A Misleading
Practice That Must Be
Abandoned In the
Search for Discipleship
Carlos Cardoso
Aveline
A painting by N. Roerich
Many a candidate to
guru in theosophy quietly spreads the idea that an unquestioning idealization
of one’s teacher is part of the path to truth. In fact, it is part of the road
to illusion.
One of the two Mahatmas whose teachings guide the
authentic theosophical movement wrote about that. He clarified the issue in
these words:
“A chela under probation is allowed to think and do
whatever he likes. He is warned and told beforehand: you will be tempted and
deceived by appearances; two paths will be open before you, both leading to the
goal you are trying to attain; one easy, and that will lead you more rapidly to
the fulfilment of orders you may receive; the other - more arduous, more long;
a path full of stones and thorns that will make you stumble more than once on
your way; and, at the end of which you may, perhaps, find failure after all and
be unable to carry out the orders given for some particular small work, - but,
whereas the latter will cause the hardships you have undergone on it to be all
carried to the side of your credit in the long run, the former, the easy path,
can offer you but a momentary gratification, an easy fulfilment of the task.”
He also said:
“The chela is at perfect liberty, and often quite justified from the standpoint of appearances - to
suspect his Guru of being ‘a fraud’ as the elegant word stands. More than that:
the greater, the sincerer his indignation - whether expressed in words or
boiling in his heart - the more fit he is, the better qualified to become an adept.”
Referring to the disciple, the Master wrote:
“He is free to [use],
and will not be held to account for using the most abusive words and
expressions regarding his guru’s actions and orders, provided he comes out
victorious from the fiery ordeal; provided he resists all and every temptation;
rejects every allurement, and proves that nothing, not even the promise of that
which he holds dearer than life, of that most precious boon, his future
adeptship - is unable to make him deviate from the path of truth and honesty,
or force him to become a deceiver.” [1]
The words from the Master are clear.
Learning theosophy is not about “adopting an
attitude”. It depends on gaining a right view of life by self-devised efforts.
One does not learn theosophy by developing “social
skills” based on imitation and manipulation of form. One has to renounce these
mayavic things in order to have the eyes to see and develop discernment.
Therefore, no true teacher accepts blind followers.
Teachers who want their students not to question the teaching are no real
teachers. They are deceiving themselves with the fancy of infallibility, and
deceiving their students.
The masters of the wisdom examined the issue in their
Letters: their pedagogy relies on the independence of each learner, not on his
“loyalty” to dead letter or to personalities.
NOTE:
[1] The above quotations are made from the article “Two
Schools of Occultism”, by a Mahatma of the Himalayas, which is available in our
associated websites. The primary source
is the Letter 74 in the Chronological edition of “The Mahatma Letters” (TPH,
Philippines), or Letter XXX, in TUP edition, Pasadena.
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On the role of the esoteric movement in the ethical awakening of mankind during
the 21st century, see the book “The Fire and Light of Theosophical Literature”, by
Carlos Cardoso Aveline.
Published in
2013 by The Aquarian Theosophist,
the volume has 255 pages and can be obtained through Amazon Books.
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