Consistency Is Not What It’s Cracked Up To Be
Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of my Western heroes. Thanks to Emerson, more than any other figure, I realized that I didn’t need anyone’s approval or permission to live my life–or to teach as I saw fit. I’ve since discovered that you will often go further and initiate more actual change if you go against the common wisdom instead of with it.
In regard to consistency, my feeling is that a teacher who is always consistent is a teacher who’s not trying very hard to carry Truth.
April 14, 2015 @ 1:05 am
As Gandhi put it, “I would like to say to the diligent reader of my writings, and to others who are interested in them, that I am not at all concerned with appearing to be consistent. . . . What I am concerned with is my readiness to obey the call of truth, my God, from moment to moment, and therefore, when anybody finds any inconsistency between any two writings of mine, if he has still faith in my sanity, he would do well to choose the later of the two on the same subject.” [epigraph to The Way to God, selected writing from Mahatma Gandhi, ed. M. S. Deshpande, North Atlantic Books 2009]
Whitman was a little more glib on the subject, but I love his way of putting it, too. 😉
April 14, 2015 @ 10:32 am
Hi, Beau! Thanks for your comments. The other thing to recognize is that there are three views: relative, universal, and nondual. Depending on “where the student is” teachers will adjust their comments so that the one they’re talking to best hears them. This is the flaw in gatherings like satsang. We think the teacher just told us something directly, when in fact they just told someone else what they needed to hear. Subtle meanings are lost in the self-translation.
I’m not saying trade-offs in order to speak to groups aren’t “worth it,” but I’m saying we need to be aware that unless the teacher is speaking directly to us, we’re probably not hearing precisely what they’re saying.
PS: The movie “Gandhi” was hugely influential on me. It came out just as I was diving in. I certainly recommend it to all.