Do you have a spiritual mentor, and how much of an impact do they have on your life?

Nicole Barrett76 said:I suspect that isn't actually the case.

From what I understand, there is a sect in Bengal known as the Baula, a group of somewhat unorthodox Vaišnavas who are heavily criticized and rejected by many others in India who fall outside that circle.

One of their songs begins roughly like this:

"That is why, brother, I became an impulsive baul,
refusing to follow the commands of any master."

I cannot recall the specific mood I was in when I read that poem, only that the book was written in our language.

If they truly do not follow the dictates of a master, choosing instead to live by the whims of their own intuition, aligning themselves with nature through impulse and acting purely on their own volition—much like a wind that shifts unpredictably from one direction to another—then, of course, they possess no guru at all.

I believe this might be the most sincere post in this entire thread.

If there's no guru, then there's no lineage of disciples stretching back to Brahma, which would basically mean all that Vedic knowledge is just a total fabrication.

David Vaughn75 said:If there's no guru, then there's no lineage of disciples stretching back to Brahma, which would basically mean all that Vedic knowledge is just a total fabrication.

Whether there was an actual lineage from Brahma or if it's all fiction doesn't change much, honestly. Those Puranic stories aren't just mythological; they're fundamentally unhistorical. When you look at them alongside archaeology, geology, paleontology, and scientific historiography, there's zero chance these tales are factual.

Some things might have a grain of historical truth, similar to other myths, but even that usually undermines rather than supports the conclusions those myths try to draw or the way they frame things.

P.S. Baula have their own gurus and guru-initiations, though I don't know enough about them to really grasp the underlying dynamics or how much weight those relationships actually carry. My guess is it’s probably no different from any other sect in that realm, and I’d rather not get ahead of myself by trying to interpret specific verses.

David Vaughn75 said:God just makes sure everyone gets exactly what's coming to them.

Look, at the end of the day, nobody is going to pile more weight onto your shoulders than the stuff you went out and cooked up for yourself. You know how it goes—you make your own mess, you deal with your own fallout. It’s all on you.

I’ve never even heard of some collective deer or owl nonsense before. Honestly, what are we even talking about here? Total gibberish.
Look, here’s the deal—you could basically become an owl if you reincarnate into one, and then that owl gets to be a man. It's all wild, right?

Look, if you really want to get down into the weeds of this stuff, there's only one true collective Over-soul out there—it's Paramatma, which is basically just the yogic side of God.

Look, maybe this whole conversation would actually go somewhere if you’d just open up a bit about your teacher—you know, what they were actually like and how you two clicked (or didn't). Right now, we're all just throwing out our own random takes based on our own baggage, and honestly? We're just spinning our wheels and talking in circles.

Look, there's just way too much ground to cover here—I could go on forever—so you really need to narrow this down. Pick a specific angle or a tighter topic if you actually want to get anywhere with this question.

And I've honestly never even heard of this Paramatma you're talking about.

David Vaughn75 said:God just makes sure everyone gets exactly what's coming to them.

Look, at the end of the day, nobody is going to pile more weight onto your shoulders than the stuff you went out and cooked up for yourself. You know how it goes—you make your own mess, you deal with your own fallout. It’s all on you.

I’ve never even heard of some collective deer or owl nonsense before. Honestly, what are we even talking about here? Total gibberish.
Look, here’s the deal—you could basically become an owl if you reincarnate into one, and then that owl gets to be a man. It's all wild, right?

Look, if you really want to get down into the weeds of this stuff, there's only one true collective Over-soul out there—it's Paramatma, which is basically just the yogic side of God.

Look, maybe this whole conversation would actually go somewhere if you’d just open up a bit about your teacher—you know, what they were actually like and how you two clicked (or didn't). Right now, we're all just throwing out our own random takes based on our own baggage, and honestly? We're just spinning our wheels and talking in circles.

Look, there's just way too much ground to cover here—I could go on forever—so you really need to narrow this down. Pick a specific angle or a tighter topic if you actually want to get anywhere with this question.

It’s not that I "need" anything from you. Honestly, I was just trying to have a conversation because I get the sense that people have been feeling pretty lonely lately. But instead, you just want to keep drumming on the same points we've already covered on this forum a million times over. Anyway, to each their own. I won't keep interrupting your little deep dive.

bluemason3 said:Does this kind of spiritual "achievement" imply a psychopathic or manic level of fearlessness, or is it something more clinical, like Urbach–Wietheov disease? 😳

Fear is a vital survival mechanism, just like hunger. It exists because we need it to stay alive. Too little fear leads to dysfunction, much like chronic anxiety does, and a total absence of fear is usually a symptom of a very serious medical condition. Temporary modulation might be useful—like dosing soldiers to get them through a messy job—but as a permanent state, being fearless is both bad and dangerous.

That said, I’d say moderate (hypo)maniacs (there are certainly more intense, cult-driven manic types out there, though they probably lack the self-control required for high-level guru manipulation) and psychopaths tend to dominate the field of spiritual teachers. So, that’s likely what people mean.

No, it isn't about fearlessness, especially not in a psychopathic sense. Achieving a complete lack of fear is impossible; every man experiences fear, as it is a fundamental part of the human condition.

A passage from the Tao Te Ching describes a person who has seen through fear. This doesn't mean they have eliminated it, but rather that they are aware of it. If they need to act or fulfill a duty, they will do so despite the fear. They feel the emotion, but they recognize it for what it is, refusing to let it tether them or dictate decisions when they know what is right...

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David Vaughn75 said:In Hinduism, the spiritual guru is basically everything—the alpha and the omega. You just follow whatever they tell you to do, no questions asked.
Some folks argue that unless you have the grace of a pure servant of God, there’s zero chance of getting into the Kingdom of Heaven.
It kind of brings to mind that whole idea where Jesus says the only way to the Father is through him; it's like God only lets in the people that Jesus lets in, which ends up being the same crowd any other spiritual leader would vouch for.

Now, looking at Christianity, a priest is definitely a big deal—they’re the ones giving the directions and setting the tone—but honestly, you can get by without one if you have to.

So, what about you guys? Do you actually follow some spiritual mentor, and how much has that person actually shaped the way you live your life?

I don’t have a spiritual teacher. I simply don't believe in handing over the reins of my life to anyone else.
Years ago, I did listen to some advice from a spiritual man—and I actually had the chance to witness his own life improve because of it—which led me to realize his guidance was indeed sound.🤷

Austin Nelson2 said:I don’t have a spiritual teacher. I simply don't believe in handing over the reins of my life to anyone else.
Years ago, I did listen to some advice from a spiritual man—and I actually had the chance to witness his own life improve because of it—which led me to realize his guidance was indeed sound.🤷

But man, what if life actually turned out way better if you just let someone else handle the tailoring?

Joseph Bailey41 said:And I've honestly never even heard of this Paramatma you're talking about.

It’s not that I "need" anything from you. Honestly, I was just trying to have a conversation because I get the sense that people have been feeling pretty lonely lately. But instead, you just want to keep drumming on the same points we've already covered on this forum a million times over. Anyway, to each their own. I won't keep interrupting your little deep dive.

Nice try with the "attempting to converse" bit... I didn't even mention my spiritual teacher, yet you're already attacking the intentions behind some theoretical writing that hasn't even happened 🤷

David Vaughn75 said:But man, what if life actually turned out way better if you just let someone else handle the tailoring?

Are you talking about that creature perched right on top of its head? Honestly, I couldn't even keep my eyes on it. 👎

David Vaughn75 said:But man, what if life actually turned out way better if you just let someone else handle the tailoring?

Better by whose standards, though?

The whole idea of asking "what if I just changed my reality?" is honestly such an absurd, half-baked question because the possibilities and answers are quite literally infinite.

Melissa Cooper3 said:The whole idea of asking "what if I just changed my reality?" is honestly such an absurd, half-baked question because the possibilities and answers are quite literally infinite.

Exactly.

Joseph Bailey41 said:Better by whose standards, though?

Yours and God's.

I mean, come on—God isn't exactly gonna drop something into your lap that you wouldn't personally consider an upgrade, right?

Melissa Cooper3 said:The whole idea of asking "what if I just changed my reality?" is honestly such an absurd, half-baked question because the possibilities and answers are quite literally infinite.

So what, we're all supposed to just eat crap because there are infinite ways to argue that crap is better than something else?

You haven't convinced me—I'm sticking to the good stuff.

David Vaughn75 said:Yours and God's.

I mean, come on—God isn't exactly gonna drop something into your lap that you wouldn't personally consider an upgrade, right?

So what, we're all supposed to just eat crap because there are infinite ways to argue that crap is better than something else?

You haven't convinced me—I'm sticking to the good stuff.

Let me see if I’ve actually followed your train of thought here: is your entire argument basically that since there's a theoretical infinity of options that are superior, we should just settle for eating garbage by default? Is that really where we're at?

David Vaughn75 said:Yours and God's.

I mean, come on—God isn't exactly gonna drop something into your lap that you wouldn't personally consider an upgrade, right?

So what, we're all supposed to just eat crap because there are infinite ways to argue that crap is better than something else?

You haven't convinced me—I'm sticking to the good stuff.

So, if that's the case, what's the point of having a mediator at all? 😁

David Vaughn75 said:If there's no guru, then there's no lineage of disciples stretching back to Brahma, which would basically mean all that Vedic knowledge is just a total fabrication.

So, what are you getting at here? Are you actually suggesting we should spend our entire lives tethered to just one single teacher?

David Vaughn75 said:But man, what if life actually turned out way better if you just let someone else handle the tailoring?

Honestly, most people don't even know their own purpose—they're just happier when they let life take the wheel and go with the flow.

If you're out there actively hunting for meaning, you haven't found it yet.
There's always something getting in the way.

David Vaughn75 said:But man, what if life actually turned out way better if you just let someone else handle the tailoring?

Thomas Nelson25 said:Honestly, most people don't even know their own purpose—they're just happier when they let life take the wheel and go with the flow.

If you're out there actively hunting for meaning, you haven't found it yet.
There's always something getting in the way.

Every individual who exerts such immense energy to hunt for life's meaning is actually being obstructed by a massive force known in India as Maya, which Christians refer to as the Devil.

For me, I simply cannot exist without this pursuit of purpose. To my eyes, those who merely drift through life seem nothing more than parachutists caught in the wind.

Melissa Cooper3 said:Let me see if I’ve actually followed your train of thought here: is your entire argument basically that since there's a theoretical infinity of options that are superior, we should just settle for eating garbage by default? Is that really where we're at?

Nope.
Bad is bad, period. Doesn't matter if things change tomorrow or stay trash forever.

Joseph Bailey41 said:So, if that's the case, what's the point of having a mediator at all? 😁

Because trying to stumble onto actual truth through pure speculation is damn near impossible. I mean, sure, it happens, but it's like winning the Powerball when you're one in a million.

Elizabeth Castillo87 said:So, what are you getting at here? Are you actually suggesting we should spend our entire lives tethered to just one single teacher?

Not necessarily just one, but every single one of them has to be a pure servant of God.

Thomas Nelson25 said:Honestly, most people don't even know their own purpose—they're just happier when they let life take the wheel and go with the flow.

If you're out there actively hunting for meaning, you haven't found it yet.
There's always something getting in the way.

They're just being carried by good karma.

And once that karma runs out, they crash hard into depression and end up chasing a high just to feel something again.

Nicole Barrett76 said:Every individual who exerts such immense energy to hunt for life's meaning is actually being obstructed by a massive force known in India as Maya, which Christians refer to as the Devil.

For me, I simply cannot exist without this pursuit of purpose. To my eyes, those who merely drift through life seem nothing more than parachutists caught in the wind.

Maya is riding on Krishna's back, which means if you're truly looking at Krishna, you won't see the Maya.

David Vaughn75 said:Nope.
Bad is bad, period. Doesn't matter if things change tomorrow or stay trash forever.

Because trying to stumble onto actual truth through pure speculation is damn near impossible. I mean, sure, it happens, but it's like winning the Powerball when you're one in a million.

Not necessarily just one, but every single one of them has to be a pure servant of God.

They're just being carried by good karma.

And once that karma runs out, they crash hard into depression and end up chasing a high just to feel something again.

Maya is riding on Krishna's back, which means if you're truly looking at Krishna, you won't see the Maya.

Furthermore, isn't it true that Maya is merely a humble servant to Krishna? If He were to command her—to release someone from her grasp or to diminish her influence over a particular soul—would she not obey Him with absolute devotion?