Hello and welcome to episode 38 of the Ask Sri Vishwanath show. It’s a wonderful morning here. Today I want to talk about choosing your spiritual mentor.
Today’s question is from Julie. Julie says “I am a voracious reader of spiritual books, I participate in online spiritual gatherings and read many articles and yet I feel I’m not making any progress. Why is this?”
Great question Julie. It’s great to see you showing show much interest. Showing interest is the first step on a spiritual journey.
One Teacher
The problem is this: There are too many teachers, too many masters and too many books. You must stick to one teacher. This is the secret. The biggest mistake people make is that they feel spirituality is something that must be understood when the reality is that spirituality is gifted from a great teacher to a worthy student.
There is nothing to understand in spirituality. It will always flow from a master to a student. The consciousness of the master connects with the consciousness of the student. This happens when the master is great and also when the student is worthy .This way the consciousness flows very easily and the connection is beautiful. It’s almost like magic that you can feel within.
You can understand many things through intellect. You could understand subjects like maths or geography but unfortunately you cannot understand spirituality through intellect alone. When it comes to realisation and really seeing the god within it just doesn’t happen this way.
This is why I personally mentor people. What I suggest you do is stick to one teacher.
15 years ago I started. I stuck to Swami Vivekananda, Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Sharda Devi .I did not choose anyone living for the simple reason that at the time, I was very hungry so I stuck with them and it paid off. I stuck to that one teacher and it worked. So that’s what you need to do. Whether it be one, three or five years don’t move around. Stick with them. It’s so important. It’s a gift from a master to their student.
The spiritual Flow
You can read an article here or an article there but remember that spirituality is not like solving a maths problem. It’s not about collecting facts. It’s about assimilation and absorption and it can only happen when one consciousness connects with another. The medium of spiritual flow is always from the master to the student.
You can choose a living master or one who has passed but most people should try and find a living master. You’ll have to do some research to find out who will be the best for you but when you find one stick with them for as long as it takes. Don’t change unless the person is absolutely useless.
People sometimes choose a master and then change as if they were changing their clothes. They don’t understand that it’s not about intellect or collecting facts. It’s about realising the spirit. The flow of conscious is instant and it’s a gift.
Choosing a master
To choose a master you must do 3 things. First you must help yourself to become a worthy student. This is really important. Do this you need to ask for help from the god within. Be humble and ask for help. Surrender yourself to this higher being. When you ask for help doors will open to you and wonderful things will happen.
Secondly you must increase your hunger. You need to need to create an appetite for spirituality. Don’t limit yourself by saying I must read this book or that book. Just have the urge for spirituality. You need to want to see God and you must need to want to know everything about consciousness. You must want to have all the characteristics of Krishna, Christ and Buddha. Increase that hunger and you’ll find that doors will open up for you.
RamaKrishna Paramhansa says “ Everyone is mad about something be it a person, a women, wealth or possession. My madness is the highest. I am mad about God” So become mad about God. When you do this you’ll become a worthy student.
So Ask for help. Increase your hunger and be mad about God.
One step at a time
The next thing I want to tell you is to take one step at a time. Look at spirituality as an ongoing process. Think of when you were in school. You went from first grade to second grade to third and so on. You didn’t just jump from first to tenth! People sometimes try to swallow everything at once by reading random articles or books. They think to themselves: “this will work” or “that will work” but it’s just too chaotic and you end up learning nothing.
Stick to one teacher and do one thing at a time. Remember its one step at a time. Ask for help and tell yourself that you want to see God. Be conscious and every single day try to be like Krishna. Look at like a university degree. Take it in stages.
Later on when you become a master you won’t have to worry about structure but for now stick to one teacher, ask for help, become mad about god, increase your hunger and take it one step at a time.
We provide structured courses and one to one tuition to help you so please get in contact if you feel this is something you are interested in.
I hope I answered your question. Remember you keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.
