Holy Spirits

I am often intrigued by the politicking, bitterness, anger and the rest of the bad stuff that thrives in so-called spiritual organisations. People in these outfits should have a burning desire to uplift themselves through proper conduct and constant and vigilant spiritual sadhana. But is it not weird to see precisely the opposite happening in these groups ? A casual observation reveals people in no rush to move along in the inward path. Some leaders are no exception either. What do we make of these occurrences ? In some way they detract from the credibility of the organisation in itself. When we see the type of wheeling and dealing more suited to political groups ?

Your guess would be as good as mine as to whether these people have ulterior motives. Some of their actions cannot stand up to scrutiny of any standard.
And I am not talking of what they do privately, which to me is none of any body's business. Some of the shenanigans of these spirits reads like a script from a bad movie.

You know the organization is on the brink of defeating its own raison d’etre when you see rampant acts, largely selfishly motivated.

On the other hand, should we accept these people and what they do in the spirit of “equanimity” ? What they do is their business, and it only matters to me how I take these acts ?

One of the tests of spiritual success which I often apply is the “aftertaste test”. How do you feel after the event. Bitter ? Angry ? Disgusted ? Fail.
Serene, forgiving, ascribing the best of motives for the other guy’s failings, unaffected by it all? Pass.

This approach would transform these elements to catalysts for our own spiritual progress.