灵性的导师
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中文
灵性导师
每一个灵魂注定都将臻于完美，每一个生命最终都将抵达那种境界。我们今日之所是，乃是我们过去所曾是或所曾思之结果；而我们未来之所将是，亦将是我们今日所行所思之结果。然而，这并不排除我们从外部获得帮助的可能；灵魂的潜能始终能被某种外来的助力所激发，以至于在世间绝大多数情形中，来自外部的帮助几乎是绝对必要的。这催化之力来自外部，作用于我们自身的潜能；由此，成长得以开始，属灵的生命得以诞生，人最终变得圣洁而完美。这来自外部的激发冲动，无法从书本中获取；灵魂只能从另一个灵魂那里接受冲动，而无从他处求得。我们或许穷尽一生研读典籍，或许在智识上变得极为渊博，但最终我们会发现，在灵性上我们根本没有丝毫增长。高度的智识发展并不必然意味着人的灵性方面得到了相应的发展；恰恰相反，我们几乎每日都能见到这样的例子——智识以牺牲灵性为代价而获得了高度发展。
如今，在智识发展方面，我们能从书本中获得许多帮助；但在灵性发展方面，书本几乎毫无助益。研读书本时，我们有时会被迷惑，以为自己正在得到灵性上的滋养；但若我们剖析自身，便会发现，得到帮助的不过是我们的智识，而非我们的灵性。这正是为何我们当中几乎每个人都能就灵性话题滔滔雄辩，然而当行动的时刻来临，我们却发现自己如此可悲地捉襟见肘。原因就在于书本无法给予我们那来自外部的冲动。要激发灵性，那冲动必须来自另一个灵魂。
那个传递这种冲动的灵魂，被称为导师（Guru），即教师；而接受这种冲动的灵魂，则被称为弟子，即学生。为了传递这种冲动，首先，传递冲动的灵魂必须具备将其传递给另一个灵魂的能力；其次，接受冲动的对象必须具备接受它的资质。种子必须是有生命力的种子，田地也必须是已经犁好的沃土；当这两个条件同时具备时，奇妙的宗教成长便会发生。"传讲宗教者必须是出众的，聆听宗教者亦然"；唯当两者皆真正出众、非同寻常，卓越的灵性成长方能出现，否则断无此可能。这些才是真正的教师，这些才是真正的学生。此外其他的人，不过是在灵性上嬉戏玩耍——只是进行一点儿智识上的探讨，只是满足一点儿好奇心——而仅仅停留在宗教视域的外围边缘。这也有一定的价值；对宗教真实的渴求，或可由此被唤醒；一切都会随着时机的成熟而来临。自然界有一条神秘的法则：一旦田地准备就绪，种子必然降临；一旦灵魂渴望宗教，传递宗教力量者必然出现。"寻求的罪人遇见了寻求的救主。"当接受灵魂中的那种吸引力充盈成熟，与之呼应的那种力量必然随之而来。
然而，前路上潜伏着巨大的危险。对接受灵魂而言，危险在于将一时的情感冲动误认为真正的宗教渴望。我们在自身中便能发现这一点。在我们生命中，许多时候，我们所爱的某人离世；我们遭受打击；片刻之间，我们感到这个世界正从指缝间溜走，感到自己渴望某种更高的东西，感到自己即将走上宗教之路。几天之后，那波澜消退，我们依旧搁浅在原处。我们常常将这类冲动误认为对宗教的真实渴望；但只要这些一时的情感仍被如此误认，灵魂那持续的、真实的渴求便不会来临，我们也就找不到那个"传递者"。
因此，当我们抱怨尚未获得真理，抱怨自己如此迫切地渴望它时，与其抱怨，我们首要的职责应当是审视我们自己的灵魂，看看我们是否真的渴望它。在绝大多数情形中，我们会发现自己尚未具备资质；我们并不渴望；并没有对灵性的真实渴求。
对于"传递者"而言，还有更多的困难。有许多人虽然沉浸在无知之中，却因内心的骄傲而自以为无所不知，不仅停留于此，更要将他人扛在肩上——于是"盲人领盲人，两者都跌入沟中"。世界上这样的人比比皆是；人人都想做教师，每个乞丐都想施舍百万美元。正如后者荒诞可笑，这些教师亦复如此。
那么，我们如何辨识一位真正的教师呢？首先，太阳无需火炬来使自身可见。我们不会点燃蜡烛来看太阳。当太阳升起，我们本能地感知到它的升起；当一位人类的教师来帮助我们时，灵魂会本能地知道它已找到了真理。真理依靠自身的证明而立；它不需要任何其他的证言来证明它；它是自我朗照的。它渗透进我们本性的最深处，整个宇宙都站起来说："这就是真理。"这些是极伟大的教师，但我们也能从较次的教师那里获得帮助；由于我们自身并不总是具备足够的直觉，无法确信自己对接受其教导之人的判断，因此应当有若干检验标准。对于学生和教师，各有若干必要的条件。
学生应具备的条件是：纯洁、对知识的真实渴求，以及坚持不懈。不纯洁的灵魂无法成就宗教；这是唯一最重要的条件；各方面的纯洁是绝对必要的。另一个条件是对知识的真实渴求。谁在渴求？这才是问题所在。我们得到我们所渴求的——这是一条古老而古老的法则。渴求者得之。渴求宗教是一件极为艰难的事情，并不像我们通常所认为的那么容易。然后，我们总是忘记：宗教并不在于聆听演讲，或阅读书本，而是一种持续的挣扎，是与我们自身本性的搏斗，是直至胜利方休的持续战争。这不是一两天的问题，也不是数年或数生的问题，或许需要数百世的轮回，而我们必须为此做好准备。它或许立即降临，或许数百世也不会降临；我们必须为此做好准备。以如此精神出发的学生，终将获得成功。
在教师身上，我们首先必须看到他知晓经典的秘密。全世界的人都在阅读经典——《圣经》、吠陀、《古兰经》及其他；但这些只是文字，是外在的编排，是句法、词源、语文学、宗教的枯骨。教师或许能够考证任何典籍的年代，但文字不过是事物显现的外在形式。那些过于沉溺于文字、让心思总是在文字的力量中奔驰的人，会失去灵性。因此，教师必须能够了知经典的灵性实质。文字的网络犹如一片茂密的森林，人类的心智在其中迷失，寻不到出路。联结文字的各种方法，言说优美语言的各种方法，诠释经典教义的各种方法，都不过是为了博学者的享受。他们无法臻于完美；他们不过是想展示自己的博学，以便世界称赞他们，视他们为学问渊博之人。你会发现，世界上任何一位伟大的教师，都没有陷入这些对经文的繁琐诠释；他们从来没有"折磨文本"的企图，从来不说"这个词的意思是这个，此词与彼词之间有这样的语文学联系。"你研究世界产生过的所有伟大教师，你会发现没有一个人走那条路。然而他们教导了我们，而那些没有东西可教的人，却会拿起一个词，就其起源和用法写上三卷厚书。正如我的师父（Master）常说的，你会怎么看待那些走进芒果园，忙着数叶子、察看叶子的颜色、细枝的粗细、枝干的数目等等的人呢——而其中只有一个人有见识，开始吃芒果？所以，把数叶子、数细枝、作笔记这些事留给别人去做吧。那些工作在其适当的位置上自有其价值，但在灵性领域却不适用。人们从未通过这类工作而成就灵性；你从未见过这些"数叶子的人"中有一位是强大的灵性之人。宗教是人类最高的目标，最高的荣耀，但它不需要"数叶子"。如果你想成为基督徒，并不需要知道基督诞生在耶路撒冷还是伯利恒，也不需要知道他宣讲登山宝训的确切日期；你只需要感受登山宝训。没有必要读两千字的文章来了解它是何时宣讲的。那一切都是为博学者的享受。让他们去享受；对此说声阿门。让我们来吃芒果吧。
在教师身上必须具备的第二个条件是，他必须没有罪过。曾有一次，在英格兰，一位朋友问我："我们为何要关注一个教师的人格呢？我们只需判断他所说的内容，并接受它。"并非如此。如果一个人想教我一些动力学或化学或其他任何自然科学的知识，他的品格可以是任何样子的；他仍然能够教授动力学或其他任何科学。因为自然科学所需要的知识纯粹是智识性的，依赖于智识的力量；在这种情形下，一个人可以拥有巨大的智识力量，而其灵魂却毫无发展。但在灵性科学中，从始至终都不可能有灵性之光居于不纯洁的灵魂之中。这样的灵魂能教什么？它一无所知。灵性真理即是纯洁。"心地纯洁的人有福了，因为他们必得见神。"在这一句话中，包含了所有宗教的精髓。如果你已领悟了这一点，那么过去所说的一切和未来可能说的一切，你都已经知晓；你不需要再去探寻任何其他的东西，因为在这一句话中你已拥有了所有必要之物；即使所有其他的经典都消失，这一句话也足以拯救世界。对神的直见，那一瞥彼岸的光，永远不会降临，直到灵魂变得纯洁。因此，在灵性教师身上，纯洁是唯一不可或缺的条件；我们必须首先看他是什么样的人，然后再看他说了什么。智识性的教师则不同；那里，我们更在乎他说了什么，而非他是什么样的人。对于宗教的教师，我们必须首先且最重要地看他是什么样的人，然后其话语的价值才得以彰显，因为他是传递者。若他自身没有灵性的力量，他能传递什么呢？打个比方：如果一个加热器是热的，它能传递热振动，但若不热，则不可能这样做。宗教教师的心灵振动也是如此，他将这些振动传递给学生的心灵。这是一种传递，而不仅仅是对我们智识官能的刺激。某种真实而切实的力量从教师那里流出，开始在学生的心灵中成长。因此，必要的条件是：教师必须是真实的。
第三个条件是动机。我们应当看到，他并非为了任何不可告人的目的而教导，不是为了名声、名誉或其他任何东西，而仅仅是出于爱，出于对你的纯粹的爱。当灵性力量从教师传递给学生时，它们只能通过爱的媒介来传递；没有其他任何媒介能够传递它们。任何其他的动机，例如利益或名誉，都会立即摧毁这个传递的媒介；因此，一切都必须通过爱来完成。只有认识了神的人，才能成为教师。当你看到教师身上这些条件都得到了满足，你就是安全的；若这些条件未能满足，接受他是不明智的。存在着巨大的风险：若他无法传递善，他有时可能会传递恶。这必须加以防范；因此，顺理成章地，我们并不能接受任何人作为我们的教师。
说溪流和石头在讲道，这作为诗意的说法或许是真的，但没有人能传讲哪怕一粒真理，除非他自身拥有它。溪流向谁布道？只向那灵魂的生命莲花已然盛开之人。当内心已经开启，它便能从溪流或石头那里接受教导——它能从这一切中获得某些宗教的启示；但尚未开启的内心只会见到溪流和滚石而已。一个盲人可以走进博物馆，但他来了又走；如果他要看见，他的眼睛首先必须被打开。宗教的这种开眼者，就是教师。因此，我们与教师的关系，犹如祖先与后裔之间的关系；教师是灵性上的祖先，弟子是灵性上的后裔。谈论自由和独立固然很好，但若没有谦逊、顺服、崇敬和信心，就不会有任何宗教。有一个意味深长的事实：唯有在这种教师与学生之间的关系仍然存在的地方，才会成长出巨大的灵性灵魂；而在那些已经抛弃这种关系的人中间，宗教不过成了一种消遣。在那些不维持这种教师与学生关系的民族和教会之中，灵性几乎是一个未知之物。没有那种感情，它永远不会降临；没有传递者，也没有被传递者，因为他们都是独立的。他们能向谁学习？而当他们前来学习，不过是来购买知识。给我一美元的宗教；难道我付不起一美元吗？宗教是无法这样得来的！
没有任何知识比由灵性教师传递给灵魂的知识更高贵、更神圣。如果一个人已经成为了完美的瑜伽士（Yogi），这种知识会自然降临，但它无法从书本中获得。你可以走遍天涯海角，在喜马拉雅山、阿尔卑斯山、高加索山脉、戈壁沙漠或撒哈拉、乃至海底去寻觅，但直到你找到一位教师，它都不会来临。找到那位教师，如孩子般侍奉他，向他的影响力敞开你的内心，在他身上见到神的显现。我们的注意力应该集中在教师身上，视他为神最高的显现；随着专注之力在那里凝聚，教师作为人的形象将会消融；框架将会消失，真实的神将在那里显现。那些以如此崇敬和爱的精神来趋向真理的人——对他们，真理之主会说出最奇妙的话语。"脱下你脚上的鞋，因为你所站立的地方是圣地。"凡是颂扬祂的名的地方，那里就是圣地。那么，一个口出灵性真理的人，该多么神圣，我们又该以怎样的崇敬之心去亲近他！这便是我们被教导时应当持有的精神。这样的教师在这个世界上数量无疑是稀少的，但这个世界从不会完全缺少他们。当这个世界真正完全失去他们之时，它将停止存在，将变成一个可怖的地狱，就此沉落。这些教师是人类生命中最美丽的花朵，维系着这个世界的运转；正是这些生命之心所显现出来的力量，维系着社会的界限完整无损。
超越这些教师，还有另一类教师——世界的基督们。这些一切教师之师，以人的形式代表着神本身。他们层次更高；他们能以一触、以一念来传递灵性，使最卑微、最堕落的人物在一瞬间成为圣徒。你们不正是读到他们曾经如何做到这些事情的吗？他们并不是我一直在谈论的那类教师；他们是一切教师之师，是神向人最伟大的显现；我们除了通过他们，无法见到神。我们情不自禁地崇拜他们，他们是唯一我们有义务去崇拜的存在。
"除非通过圣子，没有人曾'见过'神。"我们无法直接见到神。如果我们试图见到祂，我们只会造出一个对神的可憎的漫画。印度有一个故事，说一个无知的人被要求塑造湿婆（Shiva）神的形象，经过数日的挣扎，他塑造出了一个猴子的形象。每当我们试图塑造神的形象，我们便会造出对祂的漫画，因为只要我们还是人，我们就无法理解祂比人更高的任何东西。终将有那么一天，我们会超越我们的人性，如实地认识祂；但只要我们还是人，我们就必须在人的身上崇拜祂。无论我们怎么说，无论我们怎么尝试，我们都无法将神见为任何其他的样子，唯有以人的形式。我们或许发表精彩的智识演讲，成为极具影响力的理性主义者，并且证明这些关于神的故事都是无稽之谈，但让我们回到实际的常识。这令人叹服的智识背后是什么？是零，是虚无，不过是些泡沫而已。下次当你听到有人发表精彩的反对以人形崇拜神的智识演讲时，抓住他，问他关于神的想法，问他"全能"、"全知"、"无处不在的爱"等等词语的拼写之外究竟是什么意思。他什么也不是，他无法表述一个想法，他并不比那个一本书都没读过的街头普通人好多少。那个街头的普通人，然而，沉默而不搅扰这个世界，而另一个人的论点却制造了动乱。他没有真实的感知，两者都处于同一个层面。
宗教是证悟（realisation），你必须对谈论（talk）与证悟（realisation）作出最敏锐的区分。你在灵魂中所感知到的，才是证悟。人对灵性没有概念，他不得不用他面前已有的形式来思考它。他不得不思考蓝色的天空，或广阔的田野，或大海，或某种巨大的东西。你还能怎样思考神呢？那么，你们实际上在做什么呢？你们谈论无所不在，而心里却在想着大海。神是大海吗？需要多一点儿常识。没有什么比常识更罕见，这个世界充满了太多的空谈。对于世界一切虚浮的争论，停战吧。由于我们现有的构造，我们是有限的，注定要以人的形式来见神。如果水牛想崇拜神，它将会将神见为一头巨大的水牛。如果一条鱼想崇拜神，它将不得不把神想成一条大鱼。你和我，水牛，鱼，各自代表着许多不同的容器。所有这些容器都去往大海，按照每个容器的形状汲水。每一个容器中装的不过是水。神也是如此。当人见到祂，他们将祂见为人，动物将祂见为动物——各依其理想的形式。这是你见到祂的唯一方式；你必须以人的形式崇拜祂，因为别无他途。有两类人不以人的形式崇拜神——一种是没有宗教的人类兽性之人，另一种是超越了人性的帕拉玛汉萨（Paramahamsa，最高的瑜伽士），他已经抛弃了心智和身体，超越了自然的限制。整个自然已经成为他的自性（Self）。他既没有心智也没有身体，能够以神崇拜神，就像耶稣或佛陀（Buddha）能够那样。他们并不以人的形式崇拜神。另一个极端是人类的兽性之人。你们知道两个极端看起来是多么相似。极度的无知和极度的知识也是如此；两者都不崇拜任何人。极度无知之人不崇拜神，因为他们尚未发展到感受到这种必要性的程度。那些已经达到最高知识的人也不崇拜神——因为他们已经证悟并与神合而为一。神从不崇拜神。在存在的这两极之间，如果有人告诉你他不打算以人的形式崇拜神，要小心他。他是一个不负责任的空谈者，他是错误的；他的宗教是为虚浮的思想者准备的，是智识上的胡说八道。
因此，以人的形式崇拜神是绝对必要的，那些拥有这样一位"神人"来崇拜的种族是有福的。基督徒在基督身上拥有这样一位神人；因此，紧紧依附于基督；永远不要放弃基督。这是见到神的自然方式；在人身上见神。我们关于神的一切观念都凝聚在那里。基督徒的一个巨大局限在于，他们不重视除基督之外的神的其他显现。他是神的一种显现；佛陀也是；其他一些人也是，而且还会有数百种其他的显现。不要在任何地方限制神。将你认为应当给予神的所有崇敬，都给予基督；这是我们所能拥有的唯一崇拜。神是无法被崇拜的；祂是宇宙内在的本体。我们只能向祂以人的显现祈祷。当基督徒祈祷时，说"以基督之名"会是一个很好的做法。停止向神祈祷而只向基督祈祷，这将是明智的。神理解人类的弱点，化为人以造福人类。克里希纳（Krishna）说："每当道德衰落、不道德盛行之时，我便降临以助人类。"他还说："愚人不知我——这宇宙的全能全知之神——已取了这人的形式，便嘲笑我，以为这是不可能的。"他们的心智已被魔性的无明遮蔽，因此无法在祂身上见到宇宙的主宰。这些神的伟大化身（Incarnations）是应当被崇拜的。不仅如此，唯有他们才能被崇拜；在他们诞生之日，以及他们离世之日，我们应当向他们表达更为特别的崇敬。在崇拜基督时，我宁愿按照祂所期望的方式崇拜祂；在祂诞生之日，我宁愿以斋戒而非宴乐来崇拜祂——以祈祷来崇拜。当我们思念这些伟大者时，他们在我们的灵魂中显现，使我们与他们相近。我们整个的本性发生改变，我们变得像他们一样。
但你们不能将基督或佛陀与那些在空中飞行的魑魅魍魉以及诸如此类的胡说混为一谈。这是渎圣！基督进入灵媒降神会来跳舞！我在这个国家见过那样的场面。神的这些显现不是以那种方式降临的。他们其中任何一位的接触，将在一个人身上产生明显的变化；当基督触摸一个人时，那人的整个灵魂将发生改变，他将像祂一样变形。他整个的生命将被灵化；从他身体的每一个毛孔，灵性的力量将散发出来。基督在奇迹和治愈方面的伟大能力，对于他这样一个人的品格而言，算什么呢？那些是卑微、庸俗的事情，由于他身处庸俗之人中间，他情不自禁地去做。这些行神迹的事情是在哪里做的？在犹太人中间；而犹太人并没有接受祂。在哪里没有做这些？在欧洲。行神迹的能力传到了拒绝基督的犹太人那里，而登山宝训则传到了接受祂的欧洲。人类的灵性接受了真实的东西，拒绝了伪造的东西。基督的伟大力量不在于祂的神迹或治愈。任何傻瓜都能做那些事情。傻瓜能治愈他人，魔鬼也能治愈他人。我见过可怕的魔性之人创造奇妙的神迹。他们似乎从地里变出果实。我认识愚人和邪恶之人讲述过去、现在和未来。我见过愚人仅凭一眼、凭意志力治愈最可怕的疾病。这些确实是力量，但往往是魔性的力量。另一种是基督的灵性力量，它将永远存在，并且一直存在——那是一种全能而巨大的爱，以及祂所传讲的真理之语。以一眼治愈人的行为已经被遗忘，但祂所说的"心地纯洁的人有福了"，今天仍然活着。这些话语是一个巨大的力量宝库——取之不尽，用之不竭。只要人类的心智存在，只要神的名字不被遗忘，这些话语就将滚滚向前，永不停息。这些是耶稣所教导的力量，也是祂所拥有的力量。纯洁的力量；这是一种确定的力量。所以，在崇拜基督、向祂祈祷时，我们必须始终记得我们所寻求的是什么。不是那些奇迹展示的愚蠢之事，而是灵性的奇妙力量——它使人得自由，给予他对整个自然的掌控，从他身上除去奴役的枷锁，并向他显示神。
English
THE TEACHER OF SPIRITUALITY
Every soul is destined to be perfect, and every being, in the end, will attain to that state. Whatever we are now is the result of whatever we have been or thought in the past; and whatever we shall be in the future will be the result of what we do or think now. But this does not preclude our receiving help from outside; the possibilities of the soul are always quickened by some help from outside, so much so that in the vast majority of cases in the world, help from outside is almost absolutely necessary. Quickening influence comes from outside, and that works upon our own potentialities; and then the growth begins, spiritual life comes, and man becomes holy and perfect in the end. This quickening impulse which comes from outside cannot be received from books; the soul can receive impulse only from another soul, and from nothing else. We may study books all our lives, we may become very intellectual, but in the end we find we have not developed at all spiritually. It does not follow that a high order of intellectual development always shows an equivalent development of the spiritual side of man; on the other hand, we find cases almost every day where the intellect has become very highly developed at the expense of the spirit.
Now in intellectual development we can get much help from books, but in spiritual development, almost nothing. In studying books, sometimes we are deluded into thinking that we are being spiritually helped; but if we analyse ourselves, we shall find that only our intellect has been helped, and not the spirit. That is the reason why almost everyone of us can speak most wonderfully on spiritual subjects, but when the time of action comes, we find ourselves so woefully deficient. It is because books cannot give us that impulse from outside. To quicken the spirit, that impulse must come from another soul.
That soul from which this impulse comes is called the Guru, the teacher; and the soul to which the impulse is conveyed is called the disciple, the student. In order to convey this impulse, in the first place, the soul from which it comes must possess the power of transmitting it, as it were, to another; and in the second place, the object to which it is transmitted must be fit to receive it. The seed must be a living seed, and the field must be ready ploughed; and when both these conditions are fulfilled, a wonderful growth of religion takes place. "The speaker of religion must be wonderful, so must the hearer be"; and when both of these are really wonderful, extraordinary, then alone will splendid spiritual growth come, and not otherwise. These are the real teachers, and these are the real students. Besides these, the others are playing with spirituality — just having a little intellectual struggle, just satisfying a little curiosity — but are standing only on the outward fringe of the horizon of religion. There is some value in that; real thirst for religion may thus be awakened; all comes in course of time. It is a mysterious law of nature that as soon as the field is ready the seed must come, as soon as the soul wants religion, the transmitter of religious force must come. "The seeking sinner meeteth the seeking Saviour." When the power that attracts in the receiving soul is full and ripe, the power which answers to that attraction must come.
But there are great dangers in the way. There is the danger to the receiving soul of mistaking its momentary emotion for real religious yearning. We find that in ourselves. Many times in our lives, somebody dies whom we loved; we receive a blow; for a moment we think that this world is slipping between our fingers, and that we want something higher, and that we are going to be religious. In a few days that wave passes away, and we are left stranded where we were. We ofttimes mistake such impulses for real thirst after religion, but so long as these momentary emotions are thus mistaken, that continuous, real want of the soul will not come, and we shall not find the "transmitter".
So when we complain that we have not got the truth, and that we want it so much, instead of complaining, our first duty ought to be to look into our own souls and find whether we really want it. In the vast majority of cases we shall find that we are not fit; we do not want; there was no thirst after the spiritual.
There are still more difficulties for the "transmitter". There are many who, though immersed in ignorance, yet, in the pride of their hearts, think they know everything, and not only do not stop there, but offer to take others on their shoulders, and thus "the blind leading the blind, they both fall into the ditch". The world is full of these; everyone wants to be a teacher, every beggar wants to make a gift of a million dollars. Just as the latter is ridiculous, so are these teachers.
How are we to know a teacher then? In the first place, the sun requires no torch to make it visible. We do not light a candle to see the sun. When the sun rises, we instinctively become aware of its rising; and when a teacher of men comes to help us, the soul will instinctively know that it has found the truth. Truth stands on its own evidences; it does not require any other testimony to attest it; it is self-effulgent. It penetrates into the inmost recesses of our nature, and the whole universe stands up and says, "This is Truth." These are the very great teachers, but we can get help from the lesser ones also; and as we ourselves are not always sufficiently intuitive to be certain of our judgment of the man from whom we receive, there ought to be certain tests. There are certain conditions necessary in the taught, and also in the teacher.
The conditions necessary in the taught are purity, a real thirst after knowledge, and perseverance. No impure soul can be religious; that is the one great condition; purity in every way is absolutely necessary. The other condition is a real thirst after knowledge. Who wants? That is the question. We get whatever we want — that is an old, old law. He who wants, gets. To want religion is a very difficult thing, not so easy as we generally think. Then we always forget that religion does not consist in hearing talks, or in reading books, but it is a continuous struggle, a grappling with our own nature, a continuous fight till the victory is achieved. It is not a question of one or two days, of years, or of lives, but it may be hundreds of lifetimes, and we must be ready for that. It may come immediately, or it may not come in hundreds of lifetimes; and we must be ready for that. The student who sets out with such a spirit finds success.
In the teacher we must first see that he knows the secret of the scriptures. The whole world reads scriptures — Bibles, Vedas, Korans, and others; but they are only words, external arrangement, syntax, the etymology, the philology, the dry bones of religion. The teacher may be able to find what is the age of any book, but words are only the external forms in which things come. Those who deal too much in words and let the mind run always in the force of words lose the spirit. So the teacher must be able to know the spirit of the scriptures. The network of words is like a huge forest in which the human mind loses itself and finds no way out. The various methods of joining words, the various methods of speaking a beautiful language, the various methods of explaining the dicta of the scriptures, are only for the enjoyment of the learned. They do not attain perfection; they are simply desirous to show their learning, so that the world may praise them and see that they are learned men. You will find that no one of the great teachers of the world went into these various explanations of texts; on their part there is no attempt at "text-torturing", no saying, "This word means this, and this is the philological connection between this and that word." You study all the great teachers the world has produced, and you will see that no one of them goes that way. Yet they taught, while others, who have nothing to teach, will take up a word and write a three-volume book on its origin and use. As my Master used to say, what would you think of men who went into a mango orchard and busied themselves in counting the leaves and examining the colour of the leaves, the size of the twigs, the number of branches, and so forth, while only one of them had the sense to begin to eat the mangoes? So leave this counting of leaves and twigs and this note-taking to others. That work has its own value in its proper place, but not here in the spiritual realm. Men never become spiritual through such work; you have never once seen a strong spiritual man among these "leaf-counters". Religion is the highest aim of man, the highest glory, but it does not require "leaf-counting". If you want to be a Christian, it is not necessary to know whether Christ was born in Jerusalem or Bethlehem or just the exact date on which he pronounced the Sermon on the Mount; you only require to feel the Sermon on the Mount. It is not necessary to read two thousand words on when it was delivered. All that is for the enjoyment of the learned. Let them have it; say amen to that. Let us eat the mangoes.
The second condition necessary in the teacher is that he must be sinless. The question was once asked me in England by a friend, "Why should we look to the personality of a teacher? We have only to judge of what he says, and take that up." Not so. If a man wants to teach me something of dynamics or chemistry or any other physical science, he may be of any character; he can still teach dynamics or any other science. For the knowledge that the physical sciences require is simply intellectual and depends on intellectual strength; a man can have in such a case a gigantic intellectual power without the least development of his soul. But in the spiritual sciences it is impossible from first to last that there can be any spiritual light in that soul which is impure. What can such a soul teach? It knows nothing. Spiritual truth is purity. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God". In that one sentence is the gist of all religions. If you have learnt that, all that has been said in the past and all that it is possible to say in the future, you have known; you need not look into anything else, for you have all that is necessary in that one sentence; it could save the world, were all the other scriptures lost. A vision of God, a glimpse of the beyond never comes until the soul is pure. Therefore in the teacher of spirituality, purity is the one thing indispensable; we must see first what he is, and then what he says. Not so with intellectual teachers; there we care more for what he says than what he is. With the teacher of religion we must first and foremost see what he is, and then alone comes the value of the words, because he is the transmitter. What will he transmit, if he has not flat spiritual power in him? To give a simile: If a heater is hot, it can convey heat vibrations, but if not, it is impossible to do so. Even so is the case with the mental vibrations of the religious teacher which he conveys to the mind of the taught. It is a question of transference, and not of stimulating only our intellectual faculties. Some power, real and tangible, goes out from the teacher and begins to grow in the mind of the taught. Therefore the necessary condition is that the teacher must be true.
The third condition is motive. We should see that he does not teach with any ulterior motive, for name, or fame, or anything else, but simply for love, pure love for you. When spiritual forces are transmitted from the teacher to the taught, they can only be conveyed through the medium of love; there is no other medium that can convey them. Any other motive, such as gain or name, would immediately destroy the conveying medium; therefore all must be done through love. One who has known God can alone be a teacher. When you see that in the teacher these conditions are fulfilled, you are safe; if they are not fulfilled, it is unwise to accept him. There is a great risk, if he cannot convey goodness, of his conveying wickedness sometimes. This must be guarded against; therefore it naturally follows that we cannot be taught by anybody and everybody.
The preaching of sermons by brooks and stones may be true as a poetical figure but no one can preach a single grain of truth until he has it in himself. To whom do the brooks preach sermons? To that human soul only whose lotus of life has already opened. When the heart has been opened, it can receive teaching from the brooks or the stones — it can get some religious teaching from all these; but the unopened heart will see nothing but brooks and rolling stones. A blind man may come to a museum, but he comes and goes only; if he is to see, his eyes must first be opened. This eye-opener of religion is the teacher. With the teacher, therefore, our relationship is that of ancestor and descendant; the teacher is the spiritual ancestor, and the disciple is the spiritual descendant. It is all very well to talk of liberty and independence, but without humility, submission, veneration, and faith, there will not be any religion. It is a significant fact that where this relation still exists between the teacher and the taught, there alone gigantic spiritual souls grow; but in those who have thrown it off religion is made into a diversion. In nations and churches where this relation between teacher and taught is not maintained spirituality is almost an unknown quantity. It never comes without that feeling; there is no one to transmit and no one to be transmitted to, because they are all independent. Of whom can they learn? And if they come to learn, they come to buy learning. Give me a dollar's worth of religion; cannot I pay a dollar for it? Religion cannot be got that way!
There is nothing higher and holier than the knowledge which comes to the soul transmitted by a spiritual teacher. If a man has become a perfect Yogi it comes by itself, but it cannot be got in books. You may go and knock your head against the four corners of the world, seek in the Himalayas, the Alps, the Caucasus, the Desert of Gobi or Sahara, or the bottom of the sea, but it will not come until you find a teacher. Find the teacher, serve him as a child, open your heart to his influence, see in him God manifested. Our attention should be fixed on the teacher as the highest manifestation of God; and as the power of attention concentrates there, the picture of the teacher as man will melt away; the frame will vanish, and the real God will be left there. Those that come to truth with such a spirit of veneration and love — for them the Lord of truth speaks the most wonderful words. "Take thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground". Wherever His name is spoken, that place is holy. How much more so is a man who speaks His name, and with what veneration ought we to approach a man out of whom come spiritual truths! This is the spirit in which we are to be taught. Such teachers are few in number, no doubt, in this world, but the world is never altogether without them. The moment it is absolutely bereft of these, it will cease to be, it will become a hideous hell and will just drop. These teachers are the fair flowers of human life and keep the world going; it is the strength that is manifested from these hearts of life that keeps the bounds of society intact.
Beyond these is another set of teachers, the Christs of the world. These Teachers of all teachers represent God Himself in the form of man. They are much higher; they can transmit spirituality with a touch, with a wish, which makes even the lowest and most degraded characters saints in one second. Do you not read of how they used to do these things? They are not the teachers about whom I was speaking; they are the Teachers of all teachers, the greatest manifestations of God to man; we cannot see God except through them. We cannot help worshipping them, and they are the only beings we are bound to worship.
No man bath "seen" God but as He is manifested in the Son. We cannot see God. If we try to see Him, we make a hideous caricature of God. There is an Indian story that an ignorant man was asked to make an image of the God Shiva, and after days of struggle he made an image of a monkey. So whenever we attempt to make an image of God, we make a caricature of Him, because we cannot understand Him as anything higher than man so long as we are men. The time will come when we transcend our human nature and know Him as He is; but so long as we are men we must worship Him in man. Talk as we may, try as we may, we cannot see God except as a man. We may deliver great intellectual speeches, become very great rationalists, and prove that these tales of God as all nonsense, but let us come to practical common sense. What is behind this remarkable intellect? Zero, nothing, simply so much froth. When next you hear a man delivering great intellectual lectures against this worship of God, get hold of him and ask him what is his idea of God, what he means by "omnipotence", and "omniscience", and "omnipresent love", and so forth, beyond the spelling of the words. He means nothing, he cannot formulate an idea, he is no better than the man in the street who has not read a single book. That man in the street, however, is quiet and does not disturb the world, while the other man's arguments cause disturbance. He has no actual perception, and both are on the same plane.
Religion is realisation, and you must make the sharpest distinction between talk and realisation. What you perceive in your soul is realisation. Man has no idea of the Spirit, he has to think of it with the forms he has before him. He has to think of the blue skies, or the expansive fields, or the sea, or something huge. How else can you think of God? So what are you doing in reality? You are talking of omnipresence, and thinking of the sea. Is God the sea? A little more common sense is required. Nothing is so uncommon as common sense, the world is too full of talk. A truce to all this frothy argument of the world. We are by our present constitution limited and bound to see God as man. If the buffaloes want to worship God, they will see Him as a huge buffalo. If a fish wants to worship God, it will have to think of Him as a big fish. You and I, the buffalo, the fish, each represents so many different vessels. All these go to the sea to be filled with water according to the shape of each vessel. In each of these vessels is nothing but water. So with God. When men see Him, they see Him as man, and the animals as animal — each according to his ideal. That is the only way you can see Him; you have to worship Him as man, because there is no other way out of it. Two classes of men do not worship God as man — the human brute who has no religion, and the Paramahamsa (highest Yogi) who has gone beyond humanity, who has thrown off his mind and body and gone beyond the limits of nature. All nature has become his Self. He has neither mind nor body, and can worship God as God, as can a Jesus or a Buddha. They did not worship God as man. The other extreme is the human brute. You know how two extremes look alike. Similar is the case with the extreme of ignorance and the other extreme of knowledge; neither of these worships anybody. The extremely ignorant do not worship God, not being developed enough to feel the need for so doing. Those that have attained the highest knowledge also do not worship God — having realised and become one with God. God never worships God. Between these two poles of existence, if anyone tells you he is not going to worship God as man, take care of him. He is an irresponsible talker, he is mistaken; his religion is for frothy thinkers, it is intellectual nonsense.
Therefore it is absolutely necessary to worship God as man, and blessed are those races which have such a "God-man" to worship. Christians have such a God-man in Christ; therefore cling close to Christ; never give up Christ. That is the natural way to see God; see God in man. All our ideas of God are concentrated there. The great limitation Christians have is that they do not heed other manifestations of God besides Christ. He was a manifestation of God; so was Buddha; so were some others, and there will be hundreds of others. Do not limit God anywhere. Pay all the reverence that you think is due to God, to Christ; that is the only worship we can have. God cannot be worshipped; He is the immanent Being of the universe. It is only to His manifestation as man that we can pray. It would be a very good plan, when Christians pray, to say, "in the name of Christ". It would be wise to stop praying to God, and only pray to Christ. God understands human failings and becomes a man to do good to humanity. "Whenever virtue subsides and immorality prevails, then I come to help mankind", says Krishna. He also says, "Fools, not knowing that I, the Omnipotent and Omnipresent God of the universe, have taken this human form, deride Me and think that cannot be." Their minds have been clouded with demoniacal ignorance, so they cannot see in Him the Lord of the universe. These great Incarnations of God are to be worshipped. Not only so, they alone can be worshipped; and on the days of their birth, and on the days when they went out of this world, we ought to pay more particular reverence to them. In worshipping Christ I would rather worship Him just as He desires; on the day of His birth I would rather worship Him by fasting than by feasting — by praying. When these are thought of, these great ones, they manifest themselves in our souls, and they make us like unto them. Our whole nature changes, and we become like them.
But you must not mix up Christ or Buddha with hobgoblins flying through the air and all that sort of nonsense. Sacrilege! Christ coming into a spiritualistic seance to dance! I have seen that presence in this country. It is not in that way that these manifestations of God come. The very touch of one of them will be manifest upon a man; when Christ touches, the whole soul of man will change, that man will be transfigured just as He was. His whole life will be spiritualised; from every pore of his body spiritual power will emanate. What were the great powers of Christ in miracles and healing, in one of his character? They were low, vulgar things that He could not help doing because He was among vulgar beings. Where was this miracle-making done? Among the Jews; and the Jews did not take Him. Where was it not done? In Europe. The miracle-making went to the Jews, who rejected Christ, and the Sermon on the Mount to Europe, which accepted Him. The human spirit took on what was true and rejected what was spurious. The great strength of Christ is not in His miracles or His healing. Any fool could do those things. Fools can heal others, devils can heal others. I have seen horrible demoniacal men do wonderful miracles. They seem to manufacture fruits out of the earth. I have known fools and diabolical men tell the past, present, and future. I have seen fools heal at a glance, by the will, the most horrible diseases. These are powers, truly, but often demoniacal powers. The other is the spiritual power of Christ which will live and always has lived - an almighty, gigantic love, and the words of truth which He preached. The action of healing men at a glance is forgotten, but His saying, "Blessed are the pure in heart", that lives today. These words are a gigantic magazine of power — inexhaustible. So long as the human mind lasts, so long as the name of God is not forgotten, these words will roll on and on and never cease to be. These are the powers Jesus taught, and the powers He had. The power of purity; it is a definite power. So in worshipping Christ, in praying to Him, we must always remember what we are seeking. Not those foolish things of miraculous display, but the wonderful powers of the Spirit, which make man free, give him control over the whole of nature, take from him the badge of slavery, and show God unto him.
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。