Short Story: The Spiritual Master who never looked for students
By emptychair
@innertalks (23744)
Australia
September 13, 2021 11:18pm CST
The great spiritual master, Sri Lucaz Ramoshka, had very few pupils, during his lifetime.
He said that his teachings were not to be given out en-masse, but that they were only ever to be given out individually, to another person, by him, one-to-one.
He would tell his new student:
"Life, as you know it to be, is not as it really is, because your own thoughts about life colour it in your perception. You should look at life from where it is, with an open heart, not from the distanced mind of your ideas in your mind."
"Where do your thoughts arise from?"
he would then ask the would-be seeker.
And then, he would answer his own question like this:
"There is a cesspool of thoughts, always rushing through you, and grabbing any of these thoughts, in your mind, by your mind, alters your mind to be no more free-flowing, but static in that thought."
"Let thoughts come and go, but do not hold them too tightly to yourself."
"Thoughts are only useful thoughts when they are used as thoughts to move you onto either the next thought, or to a new idea, or direction, in your life."
"Can we ever be free of thought?"
was his next question.
And again, his answer would follow.
"Nothing frees you until you let go of your own hold on it, whatever is imprisoning you, be it a thought, a way of being, or an emotional state, but love never binds you to it, so when you love, you are ultimately freed from all else then, too."
Only after a year, or two, of him asking the questions, and answering them himself, for his student, would he then allow his new student to ask a question, of his own.
"Questions at the start of a journey usually make the journey take longer. Once your feet are firmly on the path, then you might ask a question, but, until then questions just unbalance, and unsettle your mind,"
was his idea behind his approach to teaching his students the true spiritual path.
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
Picture: The sun shining in the master's ashram, early in the morning.
His teaching worked in the same way. His light shone through to his student's hearts.
7 people like this
5 responses
@prashu228 (37518)
• India
14 Sep 21
Once our feet is firm on the path ...then we get the confidence..with confidence comes the balance and rest of the things...
A great teacher...indeed...
A great teacher...indeed...3 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
14 Sep 21
Thanks.
Yes, we do need confidence, and listening to a great master's answers to questions helps to instil that in us, whereas just asking questions, endless questions ourselves, at the start of our journey, tends to just hold us there questioning, and we lose confidence then, rather than actually building it.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
14 Sep 21
Yes, would that such a great teacher would become available to me too...lol...
1 person likes this
@Jenaisle (16568)
• Philippines
14 Sep 21
How I wish I had that much wisdom as a teacher too. I'm lacking in so many ways but I try to impress the point that with true faith comes good deeds.
Following a path in life that you may regret could be a loss, but being determined with whatever you're tasked to do would surely make you succeed. if you fail, there would be no regrets, as long as you did your best.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
14 Sep 21
Sometimes we do need to do more than just our best though.
We need correct preparation, and right knowledge to be found, before we start doing our best.
It's like the old story of the two axemen.
One did his best work all day, never stopping, to rest, working hard, always at his best, but at the end of his day, the other worker, had cut far more trees down than which he did.
He asked the other more experienced axemen about why this was so.
The axemen said that every so often, he would stop his cutting to resharpen his axe. A sharp axe cuts more trees.
To do our best, we need to make sure that we have the best tools, the best knowledge, and that we are heading in the best direction too, not what we only think is the best.
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (28397)
• Singapore
14 Sep 21
When we are intransigent, we are held prisoner by our attitude.
Free flow of thought and not jumping to conclusions is the way.
It is said life becomes meaningful when we observe our thoughts and allow them free play than trying to cling to them.
Variety is the spice of life but we tend to treat differing views as a threat rather than as a treat (in fact, I had misspelled threat as treat earlier, so this came in handy!)
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
14 Sep 21
Thanks, siva. That is well said, and pointed out.
Free-flowing thoughts are usually better than fixed thoughts, but at times, directed thought, focussed energy, also works well.
Our thoughts are tools, and come to us to make the best use of them, not to just be obsessed by them, or allow them to over-occupy us, by their continual circling, or free jumpingness.
We need to keep our thoughts balanced, and opened, flexible, and not compacted, while realising, that at times, these other ways of thinking can also serve their purpose, for us, as well.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
15 Sep 21
@Shiva49 Yes, hard to do at times, especially when they come attached to a seemingly unsolvable problem.
At those times, a change of environment helps too, a walk out in nature, can break the crushingly strong pattern, and hold, of these types of thoughts.
@Shiva49 (28397)
• Singapore
15 Sep 21
@innertalks Some thoughts tend to overwhelm us. My approach is to get them out of the way than allowing them to linger becoming a persistent pain.
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
18 Sep 21
I think people are naturally inquisitive so therefore questions are asked. Especially when it concerns something unknown. Sometimes complete trust is a hard thing to do in someone or something. This is where faith becomes important in the paths you choose. Undoubtedly, too many questions detract from our path and a suspicious mind can keep us off track from our goals in life. And from those many questions one may receive too much knowledge to process which is said can be a dangerous thing.
Even in the Bible God warns men that knowledge brings more regret than it does value: "He that increases the knowledge increases the sorrow".
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
19 Sep 21
Yes, knowledge on its own can do more harm than good. It can give us pride if paraded forth with, for one thing.
Knowledge on its own increases sorrow in that you do not know what to do with it, unless you build the accompanying link to truth, wisdom, and acknowledgement of knowledge's position within love, as a wet blanket, not as a warm blanket, until you allow God to dry it out for you into wisdom.
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
20 Sep 21
@dgobucks226 Yes, we are never left alone in the dark, with a candle gone out.
God's torchlight of guidance is always available to us from everywhere.
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
19 Sep 21
@innertalks Yes, God is everywhere if you seek his guidance...
1 person likes this
