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The Art of Co-operation by Benjamin Creme - A book review by McNair Ezzard Beauty lives in conscious co-operation. A cursory assessment of our world shows a level of problems that appear insurmountable - poverty, war, hunger and environmental ruin. So entrenched are we in our conditioning to self-destruction an optimistic view of the future can be hard to come by. A better world seems as illusory as the morning mist disappearing in the sun's light. In his 10th book, The Art of Co-operation, British author Benjamin Creme counters this pessimistic view. For those who look to the future with dismay, The Art of Co-operation is a manual for hope - showing us what our challenges are and the steps we can take to overcome them. According to Creme, the problems we face are the effects of a dying system. The old political and economic structures are crumbling - but in the distance a new civilization awaits us. How do we get from here to there? The way, says Creme, is through co-operation. Creme prefaces a sobering analysis of our problems with two inspiring articles from his Master, both about co-operation. In the first article, from which the book's title is taken, Creme's Master speaks about co-operation as the key to our salvation. One might think that something so basic as learning to co-operate would have little effect, but if He is to be believed, it is the simple answer to our problems, and will lead to a better world for all people: ...through co-operation alone, he says, men will learn the true art of living... Through co-operation the new civilization will be built, the new science revealed, the new understanding manifested. Thus will men grow together in the discovery of their divinity. Thus will they know the joy and happiness of such togetherness (p.2). The answer is simple, but we find it hard to grasp. There is a barrier that prevents us from understanding co-operation's importance. The barrier is a deep-seated materialistic outlook that reflects itself in a competitive attitude in almost every area of life - in the family, in groups and on the international level between nations. It starts early in childhood when we learn to compete for our parent's affections and is reinforced as we grow through the impact of our societal and economic structures. Creme says: Competition is so rife today. It is the very nature of our political and economic systems (p.5). Competition does not stand alone. It is built on a foundation of fear, which underlies our whole approach to life. We think there is not enough to sustain us. The creator has not considered our needs. So we grab what we can and take more than we need, individually and collectively. This is a no-win situation, because our pursuit for more coupled with overpopulation and dwindling resources has brought us to an impasse. Creme tells us we have to take a new approach if we want to move away from fear and competition and towards co-operation. That new approach requires sharing. He says Maitreya will tell us, Trust Me, trust life, trust yourself, trust the God within, and share the resources of the world (p.20). When humanity accepts sharing as the way forward and creates justice, competition will come to an end and a renewed trust in life will be ours. Maitreya and the Masters will show us what true co-operation means. As Creme's Master says, The Masters, your Elder Brothers, are not strangers to co-operation. In all that They do, co-operation plays a central role. It could not be otherwise in the manifested Brotherhood where the canker of competition is unknown. It is Our earnest desire that men learn the art of co-operation, and to this end shall We act as mentors, teaching through example (p.2). We don't have to wait for Maitreya, however. We can start co-operating now. It may be hard, especially for adults, so set are we in our ways. It is easier for children, who can be moulded, and taught by their parents how to co-operate, says Creme. We don't have much choice, however. We either learn to co-operate, or we face an unfortunate future. Unity Words like unity and love are used quite often as part of the new-age vernacular, with people seldom realizing their deeper meaning. But to learn about unity in the context presented by Creme, the reader comes to realize that unity is a sacred idea. Even more than an idea, it is a reality. Those who experience it have been blessed by a quality that originates in the Mind of God. Unity is a thing of beauty when it comes to fruition, writes Creme. We are one. The proof of it is in the fact of the interconnectedness of all atoms. And we are all built of the matter of these atoms. This is the reason there cannot be anything separate from anything else in cosmos. There is only the atomic structure of all cosmos. That is where we come from, writes Creme. That is, as the Master says, 'The Source of our Being' (p.196). As we look around us, we see a myriad of forms. But because of false conditioning we think there is only diversity, characterized by separation. This is an illusion. Our very nature, our reality, is the exact opposite of separation. It is unity. We are souls, says Creme. The soul knows the unity of life. And the soul's reflection, the personality, on some deep level knows this to be true and seeks to express this unity. Whether we are aware of it or not, we are seeking unity when we identify with something larger than ourselves - our family, a political party, a nation, or a family of nations. It is easy to see what the lack of unity between nations has created in the world. In most cases each nation pursues its national interest with little concern for what effect its action will have on the world as a whole. Fortunately, because Maitreya, the World Teacher, and the Masters of Wisdom have come into the world to help us, things can begin to change. Consideration of the greater good can determine our actions. Synthesis and unity can become the norm. Of course, as Creme points out, the choice for unity is up to us. The Masters never infringe free will. But once we choose it and work to make it happen, it needs to be nourished, or it will not last. As Creme's Master says, unity must be taken care of as a wise gardener cultivates his garden, tending carefully each new bud and shoot (p.184). Group work Group work is an important theme in many of Benjamin Creme's books and also in The Art of Co-operation. Co-operation and unity are vitally important for successful group effort. And in the same way that competition hurts relationships on the world stage, so too does it hurt group work and can impede a group's effectiveness. When those in a group compete for prestige or recognition, when they compete to impose their ideas on other workers, there you see the face of competition. Competition in a group means the personality is at work and not the soul. When the personality is at work, there will inevitability be conflict. The question is asked of Creme about the degree of conflict a group can sustain without it affecting group unity. The short answer to that is none, he says. Every manifestation of conflict threatens the unity of the group (p.204). Group workers have to learn to rise above the conflict. They have to rise above the personality reactions, respond from the level of the soul and so give co-operation and unity a chance to grow. Glamour Glamour, according to Benjamin Creme, is like a fog. It is the greatest obstacle to co-operation and unity. The Master Djwhal Khul also wrote about glamour as a fog and characterized it as the build-up of all the aspects of those misconceptions, deceits and misinterpretations which we face in life.** Until we arrive at a certain level in consciousness, we do not even realize it is an issue. And unless we see it at work in our lives and apply ourselves to getting rid of it, glamour will cause us to continue acting in a self-defeating way. We move through one life and then another, lost in this fog, unable to distinguish the false from the true; and so we suffer. Creme provides examples of how glamour can even affect group work. He also writes about America and its glamours and the effects these have internally and outwardly in its relationships with other nations. These examples provide a disturbing picture of the pervasiveness of glamour. The aim is to free ourselves from glamour and to do this we have to become mentally polarized. As we become mentally polarized the light of the soul can work through the mental body to dissolve the glamour. But we have to make an effort to get hold of the soul's light. We do this through service and meditation, especially Transmission Meditation, writes Creme. Becoming mentally polarized is really a process of growing awareness. Starting out we may find ourselves in a bit of a conundrum. While we are in the glamour, we are not aware of it, but we need to be aware of it to find our way out. So we have to practise being aware - of the thoughts, the emotional reactions and the conditioning that constitutes the glamour - without judging the glamour or ourselves. Creme says, When you become aware the glamour disappears (p.96). When glamour disappears, the qualities of co-operation and unity will quite naturally emerge. Our strength Unity and co-operation - synonymous ideas that reflect the divine will. When we co-operate, we create unity. When unity is being realized, co-operation is the natural result. Both lead to the same end - a life without division, a life where sharing and justice are realities. For when we live in unity, when we co-operate, the needs of the separate self are no longer as important. The needs of the group, the needs of the larger whole prevail. Co-operation and unity are our strength. They are the way of the future. To gain them is to have hope. To lose them, is to do so at our peril. British philosopher Bertrand Russell once said, The only thing that will redeem mankind is co-operation . Benjamin Creme's book, The Art of Co-operation, shows us that this is truly the only way forward. Biographical note: McNair Ezzard has a Masters degree from the Iliff School of Theology and works as health care administrator in the San Francisco Bay area, USA.
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