Nelly: Hello, dear James.
I encountered your book three years ago. I can’t say enough about how much I have enjoyed reading it, how much it uplifted my spiritual practice and speeded up my spiritual understanding. I have been studying with one of your students in the last two years as well and it has been a pleasure. At this point, I would love to deepen my knowledge by associating with a Self-actualized being.
I would love to receive a recommendation of a Vedanta school/order/teacher, since I know there are many and as you mentioned in your book there are fake gurus. I understand you have learned in the Chinmaya tradition, as for the research I’ve done online it is not possible to know whether or not the guru now in charge is honest and pure, as Swami Dayananda, who has passed away a few years ago, it is the same situation.
James: Lovely to hear from you, Nelly. Appreciation is much appreciated. I’m happy to hear that Vedanta is working for you. And you are on the right path when you say that you want to associate with a Self-actualized teacher. As for Vedanta schools to firm up your knowledge with the intention of teaching one day, I’m sorry I can’t recommend one. The Chinmaya Mission and the Dayananda Ashram in South India have good but very difficult courses that involve a long-term commitment and a lot of hardship, and I can’t recommend them, because most Westerners fail to complete them. I think most of the teachers are good, honest people who are sincerely dedicated to the tradition, however.
It’s commendable that you want to avoid fake gurus and to teach responsibly. To teach Vedanta is a great privilege; not everyone is qualified. The way it works is that when your teacher feels that there is little or no danger of enlightenment sickness and that you have grasped the fundamental satya–mithya teaching, which is the essence of Vedanta, he or she gives his or her blessing and support.
This is not to say that you should not share what you know with people who are attracted to your humility, purity and compassion. The real teaching is you, not Vedanta. There should be no difference between what you are saying and how you live. You can feel if someone is truly free. It is a tangible experience. A person who talks about freedom, but is still obviously just another person with power/pleasure/respect/money issues, is not a teacher.
Vedanta is a means to an end. It makes it clear that you are a What, not a Who. Whats don’t want anything. Whos always want something. You should never think of it as a career, a way to gain respect or security or power. You should have an independent income so you are not tempted to avoid telling the truth to people that give you money.
Having said that, if you feel that you want to go further with your Vedanta, you definitely need to understand the logic behind the whole teaching. To that end I am giving the complete teaching three times this year because many Self-realized individuals who are firmly committed to Vedanta find the steady bliss that should become a constant experience when a qualified person realizes “I am ordinary, ever-free, unborn, ever-present, unconcerned awareness” is often obscured by unresolved emotions developed in childhood and overlooked during the listening and reflecting stages of the teaching. Vedanta attracts intelligent people who often assume they know more than they do. Mistakes in the reflecting stage are a consequence of improper hearing. So it is incumbent that a dedicated inquirer go back to the beginning and listen again. Even when the hearing stage is completed correctly, failure at the reflecting stage is commonplace, because of the mind’s tendency to delude. Mistakes at the reflecting stage carry over the assimilation phase, Self-actualization. Because self-deception is the nature of ignorance, all three stages of Vedanta need to be practiced under the tutelage of a qualified teacher.
I just completed a fifty-hour seminar that gives the complete teaching from A to Z. If you are serious about Vedanta, I recommend that you watch it. If you donate 100 euros to ShiningWorld, I will send you a link with both the video and audio files. Indicate that the donation is for the complete teaching series. It’s not quite the same as attending a teaching in person, but it is almost the same.
Would you mind telling me why you want to teach Vedanta? Where do you live? What is your life situation? Are you married? Do you have a family, a job, etc? What daily practice are you doing now? Normally, people who aren’t done with the world don’t make very good teachers unless they have teaching samskaras. Some people are natural teachers. It’s a skill that you can learn, however, if you listen to good teaching. Many Dayananda and Chinmaya people realized the Self but only a few are good teachers. Generally, the best teachers are Self-actualized people who don’t want to teach but for whom Isvara sets up the right circumstances and slowly supplies qualified inquirers once they have been empowered to teach by their teacher.
I think you have a good attitude but I should perhaps remind you that all three stages of Vedanta practice need to be presided over by a Self-actualized teacher because the tendency to self-deception is more or less hardwired in everyone. I you want to discuss this with me further you can make a donation to ShiningWorld and schedule a Skype chat.
~ Much love, James
