About five years ago I went for "satsang" with a Western advaita teacher, Lisa Cairns. It was on the balcony of a small bungalow on the Thai island, Koh Phangan. I had heard people saying she was good, so I went along. It may have cost me 100 baht (about £2) or it may have been free. I don't remember. And, to be honest, I don't remember much about this "gathering together for the truth" (a loose translation of satsang), as nothing that Lisa Cairns said stood out from the ordinary, except perhaps one anecdote that Lisa shared with us, that one of her gurus, possibly a guy called Tony Parsons (but don't quote me on that), asked her for some money and then called her "a stupid cunt". I wasn't sure what the point of this particular "truth" was, but it stood out, a head and shoulders above any of the other banal advaita platitudes that she espoused that day!
Lisa was a pretty girl, maybe in her early 30s, with a touch of "Essex Girl" about her. Though, to be honest, to my Scottish ears, she could come from anywhere in the South of England. Aside from not saying much of any consequence, she didn't actually say much at all. There were long LONG periods of silence... and I am reminded of this, as I watch a recent YouTube video, just as a wee refresher... and twenty minutes into this epic one hour plus video she still hasn't actually said anything... she finally starts speaking after twenty three minutes... and when she starts speaking it is in the usual "avaita speak"... which perhaps Mooji can get away with, but for me, this lassie just doesnae cut it! I'm not at all convinced by her.
Why do I bring Lisa Cairns up now? Well, a friend of mine from work - who earns the same £8.45 an hour as I do - just confided in me that he paid £60 for an hour long Skype chat with Lisa Cairns... and he reckons she's pretty popular (it says she's booked out two weeks in advance on her webiste). So, we imagined what she would earn in a week if she worked a regular 40 hour week like most folks. And wow, she'd be earning £2,400 a week. That's over £100,000 a year. Of course, she probably doesn't Skype 40 hours a week. She doesn't bloody well need to, eh? I tell you what though, Tony Parsons (or whoever said it) was wrong about our Lisa, she is NOT a "stupid cunt".
I am constantly amazed at the brass balls of people who imagine they are "spiritual teachers". Having been on this path (on and off) for over 30 years now, I feel like I am slowly - very slowly - coming to a place of wisdom, which has been hard fought for... and I feel that maybe someday not so far away, maybe when I am in my sixties, I might be ready to teach... maybe! Wisdom - real wisdom - is slowly etched into someone... and it is rare indeed that you encounter a young person who is truly wise. I have met many who have spent a few years on one spiritual path or another and have learned an adequate amount to be one or two steps ahead of those that they teach, but they are NOT genuinely wise. They are still half-baked people, still learning, still confused... but they set themselves up on a pedestal and teach, when they are far from genuinely wise themselves... parroting stuff they have learned, but not truly integrated. They talk a magnificent talk, but when it comes to the walking, they are toddlers, like the rest of us.
