How to Proceed Straight
Towards the Goal
John Garrigues
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Editorial Note:
The following text
appeared in the December
1926 edition of “Theosophy” magazine, pp. 84-86,
with no indication
as to its author. An analysis of
its contents and
style indicates it was written by
Mr. Garrigues. Its original
title is “Deliberate Action”.
(CCA)
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If a man is thoughtful and
sincere, he responds to the challenge of Theosophy with the determination to
take his place as a responsible being by endeavoring to apply its teachings in
his own life. Or, to state it differently, simultaneously with his recognition
that his bark has been drifting with the current, he instinctively grasps the
idle oars and attempts to direct his course.
The average man is the victim
of circumstances, the puppet of the effects of causes he has set up and over
which he exercises no present control. His reactions to stimuli from without
are calculable with almost as much certainty as the results of chemical
combinations: a slight will enkindle his anger as inevitably as his vanity will
batten on injudicious praise.
In proportion as he realizes
his true nature to be distinct from and superior to that which is slighted or
praised, his command over his reactions increases. Until he perfects that
control and is no longer at the mercy of events, it is folly for him to aspire
to added powers. A bomb is as potentially dangerous in the hands of a child as
in those of a vicious criminal, and, seeing all about him the devastating
effects of lack of control, let every man be glad that, until he is beyond the
reactions of anger and envy and hate, his weapons are no sharper and his reach
so limited.
It is not alone the
unscrupulous and the violent from whom the secrets of Occultism [1] must be withheld for the safety of
the world; the irresponsible are no better fitted to be entrusted with the
knowledge which is power. Recognizing each casual word or act as potentially
pregnant with far-reaching consequences, disastrous or beneficent, the Occultist
dare not fail to pay strict attention
to what he is about. If one aspiring to Occultism is not beyond such careless
slips as misdirecting a letter or forgetting an errand, he need look no further
for a sufficient explanation of his tread-mill existence.
Errors of judgement are
referable to our stage of development, and unerring discrimination must wait on
added experience and the awakening of intuition; but inadvertence is a puerile
plea, an admission that our wits were wool-gathering instead of being held
strictly to the matter in hand.
It is true that responsibility
attaches in a greater degree to deliberate than to impulsive action, and that
he who acts deliberately with a selfish motive courts inevitable disaster,
since he is pitting himself against the irresistible centripetal force of the
ascending arc of the evolutionary cycle. But unconsidered action also ill
becomes one who would be a co-worker with Nature, whose movements are ever
purposeful and rhythmic. As surely as there is a due time for the return of
solstice and equinox, there is a proper time for the performance of every act
and duty.
As Nature never hurries nor
procrastinates, so the man of deliberate action has not the harassed feeling of
working under pressure; nor does he unduly postpone necessary action, for which
there is always time. Necessary acts can be distinguished from the importunate
throng of possible activities if one stops to question which represents his own
duty and not that of another, and which is necessary to others and to himself
as souls, that he should perform. All of the time and strength spent, for
instance, in pampering the physical body, beyond its actual requirements for
maintenance as a fit instrument for the soul, represents futile dissipation of
energy.
But whatever action each
decides to be necessary for him is worth the time and effort needed to perform
it carefully and well. Dependence may safely be placed only on the man of
conscience who, during his waking hours, is in constant and positive control of
his instruments of action - accurate and heedful at all times. Dependability is not a spectacular quality; it
is the solid bedrock for the lack of which no decorations on the superstructure
can compensate. It is not possible to the day-dreamer or the medium. Its
development calls for unremitting watchfulness, for scrupulous attention to the
business of each moment. Dependability means living in the present, alert and concentrated here and now, not
fumbling our tasks while we dream of a glorious future.
A dependable man will keep a
promise at whatever cost, but where no pledge is involved, deliberate action
does not call for rigid adherence to a plan regardless of changed
circumstances. To ignore new factors which arise after a decision is reached,
is folly and shows lack of adaptability. Wisdom enables us to conserve our
energy by availing ourselves of any unexpected current, provided it does not
carry us out of our course. We need only note the circumstances, moment by
moment, and in their light act according to our best judgement.
Potent among our instruments
of action is the power of speech with its unmeasured possibilities for weal or
woe. We may not leave out of account the evil of gossip. Anyone aspiring
earnestly to apply the principles of Theosophy is beyond the willingness to
injure any fellow-being - certainly beyond the employment of this basest of
weapons - but too often people recognize no further need for curbing their
tongues beyond refraining from evil speaking. The responsibility which we
assume in directing the attention of others to trivial or unworthy matters is
often not recognized. Who can say how much shorter the course of any man might
be if he could proceed straight towards the goal instead of constantly having
to make detours around obstructing non-essentials?
We scorn to deliberately place
obstacles in a fellow-wayfarer’s path for him to stumble over, but an idle
phrase of ours may set another off on an unprofitable line of thought. Can we
disclaim responsibility for the resulting delay in his progress? We may not yet be able to keep our own
premises clear of the litter of disorderly thinking, but we can at least
refrain from cluttering the neighborhood with it.
Deliberate speech is not
necessarily slow speech. It involves thought before the words are uttered,
which may well eliminate much heedless expression; but as the habit of thinking
before speaking becomes established, accuracy becomes paramount. Speech at
random is often inaccurate to the point of mendacity.
Deliberate control of speech
and action presupposes equilibrium. So long as we are tossed hither and thither
by the force of our desires, we are handicapped much as would be a skilled
draftsman who attempted to do his work on a pitching boat. We cannot calculate
with accuracy the result of this or the other move until we are on the firm
ground of dispassion and are able to make our decisions unswayed by attraction
or repulsion.
Until we can approximate that
state, the best we can do is to take into account as liabilities our likes and
dislikes, lest they should exert an unrecognized influence on our decisions. We
must compel ourselves to act deliberately.
NOTE:
[1] Occultism. Occultism or
Secret Science is the science of the secrets of Nature. It is the science of
those aspects of Nature and Life which are essential, and therefore cannot be
grasped through the five senses. (CCA)
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In September 2016, after
a careful analysis of the state of the esoteric movement worldwide, a group of students
decided to form the Independent Lodge of
Theosophists, whose priorities include the building of a better future in
the different dimensions of life.
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