[continued from previous message]   
      
   The first two stages of Neo-Humanism are primarily internal in nature. In   
   Spirituality as a Cult, the individual seeks to progress toward the Supreme by   
   systematic application of the techniques associated with a devotional cult.   
   Although the external    
   world is directly benefitted by the service of the Neo-Humanist, at this stage   
   the primary factor is, nevertheless, the inner development of the individual.   
   With Spirituality in Essence, one can note a progressive metamorphosis of the   
   principles which    
   guide humanity in both the individual and the collective spheres of existence.   
   Naturally these principles – particularly the Principle of Social Equality –   
   provide great assistance in respect to overcoming all the social injustices   
   which already exist,    
   as well as all those which may crop up in the future. However, once again,   
   this second stage of Neo-Humanism is primarily internal in nature, for those   
   principles reflect only the psycho-spiritual bearing of the individual and the   
   collectivity. In the    
   third stage of Neo-Humanism, Spirituality as a Mission, Neo-Humanism is   
   finally given unlimited scope to operate in the external sphere. In fact, at   
   this stage, the inner and outer expressions of life become merged. Service to   
   God and service to this    
   universe are felt to be one and the same thing. Self-realization,   
   God-realization and cosmic consciousness – they also are one and the same   
   thing. With the attainment of Spirituality as a Mission, there emerges a sweet   
   synthesis between the internal and    
   external worlds, a perfect parallelism between introversal and extroversal   
   aspects of human existence. And when this surging Neo-Humanism, overflowing in   
   all directions, has made everything seem sweet and blissful, when Spirituality   
   as a Mission has    
   brought about a joyful and harmonious union between individual and collective   
   life, then this earth indeed becomes a real heaven to the Neo-Humanist.   
      
   Spirituality as a Mission is the pinnacle of achievement in individual life,   
   the final state of supreme fulfillment. But, though the goal of one's personal   
   life is achieved, still one's existence can never become static. Rather, the   
   ongoing effort to    
   convert the external world into a more and more congenial environment for the   
   sustenance and development of all the creatures of this universe, the effort   
   to embrace the entire cosmos and to make of it a truly blissful paradise, will   
   certainly capture    
   the imagination, and challenge the full potential of humanity for all time to   
   come. Today humankind is in despair – people worry too much about their   
   imperfections. In this final and supreme Neo-Humanistic status, the individual   
   will not recognize any    
   personal limitation. On the contrary, s/he will announce, “I am a   
   Neo-Humanistic being, and I am destined to do great work – for that very   
   reason I have come on this planet.” In one voice the Neo-Humanists of the   
   universe will boldly proclaim, “We have    
   taken birth to perform great deeds for the physical welfare of all, for the   
   psychic happiness of all, and for the spiritual elevation of all. We will lead   
   everyone from darkness to light, from bondage to freedom.”   
      
   The Eternal Way   
   When ideals are formulated and propagated in such a fashion as to create a   
   sweet and harmonious adjustment between the internal and external worlds, then   
   and only then can those ideals remain bright for all eternity. Prior to   
   Neo-Humanism, such ideals    
   have never been propagated. Neo-Humanism is Ideology, whereas all of the past   
   world philosophies – religious, social, economic, and so on – cannot be deemed   
   worthy of such a noble title. Rather, due to their own internal flaws,   
   obstacles inevitably arose,   
    making it impossible to implement those philosophies for more than a few   
   fleeting moments in history. It is important to stress that the obstacles   
   faced by those philosophies were not those which always arise whenever one   
   seeks progress in any sphere of    
   life. The normal obstacles we face are actually a benevolent force that helps   
   to establish one in the goal. In the case of those disused and dysfunctional   
   philosophies, the difficulties that emerged stemmed from the defective nature   
   of the philosophies    
   themselves; that is to say, the philosophies themselves were the block to   
   progress. Thus, all of those philosophies have now been exposed as empty   
   words, pseudo-ideologies. Perhaps some of those pseudo-ideologies may have   
   influenced many people for a    
   short time, but whatever hold they have had on the masses has tended to drop   
   away like cheap plaster that crumbles to the ground leaving many big holes in   
   the wall. In contrast, Neo-Humanism, with its rational-cum-devotional blending   
   of subjective    
   approach and objective adjustment, avoids all snares of relativity to provide   
   a perennial source of inspiration in both the individual and the collective   
   life. So long as human beings may strive to advance, hand in hand and shoulder   
   to shoulder, on the    
   path of universalism, Neo-Humanism will endure as their marching song.   
      
      
      
   12         From Faith to Freedom   
   Those who possess the inner asset of devotion within their hearts and follow   
   the path of rationality in dealing with the external world must be victorious.   
   They alone can accomplish worthy deeds in this world.   
      
   Shrii Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar   
      
   The Liberation of Intellect – Neo-Humanism   
      
      
      
   Love   
   To start defining terms at the end of one's discussion is certainly a bit like   
   placing one's horses behind the cart. However, in many ways the nature of this   
   book has demanded that I do exactly that; for in order to define these terms   
   in a meaningful and    
   intelligible manner, it was first necessary to discard all of the   
   misconceptions that most persons maintain about these special topics.   
      
   Many people have difficulty with the concept of spirituality. Some confuse it   
   with spiritualism, the superstitious notion that human beings can somehow   
   communicate with the spirits of the dead. Others dismiss the subject as some   
   form of unrealistic,    
   religious mania. Actually spirituality is very much a scientific pursuit,   
   based largely upon the mystic longing within everyone to clarify their   
   relationship with the Absolute. The terminology associated with the science of   
   spirituality is, unfortunately,   
    little known in the West, and is poorly understood even in the East. So, to   
   simplify comprehension, the word love, or the more appropriate term devotion,   
   is frequently substituted for spirituality. In that case, spirituality may be   
   defined roughly as    
   the endeavor of human beings to expand the radius of their love, or to   
   cultivate devotion for a truly all-pervasive Deity.   
      
   If we accept this simplified explication of spirituality, still some confusion   
   may arise as to the implications of this interpretation when applied to the   
   three stages of Neo-Humanism. To explain the three stages of Neo-Humanism in   
   terms of devotion we    
   would have to say that devotion is first expressed as a cult, then elevated   
   into a principle, and finally elevated once again into a mission. But, in   
   fact, devotion is neither a cult nor a principle – neither action nor   
   knowledge – devotion is nothing    
   less than a mission. Devotion is the goal of one's individual existence. Once   
   attained, devotion becomes one's whole and sole vocation.   
      
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)