In his own time, many people did not recognize the historical Jesus
for the sublime spiritual master he was. The same is true for the
historical Buddha. The same is true for Muhammad. And for Laozi. It is a
very safe bet that in every age there have been spiritual masters and
avatars both well known and unknown who were not recognized as someone
with a spiritual gift for all of humankind; and BTW, they were not all
male and many were also exceedingly ordinary even by the most pedestrian
standards.
Why is this so?
In ancient
times up until very recently, simple physical proximity was a primary
reason for not “seeing” or recognizing a spiritual master who was alive
and teaching among the people. If Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad and Laozi each
had their own websites, YouTube channel and weekly podcasts, more would
have surely been aware of them and their teachings. More would have
recognized the clarity they possessed and their teachings would have
become much more widespread much more rapidly. My predictions will end
there because with every perceived blessing there are surely equally
intense challenges.
Still, I am certain there were many
in direct proximity to each of these masters and many other similar
ones who simply could not or would not see the brilliant person before
them. That phenomenon continues to this day and it, of course, is not
limited to the realm of spiritual masters and avatars. Check here to see a modern example of what I am talking about.
This
phenomenon is caused by a variety of factors. It may be caused most
fundamentally by a simple lack of interest or desire in seeing someone
who has the particular gifts of a Jesus of Nazareth or a Laozi. It is
certainly caused by an apprehension to or suspicion of many or all
things perceived to be religious or spiritual especially if the one
embodying these traits goes against the ruling conventions around
religion and spirituality and/or they are not yet perceived to be a
threat to those conventions. It can also simply be caused by being
overly engaged in daily tasks and other secular concerns to the degree
that one believes there is no time or perhaps no need to pursue anything
else.
It is caused by many other causes.
Now,
it is one thing to not be recognized or to remain unseen, in the most
common sense of invisibility. It is quite another to be clearly
recognized, experienced or even intimately known and to then be actively
opposed, sometimes precisely because of the razor sharp wisdom and
truth you exhibit. It is this latter type of situation that holds
particular interest for me. It interests me in part because I have
witnessed this occur in my own lifetime and there have always been
fascinating aspects to it all.
Several months ago I
watched a conversation between Oprah Winfrey and spiritual teacher
Eckhart Tolle. In this discourse Tolle revealed that one presumed
purchaser of his book had been so completely triggered by Tolle’s book,
“A New Earth” that the reader took the pains to mail the book back to
Tolle directly---however, not until he had shredded it into a thousand
pieces and stuffed those pieces into a certified envelope addressed to
the author.
Similarly, Richard Abanes, another person
who has apparently been strongly triggered by Tolle’s writings and
approach, has written an entire book entitled, “A New Earth, An Old
Deception: Awakening to the Dangers of Eckhart Tolle's #1 Bestseller.”
In press releases for his book Abanes proclaims that the book is an
exercise in taking apart Tolle’s book, A New Earth “paragraph by
paragraph.”
And finally, in this same vein, there is a
serious internet-based organization that seriously labels Ms. Winfrey
“the antichrist” because, among other things, she chose to name Tolle’s
book, “A New Earth” as a pick for her influential book club.
Tolle’s
experience may seem extreme. It is not. Consider the experience of the
gentle Zen Master and Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, who in 1967 was
nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King, Jr. He so
triggered the Vietnamese government that he was exiled from there, his
native land, for more than 30 years. Why? Essentially for teaching
non-violence and engaged Buddhism, an expression of Buddhist practice
that strives to use the insights from meditation practice and
mindfulness to effect positive change in the areas of social, political,
environmental and economic injustice.
Of course
Eckhart Tolle and Thich Nhat Hanh are just two people, two spiritual
masters and they are each very well known. Otherwise they are
unremarkable and no different from anyone else.
Obviously
there are many more such spiritual masters in the world. Some are
completely unknown at least for their spiritual mastery. They are some
of the nameless sources of wisdom and Light that coexist among us in
every realm and every aspect of our earthly existence. They are suburban
housewives; custodians; cubicle neighbors at our places of work; store clerks;
CEO’s; members of the world’s armed forces; and high school teachers, just to name a very limited few. Many
would be quite amazed at the places where true spiritual masters may be
found in our contemporary world. Their platforms and unassuming manner
of delivering their wisdom would also amaze if it were revealed.
Why
is it then, when the light of the sun is so easily visible from light
years away here on earth, that we can so easily not see or especially
seek to dim or even extinguish the Light of certain human Suns that
shine just as or perhaps even more brightly all around us? Again, there
are so many reasons: Jealousy, envy, doubt, judgment, fear, apathy,
blindness. The list could become quite lengthy. I however, believe there
is one primary reason.
When someone is in denial or
some state of dis-ease about his or her own innate divinity, it is then
astoundingly easy to come up with a myriad of ways and excuses for
denying that same beautiful innate divinity in another. And then if one
has even a spark of malice or spiritual or psychological immaturity in
them, some drama will then inevitably ensue. And this drama can become
all kinds of things up to and including the murder, rape, persecution of
someone or the genocide of a group who is believed to be "evil" "bad"
"worthless" etc.
But then there is that wonderful
thing we have in our experience of Life which we commonly refer to as
"grace." And grace is a very beautiful lover to be kissed by. So someone
may be engaged in even the persecution of someone or some group for
years and some other spark may be ignited and they will see the insanity they have created and then a deeper form of consciousness can be
birthed.
© Raven/Sage Mahosadha
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