On Teaching
"My job is to describe evil correctly." —G.V. Desani
On His Teaching Philosophy & Experience…
When one has mastered his craft he should teach. (In the case of spiritual endeavors) teaching should be in the form of education that leads to freedom and excellence.
We study a subject; this is not a pulpit.
If you keep company with me you will become a better person.
Naturally a conflict will arise between a teacher who wants to raise you up and your lower nature that wants to go to hell.
My job is to describe evil correctly.
The best students are illiterate women.
One of the best things that happened to me in America was being told by a woman who took my class, “I no longer steal.”
On Art & Experience…
Can the inexpressible be expressed? Only if you have a similar experience. Shakespeare … great suffering … then he writes about a crystallization of the experience.
Man cannot be a perfect artist unless he knows the minuses of human nature as well as the grandeur of human nature.
On Other Teachers and Teachings…
If he wants your money the guru will be very polite; good gurus are harsh teachers.
The dead continue to influence us more than the living.
Modification of listener is purpose of education.
Not part of a teacher’s job to prevent pupil from thinking for himself.
A former student has generously provided these 'quotes' from notes taken in G.V. Desani's classes and in private conversations.