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

Caplan, Mariana

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1459623274 ISBN 13: 9781459623279

Publisher: ReadHowYouWant, 2012

Synopsis

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, including: 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.

About this title

Review

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.
--Anna Jedrziewski - New Age Retailer

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

About the Author

Mariana Caplan, PhD, received degrees in cultural anthropology, counseling psychology, and contemporary spirituality. However, she attributes the majority of her education and inspiration to years of research and practice in the world's great mystical traditions, and to living in villages in India, Central and South America, and Europe. She is a counselor, professor of yogic and transpersonal psychologies, and the author of six books in the fields of psychology and spirituality, including Halfway Up the Mountain and To Touch Is to Live. Mariana resides in the San Francisco Bay area and teaches at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Edition details

• Publisher: ReadHowYouWant
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1459623274
• ISBN 13: 9781459623279
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 528