Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 176

Is There Slander Toward a Friend?

Slander is when a friend repeatedly says things such as, “One must dedicate one’s whole life to this. Maybe twenty years will pass before I begin to feel or attain something. Who can do this? Who would choose such a difficult path?” That friend is dripping poison into you. He discourages you. When you hear his words, that question will keep echoing in your ears throughout the entire path, and you will no longer be able to get rid of it. You will have to constantly deal with it. Therefore, we must not listen to such words.

When a friend speaks slander it weakens us, diverts us from the path and from the goal, and introduces unnecessary and destructive thoughts. Slander works against us. Perhaps the path will take twenty years, but in the end I will arrive. If I become discouraged in advance, I will only waste a few more lifetimes and will eventually return to the same point. Therefore, we must not listen to such speech. Moreover, if there is such a spirit within the society, it must be removed immediately, without hesitation about whether or not it is worthwhile. We should simply “vomit out” that person from the society. A person who tends to speak such things in a society could bring about its complete destruction.

One person can cause great harm because he takes advantage of the nature of the listeners, which makes the work of destruction easier for him. That is the essence of slander.

If he were acting against the corporeal nature, he could not cause such great destruction. We have already seen how much effort is required to balance the good and evil forces within us. This means that we need to develop a discernment regarding what we see or hear, and what we allow into ourselves. We need to know when to open our eyes and ears and when to close them. If we hear something bad or weakening about us, it is very important to leave that place immediately.

We do not know how deep the influence might be. We think, “I will overcome it. I will strengthen myself even more.” Such thoughts are useless. These bad words will remain within us and return to us in various situations when we will not be so strong. There are situations in which, when necessary, we are given slander from within, but that is something else. Listening to slander that comes from outside is our own choice, and we must distance ourselves from it. Therefore, it is established that we need to constantly speak about the greatness of the goal and continually express love and all the good actions that people supposedly do for one another within the group.

Related Material:
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 175
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 174
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 173

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