VAGDEVI SPIRITUAL PROCESS [#15010] CONVERSATION

Do I know enough to pass on some of the knowledge I have acquired to others? If I say, “I do”; I recognize that I know more than the one to whom I can pass on some knowledge. A recognition of this kind amounts to being thoroughly aware of certain facts; for example, that the source through which I have acquired the knowledge is the right source, that I have adequately understood the intent and content of the source, that I have retained the knowledge in the exact form it was delivered by the source, that I have sufficiently verified the usability and usefulness of the knowledge through proper and adequate experiencing and experimenting, that I have the capacity and ability to deliver the knowledge without diluting or corrupting its intent and content,  that the person to whom I am expected to deliver the knowledge is capable of understanding the knowledge that would be delivered to him, and that the receivers of the knowledge  would not make use of the knowledge received by him to harm anybody, etc..

We must accept that neither acquiring some knowledge nor delivering it to the others is as casual an affair as we consider them to be.

Even if I have acquired the knowledge from a perfect source, have understood it, tested it, verified it and have delivered it to a perfect recipient in a perfect manner; a question still remains to be answered, that is, could I, in the entire process was able to avoid becoming a prey to the pride that I knew more than the recipient of the knowledge?

The pride that one knows or that one knows more than someone else is the most vicious kind of pride. It harms all the three; the one who delivers knowledge or intends to deliver it, the recipient and the knowledge itself. Only if the state of love and compassion for one’s students is well settled in a teacher; he can avoid being affected by the pride of knowing more than someone else. How we understand that the love and compassion is well settled in someone? It happens only when the emotions of love and compassion are not linked to their objects. It should not happen that they appear in particular occasions and/or in particular circumstances and disappear when the times or circumstances change. For example, if I say, I am compassionate towards the poor; the feeling must remain within me for all times. It should not happen that when I see a starving old man, the feeling of compassion should appear in me, but when I see him stealing something the feeling should disappear. Similarly, if and when I, myself, am starving due to the circumstance I may be forced into, the feeling of compassion for the poor should not leave me.

The ancient Indian philosophy recognizes that teachers that can impart true knowledge and mould the characters of their students are difficult to find. In modern times it has become all the more difficult to find a true teacher. When things look impossible to achieve, the only way out is to continue making the right efforts, in the right direction and conserve one’s energy by adopting a path of lesser resistance.

When able teachers are not available it is best to be with true and humble learners. A true learner understands the importance of unlearning in circumstance when the rule is not of the truth, but that of the untruth. The rule of untruth does not automatically imply absence of the truth. It simply means that the truth is subdued because of the strong presence of the untruth. Through the process of unlearning the clouds of untruth hovering over the truth are dispelled. VAGDEVI Spiritual Process prefers dependence on the vast resources of knowledge contained in the scriptures and works of selfless philosophers with impeccable conduct and character; and, honest and humble learners committed to unlearning what must be unlearned.

Unlearning has a dual advantage. First, it dispels the untruth; and second, it chisels off much of the ‘intellectual bulk’ to create enough free space for the functioning of a simplified thinking process.

The way this Spiritual Process approaches the ‘No Teacher’ system, it can empower Adhyayan, Manan, Chintan and Abbhyas (Self-study, mental rolling over the contents, in depth contemplation over the content studies and practicing the things thus learned); it helps in unlearning the faulty concepts and ways of life; and, it promotes humility and simplicity of thoughts.

In Process # 15008, we said spirituality is not a state, it is a process.

In Process # 15009, we said right thoughts have little meaning unless followed by the right conduct.

Here, in Process # 15010, we emphasized upon the need for open minded and self-propelled efforts for knowing the realities with humility and honesty.

[This series is being presented by Promod Kumar Sharma, who has also authored “Mahatma A Scientist of the Intuitively Obvious” and “In Search of Our Wonderful Words”.]