Impersonality
Wisdom and Personality
Wisdom results when we ascend from our individual personality into the realm of Light which we call the ‘Buddhic plane of wisdom’. We raise our personality and immerse ourselves in the oceanic Light of wisdom. Then we are able to transmit the Will, Love and Light of the soul into the personality. This way, we become less ignorant, less selfish and less individualistic.
The aim of all wisdom practice is to offer our entire personality to the impersonal Light of the Soul and to the Plan, which is carried out through the Will, Love and Light of the Soul. Under the Light of the Soul, in our daily endeavour we are able to transcend the personality - our own viewpoints, opinions and judgements - and enter into the vision of the Soul. In order for our personality to become a channel through which the soul can express itself, the personality becomes transparent and impersonal. Only then can the Light of the Soul radiate through us into the world.
According to the Masters of Wisdom, our spiritual growth consists in moving from personality to impersonality, to an expanded state called of initiation. The Masters consider it a great illusion in human thinking to measure spiritual development by the personality, because through many self-centred thoughts we limit ourselves. Individuality, personality and strong personal viewpoints limit our own person more and more. The more civilised and developed we are in a worldly sense, the more solidified and individualised we become. Our own personality thus prevents our growth and becomes a prison for the soul.
From a strong personality, we try to lead a life on our own self-imposed terms. Strong personalities do not allow the energy of the soul to permeate us. No matter how much we associate ourselves with the teachings, no further wisdom comes in. Although we may have been listening to wisdom and doing wisdom exercises for many years, little changes occur in our behaviour. We remain as we are - with our fixed views and our set ways of doing or speaking. We do not sacrifice a single point of view on the altar of impersonality. As far as we are personal, we personalise our knowledge and our abilities. We even personalise the light that passes through us. This is called ‘working for one's own benefit’ or ‘self-interest’.
The purpose of wisdom teachings is to overcome these attitudes and live in an impersonality where wisdom prevails instead of personal viewpoints. Instead of promoting our personality, we are to promote the divine within us by aligning ourselves with the divine. The soul, connected to the Divine, enables effortless coordination of the personality with the soul. The Divine gives us skills, knowledge and the appropriate light so that we can bring all these gifts into our environment. Whatever abilities we have, we offer them to help others. As long as we do not live in this spirit of offering, we will not rise from the limited state of our personality.
The Action of Initiates
Under the light of the Soul, we often sacrifice personal comforts and advantages in order to serve others. We see that our work benefits others, and in doing so we forget ourselves. Through a life of offering, we unfold ourselves; the limiting aspect of our personality slowly dissolves. The personality becomes more transparent, and through a transparent personality the Light of the Soul can shine forth. Then we can also understand and impart wisdom directly, without it being coloured by our personal points of view. Initiates offer themselves - their thoughts, words, and actions - and as a result, divine openings happen within them. Wherever they are, light and magnetism impersonally emanate from them.
The personality of an Initiate does not have its own views and fixed positions. An Initiate does not plan in advance how he will proceed, he is always guided by the position of others. He does not set tasks for which he would try to work. He does not approach tasks, they come to him. He is in no hurry to get things done but tackles them as they come to him. Above all, he has nothing to say about his personality. He doesn't bring up anything from his past to shower others with it, because it's all in the past. He is only concerned with what needs to be done immediately. Personality has no quality of its own for him. His impersonal action is a spontaneous activity of the soul acting through the personality. When it happens, the Initiate rejoices in the transmission of Light. That is all.
How do we know whether something we do is impersonal or personal? If we dwell on the details of an action we did yesterday, the day before yesterday or any other time, this is a clear indication that we are living with the past and that our mind is influenced by past actions. With impersonal action, we are only concerned with what needs to be done immediately. We have overcome the feelings about what has been done or what should be done later. Feeding emotions brings a distortion of thought patterns.
Impersonal Thinking and Acting
We can perform any action; it is our orientation that makes an act personal or impersonal. So, any action can be transformed into a personal or impersonal action. If we remember that we are serving society, the action becomes impersonal, even though we may derive some profit from it. But if we do business only for the sake of profit, it is a different experience.
Master CVV advises us to scrutinise every action we take: To what extent is our speech or action linked to a personal motive and benefit? Acting is unavoidable, but if the action is impersonal, there is no chain reaction (karma). In other words, we do not create any consequences that bind us. By acting impersonally, we remain free of ties and do not create new karma. Motives determine the colour of karma. As long as we act out of personal motives, individual karma exists. By offering our actions to the universal life, individual karma is neutralised.
When we are impersonal, we are in the position of beingness. Then things happen that we do not own or attribute to ourselves. Through time and place, Nature offers us suggestions for action and we react to them. When Nature intends something, it brings it to us. We do not initiate action ourselves but react to the things that come to us through life. If someone seeks our advice, we advise them, if someone asks us to teach, we teach. We simply respond to the need.
Impersonality expresses itself as a flexible personality in which there are no limitations and conditions. This attitude is necessary for us to enter into the Light. For example, how do we respond when there is some slight disturbance in a routine situation? Can we simply accept an unpleasant situation? How do we accept it if something is missing in our fixed programme or if something changes? We need our set meals, our sleep and our usual temperatures, otherwise we get into trouble. For some, even giving up a cup of coffee is difficult. When we are working under the direction of the Soul, we easily adapt to life changes.
When it comes to interpersonal relationships, we are to build connections and engage with others in a friendly way. We create free connections that are lovingly impersonal.
In the New Age, the Hierarchy made the decision to work through the master key of impersonality which occurs when the personality is aligned with the Soul. This means that true teachers convey the Truth and the path that leads to that Truth. The true teacher leads from the background. Since many people still live on the emotional level instead of the pure mental level, the personality of every teacher is still honoured to a certain extent. However, the teacher does not encourage it in any way.
‘Learn, if you can, to remain impersonal’ is Master CVV's first and basic instruction. ‘Observe your thought patterns, take note of them and understand how many are personal and how many are impersonal. The Master promised to give us the strength to be impersonal.
The Master is the Master energy that works through Master CVV while he remains impersonal. This energy is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. Nothing can be personalised with this energy.
Sources used: K.P. Kumar: Hercules - The Man and the Symbol; div. seminar notes; Dhanishta Publications, Visakhapatnam, India. (www.aquariusbookhouse.com).