False Prophets and Their Disciples

Sometimes a pathetic little course in spiritual skills and the resulting big guru label might actually make it impossible for me to get a word in edgewise, because the all-knowing attendants have so much to say. A big guru’s presentation invariably hinges on a marketing guidebook, he can pitch his financial plan at any time, surrounded by consultants. In a word, everything is there, save the substance.

A lady who pretty much fits the above description came to me, promoting a technique which she claimed to have created alone, the unique human being she was.

“If that technique is so good, how come you have so many issues?”

In this part of the Balkans, I represent the International Centre for Reiki Training, which is why many such people have to come to me to obtain a license to practice. After a diagnostic routine, I usually have to ask them:

“How can you expect to treat people if you are sick? How can they earn money if you can’t? How can they find a partner if you are alone?”

They hardly ever offer a plausible explanation. Instead, I have to listen to the stories empty of meaning, which they might have heard somewhere, but never understood completely. Remember:

People who talk too much, know little or nothing at all.

You shouldn’t advertise your newly acquired knowledge much too strongly. Why? Because what you’ve just learnt has yet to develop into integral knowledge. It may seem huge to you, but you need to be aware of a couple very important things:

– Your knowledge can’t be enough, because it’s just a starting point. It may be little or even non-existent, and there’s a long journey ahead of you. Are you 100 percent sure that you know where are you headed?
– Is what you have even true? You have no other knowledge to compare.

In a nutshell, it’s rather your personal fascination than genuine knowledge. You’ve seen a house, but have no idea what the city is like. It may be deceptive, wrong and downright dangerous for you and your followers. Judging a book by one chapter is not only irresponsible, but also a sign of serious obtuseness.

They know nothing, which is why they talk. Their knowledge is so limited that it can only be used to glorify themselves, as they can’t actually help anyone, frustrated subconsciously with the awareness of how little they know. That’s why they prefer to quote others. As if anyone can believe that the words they don’t believe in are their own. Don’t be gullible!

There’s nothing for you to gain there. There’s nothing there for them either. They just waste their energy, becoming even poorer than they have been before. Such people tend to linger in the shop window, since there has never been too much to offer inside. Whatever they do is for advertising purposes only, to say that they, too, were there. They have no actions to speak for their journey, to prove that it has made them better.

This happens quite often at the beginning of a search for genuine spirituality. It is a journey full of misconceptions, designed to gauge if you are truly ready. For the arrogant, the result is always the same – they keep living an illusion, wallowing in their personal mud, thinking they are onto something. This phenomenon exists in the sciences, too. It’s particularly frequent among first-year medical students, but similar occurrences have been reported at other departments as well, including psychology and arts. Freshmen usually think they know more than their professors, let alone the general population.

They are too impatient to wait until they learn more, and get to some genuine truths, but adopt every new thought as the absolute, advertising it around, bragging about it left and right. Again, for one reason only – so that others may think they are cleverer than they actually are. They might be very aggressive, their presentations are invariably exhausting, because it’s just a personal pep talk, as deep down they fear their ignorance. At that stage they either envy anyone knowing more, or might even dare to teach them. Envy is the most subtle form of admiration!

They will never let you put them to the test. Perched on a high branch they had invented for themselves, they may actually believe they are great teachers, but they will fall really hard, and very soon.

Can a single course or a new method under your belt make you a teacher? Think. Is such a person worth listening to?

Apotheosizing, millions of quotations, glorifying a group or an individual, usually those supporting their illusion, are the common denominators. Those applauding to such people either use the weaknesses of their ego subconsciously, or are simply the same. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours – you’ve heard this before, haven’t you?
It’s the life they live that contradicts them:

They call themselves great spiritual leaders, and they smoke.

Morning is the best time to meditate, but not before a cup of coffee.

They promote inner beauty, but are addicted to beauty salons.

They also enhance a spiritual glow in their eyes by an eyelid job.

There’s more silicone in their bodies than there is love for those coming to them.

Spirituality is fulfilling – that’s probably what all the shopping is for.

What happens when they mix apples and oranges together? Well, there’s hardly anything left for them to do than open a spiritual centre, where with little yoga you can get a free-of-charge prophecy, too. You can also learn samba dance steps, before you schedule a quick anti-age Reiki treatment, but after you have received three pieces of advice as to how to negotiate, or get rich. Plus a nice cup of green tea. Perhaps.

Came on!

Getting to know yourself on a spiritual journey is not a circus!

If this post has made you angry, because you might have recognised yourself or a person dear to you, don’t be angry at me. You are seriously deluded, and it’s high time that you asked yourself what is it that you really want, and where, actually, you are headed?