The importance of having a good spiritual teacher

       The importance of having a good spiritual teacher

The importance of having a good spiritual teacher are many. Why have a spiritual teacher some may ask? and even doubt the necessity. we can liken the need of a good teacher on the path to a person who decides to climb a mountain. The climber will hopefully understand that they need to train to climb the mountain. so they will train their body, mind, and emotions to get ready for the journey. They will acquire all the right tools and plan their route to the top and the date of the descent. Now all this can be done by there self. To do this on your own needs an exceptional amount of personal discipline. So to do just this aspect of the spiritual path or "mountain" as in this parable is already uncanny for the normal individual. But then there is the actual decent. With all the planning and training there are still plenty of dangers, traps, pitfalls, and problems. Anyone who has trained for any race, concert, or anything in life knows that even if your well trained there will be many things that can go wrong and are unforeseen. Especially to a greenhorn, or neophyte to any new endeavor. 

So we can say that to do it this way is what we call the hard way. If a person manages to become incredibly self-disciplined, figure out how to properly train for their journey, discover a good route to the top, and have all the tools they need to do so. There is a good chance that they will still fail, fall, and be in trouble plenty of time trying to get to the top. It would take an immense amount of tenacity even through all that to still approach the summit. And there is a good chance that they may be injured through that process. 

Now if the "climber" finds a person who has made the climb themself. And then trains with them, gets the tools, they recommend, take a route that is recommended by the seasoned climber, and also listen to the instructions of what to watch for, and to avoid on the descent to the summit then the success of the neophyte climber is much more assured, and the trainer walks ahead of the neophyte climber as his sherpa. He helps carry the load and gives a second pair of eyes and an experienced perception that the greenhorn climber doesn't possess. After the greenhorn climbs with the experienced sherpa/trainer they then are no longer a greenhorn. They now possess the skills and experience to make multiple descents to the summit by themselves.

Here we have used this analogy to show some of the value of a good teacher. The spiritual path is very much like climbing a mountain for the first time. Now finding a good teacher is another matter. I will list a couple of the ways to identify a good teacher in my experience and perception.

When looking for a good spiritual teacher we are looking for someone that is adept at the skills and knowledge we seek to hone. So one of the first things to look for in the teacher is are they well trained? Do they have good adept teachers? This is important especially in the age of self-made self-help gurus. This current age is one of illusion where anyone can take some professional pictures and claim a title and start a business. 

The optimal word is ADEPT. This means someone who has had a lot of training and experience. This isn't a person who has had a good teacher and made one decent with their teacher and now proclaims themself as an expert climber. NO this is someone who has had many descents to the summit themselves and earned the experience, knowledge, and station of an adept. They have seen many difficulties and had to work through them. They have as my teacher says "become worthy".

Another good thing to search for in a good teacher is is this a way of life for them? If you are trying to learn how to fix a car you can learn from a part-time or hobby mechanic because you're not trying to become a full-time professional mechanic yourself, just get the skills to fix your own car. And this is actually how most people are working their spiritual path. They are just trying to get some skills to help them fix some things. This is what we call weekend warriors. From Monday through Friday they are engaging in material life and on the weekend take time out to participate in some personal spiritual work.

This would be to the climber of mountains equivalent to someone who hikes a nice mountain on the weekend with a well-established trail, restrooms, and swaths of tourists. You arnt actually climbing your taking a leisurely stroll. You don't have to stray too much from your comfort zone and there is little to no training or prior experience needed. 

An adept teacher in any art you are trying to train in, it will be their lifestyle. They will be living a spiritual life and it will be all of who they are. They will not be just doing it on the weekends.

In the world of the spiritual, we are looking for certain qualities in a good teacher. Now we can argue and debate about what makes a good person. But let me give a couple of for instances of what makes a good spiritual teacher not just a person. 

The qualities that one can look for in a  good teacher is as said above there life is a spiritual lifestyle, not a hobby. But here are personal things to look for in the teacher. After all they are still a person. The teacher will engage in life activities that don't corrupt their spiritual station and personal integrity. Now, this does not mean they don't have a past. None of us are perfect, You are not looking for perfection you are looking for integrity, and it will be in an abnormal form. By that I mean it will be above the integrity of normal citizens in society. 

Things that corrupt the integrity of a teacher and there station are Abusive relationships, drug use, addiction issues like alcoholism, uncouth sexual habits, and by that I mean illegal activities or ones that we all agree are not good.

Not being sober when performing their spiritual activities or duties. Advocating violence and disdain. Racism, Sexism, and other things we can agree are just not good for normal people but are unacceptable in a spiritual mentor. Why? Well because they are teaching you to become a better person they themselves cannot be a bad example of that.

Now, this does not mean spiritual teachers can't drink unless that's against their religious creed or if they have taken strict vows. This doesn't mean they can't have sex but again the above applies if it's against their creed. And doesn't mean they cant be fun-loving normal folks. they can be surfers, race car drivers, ride dirtbikes, and kick back and have a glass of wine around the fire. They are still people. They just have life experience training, and wisdom beyond your own in the field you are looking to become adept at yourself. 

Some of my favorite teachers are very fun people to be around and I enjoy them vary much.

The importance of a good teacher in the spiritual world can also go beyond this relative world of experience. When one is traversing spiritual states and planes there are real dangers out there. And if you have a skilled teacher it may just take yelling out for them in a moment of need in a dangerous situation and the teacher's soul and awareness will come running to save and protect the student. This greatly depends on the spiritual attainments of the teacher. Some teachers may even pass away and continue to teach you in dreams and ecstatic states from the beyond after having formed a tight loving bond.  These are just some of the paranormal benefits of a good attained adept teacher. There are so many stories of miracles and beautiful spiritual experiences between student and teacher. 

I hope this provides some good insight into a teacher and the benefits of finding a good one. May all spiritual seekers reach their destination.

Written by 

Michael Phoenix Heart 2020