Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
ON LOVE; PART CCCX
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
GoodWill IS Love in Action
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
Of all that the Master told us, He considered this as the Greatest of Commandments. So much of what we are to understand as aspirants or as believers is found in the precept that we must KEEP HIS WORDS:
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31).
We ask ourselves WHAT THEN IS LOVE?
In a general sense love is benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men.
We add to this THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST which can serve to both give us an understanding of what it means to Love oneself and how it is that we can Love our neighbor:
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them“ (Matthew 7:12).
There is no easy answer for mass effects of the pull of the world on any individual personality in the world at any given time and the effects ARE generally tied to the ‘mood of the moment’ for the world or for the part of the world in which a man IS found. While ALL men who ARE so suited by their spiritual collateral have an opportunity to overcome even the harshest of environments, it IS at times extremely difficult as the tides of mass hysteria and like phenomenon sweep up most any who are in their path. This IS a function of the limited free-will of man in the world and by their very nature these phenomenon can explain to us why we must see man’s free-will in its limitations; this IS but one aspect which, when included with another phenomenon that puts a man in the wrong place at the wrong time in a natural or man made disaster or aspect of war, we can see this limitation in greater detail. Death and physical harm ARE NOT the only casualties as there are always psychic casualties to the above examples as well and there are also the more subtle types of world, regional or even group ‘mood’ that can effect a man who IS in their path as well and while there are some graphic examples of this in history there are also others that are not so considered but which do have a similar mass effect on those who DO NOT KNOW to get out of the way. Among these are the various political and social movements of history and, while some of this takes on the violent tone of war, there can be seen an apparent inner sourced motivation to change as the impetus to new thought progressing to new attitudes and finally to new action in the world as begun by a few leaders and which results in many followers. Here one must wonder which of these happenings in the world are based in that Wisdom from above and which are totally motivated by the personality and then also, which are started in the thoughts of the former and end in the actions of the latter such as the move to Christianity over 2000 years ago. As we look out at what we can see in these type of world changing ‘moods’ of humanity or sections thereof, we should try to see why it IS important to take every opportunity to spiritual progress that one can as there are some aspects of this world or sectional ‘mood’ from which one cannot extract oneself until one has had that realization that it IS the Life of the Soul and his expression in the world that is Truly of moment. This realization can be noted in the apparent aloof attitude of the Master and His disciples as they move through trying times in Israel which IS under Roman rule and where there are seeds of discontent everywhere. These political and social events are hardly addressed in the Master’s words and seem an accepted reality by His disciples as they go about teaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
We have at times alluded to the idea that a Soul who has achieved any form of spiritual advancement in regards to Life in this world can and will have the ability to choose what appears to be the best path to greater success as viewed from the timelessness of his achieved region of the afterlife or his achievement of some ‘level’ of the Kingdom of God and there IS much of value in these ideas that will go unseen until mankind comes to that point in science and religion where these regions can be identified and better understood. Until then this IS but a premise of ours and other progressive thinking persons who have been exposed to these ideas and with whom they have resonated and here, in this explanation, is yet another part of that spiritual progress that a man can make in this world as what Truly resonates and can be identified by the man as a part of that Wisdom from above IS his greater realization of Truth. Our point here however is not this phenomenon but rather that there does come a point in the long Life of the Soul where he can choose from among the available options the type of Life and the place of birth into which he will incarnate; in an advanced sense we can see this in the lives of the close disciples of the Master and those others who came with Him as His ready help in accomplishing His mission in this world where limited free-will reigns; and, in a more normal sense, in the lives of those men who bring the new thought into being which results in new attitudes and new actions and this can be rather clearly seen in the realms of science and politics as the world has progressed to its current state. As we note above, the beginning and the end result of the influence of these men of vision if you will MAY NOT be as was anticipated nor planned; and, like ALL things spiritual, there are degrees of the working of this phenomenon in which we also may have had a part as we may have been able to choose somewhat our place geographically and socially as to provide the desired nurturing for this particular incarnation. There IS a reason and a purpose to being born in differing cultures and at different levels of society within that culture that we CAN NOT and DO NOT understand but of which we must say that there is much more than happenstance occurring here, at least for those who ARE so suited by their spiritual collateral to NOT be swept into Life in this world without specific spiritual purpose.
In discussing these things we must ever realize our equality as Souls and that our ONLY True differences may be in our ability to express Life through form in this world and, since this IS the objective and the Goal of ALL incarnating Souls, these things that we ARE saying should be easily seen as playing a part. We must of course see Life in the continuum that we paint for it, that Life IS NOT birth, then death, then eternal heaven or hell as is still taught in Christian terms because if this were True then there would be NO Truth to the Master’s words when rightly discerned nor to the Apostle Paul’s telling us that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11) nor the words of the Apostle Peter who tells us of his own revelation of this Truth saying; “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34). And, if any of the words of the apostles are True, then these must be True as well and while in the Master’s words these ideas are implied, the apostles give them to us clearly as they clarify and amplify the Master’s teachings. And this theme is not seen in these two isolated sayings only but it IS repeated several times:
- As Paul tells the Colossians “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons” (Colossians 3:23-25).
- He tells the Ephesians similarly that: “With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him” (Ephesians 6:7-9).
- Expanding upon Paul’s words to the Romans where he tells that that God’s judgement “will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:6-11).
In each of these sayings by Paul we can see the reality of our point from the perspective of the rewards and punishments to the man in the word as based upon what he does and NOT who he IS and this IS clearly our point. Here we must extend this, because of the idea of rewards and punishments, to the realm of the Soul which is the True activity of God in the world of men as we reward and punish ourselves by our experience in this Life as we approach the kingdom or in the psychic perils of the afterlife as we are bound to our lusts and our thoughts, attitudes and actions of Life. Peter gives us this idea of God’s equal view of ALL in a much more universal way as he recalls his vision:
“And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me? And Cornelius said , Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee. Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God. Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:28-34).
Having gone here through many words, we have made our point that there IS no respect of persons with God and therefore the idea that any man IS given anything above another is unfounded, and that the Truth IS that in each man’s own individual achievement he finds his place in the next incarnation and ALL this according to the Plan and the Law. We can see this ever so clearly as we look out at the world and the state of existence of any individual who is burdened by deformity, physical, mental or emotional; this IS not caused by God seeing this person as any less than another. Nor can we see that the gifted man is seen by God as any more than another. These things and others happen according to the abilities of Souls to build suitable forms, their karmic responsibility or spiritual collateral and by happenstance or the influence of the limited free-will of men in the world that can interfere with the Life of another. Based in the Truth that there IS no respect of persons with God, we should understand that there IS an equality as Souls, ALL are the same save the ONLY True difference that IS found in our ability to express Life through form which IS, in its fullest form, that ability to be as the Master who DID express “all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). This can ALL be seen as that growth of the Kingdom Within us ALL that the Master teaches to us and we should understand as well that as there IS no respect of persons with God, that there should be none from the God Within us ALL as well and that this IS a part of the reality of discipleship and our own spiritual achievement. The Apostle James tells us that “if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin” (James 2:9) and in this we can find additional foundation for our understanding of the equanimity of ALL men when viewed from the perspective of the True man, the Soul. We can see in James’ words the admonition to see the True man and not his phenomenal appearance in form in this world and, while the apostle’s words are centered around riches, we should be able to see this is but an example of the fullness of his message as he says:
“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:1-10).
It should be clear here that James takes this understanding from the Master’s words as we have them at the top of our essay and that in the Master’s admonition, as He repeats those words of Jehovah as recorded by Moses, to Love one’s neighbor, James’ words clarify and amplify the Truth that the Master Truly means ALL neighbors and that we Love them equally and without respect of who or what they may appear to be. This IS the Way of the disciple and of us as aspirants as we tread the Path to the fullness of our realization of Truth and for us it is an easier task to NOT be caught up in the whirlwind of worldly activity that is based in the ‘world mood’ or any regional aspect of it and our lesson here should be as well that we DO NOT allow what we see and hear of others being swept up by this or that idea to have any effect at all upon the way that we view any person or group of people and, while we should be comforted by the fact that we are able to hold our own, we must at the same time understand the plight of our brothers. These things that effect men ARE a part of that vanity, that illusion and that glamour as forces in this world which propel the winds of change in all its variations, for good, for evil or just change for the sake of change. There is a ancient saying that we will rephrase as “nothing is constant but change” and this IS a Truth as a philosophy and as a reality of Life in this world and we should be able to see that it IS ever on the wings of change, complicated by the vanity to which the the world of men IS subjected, that we can see and feel the steady progression of Life in this world as well as the changing ‘world mood’ that sweeps up even previously opposing men and their ideas into a newer phase of thought, attitude and action.
It IS as a part of his Transformation that the disciple and the aspirant must ever be aware of the changing ‘mood’ of men as new movements of political, social or even religious nature are constantly impacting the psyche of the man in the world. The disciple and the aspirant should ever see beyond any worldly activity and keep his focus upon the Soul, the Christ Within and the things of God and he MUST, at ALL costs, see ALL men equally and, as the apostle tells us, we should have no respect of persons as we live the Life of the God Within and NOT the little self in the world. This attitude IS a KEY component of that Love for ALL that we MUST express.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect of God |
Potency |
Aspect of Man |
In Relation to the Great Invocation |
In relation to the Christ |
|
GOD, The Father |
Will or Power |
Spirit or Life |
Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN |
Life |
|
Son, The Christ |
Love and Wisdom |
Soul or Christ Within |
Heart of God |
Truth |
|
Holy Spirit |
Light or Activity |
Life Within |
Mind of God |
Way
|
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
O Thou Who givest sustenance to the universe,
From Whom all things proceed,
To Whom all things return,
Unveil to us the face of the true Spiritual Sun
Hidden by a disc of golden Light
That we may know the Truth And do our whole duty
As we journey to Thy sacred feet.
As with any ancient manuscript from a foreign land, there are many interpretations and translations of The Gayatri available. The version that appears here comes to us in every day English and without the need to have a Sanskrit reference as a key; it is constructed so that all can understand it and use it.
The Gayatri is really quite simple and straightforward in the form that we have here. It begins, as does the Lord’s Prayer, with an acknowledgement of the Majesty of God as the Giver of all Life and as our Source of all things. We ask only one thing in this prayer; that the true spiritual light of God be unveiled to us so that we may see it clearly. The Sun is the giver of light and life to our planet and all that is on it and, just as each of our forms veils the Spirit within, we ask to see and to know the Light that is behind the Sun that which we see.
In saying this we believe that by seeing the true Spiritual Light that we will be able to see and to know the Truth that is in that light. This is the Light that the Buddha and then the Christ brought to us through their lives on Earth. This is the Light that shines in our hearts from our own spiritual selves, the Christ Within.
We close by acknowledging that we have a duty to God, to our brothers and to His Plan and it is this duty that we will perform when we realize the truth as we journey back to God.
Others have said about this prayer that “The Gayatri is one of the oldest invocations, or mantrams, know to man. It carries the power of purpose, the plan of love and the light of truth. It reveals human relationships as vertical alignment with the source of all Energy and horizontal service in the right use of energy. It is a potent tool for use with the inflow of new age energies” (from The Gayatri prayer card of World Goodwill; NY, NY).
