"Once there came a man Who said:
'Range me all men in rows.' And instantly
There was a loud quarrel — world wide
It endured for ages.
Eventually the man went to death, weeping,
And those who staid in bloody scuffle
Knew not the great simplicity."
— Stephen Crane
At this age of the world separateness seems to have reached the limit. So far are we from fulfilling Christ's commandment, "Love thy neighbor as thyself," that we are more nearly partakers in the curse of Ishmael, whose hand was against every man and every man's hand against him. At least we of the nineteenth century look out for ourselves first, last and always. This is certainly true in the business world, almost equally so in the social world, and too often the case even in the family. Every aspect of our civilization seems to be founded on the basis of separateness and of separate interests.
It has become an axiom in the world of commerce that competition is the life of trade, as if any part of a whole could thrive at the expense of any other part, or the welfare of the whole be maintained while one section is preying on another. And it has not been. Look at the extremes of wealth and poverty this system has led to, and the great tension which exists between capital and labor. We have labor organizations pitting themselves against the capitalists, and capitalists divorcing their interests from that of the laborers. The spirit of competition is fostered in children often by both parents and teachers. Children are encouraged to do well as much for the sake of outdoing others as for the sake of progress. And it is a painful fact that most children will work harder when they know there is to be a test of skill. When prizes are given to those who succeed in surpassing all the other members of the class it is putting a premium on rivalry. The slight intellectual benefit the pupil gains by the extra study is completely outweighed by the loss of comradeship for the classmates and the spirit of egotism engendered by considering himself superior to the rest.
Although the thought is not often expressed in words, it is the exception to see parents who are not anxious to have their children appear as well, if not better, than other children, and receive as much praise, quite forgetful of the fact that real worth must be measured by a more absolute standard than the condition of other people, and that true progress can be gauged only by comparing the person with himself of yesterday, not with others. We are continually drawing lines and building walls to separate ourselves from the rest of mankind. It is myself, my family, my friends, etc., and it is quite as possible and just as wrong to be selfish for one's people as to be selfish for one's self.
Our Leader has said: "Unbrotherliness is the insanity of the age." When a great teacher of humanity points out the most crying defect of our age it is certainly worth our most serious attention. "Unbrotherliness the insanity of the age!" We have thought we were eminently sane. We have thought the nineteenth century the sanest age of the world. We have been level-headed enough to use electricity in almost magical ways; to construct iron frame buildings, wonders of height and utility; we have built war vessels of unequaled size and speed. Men of our age have explored almost every part of the world, have computed the age of the world and the weight of the sun, have performed magical feats in surgery, one has discovered that a certain ray, unrecognizable to the physical senses, penetrates solid matter, and has found a means of photographing objects concealed in matter of a different density; our scientists have succeeded in liquefying air, and our financiers have been able to centralize and conduct the entire production and distribution of certain commodities throughout the United States.
"Unbrotherliness the insanity of the age!" It is indeed true. If we look at people whose faces are in repose, when they are not lightened as in conversation or brightened by a desire to appear amiable, we too often find the dominant expressions are severity, repression, discontent, sadness. It is evident that the discoveries of science are of little help in the trials of daily life, and that men of learning have failed to solve the most vital of all problems — the relation of man to man.
But the sages and the teachers of humanity have solved this problem. Humanity is one. We are far more intimately related than external appearances indicate. We all act and re-act upon each other, so that we cannot separate ourselves from anything, nor can we free ourselves from the responsibility of this non-separateness. Separateness is the cause of all sorrow. Only he whose every act is inspired by an unselfish love of humanity can attain happiness.
"So shalt thou be in full accord with all that lives, bear love to men as though they were thy brother pupils, disciples of one Teacher, the sons of one sweet mother!'
When we measure our civilization by this standard its condition is appalling. Even the highest form of religion known to many is embodied in the hope of gaining for themselves a heaven of eternal bliss, while others suffer untold torments. "We live in a world whose law is kindness; we may transgress the law, but the law avenges itself in the suffering of the transgressor." We have sinned the sin of separateness, and we are paying the price. "Altruism must be made the line of our lives" if we hope not to have lived in vain Only so can we gain wisdom; only so can we be of service to humanity.
If we analyze any or all of our sorrows we shall find that selfishness is at the bottom of them. Not the selfishness of another, but the selfishness of one's self. We want something which we have not; it may be time, money, position or authority, sympathetic friends or merely having one's way about little things. Not that the world will be any better for it, but we want things that way. Often we spend a good deal of energy and cause a great deal of friction by trying to force upon others habits which have no intrinsic value. Much greater sorrows may be caused by financial losses, misunderstandings and death, but in all cases it is the thought of pity for one's self that causes our sorrow. Our minds have congested in the molds of personality. We must free ourselves from them. We must gauge life by a more absolute standard than personal whim.
Krishna said: "If the good of mankind only be considered by thee, the performance of thy duty will be plain." We have lived for ourselves too long to immediately follow this exalted precept, but we can approximate to it. If we test our acts and motives by it we shall find how extremely selfish we are, and how petty are most of our trials and disappointments. It will help us, too, to be more lenient in our judgment of others. It is not necessary that one be exalted above others that he may serve humanity. Each can serve in his own place and in his own way.
We have been told to regard earnestly the lives of others. Each life is an expression of the divine; each represents a stage in the evolution of the soul. Some have approached more nearly to truth in one thing, some in another. We can learn from every one. The entire personality may not be pleasing, but if we look we can find something there which we can admire; something, perhaps, which we have not, but which we have striven for, and know how hard it is to attain.
The sense of separateness narrows the limits of our consciousness. The thoroughly selfish man who cannot sympathize with others is conscious of no more than he has personally experienced. If we are ultimately to be the possessors of all wisdom, if we are to expand our consciousness until it embraces the universe, it is easy to see the folly of conforming our interest and field of observation to the experience of one insignificant personality.
We can get some idea of the blind and narrow life we lead when we read of ourselves as the "living dead." Living in the sense of existing, but dead to the realities and joys of life. Only when unity is realized is life a joy. Surely there is not joy in many of the circumstances of life, but there is a joy in right living, and there is unspeakable joy for those who live for humanity.
"Alas that selves should be sacrificed to self!"
This is what we do every time we place the person before the race; every time we indulge in the luxury of self-pity; every time we allow ourselves to be gloomy or despondent; every time we let our minds dwell on purely trivial things, simply because it is easier than to force them to that plane where we may be of service to humanity. What a large portion of our time we spend doing just that — "sacrificing selves to self!"
Our Teacher has called to arouse us from this lethargy. "Awake ye children of earth! Cease dreaming the heavy dreams of sense and separateness. Awake to the joys of real life!" The Universal Brotherhood Organization was founded "to teach brotherhood, demonstrate that it is a fact in nature, and make it a living power in the life of Humanity."