WMS HOME PAGE  |  LIBRARY TABLE OF CONTENTS What motivates us toward Mastery? (M&D series commentary) PART 1  |  PART 2  |  PART 3  |  PART 4  |  PART 5  |  COMMENTARY              The great Prophets and Masters of all ages have been, it is said, "the speakers of God”. Through the relentless exploration of truth and personal practice, they have made themselves a vehicle for the higher expression of Universal Intelligence.  Their wise teachings have demonstrated right living,  making spiritual concepts more accessible to humanity. Such agents of the Divine Message have repeatedly walked among us, with the deeply felt inspiration to help their fellow kind. It might be asked;  What exactly would prompt a person to become a Divine Agent, to be a Mohammed, or a Christ, or a Buddha?  What burning desire must enter a human mind, regardless of the age of history or circumstance, to become a Lao Tzu,  a Dalai Lama,  or a Pythagoras?  The more deeply one looks within, the more the answers to such questions are made startlingly clear.             In all ages the great Masters have provided wisdom of profound similarity.  The Oneness of the human spirit within a universal medium, (God/the unified field) is a central facet of their teachings.  Spiritual visionaries have often inculcated universal principles at great personal cost, to deliver messages that were usually considered revolutionary, radical or even blasphemous by the contemporary mindset.  In revealing the universal, these “Bearers of Light” often suffered condemnation as heretics, social outcasts or political undesirables.  Despite much persecution however, the most noble of historical and modern Teachers, inculcate(d) right living and spiritual action equally to all.  They have urged humanity to recognize its important role, in the shaping of the inner and outer worlds with spiritual responsibility.  The message of spiritual wisdom has always been, "You too can do as I", to know God, to perform the "miraculous", and to find fulfillment in universal Truth.  It is perhaps the mark of every great Master whose expectation it is, that each student attain a level of self realization equal to, or greater than their own.             What these great souls realized is the eternal basis of life.  Each advocated right action in unique ways, yet by means of the same underlying principles.  Following a certain degree of self realization, the eternal principles of Truth are perceived, inspiring the Seer to step forward out of the darkness of the collective despair in any age of history.  The Master is inspired to kindle in courageous seekers, a similar blaze of inner understanding.  Dedicated meditation, prayer and deep perception into the meaning of life, have always motivated the self-realized individual toward spiritual ministry.  Thus, when the truth is known it compels the knower to teach, so that others may share its unparalleled benefits.              The innermost knowledge of self in the Master, becomes also the knowledge of the hearts, souls and minds of all human beings.  In fact, it becomes deep understanding of the universe at a core level of existence, one that recognizes the unity of humankind with itself and all of Nature. Through Truth-inspired love and clarity, combined with the desire to uplift all of humanity as one unified, planetary being, the great Masters of all time have advocate(d) right living.  They did this because they knew they must, for the Truth in its vast implications, demands to be brought forth into the world.  Truth, God and soul speak to the Seer, of the urgency in setting humanity once again on the right path of natural design, and away from the self destruction of the centuries.  The true Teacher,  is one who understands the necessity of the implementation of Divine love, unbiased clarity, and practical spirituality in daily living.  The Master Sees the world as it is, and also how it could be given the right Intent of the people.  To Them the adoption of truthful living, entails much more than mere social improvements or the better relations among nations. Truth goes far beyond this. The full extent of the application of Natural Law is one of survival or extinction for our kind, not just the success of a people or a nation. Truth lived fully,  brings with it a complete transformation of the arbitrariness of personality.  It evokes a personal state that is the embodiment of Divine Will.  The Masters of all ages have known that the embodiment of Truth in individuals and in society is no small matter.  It is an act with Cosmic significance, undertaken through the betterment of all, for the sake of planetary evolution.             The experiential meaning of Truth is far more than the spiritual aspirant usually dares to hope for. Upon realizing the greater scope of self and society as consciousness,  the seeker dedicates themselves to the pursuit of Truth alone as a lifestyle.  When this decision is made and lived by, the seeker aspires to the unlimited self-potential made possible through inner work.  Dedicated outer work in the form of spiritual ministry, then begins to take root in the life of the practitioner.  The primary goal at this stage of personal realization, is that of self purification and right action,  so that the reality of the true self, (soul/consciousness) may be more fully embodied.  This path when diligently followed, then becomes an occasionally, though deeply felt need to teach others about The Path.  After some time, the aspirant-turned-Adept finds rewards in their personal practice so compelling, that they feel the undeniable urge to share them with all people as a continuous life focus.  They recognize that the consciousness within, is the same as the consciousness in others and in all of nature.  Thus connection and unified action are unavoidable.  It is then that spiritual ministry in ones’ life takes a first priority over all other motivations.  Spiritual gain for oneself is also found through the gains made by all people.  The expansion of consciousness is a universal process, and it must ultimately be treated as such.  Personal spiritual practice must therefore ultimately include the cause of world enlightenment as well.  Self realization creates the implicit and strong desire to help others do the same, just when the concepts of “inner” and “outer” are losing their meaning.   The sheer joy and insightfulness of inner growth, highly motivates the practitioner to share it with any who will listen.  It is the nature of joy, clarity and love to multiply themselves.  It similarly becomes the nature of those who enter such states, to fervently advocate the means to attain them.              The Intent of this intelligent universe in which we live, is to form the most evolutionary bodies, minds and souls.  As we pursue greater personal enlightenment, we are also fulfilling universal goals.  This means that the attainment of greater self mastery is more than just a personal practice. It is actually a global process, which has motivated evolution since before the beginnings of Earthly life.  It is the Intent of God/Nature that evolution take place, in as many beings as possible, and to as high a degree as possible.  Meditation reveals that the essence of evolution is found in the expansion of consciousness, and that we are all as cells within a greater body of Intent, Awareness and Energy.  Self realization is in fact the realization of consciousness, which is in turn of benefit to all things in their inter-connectedness.  Even That which is called God gains benefit from this process.             It is worth realizing that it is not the adherence to given techniques, nor the blind following of institutional procedures, which brings about self mastery.  It is not the application to the dogma of any given age, or to specific social concepts.  Even years of meditational practice or prayer do not necessarily result in enlightenment.  Spiritual attainment is a very personal process to a large degree, because beyond all technique and practice, it is the Intent of the practitioner which brings Mastery about.  The Intent to achieve Mastery,  or for that matter progressive spiritual Intent in general, is what brings about rapture in the Supreme.  It is through personal Intent that the underlying cause behind all material existence is perceived.  It is only through such Intent, through a real motivation toward Truth found in daily action, which results in great inner transformation.  This process feeds the fire of the soul, that is itself a reflection of  God.  When the individual realizes that a lifestyle based on material things alone can never fulfill them, they have taken one of the major steps toward spiritual progress.                       The progressive understanding of cosmic order and one’s current relationship with that order, brings satisfaction for which there is no substitute.  The embodiment of universal knowledge is so fulfilling that it causes those who achieve it to deliver the message of Truth to the world.  Self knowledge brings about the realization that the world would be completely transformed by embracing consciousness as its guiding motivation.  This the Master understands, and so must we in order to save our species from the brink of its own self-destruction.   Matthew Webb visionquest@eoni.com  The World Mind Society http://www.eoni.com/~visionquest  WMS LIBRARY TABLE OF CONTENTS