Given our mass shootings and political divisiveness as well as the senseless war in Ukraine, Jesus’ prayer for unity offered on the eve of his death seems a naive dream; yet, if we surrender our hope for unity, we just become part of the problem. People of good will must not be overcome by the temptation to despair; we must press forward. How do we maintain our peace and simultaneously become a force for good in the world? Francis of Assisi gives us the answer in the words, “God is good, all good, the only good.”
Francis is telling us that the goodness we long to see in the world is born from the healing, unifying consciousness of God. God is goodness, the very essence of goodness; all that is truly good flows outward from God’s center. Surely, goodness is not merely an idea or a concept, but an actual force that heals, unifies, and establishes true justice. Without God in the picture, life becomes a dark, perpetual, and lifeless winter.
Of course there are laws to be passed and strategies to be employed. However, without bowing to a Higher Power and Wisdom we build the house in vain. The Hindu, Jewish, and Christian scriptures are all essentially unified in their approach to creating a life-giving culture: God is good, and God creates, sustains, and orders life. We call this order the Eternal Dharma. Even though the world will never entirely embrace the wisdom traditions, life on planet earth will thrive to the degree we ground ourselves in the Eternal Dharma. There only needs to be enough of us to ground the world in the loving energy of truth, beauty, and goodness.
How do we become one of the necessary few in our day-to-day lives? As a starting point, I cannot stress enough how essential a meditation practice is in today’s world. We live in the ocean of God’s presence, but the egoic riptides of fear and anger easily pull us out the transcendental peace that God perpetually offers us. Having said that, meditation is the starting point, but in and of itself it is not enough. The ultimate goal, so to speak, is to meditate when we are not meditating, when we are working, playing, and engaged in activities. Such unceasing meditation requires that we stay focused, purposeful, and positive as a way of life. This is not easy, but it is an attainable goal. A little trick a wise person taught me may be of help to you: When you feel yourself being overcome by anger, for example, and staying in a state of love seems absolutely unattainable, think of someone you deeply love, such as a child, spouse, friend, or the Guru. Think of that person with both your mind and your heart. Feel the love you have for them, and don’t move away from the image of that person until you are firmly established in love. Then proceed with your day. Contemplate Yogananda’s words, “What you experience in meditation take with you in activity… We must learn to build inner abodes of wisdom in the eternally blooming garden of peace. There the multicolored flowers of the wonderful qualities of the soul bloom.”
Beloved God
I want to be one of the few
Who help
Ground the world
In your loving consciousness.
