In The Way
A Primer on Teaching and Learning


Introduction

An awakening takes place. You awaken. It can happen slowly or fast. It can come out of the blue in a flash of inspiration, be of the heart or mind; or develop and unfold piece by piece and bit by bit. You begin to feel and see there is something more than only this world, this life, and this time. 

There are even psychological and psychiatric conditions explaining this. It is spoken about in the major religions and mystic teachings. You yearn for what is more. Remembering, far away, that there is something. It draws you. You feel yourself moving toward it. You feel yourself as something greater than just your body. You begin to associate with others who feel similarly - drawn inexplicably together or sought our deliberately. You find books, writings, readings, sayings, all of which motivate more. 

Your priorities begin to change. What is important now is not so much being successful or wealthy or accomplished in outer endeavors. Questions of "What am I?", "What does it mean?", "Who am I?", "Where do I fit in?" replace "How can I make more money, or be famous, have fun, or acquire the next thing?" They move toward "What is important?", "What is lasting?", "Is there more?" Then inklings grow. Experiences happen which lead you to consider more what you are doing. Some may be violent upheavals in your life. Some may be soothing revelations and understandings. You begin to hear about and take more seriously the possibility that others may know about what you are experiencing and can assist you in finding out more. You start to pay attention to outer processes with names like ESP, Psychic, Life-Progression, Tarot, Mysticism, Occultism, Magic, Spiritualism, and a host of psychological and other named arenas. 

You eventually discard them as being too shallow or limited. The heart begins to yearn for something Real. The lost avenues and alleys with ends do not suffice. The spiritual path beckons. You commence and continue your seeking. You hear about teachers, paths, processes of enlightenment and realization. It strikes a chord. You want to take part in that. Maybe this holds your answers. You start looking for a teacher, or path, or process, or group to help. You are on the stepping stones which will eventually lead you to your answers; and might possibly lead you to them sooner rather than later. The journey begins now. The journey continues. You seek a Teacher: To Learn. 

The problem you face now is how to find the Real Teacher and Teaching; and if you do find it, how to recognize and evaluate it. You can't do this only with the outer senses and criteria; and the other tools at your disposal are either unused, not developed, missing, or covered with filters, needs, and desires. 

The problem is compounded by the fact that many, if not most, of the people who put themselves out there as teachers, or who are placed in that position by others in various groups or organizations, ARE NOT. This includes many who are learning to teach, in whole or in part, through groups which resulted from a real inspiration and transmission, but have now degenerated. So what you are faced with can seem like an insurmountable difficulty. How can you find something that is a real Teaching and a person who is a real Teacher without either the tools to evaluate it fully or the ways to determine if a group has deteriorated - when its current function may still be beyond your present development? 

The short of it is that you will get what you deserve. That is primarily determined by you, and secondarily, by the teachings and teacher you encounter. 

You get what you deserve as a response to your intentions, desires, and needs. As a precursor to real learning, you must have the capacity to do so. This is determined in part by openness to instruction, and in part by an understanding of the signposts of a true teaching and teacher, and a clarifying of your wants and desires. It also in part is determined by how much you have satisfied the outer circumstances of living. That is, how well you have adjusted to and are able to handle the day-to-day aspects of life. If these are not in at least some rudimentary balance, they will have to be dealt with first. 

That is why - but only one of the reasons why - a person is given rudimentary outer jobs in a living group; and more importantly, and to this case, why a teacher will generally not accept an aspirant until he or she can demonstrate a minimal competence in living in the world. The other side of this is that when you have aspirations for success, advancement, experiences, or other worldly desires that are not satisfied, then they will get in the way of further learning. They will have to be satisfied, let go, or transmuted to proceed. The real Teacher will assist you in that process first before guiding you further. That immediate, outer work essentially then also becomes the highest spiritual work that can be done. 
 
Part 1: Seeking, Evaluating, and General Work

Section 1

As you read through these sections you may want to note a few things. One is the use of the "teacher". I am using it as a convenience. What can be taught? That is a good question to consider. As you already exist and have the understanding, awareness, and answers to your questions available to and as a part of you; then a far more accurate word to use would be "Guide or Assistor" rather than teacher. As the spiritual path is one of rememberance and re-assimilation, then it is not an external process of one person "teaching" another. A person can show you how to make candy, or cook a roast, or weave a tapestry; but for you to do it, you must catch it yourself. When you do, there will be a little difference in that food or cloth - certainly showing your own nature - which is something to celebrate. When this is applied to spiritual "teaching" it is far more subtle, and more far-reaching. You will find those answers and more as part of the realness that is within you and IS you; and all the worlds will celebrate along with you each step of the way. There is a saying that when a person takes one step toward the Divine One - it takes 10 steps to the person. An assistance, welcoming home of glad heart, and the songs of the Angels are both present and await. 

Are there some qualities or characteristics which can be seen in "Real" teachers? The answer to that is generally "yes", but those attributes may be different than what you expect them to be; and may or may not be shown, depending upon the qualities that the teacher needs to manifest in a certain situation. 

Another question of some value is "Are there some general characteristics which show up in all real teaching settings?" A corollary to that question is "Are there some things you can generally expect to see in most situations with Real Teachings?" The answer to both these questions is "yes and no". Before we go into more detail here, it would be beneficial to consider how people become teachers, what kinds of teachers there are, and what they do. 

First, I will say that most people who are considered as teachers or who consider themselves so, are not. They are not true spiritual teachers in a larger sense. For the sake of ease I will refer to them as "teachers" - with a small "t". There are some people who are Real Teachers. I will refer to them as "Teachers". There is also the larger Universal Teacher/Teaching. It is this that the Teacher becomes a part of and that expresses through the Teacher with the person aware. It expresses in other ways also without that specific personal awareness. This I will refer to as the TEACHER or TEACHING. 

We find that the vast majority of people who are called a spiritual teacher, or who call themselves that, have a limited viewpoint through which to express limited information or experience. In general they work through structures which are dead or dying; cultish in function; and are either very misleading in the material that is presented, are severely curtailed in the capacity to reach toward the truth, or both. Within this category we also find the spiritual professional. He or she can be paid in money, power, fame, control, or any combination of the above - these being for the primary satisfaction of the person. (To read in-depth examples and discussion of teachers, teachings, and the ways in which people approach them, I would direct you to "Learning How to Learn", by Idries Shah.) 

These people work in groups or organizations which at one time may have had real inspiration and/or a true source. They could be traditional religions, bastardized forms, splinter groups, cults, groups formed around personalities, or groups formed to espouse a certain belief, code of conduct, experience, method of seeking, effect or manifestation. 

If the group was set up by one person without the proper training and authority, then that person generally sets himself or herself as that authority. He (I will refer to the person as "he" regardless of gender) may indicate that a greater unseen authority has anointed or appointed him as the earthly representative and invested him with authority. 

For the one seeking guidance, it will be a test of faith. That one should be very careful to apply some of the criteria for the True Teacher that are found later in these writings - and compare them the best one can in both an outer sense, and by feeling and heart. The validity of this claim can generally be tested. Some of these are brought out in writings about the qualities and functions of the Teacher. They can also be verified or judged false by those who are Real Teachers directly. In the main, claims like this are false; but it should be noted that they CAN be true. 

There are some situations where a person does have Divine Guidance and authority to bring forth a teaching. So in these - much fewer cases - it actually could be true, but one has to be very careful here. The person bringing this must have clear, unambiguous, impersonal guidance and direction for this; and must NOT in any case be driven by personal gain or greed. In the case of the Real Teacher, this person will also not have any individual desire or satisfaction from this position. If he is still seeking, looking for something, not in balance, has areas still to be assimilated, or is unsure; then he is "over his head"; and at the very least, is premature for this work. 

More prevalent than the one personality driven group are groups which have deteriorated or never had a transmission. In this category, most of the people within it will receive some degree of instruction along with little actual direct spiritual experience and realization. The bulk of their instruction is intellectual. In cases where there is some broader experience, it is generally shallow and misinterpreted as to its value and applicability. However, at least it is experience instead of talk. 

These persons, upon completion of a set of studies, are certified as teachers. They may be teachers in the sense that they can further instruct or convey information and shallow experience within the confines and structure of their field of study, but this is not spiritual teaching, and they are not Teachers. You will find, if you spend any length of time in their system, that the end is reached rather rapidly, and it is not universal. 

There is another group of teachers. These are associated with real Teachings and may have as their source a spiritual Teacher with realization and transmission. As part of the learning process for his students, the Teacher may start (more properly assist) one along the path or work of teaching. It should be noted that this is a very tenuous situation. The Teacher must be extremely clear that indeed the student is to follow that path, rather than simply using him as an available vehicle to further his own work. There must be inspiration and guidance both for the Teacher and student to set one this way. It must also be understood that the student is not a Teacher in the real sense, even though he may take on some of the duties. That work tends to be more outer than inspirationally driven. The hope is that through this process the student will grow into a more full position. It is very important that the person be monitored closely to assure that the people he is working with are getting correct guidance. This person then starting out we can call a Teacher-in-Training. 

In many cases you will come in contact with one or more of these people in the initial stages of contact with a group rather than the real Teacher. It is still difficult to evaluate the Teaching - if not impossible with traditional educational criteria - and this difficulty is compounded when the teaching goes through the very active and present filters of this student Teacher. (In fact, for a full evaluation you would generally need to either go through the teaching or have the perspective of the goal to really know it). You can hope, though, that he is trying to do his best by following his intuitive guidance and expression; and by adhering to the training, attunement, and transmission through his Teacher. You will find that in these situations, the Teaching may not be so limited as the previous grouping; and the end may be more universal and experience based, but that it is limited through the channel of the student Teacher and takes on the characteristics of his filter. You will have to deal with it on that basis. 

When the student Teacher has progressed to a certain point, he is then many times given a title representing him as a Teacher. In reality this is generally just a starting position waiting to be fulfilled rather than the end of a prior instruction or course of study. It is like being given a name to grow into. But in this case, both the Teaching and Hierarchical Guidance accept and pass on the authority to this person to act in that capacity. The student Teacher should in the process also have gotten guidance and inspiration that he is to do this work and that this timing is now appropriate. It must also be added that if any of these criteria are missing, the student Teacher should not be elevated higher by an earthly Teacher, nor should he accept such a position if offered - no matter how tempting. 

The final grouping we will now consider for the purposes of this writing is the real Teacher. He has gone through what amounts to all these previous stages and more - much more. It also should be noted here that this is not the end of the Teaching ladder; nor is it the end of the growth and learning of the Teacher. In reality, when a person really reaches this level he is also able to continue learning from that One TEACHER, as part of himself, and he as part of IT. From this point of view, ALL beings and things - including all people and nature - are sources of learning. They are welcomed, and appreciated as such. 

The first thing to recognize is that this person is Real. The second thing is that he can show himself in many forms, but is always part of the same being. He must, if he has reached this position of function, have certain experiences common with those of a similar rank, and those who have come before or will come after. He may take the form of Guru, Sage, Murshid, or other un-named person, but in all cases re-presents the one true TEACHER. Depending upon his functions he will be readily seen - showing himself openly or hidden deeply, working as needs be. 

This person will generally have gone through training and teaching by one or more Teachers; both on the physical and/or unseen levels. He will have been accepted by the Hierarchy and is recognized by others of his kind. He will be initiated in the greater path or ways, and will have attained and grown to the larger Universal path or Way. 

He will be illumined and realize his true nature and being. He transcends the boundaries of space and time within himself. And he will know himself as one working unit. Within this framework and base, he will continue to grow, deepen in realization and function, and become more of what he is - without any worry, doubt, or inadequacy that there is more. And he will not want to be more - "want" to be a teacher. That is, he will not have personal desires to be a Teacher, rather than being one, and he will not have satisfaction and a feeling of accomplishment in his station. If he is not of this level as a minimum, then he is still a student Teacher - from the Universal point of view. 
He may well be a teacher within a partial system, method, path, or tradition, however; and well capable of instructing a person within that more limited framework; or as a Teacher, if utilizing that path, tradition, or method as a framework, will also make clear the universality of the greater goal and function. 

He will not claim to be a Teacher to justify function. Indeed, claims are meaningless. The real proof of a person is in his function, not his claims. The individual who claims to be a Teacher without first having both the background and experiences as indicated above - at a minimum as a base - is not worthy to be considered as such. All such claims are spurious, are false. This person is an imposter. The proof of the Teacher is in his works, and the proof of his transmission is found in his students - in their light and realization. 
 
Part 1, Section 2

Now that we have considered what kinds of teachers there are and how they become what they are called, let us turn our attention to how a real Teaching would look. In addition we will consider what a Teacher may do or not do; a little of why it would or would not be done; and what the point of view of the Teacher is in that process. We can also consider how a teacher may convey what is needed in a given setting. 

By putting attention in these areas, you may begin to get a sense of how a Teacher may appear when you approach him, what his work may look like, how to differentiate between a real learning situation and not, and what common qualities and characteristics one can usually find in a Teacher and the Teaching. 

First, having said all these things about how a Teacher may look or act, etc., it is equally possible he may do anything or everything differently, and not act at all like we say here. The final decisions are up to the person working, not someone writing in generalities; and certainly not because of the expectations of anyone else. As illustrations, I will give you the following examples. 

There are stories of Teachers who have asked great sums for their work. They were generally negatively criticized and later it may or may not have been found that they were using the money for a needed service. On the other hand, there are some charlatans passing as Teachers that make a very good living from fleecing people who come to them. Along that line there are some Teachers who would not charge any money or ask for donations, and others who would require minimal giving or payment. Sometimes any of these teachers may even do one thing in one setting or with one person and something quite different with another. 

The reason a person would do that is because that approach is what is needed in that particular situation. Given another, the approach may be quite different. At one time, years ago, in a class someone was giving, that person requested that people give a donation each time they came. He laid out certain guidelines for doing so*. He did this because it was a means or a tool to use for those attending to focus through, and as a result gain or strengthen certain attributes. They could then apply these attributes to other situations.

However, in that class were two people who objected strongly to making any donations. To one potential student, the person said he must pay a certain amount each time or he could not attend. This was done to motivate those attitudes which were causing this particular set of blocks. The other potential student felt less inclined to work and give of himself than to give money. So if he were "forced" into either paying or not attending; even though he had shallow philosophical reasons for thinking paying was not right, he would have reluctantly done so. However, the money was not that important to him, so for him it was required that in addition to a smaller payment than generally requested, he would have to work a few hours each week as a precondition to attend a class. This bothered him much more, and roused attitudes in him that were blocking progress far better than requiring him to pay more money. 

Now this person also had a penchant for wanting to discuss spiritual things. He, if left to his desires, would talk and talk incessantly about them. So, as an additional requirement of his work, he was not permitted to discuss or bring up anything of a spiritual nature. All conversation had to be strictly related to the work he was doing or common physical things. He was very ungrounded, and this combination of work/payment and focus on the "mundane" was the best thing for him right then. 

There was another person who also attended those classes who had almost no money, yet worked very hard, was in need of money, and not only had no reluctance to give, but tried to give more than what was asked - to his own detriment. He needed balance in the other direction; so for him it was required that he give, but it was modified that he was to give that amount to himself. This of course raised other blocks for him to deal with. 

Now if you had come in to that setting and seen only one of those actions or requirements, how would you determine if that was the "right" thing to do - especially because in some ways they were contradictory? And, if you had been aware only of one procedure, would you generalize from that and conclude that it was the overall approach or teaching; and if so was "right" or "wrong"? 

The only way through this is by feeling. You would need to put aside your intellect for evaluation and sense if there was something behind the outer action. Even if it was not seen fully, the point is that you would have needed to be open to multiple approaches with the possibility that all were right. Just because a person sets certain guidelines or requirements in general and then acts counter to them in a contradictory manner, it does not necessarily mean that person is acting wrongly. 

From the point of view of a Teacher, the most important thing is to provide the appropriate impetus in the right settings that has the potential to act upon the person or group in the right way at that time. He is unconcerned how it is taken by outer eyes or evaluation. Sometimes he will use this as a tool to "drive away" the person who is not ready, or let a person self-select his own leaving. Many times he will also give the means to attune to him or find the path to understanding when encountering opposites or contradictions on one level, but complementary actions on another. The point is that you cannot just generalize from one action or approach. Do you remember the story of the elephant? 

In the reference above to the two students in a class, would the person leading it and prescribing the correctives have done the same thing in another situation with another group of students? Doubtful, although possible. Speculation is absolutely worthless here. One really would not know what he would do until faced with the particular situation and people. If another Teacher came in to the same setting, would he have taken a similar approach? Possible, but also doubtful. Again, speculation is worthless. There are many approaches that can achieve the same end result; and that is what we are after - results, not the method to get them. In fact, a person could have taken almost the exact opposite approach and potentially get similar results. 

In this case, we have discussed only one small aspect of a teaching and how it can be applied in different ways. It is an outer aspect, that of paying money or making a donation for a class. It does not have to be that; it could be anything. The point is that for every activity or process, there is a potential lesson or learning situation that can take place; and that can be done in many ways, some of which might seem contradictory. If we were to multiply this one activity, of which only a few elementary examples are given, by the variety of situations that could take place, and for each one add many different potential actions depending upon the need, we will not be able to generalize very well that a certain approach or method is the way to distinguish a real Teacher from one who is not. 

At times a Teacher will take on the attribute of the student that he wishes to bring to that person's attention. By being a mirror and projecting the qualities that are in the way of the student, the result is that it motivates a response, usually negative, and brings those attitudes to the surface. In this way it gives the student the opportunity to become aware that what bothers him are actually his own qualities. This gives him the opportunity to then work on and adjust them. 

So in the case of the student who was barred from discussing spiritual things, another Teacher might do just the opposite, and respond to everything, excessively in that manner. There are other approaches, all of which may be equally valid - such as giving concentrations, meditations, recitation, stories, koans, walks, work, and more - any of which could bring about the desired effect. So in evaluating a Teacher, outer process is not a good indicator of what is going on. 

(*) These examples can be found as appendices A and B. They are for reference only, and were applicable in those limited situations. If they are applicable for other uses now, that is fine. Appendix A is titled Fee Schedule; while Appendix B is Some Guidelines for Donations. 


 
Part 1, Section 3

I know of a situation in which people coming to a class were having difficulty in getting a working sense of levels within levels. They were practicing quiet attention. Rather than pursue that more, a Teacher took the opposite approach. He put on several noise-making appliances at the same time. In one room were several radios, a tv, a stereo, and an alarm clock. The volume of each one was set so that only the loudest and most active could be heard. Attention therefore went to that. When that item was turned down, another came in to awareness, and so forth, until there was nothing on. The end result was the excess noise helped convey the lesson of quietness, the tricks the outer attention and the active mind play, and a better sense or feeling for moving from one level to the next more refined one. 

A similar approach was taken at another time. Here the example was to feel getting larger - more than the identification with and attachment to one's body as one's self. The exercise was to concentrate all one's attention in the tip of the little finger and identify oneself with and as that. Then to slowly move back into the fingers, hand, arm, etc., identifying and focusing on larger and larger parts of the physical body until the person reached the whole body. Then the next step became apparent. In letting go of the identification with the body to that which is more, and so forth, identification could go beyond the body and one could then become more in ever refined and larger steps. If you were to have come in to either setting without the background and understanding of what was being done and why, it would be easy to miss the lesson, or have it work less effectively than for those who were in the processes of gaining those understandings and functions. 

Therefore, pay attention to the outer work and lessons to evaluate the Teaching, but also remember from your own experiences how to learn a skill going step by step. You will find some parallels. 

Will there be some underlying qualities, attributes, or approaches that are constant and present in the approach of Teachers? Yes. These tend more toward their Real personalities and things they emphasize. You will find some common qualities in those Real Teachers. 

First, they tend to be freeing rather than controlling. If a setting, teaching, or person wants to control you - it is usually time to go. The Teacher will be a person of joy. If he is sour, sad, morose, complaining, and negative, it is likely he is a fraud. Again, the outer appearances can be misleading, but by careful observation you should be able to determine if it is a mask put on for a purpose or that person's active personality. 

There should be a feeling of joy, peace, and love through the teacher. It should be apparent and inspirational. The heart should feel all encompassing. Giving, rather than taking is the rule. The Teacher will never depend upon the student for support - money, ego, gratification, status, or otherwise. No matter how much is given to him, nor how much he accepts, he will not accept it for personal gain. 

The Teacher will speak from the heart. He will not bow to niceties when they are not warranted, nor will he offend and be harsh when kindness or consideration is needed. He will shield what needs shielding, hide something that needs hiding, and be stridently outspoken and blunt when that is needed. 

In speaking from the heart, the Teacher becomes the pipe or flute. This only comes from long reliance on the intuition and Guidance that eventually becomes part of his process and he part of it. In this manner he is able to express whatever is needed at the given time. 

The same is true of his level of consciousness. It will change and both go to and include the level(s) that are needed at the time to convey what is appropriate. Part of the work of the Teacher is to have developed that function. It comes from trial and error, until that reliance and trust is to the greater Spirit of Guidance, and it has grown from "permission" to allow it to manifest as and through oneself until it is total, unassuming, and natural. This is part of a base the Teacher needs to function. What starts as intuitive and seemingly external guidance and inflow, develops with attunement and a shift of identification to being a part of oneself. 

The Teacher will not think of himself as anything special. Rather he will be aware of how small the person is in comparison to all that is and that can be. He will be aware of how special everything and every one is - not only as "others", but also as himself. 

He would not cause harm to another, as much as he would not harm himself. But he will remove the splinter from his body if it should not be there. He will not exceed his limits of authority or position, nor impose himself on someone's free will. He will try to assist one to expand ones own scope. 

He will not have anger or bitter words outside of himself. That is, he may express what seems like those feelings, but they will be controlled, not ruling - it will be appropriate. He will be sincere; will have a sense of humor, and not take himself too seriously. 

He will assist rather than do, and can take the position of the lowest without feeling put upon. He will accept that which is provided and that which comes as sufficient, embracing each thankfully and equally. He will be a friend, a guide, and an assistant. 

These are some of the qualities to see and feel in the Teacher. If they are missing, you would be wise to look elsewhere; or certainly consider why you do not see them. If they show up also in the disciples or students, you may feel you are probably in the right place. 


 
Part 1, Section 4

I am now inserting a section of a book written by Vilayat Inayat-Khan. It is from "Toward The One", and covers pages 450 - 466. It is clearly written and pertains to the subject. However, it IS NOT in the same form as printed, nor with the same line breaks, punctuation, type sizes, etc. There are 449 pages before this and 200 after, so it is taken out of context and process. I am using it without specific permission of the copyright holder, and would refer you to the Sufi Order U.S.A. 

..........
Here is the precious pearl. The teeming millions mass-produced on a gigantic scale each having his own idiosyncrasies apparently with a view to produce a few masterpieces: more valuable, more exquisite, more fascinating than the rarest Stradivarius violin or the Mona Lisa or the Chartres Cathedral. 

That such men as Jesus should have walked the earth is the greatest miracle on earth. 

It is more important than any other thing sought after in the world, and this is why sensitive people nurture an idyllic picture of an ideal state of being. The whole forward march of evolution tends toward this ideal. 

Man, that wonder, molded and burnished through ages of deep searching and all the seeming trials and errors to produce that mixture of physis and psychis converging from all our ancestry and predecessors on the planet (mixed with a draught of the heavens) inspired by the heroism of archaic legends. Yet in the course of repeated disappointment through life, many begin to wonder whether such ponderous musings are not pure fiction of the imagination. 

What is it then that is so desperately, so consistently sought after by such large numbers of people, some highly discriminating? It is the most valuable treasure in the world and possibly hence the rarest: a perfect human being. 

Man in search of his ideal of perfection. Nothing less. But the hope surges up again and again. Every time one meets a person whose qualities one admires. Naturally one nurtures the wish to contemplate such a being with one's own eyes. And when told that they are to be found at some outpost of civilization, some will cross the widest stretches; suffer the most ignoble ills; take the most foolhardy risks; for that moment of encounter that can change a lifetime. 

Has the course of your life ever been completely turned-about by the encounter with a being? A being who incorporates those values that you have always worshipped in your soul? If this happens, it is because that being was already in you. 

Confrontation with the qualities of his soul triggers off the like in you - the most wonderful thing that can happen until one realized, as Buddha said, There is a place one cannot reach by going anywhere. - Or the Rishi high up in the Himalayas who said to me "Why have you come so far to see what you should be?" To see what you should be. 

We wish to see in another what we should be ourselves and we would wish for another to inspire us to be so. Yes, the time comes when one realizes that: the guru cannot do it for you but can only catalyze like properties. 

The time comes when one has to make the effort oneself to be what one wishes to see. You may have been perplexed by some of his actions or words - whatever. If he is your guru he will live in you by day and be present in your dreams, in your life, in every moment the heart and core of your being. 

But beware of the obsessive quality of the being who exercises coercion upon your will; robs you of your freedom; places you in a position where your conscience is in a quandary; he who is the master of men while being the slave of his ego is the most pernicious leader astray. 

Many innocent or candid souls have fallen victim to these either by becoming hybrid examples of a strange spirituality blended with sanctimonious contempt for others, or an insufferable sense of righteousness, or blind materialism concealed under the guise of holiness. 

Many do not seem to have the measuring rod to distinguish the genuine from the false sometimes to a disconcerting degree! 

What criteria can one offer to the pilgrim on the search for the teacher? Quite apart from the considerations given earlier about the real purpose pursued in his actual living; if he or she has no axe to grind he will be bubbling over with the joy of an inner freedom, even though greatly sensitive to pain connected with the problems surrounding him. This you can ascertain if you feel inspired after seeing him. 

Like Walking on Air. If he feels that you are an earnest wayfarer relentlessly pointing to the azimuth he will guide you from perplexity to perplexity.
 
A crucial criterion is to see how he reacts to personal insults. If he handles the matter soberly, without taking personal offense he is most likely to be the master you are seeking. The slightest mark of a lack of charity tells a long story because the characteristics of a person spring to light when he is off guard. 

You will also watch for any show of importance other than the natural sovereignty and dignity of his being - AT ALL TIMES. 

He would rather underplay his power than preen his feathers; screen you from his power that burn you by it; walk gently by your side rather than crush you from an upraised throne; enlist your approval by his wisdom rather than impose his opinion by force of will. 

The divine power passing through him will give you a sense of optimism regarding your problems rather than coercing you into subservience. If he is endowed with superior wisdom he may not counter your arguments by arguments which might give vent to further debate or pass his mind behind the quandary. 

"He has passed before you had time to see him". Ramana Maharshi, when asked "How do I attain liberation?", answered "Who is it in you that wants liberation?" 

"The answer that uproots the question" (Hazrat Inayat Khan). 

Rather than allow you to juggle with theories he will test you in your life - in your life, in the reality of what you are trying to work out theoretically revealing you to yourself. 

You have come with a question on your mind. You are now saddled with a challenge in your life, for that is where it all works out in practice. 

Dare you wage war upon your shadow? Dare you cast the torchlight of truth in your soul? This is the issue. You did not think that was the reason you came with a question and there it is staring you in the eyes. He may inspire you to give up that whose giving up will make you free. 

And if he asks you to do it, it is because he knows how glad you will be to have had the courage to give it up; and you will realize that you have given a pebble for a pearl. 

He is strong. He is showing you the way he followed himself. If he is a real guru he will never ask you to do anything against your conscience, but just give you that extra push to do what you should do anyway. 

Once you have become conversant with his handling of paradoxes and gained confidence in his guidance knowing that no perplexity will befuddle you any more he will double his zeal in your guidance and point out to you hidden ways that you, however, have to discover as he turns your attention towards them. 

For the ways of the lord are mysterious. "He will caress you with the hand of your worst enemy and he will admonish you with the hand of your dearest friend." (Hazrat Inayat Khan). 

You think you have discovered a reason but there is a further reason hidden behind it. And no sooner this has flashed upon you than you intuit a further one each more incomprehensible than the former. 

The one in command never reveals his plans even to his forces. They are ever concealed misleading those who would foil it. Each officer is entitled to know as much as he needs to know to fulfill his part in the strategy. As he rises in rank, more of the plan is revealed to him. In fact, spiritual vision is awareness of the divine plan. 

This only happens if one identifies with it beyond any personal consideration. Of course if you understood what the teacher grasps you would not need a teacher. And even if he told you what he grasps you would not be able to grasp it. Unless you had developed his caliber. 

Therefore he does not try to teach but to promote your growth and expand your being that you may see what he sees, and understand what he understands, and have the wisdom to react to what he sees the way he does. His purpose is to conduct you to the point where you do not need him any more. 

"With a sweep of his arm he will lift your consciousness way above his own." (Hazrat Inayat Khan). 

You will recognize him by his sense of truth. He will keep faith with you and you will strive to keep faith with him. If you love him, you can say what you have on your mind and he will never take offense. You can in any case never conceal a thought from him because he reads you as an open book - not from curiosity, but how can a sensitive being fail to respond to that which is placed before him? 

"The greater the teacher the better he can play with children." (Hazrat Inayat Khan). 

Murshid would even scandalize people to prevent them from taking themselves too seriously. People were serving cakes and he would take three. He really did it spiritually. People think to be holy you have to be so very serious. It had a wonderful freeing effect upon them. 

There was a madzub who was looking at people as though he was laughing. "Why are you laughing like that?" he was asked. "I am not laughing, I am smiling. Because each manifests God in a different way: as an elephant, a giraffe, a dove ..... if only they could see themselves, they would smile too!" 

..........

I would also suggest that you read Bahaudin Naqshband: "Discipleship and Development: Extracts from the Testimony of Bahaudin the Designer" (Naqshband) and then continue. 

 
Bahaudin Naqshband: Discipleship and Development
Extracts from the Testimony of Bahaudin the Designer (Naqshband):

We are adjured constantly to study and make ourselves familiar with the lives, doings and sayings of the Wise because a link of understanding exists between these factors and the potentiality in ourselves. 

But if, as have the literalists, we soak ourselves in these elements from motives of greed or marveling at wonders, we will transform ourselves indeed; but the transformation will be animal into lesser animal, instead of animal into man. 

The test which is placed in man's way is to separate the real Seekers from the imitation ones by this very method. If man has not addressed himself to this study through his simplest and most sincere self he will be in peril. It is therefore better, did man but know it, to avoid all metaphysical entanglements rather than to allow himself to be acted upon by the supreme force which will amplify, magnify, his faults if he lacks the knowledge of how to cure the fault, or of how to approach the teaching so that his faults are not involved in the procedure. 

It is for this reason that we say that there are many different spheres, levels, of experience of the truth. 

The Wise have always concentrated upon making sure that their disciples understand that the first stage towards knowledge is to familiarize themselves with the outward, factual, appearance of that knowledge, so that, preventing it from rushing into the wrong area of their minds, it might await development when the possibilities exist. 

This is the analogy of a man taking a pomegranate and keeping it until his stomach is in a condition to digest it correctly. If a man eats a pomegranate when there is something wrong with his stomach, it will make the ailment worse. 

One manifestation of man's ailment is to want to eat the pomegranate at once. Should he do this, he will be in serious difficulties. 

Now you have the explanation as to why the Wise continually supply materials to be stored in the heart, as grain is stored, with a view to the making of bread. Because this is experience and not grain, man in his crudity does not customarily feel able to understand this great truth and secret. The man to whom we speak is, therefore, a specially attuned sort of man - "The Generous Miser" - that is, the man who can hoard when hoarding is indicated, and who will make available that which there is as and when it is able to exercise its optimum effect. 

I was mystified for many months by my esteemed mentor's giving me things to speak, to think and do which did not seem to satisfy my craving for the spiritual life. He told me many times that the craving which I felt was not for spirituality at all, and that the materials which he was giving me were the nutritions which I needed. It was only when I was able to still my maniac desires that I was able to listen to him at all. At other times I said to myself, 'I have heard all this before, and it is highly doubtful', or else, 'This is no spiritual man', or, further, 'I want to experience, not to listen or to read.' 

The wonderful thing was this, that my teacher continually reminded me that this was my state of mind, and although I was outwardly trusting him and serving him in everything. I was not able to trust him to the necessary extent, nor in the vital direction. Looking back, I realized later that I was willing at that time to yield far more far-reaching parts of my sovereignty than were needed; but I was not prepared to yield the minor ones which alone were the pathways to my understanding. 

I refer to this because it is by rehearsal of the experience of others that people at a similar stage in the Path may be able to recognize their own state and profit by it. 

I remember that I was always magnetized, transfixed by the dramatic, and became attentive whenever anything of great stimulation was said or done, but that the significant factors in my association with my teacher were the ones which I missed, sometimes almost entirely. Because of this, in spite of being continually employed in the work, I wasted as much as eight years of my life.
 
Then it must be remembered that there are the two kinds of everything. This is something which we normally do not imagine as existing, but it is fundamental. There is the keeping of company with a wise man and learning from him, in the right way, which is productive of human progress. Then there is the counterfeit, which is destructive. What makes us completely confused in this matter is that the feeling which accompanies the false discipleship or the ordinary keeping company, as well as its external manifestations in courtesy and seeming humility, is so able to make us imagine that we are religious or dedicated people that it is possible to say that this is due to what has been called the entry of a demonic, counterfeiting power, which persuades most of the very distinguished and compelling spiritually reputed people and also their followers, even down the generations, that they are dealing in spirituality. It even enables them to communicate this belief to those who are not of their number, so that their reputation gains credibility through the very people who misguidedly say, 'I do not follow his path, but I do not deny that he is a spiritual and a good man...' 

The only corrective to this is the making use of the special-occasion timing by the Master who alone is able to say as to when and where and in what manner the exercises and other activities, even those which do not appear to have the smallest connection with spirituality, may be carried on. There is a confusion here because this is sometimes taken to mean that one must never read books or carry out processes without the direct supervision of the Master. But this common and shallow mistake is seen to be absurd when we realize that the Master may specify courses or reading or action for a number of people or for an individual, and that he may find it necessary from time to time for these to take what seems a conventional, indeed, a seemingly scholastic course. But what is vital here is not how things appear to the student, but that the Master has prescribed them and that he will intervene as and when there is a need for a change. All manifestations of opposition to this curriculum or any other disharmony with the Master are manifestations of the rawness of the pupil, and may not be taken into consideration by the Master or any of his intermediaries (deputies) since the student can either follow the course dutifully or he cannot. If he cannot, he ceases at that moment to be a student, and hence has no right even of comment. Only true students have the right of comment, and those who draw attention to themselves by questioning the course itself are not in the condition of being students at all. 

Failure to observe this is common among scholastic emotionalists who have adopted Sufi procedures, because they do not realize that the curriculum is already erected on the basis of all the possible contingencies which include any and all feelings of the pupils. What is aimed at here is the operation of the teaching through the capacity. If he is disturbing the progress of the session or the work of the deputy, he is the opposite of a student, and this should be observed as a lesson by the company. 

I am well aware that the principles are far from the accepted ones in the shallow world which is balanced on the basis of what people think of one another, including the problem which false teachers continually feel, which is the question of what other people think of them. But the central factor is whether the Teaching is operating, not whether people feel through their ordinary senses that they are being fulfilled. 

In the latter case, you may be sure that nothing of real worth is happening at all. 

This is the end of the first section of the Testimony of Bahaudin Naqshband. the Designer. 

Counsels of Bahaudin

You want to be filled. But something which is full has first to be emptied. Empty yourself so that you will fill properly, by observing these counsels, which you can do as duties to your self: 

FIRST 
Never follow any impulse to teach, however strong it might be. The command to teach is not felt as an impulsion. 

SECOND 
Never rely upon what you believe to be inner experiences because it is only when you get beyond them that you will reach knowledge. They are there to deceive you. 

THIRD 
Never travel in search of knowledge unless you are sent. The desire to travel for learning is a test, not a command. 

FOURTH 
Never trust a belief that a man or a community is the supreme one, because this feeling is a conviction, not a fact. You must progress beyond conviction, to fact. 

FIFTH 
Never allow yourself to be hurt by what you imagine to be criticism by a teacher, nor allow yourself to remain elated be cause of praise. These feelings are barriers in your way, not conductors of it. 

SIXTH 
Never imitate or follow a man of humility who is also mean in material things, for such a man is being proud in material things. If you are mean, practice generosity as a corrective, not as a virtue. 

SEVENTH 
Be prepared to realize that all beliefs which were due to your surroundings were minor ones, even though they were once of much use to you. They may become useless and, indeed, pit falls. 

EIGHTH 
Be prepared to find that certain beliefs are correct, but that their meaning and interpretation may vary in accordance with your stage of journey, making them seem contradictory to those who are not on the Path. 

NINTH 
Remember that perception and illumination will not at first be of such a character that you can say of them 'This is perception' or 'This is illumination.' 

TENTH 
Never allow yourself to measure everything by means of the same time measurement. One thing must come before another. 

ELEVENTH 
If you think too much of the man, you will think in a disproportionate manner about the activity. If you think too much about yourself, you will think wrongly about the man. If you think too much about the books, you will not be thinking correctly about other things. Use one as a corrective for the others. 

TWELFTH 
Do not rely upon your own opinion when you think you need books and not exercises. Rely less upon your belief when you think you need exercises and not books. 

THIRTEENTH 
When you regard yourself as a disciple, remember that this is a stage which you take up in order to discover what your true distance is from your teacher. It is not a stage which you can measure, like how far you stand from a building. 

FOURTEENTH
When you feel least interested in following the Way which you have entered, this may be the time when it is most appropriate for you. If you imagine that you should not go on, it is not because you are not convinced or have doubts. It is because you are failing the test. You will always have doubts, but only discover them at a useful time for your weakness to point them out. 

FIFTEENTH 
Banish doubt you cannot. Doubt goes when doubt and belief as you have been taught them go. If you forsake a path, it is because you were hoping for conviction from it. You seek conviction, not self-knowledge. 

SIXTEENTH 
Do not dwell upon whether you will put yourself into the hands of a teacher. You are always in his hands. It is a question of whether he can help you to help yourself, for you have too little means to do so. Debating whether one trusts or not is a sign that one does not want to trust at all, and therefore is still incapable of it. Believing that one can trust is a false belief. If you wonder, 'Can I trust?' you are really wondering, 'Can I develop a strong enough opinion to please me?' 

SEVENTEENTH 
Never mistake training for ability. If you cannot help being what people call 'good' or 'abstemious', you are like the sharpened reed which cannot help writing if it is pushed. 

EIGHTEENTH 
When you have observed or felt emotion, correct this by remembering that emotions are felt just as strongly by people with completely different beliefs. If you imagine that this experience - emotion - is therefore noble or sublime, why do you not believe that stomach ache is an elevated state? 

NINETEENTH 
If a teacher encourages you, he is not trying to attach you to him. He is trying, rather, to show you how easily you can be attracted. If he discourages you, the lesson is that you are at the mercy of discouragement. 

TWENTIETH 
Understanding and knowledge are completely different sensations in the realm of Truth than they are in the realm of society. Anything which you understand in an ordinary manner about the Path is not understanding within the Path, but exterior assumption about the Path, common among unconscious imitators. 
 
Part 1, Section 5
You will get what you desire and what you need. That is axiomatic. Whether you think it is what you need, and whether it is what you outwardly "want" is totally unimportant. The basic situation is that you, like a magnet, are attracted and repelled according to the composite of properties within you, and the strengths, filters, screens, and polarities of your mind, attitudes, desires, feelings, thoughts, and aversions. From all of this will come one resultant intention - a vector if your will, indicating direction and strength - and you will come into contact with, and draw those things into contact with you, which satisfy and balance those aspects. 

If you have a true heart you will be led to it. Intention is the key to capacity and will lead you to the next step. If you desire flash - you will get it; quietness - you will go toward that; phenomena - you will be inundated; justification - it will be yours. If you have a real opening of the heart, a repentance and acceptance, an honest prayer of feeling and seeking for true guidance in whatever form or manner, through whatever means or person - that will come into your life and you to it. It will then be up to you to recognize that situation for what it is, and take the next conscious step toward it. 

When you ask for true guidance it can come in the most unexpected way. Trust it, follow your heart, and breathe love in thankfulness to the Divine. If you rely on that and let it lead you, you will find the Real TEACHER and TEACHING. 

 
Part 2: Taking the next step, two points of view.

Section 1

When you find yourself in the presence of a Real Teacher and Teaching, what will come next? This will be determined by the work the teacher is doing; the type of contact you have made; the intentions of you, the teaching, and the teacher; and most of all by your true desires for spiritual advancement and realization. 

The teacher is there to assist you in that process. If you "ring the bell hard it makes a loud sound; softly a quiet sound". This zen saying reflects how the teacher will act toward you. However, it should be mentioned that just being loud or ostentatious is not necessarily "ringing the bell hard". The primary purpose of the teacher is to assist you in realizing - on many levels - what is there already. It is not to satisfy your ideas or concepts of what spiritual development or realization is. These are generally impediments to learning. 

In the learning situation where you find yourself, there will almost certainly be some period of adjustment during which time you will have an opportunity to assimilate and gain a sense of the work being done there. In all likelihood, it will be of an introductory or intermediate nature. You would certainly not expect to enter a class at the end. If in the middle, you will need to be assimilated into the process; and you will need to attune yourself to what is going on. You will probably be given some sort of information or material to assist in that. However, all that I have written here, and will write on this subject, may have little or no bearing on your actual situation. That, as I have said, is dependent upon the teacher, his approach to you personally and in general, and many other factors - some of which I have mentioned. 

The primary purpose of material given at this time will be to assist you to understand more intellectually, and to satisfy some of the outer curiosity and questions you may have. After that, it is to provide the beginning of a basic framework for you to move into. There will, or should be, some sense of parameters and goals beginning to form at this point. At the same time there may be practices given to do which will correspond to your immediate level. You may attend outer "classes" or a loose grouping for some time at this stage. You may also get direct instruction to read some things or follow some practice. It will be enough to start. You can then proceed from there. 

I will direct you now to a writing by Paul Reps in "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones". In it he explains some teaching methods. You will find these in the preliminary to the main sections on pages 3-4, 85-88, 133-134, and 159-160. I will also direct you to read Philip Kapleau's book "The Three Pillars of Zen", pages 29-67. In this section Roshi Yasutani explains to a group of neophytes the process and procedure he generally uses. It is a very good illustration of one person's approach. 

Regardless of what takes place at this point, there is an assessment made by the teacher of where you are and what you need to go further. While he will certainly consider your outer actions and expressions, the real assessment will be on an inner basis and through actually looking from your point of view and your Real needs; through breath, attunement, and personal awareness. He will be able to assess you far better than you can explain to him what you seek. Yet he may well ask you to do so. 

It is fairly safe to say that at some time, if you stay around and are persistent enough, that he will have an interview with you - or you with him. It is said that the teacher already knows you better than you know yourself, but still this will take place so you can begin to know that also. He may want to know how you state your aspirations or goals, what kind of questions you ask, or any other number of things. He may not say anything to you of a "spiritual" nature or may question you directly about it and say many things along that line himself. It is more likely that he will not be too discursive or drawn into your own conversational wants. 

The purposes, from a teacher's point of view, are many in this type of meeting. He will verify his assessment of you and your station and wants; get a direct feeling through you of your point of view; bring in to focus what your next steps should be; find out specifically from you if you are willing to take them and more of what kind of resistance and blocks are to be met and removed; and start you on a course of action. In addition, it will be an opportunity for him to provide a direct communication of breath, heart, and glance - should he decide to due so - whether that is apparent to you or not. 

You may find that all of those things are discussed and presented in a straightforward way, or that none are. But rather there may be a very oblique or pointed approach. That will depend upon both you and what the teacher feels is needed - not what you would like to hear or expect. It can even result in dismissal or being sent away. Whatever is the outer result, it will reflect what the teacher sees and knows is best for you to take your next step. So be prepared for anything, but expect nothing. That is about all you do - except to be as honest as you possibly can in the encounter. That degree of honesty and true intention will be instrumental motivating factors in determining your next steps. 

Beyond that, the teacher may give you an opportunity to learn right there. But the lesson also may not be straightforward or outright in the form you might expect. Take any time that is offered gratefully and try to attune to and sense what is there. You will gain most from putting away your own expectations and desires, and putting yourself into his hands and the process with trust. 

 
Part 2, Section 2

Here now are excerpts taken from a paper guiding some of the disciples of Hazrat Inayat Khan in regard to teaching and discipleship. Since he was expressing this in terms of the Sufi work he was bringing, he uses the terms "Murshid" and "Mureed" for Guide and Guided; and also expresses his point of view as from that of the Sufi. It is related in such a way as to show these people some of the considerations of the path. In the course of this writing, I have woven some connections; which are indicated by being in brackets [like these].
 
Because of the intention and the audience toward which that paper was directed; for the purposes of this writing we will reverse the intention and point it toward the use of the seeker. 

As you read through this, each of these statements is something to consider as it relates to your own approach and intention. In addition, these statements point out some of the qualities of the Real Teacher. By paying attention to them and to his or her actions (and what is behind them if you can) you will better be able to discern if you are in that presence. You may also wish to consider IF you are able to even discern his point of view, and whether what you think you "want" is important or has any relation to real learning. 

[When a potential student approaches,] his first intention is to see if his thoughts fit in with mine and if my thoughts fit in with his. 

It seems that thousands of people are every day in the spiritual pursuit. One day they go to one thing, another day to another. Just like one goes to many different theatres, everything new and sensational. 

Among dogs, there are some who follow anyone, whoever gives them a bone is their master, and if another gives them meat, they leave the first one and follow the other. And there are some who follow only one master, who obey only one, and even sometimes sacrifice their life for him. It depends upon the breed, the heredity. 

It is better to give pupils no tendency to discuss our sacred teachings. The pupil has to give up all preconceived ideas before starting on the spiritual path under the guidance of a teacher. 

A child must therefore be taught from the beginning, that it is not as he sees just now, but when he will see differently, he will find the same thing different. All that one can do for another is to give him one's own experience. If a person happens to know a road, he can tell the other man that it is the road that leads to the place he wishes to find. 

The one who asks a question becomes stronger than the one who is put in the position of answering the question. There are many clever people who will ask you a cross question to get out of you a certain answer which they expect to come from you. Then they hit against it, for in this way, they prepare a ground for a battle. They question in order to cover the restlessness of their minds, scratching their own hearts. Since many of them believe in themselves, they cannot believe in another, so their question remains always unanswered. 

If he is very intelligent and materialistic to excess, he will have an influence even on your self-confidence [he warns the growing Teachers-in-training]. An unbeliever has the power to shake the belief of the believers. 

[There are kinds of people who seek, many are not really seeking learning. Of them,] there is one of the wrong kinds who is only following the teacher for the satisfaction of his intellectual craving, and so long as the teacher has the food for his intellect he will be content; the day when the teacher's idea does not fit in with his intellectual ideas, he will have difficulties. There is no other side of the teacher that will appeal to him except one, and that is the teacher's intellectuality.
 
And there is another of the same kind who is curious, who wants to find out what phenomena can be traced in the doings or in the life of the teacher, if there is anything wonderful, if there is anything curious. If he can satisfy his curiosity, so long he will stay, and the day when his curiosity is not satisfied he will become discontented. 

And the third kind is a victim to the teacher's influence. The teacher's influence is so strong that he is attracted to that influence as something is attracted to the magnet. He himself does not know why he is drawn to the teacher, yet he cannot help being drawn, because he is a poor victim. 

And there is a fourth kind who wants to be a mureed because it is a good pastime to be able to get somebody's advice in trouble. That is all he is concerned with. Neither is he for God nor for Truth nor for evolution. 

[But when there is a real seeker, the scope and extent of guidance is broad.] Never think therefore that a spiritual teacher is too superior to interest himself in the material needs of his pupils. One may not think that by helping in a mureed's worldly affair, nothing spiritual is accomplished; for once in the spiritual path, every material and spiritual thing one does, only leads him to the spiritual goal. Wise parents pay serious attention to their children's little demands. 

[The teacher] should not make the pupil uncomfortable when he is at fault but allow him to notice his mistake himself. The teacher will not tell him that he is wrong, but show him what is right. The teacher will bring up the good side of the pupil's nature and deny and ignore the weak side of the pupil's nature. But the good side must not be brought before him in the form of flattery. When he realizes that there is something lacking, that is the occasion for the teacher to add that which is lacking.
 
When the child tries to move about by its own free will, and tries to keep away, then the attention of the mother to some extent becomes released. This does not mean that the mother entirely gives up the care of the child; it only means that she allows the child to have its way to some extent, and feels sorry when the child falls and hurts itself. If the child falls, it will try her; but she does not prevent its falling. 

If he cannot walk, then if someone gives him a hand, it is making him dependent, but it is helping him. 

With every goodwill to help the pupil, one must not spoil him by making him too dependent. 

The more man depends upon his own effort, the less God holds himself responsible for him. 

Every person must answer your purpose according to the position you take before him. If you are a teacher to him, he will be your pupil, if you are his friend, he will become your chum, if you are his rival, he will become your competitor. Decide, therefore, fully well beforehand in what relation that person should be to you, and act accordingly to him. He should be closely attached, and yet detached, near and yet far. 

If there be a distance, it must not be for the vanity of the initiator, it must be only if it were for the benefit of the pupil. 

[A teacher] may need with certain pupils to keep an outer distance, but in order make up for the outer distance, he must come inwardly close. 

[But of the things that he does,] Nevertheless, the teacher must not expect service and reverence. [From the point of view of the continuity of guidance]Do not do anything for your spiritual guide for what you may receive from him, nor must he do anything for you as a return for what you do for him. 

[As a guide] If you are dependent upon others, some will try to make you more dependent.
 
[Some potential students may try to gain] The upper hand on a spiritual person who is kind and gentle and tolerant, enduring and forgiving, if he finds the least little opportunity of handling him.
 
[But this is part of the process to consider in a person who is starting out. One looks toward other more real actions for a real start. In this] A personality is first put to melt by the initiator, and it is only after the melting of the personality that something can be made out of it. 

The way of the Sufi esoteric training is not only in prescribing different meditations and in giving philosophical studies, but it is in trying and testing a pupil, his sincerity, his faithfulness, his trust, his courage, his intelligence, his patience. It is weighing and measuring his sense of justice, his faculty of reasoning, probing into the depth of his heart. The confidence is tested when the mureed's patience is tried. 

The initiator must see if the thread on the side of the initiated is thin and cannot endure the weight of the sacredness which belongs to initiation. Very often the thinness of the thread has a discouraging effect upon the initiator, and it demands a great deal of consideration and interest and sympathy on the part of the initiator to hold up something which is dropping. 

One must not try the patience of the pupil by asking him to do too much. Sometimes I wait days, months, years to tell something I would have liked to tell a mureed, waiting for the time to come, waiting for the spirit of the mureed to have become ripened. 

Thus to the pupil the teacher may often appear to be very unreasonable, very odd, very meaningless, very unkind, very cold and unjust. And during these tests, if the faith and the trust of the pupil do not endure, he will step back.
 
He will wonder why, when Murshid has always given me a hot cup of tea, why does he give me a cold drink. It is not that Murshid's sympathy is lacking, it is because you need at that time a cold drink; it is better for you. The method of Murshid is most subtle and fine and deep. It cannot be put in gross words of explanation. It is not like the religious path where the clergy or authority says "This is wicked according to this or the other law." With Murshid there is the delicacy of conscientiousness keeping the delicate feeling alive. The delicate feeling is this, that you may not allow the teacher to tell you something in words. You must understand his pleasure before he says it. 

Even if Murshid appears to be displeased, it is not so in truth. [Once, after a silence, a mureed thought Inayat Khan had looked at her harshly.] "Imagine," he said, "how could I be angry at that time!" 

Mureeds can come to me and talk to me, and behave in a way that they should not behave. Never for one moment do I allow myself to think that their devotion, their love, their sympathy is less. The parents never allow the relationship to be broken, even if their children happen to prove unworthy. 

This link between Murshid and mureed is more delicate than a thin thread and at the same time much stronger than a steel wire. And the only way to preserve it is to keep that delicate feeling about one's teacher living in one's heart. 

The teacher has two responsibilities: to look after his fragile spirit, and to look after the spirit of the mureed, which very often is asleep. And sometimes a conflict arises, so that the teacher is very often on the point of breaking his own spirit while wanting to maintain the spirit of his mureed. Very often it is that the mureed, without knowing, is holding the glass-like spirit of his teacher, and unconsciously is on the point of throwing it against the rock. [And so the teacher must be careful not to reach the] moment [when he] says: "Please do not throw it," [for then] the teacher has lost his spirit as well as the spirit of the mureed. Why has the teacher lost his spirit? Because the moment the mureed knows that the teacher's spirit is in his hand, and he can throw it in a moment, no more the teacher is a teacher in the eyes of the mureed. The mureed thinks that the teacher's spirit is stronger than the rock. But he does not know that in spite of the strength that the teacher has, it is more fragile than the glass. 

[For example] The greater the teacher, the more delicate his temperament. The more transparent the heart, the more fragile. What I mean to say, is that by hurting a fly you might hurt Murshid, and that is the thing that many cannot understand. 

In the path of discipleship the whole beauty of the way is fineness of manner between the teacher and the pupil. If one does not learn delicacy with one's teacher, with whom will one learn it? 

There is never a possibility on the part of Murshid to remove a mureed from the current he receives, unless he himself turns his back to it. There is a stage where the teacher arrives at a point where not only he loves, but he becomes love, he turns into love. Then love alone can he stand.
 
No matter how undesirable my mureed be, no matter how opposed, I would never turn my back. I would not call myself a murshid if I would. If the connection can be separated, it is on the part of the mureed himself. And the day when the mureed will come in focus, he will find the same thing there as has always been, perhaps a little more, because the love that does not grow is dead. 

[Not everything needs to be said.] It has been inconceivable to me to see to what extent some people in the western world could be outspoken. If it was honesty, I could not think for one moment it could be wisdom. What I found missing in the West is the tendency to keep veiled all that is beautiful. 

[The teachers] goodwill and blessing must reach each and every one whose hand [was] once held in the sacred initiation. 

The teacher must care: the teacher is born to care, it is his work. For the teacher lives for mureeds, his only object is to see their spiritual evolution. There must be no limit to the teacher's compassion, because that is the teacher's test. God is testing the teacher by giving him a difficult pupil. The greater the initiator, the more he will risk difficult mureeds.
 
[The teacher is careful what he says and does, for] The pupil must not be given a handle by which he could dispute and make the teacher commit an error, for once the pupil holds a mistake of the teacher, he loses his regard for his teacher. No word may be said that may be taken amiss by another person. 

[Yet there are some false, or devilish teachers] The tendency of a devilish person is to rule. He wants to get a grip on any person in whom he feels interested. And he gets control of another most frequently by taking advantage of his faults. He draws the one he wishes to control into a ditch; and when he finds that his victim is dependent, then he stretches out to him his helping hand. But instead of lifting a person from the ditch, he would rather keep him there by the strength of his helping hand. If he lifted him up from there, it would be in order to make of him a horse and ride on his back, or a donkey to bear his load. 

If people speak against [a teacher, he should] take notice of it, judge it, and weigh it in himself impartially, and correct himself. You may not partake of their poison by returning the same to them or even by keeping some memory of it in your heart. 

The spiritual path is the balance of democracy and aristocracy. The aristocratic part is that the initiator sits on the teacher's throne and the initiated one stands in his place in all humility. And the democracy of the spiritual path is that the teacher raises him also to the same throne upon which he himself is sitting, and even higher if he can; for in raising the initiated one the initiator himself is raised high. Verily the greatness of God is brought to Him by the greatness of man. 

[As a student one is] Trying every moment of one's life to think as Murshid thinks, to see as Murshid sees, to feel as Murshid feels and to act as Murshid acts. 

It is hopeless when one says: "The teacher is a teacher, and I am what I am." 

The pupil learns to give everything that he has so far given to the teacher: devotion, sacrifice, service, respect, to all, because he has learned to see his teacher in all.
 
[And when the student does this,] Do you know what Murshid feels: "Myself is coming before me"? His atmosphere becomes Murshid's atmosphere, his word Murshid's word, his glance Murshid's glance. 

The teacher is much closer and much higher than all relations and connections in this world.
 
The times when I received were when through my devotion the heart of my murshid was moved, and those moments when the heart is open are like the key. 

A teacher can elevate a soul much more by silent than by oral teaching. It is simply a reflection of the teacher's spirit fallen on the heart of the pupil. 

There are two stages of advancement in the life of a mureed. One is that the mureed knows and understands what the Murshid says. Second, that the mureed knows what Murshid means. 

Murshidship and mureedship is a journeying of two persons, one who knows he path, the other a stranger taken through the mist by the Murshid until they arrive at a stage where neither Murshid is a Murshid nor mureed is a mureed, though the happy memory of the journey through the path remains in the consciousness of the grateful mureed. 

For the mystical teacher is not the player of the instrument; he is the tuner. When he has tuned it, he gives into the hands of the Player whose instrument it is to play. 

 
Part 2, Section 3

At this beginning stage you most likely have not been actually accepted as a student nor initiated in a formal or functional sense. It will generally be up to you, when you feel so inclined, to ask for either or both. Depending upon the situation and point of view and function of the teacher, he may make his acceptance as a student and initiation in a path at the same time or not. That will come and be dealt with as he sees fit. It is an important and far-reaching step to take. And you will only be as sure as you can be that it is appropriate. Follow your own feeling and heart closely. If something does not feel right, then it is best to wait. 

From the point of view of the teacher, this preliminary period - after you have been around for a while, attended outer classes and initial general instruction; and then also had an interview with him - is used, among other things, to determine if you will self-select to continue and how you will handle and react to both obstacles and possibilities placed in your way. This is in addition to any other work he may do. These and other outer functions will help him determine if you are ready to proceed, and how best to approach it. You need to remember that his goal is to assist you in your greater quest and goal to realize - actualize - your own being potential, and to assist you in becoming the productive, active, and aware embodiment that fulfills your point of being here. He is not interested in making you happy or feeling good - from a lower or personal point of view. He does not really care if you are blissful or high. He wants what is best for you and only wishes to assist you in being able to take that next step. That is enough. 

The teacher will assess your actions and thoughts on an outer level. But more importantly, will put attention on and be aware of your needs, potentials, blocks, and path on an inner level; based upon his understanding, vision, and completeness of consciousness. It will be from this point of view, together with any assistance and/or guidance from the Hierarchy that will lead him to his next steps in dealing with you. 

Should you both continue from here in parallel and converging paths, eventually you will come to the point of asking for initiation and acceptance as a student. The teacher may react immediately to your request or take any length of time he feels is right before responding. And in some cases, it may be he who starts this conversation in the first place, rather that waiting for you. The most important thing here is that he be clear if it is appropriate, and also how the timing should work out. He may use this as another means of assessment or "test" to see how true your intentions are, or for any other number of learning/teaching means. It is very important that he do what is "right" here. 

The taking on of a student and initiation in a path is not done lightly. There are karmic implications in both. Just as for you, when there is an acceptance of the teacher, so too is there an acceptance by the teacher of you. He actually makes a connection to you and is present with you at all times thereafter - unless it is cut by him, by you through rejection, or by the hierarchy through intervention. 

So too is initiation important, real, and active. Initiation is the beginning, as the word is defined. There is an actual link to the universal made, through the path and beings making up the "oversoul" of the group, or part of the way. This remains even though the link to a teacher may be severed. It also can be removed, altered, or enlarged or reduced, depending upon the greater needs in combination with your own true intentions and conscious function. 

That is enough now said about these processes. The rest will come from your real interactions. 

 
Appendix A - Reference Only in a previously limited situation: Fee Schedule

If you attend this class you must make a payment. It is your responsibility to make it completely and fairly. If you simply pay an amount without question you are like a sheep being led by a wolf. You are then being conditioned. For you to get benefit from this practice you must determine: 1. what payment is to be made; 2. to whom is it made; 3.why is it made; 4. what are the implications of the process for determining payment - what are the relationships and functions to which it points; 5. if something is being bought or sold. If you believe that a "trade" has been made, you have failed this exercise. 

There is a saying: Knowledge can be neither bought or sold. The aspect of "what to charge" has bothered many. Sometimes a small fee is asked, sometimes none. It has been said that a truly, "spiritual" man will never ask for money. Sometimes that is true. 

Here is the beginning of a story:
A man spent half of his life in seeking truth. He read all the books on ancient wisdom he could find. He traveled to every country to hear spiritual teachers. He spent his days working and nights contemplating the Great Mysteries. 

One day he heard of the poet Ansari, who lived in Herat. Going there, he arrived at the door of the sage. On it he saw written, contrary to his expectation: "Knowledge is Sold Here". 

"This must be a mistake, or else a deliberate attempt to dissuade the idle curiosity seeker", he thought to himself, "for I have never before heard it said that knowledge can be bought or sold". He went into the house. Sitting in the courtyard was Ansari, who asked, "have you come to buy knowledge?" The man nodded. Ansari told him to produce all the money he had. It came to 100 silver pieces. 

"For this much you can have three pieces of advice", said Ansari.

"Do you really mean that"? asked the seeker. "Why do you need money if you are a humble and dedicated man??" YOU FINISH THE STORY ............ 

To determine your payment:
First Figure out what you make per hour based upon a 40 hour work week. For the regularly employed this is easy. For those who are self employed, or without money, or income, or who work sporadically, or part time, or who draw from savings, etc. this is more difficult. For you, take the average amount you spend per month (in any form, including savings). This is your base income. Divide that by 22. Divide that figure by 8. This is your hourly equivalent. Now for all people, no matter how you computed your income, if you are able to afford it you are to pay a sum equal to the income for 1 hour of your work for every 2 hours of class time. But in no case is that sum to be less than 1/2 of the minimum wage. For some, even this will be more than you can afford, for you have little money left after meeting all necessary expenses. For those, you must determine "what" you can afford and what is still due. What is due then can be paid in labor. You will please make arrangements to provide work for the balance of what is due. 

Now up to this point all this "payment" has been made to what you may consider to be "another". You, as part of this fee, are also to pay "yourself" an equal fee. Since you will not benefit from giving yourself money which you already have, you must pay yourself in labor. You must determine: 1. "to whom" this payment is made; 2. Really, what is to be paid; 3. how it is to be paid; and 4. when. You must keep this fund in balance, so that you do not overdraw your account and be unable to meet your obligations. 

If you are able to fulfill this practice you will receive benefit. How great or little it is will depend upon your capacity and ability to give and receive. 

 
Appendix B - Reference only in a previously limited situation: 
Some Guidelines for Donations.

(As a practice in certain specified and limited situations) 

1. Don't worry about what to give. Make sure it is appropriate. 

2. The amount is not important: the quality of the giving is. 

3. If the giving is out of personal desire it is not appropriate. 

4. The giving "should" be from an intuitive sense of what you need to give at that time - plus what is "really" needed. 

5. Because you give one thing at one time is no indication that you should give the same thing the next time. Needs change. 

6. If you receive personal satisfaction from the gift you have gotten your "payment". 

7. Do not give something because you think it would be "nice", or "spiritual", or is something that will be appreciated. 

8. Do not give something you don't want to give. 

9. Give when you don't want to give something if you know it is what should be given. 

10. Do not give out of a sense of "obligation". 

11. You are "obliged" to give something material if you attend this "class". 

12. Material does not mean "good wishes" it is something "tangible". 

13. What is given should not be for the personal benefit of the "teacher" or to bring fame or fortune to that person. 

14. Look for a donation that will aid the "work". Thus begin to be aware of what the work "is". 

15. Do not give something just for the sake of giving. 

16. Give for giving's sake. 

17. If you feel as though you haven't given enough you probably haven't. 

18. If you feel imposed upon, give more than you want to. 

19. If you feel satisfied through your donation, find out what is the satisfaction. It may be less than you think. 

20. Do not give out of gratitude, a sense of thanks, for payment, in trade, or with any expectation - even expectation of thanks, and especially any sense of special treatment. 

21. Consider carefully what to give. If you simply give, you may not be "giving" at all. 

22.You receive according to the quality of your giving. This is a very important practice and should be approached thus.