Spiritual Health Learning Community Center Exploring Life's Horizons   »   Streams Menu Indeed, successful will be the one who purifies the soul, and, the one who corrupts the soul will fail. [The Qur'an 91:9-10] Betrayal We live in an age of betrayal. This disease has diffused into virtually every nook and cranny of society. There are few, if any, people whose lives have not been affected, in one way or another, by its presence. In fact, for the vast majority of us, betrayal comes at us from a wide variety of angles, both from within, as well as from outside of, us. Husbands betray wives, and wives betray husbands. The nature of the betrayal involves more than sexual infidelities, although that is, in itself, a source of deep injury and trauma. Husbands and wives also betray one another when they lose interest in the other person as a human being and, therefore, become increasingly open to sacrificing their spouse's essential needs for purely transitory, worldly gains or material/sensory gratification. Parents betray children when they abuse them sexually, physically, and emotionally. Parents betray children when they abdicate responsibility for nurturing the developmental well-being of the child and turn that task over to television or expect schools to accomplish the task unassisted. Parents betray children by drifting into drug and alcohol induced stupors, as well as career addictions, bequeathing to their children little more than a psychological, emotional and spiritual wasteland. Elected officials betray voters through failure to keep their promises. Elected officials betray their constituents by placing their own interests above that of the people they are suppose to serve. Elected officials betray their communities by allowing the special interests of the few to take precedence over the needs of the many. Elected officials betray their supporters by becoming involved in politics rather than implementing the true spirit of public service. Native peoples in North America have been betrayed consistently by governments and non-Native people. In fact, indigenous people everywhere in the world have been betrayed by their non-indigenous "neighbors". Corporations have betrayed their workers by exposing the latter to all matter of hazardous, unsafe and toxic working conditions. Adding insult to injury, many of these same corporations do not offer a fair day's wage for a fair day's labor. Many companies have betrayed the communities in which they reside as a result of being more concerned about profits than the pollution and ecological destruction which underwrites those profits. Corporations have betrayed the communities in which they exist through the manner in which they threaten, badger, corrupt and terrorize those communities in order to get tax-breaks, as well as government concessions concerning the enforcement of regulations involving safety and pollution. Lawyers betray their clients when they violate their fiduciary responsibilities to the latter. These betrayals range from: embezzling funds; to cutting deals which are not necessarily in their clients' best interests; to going through the motions and, thereby cheating their clients of commitment, energy and an effort worthy of the money they are being paid. Lawyers have betrayed the communities in which they practice by helping to create and perpetuate the mess we call our judicial system. More than a few therapists have betrayed their clients. More than a few doctors have betrayed their patients. More than a few banks have betrayed their customers. More than a few educators have betrayed their students. More than a few religious leaders have betrayed their congregations. More than a few leaders have betrayed their countries. More than one race has betrayed people of other races. More than a few papers have betrayed their readers. More than a few pro-athletes have betrayed their fans. More than a few friends have betrayed their comrades. Seemingly, there is no end to the list of betrayals which shape, color and modulate so much of our lives. However, there exists one kind of betrayal without which none of the foregoing myriad forms of betrayals likely would occur. Most of us betray ourselves. We betray our essence. We betray our spiritual potential. We betray our true identities. We betray our humanity. We betray our integrity and character and honor. We betray our relationship with God. One cannot betray others unless one has first betrayed oneself. Once one has betrayed oneself, everyone else is relatively easy. If one is willing to betray oneself, who does not become a target of opportunity for such treachery? If one cannot prevent oneself from betraying oneself, how can one stop oneself from betraying other people? We betray others and ourselves through our insensitivity and selfishness. We betray others and ourselves through our emotional immaturity. We betray others and ourselves through our broken promises, commitments and undertakings. We betray others and ourselves through the absence of love in our lives. We betray others and ourselves through our failure to be forgiving, patient, honest, forbearing, compassionate and generous. We betray others and ourselves through our refusal to be understanding and encouraging and supportive. The Sufi path is designed to assist the individual to learn, among other things, how to stop betraying himself or herself. Sufi masters help us to become aware of the sources of such betrayal, as well as help us to become sensitized to the way in which the betrayal process works. Through God's blessings of support, the teachers of the Sufi path lead people toward an understanding of what self-respect and self-esteem entail. Once we come to an essential appreciation of what and who the true self is, we will have developed, God willing, a powerful antidote to the disease of betraying ourselves and others. The terrible condition of the world is as it is because our spiritual conditions are what they are. Each person is responsible for his or her contribution of betrayal to the day-to-day life of the world. If we want the world to change, we must first change ourselves. We must learn how to stop betraying ourselves so we can stop betraying others. | Return to Streams Menu | Copyright © 2004 Interrogative Imperative Institute. All Rights Reserved.