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    The Guru Question: The Perils and Rewards of Choosing a Spiritual Teacher

    The Guru Question: The Perils and Rewards of Choosing a Spiritual Teacher

    by Mariana Caplan

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      ISBN-13: 9781604074642
    • Publisher: Sounds True, Incorporated
    • Publication date: 06/01/2011
    • Sold by: Barnes & Noble
    • Format: eBook
    • Pages: 417
    • File size: 1 MB

    Mariana Caplan

    Mariana Caplan
     
    Mariana Caplan, PhD, MFT, E-RTY 500, is a psychotherapist, yoga teacher, and author of eight books in the fields of psychology, spirituality, and yoga. She has been teaching workshops and trainings online, in yoga studios and universities, and at major retreat centers throughout the world since 1997. She is the founder of Yoga & Psyche International, an organization created to integrate the fields of yoga and psychology globally, and lives in Fairfax, California. Learn more at realspirituality.com and yogaandpsyche.com.

    Table of Contents

    Foreword Robert A. F. Thurman xi

    Acknowledgments xxiii

    Introduction: A Call to Conscious Discipleship of Life xxvii

    Chapter 1 Entering the Spiritual Supermarket 1

    Chapter 2 Types of Spiritual Authority 11

    Chapter 3 "Guru" as a Four-Letter Word: Criticisms of Spiritual Teachers, and the Nature of Spiritual Scandals 31

    Chapter 4 The Importance of a Spiritual Teacher 49

    Chapter 5 Basic Psychological Sanity 73

    Chapter 6 Conscious Relationship to Power Dynamics 89

    Chapter 7 Mutual Trust and Surrender 107

    Chapter 8 Meeting the Teacher: Defining Criteria for Teacher and Student 119

    Chapter 9 Breaking the Rules 137

    Chapter 10 Spiritual Monogamy versus "Sleeping Around" 151

    Chapter 11 Guru Games and Crazy Wisdom 167

    Chapter 12 Obedience 187

    Chapter 13 Imperfections in the Teacher 213

    Chapter 14 The Source of True Power 227

    Chapter 15 For the Glory of Love 241

    Chapter 16 Toward a Vision of World Spirituality 259

    Epilogue: An Unexpected Twist: False Complaints Against Teachers 267

    Appendix: Interviews with Teachers and Scholars 295

    Bibliography and Recommended Reading 385

    Notes 391

    Index 397

    About the Author 405

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    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 a candid, practical, and daringly personal examination of the student-teacher dynamic, including:

    • Are you ready to be a student? If and when you should consider making a commitment to a spiritual teacher
    • The 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 teachers
    • Spiritual scandals and predatory gurus—guidance for avoiding the inherent pitfalls in the student-teacher relationship
    • How to recognize the inner light of divinity as it manifests in the imperfect human guise of your teacher—and yourself

    In 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.

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    Publishers Weekly
    Caplan (Eyes Wide Open) examines the disappointment and elation that can be found in the quest for a spiritual master, and urges seekers to use discernment when searching. She does well to move the discussion of gurus beyond merely pro or con, and eloquently calls a guru "a human being who represents a body of teaching." With this definition, and regardless of what tradition the guru imparts, issues such as understanding the dynamics of power, building trust, and meeting an authentic teacher are investigated. While Caplan approaches her topic from all angles and is excellent at revealing its many complexities, her observations rely too heavily on Freudian psychoanalysis. In her reading of the subject, a bad guru "does not consciously break the student's positive transference" and students should first have "some basic handle on our mommy-daddy issues." This approach to the guru question will reduce the number of readers who will find value in this work. Her writing tends to be imprecise, and harder editing would have helped. More problematic still is a lengthy and unnecessary epilogue that refutes sexual misconduct allegations raised against the spiritual teacher who is her partner. (June)
    From the Publisher

    Caplan believes that most people eventually find themselves on a spiritual path, whether they seek it out or not. Once that journey begins, the issue of working with a spiritual teacher---a guru---arises. In Western culture, the relationship between spiritual teacher and student is complex and there are few resources available to help people decipher that relationship. Caplan has been working to fill that void. This book, originally her doctoral dissertation, brings the rewards and pitfalls of what she calls conscious discipleship into the light in order to distill them into a set of basic guidelines. It is an in-depth study, tackling issues such as psychological sanity, assessing spiritual authority, false complaint syndrome (valuable for customers who teach), sex in exchange for teaching, and defining true power. She has reprinted some of the interviews with spiritual teachers that she did as part of her original research in 2000.
    Whether your customers are looking for a long-term relationship with a teacher, or seeking to understand how to separate the wheat from the chafe in short-term study, this book provides the information they are looking for.

    —Anna Jedrziewski - New Age Retailer
    Library Journal
    Caplan (Eyes Wide Open: Cultivating Discernment on the Spiritual Path), a psychotherapist and teacher of yogic practices, fills, with this new book—a kind of user's manual to spiritual guides and gurus—a need we had not named yet. Her work mixes personal experience with an understanding of psychology, and includes counsel on how to discern the right teacher for each student, retain autonomy, and remain wary of predatory and false gurus. This is not a complete history of teacher-student relations in modern spirituality (a project, perhaps, for another writer) but includes several illuminating interviews with current spiritual teachers. VERDICT While not an exhaustive study of the field, this will prove immensely useful to individuals seeking advisers and guides; it will become an important go-to book for librarians as well.

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