The Inertia of the Average Spiritually-Minded Man

'The average spiritually-minded person, man of goodwill, or disciple, is constantly aware of the challenge of the times and the opportunity which spiritual events may offer. The desire to do good and to accomplish spiritual ends is ceaselessly gnawing away within his consciousness. No one who loves his fellowmen, who has a dream of seeing the Kingdom of God materialize on earth, or who is conscious of the awakening - slow though it may be - of the masses to the higher spiritual values, but is thoroughly dissatisfied. He realizes that what he contributed of help to these desirable objectives is little indeed. He knows that his spiritual life is a side issue; it is something which he keeps carefully to himself and which he is frequently afraid to mention to his nearest and dearest; he tries to dovetail his spiritual effors into his ordinary, outer life, struggling to find time and opportunity for it in a gentle, futile, and innocent manner. He finds himself helpless before the task of organizing and rearranging his affairs so that the spiritual way of living may dominate; he searches for alibis for himself and eventually rationalized himself so successfully, that he ends by deciding that he is doing the best he can in the given circumstances. The truth is that he is doing so little that probably one hour out of twenty four (or perhaps two) would cover the time given to the Master's work; he hides behind the alibi that his home obligations prevent his doing more, and does not realize that - given tact and loving understanding - his home environment can and must be the field in which he triumphs; he forgets that there exist no circumstances in which the spirit of man can be defeated, or in which the aspirant cannot meditate, think, talk, and prepare the way for the coming of Christ, provided he cares enough and knows the meaning of sacrifice and silence. Circumstances and environment offer no true obstacle to the spiritual life.

Perhaps he hides behind the alibi of poor health, and frequently behind that of imaginary ills. He gives so much time to the care of himself that the hours which could be given to the Master's work are directly and seriously curtailed; he is so preoccupied with feeling tired, or tending a cold, or with fancied heart difficulties, and his 'body consciousness' steadily develops until it eventually dominates his life; it is then too late to do anything. This is particularly the case with people who have reached their fiftieth year or over. It is an alibi which it is hard not to use, for many feel tired and ailing, and this, as the years go by, is apt to get worse.

The only cure for this creeping inertia, is to ignore the body and take your joy in the livingness of service. I speak here not of definite disease or of serious physical liabilities; to these right care and attention must be duly given; I speak to the thousands of ailing men and women who are preoccupied with taking care of themselves, and so waste hours of the time which could be given to the service of humanity. Those who are seeking to tread the Path of Discipleship, should release those many hours spent in needless self-care into the service of the Hierarchy.

Still another alibi, leading to inertia, is the fear people have of speaking about the things of the Kingdom of God to others; they are afraid of being rebuffed, or of being thought peculiar, or of intruding. They therefore preserve silence, lose opportunity and never discover how ready people are for the discussion of realities, for the comfort and hope which the thought of Christ's return can bring, or for the sharing of spiritual light. This is essentially a form of spiritual cowardice, but is so widespread that it is responsible for the loss of millions of hours of world service.

There are other alibis, but those above noted are the most common; the release of the majority of people from these hindering conditions would bring to the service of the Christ so many hours and so much overtime endeavour that the task of those who admit no alibis would be greatly enlightened, and the coming of Christ would be much nearer than it is today. To the rhythm of life under which the Christ and the spiritual Hierarchy operate, and which vibrates in harmony with human need and spiritual response, we are not called. We are, however, called to demonstrate the quality of spiritual activity and to refuse to hide behind alibis. It is essential that all spiritual people recognize that in the place where they now are, among the people who are their associates and with the psychological and physical equipment with which they are endowed, they can and must work. There is no possible coercion or undue pressure exerted in the service of the Hierarchy. The situation is clear the simple.

From Tibetan Master Djwhal Khul