PP 297537/00068
PO Box 627
Caringbah NSW 1495
Tel: (02) 9540 2391
Fax: (02) 9524 0025
www.sydneygoodwill.org.au

No 203/November 2003

Dear Friends,
We live in an amazing world seething with the potency of life as it flows through a myriad of life forms, structures and colours. Similarly our human spirit permeates thousands of diverse peoples and cultures. Thus the material substance of our world is drawn into many and varied shapes and complexities. Yet it is the one Life, the one human spirit and the one reservoir of eternally recycling substance from which this incredible multiplicity springs. And it is the one overall purpose that gives direction, significance and meaning to this vast variety.

To be caught within the lesser circle of any individual part of this is to be separated by the veils of distortion that a limited view creates. We read of the impact of the Christ's presence breaking down these "barriers in man's nature" and rending the veil as he passed "through the barrier of his own human nature" and so showed the way through. Thus have many others, who have followed in similar footsteps, opened the way through the world and beyond, leaving the impact of their passing forms as an eternal presence in the human mind and heart. It is not possible for such great unity to be contained in a single form though many may attempt it. Similarly it goes against an intrinsic order to impose homogeneity, or a single view, across diversity. The unity is within, it already is. It is not created from without but emerges through an expanding diversity, expressing in ever increasing harmony and interconnection with all else and with the source of inspiration at the centre of creation.

The apparent "problems" we see working out towards solution essentially stem from a sense of separation - of isolation from the whole - a state of illusion in which the separate part seeks livelihood and expression at the expense of all else and even to the detriment of the whole world within which its very life and continuity are nurtured and protected. Just so does the wild animal, knowing only the "law of the jungle", bite the very hand that feeds it until it understands that the hand offers sustenance. This sense of separation is the force behind domestic violence, genocide and terrorism in all its forms, both from the apparent aggressor and those who create the circumstances that render people desperate for even the smallest share of life's bounty. Thus our concept of "civilisation" evolves as human consciousness grows in perception and understanding towards the very heart of matter and expands into the vastness of the universe. Civilisation is an ongoing process.

In a talk shortly before his death this year Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN special representative in Iraq, clearly guides us to avoid the cul-de-sac of being definitive when the truth and its possibilities are always growing out from our common human being:
"Civilisation is . . a concept that eludes definition. . . a definition risks being pretentious or subjective or incomplete, or a combination of these failings. I am even more sceptical of attempting a definition of 'world civilisation', which for me has rather alarming connotations of pan-uniformity. The best I can do is, first, to suggest that we should eschew homogeneity and embrace difference; and, secondly, to suggest that focusing on common perceptions of human dignity may be more fruitful than the pursuit of one world civilisation.
. . . I know what is uncivilised: I have seen it. We all know. In my work with the United Nations . . I have seen not only the best but also the worst of what we have to offer each other. Such behaviour can be found everywhere.
. . . Common perceptions of 'civilisation' have largely positive connotations. They suggest both a moral milieu as well as the attainment of some sort of cultural summit: they evoke images of arts and culture, of enlightenment, of sophistication. They suggest evolution in a non-biological sense or progress in social development.
But I would suggest that the term civilisation risks . . worryingly negative notions . . of cultural superiority, of elitism, of imperialism . . . We must also acknowledge that the word 'civilisation' has been used throughout the course of history to justify brutality, expansionist thinking and behaviour, colonialism, even slavery and genocide . . In carrying out these acts, these civilisations argued that they were, in fact, on 'civilising' missions. . .
. . . These problems are not necessarily new. . . What is different today is that we have no excuse to be unaware of the divide between the world's rich and poor, the powerful and powerless, the included and marginalised. We cannot today justify claiming ignorance of the cost that this divide imposes on the poor and dispossessed while at the same time claim we have attained civilisation.
. . . human rights do indeed have a critical role to play today. In short, their indivisibility and universality are perhaps the closest concepts we have to being the foundations of a civilised world, as opposed to a world civilisation. The principles of social, political and economic inclusion are essentially based on rights and responsibilities. Those in positions of power and privilege, however, too often see rights and responsibilities as a threat to their own interests.
. . we may be overreaching ourselves to talk of world civilisation. We also may be misleading ourselves. More important than striving to attain such a state or even to define it is the need to focus on, highlight and better appreciate the universality of human dignity."

We may feel overwhelmed by the human crises that abound or we may seek to resolve them only within their own immediate scope. Yet the true cause of these outer effects lies in the deeper forces that move through the whole of our planetary system, through human consciousness and thence through the forms we ourselves have created. Whether we recognise it or not each and every one of us is engaged in this process because each one is a living and active part of the life of our world. We may think "what is the rest of the world to me or what can one person do?" but our every thought, feeling and action has an effect. We may convince ourselves that we are not engaged, that others mean nothing to us or the converse, that we mean nothing to others, but in so doing we acquiesce in what we could correct and, by our inaction, endorse evil. As Professor Elie Wiesel said: "Indifference to evil is evil."

Nor does being engaged require the same action of everyone. Our diversity is our greatest power because we can contend with illusion, glamour and evil on every front, in every dimension, at once and wherever it clouds the united clarity of the human spirit. Some are among those thinking through the illusions. Some are among the sensitives feeling through the mists of glamour. Some act to redress the effects of limited thinking and selfish feeling. Most of us are, to small or large extent, operating in many ways and on many fronts at the same time, representing microcosmically the unfolding process of the whole of life.

The clearest and greatest thought of which we are capable, the finest possible feelings (towards others, our world and its spiritual essence) and the consequent way we live in the world - all this proceeds from an approach to our true identity, always expanding with the constant unfolding revelation of that truth which is central to all yet everywhere present as the breath of life itself. The human spirit is one and indivisible. It moves ultimately under the greater purpose moving through all and sweeping the little form lives into its wake as it steers across the ocean of the universe. Reality is all about us and accompanies us on our journey towards its realisation. The following reminder is from "Leaves of Morya's Garden":

"In the mist you will find the way,
...........for I am with you.
Know the unfathomable character of eternal creation.
The formless Form, the soundless Sound.
Behold the joy of creation and rejoice at the wisdom of the Creator.
The Glory of the Eternal Being radiates in the stars,
..........And His Might is symbolised
..........In Earth's highest summits.

. . . I am here, but in thy blindness thou didst forget My Presence.

Eternal, unfathomable, great, and lofty is the Truth.
But the seeker will approach it
...........And will master its tenets with ease."