Volume 2, Number 3, Summer 2006 Editorial Articles
Poems by Featured Artist
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Discrimination and
Liberation The Buddha encouraged each one of us to “be a lamp unto our own feet.” In other words, he asked us, as far as possible, to think for ourselves and to follow truth, not personalities. Discrimination is an essential quality to be cultivated in this process as it enables us to look beneath the surface of outer events, to become self-reliant and, therefore, to learn to see life more clearly. Sometimes, however, in the effort to avoid the dangers of criticism, seekers fail to develop and exercise their discriminative powers, erroneously believing that to be truly spiritual demands a general openness and fluidity in regard to people and events. After all, the great teachers asked us to turn the other cheek and to be “meek.” But perhaps we suffer under the weight of faulty translations and the misinterpretation of ancient injunctions that lead, in turn, to an unduly passive and “negative” approach to life and its events. We forget that the greatest expression of love that ever walked on Earth demonstrated many instances of will and strong action in his life of service. He did, however, maintain an inclusive love for all humanity that remained the underlying quality behind all that he did. In this regard it would seem that a deeper understanding of the Tibetan’s injunction to practice “positive” harmlessness is needed. He wrote, “The harmlessness to which I refer in connection with you is not negative, or sweet or kindly activity, as so many believe; it is a state of mind and one which in no way negates firm or even drastic action; it concerns motive and involves the determination that the motive behind all activity is goodwill. That motive might lead to positive and sometimes disagreeable action or speech, but as harmlessness and goodwill condition the mental approach, nothing can eventuate but good.” 1 Seekers who fail to develop their discriminative powers could find themselves entering into situations that would be best avoided. Caution is necessary in spiritual work. Our world is not always benevolent and the spiritual marketplace is plagued with the same general corruption and self-seeking that afflicts so many other areas of life at this time. In fact, the spiritual field is perhaps more dangerous in certain respects because of the propensity for delusional thinking and glamour that colors many spiritual seekers, a condition that develops quite often through the practice of unwise and/or faulty spiritual practices. Christ told us that before his second coming the world would be awash with false prophets and so it is today. It is a good idea, therefore, to be cautious and investigate any teaching or teacher with a discriminating eye before becoming involved, otherwise we might find ourselves walking down a slippery slope. In this day it is easy to be taken in by the slick and seemingly noble rhetoric put forward by many individuals and groups. It is best, therefore, to read widely and observe closely. Many spurious teachers and groups make claims that can dupe naïve and indiscriminate seekers, distorting the spiritual truths that are struggling to come to the light of day. These claims demonstrate the very real dangers of the astral plane with its propensity to delude. Many seemingly sincere people have impressions that appear quite real and which they claim emanate from high spiritual sources. Unfortunately, quite often these contacts are with “astral shells”--forms or images of the great teachers that exist quite vividly upon the astral plane of awareness, but which have no basis in reality. We have to beware of the power, the psychically induced pseudo-spiritual power and magnetism that teachers who are in touch with these astral shells wield—either consciously or unconsciously. If we are not careful we might find ourselves unwittingly pulled into a web from which it is difficult to escape, and which could lead to that tragic condition of possession. At the very least we might find ourselves side-tracked and at this time when all hands are needed, this is something we can ill afford. Sometimes, because of the grandiosity of their distorted contacts and claims, such individuals are able to attract a cult-like following in which people willingly give over their rights and reason to the cause, feeling themselves as part of an elite group. Such groups usually place the focus of attention upon the contacts of the group leader and his/her special mission in the world. Generally it is extremely difficult, often impossible, to convince such individuals (both the leaders and the group members) of the illusory nature of the contacts. Only through time and the sincere facing of themselves will they be able to be brought back into alignment with the sustaining power of the group soul and, in turn, the Plan. Many teachers and paths are, therefore, dangerous to our health. Such unfortunate situations are some of the sorriest legacies of the spiritual movement, causing loss of much time and energy. Whatever our status on the path, we all have limitations that hold us back from a deeper penetration into the light. In its earlier stages we see through a glass darkly and are subject to many limitations under the spell of glamour and illusion. One of the tasks of all teachers, be it our soul or a more advanced individual who has us in their charge, is to help reveal to us the nature of these glamours or “blind spots,” qualities that we usually refuse to recognize and consequently project onto others. One of the difficulties of human nature is our seeming inability to face and give attention to these unredeemed aspects of ourselves. Until we have achieved the great release that takes place at the “first great initiation,” we remain subject to a painful blindness in certain areas of our lives, to faults, limitations, inertia, and darkness. But hopefully we are moving into greater awareness and away from the tendency to “deify [our] glamours and regard [our] illusions as [our] prized and hard won possessions.”`2 What the teachers who stand before us ask is that we look at life and situations from the angle of truth, rather than from the limited perspective conferred by our hoodwinked personalities. We’re asked to be ready for unexpected discoveries about ourselves in the unfolding process of revelation that is the path of return. As the Tibetan wrote, “One of the first lessons which a disciple needs to learn is that where he thinks he is strongest and where he finds the most satisfaction is very frequently the point of greatest danger and of weakness. Astral conditions are oft seen reversed; hence the glamour which often overcomes a disciple.” 3 The condition of glamour on our planet is particularly powerful at this time due to the distortions and crystallization that occurs when a conditioning ray energy cycles out of manifestation, as is now the case with the sixth ray of devotion. As rays cycle out of activity their beneficent qualities become distorted and individuals colored by that energy cling to the dying structures of the past. Consequently, they do all they can to thwart change and forward movement. At the present time these lower aspects of the sixth ray energy are working out in the growth of a rabid fundamentalism that is taking hold in many areas of life. The fundamentalist mentality is not specific to any ideology but rather to a type of mindset that is intent upon the imposition of ideas and the limiting of the expression of others´ free will. This totalitarianism is found in all forms of government, education, and religious institutions. It is found in the community, the office, and the home. This imposition of the authority of an individual, group, religion, or institution upon another is crippling in its effect. It fosters fear, leads to stagnation, and to the imprisonment of the human spirit. And while these tactics can bring about a measure of control and order in the short run, in the long run they are doomed to failure, for they are contrary to the law of spiritual evolution and to the energies of Aquarius. The real error, the real death, is death as it exists in the form of a crystallized consciousness. All true seekers and men and women of goodwill take a stand against “the death of liberty, the death of free speech, the death of freedom in human action, and the death of truth.”4 These vital freedoms and their erosion in our world today is what should concern us at this time; these are the fundamental principles that are now being systematically threatened and, if they continue to be negated, will prevent our entry into the new age. The first step is to recognize what is happening, and this comes through the use of our discriminative powers. Men and women everywhere must work to defend freedom of expression and the liberation of humanity from ignorance and darkness and the imposition of the lower will. The time is relatively short in which to achieve the goals that are set before us and that is why we need to cultivate the spiritual will for it is this will that can propel us past the inertia and clarify our priorities – moving us out of the ivory tower where we are all too often content to dwell and into the arena of constructive action. In the midst of the present planetary crises we are stretched both vertically and horizontally, making it difficult to sense the new day that is so close at hand. But we work for the future. We may not live to experience the coming liberation in this one brief lifetime, but that doesn’t matter for we work for the larger whole, for the collective of those who come after us, which also includes the reincarnated aspects of ourselves. 1. Alice Bailey, Esoteric Healing, p. 670 This material was quoted with the permission of Lucis Trust, which holds copyright.
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