Dharma teaching
In general, the true Dharma, the Dharma of siddhas, cannot be teached, it is not something that can be teached as to a student at a university. You can help to come up to it, you can lead to it, you can help to establish a connection with it through diksha - initiation, you can bless and inspire, but you cannot teach it. You can only teach philosophy, ethics, some methods. Dharma of advaita, especially sahajayana, is outside the mind, which means that the laws of logical learning are difficult to apply to it. Therefore, when they say about any of the saints of our lineage or about other saints, the awakened ones: he studied for so many years with such and such a teacher, one should not take it literally - as if a person literally sat for 12 years like a schoolboy at a desk, wrote down the teacher and then did his homework.
Guru and secular teacher are not the same thing. A student (chela, shishya) and a university student are not the same thing. The Master-disciple connection, the Teaching-sadhu, is a completely different connection than the connection in the scientific world. It’s higher and not from the mind. This connection is called samaya, shraddha (faith), sharanam (shelter), sharanagati (surrender). There was a case when a saint walked in the morning in the dark, and at that time a beggar was lying on the ground, and he did not notice him and accidentally hit him with his foot, and did not even understand who was lying there, out of surprise he simply said: "O Shiva!" , and the lying man thought: this is a holy man who passed, he is my Guru, he gave me a mantra out of compassion for me. He began to recite this mantra and then achieved realization, samadhi and siddhi - by the power of faith and devotion. He didn't even know the name of the saint. This is how the transmission can operate. This is what training happens. The world of the mysticism of the saints is not education in secular institutes in the philosophy department. Although such training is not rejected for some, it is not the main thing.
Three types of Dharma teaching
Intelligent learning
The lowest type is intellectual, philosophical training. Or teaching the method. It is necessary for ordinary people. The teacher expounds philosophy, gives comments to the sacred texts (pravachan), encouraging the student to memorize, analyze and reflect, and make correct conclusions. Or he gives a method and corrects, guides each step of the student, like in martial arts, until he reaches perfection. Such a teacher is called a vachaka guru. This is how they taught in ancient times, and they teach children now in guru-kulas.
Medium learning - initiation
He needs diksha - initiation. Diksha is very important in Sanatana Dharma. Everything begins with her in the life of a student. If the student is ready, that is, he is in sattva, a state of faith, purity and intuitive understanding, if he is ready for tapas, then he needs to undergo diksha - a ritual of initiation or transfer of a method, for example, to receive a name, a mantra of a deity, to obtain a new life status to link to a pure dimension. Through initiation, he then practices tapas, such as mantra sadhana or visualization, and attains jnana and siddhi. There is no learning process here.
As one saint used to say: Guru gave diksha, and this is where his work is completed. Then everything depends on the student. How he will conduct his sadhana. Here diksha, the blessing of the Guru and the ritual of initiation are the main events in the life of a yogi-disciple, which changed the fate and led to the realization of siddhi and samadhi. The disciple was ready and he did tapasya and attained realization.
Live transmission is the highest type of learning
For the teachings of sahajayana, jnana yoga in the style of pratyaksha-advaita siddhas, laya yoga of avadhutas, anuttara tantra, direct transmission, an introduction to self-recognition of one's nature (pratyabhijna-darshan) is of primary importance. It is suitable only for those who have the qualities of a divya, that is, a sufficient level of merit, concentration, purity of mind and faith. The yogi, having received it, plunges into pure vision or the dimension of nonduality for a while, and this experience then leads him along the path throughout his life.
Transmission from the Guru in the human body
Direct transmission from the human guru also exists in anuttara tantra. The master can give transmission through ordinary speech, but this is very different from the teaching of the lower type, where the teacher logically interprets philosophy, sacred texts, giving the student a simply theological intellectual philosophical education. Here speech, intellect has another purpose - to establish a connection with the dimension of nonduality, nothing more. For example, I often read text and comment on it. But I am not giving a logical comment. I'm not going to do it. If I wanted to give a logical comment as a scholar, a pandita on the text of Shankara or Gaudapada, there is no problem with that. But this is different. Sometimes the text is about one thing, and I say something else - what the situation requires. What is the situation? These are the qualities, abilities of the student. I allow my presence to respond to the text and give a direct transmission, using the words of the text for response and resonance.
Or sometimes the masters, using the twilight language of the dakinis - sandhya-bhashyu or traditional line symbols, for example, a vessel, a lamp, a peacock feather, a crystal vase, a mirror, convey the view. Or sometimes the transmission takes place outside the mind, at the level of absurdity, paradoxical sayings of the siddhas, paradoxical dialogues like in Zen. It can pass in silence, when the master radiates the power of contemplative presence, or, being in silence, dwells in deep non-action, and this natural state outside the mind and thoughts envelops the student. And this is subtly transmitted, it penetrates the student if he is ready, if he is in trust, openness, respect.
Transmission from divine beings
The most unusual mystical way to receive the Dharma is when a dakini, deity or siddha appears yoga in meditation, in a dream, in a subtle body, or in a pure dimension, or by the power of his siddhis takes a yogi's subtle body with him to a pure country and gives him teachings, dictates tantra , gives upadesha, gives revelation, mantra or sadhana system. Tilopa received teaching in a similar way from a dakini. Ramalinga thus received darshan from Skanda, from his emerging image in the mirror. Matsyendranath received it in this way from Shiva at the bottom of the ocean. Many saints received teaching in this way. The Indian king Indrabodhi received the transmission of the Guhyasamaja Tantra in a similar way. Mahayogi Pilot Baba communicated in a similar way with Dattatreya and other saints and deities.
The founder of the World Gayatri Family in India received the transmission of the mantra from his siddha guru siddha in this way. Many masters from India, Tibet, belonging to the tantric traditions, similarly received transmissions. I myself have had a similar transfer experience many times. The main condition here is your past merit, your ability to have a connection with the deities, siddhas and perceive their transmission for it to work.