Self-Realization and Other Awakenings

I see so many gurus in the current marketplace
who appear so arrogant, self-centered and
intellectual. I can see why prospective students are
wary of accepting any of them, and thus continue to
worship some dead gurus such as Ramana,
Nisargadatta, or Christ. Yet, those who do so remain
stuck in relationships where the idealisms and
projections never collapse; rather than have a real
relationship with a real person, where the
deconstructions of your fantasies occur much more
rapidly because of that relationship.
The same process holds true between human
lovers. There is always a progressive disillusionment,
narcissistic injuries, etc., and most such highly
charged relationships break up before there is any real
transformation. Then the search begins for a new
lover, one who is not so imperfect as the last. But the
process is the same as with the guru.
Eventually you see the teacher for who he or she
really is, and by that time you see yourself for who you
really are; a process of becoming both progressively
more human and less human at the same time.