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Diamond – Wait Two Years

My search for goodness increased in my early twenties.  I had used faith to fight the good fight, as the Christians say, and was left faithless and broken as an adult.  Where the church saw light and goodness, I saw darkness and despair.

I was torn inside by my understanding that the teaching wasn’t working for me as an adult.  In fact, it increasingly made less sense to me with age.  I wanted it to work so why wouldn’t it?  What was wrong with me?  Everyone else appeared happy and fulfilled and I was miserable inside.

In my thinking at the time, having no religion was better than following a different path.  Wouldn’t God be even angrier with me if I followed Krishna or the Buddha?   

Superstitions like these kept me in a suffering state for many years, making one poor decision after another.  I was consumed with superstitious and irrational fears that led to panic attacks since no one loved God more than I and the darkness and despair increased.

These irrational fears were no less penetrating than what a person feels leaving a cult.  There are a few signs according to the psychologists like depression, sense of loss, panic, alienation, fear of evil spirits taking over, and fear that not obeying the cult’s wishes will result in God’s wrath or a loss of salvation.

I had every classic symptom according to Cult 101, and then some.  In desperation I resorted to self-help books, most notably Anthony Robbins with his book, Awaken the Giant Within.  I carried this book with me everywhere and read it until the pages fell apart. 

Despite all the self-help books, this sense of hopelessness increased since I couldn’t find anything that worked.  The only conclusion that I could come to was that I was a complete failure to God and everyone who knew me. 

This supposition, of course, led me downward making even poorer decisions.  This increased the suffering and all of it kept replaying like a vicious cycle.

If we examine the real situation, I never failed Christianity or the self-help gurus, they failed me.  If Christianity offered a real perspective on the Lord’s teachings, it would have made sense to me as an adult. 

If their teaching offered such a viable path, why were they content with being lousy Christians?  I couldn’t tell the difference between a sinner and a saint through their attitudes or daily actions.  The only way I could tell was when someone proselytized since it was never obvious in their behavior.

If Jesus were here today, what would He think of the Christian church?  Their teaching failed the both of us miserably, instead becoming the “Bride of Frankenstein,” over the last two thousand years.  

Jesus never said, “Proselytize and appear holy so that men will praise you and glorify God.”  It’s vain and egoic to pursue religion this way.  This is the internal meaning of taking the Lord’s Name in vain that the fundamental Christians preach against when they wear Christ’s name, without daily spiritual practices.

Due to the unconscious mind, which is where the ego resides, the natural bend is toward evil tendencies, and matters not whether I’m “saved.”  These words are nothing more than incantations and the belief in purification through Christ, superstitious sorcery. 

Some might think, “Hey, wait, I had a real life-changing experience during my conversion!”  Yet, the illumined have far deeper spiritual experiences on a daily basis.  Joy deepens with spiritual practices and the higher we travel, the more sublime the experience.

It’s true that not everyone is a sinner.   Daily spiritual practices are what enable the soul to transform the ego’s evil tendencies.  By living more like the Lord, our steps are safe, so we don’t sin. 

How can we do that when we’re convinced that we’re already conquerors through someone else?  I couldn’t even run a marathon through someone else, much less pick up a stick in my backyard.    

If the path claims instant purification after a spiritual experience, then the path will eventually fail you, and not the other way around.  Will power or faith only works for so long without inner transformation through daily spiritual practices and there is no other route to cleansing the soul.

This is an ongoing issue among the Christians.  Jimmy Swaggert is an example of how little the soul changes upon conversion.  His soul was never cleansed, yet his ego did a fine job of masking it.  He not only fooled himself but everyone around him.

He repented publicly regarding his sexual impropriety and begged the church’s forgiveness.  Yet even the Catholic priests who live in convents can’t escape it!  So, did Jimmy Swaggert and the Catholic priests fail the church? Or did the church’s teaching of prayer and purification through Christ fail them?  

The ego will mask itself in whatever religion we follow, so we must outwit it through daily meditation.  There’s no fast-lane, one-way ticket to Heaven, no matter the path.   

The Christian path through Paul produces a sense of superiority that the ego latches onto.  “I’m forgiven, justified, and a brand-new creature in Christ Jesus, how about you?”  See, the ego loves this story since it wins without a struggle.  But not so fast, what if Paul didn’t correctly interpret the Lord and it’s my interpretation that’s real?

All the Lord’s paths are for the intention of pursuing goodness.  The religions were meant for finding fulfillment and joy in living, not in dying for a better place.  Heaven will never appear if we don’t find it inside first. 

It’s always safe to assume that any of the Lord’s paths are the highest, but the teachers’ interpretations can make the difference between happiness and despair, and in some cases, life and death.

Jesus said in Matthew, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”  When Jesus said “inwardly, they are ravenous wolves,” he was describing the ego and the sheep’s clothing describes the level of sophistication in hiding it.

In rajas, a spiritual leader is the least sophisticated and the wolf appears more like a wolf.  Charles Manson is such an example.  He was an evil tyrant, with a primitive mind regarding spirituality, yet he still had notoriety and followers.  His approach was crass and unsophisticated, and he couldn’t mislead that many people.    

The ego’s effect upon the soul is also different between males and females.  The men resort to physical violence and the women attack the character.  They may interchange some on a broader spectrum, but males and females are not the same inside and each has different strengths and weaknesses.

When the soul reaches pratyahara, the senses begin to turn inward and the soul gains new powers.  They’ve conquered the externals in rajas and now they’re able to apply a spiritual effect in their actions, and what’s referred to as duality.

In pratyahara, the “sheep’s clothing” becomes a little more sophisticated.  The most infamous was Jim Jones with his powerful stage presence that was impressive to many.

At first, he appeared as a leader on fire for God and amassed a large following.  Within a few years, the tiger was already showing its stripes, and his behavior became tyrannical.   

Once he moved his congregation out to the middle of the jungle, his “tiger” attacked and ended everyone’s life including his own.  This is what frightens me more about the male spiritual teachers in pratyahara.   The threat of physical violence and death is more prominent since the soul has only begun to look inward.

There are other Christian teachers in pratyahara such as Jimmy Swaggert, Kenneth Copeland, Todd Bentley, and Sid Roth to name a few.  We’d like to think they would never do what Jim Jones did, but their behavior might tell a different story if they ever managed to isolate their followers away from the authorities.

Upon entering dharana, the soul is gaining strength, and contemplation becomes a motivating factor in their sadhana.  They have the capacity to dwell deeply on topics of interest which inspire some to become philosophers and theologians. 

It is typically a drier state in sadhana, and I haven’t noticed many prominent spiritual teachers or delved deeply into human philosophy.  The philosopher, Bertrand Russell does come to mind with his essay, “Why I am not a Christian.”

My description of the stages of spirituality thus far is how the ego manifests through the chakras since the ego is volatile and yet predictably so.  It’s also intended to help those who aspire to find a good spiritual teacher.

None of those I’ve mentioned became spiritual teachers with the intent to hurt or mislead anyone.  The ego is an unconscious force in their minds, too, and I’m sure that even Jim Jones believed his own lies and felt justified in his heinous acts.

Good spiritual teachers will always have control over their impulses, since that’s where the real power lies, not in strong-arming and manipulating people.  They also won’t encourage any improper physical touching since they’re aware of the difference between the spirit and the body.

Once, I saw a pastor running across the backs of the congregation while they were lying prostrate on the floor.  Jesus would never do that, and I find this behavior repulsive.  He wasn’t filled with the Holy Spirit but filled with the ego that wanted to stomp on everyone in his path.

As each chakra opens, the soul gains more power, awareness, and depth but for those in dhyana, their potential remains untapped without meditation.  This is the force of goodness and joy behind the superwomen, supermen, and the illumined, keeping their feet on the path forward toward liberation.

A good teacher will always encourage meditation and repetition of the Lord’s Name as valuable in one’s sadhana and they should have a multi-life perspective.  If they make any promises of samadhi or Heaven in a single lifetime, their teaching is inferior, and the path will fail the serious spiritual aspirant.

The teachers in dhyana bring better teachings and some are higher than others, depending on the chakra.  I’ve previously mentioned the seventh chakra teachers and Mother Theresa is also among them.

Thinking of mother reminded me of Amma, also called the hugging guru.  Many believe her to be the Divine Mother.  It doesn’t seem likely since she’s a sadhvi in the fourth chakra, without a spiritual teaching, and hugged 33 million people.     

Norman Vincent Peale is in the sixth chakra and brought The Power of Positive Thinking and wrote other books with uplifting and inspiring quotes. 

Sadhguru is in the fifth chakra, whose teaching is inferior to the higher chakras, though the Holy Spirit has gained him national attention.

His talks have inspired many, but I don’t think he has a good spiritual teaching long-term with all his Eastern fluff-n-stuff.  Though it may work for those in the earlier chakras, the later stages of sadhana, as some have already reported, may not find it so appealing.  

There is also the issue of how his wife died which I find disturbing.  He claimed she reached liberation, but I’m quite certain it didn’t happen. For one, if she was that far ahead of him, she wouldn’t have been attracted to him. She was most likely in the fifth chakra, as well.

Having her body quickly cremated the next day suggests he was hiding something.  Did she get sick, and he didn’t seek medical attention for her?  That sounds more plausible, though we can only speculate.

It’s behaviors like this that would send me elsewhere if I was looking for a spiritual teacher.  He should have given a true and accurate account of such a serious issue, instead of citing superstitious tales of liberation.

Another issue with Sadhguru is that a good spiritual teacher is also a good listener.  I’ve watched him in interviews, and I can’t imagine ever getting a word in since he would already “know” what I was going to say before I finished a sentence!  It’s too difficult to communicate with teachers who can’t partake in the simple act of listening.

Joel Osteen is another in the fifth chakra who brings a higher teaching than those I’ve mentioned in pratyahara and is much more tolerable.  Like Sadhguru, he has more control over his impulses, though I don’t think I could get a word in with him either.

This is a brief description of the effects of the ego as the spiritual teachers progress through the chakras.  All but the bodhisattvas have a wolf at the door, ready to huff and puff and blow your house down, even so far as the illumined.  This is why my suggestion is not to live at an ashram. 

If they offer helpful teachings, then pursue them, but it doesn’t require living with them.  It may not be that the illumined guru abuses his or her students, but who is running the ashram? 

So far, they haven’t proven that they have the capability of keeping their students safe and happy.  It’s also putting too much faith in another by giving up one’s pocketbook. 

This was clearly seen at the Rajneesh ashram with Osho owning 93 Rolls Royce’s, while his students barely had food to eat and clothes on their backs.  Eknath Easwaran treated his students far better but there were still issues with those in the lower chakras who were left in charge.

Let’s not forget Andrew Cohen’s ashram where even his mother was abused, which she wrote about in her book, The Mother of God. 

What if she was Mary, the mother of God, as she unconsciously indicates by the title?  I don’t think it would have made a difference to the ashram or Andrew.  How much happier the book would have read if she had written about the Lord instead!

It’s true that those in the higher chakras help those in the lower chakras through interaction.  This happens in all situations, whether a teacher or not.  A person can still reap the benefits that a guru provides without losing one’s liberties and freedom.

My humble opinion is to be careful if making the decision to move to an ashram.  A person could live and work near an ashram and visit the guru often for satsang. 

It’s also not a good decision for those with children since they need to play and interact with the world for their own sadhana.  With a family, everyone’s sadhana should be considered and it’s difficult for a child to grow up sheltered and then shocked into adulthood by the secular world. 

The safest approach to finding a spiritual teacher is to first understand they are not perfect and never blindly follow anyone.  Watch them closely for two years and their responses.  Do they have control over their impulses?

Are they kind and considerate or are they overbearing and vain?  Their teaching will correspond with their being-state and those who behave the best, have more to offer the student.  Are they able to listen without jumping to conclusions?  The ability to listen is essential for a spiritual teacher.

Do they think from a multi-life perspective without making outrageous claims that samadhi could happen at any moment?  It may happen for the bodhisattva, indeed, but such a rare occurrence it would be foolish for a guru to make such claims.

Lastly, the guru or teacher should readily agree with the 39 Beatitudes since it is basic sadhana, as well as the Black Lady Doctrines.  This is what I would expect from a guru following The Mother’s Way or any path, whether they agree with my assessment of the chakras or not. 

Waiting two years before making a final decision on a spiritual teacher makes the most sense.  If a guru or teacher is disturbed by the timeframe and attempts to manipulate or coerce, then that’s an obvious sign to look somewhere else.

Hopefully, tragedy will be avoided for those who follow this doctrine.  Suffering shouldn’t be a way of life and Jesus was accurate in His description of a false teacher.  They can infiltrate any teaching or religion without safeguards.

Let the Diamond Doctrine guide your path, for good spiritual teachers are like diamonds in the world.  It may be your Sunday school teacher, pastor, guru, or priest.  Find the one who inspires you to thrive in your sadhana, whether a prominent teacher or not.  Watch them closely and listen when they speak or offer sound advice. 

In the end, your sadhana is your own.  Regardless of the spiritual teacher or path you choose, the goal is the same, which is joy, love, peace, and fulfillment in life.  Through daily spiritual practices, you’ll find the keys to the Kingdom and just as Jesus promised, all these shall be added unto you.  

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