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Aspects of the Practice of Agni Yoga
Dedicated to the past, present and future Practicians of Agni Yoga
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1. Immortality: A State of the Consciousness
Whether you
are immortal, depends on your consciousness: As long as
your consciousness rests in a transitory personality, you were in the last
earthly life Mr. Smith, you are in this life Mrs. Brown, and you will be in the
next life Mr. Miller. Then you are still mortal, because you lead many separate
and each of them limited existences. Instead,
you have to move your consciousness into your soul and identify yourself with
your eternal, spiritual being. Let us call this being, in order to give it a
name, "Anima". Immortal
you are when you manage to continuously maintain the consciousness of
"Anima" in the material as well as in the other, spiritual world. You always
have to be "Anima": In "heaven", on the way down to earth,
during the short earthly life in the body of Mr. Miller, and when returning to
the spiritual world; at the next descent, in the next earthly life, at the next
ascent, etc. This eternal up and down is only the one single life of your eternal
spiritual being "Anima". You can
practice this keeping of one consistent state of the consciousness on all
levels of existence by trying to consciously go to sleep, to act consciously in
the Subtle World and to return consciously into the body in the morning.
Citations: The yogi
knows not death, for the awakened consciousness experiences no interruption of
existence. The retention of consciousness in his varied sheaths makes the
yogi's achievement vital to life. (Agni Yoga 175) One may
regard a chain of incarnations as a sequence of separate lives, but it is
better to look upon the entire chain of incarnations as one life. Truly, life
is one; from the moment of mastering the human consciousness, life with all it
involves does not cease. If people could grasp the wholeness of life, they
would sooner learn goal-fitness and responsibility. (Agni Yoga 450) The number
of people who preserve vivid continuity of consciousness when passing into the
Subtle World, even into its middle strata, is not so overwhelmingly large.
Reaching a state of conscious continuity of existence, or of the preservation
of a complete consciousness in all the bodies and in all the spheres, is the
greatest achievement of the Arhat. This is what is called Amrita, or true
immortality. That is why all the efforts of the Great Teachers are directed
toward the broadening of the consciousness of humanity. (Helena Roerich,
Letters Vol. I, letter of 11.01.1935) Immortality
is that gift which allows the same great personality to step at will from one
worn out body into another. (Helena Blavatsky, Secret Doctrine, Vol. II, Part
1, Stanza X)
2. Life in Heaven: A State of the Consciousness
To live in
heaven does not mean to dwell at a certain place - it means a certain state of the
consciousness! When do you
live in paradise, in the highest possible world? When you can maintain joy of
being in all circumstances! He who
complains about death or the obstacles, difficulties and hardships of everyday
life, lives in a fairly low world. He who can
endure with serenity all these adversities, already lives in a higher world. If you can rejoice
about everything which you encounter - because you look at it as an opportunity
for further spiritual ascent, or as a trial sent from your teacher -, then you
live in the highest world, how ever the external circumstances may look like into
which you have been exiled.
Citations:
Therefore
Schopenhauer says: "Even in the same environment everyone lives in a
different world." And the
saying goes: “If you do not find heaven within your own heart, you will look
for it in the outer world in vain.” Or the
Bible: “The kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17, 21) And Agni
Yoga: “Each spirit creates his own world, and the beauty or ugliness of the
created world depends upon the quality of his consciousness.” (Infinity II, 719
[319]) “The Fiery
World is primarily within us, if only we discern its abode!” (Fiery World I,
354)
3. Will I go to Heaven? If someone
asks you: "Will I go to heaven?" Ask him:
"Do you already live in heaven?" You should
not postpone the life in heaven until after your death. You can live in heaven already
now. You even have
to learn to live in heaven already now. A heaven is a community of souls. If
you are unable to live during the earthly incarnation in such a way as it is
common in the community that you regard as your heaven, you will not be able to
live in that way after your death either. If you do
not enjoy today to live as it is customary in your heaven, you will have no
pleasure in such a way of life after death either. He who sees
the ashram of a great teacher as the highest conceivable world and his heaven, has
to prove already on earth that he is suitable and worthy of a life at such a
high place. 4. Transformation into a Soul Question: I
do not advance with the transformation into a soul. I rarely hear my soul tell
me what to do or to leave. I do not know whether I am already a soul or not. Answer:
"Transformation into a soul" is not entirely the right expression. Let
us refine the concept: Your soul,
your spiritual being, your Eternal individuality already exists. But it is not
an earthly, but a creature of the Fiery World. This being,
also known as Fiery Body, is in almost every human beings still underdeveloped,
like a baby. In the spiritual world, it is formless like the animals, it is
like an empty shell and hardly capable to live. It exists, but is not aware of
itself and therefore unable to act and to use its forces. Our task is
to shape this being and thus awaken it to its life. Because it is not a
physical, but a spiritual being, this must be achieved with the help of our
thoughts. You must
first define: Who or what shall be my Eternal Individuality be? An immortal, a spiritual
disciple, a teacher, a spiritual warrior, a co-worker of the Hierarchy, a king
of the spirit ...? Such an
identity requires certain qualities. Your soul, for example, is only a king of
the spirit when it feels, speaks and acts like a king at every moment, in all,
even the most oppressive circumstances. So you must
strive to equip the spiritual part of your being with these attributes. Over
time, you will see how your Eternal individuality grows and then also reveals
and expresses itself. But for this to happen the fiery body has to be
sufficiently formed. Of course, the fiery body always exists, but it may be
chaotic and unconscious. (Heart 258)
5. Transformation into a Soul: Basic Exercise: Look at Yourself The
simplest exercise to support your transformation into a spiritual being is: Look
at yourself, at your body, from above, with the eyes of your Eternal
individuality, as you look at a stranger: What does the body do? What does he
want? How does he feel? So you
begin to bring your eternal spiritual being, which is different from your body,
to life. The soul is now actually active by observing the body. Thereby, you
put the eyes of your soul into function. You begin to see not with the physical
eyes, but with the inner senses of your Fiery Body. This is similar to the well-known near-death experiences, when the soul, which has almost left the body, looks from the ceiling at the doctor who operates the body on the operating table. Since our Fiery Body is a little bit larger than the physical body, we can perform the observation from above without leaving the physical body.
6. Transformation into a Soul: Use your higher Senses If you want
to become an immortal, you must learn to use the abilities of your spiritual
being. The second, more challenging exercise for this is: After the
spiritual eye, awaken to life the other senses of your higher self by using
them, above all the heart. For example, with the straight-knowledge of the
heart, you can recognize the nature of another person: can you trust him, does
he mean well with you, or does he make pleasant words only? Even a
well-trained intellect does not help in such a question. Saint-Exupéry
already proclaimed the great truth: „One sees
clearly only with the heart; what is essential is invisible to the eye.“ Allow this
phrase to melt on your tongue: To approach the essential, that which is really
important in your life (faith, love, hope, trust, meaning), you must develop
your spiritual being and its possibilities of cognition! Listen to
your heart in every situation: instead of "listening to the voice of the
soul" we can also say: "listen to the heart": the spiritual,
eternal, divine within us expresses itself via the heart. If you are
not sure how you should behave, what your Eternal Individuality wants you to do,
ask the pure feeling of your heart. The more
closely you follow what this inner voice tells you, the clearer it will speak
to you in the future.
7. Transformation into a Soul: Use
your spiritual Forces (1) The next
more challenging exercise: Begin to
control your body from above, just as the rider directs his donkey. Let the
body carry out the will of the soul, just as the donkey follows the rider's
will. Observe calmly, as if it is a stranger, what the body wants, where it
strives. Then you decide what he gets and where he goes. In this way
you use the spiritual forces of your soul, whereby it begins to live
and its power begins to grow.
8. Transformation into a Soul: Use
your spiritual Forces (2) The need to
control the body through your eternal individuality not just relates to the
purely material side of your being, but also to your thoughts, your feelings
and your instincts. From
Theosophy comes the helpful idea that, besides the physical body, there is a body
of feelings (astral body), a body of thoughts (mental body) and a body of
instincts. Your higher
self has to control these bodies as well, just like the physical body! You should
identify with your physical body, and not with your thoughts, your feelings or your
instincts either. So you have
to direct four perishable bodies, like the charioteer the four horses of his
chariot.
In
practice, this means: learn to observe your thoughts, feelings and instincts
like those of a stranger from above, from the position of your true, eternal
self. Then, from
the perspective of the higher Self, you to decide which thoughts, feelings and
instincts you admit and which you reject, which ones you follow and which ones you
disregard. Not
"I" - my Eternal Individuality - thinks or feels. It is my body of
thoughts or my body of feelings -parts of my perishable personality- that thinks
or feels. "I" direct this thinking and feeling! Begin by
rejecting negative thoughts or feelings and replacing them with higher ones.
Try to spend a day without negative thoughts - you will see how difficult this
is! By establishing
the rule of the spirit over your thoughts, feelings and instincts, you exercise
the powers of your Eternal Individuality, which thereby grows and becomes ever
greater and stronger. 9. Retain the State of the Consciousness “Immortal Man” and “Living in Heaven” We had
said: To become an immortal, a New Man of the sixth race means to attain a
corresponding state of the consciousness. We also had
already said: To live in the New World, in Heaven means to attain a
corresponding state of the consciousness. If this is so,
then the task of becoming a New Man and of living in a New World is quite
different from what most of you think: In the
morning meditation, you can establish relatively easily the state of the consciousness
of a non-material, spiritual being and of living in your personal Heaven
(for example in the Ashram of your teacher). Then, all
that is required, is “only” to defend this high state of the consciousness in your
worldly life against all attacks and not to allow yourself being dragged down
by anything or anyone. This requires constant vigilance. It should not be thought that, in his
consciousness, an Arhat could lose sight of the Guiding Will even for an
instant. He proves to be a simple mortal, if he does not always solemnly bear
the chalice of achievement. The power of His heart becomes dormant as soon as
He ceases to feel the Hierarchic thread in His hand. In this realization of
constant vigilance lies the uniqueness of an Arhat. (Fiery World I, 196)
10. Overcome Injury, Depression or Irritation Question: I
am hurt, depressed or irritated. What can I do? Answer:
These feelings are expressions of your perishable personality. Look at them
with the eyes of your Eternal Individuality, as if they were the injury, depression
or irritation of a stranger. Then you
realize: Your Eternal Individuality has no reason for such feelings: The cause
for them is small and void in the face of eternity. The cause for them is a
reason for joy because it offers to you an opportunity for further spiritual ascent.
11. Man or Woman? You think
you are a woman? You think you are a man? This is a pardonable error, but here
you fall victim to Maja, the illusion of matter! Your true
self, your soul, your Eternal Individuality is genderless like an angel. On the
material level, it sometimes incarnates as a man, sometimes as a woman. It is a
synthesis of both. Never
disparage the other sex. Thereby you humiliate yourself. Better try to acquire
the best qualities of both principles.
12. American, Russian or German?
You think you are
an American, a Russian or a German? Here you fall victim to Maja, the illusion
of matter! Belonging to a
particular people is an aspect of your perishable personality. Your Eternal
Individuality, your immortal soul is born on its eternal way into the most diverse
nations. What a madness
when Palestinians and Israelis mean that they have to hate each other and to wage
war against one other: He who was born as an Israeli in this life can become a
Palestinian in his next incarnation, or might have been a Palestinian in his
previous life. The hatred is, therefore, directed against one's own (!) (past
or future) people!
13. Jew, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim or Christian?
You think you are
a Jew, a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Muslim or a Christian? Then you fall victim to
Maja, the illusion of matter! Belonging to a
particular religion is an aspect of your perishable personality. Your Eternal
individuality, your immortal soul, is born on its eternal way into the most
diverse religions. You, your true self
once lived in the Muslim, it lives today in the Christian, and it will live in
a later life perhaps in a culture shaped by Buddhism. So, if you place one
religion higher than the others, you automatically belittle your own (!) (past
or future) religion. What a madness,
when people wage war against each other because of religion: They fight in
truth themselves! It is nothing but ignorance that causes so much suffering!
14. Life is Movement - at a furious speed!
“Due to the motion of the Cosmos, it is
impossible to remain immobile. There is either backward or forward movement.” (Agni
Yoga, Book Community 127) The place
where you are just now standing takes part in the rotation of the earth around
its own axis (once a day). This movement proceeds at a speed of about 1,700
kilometres per hour. The place
where you are standing takes further part in the rotation of the earth around the
sun (once a year). On this track you are moving with the earth at a speed of
about 108,000 km/h. The earth
is part of the solar system. The place where you are standing, therefore, takes
part in a third movement, namely the rotation of the solar system around the
center of the Milky Way. On this course, you are advancing at a speed of
900,000 km/h. Finally,
the Milky Way – and you with it – travels through the universe at a speed of 2
million km/h. A being
that races through space at such unimaginable velocities must not remain
immobile in spirit. There is no rest. Life is movement, standstill is death –
physically as well as spiritually.
15. Think as the Soul Thinks Man is what
he thinks! If you want to transform into an immortal, you must learn to think
not like a physical, but like a spiritual being. Your Eternal Individuality
thinks in a different way than your perishable personality. A good example of
this New thinking of the New Man is given by Helena Blavatsky: “Eat only when you are hungry and drink when
you are thirsty, and never otherwise.
If some particular preparation attracts your palate, do not allow yourself to
be seduced into taking it simply to gratify that craving. Remember that the
pleasure you derive from it had no existence some seconds before, and that it
will cease to exist some seconds afterwards; that it is a transit pleasure,
that that which is a pleasure now will turn into pain if you take it in large
quantities; that while there is another object that can give you eternal bliss,
this centering your affections on a transient thing is sheer folly; that you are neither the body nor the
sense, and therefore the pleasure and the pains which these endure can never affect you really, and so on. Practice
the same train of reasoning in the case of every other temptation, and, though
you will often fail, yet you will achieve a surer success.” (Helena Blavatsky,
Some Practical Suggestions for Daily Life, No. 1)
16. You are –- an extraterrestrial being The homeland
of your true Self is the world beyond. From there comes your Eternal
Individuality in order to temporarily incarnate on the material plane. There it
returns after the death of your body. There it lives much longer than on earth. You have to
form a completely different picture of yourself: Your soul is a supermundane
being from the Higher World, a kind of extraterrestrial creature, which a
temporary mission has exiled to a primitive planet. You will of course live down
here according to the customs and laws that are in force in your homeland.
17. Exercise: Inviolability
The man of the future, of the 6th race, is an immortal, non-material spiritual creature. His superiority over the old man rests on his inviolability. If you want to
use this potential, you have to learn not to allow yourself to be hurt by anything
or anybody; that is, to react to no man and in no situation with annoyance,
irritation, depression, fear, unkindness or similar negative thoughts or
feelings. If your Eternal Individuality remains wholly unaffected, in complete
peace and serenity, whatever you may encounter – then you have climbed the next
step.
18. Exercise: Keep the Soul unmoved
Your spiritual
being, your eternal soul, stands in the Subtle World behind and above your physical
body. Imperturbable, it looks at what is happening, and directs what you think,
feel, speak and do. The soul itself does not move and is not moved by anything. That is how it
should be. It is solely up to you yourself to establish this higher, Fiery
state of your Eternal Individuality in the morning and to maintain it unimpaired
during the day.
19. Formation of the Fiery Body
For visions the fiery body has to be sufficiently formed. Of course, the fiery body always exists, but it may be chaotic and unconscious. (Heart 258) We know that
there is no spirit and no matter, but only spirit-matter. Matter is spirit-matter
of a low vibration. Spirit is spirit-matter of a high vibration. Just as water
appears at low vibration as ice and at high vibration as vapor. Applied to man that
means: As long as we are in a state of low vibration, we are living in the
physical body only. In a state of higher vibration, we can use the Subtle Body.
In a state of highest vibration, we transform from a material into a fiery,
immortal, spiritual being. Then, we can appear with our Fiery Body (the soul,
the Eternal Individuality) and consciously use it. A state of high
vibration is characterized by purity, tranquility, joy, solemnity, serenity, absence
of desire and enthusiasm. We should establish such a state in the morning in
meditation and defend it in the course of the day.
20. You are much greater than you think!
The ignorant say:
You are small. It is part of the nature of man that he is mortal.
Do not believe them.
In truth, you are great because you are immortal! You are a cosmic giant! You
have already lived, when this earth did not even exist, and you will continue
to live on, when this insignificant chunk of matter has long disintegrated.
The possibilities of your Eternal Individuality (not those of your body!) have no limits. Within you there lies dormant the potential of an angel and of even higher beings.
The Agni Yogi is on the path to God!
The wayfarer
affirms that he goes to the Lord Himself. It is true, people are amazed at such
a resolution, but they respect such steadfastness. One must set before oneself
the loftiest goal. (Fiery World II, 370)
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