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1.
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States
his or her own enlightenment: The
wisest masters tend not to state their own enlightenment or
perfection for they know that it is both unhelpful to themselves and
to their students. The false teachers often make this claim because
they have little else on offer to attract
followers.
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2.
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Is
unable to take criticism: False
teachers strongly dislike either personal criticism or criticism of
their teaching; they do not take kindly to ordinary unenlightened
individuals questioning them. They or their organisations will even
undertake multi-million dollar law suits to stop ex-members from
spilling the beans.
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3.
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Acts
omnipotently with no accountability: Some
spiritual communities are run like concentration camps, with guru
and his chosen ones acting like Gestapo officers. Unjust or
outrageous behaviour by the guru is passed off as what is needed to
help the followers grow (how kind). These are the dangerous gurus
who have often severely damaged their students. A real master
respects your will even if he or she understands that your
particular decisions may not be in your interest, and he or she will
act accountably to an ethical code of
conduct.
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4.
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Focuses
on enlightenment itself rather than teaching the path leading to
it: It is
amazing how much false gurus have to say about enlightenment. They
argue their points in the same way that the scholars in the middle
ages argued how many angels could sit on the head of a pin. Any fool
can talk about the end goal because what is said is irrefutable to
most of your listeners. What is skillful is guiding those listeners
to having awakening within themselves. The real teacher focuses on
the path and strictly avoids any talk on
enlightenment.
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5.
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Does
not practice what is preached:
Contrary to spiritual myth, you don't reach a point of realization
whereby you can then start acting mindlessly. If a teacher preaches
love and forgiveness, then he should act that way, at least most of
the time, showing suitable regret for any lapses). If he teaches
meditation, he should meditate. If he insists that his followers
live in austere conditions, so should
he.
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6.
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Takes
the credit for a particular meditative or healing
technique: The
fact is that meditation and guided visualisation work. Anyone doing
them will experience major changes, benefits and realizations. The
false guru will try to own or trademark particular methods and
techniques so that she has something unique to attract followers.
And she will hijack the effects of meditation as the guru's blessing
rather than each individuals natural potential. Often the students
or followers are forbidden from divulging the techniques to maintain
a sort of intellectual property right, usually under the guise of
needing the technique to be taught
correctly.
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7.
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Specifically
gives satsang or darshan when it is not part of his
culture:
Darshan is when the disciples or students of a master line up and to
pass their master, who is usually seated, with either a bow or
traditionally kissing their feet (yes it does happen). In the East,
this is part of their culture and a normal thing to do to show
respect and reverence (even children will kiss the feet of their
fathers). However, here in the West, such copycat behaviour is a
strong indication that the guru is acting a role. Satsang, on the
other hand, means literally "the company of the Truth". In a deeper
sense it is an affirmation of the Guru-Disciple relationship in
Eastern traditions. But some Western gurus will use this terminology
because they are playing a role.
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8.
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Lives
in total opulence: There
is nothing wrong with living in luxury or being wealthy. But when
that luxury turns to unnecessary opulence using funds that were not
explicity donated for that purpose then you are probably dealing
with a false guru. Money is collected from followers usually in the
form of donations, and those donations are given as an act of love,
appreciation and to help spread the influence of the master.
However, a genuine master is more likely to use such wealth to
lessen the suffering in this world, not to buy another yacht,
private jet or Rolls Royce.
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9.
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Encourages
or permits adoration from his followers: Avoid
any group that focuses on the "master" themselves rather than the
teachings or spiritual practices. This will be a hindrance to your
self-realisation for your focus will be drawn outside of yourself,
and usually indicates that there is not a lot more on offer than
guru worship.
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10.
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Presents
himself or herself overly fashionably and
glamorously:
Beware of masters who present glamour photographs of themselves and
dress overly fashionably (whilst proclaiming that they have no ego
and leading ego-death retreats). Yes it does
happen!
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11.
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Demands
love and devotion from their students: Keep
clear of any master who demands love and devotion. One very well
known Western guru stated, "Anyone who loves me is guaranteed
enlightenment"! Real love and devotion is earned over time when we
begin to really know the whole person and not their public
image.
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12.
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Speaks
with an Indian accent or vernacular when he is in fact a
Westerner: Not
sure how much this happens now but there are some high profile
Western gurus who have (or had) Indian accents, mannerisms and
vernacular. This indicates that they are playing in their
ego.
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13.
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Runs
expensive miracle workshops and courses: You
are unlikely to reach enlightenment after a few weekend workshops
with cheesy titles. In our society of "must have now", we want to be
able to purchase spiritual development with minimal fuss. Also,
avoid meaningless accreditation — it is often used merely to
encourage followers to do more courses.
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14.
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Takes
sexual advantage of his or her followers: This
happens much more than many believe. It is not being prudish to
include this one because when a follower falls under the spell of a
guru he or she is likely to do anything for the Chosen One. It is
only afterwards that it may dawn on the follower that his or her
openness has been used and abused. This can be very psychologically
scaring.
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15.
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Flatters
you and treats you as very special: Sure
we are all special in some ways, but this is one of the things that
a false guru may do to hook a potential follower or to get a current
follower to do a particular task. Nothing can be more intoxicating
to the ego than to be selected by the master or leader (or any high
profile person). A real master will stand back and allow you to make
your decision whether to accept his or her teachings without trying
to influence the process.
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16.
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Talks
bollocks: It is
surprising what a person will listen to when he or she is devoted to
the speaker. It is always a good idea to get hold of a written
transcript of what has been said and really read the message. Then
tell an open-minded friend who is not a follower what their opinion
is purely on the strength of the words. You will soon find out
whether there is any real substance to the teacher's message, or
whether you are merely being drawn in by the charisma of the
messenger.
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17.
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Overly
relies on slick presentation: Slick
presentation can often mask poor content, and so it is important for
you to look past the lovely music and video shows at the actual
message. The slicker the presentation, the harder it is to see what
eactly the teaching is.
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18.
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Gives
him or herself outrageous titles: Not
satisfied by being "merely" an enlightened being, many false gurus
give themselves titles (or allow their followers to do so) to
indicate that they are literally God-Incarnate, the reincarnation of
the Buddha or Christ, or THE chosen one. Some continually change
their names, to keep pace with their burgeoning
egos.
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19.
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Runs
abundance workshops: A
guru or master is there to help us find an authentic life. This is
nothing to do with becoming more successful at work or making more
money, although this may or may not follow from being more
authentic. There is nothing wrong with abundance weekends, but if we
mistake spirituality for increased business success, then we are
guilty of spiritual materialism and we find ourselves deeper in the
illusion. (The Japanese say that the Gods laugh at those who pray
for money.)
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20.
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Is not
interested in you personally: If a
teacher or guru does not have time to interact with you personally,
then you may as well read his teaching from a book, because merely
being in his presence doesn't help you find realization inside you.
You may model some of his spiritual characteristics, but that often
only places you deeper in illusion.
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21.
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Allows
his followers to set up a hierarchy of access: A
guru must be accessible. If he is not, or if he allows his followers
to block your access, then he is playing the role of a king and not
a spiritual guide. A guru is only useful to the process of awakening
if you can directly interact with him.
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22.
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Makes
false claims of lineage: Many
mistakenly believe that realisation can only happen under the
guidance of a realized master. In this belief system, gurus are only
authentic when they come from a line or lineage of realized gurus.
Desperate not to be left out, some gurus claim a false lineage of
enlightened masters to bolster their authority to teach. Another
pseudo form of "lineage" is to recount a miracle that once happened
to them (maybe they cured themselves of some disease or God spoke to
them personally) which infers that they are "chosen" and therefore
have the authority to set themselves up as teachers and
gurus.
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23.
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Presents
themselves as non-profit whilst raking in the
millions:
Often, the false prophet will present her teachings for free, whilst
strongly encouraging her devotees to make large donations. In this
way she can appear above money considerations, whilst maintaining
her greed and opulence.
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24.
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Collects
a large band of angry ex-followers: This
is an indication that something is seriously wrong. If she has used
kindness and love in her interactions with her students, and has
discouraged them from projecting denied spiritual characteristics
onto the guru (rather than encouraging their integration into the
self), then it is extremely unlikely that there would be more than a
few disheartened ex's. Many might drift away and feel they have
wasted their time, but they are only likely to have the great anger
if they have put their teacher on a pedestal, given him their power,
and later realized that he was never worthy of such adoration.
Contrary to what some believe, it is actually the teacher's
responsibility to strongly discourage students from putting them on
pedestals, for this is counterproductive to finding realisation
inside.
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25.
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Uses
pseudo-technology: Many
false profits and organisations base themselves around
pseudo-technology in the effort to appear scientific — special
meters, communication devices (do you really expect the aliens to
use a mobile?) and energy clearing instruments and pendants that
involve crystals and copper wire. Once again, this is to distract
the unwary from the poor quality of the actual
teaching.
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26.
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Acts
like a complete paranoid mad person: If
your Precious One acts like a complete paranoid schizophrenic or
psychotic then he or she probably is. Run! Remember that there is no
such thing as "crazy wisdom"—wisdom is the art of being balanced.
However charismatic they may be, and sane between moments of
madness, you WILL be damaged by them.
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