A dear friend, Rita, once shared with me one of the best questions one can ever ask oneself when adversity strikes: “Lord, where have I not been in integrity.” My humble friend never realized what great teaching she was imparting to me. Those words, simple yet profound, are my friend’s legacy. On par with any enlightened teacher, they continue to hold deep roots in my consciousness, a benchmark for my own self-scrutiny and a gift worth sharing with all.
The month of January was not only a new beginning, but held a reminder to the world of the legacy of a great man, Martin Luther King, Jr. Wherein lay his greatness? Like Mahatma Gandhi, he, too, noted the suffering of his own brothers and sisters. Yet, like Rita, King and Gandhi were not embittered souls seeking revenge or wasting time casting blame. They opted to do something noteworthy instead. They opted to walk the path of peace, love, and integrity. Both leaders followed the commandment of the Master Jesus to “turn the other cheek,” to offer love where hatred was commonplace.
I have so often questioned, “What could I possibly leave as a legacy?” The one thought that continues to override all others is that I must practice vigilance by asking myself in all instances, “What would love do?” Granted, the emotional side of my being does have its occasional outbursts; however, subsequent actions are usually guided by deep introspection—guided by “What would love do?” I’ve come to that place where I do not “beat myself up” as much, dwelling on “Where did I go wrong? Instead, I do my best to prevent unhappy outcomes.
The following poem was lovingly provided to me by a dear brother at Sunburst from the obituary of someone he knew. Tony Johansen’s legacy to the world resonates of a great soul, full of love, kindness, compassion, and wisdom. Like Martin Luther King, Jr., he, too had a dream for our world.
What Would It Feel Like
What would it feel like Not to live in a world gone haywire Where everything we did Gave to the world More than we took from it?
What would it feel like If we woke up in the morning and The feelings of despair were gone And we leapt from the bed Eager to contribute the next thing To the great turn around?
What would it feel like To climb on your bike Or walk to the bus Instead of the car To dig up an asphalt parking lot Plant a vegetable garden A duck pond, a small forest?
What would it feel like To read to the blind, tutor a child, Push a wheelchair Knowing your few needs were met And worth was measured in love Not money To sit quietly and listen To those in conflict With themselves and others?
What would it feel like To bring the stillness of your own heart To the turmoil of another’s heart Gentling their waves with your calm Letting their waves pass Through you and away Like wind through bamboo?
Recently, sitting, wondering what I might write about and figuring it would come to me, I decided to lay it to rest for a moment and turned on the tv just in time to see an older man holding on to a young fellow by his collar admonishing him, “I’m gonna get you to add another virtue to your list – how about telling the truth?”
“Wow!” I thought, “That’s what I’ll write about!”
The twelve virtues have been referred to again and again in many disciplines, being expressed also as the predominant energy of its astrological counterpart. Reflecting on the Sunburst teachings, one of the paths of conscious living happens to be Speech. Looking further, I realized that its counterpart among the twelve virtues is Honesty.
Thinking about this and focusing on the topic of “Telling the truth,” I realized that it takes great Courage to be truthful every day—before oneself, before God, and even more so before others. It takes Perseverance to continually practice being truthful. It takes Patience to offer with tender words the truth. It takes Humility to tell the truth, not caring in what light others may cast us for doing so. It takes Forgiveness and Compassion to honor someone who is being truthful, even if that truth may tug at our sensitive nerves. And above all, it takes great Love to be able to rise above the aftermath that truth often engenders.
In the following excerpt, Victoria Raynor writes regarding the great philosopher and mystic, Aristotle:
“He believed that the function of a human was to engage in an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue.”
Reflecting on why certain companies, foundations, and spiritual organizations have endured, grown, thrived and gained respect over decades, one salient feature seems to stand out—that to the best of their abilities, they operated being truthful to their mission—to offer good products and services, operate in integrity, and take good financial care of all those upon whom their success depended. Respect for each other was key. People were more than workers or members; they were invaluable to the long-term survival of the whole.
As this New Year dawned, millions of people made new resolutions. It’s been said, however, that only a tiny percentage of resolutions are actually kept. Thinking about this, I realized that the reason might be two-fold: Firstly, that our old habits of thinking and behaving die hard. And secondly, that if we live truthfully in our lives, the very Universe would bend to our assistance, ensuring that our dreams, desires, and resolutions are fulfilled, bringing us more joy in our lives.
At Sunburst EarthLight Fellowship, a sacred seed ceremony was held to commemorate the dawning of the New Year and a new energy. Beautiful melodies filled the air as each participant offered into the fire the seeds of old habits, old thoughts and old desires. Prayers and seeds of new desires and good habits were also offered into the fire for divine blessings.
What an amazing feeling it was to release the old and bring in the new in such lovely settings, surrounded by loving soul travelers and filled with the blessings of Divine Spirit! How gratifying the thought that the New Year brings another opportunity for telling the truth, and living the truth.
Help me Oh Lord that in truth I may stand
‘Though tattered, worn, disappointed I may be.
I know that perfection yet a myth is to me,
But Lord keep me rooted in truth before thee.
May the good that I seek for myself of use be,
To all brothers and sisters thou hast sent to me.
Help me to carry out thy greatest command,
That with the same love, as for myself I hold,
I may take tenderly each brother’s, sister’s hand.
The parallelisms of Christ’s teachings with Yoga-Vedanta doctrines strongly support the records known to exist in India, which state that Jesus lived and studied there during fifteen of the unaccounted-for years of his life…. Jesus journeyed to India to return the visit of the three “wise men from the east,” who came to pay homage to him at his birth. They were guided to the Christ Child by the divine light of a star—not a physical luminary, but the star of the omniscient spiritual eye.…
The spiritual eye is a metaphysical telescope through which one can see to infinity in all directions simultaneously, beholding with omnipresent spherical vision whatever is happening in any point of creation. …Jesus referred to it: …”The light of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”…
The title “Christ” is also found in India—it was perhaps given to Jesus there—in the word “Krishna.” …“Christ” and “Krishna” are titles signifying divinity, meaning that these two avatars were one with God. While residing in physical form, their consciousness expressed oneness with the Christ consciousness (Sanskrit Kutastha Chaitanya), the Intelligence of God omnipresent in creation.…
Christ came at a critical time in history, when the world was sorely in need of spiritual hope and regeneration. His message was not intended to foster multifarious sects, each claiming him as their own. His was a universal message of unity, one of the grandest ever given. He reminded mankind that it is written in the scriptures, “Ye are gods;” and St. John voiced the inspiration and spirit of Christ’s teaching when he said, “But as many as received him [the Christ Consciousness manifested in Jesus and in all creation], to them gave he power to become the sons of God.”
Humility can be a hard thing for Americans to grasp. We’ve been raised in a culture that is competitive, where people are actually applauded for clearly “making their mark” as being better than others. We are raised to strive to be higher than, better than, and to shine brighter than others. The climate of competition leaves some feeling that they have more intrinsic value, and others feeling that they have less. Neither position is true, for the Divine lives in every heart. We are all equally, infinitely precious.
This culture of standing out from and above others is not an exclusively American phenomenon. It is a condition that exists all over the world. It is a human condition that needs the medicine of Humility which dissolves pride into love.
In a valiant effort to avoid self-glorification, often people will take the opposite stance away from pride: self-deprecation. We are all children of God, made in God’s image and likeness, and depreciating ourselves is just as false a practice. It is false to say, or even worse to believe: “I’m really not as capable or worthy as others. They shine and I’m dull. I can’t do the great things that others can do.”
Love, the Mother of Humility, takes neither of these two positions. Love cares nothing about being higher or lower, and wants only to be at one. Love wants communion, to be in relationship with others the way that the fingers on two hands can be interlaced. Humility, born of Love, knows that being higher is separation; being lower is equally separation.
Love lives in the truth. The truth is that we can all shine brightly—bright light is our very nature. Doing wonderful things is the Divine drive of the Soul. The important thing is to give all the credit to the Divine whom we are expressing. St. Paul said to the Corinthians, “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? Let he who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Encouraging us to shine our light, the biblical book of Matthew says, “Nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
So, let’s shine in the image and likeness of the Divine, and do great things to uplift this world, saying, “Thank You, God, for living through my life!”
Ultimately, Humility will be experienced by each of us through God-Realization, and we will perceive, experience, and rejoice that there is only One Doer. We will know, and say, “I Am. I Am. My body is this whole world. I’m not higher than; I’m not lower than; I am every being. One. There is only One. I Am that One. I Am that Love.”
Father–Mother Divine, help me to use this lifetime to uplift this world giving all the glory to You, the Divine Doer of All. I rejoice that we are One. We are the Love of the Universe. Amen.
