The Emergence of  a Guru (Part One)

(The birthing of new educational ideas)

Once upon a time on the eve of a Melbourne Cup day, an ordinary man had an extraordinary dream.  In his dream, it came to him that he needed to do only ONE thing to achieve personal greatness. In his dream, the lightbulb of his subconscious mind flashed on. To achieve greatness, he needed to develop a … develop a … THEORY.  A new way forward.

A Theory!  FANTASTIC!!

This very ordinary person thought about the inspiration presented to him in his dreams. 

This new idea would be something he wanted to develop, espouse and portray orally and in written form. He would want to share his theory with one and all.  He wanted it to be new, big and exciting.  He wanted it to work for him in a way that would bring him acclaim, pecuniary emolument and above all, recognition.

He wanted to be a GURU.  An ordinary man lifted to extraordinary heights by the ‘realisation and awakening’ of his theory, falling on the ears of those who wanted to be convinced that his idea would indeed be a new way forward.

This “would be” Guru realised the importance of promoting and marketing his new idea.  So he talked about his new theory and never let a moment rest when he wasn’t theorising to others.

At first, people were only mildly interested in the would-be Guru’s Theory.

But like a little rock thrown into the middle of a pond, producing a ripple that spreads and spreads, the interest grew and grew and grew. It became quite exponential.

Gatherings of people (who self-defined as learned ones) began to talk, to echo and reflect upon the theory of this “Great One” who had come into their midst. They could not get enough of his exposition.

He went on a major lecture tour, preaching his theory in places wide-ranging in nature

 – from small country town halls to metropolitan convention centres.

To be continued

The Emergence of  a Guru (Part Two)

(The birthing of new educational ideas)

He was widely acclaimed and received by audiences everywhere in the educated world.

Figuratively (and in some cases literally) they fell at his feet. At times he couldn’t believe that he, an ordinary man, had become a “Guru Centric”.

Now it was that this Guru became a cult figure lauded by those who ranged from very high IQs to more run-of-the-mill citizens. This acceptance by everyone became a denominator that linked people of all persuasions.

People paid to hear the words of this now Mighty Guru, basking in the manner and matter of his presentations. People paid to buy his words. He made a mint from PowerPoint sales, DVDs, essays and texts and by uploading these words into cyberspace and onto the net where they could be downloaded by adherents – for quite substantial remuneration.

Those of mercenary bent designed and sold T-shirts, mugs, writing stationery and other items enhanced by his countenance and embellished by his signature. He even became a hero on Pokémon cards.

Like Pedro climbing the mountain, he had reached dizzying heights of stratospheric proportion. He WAS the “Great One” above and looking down on all below him.

HIS was the pinnacle of life.

As the Guru

THIS GURU

Looked down and proclaimed.

“I’m on top of the world

Looking down on my creation

And the only explanation I can find

Is the people I see

Looking at me, Me, ME,

Think I am special

And one of a kind.”

To be continued

The Emergence of  a Guru (Part Three)

(The birthing of new educational ideas)

Of course, the admiration of his adoring public eventually reached saturation point.

His theory had achieved a status of becoming standard household and workplace practice.

There was no more tinsel and glitter about his new idea. Then, of course, it was time for the role to move on, embracing other thoughts that were new, untried and untested.

So it was that his adoring ones moved on, creating new heroes, new Gurus, all the while continuing to practice the habit of ‘discipleship’. They, of course, were dedicated to being followers.

He was quite happy to let them go. He had had his turn! The translation of his ordinariness into extraordinariness had earned him years of substantial acclaim and one huge pile of dollars.

Years later he pondered the “why”. Why can mortals rise, their ordinary becoming extraordinary? Through his ponderings, he realised it takes time, effort, thought and creativity to translate a dream into reality.

He wondered about his experience. And wow, what an experience.  “Guruism” had set him up for life. He faced the prospect of enjoying an early, long and carefree retirement.

“Blessed be ordinary people who take ordinary people and create for themselves a Guru Class. I am glad, so glad I was able to cater for those who had itchy ears and who longed for excitement. Thanks to my theory, I feel better now.”