If we think of responsibility from a soul or more spiritual
angle, then we realise that we have spiritual as well as personal
responsibilities. Meeting our personal responsibilities to family is, of
course, most necessary and apart from the original instinct it is more
prominent amongst the more developed of our brothers. Christ said: “Seek ye
first the Kingdom of Heaven and all these things shall be added on to you” our
personal responsibilities and duties can work out rightly when they are in or
under the larger perspective of our group or soul responsibilities.
This is where wisdom comes in and a realisation of dharma or
duty. Responsibility is one of the key words that we all should reflect upon.
It involves also the recognition of karma and relates to the right use of time.
One’s spiritual responsibility is, curiously enough, usually
the last to be recognised, and action taken on that responsibility is usually
slow. Yet, in the last analysis, it is by far the most important, for one’s
spiritual influences can be lasting and can carry with it releasing power to
those we love, whereas the other responsibilities, being those of personality
relationship, always carry with them glamour and that which is not of the
kingdom of spirit.
When the disciple starts to see the big picture and realises
his role in it, his capacity for love, responsibility and duty starts to
increase.
Man’s responsibility in life is determined by the degree of
self-consciousness that has been achieved. There can be no responsibility when
there is an absence of self-consciousness. Animals therefore cannot be held
responsible, and though they suffer pain on the physical plane, they are free
from karma on the subtler levels. Man, on the other hand, is self-conscious and
therefore becomes responsible for his actions – both good and bad. But all men
cannot be equally accountable, because they differ widely in mental development
and therefore also in consciousness. Responsibility increases in direct ration
to the expansion of intelligence and consciousness, and the undeveloped savage
consequently does not carry nearly the same responsibility as the more advanced
disciple. The latter is far better aware of the fact when he infringes the law
of nature, or the ethical demands of social standards, than is the savage, and
his responsibility towards his environment and his fellow human beings is
therefore also increased to a corresponding degree. The result is, that for the
same trespass, the evolved man will have to pay a much severer penalty than the
unevolved, or in other words his negative karma will receive a heavier debit.
Man cannot be relieved of his liabilities by his brother –
each individual must shoulder his own responsibilities and acquit himself of
these obligations to the best of his ability, but at the same time he should
refrain from interference in the responsibility of others. True love therefore
sometimes has to stand aside with detachment, having to look on whilst others
are learning life’s lessons – like in the way I am watching my children at the
moment while they are starting their own families and careers. This at times,
may be hard to accomplish, but may be mitigated by rendering moral support and
the under-standing of a loving heart.
So, as we can see, responsibility is one of the most
prominent characteristics of the soul, and as the soul takes hold of the
personality, there consequently arrives the time when the disciple becomes
aware of his spiritual responsibilities, which actually far outweigh the
physical aspects, which only relate to personality issues. The effect of man’s
spiritual influence will prove far more penetrating and of a more lasting
nature, than the discharging of physical obligations.
I think once a person realises this, he will think twice in
the case of suicide where some people go and take the easy way out to escape
from their felt but unrealised spiritual responsibilities. This will give us
the reason to motivate some of us to hold on to the end – till there is nothing
more left to give to our fellow men.
Thus, we can say that our sense of responsibility develops
as we develop our conscience; as we come under soul control. It get expressed
first in the way we interact with the members of our family and then works
through our progress through religions, schools, colleges, universities, as
members of the workforce and as a
functioning community. Always helping us to say and do the right thing at the
right time to help those around us who are in need or willing to be helped.
There are many ways to accept our responsibility in life and
help others without having physical contact with anybody. Just by writing a
poem or a book, creating a beautiful piece of music or a painting, you can influence
millions, without ever knowing them, for many years after your own death. This
is why the artist has no free will, but more a responsibility to do his art and
to see to it that, that art, once it was created, gets exposed to the public;
it must not be kept hidden somewhere but must be shared with all humanity. The
art must give out the vibration that it was created for. This way it helps to
make the world a better place and to build the world vibration or thoughtform.
