On Discouragement
I had a discussion with a friend about a particular prospect who is currently considering dedicating himself to religious path that's at least very similar to the one I've chosen. Without having any real information on said prospect's level of commitment, to me this person seems to have an incomplete understanding of what this particular deity
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As someone who was included on a list by some one I like and respect as someone "who they wished was teaching more" I've actually thought about this to a degree.
For one, I'm honest with "seekers" (for lack of a better term) - as another here mentioned that alone is usually enough to dissuade a number of people. It's not my job to coddle people and the best instructors I've had have not done so (esoteric, academic and professional).
Also, as other folks have noted, if you do study with me, it involves, well, work (and a certain amount of intellectual rigor if the truth is to be told). I don't do a formal contract, but people find out very quickly that I don't suffer a great deal of BS from somebody I'm teaching or mentoring. Finding out that you are expected to read Eliade's Shamanism just so I can make sure we are operating from at least certain basic understandings is usually a good gauge of commitment in my book.
Attempts to circumvent this process have me gently repeating that the individual needs to do a certain amount of reading first before I can discuss some things because I'm not willing to spend time explaining word/phrase/concept repeatedly when they could get the same information from a text. When push-back from an individual occurs I just as gently point out that my time is valuable, I'm doing this for free, and they are the one who came to me for help - perhaps they should let me do so in the way that seems to work best in my experience?
My "discouragement" is generally along the lines of, "Until you read X, there really isn't much I can say because we don't have a common language." Sticking to this seems to keep the boundary intact.
In general, unless I've been told by Deity to get involved I don't really think it's any of my business to discourage (I almost as loathe to encourage as well for the same reason). Just because I know what my path is in respect to said Deity, or what other people's path to said Deity (or any other Deity) are or have been doesn't mean that I know what this person's path is going to look like. In general, I trust Deity to sort it out if they care or think it is important.
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What if you think the "seeker" might be making the approach for the wrong reasons, or may have an incomplete grasp of what the deity in question does?
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Same thing with "an incomplete grasp" - who am I to say that they will or will not only be working with a highly limited aspect of the Deity in question?
Or perhaps my version of Deity is off and the other person is more correct than I am? That's a rabbit-hole for the philosophically inclined, but the possibility always exists...
Seriously, perhaps it's just me, but I tend to believe that Deity can and will do an excellent job of "protecting itself" - if it wants my help it will give me a very clear message to do so. If I did think what you are suggesting, my reaction is more based on the personality of the person involved. If they are an ass, I'll start on the popcorn so I can watch the fireworks as the Divine deals with it (assuming that they are within my field of vision so to speak), if they are a basically nice person I'll wince and hope that it doesn't hurt too much (and perhaps be inclined to see if I need to pick up any pieces afterwards or help with sutures).
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