Proud followers
Today I want to describe you another type of followers, those who are very proud to say that they are followers. They like to show in every possible way that they belong to their guru.
If the guru gives his disciples a certain outfit, they will wear it as often as possible. That can be a certain colour or it can be a certain kind of shirt or dress. Sometimes the guru even sells dresses that he himself has worn once. The followers believe those dresses to be filled with the guru’s divine energy, so they spend a lot of money to buy them and afterwards wear them proudly, telling others about it.
They openly wear a mala with a pendant on it, on which you can see the guru’s picture. Whomever they meet gets to know immediately that they follow that master. It is not enough that they buy and wear all those signs that show they belong to their master, many even open their own shop and sell them.
They often don’t use their birth names anymore but only the names which their guru gave them. This giving of names is a great honour by the master and the followers are proud to have received a spiritual name. It doesn’t matter to them that their parents, friends and other acquaintances feel strange about this change of name. They are just so proud and everybody has to call them by their new names now.
They want to let everybody know that they are followers and they convert as many others as possible to become followers, too. They become missionaries for their gurus and tell everyone, whether he asked or not, about their guru.
Proud followers believe that their guru is the only right one and that all other masters are fake. There is no guru like their guru and if he has any fault, they are quick to find an explanation for it.
Praise for their guru never stops. ‘My guru regularly has dinner with the Prime Minister and advises him on his decisions!’ or ‘My master has millions of followers all around the world’ are only examples. They boast with how many centers their guru has, how many popular people believe in him, how many government officials seek his counsel, how many millions his empire is worth, how many CDs and books he sells each year, how many people come to seek his blessing and more.
They are simply proud to be followers. This, too, is a very welcome type of follower for any guru. Who wouldn’t like to have proud followers who do your advertisement for free, give you lots of money and generate even more income for you.
Tomorrow I will write about the opposite kind of follower: the secret followers.
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Swami ji,So what kind of follower should one be. You can say no kind of follower like Jiddu Krsnamurty said. Still people do have respact and love for teachers as your “followers” have to. After bracketing people into categories, you need to tell us which one is good. you for example are a follower of love: are you an open follower, intellectual follower or a secret follower?
I actually had to laugh a bit about my former self here. I have told you that I was a very devoted disciple of Swami Nithyananda before his scandal that you also wrote about. I was pretty much the person that you are describing here :)Great description 🙂
I receive your day by day message and often I read with enthusiasm your interesting arguments. It is difficult for me to write my thoughts in English, but this time I want to try. I can do it, if I want. Recently you have written about false guru and their blinded followers. I share many things with you, for example we are all the same, God is inside us, not outside. Stop to worship external idols and many other things.
But for another aspect I am not too much agree with you. In part, I brand those people (real false guru) that deceive many other people promising them to have illumination for money (even if I believe there is place for every kind of people on this earth and, if you must have a particular experience, it will happen. It is destiny, and maybe, in that way a soul can understand better what is real and what is false. But what is real, what is false if everything happens not for our will but for the God will?)
I want to tell you my story with a Guru that was judged guilty from a large part of the public opinion. In this way you will understand my point of view and maybe the point of view of many other people like me.
I’ll try to be short even if it will be a little difficult.
Many years ago I was in search of myself but I did not know exactly what I wanted and how to do it. I did not believe in guru and I believed I was the guru of myself. (I continue to believe in it. Now more than that time) In those days I had the opportunity to come in contact with a guru. He was not an Indian guru. He came to India for many reasons and there, helped by many hearted good people, he was able to do an Ashram. Many people started to come to him. He was a particular man. He was able to do miracles, but his best quality was to give attention to all kind of people, poor or rich – there was no difference for him. All people were in search of something ,from food to peace of mind, happiness and so on. He gave good advice always and help to all people asking for. He tried to give to them what they needed. He wanted to see all people happy. But in particular he was so sensitive for the situation of women and children. He started an Ashram with an orphanage (many children came with him from Sri Lanka) and many poor people started to bring their children to him. He started a school too. He was very interested to give education to the young people. He wanted go off them from the street. He believed in women because they could save this planet with their big love, the mother’s love. It was very important for him respect women in a spiritual way too. He started to learn ancient ceremonies to the women. Since that time only men were able to do them. He gave many positions of responsibility to the women to manage the Ashram
Different people (in particular men) tried to inform him to be careful of what he was doing. Many political people tried to bring him from their part but he never took a particular part and he continued to follow his path made of service to the people, man, women and children, his path made of love and spiritual teaching. He was incorruptible.
Around him there were not always good people and a little group, for different reasons (I think political too), organized a plot against him.
They went to an Indian national newspaper and told to the journalists many false things about him. Very fast it becomes a big case all over the India and he was arrested with a lot of false blames.
He just said: I am not guilty of any faults. If the judgment against me has been honest and not biased, I will be released.
However, the prison sentence given to him was so severe that no one in India has ever been given a sentence as hard as his.
I start to follow him when he was in jail and I met him for the first time there, in jail. It was 1995, one year after his arrest. I followed his case too and I say, with all my voice, he was completely innocent.
He taught spirituality in a very good way not only to the people outside the jail but inside too. Many desperate people, meeting him, had a big comfort and found their faith. He made many improvements for their situation too. He always was a smiling and nice man. It was possible to feel his beautiful strong loving energy. It was tangible. When he was present all people gave great respect to him. I sow police men, even some directors of the jail fall at his feet. He does not like that but he leaved them to do what they felt. It happened in a natural way. And for me too. It was natural to bow down him because I could feel his real pure nature.
Near him, I grew in spirituality. I understood many things; I changed my way of thinking and acting. I started to live with heart and his example was very important for me. Even if he was in jail he continued to work for the sake of the people. He always told that the truth always wins, that everything happens for a good reason. He loved everybody and everything. Also the people against him. Many of them, later, became their devotees too.
I stayed in direct contact with him for 14 years and I worked for his Ashram for 7 years. But when I was ready to leave him, when his spiritual teaching of love, honesty and respect was really inside me, he pushed me away from him. I was ready to walk with my legs, even if I was so attached to him and his work inside and outside the Ashram. But he taught me it was not important his body, his form, but his message. To go over him, to go over his image. He taught me how to walk with my legs, how to have self confidence, how to come in contact with God inside me, how to respect others.
I saw and spoke to him in 2009. It was my last time. Even if he was in jail, the Ashram grew up in a beautiful way, the orphanage too. Many new people all over the world came to the Ashram, even if he was in jail. In those last years all the mass media started to speak of him and his mission in a very good way. Everybody known he was innocent and I thought he was coming out of jail very soon. During those last years he had some permission to come out of the jail. He used to come to the Ashram. But never rested.
He was a man. He told us he was only a simple man. He wanted to help people to find God inside themselves, not only outside. He was a very special guide.
But the jail is not a good place to live and inside it he had no particular attention… and he did not wanted to have it. He was like the others. He dressed the same wear of the other jail birds, he ate the same food, he slept in the same way, without a mattress He stayed in jail for 14 years and he continued his mission every day even if he was sick.
He passed away last February.
He always respected me. He taught spirituality to me (but not only to me!) in a very good way and I did not have any mental o physical conditioning from him. Nothing abduction. Never. I reason always with my head and heart. I chose in better by myself. He was a great example and teacher for all of us.
He helped me to open my walk on the spiritual path. He helped me to open my eyes, my mind, my heart. And, for that, I will continue to bow down to his Divine feet.
Not always is what it seems
I think many people need an example to follow. For that, a real, pure Guru is important. Leave people to follow what they need without sentence them. There is always a reason, everything happens for the God will.
With love and respect for your point of view, Paola
Dear Vivek,Thank you for your comment. Actually this is what I am trying to say: One should not be follower of any kind. You can be your own master and you can be your own follower. I will try to describe more in the coming posts. Love
Dear Paola,Thank you for your comment and this story. Actually I don’t know him and don’t want to comment on this. Its your point of view and you are reading my point of view on this subject and I do not mind if you are not agree with me. Sending you lots of Love.