Summary

The article emphasizes that personal transformation into love, kindness, and compassion is the true catalyst for global change, rather than external actions alone.

Abstract

The article "Being the Change You Want to See in The World Isn’t About Doing Anything" posits that the journey towards a more peaceful and equitable world starts within each individual. It suggests that recognizing our shared essence and embodying unconditional love is more impactful than external efforts for change. The author references Gandhi's teachings, highlighting that as individuals change internally, the world's response will shift accordingly. The article argues that this internal change is not tied to any religion or spiritual belief but is accessible to everyone, leading to a profound understanding of oneness and the embodiment of positive attributes like love, joy, and peace. It criticizes the "us vs them" mentality and advocates for a transformation that allows these innate qualities to manifest in all aspects of life, potentially leading to a ripple effect of change in the world.

Opinions

The author believes that genuine love and compassion are the foundational energies necessary for meaningful activism and societal change.
It is suggested that protests and movements lacking authentic love and compassion are ineffective and akin to "bowling for silence."
The article challenges the common practice of blaming others for injustices and instead encourages self-reflection and the softening of one's own judgments.
It criticizes the small ego-driven self that seeks to combat violence with hatred, proposing that true peace and love are our inherent nature and should be allowed to express themselves without the ego's interference.
The author asserts that the philosophy of Nonduality, which emphasizes oneness and interconnectedness, is often dismissed by cynics who fail to see its practical implications for fostering a more harmonious world.
The article implies that embracing our true nature as expressions of peace and loving-kindness can lead to a transformation that is recognized and felt by others, making loud protests and signs unnecessary.
It is emphasized that denying our innate oneness and kinship with humanity is detrimental, and that embracing this oneness is crucial for enacting the change we wish to see in the world.

Being the Change You Want to See in The World Isn’t About Doing Anything

The path to peace and equality begins in our inner world

Being the change you want to see in the world does not begin with changing the world you see. It begins with recognizing that the One seeing the world through your eyes is the same One seeing through everyone's eyes.

Here are Mohandas K. Ghandi's words:

“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme.”

“Be the change you want to see in the world” is how this has been summed up, and it’s a beautiful summation. The thought behind it is profound but simple, yet it is frequently under understood.

The kind of radical change that is needed today begins with seeing our true nature as unconditional pure love. This knowingness is powerful and grows more powerful as we deepen our understanding of it. It is the catalyst to being the changes we want to see for a better, kinder world. The love we are is the divine alchemy that allows you to become Equality. To become Kindness. To become Compassion.

You, the ego-you that you are used to identifying with and listening to doesn’t become anything. When you begin to embody the truth of who you really are, it just stops standing in the way of the becoming.

This is not about God, or religion, or even a personal spirituality unless you want it to be. Sorry Christians, but an atheist can become the embodiment of compassion. Anyone can do it because everyone is it.

Concerned people march and protest against wars because they care deeply, and don’t know what else to do. But without genuine love as the activating energy, marching for peace is like bowling for silence.

St. Paul said to the church in Corinth:

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

This is not to say action won’t happen, only that when grounded in authentic love and compassion as the activating energy, movements, protests and speech will be inspired and originate from a place of empathy and caring for everyone involved, not just those on our side of the fence who reflect our ideas and views. Understanding comes before doing.

Because we all are conditioned to the “us vs them” mentality the world thrives on, it takes patience and practice to change our perspectives and see ourselves and the people of the world in a new light. Intention is vital. You gotta want it! It takes courage to investigate who you really are. But understanding this path can be a big step to a better world, inner and outer.

If the change you want to see is more equality, being the change you want can’t be done through pointing fingers at the “unjust others” you see out in the world, but in response to seeing the judgement in your own heart/mind, softening it, and walking forward allowing equality to become who you are, in this radical knowing that there are no others; We truly are all One.

This Oneness expresses itself through unconditional Love, Joy, Kindness, Compassion, Equality, Peace, and Truth. This is Wholeness. The beauty of these attributes is in their causeless nature. They are inborn in us.

We don’t need peace; we are peace wanting to express itself. Love and Peace are our true nature at birth, not that small ego -you who wants to stomp out violence and takes pleasure in hating the haters. Allow the imposter, this small you who thinks it has to be in charge, to move out of the way, and the peace that passes all understanding is all that is left. Make room and it will step aside. This is being the change.

When you know your true nature as this peace and loving kindness, you show up as that in your relationships, at your job, when you go to the coffee shop, a school board meeting or dinner with the in-laws. You won’t need to carry a sign or raise your voice to be heard. This transformation is the “divine supreme mystery” Ghandi was speaking of. Love will be recognized. Truth will be heard. Joy will spread. Kindness will respond to Kindness. The “tendencies in the world”, as he called them, begin to change.

Inner change ignites outer change, and it can spread like wildfire when we let it.

I’ve only skimmed the surface here of the philosophy of Nonduality (One-ness), and it has its detractors and cynics. Plenty say, “What good is all this Be the Change talk and We’re all One stuff when people are shooting each other?” Or similar grim “what about…” scenarios. That’s Tinker Toying with the words in a childlike attempt to avoid growth and escape the responsibility that comes with it. That’s clinging to the ancient way of separation and judgment that has never fed anyone, healed anyone, or prevented any violence.

We deny this Oneness, our innate kinship with our fellow mankind at our peril. To be the change we want to see in our world we must open our hearts and eyes to walk the path that returns us home to Wholeness.

Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. And between the two my life flows.

Nisargadatta Maharaj

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