Soul Sustenance

Experiencing Spiritual Growth Through Group Interactions (Part 2) 

As explained in yesterday's message, if you are living in isolation you don't become aware of the dimensions of your ego and, therefore, you cannot overcome it. 

Also, the beauty of group interactions or being a part of a spiritual community or any other group, is that in groups, various powers like the power to: 

* adapt and mould oneself with people of different personality traits and as different situations in the group demand; 
* tolerate; 
* face negative situations in interactions; 
* forgive and forget; 
* become a detached observer of situations and people's actions, not to get over involved, in order to maintain one's stability and calmness; 
* co-operate; 
* communicate; 
* see and absorb only specialties of each one (inspite of obvious weaknesses being visible) and spreading the specialties (not weaknesses) to the others in the group, by way of praising and not criticizing them; 
* listen, understand and empathize; 
* discriminate and judge different situations and people; 
* go into inner silence, whenever required, amidst the actions and interactions of group activity; 
* show respect to each one and remain in self-respect; 
* remain content or satisfied and make the others content; etc. 

are absolutely necessary to experience success in the groups, either within the relationships with others or even with the self. There is a difference between experiencing success with the self while staying alone and within a group. By bringing the above powers into practice in a group, they increase further inside us. This does not happen in isolation, or if it does, then the extent is quite limited. So basically, being a part of a group, brings about greater spiritual growth and empowerment.