What is the best frame of mind for learning?
H.I. Luis Arrondo, in his book on health, Wolves, Gardens, and Chocolate, illustrates this question with an illuminating tale.
He once knew a young American doctor who had traveled to India to study with a well-known practitioner of pulse reading, an ancient diagnostic and healing system.
After a long journey, the young doctor arrived in a remote village where he was instructed to rise early the next morning, then walk along a narrow, winding path through a forest. When it fell away, he’d find a small group of huts. The teacher would meet him there.
Early the next morning, he was offered a breakfast of tea and some unleavened flatbread filled with vegetables. He ate but was eager to be on his way.
When he reached the huts, his prospective mentor offered him tea and said to sit and rest. After a bit of small talk, the teacher got down to business. “Do you have any questions?” “No,” replied the doctor, “I’ve come to learn at your feet.” That provoked an unexpected response.
The older man shook his head ruefully and smiled at the young man, who’d traveled thousands of miles to get there. “Go away,” he said gently. “Don’t return unless you first think of questions to ask.”
Rebuffed, the confused and disappointed young man slowly retraced the long, dusty road to the village he’d left that morning. There was much to consider. Why had he been turned away? Why have questions? What kind of questions?
Then it struck him. The teacher’s wisdom demanded that questions guide the instruction.
But it meant the right questions.
They would reveal the direction and interest of the student and his capacity to grasp and apply the lessons. It was the master’s chosen way to teach—a way the student was most likely to learn.
How does this principle work out for you?
When some service to ECK or a personal matter frustrates your ability to resolve it alone, you know to ask the Master. Then you observe and learn while the situation plays itself out.
That’s your take-away.
* * *
A few proverbs from around the world relate to teaching and learning. A German, for example, might say, “To question a wise man is the beginning of wisdom.” (We’ve already seen that in the story above.)
An Ethiopian: “The eye has never seen enough, and the ear has never heard enough.”
An Italian: “Learn wisdom by the folly of others.”
An Indian: “Silence puts an end to quarrels.”
Those are but a few different ways to learn from life. Remain open, be flexible, and stay optimistic. If a plan falters, back off and try again. Life is ever the teacher. So listen carefully to others for good ideas. The ECK speaks in many ways.
In short, listen twice as much as you speak. That’s the reason for two ears and one mouth.
—Sri Harold Klemp
What questions would you ask the Master if you were to have a personal consultation with him? Go into contemplation and consider this deeply. The Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ may give you a special insight into the art of listening as a way to recognize his answers.
“The ECK speaks in many ways. ”
-Sri Harold Klemp.
One night I found myself alone at home craving for sleep after a long day at work.
Straight I rolled into bed at the end of my HU chant.
There was nothing special about that night until a direct voice in my dream warned that someone was coming to harm me.
Reluctantly I woke up only to find every corner of the house peaceful.
Out of curiosity, I looked outside the window just to make sure everything was alright.
To my surprise, I saw a suspicious man standing in front of my house around 2 o’clock in the morning.
This compelled me to realize that dreams ought to be respected, for the individual is also a part of the worlds of God.
However, I calmly watched the suspicious man from the front room.
I did not call security. But out of nowhere, a security patrol car started driving down the street toward my house.
Soon a blinding wave of red Light flashed from the security car.
On seeing the red light, this suspicious man quickly jumped into his car and ran.
The security patrol car pursued him and the two cars disappeared into the darkness of the night leaving behind a squeaky loud noise.
The entire experience happened so fast it looked like a movie.
Too fatigued to process it all, I went back to sleep almost immediately in order to face another day.
The clarity of dreams could indeed be as deep as one’s love for the MAHANTA, since the MAHANTA is the dream Master.
It is stated in the SHARIYAT KI SUGMAD, page 430 that, “Men are so busy putting faith into some orthodox religion or using science to discover what is believed to be the effect of nature, that they have not learned that ECK is the most powerful of any force in all the universes of God. ”
Thank you MAHANTA for your protections, for Soul shall press on.
D.N
One of the benefit of the MAHANTA and for remaining open.
It is amazing what can happen when we do our Spiritual Exercises every single moment of the day.
I was tracking an online order that notified me the package was delivered this week at a certain time. However, it wasn’t in my mailbox at our mail kiosk.
Knowing there was some spiritual meaning behind it, I tried several techniques as I asked the Mahanta what it meant. First I surrendered the situation to the Holy Spirit, attempting to be neither for nor against what happened.
Next, I did a 15 times asking for the best outcome to this situation. Later, I got a distinct nudge to leave a message for the postal carrier on my box. Then received a nudge to take a walk late on the afternoon of the next day. I was able to ask the mail carrier who was just filling in that day about the situation. She told me she’d see what she could figure out, as she was just beginning to place mail in the kiosk units, as I strolled by that area. I also wrote the Master a letter online about my overall concerns about the package. We have experienced getting other people’s mail on a number of occasions, in our box.
The next day the package was in my box. It turns out the person who mailed it left one digit out of my apartment number. This in itself held a hidden meaning for me. The surrender of the situation held many elements for me to ponder spiritually. I’m glad I shared the experience with the Master as it unfolded, which eventually had a happy ending. It is wonderful to be able to take all things to the Mahanta, from the smallest to the largest. So grateful!
This very spiritual blog is especially relevant to events in my life at this moment as I have to teach a very dependent colleague and now I understand the how better. Listening.
Thank you for your guidance in my life, MAHANTA.
I love the story of the doctor traveling all that way only to be told to come back when he had some questions. This was the FIRST step in him learning that ancient art he sought to learn. We as ECKists need to also learn to formulate GOOD questions to ask our Master. Thanks so much for sharing that story! Jeff Terrell, Venice, FL, USA.
Sometimes back, the community where I have my shop was faced with serious crisis where some persons were killed, some seriously wounded and many have flew from their homes.
The state government ordered the military to intervene on a house to house search in recovering of guns and to arrest every young and middle aged man for interrogations. The military men with their armor vehicles were now everywhere and they arrested me and all the boys working with us and we were made to sleep on top of the major road with our back and facing the sun.
At this point I started singing my secret word and invited the Mahanta for dialog and after a while I heard a voice, saying use your key. Initially I was wondering with the word key, it was then I realized that I was holding a bunch of my shop keys. While on the road sleeping the military men were still raiding, beating and flogging others but upon all nothing touches me, is like I was made invisible, they only noticed me when we were asked to stand up and tie our shirts to one another and about matching in a single line to the field where they’re conveying all arrested people to the barrack was when I approached the Commandant to please allow me to lock up my shop if not they will steal all my goods before my return and I showed the keys to him though he was shocked and asked if I was among those arrested I said yes because I was having no stain of injuries despite the punishment, then he asked where is my shop and I pointed it to him and he assigned two officers to accompany me to go and lock my shop, there another miracle again occur when one of the officer asking the the senior officer if they really have anything to do with me? May while I was still rolling my secret word and there was no response from the senior officer and the junior repeated the question and he told the junior to relax and allow me to lock first which I did, and the junior now insisted that they should allow me to escape, the senior officer said no that the Commandant can ordered them to fire and he told me again to relax and the Commandant shouted at them that where is the boy which is me, they said that they coming, they ran and left me behind. This is how the Mahanta have help me through dialog/listening and the Master also guided me on how I was able to released every of our boys they took away. A very big thank you Mahanta for your love.