Everything is changing constantly. We call this evolution. Evolution is brought about by time. Time as it progresses reveals many hidden secrets about knowledge and the material universe. What was once unknown is known now. What is unknown now will be known someday in the future. The bottom line is that everything is changing every moment. But, there are institutions that have resisted change: Our religious institutions and our fanatical attachments to faith. We say God is beyond reason and logic. It is a matter of the heart and inner knowingness. I totally agree with it. But I want to warn you about ignorant gurus and negative enlightenment. These terms may be considered oxymorons, but they do exist.

Many years ago when I gave a New Year's Eve lecture in Los Angeles, I mentioned about the ignorance of the Buddha. I said the Buddha lived in a primitive society without electricity, air conditioning or antibiotics. Science and technology, as we know them today, did not exist then, so the Buddha suffered along with his contemporaries. They slept on the hard floor, walked in the hot sun, drank dirty water and died of epidemic or a clogged artery. Although enlightened, Buddha was not only conditioned by lack of scientific or technological knowledge, but by a devastating monastic and ascetic culture. The Buddha, though he called himself a rebel and was known for his polemics of Hinduism, nonetheless was a victim of the Hindu asceticism and celibacy of the Upanishadic tradition of pre-Buddhist and post-Vedic India. This is what made the Buddha leave his kingdom, father, wife, and son in search of enlightenment. The ideal was renunciation and asceticism. Desire is the root cause of misery. Seek nirvana through meditation and end the cycle of birth and death. The Buddha supposedly is understood to have followed the so-called "middle path" which avoids extreme life styles. Did he follow one? Apparently not. He took to begging and didn't allow women in his monasteries for a long time.

So far I have dwelt on the negative qualities of the Buddha and his way of life. Is there anything positive about him? Yes, there is a lot. The Buddha knew about the unknowable. He is a great scientist of super consciousness and nirvana. He acquired tremendous amounts of superhuman and supernatural powers. He lived like a superman, which in his opinion was better than being a prince or king. Life to him was worth renouncing for the sake of enlightenment.

I want you to ponder the question: Do we have to renounce life in order to reach enlightenment? Most religions, if not all, would say, 'yes' to this question. That is how we created the split between the layman and the clergy, the profane and the sacred. It is time for all religionists to join together and to develop a hard-nosed look at their holy men and their teachings in their respective traditions. I know that this will create turmoil and confusion among the congregation who are emotionally tied to their religions and beliefs. I am not professing a rationalistic theology. Religion and spirituality are beyond reason. However, I urge you to look at the neglect and lack of interest that churches, temples, mosques and monasteries have suffered. People are not able to relate to their religion easily except otherwise through some form of fundamentalism, which is not a desirable option.

We need to contemporize our religion, faith and spiritual practices. In order to do this we have to discern. Particularly we need to discriminate between positive and negative enlightenment, ignorant gurus and enlightened gurus. The following comparisons will help you to decide for yourself the key factors about the four categories that I have described.

Negative Enlightenment

1. Desires is the cause for misery and the senses cause bondage to the world. Practice renunciation.
2. Annihilation of ego.
3. Sit in meditation all the time.
4. Lead a poor life with minimum resources.
5. Live in the moment and don't plan for the future.
6. Work is distraction from enlightenment.
7. Sex is evil.
8. Senses are evil.
9. Emotions and fantasies are evil.

Positive Enlightenment

1. Life should be full of positive desires, but remain detached from everything - joy and suffering.
2. Nurture positive ego, which leads to self-esteem.
3. Sit in meditation for an hour, but be mindful all day.
4. Live a comfortable life with moderate luxury.
5. Live in the moment and secure your present and future.
6. Work is divine and better than inaction and unemployment.
7. Sex is divine.
8. Senses are nourishing, and keep them under control.
9. Emotions and fantasies give meaning to life.

During the month of February, 2000, I took a group of my American students on a pilgrimage to India. We went to a sacred mountain in search of the Siddhas, (perfected Beings). I met a guy in deep saffron and long matted hair. He would not speak and it was said that he lived on one meal a day. I gave him some money. He wanted to have his picture taken with my students and me. I complied, though feeling uncomfortable. When I was leaving, he asked me to write something. I wrote to him that he should give up his pretensions about silence and fasting and try to get a job. Later on, the temple priest told me that the so-called saint became silent because he didn't know answers to the questions of his people. All that he needed to do was fake a mystical look and raise his hands in blessings. He raised one hand if the donation was poor and two hands if it was generous.

Many years ago when I was young, I studied with a guru who has been a university professor for 30 years of his life. He was a high school drop out, but his knowledge was more than most PhDs. Most universities recognized him and awarded honorary doctorate degrees. He would never teach for money, but selected one or two people whom he would teach individually. He introduced me to Sri Vidya, an ancient Tantric tradition. The day he initiated me, the Goddess appeared to me in a dream. This is an example of a real teacher. However, this does not mean that anybody who doesn't collect money is a master teacher. Many teachings are available free of cost from gurus in India who act like the guru I mentioned formerly. It is very difficult to find an authentic guru.

Ignorant Guru

• Fanatical, fundamentalist. Robes and beard are more important than their inner development.
• Follows institutional bureaucracy and hierarchy in order to keep political power.
• Manipulates students to stay with them through fear, guilt and eternal oaths.
• 'I am God or the only one who holds the truth. Everyone else is either false or mistaken'.
• Wealth is bad and you should give up your belongings (perhaps to him for safe custody).
• Outwardly condemns sex although it is contradictory to his conviction and practice.
• Keeps away from socializing with students in order to keep the students in awe and wonder.
• Doesn't talk about his struggles with thoughts and desires, but lies to the world that he is in samadhi and without thoughts
• Donation to the guru or his institution will wash away your sins.
• Full of diseases in the body, and blames them on to the karma of the students and the world.
• Claims that his personal suffering is due to taking on the karma of the people of the world.

Enlightened Guru

• Totally free from concepts, constantly moving forward and progressive. Robes are not as important as inner development.
• Not attached to institutions and hierarchy. Least political.
• Always asks his students to feel free to quit without fear or guilt.
• 'I am on the path still evolving'. Respects others teachings and recommends their books and teachings.
• Wealth is freedom. You should save money for your rainy days.
• Affirms sexuality and its divinity.
• Mingles with his students and is easily accessible.
• Talks freely about his mistakes and shortcomings.
• Donations may help, but has to be on the basis of true inner transformation.
• Talks about battle with the body and tries to be healthy.
• Claims that his personal suffering is due to his lack of knowledge to handle karma successfully.