I think the person who wrote this definitely is writing from a perspective of a therapist that have clients who are obviously Buddhist students who went to him/her to complain about their situation. Obviously his professional opinion is not very professional because he/she has not investigate further and hear the other side of the story - the Guru's.
And in doing so, he misleads many people into thinking that it is okay to do something of this nature, and that the Guru is wrong when he challenges our ego. For a Guru that respects boundaries, they can always go back to Theravarda or Mahayana where the Gurus will actually do everything to stay within the student's boundaries and perception of moral purity. They should not be exploring Vajrayana at all.
Perhaps the clients that sees him are having real issues with fake Gurus who exploited them, however it is only fair and logically not to assume but to hear the other side before making such strong judgements. On the other hand the student who is experiencing these issues tells me this student clearly did not check his/her Guru out before entering the Guru - Disciple relationship and probably jumped in to one with huge expectations... this is quite common these days. Hack I've even heard some have taken tantric initiations yet they don't know Boddhisattva vows?! Like how can this be? What's going on??? Yet the student don't bother asking and finding out more, they just wait and expect the answers to come to them, delivered on a silver platter perhaps?
Fake Gurus are easy to spot if we do not take into consideration our own ego and feelings. How? Fake Gurus do not challenge their students and they will always praise the student and see what they want to hear not what they need to hear. Why? The only reason why someone would do something like that is to get on our good side and extort things from us. Due to lack of teachings on Guru devotion, many people believe that a teacher that is always nice and smiling is a good teacher.
Most modern students these days enter the Dharma in hopes to either escape from their problems... they say they just want to find peace and an easier life... and they want the shortest cut possible, quickest results without much effort from their part. These are the type of students who when the Guru challenges and push them beyond their "comfort zones" they flip out and go see a therapist and the therapist happily cash in on their complains and make assumptions like this article. This is sad for it can affect other potential student's spiritual path as well.
These days, everyone just wants a quick fix for their problems. they do not want to do the actual groundwork. This is why there are more people inclined towards Nyingma and Kagyu as opposed to Sakya and Gelug because they do not need to explain, they do no need logic, just follow their instincts, but all the same they do not improve much on their spiritual practice.
So moral of the story is, read 50 versus first before you jump in a choose your spiritual guide, check out your spiritual guide first before sealing a relationship. Once you have made your decision... stick with it cos you have checked and it is beyond the checking out stage now. It is like selecting a good doctor to do plastic surgery on you... wouldn't you check the doctor, clinic, his results, credentials etc etc out thoroughly first? You would, so what more a spiritual guide who is meant to be your Guru until you reach enlightenment?
This is very sound advice that most people often miss out because they are too attracted to the mysticism and quick fix that a Guru can offer. Or they think that a Guru can offer. It is due to this that many fake Gurus can take advantage of unsuspecting students. Everyone sees that the students are the victim, but in reality how can they be the victim when they have failed to check the teacher out, or seek out the teacher for the wrong motivation (thus ending up with the wrong result?)
Sometimes, there are very simple solutions to seemingly complicated problems like these: if we have the right motivation to engage in Dharma practice that is to learn and practice for the sake of others, we will always somehow or rather avoid the less savoury Gurus and will always encounter the "right" ones. It is when we engage in this with the wrong mindset that will lead us to fake Gurus. If we practice Dharma for selfish or petty reasons, we will always encounter Gurus who will mislead us or a sangha that does little practice. It is all up to motivation at the end.
