Ep360: Gurus & Awakenings - Dr Christopher “Hareesh” Wallis

In this episode, I am once again joined by Dr Christopher “Hareesh” Wallis, a Sanskritist and scholar-practitioner of Classical Tantra. Christopher shares how he became a spiritual teacher, explains the dangers of guru idealisation, and considers if he may be misleading his students. Christopher discusses his own series of religious peak experiences, explores their causes, and reflects on their consequences. Christopher recalls his time studying with American spiritual teacher Adyanshanti, the influence of Marshall Rosenberg, and reveals how his ability to spot fake gurus improved after his awakening. … Full episode at www.guruviking.com. Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 00:43 - Studying under Alexis Sanderson 04:16 - Faithfulness to the traditions 05:38 - The requirements to understand tantric sources 06:24 - Secrecy and the oral tradition 09:07 - Did Sanderson receive Lakshmanjoo’s energetic transmission 12:28 - Academic approaches to religion 13:28 - Public vs private religion 14:23 - Why isn’t Sanderson religious? 16:40 - Is Shaivite Tantra a relic of the past? 17:42 - Does religious affiliation contaminate academic objectivity? 20:43 - Cabezón on the benefits of an insider perspective on religious 21:44 - Piety and devotion as motives 23:02 - Humanists can have devotion too 23:43 - Cynicism about human motives 24:50 - Loss of trust in gurus 26:39 - Famous gurus want to be famous 28:30 - How gurus fall 31:25 - How Christopher became a spiritual teacher 33:33 - Switching from academia to freelance spiritual teaching 25:22 - Is Christopher a guru? 39:30 - Does Christopher mislead his students? 44:21 - Christopher’s experience of flow when teaching 47:20 - Feeling the presence of past masters 49:30 - Self-deception and collusion with students 53:02 - Student-teacher projection 54:29 - Christopher’s experience with naive projection 56:23 - How Christopher deals with idealisation 57:52 - Why your biggest fans can become your greatest haters 59:14 - A story of praise and blame 01:01:55 - Christopher’s spiritual journey 01:05:22 - Studying with Adyashanti 01:08:26 - Christopher’s awakening 01:09:45 - What is vs one’s mental representation 01:14:39 - Sudden or gradual? 01:18:08 - Freedom from mental constructs 01:20:08 - Non-violent communication 01:24:13 - Am I good enough? 01:26:31 - Aftermath of an awakening experience 01:29:58 - Glimpse vs abiding shift 01:33:42 - Spotting fake gurus after awakening 01:35:57 - Changes in doctrinal understanding 01:40:22 - Challenging the true believer 01:42:29 - Denying the Buddhist doctrine of no-self 01:43:26 - 3 stages of awakening 01:47:41 - Christopher’s “Tantra 112” meditation app … Previous episode with Christopher Wallis: - https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=wallis To find our more about Dr Christopher Wallis visit: - https://hareesh.org/ For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - https://www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James