1HUMANCOMPLETIONANDFULFILLMENTWhenyoudomeet yourself, you come into a permanent endowmentandbequest of knowledge that is like noother experience onearth.

TariqaviIn theWorld, ButNotOf theWorld

The spiritual life can be lived at any time, in any place or circumstance, anddoes not requirewithdrawal from theworld. Enlightenment is not confined to hermitages in remotemoun-tains; it transcends all customs, all sects, all life, all places, andall time, it is as applicable in abusy city as in a quiet village.

Themanwhohas realized his true nature continues to face all his obligations,to live in society. Simply he is no longer a party to the activities of a societywhose only aim is to satisfy the ego. Unbridled accumulation andambition,inordinate desire to develop ones individuality, the need to intensify onespersonal qualitieswith anaim in view, all that this implies no longer concernsthisman. He is still in the world, but he is not of the world. (1)

The physical body should not be neglectedor abusedas it performs an essential role in theprocess of spiritual development. The importance of the body in the spiritual life is emphasizedby the classical Sufi teacher Attar: The body is not different fromthe soul, for it is part of it;andboth are part of the whole.

By all means, use your body towork in the world but understandwhat it is.The body is only an instrument to be used; you are not the body. Youare theeverlasting, timeless, spaceless principle which gives sentience to this body. (2)

A natural balance canbe achievedbetween inner development and self-expression in thenormal everyday world, by the practice of simultaneous detachment and engagement with life.A Chinese Zenmaster told his students: Donot permit the events of your daily life to bind you,but neverwithdraw yourself fromthem.

The individual must be in the world but not of the world, that is to say hemust co-exist harmoniously in the society towhich he happens to belong buthemust be free of all worldly ties that condition and limit his development.In order to achieve real development, he has to detach himself frompersonal,material things. But he cannot withdraw fromtheworld, like anascetic, be-cause if he did this he wouldbe separating himself fromreality andavoidinghis duty as a humanbeing. (3)

2Inner tranquility is largely an attitude ofmindand can be achieved in all conditions of lifethroughawareness and detachment. In the words of the great Indian sage RamanaMaharshi:That manwho is active in the world and yet remains desireless, without losing sight of his ownessential nature, is alone a trueman.

Solitude is in themind of man. Onemight be in the thick of the world andmaintain serenity of mind; such a one is in solitude. Anothermay stay in aforest, but still be unable to control hismind. Amanattached to desire can-not get solitude wherever hemay be; a detachedman is always in solitude.Work performedwith attachment is a shackle, whereaswork performedwithdetachment does not affect the doer. He is, evenwhile working, in solitude. (4)

Inner spiritual development can harmoniously co-exist with the reality of everyday life in areciprocal relationshipwhich honours the importance of bothaspects of existence:

If, as ananalogy, youwere a baker and learning to become a candlestick-maker, youwould continue your baking andpractise, in your available time,candlestick-making. Youwould, of course, not try tomake candlestickswiththe skills andmaterials used in baking, except for employing a few corres-pondences, like the capacity to coordinate. Al-Ghazali, the Persian, inhisAlchemy of Happiness, tells how a scavenger collapsed fromthe unfamiliarityof the scent when hewaswalking in the Street of the Perfumers; andhow ittook a former scavenger to discern his state and its remedy so that he couldapply the indicatedprocedure of holding something filthy under the scavengersnose until he revived. Like the scavenger, people in the ordinary world becomebemusedand ineffective if they are exposed to things formanother dimension.They are brought back to reality by returning to customary patterns. If thescavengerwants to become, say, a perfumer, he has to be exposedby degreesto sweet odours. At some point he will be able to operate in both worlds,having learned throughpractice how to discern both smells. (5)

A correspondence exists between life in the ordinary world and life inhigher dimensions. Ananalogy of the relationshipbetween the twoworlds (the physical and themetaphysical) pointsto the effect whichmoving has on your shadow:

Take thisworld as the shadow, and the next one as the sun, for the purposeof the analogy. Now note that if youmove towards your shadow (the world)it recedes, and if pursued cannot be caught. If, however, youmove towardsthe sun (the otherworld) your shadow will follow you. (6)

The full development of the humanbeing is distinguished, following the experience of higherconsciousness, by a return to the world and engagement with active life. There is anadage:If onewere towake upand still remain inbed, thenwhat is the use of awakening?

3Mysticismis unclouded perception, and sopractical that it can be lived everymoment of life and expressed in everyday duties; its connectionwith experienceis so deep that it is the final understanding of all experience. If the soul loses itsconnectionwith experience and the different phases of life, there is a neuroticreaction, which is far frombeing a spiritual experience for this not only in-volves the realizationof the soul onhigher planes, but a right attitude toworldlyduties andeveryday life. (7)

Spiritual illumination is of value to others only with a return to everyday life in order to guideothers on the path to enlightenment: to inject back into the streamof life the directionwhichhumanity needs inorder to fulfil itself.

The guide teaches fromapositionwhich is at times in the world becausehe has tomaintain contact with his environment. He follows the arc of ascentto learn; andwhen he has completed the arc of descent he is among thepeople. He is now transmuted. Thismeans that althoughhis outward formandevena part of his essencemay be visible, hiswhole depth only unfolds tothose whoare developed enough to understandandperceive it. (8)

At certain times, for a limitedperiod and for a specific purpose, withdrawal fromworldlyactivities or leaving the world may be appropriate:

The inner work is done in the ordinary world but it cannot be done by any-onewho ismerely attracted to this idea andwho cannot really withdraw fromtheworld, aswell as participate in it. Withdrawal fromthe world is useless tothose whoare attracted by withdrawal and solitude. There are hardly anyrealmonks. These have to be people whoare equally at home in solitude andin company. (9)

Vocational Achievementand Excellence

The realizedhumanbeing is found in every department of life, is as common in theWest asthe East, may be rich or poor, andmay have any type of outward appearance or behaviour.The occupations of enlightenedpeople vary widely and can range fromscientists, philosophers,teachers, administrators, merchants or soldiers to poets, artisans, musicians andarchitects toautomechanics, farmers, housewives, the next door neighbour, or anything. Theway of earn-ing a living in the world follows nopredictable or stereotypical pattern:

After self-realization, any behaviour or actions expressed through the bodyof a sage are spontaneous and totally unconditioned. They cannot be boundto any disciplines. A realized sagemay be discovered in anunkempt personreclining in the ashes of a cremation ground, or on the cushioned bed in a

4palace as a king. Hemay be a butcher by vocationor a successful businessman.Nevertheless, a realizedone, abides in the Eternal Absolute. (10)

Achievement in the world ismarked by excelling inones chosen vocation, thereby becomingmore valuable to the human community. A realizedperson becomesmore practical, efficient,andeffective in all kinds of ways. A watchmaker becomes a betterwatchmaker, a housewifebecomes a better housewife.

Q: How is it possible to become selflesswhile leading a life of worldly activity?A: There is no conflict betweenwork andwisdom.Q: Do youmean that one can continue all the old activities inones profession,for instance, andat the same time get enlightened?A: Why not? But in that case onewill not think that it is the old personality whichis doing the work, because ones consciousnesswill gradually become transformeduntil it is centered in that which is beyond the little self.Q: If a person is engaged inwork, there will be little time left for himtomeditate.A: Setting apart time formeditation is only for themerest spiritual novices. Amanwho is advancingwill begin to enjoy the deepest beatitudewhether he is at workor not. While his hands are in society, he keeps his head cool in solitude. (11)

Inmany traditional spiritual teachingswork and the tasks of daily life are an integral compo-nent of spiritual practice:

In Zeneverything one does becomes a potential vehicle for self-realization.Every act, everymovement, donewholeheartedly, with nothing left over, isan expression of Buddha, and the greater the pure mindedness andunself-consciousness of the doing, the closerwe are to this realization. For whatelse is there but the pure act itself the lifting of the hammer, the washingof the dish, themovement of the hands on the typewriter, the pulling of theweed? Everything else, suchas thoughts of the past, fantasies about thefuture, judgments andevaluations concerning the work itself, what are thesebut shadows andghosts flickering about inourminds? Right before us is lifeitself. To enter into the awareness of Zen, to wake up, means to free themind of its habitual disease of uncontrolled thought and to return to its originalpurity and clarity. In Zen it is said that muchmore power is generated by theability to practice awareness in themidst of the world than by just sitting aloneand shunning activity. Thus ones daily work becomes onesmeditation room,the task at hand ones practice. (12)

5Success andachievement in thematerial world are basedon qualities such as commonsense, observation, versatility and creativity. The goal is to do everythingwell and to the bestof ones ability. If you are writing a letter, write it as if the whole worldwill judge youby thisletter alone.

Many people develop a negative attitude towardswork due to their identificationwith theirroles, job activities andexpectations. Work and the obstacles it imposes canbe consciouslyused in the process of self-development insteadof being a source of stress andnegativity.Gurdjieff spoke of the need for patience and perseverance, in small things and large: If youcando small thingswell, youwill do big thingswell.

Whenyouwork in your office and you finishwork andgo home and say, Iamdisgustedwith all these activities, it means quite simply that youhaveestablished a personal relationshipwith these activities. Tiredness anddisgustcome only whenyou are completely identifiedwith your personality. It is theperson, the object, which is tired and disgusted, not the I. In any case youhave to earn your living, face your financial problems. You cannot refuse it.It belongs to your life. But work is only function. There is only functioning.Dont create a personal relation. This creates fatigue. There is, of course, sucha thing asmuscular fatigue, but generally what we call being tired is psycho-logical. So go to the office, see the job to be done. See what it needs inorderto be realized, but dont establish a personal relationshipwith it. Thenyouarewitness to your activities, they function, they are done; but youare not drowned,not implicated, not identifiedwith them. In this dis-identification, youwill findjoy, because youwill be outside all the activities. (13)

When everyday work is donewithmindfulness and right attitude it becomes a vehicle forspiritual transformation:

A: Would you please comment on our daily work as part of practice?A: Work is the best part of Zenpractice and training. Nomatterwhat the workis, it shouldbe donewith effort and total attention towhats in front of ournose. If we are cleaning the oven, we should just totally do that andalso beaware of any thoughts that interrupt the work. I hate to clean the oven. Withall my education I shouldnt have to do this. All those are extra thoughts thathave nothing to dowith cleaning the oven. If theminddrifts in any way, returnit to the work. There is the actual task we are doing and then there are all theconsiderationswe have about it. Work is just taking care of what needs to bedone right now, but very few of uswork that way. Whenwe practice patiently,eventually work begins to flow. We just dowhatever needs to be done. (14)

Mastery andachievement in the world are said to be the outwardexpressionof inner devel-opment. Whenproperly performed, work is an expressionof spiritual depth andwisdom.

6Where there is a real, significant inner content to anything, it is capable of a powerful contem-porary andeffectivemanifestation.

Work has a far deeper purpose than simply turning out a product or renderinga service useful to society. Rightly regarded, it is a vehicle for Self-realization.But if work is to serve that function, workersmust train themselves not to eval-uate their jobs as boring or enjoyable, for one can onlymake such judgmentsby stepping back, thus separating oneself fromoneswork. Theymust alsolearn to relate to their jobs single-mindedly, with nothing heldback in otherwords, with no thought gaps between themselves and theirwork. Performedthisway, work acts as a cleanser, flushing away random, irrelevant thoughts,whichare as polluting to themind as physical contaminants are to the body.Thuswork becomes anexpressionof True-mind, creative andenergizing. ThisIs the true nobility of labour. (15)

Theway inwhichwork is performed can have a profoundeffect oneveryone around us,reflecting the principle of the inter-relatedness of all life:

In truthwe are not separate fromeachother, or fromthe world, fromthewholeearth, the sun ormoonor billions of stars, not separate fromthe entire universe.Listening silently in quiet wonderment, without knowing anything, there is justonemysterious palpitating aliveness. Whenour habitual ideas and feelings ofseparation begin to abate in silent questioning, listening, andunderstanding, thenright livelihood is no longer a problem. Whateverwemay be doing during thetwenty-four hours a day, be it working formoney or working for funor service,whether cleaning or just sitting quietly the doing now, in thismoment of noseparation, is the fulfilment, and it affects everyone andeverything everywhere.Everyone and everything is inextricably inter-woven in thismysterious fabriccalled life. (16)

Attitude toMoneyandPossessions

Authentic spiritual paths avoid the extremes of denying the value of things of the world orpromising anabundance of material and financial benefits. Money and possessions have theirproper place in the scheme of things: A personmay legitimately enjoy the things of the world,provided that they have learnt humility in their application.

There are certain attitudes floating around concerningmoney andearning aliving. By background, conditioning and other things, everyone has their ownattitude towardsmoney, its value and importance and so forth. Money is notby definitiona dirty thing. It has its correct place in life. It is a fuel, like gasoline.

7One works, one earns it, one uses it to dress oneself, to eat, tomake oneselfcomfortable. It only becomes a dominating factor if it becomes the aimof life.(17)

Fixation onmoney andmaterial possessions caneffectively act as a debilitating barrier tospiritual growth:

Q: We oftenhear, First Iwill makemoney and then Iwill retire and devotemyself to truth-seeking.A: This comes fromthe calculatingmind. It is a statement fromcompleteignorance. There is nothing functional in this reasoning. It is only a postponing.The right moment does not come fromthemind. When you feel the urge toleave the competitive world, the desire is very strong. Youdont, of course,avoid your family responsibilities, but you see themina different way. Thereasoning tomake enoughmoney to retire on is anescape fromwhat belongsto the immediatemoment. (18)

Possessingmoney ormaterial things or not is irrelevant. What matters iswhat effect theyhave ona person, how they are used, andwhether they are a shackle. The attitude of therealized person towardmoney and the way it is used is a special one, andmay be incompre-hensible to those conditioned by the values of contemporary culture. Money is lookeduponby the Sufis as an active factor in the relationship betweenpeople, and betweenpeople andtheir environment. Since the ordinary perception of reality is short-sighted, it is not surprisingthat the normal humanuse of money is equally limited in perspective.

An individuals inner realizationandevolutionmay be outwardly reflected by attainmentsand successes in thematerial world, since there is a relationshipbetween the physical realmand themetaphysical realm: Thematerial and themetaphysical are linked in a formbest re-gardedas a continuum. According to spiritual tradition, a personmay gainmonetary andmaterial advantages fromtheWay if it is to the benefit of theWay, aswell as the person.These gifts are given in accordance with the capacity to use themin the right way.

Moneymay be used in charitable work and humanservice. It may be distributed, basedonan inner perceptionof true need, to those whoare deserving, thereby entering the realmoftruly important operations and releasing, in turn, something for the giver.

Q: Have youany remarks on the giving of charity among Sufis?A: One commanding principle of all Sufis, binding upon them, is secret charity.Charity takesmany forms. As tomonetary charity: If money is givenwith a senseof joy, that joy is payment for the charity, and the goodwhich comes to thegiver is restricted to that emotion. Although this kind of giving is familiar tomostpeople, it nevertheless remains theminor formof charity. The second part of the

8minor formof charity is to give in order that the personmay help themselves.Thus a personmight buy a tool for a carpenter, so that he could earn his living.Thismay not be emotional, but could still be calculated charity. Its limitationsmake it less than true charity. Money or valuables are givenby Sufis, or thosewho desire to be counted among them, in accordance with the principle: Letyour left handnot knowwhat your right handdoes. A Sufi will:Give before being asked;Give whatever he has, without counting it;Give whenasked;Give no emotional or calculated charity unless he cangive true charity. (19)

Integration Into theEverydayWorld

The process of self-development must take place within normal society, with no separationfromthe reality of everyday life. The Path can be followedby living anordinary life in harmonyand rhythmwith the life-current of the community inwhich one is living. A dervish sayingechoes this contention: When it is time for stillness, stillness; in the timeof companionship,companionship; at the place of effort, effort. And in the time andplaceof anything, anything.

It is fundamental that every Sufi must devote his life to some useful occupa-tion. His aimbeing to become an ideal member of society, it naturally followsthat he cannot cut himself off from the world. In the words of one authority:Man is destined to live a social life. His part is to bewith other people. Inserving Sufismhe is serving the Infinite, serving himself, and serving society.He cannot cut himself off fromany one of these obligations and remaina Sufi.The only discipline worthwhile is that which is achieved in themidst of temptation.Amanwho, like the anchorite, abandons the world and cuts himself off fromtemptations anddistractions cannot achieve power. For power is that which iswon throughbeingwrested fromthemidst of weakness anduncertainty. Theascetic living awholly monastic life is deluding himself. (20)

Living skilfully in the everyday world implies an ability to deal withnegative situations andpeople. There is a proverb: Among roses, be a rose, among thorns, be a thorn.

Far toomany people seemto equatemetaphysical progresswithwithdrawalfromthe contaminationof the world. Youneed not be contaminatedby theworld provided youadhere to certain basic values and beliefs. You canasso-ciate with themost terrible anddepravedpeople and be exposed to all influ-ences andnot suffer. You have a place in your family and in society whichyou cannot escape in order to sit in a cave andmeditate. You have responsi-bilitieswhich you cannot slough off. (21)

9With the proper understanding andattitude, the experiences of life can be usedas a schoolfor inner development. Thiswas a prominent theme inGurdjieffs teachings:

He constantly reminded us that wemust do everythingwell, that wemustalways be ready to adapt ourselves to changing circumstances, to be re-sourceful, and to learn to be able always to turn a set-back or a disadvantageto our ownuse to regard life as a gymnasiuminwhich one could use con-ditions for the development of will, consciousness, and individuality, to learnto be not ordinary, but extraordinary. The extraordinaryman, he said, isjust and indulgent to the weaknesses of others; and he depends on the re-sources of his ownmind, which he has acquiredby his ownefforts. (22)

The conditions of the everyday world can provide a climate and the opportunities forlearning how to live in the present, to experience the feeling of concentration and totalinvolvement in themoment. In the words of Gurdjieff:

Whenyou do one thing, he said once, do it with the whole self. Onething at a time. Now Isit here and Ieat. Forme nothing exists in the worldexcept this food, this table. I eat with the whole attention. So youmust do in everything. Whenyouwrite a letter, do not at the same time think whatwill be the cost of laundering that shirt; whenyou compute laundering costs,do not think about the letter youmust write. Everything has its time. To beable to doone thing at a time . . . this is a property of Man, not man in quo-tationmarks. (23)

Whenwe approach life without preconceptions andwith an attitude of openness, everymoment is new and full of myriad possibilities:

Whenyouare free fromend-gaining, free fromstriving, free fromexpecta-tion, then you are open, open to all possible facts. Otherwise, you are onlyopen to the past, and that means to repetition. Whenyouare open to all thefacts, there is no repetition. Everymoment is new. Life is never repetitious.It is because of our way of looking andacting fromthe I-concept that thereappears to be repetition. Because we superimpose old ideas on the situation,we are not open to the newness, open to the unknown. This opennesswithyour surroundings is harmonious living. Inopenness there is love. (24)

Skilful andEffectiveBehaviour

The humanbeingwho is independent of desire for gainor fear of loss (the carrot and thestick) haswider, freer choices of behaviour andactionand can discharge functions in the

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world that are beyond the ability of the ordinary person. The egoless person is capable of usingtheir assets, resources and abilities in a farmore effective way than the average person:

Youare bornwith a certain energy capital. You can augment this capital,it is true. You can organize, you can re-orchestrate your capital. You canadminister it wisely or unwisely, but you are bornwith a certain capital andit is important that you come to know it andadminister it well. But youcan only become a good administrator whenyouare completely detached,when your ego is not involved. Whenyouadministrate withpsychologicaldistance, you use your capital in the right way all your capital, your energy,your intelligence, your sensitivity, yourmoney, and soon. (25)

Many spiritual traditions stress the importance of acting skilfully in the worldwithoutattachment to the outcome:

Do not be concernedwith the fruit of your action just give attention to theaction itself. The fruit will come of its ownaccord. This is a powerful spiritualpractice. In the BhagavadGita, one of the oldest andmost beautiful spiritualteachings in existence, non-attachment to the fruit of your action is calledKarma yoga. It is described as the path of consecrated action. When thecompulsive striving away fromtheNow ceases, the joy of Being flows intoeverything you do. Themoment your attention turns to the Now, you feel apresence, a stillness, a peace. Youno longer depend on the future for fulfill-ment and satisfaction you dont look to it for salvation. Therefore, youarenot attached to the results. Neither failure nor success has the power tochange your inner state of Being. Youhave found the life beneath your lifesituation. (26)

By not identifying with the various roles one is required to play in life, the realized individualis untouchedby the uncertainty and unpredictability of life events. People whoare free frompsychological involvement in a situationare naturally effective and can act skilfully andmoreefficiently:

Whenyouare free of wasting energy on psychological reactions of like anddislike, criticism, comparison, anger, depression, etc., when there is no longerany psychological involvement, youwill be awake to themoment, receptive toall that comes to you. Thenyouwill come to aneconomy in your doing. Effortandexpenditure of energy will be greatly reduced. You simply function, doingthings that have to be done. You dont take yourself for a doer. Youare simplypresent and then there is joy in the doing, in all your living. It is a play, not achore. (27)

Rightly understood, surrender is not a fatalistic or passive acceptance of life but rather anattitude of openness andwelcomingwithout the resistance of the personal ego:

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Surrender is the simple but profoundwisdomof yielding to rather thanoppos-ing the flow of life. The only place where you canexperience the flow of life isthe Now, so to surrender is to accept the present moment unconditionally andwithout reservation. It is to relinquish inner resistance towhat is. Inner resis-tance is to say no to what is, throughmental judgment andemotional negativity.It becomes particularly pronouncedwhen things gowrong, whichmeans thereis a gapbetween the demands or rigid expectations of yourmindandwhat is.There is somethingwithin you that remains unaffectedby the transient circum-stances that make up your life situation, andonly through surrender do youhaveaccess to it. It is your life, your very Being whichexists eternally in the timelessrealmof the present. (28)

Appropriate actions emerge fromour innate holistic intelligence free fromconditioning andpersonal choice. All responses fromthe whole must be right, effortless and instantaneous.Thought, feeling andactionmust be one and simultaneouswith the situation that calls forthem.

Every situation has a solution. It is only the person, themind, which finds nosolution. It finds no solutionwhich suits it. A fraction can never find a solution.The solution appears in your totality. It does not come fromthe discriminatingmind, throughanalysis. Magically it appears out of intelligence which ariseswhen youare open to all possibilities. Thenyou really act appropriately. Youare not psychologically involved in the situationandall your capacities are freedto function. When youare not a doer youare amost efficient channel for doing,a channel for functioning. There is no actor, doer, thinker. There is only acting,doing, thinking. In this openness you findpeace and joy in living. There is realrelationship. There is love. (29)

When action radiates froma centre of presence andawareness it is non-reactive, unpredict-able and appropriate to the situation:

In Taoism, there is a termcalledwuwei, which is usually translated as action-less activity or sitting quietly doing nothing. In ancient China, thiswas re-garded as one of the highest achievements or virtues. It is radically differentfrom inactivity in the ordinary state of consciousness, which stems fromfear,inertia, or indecision. The real doing nothing implies inner non-resistanceand intense alertness. On the other hand, if action is required, youwill nolonger react fromyour conditionedmind, but youwill respond to the situationout of your conscious presence. In that state, yourmind is free of concepts,including the concept of nonviolence. Sowho canpredict what youwill do?(30)

The behaviour of the enlightened individualmay appear, at times, to be oddor unusual. Thismay be the result of acting a part in order to teacha lesson, or because the primary, imme-

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diate objective ismore important than the secondary need for public approval or reputation. Insome cases, skilful action basedon foresight and knowledge of humanbehaviourmay evenberequired to protect oneself fromundesirable elements and situations:

The realized person has to be protected in the world, to anextent, by his ownawareness: like the camel in the desert as the phrase has it, indicating adjust-ment to the environment. There is a tale connectedwith this in the ancientclassic Laila andMajnunof Nizami:There was once a king, who took as a booncompaniona certain youth, andwasmost attached to him. Now the youth, in spite of all the protestations of theking, realized that he was not trustworthy. He used to go every day and feed theroyal dogs, a pack of savage brutes. One day the king became enragedat theyoungman, and orderedhimto be thrown to the dogs. But they, because theyknew himsowell, refused to do himany harm. (31)

When the inner being is purifiedof egotistical motivations, functioning becomes free andspontaneous, guidedby wisdomand intelligence. Intimacy with the truemindopens up pos-sibilities of perception, thought and feeling in new dimensions, more accurately andmorecomprehensive than ever before, more perfectly and completely thanwhat is facilitatedbyrigidly held conventions and subjective proclivities.

What you do is of no importance whatsoever; what matters is the way inwhichyou do it, your inner attitude. The role youplay on the worlds stage has nomeaning other than the clear-sightednesswithwhich youplay it. Dont loseyourself in your performance this only blurs the vision of your inner being.Disinterested action does not bind you but, on the contrary, leaves youentirelyfree. Live in themoment, simply be. Making a choice depends onmemory andeasily becomes slavery. Live as being and youwill awaken to bliss. (32)

Real capacity and the true expressionof inner development may, at times, be hidden or evenprojected as the opposite, in order to be effective andavoid challenge and opposition. There isa saying: In anupside-downworld, the genuine personmust masquerade. It may be necessaryto hide ones level of inner development fromthemajority of people in order to fulfil a higherpurpose:

Gurdjieff insisted that it was necessary to live ones life fully within the frame-work of society and that in order to do this andnot be conspicuous, one had tosubscribe, in public at least, to the prevailing social morality in otherwords itwas necessary to act out ones role on the stage of life, but always to be ableto differentiate between the outer acting manand the inner real man. Hesaid that it was extremely difficult for anyone to do this properly, since the dif-ferentiationwas often difficult tomake most people acted out their livesunder the impression that they were living, when they were in fact, only reactingto life as it happened to them. It was necessary to hide ones light fromthe

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ignorant anduninitiated as they would only, quite automatically, attempt todestroy such light or knowledge. However, it was equally important not tohide that same knowledge or light fromoneself or fromotherswhowere work-ing seriously and honestly towards the same goals of self-development andpropergrowth. (33)

Hiddenor Invisible Spirituality

The anonymous nature of much spiritual work is basedon the fact that real knowledge andenlightenedactionare underminedby prominence and fame. The contribution to humanwellbeing of true altruistic activity is often unknownandunsuspectedby the vast majority ofhumanity. There is a saying: Not the person, not themeans, but thework.

A personmay have a real spiritual experience without necessarily showing anymanifestationof spirituality:

A person canhave a spiritual experience by putting themselves in tunewithsomething by harmonizing with a place, a circumstance, orwithwhat they aredoing, and thus have a spiritual experience which canpass almost withoutconventional notice. You dont have a blank sheet which leaves a thumbprintevery time you have a spiritual experience. By definition, spiritual experiencesare of a personal nature. It doesnt affect everybody the sameway. (34)

Those whoappear normal and speak andact in anordinary fashionaremost likely to havebeen the recipients of real higher experiences. The awakenedmind is perfectly natural andgrounded in simplicity. Zenmaster Rinzai: When hungry I eat; when tired I sleep. Fools laughat me, but the wise understand.

A simplemind is not mysterious. In a simplemind, awareness just is. Itsopen, transparent. Theres nothing complicated about it. Formost of usmost of the time, however, it is largely unavailable. But themorewe havecontact with a simplemind, themorewe sense that everything is ourselves,and themorewe feel responsibility for everything. Whenwe sense ourconnectedness, we have to act differently. (35)

Enlightened beings oftenappear to be very ordinary as theymovewithin the fabric of lifequietly helping others as needed:

Dr. Albert Schweitzer gave up fame as amusician to become adoctor in asmall African village that was rife with disease. Without fear, he worked formany years among sick people, savingmany liveswithout falling ill himself.Similarly, anenlightened person canmingle at all levels of society, able to help

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themwithout being influenced by them. There is a Chinese proverb: If youfind yourself on a pirate ship, it is best to become a pirate. Theway of en-lightenedpeople is somewhat like this. Finding themselves ona pirate ship,they will become like pirates andgain their trust. Eventually they will turnthose pirates into good people . . . Enlightenedpeople are very ordinary andwill adapt to other peoples situations, mingling freely without hindrance.Through theirway of being they gain other peoples trust andare thus able tohelp themby touching their hearts. (36)

According to some traditional spiritual teachings there are invisible saints onearthwhopossess an innate goodness and love of humanity andwho quietly spreadhappiness and joy toothers:

A very remarkable doctrine is that of unrecognized saints. There are alwaysonearth personswhoare, so to speak, saintswithout knowing it. These arethey who are bornwith a natural goodness, which lifts themwithout effortto a point that most labor to reach in vain loyal, gentle, unselfish souls,endowedwith a natural intuition of goodanda natural inclination to pursueit, the stay and comfort of those whoenjoy the blessing of their society, and,when they have passedaway, perhaps canonized in the hearts of one or twowho loved them. Spontaneous goodness of this sort is not to be submitted torules or forms; the inward inclination, not the outer ordinances, is the sourceof their goodness. Against such there is no law. They have a standard ofthought and character of their own, quite independent of the praise or blameof menof externals. (37)

Self-realizedbeingsmay emanate blessings andhealing energies to the world in amannercompletely unknown to others:

Once you reach your destination and know your real nature, your existencebecomes a blessing to all. Youmay not know, nor will the world know, yetthe help radiates. There are people in the worldwho domore good thanall the statesmenandphilanthropists put together. They radiate light andpeace withno intention or knowledge. When others tell themabout themiracles they worked, they are wonderstruck. Yet, taking nothing as theirown, they are neither proud nor do they crave for reputation. (38)

Many of the greatest spiritual figures are anonymous andmay be imperceptible to theordinary person. Their spiritual activity in the service of humankind is private rather thanpublic, partly because they do not wish to draw attention to themselves. Most enlightenedspiritual teachers appear perfectly ordinary andnormal without any display of externalspirituality or religiosity: The Zenmaster is amost ordinarymanwithnomysteries, with nomiracles about him; he is not distinguishable fromaman in the street. He talks conventionally,acts like a sensibleman, andeats and drinks like ordinary humanbeings.

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Those truly enlighteneddonot boast of their enlightenment. Just as a trulygenerous person doesnt say, I ama generous person, youknow, so onewhohas integrated into life what he or she has realized in awakeningwill not wearenlightenment as a badge and shield. The fully awakenedaremodest and self-effacing. While they do not hide their light under a bushel basket, as the sayinggoes, all the same time they are not pushy or aggressively self-assertive. Theyknow that in truth theres nowhere to go; they are already there. (39)

Truly wise people are often unknownsince they teachand influence others in amannerwhich is not generally recognized as teaching by most people. The benefit of a realized teach-ingmaster to the world and to his or her studentsmay not be readily apparent:

What themaster is doing for the world and for its people, great and small, isoftennot seenby the observer. A teacher uses his powers to teach, to heal, tomakemanhappy and soonaccording to the best reasons for using the powers.If he shows younomiracles, this does not mean that he is not doing them. Ifhe declines to benefit you in the way youwish, it is not because he cannot. Hebenefits you in accordance with yourmerit, not in response to a demandbyyou. He has a higher duty; this is what he is fulfilling. Many among you havehad your lives transformed, have been rescued fromperils, have beengivenchances none of which you have recognized as benefits. But you have hadthese benefits just the same. (40)

HigherUnderstandingofLife

It is possible to attain amore comprehensive andextra-dimensional understanding of lifeand themeaning of existence. There is farmore objective knowledge and reality thanusuallyimagined. It is when the knowledge has been gained that the problems andpurport of humanlife are understood.

There is a deeper truth, and awider dimension, inwhichmanalready partlylives, though he is ordinarily indifferent to it. There is the hope that he canbecome as aware of it as he is of the familiarworld. The self-realizationofthis dimensionenables amanor woman to attainheights of achievement inthe easily-perceptible world and inother areas; and prevents him frombe-coming the tool of amere conditionedexistence, with all its anxieties andultimatemeaninglessness. Man tends to be unhappy not because of whathe knows, but because of what he does not know. (41)

By understanding successive layers of reality, anobjective knowledge of the world and therelative value of things is gained that puts everything into perspective. There is anadage:Experiencewithout understanding iswaterwithout wetness.

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The Sufi has an extra dimension of being, whichoperates parallel to the lessercognitionof the ordinaryman. MullaNasrudin sums this up neatly in anothersaying:I can see in the dark.That may be so, Mulla. But if it is true, why do you sometimes carry a candleat night?To prevent other people frombumping intome.The light carried by the Sufimay be his conformingwith the ways of the peopleamongwhomhe is cast, after his return frombeing transmuted into awiderperception. (42)

When one is able to perceive an underlying pattern andmeaning in life, it becomes possibleto consciously participate in the creative unfolding of a higher spiritual impulse andenergy:

Behind the sometimes seemingly randomor even chaotic successionof eventsin our lives aswell as in the world lies concealed the unfolding of a higher orderandpurpose. This is beautifully expressed in the Zen saying: The snow falls,each flake in its appropriate place. We cannever understand this higher orderthrough thinking about it because whateverwe think about is content; whereas,the higher order emanates fromthe formless realmof consciousness, fromuni-versal intelligence. But we canglimpse it, andmore than that, align ourselveswithit, whichmeans be conscious participants in the unfolding of that higher purpose.(43)

Whenwe harmonize with life we can learn fromanything andeverything. By letting goourfascinationwith the extraordinary and spectacular, we canallow ourselves to recognize thesimple wonder that lieswithin the ordinary. For life has its ownpurpose and doesnt need areason to be. That is its beauty.

There is no static point in life. Life is infinitemotion. Life is eternal dynamism;and to live is to be free tomovewith themovement of life spontaneously with-out any inhibition, without any fear. So, one cannot get stuck indestinations, inarrivals, in protections, in guidance . . . You learn from life at large, frombirds,fromtrees, fromplants, fromchildren, fromevery individual andespecially fromthose whohave had the courage to transcend the frontiers of this limitedhumanbrain, who are living in a state of consciousnesswhere there is no center andnoperiphery. They emanate peace, love and joy. (44)

The difference betweenanordinary personandonewhohas awakened to their true natureis one of perspective and the depthof understanding of Reality. Anancient proverb encapsu-lates this truth: Theworld is a fashioning instrument whichpolishesmankind.

Q: Does not the realizedmancontinue to live just like a non-realizedbeing?

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A: Yes, with this difference: that the realizedbeing does not see the world asbeing apart fromthe Self; he possesses true knowledge and the internal happi-ness of being perfect, whereas the other person sees the world apart, feelsimperfections and ismiserable. Otherwise their physical actions are similar.Q: You say that in our real beingwe are all equal. How is it that your experienceis so different fromours?A: My actual experience is not different. It ismy evaluation andattitude thatdiffer. I see the sameworld as youdo, but not the sameway. There is nothingmysterious about it. Everybody sees the world through the idea he has of him-self. As you think yourself to be, so you think the world to be. If you imagineyourself as separate fromtheworld, the worldwill appear as separate fromyouand youwill experience desire and fear. I do not see the world as separate fromme and so there is nothing forme to desire, or fear. (45)

The realizedhumanbeing, having transcended all identificationwith culturally and subject-ively conditionedpersonality, abides in their original essential nature. Whenwe realize thatwe have no ego, thenwe are open to the dimensionof the cosmos; we can receive its energyandwe can create. Openyour hands and youwill receive everything, evenmaterial things.Dont be afraid.

If you seek reality youmust set yourself free of all backgrounds, of all cultures,of all patterns of thinking and feeling. Even the idea of being amanorwoman,or evenhumanshould be disregarded. The ocean of life contains all, not onlyhumans. So, first of all abandonall self-identification, stop thinking of yourselfas such-and-such, so-and-so, this or that. Abandonall self-concern, worry notabout yourwelfare, material or spiritual, abandonevery desire, gross or subtle,stop thinking of achievement of any kind. You are complete here and now, youneed absolutely nothing. Live in tunewith things as they are and not as they areimagined. (46)

The true spiritual nature of existence is perceivedwhen it is no longer viewed through theconceptual filter of thought. Your consciousness is raised to a higher dimension, fromwhichyou see everythingmuch clearer andwith greater intensity.

The awakenedman lives in the world of things like everyone else. When he seesa rose he knows that it is a rose, like everyone else. But the difference is that heis neither conditioned nor imprisonedby concepts. Concepts now becomemar-vellous skillfulmeans in his possession. The awakenedman looks, listens, anddistinguishes things, all the while being perfectly aware of the presence that isthe perfect andnon-discriminative nature of everything. He sees things perfectlyin their interdependent relational nature. (47)

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The enlightened person is attuned to the purpose of life and to the whole of existence, andunderstands and participates in the higher evolutionof humanity. A parable aptly conveys themeaning of a higher design or plan for the world that is unseenby the normal humanbeing butis revealed in states of higher consciousness andunderstanding:

Imagine a gardenwhichhas beenmade ready for flowers and vegetables. Thisgarden just didnt happen. It was designed, and it is subject to certain laws.All that grows, andall that happens there, stems fromthis design. Everythingmust be in conformity with the laws inherent in the design. Fromtime to timethere are interventions by the gardener because something has begun to grownot as it should or where it shouldnt. Themany forms of life in this garden areits inhabitants. Now imagine fromtheir perspective what kind of opinions andbeliefs they will hold about what the garden is for, how the various parts of itrelate, what it is all about. Will they understandwhy the garden is there, orhow all its systemswork? Or evendismiss the idea of a designbecause it doesnot suit what they imagine to be their individual needs? Of all the difficultiesin our terrestrial garden, the greatest is trying tomake sense for its people, ofmany thingswhich are not in line with their desires. Unless you speak to them intheir own language, they will not accept what you say. But, in their language,many facts about the gardenwould be disconcerting, because their language ismuch rooted in selfish attitudes or lack of a certain kindof experience. (48)

Anenlargedunderstanding gives a panoramic view of life, leading to anunderstanding ofboth the physical world and its relationshipwithUltimate Reality. There is anability to see thecause-and-effect relationship betweenpeople, things andeventswhichappear separate:

The understanding of truemeanings behind inexplicable worldly happeningsis another consequence of higher development. Rumi illustrates the experiencingof this special dimension in life which veils the complete workings of actuality,giving us anunsatisfactory view of the whole. Twobeggars, he said, came to thedoor of a house. Onewas immediately satisfied, andgivena piece of bread. Hewent away. The secondwas kept waiting for hismorsel. Why? The first beggarwas not greatly liked; he was given stale bread. The secondwasmade towaituntil a fresh loaf was baked for him. This story illustrates a themewhich recursfrequently in spiritual teachings that there is often one element in a happeningwhichwe donot know. Yet we base our opinions uponmaterial which is incom-plete. You belong, sings Rumi inone verse, to the world of dimension. Butyou come fromnon-dimension. Close the first shop, open the second. (49)

One of the consequences of spiritual enlightenment is that life is seen in a new and compre-hensive form. Themost ordinary things in our daily life hide some deepmeaning that is yetmost plain andexplicit; only your eyes need to see where there ismeaning.

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There is a hidden trend in eventswhich alonewould enable one tomake fulluse of life. Those who can see this trend are termed theWise. The contentionis that certain humanbeings can actually sensitize themselves for the percep-tion of this hidden trend. (50)

Anenlightenedperson is aware of a spiritual energy that transcends the apparent world oftime and space, body andmind. A self-realized being cannot help benefiting the world. Hisvery existence is the highest good.

As our spiritual knowledge grows, our identificationwith the individual body-mind diminishes, andour consciousness expands into universal consciousness.The life force continues to act, but its thoughts andactions are no longer limitedto an individual. They become the total manifestation. It is like the action ofthe wind the wind doesnt blow for any particular individual, but for the totalmanifestation. (51)

Underlying the world of formand sense impressions is the fundamental basis of Reality Awareness, Consciousness, Being. It is wrong to imagine that there is the world, that there is abody in it and that you dwell in the body. If the Truth is known, the universe andwhat isbeyond it will be found to be only in the Self.

Pure awareness is the essence of what we truly are. We are not the differentstates and feelings, moods and tempers, succeeding one another. All of thiscomes andgoes lightly, cloudlike, without leaving a trace, when thought doesntidentify with any of it. One is not being thisor that thats something extra,addedonby thought. One is not becoming entangled in the extras. There isjust experiencing the pureness of being. Awake. Heart beating, voice sounding,leg aching, breathing in, out, in, out, bodymoving gently with the breathing.Its all here. Directly, immediately here. One is not separate fromawareness.Nothing is separate. Awareness is all. (52)

When the impermanent nature of phenomenal existence is realized, the fear of deathvanishes:

The enlightened know the true nature of existence, that everything is imperma-nent, never the same fromonemoment to the next, that things are constantlyarising anddisappearing according to causes and conditions. The fully awakenedknow that life and deathare like the waves of the ocean, waxing andwaning,and that underlying all phenomenal existence is That WhichNeverDies becauseit was never born. Thus they have no anxiety about death, their ownor others.(53)

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HigherQualitiesandVirtues

The realizedperson is characterized by the presence of positive, virtuous qualities suchashonesty, generosity, loyalty, honour, charity, patience, compassionandby the absence of suchnegative qualities as envy, greed, enmity and intellectual pride:

Q: Inwhat ways is anenlightenedpersondifferent fromonewho isnt?A: One who has thoroughlymasteredZen is totally involved inwhatever he orshe does. Sucha one is, in the words of the ZenmasterDogen, not boundnor does he bind, a statement oftenmisunderstood. That doesnt mean thatan enlightenedperson simply acts as he or she pleases, indifferent to the con-sequences of those actions onothers. Nor does he or she deliberately floutconventional laws in the name of freedom. Rather by identifying with themcompletely, sucha person transcends themand thus is no longer obstructed bythem. Although theymay ignore conventionality, the awakeneddonot flaunttheir behavior. Neither do they put people into a bindby imposing shoulds andoughts on them. Their lives are simple andunpretentious. They are full ofgratitude and compassion. (54)

Those whohave attaineda state of enlightenment are beyond preferences, desires, likes anddislikes. They are able to view theworld impartially and objectively. It was in this spirit that SriNisargadattaMaharaj, the great Indianmaster, answereda question froma follower:

Q: You seemtobe so very indifferent to everything!A: I amnot indifferent. I am impartial. I give nopreference to theme andthemine. A basket of earth anda basket of jewels are bothunwanted. Lifeanddeathare all the same tome.Q: Impartiality makes you indifferent.A: On the contrary, compassion and love aremy very core. Void of all predi-lections, I amfree to love. (55)

The outward behaviour of a realized being follows no recognizable pattern since it is basedona spontaneous response to the needs of themoment. Freedom lies inbeing free to fulfilthe needof themoment, to obey the necessity of the situation. Freedomto dowhat one likesis really bondage, while being free to dowhat onemust, what is right, is real freedom.

One who has reached full maturity, who knowshimself in consciousnesswillnot necessarily conformwith social convention. Sucha onewill act at the rightmoment as the situation dictates, without anybody being hindered in any way.

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If your acts are dictated by your desires, youhave no freedomwhatsoever. Onthe other hand, if you dowhat the situation calls for, you dowhat is right andyou and your surroundings are free. (56)

One of the hallmarks of real spiritual development is freedomfromattachment to pleasureorworldly things. The ability to detach from life, to be calmand balanced, allows a fuller anddeeper understanding of reality. This is echoed in the saying, He is able to swimin themiddleof the oceanwithout wetting his garments.

Following enlightenment there is a dramatic shift in ones relationshipswith other people asthere is a recognition of the inherent goodness of humanity underlying our general collectivedysfunction, conditioned behaviour and negativity:

Our true self is nothing other than this spontaneous goodness, this vastly com-passionate nature that alwayswants to help all beings. We carry it aroundwithus all the time. My self and all beings are not different and never separate. Weall have the same substance: since I certainly dont like to suffer, I also dont wantothers to suffer. If you completely realize this point, you can seewhy goodnessis realized in companionship, because it ismainly throughour actionswith otherbeings that we realize this goodness that we already have inside us, all the time.Other people become amirror of our actions. (57)

Humility and freedomfromthe self-centered ego is an important quality of enlightenment.There is anadagewhich speaks to this: Great menare great until they know it. Saints are holyuntil they know it.

Q: Does a realizedpersonever think I amrealized? Is he not astonishedwhen peoplemakemuch of him? Does he not take himself to be an ordinaryhumanbeing?A: Neither ordinary nor extraordinary. Just being aware and affectionate intensely. He looks at himself without indulging in self-definitions and self-identifications. He does not know himself as anything apart fromtheworld.He is the world. He is completely rid of himself, like amanwho is very rich,but continually gives away his riches. He is not rich, for he has nothing; he isnot poor, for he gives abundantly. He is just property-less. Similarly, therealizedman is egoless; he has lost the capacity of identifying himself withanything. He iswithout location, placeless, beyond space and time, beyondtheworld. (58)

Respect and love for all creation is a natural consequence of spiritual awakening, as all thingsare seen in their essential interdependence within theWhole:

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The aware person sees the indivisibility of existence, the deep complexity andinterrelationship of all life, and this creates in themadeep respect for theabsolute value of things. It is out of this respect for the worth of every singleobject, animate aswell as inanimate, that comes the desire to see things usedproperly, and not to be heedless orwasteful or destructive. (59)

One of the enduring attributes of self-realization is an immense gratitude for the very fact ofexistence, for the reality of simply being alive.

Everything is seen to be perfect, just the way it is. Earth turned out to be theheaven Iwas longing for. Theres suchabundance here, now, always . . . I couldgo onandoncelebrating the world I live in. It would take a lifetime to describethismoment, this now. Thewonderful thing about knowingwho you are is thatyoure always in a state of grace, a state of gratitude for the abundance of theapparent world. I overflowwith the splendor, the generosity of it all. And Ididnt do anything for it but notice. The litmus test for self-realization is a con-stant state of gratitude. This gratitude is not something that you can look foror find. It comes fromanother direction, and it takes youover completely. Itsso vast that it cant be dimmed or overlaid. Whenyou live your life fromthatplace of gratitude, youve come home. (60)

AltruismandHumanService

It is the duty of themature humanbeing to serve humanity, to act as a yeast or positiveinfluence on the humancommunity, and to be the greatest possible value to others. One of theforms of service is the preservation and dissemination of spiritual knowledge into humancommunities basedon needand capacity to benefit. In this sense, the acquisition of higherknowledge is determinedby its value to the human race and in accordance with the perceptionof an overarching cosmic design.

Spirituality can be projected through ordinary activities in the world, by workingwithpeopleand sharing attitudes andexperiences. Those whohave developed certain inner qualities havea far greater effect upon society than those who try to act onmoral principles alone.

The humanitarian activities of realizedhumanbeings cover awide and varied range, fromalleviating social ills, aiding recovery fromnatural disasters, helping victims of oppression,teaching people tomake themost of their endowment andpossibilities, tomedical, scientific,religious and educational work. One of the guiding principles in humanitarianwork is tocooperate not somuchwith official bodies and institutions, but with decent humanbeings.Wework withwhatever constructive desirable tendency there is, wherever it may be found.

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Humanservice is best accomplished behind the scenes without seeking acknowledgmentor recognition. Muchof this effort is done quietly andanonymously since identificationexcitesopposition. Anhistorical example of such silent altruismis the work of the Brethren of Sinceritynearly 1000 years ago in the Middle East:

The Brethrenwere a society of savantswhoprepared recensions of availableknowledge and published themanonymously, in the cause of education, nonedesirous of increasing his own repute through this dedication. Because theywere a secret society, little was knownabout them. A wisemanwas askedabout the Brethren of Sincerity, and replied that even the least among themhonours the wishes of his companions above his own. As the wise say: Amanengrossed inhimself is neither brother nor kinsman. (61)

In the Buddhist traditionBodhisattvasare those who through their self-mastery, wisdomandcompassion, selflessly serve other humanbeings anddedicate themselves to helping othersattain spiritual realization:

Bodhisattvas are individualswho exhibit anunusually strong and instinctivetendency to relinquish their ownapparent gain and self-interest in order tohelp others, even if it requires a great deal of effort or abandonment of theirownpersonal agenda. Sometimes they act with exceptional generosity. Othertimes they demonstrate great patience, profoundwisdom, or unimpeachablemoral character and ethical integrity. Sometimes it canbe just a little unexpec-ted kindness, a helpful word, or a smile that expresses the hiddenBodhisattvadeepwithin, coming at precisely the right time andplace when one is truly inneed of a boost. In every case, they inspire us by the extent towhich theyapply these qualities for the benefit of others rather than themselves . . .These individuals radiate a sense of peace, joy, fulfillment, and naturalness inaccomplishing the good things they do. Whatever their external appearanceor life situationmay be, they seemmore deeply in touchwith, andempoweredby, universal values than theirmore self-oriented peers are. Doing the rightthing is the only reward they need. (62)

True giving and service is egoless and devoid of all subjectivemotives for helping others:Q: Canwe come to freedomandpeace through helping others as Christianityteaches?A: Youare not the doer of your acts, youare the awareness fromwhichallaction stems. In relationships betweenpersonalities, betweenobjects, thereis only looking for security, theres only asking. Even so-called giving iswith aview to getting. Pure giving is your true nature, it is love. When the occasionasks you for help youwill spontaneously help, and the help coming fromwhole-ness, from love, will be highly effective. But whenyou are a professional helper

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acting onan idea you have of yourself or the world your helpwill always re-main fractional. (63)

There is a finer conceptionof service beyond fear and punishment, desire for reward ortemporary pleasure. True service is a voluntary task, not imposed, andbased on freedomandchoice in both the external and interior sense:

If yougive charity and know that the person towhomyougive knows, yourisk his feeling obligated to you. It is bad enough, surely, to be in the positionof giving at all, and realize that youmaymerely be giving because it makesyou feel happy. Youare being rewarded for your action, insteadof helpingotherswithout any reward. I call public giving, or evengiving which is recordedanywhere, as a shameful and degenerate thing. Givingmakes aman to be calledgood. Noman is good in that sense. If youwant to be good, first find outwhether you canbe goodwithout emotion. Then find out if you can be goodwithout others knowing that you are good. If people think you are good, theyare judging, youaremaking themjudge you. This in itself is wrong. (64)

Inorder to truly alleviate suffering in the world a certain degree of understanding andwis-domis required. A personwill thenact or not act according to the essential requirements ofthe situation, and not for emotional or intellectual reasons:

Q: How can I find peace when theworld suffers?A: Theworld suffers for very valid reasons. If youwant to help the world, youmust be beyond the needof help. Then all your doing aswell as not doingwillhelp the worldmost effectively.Q: How cannon-action be of use where action is needed?A: Where action is needed, action happens. Man is not the actor. He is to beaware of what is going on. His very presence is action. Be empty of all mentalcontent, of all imaginationandeffort, and the very absence of obstacleswillcause reality to rush in. If youare emotionally committed to helping, youwillfail to help. Youmay be very busy and be very pleasedwith your charitablenature, but not muchwill be done. A man is really helpedwhen he is no longerinneed of help. All else is just futility.Q: There is not enough time to sit andwait for help to happen. Onemust dosomething.A: By all means do. But what you can do is limited: the Self alone is unlimited.Give limitlessly of yourself. To help is your very nature. Youare pure giving,beginning-less, endless, inexhaustible. Whenyou see sorrow and suffering, be

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with it. Do not rush into activity. Neither learning nor action can really help. Bewith sorrow and lay bare its roots helping to understand is real help. (65)

The attainment of enlightenment or self-realization is a gift of inestimable value to humanityand theworld. It is inherent in the realizationof ones real nature to become completely inte-grated inhumansociety andhelp for the love of helpingwithout the slightest intention to help.Simply ones presence is help.

The effect of one persons enlightenment on the collective world psyche isimmeasurable. On the level of the unseen it unleashes a veritable streamoflight and clarity into the darkness of others minds. On the level of the seen,the power of a disciplined, purified, and awakenedmind to affect and trans-formothers is immense. And just as lighting evena few candles in a huge,pitch-black cave lessens the darkness to some degree, hundreds of thousandsof personsmeditating egolessly would obviously create a tremendous forcefor peace and harmony in the world. (66)

It is traditionally believed that many sages act like a calmingwind andexert a hiddenandbeneficial influence upon thewhole of humanity fromwherever they are. Such an influencemay be totally unperceived and unsuspectedby the vast majority of humanity.

The stage of humanservice and concern for others is only a step and not the endpoint ofhumanspiritual development. To regard humanwell-being, thoughessential, as the highestpossible, the sublime achievement of humanity, is to limit oneself somuch that it is, effectively,a pessimistic and unacceptably limited stance. Again, the desire for humanwell-being is theminimum, not themaximum, duty of humanity.

Ultimately, in the enlightened state, there are noperceived others to help as all existenceis seenas one indivisible whole:

Q: Doesmy Realizationhelp others?A: Yes, it is the best help that you can possibly render to others. Those whohave discovered great truths have done so in the still depths of the Self. Butreally there are no others to be helped. For the realizedbeing sees only theSelf, just as the goldsmith sees only the goldwhenvaluing it in various jewelsmade of gold. Whenyou identify yourself with the body, name and formarethere. But whenyou transcend the body-consciousness, the others alsodisappear. The realizedOne does not see the world as different fromhimself.(67)

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LoveandCompassion

Love hasmany different levels, forms and depths of intensity. The expressions of love cantakemany forms and these are never exhausted. The expressions of love are constantly new,they never come to an end. Love is the evolutionary principle of all existence, creating andsustaining life. The spirit of compassion and loving-kindness is the essence of spirituality andwisdom.

Enlightenment and love are inseparable and develop simultaneously in the realized humanbeing. Withinmankind there is anelement, activatedby love, which provides themeans ofattaining to true reality andmysticalmeaning.

Love is the factorwhich is to carry aman, and all humanity, to fulfilment. Inthe words of Rumi: Mankindhas an unfulfillment, a desire, and he strugglesto fulfil it throughall kinds of enterprises andambitions. But it is only in lovethat he can find fulfilment. But love is itself a seriousmatter; it is somethingwhich keeps pace with enlightenment. Both increase together. (68)

Universal love is the deepest formof love and is a natural outpouring towards all creatures,great or small, and is fuelledby direct awareness of the indivisibility of all life.

Wherever there is life beginningwith plants (for they too have life), animals,in awordwhatever life exists, there is love. Each life is a representative of God.Whoever can see the representative will see Himwho is represented. Everylife is sensitive to love. Even inanimate things suchas flowers, which have noconsciousness, understandwhether you love themornot. Evenunconsciouslife reacts in a correspondingway to eachman, and responds to himaccordingto his reactions. (69)

Love recognizes the inter-relatedness of all things andembraces all life formswithout dis-tinction. With the perception of the unity of life, differences and distinctions disappear andlove emerges as the underlying essence of Reality:

Without love one cannot see the infinitely expanding network of relationshipswhich is reality. Love trusts, is always affirmative and all-embracing. Love is lifeand therefore creative. Everything it touches is enlivenedandenergized for newgrowth. When you love ananimal, it growsmore intelligent; whenyou love aplant you see into its every need. Love is never blind; it is the reservoir of infinitelight. (70)

Universal love is realizedby relinquishing ones ordinary self andembracing all life withoutjudgement, attachment or the expectation of something in return. Whenyou love the Self andnothing else, yougo beyond the selfish and the unselfish. All distinctions lose theirmeaning.

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Love of one and love of all merge together in love, pure and simple, addressed to none, deniedto none. And in the words of Rumi: Love is the remedy of our pride and self-conceit, the phy-sician of all our infirmities. Only hewhose garment is rent by love becomes entirely unselfish.

Self-realization removes the imaginary barrier of separation fromothers and allows love andcompassion to flow fromits inexhaustible source of Pure Being. The ability to love others andtheworld unconditionally beginswith loving oneself. Whenyouknow beyondall doubtingthat the same life flows throughall that is and you are that life, youwill love all naturally andspontaneously. Whenyou realize the depth and fullness of your love of yourself, you know thatevery living being and the entire universe are included in your affection.

The relationship becomes possible only when there is an awareness of Being.Coming fromBeing, youwill perceive another persons body andmind just asa screen, as it were, behindwhich you can feel their true reality, as you feelyours. So, when confrontedwith someone elses suffering or unconsciousbehaviour, you stay present and in touchwithBeing and thus are able to lookbeyond the formand feel the other persons radiant andpure Being throughyour own. At the level of Being, all suffering is recognized as an illusion. Suf-fering is due to identificationwith form. Miracles of healing sometimes occurthrough the realization, by awakening Being-consciousness in others if theyare ready. (71)

Inorder to experience and express universal love, the lower forms of lovemust be under-stoodand ultimately transcended:

Q: Why is there somuch suffering in love?A: All suffering is born of desire. True love is never frustrated. How can thesense of unity be frustrated? What can be frustrated is the desire for expression.Q: What is the place of sex in love?A: Love is a state of being. Sex is energy. Love iswise, sex is blind. Once thetrue nature of love and sex is understood there will be no conflict or confusion.Love is not selective, desire is selective. In love there are no strangers. When thecenter of selfishness is no longer, all desire for pleasure and fear of pain ceases;one is no longer interested inbeing happy; beyond happiness there is pure inten-sity, inexhaustible energy, the ecstasy of giving fromaperennial source. (72)

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References

(1) JeanKlein BeWhoYouAre (Dorset, England: Element Books, 1989), pp. 32-33.(2) Sri NisargadattaMaharaj TheUltimateMedicine (SanDiego: Blue Dove Press, 1995),

p. 165.(3) Giovanna de Garayalde Jorge LuisBorges: Sourcesand Illumination (London: Octagon

Press, 1978), p. 17.(4) RamanaMaharshi Talkswith Sri RamanaMaharshi (Tiruvannamalai, India: Sri

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