Theos-Talk Archives (September 1994 Message tl00030)

Frank wrote:
> .... If at our (well, for most of us ;-{)>) present stage of
> development we feel that we have performed some action completely
> altruistically, we are probably deluding ourselves.

Yes, I would agree! The operative word being "completely".  Dora
Kunz has often said that spiritual growth/progress comes from
making choices.  In one of the letters from the Masters there is
a reference to the same idea, that if he told us exactly what to
do and we did it.  We would only get the karma of dutiful
obedience, while the greater good flowing from those actions
would return to the originator.  My point is I think we can and
must "try" to live unselfishly and learn from our failures.

> BTW, this can cause a greqat deal of trouble if we aren't
> careful.  I once had a patient, a very religiously devout man,
> who tried to live a completely unselfish, saintly life.  Needless
> to say, he was repeatedly frustrated in this endeavor, and he
> eventually became so frustrated by his "failure" that he gave it
> up as a bad job and embezzled a huge sum of money.  Obviously,
> there were other complex motives at work, but the disappointment
> over not being able to live a saintly life was indeed an
> important factor supporting the criminal behavior.  His karma was
> nicht nishkama!

My first thought was of the biblical injunction of Christ to be
either hot or cold, but not lukewarm.  Isn't there a notion that
the greatest sinners make the greatest saints? Another thought I
had was that no effort is ever wasted in a universe that is ruled
by law.  The masters were said to be very conscientious of the
use of occult powers because every use made possible the
counterforce.  Your patient may have thought he failed, but is
effort was what I understand to be important and not its results.

                                Lewis

llucas@mercury.gc.peachnet.edu