The role of the Guru is to show the person that he already has what he is looking for.
Interpretation
A Guru helps individuals realize their inner potential and the truth that they already possess what they seek.
This quote by Alan Watts emphasizes the profound impact of a Guru in guiding individuals towards self-discovery. Rather than imparting knowledge or altering the searcher's path, the Guru illuminates the inherent abilities and wisdom already present within the seeker, encouraging them to look inward for answers and fulfillment. It reflects a key aspect of many spiritual teachings, where the journey is more about uncovering what already exists inside rather than pursuing something external.
In practice
In a discussion about personal growth during a workshop.
Jesus Christ knew he was God. So wake up and find out eventually who you really are. In our culture, of course, they’ll say you’re crazy and you’re blasphemous, and they’ll either put you in jail or in a nut house (which is pretty much the same thing). However if you wake up in India and tell your friends and relations, ‘My goodness, I’ve just discovered that I’m God,’ they’ll laugh and say, ‘Oh, congratulations, at last you found out.
What we see as death, empty space, or nothingness is only the trough between the crests of this endlessly waving ocean. It is all part of the illusion that there should seem to be something to be gained in the future, and that there is an urgent necessity to go on and on until we get it. Yet just as there is no time but the present, and no one except the all-and-everything, there is never anything to be gained - though the zest of the game is to pretend that there is.
There is only this now. It does not come from anywhere; it is not going anywhere. It is not permanent, but it is not impermanent. Though moving, it is always still. When we try to catch it, it seems to run away, and yet it is always here and there is no escape from it. And when we turn around to find the self which knows this moment, we find that it has vanished like the past.
Many people never grow up. They stay all their lives with a passionate need for external authority and guidance, pretending not to trust their own judgment.
There are two specific objections to use of psychedelic drugs.First,use of these drugs may be dangerous.Howev er,every worth-while exploration is dangerous-climb ing mountains,testi ng aircraft,rocket ing into outer space,or collecting botanical specimens in jungles.But if you value knowledge & the actual delight of exploration more than mere duration of uneventful life,you are willing to take the risks.
The Godhead is never an object of its own knowledge. Just as a knife doesn't cut itself, fire doesn't burn itself, light doesn't illuminate itself. It's always an endless mystery to itself.
money is not everything but it ranks right up there with oxygen
If you make mistakes that is alright because we all make mistakes and we learn from those mistakes. You gain confidence from learning, failing and rising again.
Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods.
My thing is this; if I'm sick enough to think it, then I'm sick enough to say it.
The young man who has not wept is a savage, and the older man who will not laugh is a fool.
The biggest misconception about work is that you need to spend the majority of your time doing it.
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