Ambassador of Goodwill

Life in this world is very calculative. Before we give something we calculate what we’ll get back. Before we take a risk we calculate what we could lose. Before we invest in a relationship we calculate what benefits it will bring us. Before we extend ourselves for someone else we calculate how worthy they are of our help. While such an approach seems sensible in a world where efficiency, effectiveness and practicality are the buzzwords, in the realms of spirituality it falls short. The spiritualist has the quality of magnanimity. It literally means ‘big hearted.’ As an ambassador of goodwill, they seek opportunities to benefit even the ‘undeserving’ souls. The great saint Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur prayed for the boon that he would “always desire the greatest good for even his worst enemy.”

Saintly persons like Srila Prabhupada were incredibly practical people. They formed institutions to broadcast the spiritual message; they dealt with finance, government laws, resolved conflicts and mediated relationships. Interestingly however, they never became calculative ‘managers’ who just made the even-handed decisions based on what was fair and reasonable. Since their consciousness was always firmly anchored in the spiritual world, they carried the greatest asset possible - the overflowing spirit of goodwill. Here is a nice poem from Mother Teresa as a further reflection on this point:

Do It Anyway

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere, people may cheat you;
Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

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Can of worms

I recently met an old friend who told me the master plan for his spiritual journey. While his current 70-hour-a-week city job ensures his steady ascent up the corporate ladder, unfortunately it leaves him zero time for anything else. His plan? “I'll pay off the mortgage in 10 years time, build up enough financial security so I can retire, by that time my kids will have settled down and married, I’ll still be in good health, and thus being freed from all worldly distractions, I'll be able to fully immerse myself in spirituality.” It sounds good on paper, but I do have serious doubts. While the externals of lifestyle undoubtedly need attention and reengineering, I'm not sure that putting one's spirituality 'on hold' in anticipation of the 'perfect situation' is the wisest choice. As the American poet Longfellow said "trust no future, however pleasant!"

Once, Srila Prabhupada was being driven to a public engagement. As they hit a series of road-works, the traffic slowly built up. Within minutes all the vehicles were at a complete standstill. As they peered outside the windscreen, a huge road sign read "temporary inconvenience, permanent improvements." Srila Prabhupada laughed at the sign and exclaimed "this material world means temporary improvements, permanent inconvenience!" He went on to explain how life in this world is like a can of worms. Once we open it up, it’s impossible to keep things under our control. In the course of making our life plans so many things can go wrong and do go wrong.

The external reorganization of our life and the internal cleansing of our consciousness need not be mutually exclusive activities. Like train tracks, they can coexist side-by-side. As we progressively reengineer our lifestyle, we can simultaneously intensify our spirituality. Realistically, will life ever be free of those unexpected distractions? Cars break down, family feuds need to be mediated, homes demand improvement, friends need advice and attention, health problems slow us down and work demands drain our free time. Amidst the complexities of this world, the only practical solution is to create a sacred space within. Serious spiritualists make quality time for spiritual meditation and introspection on a daily basis no matter how busy they are. They guard those hours with their life. Sacrificing that sacred time in pursuance of a utopian ideal is a risky strategy.

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