{"id":19360,"date":"2023-05-27T09:15:23","date_gmt":"2023-05-27T08:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennethsorensen.dk\/?p=19360"},"modified":"2026-06-01T14:49:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T13:49:16","slug":"the-way-of-active-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethsorensen.dk\/en\/the-way-of-active-service\/","title":{"rendered":"The Way of Active Service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Three men cut the same stone; one sees drudgery, one sees wages, one sees a cathedral. That shift of inner attitude is karma yoga in everyday life, and it costs nothing.<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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By Roberto Assagioli<\/strong>
Assagioli Archive, Florence
Original title: La Via Del Servizio Attivo<\/em>
Translated by Gordon Symons<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editorial Note<\/strong>
The abstract and contextual subtitle in this online edition have been added by the editor, Kenneth S\u00f8rensen, to support readability, navigation, and archival consistency. The original wording has not been altered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Abstract <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In this essay, Roberto Assagioli presents the way of active service: the spiritual path most accessible to everyone, requiring no special gifts or cultural level. Its practice is simple, dedicating everyday activity to a higher purpose. Three stonemasons cutting stone at a cathedral illustrate the point: the same action produces entirely different spiritual results depending on the inner attitude of the person doing it. The essay closes by gesturing toward the Heroic Way for extraordinary situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of the ways of spiritual approach or spiritual realization can be called the way of <\/span><\/span>dedicated activity<\/span><\/span><\/em> , or of <\/span><\/span>active service<\/span><\/span><\/em> . It is a way which is accessible to the greatest number because it does not require any special ability or inner qualities or cultural level. The simplest people can and have followed it, even better than the more sophisticated ones.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It means essentially, first recognizing the actual or possible spiritual meaning or higher meaning of everyday activity, and second, to actively dedicate it to a spiritual goal, therefore infusing a meaning into an action which by itself would not possess it. This is a higher correspondence to what we have said on the psychological level concerning many of the psychosynthetic techniques. That is utilizing conditions, situations, experiences, activities of daily life for psychological inner training. It can be called Karma Yoga, or yoga in everyday life. When speaking of the will, we have said that daily life offers countless opportunities for training the will. But, in this connection, we will deal mainly with spiritual aspects of this way of realization.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It can be called Karma Yoga, or yoga in everyday life.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A clear way to describe it, or to indicate what it is, is offered by the following story: In medieval times, while the building of the huge churches was going on, there were three stone cutters working near a great, unfinished cathedral. A man approached them successively and put to each the same question: “What are you doing?” The first stone cutter said: “What, you see, I am cutting these stones”. The second one answered: “I am earning my living for myself and for my family”. The third answered: “I am building a cathedral!”. Objectively, they were doing all exactly the same thing, but subjectively there was a world of difference between the inner attitude of each and therefore the spiritual value and effect of what they were doing. The third one was doing consciously karma yoga, dedicating his material action to a higher purpose, with the easy to understand subjective effect on things. He most probably was cutting his stones with more care and precision than the others.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n