AGNI YOGA WEB TV
SERIES
„ASPECTS OF THE PRACTICE OF AGNI YOGA“
BROADCASTING 2
The Path of
the Interior Temple
Dear Agni Yogis,
Agni Yoga gives you a promise
that can hardly be surpassed in magnificence and beauty:
Everyone can live in Heaven,
in paradise, anytime, anywhere.
Even you, no matter how
terrible the external circumstances may look like in which you ended up.
The disciple asks: "How
can this come true amidst all the suffering and misery in the world?"
Before we start our exercise,
we must answer a number of questions. First:
To start with, you have to find out: What actually is a paradise?
"Where should I look?
Does it exist at all? "
Certainly not on earth. There
are no heavenly conditions down here! When you think you have found your
personal paradise, you will soon notice: Something always bothers: Barking
dogs, biting insects, and most of all our dear fellow human beings who seldom
display the least consideration.
Next to a place of
tranquillity in unspoilt nature, a cement plant is being built. A monastery
gets under the flight path of an airport. So-called "vacation
paradises" are haunted by hurricanes, mountain slides, tsunamis
or riots.
Thus, we have
to recognize:
Paradise is not on earth, but
in Heaven.
"What do you mean by
Heaven? God's lap? An unreal dream kingdom above the clouds?"
No, Heaven means two different
things:
1. The highest world you can
possibly imagine.
2. Your true, eternal
homeland, in which you lived before birth and to which you want to return after
the death of the body.
These two are the same thing!
"How so? I do not
understand that."
Because in the Subtle World,
in the world of the soul, everything is created by your thoughts, your
imagination. That what you are dreaming of on earth is already a reality over
there! Your today’s longing for this place comes from the fact that you have
already lived there some time ago!
*****
Thus, what is your personal
paradise? How do you imagine the highest conceivable world? What does the
Heaven look like to which you want to return after leaving the earthly vale of
tears? Indulge a little in your dreams! Also remember the paradise lost from
which you were expelled.
Where, in which place do you
want to live in eternity? Imagine your true home in the Spiritual World! It is
your choice! Everything is possible!
A castle, a cave, a hut under
palm trees on the beach, a palace in Venice. (Neuschwanstein
Castle, Nicholas Roerich "Buddha", Ca d’oro,
Venice)
Just think it over: Do you
know models of a higher world? Have you ever seen any examples?
"A Greek temple above the
city, the sublime atmosphere of a Gothic cathedral, a Tibetan ashram in the
middle of a majestic mountain world or the charm of a magical place in nature –
these are the most beautiful places I have discovered so far." (Acropolis of Athens, Sainte Chapelle, Paris, Stonehenge)
And what are you dreaming of?
"I imagine a fortress in
the sea or a monastery on a mountain top, where the Masters of this world are
living, far above the lowlands of the earth, away from the struggles and wars,
in untouched nature, with clear air and pure water." (Mont St. Michel, Karl
Eduard Biermann "Monastery of Burgeis,
Tyrol", Monte Cassino, Nicholas Roerich
"Star of the Morning")
Well, there are as many
examples as there are dreams. Let us express it in general terms: We all are
longing for a place where
Purity, calmness, peace,
solemnity, beauty and joy prevail.
Truly, that is a Heaven! How
shall we call it with an earthly name?
A Temple! (Monopteros, English Garden, Munich)
Indeed!
Being able to live and work in
a sanctuary is the highest achievement a spiritual man can possibly imagine.
2. Living in Heaven
– a State of the Consciousness
How can we make this dream
come true?
How can we live on earth like
in Heaven?
We had already learned from
Schopenhauer (Broadcasting "The Significance of Consciousness"):
In
the same environment everyone lives in a different world.
This great wisdom tells us:
Our consciousness determines our existence. The same circumstances are
experienced and assessed very differently by the various people involved:
Namely according to their individual consciousness. One is already smiling
while another is still suffering.
In the same circumstances,
depending on the level of his consciousness, the one lives in Heaven and the
other in hell.
Accordingly, one of the most
important teachings of Agni Yoga is:
Each spirit creates his own
world, and the beauty or ugliness of the created world depends upon the quality
of the consciousness. (Infinity II, 719 [319])
Practically that means:
You yourself create the Heaven
or the hell in which you are dwelling!
"How do I do that?"
With the means of every
thought and feeling you are weaving on the world in which you live.
When you are full of joy, even
at the difficulties on your path, you are living in a beautiful world. When you
whine and moan and get broken by obstacles, you create an ugly world for
yourself.
*****
To date, this has happened more or less unconsciously. You used to think and feel in an
uncontrolled manner. Thereby you have shaped involuntarily the most diverse
worlds. Now we turn the tables: Now you direct your thoughts and feelings
consciously for the purpose of creating a very specific
world, namely the world of your dreams.
If you have a high, wide
consciousness, you can transfigure even the most terrible circumstances and
turn them into a paradise.
"How exactly does that
work?"
We had recognized several
times already and repeat here: The material conditions are insignificant. They
are only the external occasion for your thoughts and feelings (Broadcasting
"Exercise Inviolability"). Therefore, if you want to improve the
quality of your life, you should not merely look at the circumstances (which sometimes
you may be able to change, and sometimes not). Above all, you must improve your
own thoughts and feelings!
You have to
take a better mental attitude towards your material environment.
It is of the utmost importance
that you realize, we cannot repeat often enough, ponder in your heart until you
have really understood, the basis for everything else is:
Your consciousness is the true
reality.
From this follows for our
topic:
Living in a better world, in a
sanctuary, is a state of the consciousness!
"And what does that mean
in practice?"
This is answered by a sentence
of the highest importance, which you should memorize for your future path:
You are living in Heaven when
you feel like in Heaven!
What “really“ happens around
you is in fact meaningless: If, whatever is going on, you remain serene, calm
and peaceful, look at your surroundings with bright eyes and stay happy – then
you are living in a world of eternal peace, eternal tranquillity and eternal
joy!
*****
Such a transfiguration of life
is possible in all circumstances. In order to remain
in the highest state of happiness, you "only" have to think and feel
right, beautiful and great. For this, you must know the laws of existence
(evolution, karma, reincarnation, immortality) and the meaning of life, of
suffering and of obstacles. If you want to study the details once more, watch
again the relevant Broadcastings ("The Meaning of Life", "The
Meaning of Suffering" and "Rejoice at Obstacles" from the Series
"Introduction to Agni Yoga").
*****
Therefore, walking the Path of
the Interior Temple means: You use the power of your spirit and consciously
direct your thoughts and feelings in order to achieve
the goal, which is:
Always and everywhere you are
living in Heaven.
Then you can be indifferent to
how others look at things.
People do not understand that
the way to harmony is in the art of thinking. Every human being can develop a
sense of harmony within himself. After millions of years of evolution humanity
is still ignorant about the art of achieving harmony. (Supermundane 341, 345)
*****
By the way, just that we do
not forget: You are already living in Heaven. The earth is a paradise!
"Why, I do not I
understand. Didn’t you just say that down here is a vale of tears!?”
Because you encounter on earth
exactly that what you need to grow greater.
That means: There is no better
place for you to live than earth! Nevertheless, let us see how you can make
life even more beautiful down here.
3. Create a World of your own!
Many people are longing for a
pure, holy life far away from the contagious depravity of the world, which some
hope to find in a remote monastery in the mountains of Tibet.
We feel the need for and the
possibility of a higher way of life
For a spiritual person, the situation
on earth is almost unbearable.
"Yes, I suffer from the
hostile conditions. Among all the dirt and hustle and bustle I long for a
beautiful, worthy life; for a place where I am not hurt and restricted by the
rudeness and selfishness of the others. "
You are not happy with the
circumstances in which you are forced to live? Then set about to create better
ones!
In the beginning I looked
around but could not find the car I was dreaming of. Thus, I decided to build
it myself. (Ferdinand Porsche)
This, however, is not a hobby,
it is essential for your survival! If you do not want to be overwhelmed or
depressed by all the stupidity, sluggishness and
selfishness around you, you are forced to create your own higher world.
Let us repeat again because it
is so important:
Each spirit creates his own
world, and the beauty or ugliness of the created world depends upon the quality
of the consciousness. (Infinity II, 719 [319])
Agni Yoga recommends:
Create your own world!
Do you grasp the magnificence
of this concept? You are actually able to create the
highest world you can possibly imagine and wish for.
Of course, however, this can
only be a spiritual world that exists regardless of the material circumstances.
The outer world you can change to a limited extent only. The inner world in
which you live is determined by you yourself alone.
A yogi is so close to
spiritual perfection that he cannot long endure even the usual interplanetary
form of existence. Yogi U., known to you, for this reason created a special
form of interplanetary existence for himself. It then was recognized as being
of use to humanity. (Agni Yoga 226)
There are no abodes any more
for the spiritual (AUM 109). People used to escape the terrible
conditions in the old world by emigrating to America, which was then called the
"New World".
Today we choose the inner
emigration to a New World of the spirit.
Let each one designate for
himself a path of progression leading toward one of the higher worlds.
(Infinity I, 75)
Building up your own spiritual
sphere in the middle of the materialistic desert is the great adventure of the
New Age.
You do not have to retreat
like Saint Anthony the Great to the desert or Jules Verne's captain Nemo to a
submarine in order to live a pure and holy life far
away from the evil world. A king of the spirit does not need a physical castle,
a hierarch does not need a palazzo in Venice: You can live in
the midst of everyday life in your own Inner World.
4. The Path of the Interior Temple
Monopteros,
English Garden, Munich
Let us summarize what has been
said so far: We want to live already on earth in a heaven which we have called
a temple or a sanctuary. And we can create any world, if
we only direct our thoughts and feelings accordingly. This results in:
You can transform any place,
whatever its external appearance, into a sanctuary.
"I don't understand yet.
How is that supposed to work practically? "
For this you have to recognize:
What is a temple? A place with
a pure and holy atmosphere.
"How does a pure and holy
atmosphere arise in this world, among all that filth?"
What is it that makes a room a
sanctuary? Do you really assume the stone altars and the marble columns? No, it
is the people who inhabit the place.
When we create an atmosphere
of purity, peace, and solemnity, we sanctify every room. When, on the other
hand, we comport ourselves roughly or aggressively, all the splendour of a
temple building and all the white robes are of no use
at all.
A room is pure or unclean, holy or depraved depending upon what kind of spirit prevails
in it.
"How does such a spirit
arise?"
The spirit that fills a place
is shaped by the thoughts, feelings, words and actions
of the people who are living there. When they are unclean or pursue selfish
concerns, they pollute every room, even the most wonderful church.
Thus, how do you build your
sanctuary?
"With the help my own
thoughts and feelings!?"
Yes, exactly! Everywhere you
can control and direct your thoughts and feelings so that they are joyful, peaceful and solemn. If the power of your spirit is strong
enough, nobody and nothing can stop you.
If you think, feel, speak and behave in a pure and holy way at any place, you
create a pure and holy atmosphere around you.
This is how you erect a
Spiritual Sanctuary, regardless of the material circumstances.
You are building the temple in
spirit.
*****
"Isn't that mere
imagination?"
No!
The establishment of the
Interior Temple is a spiritual exercise!
It is a long way, taking
possibly several incarnations (!) and requiring hard work, until you have
achieved lasting inner peace and tranquillity. It is not easy to create this
state of mind in meditation in the morning. It is even more difficult to defend
and to preserve it in the midst of the earthly
struggle.
A sublime state of the
consciousness is not an illusion but a spiritual reality.
Let us now discuss how exactly
you can walk the Path of the Interior Temple in the middle of worldly life.
Section II:
Practice
We now want to see what you have to do practically in order to live in Heaven already on
earth. Our exercise, the Path of the Inner Temple, consists of 4 steps that you should take one after the other.
First Step
Spanish Steps, Rom
Remember: The world that you
build up for yourself and in which you wish to live is – at least at the
beginning – not a material, but "only" a spiritual world. The
sanctuary you want to construct is a building in the Subtle World. There, this
Interior Temple, like everything else, is created by your thoughts.
1. Create your Heaven!
Swetoslaw Roerich “Damodar
Kund”
The beginning of our exercise
is: The Heaven in which you want to live you have to
Imagine as precisely as
possible, create in your thoughts and thereby actually
build up in the Spiritual World.
Visualize a beautiful and
worthy picture of your Eternal Home: You might choose a mountain peak, the
earth with all the other people deep down beneath you; or a quiet place, far
from human settlements, with palm trees and a small pond fed by pure spring
water; or the Ashram of your teacher – that is, a place which you do not create
alone, but together with others in thought.
Prepare for your spirit a
beautiful garden, not in the desert waste but on the summit of attainment.
(Infinity I, 15)
Here is an example:
(Swetoslaw Roerich "Damodar Kund")
Let your imagination run wild!
Certainly, you can imagine – and thereby create! – something even more
beautiful, even more in accordance with your nature.
*****
We had already said: With the
help of your own thoughts and feelings you build up your Eternal Individuality,
your Fiery Body like a work of art (Broadcasting "Bring your soul to
Life", Series "Experiment Immortality"). However, your soul
cannot exist in the middle of nothing and nowhere. It needs an environment in
which to live.
You must construct the world
of the soul as well, again with your imagination. This, too, is a work of art
to be created by you yourself!
The establishment of the
Temple Within is the necessary continuation of the practice of shaping your
body of light. Like a house for the body on earth, you must also build a home
for the soul in the Spiritual World. The Fiery World around you exists anyway. Then you better create it yourself!
If you want to be a soul, you
also have to learn to live in the world of the soul.
Of course, there are also
temples and ashrams in the Subtle World.
We have entire Strongholds in
that world. You already know their names, you have
heard about the structures created by thought. One must clearly realize
these conditions in order to direct oneself to Dokyood. Thought not obscured by doubt will lead to Our supermundane Abodes. (Supermundane 41)
In the Higher World your
temple of thought is a reality! It is the eternal homeland from which your soul
comes and to which it wishes to return.
The image of this sacred place
which you are harbouring today might not be correct in all details. However,
important is alone that you grasp the essence, the spirit of this institution.
2. Visit your Heaven
Nicholas
Roerich “Higher than Mountains”
"How do I fill this
thought-building with life?"
By visiting it regularly –
which means concretely: Your soul goes to its homeland.
The basic exercise is: You
visit the Heaven, which you have created in the Subtle World, in the morning,
at noon and in the evening in meditation. You put yourself in spirit in this
wonderful room. At least your soul lives in paradise in these minutes –
wherever your body is.
You fly in spirit to a
mountain peak or to the Ashram of your teacher in the Himalayas, as we have
already described in detail in the Broadcastings "Exercise Elevation"
and "Meditation". (Nicholas Roerich
"Higher than Mountains")
Let people travel in thought
through the Supermundane World. If their first attempts are primitive, they
should not be discouraged. Help will come if the striving is sincere.
(Supermundane 754)
It is a miracle that such a
sojourn in a Higher World is possible regardless of the external circumstances.
And yet this is no imagination, but a real experience. Your transitory
personality is tied to the material level. Your Eternal Individuality, on the
other hand, can soar up to the spiritual sphere at any time. There it finds the
peace and quietness which it seeks in vain on earth.
"And this miracle happens
effortlessly, like a gift that falls from Heaven?"
No, unfortunately it is not
quite that simple. Nothing is given us as a present, certainly not paradise. It
is a spiritual exercise – and not an easy one! – to release your thoughts and
feelings from the business, needs, suffering and disgust of the material world
and to keep your consciousness in the soul, in a sphere where you are not
affected by all of this.
You have to learn spiritual
discipline: Again and again, your thoughts are
straying away; as soon as they return to your earthly affairs, you immediately
fall out of your Heaven again.
You have to
get used to visiting your sanctuary for a few moments in the morning, at noon
and in the evening. For this you must reserve fixed times and defend them
against the demands of your environment.
That must not remain a mere
abstract idea.
The greatest happiness,
dwelling in paradise, becomes a living experience.
The actual existence of your
Eternal Individuality in this Higher World becomes the stable centre, the focus
of your entire life.
The disciples asked, “Where
will we be after death?” The Thinker [Plato] answered, “Not far
from here, and each of you can succeed already during his life to visit the
place of his future abode.” (Supermundane 193)
*****
After completing the
meditation, you find yourself back again in your room. What do you experience?
What do you feel?
“In the beginning there is no
difference. It is as if I were still dwelling in my home, in the sanctuary in
the Subtle World.”
Exactly! That is the crucial
experience! We said at the beginning of this Broadcasting:
You are living in Heaven when
you feel like being in Heaven!
This is exactly what you now
actually make come true: You feel like in Heaven, and thus you live in
paradise, even though physically you did not leave your apartment at all!
*****
It is of the utmost importance
for your Spiritual Path that you establish this sublime state of consciousness
anew at every morning; that you enjoy the beauty of a life in a higher sphere
before you go out into the world. Only then will rise within you the longing
never to give up this condition and to transform also
your life on earth into a paradise.
3. Emergency Meditation
Let us extend the exercise: In
worry, distress or temptation you can escape the world at any time, go through
a short "emergency meditation" and put yourself in your Heaven where
you are protected and unassailable.
Thus, in any situation you
will quickly be able to find peace of mind, tranquillity, equanimity, balance and joy of being. However, using this panacea at any
time is not a trifle, but a spiritual achievement which requires a lot of
effort and practice.
4. Temporary Stay at a virtual Monastery
In some parts of Asia, it is
customary to retreat to a monastery for a few days before making an important
decision, in a crisis, or in general regularly several times a year for the
purpose of collecting and purifying oneself in the order of a life in
accordance with the Cosmic Laws.
On the Path of the Interior
Temple you can cultivate this wholesome practice without physically leaving
your home. You may visit the virtual monastery temporarily whenever you want:
Several times a week or even several times a day.
Second Step
Spanish Steps, Rome
We continue. We can do more
than visiting the sanctuary in the morning, at noon and in the evening. We can
take it with us anywhere we want.
1. Establishing the Temple within the Heart
Among the most beautiful and
most important that has ever been said on our topic is:
Practice meditation, and you
will find that you are carrying within your heart a portable paradise. (Yogananda)
"How can I make this
happen?"
One of the most notable pieces
of advice from Agni Yoga is:
Establish the temple within
your heart!
"What do you mean by
that?"
We had already learned and
practiced in the Broadcasting "Living in the continuous Presence of the
Teacher": Like a beloved one, you can also take your teacher into your
heart and keep him there.
Let us now expand this
exercise: Always carry the image of your abode in the Hereafter, of your
eternal home, from which you come and to which you will soon go back, in your
heart. You do love this place! You long to return there! Only there can you be
happy!
The heart is a temple. When We
talk about building a temple in the form of a heart, We
do not have in mind a heart-shaped building; We are indicating the temple’s
inner significance. One should understand the temple of the heart as an urgent
sensation. Let us start feeling ourselves to be bearers of this temple. (Heart
4, 5)
The establishment of the
Temple in the Heart is the necessary consequence of a universal realization: We
cannot achieve true peace of mind, equanimity and
calmness on the material level in a safe, permanent and unassailable way. This
is possible within ourselves only.
Happiness is not in a place.
You can only find it within yourself!
Few realize that only the
heart is the abode of harmony. (Brotherhood 193)
That is why popular wisdom
states so truly and beautifully:
If you do not carry Heaven in
your heart, you will not be able to find it anywhere else.
Jesus as well recommended to
look for paradise within ourselves:
The kingdom of God cometh not
with outward gestures. Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! For,
behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17, 20, 21)
Agni Yoga teaches the same
lesson:
The Fiery World is primarily
within us, if only we discern its abode! (Fiery World I, 354)
Everyone can move into this
Inner Cell, whatever his material life may look like, while at the same time
fulfilling all his earthly obligations and overcoming all hardship.
Even those who have been
thrown into prison or sold into slavery can free themselves from one moment to
the other and soar up to paradise by following this Inner Path.
A very old story tells how a
certain king, desiring to free himself of all outside influences, asked a sage
for advice. “In your heart you will find liberation,” said the sage. (Heart 92)
Live in this Inner Sanctuary
all day! Carry the temple in your heart, wherever you go, whatever you do and
whatever happens to you. Even in the middle of the worldly turmoil, preserve
the pure atmosphere of a sanctuary within you.
You build the temple in your
heart and take it with you into the world.
The stronghold of the yogi is
in the heart. (Supermundane 912)
2. Fill yourself
with the Spirit of the Sanctuary
"Should I really take a
building into my heart?"
Well, I see you want to know
exactly! Of course, we can also hang our heart on a stone building – or on one
in the Subtle World made of thoughts – like this one:
Nicholas
Roerich "Chapel of St. Sergius of Radonesh"
As you might still carry your
parents' house or a holiday home by the sea in your heart where you spent a happy
childhood.
But crucial and really
intended is something else:
You fill your heart with the
spirit that prevails in a sanctuary.
We had already seen: One can
fill the heart with the spirit of the teacher who is then present (Broadcasting
"Living in the continuous Presence of the Teacher"). Likewise, you
can fill your heart with the spirit of a sacred place. Then the temple is present.
You can feel it when you are
imbued with its atmosphere, namely purity, tranquillity
and solemnity.
"What shall I do in
practice?"
In meditation in the morning,
you sink purity, tranquillity, peace, joy and
solemnity into your heart.
Open your heart so wide that
the spirit of paradise can pour into you!
The abode of the spirit is in
the heart. (Hierarchy 454)
When, at the end of the
meditation, your soul leaves its home and returns to earth, it will remain
filled with this spirit. This is not an abstract theory. This is a real
experience that you can make again and again with every new contemplation.
*****
During the day, you strive to
preserve this high spirit within you, which unfortunately tends to evaporate
all too easily. As you take the solemn mood of a cathedral into your heart and
try to keep it as long as possible after the exit into your everyday life.
*****
This is a difficult exercise
which requires tremendous spiritual effort. You will see: Often you lose your
high state of mind already a few minutes after leaving your meditation room
because of some ridiculous trifle.
The so-called state of Nirvana
is not rest but rather the highest tension of energy. (Heart 260)
*****
We are now coming to one of
the key messages of this Broadcasting: To walk the Path of the Interior Temple
means:
You carry the spirit of a
sanctuary – purity, tranquillity, peace, equanimity, joy
and solemnity – always in your heart!
The great secret of this
exercise is: It really transforms your being:
You yourself become pure,
calm, peaceful, composed, joyful and solemn!
Here is the happiness you are
seeking, for which you are longing! Now you are living in the highest
conceivable world! Now you are in Heaven! Again we
recognize:
Happiness is a state of the
consciousness! (Nicholas Roerich "Krishna")
3. The Inner Room
"Despite all that, I
still have trouble imagining a temple within me."
Then let us consider another
aspect: You understand, and you have already experienced that you can fill
yourself with a spirit of strength and joy, purity and
solemnity?
"Yes, of course, I
certainly have already done that.”
Now look: You can fill only a
vessel or a room. Thus, whom or what are you filling? Certainly not your body,
as we are not talking about the physical heart either.
Imagine your subtle heart,
your heart chakra as a spiritual room in the innermost depths of your being.
This is the world in which your
soul lives. We remember (Broadcasting "Bring your Soul to Life"):
Your Eternal Individuality is a giant hidden deep within you – that is, in a
room within you.
The soul lives on the inner
level. Its ancestral home, Heaven is not above or outside, but inside you.
We close the physical eyes and
before our inner eye the sanctuary arises. We perceive ourselves, our Eternal
Individuality standing in this temple.
This Inner Room you may fill
with any spirit – with the spirit of love or hate, of fear or courage, of doubt
or confidence, of joy or sadness. You can illuminate or darken it.
*****
In this Inner Room you can
create absolute silence and solemn calmness, may the outer world around you
rage as wildly as can be. That is why one speaks of inner tranquillity. There
the soul finds its peace, which then embraces your entire being and later
radiates to your surroundings.
Here you are completely with
yourself and undisturbed because nothing external, material, or low can get
close to you – as in Heaven!
Build a centre, a fulcrum in
your own inner self, where the Love of the Great White Lodge may rest.
(Teachings of the Temple Vol. I, Lesson 76 “Lest we forget”)
*****
You create your personal
paradise by denying lower beings, their negative spirit
and their depraved vibrations access to your Inner Room. They have no business
in your Interior Temple.
You lock the door of your
sanctuary firmly from these enemies. (Lorenzo
Ghiberti "Gates of Paradise", Baptistery, Florence)
They have to
stay outside.
You alone determine whom or
what you admit to your innermost. You can ensure that only peace, quietness and joy find a home there.
*****
You yourself as well still have to find the access to this room! Learn to enter this
place of silence and to stay there! It is present in every human being, but the
entrance is buried and must be cleared.
Remember: The entrance door to
the sanctuary is inside you. (Rumi)
*****
Incidentally, we are speaking
of the same virtual room or vessel which the Teaching calls
"chalice". There are stored all the accumulations, memories and experiences
of the millions and millions of years of our entire existence in all worlds. To
this gigantic treasure as well, access will only be granted once we are
sufficiently developed.
Inside you is the source from
which your emanations, your aura, radiate outwards.
*****
In this protected Inner Room,
which Agni Yoga often means when it speaks of the "heart", the soul
establishes the connection to the Higher World.
Therefore, think of the heart
as a mediating principle that connects you with the distant worlds. (Heart 313)
Here is where you meet your
teacher, not in the Himalayas. That is why you hear his call not from the
ceiling of your room, but within yourself. Therefore, you can hardly
distinguish the voice of your teacher from the voice of your heart.
Precisely the heart is a link
between the worlds, and only the heart can respond to the heart of the Master
and to the entire Hierarchy. (Hierarchy 219)
Into this Inner Room
penetrates the light, the inspiration of divine enlightenment.
Therefore, instead of
“meditation” one also speaks of “introspection” or “navel-gazing”. Thereby we
express: With the help of your spiritual senses you have a look at what is
going on in your Interior Temple.
*****
Every human being is a pharaoh,
a house of God.
The temple in the heart is the
house of God.
In the most ancient times
people regarded the heart as the Dwelling of God. But now, in our enlightened
times, the heart has been reduced to nothing more than a physiological organ.
You should first of all remind people how important
the heart is as a unifier of the worlds. (Heart 73)
First of all, you have to
worthily prepare this house so that God or his Spirit can move in there.
The ability to establish the
sacred Hierarchy in one’s heart comes through toil. (Fiery World II, 118)
The Sanctuary Within may even
be partially destroyed. A few pillars you might have to set up again before you
can use it. (Sanctuary of Athena, Delphi)
Above all, you can and must
clean your Inner Room, that is, free it from unspiritual strivings and
selfishness.
A symbol of the purification
of the heart is the expulsion of the traders from the temple by Jesus. (El Greco "Expulsion of the Traders from the Temple")
By its very nature, your soul
desires to dwell in a sphere of purity and joy, like a saint in a monastery.
Here, there is no cheating and
no selfishness, as in the wonderful world in which a pure, innocent little girl
lives. (Titian "Presentation of the Virgin
Mary in the Temple")
The channel of the heart must
be purified. One should not think of the heart as a lump of lower matter. If
so, how to contact the Highest World? (Hierarchy 446)
In a pure Inner Room, good,
high, beautiful and great thoughts and ideas are born.
In a dive, when you turn your heart into a den of thieves, low aspirations are
prospering.
*****
When you encounter rudeness,
you have three options:
1. You lead the ruffian back
to the right track like a small child – with love like a mother or with rigour
like a father;
2. You fight the rudeness like
weeds in your garden; or if neither is feasible:
3. You withdraw to your
protected Inner Room and thereby prevent at least you yourself from being
besmirched.
4. Anton Bruckner Motet “Locus iste”: The Temple in the Heart
Finally, we want to make a
last attempt to present the Path of the Interior Temple even more vividly:
With the help of the music of
the great masters, you can experience the majesty of the sacred room within
you. Sounds convey more than 1000 words!
Let us listen to and watch
Anton Bruckner's motet "Locus iste". Open
your heart! Let us witness how a temple is being created within us, and what is
going on therein:
The tones are building a
cathedral. The soul enters the sanctuary. The soul strives upwards,
but does not yet achieve a breakthrough. The soul receives streams of
comfort, strength, joy, light and love from above.
Repetition: The temple arises in our heart. The soul is captured by a vortex
that drags it upwards. It comes into contact with
something so High, so Sacred that it cannot be expressed and only be
experienced in silence.
You may increase the effect of
the tones upon you by following the lines of the music with your hands, the
blue lines with both hands, the red lines with one hand. You may memorize this very simple piece of music, hum it to yourself from time to
time and thereby build up the Temple Within. Finally, you can internalize it to
such an extent that it lives within you without sounds and creates a sacred
atmosphere there.
Third Step
Spanish Steps, Rome
The beauty of your Inner
Sanctuary must not tempt you never to leave this heavenly place. You are
incarnated in order to learn, to grow and to fulfill a mission. Therefore, you must not withdraw from
earthly life, but have to descend to the world during
the day.
All saints have left their
cell in order to serve their fellow human beings.
Down on earth your ideals are
turned into reality. Here your help is needed.
Descent
to the World
Nicholas
Roerich “Descent of Christ to Hell”
Don't be under any
illusion:
Descending to hell is
essential to a life in Heaven! (Nicholas Roerich
"Descent of Christ to Hell")
They will ask: “What kind of
heaven is yours?” Answer: “A heaven of toil and struggle.” (Leaves of Morya's Garden II, 269 [272]
The Path of the Interior
Temple works like this in everyday life: In the morning in meditation you
establish the state of the consciousness "Living in a holy place".
From this higher point of view, you descend to the material world in order to fulfill your
obligations, to do your work and to perfect yourself. You return to your
homeland briefly at noon and finally in the evening.
In spirit, the temple on the
mountain peak from which you come and to which you want to return is always
before your eyes. It is always in sight, within earshot and within hailing
distance! (Albrecht Dürer
"Knight, Death and Devil")
You continue to carry the
temple in your heart – even when you are in the world.
*****
Nothing changes in your
external existence. You transfigure your life by adopting a new attitude, by
changing your perspective:
Up to now you thought: I live on earth and occasionally visit the Other
World temporarily in meditation, in sleep or on Sundays in church. Now you look
at it the other way round: Your real life takes place in Heaven, in your temple.
From there you occasionally and only temporarily descend to the material level.
You actually
lead a double life: partly in the filth of the earth, partly in the
purity of your sanctuary.
In the esoteric classic
"Initiation", Elisabeth Haich describes how she led such a double
life in Egypt: In the morning in the temple for education and in the afternoon
in the world for service in the government.
The one of the 10 Pillars of
the Practice of Agni Yoga, which we had called "Living in two
Worlds", becomes a living reality:
An Agni Yogi verily lives in
two worlds. (Infinity I, 238)
*****
We cannot emphasize clearly
enough, and you must not close your eyes to this reality:
Chaos begins behind the door
of your meditation room!
The waves of chaos are
constantly threatening to inundate your world and to tear you into the abyss. (Nicholas Roerich "Holy City")
The Path of the Interior
Temple means struggle with chaos.
You have to
defend the temple in your heart against all the hostile influences from your
environment. It is a difficult exercise to live "as if" you were in
Heaven despite all the odds.
Therefore, even in the dust of
destruction one should go on building strongholds of the heart. (Heart 338)
You have to
assert the spiritual reality of the temple against the unspiritual physical
circumstances!
You must not allow chaos to
enter your Inner Realm. In the midst of the worldly
hustle and bustle, calmness, peace and serenity reign in your heart. You must
not allow yourself be dragged down.
You can and must uphold the
spiritual attitude of a "monk of the Inner Monastery" anytime and
everywhere, even in the most terrible circumstances.
The temple in the heart is
impregnable - if you only stay firm!
"Isn't the term monk
outdated? It reminds me of the darkest Middle Ages."
Yes, I have to admit: I tend to fall back to the antiquated terminology.
Maybe because in a previous life I had a happy time in a monastery. By
"monk of the Inner Monastery" I mean: Someone who leads a holy life
in the middle of the world.
*****
The Interior Temple is a
regime that you impose on yourself without having to change anything in your
earthly situation. You continue to work in the world – but according to the
higher laws of spiritual life. The new basis of your existence is an inner, a
spiritual order that does not need to be externally recognizable at the
beginning.
You replace the monastery
walls by self-discipline.
This most synthesizing Yoga
exacts an obligation to construct one’s entire life in accordance with a
discipline that is externally imperceptible. (Agni Yoga 163)
If you carry the monastery in
your heart, it does not matter whether the monastery building is existent or
not. (Starez Theophan)
The unpopular term
"self-discipline" only means: You refrain from everything that
disturbs the glory and dignity of your Temple Within.
*****
Monks used to wear cowls. Such
external signs are no longer necessary today.
Agni Yoga must be introduced
into life, but its bearers must not differ externally from others in life. The
Agni Yogi lives unnoticed. There should not be even the slightest alienation
from life. (Agni Yoga 187)
You appear in the world
dressed like anyone else. Inwardly, in your imagination you are wearing the
white robe of a spiritual disciple. This idea helps you to maintain your
dignity and your position as the inhabitant of an Inner Sanctuary. We had
already talked about this concept in the Broadcasting "The Invisible
Toga" (Series "Spiritual Exercises of Agni Yoga").
*****
As
far as you can, you saturate the world with the spirit of your temple. You
follow the example of those high beings who dwell in the highest spheres of the
Subtle World, in Heaven, and descend from there to the lower layers to help
those thirsting for redemption.
*****
Of
course, whether the sacred atmosphere of your cell, which you have created in
meditation, will remain intact during the day depends not on you alone, but
also on the people who visit you. Most of them will consciously or
unconsciously desecrate the holy place with their rough habits.
Your
Interior Temple will be filled not only with seekers for help, but also with
fools, lechers, egotists and even criminals.
Read
again the second book "An Inappropriate Meeting" of Dostoevsky’s
wonderful novel "The Brothers Karamazov": Experience how St. Starez Sosima has
to endure the almost unbearable behaviour of Fyodor Karamazov and his
sons.
If
the power of your spirit is strong enough, you can drag the ignorant, the insolent
and the shameless into the spell of your sanctuary and induce them to behave
according to the dignity of the place. Even the evil you can envelop with this
world and thereby contribute to their transformation.
Fourth Step
Spanish Steps, Rome
We take the next step of the
path:
Instead of visiting the temple
in the Subtle World or in the heart in the morning, at noon and in the evening,
and in the meantime descending to earth, we now say:
Live in both worlds simultaneously, in Heaven and on earth!
1.
Living simultaneously in two Worlds
Nicholas
Roerich “Tsong kha-pa”
Your being consists of two
aspects, your Eternal Individuality and your
transitory personality. Both live in different spheres, one on earth and the
other in the Subtle World – and that actually at the
same time! You now have to learn to consciously lead
this double life.
Man is a giant whose head
soars up to Heaven while at the same time he is standing with his feet on
earth. (Fiery World II, 12)
Our task is to remind men that
as the highest expression of the manifested world they can be centers for uniting the worlds. (Fiery World I, 479)
In scientific language we may
say:
The human pyramid is a unitary
object consisting of physical, subtle and Fiery Body. The pyramid of the worlds
is a unit of physical, subtle and Fiery World.
You must not separate the
worlds. You have to form and to maintain one unitary
being on all three levels. Basically, we would split up this unity when we
imagine that we are dwelling on earth in one hour and in Heaven in another. We
cannot live sometimes the physical and sometimes the spiritual aspect of our
being – we have to express both at the same time!
"Living in three worlds
at the same time – that again is too high for me."
In fact, this is not as
highflying as it might seem at first glance: A simple example: While the eye is
watching the material world, at the same time the heart feels what is going on on the subtle level. This is not that special and not that
difficult either!
"What does that mean
specifically for the Path of the Interior Temple?"
You broaden what you have
practiced so far: Your Eternal Individuality lives in a higher world of peace
and quietness. From up there, it controls the words and deeds of the body,
which at the same time acts down below on earth in the midst
of the worldly hurly-burly. Nothing that happens down there can drag the
soul out of its restfulness – out of its heaven!
We see again:
The Interior Temple is a
mental attitude.
A beautiful symbol for this
state of the consciousness is this painting, which shows the soul in its own
world, at its unassailable height. As presented here, you should regard
yourself and face your fellow human beings.
(Nicholas
Roerich "Tsong kha-pa")
2. The Sanctuary as Subtle Scenery of
material Life
Agni Yoga is a synthesis of
science and religion. For a better understanding, we also want to explain in
scientific language what it means to live in two worlds simultaneously.
You should not imagine your
paradise somewhere in the Himalayas. We repeat: Heaven, the Fiery World is very close, around you (Broadcasting "Living in the
continuous Presence of the Teacher"). This means:
The Interior Temple surrounds
you like a spiritual room, like an aura, wherever you are on earth.
Or let us put it this way:
The Subtle World that you are
building around you is the spiritual framework within which your material life
takes place.
You can imagine this as in a
theatre: You are standing in the foreground and acting on the stage of earthly
life. The scenery behind you, against which your material existence takes
place, is the temple in the Subtle World. (Odeon
of Herodes Atticus, Athens)
You remember (Broadcasting
"Living in the continuous Presence of the Teacher"):
There is a spiritual
superstructure above every place on earth.
For example: Above the plot of
surface of the earth called "Germany", there exists a state named
"Federal Republic". It consists of the ideals and worldviews
(Marxism, capitalism or Darwinism), the religions,
laws, customs and traditions that are in force here. Similar spiritual
superstructures are forming above your physical life by reason of your
belonging to a family, a people, a football or traditional club, a political
party or movement, to the army or police or to a philosophy such as Platonism, Stoa or Enlightenment.
This is the Spiritual World in
which you are living!
It arches like an invisible
bell over the material place where you are located.
Heaven on earth is realized
when over the place where you are living and working there hovers a sanctuary
as superstructure on the subtle level.
Instead of "frame",
"scenery" or "superstructure", we might also say
"spiritual order". It is important that you realize:
Dwelling in Heaven means
living in the spiritual order of a Heaven, according to the laws, customs and
traditions which apply there.
"So
what do you want me to do?"
You are a monk of an Inner
Monastery when you live by the customs and practices that apply in a temple –
wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Your whole life takes place in
this spiritual order. The result of this exercise is:
You are living and working in
a sacred place.
To put it as concretely as
possible: You are working in a factory on the assembly line and at the same
time you are living in your sanctuary.
"Impossible! Or at least
quite soaring! "
Well, it again depends on your
inner attitude. We will discuss in more detail in the Broadcastings on the
establishment of the New World: There are also workshops in the temples of the
future. Here everything that people need physically and spiritually for their
daily survival is being manufactured and offered in accordance with ethical
principles.
In the same way, you may
transfigure your daily professional work by regarding yourself as a temple
servant who is toiling in the name and on behalf of the Highest and serving the
common good.
A beautiful symbol of this
attitude is this painting showing St. Jerome at work in his study, which is at
the same time a church. (Messina: "St.
Jerome in his Study")
3.
Living in the Sanctuary as the real Existence
Castle
Hohenzollern
We are now coming to a
decisive step on the Spiritual Path: So far you have viewed your existence on
the material level as the one and only reality. You had merely a vague idea of
the life of the soul in its world. You have to change
this attitude radically and turn it into its opposite:
If your soul is your real
self, that means necessarily:
The life of your soul in its
world is your real existence.
Let us hear one of the most
beautiful paragraphs of Agni Yoga which you should call to mind every day when
walking the Path of the Interior Temple:
Whence comes this stimulating
feeling, called joy of being? Why does this joy not depend upon wealth or
self-satisfaction? It may arise amidst the most grievous difficulties and
persecutions. In times of stress, such a joy is especially valuable and
healing. We call it joy of being, for it does not depend on personal
circumstances, success, or benefits.
Can there be feelings of joy
when one is afflicted with disease or when one is the victim of injustice or
insult? Indeed, for even in such circumstances the eyes may sometimes fill with
fire, the bowed head may rise, and new strength may stream in. Then one begins
to rejoice at life, perhaps not at one’s earthly life, but at the real
existence. (Supermundane 281)
"What does the Master
mean by 'real existence'?"
Yes, here we are at the core
of our topic: I need not explain in detail, you know yourself from bitter
experience: For your perishable personality, there is not much to laugh about
on earth. Obstacles and difficulties, need, pain and suffering pile up before
you every day in abundance.
However, this does not apply
to your soul: As we have already discussed several times (Broadcastings
"The Meaning of Suffering", "Rejoice at Obstacles!"), it
can always be happy, because it regards difficulties as nothing but
opportunities for spiritual growth, as necessary stages on the ladder of
ascent.
*****
The "real existence"
of which the Mahatma speaks is the life of your soul in its world: In a
sanctuary, in a sphere of eternal joy, eternal tranquillity and eternal peace
which does not exist on the material level.
*****
So far you used to think: Your
"real existence" is your life as a baker, father of a family or
nurse, which takes place at home and at your place of work. From today on
You get used to regarding your
spiritual life on the Supermundane plane, in the Interior Temple, as your
"real existence".
Your kingdom is not of this
world; it is to be found, so to speak, above the clouds.
This supratemporal or inner
world is much more important than the external circumstances.
Often people complain about
the monotony of their external life. But any external life whatever depends
upon the riches of the inner life. The external life is but a hundredth part of
the inner. Therefore the inner life is the true one.
(Fiery World III, 520)
The outer world is a mere
reflection of the inner one. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter of 08.10.1935)
"How do I put that into
practice in everyday life?"
Create a subtle reality, a
real existence around you that looks like this:
You are the monk of an Inner
Monastery.
Whomever you meet, he visits
you in your sanctuary. You take an attitude towards him as towards a seeker who
asks you for advice or help. This is how you realize the existence on a higher
level. This is how you act from a superior, spiritual perspective while at the
same time staying on earth.
*****
The Path of the Interior
Temple is not a glass bead game, but part of the education of the New Man! For,
what is the man of the future, the next higher level of evolution?
A higher form of life, a being
of spirit that comes to earth from another, a Higher World.
One must understand in what
lies the progress of a spirit who is gradually becoming accustomed to existing
above the world and to labour without end. (Hierarchy 336)
You are a Heaven dweller,
because your true home is a sacred place in the Other World.
You descend to the material
level like an angel to help your smaller brothers and sisters, to pass on
higher knowledge and to improve their conditions. (Leonardo
da Vinci "Annunciation")
Though, in our days an angel
is no longer a cute putto, but a powerful fighter. (Raphael,
Angel from "Sistine Madonna")
It is essential that you
create this consciousness of your higher existence anew every morning and start
the day on the heights, in the real world, in your Heaven, not down below in
the material lowlands; and that you maintain yourself up there in spirit, even
when you descend in the body.
When the consciousness has
assimilated the foundations of the Teaching of Life, all that takes place with
us and around us inevitably takes on another meaning. The broadened
consciousness carries over the starting point of the thinking into the supermundane plane and unites with the consciousness of the
Elder Brothers of our humanity. Such a consciousness learns to live in its true
home and knows in spirit and heart its Friends and Helpers. (Helena Roerich
Letters Vol. II, letter of 08.03.1938)
Building an Inner Temple is
the first step in forming your real, supermundane
existence.
The very
high Yogis live in different conditions created by them far from our
earthly hustle and bustle. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter of 30.03.1936)
"All this is again very
elitist! How does the supermundane existence as an
angelic being get real and come to life for an average citizen of flesh and
blood like me? "
By being in meditation in
constant communion with your Supermundane Home and your soul-mates there; by
educating your Eternal Individuality, letting it grow and spiritualizing it to
such an extent that it actually becomes angelic; and by acting as a
representative or ambassador in the name, on behalf and in the service of the
Heavenly Powers on earth.
And, above all, of course, by
walking the Path of the Interior Temple, that is, visiting your heavenly home
regularly or even living there permanently.
4. Role Models
Saint
Catherine of Siena was a founder and trailblazer for the concept of the
Monastery Within. If you are looking for a living example, a role model for
this way of life, study her life. Note her advice; this sentence is one of the
most beautiful and most important that has ever been said on our subject:
Create
for yourself a cell in your heart and never leave it!
Her
confessor and biographer, St. Raymond of Capua, describes her:
She
listened to the Holy Spirit, who taught her to set up a silent chamber in her
spirit that she should never leave because of external work. Before, when she
had had a room with four walls, she had sometimes been in it, sometimes she had
gone out of it. But now that she was hiding a corner inside her that nobody could
steal, she always stayed there. The holy young woman prepared this room that
cannot be built by hand. She was helped by the one for who’s sake she had given
up her external stone-built room without hesitation. (Domenico Beccafumi,
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo "Catherine of Siena")
By
the way, Catherine of Siena was an incarnation of Helena Roerich (see
Supermundane 344).
Saint
Teresa of Avila has written an entire book on our subject with the title
"The Interior Castle".
Brother
Lawrence, whom we had got to know already in the Broadcasting "Living in
the continuous Presence of the Teacher", and Saint John of the Cross advised
to create a chamber of prayer within the heart:
Raise
your heart to God as often as you can, even at meals and in company. He is
closer to us than we think. It is not necessary to always be in the church in order to commune with God. We can prepare a chamber of
prayer in our hearts, to which we may withdraw from time to time in order to have a friendly, humble and loving conversation
with Him. Everyone is capable of such confidential conversations with God, some
more, some less. (Brother Lorenz of the Resurrection)
Section III:
Benefit of the Exercise
"Do
we really have to talk about the benefit of living in paradise?"
Well,
it is important to make sure that we are aware of what exactly is the goal of
our exercise.
1. Holy Existence in the middle of everyday
Life
You combine the two seemingly
incompatible demands of Agni Yoga: Do not withdraw from life and still do not
cling to the earthly existence (see Broadcasting "Living in Two
Worlds").
Outwardly you are living in
the middle of the turmoil of the world, inwardly in the peace of Heaven.
The Path of the Interior
Temple enables you to conduct a pure, holy existence in the middle of everyday
life.
2. Transfiguration of everyday Life
One of my favourite terms of
the Teaching is “transfiguration”. It means: You may completely transform
yourself, your life and your entire environment, and
this solely with the power of your spirit.
*****
We had already discussed: You
may transfigure your property by managing it in trust in the name and on behalf
of the Hierarchy and employing it selflessly in the interest of the common good
(see Broadcasting "Selflessness").
You may transfigure the many
obstacles, adversities, hardships and sufferings of
everyday life by turning them into joy (see Broadcasting "Rejoice at
Obstacles!").
*****
The Path of the Interior
Temple is another example of the transfiguration of life solely through a
proper mental attitude: You are living in a paradise without that the external
conditions of your existence change in any way. What you change is your
consciousness, the attitude with which you are facing people and circumstances.
You transfigure the physical
world by crowning it with the subtle superstructure of a sanctuary.
Everywhere on earth, even in
Schambhala you have to do the laundry, cook food,
clean and maintain the house and make a living. It is an honour – and a
pleasure! – to be able to attend to all these material needs in the sublime
atmosphere of a sacred place!
The following was said about
Saint Catherine of Siena:
When she was busy in the
kitchen or serving the food, she was always dwelling within the Most Sacred.
(St. Raymond of Capua)
This transfigured life is the
real existence that we talked about earlier.
3. Purification
Gustave
Doré “Baptism of Christ”
The secret of the monasteries has been at all times:
Life in a sanctuary purifies, elevates and sanctifies.
We take advantage of this
experience and recognize: A physical building is not required. When you are
living in the vibration of a sacred place, the craving for alcohol, meat,
cigarettes or chocolate, moods like irritability, aggression or depression, and
ugly words or unworthy deeds do not come up at all.
The Interior Temple is the way
out for today's torn up people longing for a purer life.
4.
Closeness of Subtle Creatures
Titian
“Transfiguration of Christ”
You remember (Broadcasting
“Living in the continuous Presence of the Teacher”): Subtle beings are always
nearby.
When you create a room of
purity and solemnity within you, according to the law of correspondence you
attract higher subtle creatures and ward off evil visitors from the lower
layers of the astral world.
How can man create mentally
when he is even unable to imagine a desirable environment for himself? How can
he think of the refinement of forms when he never pictures them in thought,
thus trying to make his surroundings worthy of Higher Beings? (Fiery World I,
645)
When we say: In the Inner
Temple Heaven is close, that also means: As in a church, beings from higher
spheres of the Spiritual World are present in such a way that you can contact
them.
If you come ever closer to the
Subtle World, if you become so sensitive that you feel the otherworldly
reality, you will one day be able to communicate in spirit with your soulmates,
your true brothers and sisters up there in the same way as Jesus with Moses and
Elias in the state of transfiguration (see Matthew 17, 1-8). (Titian "Transfiguration of Christ")
5. The one and only
secure Foundation
Nicholas
Roerich “Tibetan Fortress”
Earthly fortresses are no more
stable than castles made of sand.
Real security can only be
obtained in the World of the Spirit.
Dead are those who presume
that by means of earthly Maya they can create strongholds. It is as unwise as
children dreaming to build a fortress out of mud! Only the world of spirit is truly strong, for it is indestructible and invincible.
(Hierarchy 146)
Never will you have to leave
the Inner Monastery. The temple in your heart is unassailable and
indestructible.
The drama of Tibet with the
destruction, or of Europe with the secularization of the monasteries does not
threaten you. (Ruins of Ganden
Monastery, Tibet)
Whatever happens to your body,
your soul can never be driven out of its paradise.
The Monastery Within is the
one and only secure foundation of your life.
You have your roots in this
invisible world. On it you rest. From it you draw your strength.
Urusvati has overcome all the
earthly misconceptions about safety and material security. Neither exists in
earthly conditions, yet this dark mirage seduces multitudes of people. They
dream of building towers where they might be sheltered in complete safety. They
dream of accumulating treasures that would provide security, forgetting that
they can reach such a stronghold only beyond earthly
conditions. (Supermundane 45)
For the New Man, who is a
being of spirit, the place – or the order – in which he is protected and safe,
is not on earth, but in the Other World.
Man should remember that his
true Stronghold is not on Earth, and that all his earthly labours should be
performed for return to the Supermundane Stronghold. (Supermundane 803)
Or, in other words, within
himself.
The heart is the stronghold of
the hero. (Hierarchy 436)
The Heart of the Arhat is a sacred stronghold, which guards the sacred gift
of the Cosmos. (Fiery World III, 171)
You must never give up this
ultimate security, this only reliable refuge.
This painting by Nicholas
Roerich is called "Stronghold of the Spirit". The title expresses two
things: The spirit needs a home in the spiritual world, and security can be
found only there.
6. Place of Refuge
Tiger Nest Monastery, Bhutan
You feel: You have to get away from the distress and misery of the world,
from the insolence, selfishness and ruthlessness of the people living here.
People can struggle with base
astral entities only when they are firm in their understanding of their own
future path. Their passing into the higher spheres will then be easier, and
they will not feel the arrows of the dwellers of the lower astral plane.
(Supermundane 261)
Every now and then, you have to get out of the unspiritual earthly sphere with its
temptations and primitive customs, its ignorance and impurity.
You can and must create an
inaccessible refuge in the middle of hostile territory, to which you can
retreat at any time when conditions threaten to become unbearable.
Many a one would like to
announce to the world in the midst of trouble: "I
am retiring to a monastery." You can satisfy this longing and take this
step at any time. (Tiger Nest Monastery,
Bhutan)
The strength, the superiority
of the New Man rests precisely on the fact that he is a lord of a castle, who
operates from an impregnable fortress far above the lowlands of the world. (Eltz Castle)
Seekers of achievement, I will
set you above a precipice as on an inaccessible tower. (Leaves of Morya's Garden II, 66)
On the Path of the Interior
Temple you will find heavenly tranquillity and heavenly peace in your true
Supermundane Home.
Here is your one and only
salvation! The protection offered in former times by the monastery walls you
are now building up around you with the help of a virtual room.
Requiescat in pace – May you
rest in peace!
But not, as the Christians
think, after death only, but regularly already during the earthly incarnation.
Dwelling in the Interior Temple, your Eternal Individuality is not affected by
the misery of the world; once you get back up there, it is no longer any of
your concern – as in Heaven.
*****
You can find this peace and
quietness only in your heart. This is the sole cure for today's torn up man.
Even a quiet outside place is of no use when you are restless within.
If you are unable to find
peace of mind within yourself, there is no point in looking for it elsewhere.
(François de La Rochefoucauld)
The seeker should look upon
his heart as a refuge. (Heart 444)
Not even escaping to a
physical monastery guarantees you a calm and peaceful life. How many saints,
for example Bernadette of Lourdes and Therese of Lisieux, were tormented by
small spirits even there!
"Is it then the meaning
of life to be left in peace and quietness?"
No of course not. But when you
are labouring tirelessly to fulfil your mission, you deserve and need some
relaxation in between. Then you may take a rest and tune out completely for a
moment from time to time (even several times a day!), as on holidays in afar,
abroad, far away from the worries of everyday life.
All the terrible troubles are
endurable only because you know that you will soon be able to return to the
Higher World and draw new strength there.
Make good use of the mountain
air. Do not tire yourselves out; even a diver must not descend when fatigued.
Precisely, descent into human filth can be compared to a diver’s work. The
diver is ready to save a drowning person, but he himself is
in need of access to air. (Heart 568)
In distress you take refuge in
a place where there is no oppression: In your heavenly realm.
When our consciousness is
completely transported into the domain where there is no fear and depression,
then we are invulnerable to any filth. (Fiery World II, 72)
Your true self can rise above
the awful conditions on earth at any time. Retreating to higher, purer spheres
is a sure means to counter disgust with the world.
*****
Make conscious use of the
possibilities of your being of spirit! Your soul can employ a moment of leisure
to detach itself from the earth and to pay a short visit to its homeland. Go
for a walk in spirit in your garden of Eden at every
free minute!
Our Sisters and Brothers often
visit the Subtle World in order to feel at home there.
(Supermundane 223)
To be allowed to stay in
Heaven even for a short time is your greatest bliss.
A
time of happiness—thus We call that step in the development of consciousness
when, without turning away from life, Our co-workers are given the opportunity to join Us in Our
Abode. (Agni Yoga 338)
7. Higher Standpoint
Nicholas Roerich “Tibetan Stronghold”
The
Monastery Within is a standpoint above the earthly hustle and bustle. You have to get used to look at everything from there, from the
perspective of eternity; sub specie aeternitatis, as the Romans said.
From
this higher point of view, you look down at the world, at the people and among
them at yourself and your own life: At the worries and joys, the struggle for
existence, the distraction and greed, the grabbiness,
haggling and overreaching, the violence and need that prevail down there. (Nicholas Roerich "Book of
Wisdom")
You
can judge the earthly world correctly only from this superior point of view.
The
entire earthly existence must be comprehended from the standpoint of the Higher
World. (Fiery World I, 508)
Agni
Yoga speaks of strongholds of the spirit. (Nicholas Roerich "Tibetan Stronghold")
The fiery
waves will compel people to seek safety in the towers of the spirit. (Fiery
World I, 508)
You
must take and defend this lofty standpoint every day anew. You should not allow
yourself to be dragged down from this secure height: Not by your own lower
self, not by unspiritual people and just as little by adverse circumstances.
The
superiority of the New Man is based precisely on the fact that his real
existence takes place on these heights, where he is not affected by the events
down on earth. Memorize:
The
first step to happiness is standing above things!
This
is not easy. We are speaking of a mental attitude that you have
to acquire with a lot of practice.
Section IV:
Establishing the Temple on the material Level
So far
we have only asked: How can you live happily, contently and peacefully in your
small, private paradise under all circumstances? Finally, let us take a last
step that goes beyond your inner life, your personal well-being, and already
points to service in the world:
We do not just want to build
virtual cloud cuckoo lands, we actually wish to change
the material world.
The three worlds are one.
Therefore, your work is not yet complete when you “only” establish a sanctuary
on the inner level, in the Subtle World, within your heart.
Like all subtle creations,
your ideal – the Interior Temple – strives to become a physical reality on the
material level.
It is the incessant longing of
the soul for its true home (the Garden of Eden from which it was banished) that
incites every impulse toward building of an ideal home. It is the soul memory
of the beauty, the grandeur, the harmonious surroundings, the peace and joy
radiating from each member of that heavenly home that impels the normal man and
woman to unite and endeavour to reproduce some semblance of that home upon
earth. (Teachings of the Temple Vol. II, Lesson “The Homeless”)
You cannot live in a temple in
the Higher World and in a pigsty on earth. Therefore, let us start with the
realization of our ideal on the physical level. By the way, working on this
also contributes to the specification and refinement of the ideal itself.
As the existence in Devachan [in Heaven] is
the reproduction and idealizing of all that has appealed to us and that we have
thought or done in earth life, it is very evident that every thought and act
making for a home center on earth is an addition to
the devachanic home center.
(Teachings of the Temple Vol. II, Lesson “The Homeless”)
The task of a spiritual worker
is:
In the Supermundane World
refinement and spiritualization and on earth embodiment of thought forms.
Just as the spirit can refine
a condensed thought-form, so can it condense subtle forms. (Fiery World III,
248)
1. Transformation of a material Room into a
Sanctuary
Saint Pope Gregory the Great
Apparently unattainable role
models for our project are saints like Francesca of Rome, who set up a cell
under the roof of her husband's noble palace, or Gottfried of Kappenberg and
Pope Gregory the Great, who converted the castles of their ancestors into
monasteries which they entered as monks. (Orazio Gentileschi "The Vision of St. Francesca";
Gottfried von Kappenberg; Goya "Gregory the Great")
Now we are able
to imitate these great saints!
"But I don't own a
palace. What shall I do?"
The Path of the Interior
Temple allows you to follow these high examples, wherever and however you live:
You establish an Inner
Monastery at your place of residence and move in there as a monk.
"Impossible! How am I
supposed to turn my little apartment on the 15th floor into a sanctuary?”
Well, you will see: This
extension of our exercise takes place automatically, completely naturally and
almost imperceptibly: When you are permeated by the sublime spirit of a
sanctuary, this is necessarily reflected in your aura. Whether you intend it or
not:
You radiate exactly that
spirit which you have received, which fills you.
When you create the pure
atmosphere of a temple in the morning meditation, you automatically establish
the solemn mood of a sacred place not only within yourself, but also in your
room.
The Subtle World around you consists of subtle matter. You influence these vibrations of
your room and ramp them up by imparting to them your own high vibration.
Your radiations form a temple
around you, just as the light of a candle fills an entire room with a solemn
mood.
You expand your Inner Room,
the Interior Temple. Like a hologram that you project to the outside, you build
up an aura around you which everyone senses who enters your room.
You saturate not only the
Inner Room – yourself – but also the outer room – your apartment – with the
spirit of a temple.
Thereby, you transform not
only your own being, but also the place in which you live, and bring about a
real transfiguration of the material earthly reality:
All of a sudden
this worldly room, whatever its external appearance, becomes a temple because
there reigns the spirit of a sanctuary.
The Sanctuary Within embodies,
as is its aspiration, in your place of residence. The Interior Temple becomes
an exterior temple. Not only within you, but also around you there is purity,
tranquillity, peace, joy and solemnity.
*****
Keep expanding this sacred
area! Start involving your partner, your family, and your friends. Surround, envelop them – not with the wall of a monastery,
but with the protective aura of your virtual temple!
*****
The construction of the temple
on the material level is an internal process! The artist within you does not
have to build a stone structure nor to convert your material home. Like an
interior architect, he equips an existing physical building with the spirit of
a sanctuary!
By higher dimensions we attain
a higher existence. In spirit one can build more than with hands. By thought
one can build an entire empire. One can be affirmed upon the earthly crust as
well as in the far-off worlds. (Infinity I, 140)
You see:
Agni Yoga meditation is more than contemplating the tip of your nose!
Meditation is a process of
creation: You are building up a whole world!
*****
If the concept of a temple is
too spiritual or too esoteric for you, we can also say: Your kingdom is the
Heavenly Jerusalem, the Ideal City in the Subtle World which strives to
incarnate on earth.
There once stood a city and
reigned a people far in advance of the present civilization, taught and
governed by one of the great Masters of the Lodge. The city which will some time be built already hangs in the heavens in form.
This form will be given to you ere long. (Teachings
of the Temple Vol. I, Lesson 29 “Building in accord with natural and Divine Law“)
Instead of an “Interior
Temple”, we may also speak of the “World of the Future” growing in our hearts.
Not infrequently entire
structures, prior to their earthly realization, have been created in the Higher
Worlds. One may read in the ancient Covenants about Heavenly Cities; in fact,
they are being constructed in reality upon different
spheres, and thus a magnetic attraction is created. Can it not be that certain
cities already do exist, and named people live in them? One may walk into the
future as assuredly as if the delineations of the city were before the earthly
eyesight. (Fiery World II, 403)
As paradoxical as it sounds,
it is true nevertheless:
You have already lived in the
City of the Future!
You come from there (from the
future!) and go back there (to the future!) after death. Your striving, your
longing is to make the ideal that you have already experienced in the World
Beyond a material reality on earth.
None save those who inhabited
this prototypic city, could by Karmic right complete and occupy the New City.
(Teachings of the Temple Vol. III, Lesson ”Harmony and
Responsibility”)
2. Actually living in a Sanctuary
Now your temple is ready. Now
you start living and working in your room as in a sacred place: in accordance
with the law, purely and solemnly. The external circumstances of your life are
irrelevant for this.
This exercise transfigures
even a prison cell!
Thereby you create on earth
the same conditions as prevail in Heaven.
You will be told of places
where there are many gods. What does a site of the gods mean? Does it not
signify that this is a place with special conditions for the astral? (Agni Yoga
443)
Let us employ more
imagination! Let us be like children! Let us play, we lived and worked in a
temple! We playfully, tentatively stick to the rules that apply there and try
out whether they enable us to lead a better life:
When you take a meal, imagine:
You are sitting at the table in the refectory together with your teacher and
your spiritual brothers and sisters. When you go for a walk, you are strolling
in the cloister of the monastery.
In this way, your fantasy
world becomes a spiritual reality. Your soul actually lives
in it like a child in the world of its fairy tales or its books.
You are living in a virtual,
in your own spiritual world.
This is like those computer
games where you build a virtual personality that lives in a virtual world. The
big difference, however, is: You make your dream come true in earthly
existence.
"Is not that pure
imagination?"
No, not at all! You are
establishing a spiritual reality that is as effective as a material one:
You create a sacred, solemn
atmosphere around you. This is not an illusion! This is a reality!
There can be no doubt: Such a
spiritual environment is not only real, it is even curative: First for
yourself, and then for all the other people who enter this wonderful world.
You do not merely dream, you actually create a world of your own.
You are dwelling in an area of
dull multi-storey buildings? When you are living in the spiritual world of an
ashram in the Himalayas, you find the mountains before your inner eyes. Then it
does not matter what the physical world looks like outside your window. (Nicholas Roerich "Star of the Morning")
*****
This transfiguration of your
surroundings is of course easier to achieve if you have a room available that
is reserved for meditation and spiritual work only, which is largely isolated
from worldly affairs – that means, which is as pure as possible; a Lord’s
corner, where you set up a small altar with a candle and portraits of Mahatma
M, of your teacher and of the saint of the day.
In principle, however, you can
transform any worldly room into a sacred place by filling it with a sacred
spirit – if only the power of your spirit is strong enough to overcome all
opposing influences.
3. Attachment of the
material Level to the Supermundane Homeland
“I find it difficult to live
in two places, one physical and one spiritual, at the same time. I am not that
far advanced yet."
Well, in
order to facilitate the understanding, let us express the process in
scientific language as well:
You build up the Interior
Temple by attaching the material plane to the Higher World.
We had already said
(Broadcasting “Living in the continuous Presence of the Teacher”): Since Heaven
is not far away, but present everywhere, any place on earth may be attached to
any place in the Subtle World.
You attach your earthly
dwelling to the Heaven of which you dream; to the sanctuary that already exists
in the Spiritual World.
Every earthly place is
connected to some higher or lower subtle sphere anyway. Then you better choose
yourself to which one you attach yourself!
"What does 'attachment'
mean specifically and practically?"
You connect – not physically,
but of course in spirit: The same atmosphere, the same spirit prevails as
above, so below. The same conditions, laws, customs
and traditions as in Heaven also apply with you on earth.
Shambhala is the indispensable
site where the spiritual world unites with the material one. But to work there
where the spirit has descended into matter, the conditions of both planes must
be met. (Leaves of Morya's Garden II, 88, 91)
Then the connection of all
worlds is established.
Then the earth is close to
Heaven. Then Heaven is open.
Then the heavenly state
embraces earthly life as well. Then your location is the lowest, the physical
level of a unitary world pyramid, the subtle level of which is the temple in
the Higher World.
Your house is a part, an
embodiment, a branch of the Supermundane Sanctuary on earth.
We remember (Broadcasting
"Living in the continuous Presence of the Teacher"): Mostly, the
pyramid of the worlds look like this:
The Higher Spheres are
separated from the material world.
Through the attachment you pierce
at least at one point the dark layer above the earth that separates us from
Heaven. You establish a living connection to the top. You are now under the ray
of the Supermundane Sanctuary like under a cone of light.
Your home is connected to
Heaven by a protected channel that breaks through the lower subtle spheres
around the earth. This is similar to the channel
through which your soul descended to the material level when you were born (see
the Broadcasting "The Subtle Constitution of Man").
The attachment enables the
Higher World to break through into material life. If such a connection exists,
Higher Beings can come to your aid, work together with you or act through you
down here. (Botticelli "Annunciation")
The boundary between the material
and the Subtle World melts away and finally vanishes completely.
Heaven is, so to speak, in the
next room.
Your homeland is next door,
and so are your soulmates. But not behind a wall, but beyond a kind of veil
made of subtle matter of the highest vibration. You may penetrate it at any
time, cross the border and – as when falling asleep and at death – deliberately
switch over to the Other World.
Instead of flying to the
temple, you shorten the distance: It is now within you, around you, right next
to, behind or above you.
You draw near to the Higher
World by spiritualizing yourself. As soon as the vibration of your being sinks,
you fall back into the purely material state and move away from Heaven again. (Nicholas Roerich "Ecstasy")
Indeed, it is
needful in everything to attach oneself to the Higher World. Without such
attachment, the path will be a long one. Amid the densest of earthly conditions it is still possible to direct oneself toward the
Higher World, and this World of Beauty will be close by. In the earthly body
the spirit already learns to attach himself to the Higher World as if returning
into its own wondrous native realm. Man feels an attraction even
to his earthly native land which is transitory; so much the greater is his
attraction to the eternal Fatherland. (AUM 82)
You are never alone. Your supermundane brothers and sisters are watching you; you
sense their presence and can communicate with them.
Every co-worker of the
Brotherhood comes into close contact with the Subtle World. The Abode of the
Hierarchy in the Himalayas is in constant communication with the Abodes in the
Subtle World. (Supermundane 41)
Live this idea as concretely
as possible! Be aware of their proximity! This means, for example: If Heaven is
next door, you must not disturb the important, sacred doings that are going on
there and should behave as is befitting in such a high presence.
If an important task is being
performed near us, we should not quarrel or make noise. (Supermundane 354)
4. Every Man a Priest
Nicholas
Roerich “Zarathustra”
If the place where you are
living and working is a sanctuary, you are a priest!
Your Eternal Individuality is
by nature a holy being. You imperatively have to
uphold this dignity!
The higher powers are close to
you. You know the Will of God. You convey it to others and enforce it on earth.
You bestow divine gifts: truth, justice, beauty and
love.
You take over the spiritual
guidance in your home and in every other room you enter.
In the world, wherever you
appear, the Hierarchy manifests itself. Your work is being carried out in the
name and on behalf of the Higher Powers.
You bring order to the chaos
of the world.
5. Establishment of the Interior Temple as
Service to the Common Good
Bartolomeo Vivarini “Saint
John of Capistrano”
We are approaching the end of
our Broadcasting. Establishing an Interior Temple is not just a private
pleasure to make your life more comfortable. When you create the atmosphere of
a sacred place around you, this is at the same time service to the common good!
*****
You are dreaming of a world of
beauty and harmony, where people get along well with each other and settle
their disagreements by a loving dialogue rather than by strife or violence?
Then create such a better
world in your surroundings!
Make every room you enter such
a higher place! Draw people under the spell of your Inner Temple!
They visit your place of
residence or work and thereby enter your Holy World! Or you bring your Heaven,
your portable paradise with you to them. Thereby you also transform the
material level.
"This is very general,
though. Can you give an example?
In 1453 the Turks had
conquered Constantinople and continued to advance westward. The rulers of
Europe were unable to organize resistance. In this situation, 70-year-old Saint
John of Capistrano alone collected an army of crusaders from ordinary people
and decisively repelled the Turks in 1456 off Belgrade. He went down in history
as the “Saviour of the West” and his deed as the “Miracle of Belgrade”.
His military camp is described
as a monastery. Mass was read, it was preached, confessed and the sacraments
administered daily. There was strict discipline. The spirit of the saint
completely controlled the masses. They obeyed him like novices. The usual
excesses of soldier's life did not come up at all. The rough fellows said:
"We are serving under a holy captain, hence we
must behave properly." (Jean-Joseph
Benjamin-Constant "The Conquest of Constantinople"; Bartolomeo Vivarini "St. John of Capistrano"; Statue Stephansdom, Vienna)
If St. John of Capistrano was
able to turn an entire military camp into a monastery, you too can set about
making of every room you enter a temple.
*****
In the Broadcastings on the
establishment of the New World we shall discuss in more detail: Our task is to
adapt the conditions on earth to those in Heaven. The goal is:
The whole earth is to become a
sanctuary.
A planet on which everywhere,
in any place the Will of God – or scientifically speaking: the Will of the
Hierarchy, the Cosmic Order – prevails; on which the principles of the Higher
World such as truth, justice, beauty and love are actually enforced.
"How can we make this
high ideal a reality?"
The world of the future must
first be created in the consciousness, in the hearts of the people, which means
in scientific language: in Heaven, in thought, on the subtle level!
The old world and the New
World are distinguished through consciousness, not by outer evidence. Age and
circumstance bear no importance. The New World is born everywhere, but beyond
boundaries and conditions. (Agni Yoga 55)
The establishment of the
Temple Within is the first step to create the New World.
The New City must be built
first in the hearts of mankind before it can be objectified on the physical
plane. (Teachings of the Temple Vol. III, Lesson “Harmony and
Responsibility”)
You must make paradise a
reality at least within yourself before you can think of building it in the
outside world. How do you want to clear the earth of garbage when your own
Inner Room is still full of dirt?
One has to
provide the world with evidence, and isn’t the temple of the Spirit such
evidence? (Heart 215)
If the whole earth is to
become a sanctuary, we have to transform every single
location on this planet into a temple. The more people establish an Interior
Temple there where they are dwelling, the more the New World will emerge over
time by itself.
6.
Heaven: A Community of Soulmates
Nicholas
Roerich “Zvenigorod”
You remember (Broadcasting
"The Supermundane World"): Heaven is less a place than a community of
soulmates. A paradise is a paradise because you are living among your own kind.
Lower beings have no access here and cannot bother you.
A Heaven is created by
spiritually related beings living together according to common customs,
traditions, rules and laws.
High-minded souls are gathering together in the Hereafter to build holy places:
Cathedrals, ashrams, monasteries and temples. If your Eternal Individuality
belongs to such a sanctuary in the Subtle World, that means: You – your true
self – are a member of such a supratemporal community.
Let us imagine a community of
pure and holy spirits in white robes. Under the guidance of a wise master, they
strengthen their soul with spiritual exercises and selflessly serve the common
good with their daily work.
In order to become and to
remain a member of this supermundane community, you
must in all worlds, in Heaven as well as on earth:
Live according to the same
customs, do the same exercises and serve the same goals.
Then living together
physically is not important. That is why the concept of the Interior Temple is
sufficient to remain attached to your spiritual homeland.
Of course, you carry this true
family within your heart, which you had to leave for a short time and to which
you want to return to as soon as possible. Of course, you stay in touch with
your eternal brothers and sisters when you are away from home.
We shall discuss more details
in the Broadcasting “Living in the Ashram of the Teacher”.
*****
Now, after so many words on my
part, it is your turn: Set up your paradise and enjoy the happiness of living
therein!
And pass on the experiences
you are making to other people, so that they too can beautify their life.
May everyone perceive:
Here is the New Man!
Here is the New World!
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