Living Cosmos

ESTIMATED PROPHET:
Identifying True Spiritual Masters

- by G. Michael Turner

Hi There!

In the December 1993 issue we discussed the desirability
of working with a living spiritual teacher, or master, in
order to achieve self and God-realization, and spiritual
freedom. In this issue, we will look at how to identify
a teacher of this nature.

A lot of people confuse spiritual mastery with its
attributes. They expect masters to look a certain way, act
a certain way, eat a special diet and so forth. Much of this
is due to our cultural upbringing. All of these traits
represent humanity's tendency to emphasize outward
manifestations of success over success itself.

There is a wonderful scene in Jesus Christ
Superstar in which King Herod challenges Jesus to prove
his divinity by doing a miracle magic show:

"Feed my household with this bread.
You can do it on your head!"

When the Galilean fails to jump through hoops
on command, the petulant potentate throws a temper
tantrum and screams:

"You're a joke; you're not the Lord!
You're nothing but a fraud!"

How often do we find ourselves today in a similar
situation? We fancy ourselves to be seeking a spiritual
guide or teacher, but we want some bells and whistles
thrown in so that we can objectively verify that s/he's the
"real McCoy," that we're getting a good deal. In our
intellectual vanity, and consumeristic desire for goodies,
we demand more bang for the buck. We want
something we can take home and show our friends. And
so we all too frequently fall prey to any number of psychic
tricks - metaphysical medicine shows, if you will - used
by the Kal (negative power) to
distract us from Soul's true quest for spiritual freedom.

"Is that a real poncho, or is that a Sears poncho?"
- Frank Zappa

Kal, one must remember, is the lord of the Mental
Plane, which is the last and most subtle realm of duality
and illusion before reaching our True Home in the regions
of pure Spirit. The mind is amazingly supple and has far
more than a thousand tricks up its sleeve to keep us
distracted from our goal. Most, if not all, psychic
sideshows - as well as their practitioners - are products of
this plane, or the Causal and Astral Planes below it.
Familiar examples include fortune telling, psychokinesis,
akashic readings, aura balancing, science of mind teachings,
numerology, ascended masters, most philosophies,
mediumship, channeling, studies of various cosmic rays,
crystal healings, magick, ufology, etc.

Now let me just say here - as I've stated before -
that none of these things are "wrong" or "bad" per se.
But an objective study will reveal that their appeal rests
on our fascination with phenomena. And this is precisely
what keeps us distracted. For our attention becomes
rivetted upon the form rather than the content - the facet,
rather than the whole diamond of total consciousness - the
symbol of the Reality, rather than the Reality of Itself -
the reflection, rather than that which is being reflected.

This brings us back to the original question:
How do we get beyond the psychic house of mirrors and
attain true spiritual freedom?

And the answer endures - as it has been stated by
every saint since humankind first walked this earth -
through a living, physically embodied, God-realized
teacher. The reasons for the living teacher (Master or
Satguru) were discussed at length in the last chapter.
The question remaining, however, is one of how to
identify such an individual. With such a plethora of
professed professors of enlightenment wandering the
planet, one might easily be at a loss to pick out the true
teacher from hir reflection. Here are a few signposts
which I found useful during my unfoldment into God-
realization.

First, does the teacher speak or write of the Sound
and Light of God - the Shabd, Word, Holy Spirit or
Audible Life Stream? The Way of the Eternal states that
God-realization and spiritual freedom are attained by
linking our consciousness to the return flow of the Shabd,
and allowing It to lift us up above the dual worlds into
the realm of pure Divine Spirit wherein dwells the
Supreme One, the Ocean of Love and Mercy. Yes, I
know that's a mouthful. But the reality is very simple.
And the practice, traditionally known as Surat Shabd Yoga,
is the simplest, and most ancient, spiritual technique on
earth. It has been practiced by every true Saint, Master
and Spiritual Teacher who has ever been, or will be.

Now, the second question we must ask is, "Is the
teacher capable of functioning as an inner master as well
as an outer?" In other words can s/he meet us in his/her
soul body and guide us through the psychic realms and
into the pure positive God Worlds? This is something I
found to be extremely important to my spiritual growth.
The One who initiated me, Sri Darwin Gross, is able to
meet me within whenever he so places his attention and
I am receptive, and He taught me to do the same. Even
as I, thanks to the blessings of God and my Master, have
spiritually unfolded into being a teacher in my own right,
in His spiritual body Darji is as close to me as my own
heartbeat, as is Sri Paul Twitchell's Master, the great
Satguru, Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj. For this, I am
eternally grateful.

Another signpost I have found useful is to see who
the teacher represents. Is s/he the latest head of a
religious institution, or does s/he represent only Divine
Spirit and God? As Paul Twitchell once noted, Adepts
are cliff-hangers. They are always living on the edge,
speaking to the culture of their times and pushing the
envelope of consciousness just a little bit further.
Whenever such an individual leaves the scene, the
natural tendency of hir remaining followers is to find a
"successor" from within their own ranks to perpetuate
the teachings, and organization.

As a result, the Living Spiritual Current which
flowed through the founder gradually ossifies into dogma
and the organization becomes another orthodox religion.
Furthermore, the perpetuation of the "divinely sanctioned"
church takes precedence over the quest for truth, and
sycophancy - i.e. toeing the cosmic party line - becomes
prized over spiritual freedom.

Look here brother,
Who're you jiving with that cosmic debris?
- Frank Zappa

This is why nearly every genuine Spiritual Teacher
or Master starts off fresh, as an independent instrument of
Divine Spirit. Although s/he has been initiated by a Living
Master, and perhaps schooled in a religious institution,
s/he eventually outgrows all outer structure. The Living
Spiritual Teacher is rarely appointed by another in an overt
rite of succession. Rather, s/he is chosen by Shabd
(Divine Spirit) as being the path of least resistance for
Its expression. S/He is one with Shabd, and speaks for
It and It alone.

On the outside, the living spiritual master may
appear perfectly ordinary - unremarkable even. This is
actually a very important aspect of mastership - indeed,
it is one of God's gifts to humanity. For, just as human
beings need another human being as a teacher, so to does
God manifest ItSelf as an average person, expressing Its
timeless gospel in a language which people of any given
generation can understand.

Likewise, for this reason, true masters avoid, for
the most part, overt, outer "miracles" and psychic displays.
These are only distractions, and may even frighten
people. At the very least, they can be intimidating and
lead to personality worship. Likewise, they earn their
own living honestly, and do not live off of the good graces
of their followers. This is in keeping with the Lord's
compact with humanity to manifest Itself as an average
human being, to show that It cares about their struggles
and that any individual, regardless of his/her position in
life, can achieve God-realization and spiritual freedom.

The Master's true power lies with hir inner unity
with Divine Spirit - the Supreme Essence of God - and
hir ability to link souls to this Spiritual Current through
initiation and guide them, within, home to God. As a
initiating teacher of Surat Shabd Yoga (or, as
Shams i Tabriz liked to call it, the Way of the Midnight
Sun), this is the sum total of my focus. I am not here to
compete with any other teacher or group. I am simply
here as a wayshower, and a friend. Those who wish to
come study with me are most welcome to do so. My love
is always with you.

G. Michael Turner
Spiritual Freedom Satsang