Finding Oneself vs. Making Oneself

by Richard Kieninger

The young people who are most distressed with their world and who are the most confused and rebellious are those who are desperately trying to find themselves. In contrast, there are those in their late teens and early twenties who have already learned that they must make themselves be what they will be. The former hope to find fulfillment where they have not yet made an investment. The latter have been taught that a man can expect his ship to come home only if he has launched one.

Without making an investment in emotional discipline, one cannot enjoy peace of mind: without training oneself to achieve self-excellence, one is bound to mediocrity: without fortifying oneself against the demands of life, one is cast about helplessly by it. Self-effort and self-discipline are the keys to achieving the truly worthwhile advantages life has to offer. Indeed, no one has ever achieved Initiation in the Brotherhoods by waiting for his innate potentials to bloom of themselves. Enlightenment must be fought for, and victory over one’s smugness and laziness is universally hard won.

The person who earnestly seeks to improve himself attracts the assistance of the Brotherhoods. When he really begins to make headway over his short­comings, he begins to encounter circumstances to test him and make him grow. The more successful he becomes in acquiring the techniques of self-advance­ment, the more strenuous are the challenges to stretch his growth in a more accelerated way. Those who are best loved by the Masters seem most buffeted by life; yet the extent of the difficult circumstances brought into the aspirant’s life is limited by design to effect optimum growth and not to crush or break. A man is never tested beyond his ability to handle a situation; but unless he applies maximum effort, he will fail.

The challenges presented to those who would achieve Initiation into the Brotherhoods are not harsh, but they are exacting. When a man or woman becomes a Brother, the devotion expected of him is total. Then he enters directly into the hierarchy of the organization through which the directives of Melchizedek are carried out via the Great White Brotherhood (the highest council of the Brotherhoods, consisting of the twelve heads of the respective Brotherhoods with Melchizedek presiding) down through the Council of Seven, the Adepts and less-advanced Brothers. The Brotherhoods know that one who has been selected as an Initiate can carry out assignments and will not deviate from the work for which he is made responsible because he has proven himself many times over. The task of returning civilization to our planet is complex and the timetable precise. Failure to preserve civilization at this critical time could mean the loss of opportunity for advancement for millions of deserving Egos. The battle against evil entities demands unwavering strength and faith in every Brother, and Melchizedek has always expected that a Brother give everything to this most important of all programs—establishing the Nation of God. There can be nothing more vital to mankind. As Christ, Melchizedek frequently called for His followers to give up family and comforts and even to risk being martyred for God’s work. The main purpose for creating the Brotherhoods thousands of years ago will come to its consummation in our lifetime. The efforts of millions of Masters who have studied the successes and weaknesses of man’s every attempt at civilization are being focused upon the Great Program at hand. This vast concerted power of the Holy Spirit (the Lesser Brotherhoods) now being brought to bear upon the problems of preserving mankind become possible only through the dedication and discipline of its members.

Every person who would like to control his own destiny, emotions and environment is really seeking to bring order into his life. This requires that he comes to understand himself and his relationship to others in the context of his society, but first of all he must make the effort to study himself and analyze his situation. Since this calls for self-discipline and the likelihood of remaking one­self, most people never undertake the task, therefore, they continue to suffer what is actually in their power to improve upon. How senselessly self-defeating is the man who is without self-discipline.

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