The following has been adapted from a real inquiry to Clearsight with regard to the fees charged for our teaching events and services, and will be of interest to those seeking financial assistance.

Inquirer:
I'm very interested in attending the weekend intensive -- the only problem being the high price. $175 is a lot of money to me and I dont think I could spare it as I'm a low income earner and have to rely on the little money I earn to get by. So the question I'd like to put to you is; can only the well off, wealthy people afford enlightenment these days? I mean no disrespect, it's just that I dont see why it needs to cost an individual so much to have information that is for the entire world.

Clearsight:
Thanks for your expression of interest in attending one of our weekend intensives and for your question.

We do wish we could run events here at Gurukula without charging attendance fees, but in the material world this is not possible due to the costs involved.

In the case of most visiting teachers, we need to cover their airfares to and from Western Australia and their other expenses as well as providing them with something to help with their ongoing teaching work. The only way we can do this is to charge attendees a minimal amount for the talks and intensives they give.

I should explain that most of our teachers make no financial demands for their services but come in faith trusting that both their expenses and ours will be covered and that there might be an amount to share after these have been met to help with future needs.

In response to the question, "Is enlightenment only for well off, wealthy people these days?" I would say the answer is clearly, no: because there are obviously a growing number of enlightened or awakened people who are not at all financially well off, while at the same time, it seems that the vast majority of materially wealthy people are still far from enlightened!

Given the fact that awakening is not so much something you do, but rather something that happens, it seems that the only thing required is an intense desire to know the truth and see who we really are. It's not that enlightenment should be for you a strong interest among many others, but the one all consuming passion of your ever present life experience ... the one thing you want above everything else, and we mean, everything.

Than is why great masters like Jesus, for instance, said: "Seek first the kingdom of God (within) and everything else will be added to you." Most people think, 'When I have all my other needs covered, then I'll seek the kingdom of God', but the prize ... the pearl beyond price ... goes only to the few who seek the kingdom of God first and foremost and let the rest take care of itself.

Sounds crazy and illogical ... even irresponsible, doesn't it? But that's exactly how it has worked since the beginning of time and that's how it works today.

Back in the days when water pumps were used more often, there was always a can of water left beside the pump for the next user. When he or she came along, they had to pour the water from this can into the pump to prime it, then the pumping action could work effectively and the water would flow. The first thing to be replenished would be the can for the next user and after that, an endless supply would flow.

Imagine if someone came up to the pump and said, 'I don't have any water, that's the reason I'm here', and just cranked away on the handle hoping to get what they wanted. All the hard work and sincere effort would be of no avail until they understood and acted on the universal law: You've got to put in before you can get something out. Once this law was understood and they then primed the pump, a minimum of effort would produce the abundance of water so desperately needed.

When Eckhart Tolle was without financial support and struggling to gain spiritual understanding in the UK in the early 90s, he would attend all the free lectures etc he could, but when he desperately wanted to attend a workshop for which a fee was asked, he would take on any temporary menial work he could get to raise the money to do the workshop. We heard that at one time, he even spent a few weeks registering pedigree dogs just to make a few bucks to attend a particular teaching event. This was his way of priming the pump.

Later, when Eckhart had written, The Power of Now, (which he wrote on a sewing-machine table with a fountain pen while living in a single room with only a mattress on the floor to sleep on), he had no money to publish it, so on a whim he bought a lottery ticket with the few dollars he had left, (priming the pump) and this won him a thousand dollars. With this money he self-published his book and the rest is history. Today, he is quite well off financially, but only, you might say because,
a) seeking the truth was the primary passion of his life, and
b) he primed the pump!

Doubtless, having learned from this experience, Eckhart has written in his latest book, A New Earth, the following:

Whatever you think the world is withholding from you, you already have, but unless you allow it to flow out, you won't even know that you have it. This includes abundance. The law that outflow determines inflow is expressed by Jesus in this powerful image: "Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.''

The source of all abundance is not outside you. It is part of who you are. However, start by acknowledging and recognizing abundance without. See the fullness of life all around you. The warmth of the sun on your skin, the display of magnificent flowers outside a florist's shop, biting into a succulent fruit, or getting soaked in an abundance of water falling from the sky. The fullness of life is there at every step.

The acknowledgment of that abundance that is all around you awakens the dormant abundance within. Then let it flow out. When you smile at a stranger, there is already a minute outflow of energy. You become a giver.

Ask yourself often: "What can I give here; how can I be of service to this person, this situation?" You don't need to own anything to feel abundance although if you feel abundant consistently things will almost certainly come to you.

Abundance comes only to those who already have it. It sounds almost unfair, but of course it isn't. It is a universal law. Both abundance and scarcity are inner states that manifest as your reality. Jesus puts it like this: "For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.''

So, coming back to your special interest in participating in one of our intensives, while you may not be able to afford the full amount, can you tell us how much you can afford as a low income earner? In other words, how much can you supply to prime the pump?

We do have some scholarships available and it may be that we can help you attend if you can write us a letter (e-mail) confirming you strong interest in the teaching and outlining the extent you can contribute due to your present circumstances.

Please don't feel shy about this as we understand your position perhaps better than you think, as Pete and Pearl have had to apply for such scholarships more than once on their own spiritual journey.