For the Benefit of All - December 2022
In esotericism the concept of service is associated with any selfless work that is “for the benefit of all” to the best of the server’s understanding. Ageless Wisdom teachings further profess that service is in fact a spiritual law that governs the development of qualities related to the energy of devotion and idealism as a method of advancing consciousness.1 In the context of the ecosystem, service can be considered as an organic process within the planetary biosphere. Indeed, the progress in conventional science over the past two centuries, has aided much in revealing the interconnectedness of all its systems and so verifying and validating the livingness of the planet as one whole integrated entity.
Considering the ecosystem as a living organism and, in consequence, ourselves as cells within it – along with all the individuals of the other kingdoms of nature – the genetic organisation of a species could act as a law which largely determines the behaviour of the parts of its individual members.2 In humans, for example, genetics could predispose cells and organs to certain behaviours, or it could be the individual’s decision to act in a specific manner that acts as the law determining this. In other words, humanity’s inherent organisation affects the activity of its own cells - they are required to function in line with that person’s genetics and chosen activity. For the cells and organs, that is the law3 - if a person decides to go for a run, inevitably, all their bodily cells go too.
Through this lens, service activity could be viewed as one of the processes required for the health and wellbeing of the great entity within which we exist, and in consequence for the health and wellbeing of humanity and the other kingdoms with which it is sharing the planet. Biology has revealed to the world a previously unfathomable order within the physical structure that houses a human being. Within the highly organised mini universe that is the human corporeal nature, generation, recycling and elimination can be seen functioning continuously in harmony. These functions are rhythmically undertaken by specialised groups of cells and organs, but the important thing to note is that every activity of a cell or a group of cells is inextricably linked to the overall functioning of the organism (even if we are yet to figure out how). If a cell or a group of cells fails to support the encompassing structure, what is observed is the corruption and deterioration of that individual.
Thinking along these lines, service is just doing one’s part – whatever that may be – in a way that supports the all-encompassing Life within which we exist. It is a way of curating our mental, emotional and physical behaviour harmlessly to the benefit of this whole system. Our cells have something to teach us, and in terms of the Triangles network, we have a powerful agency for sharing the light and goodwill which encourages and supports this holistic view.
1. Alice Bailey, Esoteric Psychology, Vol. 2, p. 118
2. ibid. p. 377
3. Alice Bailey, Esoteric Healing, p. 30