27 December 2013 - QA 1

Why do masters sometimes ignore disciples? Can a Guru ever forsake or get fed up with a disciple?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

If you think you are very important, then you will be ignored. Got it? There is no question of forsaking. Does air forsake you? Does the sun forsake you?
There is nothing called forsaking. If anyone feels like that, it is all in the mind.

It is very strange but true, even if there is nothing to worry and complain about, the mind will create something to worry and complain about.
The nature of the mind is such that if you have nothing to be miserable about, you will think about something that happened ten days ago, or ten years ago with somebody, and think that there is injustice. Then you get into a sense of victim consciousness. You need to watch out for this!

Two things are detrimental on the spiritual path:
1. Culprit consciousness
In the past, religion pushed you into feeling like a culprit. It made you think that you are a sinner, you must repent. This sense of being a sinner pushes you down, away from spirituality. It rattles your mind and brings such a sense of guilt deep within you.

Unfortunately, many people lived their lives in guilt and died with this feeling. That guilt consciousness never allowed them to come out of the small mind. People lived without realizing that oneness with the Divinity, that innermost peace and joy.
Jesus said, ‘I and my father are one’ (implying oneness with the Divine). He never said that you repent, you are a sinner. In fact, Jesus stood against it if someone said that anyone was a sinner. Later on, religious people used guilt as it was very convenient to enroll others.

2. Victim consciousness
Oh, I am victimized! I am right and you owe me an explanation. If nothing, at least an explanation!’ The mind rattles on being a victim.
Victim consciousness is on the other end of guilt or culprit consciousness. It is another big issue that the human race has fallen prey to.

Both, victim consciousness and guilt consciousness are detrimental on the spiritual path, they make you miserable. Whenever you think you are a victim, you cannot have proper rest. Then you keep crying or getting angry at others.