Encounters With The Nagual: Part 2 - Chapter 15. There Is No Need For Teachers.

Encounters With The Nagual © 2004 by Armando Torres:

Part 2 - Chapter 15. There Is No Need For Teachers.

On one occasion, I asked Carlos, "What determines an ordinary man's access to the sorcerers' knowledge?"

He answered, "Intent. A man's intent has to make an offer to the spirit, and the spirit must accept it, and put the means of evolution in his path.

"In other times, the only available way was to be directly pointed out to a nagual. Nowadays, an ordinary man has the opportunity to be guided through publications.

"When seeking access to the world of sorcerers, one must be prepared.

"An accidental encounter with power will not lead to anything except to a brutal fright for the seeker. And from then on that seeker will swear that sorcery is demon's work, or that everything is sheer falsehood.

"A poorly conducted preparation for the first encounter with power will simply foment self-importance. And the encounter becomes a near total obstacle for the apprentice instead of increasing wonder and a desire to learn.

"Someone who comes to the nagual saturated with beliefs on almost everything will not have much chance to continue.

"Therefore, one requirement upon entering the path of knowledge is a profound honesty, and to recognize that when it comes down to it, we do not know anything.

"Understand that it will be necessary to empty the harbor to make room for the new ship arriving.

"Once that degree of preparation has been reached, the rest is a matter of luck as to finding a sorcerers group. Then the spirit determines who will be chosen and who will not.

"The responses of the spirit are inscrutable. They happen in unexpected ways and in terms that are almost always incomprehensible to our reason.

"All we can do is be attentive to the signs, and place ourselves deliberately in their path.

"But when man's intent seals an alliance with the spirit, it is unavoidable that a teacher appears."

I asked Carlos if the nagual could be considered a teacher in the same way as the oriental instructors.

He answered emphatically, "No. There is no comparison for a very simple reason. A nagual never chooses his apprentices. The spirit is the one who determines through omens who can, and who can not, be part of a lineage.

"A real teacher is an impeccable warrior, who has lost his human form, and who has a very clear bond with the abstract. So, he does not accept volunteers.

"Education systems based on the seeker's spontaneous desire do not get very far, because they are not geared towards realization, but towards the concerns of the ego. All the followers do is to imitate, and that does not lead anywhere. Therefore, there is no need for teachers per-se.

"After years of learning, I am convinced that all a seeker needs is the opportunity to be made aware of his possibilities, and a commitment to the death with his purpose."

I observed that Carlos statements were contradicting his repeated statements about how, without Don Juan, he would not have achieved anything.

He replied, "Sorcerers make a clear distinction between the concepts of a 'spiritual guide' and a 'nagual teacher'.

"'Spiritual guides' are an individuals who specializes in directing flocks. They will tell you what you want to hear, and they will give you the miracles that you want to see. You interest them as an acolyte.

"A nagual, as a teacher, is an impeccable warrior who knows that his role is limited to serving as a connection with the spirit. A nagual is guided by commands of an impersonal power.

"His or her help is not altruistic, but a way of paying an old debt to the spirit of man.

"The nagual is not a benevolent type coming to please us, but rather, is coming to wake us up. And a nagual will do it with a stick, if necessary, because she or he does not feel any compassion. When intervening in the life of their apprentices, naguals can produce a condition of such agitation, that the apprentices' latent energies are activated."