The awakened teachers urge the spiritual Seeker to stay silent, submerge into the inner silence, free of the Mind, and the source of the pure Consciousness!
Very few people are, however, capable of doing that, because they still seek the silence with their mind, that is why the entire venture may seem to be very complicated. The spiritual Seekers who have recognized the futility of the world of shapes and forms but only found a general inner confusion in its place are not left alone. They are led out of the confusion, meet the Master (sometimes in the form of a book), who will hold their hand and lead them to the gate of the world without shapes and forms. There is a proverb:
“When the disciple matures, the Master appears.”
There are several Masters who are able to lead the Seeker. Which of the Masters will the Seeker like depends on the carmic past and individuality of the Seeker . It often happens that a spiritual Seeker is lead along by different Masters at different segments of the spiritual Journey.
It is important that in this phase the spiritual Seeker should trust the person leading them, and do not catch for hands that may not help them at this stage of the spiritual Journey, as it will lead only to confusion. Another important things is that once in the world free of shapes and forms, the spiritual Seeker should be able to let go the hand leading them up to that point, should not make an idol out of the Master, and should not cling to him too excessively.
When the spiritual Seeker has let the hand leading him go, he/she will not be left alone for too long, as there will be other Masters helping them in the world free of shapes and forms. Some of the teachers are Maharshi, Papaji, Maharaj and Adyashanti. They will lead you for a while, but the moment will come when you need to let all the hands go and throw out all the books, continuing on your way alone.
But even then you will not be alone, as the Master of all Masters, the Self will guide you on. Naturally, it may occur that you still insist on some of the images of your mind, and you find yourself outside the gate once again, and you need to return to one of the helpers there. That is not a problem, you know the way, and next time you will not be cheated by the tricks of the mind. This is a very simple Journey, provided that you are not trying to do it with your mind. But if you allow your mind to play tricks, that will make the spiritual Journey overtly complicated!
The Master Appearing in the Form of a Magic Book
Osho believes that the best way of waking up is meeting an awakened Master on our spiritual Journey. But it is a fact that very few people are that lucky. Most people meet the teachings of the Masters in their books.
The teachings of a Master appearing in the form of a magic book may be different if we approach them from the aspect of the mind or from that of the Presence.
From the aspect of the mind books are stores of accumulated knowledge. From this point of view we may conclude that the more spiritual books I read, the more knowledge I gather in that topic, and the faster I may develop spiritually. More knowledge will take me closer to enlightenment, so the better informed I am, the closer I get to the goal of my life. A person may acquire a vast amount of knowledge in this way, but it will not take the individual closer to the Truth; just the opposite. It will take them farther.
Seen from the aspect of the Presence, books written in the Presence have a special field force, in addition to the knowledge coded into them. The relay the Presence, assisting the reader in finding the Presence and staying there. In this sense, the content of these books is of secondary importance only.
That is also important, naturally, but if we only approach it from the aspect of the mind, the content is not effective; it is only used as knowledge and not as Presence. If you are unable to meet an awakened Master in flesh-and-blood, then the books written by the Master shall relay His Presence to the seekers. So reading these books from the Presence, the inner silence, will take us closer to our own existence, to awakening to our own Self.
When the Seeker wakes up, that is, his Consciousness wakes up to itself, the Seeker shall no longer need books (as Masters), as they have found their own Master. Not even this is, however, fully true. For instance, Eckhart Tolle, after his awakening, used books by Krishnamurti and Maharshi in order to define his new state of existence.
Credible Teachings
Every credible teaching, whether it is ancient or modern, points beyond itself. The essence of every teaching is the possibility of transforming human Consciousness. Teachings available in books therefore show the way leading there.
Credible teachings are always rooted in the changed state of Consciusness which is beyond the Mind. Every teaching is, however, only a signpost showing the right direction towards the changed state of Consciousness, and everybody must go along the way alone and independently. If a spiritual Seeker stays at the signpost, and admires the teachings, they will only see the words, and become the captive of the signposts.
~Read more: Frank M. Wanderer: The Revolution of Consciousness: Deconditioning the Programmed Mind
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