There is a famous Tibetan book called the Tibetan book of the dead
It is written by Sogyal Rinopache. He was a Guru for many years 20 years. He was a great orator. Great sense of humor
And here is the more true behind the scenes story about him
Sogyal Rinpoche Dies; Tibetan Buddhist Lama Felled by Abuse Accusations (Published 2019)
And he was the friend of Dalai Lama !
Isn’t it amazing ? A person writing a book , People fall for it and it turns out he is a violent unhappy person! What an antithesis to Buddhism – a philosophy of love and kindness and peace!
So my friends. Be careful. Just because someone writes well , speaks well does not mean there is truth there. The devil will quote the Bible!
That is why I often say, it is very difficult to know a true Guru
People will swallow you up with logic and quotes from religion. How difficult can that be? Not difficult at all. The Internet has an abundance of information.
In this day and age, people are desperate for solace. Desperate for escape. The emotional burden that people carry is so enormous and they don’t know what to go And they go from a living hell of a world to another hell of organized religion or philosophy! TRAGIC!
Many times have I written, how can you know a true Guru? Very difficult and you don’t have the means. Your logic, your heart will deceive you. Why? In times of pain you are very vulnerable. You become receptive to outside influence! Don’t fall for it! Some of them mean well but that does not mean they know the truth. Throwing big words in Latin or Sanskrit and talking about theory of karma does not mean wisdom
Also a Guru who has departed cannot help you in the spiritual path. YOU MUST HAVE A LIVING GURU. ONE INITIAL ENCOUNTER WHILE HE IS ALIVE. Why? Because there is something, something not where about, that is done or given by the living Guru to help you on the way. That initial “something” is a must.
That “something” is one on one! Not in masses. And a Guru cannot give it to more than a few. That few can vary but it is not in the thousands It is very few.
A Guru Of this caliber does not advertise. He prefers no one knows him. He prefers even the disciple does not know him His actions will be confounding. But if you catch him on a good day, he will cast a Pearl. Something so precious, something unique that would help you ! It will have the ring of truth! Your heart will know , oh of course this is true. I will follow it.
Many a disciples have failed. Even after having a great Guru – the disciples have failed. They did not recognize the Guru and left him and gone for a more traditional Popular person with popular opinion. Or they failed the test of the Guru and Guru gave them nothing
A true Guru does not give much until the disciple passes his test. The test might be harsh. And will not be in the Guru presence. The test can last years to decades. Do you really believe that Advaita is given out like candy? A person with no merit is not worthy. Can you withstand the tides of sex? Food? Do you even want to give them up? Or did you wake up thinking of the joys of this world? And fun that you want in this life?
A worthy person wakes up looking forward to meeting God. He is so determined that God has to appear. He is so patient that he will wait for the Himalayas to crumble His endurance is unrivaled. He cries that Why can I not meet God? Not a cry because of unhappiness in life but a genuine feeling of emptiness.
And when you have that, mind you, such s person who has this daily for decades is rare, then you will get signs of what greatness is. Someone will guide you. Slowly. Surely. The words from his mouth, and yes it is better to hear it rather than reading it, has a certain power that will pull you to God. That pull is very special.
Enough said. Until you really show signs of wanting God, you have to be patient. In time. It will happen. Even a little pull goes a very long way. For the pull to go within is without words. Without imagination. Without any emotion But that is the beginning. Rest of the world has a outward pull / push away from God and they go deeper into the rabbit hole ( matrix)
Bhavin