Can We Be Practical and Also Dedicated to High Ideals?

Dear Friends,

A friend of ours recently shared this story:

During World War I, German and British soldiers were stationed on opposite sides of a frozen field. Neither side could advance, nor could they retreat without losing the advantage.

The conditions were terrible – cold, hunger, disease, and fear. To relieve their suffering and boredom, the solders took shots at one another. All day and night, mortar fire alternated with rifle rounds.

(Photo: Swami Kriyananda with Swami Chidananda of the Divine Life Society in Rishikesh. Both Swamis were entrusted by their gurus with great responsibility, and both give the credit for their successes entirely to God.)

Into these terrible conditions came Christmas Eve. Just before midnight, during a break in the shooting, a single voice was heard. A German soldier was singing a famous Christmas carol, Silent Night, that speaks of God’s love for his children.

When the song ended, a profound silence descended. Then a British soldier responded with another Christmas carol. Other soldiers on his side joined in a chorus of voices. Then the Germans sang again, then the British. And so the night passed.

At some point in the singing, a soldier climbed out of his trench. In full view of everyone, he lay down his rifle. There he stood, unarmed, singing. Before long, soldiers from both sides were standing, singing, unarmed, outside their trenches.

The next day, the soldiers celebrated Christmas with a soccer match. They shared fellowship and what little food they had. Not a shot was fired. After that, the commanders from both sides had to bring in new contingents of soldiers before the fighting could resume.

We love the story because it expresses the longing for a world in which everybody lives by the simple truth: We are all children of one God.

When the Gulf War started, in 1991, Swami Kriyananda said, “This war is symptomatic of larger trends sweeping the planet. The struggle is between broader truths. On the one hand, we see waves of love, universal tolerance, and understanding. On the other hand, self-limiting attitudes such as selfish pride, intolerance, and bigotry.”

Those who believe in higher truths, Swamiji said, “have a duty to serve as instruments of the light – to bring faith to others and hope, and a message of God’s abiding love for mankind.”

At the time of the Gulf War, people asked Swamiji, “Is love a power sufficient to bring about change on the planet? Do we have to go to war?”

“The power of love is sufficient,” Swamiji said, “if enough people open themselves fully to that power. The Indian scriptures say, ‘One moon gives more light than all the stars.’ Even a few saintly men and women can balance out the violent tendencies of many thousands, even millions, of people. In places where groups of people meditate deeply, a tangible peace is felt even by worldly people. Thus we see the importance of personal transformation, as opposed to only seeking political solutions to social problems.”

“At the same time,” Swamiji said, “as Paramhansa Yogananda put it, we have to be ‘practical in our idealism.’ Love has the power to conquer all. Few people, however, have developed in themselves the capacity to love so greatly. Naturally, we would like to see a new civilization arise without war, but from the standpoint of abiding spiritual, and even human realities, peace must sometimes be won by hard struggle. Peace comes with overcoming, not with wishful thinking or passivity.”

This principle applies to the great stage of world events, and also to the drama of Self-realization in the heart of every spiritual aspirant.

Let us join with the Masters to bring peace on earth and good will toward men. Let us do our utmost to become one of those spiritual beings who, by their consciousness, can help tip the balance from darkness to light. A little bit of effort can bring a great deal of grace.

Blessings and love,

Asha

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