A Preacher is Not a Teacher

Spiritual knowledge can be imparted only by the realized. To the extent the one has unfolded to that extent they will be able to communicate. While communication can happen with mere knowledge. Conviction arises from personal experience, not from explanations alone. A preacher may speak more eloquently than a spiritual teacher, but there is a crucial difference. What he speaks and what he experiences are entirely different. He speaks that the world is unreal, maya but he experiences the world as real! Spiritual teacher is called Acharya, which means the one who has walked the path of discipline. In ancient times, there were no roads; paths were created by people walking on them. Similarly, acharya creates a spiritual path by walking it themselves.

In most fields of study, the character of the teacher is unrelated to the subject they teach. However, in spirituality, the teacher’s private conduct is inseparable from their teachings. What he does in private is what makes him acharya. When in the company of a crowd, they may wear a mask to project an image of what they are not. But an acharya lives authentically, embodying the principle of achara. Achara means discipline, self-control. By him walking the path of Self-control he has shown the path to the disciple.  That itself is enough for the student to know the value of the path. 

The value of the path will be known to only when one feels lost. This sense of being lost is not about missing something external but about an inner desperation to reconnect with something greater.  Imagine a child is lost in the exhibition? What would be his state? A desperation to unite with mother. What is the way to get back. This is called yoga. There is desperation, fear comes maybe I will never unite. A sense of loss is a desperation to unite, to get back. And you need a path to unite. That path he has shown by walking. For that the disciple feels profound respect for the acharya who has shown the way through their own practice. The feet of the acharya are revered because they represent the path they have walked. Disciples are inspired not by the teacher’s words but by the way they live. This inspiration leads the disciple to follow the same path and, in turn, share it with others.