Being Harmony

You Can Never Condemn Your Brother

by Kim Michaels
February 14, 2002

The recent events involving a keeper of the flame in Greece and the Board of Directors of Church Universal & Triumphant provide an interesting illustration of what was brought forth in previous discourses. These events illustrate what can happen when creators turn rebels and organizers turn judges.

Previous discourses stated that most people are either creators or organizers and that both types of people are needed in a successful organization. However, the two types of people can only function in harmony if everyone makes a sincere effort to stay balanced and avoid taking their creative or organizing tendencies into the extremes. If people lose balance, creators tend to become rebels who think that they are above the law. Organizers tend to become judges who think they make the law and that it is their job to judge everyone else by the letter of that law.

If you read the e-mails from both sides, it is not difficult to see these tendencies at work. For example, the letter from the board of directors states that the person from Greece has broken his vow as a keeper of the flame. The letter specifically mentions part of that vow: “I recognize all members of the fraternity as my brothers and sisters.” The letter also states that the person from Greece has expressed anger towards representatives of the church. Based on this, and the tone used in e-mails from the person in Greece, it would seem that the board members do indeed have a point. However, the big question is, Does the fact that a person breaks his vow justify that he or she is expelled from the fraternity? In expelling the person for not treating them as brothers and sisters, are the board members not in reality demonstrating that they too are not keeping the vow to recognize all as brothers and sisters in spirit?

If the board members truly recognized the person from Greece as their brother in spirit, would they have been so quick to expel him?

Being your brother's keeper
If we return to the idea of rebels and judges and the need to maintain balance, then it becomes obvious that a big part of being your brother’s keeper is to help your brother remain balanced. If you encounter a brother or sister, who has temporarily stepped off the golden middle way, your first impulse should be to help that person back onto the path. Instead, many people take this as an opportunity to push the person further into the ditch on either side. Why are people so quick to condemn and so slow to forgive? There is only one explanation, namely that those who do not forgive are in an unbalanced state.

When a creator has turned rebel, he has a low tolerance towards anyone who wants to impose rules on what he believes is his creative efforts. When an organizer has turned judge, he has a low tolerance towards anyone who wants to go beyond the letter of the law as defined by the judge himself. Therefore, rebels and judges are very quick to condemn each other. The rebel will say that he does not have to follow any of the rules of an organization because he is above the law. He will then withdraw from the organization, saying that it is no longer representing the truth. The judge will say it is more important to uphold the law than to show tolerance towards other people, and therefore anyone who refuses to follow the rules must be expelled from the organization.

The essential point here is that as long as both sides remain in the extremes, or through a conflict are forced further into the extremes, no resolution is possible.

The real question to consider is why Saint Germain defined the vow to recognize all members as your brothers and sisters? After all, the Masters also teach that there are fallen angels embodied on the earth, so why would Saint Germain want Keepers of the Flame to recognize all members as their brother and sisters without making any distinction?

Could it be because Saint Germain, for thousands of years, has seen numerous organizations destroyed by squabbles and arguments that sprang from the fact that people have not learned the essential lesson that harmony and unity is more important than whether this or that person or this or that viewpoint is the right one? Is it possible that Saint Germain was hoping that by defining this vow and by giving detailed teachings on human psychology, the members of this organization would finally be able to see beyond the human power struggle that has been going on since Cain slew Able? Is it possible that Saint Germain hopes that the members of his fraternity will choose to rise above this consciousness of division and animosity and instead show the world an example of what can be achieved by those who are willing to look beyond all outer differences? Does he hope church members will see the true unity of the spirit that lies right beneath the surface of the human Maya? Does he hope that keepers will show the same love towards each other as God gives to all, namely an unconditional love that rains upon the just and the unjust?

If you believe that this could possibly have been Saint Germain’s intention behind establishing the Keepers of the flame fraternity, then the logical question becomes: “What can I do to make sure that Saint Germain’s hopes for this organization come to pass?” The answer to that is very simple: choose to rise above the outer power struggle and make an all-out effort to manifest your individual Christhood.

True resolution
Not even the most profound reasoning or the most eloquent arguments will resolve this situation. The only possible resolution is that a critical mass of keepers of the flame attain such a high degree of Christhood that they spin off those who are not willing to strive for balance.

For some time, there has been an ongoing discussion among some keepers to the effect that a group of “fallen ones” have taken control of the church and are preventing the organization from changing. Recently, specific accusations have been made about certain leaders of the church.

Such accusations can never be in accordance with the vow to recognize all members as your brothers and sisters. It is not constructive to single out people and label them as fallen ones. In the larger scheme of things, it simply does not matter whether there are fallen ones in church leadership, and it most certainly does not matter who is or who is not a fallen one. Consider what would happen if church members engaged in a witch hunt process to single out fallen ones in leadership. Do you want to repeat the inquisition or the French Revolution in this church? Consider that many revolutions of the past might have removed a corrupt leadership only to empower a worse tyrant.

In many cases, a group of fallen ones were envious of the power of the present rulers. These people plotted against the rulers and managed to arouse the people to join in their revolution which was supposedly for a just cause. In reality, the people simply moved from one form of slavery into another, and in the process the lightbearers made karma with the fallen ones. They made this karma because there were fooled into taking sides in a struggle in which both were not of the light.
Instead, it would be wise to consider the question: if two factions are locked in a struggle, each side straying for the golden middle way, can any of the factions represent the light? The statement: “We must do evil that good may come!” was never spoken by a representative of the Great White Brotherhood.

If this church is to overcome the present stalemate, a critical mass of people (both leaders and members) must rise above the consciousness that cause people to judge one another. Instead of seeking to single out people and label them as fallen ones, rebels or judges, everyone must recognize that you do not remove a problem by removing the person who is making that problem visible. You cannot solve a problem by killing the messenger who is simply there to show you that there is a problem that you must deal with.

It is not constructive to reason that if only we could get rid of this of that person, all of our problems would automatically go away. Instead, people need to recognize that the real problem is not the outer situation or another person. The real problem is the human consciousness and the elements of that human consciousness that you have not yet identified and plucked out of your being. Instead of being so quick to call for a person to be removed from leadership or expelled from the membership (so that you can return to the sense of comfortability that the other person has disturbed), you should realize that it is your duty as a keeper of the flame to help everyone attain and maintain the balance that is required to successfully walk the path. Of course, before you can help anyone else attain that balance, you must attain it yourself.

Therefore, why waste your energy in squabbles and arguments with others when you could be using that energy to attain your Christ consciousness? Christ consciousness, of course, being the only thing that could ever overcome the human power struggle.

Dare to express Christhood
This is not to say that everyone should now turn their backs on the organization and say: “I will come back when I have manifested my Christhood.” Many people, in church leadership and among regular members, have already manifested a high degree of Christhood that enables them to make a valuable contribution to the organization. However, for that Christhood to shine through, it is necessary to make a conscious effort to distance yourself from the human consciousness that is always seeking to judge.

In that respect, is important to recognize that when it comes to judging others, many lightbearers have made severe karma. Consider the following story.

Two people meet in the marketplace and after some discussion they realize that one is an embodied lightbearer and the other is an embodied fallen angel. They now engage in a discussion of which side is better and which side will eventually win the struggle for planet Earth. Throughout this discussion, the lightbearer is completely convinced that his side is better, and therefore he is superior to his opponent. The fallen angel argues that as long as both of them have a carnal mind, it is meaningless to talk about one being better than the other. The lightbearer, recognizing that there is some truth to this statement, exclaims in frustration: “Well, but because I’m a lightbearer, my carnal mind is not as bad as your carnal mind!” The fallen angel is about to utter a heated rebuke when his master whispers in his ear: “Tell him that he is absolutely right. As as long as he believes that, he will never attain Christhood, and therefore he will be no threat to us!”

The essence of the path is and always has been that you must overcome the carnal mind and merge with the Christ. Whether you came to this earth with Sanat Kumara or were cast out with Lucifer, what keeps you here is the human consciousness. Everyone has the potential to rise above that consciousness and embrace the Christ within. You must recognize and accept that you have that potential, and you must recognize and accept that all others have that same potential.

If you truly accept this, you will stop judging your brothers and sisters or trying to label them as this or that because of something they did in the past. Instead, you will direct your energy and attention towards helping them take one step closer to their personal victory. And you will not be so quick to condemn them if they do not respond as you want or as quickly as you want.

The way to change the church is not to get rid of certain people in leadership. The true way to change the church is to remove a certain state of consciousness which is present in leaders and members alike. The way to remove the fallen ones in church leadership is to help them rise above their past as all lightbearers must rise above their past. Once again, start by raising your own consciousness and then work to raise the consciousness of all of your brothers and sisters.

The Cain consciousness
The consciousness that must keep removed is the Cain-consciousness which causes people to see their brother as a potential adversary because they feel threatened by the fact that their brother is different. This consciousness can only be removed when you come to the point where you fully understand and accept that your brother or sister has a right, a God-given right, to be different from you. Your brother also has a right to temporarily express imperfection and to walk the path towards perfection at his own pace.

When you accept this, you look at your brothers differences with unconditional acceptance that springs from unconditional love. Of course, you can only come to this point when you have understood and accepted that God has an unconditional love and acceptance for you.
Your brother might commit acts that you would never have committed or that you think are wrong. However, whereas you might condemn the act, you can never condemn your brother. Committing a wrong act does not turn a person into a wrong person. The wrong act is a result of the fact that the person is temporarily in a state of illusion, but then again who in physical embodiment is not from time to time influenced by the myriad illusions of Maya?

If you are out of balance, you will begin to create a standard, and you will use that standard to judge your brother and sister. If they do not live up to your standard, you will condemn them. If you have power, you might seek to remove them from your presence because the fact that they are different challenges your self-created world view and makes you uncomfortable. People who are different might be a threat to your sense of being in control.

So the unbalanced person reasons that if only he can remove all of the people who disturb his world view, then all will be peace and harmony. How many kings of history and made an almost insurmountable karma by taking this tendency to the extreme. Would that no one, who knows about the Ascended Masters, would fall into this age-old trap!

Simply let go of this consciousness and accept that if God can extend unconditional love to you, in your present state of imperfection, then surely you can extend that love to your brothers and sisters no matter what state of imperfection they might be in.

The one body of God
The true hope of the Great White Brotherhood is that the members of this church will come into unity as one body of God. You do not create unity by removing those who make you feel uncomfortable. You create unity only by seeing beyond the temporary manifestations of this world and accepting that beyond it all is the one God, expressed in myriad manifestations.

That is not to say that raising the consciousness of the members will automatically solve all problems. Outer decisions must still be made through meetings and debates. However, as long as too many people remain in a state of consciousness that is dominated by division, no amount of meetings and debates will ever resolve the problems of the organization. In fact, debates might only divide the membership into opposing factions and solidify the division.

When people are in a lower state of consciousness, they enter a debate for the sole purpose of proving that their existing viewpoint is the only right one and that all opposing viewpoints are wrong. When people have risen above that state of consciousness, they realize that the purpose of a debate is that by coming together in the true spirit of cooperation, the participants of the debate can draw forth a solution which is better than any of them could have come up with alone. For such a true debate to occur, all participants must have a certain degree of non-attachment to their existing viewpoints. Non attachment, of course, being one of the main requirements of buddha-hood.

In this respect, it might be helpful to consider that a Buddha can have no enemies. A Buddha is a person who was overcome the illusion of Maya. Therefore, the Buddha realizes that behind all outer appearances everything is the Buddha nature. If everything is the Buddha nature, how can there be any divisions or any opposing factions? Such divisions can only be the temporary appearances produced by Maya. In this world, there might be forces who oppose the Buddha and set themselves up as self-proclaimed enemies of the Buddha. But if the Buddha were to recognize such forces as his enemies, he would, by definition, no longer be the Buddha.

A twinkle of buddha-hood is needed in the church. Buddha-hood must begin with non-attachment. Non-attachment begins when a soul makes a conscious decision to look beyond the appearances of this world.

In the Tree of Life Page Directory

Copyright © 2007 Shangra-la Mission, Inc