Zen: The Art of Nothing

I came across this very interesting book that a friend was reading, and I found this chapter on guru very interesting. I think it is the most concise and beautiful way a guru-disciple relationship can be described. So here’s an extract from the Introductory chapter “The Art of the Guru” from the book “Death must die: A Western woman’s life long spiritual quest in India with Shree Anandamayee Ma” by Ram Alexander.

Although many seek the ‘consolation of religion’ in their lives and some have found solace in Eastern philosphy, yoga and spiritual teachers, not many have seriously embarked on an authentic guru-disciple relationship, which is fundamentally different. Inherent in this relationship is a particular structure and discipline that, like every art, demands a certain degree of talent and a strong commitment from the practitioner if it is to be perfected.

The Guru is a powerful aid to Self knowledge in which, it is considered, lies the ultimate truth of one’s existence. Each person’s way to his inner realisation is uniquely his own and thus there is little in the way of outer dogma on this path. But fundamental to this process of Self-discovery is the essential philosophical conviction that until and unless one directly experiences the knower as the known, all outer objects of knowledge (including God to the extent that he remains a dualistic concept) can only be less than authentic. This is not to say that devotion and surrender to God are excluded, but it is through an authentic experience of the all-pervading Divine as the essence of one’s individual being that one becomes initiated into an intense process of devotion to what alone IS. As we see with Atmananda’s training with Anandamayee Ma, she pursues both Self-knowledge as well as devotional surrender; and under the guidance of the Guru a number of devotional and yogic practices are given to facilitate this. As both Anandamayee Ma and Ramana Maharishi tell her, only when the Self is known can one truly know God, and vice versa.

That state which the Guru embodies and to which the disciple aspires is one of permanent transformation of his or her own ego structure in which a total cosmic integration occurs. In this is revealed both the ultimate humanism and the supreme individualism, in that all creation, all others, are experienced as having a fundamental integrity that is divine and in no way separate from oneself. In this state of sublime non-duality the experiencer is one with the experienced, such that the only possible response at any level of relationship is infinite love and compassion as all beings are experienced literally as oneself. To be in the presence of one who is established in this consciousness is to have this Reality awakened in oneself to some degree and this is clearly understood to be the truth of one’s essential nature and not something imposed from without. There is a fundamental authenticity about this experience, inherent in all that is most worthwhile in the human experiment that is totally beyond any external authority or belief system, although it is the source of all religion. When the Guru has finally succeeded in his job of awakening the disciple, he ceases to exist as ‘another’ and thus there can be no question of dependence or servitude of the disciple, although he will always feel overwelhming gratitude to his teacher for revealing the way.

The Guru guides those prepared to make this journey beyond death by holding up a mirror that uncompromisingly reveals one’s desperate clinging to the circular patterns of the ego-cherishing, and simultaneously reveals the individual’s true Self in which the lie of the false ego and one’s fearful clinging are dissolved. To be sure, not all gurus, or would-be gurus, are equally qualified and a great guru can achieve with a glance, or the withholding of one, what a lesser guru does with hours of haranguing the indolent or rebellious disciple. This relationship is a process that is fundamentally beyond words and the ‘teachings’ of a great Master can never be understood only from his recorded sayings. This explains why sacred books and scriptures are often so woefully misinterpreted and taken out of the context in which they were originally expounded, once the Master is no longer. The transformative presence of a living Guru is by definition a great threat to the status quo of the ego, whereas the written words of a deceased teacher can easily be turned into another prop with which one can feel spiritually safe.

A mature psychological balance and a well developed sense of morality and integrity are essential for the prospective disciple, without which he cannot possibly make significant progress in this endeavour. For the ethically and psychologically unprepared, to attempt to practice serious esoteric disciplines can often produce disasterous results. It is particularly for this that substantial association with the Guru is important so that he can closely observe the disciple and discern exactly what he may require and what he is able to absorb at each stage of his spiritual evolution.

To be in the presence of the Guru is, for the committed disciple, to be in the presence of God, which is to say that the profoundly magnetic spiritual presence of the Guru activates the spiritual centre within the disciple making him aware of the transcendent divinity within himself and all others in a much more intense way than he could normally do on his own.

The disciple utilizes this intensity to develop and deepen his meditation and to help him to clearly discriminate between right and wrong action – to see clearly the unceasing tricks of the ego as it desperately fights for its survival. Whatever heightens this inner state of transcendent awareness is seen as good and desirable, and whatever detracts is to be avoided. In this way a clear path of action opens out. Here also frequent contact with the Master is very helpful in intensifying and clarifying the this process of discrimination in which one is attempting to ‘bring down’ and ‘stabilize’ a more fundamentally subtle level of awareness. It is particularly to protect and effect this all important subtle energy transformation that the serious aspirant needs to live (for some time atleast) in a controlled and isolated environment – ideally the Guru’s ashram- in order to maintain proper ‘laboratory conditions’ in which to protect his work.

Obviously a passionate commitment and effort on part of the disciple are essential and this is invariably the result of he or she fully comprehending that the perfection of this self-transformative process art is ultimate – indeed the sole – purpose of their existence. Thus, far from being an escape from life, the disciple is convinced that only in doing this spiritual work is he taking full responsibility for his existence in that of the world. Again, this has absolutely nothing to do with any belief system or organised doctrine imposed from without; which is not to say that there is not a structure and method which is revealed through the mystical process of the Guru-disciple relationship- a relationship that is inherently beyond others until all ‘others’ have become precisely ‘That’.

Ofcourse, it is understood that the Guru is only an outer manifestation of one’s innermost Self, the in-dwelling Divinity within all, to which everyone has his own unique access. However, except for the rare phenomenon of the born saint or avatar, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible to remain on the path of illumination, referred to in the Upanishads as the ‘razor’s edge’, without the guidance of one who can shed light on the way. In any case, only can only begin from where one is at the moment, working with the inner Guru until, as it is said, ‘When the disciple is ready, the Guru will appear’. Although a great Master may give his blessings to many, there are few whom he or she would consider qualified to seriously embark on this path and such a disciple is severely tested before being accepted. This is the ancient time-honoured Guru tradition of India.