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.

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Full episode at www.guruviking.com.

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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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

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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