Sunday, January 11, 2009

The boundary between the personal good and the Common Good

Supermundane III, 472. Urusvati knows of those moments when one is unable to discern the boundary between the personal good and the Common Good. The mind whispers that personal gain is in conflict with general welfare, but the heart says otherwise. Disharmony will cause a contradiction between the personal good and the Common Good, but it is possible to imagine a point at which the Common Good becomes the personal. It is a harmonious state that requires an equal harmony of all surrounding conditions.

Some may object that such a state is unattainable during earthly life. But who can tell what is attainable and what is not? Such an arbitrary distinction may relate only to a fleeting moment in the present but is of no value for the future. If, in the course of a single human life one can observe how much the conditions of life change, what then can one say about centuries?

Of course, those who like contradictions will point out that in many respects human character does not change at all, but more discriminating observers realize that human psychology changes, and that in this flexibility is hidden the guarantee of future achievements. The time will come when people will understand that Good is one and cannot be divided into the personal and the common.

There is great perplexity about thought and the concept of the cementing of space. People think wrongly that all personal thoughts are selfish ones, and wonder how good thoughts can emerge from the darkness of selfishness. Of course, if someone prays for something harmful to humanity, those prayers will pollute space. But every benevolent thought is good, both for the one who sends it and for all others. These are the thoughts that should "cement" space.

The Thinker said, "Let everybody find thoughts that are good both for himself and for humanity, because then his ego will be equal to the heart of humanity."

-Agni Yoga


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