"Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend." ~ Albert Camus
There are people who are great teachers, and they are those whom I will surrender to...Ammachi, Yogi Bhajan, The Siri Guru Granth Sahib, Guru Nanak. There are others who are learning, like me, and they are my friends. The minute I either sense that someone is dwelling in their ego, I will not follow them. If I, conversely, see someone giving their power to me, and I am humble enough to know that I am not qualified, I will not accept it. When I function as a teacher, I am a facilitator, not infallible omnipotence. Not even close. Nor are most people I meet. I do not want the cage or yoke of being treated as other than what I am; in other words, what Kate Winslet's character in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" describes herself as: "I'm just a fucked-up girl looking for her own piece of mind."
If you try to tell me what to do, I am going to watch you closely to see if you are just full of your own ego, or are really worthy of my listening. It's not likely, after what I've been through, that I would fall for a bunch of craziness like what came out of the mouths of Jim Jones and David Koresh. They were not true teachers. They were extreme examples of egomaniacs. There are smaller examples of egomaniacs, and at any given point and time, each of us can behave like one.
Moving on a path of spiritual growth brings a risk of potentially getting too big for your britches or your turban, as it may be. I hope and pray never to be like that. Yogi Bhajan always said that everything he taught came from the grace of Guru Ram Das. Before every lecture he chanted this mantra:
Teree Meher daa bolnaa
Tudh Aagai Ardaas
Guru Guru Waheguru
Guru Ram Das.
Oh, Guru Ram Das, this is my prayer to you.
May my words be from you and may my mind be a source of knowledge and ecstasy that wisdom may come as I act as a servant of the Infinite.
This is my prayer when I go to teach.
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