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- Interview - arhuna ardagh
Interview - arhuna ardagh
14 years 3 months ago #2644
by Shargrol
Interview - arhuna ardagh was created by Shargrol
http://www.soundstrue.com/podcast/arjuna-ardagh-the-translucent-life/
I read the transcript and was reminded of conversations here. I've cut and pasted a few quotes below.
" I have prostrated myself at many gurus and then felt foolish afterward, and I
hope that I'm kinda done with it now. That I'm really standing very strong in
the recognition now that all of us are all of it: we are all divine, and we all
have shadow. And what I look for in a human being is not that they embody a
superior state. What I look for in a human being is that they are completely
honest and transparent about their inadequacies and weaknesses as a human being.
That's what I trust. That's what I worship, is that kind of honesty."
"And that's what causes a lot of difficulty in guru/disciple relationships or
teacher/student relationships, is if you want to say that the teacher is higher,
higher means there must be a lower. And then you put yourself in the lower
position. The difficulty with that is that you cut yourself off then from
discovering that dimension yourself. ... Ironically, I've discovered this from interviewing so many people for The
Translucent Revolution. Most of the people I meet who are experiencing some
degree of freedom, they discovered this degree of freedom when they left their
teacher. It's kind of a weird thing. They may have gotten great benefit from the
teacher, but the actual explosion of freedom came when they left."
If someone manages to get through the whole thing, I'm curious if you think he might be over solidifying the relationship/partner as guru side of things... but maybe not? I got a little bit of a feeling like he was creating another guru to fall away from.
I read the transcript and was reminded of conversations here. I've cut and pasted a few quotes below.
" I have prostrated myself at many gurus and then felt foolish afterward, and I
hope that I'm kinda done with it now. That I'm really standing very strong in
the recognition now that all of us are all of it: we are all divine, and we all
have shadow. And what I look for in a human being is not that they embody a
superior state. What I look for in a human being is that they are completely
honest and transparent about their inadequacies and weaknesses as a human being.
That's what I trust. That's what I worship, is that kind of honesty."
"And that's what causes a lot of difficulty in guru/disciple relationships or
teacher/student relationships, is if you want to say that the teacher is higher,
higher means there must be a lower. And then you put yourself in the lower
position. The difficulty with that is that you cut yourself off then from
discovering that dimension yourself. ... Ironically, I've discovered this from interviewing so many people for The
Translucent Revolution. Most of the people I meet who are experiencing some
degree of freedom, they discovered this degree of freedom when they left their
teacher. It's kind of a weird thing. They may have gotten great benefit from the
teacher, but the actual explosion of freedom came when they left."
If someone manages to get through the whole thing, I'm curious if you think he might be over solidifying the relationship/partner as guru side of things... but maybe not? I got a little bit of a feeling like he was creating another guru to fall away from.
14 years 3 months ago #2645
by Ona Kiser
Replied by Ona Kiser on topic Interview - arhuna ardagh
Is it possible that this dynamic is actually productive and beneficial? part of the process?
I mean, the person who teaches you your first scales on the violin is not likely to be the same person who coaches you for the big audition to get into Julliard, and then you will move on to other teachers in your professional life.
Maybe our delusion is that we should be able to find a teacher who is amazing and perfect and the relationship stays the same for 100 years. That doesn't exist. Maybe the coming and going of the relationships with teachers is part of the natural order of things, and is part of what helps you keep deepening your understanding.
I have learned a lot about myself and others in the process of passing through (off the top of my head) half a dozen teachers in various traditions. In some of the earlier instances part of the learning was realizing that I had massive delusions about what a teacher was and what a teacher should do for me. Those were important lessons that could not have been learned another way.
Even my esoteric "inner teacher" changed over time, seeming to come and go, not meeting my expectations, leaving me feeling bereft and lost, thereby forcing me to deepen my understanding (including letting go of those expectations).
I mean, the person who teaches you your first scales on the violin is not likely to be the same person who coaches you for the big audition to get into Julliard, and then you will move on to other teachers in your professional life.
Maybe our delusion is that we should be able to find a teacher who is amazing and perfect and the relationship stays the same for 100 years. That doesn't exist. Maybe the coming and going of the relationships with teachers is part of the natural order of things, and is part of what helps you keep deepening your understanding.
I have learned a lot about myself and others in the process of passing through (off the top of my head) half a dozen teachers in various traditions. In some of the earlier instances part of the learning was realizing that I had massive delusions about what a teacher was and what a teacher should do for me. Those were important lessons that could not have been learned another way.
Even my esoteric "inner teacher" changed over time, seeming to come and go, not meeting my expectations, leaving me feeling bereft and lost, thereby forcing me to deepen my understanding (including letting go of those expectations).