Enlightened Masters or Abusive Guru's
Apr 02, 2022
A bit over 1 month ago, a newspaper article came out about Bentinho Massaro, international spiritual teacher of empowerment & enlightenment. The article shared about 3 of his team-members coming out about his abuse, manipulation, control and deceit. It was not the first article coming out about him and his team-members are also not the first whistleblowers that come out about someone that is seen as a great enlightened master.
Over the years we keep seeing enlightened masters (both alive as well as deceased) falling off their pedestals due to abuse, manipulation or "delusion of grandeur".
It made me wonder.....
What has these teachers arrive upon their pedestal in the first place?
I first of all want to make clear that I absolutely do not support the abuse, manipulation and miss-use of power that teachers like Bentinho have been portraying and I 100% support people coming out when abuse or manipulation is or has been happening.
I also believe there is always more to the story than the black and white eye meets in the first place and so this whole situation with Bentinho made me wonder and has me contemplate deeply how it can even come to a point like this in the first place.
What makes us humans go into such admiration and worship, that we completely lose the connection to ourselves?
What makes us give away our power and leave behind the voice of our own truth?
What makes us say goodbye to our own higher self's guidance and take on someone else's like he, she or they are God?
The Power of a teacher
I understand that this topic is way more complicated than could be described in this one article AND I also feel it's an important conversation to have;
There are most likely more than one teachers, mentors and guru's that inspire you. They show you a way to embody a certain quality or aspect that you are longing to embody more yourself. They offer you new insights, new clarity, freedom and power. The teacher sits in the role of "the one who knows" and this is what makes him/her so powerful. When following a teacher you are invited to always remember that;
Them being in the role of "the one who knows", doesn't make you the one in the role of "the one who doesn't know. The teacher knows a way, yet he, she or they will never know what is best for Your Way!
YOUR HIGHER SELF IS THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS YOUR WAY AND YOUR OWN INTUITION IS THE ONLY VOICE THAT SHOULD HAVE THE FINAL SAY.
Absolutely Nobody else can know Your Way.
You can learn, be inspired, take advice, be taken on a journey or be held by the hand for a while by someone else. But your own resonance knows exactly what the right next move is for you in each moment.
What inspiration, admiration and worship are trying to show you.
Inspiration, comes from the latin word Inspirare, meaning "breathing into". It's tasting something that feels good and has you go into some form of problem solving, action, embodiment, empowerment, expansion or liberation.
Inspiration also is -> the seeing of a quality in someone else, that you would like to embody more yourself. It's the sign that says: "Hey look at this, this is the quality that wants to be integrated inside of you now." And thats exactly why it's highlighted in your awareness.
Intense admiration, jealousy and worship are the shadow side of inspiration. It's where you start to believe that what you see in the other can never be yours. You start to believe that what you see in the other is more than you can ever be.
And this is the moment in which your alarm bells are supposed to go off
🚨🚨🚨Because the teaching of the teacher can never land inside of you if you leave yourself behind.
What you can do to prevent losing yourself in intense admiration or worship.
When you feel inspired by a teacher or mentor, always take your own intuition and inner guidance with you. Recognise that the inspiration you feel is pointing you to some qualities that are already wanting to open up within yourself, that's why they are so highlighted in your awareness. It's your own Higher Self highlighting these qualities, so you can see the next level of your own evolution reflected in the teacher.
It's ok to try out the way of the teacher, to take it on so you can then take with you what resonates and leave behind what doesn't. But never forget;
ALWAYS LET THE VOICE OF YOUR OWN INTUITION BE YOUR MAIN TEACHER AND MAIN GURU.
Teachers, guru's and mentors are also "only human".
Teachers in the end are also "only human". I have never met a teacher, guru or mentor who was flawless, perfect or "without any mistake". All teachers I've met up close had their own (sometimes dragon of a ) shadow and their own demons to slay. So can you please see your teachers as human and stop placing them on a pedestal of intense admiration or worship?
It is beautiful to be inspired by someone, beautiful to be deeply grateful for the teachings and the gifts your mentors bring. But it's quite the position you put the teacher in when you start to worship their wisdom to the extend it cancels out your own deeper intelligence. We in the role of followers or devotees carry a responsibility in that as well!
The difference between the teacher and the teaching.
I have learned sooo much from my teachers & mentors over the last 18 years and I had to face that they are also only human, every single time. A dear friend of mine pointed out to me how we are invited to acknowledge the difference between the teacher and the teaching. The teaching can be the most inspiring information and transmission that we ever received. It helps us grow and crystallise more of who we truly are. The teacher will always stay human. The moment your teacher falls off the pedestal, doesn't make the whole teacher wrong and certainly doesn't make the teaching wrong.
I will not cancel Bentinho Massaro. I feel cancel culture doesn't do any good in creating the world I would like to live in. I feel deeply grateful for Bentinho's teachings and I can and will make a discernment between the teacher and the teaching. The teachings that laid a solid foundation in my being to walk my path with a courageous heart and a deep trust in my inner guidance. A teaching that showed me a next level of clarity around following my bliss and living my deepest alignment & joy.
Yet, I will also not turn away from the pain his behaviour has been causing. I will raise a conversation and deep reflection around this topic and educate around the power of our own inner guidance. I wish Bentinho finds healing in his own process and journey, I wish him the power to face himself with honesty and clarity and wish him to be surrounded by the right people that can support him through that process.
I wish the deepest healing to his 3 team-members and any other beings that have experienced hurt by him or any of the other enlightened masters that fell of their pedestals over the years.
I also wish for any part of you or moment in your life in which you lost the connection to the truth of your own inner voice. May you forgive yourself and hold yourself with love & kindness and may (this part of) you find a deep connection to the power of your own intuition and truth.
I pray for a world in which we no longer leave behind the clarity and power of our own inner guidance.
A world in which we have our own Higher Self as the one and only true Guru we will ever find.
With love,
Nicole
p.s.
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