What makes the situation very difficult is the fact that in a traditional teaching in the guru-disciple relationship an objective discussion of facts is not admitted. Studying the authoritative texts does not mean that they be read, discussed, and their meaning discovered with a simple, unprejudiced mind. Instead, the guru teaches his disciples a particular ideology and shows them how this ideology can be “proven” referring to those authoritative texts, which are considered as a divine revelation. In this process, considerable violence is often done to the texts, and it happens that their meaning is turned into the exact opposite. If a student discovers that the teaching of the guru is in contradiction to the Vedas he is expected to believe that this contradiction is only due to his own limited understanding of things.
- Dieter Koch