T H E   S P I R I T U A L   G R O U P

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PART 4
"DIE" IN ORDER TO BECOME TRULY ALIVE
Even if a Master does not demand respect, it must naturally exist. Obedience is different from servility and moral authority is different from the unrefined one.

The sheikh has great power but he does not use it unless it is necessary, because he considers that love itself will overcome all obstacles and will solve almost any problem.

It is just as important for the sheikh to accept his new disciple as it is for the disciple to accept the sheikh. Sometimes people forget this.

Everybody thinks that he has the right to judge the Master, that his Master should be like Jesus or Mohamed.

The power of a mature human being to send a state of love and presence, to solve the problems within one's heart, to burn the impurities and complexes from the subconscious - can be stopped by the arrogance of those you might think truly follow a spiritual path but who in fact, are in a state of egotistical interdependence or unconscious resentment.

Rumi said: ""Die" in order to become truly alive!" You need to sincerely listen to the truth (and not to a certain person) in order to hear the answer from the Divine.


THE STORY OF A DISCIPLE WHO HAS BECOME A SHEIKH
Kabir Helminski continues: "I can say from personal experience that a disciple - master relationship doesn't mean that one should give his personal life to the other in order to be saved; in fact, the one willing to learn only has to be receptive to the lessons (even the subtlest ones) received from his Master.

For example, most Americans need some spiritual guidance but they cannot evolve spiritually unless they first awaken their respect and consideration.

I have heard that losing the sheikh's grace is worse than falling from the greatest heights. Only those who have lived such an experience know the darkness given by the lack of spiritual protection and support offered by his living connection.

I know the case of a young man who owned a small store by the time he became the disciple of an authentic sheikh. Soon his business became successful and he could buy the entire building where he worked.

Very soon he could buy many other buildings that increased his project. But once he was late to an important meeting he had with his sheikh. When asked about the reason of his delay, he answered he had been busy.

"Busy"?, asked his Master gently yet a little surprised. His business started to get worse and worse. He had to sell all the buildings, one by one, until the one had in the beginning, when he had met his Master.

Which was the real cause of success or failure? Was this punishment, a gift or just a so-called coincidence? Did he rise up and then fall down by the means of the sheikh's powers or through his own forces? But this is not the end of the story.

This man who had passed through so many tests, assiduously practiced abnegation and disinterested service until he eventually became a sheikh.

Suphism, like any other spiritual path confers an extraordinary joy that makes material benefits seem illusionary.

If a lasting and affectionate relationship between Master and disciple is created one can get inside a circle of such relationships (made up of each disciple and their Master).

Where there are more fires burning, even though they are individual ones, their light shines brighter and becomes as one. Thus, the spiritual light taken from the sheikh-s is reflected by the disciples who shine brighter because of it".

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PART 4   |   PART 5   |   PART 6