Finding a Teacher
The path to this kind of learning is not for the fainthearted.
When the teacher is genuine there will be no false promises, celebrity endorsements, scores, likes or followers.
Is There Someone Who Knows?
How does someone come to know? Through their experience. The truth of a Teacher is in the knowledge of their experience.
There once was a young Indian boy named Narada who knew many things. His knowledge was extensive and broad but he had not obtained success. He liked to travel and heard about the knowledgeable sage, the Venerable One.
Narada, approached the Venerable One, Sanat Kumara, and asked him to teach him. The Venerable One replied, “tell me what you know, and then I will teach you what is beyond that.”
“I know the four Vedas, Rig, Yahur, Sama, Atharva – and the epics, called the fifth. I have studied grammar, rituals, mathematics, astronomy, logic, economics, physics, psychology, the fine arts, and even snake-charming. But all this knowledge has not helped me to know the Self. I have heard from spiritual teachers like you that one who realizes the Self goes beyond sorrow. I am lost in sorrow. Please teach me how to go beyond.”
“Whatever you know is just words,” said Sanat Kumara, “names of finite phenomena. It is the Infinite that is the source of abiding joy because it is not subject to change. Therefore, seek to know the Infinite.”¹
Finding this kind of Teacher will depend on what depth of learning you desire. It does not matter what age you are or where you grew up, what matters is that you are at the point of really wanting to know as Narada did.
¹ Chandogya Upanishad (188). Easwaran, Eknath. The Upanishads. Translated for the Modern Reader. California: Nilgiri Press, 1987. Print.
The Master Teacher
One who teaches from experienceThe Teacher
As a student I follow the Teacher, the one who has more experience and knowledge than I do in my quest to find my higher Self. No other pursuit has been able to satisfy the insatiable quest inside of me. I have reconciled myself to this pursuit and welcome the constant flow of learning and discovery.
One night I had a very vivid dream experience. I dreamed I was in the exact place of the picture on the right. It is in the Himalayan mountains, the Annapurna area, Nepal in Tibet. I have not been to Tibet but when I discovered this photo on iStockphoto I recognized the area as it looked identical to the place in my dream.
Not included in the picture is a small building where I met my Master Teacher, he conducted me into the building where there were two rows of parallel benches. There were others already seated and I was shown a place at the end of the first row nearest the door as I was the one who was just beginning to practice daily mediation.
I felt honored and intimidated but the meditation began. When I awoke from the dream, I knew the meaning of the practice of daily meditation. This was the gateway to understanding myself. From that time on, I practice daily meditation.