AGNI YOGA WEB TV
SERIES „EDUCATION“
BROADCASTING 4
Mastery of
Feelings
Dear Agni Yogis,
we are continuing
our Series on "Education". Having dealt in the previous Videos with mastery
of body and thoughts, we shall be talking today about controlling feelings and
instincts.
Keeping under
control emotions follows the same rules as curbing your thinking. What we have
already said about this topic in the Video "Mastery of Thoughts"
applies to your feelings as well. That is why many things need to be only
briefly repeated today.
In any case, it is
nearly impossible to separate thoughts from feelings.
Your feelings are
shaped almost exclusively by your thoughts.
It is difficult for
people to perceive through straight-knowledge. This
happens because their feeling has been separated from their thought. But how
can feeling exist without its foundation on thought? (Supermundane 182)
"I feel
bad."
Is that a thought
or the feeling of being dejected?
"Poor me, why
does it always have to hit me?"
Is that a thought
or the feeling of self-pity?
"I am afraid
of death."
Is that a thought
or a feeling? In any case, this mood will disappear as soon as you direct your
thoughts to the immortality and imperishability of
your soul. Which confirms that mastery of feelings largely amounts to mastery
of thoughts.
*****
The disciple asks, "Why
is it so important to control my feelings?"
For two reasons:
First, your
feelings make you see things in a certain light and colour them, so to speak.
This emotional view has nothing to do with reality.
Seekers of truth
will realize that the sun is the sun, neither cheerful nor gloomy, but that
their inner feelings can colour even that great
luminary. (Supermundane 307)
You become the
victim of an illusion, of Maja.
He who has acquired
great knowledge will not be tempted by earthly moods. (Brotherhood 562)
Above all, however,
you are weaving, as with every thought, so also with every feeling, the subtle
structure of your Eternal Individuality – in other words, your vibrations.
This Video contains
19 Guiding Thoughts or Core Statements that are of crucial importance for your
daily practice. The first one is:
Guiding Thought:
It is not the external circumstances
that shape your soul,
but the feelings with which
you react to them
Your true being
turns beautiful or ugly not through the circumstances into which you were cast,
but through the emotions that you yourself allow to arise and nurture within
you as a reaction to the events!
The man of the
future masters a great art: He keeps his vibration high and maintains his Fiery
State (see the Video “Exercise The Fiery Condition”),
whatever happens to him. That means, among other things: He controls his
feelings.
Section I: Mastery of Feelings in general
Nicholas Roerich „Glory of the Himalayas“
We shall first talk
about mastery of feelings in general. Later, in the second part, we will deal
particularly with individual emotions.
1. Body
of Feelings
Your emotional nature,
like the physical body and the body of thoughts, is a living being of its own
kind.
Do not identify
with your feelings any more than with your body or your thoughts.
It is not you –
your true self, your Eternal Individuality – who feels, but your transient body
of emotions.
2. Observe and examine your Feelings
Nicholas
Roerich "Tsong kha-pa"
The first step to
controlling feelings is the constant observation and monitoring of their
ever-changing activity. Initially you do nothing more than watch them
objectively from above, from the standpoint of your Eternal Individuality:
Without any
intention or judgement. You just ascertain what is going on within you.
"My tool, my
emotional body feels joy or sorrow, indignation, insult, offence or
injury."
The first duty is
to watch one’s own feelings (Heart 432)
In a second step
only do you examine the value of each individual emotion in
order to reject unwanted and to nurture desired ones.
One should break
away from personal expressions as from harmful habits. A feeling which has been
tempered in the fire of Hierarchy will not become distorted. Thus
learn how to balance feelings on the truest scales. Much patience is needed in order to be able, without losing the feeling and the
heart, to check upon their quality on the scale of Hierarchy. (Fiery World II,
407)
Self-mastery is the
first and fundamental exercise when we are about to create the New Man. As long as the body, the brother donkey, may deal with its
master, the Eternal Individuality, as it pleases, the latter can never develop
and will always be suppressed in its true needs. The same applies if you allow
feelings to overpower you uncontrolled.
Just like your body
and your thoughts, you must also control, purify, educate
and refine your feelings.
Guiding Thought:
You do not allow your feelings to enslave you,
instead you learn how to master them
"What does
that imply in concrete terms?"
Your soul
determines whether your body of feelings may express itself through joy or
lamentation. If your Higher Self is strong, it allows only positive, noble,
beautiful feelings to arise and rejects bad, negative, undesirable ones.
At the present time
one needs especially to know how to control one’s own feelings. (AUM 403)
Normal earthly
life, when many attacks threaten your mental balance, offers you every new day
countless opportunities to perfect the control of your feelings.
The ability to
control one’s feelings is the result of long training. It can be achieved in the midst of everyday life, when one experiences many
occasions for the disturbance of equilibrium. (Supermundane 424)
4. Drive away unwanted Feelings
Lower emotions that are not compatible with your true, higher nature (irritability,
anger, doubt, aggression, self-pity, dejection, weakness, fear, sorrow, worry,
hurt, offendedness, envy, loneliness, disappointment,
hopelessness or impatience) you should drive away
consciously like annoying flies.
In everyday life there exists a routine of resentment.
It must be recognized and ejected as a most noxious insect. Petty earthly
feelings are turned into a fiery Gehenna. (Fiery World I, 143)
I advise that one observe oneself carefully, and
consciously eject doubt, irritation, and self-pity. (Agni Yoga 340)
If an undesirable feeling succeeds in asserting itself, your Eternal
Self has suffered defeat.
There was an ancient game in which people tried to
make each other angry. Whoever became angry first was the loser. (Brotherhood
47)
Exercise: Extend Periods of positive Feelings
Nicholas
Roerich „Warrior of Light“
Extend the periods of time in which you remain without negative
feelings!
One should be able to spend at least one day without
feeling the slightest irritation. (Heart 465)
5. Overcoming Moods
Gustave Doré "Solomon”
Your feelings play many tricks on you by putting you in bad moods.
Many years pass by before we succeed in bridling our
feelings, which are ever ready to reflect the least and unexpected stimulation.
(Helena Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter of 26.01.1939)
First, the seeker of truth must learn to recognise his
own fleeting moods. He who wants to improve himself must know how to overcome
the moods of his gross state. (Supermundane 307)
You overcome a bad mood by remembering that better hours will certainly
come back again soon.
Fear not moods; like leaves
they will be blown away. (Leaves of Morya's Garden I, 172 [195])
Do not allow such trifles to influence your life or actions!
If a cricket can disturb the construction, it means
that the striving has not been great. (Fiery World III, 458)
You have become the victim of a fit that will fade away as quickly as
it came.
Poor is the consciousness that has no control over
passing emotions. (Agni Yoga 406)
Keep the wisdom of Solomon constantly in mind:
And this too shall pass! (Fiery World I, 371;
Supermundane 495; Heart 164;)
It is in fact a wonderful liberation to conquer a mood which so far you
have fallen victim to again and again.
6.
Change of Thinking
"How can I
succeed in banishing unwanted feelings?"
By changing your
thoughts!
Only the art of
thinking can refine one’s feelings. Man should understand that sooner or later
he is destined to progress to the feeling of harmony, which is based on the art
of thinking. (Supermundane 341)
Thought gives birth
to Light. Verily, a thinker sends the order, “Let there be Light!”
(Supermundane 30)
Guiding Thought:
Your thoughts
rule your emotions
Each minute
thoughts can bring a change of mood. (Brotherhood 227)
"I don't
understand. How do you mean that? What I feel is not dependent on my brain, is
it?""
Let us look at
three examples:
3
Examples
Nicholas
Roerich "Holy Himalayas"
First
example: You only grieve over a difficulty on your path if you think wrongly! As
soon as you change your thinking and become aware of the usefulness of
obstacles for growth and spiritual ascent (see the Video "Rejoice at
Obstacles!"), your feelings as well will change: Now you are happy about
the adversity!
You can dispel
darkness and gloom by changing the direction of thoughts. (Leaves of Morya's
Garden II, 177)
Second
example: If you think wrongly, you feel sad about the death of
a relative. As soon as you change your thinking and realise that he is now
living in a better world, your feelings will change as well: You now feel happy
for him. You also no longer selfishly mourn your loss,
because you know that you will meet a true soulmate again soon.
Third
example: If you think wrongly, you are afraid when you are
threatened with death. As soon as you change your thinking and realise that the
death of the body is not a significant loss for your immortal soul, because you
will soon receive a new, beautiful, young one, your feelings will change as
well: You are now in a position to face the danger
calmly.
"But there are
negative feelings which are not a delusion but justified, such as illness,
hunger or the pain of a wound!"
Yes, of course,
these are signals from your body which you have to
take seriously in order to preserve your tool intact. Your soul, however, does
not let itself be affected by them.
An ignorant person
will be puzzled how the feelings of cold or hunger can disappear. The one who
understands the essence of things knows that these sensations do not disappear,
but that the spirit can be strengthened so that nothing will unsettle it. (Agni
Yoga 192)
7. Directing Feelings through the Heart
As with thoughts,
so with feelings: Do not burst out with them straight away, but pause and
consult your heart first:
"How am I to
deal with a certain feeling? Should I allow it or
shall I reject it?"
You direct your
feelings through your heart.
You can purify and
transform negative feelings in the fire of a pure heart.
A consciousness
that has been deepened and freed manifests a transformation of all feelings.
The most vivid colour becomes invisible, the loudest symphony inaudible, the
most powerful touch unnoticed, the hottest food unfelt. That is how real the
realm of feelings becomes—in the heart. We make Our disciples practice this
transmutation of feelings as one of the clearest ways to refine the heart.
(Heart 559)
Exercise:
Constant vigilance
Be constantly on
guard!
If unwanted
feelings such as irritation, fear, dejection or hatred
come up, you must recognise and counteract them immediately. You should not
allow them to arise in the first place and above all not express them.
You re-tune the
corresponding fibre of your being like a violinist or guitarist in concert his
strings so that no discord arises. (Yehudi Menuhin)
8.
Calling forth and turning off Feelings at Will
It is an age-old
spiritual exercise to first consciously awaken a specific feeling and then
replace it with another one. Or to deliberately put oneself in a certain frame
of mind and then to evoke the exact opposite mood within oneself.
One needs
especially to know how to control one’s own feelings. One has
to train them so as to be able to call them into action or consciously
restrain them to the point of complete suppression. Precisely as it has been
said, to be able to look without seeing—this is the
best example of the mastery of sensation. (AUM 403)
First
of all, people do not know how to put themselves into a definite frame of
mind. (Brotherhood 186)
Through such an
intentional switching back and forth, you learn in time that there is no
objective reason for these feelings: They arise within you from external causes
to which other people react quite differently. One is sad, the other happy
about one and the same thing.
Any feeling can be
cultivated. (AUM 93)
Man can evoke
anything in himself, from the beginnings of all illnesses to the highest
transcendental possibilities. Misfortunes occur when people forget their
possibilities, something they do far too often—that is why there are so many
calamities. (Supermundane 554)
Your everyday
feelings are completely relative.
As soon as a really elementary event occurs, such as serious illness or
impending death, you realise: Everything you usually get so angry about or that
weighs you down is completely irrelevant.
To all is known the
sensation of the boundaries of spheres. When you go out of a theatre into a
grey street, it seems to you that you have fallen into a lower sphere. When
after solemn festivities you turn to ordinary toil, you become struck with the
sad everydayness. When out of the dismal cold you
enter a beautiful building, it appears to be the crown of perfection.
Sternly accustom
yourselves to the reception of contrasting sensations, to the grasping of
unexpectedness. All is expected, because all is
realized. We urge that you abandon all superstitions and learn reality in
everything. (Community 245)
Practical
Tip: In the Evening Self-examination
Nicholas Roerich „Brahamaputra“
It is a salutary
custom to review the feelings of the day in your evening meditation and to
analyse the causes of negative emotions. In this way you will recognise where
the consciousness of immortality, of the usefulness of obstacles or of the
purposefulness and beauty of the Cosmic Order is not yet rooted deeply enough
in your being.
9.
Mastery of Instincts
Rubens
"Boreas abducts Oreithya"
Finally, the fourth
and last aspect of your transient personality that you have
to control is the body of instincts.
To this, the same
rules apply as to the mastery of thoughts and feelings, so there is nothing
further to add here.
The most important
practical areas of application are nutrition and sexuality; on both these
topics there are separate Videos ("Nourishment according to Spiritual
Principles", "Sexuality").
Section II: Particular Feelings
We shall now be talking
in more detail about some harmful negative feelings that are common in everyday
life (irritability, dejection, fear and doubt) as well
as about some particularly desirable positive ones (serenity, patience,
solemnity and joy).
Irritation
Irritation is a
widespread emotion, but its harmfulness is usually not recognised.
1.
Spiritual Poison
Irritation is
spiritual poison!
People poison
themselves and their surroundings with irritation. (Supermundane 510)
If you react
irritated, you weaken yourself, namely your Higher Self!
In anger and irritation man considers himself
strong—this is according to earthly considerations. But regarded from the
Subtle World, an irritated man is especially powerless. (AUM 331)
Your vibration
drops, your Fiery Body decomposes, and your aura turns downright ugly.
Hard-won
achievements are annihilated in an instant.
How many
achievements accumulated through centuries are swept away by one unrestrained
roaring. (Hierarchy 400)
It is possible for
him to tear down by sudden gusts of anger, hate or jealousy more in a moment of
time than he could rebuild in a year. (Teachings of the Temple Vol. I, Lesson
211 “Power of Choice”)
Irritability dulls
your perception and interrupts Communion with the Higher World.
For the sake of
creation, stand firm against irritation. When, like a blood clot, it closes the
ear, can one then hear? When it clouds the eye, can one then see? When the
curtain falls on the consciousness, where then is achievement? (Agni Yoga 369)
As clouds conceal the sun, so does irritation sever the conduit of the
heart. (Fiery World II, 146)
It attracts to you
lower subtle beings, for they feed on the impure emanations you emit in such a
state.
An irritated man
attracts to himself a great number of small entities which feed on the
emanations of anger. (AUM 331)
Irritation opens up access to the dark ones. All sorts of uninvited
guests head for wherever there is irritation, seeking to make the most of it
and enhance the efficacy of the poison. How much tissue is torn, how many tests
and experiments are ruined, much to the joy of the
malevolent entities! (Heart 93)
Irritation produces
a physical substance called imperil.
This is a poison
which accumulates in the nerve channels and corrodes the organism.
Imperil, which
attracts danger, is the poison resulting from irritability. This poison, a
quite substantial one, is deposited against the walls of the nerve channels and
then spreads through the entire organism. (Agni Yoga 15)
Practical
Tip: Love
Irritability is
basically a lack of love.
"I don't
understand. What has it to do with love if I remain calm and collected?"
Well, love yourself
– just the way you are, then you do not have to get angry about your little
weaknesses.
Love the world and
your fellow men as they are (there are no better ones to be had!) instead of
getting upset about the surrounding imperfection.
2. Fight
Irritation!
There are plenty of
occasions for anger every day: Technology or other people do not do what they
are supposed to do; they do not fulfil their task reliably, not completely, not
in time or not at all. Your fellow men cannot or do not want to understand what
you explain to them. They or the circumstances stand in your way and prevent
the realisation of your plans.
Or your own body
functions not well or not at all because of illness, old age
or weakness.
None of these
occasions is a reason to "fly off the handle" and damage your true
self, your Eternal Individuality.
You must use all
the power of your will to ward off the fit of an irritable mood.
Irritability is
nothing but weakness of will. (Supermundane 63)
Anyone, even a weak
man, can conquer despondency and irritation if he wishes. Everyone can feel
ashamed of those times when he succumbed to weakness of will. (Supermundane
835)
Do not give in to
this weakness!
Do not let yourself be
dragged down! (Hieronymus Bosch "Hell")
"Can I really
fight anger with willpower?"
Yes, indeed, you can!
The negative feeling arises within you yourself – there you can stop it.
No annoying situation
must cause you to get upset and behave like a savage.
This is as if your
neighbour's house is on fire: You have to prevent by
all means the fire of the surrounding chaos from spreading to you. Save the New
Man and the New World, the works of art you created with great effort, from the
flames! (A. Smirnov "The Burning of Moscow")
You remain like the
lotus, which is untouched by dirty water, or like a rock unmoved in raging
breakers.
3. Remedy
"What exactly can
I do to repel the attack on my inner balance?"
You take the
standpoint of eternity and realise:
The occasions which
trigger this destructive feeling inside you are completely insignificant!
Truly, the causes
for irritation and despondency are usually petty. (Supermundane
835)
Your true self, your
soul, is not affected by any of them.
*****
Anger arises from
ignorance of the Cosmic Order, of the Laws of Existence.
Realise the goalfitness and beauty of the Cosmic Order!
He who is afflicted
with imperil must repeat, “How beautiful everything is!” And he will be right;
because the flow of evolution follows immutable law, it is beautiful. (Agni
Yoga 15)
Knowing these basics,
you overcome irritation: You expand your consciousness. You change your
thinking. Instead of getting upset, you now think:
I no longer perceive
an annoying obstacle, but a wonderful opportunity to grow or to improve
imperfect conditions.
You train and
strengthen the power of your spirit by controlling the impulses of your
transient personality.
Exercise: Deep Breathing
When irritation
threatens to overwhelm you, pause for a moment, close your eyes
and breathe deeply.
At symptoms of irritation one is advised to inhale deeply ten times. The
inhaling of prana has not only a psychic significance but also a chemical one,
for prana is beneficial to the fires and also
extinguishes irritation. (Hierarchy 272)
Dejection
"What is so bad
about dejection? Is not every human being afflicted from time to time by fits
of melancholy, discontent, despair, despondency, grief, sadness
or self-pity?"
Yes, that is so! What
alone matters is the right attitude towards this evil.
1. Illness
Vincent
van Gogh "Portrait Dr. Gachet"
Dejection is a disease
of the soul! It is self-destructive.
People should remember
that their irritability will return to them as a burden. It brings
to mind the terrible picture of a man who has put his head in a noose
and only realizes it when his own neck is being broken. (Supermundane 375)
You weaken yourself,
namely your Higher Self. Your vibration drops, your Fiery Body decomposes and your aura turns downright ugly.
Self-pity weakens even
the strong in spirit. (AUM 352)
Gloom is an active
destroyer of your psychic energy.
Do not weaken
yourself; discontent, doubt, self-pity, all consume the psychic energy. (AUM
303)
It is sad if a man
despairs at his first failure. This merely shows that his own psychic energy is
in full dissoluteness. (AUM 586)
It makes great deeds
impossible.
Achievement is
impossible in a state of depression. Depression is death, it is like a purse
full of holes! Through depression the most precious spills out. (Fiery World I,
377)
It robs you of your
best possibilities.
Though already on
their way, a multitude of possibilities go unrealized because of personal
complaints arising out of self-pity. (Heart 72)
Wonderful
possibilities flee from us when we are busy analysing outrages against us
which, in many cases, are imaginary and self-suggested. (Helena Roerich Letters
Vol. I, letter of 21.08.1931)
*****
The emanations of
dejection attract lower subtle beings which feed on them.
Depression is the most gloomy magnet, and irritation also entices ugly guests.
(Supermundane 430)
In your despair you
downright attract negative energies towards you.
People would rather
send their complaints out into space, thereby calling down upon themselves a
shower of stones. (Heart 72)
The moment a man
exclaims, “Oh, how unhappy I am!” he immediately increases his trouble. But he
who declares, “I am happy!” opens the gates to happiness. As soon as he has
expressed a mood it is already anchored in space – this is how we invoke the
Highest Forces. (Supermundane 218)
*****
Despondency is an
expression of your lower self. It is unworthy of your Eternal Nature, of a God-man and messenger of Higher Powers.
It does not befit a
warrior to be overwhelmed by depression. (Archangel Michael,
Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome)
Despair is called
darkness. Such a definition is precise; indeed, it extinguishes the radiation
and the Fire of the heart. Such a state is not only harmful, it
is unworthy of man; he becomes lower than an animal. (Fiery World III,
554)
Your Higher Self
despises this weakness.
Faint-heartedness is
contempt for the higher Ego. Faint-heartedness is slavery of the spirit. (Fiery
World III, 217)
How did this
faint-heartedness come upon you in this moment of crisis? It is not at all
befitting honourable men and does not lead to the attainment of heavenly
spheres but to infamy. Do not yield to unmanliness, this is not worthy of you.
Give up such petty weakness of heart and rise up!
(Bhagavad Gita II, 2, 3)
*****
The damage of despair
is not confined to you yourself. It is contagious. It paralyses others around
you and pollutes space.
The man who feels
himself unlucky has been called an obscurer of the heavens. He has collected
gloom around himself and has infected the distant space. He has harmed himself,
but still more all that exists. He has become a breeding ground of afflictions.
(Brotherhood 392)
Practical Tip: Egotism
Dejection is basically
egotism.
There is no evil to
equal the offence of faint-heartedness. In it is hidden treachery; in it is
concealed a fraudulent magnanimity; in it is secreted a ruinous half-wayness; its master is Satan; its motive power is selfhood.
(Fiery World III, 279)
"I don't
understand. I don't want anything for myself when I feel down, do I!?"
Well, instead of
caring for other people or making the world a better place, the depressive
prefers to wallow in his imagined grievances.
No one has insulted
you, but you have offended yourself. (Fiery World II, 55)
Once you have freed yourself from all personal desires, once you no
longer aspire to anything for yourself, there is no reason any longer for a
depressed mood.
Exercise: Do not
burden your Fellow Men
See to it that you do not burden your fellow men with your filth!
The leader must always be alert, in order that no one
receive from him emanations of depression. (Fiery World II, 89)
This applies not only to a spiritual or worldly leader in the strict
sense, but also, for example, to teachers, doctors or
parents, to whatever position you hold.
Guiding Thought:
Your task is not
to drag your fellow men down,
but to elevate them!
How, then, does a Hierarch create on Earth? By
uplifting all the surroundings. (Agni Yoga 663)
You can accomplish this only if you keep your own vibration high.
Schiller was born with this genuine Christ-tendency:
He touched nothing common without ennobling it. (Goethe to Zelter)
As a New Man you will want to set an example that the old mortals
around you can imitate.
2. Fight
Dejection!
This does not mean that there is no reason for depression – on the
contrary: The higher a consciousness is, the more it will suffer: From the
tension between Heaven and earth, from the gulf between material reality and
spiritual ideals.
The growth of consciousness is accompanied by attacks
of anguish, which are truly unavoidable. A growing awareness of the differences
between the conditions of Infinity and those of earthly reality cannot but
provoke the sympathies of a fair consciousness. There is no way to Infinity
without a sensitivity to one’s surroundings. Be assured that the greater the
consciousness, the greater the anguish. (Agni Yoga 568)
The terrible situation of the world, barbarism, ignorance
and surrounding imperfection give a lot of pain to a sensitive mind.
It is necessary to understand why the presence of evil
hearts is so painful to good hearts. (Heart 64)
It is grievous for Us to see how solitary thinkers
suffer from savage ignorance. (Supermundane 737)
The burden of the world, however, is inevitable.
Let us not complain because of the many, many attacks.
It cannot be otherwise. Precisely an Yogi senses that
the cross of existence stands immutable. (Fiery World I, 287)
*****
Gloom, this scourge of mankind, like the diseases of the body, must be
fought against and eradicated in every individual human being. To transform it
into confidence, energy and joy is the inner work a spiritual warrior has to carry out every single day.
Thus, one must behave in accordance with the higher
level, not being disturbed by the imperfection of one’s surroundings. (Fiery
World I, 476)
*****
Despondency is weakness of the will. Summon all your strength to drive
it away!
Despair is of course engendered by one’s own weak
will. This phantom has nothing in it of reality. (Brotherhood 105)
"Can I really fight depression with willpower? My
psychiatrist will disagree!"
Yes, you can and you must! Despair, in the vast majority of cases, is a lack of mental strength, of
psychic energy! We repeat:
Dejection is an illness of the soul! (Munch “Melancholy”)
A person strong in spirit does not suffer, just as a
healthy, strong body does not hurt. (Michelangelo
"David")
Guiding Thought:
You can and must
heal and strengthen your soul
in order to overcome suffering
Make a conscious effort to increase your psychic energy. How you can
achieve this is as explained in our Series "Psychic Energy".
*****
Temptation as such is not the problem, all saints and warriors of faith
have suffered from it. What would be bad is not to fight it and to give in to
dejection. In doing so, you allow darkness to gain power over you. You succumb
to the attacks of chaos without resistance. This must never happen!
The defenders of the stronghold, instead of resisting,
open the gates to the enemy. (Fiery World II, 156)
There is a still more dangerous case, when a man has
in himself the germs of a disease, and instead of opposing it he gives in to it
and deprives himself of the possibility of recovery. The man himself hastens
the process of disease. He becomes the slave of his sickness and tries with all
his strength to aggravate the symptoms of the disease. He constantly observes
himself, but not in a desire to recover. He falls into the deepest self-pity.
The man is even offended and angry when spoken to about the possibility of
recovery. Thus he can reach a dangerous degree of
depression which cannot be transformed into a rising strength. This acts as a
counter-energy; and the man deprives himself of his basic value—striving toward
self-perfection. (AUM 357)
Your true nature is revealed when confronted with adversity: Do you
take up the fight or do you surrender?
How does man conduct himself in moments of so-called
misfortune? A spirit which has undergone preparation says—we shall conquer, and dons its fiery armour. But the weak and pitiful
in spirit is crestfallen and thus admits a great infection. (Fiery World III,
452)
Whining and complaining do not help, they will only make the situation
even worse. You must find out the causes of the disease and fight them!
Let people not complain, but
live more purely. (AUM 5)
Man prays for forgiveness, yet
fails to alter his manner of living. Man bewails his misfortune,
but does not abandon a single habit which brought him into his state of
sorrow. Just praying for forgiveness has no meaning if it is not accompanied by
reformation of life. It is not sorrow but hypocrisy when the Higher Wisdom is
burdened by self-pity. (AUM 47)
Every victory that the individual gains in
this struggle is at the same time a triumph for the whole of humanity.
When grief or pain seize upon you – try to realize
that they are part of the great world's pain and grief, as you are a part of
it; and to whatever extent you succeed in rising above, in conquering them, to
just that extent have you changed the inharmonious conditions of the world and
made it a better dwelling place for the children of God. (Teachings of the
Temple Vol. I, Lesson 239 “The Master’s Touch”)
3. The Weakness
is within you
Picasso "Weeping Woman”
Man as a mediator between the worlds remains necessarily entangled in
the earthly calamities. Most of the time, therefore, you cannot hope to
overcome the oppression by changing the external circumstances.
My advice is: Realize that the number of cares cannot
be lessened. (Fiery World I, 522)
Suffering is not an objective concept. It is not the material conditions
that cause suffering, but our own imperfection.
The suffering is within ourselves. (Picasso "Weeping Woman")
You still suffer from things that someone else can already smile about.
From this follows: You must fight against despair
nowhere else but within you yourself!
The darkness is within ourselves!
Therefore, let him who remains in darkness blame only himself. (Fiery World I,
30)
Man falls into the darkness of a prison built by
himself. (Supermundane 774)
Guiding Thought:
Recognise and fight that
what is still vulnerable
within you yourself!
Take the blow straight between the eyes, whether it
comes from friend or enemy, if it be in the form of a personal criticism, and set yourself to find out what it is in you
that has been hurt, and to what extent you deserve the criticism. Rid your aura
of the rubbish, whatever degree of that rubbish you may have fostered.
(Teachings of the Temple Vol. I, Lesson 191 “Self-Deception”)
When one of you can say with perfect truth, upon being
wounded or hurt by another, that there must be something in yourself that has
called forth that saying from your brother or sister, you will have won a
battle that will help you onward. (Teachings of the Temple Vol. II, Lesson
“Supply and Demand”)
The light as well is within us ourselves. There we can find it and pave
the way for it by overcoming the darkness within us.
The Light is within ourselves
and we open up the way to it. (Fiery World I, 153)
All misery as well as all happiness is within us.
(Helena Roerich Letters Vol. I, letter of 12.12.1934)
Heaven, where there is no suffering, is within you yourself!
He who does not carry Heaven in his heart will not be
able to find it anywhere else.
4. Remedy: Change your Thinking
"What exactly can
I do to repel the attack on my inner balance?"
Despair is nothing but
a wrong way of thinking.
Faint-heartedness
arises from limitation of thinking. (Heart 9)
He who thinks
beautifully will not suffer! (Brotherhood 160)
The art of thinking is
the proper way to mental health and harmony.
We just need to
establish harmony, and with it everything will be refined and elevated! Yet
people seek it in external conditions and overlook the essence of things. For
example, a primitive man may live in natural beauty, yet be far from harmony.
The city dweller may be oppressed by the bustle of his surroundings,
and be unable to think about a harmonious life.
Even a refined
philosopher can be crushed by the cares of supporting himself. Thus the fundamental law of harmony is forgotten. People do
not understand that the way to harmony is in the art of
thinking. Deep contemplation is needed to feel the blessing of harmony. Every
human being can develop a sense of harmony within himself. (Supermundane
341)
You build up a store
of good thoughts to draw upon in moments of temptation.
The great skill, the
most important task of a spiritual disciple is:
Constantly maintain
lofty thinking!
Contemplation of the
Supermundane frees one from the worst vipers, despondency
and resentment. The most healing remedy against such poison must be remembered,
namely, sublime thinking about the Supermundane. Not for a single hour should
one extinguish within oneself this flame of lofty thinking. The highest sage
loses his power if he ceases to think about the future Abode. He will be
defenceless, and from the bottom of his Chalice the dregs will rise.
(Supermundane 651)
5. Remedy: Take the Standpoint of Eternity
"What does the
correct, elevated way of thinking look like?"
You take the
standpoint of eternity and look at the external situation calmly and without
being personally involved.
You realise how
utterly insignificant the earthly hardships and burdens are that oppress you.
If people will
investigate the true causes of despair, the invalidity of these causes will
become amazingly clear. (Brotherhood 105)
Your true self, your
soul, is not affected by any of them at all.
6. Remedy: Cognition of the Cosmic Order
Van Gogh
"Starry Night”
Dejection arises from
ignorance of the Cosmic Order, of the Laws of Existence.
Despair is first of all ignorance. (Fiery World II, 250)
Expressions of
complaint mean lack of understanding of one’s life’s task. (Fiery World I,
642)
Those who no longer
believe in anything higher and despair of the meaningfulness of the Divine
World Order can hardly help but fall into depression.
Despair is the death
of faith. But faith is knowledge. Therefore despair is
the death of knowledge, the death of all accumulations. Despair is always
connected with a feeling of issuelessness. The usual
method of the dark ones is to confine their victim in a circle without issue
and then urge him to crime. (Hierarchy 427)
Recognise the goalfitness and the beauty of the Cosmic Order!
Knowing these
fundamentals, you overcome gloom because you expand your consciousness and
change your thinking.
Here are some examples
of new, better, elevating thoughts:
8 Examples
First
example: "I get what I
deserve."
Nothing more, nothing
less and nothing else.
Do not complain if success
fails you or if you do not find a way out of the petty affairs of everyday
life. Karma and the law of correspondence make sure: You will be given exactly
that what you yourself and the times are ripe for.
He must be prepared to
see all his preparations, his labour and efforts swept aside for the time
being, and to do it without losing his equilibrium, secure in the knowledge
that all that is divine in his purpose will surely be made manifest at the
right time and place, and that he will be the gainer in the end, for no effort
for good is lost or wasted. (Teachings of the Temple Vol. I, Lesson 177 “The
Multitude”)
*****
Second
example: "I can learn
something."
The very fact that
external circumstances bring you to despair is the best proof that the
misfortune you have suffered is still necessary for you. It will return in one
form or another until you can face it with so much inner strength that it
shrinks to insignificance.
If you had already
learned everything that can be learned on this planet, you would not react with
despondency but with a superior smile.
*****
Third
example for proper thinking: "I am allocated exactly that what I need to
continue to grow."
The difficulty that is
towering before you right now is the next rung on the
ladder of ascent. You are being led, for your own good, into a situation where
you have the possibility to learn and to grow greater.
Instead of despairing,
you should be grateful for this opportunity for further growth.
In the most difficult
days the Teacher says, “Consider yourself to be much happier than many. Be
grateful.” (Supermundane 72)
*****
Fourth
example: "I am assigned
what is necessary to redeem old Karma."
When a stroke of fate
hits you, it means: There is still old Karma you have to
pay off. A high consciousness will be grateful to be given the opportunity to
make amends for wrongs committed by himself and to repay debts accumulated in
the past.
A wise philosopher,
having been sold into slavery [Plato], exclaimed, “Thanks! Evidently
I can pay back some old debts.” An emperor, nicknamed the Golden, was
terrified, “Luxury pursues me. When will I be able to pay off my debts?” Thus have wise people thought about the quickest payment of
their debts. They understood that former lives surely do not elapse without
incurring indebtedness. But how much income must a man have in
order to haste in settling his accounts. (Brotherhood 273)
The Law of Karma gives
you the possibility to understand, accept and improve even a heavy fate.
You yourself can
change your lot: If you behave with dignity, especially in difficult times, you
will get ready by and by for those better conditions you are longing for.
*****
Fifth
example: "I am given a
task to test my devotion and progress."
Joyfully welcome this
opportunity to prove your abilities which your teacher offers you!
*****
Sixth
example for elevated thinking: If you are on the right path, confirmed by Hierarchy,
no one and nothing can humiliate, offend or insult you
– even if you experience the greatest injustice and are being crucified. (Titian "Ecce Homo")
Who can resist your
righteous path? Only the malicious or ignorant, but you cannot be offended by
them. Also, you cannot be hurt by the ignorant, because
you cannot recognize their judgments as the truth. Be sorry for their
ignorance. He who follows the right path is immunized against such offences,
only the unwise poison themselves by allowing their feelings to be hurt.
(Supermundane 193)
*****
Seventh
example: If your efforts are
unsuccessful: Put aside your personal involvement! You are working on behalf of
Hierarchy and can do no more than your best to accomplish your mission.
Guiding Thought:
You may confidently entrust
the results of your doings
to the Higher Powers,
in whose name you are acting
Let the devoted
co-worker put his psychic energy at the disposal of his Guide. One must trust
the ways of the Guide. During a battle one cannot question the intentions of
the commander. One can only intensify one’s striving to serve in the best way.
(Supermundane 471)
Often it is not given
to one to see the fruits of his work, but one must know that each drop of
labour is already an indisputable acquisition. (Brotherhood 125)
*****
Eighth
example: Finally, remember that
you cannot always understand the true significance of what is going on. Often
it turns out in retrospect that an apparent misfortune was actually
a step in the right direction towards success!
My wife once did an
apprenticeship that was very dear to her heart. However, one made her fail the
exam, which she felt was highly unfair. That caused her great distress. She
then decided to take another training, and that is where we met. In retrospect,
the apparent misfortune, difficult to bear at first, turned out to be the
decisive factor in setting the course for her true happiness.
(Kandinsky "Riding Couple ")
Guiding Thought:
Trust in it:
You are being guided!
Even bad luck can be a means to that end
We need the wings of
love and trust in the Leading Hand. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. I, letter of
24.02.1930)
Exercise: Create the Fiery State
When gloom takes hold of
you, restore the ideal condition of your soul, the Fiery State of high
vibration (see the Video "Exercise The Fiery
Condition").
Fiery enthusiasm burns
away depression.
Do not give in to
thoughts of sorrow. Such thoughts are like rust on a conqueror’s sword. But
where there is fire there can be no sorrow. (Agni Yoga 407)
Depression reduces
vitality, but exaltation creates a beautiful renewal. (Supermundane 247)
Practical Tip: Striving towards the Future
At past events you can
look calmly. But very soon, the depressing present will be a thing of the past.
What weighs you down
today will lose its meaning in retrospect tomorrow.
People may notice that
their past worries turn out to be insignificant after a few years.
(Supermundane 517)
Guiding Thought:
You overcome the hardships of the present,
by striving to the future!
It is wise not to
worry but to strive joyfully. (Leaves of Morya's Garden I, 167 [187])
The striving into the future
is the best liberation from the earthly husk. Only the future can liberate one
from the burden of sensations. Many remembrances, regrets, offences
and unnecessary things of the past only repulse the already formed magnetism of
the future. The magnetism of the future is a great moving force, and it must be
understood as an absolute reality. (Fiery World II, 44)
The oppression of the
present vanishes when you leave it beneath you hurrying towards a high goal!
An experienced
physician advises the convalescent not to think about his past illness, and urges him to think about the future and about
favourable circumstances. The manifestation of the future will kindle the
heart. The most oppressive thing can be dispelled only because of the future.
(Fiery World II, 443)
Comfort lies in the
fact that a better future is possible – and that it depends solely on you to
create it!
7. Remedy: Striving upwards
The cure-all for melancholy
is: Look upwards! Confidence flows to you from the clear consciousness that you
are walking the Spiritual Path to God and are firmly attached to Hierarchy.
When it is so
burdensome on Earth, thought can lift itself up to the Supermundane Spheres. (Fiery World III,
549)
Even in the greatest
distress there is always a way out!
"I don't believe
that. Surely there are situations where no salvation is to be found!?"
Yes, but only on the
material plane. Your soul, on the other hand, can always retreat to its
Supermundane Home, where it is safe, where it is invulnerable, and where there
is only peace, tranquillity and joy.
It may sometimes
seem that there is no way out. But the feeling of issuelessness
is unacceptable. In addition to earthly solutions, there may be Supermundane
ones. (Supermundane 262)
Even the most imperfect turn to the Supermundane brings blessing. The heaviest
everyday worries do not deprive one of a moment to lift
oneself up in thought. A flight to the Supermundane brings relief.
(Supermundane 768)
We know very well
that we can find healing in a moment of contemplation. Why is it so difficult
for us to get used to the regular application of this remedy?
Where can the victim turn if he is not aware of the path upward? For
those who know the Bliss of Hierarchy there can be no such thing as issuelessness and despair. Thus, one can trace to what an extent the
Teaching has in mind an essential, direct benefit, which can be given to
everyone who knows how to look upward. (Hierarchy 427)
Striving upward is
not natural to men when the spirit suffers. But is it not better to substitute
higher striving for suffering? (Hierarchy 419)
Exercises "Elevation" and
"Meditation"
The spiritual
exercises "Elevation" and "Communion with the Higher World –
Meditation" (see the Videos of the same name) reliably eliminate despair.
They carry you high above the moods of the moment and the worries that plague
your transient self.
You learn to fly,
that is, to soar into spheres where you are free from earthly oppressions.
It is very
beneficial to get used to flight into higher strata while one is living in the
earthly world. (Heart 327)
Comfort and
strength flow to you from the connection with your teacher.
Verily, the path of the heart is light when the current of courage and
joy passes incessantly through the Silvery Thread. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol.
II, letter of 16.08.1937)
Above all formulas
there exists the power of the spirit. One has but to unite it, through one’s
heart, with the Hierarch, in order to become
invulnerable. (Fiery World II, 91)
The Higher Powers –
your teacher, or if you wish, your Guardian Angel or Protector from the
Spiritual World – will stand by you if you only begin to fight dejection.
You who are
suffering with its demonical force, take one brave step toward staying its
advance, toward routing its hold, and you will immediately feel the Lodge
forces pouring in and through you to help you. It is not hopeless! There is no
strain, no burden too great for us to help you eliminate, if you will but work
with us. (Teachings of the Temple Vol. II, Lesson “If we knew”)
Aspiration to Us is
a strong shield. Help can be immeasurably increased where there is no room for
discontent, complaints, depression, and mistrust. People, give your Invisible
Helpers the opportunity to stretch out their hands! (Supermundane 136)
As
long as you give in to a gloomy mood without resistance you
are not accessible for support from Above.
Gloomy people are
clouded over by troubles and sorrows and they cannot
see joy. Through the net of sadness people become blind and lose their strength, and cannot help themselves. Nor are they able to
receive Our help, because depression and irritability
block the way. (Supermundane 231)
Do not give in to
despair, for by doing so you reject the Higher Help. (Supermundane 520)
When you accuse
fate, you turn away from the Higher Powers.
Completely
inadmissible is self-pity. When a man cries out—Why?—he
is thinking neither of the past nor the future. He isolates himself from the
Higher Forces, as if accusing Them. (AUM 288)
You can learn to
consciously invoke Higher Help.
People do not know
how to invoke the Forces of Light when threatened with danger. On the contrary,
they cast their doubts, regrets, and even accusations into space, even though
they are fully aware that such faintheartedness does not help them. (Supermundane
384)
Help from Above can
only be expected at the very last moment. So you
yourself must first do everything that is in your power.
Thus, let us nowhere
despair, and let us everywhere make a final effort. (Fiery World I, 32)
Practical Tip: Leave the Care to the Teacher
In an emergency you
may transfer your sorrow to your teacher. Then it will not disappear, but
immediately lose its weight: It is no longer your personal burden, but the
burden of Hierarchy, which you share as one link in the great chain.
If you feel an
unbearable anguish of the heart, transfer it mentally to the Hierarch. Thus you may join your heart with the Inexhaustible
Source—Hierarchy. In case of need one may even orally address the Hierarch.
Upon all steps of Hierarchy there is the same transmission and communion. And
how majestic is this Ladder of Immeasurable Help. (Fiery World II, 94)
Titian
"St. Mark”
The disciple on the
Spiritual Path must learn one thing above all else:
Overcome the
sorrows, hardships and difficulties of the earthly
world by spiritual means!
This is one of the
most difficult and most necessary exercises. The power of your spirit proves
itself precisely by whether you achieve this feat even in an outwardly desolate
situation.
The habit of the
old man to give in to despair, or in difficulties to seek material instead of
spiritual comforters weakens his higher, Eternal Being.
It testifies to
ignorance if you attach considerable weight to the external circumstances. For
your spirit the gross physical conditions are certainly meaningless.
Guiding Thought:
The external, earthly world
must not be stronger
than your inner, spiritual one!
It is not the
vicissitudes, the ups and downs of everyday life that count. What matters is to
take the proper attitude towards them, to bear them with dignity.
kommt Freud und Leid
und eh du‘s gedacht
verlassen dich beid
und gehen dem Herrn zu
sagen,
wie du sie getragen. (Hugo
Wolf)
Come joy and grief,
And before you’re
aware,
Both leave you
And go to tell the Lord
How you have borne
them.
Because the remedy
is victory of the spirit, in distress and worry, in doubt and challenge, you
must first ascend the throne of your Higher Self and restore the power of the
spirit. (Titian "St. Mark")
"What does
this mean in concrete terms and practically?"
Before you pay any
attention to the external circumstances, first assume the mental attitude of an
immortal, a disciple of the Brotherhood or a king of the spirit.
An attitude moulded
by the consciousness of your immortality, invulnerability
and invincibility, by the knowledge of the usefulness of obstacles, by your
actual attachment to the Higher World and by the dignity of your office.
You establish the
rule of the spirit over yourself and over the circumstances.
The Teacher
instructs you to keep your spirit unyielding. (Leaves of Morya's Garden II,
201)
Whoever succeeds in
hearkening to the voice of his spirit will rise above the abyss. (Leaves of
Moya’s Garden II, 118)
Only after that may
you look on the earthly plane for solutions – which, depending on the
situation, may or may not be available and discoverable.
There were those
among the disciples and followers whose lives were filled with misery and daily
hardship. The Teacher [Jesus] would first help them by uplifting their
spirits, and only when balance was established would He discuss their problems.
(Supermundane 151)
Here lies the
mental battlefield of the future. A spiritual warrior who is unable to maintain
a sublime state of mind has already lost the battle. (Ernst Barlach "Spiritual Warrior")
Achieving the right
mental attitude is already half the victory!
If in distress you
fall back to your lower self and from this position look for a way out, you rob
yourself of your best powers, of the great possibilities of your Eternal
Individuality. In a depressed state of mind you will
hardly find the best path.
Only when your
spirit is unshakable will your psychic energy begin to work.
With its help alone
you will find the right solution! There is no difficulty that a strong spirit
cannot overcome.
There is no dungeon such that the fire of the heart
cannot illumine it. (Fiery World I, 410)
Fear
The next feeling that must become completely alien to the New Man is
fear.
"What is so bad about fear? Isn't it a perfectly
natural impulse to protect myself? Isn't every human being afraid of
something?"
No! Protection is good, but fear is a bad adviser.
1. Poison for
the Spirit
Fear is a spirit poison that obstructs the development and revelation
of your Eternal Individuality in daily life.
Anxiety makes you small and weak.
It actually paralyses you. It prevents
powerful progress and great deeds.
The manifestation of fear is a barrier against each
undertaking. (Fiery World III, 321)
Fear lowers your vibration. It destroys the glorious work of art of
your soul and reduces it to an ugly monstrosity.
Whoever is unable to comply with the conditions of the
Teaching of Knowledge dwells in fear. One has to see
the aura of fear in order to understand how absurd this feeling is. Such an
aura is not only agitated but congeals, as if frozen, and, deprived of
vibrations, it hangs like the yoke of a criminal. (Fiery World I, 152)
Fear generates ugliness. Nothing that proceeds from
fear can have a worthy importance. (Hierarchy 458)
*****
Filled with anxiety you cannot ascend to the heights, to higher levels
of Hierarchy.
It is impossible to approach Hierarchy through fear.
There are many ways to Hierarchy, but the slippery unsteadiness of fear will
not endure the ascent upon the rocks, and a trembling hand will not feel the
handrails which have been carefully prepared. Hence, one should cure oneself of
fear. (Hierarchy 458)
Fear distances you from the Higher Powers.
He who is not free from fear is not complete in love.
(1 John 4:18)
In this case you have fallen into the
clutches of the Black Lodge.
Fear is a weapon of the dark ones. (Fiery World II,
172)
Therefore, a disciple of the Brotherhood is tested above all for
fearlessness.
The neophytes of the Brotherhood are tested upon fear.
A most hopeless situation is shown to them, and one waits to see what solution
will be chosen by the tested one. (Brotherhood 580)
*****
Anxiety has an attraction of its own.
Guiding Thought:
You conjure up
exactly that,
what you fear!
Fear and terror form a peculiar magnet. One may
surmise what is attracted by such a dark magnet! Each instant man is evoking
Light or darkness. (AUM 145)
The very thought of peril is harmful. Thinking about
dangers, we strengthen their vibrations, and thus disturb our equilibrium.
(Fiery World II, 190)
When a predator senses that you are afraid, it attacks. If you
fearlessly confront it, it will retreat.
In ancient legends it is frequently related how heroes
had to pass terrible monsters in order to find the
treasure. They were forbidden to feel fear, as otherwise the monsters would
rend them. (AUM 403)
In the same way, the dark forces use this weakness to attack you.
Fear strengthens the dark forces. (Fiery World III,
321)
In order to allow you to continue to
perfect yourself, you will be faced again and again with the very issue that
frightens you.
If someone is afraid of something, he will inevitably
be compelled to cross the path of that very horror until he has freed himself
of fear. (Heart 222)
2. Permanently
in Danger
Coiling Dragon Cliff Skywalk, China
Dangers cannot be avoided. As a spiritual warrior you have to get used to them.
Life is always life-threatening! (Carus "Misty Clouds in Saxon
Switzerland")
A Yogi knows that earth dwellers live in constant
danger. Since the danger is ever-present, there is no point in fearing it.
(Supermundane 930)
The Spiritual Path leads you along the edge of the
abyss: at any moment you are at risk to plunge into it.
To pass through life and attain the goal means to pass
along the edge of the abyss, means to pass through sorrow and tension. (Fiery
World III, 381)
If people would only remember that they are always
walking upon the edge of the precipice! For so it is. At
any moment they may be rescued or carried off by a successful or unsuccessful
change of course. Therefore, is it not possible to have in mind this link with
the cosmic course, in
order to look into the
precipice without a tremor while hourly remembering its existence? (Hierarchy
115)
Practical Tip:
Vigilance and Readiness for Defence
"Isn't fear a necessary warning of danger?"
No! The appropriate behaviour when danger threatens is not anxiety,
but:
Be vigilant and get ready to defend yourself! (Arias “The Palace Guard”)
Fearlessness is not imprudence or even recklessness. Facing danger need
not and must not lead to anxiety.
Rather, you are putting on your spiritual armour in
which you will be victorious.
3. Fight Fear!
Anxiety can and must be overcome.
On the path to the Fiery World
one must eradicate fear, for its products are destructive. (Fiery World III,
321)
In order to achieve this, you must
first and foremost muster the will to conquer fear instead of being overwhelmed
by it.
Fear weakens the will and thus renders one
defenceless. The courageous researcher knows that the human essence is
indestructible, and that the strongest spasm of vibrations, originating from an inharmonious approximation, can be
overcome by the will. No one can be protected from fear if he does not wish to
overcome it himself. (Supermundane 830)
4. Remedy
Fear arises from ignorance of the fundamentals of existence. Acquaint
yourself with the significance of consciousness, evolution in infinity, karma and reincarnation, then it will dissolve into nothing.
Fear is born of ignorance. (Supermundane 830)
In knowledge is the end of fear. (Community 194)
*****
Strengthen the awareness of your eternity and immortality!
Victory over fear will be the threshold of a new
consciousness. (Agni Yoga 538)
What has an immortal to fear? He knows that nobody and nothing can do
him any harm. He becomes invincible in spirit.
It is beneficial if a person, having realized the
invulnerable nature of his spiritual essence, goes on to liberate himself from
all fears, because all the objects of fear are really
insignificant. (Heart 222)
Guiding Thought:
Strengthen the awareness
of the indestructibility
of your true, spiritual
Self!
One must know the complete immutability and eternity
of life in order to proceed without fear. One must
understand the indestructibility of our essential nature in
order to place this value upon the scales. (Fiery World I, 202)
Invulnerability is Our Shield. Each speck of fear is a
target for an enemy’s arrow. After washing away these shameful specks, we become as invulnerable as are the bodies of the far-off
worlds. The development of Agni Yoga becomes a shield of thought. (Agni Yoga
406)
Let man understand that no one can deprive him of his
life. Courage is strengthened by the realization that life is indestructible.
Certainty about this is the way to fearlessness, and the certainty must be
complete to be effective. (Supermundane 751)
*****
Always remember:
Danger exists only in your consciousness! There, within you yourself,
it must be defeated.
"Why, if a wild animal attacks
me, that is objectively dangerous, isn’t it!"?
Well, in an elevated consciousness, the fear of danger turns into the
realisation of an obstacle you can use to grow, that is, of an opportunity for
advancement you can rejoice in.
Think about the meaning of danger. So-called danger is
nothing but fear for one’s present condition. But if we
know that every condition is created by the consciousness, which is
indestructible, then there can be no physical fear. The dangers that one
customarily fears are dispelled by a broadened
consciousness. Therefore, the growth of consciousness is the essential
foundation for progress.
Then there will be no dangers, there will be only
obstacles. Overcoming obstacles is a means for the developing of energy. If the
mountain is perfectly smooth, one cannot ascend to the summit. Blessed are the
stones that tear the sandals of those who ascend! Assure yourself, therefore,
that dangers do not exist. (Agni Yoga 406)
You know how to leap across the abyss. Dangers are
joys to you. (Agni Yoga 393)
*****
Establish a firm connection with your Spiritual Father, your teacher,
then nothing can befall you!
To those who are seized with fear, say that when the
Master lives within the heart, no hair will fall from one’s head. (Hierarchy
79)
Being armed by the Master one is invulnerable.
(Hierarchy 196)
You are serving the purposes of Hierarchy. Consequently, you may trust
that you will receive the support you need to fulfil your mission.
Very few will think, What is there to be afraid of since the
Brotherhood stands behind us? Precisely such a premise liberates one from fear
and brings to light a free, beneficial solution. (Brotherhood 580)
*****
You are unswervingly pursuing your life’s task, your path
and your goal. What could possibly detract you from this course?
Courage comes from knowing one’s path. (Agni Yoga
257)
Exercise: Check yourself for Remnants of Fear
You have to check again and again in the midst
of earthly everyday life to see whether there are still remnants of fear
somewhere within you.
Let us be honest with ourselves, in
order to determine where there is fear and where it has been driven out.
(Fiery World II, 172)
Then you may consciously set about overcoming them step by step with
the help of minor everyday exercises.
Fearlessness can be developed. One can set oneself
tasks of fearlessness instead of imbuing oneself with a feeling of terror. (AUM
93)
5. Freedom
We learn from the lives of the saints, martyrs, spiritual warriors and
tireless fighters for truth and justice:
Man will never be truly free until he overcomes fear of death.
Until he is firm in the conviction that injuries and even the death of
the body cannot harm the core of his being, the immortal soul.
As long as man fears death, he is a slave. He who does not fear
it masters everything. (Tolstoy "War and Peace")
Once you have experienced this truth in your innermost being, you
attain complete freedom of action.
He who adheres to the Teaching of Infinity gains
freedom of action first of all. (Hierarchy 29)
Whoever is in contact in consciousness with the Higher
World is steadfast and invincible; he has given freedom to his spirit, which is
indestructible and reaching out into Infinity. (AUM 204)
Only now can you strive wholeheartedly for the realisation of your high
ideals without making undue concessions – if necessary, even at the sacrifice
of your life.
There exist spirits of high voltage, spirits who
charged up their accumulators when manifesting in the past. Their distinguishing feature is a firm awareness that their
inner “I” is indissoluble, and from this consciousness is born the concept of a
higher freedom. (Leaves of Morya's Garden II, 289 [293])
Fear not them which kill the body,
but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to
destroy both soul and body in hell. (Mt 10, 28)
How could the common good be promoted in the world if more people were
able to adopt this attitude and put petty concerns for their personal welfare
aside!
When people begged Milarepa, who practiced great
austerities, to have pity on himself and stop leading such a hard life, he said
that as all of us are subject to death, he preferred to die in pursuit of a
beautiful goal. Verily, if even one hundred people could realize the wisdom of
this formula and would apply it in life, the world could be transformed in the
shortest time. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. II/1, 33)
Guiding Thought:
It is the overcoming of fear
and the freedom gained by that,
which makes the New Man great and strong
In freedom lies thy strength. (From the Mountain Top I, Lesson “To my Beloved”)
Doubts
Finally, we come to an exceedingly harmful feeling which is even
praised by some old men: Doubt.
1. Illness
Vincent van Gogh "Portrait Dr.
Gachet"
Doubt is a disease of the soul.
Science recognizes the poison caused by fear and
doubt. Doubt is a cousin of fear, and decomposes the
organism. Physical health alone cannot save man; health of the spirit is
needed. (Supermundane 761)
It is self-destructive.
The one who doubts harms not only himself but also the
benevolent forces. The very emanations of such a person prevent the
assimilation of the energies sent to him. Such a one cannot make contact with
the Subtle World, and cannot sense the reality of
subtle influences. He remains in a state of constant negation and destroys his
own creativity. (Supermundane 761)
If you give in to doubts, you weaken yourself, namely your Higher Self.
It is not fitting for the followers of the Teaching of
Life to give way to depression and to weaken themselves by doubt. (Helena
Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter of 19.11.1937)
All great people were great precisely because they did
not doubt. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter of 19.08.1937)
It disintegrates your psychic energy.
Doubt means the downfall of quality. Doubt is the tomb
of the heart. Doubt is a source of ugliness. Doubt devours psychic energy.
(Heart 6)
The worm of doubt is a very indicative symbol. Actually the worm is similar to a bacillus which decomposes
psychic energy and influences even the composition of the blood. In times to
come scientists will reveal the psychic and physical peculiarities of the man
who falls into doubt. (AUM 506)
Wavering robs you
of the strength necessary for effective action.
Doubt corrodes
everything. No energy comes into action through such a poisonous handicap. (AUM
352)
It is incompatible
with firmness and purposefulness: If you are not quite sure of your cause, you
will not find within you the strength the to walk the path to the goal you have
chosen unswervingly and despite all difficulties.
The sceptics will
never soar over an abyss. (Supermundane 580)
Uncertainty
extinguishes the fire of enthusiasm.
Let doubt fall
silent, for it has put out the fires of the heart many
times. (Heart 257)
It obstructs your
best opportunities.
Why is the evolution
of the world so slow? Negation will prove to be one of the principal causes,
for it is deadly. Like doubt, it cuts off all the ordained possibilities.
(Fiery World II, 173)
Doubts make it
impossible to develop the higher skills that are inherent in you.
A man can sit upon
the water. Advancing further, a Yogi can stand upon the water. At the slightest
doubt, despite all physical accomplishment, the man will immediately drown or
fall. (Fiery World I, 113)
Even the slightest
doubt will make it impossible to walk on water or fire, or to levitate.
(Supermundane 149)
*****
Please recognise:
Doubts are an attack of the dark forces to make man small and weak.
Creating doubt is
one of the favourite methods used by the dark ones, and he who doubts is
already defenceless. (Supermundane 26)
Chaos is jealous
and raging. It overwhelms wherever the least vacillation is found. Chaos loses
no opportunity of breaking through a weak barrier. (Brotherhood 269)
A sceptic is unfit
to serve the high ideals of Hierarchy.
Steadfast is he who
has devoted himself to the Highest. If there is any wavering in him, it means
there has not been a true conception about the Highest. (Fiery World II,
314)
A faint-hearted and
shirking man cannot serve the Brotherhood. (Brotherhood 18)
*****
Worst of all are
doubts about the spiritual foundations of existence, about the reality of the
Higher Worlds, of God or the Masters of Wisdom, or about the immutable laws
which govern our lives, such as evolution, hierarchy, karma
and reincarnation. This is a terrible aberration.
Let doubt not
overshadow the light of discoveries! (AUM 599)
Such a person finds
no meaning and no task for his life, no path to follow and no goal to strive
for – because for that he would have to be completely and unquestionably
convinced of something at least.
The much-lamented
lack of meaning in life comes from the failure of modern man to recognise
anything higher than himself and to cast doubts on everything and everyone that
looks somehow great.
*****
In Germany, after
World War II, as a reaction to the terrible aberration of Nazism, an entire
generation lost, along with the dreadfully disappointed faith in the leadership
of the state, also its childlike, pure trust in the wisdom of the world order as a whole. They resolved not to believe in anything
at all anymore. The highest ideals (for example, the concept of leadership, or
common good taking precedence over self-interest) were first abused and then
discarded altogether.
This generation of
parents brought up their children to critically question and doubt everything
and not to recognise any authority whatsoever. A purely negative programme.
Nothing constructive or uplifting was taught.
Many have taken the
opposite extreme of so-called anti-authoritarian education. According to this
erroneous concept, children are no longer told what is good and what is bad,
what is allowed and what is forbidden. This has deprived an entire generation of
any basis for meaningful life and action.
"Why are you
telling me all this?"
In
order to show the devastating, disintegrating consequences of doubts about the
spiritual fundamentals of existence, both for the individual and for human
society as a whole.
Practical
Tip: Doubting is not an intellectual Pleasure
People who deal with
the existential questions of life from a purely intellectual point of view may
proclaim like Montaigne:
What a comfortable
resting-pillow is doubt for a well-built head.
As opposed to that,
Agni Yoga teaches:
He is a false teacher
who elevates doubt into dogma. (Fiery World II, 448)
Because we want to
advance evolution, and for that we need a reliable compass.
A Yogi has chosen a
clear-cut path and it would be unfitting for him to
degrade himself by wavering. (Supermundane 909)
2. Fight
Doubts!
Doubt is a
spiritual poison that you must fight consciously and deliberately.
"Can I really
overcome doubts through willpower?"
Yes, this is even
vital! You can and must by all means set about seeking
or creating a spiritual foundation on the basis of which you can answer all
your questions.
First you have to overcome your doubts, then you will succeed in
attaching to Hierarchy, and finally Help from Above will come.
When the dust of
doubt is blown away, you will have the strength to resist all enemies, and you
will not be alone. Supermundane breezes will strengthen you and Our Shield will
cover you. (Supermundane 875)
3.
Remedy
Uncertainty arises
from ignorance. Anchor yourself firmly in the knowledge of the fundamentals of
existence: The basic laws of the universe, the mission, the life task, the path and the goal of man.
"Where do I
get reliable information about all this?"
The books of Agni Yoga
impart all the necessary knowledge and answer all your questions.
"I am not
quite sure whether I will be able to read through and understand the thousands
of pages of these scriptures in the foreseeable future."
Then watch or read
our Series "Introduction to Agni Yoga". There you find a short, concise and easy to understand summary of the most important
teachings of Living Ethics.
*****
We cannot be
grateful enough for this treasure! Look how people of past times (for example
Tolstoy) tormented themselves because the Christian teachings, distorted over
the centuries, were no longer able to give them any orientation!
We today are better
off.
Agni Yoga clearly
and unambiguously presents the spiritual foundations on which we can base our
life and our work.
Let us not waste
this opportunity! Let us do better than our ancestors!
Once you know the
Cosmic Laws of Evolution, Hierarchy, Karma and Reincarnation, the meaning of
life and of suffering, as well as the benefits of obstacles, you stand on a
firm foundation and overcome your doubts.
*****
Of course, you
should not believe blindly what others tell you. Using the scientific methods
of observation and experience, you can develop unshakeable convictions to guide
your thoughts and actions.
"Is there
anything immutable at all nowadays that I can rely on for all times?"
Not on the material
plane. Here everything is relative, in constant movement and change, evolution
is progressing every day.
Guiding Thought:
Immutable and eternal
are only the principles
of the Higher World
"So I set up a dogma once and stick to it for all
eternity?"
No, that is the
wrong track of the fanatics. The laws of the Spiritual World are indeed
immutable, but the ability of men to grasp and to apply them properly is
imperfect and varies greatly from individual to individual.
Your consciousness
and with it your ability to recognise the eternal truths and to implement them
in your life will hopefully grow over the years. This means: You have to check your convictions again and again and, if
necessary, develop them further, readjust, adapt, deepen, spiritualise and
refine them.
But even with those
principles you are able to grasp at the moment, you
already have a secure foundation for coping with life.
Serenity
Now let us talk
about the most important positive feelings: serenity, patience, solemnity and joy.
*****
Serenity – inner balance,
peace of mind, equilibrium – is the basic emotional state of the race of the
future, but its particular significance is rarely understood.
Today’s man is a
slave to his feelings and allows them to drag him here and there.
Until the soul of
man can reach the point of balance – the equilibrating centre of consciousness,
he is a drifting, purposeless animal, pleased when tenderly stroked; angry and
mayhap vicious when the stroke is sharp; companionable, agreeable, selfishly unselfish
when amused, flattered or adored; bitter, vengeful,
oftentimes cruel when ennuied, ignored or ill treated.
Until the change
comes which lifts that animal soul into the environment of the human soul, his
opportunities for rapid growth are few. Violent emotions in one direction are
swiftly followed by equally violent emotions in another direction. An ecstatic
joy is the forerunner of a gaunt spectre of misery.
The man becomes
incapable of ecstasy, his joys are very tame affairs, and the periods of care,
anxiety and fear grow longer and longer, and finally even sorrow loses its
power to crush, fear is swallowed up in indifference, and real joy never enters
his dwelling with the intent to linger for any length of time. (Teachings of
the Temple Vol. I, Lesson 159 “The Purpose of Life”)
As opposed to that,
a king of the spirit overcomes the fluctuations of sensations and maintains
unassailable calmness of mind.
Tranquillity is the
crown of the spirit. (AUM 120)
A restless person
harms himself and others.
Anyone who loses
equilibrium and calmness becomes unreceptive to health-giving vibrations and
subject to destructive ones. Such a one suffers great torment and becomes a
source of infection to others. (Supermundane 683)
1. Inner
Peace
Life and evolution
imply eternal movement.
In material life
you should not expect rest, but only a continuous succession of attacks,
disturbances, trials, challenges and upheavals.
It is wrong to
believe that someday a state of undisturbed rest will arrive. (Heart 228)
In everyday earthly
life your mental balance is constantly endangered.
We saw a sacred
place, in pure, unspoilt nature, next to which a gravel plant was built. (Kunststätte Bossard)
"So how am I to find peace in the midst of
omnipresent restlessness?"
If the external world cannot be put to rest, there is only one way out:
Silence must enter your inner being.
For beginners, external stillness is needed; any sound,
even the unimportant ones, can shock and cause pain. But for the one who knows,
inner stillness is needed. True calmness is
gathered from the depths of inner stillness. (Supermundane 824)
The ever-changing thoughts and feelings, the stirrings of your personal
self must be subdued and silenced.
Guiding Thought:
Peace is within you yourself
If you fail to discover it there, you will not be able to find it
anywhere else in the whole wide world.
If you do not find peace within yourself, it is
useless to look for it elsewhere. (de la Rochefoucauld)
2. Calmness in
the Middle of the Storm
Nicholas Roerich "Himalayas"
A wise man knows how to bring about this inner calmness even in the midst of the most violent earthly storms.
During a thunderstorm it is advised not to run about
nor make abrupt movements. Likewise, a harmonious condition is recommended
during earthly storms. (Brotherhood 218)
So let us stay calm throughout the multifaceted
movement of events. (Heart 298)
Peace of mind is the mental attitude with which you defy the turmoil of
the world.
People are often confused as to what kind of calmness is
possible when the world is turmoil. But We have in mind a calmness of
consciousness which, if attained, becomes inviolable. (Supermundane 447)
People should strive for inner peace, but they must
participate in life. In the best Testaments it is indicated that one can be at
peace even on the battlefield. In beautiful images [in the Bhagavad Gita], it is taught how, amid the noise of battle, one can
teach and ascend in spirit. (Supermundane 254)
One should preserve calmness of spirit even in the midst of great turmoil and revolt. This is the law of
self-perfectment. (Agni Yoga 130)
In the valleys it storms and rages, but on the summit
(within you, in your own Higher World) there is tranquillity. (Nicholas Roerich "Himalayas")
Someone may ask how to endure unrest and agitation. But rest is the peak of unrest. (Agni Yoga 602)
Exercise: Remain
the same in Joy and Suffering
The secret of serenity is: External circumstances must not gain power
over your inner life: They change, you do not.
Guiding Thought:
You remain the same
in joy and sorrow,
in happiness and misfortune
A Yogi feels the same during want or plenty.
(Hierarchy 451)
The influences of matter, which cause cold and heat, joy and pain, come and go and are not permanent; bear them
patiently. For the wise man who is not troubled by these influences, because
pain and joy are the same to him, takes part in immortality. (Bhagavad Gita II,
14, 15)
"What exactly do you mean by 'remaining the
same'?"
You are and remain always and everywhere an immortal, a disciple of the
Brotherhood or a king of the spirit and take a corresponding attitude –
whatever the circumstances are fate has thrown you into.
Be the same in fortune and in misfortune, in success
and in failure. (AUM 505)
It is said about a Warrior: “He is the same in joy and
in sorrow, in victory and in defeat.” (Supermundane 394)
Your soul rises above the material conditions.
Most of all, the mind must be withdrawn from external
interests into itself. Let it have confidence in itself,
rejoice in itself, let it respect its own things, let it retire as far
as possible from the things of others and devote itself to itself, let it not
feel losses, let it interpret kindly even adversities. (Seneca, On Peace of
Mind, XIV/2)
You free yourself from the slavery of constantly changing emotions.
Gain the power to feel unattached to the fruits of your
thought or work, to pleasure or pain, gain or loss, victory
or defeat. (Teachings of the Temple Vol. III, Lesson “Center of Light”)
3. Balance through straining of all Forces
"How can I attain this inner quietness? By lying
on the sofa?"
No, it is a mistake to try to find inner balance through inactivity!
We must remind those who are lost to inaction that by
their way of life they may create an illusion of peace, but their spirit will
not be strengthened, nor will it be successful. (Supermundane 254)
On the contrary, serenity is the result of hard mental work and severe
struggles.
Calmness is really a state of intense psychic
activity. It should be understood as profound and enlightening work.
(Supermundane 725)
We call to calmness and at the same time constantly
speak of battle. One should understand this struggle as an accumulation of
strength through work. It is impossible to intensify energy without labour, but
each labour is a battle with chaos. Thus, knowledge of the meaning of battle
will bestow calmness. (Brotherhood 542)
Guiding Thought:
Not quietness is the goal,
but balance
One might ask whether rest even exists. Indeed, how is
it possible to imagine rest if everything is in motion and exists on account of
motion? The very concept of rest was invented by people who wished to flee from
existence. They preferred immobility, forgetting that there cannot be a moment
without motion. Equilibrium is the concept needed. One should not think about
rest but about how to maintain equilibrium in the midst of the whirlwinds. (Heart 260)
Calmness means equilibrium of tension. (Heart
315)
"How do I find such equipoise?"
You create mental balance through the highest exertion of your
spiritual powers.
Let us agree on the meaning of the concept of rest.
Around this concept a multitude of false and harmful interpretations have
clustered. People have become accustomed to think that rest is inaction; in
this way it has become transformed into psychic enfeeblement. Inaction is most
corruptive for psychic energy.
Thus, rest is nothing but equilibrium. But equilibrium
is a proportionate straining of energy. Only thus is it possible to restore and
strengthen one’s forces. It is of no consequence whether equilibrium be
acquired in desert or city—the main requisite is constant tension. (Brotherhood
44)
The attitude of a sage who, as the saying goes, rests calmly in
himself, is the fruit of a mighty effort that achieves victory in the battle
against the attacks of darkness.
The so-called state of Nirvana is not rest but rather
the highest straining of energy. (Heart 260)
On a calm surface the reflection is clear. Each
agitation distorts the clarity. People talk much about the tranquillity of wise
men, but it is really a great tension, so great that the surface of the energy
becomes mirror-like. Thus, calmness must not be taken for inaction.
(Brotherhood 132)
The hard-won and ever-endangered goal is harmony between the materially
incarnated and the higher, spiritual nature of man, between the earthly and the
Supermundane Spheres.
Equilibrium requires mutual tension, for both cups of
the scale must bear equal loads. Therefore, both cups, the mundane and the
supermundane, should never stand empty. (Supermundane 345)
4. Serenity is a
special Wisdom
Leonardo da Vinci "Self Portrait"
Lack of serenity is the result of ignorance, of unfamiliarity with the
fundamentals of existence, of inexperience or insufficient training. An
experienced warrior who is advancing on the Spiritual Path for a long time
already, who has been shot at many times and survived many a battle, is not so
easily thrown off course.
Urusvati understands the significance of the calmness
necessary for action. An inexperienced seaman is apprehensive when boarding a
ship, but after ten voyages he astonishes those around him by his calmness. Our
actions are full of calmness. Like experienced seafarers We have passed through
countless storms and know how to weather them. To overcome chaos and darkness
is Our daily task. Calmness is a sober and experienced use of goal-fitting
strength. Calmness of action is the highest tension. (Supermundane 36)
Guiding Thought:
Peace of mind is not
an innate quality,
but a process of
realisation
Paraphrasing one of the Master's words about joy, we may say:
Serenity is a special wisdom.
Calmness is the garment of wisdom. (Supermundane
690)
A wise man knows the fundamental laws of existence. The realisation of
the beauty, justice and goalfitness of the Cosmic
Order fills him with serenity.
Calmness must be understood as
harmony of thought. If one were to ask hermits how they achieve their
equilibrium, they would explain that thought about the goalfitness
of the universe is the best conduit to calmness. (Supermundane 517)
Calm is found in the light of Truth. (Leaves of
Morya's Garden I, 139 [156])
You are aware of your immortality, invulnerability
and invincibility – what then could possibly trouble you?
It will be asked what calmness there can be when the
world is in convulsion, but it is precisely when the world is in extreme
tension that an unusual calmness is needed. It is necessary to summon all the
indestructibility upon which calmness rests. (Supermundane 72)
You know: Everything that happens to you is necessary and useful for
the growth of your spirit.
Man catches a glimpse of the great purpose behind all
those fluctuations, and perceives that they are necessary
to growth. Therefore, his time and effort are spent in gaining the power truly
to govern his own life instead of permitting it to be controlled by the
elementary forces of life, and by the senses and emotions. Eventually he finds
that he can do better work for the world, and incidentally for himself, if he
can continue in the state of equilibrium indefinitely; and so he transfers his
life energy to a higher plane of life, and does so consciously, whereas the
first mentioned man is the sport of the forces which have controlled him even
to the end of his life, and beyond. Without the victories won in these battles
man would never rise above the animal manifestation. (Teachings of the Temple
Vol. I, Lesson 159 “The Purpose of Life”)
Practical Tip:
Maintaining Composure as a Test
The Teacher first of all
tests His disciples’ ability to maintain calmness during times of special
tension. It is surprising to see how few pass this test. This is because people
do not acknowledge the Primary Energy and the Higher Worlds. They believe that
coarse physical conditions are after all more important. (Supermundane
725)
Precisely the apparent trivialities of everyday life are the best area
of training and the plainest touchstone.
True calmness of spirit is tested by the trifles of
daily life. (Leaves of Morya's Garden I, 81 [86])
5. Serenity
through Liberation from Desires
“Desirelessness leads to
inner Peace” (Lao Tzu)
Lack of equanimity comes from egotism, exaggeration of the importance
of the mortal personality, and too much involvement in the bewildering
goings-on of the earthly world.
Serenity is the fruit of an attitude of selflessness and overcoming the
world: The more you realise that it is not about you yourself but about higher
necessity; the more you renounce personal desires; the firmer your conviction
is that you are not serving your egotism but the noble aims of Hierarchy, the
greater will be the peace within you.
If you would have a clear concept of the state
designated, “True Indifference”, translate it into the words, “Peace with one’s
own soul.” No man can be at peace with his own soul while there remains a
desire ungratified or a hatred unappeased. He who has attained to True
Indifference has won his Crown of Immortality, for death of body or of soul
comes by the road of desire. (From the Mountain Top Vol II, Lesson “True
Indifference”)
When a person lets go of all the desires that rest in
his heart, being satisfied in himself and through himself, then he is called a
one whose wisdom is firmly established. He whose heart does not tremble in
pain, who is free from desire for pleasures, free from lust, fear
and anger, is called a wise man whose insight is firmly established. He who
faces everything without desire and feels neither joy nor aversion, no matter
how pleasant or unpleasant things may be, his wisdom is lasting. (Bhagavad Gita
II, 55-57)
Let go of all your desires and expectations! Then even painful losses
and complete failure of all your efforts will not throw you off course.
A Yogi smiles at the storms that undid his past
labours. (Agni Yoga 182)
He had nothing to lose because he had left everything.
He had nothing to gain as nothing tempted him. The only thing he wanted was the
realisation of the Divine Will. (E. v. Schmidt-Pauli on St. Bernard of
Clairvaux)
Desires bind you: They suggest the repetition of pleasant and the
avoidance of unpleasant experiences. Free yourself from these chains!
A master is neither attracted nor repelled by anything.
He who, controlling himself, approaches objects with
senses that are free from desire and aversion and under his control, attains
peace. In peace he is granted liberation from all pain. The man who abandons
all wishes and lives without desire, without self-interest and without egotism,
attains calmness. (Bhagavad Gita II, 64, 65, 71)
6. Serenity
through Connection with the Higher World
The connection with your teacher, the participation in the life of his
ashram elevates you above the restlessness of the material plane. The concept
of the Interior Temple, which we had already explained (see the Video "The
Path of the Inner Temple"), enables you to live in an oasis of
tranquillity in the very midst of the earthly storms.
An unshakable consciousness is born of the link with
the Highest. (Supermundane 447)
The ear of the one who knows is open to the
Supermundane World. He will abide in an inviolate stillness. The spiritual ear
must be open independent of earthly conditions. The aspirant masters the
supermundane current and can use it at any time. Nothing can impede his
attachment to the higher rhythm. (Supermundane 824)
The peace of God comes also to you if only you remain attached to the
Supermundane Spheres.
Inner peace is an imitation of the Divine.
(Supermundane 254)
The weight has gone and in its place is an unspeakable
peace, a realisation of the God in yourself as in all other things. (Teachings
of the Temple Vol. II, Lesson “Resistance”)
In the face of eternity, the turmoil of the temporal fades away.
If only the eternal remains present to us every
moment, we do not suffer from fleeting time. (Goethe to Auguste Stolberg)
Behold, in the midst of the
storm calmness, behold, a soul worthy of eternity. (Seneca "On Peace of
Mind" XIV/10)
7. Submission
George Watts "Hope”
Man faces twofold danger: He does not put right what he could
influence, and he grieves over what is inevitable. We must guard against both.
He who fills his days with unwholesome repining, his
sleepless nights with longing for that which comes not, neither can come – to
him I say, “No greater hero is there in life's lists than is he who has
recognized the limitations of his mind and body, and with firm decision has
uncomplainingly set about making the best of such qualities and circumstances
as are his by birthright.” (Teachings of the Temple Vol. I, Lesson 235
“Recognition of Limitations”)
Do not quarrel with a fate you cannot change but accept it with a wise
smile.
Lord, give me the strength to change the things I can
change, the serenity to bear the unchangeable, and the wisdom to distinguish
between the two. (St. Francis of Assisi) (Nicholas
Roerich "Francis of Assisi")
The Masters warn us to try
to bend the inflexible to our own crude model of what should
be. (Mahatma Letters, letter No. 29 of October 1881)
Ugly confusion should not disturb the hastening one.
He recognises within his heart that the inevitable must come to pass, and he only rejoices that everything can be passed
through. (Fiery World I, 625)
*****
Therefore, the philosopher who was sold into slavery (Brotherhood 273) should seek and use ways
of escape when they present themselves. But if they are not to be found, he
must acquiesce without lamentation, complaint or grumbling to the terrible lot
which makes it impossible for him to employ his most valuable faculties.
Let us not by struggling with our chains make them
straighter and heavier. (Mahatma Letters, letter No. 32 of August 1882)
He must learn to bear calmly even the most adverse circumstances: They
might get even worse! And certainly there are others
who are still worse off.
In truth, he is being put to the test, for nothing happens by chance or
in vain: If he were already perfect, slavery would not frighten him – but then,
of course, this test would not be necessary either.
The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed
be the name of the Lord! (Job 1:21)
Before you sink into grief over the terrible
conditions, just consider: How much more do the Mahatmas have to suffer when
they must witness the awful aberrations of humanity and experience how their
advice and help, which could mend all that, are rejected! (Nicholas Roerich "Armageddon")
One should not be inordinately grieved perceiving
human darkness. If We should exercise our grief in proportion to this darkness,
it would be impossible for Us to exist. It is sad to see how people impede
their path, but the centuries teach one to assume calmness about the properties
of imperfection. (Fiery World II, 231)
Patience
Impatience is ignorance, unfamiliarity with the fundamentals of
existence. Everything takes place according to necessity and the plan of
evolution. You will not accelerate the Cosmic Deadlines by a second through
impatience. Therefore, patience is the adornment of a wise man.
Patience is in itself great knowledge or, rather,
great knowledge is born out of great patience. The wise one knows that all
comes at an appointed date, cosmic constellations cannot be hastened. It was
said long ago that the greatest man is he who is most patient. (Helena Roerich
Letters Vol. II, letter of 23.04.1938)
On an eternal path you must, but you also can, exercise a lot of
patience.
What patience is necessary when facing Infinity,
especially when we realize that it is unavoidable! Besides, we know how much
every murmur of protest impedes the path. (Heart 178)
Above all cares one should remember that the path is
long, and that it will be necessary to be supplied with patience. (Fiery World
III, 597)
Patience characterises those on an infinite path, impatience those on a
limited one.
Let there be found patience greater than Ours! But
darkness is impatient. In this it is finite. (Fiery World III, 464)
Impatience is a sign of weakness of will and lack of self-control.
An unbalanced person will say, “I can wait no longer!”
and in these words reveals his lack of power. Lack of power is lack of will,
because will is developed through human exertion. One will exclaim, “I am
impatient by nature.” Let him rather say that his habits have brought him to
lack of will. (Supermundane 411)
Absence of patience implies absence of love.
The ability to have respect for even the smallest will
help you to acquire the ability to be patient as well. (Heart 178)
If you fail in something, it is not resignation, but a reasonable and goalfitting behaviour to exercise patience.
Guiding Thought:
You wait,
until you yourself
and the time are ripe!
People attempt to understand the path of patience as
an enduring of adversities. But such an understanding will be inadequate, because it debases the meaning of energy. The
man who knows that it is wiser for him to apply his strength not today but
tomorrow will only be one who discriminates the useful path. He is not enduring
but understanding utility. (AUM 345)
Everything comes to him who can wait. (Folk wisdom) (Dali "The Persistence of Memory”)
Meaningful action requires a calm and clear mind. Especially when
something has to be done quickly, you must not proceed
hastily, but with cold-blooded deliberation.
He who is in a rush should walk slowly! (Confucius)
Haste and aimless hectic are expressions of our unspiritual times.
Again we come to the path of
rhythm and harmony. Hastiness is dissonance, and it can only irritate and
dismember accumulations. Only a broadened consciousness understands the
boundary line between striving and being in a hurry. (AUM 494)
He who never has time only proves that he is unable to distinguish the
important from the unimportant.
Beware of those who have no time. Being falsely busy
indicates first of all inability to make use of the
treasure of time and space, and such people can execute only the primitive
forms of labour. It is impossible to use them for construction. (Community
216)
On an eternal path, time has no meaning.
In Infinity, hastening is paradoxical. (Supermundane
51)
Thinking more often about Infinity we learn to
understand the great patience which must lie in the foundation of each
construction. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter of 23.04.1938)
There are many different methods of acquiring calm,
but awareness of the Infinite is the most effective. (Supermundane 367)
2. Acquire
Patience through mental Work
Rodin "The Thinker"
Patience is acquired by hard mental work over many incarnations.
Patience is a source of bliss. You know the essence of
what is happening now. Can you withstand the tension of the spheres unless you
have the experience of patience acquired over many ages? (Heart 479)
It may be noticed that patience is developed to the
extreme in certain people while others are totally lacking in this quality.
What is the reason for this? Such a basic quality cannot be a matter of chance.
Know that the possessor of patience has built it up in many lives. A patient
man is a worker of vast experience while the impatient one is a novice in life.
(Brotherhood 119)
Patience is not inactivity, but highest exertion of energy.
Patience is a conscious state of tension as well as
opposition to darkness. (Heart 478)
Patience is a conscious systematic understanding of
what is taking place. Patience needs to be cultivated as a promoter of
advancement. It is absurd to represent patience as an inner atrophy, on the
contrary, the process of patience is tension. (AUM 344)
It is the adornment of an experienced fighter, tried and tested in many
a battle.
Patience is a gem in the Crown. It is evidence that
one is drawing near to Infinity. (Heart 239)
Patience is an adornment of the heart. Each one who is
inexperienced in patience will not know how to adapt himself to the Fiery
World. (Fiery World II, 326)
Practical
Tip: Test of Patience
Your patience will be
severely tested several times a day. Take this as an opportunity to prove your
spiritual strength!
The test of patience
is one of the very highest. (Heart 212)
Nothing tests the
heart so thoroughly as patience. (Heart 479)
Solemnity
A beautiful state of
mind culminates in the sublime feeling of solemnity.
You create solemnity
within yourself and in your surroundings.
Preserve solemnity! Surround yourself with
solemnity! (Brotherhood 602)
You are continuously
living as a saint in a sanctuary (see the videos "The Path of the Interior
Temple", "Participating in the Life of the Higher World" and
"Living in the Ashram of the Teacher").
*****
Solemnity is a
cure-all for all kinds of bad thoughts and feelings.
The coworkers need to
preserve a sense of solemnity, for this feeling will not permit petty
irritations and decay. (Heart 435)
It nourishes and
strengthens your Eternal Individuality.
Solemnity is
nourishment for the heart! (Heart 462)
It raises your
vibration.
It is desirable to heighten one’s vibrations. The easiest way is to fill
oneself with solemn joy. (Supermundane 750)
You feel: In a solemn
mood, as it prevails for example in a church, you are
connected with the Higher Worlds.
Solemnity is the best
bridge to Us. Our help reaches people most easily through the channel of
solemnity. (Supermundane 104)
A mood of solemnity will
be the best guide to the Brotherhood. (Brotherhood 602)
Establish this sublime
state of your being not only on Sundays, but constantly, even in the midst of your daily work!
Indeed, it is
solemnity that stabilizes Our upward soaring. Let us with all patience help to
cultivate this beautiful feeling, which transfigures life, creates heroes, and
leads to the far-off worlds. (Supermundane 125)
A solemn state of mind
furthers the inflow of higher, helping energies.
Man was striving to
create a particularly exalted state of mind, promoting the reception of higher
energies. (AUM 4)
Every attraction of
fiery energies from space has in its basis an exalted feeling. (Fiery World
III, 384)
Acquiring
Solemnity through mental Work
Rodin
"The Thinker"
Solemnity is not an
accident or the idleness of a lazy Sunday, but the result of tense mental work.
The meaning of
solemnity is rarely understood. One may think that such an exalted state occurs
by chance, but in fact it is achieved as the result of profound and penetrating
reflection, and when it grows stronger one finds oneself well established in a new
state of consciousness. (Supermundane 455)
For many, solemnity is
festival indolence, an irresponsible walking about and uttering of outworn
words. In reality solemnity is the exalted offering of
all one’s best feelings, it is a tension of all superior energies, a contact
with the approaching Gates. (AUM 523)
You can consciously
practise creating and maintaining solemnity within you.
Solemnity must be
cultivated. The ability to direct one’s feeling upward will bestow solemnity
and a fiery current. This means: We are not far from the Fiery World when a
salutary ray can be felt. (Fiery World II, 325)
Solemnity combines in itself ecstasy, ascent, a shield against evil, and a
turning to the Hierarchy. So solemnity is salutary,
but it must be perceived and maintained. (Heart 525)
Especially in a
difficult situation, you must make a particular effort to maintain a sublime
state of mind.
In the midst of decay
and destruction can there be such solemnity? But for
the solemn consciousness, destruction does not exist. It is immediately covered
with a cupola of re-creation, in all its wondrous subtleness. (Heart 525)
The more difficult the
day, the more solemnly it must be treated. (Supermundane 652)
Therefore, the Master
appeals to us:
Increase solemnity ten
times over! (Heart 492)
In spite of the
battle, We are assembling in solemnity. Above all the
attainments of the heart shines solemnity. We sound a summons to solemnity, We ordain it! (Heart 491)
Joy
Let us now come to the conclusion of this Video. The synthesis of all
the efforts to master, refine, spiritualise and
elevate our feelings is:
Joy of being! (Nicholas Roerich "Krishna")
"How can I
recognise a great, beautiful soul that has completely mastered its body of
feelings?"
It is always full of
joy, no matter what the circumstances look like it is
relegated to. It masters the art of transforming all negative feelings, all
suffering into joy.
A slave may toil in
depression, but a fiery spirit transfigures everything by the most luminous
joy. (Fiery World III, 597)
Find the resourcefulness
to summon joy even during difficult days. Find the strength to create joy, for
there are many possibilities in space to kindle bonfires of joy. Teacher, help
me to take part in the Supermundane Joy. (Supermundane 843)
When joy keeps its
glow even under the most difficult circumstances, the Agni Yogi is filled with
impregnable strength. There, beyond the most difficult ascent, the Fiery World
begins. (Fiery World I, 561)
We are talking about
the joy at your true existence, which we have already discussed in many Videos
("Participation in the Life of the Higher World", "Living in the
Ashram of the Teacher"), at the life of your soul in its Eternal Home, far
above the earthly horrors.
Many unseen
circumstances are hidden in daily life, and one must find in them the joy that
elevates one into the supermundane existence. (Supermundane 324)
For such a joy of
being, you have to lay a basis.
This foundation can only
consist of cognition: Of knowledge about the meaning of life, the meaning of
suffering, the benefits of obstacles, the uninterrupted continuation of your
existence and finally about the Eternal Spiritual Path towards God, on which
every new day offers you innumerable, priceless opportunities to grow further
and to advance the building of the New World – knowing all this, only joy can
reign! (More on this in our Video "Joy – a special Wisdom”)
That is why the Agni
Yoga emphasises again and again:
Joy is a special
wisdom. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, 159; Community 156, 163; Agni Yoga 185,
293, 404; Hierarchy 96, 216, 343; AUM 113; Supermundane 231).