QA125 QUESTION: I loaned about twenty-five transcripts of your lectures to a dear friend who happens to be a writer and teacher, and whose words were written to reach a wide range of human beings. I thought these lectures would give him an added dimension that would be helpful. I got back a letter with the return of the lectures, and with a very interesting comment that I would like to bring to your attention.
He just recently returned from India, and his observations are that your teachings are not different from those he noticed were taught by several of the yogis and teachers in India – this philosophy in self-realization. And his observation is that this philosophy has brought about the most chaotic and abject social conditions among the peoples, that exist in the world. And I thought, even though you’ve answered this in many ways throughout your teachings, I wonder if you could speak to this observation?
ANSWER: Yes. Well, of course, this is a very crass misunderstanding, and this friend has a very superficial understanding, not only of the teachings of these lectures, but also of the Indian philosophy.
It is a very superficial knowledge and evaluation, because whatever negative effects exist in India are not because of the teachings there, but because of a misunderstanding and distortion in these teachings, just as misunderstanding and distortion exist so very often with every kind of truth teaching.
If these teachings are rightly understood and not distorted, it is impossible that they have a negative effect. Now, of course, this is only a very general answer I can give. He would have to be specific in what exactly he considers about either the Indian teachings or these teachings that could possibly bring a negative effect. And then I could answer him.
QUESTION: I think he is suggesting that these teachings most often serve as an opiate to get people to show no concern for social factors, but merely to concern themselves with their own development.
ANSWER: You see, this friend of yours is so confused. He has such clichés and preconceived ideas that he does not even know how far off he is. I think it would even be a waste of all your time here to say what is so obvious and I think what any of you, my friends, can answer as adequately as I can.
All I may or can say here is this: How can courageous self-facing ever be an opiate? He just did not even really read. He cursorily glanced, but he did not read what you sent him. His mind was too closed and too afraid that he might have to reconsider his ideas and his views.
Maybe for this development or for this spirit, it cannot be different at this time, because there are many, many human beings who fundamentally mean well, but they are so much out in the world of manifestation and they cannot see the root – and the root is in the individual; the root is in the self.
As long as the self does not change, the world cannot change. As long as the individuals do not change, the social structure cannot change. To want to change the effect rather than the cause, to treat the symptom rather than the root, that is the opiate; that is which is so much easier.
QA132 QUESTION: I have reread some of the lectures lately, and it seems to me that your teachings start with the premises that each one of us is unhappy, and that that is the reason why we are on this Path. Would you explain this please?
ANSWER: Of course. Even the relatively happy and fulfilled people have many areas inside where there is error, confusion, split concepts, misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and therefore conflict in their inner and their outer life. Do you question that as a truthful thing?
QUESTION: No, it seemed to me that some people are probably as happy as they could be on this Earth sphere.
ANSWER: Well, you see, my dear, there is no end goal. Living is a continuous process of growth. Let us suppose there are even some very exceptional souls who have resolved errors in them, who really function in the healthiest possible way. Even then life is a task just because they are that way; they do not stand still.
It is a constant unfoldment, a constant realization of greater abundance of life, of abundance of the innermost self with all its infinite possibilities and potentials for expansion, for happiness, for fruitful living, and giving and receiving. There is no end to that.
Even if you have – or in theory you would have – a person who has no more false images and no more wrong conclusions, he could very well be on such a path. Perhaps he would even be more so on such a path because there is no resistance and because such a person would realize all the more that life is growing, and he would joyfully follow that rhythm of growth that life is.
But, of course, these individuals are so isolated, and certainly there is no one here who does not have inner errors to resolve, which have to be taken care of before that full expansion can take place.