Sufism, Vol. 1 Sufis: The People Of The Path Chapter 4: Love Cannot Deliver the Goods, Question 4

The fourth question:

Question 4

OFTEN IT SEEMS THAT A SUCCESSFUL THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP RESULTS IN SPIRITUAL GROWTH FOR BOTH CLIENT AND THERAPIST. PLEASE EXPLAIN: TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CLIENT AND THERAPIST SIMILAR TO THAT OF DISCIPLE AND MASTER?

It is not similar at all -- for many reasons. But the most fundamental is: the client and the therapist relationship is a relationship and a relationship between a disciple and Master is not a relationship at all -- because the disciple has to disappear into it. The client, the patient, has not to disappear into the therapist; they retain their identities. They remain two. In the relationship with the Master the disciple has to disappear, and when there is no disciple naturally the Master has disappeared also -- because the Master cannot be there without the disciple. The Master is the idea of the disciple. When the disciple has disappeared the Master has disappeared. And there is only God. One God.

This is very significant. Remember it. If you are ready to disappear I am already not there. I exist only in your mind. As far as my own existence is concerned it is not there. If you are ready to dissolve, suddenly you will become aware that you have dissolved into a nothingness; there is neither Master nor disciple. How can there be a relationship?

The relationship is possible between the teacher and the taught, yes, but not between a Master and a disciple. There are two kinds of people around here. Those who are disciples.... For them there is no relationship with me -- I am them, they are me. But there are a few who are students. Then there is a relationship: I am the teacher and they are the students. There may be a few who are here as patients too -- then I am the therapist and they are the patients. It depends on you.

But the relationship between a patient and a therapist is a relationship.

The second thing to remember: the patient and the therapist are not different as far as their beings are concerned. The therapist may be suffering from the same pathology as the patient, he may have the same problems. But he is an expert, a knowledgeable person. He knows more than the patient. He is not more than the patient, he KNOWS more than the patient. He can be helpful.

He is like a plumber. The plumber knows more than you about your bathroom but that doesn't mean that he is more than you. When something is wrong -- the heater is not functioning and the water is not flowing -- you call the plumber. He knows more. He will be helpful. He is an expert.

The therapist is the plumber of the mind. Something is blocked -- he knows. He will help you. I have many plumbers around here and they do good work, they really know what they are doing -- but remember, a plumber is a plumber.

A Master is not a plumber. A Master is not quantitatively different from you, he is qualitatively different from you. Sometimes it can happen that the disciple knows more than the Master. It is possible, there is no problem in it, but the disciple is not more than the Master. And that is the difference.

The Master has being. He has arrived. He has no problems. His problems have disappeared -- because he has disappeared the basic problem has disappeared. The problem-creator has disap-peared. He has no problems. When you relate to a Master you are relating to a person who has no problems. He is utterly quiet. There is absolute silence. No question, no problem, nothing to be solved, nowhere to go, nothing to do... all has already happened. There is no more to happen. Happening has dis-appeared. He simply is. It is a pure isness, a pure existence.

A therapist is a man just like you, but he has a certain expertise. He can help you so far.

I have heard....

A fellow had two parrots and he wanted to know which was the male and which was the female. A man standing near said, 'I am a bird expert, and I can tell you.'

'If you look you will notice that every time the birds eat worms, the male bird always eats the male worms and the female bird eats the female worms.'

'Well, how do you know which is the male and which is the female worm?'

'Well, I don't know that. I'm just a bird expert.'

A therapist can go so far, but don't push him too much. Take his help. He knows much more about how the human mind functions, how man behaves, than you know. He has studied it. He can be helpful. If your mind is not functioning well he can put things right. He can make you readjusted.

A Master does not readjust your mind, he helps you to dissolve it. He is not concerned in adjusting you to the society, adjusting you to particular norms, standards, principles; he is not concerned with adjusting you at all -- because this society is sick. It is as sick as it can be. To adjust you to this society is to adjust you to great sickness. This society is mad, it is neurotic. And all your psychotherapists are in the service of this neurotic society. When somebody starts going beyond the limits of the commonly accepted neurosis the psychotherapist has to be brought in -- you are going too far. Come back. He helps you to come back to the accepted boundaries. He makes you a normal abnormal, that's all. He is in the service of the society.

That's why psychotherapy is very anti-revolutionary. If it is a capitalist society the therapist will adjust you to the capitalist society. If you live in America he will adjust you to the American society, the American way of life. If you live in soviet Russia he will adjust you to the communist society, the communist way of life. He serves the state. He serves the status quo. Wherever he is, he is in the service of whomsoever happens to be in power.

A Master serves no power. A Master serves no society. A Master is basically rebellious. Rebellion is his very flavour. He serves no imprisonments, he serves no conditionings. He makes you simply free -- free of all conditioning, free of all societies, free of all man-made laws and disciplines. He gives you freedom.

A psychotherapist gives you a psychological readjustment so that you can function better, that's all. The psychotherapist looks at you as a function in the society. You are a doctor, you were doing perfectly well, then one day you go cuckoo. Now the psychotherapist comes and helps you to do your things back in the same way you were doing them. You were doing such a good service to the society, you were such a good physician, you were a good professor... and then something goes wrong. You were doing such a utilitarian thing, you were such a good commodity.

A professor of philosophy told his class that if any of them could answer one question he would allow that individual to forego the regular examination. The question was: 'If a boat floats five miles downstream while a crow flies eight miles across an open field in the same time that a sparrow flies ten and half miles counter-clockwise, then how old am I?'

'You are forty-four years old, sir,' answered one of the pupils.

'Remarkable!' exclaimed the professor. 'Tell me, exactly how did you arrive at that figure?'

'That was easy, sir,' replied the student modestly. 'You see, I have a nephew who's twenty-two, and he's only half crazy.'

Now this professor will need a psychotherapist to bring him back. He has gone too far -- too far out.

The psychotherapist helps the society to remain as it is. Freudians, Jungians, Adlerians, and all, they are all anti-revolutionaries because they all serve the society. Whatsoever they say, howsoever they guard their principles, basically they serve the status quo.

They are the modern version of the priest. In the ancient days the priest used to serve the same function. He used to keep people under rule, under control. He was serving the king. There was a conspiracy between the priest and the politician. The politician would touch the feet of the priest and the priest was enforcing a certain kind of society on people -- in the name of God. Then by and by God died. Naturally the priest became unemployed. The kings disappeared. Now there are only five kings -- four of playing cards and one of England. Others have disappeared. The king disappeared, the priest disappeared, the God disappeared, the society became democratic.

But the society needs the priest. Without the priest the politician cannot function. The priest has come back with a new name -- the psychotherapist is the new priest and psychotherapy is the new religion, religion in the sense all so-called religions have been. It is not Sufism, it is not Zen, it is not Hassidism; it is Judaism, Mohammedanism, Hinduism, Buddhism. It is the new religion and the psychotherapist is the new priest and they are serving old purposes -- old wine in new bottles.

The Master has always been against the priest and the Master is going to remain against all kinds of priests -- whatsoever their name.

The relationship between a Master and a disciple is something utterly different. First it is not a relationship; second it has nothing to do with society, adjustment, normality. In fact, the Master helps the disciple to go beyond the mind. The therapist keeps the person below the mind, in the mind. Their functions are almost contrary.

Sufism

VOL. 1, SUFIS: THE PEOPLE OF THE PATH

Chapter-4

Love Cannot Deliver the Goods