gospel of Thomas 31

Jesus said, "No prophet is accepted in his own village; no physician heals those who know him."

This little verse from the Gospel of Thomas is not unique to the Gospel of Thomas. As with several of the verses, it appears in other gospels. And I vaguely recollect that it was not a new observation by Jesus – I think it appears earlier in the Bible. In any case, it's a beautiful, if rather sad observation.

No prophet is accepted in his own village. No spiritual teacher is accepted by those who know him as a human being. It's natural. Jesus also says that no doctor heals those who know him. Spirituality is a healing. The whole spiritual journey is a healing. It's about becoming whole again, becoming healthy. That's why Jesus uses the analogy of a physician, of a doctor. The spiritual master is a doctor.

So Jesus, he himself was probably not accepted in his home village. No master ever has been. Because the people in that village have seen the person growing up. Or at least they know them as a human being. They have all the aspects of any human being. They have something else, yes, but that's not really visible to everyone. And these human traits are enough for people, who know the person as a human being, to reject them as a spiritual master.

Every master has had this experience. It's a little bit sad but it doesn't matter. It just means that when you start seeking a spiritual teacher, you have to go to people you don't know. If you know them beforehand, you will have known them as a human being. You will only have seen their human side. You will have built a great image about that person, as you do about everyone you meet. And you will relate to that person through that image, through that idea of the person. And you won't be able to change it so easily.

So no prophet is accepted in his own village. It's true and it's also my experience. The people who have known me from before, just see me as an ordinary person. It's perfectly okay – I am an ordinary person. Yes, I found my way home, and that they do not see. It's very difficult to see it in another person, actually. Because if you know them as a human being, know that they are just like you – with all the same character traits that you have – really, there are only two possible conclusions you can reach. Either this person is not really enlightened. Or much more shocking, you are enlightened too.

And that's the most difficult thing for somebody to see, that they are enlightened. That would rather deny the enlightenment of every other being on the planet than see that simple truth. And that's why it's much easier to accept as a prophet somebody that you don't really know, as a human being. You can project onto them your own enlightenment, which you have not yet accepted in yourself, that you have not yet realised. You project it onto this blank screen of the person who you don't really know. They become a prophet for you. They become a master for you.

But remember, most of it is projection. And when you realise your own truth, you will see that everyone is enlightened, you will see that everyone is a prophet. Most of all, you will see that you are a prophet. But you, too, will have this experience, that nobody who knows you, as a human being, will be able to accept you as a prophet. It is part of the psychology of unenlightenment. There is nothing that can be done about it.

So it is best for a master to teach in a different village. And if you are a seeker, go to people that you do not know, in the ordinary sense of friendship.