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YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: F.A.Q. 10
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TRADITIONAL TEACHING QUESTION: Is there a need for traditional systems of
Spiritual Teaching? ANSWER: Yes, absolutely. This very question proves
the indispensable role of traditional Spiritual Teaching in removing
ignorance and confusion. The essence of all Spirituality is Self-Awareness, that is,
the Awareness of oneself as a Spiritual Being who lives in Unity and Harmony
with Spiritual Reality. To live a Spiritual life means to live in constant
Unity and Harmony with that Higher Reality. In the experience of all Self-Realised Masters, who are always
Self-Aware, Life is an indivisible Unity. Everything has its existence within
One Cosmic Order which is upheld by Universal Laws or Principles. From the
perspective of Yoga which is the Spirituality of Universal Unity (or to be
more precise, the Living Expression of Universal Unity and Order), there are
three basic types of Law that govern life on Earth:
From a superficial point of view, success in earthly life
appears to depend on the manipulation and exploitation of materials, of
people, of Nature. Yet even then we have to abide by certain rules or laws.
If we invent our own laws we will sooner or later come into conflict with
other individuals and with the authorities. Even in a "lawless"
society, there is in practice some kind of agreement and co-operation between
conflicting law systems. If we lived outside society, among Nature and wild
animals, or even entirely on our own, we would still have to take into
consideration physical and biological laws. Likewise, at the Spiritual level,
there are Spiritual laws, that is, governing principles of Spiritual Reality,
that need to be strictly observed if we wish to enter and explore the Higher
Planes of existence. As there is only One Spiritual Reality, success in Spiritual
life necessarily depends on the individual's adaptation to, and assimilation
of, that Reality and its inherent laws or governing principles. Creating
one's own Yoga practice, one's own belief system, one's own system of
Spiritual values, one's own reality even, may be highly popular with certain
people but ultimately leads to a life in a make-believe world that is at odds
both with the worlds of others and with the One True Reality. Constructing
one's own system of Yoga Teaching and Practice that is so fashionable among
self-appointed "Yoga Teachers" and "Seekers" today, amounts
to a refusal - or inability - to adapt to Reality and its Spiritual Laws. In
other words, it is a symptom of Spiritual unfitness. Instead of finding a
real answer to this deep-seated issue, those who are unfit for the Spiritual
Path attempt to cover it up by inventing their own "Spiritual
Reality". This is a very dangerous game. What genuine Spiritual Seekers must understand is that Yoga is
not a man-made system. Yogic postures, for example, were not invented by
individual Yogis, nor even developed by a long process of trial and error.
They were established on the basis of spontaneous expressions or activities
of a Higher Intelligence whose purpose is to bring the individual life-system
back in unity and harmony with the Universal Being. To give a parallel from
the animal kingdom, you will have observed that animals and birds bend and
stretch to release tension, which is done instinctively and in exactly the
same way as all other members of the same species do and have done for
millions of years. The fact is that Yoga is an Expression of the Infinite and
Eternal Universal Intelligence. Through the practice of Yoga in the Original
Tradition, we put ourselves under the radiant influence, guidance and
protection of the Higher Forces in the Universe and consciously, willingly
and joyously participate in the life-transforming process of Spiritual
Elevation that is Yoga. For a person of mediocre intelligence, who is moreover
untutored and inexperienced in Spiritual matters, to imagine that he has the
Spiritual intelligence, knowledge and experience to improve the Original Yoga
Tradition or to create his own "Yoga" is simply the result of
precisely that kind of ego-based reasoning that constitutes the greatest
obstacle on the Spiritual Path. Those who succumb to this mentality do not
only create division - the opposite of Yoga or Unity - within the World
Spiritual Community but are wasting their and other people's time,
intelligence and energy, thereby greatly interfering with their own and
others' natural process of Spiritual Evolution. Whether in this lifetime or some future existence, everybody
will eventually come to realise that the Spiritual Laws of the Universe
cannot be transgressed with impunity and that it is in one's own best
interest to accept the Teachings of Yoga as they are. This being so, we
strongly recommend that all ego-inspired and erroneous ideas be recognised as
such and abandoned forthwith. This voluntary activity of self-clarification
and illumination constitutes in fact the first requirement in creating the
inner attitude necessary for a Spiritual Seeker to successfully travel on the
Right Path. Otherwise, by doubting the Infinite Wisdom of the Universal
Intelligence and naively attempting to correct or improve it, we are
excluding ourselves from the very Spiritual Process we are claiming to
promote. A true Spiritual Master will accept that he cannot reinvent
Truth and will have no desire to do so. A Yoga Master who is a Master of
Unity will always adhere to the Yogic
Principle of Unity. He will constantly do his best to harmonise and unify
all the different traditions rather than look for points of difference and
grounds for discord, let alone start his own Spirituality for purposes of
self-promotion. Spirituality is about co-operation, not competition. Unite
and Serve, instead of Divide and Rule, is the basis of all True Spiritual
Teaching. A True Master may adopt a new language or even new methods of
instruction but he will always adhere to the Original and Unique Source
Teaching which is Eternally One.
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