Rebuilding The Shrine Of Human Living
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way”. Vividly portraying the tumultuous period of the nineteenth century, Charles Dickens in the opening chapter of ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ described a defining perception about the world that can be alluded to equally in our present period of human affairs. For humanity, it has been observed, has the ‘habit of crisis’. From point to point, from sphere to sphere, and from glory to glory, we move on an ever ascending spiral.
Whilst political, financial and justice systems, social welfare, education, medical care and the like have evolved beyond measure in the last one hundred and fifty years or so, there is still unfinished preparatory work in the world that was started about the time of the Renaissance. Rebuilding the shrine of human living clearly remains a ‘work in progress’ and calls upon the skilful practice of all men and women of goodwill to think clearly about world affairs, to radiate goodwill in their environments, and to use the power of lighted thought to ‘spiritualise matter’ and ‘materialise spirit’.
The social ferment that rocked nineteenth century Europe is now being enacted on a global scale. Political systems, economic models and social reform are all coming under the intense scrutiny of an ever more enlightened public opinion. Questions abound as to the fitness of our institutions to adequately serve the common good. And yet few have a clear picture of how we can practically anchor the new ‘models’ or forms that will reflect the Aquarian impulse of co-operation, sharing and goodwill on a universal scale.
This analysis, fortunately, is not quite so daunting in the light of the tremendous progress made by visionary individuals and groups throughout the world to rally behind the banner of human welfare. Since the beginning of the last century especially, the momentum towards the rebuilding of the social order, through the motivating power of goodwill, has been gaining traction. Collectively, we stand at a turning point. Ahead of us lies the bright, sunlit uplands of a world predicated on spiritual values. But this cannot be achieved without the settled will of the human family, and especially people of goodwill, to patiently and persistently work towards these ends.
As in Dickens’ time, the world is still in a state of flux, but today unlike the world then, the experiences of the last century or so, and quite literally the heat of battle, have forged a determination by people of goodwill to anchor those new lighted forms that will “measure up to the purpose of the Father”.