© 2001 The Brotherhood of Man Library
“Morality is the essential pre-existent soil of personal God-consciousness, the personal realization of the Adjuster’s inner presence, but such morality is not the source of religious experience and the resultant spiritual insight. The moral nature is superanimal but subspiritual. Morality is equivalent to the recognition of duty, the realization of the existence of right and wrong. The moral zone intervenes between the animal and the human types of mind as morontia functions between the material and the spiritual spheres of personality attainment.” (UB 196:3.25)
The first part of the first sentence needs much careful thought:
“Morality is the ESSENTIAL pre-existent soil of personal God-consciousness, the personal realization of the Adjuster’s inner presence. . . ”
The direct implication is that a lack of morality will prevent us from attaining personal God-consciousness and any meaningful relationship with our Adjuster.
Morality is something that is progressive, a learning experience throughout our lifetime. Experience brings situations in which right and wrong confront us and we have decisions to make. One of the functions of our Adjuster is to make us conscious of what is really right or really wrong—in contrast to what may merely conform to the mores of the society in which we live.
It is possible to be adjudged as highly moral yet not be either God-conscious or conscious of the Adjuster presence within. Possibly many of the Pharisees of Jesus time were in this category.
Having learned what is really right in a particular experiential circumstance, then choosing the right brings moral growth. As our experience increases so our morality has the opportunity to grow.
We can, indeed must, progressively grow to be more and more moral. But we cannot grow backwards, we cannot really become less moral. All we can do is to reject our previous moral growth—hence becoming immoral even amoral.
The backward step that engenders immorality would appear to cut us off from God-consciousness and from realization of the Adjuster’s presence. It is a rejection of what we know to be right because our Adjuster gave us that knowledge. Hence it amounts to a rejection of God, for the Adjuster is the indwelling spirit of God.
Can we be partially moral, partially God-conscious? To partially comply with what we already know to be moral is a result of “my will be done,” in place of “thy will be done.” And we are informed that the God of worship claims all our allegiance or none. (UB 102:6.1)
So what is the alternative? At some stage in our lives most of us will have deceived ourselves and become “partially moral” (that is immoral) when it suited us. And though we might generate quite ingenious explanations in order to deceive ourselves about why we were right, the only reality available is the old-fashioned one that has now gone out of fashion—to repent and be saved!!
Repentance sometimes requires more than just a “sorry God.” We will know when we have achieved what is required from us—God consciousness and Adjuster realization will have been restored.
“Characteristic of Jesus’ teaching was that the morality of his philosophy originated in the personal relation of the individual to God.” (UB 140:10.5)
I see the better way and approve it. But I follow the worse.
Ovid, Roman poet
There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your hearts desire. The Other is to get it.
George Bernard Shaw