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1. Why have I chosen these friends
specifically?…
2. Why did these friends choose me?…
3. Isn't it necessary for each and every one to reveal his love for
his associates or is it enough that he feels it in his heart, loving
his fellows in private and not revealing the hidden recesses of his
heart. Modesty is well known to be a great virtue.
Perhaps we should say the opposite, that he must reveal his love of
his colleagues to them, for the reason that this revelation will
awaken in his friend also a love of the other colleagues of the
association. He will become aware of the brotherly love, which
envelops the whole group. This results in a further amplification of
the love within the group due to the inclusion of the whole dynamics
of group love in each individual. Instead of being limited to his
own power, if he has, say, ten colleagues, he will have ten powers
included within him, all of whom will be contribute to the
satisfaction of the need for love of friends.
On the other hand, if the love of friends is left concealed, then
that individual will lack the power of the group. It will be very
difficult to judge his friend for their merits. Each one will think
himself the righteous one; that he is the only one occupied in love
of his fellow. Therefore he will have only a small power to work in
love for his friends. Thus, love of friends must be in a revealed
form, not concealed within the heart of each.
But one must constantly remind himself of the goal of the group.
Otherwise the physical body will confuse the issues and goals. The
body has its own itinerary, its own self-interest. It must be
remembered that the group exists to come to love of fellow man,
which is the springboard to love of the Creator.
All this benefit, however, occurs only when the person’s motivation
in being part or the group is that he will have someone to benefit
without compensation of any kind. But is his motivation in
participating in the group is to receive all kinds of assistance,
gifts or favors, then the physical body will rejoice, for any such
association will be based upon self-love, which stimulates the
senses of greed and lusts. The body will see its chances of big
profit increase. It will see the help of friends as an opportunity
for material acquisition.
It must be remembered that the association is founded on the love of
the other. Each individual must accept upon himself love for the
others, and hatred of selfishness. When each sees his friend
endeavoring to subdue selfishness, and to enhance love for his
fellows, he will be included within the friends intentions. If the
group has, say, ten members, then each will have ten powers with
which to subdue egotism and its concomitant hatreds. Otherwise, not
only will each be left only with his own single power with which to
love his fellows, (he does not observe them giving love, as they are
all concealing their love) but quite to the contrary, the other
members of the association will cause him to lose even his own lone
power to give brotherly love. He will learn from their concealment
of love to conceal love and will fall into self-love.
4. Does each have to know what his friend lacks in order to
fulfill that lack or is it enough to work in general towards
brotherly love? |
