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By Mariana Caplan The Guru Question: The Perils and Rewards of Choosing a Spiritual Teacher [Paperback]
The spiritual journey is perhaps the most personal experience of our lives - but does that mean we have to go it alone? With The Guru Question, award-winning author Mariana Caplan brings you a unique and much-needed guide for deciding whether you need a dedicated mentor to help illuminate your path to awakening - and if so, how to navigate the deep complexities of the guru-disciple relationship. For those seeking a teacher worthy of their trust and devotion, or anyone who has been frustrated by their experiences with a spiritual teacher, Caplan offers candid, practical, and daringly personal examination of the student-teacher dynamic, Are you ready to be a student? If and when you should consider making a commitment to a spiritual teacherThe path of the conscious learner - how to retain your power and autonomy while accepting a mentor's authority Tips for the wounded seeker - the valuable lessons we learn from our encounters with false teachersSpiritual scandals and predatory gurus - guidance for avoiding the inherent pitfalls in the student-teacher relationshipHow to recognize the inner light of divinity as it manifests in the imperfect human guise of your teacher - and yourselfIn a time when a distrust of authority has been proven to be a healthy trait, we tend to be justifiably suspicious of those who present themselves as gurus and spiritual masters. Drawing upon her knowledge as both a scholar of mysticism and lifelong practitioner of spiritual traditions, Mariana Caplan helps readers develop the discernment that is crucial when seeking an authentic teacher - and reveals the immeasurable rewards that can come from having a trustworthy guide on the spiritual path.
- GenresSpiritualityNonfiction
Paperback
First published May 28, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 15, 2013
How does one take seriously this book on the guru given the author's relationship with Mark Gaffni? This book clarified for me the biggest problem with guru devotion - people are people, and just because they pose as a teacher doesn't mean their demons have been purged. See the guru as Buddha? Not this boy.
April 4, 2016
I was repulsed that in the noble topic, as is the Guru tradition, she added a very long chapter on defending her partner and ex-rabi, Marc Gafni, accused of sexual assault. I never heard about Marc Gafni before, and what I found on the internet does not sound good. I really did not like this part in the book and skipped it.
The book, in general, is very repetitive, it is in a great part a description of her own experiences with teachers - some experiences really stupid and naive - and some thoughts and experiences of other authors. But the book is far from showing true guru tradition or telling something really new or important. In the end, if feels like she just scratched this topic on the surface, something that you find when just talking with friends or on many blogs.
But because of her using so much space of this book for defending her partner M. Gafni, and selling it to readers who bought this book to read on some different topic, I do not plan to read her books anymore. I feel deceived. I do not like this, because if she really wanted to speak about teachers in Judaic tradition or Christianity, she should give it more space in book, adjust the title and give some background before serving us a long story of some Judaic teacher or even presenting the interview with a Christian priest, which she also added at the end of her book. I feel this book consists of many inconsistent parts, just to make a book and sell it, rather than professionally researched and presented topic.
The book, in general, is very repetitive, it is in a great part a description of her own experiences with teachers - some experiences really stupid and naive - and some thoughts and experiences of other authors. But the book is far from showing true guru tradition or telling something really new or important. In the end, if feels like she just scratched this topic on the surface, something that you find when just talking with friends or on many blogs.
But because of her using so much space of this book for defending her partner M. Gafni, and selling it to readers who bought this book to read on some different topic, I do not plan to read her books anymore. I feel deceived. I do not like this, because if she really wanted to speak about teachers in Judaic tradition or Christianity, she should give it more space in book, adjust the title and give some background before serving us a long story of some Judaic teacher or even presenting the interview with a Christian priest, which she also added at the end of her book. I feel this book consists of many inconsistent parts, just to make a book and sell it, rather than professionally researched and presented topic.
December 30, 2012
This book couldn't have come to me at a more timely point in my life. It seems to me that an essential rite of passage into the new energy is coming to terms with what it means to be a master and a student.
The new energy demands that we become fully divine and fully human together. As divinity, we share as Masters what we get from source fearlessly, as humanity we learn as Students from others with selfless humility. But both these functions have been increasingly coming up for questioning in spiritual circles recently. The energy seems to be moving away from the traditional master-student paradigm towards a broader and more open paradigm. Let’s call the latter a facilitator-participant paradigm in which there is a sharing of insight and skills without any demand upon the student beyond payment.
The old guru-disciple paradigm has much baggage and the new facilitator-participant paradigm has yet to be properly defined. The current demand of the student for empowerment and equality is often just the voice of the ego that can’t bear to see itself as needy. And the traditional demand of the teacher for total surrender can leave students fake, demoralized and repressed. Both paths have strong voices in their favor. And both have critics. And finding the sanity within for yourself is not always easy.
In this book, I found an attempt to share the confusion, the guilt and the personal clarity of it. Ultimately, it's impossible to answer this question except for oneself but the book does provide many interesting points of views from various modern teachers and anecdotes from the past.
The new energy demands that we become fully divine and fully human together. As divinity, we share as Masters what we get from source fearlessly, as humanity we learn as Students from others with selfless humility. But both these functions have been increasingly coming up for questioning in spiritual circles recently. The energy seems to be moving away from the traditional master-student paradigm towards a broader and more open paradigm. Let’s call the latter a facilitator-participant paradigm in which there is a sharing of insight and skills without any demand upon the student beyond payment.
The old guru-disciple paradigm has much baggage and the new facilitator-participant paradigm has yet to be properly defined. The current demand of the student for empowerment and equality is often just the voice of the ego that can’t bear to see itself as needy. And the traditional demand of the teacher for total surrender can leave students fake, demoralized and repressed. Both paths have strong voices in their favor. And both have critics. And finding the sanity within for yourself is not always easy.
In this book, I found an attempt to share the confusion, the guilt and the personal clarity of it. Ultimately, it's impossible to answer this question except for oneself but the book does provide many interesting points of views from various modern teachers and anecdotes from the past.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews