Theos-Talk Archives (April 2004 Message tt00475)

Hi all,

On another list the following quote was shared. It looks at an aspect
of the phenomenon 'spiritual teacher' that probably played a part in
the way Krishnamurti taught.

Katinka

----

"Spiritual seekers are some of the most superstitious people on the
planet. Most people come to spiritual teachers and teachings with a
host of hidden beliefs, ideas, and assumptions that they
unconsciously seek to be confirmed. And if they are willing to
question these beliefs they almost always replace the old concepts
with new more spiritual ones thinking that these new concepts are far
more real than the old ones. Even those who have had deep spiritual
experiences and awakenings beyond the mind will in most cases
continue to cling to superstitious ideas and beliefs in an
unconscious effort to grasp for the security of the known, the
accepted, or the expected. It is this grasping for security in all
its inward and outward forms which limit the perspective of
enlightenment and maintain an inwardly divided condition which is the
cause of all suffering and confusion. You must want to know the truth
more than you want to feel secure in order to fully awaken to the
fact that you are nothing but Awakeness itself.

Shortly after I began teaching I noticed that almost everyone coming
to see me held a tremendous number of superstitious ideas and beliefs
that were distorting their perceptions and limiting their scope of
spiritual inquiry. What was most surprising was that in almost all
cases, even those who had deep and profound experiences of spiritual
awakening continued to hold onto superstitious ideas and beliefs
which severally limited the depth of experience and expression of
true awakening. Over time I began to see how delicate and challenging
it was for most seekers to find the courage to question any and all
ideas and beliefs about the true nature of themselves, the world,
others, and even enlightenment itself. In almost every person, every
religion, every group, every teaching and every teacher; there are
ideas, beliefs, and assumptions, that are overtly or covertly not
open to question. Often these unquestioned beliefs hide superstitions
which are protecting something which is untrue, contradictory, or
being used as justification for behavior which is a less than
enlightened. The challenge of enlightenment is not simply to glimpse
the awakened conditioned, nor even to continually experience it, but
to be and express it as your self in the way you move in this world.
In order to do this you must come out of hiding behind any
superstitious beliefs and find the courage to question everything,
otherwise you will continue to hold onto superstitions which distort
your perception and expression of that which is only ever AWAKE."

~ Adyashanti