"We don't have free will to be stupid or ignorant"...says my friend.

[Sacred Fool]

According to the ideology, if the good guys were allowed to show themselves, the bad guys would be granted the same privilege and that could cause complications.

Anyhow, one deeper point is that people must needs develope the discipline to find the Truth within themselves. External appearances of fancy teachers is a secondary concern.

*** I'm assuming that the 'discipline' would most especially include meditation on a consistent basis?

I would say so.

There are some wonderfully cool stories in the Puranas about how slick Maya is. To train your mind on truly distinguishing illusory "material" from the other is no mean feat. It's just so seductive to drift back towards being enthralled by the new things that beckon exploration. Not that exploration is bad, but the enthrallment tends to distort perception of the greater whole, as I'm sure you know.

Mystics the world over concur that experiencing Divinity within is the main goal. None of them can make that process easy, however.


Anyhow, returning to your main point, your friend has struck a balance between wisdom & love in favor of exertion and such. How balanced that conclusion will appear to him 15 years hence is something to keep an eye on. I don't feel that he's wrong that we all have a responsibility to serve as diligently as we can, but there's a broader context to be considered as well--in fact, more than one. Perhaps with broader wisdom a perspective that vibrates with more love will follow?