A teacher’s role is to share his knowledge and realisations to his student as a means to uplift the willing student and those who come to him to grow, so to welcome them into the journey.
A teacher once expressed that in the spiritual journey, there is no hierarchy and is never a linear progress. Another teacher shared during one of his classes too that today he may be a level up but once a student embarks on his or her journey, he or she may grow faster than him and there is nothing to it but merely opportunities to share and learn from each other; thus the importance of staying connected in sharing, without judgments.
And soon within the vicinity of the student, he may feel somewhat shocked or surprised listening to what comes out from his teacher’s mouth. At first, or most times, the student will keep quiet, as if doubting himself that perhaps there is something that his teacher sees and that he is not yet seeing. And then he lets it go and continues his journey of learning, without judging his teacher.
When the teacher’s err becomes too obvious, the student will not be able to deny that his teacher is unconscious. He would recognise that state if he had clearly experienced the same and come out of that state in his own practice. But what would propel him not to speak or express to his teacher of what he observes – for at times when one is unconscious, one is just unconsciously unconscious and not able to get out of it? It would be his smallness, his own inferiority complex as he views his teacher being superior to him. And when the teacher begins to express authentically what is going on in his space, it may lead to the student playing the role of either rescuing his teacher, or prosecuting his teacher that his teacher is not a good teacher and may condemn his teacher to the bits; if the student himself is not mindful in taking responsibility for what comes up in him.
It is inevitable that anyone, teacher or student may be unconscious for we are in the journey of being conscious and whilst in the journey still, there is no point mimicking the conscious state all the time since mimicking is merely another form of unconscious state too. There is no right or wrong being in either state except one’s judgement to it. Once we get out of it, we could all have a good laugh over it as if awaken from a nightmare, a dream or what have you.
But what is an important learning point here for the student from watching a teacher’s unconscious state is for the student to observe what arises in him (the student), what is true to him and to address rightfully and honestly what is within him. Instead of judging his teacher as a victim or a down-graded guru, the student may very well do his teacher a favour by continuously taking responsibility of what comes up in the student even though the teacher is dear and close to him. There is no difference in bodies as all are just storylines; but as the journey moves on, storylines of people of whom we hold dear to or respect highly become ultimate characters for us to work on within. And at some point, the teacher unconscious, propelling a student to speak out to point out to his teacher from the space of love, is merely a turn for the student to rise up to be the teacher that he is now ready to be. Not that we are toying with labels here but the terms of teachers and students here are merely roles and functions we play to share the truth and to uplift each other, not as a means of moulding a false identity.
And from the teacher’s point of view, if he sees his students as a threat and begin to feel inferior or jealous when his students points out what could have been a flip to his conscious state, the teacher will then need to be honest and truthful to himself of what has arisen in his space. But, if the teacher appreciates the support offered by his student, grateful that what he has preached has indeed been practiced and thus flowered into a beautiful bloom, the teacher would have done his job and can give himself a pat on the back. If not for the teacher’s unconscious state, how else would the student rise up to his own greatness? If not for the teacher’s guidance and continuous moulding, how else could the teacher receive the support that he has given out too?
The roles then continuously recycle themselves in situations, for learning, for growth, for uplifting, for support. And the switching of roles can only happen when both has shred off the duality idea of superiority and inferiority, for they are merely ideas and simply exist, just as an idea, and nothing more. To buy into that idea, is to limit one’s own boundary; and to remain open, or ingrain the idea of openness, is to be marvelled by the possibilities that swims themselves to our door steps towards the path of liberation and oneness.