A moral dilema

There was a point in my journey to enlightenment when the study of the scriptures and the daily meditation practice started manifesting into changes in my emotional and spiritual being.
I started to be more aware of other people’s problems and suffering.
I found myself feeling more responsible for the way the world around me was. More compassionate.
I started getting involved in charity and the community efforts to help others.

It was a great feeling; finally doing something, finally being part of the solution and not of the problem.
But the more I got involved the more problems and causes seem to pop up.
The more I give the more I was asked to give and the problems did not seem to get any improvement, the problems seemed to get worse.

After a while the giddy feeling wore out and I started to feel burned out instead.
I even had feelings of being taken advantage of and my good will being abused.
I felt that I was not making any difference after all and that it was a futile, un-winnable fight.
I got frustrated, depressed and finally resentful.
This enlightenment thing felt like another scam and false promise.

I kept my meditation practice and I was still reading – I am addicted to books :)
I guess you might say that I lost faith in myself but I never lost faith in God.
For one thing I have learned and hold as absolute truth – God does not make mistakes, I do.
So I kept contemplating the world and people around me, looking for an answer.

I realize that the world is a dynamic place.
It is not like if you stop a war, a famine, an epidemic or any other crisis, peace and harmony will reign forever.
I realize that while on one side you are busy stopping a war or a famine – on the other side other people are starting another war or creating a new crisis.

When the world is spending billions of dollars on waging wars it is very difficult to have world peace.
When corporations are making billions of dollars in profit from world famines and epidemics it is very difficult to have a world of harmony and compassion.

It is not that we can not stop the wars, famine or crisis.
That is not the problem that is not the difficulty we face.
The real fight, the real challenge, is to make people aware of the evil they perpetrate.
The real solution is to convert all the people to switch from the evil side to the side of goodness.

Wars will stop when people will refuse to carry guns and kill each other in the name of God, democracy or any other reason.
Famine will be extinct when we will replace greed with compassion.
Crisis will cease to exist when humanity replaces hatred with love.

I know it all sounds highly idealistic and highly improbable but it is the only real answer.
The world has to change one person at the time – starting with you.