This past week brought exposés of several popular spiritual gurus and teachers. There was lots of head shaking and “I knew it!” ringing through social media. Other Sages jumped on and enjoyed riding that bandwagon to new public exposure for themselves.

And somehow, many seemingly reasonable people took this opportunity to endorse and sing the praises of their own personal favorite other spiritual teacher.

Yes, hearing about how imperfect certain gurus are inspired a fair amount of rousing and heartfelt, “Yeah, that’s terrible! Not my favorite teacher though! Mine’s great!”

Because naturally, unlike the scheming subjects of this or that article, these other teachers are the real deal- peaceful, kind, loving persons who have become ego-less and have their stuff together. So decent, so honest, so lacking pretense.

The irony of posting such praises while other gurus came tumbling down seems to have been lost on the writers.

Of course, most of us only know teachers by what they present to the world- writings, recordings, satsangs etc. And those presentations are usually… um, selective.

Back when I was in the inner circle of a particular spiritual teacher, a friend said, “Judy (this teacher) is barely there. They’re so evolved they’ve almost disappeared.” *Proper pronouns avoided to protect the innocent.

At that point though, I had had my own up-close experiences with this person and knew that what my friend said was nonsense.

First, because this teacher had secrets and plenty of ego. And second... because no one disappears.

Seekers blind to the myth in, “People can/should disappear into peace, no-ego and bliss” are ripe for disappointment and abuse. Not to mention poverty.

The idea that it’s possible to be ego-less, that there’s a right way for humans to be, that peace is more evolved than reaction, that it’s possible to “get there”….

Well, let’s call all that, “wishful thinking.”

Because there has never been a single guru or teacher who wasn’t flawed, some of them mightily so. Nisargadatta, Krishnamurti, Ramana, Alan Watts, Adi Da, Andrew Cohen, Osho, Swami this or that… we could go on and on.  None were saints. In their personal lives, they’ve all been messed up humans just like everyone else.

If you think yours is the exception, well, welcome to comparing, judging, and striving to become. Which, it might be noticed, is perhaps the opposite of what you’ve supposedly been seeking.

No one is “the real deal.” Because the real deal itself isn’t real. It’s a cruel fantasy that keeps folks dissatisfied with themselves and in thrall to some supposedly superior other.

This would make anyone blind to their own value.

So if it’s really necessary to Be Like someone, maybe it’s possible to Be Like… you. Flawed, doing your best, imperfect you.

Because once we give up the fiction that there’s a right way to be, we no longer have to measure ourselves against a myth. We get to see that there’s nothing wrong with our own version of human.

Which is why, if you are a follower or even just an admirer of any Sage, I wish you open eyes. I wish you dashed hopes and bubbles burst. I wish you the relief and clarity of no hope.

May you be blessed with disillusionment and abandoned dreams.

I couldn’t imagine a better holiday gift for you than this.

Enjoy.

Get your Mind-Tickled every week.