Gurus

There are so many gurus, spiritual teachers and preachers on the market, so many psychotherapies, self-improvement methods and meditation techniques to try out.

There are so many religions, ideologies and belief systems, so many different ideas about what is true and what is false, what is right and what is wrong.

There are so many signposts pointing in different directions.

Christianity is not a religion. What we call Christianity is in fact many different religions with completely different interpretations of the Bible. However, all Christians believe that they know which interpretation is the right one. Have you ever heard a Christian say that he is not sure about if he's right or wrong about the teachings of Jesus. How is this possible? Some of them have to be wrong, haven’t they? Some of them have to be deluded.

Therefore, the question must be, if you are interested in the truth, who is right and who is wrong? Who was the first to meet Jesus after the resurrection, Peter or Maria? Was there a resurrection? Is Jesus but a mythological figure, like Narcissus or Hercules? Are people suffering from cancer because their faith in Jesus isn’t strong enough? Are rich people rich because they are blessed? Is AIDS Gods punishment of the sinful?

For many years the self-improvement gurus was preaching the importance of goal setting. You have to have a goal. You have to become something. You have to strive for something. Success is of utter importance. Beautiful girls don‘t want to marry losers. “Reach for the stars.” “The sky is the limit.” Nowadays these ideas are passé. Nowadays the self-improvement gurus are teaching mindfulness and how to live in the now.

It doesn’t matter what is right or wrong, you might argue, as long as it makes you happy. Maybe you are right. I don’t know. If Nazism makes someone happy why complain? A lonely guy might find some buddies among the Nazis.

My point is that it is possible to wake up from delusions. It is possible to give up smoking. It is possible to beat a drug addiction. It is possible to leave an abusive cult and it is not necessary to replace it with a new one. It is also possible to leave a cult even if it's not abusive. It is not necessary with a religion or a belief system. You don't need a religion or a philosophy to make yourself a cup of tea. You don't need a religion or a philosophy to pick up your kids from school. You don’t need any Gurus. Be very apprehensive and skeptic when Gurus and spiritual teachers point out the way for you. If you ask another Guru he will point in another direction. A third Guru will give you a third direction.