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Carlos' and my conversation turned to the tendency that human beings have of behaving in imitative ways; something that Carlos categorized as 'the behavior of primates'.
He said, "Our great opportunity, and at the same time our great anxiety, is an abyss of silent knowledge which is still inside each one of us.
"Below the noise of the mind, we all have the sensation that there is something indefinite residing there. And that is what makes us grab anything which will alleviate this pressure of the unknown.
"Frequently, that feeling takes us to fanaticism, and there are always those willing to profit from other people's faith."
I asked, "Are all teachers frauds, then?"
Carlos replied, "What I have seen is that most of them are as asleep as their followers, but they have learned how to hide it.
"Imagine a planet where all the residents are blind, and then among them circulates the myth that it is possible to see, although no one has verified it.
"One day someone arrives and says, 'I can see!'
"What can they do? They can either believe or not believe.
"There will always be some who hope. It does not matter if their teacher is also blind, it would be very easy for him or her to take advantage of the situation.
"The Eagle does not demand that you revere it, only that you fill yourself with awareness.
"To fall on your knees before the unknown is totally useless, but to do it before another human being is the pinnacle of idiocy.
"The ape, that we have inside us, yearns to have someone to guide us. The ape needs to believe that there are superior entities who can magically solve our problems.
"As children, we are always hoping that somebody will show up, and take care of the situation. From this mentality, cults are born, that, in essence, are ways of leaving the responsibility for one's own growth in other people's hands.
"We have been deceived. We have been told that we are special, because we are rational. But that is not true.
"The human being wants desperately to obey, and dies from fear when his valuable beliefs are removed. We are like the fish that clean fish tanks, always with the mouth open, devouring any debris that is thrown to us.
"Meanwhile, we ignore the source of life and knowledge that we each have inside.
"I am going to tell you a very old and well-worn story, but one that remains apropos.
"The gods were wondering where to hide wisdom, in order to keep it out of man's reach.
"In the mountains? No. Man would climb them. In the ocean? No. Man would find it. The moon, the stars, and all of outer-space were equally discarded because some day man would explore all of that.
"Finally, the gods came to the conclusion that the best place to hide wisdom was inside man, because that is one place he would never look for it.
"Now, what does man do? Instead of examining himself with total honesty, he looks for a teacher.
"To become responsible for one's own existence is an anomaly; a violation of laws; a state of passion out of the ordinary; a fight that demands your entire life.
"It is the only procedure that will renew our energy.
"I do not know if you will be able to understand this detail, but, to know one's self is an intent of warriors.
"And nobody can intend it for you; not like you might."