Transcendental intention means calling for the higher purpose such as God"s will or good-ness itself. It also means that personal actions are not confined to the limits of human life and society. Religious motivation is the first example. It prompts one rather to rely upon God"s will than on own understanding. Student Jane says: "Calling is a purpose which God intended for me." She prays God: "If Thou created me than lead me where Thou will, because I do not know myself entirely." The second example is a motivation on the base of regulative idea of infinite spiritual development. There are ideas about the purpose of life, values, virtues that give direction without limits. The commandments from the Bible or the non-religious "spiri-tual" aims of service for goodness in the world are the ways of transcendence. Therefore, the religious or spiritual construct of calling is: Faith - Gifts - Deeds - Religious or Spiritual Benefit. One has to realize one"s faith using one"s gifts for God"s sake or for the sake of the idea of goodness to prove that it is a calling.
4. Calling and morality
Actually calling appears as a living for a good purpose or for a good idea. Nobody would consider own calling as a bad one. Calling requires moral virtues such as devoutness, courage, responsibility, patience, tolerance. They are important not only to realize calling, but also to weigh it towards the other obligations. Calling itself obligates. "If it is a calling, one has to follow it, to fight for it to the last possibility", says Helen. I asked: "Can one betray one"s calling?" The answer of student Andrew was: "Nobody swears about calling and therefore cannot betray it. One should not forget his or her calling, but that is a right of a person to de-cide what is more important." Generally, more important are duties towards family, defense of own country, etc. Still, common is a position that one should seek the balance or at least keep
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a link with calling when cannot realize it for some time. Moreover, only those who are able to meet their obligations prove themselves as a mature people. Obligations are mainly social, whereas calling is personal. One must combine those social and personal levels. Responsibility enriches person and adds a value to the life in calling.
Morality cannot compel one to a calling. If not an existential anxiety, it could be enough for the person to live according to morality and other obligations. Morality in turn makes living in calling complicated. It can even conflict with a calling. Sometimes the calling of a person looks unacceptable for the other people, whereas one does not see any harm in it. For example, a tattoo master thinks that he is a man of art and makes his customers happy, but other people would think that tattooing is a wrong thing. Still there could be more destructive affections, obviously harmful to the society. I had a provocative question: "Is it possible to get a calling for evil?" To my surprise, I got once an affirmative opinion. One student gave an example: there are people who like to kill or who are naturally aggressive. If there is no war, they go hunting, go to police service, or realize their passion another way. However, having found their place in the structure of the society, they could fulfil some useful function. I asked: "What makes a calling of such a passion?" The answer was: "constancy, persistency, inevitability." One feels that was born to it and realize oneself in it. One does not think of doing something evil for the sake of evil. Such a person just does what is natural to him or her. Idea that calling is natural seems to be a core of that student"s obviously mistakable opinion. Calling is not natural. It is human and humanity is more than natural. Calling is not subconscious. Evidently, we need to gain an external benefit, to socialize, to serve a good purpose, or at least hope for beneficial consequences of our actions. Even that naturally cruel activity from student"s example becomes in fact positive and righteous if it serves and benefits the society.
Mainly participant students and teachers rejected the link of calling with evil at all. Calling cannot be demonic or diabolic. The interweaving of personal intentions with social evaluation and transcendental values with social benefits protects calling from being morally wrong or a mistaken. Nobody would think of calling contrary to the benefit of the other people. The obvious question about egoism of calling meets the answer that calling helps one to do the best and so to be useful in the society. Calling could look selfish only from some particular point of view, for example, for members of the family, etc. However, many think that successful people benefit the society and harmonize their surroundings. In the society a kind of a balance of various per-sonal callings is possible. Social structure of professions correlates morality and calling. Robert K. Merton said: "What, then, seems to be involved in the widespread push of professionaliza-tion? ... First, the value placed upon systematic knowledge and the intellect: knowing. Second, the value placed upon technical skill and trained capacity: doing. Third, the value placed upon putting this conjoint knowledge and skill to work in the service of others: helping. It is these three values as fused into the concept of a profession that enlists the respect of men." Therefore, "social invention of the professions institutionalizes altruistic behavior. The profession does not require practitioners to feel altruistic (although that might do no harm); it only requires them to act altruistically (at least to a substantial degree)" [Merton, 1960: 9, 11].
Good and beneficial aim makes the feeling of true calling and unites it with morality. Whereas calling and morality are of different origin, the first is rather personal and the last is social, both need a transcendental horizon of goodness. Maybe that is a point where individual pleasure meets justice, personal right becomes righteous.
We have got to add just a few moralistic theses to the topic calling. Who thinks to be called or have a calling should be able to hear oneself, the other people, and maybe the higher level
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than just a man. To some extent, hearing is also opposite to calling. Obedience is a great mor-al and religious virtue that sometimes prevents from persistence on personal calling. As for Christians it is definitely not a new thought. That is how we can understand the double nature of calling according to Hryhory Skovoroda. The philosopher said about the task to combine a personal inclination to some work and the general aim of looking for the kingdom of God: "Happy is a man who combined his sweetheart working with the general one" [Skovoroda, 1994: 116]. So that the general calling is what everyone obligated to and the personal calling is what an individual able to fulfill. We would add 2 more virtues and vices that are important or harmful for calling. The virtues are love and wisdom. The vices are laziness and fear. Virtues can help to get a balance in our life. Vices prevent from fulfillment our calling.
