Such irony! Such a paradox! In order for us to be free, and especially for our souls to be free, they must be able to function in harmony with others. And, in order to be in harmony with other, they must submit to discipline.

    Unfortunately, discipline has largely become a four-letter word in our modern society. We all want to be individuals. We all want freedom. We all want to be able to make our own choices, right or wrong. But if we don't allow for discipline, there is no society, no harmony, and in anarchy, all our rights and freedoms are taken away from us.

    In order for the orchestra to have the freedom to produce beautiful music, the musicians must have the discipline to practice playing, to learn to read music, and to follow the instructions and guidance of the conductor. If you just have a bunch of people who say they want to be musicians and you give them instruments and tell them to go ahead and play something, whatever and whenever they want to, you will not get music. You will get irritating noise.

    If the artist doesn't have discipline when carving a marble statue, she is almost certain to hit a flaw in the marble and ruin the statue, or cut off pieces that should be left. You may think that some of the great art works were created by people leisurely playing at art, but that is not the case. Those who produce truly great art are always very disciplined in their work.

    So when a spiritual teacher tells us we must be disciplined to follow spiritual growth techniques, we should not be surprised or disappointed. Yes, we can all be free, do our own thing, practice spiritual development in our own way, and achieve little if anything. Or we can listen to the teacher, follow the instruction to the letter, and be disciplined enough to do our spiritual practices on schedule and to work with others in harmony so that our energies are synchronized and amplified. Then we will achieve real spiritual growth.