As for the people of misguidance, under the influence of the soul and caprice, and the  dominance of sense-perception, which is blind to all consequences and always prefers an ounce of immediate pleasure to a ton of future pleasure, they come together in eager concord for the sake of instant benefit and immediate pleasure. Indeed, lowly and heartless worshippers of the ego are bound to congregate around worldly and immediate pleasures and benefits. It is true that the people  of  guidance  have  set  their  faces  to  the  rewards  of  the  hereafter  and  its perfections, in accordance with the lofty instructions of the heart and the intellect, but even though a proper sense of  direction,  a complete sincerity and self-sacrificing union and concord are possible, because they have failed to rid themselves of egoism, and on account of deficiency and excess, they lose their union, that lofty source of power, and permit their sincerity to be shattered. Their duty in regard to the hereafter is also harmed. God’s pleasure is not had easily.

The cure and remedy for this serious disease is to be proud of the company of all those travelling the path of truth, in accordance with the principle of love for God’s sake; to follow them and defer leadership to them; and to consider whoever is walking on God’s path  to  be  probably better  than oneself,  thereby breaking  the  ego  and regaining sincerity. Salvation is also to be had from that disease by knowing that an ounce  of  deeds  performed  in  sincerity  is  preferable  to  a  ton  performed  without sincerity, and by preferring the status of a  follower  to that of a leader, with all the danger and responsibility that it involves. Thus sincerity is to be had, and one’s duties of preparation for the hereafter may be correctly performed.

FIFTH CAUSE

Dispute and disagreement among the people of guidance are not the result of weakness, and the powerful union of the people of misguidance is not the result of strength.  Rather the lack of union of the people of guidance comes from the power that results from the support provided by perfect belief, and the union of the people of neglect and misguidance comes from the weakness and impotence they experience as a result of their lack of any inward support. The weak form powerful unions precisely because of their need for union.7   Since the strong do not feel a similar need, their unions are weak. Lions do not need union like foxes and therefore live as individuals, whereas wild goats form a herd to protect themselves against wolves. The communit y and  collective personality of the weak is strong, and the community and collective personality of the strong is weak.

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7   Among the most powerful and effective organizations in the West is the American Organization for Women’s Rights and Liberty, even though women are called the fair sex, and are weak and

delicate. Similarly, the organization of the Armenians, despite their weakness and small numbers when compared to other peoples, with its strong, self-sacrificing behaviour, provides another proof of our

observation.