During my years of meditation in the Himalayas, my master sent me to different teachers to learn the eastern sciences. Each had his own method of teaching. It took me 30 years to realise that each one of them was right. It is easier to understand lessons in spirituality in the form of a story. So let me tell you one which will elucidate this teacher-student relationship.
In a small town somewhere in the hills, there was a 26-year-old man who had heard of a spiritual master once. He had been looking for this master ever since. Then the master visited his town he said to him: “I have heard so much about you. I want to learn yoga from you. I am desperate.” The master looked at the man and found that he really was desperate, but not without hope. He decided to give him a chance.
He asked the man: “Do you think I know? Do you experience something new within you now that you are with me?”
The man said no.
So the master said: “20 years from now go to the hill top where the annual fair happens and under the big tree you will find a man dressed in a white robe wearing green slippers. That’s your teacher, not me because you don’t experience anything with me.” He also told the man that the teacher will have a glow on his face and his eyes will be fiery, and that the man won’t be able to look him straight in the eye.
The quest of this man for this teacher continued but he was unable to find him. Until 20 years later, he finds a man with the same description in the same place as the master had told him. He is aghast to see that it is the same master from 20 years ago.
Disheartened, the man said: “Master, if it was you all along, why didn’t you tell me the first day? Why did you do this to me?” To which the master replied that on that day the man did not trust him. But in 20 years, he had learnt to get hope out of his life. So they could now begin.
In the last 20 years, the master had taught him the art of spirituality. The art of spirituality is the art of waiting tirelessly, being egoless. The day he first saw the master, the man was not a seeker but in those 20 years, he conditioned himself to be one. A master has the capacity to evaluate the level of understanding or the inclination of a student’s intellect. Based on his intellect, he gives him a practice. It may appear unconventional because it will not convince the logical mind. That does not mean you give up common sense. Common sense always comes before spirituality.
The story does not end here. I will continue next week to illustrate the other aspects of teacher-student relationship.
Practice of the week
Begin the day with a few simple postures. Practise marjariasana ten times and the other two postures for 20-30 seconds each with normal breathing.
Marjariasana step 1, inhale
Marjariasana step 2, exhale
Vyaghrasana
Shashankasana
Next week: Teacher-student tradition Part 3
