Nº 146.– A Way of Living
Renunciation is a way of living. It has doctrine, ideas, working programs, meditation exercises, prayers and hymns, ceremonial, tradition coming from quite remote antiquity, Astral Protectors, courses and teachings, study groups and other little-known things, but basically Renunciation is a specific way of living naturally revealing the essence of those who are living it. Until the Founder’s death, those who lived the Renunciation and were part of the Order Cafh, the picture was obvious and expressed at every moment. The time passed by, the Order disappeared and the Message expanded globally. and many persons, who never have been in Cafh, are at once recognized as followers of the Renunciation. Even they create virtual groups helping each other studying and understanding the Teachings.
There are many ways of living. Twaregs in Sahara desert are living in a way and Eskimos on Canadian North in another way. Likewise on different areas of the world: one thing is London and another different thing is Rio de Janeiro. Religions have imposed private and social styles, and it is easy to recognize Catholics, Jews and Moslems, although they stay at the same block in a city. Differences are made not only by social standards but even by individual personality, fixing a collective behavior. For example, those who go to a spiritual retirement leave on a second plane their privacy and behave like the group does. Likewise if an individual pays a visit to a characteristic city, Moslem Istanbul or orthodox Moscow, he shall live like the majority does. He cannot do otherwise under risk of being marginalized. In Western civilization covering the entire planet with its social and informative instruments, an individual is living from outside to inside. The mass imposes forms and the individual behavior is subordinated to moments of intimacy, dreams and family to certain extent, not entirely because communication devices invade with impunity homes, seducing, convincing and standardizing the behavior of little-resistant people.
A TV Mass from the Vatican every Sunday is imposed over those faithful who go to the church of their neighborhood. Toyota is flooding with its models the middle class motivation. Football matches on stadiums and TV have moved young persons away from sport games. Vogue windows are filling with fantasy the minds of women that because of it many times do not pay attention to arrange their homes. It is life coming from outside to inside. The inner side is empty.
Many spiritual organizations have a doctrinal apparatus of first-level with philosophies and information, but they tell nothing about ethics –a personal way of living. The Theosophical Society prevails through its books in all languages of the world since more than a century ago. However, philosophers are like everybody through their personal behavior and nobody recognizes them by a differentiated ethics. The same can be said about members of Lodges, spiritual Sects, and churches. Nobody recognizes a priest without ceremonial attire if he does not tell it. Such concept could become standard in all religions that, desiring their dissemination and more followers, are surrendered to the masses adopting their worldly habits. In Cafh, it occurred like that after developing a spiritually-proper way of living. After the Founder’s death, changes were gradually made as to ideas and regulation so that the Sons, particularly those who were Ordained, might be merged with society, becoming the mass. May trips made by Pope John Paul II and the present Pope have a meaning and effects, addressing to multitudes through crowded shows? This is not Pastoral.
Political parties are different through ideologies that do not influence particularly personal habits. They are rather organizations seeking power in a nation by means of electoral and other systems, including coups d’état; but in fact life continues as before. Electoral programs are ambitious and promising, but as they reach government positions are unable to change the reality of all days. One of the stronger Obama’s promises was to close Guantanamo prison eliminating tortures; months have passed and nothing has changed, although he is the Commander has the power. The same can be said about all world organizations of any kind –scientific, diplomatic, religious, fraternal, ecologist ones, et cetera. There is a proliferation of ideologies and no chance of forms in real life.
Renunciation is a way of living, and the Teachings are a guide –historic information about Humanity of the past to place individually the student on the Evolution, exercises training the mind in different ways through proper themes so that he may learn how to meditate naturally, descriptions of the physical body helping and keeping an harmonious physical and energetic state, and devotions to stand sadness and suffering. Moreover, Renunciation is a permanent query to watch over his march through the path correcting mistakes and righting detours.
A typical feature of living Renunciation is moderation in everything, a balance between different moments of daily experience, a harmonious state of different bodies –sentimental, physical and mental bodies– because a being is ever watchful not to be carried away by any good or bad , selfish or carefree, covetous or liberal tendency. Unbalance is not Renunciation.
On the Regulation of Cafh, that is part of the Method, many rules on daily behavior are written down in relation neither very cold or very hot food, clothes, sleeping time, entertainment and social relations, and one can see in all of them that quality of Renunciation: moderation.
Hence one can deduce that life of Renunciation is not the practice of such or such virtue, which might push a man to an unbalance that is so usual in spiritual paths, but integral qualities depending on the personal capacity. If the individual is easily socializing on all levels with quite different persons and remains ever expansive and good-humored, sharing conversations and smiles, he shall be able to curb that outstanding quality keeping certain austere demeanor so as to be in harmony with others and with him. As he is able to make descend his level of temperamental expansion, other virtues so far relegated shall start growing, for instance, silence. If he is eager to know what is happening in the world, what happens on such nation, how the world economy is going, he can follow a discipline advised by Master Santiago through one of his Teachings: he did not read a paper until the following day or, in case of receiving a letter from a friend, he left it closed for two or three days, and then he would read it. In this way he had under control any impatience or curiosity. He was an example of living balanced and everywhere, during a gathering of friends at a bar or presiding over a great social etiquette ceremony, the superiority of his soul, that was full of Renunciation, excelled. It was difficult to point out an outstanding feature, although he permanently manifested his authority of Knight Great Master. He could be quite above all items of human activities –financial, social, spiritual and political items– and as the result of his integral, harmonious being he was able to talk and help the humblest man. The Master had a family, wife, children and friends of the same age, thousands disciples from Tables spread through America, Ordained Community Sons, men and women, boys in colleges, and with them all he was invariably the same. Those of us who knew him have the best example to follow the Renunciation Way – an accessible, necessary and redeeming Renunciation.
Religions are open confessions of secular worships, steady doctrines, administrative apparatuses, and authorities. The Christianity, as the time passed by, was divided into several confessions: Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran creeds, and so on. They recognize to Jesus Christ; the Islamism recognizes to Mahomet although in fact they are also divided; Judaism has its political parties, Buddhists a Buddha, Brahmans their millenary traditions, et cetera. At another area, modern sects make much propaganda through communication media with much success as to public and followers. On other item one sees social ideologies of strong political accent, Socialism, Communism, Capitalism, the Greens, etc cetera. Recent groups are appearing and springing from new technologies related to communications, Internet, e-mail, Face book, Twitter, electronic games, et cetera. Moreover, cultural groups of third level, for instance, sport games in stadiums and TV, competitions, night clubs, drug addiction, homosexuals, pornography and, unfortunately, child abuse. Here is the prospective in the modern world, not counting wars, insecurity, geographic disasters and poverty totally filling the human space. Where is that individual that does not develop his own fortified “inner space”? He stays in whatever above mentioned niche, mingled with thousands similar stunned beings moving like a scared herd because of what is happening around him.
It is long time since the modern world advances without pause toward decadence. There is no way of escaping because the Planet is entirely occupied; the physical dimension is full. It is necessary to travel through other dimensions that are in man and not in society. It is indispensable to explore those plural worlds to have a personal inexpugnable way of living in relation to others, a spiritual bunker. One can get it through Renunciation, moving away as much as possible from that dazed and disordered world already pointed out. It is not necessary to buy a ticket for an uninhabited island; we need to arrange our daily actions as it is explained by the Teachings. One gets a way of living arranging our powers and tendencies, and harmonizing our inner world at the most convenient balance point. There are no two ways, but only one: the way of every one. That shall be the way of living that leads us to happiness.
José González Muñoz
February 2011
