Thanks for the personal background brother. Although, I personally do not see the answer to the thread here, I appreciate the background! I also have felt blunt discipline at times. It quite often is displayed in outer confrontation and circumstances but I do not feel as though it creates any karma IF I do not react inappropriately. If I do or don’t respond in a way that behavior is not appropriate to the situation, the consequences soon return in a different guise or situation to address the blemish in my mind and approach to the matter. So this is the benefit of having Guru and Master to discipline us in our sadhana.
Our Masters ever wrong? I will not give a definitive answer because I am not a guru. Although, I do think that the whole dichotomy of right and wrong shifts. Unenlightened human nature cannot accurately assess right and wrong so many lessons in life help us gain a different perspective on such ‘judgments’. We begin to see life beyond such moral values. What is right in one situation can be wrong in another. As an example that I think may make sense; Was Jesus right or wrong in his assessment of the character of Judas when he chose him as a disciple? Is it right to choose a friend that we know will betray us? When we ask questions like this I think we find our notion of whether a Master is right or wrong become limited in scope. And the answer, can be given but is it satisfactory from a human standpoint?
I was curious what you guys think... If there are ever any examples throughout our history where Masters might have been tricked by philanthropists, politicians, or mislead even by their own foresight?
Like being given a glimpse of something, but having interpreted the vision wrong or not completely grasping the meaning?
Can a Master ever be wrong?
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Depending on the sentiment of the disciple, and also depending on the depth of the relationship with a disciple, masters may use various ways of teaching. Sometimes they even use confrontation, bluntness, rudeness, and many other, not so nicely viewed methods of teaching. And yes, they usually could care less what people think, as for them most people continuously keep thinking worldly things and just lots of pure BS.
I used to tell Peter (my teacher) he could look into anything in me without any barriers from my end. He agreed to this, and accordingly, he used various kinds of responding to my thoughts and actions, oftentimes including inconvenient truths. All in order to help me improve. At last, he "stripped" my persona completely naked - figuratively speaking - brushing off my corners, in order to build me up again and learn becoming a much, much better person. I'd asked him for "the complete package", and he delivered it promptly which turned out to be quite a rough ride then. Especially, when samadhi came. (Some have read my story posted somewhere else, as a pdf.)
Unceasingly till today, I silently keep receiving his blessings from afar and overall, I have to say he actually was very kind and gentle with m
I will continue to inwardly thank him for this, to my last breath. Not sure if I'll have a chance meeting him in person again, as my health & financial situation don't allow me to travel much anymore.
Sometimes, a mystic or a master, will say one thing and do another. As an instrument of God, sometimes the spontaneous and hard to reason behavior appears to satisfy a greater picture we are not able to comprehend. Maybe it makes sense later, maybe even the mystic or master does not know why they behave in a seemingly contradictory manner... But in the end, we can say it was Gods will.
God uses us as he sees fit. Masters and disciples, Saints and sinners...
Perhaps a wrong action, isn't necessarily wrong.
