For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.

Jesus
Matthew 18:20 (NRSV)

The circle of companions provides a field of freedom for pursuing truth in a spirit of love, harmony, and togetherness.

The circle is an ancient practice, used by so-called primitive peoples for tribal councils, for example. When Native Americans gathered in council, everyone had an equal voice. One's turn to speak was marked by passing a token, such as the pipe of peace, and one was entitled to speak without interuption until passing the token to another. The presumption was that everyone was speaking in an environment of trust in which truth could be shared about matter of moment. This was not merely a format for decision-making but a sacred rite. This tradition was revived for contremporary use by the countercultural movement several decades ago.

The key fundamental of the circle is sitting among equals, speaking truth from the heart, in an atmospehere where participants create a space for free expression and serving as mirrors for each other through active listening.

The speaker is also an active listener in the sense of allowing the heart to speak, while the mind remains the silent observer, aware only of the emergence of one's truth in the moment as one is moved to speak it from deep within. Indeed, one is often surprised to discover what emerges from the depths of one's heart when one is committed to exploring truth.

As a symbol of sacred geometry, the circle represents the equal relationship of the companions, all of whom are equidistant from the center. While we are all qauite different as individuals, we are all equal as persons, that is, as spiritual beings in the world but not of it.

At the hub of the circle is the Higher Self, omnipresent, in the name of whom the circle gathers in spiritual fellowship to pursue truth through inspiration and intuition. The Higher Self personified is the Master. In the words of Jesus, Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them. Krishna, too, speaking from the vantage of infinite consciousness, said that he is in all and all are in him (Bhagavad Gita 6:30).

The circle may also be conceived as an expression of the three treasures in which Buddha said that aspirants ought take refuge: the awakened one (Sanskrit: buddha), the universal teaching of timeless spirituality (dharma), and the gathering of companions dedicated to the pursuit of truth, relying on grace and guidance (sangha).

The circle is called in the name of the spirit of grace and guidance, however one conceives of this, for the purpose of pursuing truth. It is also an assembly of those inspired to aspire to the highest ideals.

Our fellowship is conducted in open circles committed to freedom for self-inquiry, self-discovery and self-expression, in which participants pursue truth by committing to honesty, authenticity, and integrity, as well as mutual respect and support. Circles of companions based on freedom, truth and love serve to culture the heart, inspire harmony, and cultivate wholeness.

Companions may also elect to gather in circles dedicated to a specific purpose. Participation in dedicated circles is on the basis of unanimity among those choosing to participate.

There can be no greater folly than that the aspirant quarrel with another over the pros and cons of this way or that, instead of concentrating on his own onward march. One road may be steep, another full of potholes, a third torn by racing rivers. Similarly, one man may walk best, another may be a good runner, a third a fine swimmer. In each case the things that should really count are the destination and the progress that each individual makes. Why should one who runs like a hare come in the way of another who is more likely to succeed at the pace of a snail?

Spiritual progress is like climbing through hills, dales, thorny woods and along dangerous precipices to attain the mountain top. On this path there can be no halting or return. Everyone must get to the top, which is the direct realization of the supreme Godhead. All hesitation, sidetracking or resting in halfway houses, or arguing about the best route, only postpones the day of final fulfillment.

The aspirant cannot be too alert about the path. The slightest lingering in the false world of shadows is inevitably an invitation to suffering that could have been avoided if the eye had been steadily fixed on the supreme goal of life.

The best of all forces, which can overcome all difficulties on the way, is the love that knows how to give without need to bargain for a return. There is nothing that love cannot achieve, and there is nothing that love cannot sacrifice. There is nothing beyond God and there is nothing without God, and yet God can always be captured by love. All other essential qualities will come to the aspirant if he follows faithfully the whisperings of the unerring voice of love that speaks from his own heart, shedding light on the path.

Meher Baba
Listen, Humanity
(New York: Crossroad, 1998, p. 186)

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Poetry by Michael Smith, Brisbane, Australia