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| Distinguishing Good from Evil |
There is a word often used in the “spiritual milieu”, the word “seeker” and it implies “truth”. Yes, the generic term researcher always implies truth. If you’re not looking for the truth, you’re not a seeker.
You can be a scientist, a gold digger, of flavor, a bibliophile loving ancient books of spirituality, all this is perfectly good and legitimate. As for the word seeker, as it is used in publications related to spirituality, you must seek the truth in order for it to describe you.
If you do not believe in a universal truth, then it is impossible for you to be a seeker. When one is a seeker what one seeks, it is the truth; that is, what is true for everyone and not something relative or worse, false with an appearance of true.
The fear of making mistakes and going down the wrong path, where we would waste our time and energy in vain, makes us cautious and sometimes prevents us from going down a path that seems to speak truth.
I would like to point out one thing: there are truths as well as individuals. Universal truth is not opposed to individual truths, it is not the same thing. These words are homonymous, not synonymous.
For example, we can tell the truth about food colours, but the truth, we cannot talk about it or write about it. We can speak about it, but we cannot tell it: the truth is lived, seen, understood through techniques, a particular practice; The Path.
The true and the false
When one has had Revelation, when one is observant, one has a way of knowing whether something is true or false, good or bad, this means is a technique of meditation, called the «Holy-Name».
For people who are a little accustomed, I want to point out that this “Holy-Name” cannot be said or written, that it is not a mantra. It is known on the Day of Revelation.
The important thing is to know that thanks to this technique, it is possible to have a kind of standard, referential base to distinguish the true from the false, the good from the bad. The Day of Revelation all this is explained in detail.
If you are a Seer and want to know if an activity is good or bad for your quest, you just need to see if it keeps you in the Holy-Name (in practice) or moves you away from it.
An activity that would prevent you from staying focused on the Holy-Name would be negative. If for you the practice of the Holy-Name is essential, everything that promotes it is positive, whereas everything that prevents it is negative.
It is not a matter of refusing any activity that does not promote the practice, because there are things we have to do, whether it suits us or not. Our duties must always be fulfilled, our obligations assumed.
If the practice of The Path (of its four pillars) is essential in the life of an adept, the assumption of his social, family and professional obligations is just as essential. One must never sacrifice one’s duties, one’s obligations to practice. Duties and obligations come first. To assume is one of the facets of well understood spiritual practice, besides, it is mentioned in several books that deal with this subject:
People live on food that depends on the rains and the rains flow through Grace. The consciousness of Grace comes to Men who fulfill their duties with dedication and by the Observance of the pillars of The Path. Duties are given by knowledge and knowledge comes from the consciousness of unity. This consciousness is found in the fulfilment of its duties and the observance of the agya.
He who does not fulfill his duty and observe the prescriptions of The Path, certainly lives in error, for he who indulges in the pleasures of the senses alone exists in vain. However, for the initiate, practising the true way, the assumed duty offers satisfaction only if it has been in service.
"He who has realized his spiritual identity is disinterested. He does not care what one thinks of his actions. Thus, man must act out of a sense of duty, detached from the fruit of his acts, for by the free action of attachments he reaches the Absolute." (Bhagavad-Gita 3:14-19)
"Assume your duties, without seeking to escape them and without being bound by success or failure, it is your freedom. Strive to act by renouncing the fruits of your actions and do not believe to be at the origin of their consequences. Remain in Unity, out of the fluctuations of the mind. Avaricious are those who yearn for the fruits of their acts. Service frees, and engages in, the consequences of action, good or bad.” (Bhagavad-Gita 3:14-15)
"He who goes on The Path, does not generate residues. He who speaks in Unity speaks in truth. He who assumes his duties, does not need to be. Enlightened twice: once by the light of Oneness, once by his own wisdom, the awakened can teach other Men. For the master, the disciple is an opportunity to serve. If one does not esteem his master, if the other neglects his disciple, they are plunged into blindness. One needs the other, such is the Way." (Lao-Tzu, Dao-De-Jing, 1:27)
The Holy-Name (the technique of meditation and/or the feeling felt) serves, among other things, as a referential base: when we feel it, we really appreciate it. It’s so much and fundamentally what we need and have always expected that we want to feel as much as we can. When something takes us away from that feeling, we avoid it, if possible.
Working on pruning the vine promotes meditation more than working in a market room in front of several monitors full of numbers and graphs with, in hand, two phones.
Not to mention the burden of responsibility on us. Perhaps that is why it was said, "It will be easier for a rope to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew, 19:24)
Sometimes we have a complicated existence and practice has difficulty finding its place. When you enter The Path, you are motivated by something so strong that you are ready to simplify your existence. A teenager, a very young adult goes out every Friday and Saturday night. He goes dancing in a nightclub, often uses excessive alcohol and sometimes other psychotropic products less legal, but often more «transcendental».
Do you see a lot of married people doing this? No, they “line up” and their lives get simpler. Of course they regret their outings and their excesses. Making a choice is always giving up something for something else. It’s maturity. For The Path it’s the same thing.
It does not become the only “thing” that matters in our lives, but it matters a lot. The family, our spouse, our children, work, involvement in friendly, community and/or social and humanitarian activities are not insignificant. But, the observant will avoid, as far as possible, without neglecting his obligations, any evil activity, from the point of view of practice.
But, for a seeker, what can help him to know if something is good or bad? Common sense, morality, laws and regulations. Aside from these valuable aids? Nothing. He must rely on the Grace of the One who never fails sincere seekers who go on the road with a real desire for truth.
The satsang* (which is the word of truth) must touch the soul through the ears. If the satsang vibrates in you a rope that makes a beautiful music, go ahead and trust it.
* Satsang is part of The Path practice, with formal and active meditation. These are improvised speeches inspired by the Holy- Name. This word means "the company of truth" or the wise.
You can be a scientist, a gold digger, of flavor, a bibliophile loving ancient books of spirituality, all this is perfectly good and legitimate. As for the word seeker, as it is used in publications related to spirituality, you must seek the truth in order for it to describe you.
If you do not believe in a universal truth, then it is impossible for you to be a seeker. When one is a seeker what one seeks, it is the truth; that is, what is true for everyone and not something relative or worse, false with an appearance of true.
The fear of making mistakes and going down the wrong path, where we would waste our time and energy in vain, makes us cautious and sometimes prevents us from going down a path that seems to speak truth.
I would like to point out one thing: there are truths as well as individuals. Universal truth is not opposed to individual truths, it is not the same thing. These words are homonymous, not synonymous.
For example, we can tell the truth about food colours, but the truth, we cannot talk about it or write about it. We can speak about it, but we cannot tell it: the truth is lived, seen, understood through techniques, a particular practice; The Path.
The true and the false
When one has had Revelation, when one is observant, one has a way of knowing whether something is true or false, good or bad, this means is a technique of meditation, called the «Holy-Name».
For people who are a little accustomed, I want to point out that this “Holy-Name” cannot be said or written, that it is not a mantra. It is known on the Day of Revelation.
The important thing is to know that thanks to this technique, it is possible to have a kind of standard, referential base to distinguish the true from the false, the good from the bad. The Day of Revelation all this is explained in detail.
If you are a Seer and want to know if an activity is good or bad for your quest, you just need to see if it keeps you in the Holy-Name (in practice) or moves you away from it.
An activity that would prevent you from staying focused on the Holy-Name would be negative. If for you the practice of the Holy-Name is essential, everything that promotes it is positive, whereas everything that prevents it is negative.
It is not a matter of refusing any activity that does not promote the practice, because there are things we have to do, whether it suits us or not. Our duties must always be fulfilled, our obligations assumed.
If the practice of The Path (of its four pillars) is essential in the life of an adept, the assumption of his social, family and professional obligations is just as essential. One must never sacrifice one’s duties, one’s obligations to practice. Duties and obligations come first. To assume is one of the facets of well understood spiritual practice, besides, it is mentioned in several books that deal with this subject:
People live on food that depends on the rains and the rains flow through Grace. The consciousness of Grace comes to Men who fulfill their duties with dedication and by the Observance of the pillars of The Path. Duties are given by knowledge and knowledge comes from the consciousness of unity. This consciousness is found in the fulfilment of its duties and the observance of the agya.
He who does not fulfill his duty and observe the prescriptions of The Path, certainly lives in error, for he who indulges in the pleasures of the senses alone exists in vain. However, for the initiate, practising the true way, the assumed duty offers satisfaction only if it has been in service.
"He who has realized his spiritual identity is disinterested. He does not care what one thinks of his actions. Thus, man must act out of a sense of duty, detached from the fruit of his acts, for by the free action of attachments he reaches the Absolute." (Bhagavad-Gita 3:14-19)
"Assume your duties, without seeking to escape them and without being bound by success or failure, it is your freedom. Strive to act by renouncing the fruits of your actions and do not believe to be at the origin of their consequences. Remain in Unity, out of the fluctuations of the mind. Avaricious are those who yearn for the fruits of their acts. Service frees, and engages in, the consequences of action, good or bad.” (Bhagavad-Gita 3:14-15)
"He who goes on The Path, does not generate residues. He who speaks in Unity speaks in truth. He who assumes his duties, does not need to be. Enlightened twice: once by the light of Oneness, once by his own wisdom, the awakened can teach other Men. For the master, the disciple is an opportunity to serve. If one does not esteem his master, if the other neglects his disciple, they are plunged into blindness. One needs the other, such is the Way." (Lao-Tzu, Dao-De-Jing, 1:27)
The Holy-Name (the technique of meditation and/or the feeling felt) serves, among other things, as a referential base: when we feel it, we really appreciate it. It’s so much and fundamentally what we need and have always expected that we want to feel as much as we can. When something takes us away from that feeling, we avoid it, if possible.
Working on pruning the vine promotes meditation more than working in a market room in front of several monitors full of numbers and graphs with, in hand, two phones.
Not to mention the burden of responsibility on us. Perhaps that is why it was said, "It will be easier for a rope to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew, 19:24)
Sometimes we have a complicated existence and practice has difficulty finding its place. When you enter The Path, you are motivated by something so strong that you are ready to simplify your existence. A teenager, a very young adult goes out every Friday and Saturday night. He goes dancing in a nightclub, often uses excessive alcohol and sometimes other psychotropic products less legal, but often more «transcendental».
Do you see a lot of married people doing this? No, they “line up” and their lives get simpler. Of course they regret their outings and their excesses. Making a choice is always giving up something for something else. It’s maturity. For The Path it’s the same thing.
It does not become the only “thing” that matters in our lives, but it matters a lot. The family, our spouse, our children, work, involvement in friendly, community and/or social and humanitarian activities are not insignificant. But, the observant will avoid, as far as possible, without neglecting his obligations, any evil activity, from the point of view of practice.
But, for a seeker, what can help him to know if something is good or bad? Common sense, morality, laws and regulations. Aside from these valuable aids? Nothing. He must rely on the Grace of the One who never fails sincere seekers who go on the road with a real desire for truth.
The satsang* (which is the word of truth) must touch the soul through the ears. If the satsang vibrates in you a rope that makes a beautiful music, go ahead and trust it.
* Satsang is part of The Path practice, with formal and active meditation. These are improvised speeches inspired by the Holy- Name. This word means "the company of truth" or the wise.
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