@Ero asked me a question about Western mysticism's stance on finding a balance between love and power. I think a lot of people have a unhealthy stance on this spiritual paradox so thought I would post the answer in a separate post. This is an important subject IMO. One that is usually ignored by New Agers. If you are going to gain spiritual power, it has to be pursued. If it is pursued, why is it being pursued? As the Bhagavad Gita teaches us, the why is important. This was first hit home for me when I started studying Kabbalah. Jewish mysticism believes that one must find that balance between love/power, mercy/justice, etc. Ive noticed that the societies that have flourished the most in the world are also coincidentally societies whose mystical traditions do not reject power and strength. Societies whose mystical traditions celebrate weakness and passivity end up being weak in the physical realm. I believe we should evolve in all realms, as they are all divine. Many people think that if they are just pure love that somehow the divine will look happily down on them and shoot a lightning bolt of strength into them. It doesnt work like that. Strength/power is never given; it is taken through an act of will. Enlightenment is far simpler than most people make it out to be. Because of their lack of courage, they cant get over the fear of ego death. Devotees grovel at the feet of their gurus because they have the intuition that something is still missing but they dont know what it is. They reject strength and then spend the rest of their life hoping that a more evolved person will somehow impart to them what they unconsciously reject for themselves. The vacuum is never filled because they ensure it isnt. They cry, whimper and beg at another human's feet while feeling pride in their spirituality. Whether intentional or unintentional, the guru keeps his devotees dependent on him by keeping them weak. Power without love is evil. Love without power is impotent. It takes both to be balanced. Someone's ability to manifest love into the world is directly related to their power. It takes strength and power to lift others up. If everyone rejects strength, who is going to lift up the weak so they can learn to be strong? I think the best "why" is spiritual evolution. To reject power/strength because of the view that love and power cannot exist together is a shirking of our eternal evolutionary responsibility. It doesnt necessarily have to be for feeding the ego at all. I see finding this balance working like a guided missile. It doesnt go straight to its target - it is continually course correcting. How we find our balance is something that we need to discover ourselves on our evolutionary path. We must reconcile all paradoxes. If someone thinks they are not worthy of strength, then they arent worthy. If they think they are worthy, they are worthy. Whatever one thinks about themselves is true. We need to think carefully about what we embrace and what we reject.