Loyalty
What is loyalty and what does it mean to you?
The definition of loyalty is, “The devotion, faithfulness or allegiance to a person, group, family, company, community, cause, nation, country etc.”
It can also relate to our belief and faith in the Creator, in the Divine, an absolute loyalty to God.
“Loyalty is not a word, it’s a lifestyle” — Anonymous
It’s a virtue that we can cultivate throughout our life. We experience it through actions and deeds.
If you look at the Bible, the Torah, the Quran and the Vedas we see that the deepest truth regarding loyalty is God.
Scriptures in the Bible show us that even if we are faithless, we make mistakes or we fail, God always remains loyal to us.
True loyalty never ends. It has no boundaries and nothing is insurmountable. It’s a quality that we can embrace and aspire to having and becoming. It remains even in the face of adversity.
In Corinthians 13:7, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
In Lamentations: 3: 22–24, “We are still alive because the Lord’s faithful love never ends. Every morning he shows it in new ways! You are so very true and loyal! I say to myself, The Lord is my God and I trust him.”
This gives us the essence of loyalty. Regardless of your beliefs or emotional state or regardless of any hardship that you perceive, you still take action to follow that noble recourse to fulfill that loyalty to the God of your understanding. Then in turn, to the people that show up in your life that seek your loyalty, leadership, protection, love and caring.
“Ohana” is the Hawaiian word for family. In a much wider sense it includes not only one’s closest relatives, but also one’s extended family, cousins, in-laws, neighbors, friends, race etc. We are all part of the “family of mankind.” Loyalty starts with being loyal to what resides in your Spirit and is expressed through your heart and your true purpose. By following the Divine that is in you, loyalty becomes a way of life that shows up as every action that you do.
In Ayurveda there is a term known as “Pragyaparadh” it means the mistake of the intellect. It is where our intellect, mind and ego have lost the memory of Source, Self, Divine, God and we contravene the laws of Nature, the governing principles of Creative Intelligence through what we think, say and do.
Pragyaparadh comes from 2 Sanskrit words: “Pragnya” which means intellect and “Apradh” which means crime. It’s a wrongdoing or an offense in spite of knowing about the consequences of these actions.
This crime or wrongdoing is broken up into 3 classifications:
“Dhi” (intellectual) it refers to lack of intellect or ignorance. E.g. a disease or consequence occurs due to a person not knowing the ill effects of alcohol and they have a drinking habit.
“Dhriti” (awareness) it refers to when in spite of being aware, one does wrong things. E.g. a person is aware that smoking is harmful to their health and they are addicted to it and can’t or won’t stop smoking due to liking it or having weak will power.
“Smriti” (memory) it refers to the onset of disease or an ailment due to the loss of memory. E.g. a person is aware of the ill effects of refined foods and fast foods and makes a decision to no longer eat them, but eats them anyway as they have forgotten their resolve not to eat them.
In all the above examples we see that the body and behavior are being controlled by the intellect and ego rather than the spirit. When we stop leading from our spirit, we stop making decisions from the level of the Pure Consciousness that is within us.
However when we do operate at the level of the spirit, we experience the true aspect of Smriti, which is “spontaneous right action.”
“Pragyaparadh or “mistake of the intellect” when the intellect, drawn toward and influenced by material consciousness, loses connection with the wholeness of consciousness. This is when we stop being centered within ourselves.” — Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
How do you cultivate loyalty and the other finer qualities of Pure Creative Intelligence? By making a choice to lead with your spirit and connect with the God of your understanding, with the Divine that is within you.
The Creator is loyal to us.
In Deuteronomy 7:9 “Know that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commands.”
The Divine that is within us, fills us with inspiration and breathes us, beats our heart, maintains our body temperature, fights off pathogens, repairs, restores and rejuvenates our physical body, nourishes our spirit, brings us joy and enthusiasm and encourages us to grow and evolve as a human being and be a living example of this grace that resides in us. This is where loyalty emanates from.
What will you choose?
Originally published at https://www.dezikoster.com on November 21, 2019.
