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The Externalization of the Hierarchy - Section II - The General World Picture
The Spiritual Trend of Human Destiny Wesak, May 1939 In this hour of crisis, anxiety and suspense, it has seemed that there are certain things which you would do well to remember, and certain things which you should endeavor to do. The first thing, therefore, of which I would like to remind you is that The Hierarchy stands. Behind all that is going on today, the same group of spiritual Forces and the [80] same Elder Brothers and Masters are to be found as heretofore, guiding humanity along the path of life and bringing us safely and satisfactorily to our present point of development. The Buddha, Whose festival we are celebrating, and the Christ, Who expresses to us the unchanging love of God, are still with us, and the Hierarchy stands as a bulwark of strength between us and possible disaster; this center of spiritual life is "like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land". The second thing I would have you all remember is that mankind has marched steadily forward from a state of blind ignorance and unawareness to one of an intelligent preoccupation with life and a growing sense of responsibility. This sense of responsibility, which is awakening in all of you, is - on its present large scale - relatively new and is one of the factors definitely increasing the distress and pain you are all feeling. You ask yourselves, where, as a race, have we failed and what can we do to rectify our mistakes? In spite of everything, however, men have gone from stage to stage of intelligent and spiritual unfoldment and no matter what the outer happenings have been or may be, the race has made real progress. There has been no turning back, and there will be none. Mankind has weathered many storms and survived many difficulties; men have emerged from periods of crisis better and stronger, purified "so as by fire" and definitely nearer the goal. I would remind you also of the integrity and solidarity of the human family. We are one people - one in our relationships, and capacities and desires, our origin and our goal. It is this essential and recognizable integrity which is emerging at this time powerfully in the human consciousness. You are apt to think that this may not be so, that your position in believing this is somewhat unique and that you stand somewhat alone. But this is your error and is not true to the facts of the case. In every land and among widely differing peoples, the same desire exists for understanding, for the establishing of right and peaceful relations, and for the [81] expression of that basic goodwill which is one of the deepest human characteristics and our divine inheritance. These are the things which, it seems to me, are important at this time, and which all of us would do well to remember. Will you try to do so? No matter what may take place in the world - whether war or peace, strife and aggression or understanding conciliation and conference - we face a difficult period of adjustment, and for this we must be prepared. The next three years are critical, and this we have often been told. Much will depend upon what you and all men of goodwill and disciples think and what they do. I would like to remind you of another most encouraging thing, and that is that the power wielded by those who are seeking to live as souls and in touch with the soul and the world of spiritual realities is out of all proportion to their registered sense of power and usefulness. You are, as you endeavor to wield spiritual force constructively and selflessly, far more potent than you realize. If you add to this realization the recognition that you are not alone in this, but that people with a vision similar to yours and with the same ideals and spiritual aspiration are to be found in every country without exception of any kind, in every religion, group and organization, then indeed you can go forward with courage and with hopeful faith. If this is a statement of fact (and I believe it to be so) then let us go forward in unison with our brothers everywhere, conscious of opportunity, of strength, of responsibility and of the joy of service. As regards some of the things which you can do, I would suggest the following. Refuse to allow yourselves to be swept by any fear psychosis or to be stampeded into any attitude through which the anxiety and unrest and distress in the world can overwhelm you. Strive to stand in spiritual being. Each morning, in your meditation, seek to take that attitude with a new and fresh definiteness and to hold it during the hours of service which lie ahead each day. This will not be an easy thing to do, but it can be done if you can get quiet enough for five minutes each morning - completely [82] and interiorly quiet - and if you fill your days with vital occupation and true service, guarding with care all thought and speech. Between now and the Wesak Festival in 1940 let each of you gain that control of speech which has often been your goal but seldom your achievement, and remember that the most powerful factor in the control of speech is a loving heart. Wild and fearful talk, hateful gossip, cruel innuendo, suspicion, the ascribing of wrong and wicked motives to persons and peoples, and the divergences of attitude which have separated the many different nations in the world are rampant today and have brought the world to its present distressing situation. It is so easy to drift into the same habits of speech and thought which we find around us and to discover ourselves participating in attack and the spirit of hate. Guard yourselves strenuously against this and say nothing which could inflame hate and suspicion in connection with any race, any person, any group or any leaders of groups and nations. You will have to guard yourselves with care, so that even in defense of that which you may personally or nationally approve you do not find yourselves full of hate and breaking the law of love - the only law which can truly save the world. Perhaps the key to your success along this line will be the silence of a loving heart. It will be good also to cultivate the joy that brings strength. This is not the time for gloom, despair or depression. If you give way to these, you become negative and destructive focal points in your environment. If you truly believe that the spiritual life is fundamental in the world today, if you do believe that divinity guides the world, if you truly grasp the fact that all men are your brothers and that we are all the children of the One Father, and if you are convinced that the heart of humanity is sound - are these not adequately potent ideas to hold us joyously steady in the midst of a changing world? Will you, therefore, carry with you the following ideas? First, that the Hierarchy of spiritual Forces stands in spiritual Being. [83] Second, that we too can stand steady in spiritual Being. Third, that the silence of a loving heart should be our keynote for the coming year. Fourth, that strength to stand is the result of a joyous attitude and a true orientation to the soul.
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