There is excessive ungentleness in the world, and display of pride and arrogance.  We speak looking down upon the ‘lesser ones’, sometimes gently, but that also patronizingly.  We do so towards ‘lower castes’, towards ‘have nots’, towards children, towards ‘employees’, towards people of other nations, religions, skin colours, cultures, languages – but we expect these ‘lesser ones’ to practice humility towards us.  This continues till they rebel and we quash the rebellions equally insensitively and arrogantly because, well, ‘we are the senior ones’!!

We shout slogans against nuclear wars without controlling and pacifying our personal angers in daily life – how would we then prevent wars without individual peace in each mind?

At the same time, we are always in denial about our individual violence, ungentleness, harshness, personal anger, pride, and arrogance.  Let someone say, ‘you are being ungentle’, we immediately blurt our defensiveness: ‘What? I am so gentle!  I am so humble!!’; ‘there is no ego in me!’; ‘angry? Who? Me? You are imagining!!’; ‘you are always unfairly criticizing me!’ and so on.

A spiritual guide makes us confront our inner ‘demons’ and exorcise them.

This document is an invitation to constant

self-observation

self-examination

self-purification

self-pacification

Please respond to the invitation.

Are the suggestions being made in this document impractical when one is working in and interacting with modern societies?

Nothing can be achieved in a day.

Change has to begin somewhere, even at a snail’s pace.

Just as one keeps one’s spirituality private when interacting with daily routines of business, government and employment situations, but maintains it as a well-guarded treasure, so also one may apply the principles suggested here slowly in the outside world, examining where they may be acceptable without excessive resistance from others.

If you made the experimentation, you would be surprised at the positive results you would obtain in your company, your offices, with your ‘employees’.  And at home with your family.

Editor’s Note

This passage has been taken from the book Sadhana in Applied Spirituality, pp 13-14, published by Ahymsin Publishers in 2013