Acharya Shree, how does one distinguish the true
enlightened master out of the many so called masters
if their teachings appear very similar?
It is very
difficult to answer this question.
But it is a marvelous question.
On the surface,
All the enlightened masters
are very rare
and all the other masters that look like them.
Maybe they dress similarly
white or orange robes
red robes
like Swamis
But, let me tell you
wearing robes, white, yellow, red
doesn't make a person a Swami or an Enlightened one
It's very difficult
to know if this person is Enlightened
Because an Enlightened master will not say that he is enlightened.
If he says he is enlightened
it means his ego is speaking
if he doesn't say he is not enlightened, he is not telling the truth.
So, people are confused
because on the surface, the real
enlightened master's teaching and the the other teachers
teachings seem to be similar too.
They all teach about love, compassion
non violence
Harmony, peace, joy
happiness, prosperity
But the real
enlightened master is a little different,
He might have grown out his hair or his beard
or not. That is not the question
He can be a very simple man or simple lady
People will walk by and they will not even
notice they passed an Enlightened Master
Because an Enlightened Master
doesn't claim, declare, or
go telling people, "Hey, I am enlightened."
But people who come to visit the Enlightened
Master. They will feel peace
They will feel harmony. I will tell you
even the animal kingdom, if they cross
paths with an Enlightened Master
they will forget
birth enmity towards other
creatures. Like a snake
and a mongoose. They have by birth enmity
If they see each other they will kill each other
but, when an Enlightened Master is passing, they might forget their enmity
That is what happens
Where an Enlightened Master passes
There are a few things bound to happen
It will happen.
If there is a doubt, there will be
something will happen
the reason will be prosperous again
If some kind of disaster there
but where there is an Enlightened Master
There will little effect
or no effect at all
Because, an Enlightened Master
try to sit somewhere on the earth
on the soil, or under a
tree. But, the tree will
make suddenly
the tree will blossom, the flowers will
blossom right there. Those are the symptoms
of an Enlightened Master
They don't force anyone
to do this or do that. They will
teach you the right thing. And the person will feel harmony right away
That there is something special here.
The teacher will not force the person
like meditation, will not force you to meditate
All the Enlightened Masters
they are against books
because there is no need of books
whoever spoke in the past or whomever has written books
It is only guidelines or general ideas
That is what happens
Because the enlightening
Enlightened Master, all these things
by itself, because Soul has
infinite power. Soul doesn't need to read
or be well versed in holy books
what they consider is the holy book, like in
Christian Bible or in the Hindu Gita or Veda
They know that someone has written
those books and they were good for that period of time
they might have somewhere a little still
for society
but for spirituality, if they mention in that book
for spiritual growth, then they are still
have value. With the Enlightened Masters
you have to react.
That is the first thing.
Because, the other fake enlightened masters they don't let you react
They will stop you right away
They will dominate you, because they consider they are the king of
kings, the guru of gurus
the master of masters. That is what they consider themselves
With an Enlightened Master, if a child comes
he might play with the child
play with the other
animals, with the trees, with the garden
The Enlightened Master doesn't hesitate to sit on
the floor.
But the guru of gurus
they will sit on the golden chair
They have their own preference, their ego is so big
Enlightened Masters they don't have ego
They don't get affected if someone shouts at them
No effect.
You can try to shout at
the fake guru and they will kill you
you will see it already
In my childhood, I used to go to find the real
Enlightened Master and I used to play
a trick. A trick is, let's see if this
saint or this so called swami or so called guru
has anger. I will ask something
with the kind of words that that swami becomes angry
and I will laugh, because I know that he is not a real one.
And I said, you left your family, you left your friends
you left all these things, your house, your belongings
and you still carry anger with you?
So it is difficult
all these so called enlightened masters they are
teachings are based on books and they will quote from books
And a real Enlightened Master doesn't need a book.
Even though they wear, according to society, maybe white robes
orange robes, or red robes. It doesn't make
any sense.
But that doesn't make them an enlightened one
An Enlightened One is self realized
Soul has infinite knowledge
Infinite knowing. It comes
The more he tells the more it will come. Never ending.
Infinite. Infinite knowing.
And the people will grow tremendously in his
or in her company.