We have at our disposal the choice to abandon all spiritual authority, carve for ourselves a new direction in liberty. We can, at this moment, stop clinging to the voices of the gurus, masters, pastors and priests. Instead of blind obedience to ancient creeds, we can instead look inward and discover the direct experience of truth – the Gnostic path. Yet few will take the path of liberty.
Why do people seek enslavement to another’s authority?
The answer, I believe, is historic. There are two reasons we choose to let another explain reality for us:
- Accountability
- Support Network
Accountability
When a person chooses to follow another’s voice, they are accepting that the other will take responsibility for the actions they prescribe.
Concerns of being wrong drive the respondent into obedience unto another who lords their power. Surrender to one, is a safety net where one transfers responsibility.
There are times to trust others, this is certain. To seek out a doctor, who gives us advice on the course of treatment, we accept it. To seek out advice on what a nation should do in a geo-political sphere, we may vote in someone we hope can best answer that calling.
We can not be experts on all things, so relying on an expert is natural. There is a problem, however, that is born from this well meaning (and natural) condition:
We are the expert of our spiritual path.
Likely someone reads that and answers, “but I have questions, how can I know what to do spiritual? Who do I serve? What God do I follow?”
The one who questions is the honest, yet smaller aspect of YOU. The one that answers is the honest, yet larger aspect of YOU.
As long as ego is released from answering, the one who responds is our guidance, our expert and it is inherently us.
While natural to find an expert for mundane purposes, when we seek spiritual guidance, we are giving up our personal sovereignty. We are treating the spiritual path, like one would find a mechanic. Yet the spiritual path is inherently different.
That world you see, you witness… it’s different then mine. Mine is different than other’s. Each of us is rendered a unique world that is based on our inner nature and karmic actions. It is inherently “us.” The answers to life, therefore, are inherently “us.”
There may be logic, reason and guidance we can get from another to help shake us awake, but ultimately the steps upon the path are walked by us – not in obedience to an external master, but in our realization that we are the master, the guide and the one being guided.
Support Network
The tribal unity is a pre-history hunter/gatherer success story. Working together, following the leadership of a team or individual is what allowed civilizations to stick and grow.
Today, in a world that no longer needs the tribe people are still seduced by its power.
The allure of the tribe is the feelings of unity and comfort we receive. People join all sorts of tribes: political groups, family, shared hobbies, and religion.
Religion often replaces the family unit. Members refer to each other as “brother,” “sister” and even “father.” Those who feel they have no one, find comfort in a surrogate family based on shared faith.
When people obey their leadership and walk the streets to hand out fliers, “tell the good news,” or otherwise step out of their comfort zone, they bond with fellow believers. This strengthens the support network.
As a follower becomes more deeply rooted in the faith-based soil, they give more and more of their decision making power away. One could even start as a believer in a doctrine, only to have the faith-based organization shift away from said doctrine.
While having a support network keeps us feeling protected, guided, loved, embraced, it comes at a cost.
Our spirituality is not a support network. It should be our unique expression of direct perception of truth. Our first hurdle is standing on our own, without the crutch of dogma, faith, or teachers. The second hurdle is the insidious ego that will inflate in an attempt to create yet another support network of the material self.
When all hurdles are surpassed, what remains is Truth realized.
Authority
I fully understand the allure of authority. It is a promise in an otherwise concerning world of shifting responsibilities. Like windblown sand in a desert, the world around us appears to be shifting constantly. However, we can steady the course if we acknowledge all of it, the proverbial shifting sad, wind and our own person are all part of our perception.
If what renders around us is inherently “our projection” then seeking an outside authority to live our life through our obedience offers little comfort. At the apex, we must find a way to stand on our own – to be seeking truth in our own quietude. No self ego, no masters, no gurus, no dogma, no pastors — just Truth.