The A**hole Guru

 

Does being ‘spiritually enlightened’ automatically make you a more compassionate and caring person? Not necessarily. And I learned that the hard way. A few years ago, I was invited to support a so-called sage who had near mystical powers. Scientists have been studying this man’s ability to bless plants -- even entire fields --  and cause the seeds to sprout faster than their scheduled date. This sage certainly showed signs of great spiritual ability. When I was asked to help him build a website, I was honored. Mindvalley was only just starting to take off at the time so I was appreciative of any business I could get. One day, while meeting this spiritual teacher in San Diego, we were having a private conversation about the work we were doing. One of my Argentenian employees by the name of Juan then walked into the room to join the conversation. You see, Juan was my CMO. But this teacher didn’t know that. And when he saw this latin-looking man walk in, the teacher yelled at him… “Who the f*ck are you?” I was shocked. So I explained who Juan was. The teacher doubled down, “I don’t care. I said I would only meet Vishen. Who the f*ck are you? Get the f*ck out! Get the f*ck out! Get the f*ck out!” Juan was obviously stunned. And so was I.  Juan was one of the most brilliant people on my team.  And even if he wasn’t, nobody should ever be talked to like that. Juan held his hands up and calmly said, “Ok, no problem. I’m just going to walk out and I will leave you with Vishen.” I wrapped up my meeting quickly, and went to join Juan at the nearby bar to see how he was feeling. He was visibly hurt and shaken as anyone would be in that situation. My decision at the end of that day was an easy one. I was absolutely not going to work further with this teacher. In my next meeting, I handed over the website we had been working on, and I refused to take the $50,000 fee we initially agreed upon. I cut ties with this spiritual teacher immediately after. I was deeply offended by how this man treated my friend Juan and I didn’t want anything to do with him. But this entire situation left me extremely confused and puzzled for many years. How could a man with such advanced spiritual abilities be such an a**hole? The thing is… He’s not an anomaly either. If you’ve seen the recent Netflix documentary ‘Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator’, then you’ll know what I’m talking about. So how was it that some great spiritual sages and teachers, many of whom genuinely have profound wisdom to share, turn out to be such horrible human beings? I finally learned the answer after an eye-opening conversation with legendary philosopher and our featured Mindvalley teacher of the week, Ken Wilber. And we cover this idea in our new Masterclass: How To Create An Integral Spiritual Life Practice.     Register Free   You see, having a spiritual awakening is a form of human development called ‘Waking Up’. BUT it is completely independent from the development of compassion, goodness and a unity consciousness, which is called ‘Growing Up.’  ‘Waking Up’ and ‘Growing Up’ are two completely different paths. One can be highly spiritually but also be a nasty, vindictive and awful human being. On the other hand, one can be deeply compassionate but may be missing out on the spiritual fulfillment that’s so integral to the human experience. We need to develop in both areas. This is the single most powerful idea I learned in my personal growth.  And it came from Ken Wilber. So go deeper with me and Ken in this Masterclass to understand this nuanced concept for yourself, so you can ensure you’re not just ‘Waking Up’ but you’re ‘Growing Up’ as well. This idea will influence the teachers you study with, the politicians you vote for, and it’ll affect how you evolve as a human being. More in the Masterclass >>>     Vishen Lakhiani Founder of Mindvalley and 2 times bestselling Author of The Code of the Extraordinary Mind and The Buddha and the Badass. Follow The Real Me on Instagram.