Independent Evidence
A young man who lived in a rural area of a certain country had
long dreamed of finding a spiritual guide. The evenings of his youth
had been filled with stories told by his parents and some of their
friends concerning different friends of God whom they all had met
– either individually or collectively, together with accounts of some
of the experiences which had transpired during those encounters.
One spiritual guide, in particular, who had been mentioned by
both his parents, as well as many of their friends, had an inexplicable
attraction for the young boy. The lad kept pestering his parents to
tell the same stories over and over again in relation to the boy’s
favorite mystical guide.
As the youngster grew older, he searched out every piece of
information he could uncover with respect to this same spiritual
teacher. He visited the book stores, the libraries, and various
spiritual centers in the town in search of the sought after material.
Although he liked to read the works of various spiritual teachers,
no other guide held his interest, nor fascinated the youth in the way
this one friend of God did. The boy wanted, more than anything, to
be able to go and visit the man and take mystical initiation with him,
and until he could do this, he felt very restless, always longing for a
distant source of his preoccupation.
One book which the boy came across in the town library had an
old photo of the saint. Immediately, the boy fell in love with the
image in the picture.
In fact, the boy was so infatuated that he ran up huge overdue
fines because he couldn’t bear to have the book with the prized
picture leave his house. Eventually, the parents realized it would be
cheaper to special order the book at the local store than to have to go
on paying the fines on the boy’s behalf.
When the boy was in his late teens, an opportunity presented
itself which enabled the youngster to visit the city where the saint
resided. Fearing the spiritual teacher might be traveling somewhere
else at the time of the boy’s trip, the youth had written a letter to the
spiritual center with which the guide was affiliated, seeking an
audience with the teacher.
The teenager was on pins and needles until a letter arrived from
the distant spiritual center. The boy ripped open the envelope, read
the contents, and whooped with joy because his request had been
granted.
Somehow the youngster managed to survive the impatience he
felt throughout the several months leading up to his trip. Eventually,
that day came, as all days eventually do, and the teenager left for his
destination – namely, the longed-for spiritual guide.
When the boy arrived at the spiritual center, he presented the
letter he had received several months previously and asked where he
should go for his meeting with the teacher. The youngster was taken
to a second-floor room and found the guide waiting for him.
The two chatted about the boy’s trip and life in the town where
the teenager lived. The youngster mentioned his parents’ names, and
described them a little, and the spiritual teacher indicated that he
remembered both his mother and father, and laughed about some of
the amusing events which the boy’s parents had recounted to the
youngster over the years.
Nervously, the teenager edged closer to the issue which had been
burning in his heart for such a long time. Finally, he blurted out: “I
would like to be initiated by you. I want this more than anything –
not just the initiation, per se, but initiation with you,” and the
youngster emphasized the word ‘you’.
“I don’t understand what this is all about, or why these feelings
are within me, but you captivated my heart when I was just a boy –
or, at least, more of one than I still am -- and I have gone to bed every
night since then with this question on my lips,” said the youth. He
looked imploringly at the teacher.
A trace of concerned spread across the face of the guide, and as
the teacher’s expression grew more concerned, the boy’s spirits
began to plummet. Surely, the youth’s dream was about to be
dashed.
The friend of God saw the boy’s condition change and quickly
said: “There is no need for you to become alarmed. My concern is
not over whether you should be accepted onto the Path, but whether
you will be doing so with what the lawyers refer to as ‘informed
consent.’”
Although the boy’s heart stopped its steep decline into despair
when he heard the words of the guide, the teenager was mystified:
“I’m sorry,” the boy said, “I don’t understand. I have read a great
many books on the subject, and I have talked with many, many
people about the nature of the mystical path.
“While I realize that I don’t have any real, experiential
understanding of the nature of spirituality, I do feel that I
understand enough to know this is what I want to do – especially
with you.”
The guide smiled at the youngster’s enthusiasm and fervor. He
replied to the youth’s words with: “I’m don’t doubt you have read a
lot, and I don’t doubt the sincerity of your intention concerning
initiation, but, nonetheless, let’s do this the right way, so there will be
no doubt in your mind about what you are going to do.”
The teenager waited to hear the guide’s proposal. The youngster
couldn’t imagine what would be requested of him, but the youth was
ready to do whatever was necessary.
The guide said: “There is a yellow house about a mile to the east
on the road which runs in front of the spiritual center. The house is
on the same side of the street and near a variety store called
‘Neighbors’, and it is the only yellow house in that area.
“I want you to go the house, ask to speak with a Dr. Smith, and
without letting on that you have met me, tell the good doctor your
story about wanting to become initiated through me. Before you
begin your story, tell the doctor that someone, who wishes to remain
anonymous, has sent you to that house to ask him his opinion of your
idea and to seek his assistance in the matter.
You should listen to what the doctor says without comment, but
do feel free to ask whatever questions you like. When you are
satisfied you have received all the information the doctor has about
this matter, then, come back here to the center, and we will talk
further.”
The teenager followed the instructions. About 40 minutes later,
he was at the door of the yellow house.
The youth knocked on the door, and a short while later, an
elderly man, with a friendly face appeared. The visitor explained his
mission, and the man indicated that he, in fact, was Dr. Smith and
that the latter would consider it his sacred duty to speak with the
youngster concerning the spiritual matter which had brought to the
boy to the doctor’s door.
The youth was taken into the living room and was guided to a
spot near the far end of a couch which ran along one wall, nearly
covering the length of the room. The doctor headed for a lounge
chair which was positioned near where the youngster had been taken.
When the two were settled, the doctor became very serious and
intense. He proceeded to berate the spiritual guide who had,
unknown to the doctor, sent the youth for the doctor’s assistance and
advice.
The doctor had absolutely nothing good to say about the teacher.
He called the guide a fraud, a charlatan, a con artist, an egotist, a
lunatic, a dangerous influence, and someone who misleads people
away from the truth of things and straight into damnation.
The doctor had a wealth of information to share with the
youngster and proceeded to do so. From time to time, the teenager
asked the doctor whatever questions came to mind.
When the doctor finally ran out of things to say the man
concluded with: “Son, my advice to you is to stay as far away from
that so-called mystical teacher as you can. He will cause you nothing
but problems and try to trick you into wasting your life chasing after
occult pipe-dreams.”
The youth thanked the doctor for his time as well as the extensive
information, and he indicated to the doctor that the conversation had
given the youngster a lot about which to think. As the boy rose from
the couch, the doctor rose with him, placed a arm of friendship
around the teenager’s shoulder and walked the boy to the door where
the two said ‘good-bye’.
A short while later, the youth had returned to the center. Upon
arriving, he sought out the guide once again.
When the two were together, the teacher said: “Well, what
happened?”
The boy gave a blow by blow account to which the guide listened
attentively. When the youngster was through, the teacher said:
“Well, in light of what you have been told, do you still want to be
initiated by me.”
The teenager nodded his head and said: “Yes, very much.”
“What the doctor said didn’t alter your spiritual intention in any
way,” inquired the teacher.
The youngster shook his head -- ‘no’. Then, the teenager asked:
“Who is that man, and why did you send me to him?”
The guide smiled and replied: “The good doctor is my uncle, and
I thought you should have a second opinion before deciding what you
want to do about me and the mystical path.”
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