The Silent Minority

by S. Poulos

limousines; he just wanted to go home. He would ask if he could organize a taxi for him.

  He saw the office and he burst in. The managing director sprang up from his chair with the hands in the air saying, "All right, all right Adam, I am sorry. I will make it up to you. The network will compensate you."

  "What do you mean? How?"

  The managing director sank back into his chair when he realized that the problem would be solved much more easily than he thought. Then he said calmly, "How about a month's vacation with your wife on a Greek island?"

  "Vacation for a month in the Greek islands with my wife!"

  "That is right. Everything paid."

  "Can I choose the island?"

  "You certainly can."

  Now it was the chairman's turn to collapse on his chair. This was wonderful news. They could go to Patmos to celebrate his new start; his new spiritual life. That would be a good symbolic gesture. Patmos of course is not a cosmopolitan island for vacations, but what he really needed right now was a place for reflection.

  "Of course... there is a snag with it," said the managing director while he was pretending that he was cleaning his desk."

  "Oh yes? And what is that?"

  Then the managing director started to explain.

  The vice-chairman when he reached the main area of the television station could not pinpoint where the Teacher was for they whisked him away immediately. He couldn't find the chairman either.

  He was appalled by the thought that he may not appear in the show after all, and that he may even not be there. He went outside to have a smoke and to think what to do next. He could not freely mingle inside with the crowd for he did not want to be seen by the chairman. He thought that he should lay low until the crowd started to move into the studio for the interview as it was broadcast live with an audience. He lit another cigarette and waited for the time to pass. How many cigarettes had he had today? He lost count. He opened a new packet. It must be his third one, he thought, and wasn't even seven o'clock yet. He had been a chain smoker for quite some time now, and his doctor had warned him about it. But who cared? One of the pleasures that were worth living for was smoking. He would not part with it for anything, even if they promised the Earth for him.

  Suddenly he realized that they put the audience in one hour before the show. He'd better hurry up to get a seat so that the Teacher or the chairman would not be able to see him.

  He rushed in and accidentally hit someone. He said sorry, and continued until he reached the door that led to the studio. To his dismay the guests handed passes to the doorman. He had been caught off guard for it never occurred to him that something like that could happen. He rushed back outside again to have a smoke and to think. He nearly bumped into the same guy who was waiting there for some reason.

  Outside, he lit a cigarette and sat on a chair, starting to consider the idea that he may have to wait for an opportunity after the show finished. This calmed him somewhat and he decided to wait.

  When they took the Teacher for make-up, Michael now the senior representative was free, for his service of assisting the Teacher was not required any more.

  He walked out of the room towards the main hall. His life had changed so dramatically since last week! His abilities had being recognized and appreciated in such a short time, whereas for other people it would take years and even the whole of their lives, and for that he thanked God. In this week he got a hefty pay rise, and an office of his own, but the most he got was freedom of action; freedom to improvise and make decisions that made him feel an important man. This work was not a drag any more. He loved doing it. He felt like an artist absorbed with his creations. That's right; this was the word he wanted to use to emphasize how he felt now for his work. He did not even think about the bakery anymore; that was something from the past. All these thoughts were turning and turning like a spinning wheel in his mind when a guy bumped into him, bringing him back to reality.

  But who was this guy? He was sure he knew him from somewhere but from where? He went to his office to do something concerning his work and when he finished he phoned the Teacher's organizer asking him if he would like to eat something in the cafeteria. He agreed, so they decided to meet in the main hall to walk there together.

  As he was waiting there the guy who bumped him before nearly did it again. This guy was nicely dressed but something looked odd about him. He looked so nervous, so Michael decided to follow him. He saw him going outside to light a cigarette.

  Michael turned back as he saw the Teacher's organizer was coming so off they went to the cafeteria.

  In the studio everything was just about ready for the show to start. The audiences were in their seats, the presenter was facing the Teacher, the lighting was on and the cameras were at standby notice. The order for silence and countdown was given and the show started.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, without a doubt he is one of the most controversial figures of our time. There is seldom a time when and wherever he appears that it does not cause discord, division and disruptiveness, so much so that it even forced the secretary of the UNO to issue a statement and I quote: 'The world has enough trouble as it is, so to sit idle and watch apathetically individuals roaming around the Earth causing divisions, conflict and disruptiveness is a new phenomenon that we have to tackle in its infancy. Therefore, with the new tools we have through WCFET and the international court in The Hague, we hope that we will tackle the problem at its roots.'

  "Now ladies and gentlemen I will unquote here and we will continue. What I want to say here is about the peculiarity of this case. You are either with him or against him; there is no room for indifference here. The opponents are agitated and overreact in an unexplainable fashion and his followers...

  "I don't have followers and I feel I have to intervene here..."

  "And now I have to intervene here, Teacher, and remind you this intervention will be deducted from your five," he said jokingly. Turning to the camera he said, "Don't worry, ladies and gentlemen; you haven't missed anything; it is something between me and the Teacher. Now what was the interruption all about?"

  "I don't have followers. I despise this word. It reminds me of herds. I demand the utmost diligence and alertness from my listener-readers. I demand the thorough examination of whatever I say-write. Sheep are followers; they follow their master blindly whether he takes them to green pastures or to the slaughterhouse. Man is not a lamb or a sheep, although I adore them... I think they are cute," he said, smiling. "Man is spiritual and that constitutes freedom. Spirit is free and has free will. Whoever claims that he is my follower; you can be assured that he is not. He is no more or less the same follower of a football team, of a religion, organization or a political party which I warn against daily, and which is one of the main stipulations of my message."

  "Anyway to finish my sentence, I will not use the word followers this time. I will use the word... I don't know with which one you'll be comfortable with; admirers perhaps?"

  "Now you may use whichever word you like. I made my point."

  "Fair enough and at last to end my sentence, his admirers call him the Teacher. In order to acquaint ourselves and became somewhat familiar with the message the Teacher brings, we selected various sayings and writings of his that we hope will represent the spirit of what the Teacher advocates. Ladies and gentlemen, when the time arrived for our team to select the material that we would put to you for this show, we were in a predicament as to what material we should select. We did not want to be biased in any way; on the other hand we did not want the Teacher to select his material either. We made the decision to take some segments at random so to be honest with you I don't have the slightest idea what is going to follow. We will start now with it and when I feel there needs to be more explanation or a query I will intervene."

  Segments of the Teacher's writings and speeches appeared on the television screens with soft background music while the narrator read them aloud, and whenever the presenter felt the need to int
ervene, the writings would stop to start again when the narrator started to narrate.

  The enormous speed towards distraction is such that literally whatever was unaccepted yesterday is welcome today and whatever is radical today is going to be the norm tomorrow.

  "Here obviously you want to emphasize the speediness with which things are changing today; the pace of life of the modern man; is that so?"

  "I could elaborate much more but I could say generally the speed towards distraction yes!"

  Nothing can hide any more. Everything is forced to show its true face.

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "There is a pressure in this part of the world that was never felt before since the creation. This pressure forces everything into fruition. Everything has to show its true face; nothing can hide anymore. I could spend the whole time we have on this topic if you want me to."

  "So you say that this hypothetical pressure is forcing man to bring out whatever he hides inside him?"

  "Exactly! Only it is not hypothetical but real. It happens now that we are speaking."

  Nothing is destroyed. Everything is recycled except man, which is the only created being in this world that can avoid this eternal incessant cycle.

  "Here we sure need an explanation. What do you mean by nothing is destroyed; surely things are destroyed. We witness it daily."

  "What I mean by nothing is destroyed is nothing 'disappears;' for everything is recycled and turns into a primeval substance in order to be rejuvenated and to start in a new mega cycle of evolution again."

  God does not intervene randomly or arbitrarily in order to reward or punish man. He did something more simple and natural. He defined his laws so man is rewarded or punished according to his deeds. As the saying goes; whatever you sow, so shall you reap.

  "That is a straight forward statement. I think we can continue uninterrupted."

  There is a vertical incessant hierarchy where the lowest point of it is earthman.

  "This surely needs an explanation, so please elaborate."

  "From God to Earth there are immense distances. For earthman it is impossible to visualize even the minutest part of it. In between there are worlds occupied by myriads of beings, entities, animistic beings etc. standing hierarchically according to their spiritual stand or value. Whatever is below Earth we may consider it as lost. This is why I stated that Earth is the lowest point for Earth may still be saved. Whatever is below that in essence is gone."

  What counts most is the individual where with his personality uniqueness and right evolvement makes a beautiful whole.

  "Pretty straight forward, so we continue.

  Truth is not subjective. It is simply the truth. We are using it as reference point although is liquid crystal and transparent. Truth was is and will be.

  "Continue."

  Happy are those who can go by easily with whatever nature provides.

  "Continue."

  How can a government be estimated as responsible and democratic when it is elected by irresponsible people?

  "Are you repudiating democracy here, Teacher?"

  "I am only stating here that democracy is as perfect or as fallible as are the people of that particular country."

  The mechanism of forming a caste, tribe, race or nationality is based on the natural law of the attraction of similar species.

  "I think you must say something about this one, Teacher. I don't quite understand."

  "What I am stating here is none other than the natural law of attraction of the homogenous species. This law determines where each of us is going to be born. It is not by accident where a man is going to be reincarnated on Earth; in fact it plays a major role for the evolvement of each individual. By this law the natural separation takes place of people with same characteristics which eventually in its' train brings along the formation of castes, tribes nationalities and races."

  "And what is the purpose of this law? Why is this happening?"

  "For otherwise in a given time stagnation would follow. Through these law variations of the human races appeared ever since the first incarnation on Earth. This variety stimulates and invigorates the earthman and makes life more colorful and more interesting. Without it you can be assured that stagnation would be imminent."

  "By what you say here, as I understand; it is of utmost importance to keep the variations intact. That means of the importance of keeping a race 'clean'. Do I understand right?"

  "You do!"

  "I can see another major confrontation brewing between you and the civil rights movements."

  "It may be so, but nevertheless it must be told."

  "They will brand you as a racist."

  "The ignorant ones will. Nevertheless the truth must be heard. Whoever has ears may listen."

  "How then would you visualize a perfect world dealing with this issue?"

  "Respect is the key word here. Respect the differences of people. If we do that the rest will follow naturally. When I say that; i.e. respect, it brings along responsibility, for in order to respect something you cannot undermine it by undercutting and chipping away the foundations of a building you are supposed to protect. The so-called activists, although their intentions may be good, without knowing it are cutting off the branch they and the ones they are supposed to help are sitting on. For the ones they are supposed to protect through their 'protections' are bound to lose their individuality and eventually their identity, and for themselves the variations and the spice of life that makes the world interesting. It is like putting water in a glass of wine. Try and taste it. It is not water anymore, and neither is it wine. To make it more dramatic, it is like mixing water with gas in your car. Try and see how far is going to take you."

  "And with this paradigm, ladies and gentleman, we are going to take our first break."

  "You came out pretty good," the presenter said to the Teacher. "You are a natural."

  "It is not me. My message is natural."

  The management of the network was elated. According to the instant poll through the gadgetry used by the audience in the studio reactions were fantastic and that usually reflected the behavior of a bigger scale sample. They informed the presenter to keep in the same format and not to deviate from it. It seemed like the whole world wanted to participate in this show. There was those who wanted the presenter to ask this or that question to the teacher, or suggested he should say this or that for each paragraph they saw on the screen. The network was inundated by telephone calls, e-mails and texts. Never before in the history of the network had the response of the viewers been so 'alive'. Everyone wanted to jam into it. It felt as if they touched a kind of a live nerve that animated everyone but each one for different reasons.

  Some of the callers were complaining that the interviewer should be more aggressive and more persisted with this or that question. Others thought that particular question should be clarified more.

  There were a few that thought the interviewer made a terrific job, allowing the show to unfold smoothly, and there were a few that were so privileged and happy to watch such an interesting and fresh show that clarified many of their unanswered questions.

  The production manager of the show encouraged the presenter to keep up the good job, and after the essential re-make-up the show started again. "We are back, ladies and gentlemen, to continue our discussion with the Teacher.

  "I must say regardless if you agree or disagree, it looks like that this show is going to be one of the most interesting of my career. So let us continue with the sayings and writings of the Teacher to see if we can feel the spirit of it."

  The competition and antagonism is dead. The only hope that is left now is cooperation, harmony and services.

  "Don't you find importance in antagonism and competition? Without that everything would be at a standstill and would decay."

  "Antagonism and competition have served their purpose up to now. But now man has reached the time of cooperation and services. The time that is allotted for ant
agonism and competition is finished long ago. Only through cooperation and services as we witness some spiritually alert people doing what we call volunteer work, can man make up the ground he has lost."

  "So we should all became volunteers?"

  "We should cooperate harmoniously with each other."

  The decay has already started. Everyone has been warned at least once here, in one of his previous lives or in the beyond before, but man continues to chase the symptoms but not the causes. The only thing left now is the crumble and the dust. The time that has been allotted for us has already lapsed.

  "Well, what can I say about that?"

  An instrumentalist is not necessary a musician. A painter is not necessary an artist. A bishop is not necessary spiritual.

  "Straight forward; we continue."

  What is missing and is needed by the people most is paradigm.

  "Continue."

  Everything bears witness of the existence of God. Everything glorifies God except the most beneficial one of all beings; man.

  "How can you say that, Teacher, when millions if not billions around the world in churches, mosques and temples daily praise and glorify God?"

  "You are not praising or glorifying God by lip services once a week. Man's praise to the Lord should be minutely, hourly and daily with his deeds. Whatever man does should be directed wholeheartedly to the Lord. Whatever man does, whether it is his glance, his speech or deed, should be truly devoted to God. This is how man should glorify God."

  The shy and blushing man differentiates from the rest simply because he does not pretend. He does not behave like the rest, which have promoted hypocrisy into an art.

  "What do you mean here, Teacher?"

  "When have you see last someone blushing?"

  "I must say, not for long time. I would like some more explanation here, Teacher, but I think I will leave this one as the time is pressing on."

  How many religious organizations make a holy man?

  "This is a peculiar one; what do you mean in this one?"

  "That even if millions gather somewhere in order to assist someone spiritually it will all be futile for the order and wish has to come from the innermost being of man."

  Faith is not adequate anymore; faith has to be replaced by conviction.

  "In this one, Teacher I must say although it seems straight forward, it is a riddle to me for how can someone be convinced of something he does not see? I can understand faith i.e. I believe that there is something somewhere there. But how can I be convinced of something I don't see?"

  "The majority of religious people of this Earth follow their religion readymade for them from their parents because they happen to be born in that environment. So they were brought up with the belief 'that there is something somewhere there' as you put it. That is faith. In order for it to become his own, hence a living conviction, he must re-examine the readymade belief he had through his parents, schools