The Five Being-Obligonian Strivings (Part VI)
Assisting the Perfecting of Other Beings
"...always to assist the most rapid perfecting of other beings, both those similar to oneself and those of other forms, up to the degree of 'Marfotai,' that is, up to the degree of self-individuality."
The first four strivings guide us inward: care for the planetary body, kindle the instinct for Beig, study the laws of creation, and repay our debts. The Fifth Striving is outward. It is the flowering of all of the previous work, the point at which the fruits of inner labor become nourishment for others.
The formulation is precise: it is not merely to help others, but to assist the most rapid perfecting of other beings. This striving is about conscious service, helping others awaken, not according to our fantasies or vanity, but according to what is lawfully possible.
Who are "Other Beings"?
The statement is explicit: "...both those similar to oneself and those of other forms." This broadens the scope far beyond human altruism.
Those similar to oneself: Fellow human beings, family, friends, colleagues, strangers, all capable of the same striving for Being.
Those of other forms: Animals, plants, and even planetary life (seen and unseen). In the Work, every form of existence participates in the great reciprocal feeding of the cosmos. To assist them in perfecting is also part of our obligation.
The Fifth Striving thus embraces a universal compassion: service to the Whole, not limited by species or tribe.
What is "Marfotai"?
The Fifth striving adds a mysterious qualification: "...up to the degree of Martofai, that is, up to the degree of self-individuality."
Marfotai means the crystallization of a stable "I." In ordinary life, we are a multiplicity of shifting selves, each with its own desires and fears. Individuality in the Work sense is not personality but permanence of Being; a self that endures beyond the fluctuations of mood and circumstance.
To assist others to this degree is not to make them saints or sages overnight. It is to support the conditions by which they may crystallize individuality, become real, and assume responsibility for their own development.
The Laws of Right Help
Helping others is not simple. Much of what passes for help in ordinary life is actually interference; rescuing people from their own necessary struggles, feeding dependency, or imposing our views. The Fifth Striving requires us to understand the laws of right help.
You cannot do for another what they must do themselves. Being cannot be handed over; it must be grown.
Help must be law-conformable. It must align with the person's actual stage of development, not with our fantasies.
Presence is the first help. Often, the most valuable thing we can offer is our own Being and our presence, attention, and sincerity.
Service is reciprocal. In helping others, we ourselves are helped; in giving, we receive.
The Sorrow of God and the Joy of Service
In the Fourth Striving, we meet the idea of the sorrow of our Common Father; the suffering of the Source because beings fail to fulfill their purpose. The Fifth Striving is the response: to lighten that sorrow by assisting others to fulfill their obligations.
This is not pity or sentimentality. It is the recognition that the Whole suffers when any part remains asleep. To assist others to awaken is to contribute to the harmony of the cosmos.
And in this service, joy arises. True service is not a burden but a liberation. It is the natural expression of Being perfected. Just as a lamp cannot help but shine, a being who has fulfilled the first four strivings cannot help but radiate help to others.
The Fifth Striving and the Sacred Sciences
As with the Third Striving, the Fifth Striving draws us into the ancient unity of knowledge and service. The priesthoods of old did not hoard knowledge for themselves alone; they used it to build temples to compose music, to shape social orders, all with the aim of elevating the Being of the community.
To assist others today may likewise mean:
Teaching the sacred sciences: geometry, music, mathematics... as languages of Being.
Creating objective art that transmits lawful influences.
Building environments (physical, social, energetic, and even digital, like this site) that foster presence and harmony.
Guiding others in the practices of self-observation, conscious labor, and intentional suffering.
The Fifth Striving is not only about personal kindness but about transmitting law-conformable conditions that make rapid perfecting possible.
Pitfalls and Dangers
The Savior Complex The most common danger is imagining that we can "save" others. This is identification with the role of helper, which quickly feeds vanity. Real help is quiet, unobtrusive, and law-conformable.
Forcing Growth We may try to push others faster than they can go, mistaking our zeal for their need. But every being has its tempo. The "most rapid perfecting" does not mean haste; it means the fastest rate that is lawful for that being.
Neglecting the First Four Strivings Without care for our own body, Being, knowledge, and debts, our help will be hollow. The Fifth Striving presupposes the others; otherwise, we risk offering only opinions or emotional consolidation.
Practices for the Fifth Striving
Conscious Presence with Others During a conversation, give full attention: listen without preparing replies, sense your body, hold awareness of yourself and the other simultaneously. Presence itself assists.
Silent Acts of Service Once a day, perform an act of service without announcing it: cleaning, giving, helping, or relieving a burdon. Do it quietly, without seeking recognition.
Teaching Through Being When with others, refrain from unnecessary talking. Let your own state of presence speak. notice its effect on the atmosphere.
Expanding the Circle Deliberately extend help to "beings of other forms": water a neglected plant, feed an animal, tend to the earth. Recognize that service is universal.
The Fifth Striving and the Law of Three
In the light of the Law of Three, the Fifth Striving can be seen as the reconciliation of the first four.
Affirming force: the movement of self-care and self-development (Strivings One and Two).
Denying force: the recognition of law and debt, which resists self-will (Strivings Three and Four).
Reconciling force: service to others, which unites self-development and responsibility in an act that benefits the Whole.
Thus, the Fifth Striving is not an "extra" but the reconciliation of the entire path.
The Alchemical Stage of Conjunction
In the alchemical cycle, after separation comes conjunction: the union of purified elements into a new whole. The Fifth Striving is this conjunction. The purified body, the awakened instinct for Being, the knowledge of law, ad the payment of debts, all converge in service. out of teh fragments of ordinary life, a new unity is born.
A Day in the Fifth Striving
Imagine a day guided by this striving:
Morning: On waking, you set the intention: Today, I will assist the perfecting of other beings as I am able.
Work: A colleague struggles with a task. You resist the impulse to show off your knowledge; instead, you help them find their own solution.
Family: A child asks a question. You listen fully, giving not only an answer but also your presence.
Stranger: You see someone in difficulty on the street. You assist quietly, without need for thanks.
Evening: You water a plant, recognizing it too as a being in need of nourishment.
Such a day is no longer ordinary. it is a thread in the great weaving of reciprocal service.
The Culmination of the Strivings
The Fifth Striving is the summit of the mountain. But it is not the end; rather, it is the beginning of true life. By serving others in their striving, we continue our own. By assisting their perfecting, we perfect ourselves.
The Five Strivings form a single whole:
Care for the body.
Awaken the need for Being.
Study the laws.
Repay the debt.
Serve others.
Together they describe the obligations of existence, the map of what it means to be human.
The Fifth Being-Obligolnian-Striving is the flowering of all the rest. it is the momen when inner work ceases to be self-centered and becomes service to the Whole. It is the act of returning what we have received, of participating consciously in the great economy of reciprocal feeding, of lightening the sorrow of our Common Father by helping other beings fulfill their purpose.
In this service lies joy. For te help others become real is to affirm reality itself. To assist the perfecting of another is to strenghten one's own Being. To live under the Fifth Striving is to live not for oneself alone, but as a conscious organ of the cosmos.
This is the true dignity of man.
Pierce!
September 3, 2025