Miror, mirror on the wall............

It is interesting how we are so conditioned to the 'teacher/pupil syndrome', huh?
Even people who do not tread the normal institutionalised pathway of religions,
(rich as they are with 'superior authoritarian metaphors for power over others')
people we could feel are 'new era - new age', still persist in manifestations of
conditioning by seeking guru's, enlightened ones, mahatmas'

So, I was recently occupied in a discussion, or rather i should say involved in
listening, concerning the superiority of one 'guru' over another. Amazing how,
through the ages, differing religious leaders fall prey to 'character/spiritual
assasination' by 'newer, modern gurus who need to theorise about the particular
or general motivations and/or characteristics of, for example, Christ.

Whilst accepting the general thrust of Christ's ministry, it seems so
essential to the modern 'guru' movement to on the one hand identify with
those characteristics by theorising that Christ visited this country or that
country, studied this or that 'religious tradition'. Then, on the other hand
to seperate the 'modern movement' from those aspects of Christ's ministry
which do not fit with the 'modern interpretation'.

When this contadiction is challenged one can hear comments like 'ah, but
xyz (their favourite guru) is an 'enlightened one' and knows about these things
(even when that so called knowledge is based upon uncorroborated fact or
theory) .

Then, of course, it's fair to ask the question," how do you know xyz is enlightened?"

Surely there is only one way to really know such a thing: that is if you yourself
are conversant with the codes and qualities of an 'enlightened being'. Surely
there is only one way that this could be so.... an issue of self experience
(for all else is simply hypothesis, huh?)

In order to recognise someone else as being 'enlightened', you must also
know what 'enlightenment is, be an enlightened One..ergo, all are 'enlightened
beings'.

If that is so, what is the need of this or that guru's experiencing as being
superior to one's own experiencing?

Ah, but then we are all conditioned to the 'teacher/pupil - master/disciple -
leader/follower- syndromes', huh?