We all want to be better, therefore, one way or another, we strive for perfection. But in most cases it is quite difficult to explain what this word means. About what he is - a perfect person, you can learn from this article.
Signs of a perfect person
As a rule, a perfect person tries to benefit society, so he helps others and strives to do everything possible to make everyone feel good. He often forgets own good as long as the people around you are happy. However, this does not mean that he spends all his time helping others; he tries to excel in everything. This means that he is constantly developing, he has great relationship with relatives and friends.
In the company of a perfect person, people feel comfortable, because he knows how to present himself, and is also attentive to others. He can inquire about business, health, cheer up a person, give him a smile. All these little things make him attractive to others, people want to communicate with him, so the perfect person has many friends.
The perfect man is a professional in many matters, because much in the world interests him. He achieves his goals easily, solving one problem after another. Troubles do not bring him into a stupor, on the contrary, they allow him to develop further and grow above himself.
Hnational ideal of man
§ 1. The perfect man as the goal of public education
The popular ideal of a perfect man should be regarded as a total, synthetic idea of the goals of popular education. The goal, in turn, is a concentrated, concrete expression of one of the aspects of education. The ideal is a universal, broader phenomenon that expresses the most general task of the entire process of personality formation. Ideally, the ultimate goal of education and self-education of a person is shown, the highest model is given, to which he should strive.
Among the numerous treasures of folk pedagogical wisdom, one of the main places is occupied by the idea of the perfection of the human personality, its ideal, which is a role model. This idea originally - in its most primitive form - arose in ancient times, although, of course, the "perfect man" in ideal and reality is much younger than the "reasonable man" (the first arises in the depths of the second and is part of it). Education in a truly human sense became possible only with the emergence of self-education. From the simplest, isolated, random "pedagogical" actions, a person went to an increasingly complex pedagogical activity. According to Engels, even at the dawn of the emergence of mankind, “people have acquired the ability to perform increasingly complex operations, set yourself higher goals (highlighted by me. - G.V.) and reach them. Labor itself became from generation to generation more diverse, more perfect, more versatile. Progress in work entailed progress in education, which is unthinkable without self-education: setting goals for oneself is its concrete manifestation. And as for the goals of "increasingly higher", they testify to the birth of the idea of perfection in the depths of still primitive forms of education. The diversity, perfection and versatility of labor, about which F. Engels wrote, demanded, on the one hand, human perfection, and on the other hand, contributed to this perfection.
The formation of a perfect person is the leitmotif of public education. The most convincing and most striking evidence that man is “the highest, most perfect and most excellent creation” is his constant and irresistible striving for perfection. The ability to self-improve is the highest value human nature, the highest dignity, the whole meaning of the so-called self-realization lies precisely in this ability.
The very concept of perfection has undergone historical evolution along with the progress of mankind. The first glimpses of the consciousness of human ancestors are associated with the instinct of self-preservation; from this instinct subsequently grew a conscious concern for strengthening health and physical improvement (according to Comenius - about harmony in relation to the body). Labor created man. The desire to improve the tools of labor awakened an internal desire for self-improvement. Already in the most primitive tools of labor, elements of symmetry begin to appear, generated not only by the desire for convenience, but also for beauty. In the struggle for existence, the ancestors of man met with the need to coordinate their actions and provide - albeit at first and unconsciously - help to each other. The very eternal harmony of nature and the activity of man's relationship with it made natural the improvement of individual qualities of the human personality. The idea of the harmonic perfection of the personality was embedded in the very nature of man and in the nature of his activity. At the same time, the most primitive tools of labor were already carriers of the emerging primitive spiritual culture: they stimulated the first glimpses of consciousness, causing tension in the twilight mind of the fore-human; not only did the hands distinguish between the convenience and inconvenience of a stone tool, but the eyes also began to notice the attractiveness of the convenient, and this selectivity was the beginning of a primitive sense of beauty.
The improvement of the individual turned out to be due to the two greatest acquisitions of the human race - heredity and culture (material and spiritual). In turn, the progress of mankind would be impossible without the striving of people for perfection. This perfection itself, generated by labor activity, went in parallel in the sphere of material and spiritual culture, went on in man and outside him, in human communication.
§ 2. Ethnic character of the perfect man
In the oral art of all peoples, heroes are characterized by many features that testify to the richness of human nature. Even if only one or two words are spoken about this or that positive character, these words turn out to be so capacious that they reflect the whole range of personality characteristics. Traditional Russian characteristics of a person (for example, "clever and beautiful", "beautiful girl" and " good fellow”, “small and remote”), emphasizing its main features, do not reduce complex nature of a person exclusively to the named only qualities. So, the leading quality of the Russian beauty is the mind, and the mind, in turn, also implies the presence of many skills and dexterity in work. The highly poetic characteristic "clever and beautiful" is both a high assessment of the girl's personal qualities and the ideal image of a woman as a specific goal of education, brought by folk pedagogy to the level of a personality formation program. In the same direction, the virtues of the Russian “good fellow” are concretized in fairy tales and songs: he is smart, and handsome, and hardworking, and honest, and modest.
The ideas of each people about the perfect personality developed under the influence of historical conditions. The peculiarity of the living conditions of the people is reflected in its national ideal. So, for example, the "real horseman" of the Bashkirs, Tatars, peoples of the Caucasus and Central Asia has some differences from the Russian "good fellow" by the nature of his activity, code of decency and good manners etc. In the basic human qualities, the ideals of a perfect personality are still very close to each other. All peoples appreciate intelligence, health, diligence, love for the Motherland, honesty, courage, generosity, kindness, modesty, etc. In the personal ideal of all peoples, the main thing is not nationality, but universal principles.
At the same time, peoples evaluated many things from the point of view of their own standards. So, for example, the Chuvash still have the expression “perfect Chuvash”, which is used to characterize a person of any nationality, corresponding to their idea of a good person, i.e. the word "Chuvash" in this case is identical to the word "man". “A perfect (good, real) Chuvash” is a Russian, Tatar, Mordvin, Mari, Udmurt, these are people with whom the Chuvash communicated and who fully corresponded to his ideas of good. Among the Circassians, love for the Motherland is one of the decisive features of a perfect personality, always manifested itself along with a sense of tribal and national dignity. Even in the most difficult conditions the Adyghe was required to preserve the good and honest name of his family, clan, tribe and people. “Do not bring shame to your father and mother”, “Look, try not to take off the Adyghe face”, i.e. do not dishonor the honor and dignity of the Adyghe.
The folk ideal is presented in fairy tales
"Never idealize anything -
it could end badly” (Oscar Wilde).
When we are small, the world is divided into black and white, and people into bad and good. We grow up, and this scheme remains with us. No, of course, we grow up, gain experience and even begin to understand that there are halftones and nuances, but in relationships we sometimes do not even realize how this program automatically turns on.
Men We always idealize them. There is an image in our mind: strong, smart, faithful, spiritual, beautiful, harmonious, loving - you can list for a long time. We meet many men in life, but does anyone fit that description perfectly? Of course not. What we don't realize, however, is that every time we meet a new man, we involuntarily apply to him this measure. And time after time we resolutely say to ourselves: “not He.” And it seems like we continue to communicate with him, but on a subconscious level, men already feel our answer, and such a relationship cannot last long.
Apparently, we, women, take such images of ideal men from literature. It doesn't even have to be a romance novel. Historical, detective - in each there is a male hero who easily sinks into a woman's heart and settles there for a long time. What to say about love stories. Usually the main characters romance novels very good looking. No, they are not just good, they are incredibly beautiful, and they also emit some kind of magical vibes, so that no woman can resist. It is important that almost all of them, for very rare exception, have an immodest condition, occupy high position in society, they are either respected or feared. Yes, the art of seduction and love should also be on top.
We somehow forget that the characters in the books are fictional, created by the author, who is often a woman who puts her image on paper. perfect man. Thus, this dream has been going from heart to heart of women for many years.
We want, as in a novel, to get a ready-made man who will come, see, win, love, feed, dress, spoil, give gifts, pamper, and we are used to thinking that a man should always be strong, self-confident, that a man never cries. But we forget that they are also vulnerable and also experience pain and fear, that they have their own male complexes, that they can also be weak in certain moments life, that they need support as much as, and sometimes more than, women. That is, they are not ideal images, they are people. When this realization comes problem solving in a couple comes by itself.
Firstly, the ideal template is no longer taken to measure the men who meet. We stop wanting perfect image. And as soon as the bar in our minds lowers, they begin to meet more often interesting men. Interesting in themselves, and not because they fit into our stereotype. It becomes easier to communicate with them, and they, in turn, with us. Secondly, we are no longer striving for self ideal. Because for that image of an ideal man, an image was needed perfect woman. That is the image of the ideal self. When we stop doing this, we can allow ourselves to be ourselves. Be aware of your shortcomings and weaknesses and do not blame yourself for it.
You may ask: “But what about development?”. After all, the desire to be better, the desire for the ideal is driving force development. What now: to realize your shortcomings and accept that everyone is imperfect, and so am I? However, two things must be distinguished here. There are people who develop for the sake of development itself, for the sake of the process, so as not to stand still, to bring new notes into their lives, with which they will sound cleaner and higher. And there are people who strive to be perfect for the sake of the ideal. To be perfect, to rise above the rest, to know and discover what others are not given, to climb this pedestal ourselves. This is already very reminiscent of pride. How to distinguish between these two options in yourself? Everything depends on the goal. Just ask yourself: “Why am I doing this?”, and then honestly answer this question for yourself.
When I stopped striving for my own ideality, perhaps this was the most important liberation. In fact, since childhood, we have been stubbornly implanted with the idea of an ideal person. If we obey the elders, we are good and get sweets, affection from our parents, love. In school, in order to earn approval, we must study well and sometimes push our talents deeper to fit the image. ideal student and teacher expectations. At school, if you remember poorly, perceive, study, then you are bad. Our education system, unfortunately, is built that way.
However, this children's scheme - good and bad, ideal and imperfect - works not only in relation to men and themselves. There are also others important people in our life. Well, if relatives can be more or less perceived adequately, then here friends- another thing . Everyone knows that friends must do this and that in order to bear this proud “title”, and if one day a friend stumbles, then he loses this “title”. And the fact that a friend is not an ideal person, but just a person with his own weaknesses, desires and capabilities, we forget. We are immediately offended if our expectations are not met.
We forget that every person has the right to do as he sees fit, based on his experience, knowledge and his own picture of the world. Our experience, evaluation and judgment may not be 100% the same as other people's. You should not put people on a pedestal, look at them from the bottom up, and then suffer from unjustified expectations, they say, I thought that you would do this, but you turned out to be ... But expectations were only their own and no one else's, after all, no one inspired them to you. So why now someone is to blame for the fact that they did not come true? Here we are not talking about acts that draw on betrayal, intentional cruelty in relationships, etc. If this happened, then this person was hardly once your friend. Just once mistaken, considering it as such. But no one is perfect, including in choosing friends. From the theme of the idealization of people, one can easily move on to the theme of the idealization of things and concepts. What else do we idealize in the world? Relationships, feelings? I think everyone has their own set. One has only to think, because the people around have their own living beauty, not the beauty of ideal puppet proportions, but the beauty of uneven lines and wave shapes that turn into different images and carry at every moment a small discovery of something new in a familiar person. Therefore, it is much more important and interesting to get to know people, and not to look for ideals in them.
Co-Perfection Sketches
Tatyana Ginzburg
Who is the Perfect Man?
Does it exist or is it just a myth?
The myth of a Hero or a Demigod?
Where is the pinnacle of human development?
These rare questions may arise in people's minds, but as a rule, if this topic was dropped in philosophy classes at some university, this topic is too complicated and far from ordinary.
If you still think about it, then the answers to these questions rest on the answer to the question of the purpose and meaning of human being. Why is a person born in this world? What is its mission? What is the meaning of his life? And what is meaning in general in this context - is it something that each individual can come up with for himself, or is there some kind of “general, ideal” meaning of a person’s life, to which each of us can strive?
If we consider that a person is an accidental product of nature, and his psyche is only “the highest nervous activity”, then it turns out that Perfection, as a quality of a person, is impossible, since the lack of meaning in life also gives rise to the absence of an idea about the Top human life. Of course, some people find gaps in this worldview, and accomplish feats in science, or in culture.
And maybe this is a sign that mental world However, a person still has an idea of both the Summit and the Meaning of being, and even recognizing the primacy of matter and the randomness of his existence with his mind, a person holistically transcends this limitation and looks for ways to reach the Summit of Being.
Let's try to consider the theistic version of human life. Man is a product of God, His son. From here - the concept of perfection flows easily - to realize the Creator's plan means to achieve Perfection. And in the mythology of mankind there are stories about such people, for example, Jesus Christ.
But, unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, we live in a more complex era than our ancestors lived in, say, the Middle Ages, or even under communism. And now, with that flow of information, including about the spiritual and esoteric traditions of the world, about the Universe, about big bang, to believe in the situation of the creation of man by God is becoming increasingly difficult. Laplace also said about God - "Sir, I did not need this hypothesis." And to return to it in our era is to show weakness.
What then remains?
I, as a person, suddenly find myself existing in this world. The world around is very complex, and constantly distracts, takes my attention. And if suddenly by chance, I still turn to the question "Who am I" - then, as a rule, it is impossible to find an answer to this question ...
Or because it simply does not exist (see the previous reasoning and be content with an ersatz).
Or is it necessary for this - skills, concentration, real intention, favorable external conditions and maybe something else.
And, perhaps, such a state of a human being, in which he can find answers to questions about the meaning of his life, and about the meaning of being and realize them, is the TOP.
And a person who has reached this Peak is Perfect.
There is a stage in the evolution of man which immediately precedes the goal of human effort, and when this stage is passed, there is nothing more to add to man as such. He became perfect; his human career is over. The great religions give different names to the perfect man, but whatever that name is, behind it lies the same idea - he and Mithra, Krishna, Osiris, Buddha, Christ - but this simply symbolizes a man made perfect. He does not belong to any one religion, nation, human community, he is not limited by the framework of one faith - everywhere this is the most noble, perfect ideal.
Every religion proclaims it, all denominations have their justification in it, it is the ideal to which every faith aspires, and every religion fulfills its mission with the efficiency with which it illuminates this ideal, and with the accuracy with which it points the way to it. achievements. The name of Christ, used for the perfect person in Christianity, is more than the name of a person - it is the name of his condition. "Christ in you is the hope of glory" is the idea of the Christian teachers. Man, in the course of a long course of evolution, reaches the state of the Christ, in order to complete his journey, which has lasted for long centuries; he is the one whose name is in Western countries associated with one of the "sons of god" who achieved the final goal of human existence. The word commonly used for this state is "anointed". Everyone can reach this state: "Look inside yourself, you are a Buddha", "Until the Christ is formed in you." (*one)
Just as anyone who wants to become a musician must listen to the masterpieces and immerse himself in the melodies of the masters of music, so must we, the children of mankind, raise our eyes and our hearts in ever-renewing contemplation to the heights on which the perfect people our race. What we are, they were; what they are, we will be. All the sons of men can do what the Son of Man did, and we see in them the guarantee of our own triumph - the development of divinity in us is only a matter of evolution.
Teams: external and internal
I sometimes divided inner evolution to submoral, moral and supermoral - submoral, where the difference between right and wrong is imperceptible and a person follows his desires without doubt, without asking a question; moral, where right and wrong are distinguished, becoming more definite and meaningful, and there is a struggle for the observance of the law; and supermoral, where external law transcended because the divine nature governs its bodies. At the moral stage, the law is recognized as a barrier, a restriction for the good: "Do this", "Avoid that"; man fights for obedience, there is a constant struggle between the higher and lower natures. In the supermoral state the divine life in man finds its natural expression without external guidance; he loves not because he ought to love, but because he himself is love. Quoting the noble words of a Christian initiate, he acts "not according to the law of carnal impulses, but by the power of eternal life." Morality is transcended when all the forces of man are directed towards god, as a magnetized needle turns to the north when the divinity in man seeks the best for all (*2). There is no more fighting because victory has been achieved; Christ reached his perfection only when he became the conqueror, the master of life and death.
First initiation
This stage of the life of Christ or the life of Buddha is entered by means of the first initiation, in which the initiate is a "little child", sometimes " Small child three years". A person must "regain childhood - the state that he lost", "become a small child" in order to "enter the kingdom". Having passed through these gates, he is born into the life of Christ, and passing through the "way of the cross", he goes through following friend after another the gates on this path, and at the end of it he is definitely freed from the bonds of life and limitations, dies in time to live in eternity, and begins to realize himself as life, and not as a form.
There is no doubt that in early Christianity this stage of evolution was definitely recognized as inherent in every individual Christian. Anxiety of St. Paul, that Christ could be born in his converts, may be sufficient evidence of this fact, leaving other sayings which may also be quoted; even this single verse is sufficient to show that in the Christian ideal the "stage of Christ" was understood as internal state, the final period of the evolution of every believer (*3). And it is good that Christians can recognize this, and not attribute the life of a disciple, ending in a perfect man, to an exotic transplanted into Western soil, but native only to Eastern countries. This ideal is part of true and spiritual Christianity, and the birth of Christ in the soul of every Christian is the goal. Christian doctrine. the main objective religion is to bring about this birth, and if this mystical teaching were to fall out of Christianity, this faith could not lift those who practice it to divinity.
The first of the great initiations is the birth of the Christ, or Buddha, in human mind, the transcendence of the consciousness of "I", falling out of the limitations. As is well known to all disciples, there are 4 degrees included in the Christ stage, between the very a good man and triumphant master. Each of these degrees is entered by means of initiation, and during these periods of evolution the consciousness must expand and grow in order to reach the limits of the limitations imposed by human body. In the first of these, the perceived change is the awakening of consciousness in spiritual world, in a world where consciousness identifies itself with life and ceases to identify itself with the forms in which life in this moment concluded. Feature this awakening is a feeling of sudden expansion, of expanding beyond the usual limits of life, recognizing Yourself, how divine and powerful life is, not a form, joy, not sadness, a feeling of a delightful world, going through what the world can only dream of. With the transcendence of limitations comes an intensified intensity of life, and when life flows from all sides, rejoicing in the destruction of barriers, the sense of reality is so alive that all life in form seems like death, and earthly light like darkness. This expansion is so marvelous in nature that consciousness feels like it has never known itself before, for all it has understood as consciousness is inconscience in the presence of this gushing life. The self-consciousness that begins to emerge in the child—humanity that has evolved, grown, expanded beyond the limitations of the form, thinking of itself as separate, saying "I" and "me" and "mine"—this self-consciousness suddenly feels the whole "I" as Himself, all forms as a common property. It sees that limitations were necessary to build a center of the self in which self-identification can exist, and at the same time it feels that the form is only a tool that it uses, while itself, the living consciousness, is one of all living. It knows the full meaning of the frequently used phrase about "the unity of mankind", and feels what it means to live in everything that lives and moves (* 4), and this consciousness is accompanied by a great feeling of joy, the joy of life, which even in its faint reflections on earth - one of the sharpest ecstasies, known to man. Unity is not only seen by the intellect, but it is felt as the satisfaction of the desire for unity, which is familiar to all who have loved; it is a unity felt from within, invisible from without; it's not a concept, but life.
In many pages of old, but the same lines, the idea of the birth of Christ in man is presented. But still these words of the world of forms are not able to show the fourth part of the world of life!
But the child must grow into a perfect man, and there is much to be done, to face weariness, to endure many sufferings, to fight many battles, to overcome many obstacles, until Christ, who is born weak child, can reach the state of a perfect man. That's life, full work among his brothers - people; it is a meeting with mockery and suspicion; it is the delivery of a message of contempt; it is the pain of abandonment, the passion of the cross and the darkness of the grave. All this lies before him on the path he has entered.
By continuous practice the student must learn to take in the consciousness of others, and to focus his own consciousness in life and not in form; in this way he will be able to leave the "heresy of separation" which causes him to perceive others as something different from himself. He should expand his consciousness by daily practice until he normal state what he briefly experienced during his first initiation will not be. To this end, he will try in his Everyday life to identify his consciousness with the consciousness of those with whom he comes into contact day by day; he will try to feel as they feel, think as they think, rejoice as they rejoice, and suffer as they suffer. Gradually he must develop perfect empathy, a sympathy that can vibrate in harmony with every string of the human lyre. Gradually he must learn to respond to every feeling of the other, whether low or high, as if it were his own. Gradually, by constant practice, he must identify himself with others in all their varied conditions. various lives. He must learn a lesson in joy and a lesson in tears, and this is possible only when he transcends the separate self, when he no longer asks for anything for himself, but understands that he must live alone in life.
His first intense struggle will be to drop everything that was life, consciousness, reality for him and go forward alone, naked, no longer identifying himself with any form. He must learn the law of life, by which alone can the inner divinity manifest, a law which is the antithesis of his past. The law of form takes away, the law of life - yes, that is. Life grows, pouring out to itself through the form, nourished by the inexhaustible source of life in the heart of the universe; and the more life pours outward, the greater the influx from within. In the beginning it seems to the young Christ that all his life is leaving him, as his hands are left empty after pouring out his gifts to an ungrateful world; and only when lower nature definitely sacrificed, eternal life is felt, and what seemed to be the death of a being turns out to be a birth to a fuller life (*5).
Second initiation
Consciousness develops until the first stage of the path has been passed, and the disciple sees before him the second gate of initiation, symbolized in Christian scripture by the baptism of Christ. As he descends into the waters of the world's sorrows, the river in which every savior of men must be baptized, a new stream of divine life flows upon him; his consciousness is aware of himself as the Son, in whom the life of the Father finds a corresponding expression. He feels the life of the Monad, his Heavenly Father, flowing into his consciousness, he realizes that he is one, not only with people, but also with his heavenly Father, and that he lives on earth is only an expression of the will of his Father, his manifested organism . Since then, his service to people is the most obvious fact of his life. He is the Son to whom men must listen, because from him the hidden life flows, and he has become the channel through which this hidden life can reach outside world. He is the priest of the mysterious God, who entered in a veil, and comes forward with glory shining from his face, which is the reflection of the light in the sanctuary.
It is here that he begins that work of love which is symbolized in his outward ministry by his desire to heal and alleviate suffering; souls crowd around him, seeking light and life, attracted by his inner strength and the divine life manifested in the empowered Son of the Father. Hungry souls come to him and he gives them bread; souls suffering from the sickness of sin come and he heals them with his living word; souls blinded by ignorance come and he illuminates them with wisdom. It is one of the signs of Christ in his ministry that the outcast and the poor, the desperate and the humiliated come to him without a sense of separation. They feel attracted by sympathy, not repulsion, for he radiates kindness, and understanding love flows from him. Of course, they do not know that he is the evolving Christ, but they feel the power that uplifts, the life that quickens, and in his atmosphere they breathe new strength and new hope.
Third initiation
The third gate is before him, which admits him to the next stage of his progress, and he experiences short moment peace, splendor and radiance, symbolized in Christian writings by the Transfiguration. It is a pause in his life, a brief hiatus from his active service, a journey to the mountain where heavenly rest resides, and here—along with the few who have recognized his evolving divinity—that divinity shines for a brief moment in its transcendental beauty. During this lull in the battle, he sees his future; a series of pictures unfold before his eyes; he watches the suffering that lies before him - the loneliness of the Garden of Gethsemane, the agony of Golgotha. Since that time, his face has been turned towards Jerusalem, towards the darkness into which he must enter for the love of humanity. He understands that here he can achieve the perfect realization of unity, but for this he must experience the quintessence of loneliness. Before, the awareness of the growing life seemed to come to him from outside, now he must realize that the center of it is within him; in the loneliness of the heart, he must experience the true unity of the Father and the Son, the inner, and not the outer, unity, the loss even of the face of the father; and that's all external contacts with people, and even with God, must be cut off, because within his own Spirit he can find the One.
Dark night of the soul
As the dark hour approaches, he becomes more and more horrified at the loss of human sympathy on which he could rely during the past years of his life and ministry, and when, at a critical moment of his need, he looks around for comfort and sees his friends submersible into an indifferent slumber, it seems to him that all human ties are severed, that all human love is a mockery, and all human faith is a betrayal; he rushes back to himself to make sure that there is only one connection with the Heavenly Father, that all bodily help is useless. It is said that in this hour of loneliness the soul is filled with bitterness, and that a rare soul crosses this abyss of emptiness without a cry of pain; it is then that an agonizing reproach breaks out: "Couldn't you stay awake with me for one hour?" - but none human hand can't shake another in this Garden of Gethsemane alienation.
When this darkness of human rejection passes, then, approaching the chalice of the wrath of human nature, comes an even deeper darkness of that hour when the chasm opened between the Father and the Son, between the life enclosed in the body and eternal life. The Father, who was realized in the Garden of Gethsemane, when all human friends were dozing, hides in the passion of the cross. This is the bitterest of all the ordeals of the initiate, when even the consciousness of his life as the Son is lost, and the hour of those who hope, because triumph comes from the deepest shame. He sees his enemies cheering around him; he sees himself abandoned by friends and those who loved him; he feels that the divine support is crumbling under his feet; and he drinks last drop from the bowl of loneliness, isolation, lack of contact with people or God, crossing the void in which his helpless soul hangs. Then from a heart that feels rejected even by the Father, there is a cry: "My God, my God! Why did you leave me?" Why this last test, the last test, the most cruel of all illusions? Illusion, for the dying Christ, is the closest of all to the divine Heart.
Because the Son must know himself in order to be one with the Father he seeks, he must find God, not merely within himself, but as his innermost being; only when he knows that the Eternal is he and he is the Eternal, then he will not be subject to the feeling of separation. Then, and only then, can he fully help his race and become a conscious part of the rising energy.
glory of perfection
The triumphant Christ, the resurrected and ascended Christ experienced the bitterness of death, recognized all human suffering and rose above them by the power of his own divinity. What can disturb his world now, or keep his outstretched helping hand? During his evolution, he learned to take in the streams of human troubles and send them back with streams of peace and joy. In the cycle of his then activity, it was his job to transmute the forces of dissonance into the forces of harmony. Now he can do it for the world, for the humanity from which he blossomed. The Christs and their disciples, each in the measure of their evolution, thus protect the world and help it, and the struggle would be much bitterer, and the battles of mankind would be more desperate, if there were not among them those whose hands bear the "heavy karma of the world."
Even those who are in the early stages of the path become uplifting forces of evolution, as indeed are all who work selflessly for others, although they work more slowly and gradually. But the triumphant Christ finally does what others do at various stages of imperfection, and therefore he is called the Savior, and this characterization is perfect in him. He saves, not replacing us, but sharing his life with us. He is wise, and all people become wiser from his wisdom, because his life flows into the veins of all people, into all human hearts. He is not bound by form, and is not separated from any. He is the perfect man, the perfect man; every human being is a cell of his body, and every cell feeds on his life.
Of course, it would not be worth suffering on the cross and walking the path that leads to it, just to buy time and hasten your own liberation a little. The price would be too high for such an acquisition, the struggle too hard for such a reward. But no, through his victory, mankind has risen, and the path that his feet have set on has become a little shorter. The evolution of the entire race accelerated and the pilgrimage of each became not so long. It was the thought that inspired him in the onslaught of battle, that sustained his strength and softened the pain of loss. There is no such being, even weak, even humiliated, even indifferent, even sinful, who would not become a little closer to the light when the Son of the Most High finished his journey. How will evolution accelerate as more and more of these Sons rise up victorious and enter into the consciousness of eternal life! How fast will the winch that lifts man into divinity turn when all more people become consciously divine!
inspirational ideal
This is the incentive for each of us, who in the most noble moments felt the attraction of life, which flows for the love of people. Let's think about the suffering of a world that doesn't know why it suffers; about the need, grief and despair of people who do not know why they live and why they die; who, day after day, year after year, see the suffering that falls on them and on others, and do not understand what is the point; who fight with desperate courage or rage fiercely against conditions they cannot understand and explain. Let's think of the pain born of blindness, of the darkness in which they grope, without hope, without aspiration, without knowledge. real life and the beauty behind the veil. Let's think of our millions of brothers in darkness, and then of the rising energies born from our suffering, our battles and our sacrifices. We can take them one step towards the light, ease their pains, lessen their ignorance, shorten their journey to the knowledge that is light and life. Who among us, who knows even a little, does not give himself up for those who know nothing?
We know by the unchangeable Law, the Unchanging Truth, eternal life and God, that all divinity is within us, and although it is now only slightly developed, all is available for an infinite capacity open to uplift the world. After all, there is definitely more than one who is able to feel the pulsation of the Divine Life, who is not yet attracted by hope to help and blessing. And if this life is felt, let it be weak, let it be a short time, then this is because the first trembling began in the heart, which will unfold as the life of Christ, for the time of the birth of the Christ child is approaching, because in it humanity seeks to blossom.
Notes
- It is easy to see that the concept presented here is radically at odds with the understanding of Christ in Orthodoxy as the only Son of God. The following words of St. Paul however testify in her support. Why did another concept prevail in late Christianity? Just because people are very flattered to hear that God himself came to save them, and it is not at all flattering to hear that while they indulged in sin, one of them rose to God. (Here and below - approx. per.)
- Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace. (Letter to the Romans, 6.14)
- For whom he foreknew he also predestined to be similar to the image His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Ibid., 8.29)
- And if Christ is in you, then the body is dead to sin, but the spirit is alive to righteousness. (Ibid., 8.10)
- For more on this state, see C. Leadbeater, "Buddhi Consciousness".
- For that he died, he died once to sin; but what lives, lives for God. (Ibid., 6.10)
