“A deep reflection on the urgency of the times and a sympathetic recognition of the unhappy plight of humanity are much needed by many disciples and aspirants in the world today, particularly by those who are not close to the world situation but who are looking at it from a distance. It is so simple to give a facile expression of sympathy but at the same to avoid too great an expenditure of energy in service and too intense an effort to be of assistance.

 

The hall mark of the pledged disciple and a quality which should increasingly dominate his life is the capacity to identify himself with the part of with the whole- as seems needed at any particular time. Such an attitude involves a comprehensive sweep of love, and this leads to inclusiveness and to the pledging of the life service to the greatest number and to the most needy. If I were asked to specify the outstanding fault of the majority of groups of disciples at this time, I would say that it is the expression of the wrong kind of indifference, leading to an almost immovable pre-occupation with their personal ideas and undertakings. These militate against the group integration and tend to block the work.

…one of the major undertakings of the accepted disciple….is to transform himself from a well-intentioned idealist into a man of action on behalf of humanity.”

Discipleship in the New Age, Vol 1, 82-83.