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Friends of Unity - That Magnificent Concept!
The establishment of a unity of world religions through a synthesis of truth is far off and will remain so unless humanity approach the grace of God with both an openness of heart and an inner understanding of the principles of brotherhood. Most men draw nigh to the principle of brotherly love with their lips, but their heart-of-action is far from being manifest. With minds full of condemnation and seething with emotion against one another, they think to approach the throne of grace.
We are concerned, therefore, with dispelling confusion by our light drawn from the councils, both Eastern and Western, of the Great White Brotherhood and with giving forth those spiritual instructions that will create a clarity of vision for all. Therefore, we submit herewith our concepts concerning a current problem that is being blown up out of all proportion to reality in order to spread abroad violence and confusion.
I refer to the principle of the abundant life and to the problem, so-called, of economic inequality. There is a constant din that can be heard in the world, a clamor from those who have not against those who have. An interesting sidelight is that the babel of voices for the "have-nots" and against the "haves" is being joined by many among the "upper class" who, in effect, are begging their own destruction.
Let me hasten to say that all wealth belongs to God, that the earth is his, and that he has asked man to take dominion over it and to share in the practical proof of the principle of the abundant life. This life is, was, and always will be for all. Man does not need to create equality; God has already created it. We call it the equality of opportunity. Those who are willing to make application sincerely, to study to show themselves approved unto God1 and to the wise men of the world are always able to draw forth supply even to the point of being able to give generously to others.
The philosophies of Communism and of the supremacy of the state may thrive on what we will call a false humility, the wearing of garments of protest and the shunning of more refined aspects of living. This is the sacrifice of individual self-mastery to the lowest common denominator of the group karma. Those who promote these attitudes either do not understand or they are unwilling to accept the reality that man's spiritual and real progress does not come from outward sources but from his own reality and the sense of beauty that he holds within. There is no sin in the individual accumulation of wealth or in the manifestation of wealth, for this is a divine privilege that is given to all. All may live in fine houses, wear fine clothing, and share in the beauty that creative discipline within an abundant culture can bring forth.
There is never any need whatsoever for humanity to turn against one another, as did Cain against Abel, in the fear that they have not or will not receive an equal share of the Father's love. All activities of criticism and condemnation are destructive, and they lead inevitably toward a violent climax. The way to real peace in the world for every nation, both at home and abroad, is to amplify the concept of the abundant life. Peace is best preserved by adhering to the principles of freedom; for freedom is also tolerant of the thoughts and ideals of others, even when those thoughts and ideals are based on an incomplete understanding of the laws of God. But the exercise of tolerance does forgo for any man his right to attempt - not by argument, but by an objective presentation of fact - the correction of his brother's error.
The members of the Great White Brotherhood are concerned that the principle of harmony be found in operation upon earth. In order to further that end midst the struggles of the masses for economic equality, we would point out that for generations there have been those who have, in effect, taken the vow of poverty and who have eschewed the accumulation of wealth. To them poverty itself has become a virtue; on the other hand, many follow the way of poverty simply because they are unwilling to make the effort to do a great work in the world. They lack either the capacity or the will to create for themselves an abundant life. Both should understand that the laws of love are best practiced and mastered from within.
We do not condemn those who wish to live in poverty or those who wish to remain in humble surroundings; rather we would point out that it is nonattachment that the law requires of the individual no matter what his station in life - and this means nonattachment to persons, places, conditions, and things. Man can be just as attached to his state of poverty as he can be attached to things, and very often we find that poverty becomes a "soap box" from which those who "have not" criticize those who "have."
Those who follow in the steps of the Brotherhood see all things as belonging to God, and they see themselves as stewards of his grace. They have, then, no inhibitions as to the earning of large sums of money and the using of that money for their fellowmen. They recognize that creativity can harness the secrets of the universe for the good of all. And they seldom criticize those who do not have an abundance of this world's goods - those who espouse poverty or the kind of life that on the surface seems to be based on a philosophy of nonattachment.
Those who would rise politically in the world often capitalize on the weaknesses of humanity in order to achieve their ends; their method is to set one segment of society against another by using both secular and religious issues to divide and conquer the minds of men whose hearts are in reality one. This tactic is often the root and only cause of the underlying social problems that confront individuals and nations today.
True faith in God is faith in the abundant life. It should be of no concern to your what your neighbor is able to gain of this world's goods or even how he employs his gain so long as it is done honestly. People should rejoice in the abundance of others as they would rejoice in their own abundance; and they should see that when men are able to produce abundantly and to remain in a calm state of good will to all, they not only enjoy life but also they are able to support institutions and activities that will sustain and preserve God's beauty on behalf of all men.
The ugliness of the world manifests through man's criticism of man. Whether that criticism is leveled by an Eastern yogi against a learned pundit of the East, it can only degrade, by the downward spiral, the one who engages his energies in the practice of criticism.
The principle of the abundant life is the principle of the Great White Brotherhood that keeps the soul open to God from the top and that enables the flow of reality to beam constantly into the chalice of the individual lifestream. As the reality of his True Self becomes more real, he sees in the natural order of manifestation the inward perfection of the Edenic state that existed before the fall of his consciousness into the density of an ego-centered existence.
It is easy, precious ones of the light, to criticize; but it is even easier to hold the principle of the abundant life in your consciousness. It is easier to enhance the meaning of life for others than it is to rob them of their virtue by a constant damning (condemn-a-tion) of their attitudes and the spiritual processes which they have evolved. Be it so that they are surrounded with error; the purpose of life in the evolutionary stream is the shedding of error and the mastering of perfection. If you force the issue you may break the slender thread that is leading them on to the very truths you would have them accept in your time instead of in God's time. Man did not come into manifestation in order to lose his life, but he came to gain all of God-Good.
We who are concerned with the initiation of each individual are also concerned with the initiation of society. The total identity of a free society is inextricably interwoven with the thoughts and ideals of its people. A free society can rise no higher that the thinking of its best leaders, and these are constantly being assaulted by the negative concepts of forces which attempt to tear down all that serves the nobility of the Christ in the individual and in society. The sense of struggle must be shed and the windows of life must be opened wide that the fresh, clean air of the Christ consciousness may renovate the life process.
We have seen enough of despair, engendered by those whose own frustrated egos lead them into forms of exhibitionism that are calculated to raise their personalities into prominence. We are concerned only with the raising of divine ideas into prominence and with the exaltation of divine ideas in the minds and hearts of men, for these are the ideas that will make men free. Hold on, then, with the very teeth of your being to the principle of the abundant life; develop God's consciousness of the abundant life for yourself, expand it until you can clearly see that it is not the Father's will that man should perish or live in limitation or lack.
Whether the seeker is a divine poverello as Saint Francis of old or a businessman of worldly fame and means, he should seek the correct use of his stewardship2 and, above all, he must be ready to accept the possibility that his personal philosophy, his developed concepts, and his opinions of long standing may not necessarily be correct. Be willing to examine truth and beware of the trends spread abroad through the media that are designed to divide and to confuse the world. "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father" has been defined as the visiting of the widows and the orphans and the keeping of oneself unspotted from the world.3
In the sense of the abundant life, let good works abound; and let these include the purification of the consciousness so that the corrosions of the world, both secular and religious, do not disturb the beautiful fruit from the Tree of Life that God seeks to nourish in every soul.
How great he is, and how great man can be! How abundant and delightful are his hopes and plans for all of humanity. Let men joyously receive his concept of the abundant life for all.
Stirred by the needs of the moment, I remain faithfully