By George A. Boyd ©2001
Guru |
Chela |
The Master has the ability to initiate on the level of the disciple's
ensouling entity. |
The chela must be able to gain union with the ensouling entity
at will in full consciousness. |
The Guru is established in the state of Mastery on the level of
the disciple's ensouling entity, either essentially [e.g., the Guru's
ensouling entity dwells on that level] or through the adoption of
an immortal form upon that level. |
The chela must be prepared to assume the responsibilities and accept
the challenges that initiation in this order of being entails. The
chela, who is at a lower order of spiritual development than the
Guru, must be willing to receive Grace and guidance from this teacher,
and follow the teacher's precepts. This requires a willingness to
learn and humility. |
The Guru must assume responsibility for the karma between the Guru's
state of spiritual evolution and the disciple's. The Guru ensures
that karma is progressively worked out. |
The chela must be willing to do meditation practice and to receive
the Light from the Guru to actively dissolve karma. |
The Guru must make an attunement with the disciple's ensouling
entity. In some traditions, attunement may be made concomitantly
with the attentional principle, the spirit, and/or nuclei of identity. |
The chela must utilize the Grace imbued in the spiritual attunement
to make spiritual progress, to grow in virtue, ability, and wisdom.
The chela must recognize the opportunity afforded by this established
attunement and capitalize upon it. |
The Master must be given a mandate by the Divine to work with this
disciple. |
The chela must seek to draw closer to the Divine by spiritual communion,
progressive initiation, and the unfolding revelation of successive
bands of the Great Continuum of Consciousness. |
The Guru must faithfully discharge the spiritual duty towards the
disciple to ensure that progress is steady and the spiritual goal
is attained. |
The chela must honor and respect the Guru, and obey the moral obligations
and guidelines required by the Guru's teaching. |
The Guru must protect the disciple on the inner Planes from negative
forces and entities. |
The chela must stay away from deleterious influences. This can
include avoiding inappropriate diet, improper behavior, unsuitable
relationships, negative content in books and other media, use of
intoxicants, and frequenting environments that subject the disciple
to temptation. The chela must check his or her wayward patterns
of thinking and behavior to reform character and eliminate self-destructive
habits. |
In anonymous ministry, the Master works with
the ensouling entity, spirit, and attentional principle of others
without those individuals having awareness of who is doing the ministry.
It is common for these individuals to attribute the Light they are
receiving to the god-man, savior or prophet of their faith.
In the personal teacher/mentor relationship,
the Initiate gives practical guidance, spiritual discourse, meditation
instruction, and helps the aspirant refine character. This relationship
is established at the level of the personality. At this point, the
aspirant is not advanced enough in meditation to commune with the
Master's radiant Guide form on the inner Planes.
In conscious spiritual communion, the chela
knows who the Master is, communes with the Master's Guide form, and
travels with the Guide on the inner Planes. With sufficient preparation
and inner development, this leads to the establishment of accepted
discipleship, where the chela is empowered to minister on behalf of
the Master.
[Swami Charan Das states:]
"Discipleship is a phase of successive training and mastery in the school
of spirituality. The Mudrashram® tradition recognizes 36 degrees
or markers of discipleship that must be mastered before someone can
reach the level of accepted discipleship. An accepted disciple is an
individual who is empowered to teach on our behalf, to initiate others,
to bestow the sacred mudras."
[Information about
these 36 degrees are given in our Satsang Program Home Study Course.]
The Seeker's Dilemma
"Many seekers feel confusion when they encounter the
disparate and often conflicting messages of spirituality that he or
she receives at gatherings of spiritual and religious groups
"
[I will summarize the remainder of Swami Charan Das'
discourse.]
This is because different groups
work on different levels of the Great Continuum of Consciousness, and
have varying requirements for initiation and discipleship. If the seeker
is not careful, he or she can create imbalances by skipping ahead in
the spiritual journey, working on levels beyond his or her spiritual
cutting edge.
[Swami Prabhu Maharaj begins
his discourse here.] He adds to Charan Das' remarks,
"It is tempting
indeed to jump up and work at the level of the First Cosmic Initiation,
and unfold spiritually at the feet of a Yogi Preceptor. It is ecstatic
to open up into one of the Supracosmic Paths, to be filled with the
scintillating, empowering ray from a Guru. It is rapturous to be lifted
into the Ocean of Love on one of the Transcendental paths, bathed in
the glorious radiance and beauty, and infinite love of a Sat Guru."
"But
" Swami Prabhu Maharaj cautions, "work in
these higher octaves well beyond your rightful station can create in
you a sense of incompleteness and dissatisfaction. You may congratulate
yourself that you are doing spiritual college studies, when in actuality
you are still in second grade."
"For this reason, as part of the Mudrashram® Master
Course in Meditation, we do a reading for you to help you identify your
spiritual cutting edge, and the development you have made in other octaves
of the Great Continuum of Consciousness. We do this so you can start
in the right place, so you may build your spiritual temple in a stable
way, in a balanced way. In a way that will not make you a fanatic or
lunatic raving on in the night."
"We then teach you in the Mudrashram® Advanced
Course in Meditation how to recognize these higher octaves within you,
and how to sense your spiritual cutting edge. We do this so you can
know for yourself and not just take our word for it."
"Discipleship is not supposed to be a journey of blind
faith, of fearful obedience, of occasional clouded glimpses into a world
of mystery and splendor. You are meant to see, to know, to progressively
master in full consciousness each of the steps of the process of inner
development."
"We will help you if you seek our help to go through
these stages. But the struggle, the inner battle, the sacred victorythis
you must eke out by your own spiritual work. The Master cannot do this
for you: you must take the mantle of mastery at each stage, at each
step of the journey for yourself."
"We can train you through each of these stages of
discipleship if you choose to study with us. You are free to come and
go. This is not a prison. We are a school on how to become spiritually
free
"
"Make the decision to develop yourself spiritually.
You prepare plans to progress in your career, improve your health, make
more money, and enhance your relationship. Set goals for your spiritual
development, also."
"Take time to pray and meditate. Make an altar, a
sacred space in your home. Continually expand your inner vision into
new areas of the Great Continuum of Consciousness. Progressively advance
in meditation so you can concentrate even more minutely, so your inner
vision becomes clearer and clearer. Meditate until you can go up and
stand in the presence of your Soul, in the presence of whatever Masters
you love, and you can look into the face of God."
"This is not impossible to you. We will give you the
tools [of meditation techniques] if you don't have them. If you have
these tools, use them. You will experience your progressive growth and
mastery day by day."
"You will be like water, wearing away the stone, cutting
through mountains, cutting through mile after mile of earth, until you
reach the sea. This is your spiritual destiny. May you be awakened and
empowered to fulfill it."