Speaker 1: True actions. Following on right principles and methods come true actions.
One who is striving to grasp true principles and work
with sound methods will soon come to perceive that details
of conduct cannot be overlooked, that indeed, those details are
fundamentally distinctive or creative according to their nature, and are
of deep significance and comprehensive importance. And this perception and
knowledge of the nature and power of passing actions will
gradually open and grow within him as an added vision,
a new revelation. As he acquires this insight, his progress
will be more rapid, his pathway in life, more sure,
his days, more serene and peaceful. In all things. He
will go the true and direct way, unswayed and untroubled
by the external forces that play around and about him.
Not that he will be indifferent to the welfare and
happiness of those about him, that is quite another thing.
But he will be indifferent to their opinions, to their ignorance,
to their ungoverned passions. By true actions, indeed is men
acting rightly towards others, And the right doer knows that
his actions in accordance with truth are but for the
happiness of those about him, and he will do them,
even though an occasion may arise when someone near to
him may advise or implore him to do Otherwise, true
actions may easily be distinguished from false by all who
wish so to distinguish in order that they may avoid
false action and adopt true As in the material world
we distinguish things by their form, color, size, et cetera,
choosing those things which we require, and putting by those
things which are not useful to us, so in the
spiritual world of deeds, we can distinguish between those that
are bad and the those that are good by their nature,
their aim, and their effect, and can choose and adopt
those that are good and ignore those that are bad.
In all forms of progress, avoidance of the bad always
precedes acceptance and knowledge of the good, just as a
child at school learns to do its lessons right by
having repeatedly pointed out to it how it has done
them wrong. If one does not know what is wrong
and how to avoid it, how can he know what
is right and how to practice it. Bad or untrue
actions are those that spring from a consideration of one's
own happiness only and ignore the happiness of others, that
arise in violent disturbances of the mind and unlawful desires,
or that call for concealment in order to avoid undesirable complications.
Good or true actions are those that spring from a
consideration for others, that may arise in calm reason and
harmonious thought framed on moral principles, or that will not
involve the doer in shameful consequences if brought into the
full light of day. The right doer will avoid those
acts of personal pleasure and gratification which by their nature
bring annoyance, pain, or suffering to others. No matter how
insignificant those actions may appear to be, he will begin
by putting away these. He will gain a knowledge of
the unselfish and true by first sacrificing the selfish and untrue.
He will learn not to speak or act in anger
or envy or resentment, but will study how to control
his mind, and will restore it to calmness before acting.
And most important of all, he will avoid, as he
would the drinking of deadly poison, those acts of trickery, deceit,
double dealing in order to gain some personal profit of advantage,
and which lead sooner or later to exposure and shame
for the doer of them. If a man is prompted
to do a thing which he needs to conceal, and
which he would not lawfully and frankly defend if it
were examined of witness, he should know by that that
it is a wrong act, and therefore to be abandoned
without a further moment's consideration. The carrying out of this
principle of honesty and sincerity of action, too, will further
lead him into such a path of thoughtfulness in right doing,
as will enable him to avoid doing those things which
would involve him in the deceptive practices of other people.
Before signing papers, or entering into verbal or written agreements,
or engaging himself to others in any way at their request,
particularly if they be strangers, he will first inquire into
the nature of the work or undertaking, and so enlightened
he will know exactly what to do, and will be
fully aware of the import of his action to the
right doer. Thoughtlessness is a crime. Thousands of actions done
with good intent lead to disastrous consequences because they are
acts of thoughtlessness. And it is well said that the
way to hell is paved with good intentions. The man
of true action is above all things thoughtful. Be ye
therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The term
thoughtlessness covers a wide field in the realm of deeds.
It is only by increasing in thoughtfulness that a man
can come to understand the nature of actions, and can
thereby acquire the power of always doing that which is right.
It is impossible for a man to be thoughtful and
act foolishly. Thoughtfulness embraces wisdom. It is not enough that
an action is prompted by a good impulse or intention.
It must arise in thoughtful consideration if it is to
be a true action. And the man who wishes to
be permanently happy in himself and a power for good
to others must concern himself only with true actions. I
did it with the best of intentions is a poor
excuse from one who has thoughtlessly involved himself in the
wrongdoing of others. His bitter experience should teach him to
act more thoughtfully in the future. True actions can only
spring from a true mind, and therefore, while a man
is learning to distinguish and choose between the faults and
the true, he is correcting and perfecting his mind, and
is thereby rendering it more harmonious and felicitous, more efficient,
and powerful. As he acquires the inner eye to clearly
distinguish the right in all the details of life, and
the faith and knowledge to do it, he will realize
that he is building the house of his character and
life upon a rock which the winds of failure and
the storms of persecution can never undermine.