Can Spiritual Teachings Be Used To Deceive People?

Can spiritual teachings be used to deceive people?
Certainly.
It’s what evil does best.

Spiritual teachings are about converting negativity into wisdom. They are not about beliefs.

These precious teachings need to be proven, from Latin probare ‘to test’. Testing is done through personal experience, rather than what someone wrote in the past.

If we only rely on hearsay, we become believers – repeaters who lack original realisation, and are therefore open to creating inner doubt and division.

There are those who appear wise by gathering teachings, but they haven’t completed their realisation as they cannot empathise. The ethos is “Believe or leave!”

When the unscrupulous learn that humans are governed by desire, aversion and delusion, they take advantage of this principle, while the teaching of non-duality seeks to help eliminate the plight of humans who don’t realise the danger they are in.

The timeless teachings cannot deceive,
but the way they are used can.

Being asked to believe is a warning bell. If teachings make us believe in something, we will make no effort to verify their authenticity. Relying on stories and history is not personal experience.

This is exactly why the Buddha said,
“Do not take my word for it; test it.”