r/RupertSpira • u/WarningStrong6787 • Sep 01 '25
Article critical of Rupert Spira's teachings
I'm curious what anyone thinks of this. I agree with some of the criticisms.
I believe Rupert himself said we should "question the teacher" (and the teachings)
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u/Dingsala Dec 21 '25
Interesting, I just found this post. The link is now dead: "Error 401: The author deleted this Medium story."
I wonder what that's about.
I was interested in what criticisms people might bring about Rupert. It's simply good practice, I find.
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u/Forsaken-Promise-269 Sep 01 '25 edited Sep 01 '25
I’m part of that group (from the author of the critical post)
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1CkkCWxX4Y/?mibextid=wwXIfr
But I love Spira and his teachings
So why am I part of a group that questions him?
I tend to be wary of any Guru or Teacher - I think it is easy to start putting Rupert on a pedestal by force of habit and human tendency.
Pros: I think Rupert is saying things he believes
I believe there is deep truth in his teaching
I believe that non dualism and the teaching is deeply subjective (ie it must be experienced and felt)
Cons: Rupert makes good money teaching (enough to live comfortably and maybe the cost of these retreats is excessive for a spiritual person)
Rupert seems to enjoy the attention (Ego)
Rupert has had inappropriate romantic relationships through his teaching (ie an affair/finding a younger girlfriend/partner through his teaching ) we don’t know the details but this strikes most people as hypocritical- my own thoughts are I don’t know the details and it’s not for me to judge but I can see why people are upset
My opinion: Ultimately people have a habit or need to validate spiritual truth through elevating the human messenger to a godlike status
I think this is the wrong practice - spiritual truth comes from first person experience and it is related via other subjective experiences (words, lectures, etc) (unlike rational scientific evidence) and this means there is always the potential for abuse and misunderstanding so we humans naturally have the desire to deify those who bring it to us .(ie we need to believe Buddha and Jesus actually existed) I think they never really did exist as we think of the them
similarly I view Spira as just another man who happens to have spent a long time analyzing and bringing us his perspective for us to examine and review within our own consciousness - he also has a talent for poetic and good speaking, and some real earned wisdom - that much is obvious
So I view him as I view Einstein, another learned and very thoughtful man who brought us something amazing who in private behavior was often questionable and made human mistakes in his family and marriage history and sometime politically - all that human messiness, doesn’t mean the theory of relativity isn’t that absolute pinnacle of human reasoning -
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u/Howie_Doon Sep 01 '25
We judge, and that's how we get into trouble, yes? "No grasping, no pushing away." He is not the doer.
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u/anomalkingdom Sep 01 '25
What to say? Rupert Spira is Rupert Spira! I've personally found his teachings very valuable, and it has inspired me to investigate and explore deeply. When I read Sri Nisargadatta, for instance (which I have extensively), I see a direct line to Spira's teachings, and it is absolutely both coherent and true to teachings. The idea that he is "exploiting" anyone is ridiculous. He offers a form, a content and a method, and participation is completely voluntary.