| 1. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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.
Unless they have genuinely spent considerable time in other cultures, they are probably playing out a role. |
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| 13. |
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. |
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
scarring. |
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| 15. |
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. |
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. |
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
exactly the teaching is. |
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| 18. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
Uses pseudo-technology: Many
false prophets 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. |
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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