Dear Member,
By Enquiries
On Acceptance and Personal Responsibility
A very interesting question which has been raised is: 'When we find ourselves in a situation which is difficult or painful, to what extent should we submit to it, accepting it as God's will, and to what extent should we exert our personal will to alter the circumstances?' Perhaps you will wish to substitute the word 'karma' for the phrase, 'God's will', but then the question still remains essentially the same.
This is really a question which has no final and all-inclusive answer, nor can anyone answer it satisfactorily for another. In each set of circumstances, the decision must arise within the individual, and each of us will arrive at our own response. However, certain fundamental principles might be put forward as guideposts to help us solve for ourselves this difficult question.
In a sense, the question itself is built on false premises. It implies that every painful or difficult situation is due to 'God's will' or to 'karma', and therefore we can or should do nothing about it. It implies that submission and acceptance are identical. But is there not a difference between them? Submission is passive and negative; acceptance is positive and dynamic. The distinction is almost indefinable, but it can be realised, perhaps, through that sense of inner perception which gradually develops as we grow.
It is important to be quite clear in our minds what we mean by God and by God's will, just as we need to be very clear in our minds what we mean by karma. Many of us have been conditioned to think of God as a Being who 'punishes' or 'rewards', and so we simply substitute the idea of karma for that concept of God. Whether we think of what happens to us as either 'God's will' or 'karma', the idea of reward and punishment often persists as an unconscious motivation even when we think we have outgrown it.
Can we conceive of an ultimate power which is the One Life, the One Law, the One Power, everywhere present at every moment, to which nothing can be added and from which nothing can be taken away, but which - while remaining unconditioned, unlimited, untouched in its integral unity - can still be transformed, modified, and directed through individual foci? It may be thought of somewhat as electricity (one manifestation of that power) which remains itself even though it is channelled through various devices and controls. One can readily see that this power is, as theosophical author, E.L. Gardner, has expressed it in The Wider View:
'... as impersonal as a storm at sea or the unwavering pressure of gravitation ... in itself neither benevolent nor malevolent as we understand such terms; its operation and expression depend on will.' Mr Gardner goes on to say that in our solar system it is the Will of the Logos (the God in Whom we 'live and move and have our being') which 'endows that power with a certain bias toward a certain goal, a goal called the Great Plan. According to one's ability to apprehend this directive effort of His Will, one may discern benevolence in what are called the Laws of His System.'
It is sometimes disconcerting - even frightening - to realise that the choice is ours. We long for someone to tell us what to do, what to believe, how and when to act. But in this way lies no true security, no fulfilment of the inherent dignity and sacredness of the Divinity within us. There is in Theosophy the concept of the Higher Self - not a separate self at all, but the true source and root of our being, the God within - our true identity, the secret spring of our evolutionary progress, and the only aspect of our being through which we are capable of making a true choice.
In considering the use of our personal will in trying to alter circumstances, perhaps some of our confusion may be eliminated if we remember that obstacles are opportunities for spiritual growth. When a difficult situation arises which is not of our own making it must have something of value to teach us. It may not be easy to learn because, after all, all lessons involve some effort. But cannot the effect of the condition be mitigated by one's attitude to the cause of it? By endeavouring to maintain a detached attitude to the situation; by trying not to allow the emotions to be disturbed by it; and by trying to regard it impersonally, thus taking the personal mundane self right out of the picture, one would be much more competent to both judge and handle the situation wisely.
To do this, calls for discrimination. Theosophy teaches quite clearly that growth comes from personal experience, not vicariously. The personality endures the experience so that the essence of it may be gathered into the Higher Self. Thus, the emotions and lower mind (which does the sensing) continue to suffer until they are purified, and then the outcome of the experience is built into the wisdom of the Higher. Have you observed that, for advice in an emergency, one goes to the wise person, probably one who has been buffeted by 'the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune' and gained wisdom as a result. The anxious person is of little use in this case —he might only wring his hands and feel sorry for you.
It is natural, of course, that we are not always able to think in deeply philosophical terms when we are in the midst of situations which seem to pull us in several directions at once, which bring pain, confusion and heartbreak. So perhaps, quite simply one might say that we can at least try, as consistently as possible, to seek direction from within, turning to that true centre of gravity which is the divinity in each of us. Frequently it takes time for a situation to work out, for us to see what is the right action in the circumstances. The lives of others are inevitably involved also, and sometimes our own particular segment of the pattern must wait upon events before things can fall into place. Then patience and tolerance are essential, but we can still work on our own consciousness. For what we must achieve is a new attitude toward an old situation. This is simply doing the inner work that must be done before the karma of the situation can be resolved. It can be accomplished in different ways, and each will approach the undertaking in his or her own way. Meditation or prayer may be the way for one, a simple request for guidance may be enough for another. Spending a short, quiet time before retiring each night in reviewing and evaluating one's actions and thoughts during the day can be a valuable practice if done objectively and without morbid introspection or self-condemnation. Essential to the whole process, however, is that there shall be no resentment against anyone, either ourselves or others, no matter how wronged we may feel; there must be no fighting of circumstances, but only simple acceptance of that which is right - not necessarily right as we think it ought to be, but right as it is - then 'letting it happen', not forcing our preferences on the situation. This would seem to be the true attitude of 'Thy will be done'.
In closing, I would like to quote a paragraph from a beautiful book entitled The Open Way, a Study in Acceptance by Howe and Le Mesurier, changing the words only slightly to ensure they are gender-free:
Who is the teacher? The teacher is experience of any kind. Not a person, a guru, who knocks for us to open, welcoming in kindly fashion or begging to call at some more convenient season. The teacher is WHAT IS, and what is there already for good or ill, always knocking at the door of life for our acceptance. No experience comes to us which we are incapable of receiving and learning from, if we choose to accept it. We can say 'Yes' or 'No'; that is our freedom. But the will is only really free, in the sense of being released from conflict, if we can choose to say, 'Yes, I will.'
