Goodwill

Wisdom Teachings
Right Living

Will, knowledge and activity are the original manifestations of nature and they are also the basic qualities of the soul. Goodwill is a part of nature. Will is the fundamental force that brings something forth and drives it forward, whether it is the will of an individual human being or the so-called “Will of God”, the great, all-encompassing intention. An initiate submits to the Divine Will; he does not seek to please himself or others but seeks to please Life itself at all times. This means that the initiate identifies himself with the “Supreme Good” (Will-to-Good) with the intention of surrendering himself entirely to it. He has no programmes or plans of his own as to what he wants to do. He acts in accordance with the Will: “Father, Thy Will be done.” This is the Will-to-Good. To be fully attuned to this Will is the most effective application to which the Will can be applied.

The will of the average man is not equal to such a Will. But every act that serves the welfare of others is an act of goodwill. Acts of goodwill bring us into alignment with something greater than our personality. We always have the free will to act with good will. We do not wait for our actions to be recognized by others. Everything falls into place if we remain focused on goodwill.

Goodwill is the will to do good to the life around us, of which we ourselves are a part. There are thousands and thousands of groups in the world who want to do good. But their will is mostly weak compared to the people who are engaged in activities of ignorance and evil. The latter do not compromise on their actions, while the people of goodwill often compromise on their principles. Thus they are weak because they do not have sufficient will, focus or stability.

As spiritual people, we must not be passive concerning acts of good or acts of bad will. We must not be idle spectators of human evil. We must support and encourage the one (goodwill) and weaken and discourage the other (evil acts). Thus, ignorant speech and action should be gently disagreed with. If they are not disagreed with, they get tacit encouragement. It is important to appreciate and encourage good deeds and good speech. If we remain silent and non-appreciative of the good, it amounts to discouragement of such acts of goodwill.

It is crucial that we work for a better world, for the essential freedoms around the world, for cooperative goodwill and for the practical application of spiritual principles in daily life. These principles of good must prevail and not greedy desire and unlawful ambition. It is very important that we oppose what is not good and what is undesirable, what breeds ugliness, separation and hatred. Only in this way can we help to alleviate the problems of suffering humanity and bring about a new era of right human relations.

We should also be aware that there may be a certain amount of evil as a result of our good deeds. Even when we walk around, some insects die unintentionally. We might pray that what is brought about as evil by us may not affect us but be under the care of the Devas.

The world survives by duality. It has its own good and evil in action. Evil is nothing but the negative energy which creeps in as pride, prejudice, hatred, jealousy, ambition, fear and personal advancement. Unnecessary opinions about others lead to criticism. All our activities of goodwill are a waste if we indulge in unnecessary criticism and harbour a negative attitude towards others. We also should not have targets in our activities of goodwill, such as the target of wanting to help a certain amount of people. We should be prepared to serve and leave the course of service to the Divine.

In any industry, there are always by-products that cause some pollution; likewise in creation, there is a production of anti-life called evil, and it affects us. When acts of goodwill are performed, evil is produced as a by-product. For example, we may get negative ideas and be affected by them and be pushed into actions related to undesirable ideas.

So, paradoxically, the energy of jealousy can be more prevalent in goodwill groups. Jealousy is a highly covetous energy that not only affects its creator but also pollutes the surrounding atmosphere. Jealousy arrests thoughts of goodwill and fills us with poison. Jealousy blinds us to others, destroys the fruits of acts of goodwill and also prevents the Divine from approaching us when we pray. If we feel jealous of others' achievements, virtues and good deeds, a veil begins to cover us which then brings in another veil – a veil of hatred. Hatred invites other veils such as anger and the desire to harm. Harm can be at the mental, vocal, or physical level.

When group members entertain any of these energies, they tend to be unfit to implement thoughts of goodwill. The negative energies weaken the lines of force within us and cause debilitation of our vital body. Emotional imbalance makes us unable to do any work of goodwill that we intend to do. This imbalance destabilises our thinking. Emotional people can paralyse themselves and also groups through their vacillation and lack of goodwill. If we want to do good, the will must not waver. To serve with discrimination is as important as the service itself.

We have to cleanse ourselves inwardly daily to eliminate the weeds of suspicion, hatred and the like. Thoughts of goodwill lift us up, while thoughts of evil pull us down. Our thoughts decide our future. There is a hierarchy that promotes goodwill. There is also a hierarchy that promotes evil. As much as there are activities of benevolence, there are also activities of thieving and looting. One hierarchy promotes culture and civility of the beings, while the other hierarchy obstructs and promotes the contrary culture. Egoism brings ignorance along with it, causing hindrance to the flow of goodwill work.

Acts of goodwill towards people, animals, plants and minerals are supported and amplified by invisible helpers and Nature. When we become a channel for goodwill, unexpected help comes and things keep manifesting from the invisible to the visible. This is one of the functions of the Seventh Ray or of White Magic. White magic is the entertaining pf ideas of goodwill and translating them to action, thus manifesting them with intelligence and know-how. Goodwill is our choice. It is not imposed from outside, but we impose it from within. When we decide upon goodwill and stick to apply it, we receive the support of a Master who brings our actions to fulfilment. We usually do not perceive this and often cannot even conceive of it. This does not matter, but it is very helpful to align with the Master twice a day. If we wish to be guided by the Master from a distance, we should record thoughts of goodwill in a diary. Otherwise we simply neglect and forget these thoughts, which we think are our own thoughts. Only when we are not negligent, we are eligible to receive wisdom and enlightenment. Nature sends messages in varieties of ways to people who want to bring goodwill to the surrounding life.

An invisible protection emanates from acts of goodwill. Companies that invest in goodwill projects also receive such protection. A glow arises in us when we carry out acts of goodwill over many years. It is an expression of the divine grace we receive. It is actually the grace that performs the great deeds, not we ourselves. Having received this grace, we can no longer conduct disgraceful deeds. The moment it happens the grace disappears. The subtle bodies, be it the golden etheric body or the diamond causal body, do not glow when we succumb to temptation. When we have attained a certain degree of light and the glow around us is stable, we have added responsibility when we speak and act. The greater the light, the greater the responsibility.

If our acts of goodwill are encountered by obstacles from within or without, it helps to start practising OM regularly. This clears the inner and outer obstructions and helps us to progress with works of goodwill. The works of goodwill will come to fruition, if such activities commence and conclude with OM. OM is the key to fruition in all walks of life. Peace efforts can be effective if OM is regularly uttered in groups along with carrying out acts of goodwill in daily life. This is the occult work for peace which has a better effect on the subtler levels than peace demonstrations. Even when the world is in turmoil, the simple acts of goodwill continue to be.

Sources used: K.P. Kumar: Teachings of Lord Maitreya, vol. 1+2; div. seminar notes. Dhanishta Publications, Visakhapatnam, India (www.aquariusbookhouse.com).