For a translation of the mantra, see https://www.snatamkaur.com/post/gobinday-mukanday-mantra
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There is all the difference in the world between a community and a crowd. A community is an organism whose common life is pitched on a somewhat higher tone than the life of the individual member. A crowd is a mere aggregation in which the collective life is as low as the standards of the lowest units in the aggregation. In entering a community, the individual sets himself the task of living above his own ordinary level, and by his efforts to live for the benefit of others... Descending into the crowd, the individual loses his personality and his character and perhaps even his moral dignity as a human being.
*Thomas Merton. The Silent Life.
Thoughts of love bring inner peace, because when we think with love we are being ourselves.
*Marianne Williamson. The Mystic Jesus.
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Summer ended, and all of the flowers in the garden wanted to know which kind of flower was the finest. The pink roses said, "We're the best, for we were the first to bloom in the spring." The white daisies declared, "No, we're superior, for we have pretty flowers all summer long." The big yellow mums spoke, "Don't be silly, we're the best of all, for we're the last flowers to bloom in the autumn."
Each kind of flower argued that it was the best. But when people came to see the garden, they stopped disputing. The flowers were quiet and looked very proud, hoping onlookers would say they were the best.
One day, the gardener came into the garden. The pink roses fluffed their petals, wanting to appear the finest. The white daisies stood up tall to look superior. The yellow mums beamed in the sunlight to look the one without a second. All the flowers were sure the gardener would say they were the best. But the gardener smiled and said, "Look at all these stunning flowers!"
The gardener took a basket and put the pink roses in it. The roses were sure they were the most amazing, for he picked them first. But the daisies laughed at the roses, "Ha! You're not pretty enough to remain in the garden."
Next, the gardener put some daisies in the basket, and the mums laughed, "Told you! We're the most pleasing, for we're the only flowers the gardener left in the garden." Finally, the gardener put the mums into the basket. All the flowers began, as before, to squabble over who was the best.
When the gardener arrived home, he began putting all the flowers into a vase. First, he put the pink roses in, recalling they were the first to bloom in the spring. Next, he put the yellow daisies in, thinking of how wonderful it was to see them every day when he walked in the garden. Last, he put the mums in, keen to see the autumn flowers. He had been waiting all summer to see them.
The gardener put the vase on the table. He said, "I've got the loveliest bouquet. Alone, each kind of flower is lovely. Together, they're even more lovely!"
The flowers realized that each one had always been its best. But it was not until the gardener made a bouquet of all of them together that they became something more beautiful. They realized their arguing had been selfish and futile. Now, they were content—together.
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The grace of humility does not mean thinking you are messed up, unworthy, weak, and unlovely. The virtue of humbleness entails seeing you are anything but messed up. unworthy, weak, and unlovely, for you see yourself as part of the whole, not a part acting like it is the whole. There is no competitiveness when abiding in Spirit, for together, there is nothing to compete about.
Paradoxically, we are not special, for we are all special, which means no one is best or better. Or we could say no one is special, for special is a comparison arising in the mind, not the heart, of the self and not Spirit. Special versus not-special is a loveless thought, an illusion in a world that often thrives on trying to appear better than, even among many more holy, righteous, or enlightened than others.
We contribute to the beauty of the whole by being our beautiful selves. Individuality is not negated in wholeness; it is amplified by being a part of it.
Heartfulness radiates through the body and we become complete in our presence, and thus complete in presence with others and world. Our central being, our individuality, intensifies rather than diminishes, but never in a self-possessive way. Individuality orients completely toward radiant giving.
