” (Stop chasing after spiritual goodies, and you are
insured against all threats or traps of the spiritual kind).
“There is no such thing as ‘enlightenment’ or
eternal happiness…” (All spiritual goals are mental abstractions,
the conjectures of rich, productive minds).
“You don’t need crutches (gurus) of any kind. You can walk alone without crutches. If you still
fall, your knees and elbows will put you back on your two feet. You will get up
and walk…” (Your single decision to walk alone is your ticket
to freedom from all kinds of harmful dependencies, spiritual or otherwise).
“This body is designed to handle any crisis, physical
or psychological, even when hit with the worst psychological trauma in life,
the body knows how to handle it, the consciousness cuts off for some time, you
fall asleep, and when you wake up, you are once again fully charged and ready
to move on with your life” (Stop looking for all outside help,
your natural built-in resources are enough to handle any crisis in life).
Then UG goes on to offer us an invaluable tip in identifying the
real guru (‘if there is one’),
“The real guru is one who frees you from himself.”
And finally, here a golden rule to avoid all kinds of spiritual
traps,
“Test every word of what I say, or someone else says,
find out for yourself and by yourself whether it is true or not, else reject.”
- UG
****
UG not only cautions the followers, but also points to the
dangers and traps awaiting even the well-meaning gurus.
"If anyone
thinks he can help you, he will inevitably mislead you. And the less phony he
is, the more enlightened he is, the more misery and mischief he will create for
you!” - UG
UG does acknowledge here that not all wannabe gurus are conmen,
there could be some fine men and women with right intentions but still deluded (‘do-gooders’).
But the decision to go public, to gather followers (loka
sangraham, लोक संग्रहं), to form spiritual groups, to build
ashrams, is fraught with great danger and is extremely risky. Here, even the noble ones,
well-intentioned ones could go astray.
Many are initially reluctant to go public, to start ashrams or
organisations but eventually they succumb to the sentiments of followers.
Many gurus lack the clarity and courage to say ‘NO’! They turn
into puppets in the hands of followers.
“You (seekers) are the ones who put them(gurus) on
the pedestal giving them their power, without you, they are nobodies” - UG
Playing guru or influencer is narcotizing, giving a spiritual ‘high’.
Also, when the guru goes public, he or she could easily become
the target of sinister machinations by phonies and flunkies masquerading as followers.
The gurus are completely trapped in their own game and get dragged
into cults and movements.
****
Spiritual land is a tantalizing minefield.
Spiritual circus is all about gurus and seekers, about mutual exploitation. It is a deadly interplay of authority, power, and control.
The real courage is to refuse to play god, or seek one!
****
Video Transcription:
Nobody like that (you) anywhere, on this planet, unique, unparalleled…It will express itself, but then you don’t go around the world telling people ‘I am unique, there is no one like me, I am the one and the only one’. No, not at all!
You are calling me unique; I will never tell myself that I am a unique being. I can tell you, but you will not come to me and thank me, ‘my encounter with you has helped me to come into my own, to become me’, no!
Nor will I be fooled by what you are saying. That is the end of it.
You will not go anywhere and ask anyone, THAT’S THE ONLY ACID TEST!
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