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So What is the True Path?

AN EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK: SERVERS OF THE DIVINE PLAN

There is an old dictum that warns: "Never trust anyone who proclaims that they have found the only way that leads to God". When considering the multifarious techniques of spiritual discipline that have been prescribed and successfully practised throughout history, the foregoing statement may appear to be quite correct. However, a deeper investigation by an informed mind that is able to elevate its thinking to a higher turn of the evolutionary spiral will reveal that its veracity only applies up to a certain point of spiritual attainment.

It is an immutable certainty that while there most certainly is freedom from the constricting laws of the lower self, there is no freedom from the divine Law of Relationship and from constant interplay between person and person, soul and soul, life and life. The greatest joy to be found in relationship with others is in helping them; real, spiritual happiness - or joy - may be found only in helpfulness, and all of life's many and diverse roads eventually converge upon the one Path of Service. The reasons for this will be made clear by the following elucidations.

It has been repeatedly averred by all the religious teachings and enunciations of the great spiritual luminaries throughout mankind's history that individuality is really one with the Whole; it has been clearly pointed out that the belief in the illusion of an isolated self and the consequent indulging thereof is the cause of all separation and therefore suffering. Furthermore, should we pause to reflect upon the obvious fact that an infinitely larger portion of the Cosmos exists apart from the little self, then we are likely to appreciate the relative insignificance of that self as well as the enormously greater substance, magnitude and import with regard to all that is not of the personal self. With this in mind, the seemingly separate individual might recognise the wisdom in never having any interests that are opposed to the universal laws that guide and govern all of Creation. Of course, the selfishness of egotism is diametrically opposed to one such law: the sacred Law of Love, and so, just like one's own shadow, trouble will necessarily follow the transgressor of that law. Yet the plain truth is that in helping others lies our own greatest good, and spiritual aspirants are most truly progressing when they assist the progress of others. Such is the way of Love, that glorious cosmic principle under which the creation of each and every one of the innumerable worlds throughout Infinity is made possible, and as the divine force of Love itself silently permeates them all. The very quintessence of the universe, then, is Love, and it is Love, therefore, that must be embodied and expressed by each individual life at some stage during the course of its growth before the gateway leading to the True Path of Return may be traversed.

"He who counts his life of so much worth that he would give it not in
willing sacrifice to save his brother man, is worthy not to enter into Life." - Jesus.

Now, Love has an inseparable relationship with Truth, for Truth seen becomes Love expressed. The spiritual heart can never be truly and permanently satisfied until the experience of Love and Truth is shared perpetually with other manifestations of the One, and it may be recognised, therefore, that the way of loving service is the True Path of Holiness (wholeness) for which all other spiritual disciplines are but preparatory. This can be easily verified by due recognition of the historically recurring fact that all the greatest spiritual masters, saints and true teachers of the Way have trodden the most noble path of selfless service. For such enlightened ones it cannot be otherwise and, in time, it will be so for all humanity similarly, as each individual recognises the Truth and so chooses to walk that same Road that has been graced by the hallowed feet of those who went forth before them to claim their own spiritual freedom.

As the Heart of Cosmic Being progressively unfolds itself through each soul in accordance with the universal and irresistible divine decree of spiritual evolution, as mankind necessarily ascends to greater heights of virtue and holiness, and as consciousness is inevitably elevated and sanctified throughout numerous incarnations of learning, each personality must necessarily become more divine, as a greater realisation of the sacred essence of life is attained. This innermost essence - or Spirit - is the true nature of everything seen, sensed and yet to be discovered, and its most sublime expression is Love, which ever seeks to express itself in compassionate service.

Eternally, Love seeks to flow through all things, to touch other parts of itself, to kiss and to merge in sacred reunion. As the nature of mankind is spiritual, the Way of Love must eventually be found by each and every person, and it is only upon this path that the chalice of the heart becomes so full and overflowing with the ambrosial nectar of divine Love that it simply cannot be contained and there is always more than enough to be joyfully shared with everyone. Love is a most natural expression, and its passionate and enrapturing song is ever-waiting to spring from any open heart upon the path of selfless service.

A taste of even the tiniest droplet of pure Love forever impresses its divine nature within the heart, and when we begin to penetrate into the reality of the One Great Principle that pervades, loves and serves throughout the infinite universe, we shall be naturally disposed to attune ourselves with that magnificent law, and thus, in Love, we shall gladly embark upon the way of spiritual service. In fact, as our awareness is illumined by the light of Truth, we shall find that the sanest choice in life has been made automatically for us simply by our reverential surrender to the omnipresent, loving Will of Creation. A gently hushed and transcendental voice deep within ourselves will then whisper its sacred and profound yet simple secret to our waking consciousness, and we shall remember the wonderful Truth. At this blessed hour we will realise with the utmost felicity that we have at last struggled away from the mass of seekers of the Path and onto the Path itself. The battle that we have blindly waged against the loving current of evolution in our service to ourselves will finally come to an end as the real spiritual adventure that embraces the ever-expanding delight of renouncing the lower self for the True Self - the divine Spirit - will then begin, in service to the world.

Since everything in the universe is interconnected, such a personal realisation becomes an immeasurable blessing to all life, and particularly to those forms with which the awakened individual comes into contact, yet the greatest spiritual benefit is bestowed upon the one who has become enlightened by the simple Truth. Their unprecedented good fortune includes the liberating revelation that instead of identifying themselves as a separate and struggling individual, alone in a competitive and hostile world, and instead of hopelessly striving for self against the ever-forward-flowing stream of life, they may now, with lucid recognition, consciously co-operate with Divinity as an integral part of its purposeful evolutionary intelligence, like a healthy cell in a great organism. This they may now do without hesitation because they have penetrated the veil of forgetfulness and remembered their own true, loving and compassionate nature by contacting the Spirit within. In such precious recollection, the exquisite perfection of Creation is revealed to them and a supreme and undying trust and confidence is born from an inner knowing which transcends the most pure and ardent religious faith. Before tear-filled eyes of spiritual elation and with unsurpassed gratitude, the blessedness of Existence then proceeds to unfold itself to the humbled beholder. In the subsequent attainment of a new and habitually reverent attitude toward all things, their every thought, feeling, word and action become sacred as their whole life is naturally consecrated to the Divine. Consequently, and at each moment, such a one is elevated by the Law of Recompense and, with the greatest joy, draws progressively nearer to complete remembrance and spiritual fulfilment.

At this stage it becomes apparent to the illumined mind that every deed that is performed with a pure and unselfish motive always yields favourable results for everyone concerned as it creates positive causes that subsequently reverberate forth along the corridor of time and on into a brighter future. Such is the enlightened understanding of a saint, yet that which is regarded as 'enlightenment' by many is recognised by those who see and know as just the beginning of an eternal and sacred journey. Enlightenment is not an end-product or result, but a continuing process of cumulative remembrance within the supernal light of spiritual reality, and such is the divine heritage of every sincere servant of Life. Enlightenment is a never-ending and joyful process of spiritual unfoldment, discovered only through the giving of Love to others; a Love that resides within the heart of every single soul in the world and can never be found by any outward grasping. Indeed, once something of the unbound unity and limitless nature of Creation has been understood, the notion of seeking to attain Truth, enlightenment or spiritual power for oneself alone is recognised as being wholly absurd. To the contrary, upon the dawning of true understanding, we shall gladly accept the one supreme honour, become most happily acquiescent in humbly taking our rightful place amidst the shining ranks of the Hierarchies of Servers throughout the multifarious spheres of the universe, and begin serving as we are able by starting from right where we are, as all the Great Ones have done before us.

Now, many aspirants in the world today believe that great spiritual benefit may be gained by practising certain meditative techniques and the like. While this may be quite true for those who are able to discipline themselves over a long period of time, these same adherents often overlook the fact that the most accomplished meditators have always emerged from their solitude in order to extend their meditation in service to the world. Theirs may be said to be the most supreme meditation of all, for it reflects the One Great Eternal Meditation which endures within the Universal Mind itself, and has done ever since the blueprints for the Cosmos were conceived, i.e., even before its creation: a very long time indeed. Thus, the meditation of service appears to have been quite adequately tried, tested, successfully demonstrated and so verified as being a most pre-eminent practice, and this certification has been made by a rather higher Authority than any teacher upon Earth!

When one embarks upon the True Path of spiritual service and converges all one's energies upon it, progress is ensured without a single thought for self, and with remarkable ease when compared to one's previous struggle and limitation in the world of the separated ego. Indeed, one's own spiritual advancement becomes enormously accelerated due to such self-forgetfulness. When a person's free will is applied in accord with the divine Will, the rewards for all efforts made are multiplied exponentially because they are rendered in perfect alignment with universal law. Therefore the advancement of the individual will not be by arithmetical progression, i.e., 2, 4, 6, 8, etc., nor even by geometrical progression, i.e., in the ratio 2, 4, 8, 16, etc., but by powers in the order of the ratio 2, 4, 16, 256, 65536, etc.! Such is the grace bestowed upon all servants of the Divine Plan as they proceed upon their ministry of joy. This is due only to the fact that they have offered themselves up as humble instruments for active service, thereby setting up favourable causes which must create their corresponding positive effects.

The perfect examples of our saints demonstrate clearly that the True Path requires an unconditionally altruistic disposition that necessarily and spontaneously produces active service. The divine Spirit works through all such truly loving endeavours, no matter how seemingly mundane or trivial one's activities may appear to be. As Saint Theresa of Calcutta said, "It is not the things that we do which count in the eyes of God, but how much love we put into doing them".

The Law of Love may seem paradoxical, for Love must be given in order to be received. If we would not lose a divine gift that we have gained, then we must give it away, and the impulse to serve selflessly springs from such spiritual understanding and from a genuine love of humanity and of life. Upon the path of spiritual progress, this impulse eventually becomes the overwhelming goal of all, and a growing proportion of the planetary population is today swiftly moving toward a desire to be of service. Such a benevolent attitude constitutes truly illumined understanding and reveals that in order to elicit real wisdom and its corresponding emancipation, one has to reach it through the whole of life, through an inclusive awareness that only unconditional Love can awaken. True understanding begets pure motive that will allow the divine Spirit to operate through the prepared instrument - the personality - effortlessly, appropriately and joyfully in every moment. It is altruism - never egotism - that leads the aspirant to merge the lower self in the Universal Self, and it is to the aforementioned requirements - necessary to attain the One Goal - that candidates upon the True Path must devote themselves if they would court divine Revelation.

It may be seen, then, that the greatest blessing in the whole universe is the opportunity to serve, and the corresponding experience of spiritual realisation upon the receipt of divine grace has always been just a pure thought away for humanity. Yet the majority of spiritual aspirants upon Earth today have failed to grasp the essential key to the truly divine life. Within the higher worlds there exists an infinite reservoir of benevolent force that is always ready and waiting to be downpoured into the physical plane when a suitable channel is constructed via the personality. A strong enough feeling of perfectly unselfish devotion provides such a channel, the response to which would be a descent of divine vitality resulting in a great strengthening and uplifting of the creator of the channel, plus the radiating all about that person of a powerful and beneficent influence for the helping of all life, affecting most positively the consciousness of mankind. Such functioning as a voluntary agent of grace is a blessed honour indeed, and having awakened divine inspiration within, the person who has caught even the slightest fragrance of that manna from heaven becomes most naturally impelled to proceed with the greatest enthusiasm upon the True Path to serve others with a holy reverence made possible by a heart enraptured by boundless Love.

"Such is the sweetness of deep delight of these touches of God,
that one of them is more than a recompense for all the sufferings of this life,
however great their number."

St. John of the Cross

http://www.thenewcall.org/sdp_true_path.htm

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