AGNI YOGA WEB TV
SERIES
EXPERIMENT IMMORTALITY
BROADCASTING 8
What can you do for a better World?
Dear fellow man,
you find yourself in a world full of misery and
suffering, selfishness and injustice, greed, violence and war. You ask yourself
desperately:
“What can I little midget do
to improve the hopeless state of the planet a little?“
Agni Yoga has a concept for
building a New World.
This I would like to present here and invite you
to participate in the New Construction. On the one hand, it is about serving
the progress of humanity and reaching the next level of evolution. But it is
also about you:
In a better world you
personally will lead a happier life!
The New World
Nicholas
Roerich “Glory of the Himalayas”
The disciple asks "What does a better
world actually look like? What exactly do we want to build?"
The World of the Future will come into being when
the Higher Will, the Will of God, the Cosmic Order, the Plan of Evolution is actually carried out on Earth. As it says in the Lord's
Prayer:
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)
If man would take the great
seed of the task in its potential, then indeed the world would be a great
reflection of the Higher Will. (Fiery World III, 260)
We realise the old hermetic principle “As
above, so below.”
1st Guiding
Thought:
We are creating Heaven on
Earth!
A new consciousness will dawn
on humanity, and the order that obtains in heaven will by this process obtain
also on earth. (Teachings of the Temple Vol III, Lesson “Mental Italicizing”)
“What does this new order look
like?”
It is extremely important that you realise:
A paradise is a higher sphere
because principles such as truth, justice, beauty and love actually
prevail there.
Guiding Thought:
By enforcing the principles
of the Higher World among people,
we are erecting the Kingdom
of God on Earth!
We have already discussed in detail what this
higher culture looks like in the Videos about the New World (Series
“Introduction to Agni Yoga I”, Broadcasting 15 “The New World”). I do not need
to repeat all that here.
To summarise briefly: Our goal is a world order
in which there is no selfishness, no greed, no violence, no war, no need, no
suffering, no poverty and no unemployment.
1. World
State, World Government
Guiding Thought:
To establish the Cosmic Order
on Earth
requires a World State and a
World Government
This is the only way to end the wars raging all
over the world. Instead of injustice and violence, as they still prevail today,
a worldwide legal system and a world police force will ensure calm, justice,
security, peace and order.
*****
Realise: Principles like truth, justice, beauty
and love as such cannot rule! Only people can reign who are spiritually so far
advanced that they are able:
To recognise the correct
application of the principles of the Higher World, to impart them to people,
and to enforce them in human society on Earth.
Plato's ideal (“The State“) still applies, according to which the philosophers
(the most spiritually advanced) should be kings, and the kings should be
philosophers.
“Where can we find such great
sages today?”
The Mahatmas of the Brotherhood of Shambhala
and their authorised representatives alone are chosen and able to form this International
World Government. The people of all nations, cultures and religions can trust
them.
We are called the World
Government. Many fear such terms, yet pray willingly
to the Highest Concept and readily accept its Guiding Hand. If we can imagine
the Highest Concept and have a living faith in it, why can we not accept a
World Government? Thus, reverence for the Highest Concept of Hierarchy could be
manifested. (Supermundane 64)
*****
We give this predestined realm, the future World
State, a globally understandable name:
Temple of Humanity
“How did this name come
about?”
As it is the destiny of the body to be the
temple of the soul, so it is the destiny of the Earth to be a sanctuary, the
temple of humanity.
2. Each
Individual counts!
"But now we have strayed
quite far away from the initial question of what I, as a small person, can do to
make the world a better place. The establishment of a World State and a World
Government is surely beyond my powers. I, an isolated, tiny person on my own,
am not in a position at all to make any significant changes to the global
situation?"
Don't be so pessimistic! This kind of thinking
is completely wrong!
Let us not be visited by the
pernicious thought of the hypocrite: “What does my thought matter to the
world?” Anyone who has thought in this way has yet to renounce the self. True,
each warrior shoots just one arrow, but if everyone regrets the use of his
arrow, the army will end up defenceless. (Heart 301)
The opposite is true: We cannot expect the
necessary, fundamental change in conditions to be introduced “from above”, by
governments, churches, business enterprises or other institutions. The only
promising path to a better future is:
Guiding Thought:
Many individuals must begin
with
the reorganisation of our
existence!
The Teacher took an eternal oath
about the establishment of the New World, so follow Him with full commitment.
Humanity needs to purify its existence, so reconstruction must begin from the
hearth, from everyday life. You should not wait for whole nations to start
moving; on the contrary: All over the world and regardless of nationality, the
life principle is improved through the personal new beginning. (Heart 173)
Every single human being is called upon to
contribute his stone to building the World Temple of the future every day, in
his own place, in the midst of daily life, in his
family and at work, in institutions, state and society.
We are a grassroots movement.
Each one must bring his own
stone for the construction. (AUM 555)
Two harmonised auras can
create a New World. (Fiery World III, 66)
It is not our concept to take
to the streets in large numbers and demonstrate for a system change.
We do not talk, we act!
We effect the necessary changes each one for
himself in his own normal earthly life.
An Agni Yogi builds that which
needs to be built. (Agni Yoga 375)
Guiding Thought:
The World of the Future is
created everywhere,
where first individual
people,
then small core groups,
and finally
a whole nation
submit to the rule of the
Mahatmas
As it once was the case in ancient Egypt.
The 7 Steps of the New Construction
Let us now set about building the World of the
Future in 7 steps: 1. transformation into the New Man 2. elevation to the Fiery
State of high vibration 3. construction of the temple in the heart 4.
appearance of the being of spirit in the world 5. transformation of your
surroundings into a temple 6. spreading the exercise “Transformation and
Elevation” and 7. forming communities.
Step 1: You transform into an immortal Being of Spirit
You make your first contribution to the
creation of the New World by transforming into a better person.
1. You
must be the Change
Our path begins with a realisation of the
utmost importance:
Guiding Thought:
Building a better world
can start nowhere else
but with you yourself!
As Gandhi so aptly said:
You must be the change you
wish to see in the world.
Most people fail already at this first step:
They read a lot, talk a lot, write a lot, give long lectures, engage in heated
discussions or meditate incessantly for the good of the world. But taking action, working on themselves, getting rid of
outdated habits and becoming a New Man – from this effort they shy away. Although
it is obvious to everyone:
Only better people can create
a better world!
History teaches: It is the wrong approach to
merely establish a new social order (such as socialism or communism) without
first having led people to a higher level.
To seek to achieve
political reforms before we have effected a reform in human nature, is like
putting new wine into old bottles. (H. Blavatsky, The Key to
Theosophy)
As long as people remain the same
hard-hearted egotists as before, they will pervert any progressive system,
however good it may be, namely misuse it for their own selfish purposes – and
everything will remain the same.
So if you want to
change the world and take part in the New Construction, you must first change
yourself. I invite you to transform into a man of the future.
Guiding Thought:
New Men just need to appear
everywhere on Earth,
then the New World will
emerge by itself
from communities of such
trailblazers
We have already discussed the details of this
transformation in the Video “Exercise Elevation” and in the earlier
Broadcastings of the Series “Experiment Immortality”. We briefly repeat and
deepen:
2.
Transformation into the New immortal Man
Nicholas
Roerich “Lama”
“What does this New Man look
like?”
Agni Yoga presents us with the image of the
human being of the next stage of evolution: He does not identify with his
perishable body. He knows that his true self is the non-material, eternal part of
his being – his soul!
Guiding Thought:
The man of the future
is an immortal being of
spirit
Immortal man — is this not
worthy of the future? (Agni Yoga 553)
The eternity and immortality
of our true nature is the basis for the New Construction.
A
new life in the spirit of immortality is the way out of the misery of the time,
the foundation upon which we can completely transform ourselves as well as
human society as a whole.
The eternal existence
of man is the starting point from where we can get rid of all our outdated
thinking, of the whole old world, as well as of ignorance, imperfection,
distress and suffering.
Confirm the truth of eternal
life, and the world will be transformed. (Supermundane 348)
“How do I become such a spirit
man who lives forever?”
This is surprisingly simple:
Guiding Thought:
You carry out the exercise
“Transformation into an
immortal”
It consists of two parts: You first change your
consciousness and then your
thinking and feeling.
3. You
change your Consciousness: “I am a Soul”
Blake
“The Soul”
The basis of all higher knowledge and the very
first step on the Spiritual Path is the realisation:
“I have a soul.”
We have described how you can experience the
reality of your Eternal Individuality in the Video “The Secret of Immortality -
Part I: With 7 Steps to a Life That Has No End”. On this basis, we take the
next step:
Guiding Thought:
You transfer your
consciousness
into your soul
Instead of thinking “I am a body and also have
a soul”, you realise:
“I am a soul and also have a
body.”
Its fate, however, is of little importance
because it will soon pass away anyway. Your soul, on the other hand, must be
carefully nurtured, nourished, healed, trained, strengthened and educated, so
that it grows ever greater, because it is your real self.
*****
A soul is immortal. Based on this realisation,
you form a new image of yourself:
"I am not a material,
perishable creature. I am a being of spirit who lives eternally."
4. You
think and feel like a Soul
In order to truly be a soul,
you must learn to think and feel as the eternal part of your being does. If you
think like a mortal, you are only a mortal!
“How does my soul think and
feel?”
It observes everything, judges everything and
acts in everything from a different, higher perspective:
Sub specie aeternitatis – from
the point of view of eternity!
On this basis, your Eternal Individuality adopts
a different attitude towards the events of life than the old, mortal man,
namely:
The higher standpoint of
invulnerability, fearlessness and freedom.
Simply by changing your thinking in this way,
you transform from a material to a spiritual creature.
Guiding Thought:
The mental attitude
makes the New Man!
Agni Yoga teaches:
The New Man is a state of
consciousness.
Everyone may earn immortality
by admitting Infinity into his consciousness. Strengthen yourselves in the acceptance
of immortality. (Infinity I, 70)
Let us now take a closer look at these three
aspects of the mental attitude of an immortal:
5.
Invulnerability of the New Man
Dying
Achilles
Immortal, you are invulnerable. If your body is
wounded or even destroyed, your soul is not affected: it lives on unharmed.
Your Higher Self thinks:
"As a being which lives
forever, I cannot be harmed by physical attacks. My body can be damaged – but
not me, my true, spiritual self."
If you think like this (despite
all attacks), you are actually not hurt!
This is the fundamental characteristic which
makes the man of the future so strong: invulnerable he is invincible.
6.
Fearlessness of the New Man
Tintoretto
“St George and the Dragon”
Invulnerable, you are fearless. Nobody and
nothing can do you any harm. Not even the death (of the body) can frighten you,
as your soul lives on. Your Eternal Individuality adopts this attitude:
“As a spiritual being, I am
not afraid of anyone or anything!”
If you think like this
(despite all attacks), you actually are no longer
afraid!
7.
Freedom of the New Man
Fearless, you are completely free. Your soul
takes this superior standpoint:
"At last
I am free to do only that which I consider right, necessary and ethical. In the
worst-case scenario, I will willingly sacrifice my body for my ideals."
Step 2: You rise to the Fiery State of high Vibration
The transformation into a being of spirit alone
is not enough: your soul can also be impure, depressed or selfish. In such a
state, you will not create a better world, but only a worse one.
Your second contribution to building the World
of the Future is therefore: You put yourself in a Fiery State of high
vibration. We have already discussed how you can elevate your being in this way
in the Video “Exercise The Fiery Condition”. We repeat
and add:
*****
In the morning during meditation, you ignite your
being with the spark of the Divine Fire which burns within you. You unfold your
Fiery Body as shown here:
(Music: Beethoven Triple Concerto op.56)
Then you are resplendent with
a golden aura of purity, wisdom, strength, joy, light and love. (Grünewald,
Isenheim Altarpiece “Resurrection of Christ”)
Fiery is our nature. Let us be
able to kindle our own sacred fire. (Supermundane 806)
Apply to man the
words—kindling of the spirit. Precisely, given to man was the kindling of the fire,
which dwells in all the manifestations of creation. One should remember that
powerful energies have been entrusted to man; therefore, whoever does not
kindle the spirit does not fulfill his destiny.
(Fiery World II, 447)
*****
You restore the original constitution of your
Eternal Individuality. In its essence it is pure, wise, powerful, joyful, full
of light and love. You will find these qualities within yourself. For this, you
must penetrate the layers of dirt which have accumulated over millions of years
during countless incarnations and get through to the golden core of your being.
*****
Or, during meditation (keeping your hands open
like a bowl), you absorb purity, wisdom, power, joy, light and love from space.
Even the Highest Beings must
be filled with the spirit in order to act. The
expression "be filled" is quite precise, for indeed one needs to be filled.
This means filling oneself with an abundance of the spirit. But does this not
also mean that we must enter into contact with the
Hierarchy? Only by drawing the spirit from the Highest Source do we receive
renewal and intensification of the fiery energy. That is why it is not
indicated anywhere that a person should withdraw in spirit; on the contrary,
seekers should be filled with the power of the spirit that leads to Light. But a
person who is focused on himself and thinking about self-assertion will never
draw from the Eternal Fire. (Heart 412)
*****
We can also describe the process in another
way: Your spiritual being, your soul, consists of highly refined matter, of
waves or vibrations.
Like the strings of a guitar or violin, you
tune the fibres of your being so that they do not vibrate low in indifference,
hatred or dejection, but high in love and joy.
You tune the vibration of your soul to the wavelength
at which Universal Love vibrates. Then, according to the principle of
resonance, the vibration of Universal Love also makes your being swing, so that
you vibrate in love.
“How do I tune my being?“
Above all, by evoking pure, wise, powerful,
joyful, lightful and loving thoughts and feelings within you and rejecting
impure, depressed ones; see our Videos on mastering thoughts and feelings.
Then you are pure, wise,
powerful, joyful, full of light and love.
Man is what he thinks.
(Buddha)
You embody and radiate purity, wisdom, power,
joy, light and love.
Let us take a closer look at these qualities
which are fundamental for the man of the future:
1.
Purity of the New Man
Rottenhammer “Baptism of Christ”
The New Man is without needs. He thinks:
“My soul does not require
food, clothing or shelter – neither for its survival nor for its well-being.”
He is free from desires. He finds no
satisfaction in physical pleasures. He feels:
“My Eternal Individuality does
not want all that which the body craves like a dog.”
He overcomes moods, whims, irritability,
depression and aggression by realising:
“My true Self is not affected
at all by that which my transient personality is so upset about.”
Guiding Thought:
By changing your thinking in
this way,
you bring your soul back
to its original, pure,
childlike state
You attain purity by mastering your thoughts:
By thinking only as it befits your Higher Self.
2.
Wisdom of the New Man
Nicholas
Roerich “Archat”
With the knowledge of feeling of a pure heart,
the soul can see through Maja (illusion) and recognise the truth, the essence
of a person or situation. We had already discussed this in the Video “The
spiritual Significance of the Heart”.
In every man there is an eye
of the soul. By it alone is truth seen. (Plato)
Your Higher Self knows the eternal Cosmic Laws
which govern your existence: Karma, reincarnation and the Law of
Correspondence. It knows the meaning of life, of suffering and of obstacles. On
this basis you will find the solution to all of life’s problems.
3. Joy
of Being of the New Man
Nicholas
Roerich “Krishna”
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)
In its wisdom, your soul finds joy in every
situation, even the most terrible one. It thinks:
“I rejoice at every
opportunity to pay off old debts (Karma), i.e. to make amends for wrongs which
I myself have caused.”
“I am happy about the
immeasurable opportunities to act and to grow to unimaginable greatness which
eternal life offers me!”
“I joyfully use the obstacles
and difficulties on the earthly path to rise, to grow greater and stronger.”
“I am grateful for suffering
which shows me a weakness or wrong behaviour.”
When it hurts, observe. Life
is trying to teach you something. (Rumi)
“I look forward to my death
because then I can return to my home, to a better world, and to my soul mates.” (Bosch “The Ascent of the Blessed”)
If you react to everything
that happens to you with joyful thoughts, you are indeed a joyful person!
It will be impossible for one
to suffer who thinks beautifully! (Brotherhood 160)
For the details of this spiritual exercise, let
me refer you to our Video “Joy is a special wisdom”.
4.
Vitality of the New Man
Titian
“John the Baptist”
From joy of being flows vitality.
When joy keeps its glow even under
the most difficult circumstances, the Agni Yogi is filled with impregnable
strength. (Fiery World I, 561)
Vitality is spiritual power,
psychic energy.
We have already explained how you can
strengthen it in the Videos of the Series “Psychic Energy”. Today just this
much:
A wise soul knows the mission of its current
incarnation and the path leading to its fulfilment. At every moment, with every
step, it strives towards its goal. In this way, it increases its spiritual
power.
Every applied thought will
bring growth to the spirit. (Infinity II, 377)
Guiding Thought:
A powerful spirit controls both
the body and the
circumstances
The strength of an immortal lies in a new
attitude:
"I can cope with any
situation. I will continue my path unwaveringly and pursue my goal steadfastly.
I do not allow myself to be put off by failure and never give up but try again
and again."
The pressure of adversity does
not affect the soul of a strong man for it is more powerful than any external
circumstances. (Seneca “On Providence II 1”)
5. Light
of the New Man
Nicholas
Roerich “Fiat Rex”
The man of the future is
characterised by the golden aura of a king of the spirit or a disciple of the
Brotherhood. (Nicholas Roerich “The Saints Boris and
Gleb”)
The crowns of the Masters are
in their royally beautiful radiations. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol I, letter
dated 8 November 1934)
Of course, this light which you radiate is
generated by a high consciousness, sublime thinking and a royal attitude.
What you think, you are. What
you are, you radiate. (Buddha)
6. Love
of the New Man
Your Eternal Self senses its kinship, its unity
with all other living beings. They all have a soul like you, some a smaller,
some a greater one. There is no such thing as inanimate nature. Everything from
rocks to stars is animate.
Your soul would never harm another soul. It
thinks:
“I love, protect, preserve and
nurture everything that exists.”
If you react unlovingly, irritably or even
aggressively to the behaviour of another person or to a difficult situation,
you are not revealing the Divine of your nature!
7.
Selflessness of the New Man
Mantegna
“Crucifixion of Christ”
Purity means above all selflessness!
Your Eternal Individuality is
by its very nature completely unselfish.
It adopts this attitude:
"I need nothing for myself.
I demand nothing for myself. All I want is the fulfilment of the Will of God,
the Higher Will, the Plan of Evolution, the establishment of the Cosmic Order,
of Truth, Justice, Beauty and Love on Earth."
To material beings, the law of
the jungle applies: the stronger one subjugates or devours the weaker one and
thus becomes ever stronger.
To a spiritual creature, on
the other hand, the law of the sacrifice applies. (Tintoretto
“Crucifixion”)
Guiding Thought:
Your soul does not grow,
when it takes,
but when it gives!
When it selflessly serves the common good and
sacrifices itself completely for a great cause.
*****
The misery and suffering of the old world are
caused almost exclusively by the selfishness of the old man.
Poverty was not created by
God. We have produced it, I and you, through our egotism. (Mother Teresa)
That is why the selflessness of the New Man is
the indispensable foundation for the New Construction!
8.
Transformation and Elevation as an Act of Creation
Michelangelo
“The Creation of Adam”
You experience: The exercises “Transformation
into an Immortal” and “Elevation to the Fiery State” are a true act of
creation!
You create yourself anew!
You bring to life a creature of a higher level
of evolution which did not exist before.
You are an artist, a sculptor
of the soul! From the material of your being of spirit, you create a work of
art!
(Dantan “Une
Restauration”)
Just like Michelangelo
chiselled out his David from a block of marble.
That depends solely on you. Nobody and nothing
and can prevent the realisation of your dream – only you yourself.
Practical
Tip: Mastering your Thoughts
Nicholas
Roerich "Brahmaputra”
We come to a surprising insight:
The creation of the man of the
future boils down to mastering your thoughts and feelings!
Each of your thoughts and each of your feelings
weaves the subtle structure of your Eternal Individuality.
Guiding Thought:
By changing your thinking,
you change the essence of
your being!
A higher being is a creature with a high
vibration. So, if you put yourself in a state of high vibration through
elevated thinking, you are a higher being!
Guiding Thought:
At least for the brief moment of the exercise
you really are the New Man
of a higher evolutionary
stage,
of the 6th race!
Now it is “only” a matter of revealing this
high position in everyday earthly life and defending it in all adversity.
9. The
New Man creates the New World
Walther
“The Tower of Babel”
If the transformation of individual human
beings succeeds, the New World will come about of itself: When all people are
peaceful, peace on Earth will come of its own accord. When all people are
unselfish, the horrible monstrosities of egotism will disappear.
If every 8
year old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence
from the world within one generation. (Dalai Lama)
As we are – so the world is.
That is, if we are greedy, envious, competitive, our society will be competitive,
envious, greedy, which brings misery and war. The State is what we are. To
bring about order and peace, we must begin with ourselves and not with society,
not with the State, for the world is ourselves.
(Krishnamurti)
Lead the way! The old men will follow a New Man
and imitate him when they perceive his superiority!
Whatsoever a great man does,
common men imitate. Whatever he sets up as the standard, that the world
follows. (Bhagavad Gita III, 21)
The world is changed by your example,
not by your opinion. (Paulo Coelho)
Guiding Thought:
Transform yourself
and you will transform the
world!
Change yourself and you will
have done your part in changing the world. (Yogananda)
Step 3: You build a Temple in your Heart
You make your third contribution to building
the New World, the World State “Temple of Humanity”, by first creating a temple
in your heart.
The New Construction begins
within you yourself!
"What do you mean by
that? What is a temple in the heart?"
1. What is
a Temple in the Heart?
Sainte
Chapelle, Paris
Let me explain: While your body is doing its
work on earth, your soul is dwelling in a higher sphere. As a spiritual being,
it cannot exist in a material but only in a spiritual world.
The feet of a spiritual
warrior are on Earth, and the head is in the Fiery World. (Fiery World II, 12)
You have built up your Eternal Individuality
with the help of your thoughts and feelings.
Now you must use the same
means to create a world for it to live in.
You can usually do little to change the
external conditions of earthly life. But they are also insignificant.
"I see that differently.
Surely the circumstances in which I have to dwell, in
which I am placed, are the decisive factor for my life?"
No, that only applies to your body, your
transient personality. Your true self, however, is your immortal soul. Once you
have recognised this, you will also agree:
Your real existence is the
life of your soul!
Guiding Thought:
Your true existence,
the home of your soul,
you create yourself!
Everything is possible! You can create any home
you want for your Eternal Individuality. That is why it is said:
In the same environment
everyone lives in a different world. (Schopenhauer)
A great spirit shapes for itself a marvellous
world, a small spirit a poor one.
Each spirit creates his own
world, and the beauty or ugliness of the created world depends upon the quality
of consciousness. (Infinity II, 319)
“I don't understand.”
Guiding Thought:
By changing your thinking,
you change the world in which
you live
If, for example, you manage to rejoice in every
situation, even the most dreadful one (because you know that it was allocated
to you so that your soul may learn and continue to ascend), you live in the
highest world despite all horrors – namely in precisely that sphere which is
ideal for your personal progress!
Reality is created by our
thoughts. By changing our thoughts, we can change our reality. (Plato)
We find confirmed what Agni Yoga teaches:
The New World is a state of
consciousness.
The New World is born
everywhere, beyond boundaries and conditions. The old world and the New World
are distinguished through consciousness, not by outer evidence. Age and
circumstance bear no importance. (Agni Yoga 55)
Practical
Tip: Living in Paradise
Agni Yoga promises:
You can live in a paradise
already now, during your earthly incarnation!
“How do I carry out this fantastic
project in today's terrible circumstances?”
By building a temple in your heart. By moulding
the spiritual world which your Eternal Individuality inhabits, the heavenly
backdrop against which your earthly life takes place, the subtle environment in
which your physical existence is embedded, into a sacred place.
Guiding Thought:
On the inner level,
in the 4th dimension of
existence,
your Eternal Individuality
lives in a sanctuary
In a personal paradise which does not require any
external, material means; which still exists in the midst of
all earthly labours, worries and suffering, even in the most terrible hell.
The kingdom of God cometh not
in such a way that it can be seen with the eyes. Neither shall they say, Lo
here! or, lo there it is! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke
17, 20, 21)
Within you there is a
stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time. (Hermann Hesse)
You determine the world in which
you live – not the physical circumstances!
2. You
build the Temple in your Heart
“How exactly do I build a
sanctuary within myself?”
In the Spiritual World, everything is created
by our thoughts (see the Video “The Supermundane World”). So
you form an idea of the heaven in which your soul wants to live and mould your
non-material surroundings according to this ideal.
This is a true act of creation
which you carry out with the help of your own thoughts and feelings!
You build in spirit, in your imagination a
temple in the Subtle World. Or you join a structure already existing there,
your Father's House, your Supermundane Home, in which your soul has been living
for aeons.
You create around you the
atmosphere, the hologram of a holy place.
The temple in the heart is an edifice of
thought, a virtual reality which cannot be seen, but nevertheless exists and
can be felt.
You are an artist, a temple builder!
From the material of the 4th dimension, of the Subtle World around you, you
create a work of art! (Caspar David Friedrich
“The Juno Temple of Agrigento”)
Picture a very concrete image
of this thought form so that it can become a living reality on the soul level!
Anything you can imagine is possible, for
example:
Schloss Hohenzollern; Nikolaus Roerich
“Mountain Peaks”, “Buddha”; Tigernestkloster, Bhutan; Kloster Hagia Triada,
Meteora, Griechenland
The Heaven of a disciple of
the Brotherhood is the ashram of his teacher. (Nicholas
Roerich “Star of the Morning“)
Exercise:
Visualisation
Nicholas
Roerich “Warrior of Light”
Visualise this place, the home of your soul, again and again during the day.
Put yourself in the vibration
of a sacred place.
Then this marvellous world will actually come into being around you – at least on the
spiritual level.
Everything is energy and that
is all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. This is not
philosophy. This is physics. (Einstein)
*****
“What do you have to offer
someone who neither can nor wants to live in an ashram?”
Choose as your spiritual home
the village which lies at the foot of every ashram. (Nicholas
Roerich “Tibet Himalayas”)
This is where those dwell who do not yet regard
themselves as disciples of the Brotherhood, but who nevertheless want to
contribute to the New Construction. They are also living and working under the
guidance of the Mahatmas. They occasionally visit the ashram to receive advice and
help. They are the little brothers and sisters (or disciples of a lower degree)
of one and the same community.
3.
Living in the Temple
Chartres
Cathedral
You transport yourself in thought into this
ashram which you have created in the Higher World. You play that you are living
in this sacred place.
Like a child in its fantasy
world where everything it imagines is reality.
Your Eternal Individuality visits its Eternal
Home – Heaven from which it was expelled at birth to incarnate and to which it wants
to return after death.
Your soul soars into these
bright realms. (Janmot “The
Flight of the Soul”)
It now dwells in its own
spiritual sphere high above the chaos, hardship, suffering and worry of
everyday earthly life and is not affected by any of this. (Nicholas
Roerich “Tsong kha-pa”)
In a world where tranquillity, peace, joy,
serenity and solemnity reign.
*****
Staying in such a Holy Place alone uplifts your
being – just like visiting a church, an art museum or a concert hall. Up there you
find your way back to your original Fiery State of high vibration, of purity,
wisdom, vitality, joy, light and love.
In the solemn atmosphere of a
sanctuary, the moods and desires of the transient personality remain silent.
You would not even think of smoking or drinking a beer there, would you? (Strasbourg Cathedral)
Practical
Tip: Heavenly Community
You are not alone in Heaven.
Heaven is not just a place,
but above all a community of soul mates. (Nicholas
Roerich “Zvenigorod”)
In your heart temple, in the fourth dimension,
the Father of your soul and your eternal, spiritual brothers and sisters are
present.
This will cause you to behave in a worthy
manner. In this virtual, heavenly community you can already practise the future
way of life of the New earthly World.
You visit this Heaven in
meditation in the morning, at noon and in the evening.
In this way you consolidate this thought form
and make it a real factor in your material, worldly life.
First Exercise:
Close your Eyes
Once you have reliably mastered and observed
the three meditation times, the next step is to close your eyes every now and
then in the meantime in order to visit the Inner
Temple for a brief moment, to find peace and
relaxation there and to recharge your batteries.
Pause quite often for quiet
contemplation and thereby renew yourself. (Marcus Aurelius "Meditations IV
3")
Second
Exercise: Living continuously in Heaven
Finally, the pinnacle of the exercise: You live
continuously in paradise, in your private sanctuary, even during your everyday
earthly work! You constantly ponder this mantra in your heart:
“My soul lives in its own
world, in the ashram of its teacher.”
Thereby you realise a great statement of the
Teaching, which is also a programme:
An Agni Yogi verily lives in
two worlds. (Infinity I, 238)
“Isn't all this just fruitless
dreaming?”
No, the elevation of your being through this
spiritual exercise is real.
And the life of the soul in a higher spiritual
sphere is the very basis for a life of the body in a better world, as we will
discuss shortly.
*****
This practice does not require any material
means or particular external circumstances. It is
feasible for each of you in any place at any time under any conditions. How and
where the body has to live and what it has to endure is irrelevant.
You do not know what
circumstances you might be banished to. You must therefore be able to transform
even a prison cell into a sanctuary.
We have already discussed the details of this
exercise in the videos “The Path of the Interior Temple”, “Participation in the
Life of the Higher World”, “Living in the continuous Presence of the Teacher”,
“Living in the Ashram of the Teacher” and “The spiritual Significance of the
Heart”.
4. The
Temple in the Heart as the Foundation of the World State “Temple of Humanity”
Monopteros,
Englischer Garten, Munich
“We seem to have lost sight of
our goal of making the Earth a better place.”
No, not at all, on the contrary: After your
transformation into an immortal, the construction of the Inner Temple is the
next important stone you contribute to building the World of the Future. With
this exercise, the New World will become a reality within you at least!
Guiding Thought:
The temple in the heart
of every single human being
is the foundation stone
for the World State “Temple
of Humanity”
The heart stands as the Temple
of humanity. (Heart 339)
Over time, as more and more
people join this practice and live in an Inner Ashram, the whole world will
become a sanctuary, a Temple of Humanity.
The transformation of the
world begins within each and every individual human
being!
Exercise:
Living “as if”
People today are not yet mature, not yet
spiritually developed enough to be personally guided by a Mahatma. The best
exercise to prepare you for this is the “Inner Sanctuary”: To live as if a member
of the Brotherhood (or one of its representatives) were present; as if you were
living in an ashram of the Brotherhood (or the teacher in your house) and he
were watching and guiding you.
Guiding Thought:
As long as the temple is not
firmly anchored in the hearts
of all co-workers,
it will never become a
physical reality
As long as individuals do not succeed in turning their inner, spiritual world into
a sanctuary, we need not even think about building an outer temple.
How shall a community build a better world if
not even each individual member is able to establish this higher order in his
own small, personal sphere?
The temple within is the basis
for every outer sanctuary.
Only the healing of the inner
life will help to elevate the social life. (Supermundane 548)
A physical monastery is of no use at all if the
hearts of the people who are living there are impure.
When a clown moves into a
palace, he does not become a king; only the palace becomes a circus. (Turkish
proverb) (Afremow “The
Clown”)
*****
We do not know whether and to what extent we
will be able to change the external circumstances. What we can make sure is
that the New World becomes reality at least within ourselves.
The integrity of the temple in
your heart depends solely upon you yourself.
“I don't fully understand that
yet.”
Well, it is of the utmost importance that you
realise:
Thoughts are free!
No external circumstances, not even the most
terrible attacks can prevent you from building up the virtual reality of a
sanctuary around you in your thoughts, from defending it and moving in it with
dignity.
Practical
Tip: Never give up the last Bastion!
The Inner Temple is the last bastion which you
must never give up, not even in the worst of circumstances!
Not even if, like Jesus, you have to descend into hell. (Dürer
“Christ Descending into Hell”)
It is the indispensable foundation on which we build
the New Construction, regardless of material conditions.
Create a monastery cell in
your heart and never leave it! (St. Catherine of Siena)
Just as a monk who is expelled
from his paradise because of the destruction of the monasteries in Tibet or
their secularisation (expropriation) in Europe, but nevertheless wants to
continue his holy life in the middle of the world, has no other choice but to
continue living according to the rule in an Inner Monastery. (Ruins of Ganden Monastery,
Tibet; Steuerwaldt “Klosterruine
Heisterbach”)
We come to a surprising but fundamental
insight:
The creation of the World of
the Future boils down to mastering your thoughts and feelings!
No one and nothing can prevent the realisation
of our dream – except we ourselves.
“Are we once again talking
about blood, sweat and tears, toil, discipline and duties?”
No, quite the opposite: It is all about your
personal well-being! Whatever circumstances you have been banished to, you are a
being full of vitality and joy of being living in a paradise – will that not be
your greatest happiness!?
*****
With the three steps just discussed your inner
development is complete. Now you must go out into the world in
order to let the newly created spirit being appear there and to turn the
temple in your heart into a material sanctuary.
Step 4: You let your Being of Spirit appear in the
World
We will now be talking about the fourth step
towards building a better world: You actually appear in the midst of everyday material, earthly life as a New
Man, as a being of spirit.
“What does ‘appearing’ mean in
concrete and practical terms?”
Guiding Thought:
You let your Eternal
Individuality
not only think and feel,
but also speak and act
– through your body as a tool. Your mantra is:
I reveal the Divine only!
In esoteric circles, you often hear the
somewhat nebulous phrase: “God is within you.” This sentence is of any
practical use only if you strive to express the divinity of your being.
"How do I know how my
soul thinks and feels? What it wants me to say or to do?"
The most important organ of
your Eternal Individuality is your heart.
It tells you infallibly which thoughts,
feelings, words and actions are in compliance with
your higher, eternal nature and which are not.
1.
Thinking, feeling, speaking and acting in Accordance with the Soul
Moreau
“St. Martin”
It is a long way from a disciple who has
transformed his consciousness and recognised himself as immortal, who thinks he
is invulnerable and fearless, to a master who actually
neither feels nor shows injury or fear in material reality, in any
situation, even the most terrible one.
It is a tough struggle to
overcome the desires, whims and moods of the lower self!
Do you really no longer
feel irritability, anger, depression or aggression, and do not express them
either?
Do you really
no longer eat too much, no alcohol, no meat, no tobacco and no
chocolate?
Do you really feel joy even in the worst
situation?
It takes a lot of inner work
to get rid of the devil within you, of your animalistic egotism!
Until you succeed in expressing, under the
merciless conditions of material reality, the original, childlike purity and
selflessness which you experience so blissfully in meditation.
Do you really share your coat
with your neighbour like St. Martin? (El
Greco “St Martin and the Beggar”)
Do you really contribute more to the common
good than you demand from the community for your personal needs?
*****
The more people reveal the godlike aspect of
their nature, especially selflessness, the sooner the New, Divine World, which
corresponds to the Cosmic Order, will come into being.
2.
Acquiring the Qualities of an Immortal
By expressing in everyday life only the Divine
within you, you will acquire over time the qualities of an immortal: You become
a creature which not only thinks fearlessly, freely, purely, wisely, joyfully,
powerfully, and lovingly, but who actually is fearless,
free, selfless, joyful, etc.
“How do I get this far?”
Guiding Thought:
An attitude
- fearlessness, selflessness
or joy -
which you adopt again and again,
becomes a habit
A habit, reinforced over and over again, becomes a property.
We discussed this in detail in the Video “We
are creating the Man of the Future”.
Practical
Tip: Get off the Sofa!
It is vital that you recognise: You cannot
acquire the qualities of the New immortal Man at home on the sofa, but only by taking
part in everyday, earthly life! Only here – where else? – can you prove what
you really have already achieved!
3.
Appearing as a Temple Disciple
Francesca
“St Jerome with a disciple”
Your transient personality on the material
plane must adapt to the sublime mode of existence of your Eternal
Individuality, which lives on the spiritual plane in a temple.
Otherwise, if your Higher Self
dwells in a heaven and your body on Earth in a pigsty, there will result a separation
of the worlds and a splitting of your entire being.
If your soul is unable to control its tool, the
body, and the latter behaves like a pig, the soul will not be able to maintain
the high vibration of a sanctuary around it either and will fall into lower
spheres.
So, in order
to keep yourself in your personal paradise, you begin to appear as a
temple disciple in everyday life on Earth.
Guiding Thought:
You behave,
you think, feel, speak and
act
in earthly life as if you
were
a disciple of the Brotherhood
namely with self-control, equanimity, dignity,
love and solemnity.
You refrain from everything that is unworthy of
a master disciple: alcohol, tobacco, meat, irritation, shouting, screaming,
lamenting, egotism, aggressiveness etc.
Then you are surrounded by the
aura of a saint. Sensitive people you meet will feel this. (Nicholas Roerich “Bhagavan“)
4.
Defence of the high Position
It is relatively easy in the morning meditation
to establish the state of consciousness of an immortal and to build a temple in
one's heart.
The great difficulty and
challenge lies in maintaining this high vibration in the midst of everyday life on Earth!
This is a tough struggle! The ideal state of
our being is constantly jeopardised by resistance, temptations, hardships and
attacks, as well as by our own weaknesses and outdated habits.
Again and again, you feel hurt,
even though your true self is actually invulnerable. (van Gogh “Mourning Old Man”)
The man of the future is literally fighting for
his survival in a materialistic, ignorant, hostile to the spirit environment!
Your task is:
In the storms of the world,
steadfastly maintain the mental attitude of an immortal and defend the temple
in your heart.
“How can I achieve that?”
You have two main tools at your disposal:
First
Exercise: 3 Meditation Times
It is essential that you get into the habit of
meditating three times a day.
The 5 prayer times of Islam are
a good model for this beneficial practice.
In the morning meditation you perform the
exercise “Transformation into an immortal” and establish the Temple in your
Heart.
In the meditation at noon, you raise the
vibration again, which has dropped in the meantime.
In the evening meditation you give yourself an
account: Where were you successful? Where did you fail? What do you need to do
better tomorrow?
*****
This beneficial exercise is an essential part of
the culture of the future. Nowadays it is taken for granted that you take care
of your body by brushing your teeth three times a day and eating three meals.
Even more important, however, is:
Guiding Thought:
Reserve at least three fixed
times of the day in order
to care for, nourish, purify,
heal, train and strengthen your soul!
Daily we partake of food, and
without it regard the day as miserable. But our spirit also requires
nourishment of thought, and it is a crime to pass one’s day without it. (Agni
Yoga 357)
Second
Exercise: Constant Vigilance
At every moment pay close attention to the
state of your vibration!
It should not be thought that,
in his consciousness, an Arhat could lose sight of the Guiding Will even for an
instant. He becomes a simple mortal, if he does not always solemnly bear the
chalice of achievement. The power of His heart becomes dormant as soon as He
ceases to feel the Hierarchic thread in His hand. In this realization of constant
vigilance lies the uniqueness of an Arhat. (Fiery World I, 196)
If your vibration crashes
under the pressure of everyday chaos on Earth, you must get up again
immediately!
You close your eyes for a few seconds. Your
soul visits its home for a brief moment and returns
uplifted and strengthened.
No special incantations are
needed; the spirit strives to its Motherland. Give freedom to the spirit; do
not bind it with human limitations. It will soar by itself and return jubilant;
thus man attaches himself to the Supermundane World.
(Supermundane 759)
In a short emergency
meditation, you take the standpoint of eternity again.
Cravings and moods disappear. Joy returns. The
New Man and the Temple in your Heart are being restored.
*****
With the four simple steps we have discussed so
far, you have achieved something great: At least with you, the Man of the
Future has become reality! Now you can proudly proclaim:
Here is the New Man! (Nicholas
Roerich “Lama)”
Step 5: You transform your World into a Temple
We continue to progress from the inner to the
outer temple. The new culture begins and spreads first in the heart and then in
the everyday life of each individual human being.
In the fifth step, you expand the area of the
New World: You transform your meditation room, your home, your workplace and
finally every room you enter into a sanctuary, into an
Ashram of the Brotherhood.
1. You
transform your Meditation Room into a Temple meditation room
First, you turn your meditation room into a
holy place.
It doesn't take much to achieve this: When you
are in a state of high vibration, you radiate purity, wisdom, strength, joy,
light and love.
Through this luminous aura,
you also transform your surroundings, in this case your meditation room, into a
sacred place.
A sensitive person who enters the room at this
moment will feel this!
2. You
transform your Home and Workplace into a Temple
Messina
“Saint Jerome in his Study”
When you leave the protected sphere of your
meditation room, your mission begins: The upliftment, transformation and
sanctification of the hostile to the spirit world.
You transform your home into a temple.
You transform your workplace,
whatever it looks like, into a temple.
You make sure that at least in your sphere
there is no greed or violence, no selfishness, need and suffering, no poverty and
no unemployment.
You turn at least a small part
of the Earth's surface into a settlement of the higher culture of the future.
At least here, truth, justice, beauty and love
reign.
Guiding Thought:
In your home
the World State Temple of
Humanity
now has an outpost!
You submit yourself and this
place to the rule of the Mahatmas.
Just as Gibraltar is ruled from London, your
place of residence is now governed from Shambhala. Here, the laws, rules and
customs of the Brotherhood apply.
*****
This is easy to say, but in reality
it is a constant, tremendous struggle against the resistance of the forces of
sluggishness, ignorance and malevolence within you and in your environment.
In the midst of chaos, you begin
to create something new – initially in your own small, personal sphere! You
realise the World of the Future at your home!
In order to give your project
a visible expression, you place pictures of Mahatma M, the Tabenisi Ashram or
the sign of Maitreya's community at your workplace.
3.
Spiritual Order of the Temple
"How do I proceed? Should
I tear down my house and build a church?"
No! A place does not become a temple by
erecting marble pillars or altars.
But by arching the higher
spiritual order of a sanctuary over a part of the material world.
People who live pure and holy
lives turn every place, no matter what it looks like from the outside, into a
temple.
"What is a pure and holy
life like? Is it even possible under the conditions of the materialistic culture
of a western metropolis? "
The rule of the 4 spheres of life applies:
Divide everything into four
shares: the first—for the Highest; second—for the Common Weal; third—for your fellow-man; and fourth—for yourself. (Fiery World II, 457)
Accordingly, a sanctuary is a place where the
people who live there base their life on four foundations: Connection with the
Higher World (meditation), service to the common good, service to the
neighbour, and education or self-improvement.
First Foundation (Meditation):
We
are in constant contact with the Spiritual World. From above there we receive
comfort, strength, knowledge and guidance.
Our strength, our superiority is based
precisely on the fact that we are carrying out the Higher Will, the plan of
evolution. As long as we do this, the Hierarchy is
behind us and we can make use of its power.
These, My
people, may use My Power. (Leaves of Morya's Garden II, 288)
In order to recognise the
Higher Will and to implement it on Earth, it is absolutely necessary
for the spiritually developed members of the community to be in contact with
the leaders of humanity, the Brotherhood of Shambhala.
The three daily meditation
times serve precisely to build up, nurture and deepen this Higher Communion.
Second Foundation
(Service to the Common Good): The members of the temple are working
selflessly for the progress of evolution, for the realisation of the Cosmic
Order, of truth, justice, beauty and love.
Life is service for evolution.
(Supermundane 305)
Guiding Thought:
Our work is divine service!
Check very carefully when you are working for a
company or an institution: Does your labour really benefit the common good?
Does a monk who brews and
sells spiritual poisons such as beer or liqueur really serve the well-being of
his fellow men?
Third Foundation
(Active Charity): In a sanctuary, you care for your neighbour,
i.e. for those near you who are in need of help right
now – and who are willing and able to accept it.
Fourth Foundation
(Education): The Men of the Future are constantly busy working on their own
perfection. They are progressing further and further
on the Spiritual Path of ascent to the New Man. See more in the Series
“Education”.
Guiding Thought:
Self-perfection
is not just a personal
matter,
but the very foundation
for building the New World!
Every victory you achieve over your lower self
is a victory for the World State Temple of Humanity!
“Why is that so?”
Because only the New Man can build the New
World.
Because selfishness, greed and
aggression will only disappear if we eradicate them – like plague and cholera,
smallpox or measles – from every single human being!
Practical
Tip: Living “as if”
We still need to mature in
order to become capable of being led by a Mahatma. The best way to get
there is to set up a virtual, Inner Ashram in our home and to live there as if
a Mahatma (or his representative, our teacher) were educating and training us.
Exercise:
Contribute every Day a Fibre, a Stone, a good Deed and a Step!
Your mantra is:
Every day I weave a new fibre
into the thread of the connection with the Higher World, contribute a stone for
the construction of the New World, perform a good deed and take another step on
the Spiritual Path to Mastery. (Verhaecht “The Tower of Babel”; David “Belisarius begging
for Alms”)
If you manage to contribute 365 new fibres,
stones, deeds and steps in the course of a year, you personally and the New Construction will have made great
progress!
You need to distinguish the
bygone day from the one that lies ahead based on the progress made. (Leaves of
Morya's Garden II, 337)
These four foundations of the World of the
Future can be practised by anyone in any place under any external conditions.
No one is so busy or poor that
he cannot create a noble ideal and follow it. (Schmiechen „Helena Blavatsky“)
*****
There are a number of further
rules upon which the culture of the future will be built, for example regarding
the rhythm of the day and nutrition. We have already talked about these customs
in detail in the Series “The 10 Pillars of the Practice of Agni Yoga”.
Culture is a monastic rule.
(Wittgenstein)
Guiding Thought:
The World State Temple of
Humanity
is a spiritual order
that rules in a material
place
Just as the state “Federal Republic of Germany”
governs a certain area and a certain people in Central Europe. The order of the
Temple of Humanity must be established everywhere in the world, not just in a
monastery, but in every single place where people are living and working!
If you realise this ideal in your own home, you
will have achieved something really great: At least in
your sphere, the World of the Future has become reality! Now you can proudly
proclaim:
Here, Heaven on Earth has
become reality! Here is the New World! (Nicholas
Roerich “Stronghold of the Spirit“)
Example
of Saint Baldomerus
Nicholas
Roerich “Holy Himalyas”
To show that we are not presenting an unworldly
ideal, but a practice that anyone, even the simplest person, can implement in
his everyday life, let us look at the example of Saint Baldomerus:
He lived in France in the 7th century, was a locksmith and ran a workshop with
several assistants and apprentices. This is what is reported about him:
He prayed a lot every day and was
diligent in spiritual reading. He knew no waste of time and lived according to
a very precise daily schedule in which prayer and work came into their own in
the most punctual way. He attended mass every morning. In his workshop, there
was no scolding or swearing, no gossiping and no dirty jokes. He never took
advantage of his customers and was content with a moderate profit. Like a
father, he took care of his assistants and apprentices. Like a pastor, a
shepherd of souls, Baldomerus admonished his housemates
to constantly praise God and thank Him. When necessary, he also punished them,
but not out of anger, but to better them. He saw them as beings with an
immortal soul who were entrusted to his custody and for which he would one day
be held accountable. He provided for their needs, gave them good wages and
nutritious food and demanded no more from them than they were able to cope
with. His house was a house of peace. (Melchers “The Great Book of the Saints”)
In this simple, unpretentious, very practical
way, each of us can shape the World of the Future in our families and at work!
Sanctify your everyday life!
4. You
turn every Room you enter into a Temple
Guiding Thought:
We conquer the world!
“How do we do that?”
By establishing the reign of the Mahatmas
everywhere, introducing their customs, rules and laws!
Now you go beyond your personal sphere and turn
every room you enter into a sanctuary: The home of relatives,
friends and acquaintances, the clubhouse, the supermarket, an office room and
so on.
Even when you go to the market
to do your shopping, you are arching the spiritual order of a temple over this
place.
The great skill, the tremendous challenge for a
spiritual warrior is to build and defend a temple, an outpost of Shambhala, everywhere,
in every place, even under the most unfavourable conditions.
Following the example of St
John of Capistrano, who was able to turn even the army camp under the walls of
Belgrade into a monastery. (see the Video “The Path of the Interior Temple”)
“How am I to proceed if my
fellow men don't want to have anything to do with a monastic rule?”
You can take the sublime vibration of your
Inner Temple with you wherever you go.
Wherever we are, wherever we go,
we take our monastery cell with us. (Saint Francis of Assisi)
Practise
meditation, and you will find that you are carrying within your heart a
portable paradise. (Yogananda)
You gently draw others into your paradise. You
invite them into this beautiful New World. You envelop them, as it were, with
this sacred atmosphere.
This is possible anywhere, as
Jesus' descent into hell proves. (Doré “La Vallée
de Larmes”)
Practical
Tip: Let your Light shine!
Of course, you cannot and must not force the predominantly
ignorant, lazy and often even malicious people in your environment to conform
to your ideal.
What you can do in any
situation, even the most terrible one, is radiate your golden aura of purity,
wisdom, strength, joy of being, light and love into your surroundings. (Nicholas Roerich “Fiat Rex”)
Then – like a single woman in the company of
men – you raise the vibration of the space around you by your mere presence and
contribute to a better, healthier, holier atmosphere.
Precisely, the emanations of a
pure earthly teacher raise the vibrations all around him, sometimes over a
tremendous area. Thus, not only is space purified, but sometimes even the fires
of the individuals who surround him are kindled. That is why, in ancient times,
it was considered a great privilege to live near a Teacher
and serve Him, as this provided the possibility of contact with his aura. The
East knew then and deeply revered the sacred Laws. And in present-day India it is
considered a blessing if a holy man chooses to live in one’s vicinity.
(Helena Roerich Letters Vol I,
letter dated 09.07.1935)
In this way you will touch the Higher Self in
one or the other of your fellow men and encourage him to unfold it. That is all
we can do for the time being.
People, through their own
efforts, can act strictly ethically and produce healthy emanations thereby.
(Supermundane 306)
Step 6: Spread Transformation and Elevation!
When you have built the sublime world of a temple
in your heart, when you have made your living and working place a sanctuary,
you are dwelling in a higher order, in a paradise where peace and solemnity
reign.
1.
Spread the higher Culture
Now you leave this stronghold and go into the
world, among people. Then you are automatically, according to your nature, a
representative of this higher culture.
This is as if an alien from a higher
civilisation were banished to a lower planet or a Greek philosopher among
barbarians.
Guiding Thought:
Your natural task is to help
your fellow men
to improve their way of life
The Brotherhood sends out messengers to raise
the cultural level on Earth. You too can be such an emissary and authorised
representative!
Example
Desert Princess
“Can you give a practical
example?”
In 1870, the French lady
Aurélie Picard meets an Arab prince, marries him and follows him to his
homeland, the Sahara. There she encounters primitive conditions and cannot help
but introduce her French civilisation: The house is thoroughly cleaned, sand
and vermin are removed; people no longer eat on the floor with their hands, but
at the table with knife and fork. The desert princess ensures that in the
village rubbish is no longer dumped on the street. She heals the sick and sets
up a school for the children. Around the newly built Kourdane
Palace, Mrs Picard makes the desert arable and transforms it into a flourishing
garden. The bestseller “The Desert Princess” by Roger Frison-Roche (original
French title “Djebel Amour”) tells the story of her adventurous life.
You should understand your work for the New
World in a similar way: Very practically focussed on improving, beautifying and
uplifting everyday life!
2.
Spreading Transformation and Elevation
"My dear Tsong, that's
another one of your high-flying fantasies. You want me humble
pipsqueak to become the founder of a new, higher culture? The path of the great
soul, of which you tend speak in such a challenging way, is too high for
me!"
Well, then let us start further down and take
the path of the small soul. You remember:
Example
Mikao Usui
We had already spoken several
times about a modern saint, the Japanese Mikao Usui (Video “We are
building the World of the Future”). He visited the slums of Kyoto to give
Reiki (psychic energy) to alleviate the plight of the poor and suffering. From this,
the Reiki healing method developed and spread all over the world.
This example shows you a very modest and simple
way to make your contribution to improving the world.
*****
You do not even have to go to the slums. As
soon as you leave your meditation room, you will meet someone in everyday life,
in your own environment, in your family, among relatives, friends,
acquaintances and colleagues at work, who is suffering, whose vibration has
dropped and who is in urgent need of elevation.
You have only just descended
from the high summit of your pure, holy world when those in need are already
waiting for you on the threshold, seeking your advice and help. (Nicholas Roerich “From Beyond”)
To uplift these fellow men is
your finest task!
Let us listen to a great wisdom:
Let no one ever come to you
without leaving better and happier. (Mother Teresa)
“How can I achieve this?”
Guiding Thought:
You perform with the sufferer
the exercises
“Transformation into an
Immortal”
and “Elevation into the Fiery
State”
In the same way as we discussed at the
beginning of this Video. You first learn this practice yourself and then show
it to others.
He knows how hard it is, when
surrounded by tigers, to rise up and carry others on
into the higher spheres. But this is the labour that must be performed by those
who are launching the New World, because even the very beginning must be
tangible. (Heart 292)
Here is the way out of the vale of tears:
Those who are suffering and in
need of help must first rise up and assume the mental
attitude of an immortal.
Only then their spiritual power, their psychic
energy, is set free and able to work with all its might.
Only then, in a state of high vibration,
standing high above the situation, should someone look for a solution to his
practical problems, which depending on the circumstances may or may not be at
hand. Perhaps the task is only to find the relatively best way out among many
bad ones.
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)
“How am I to proceed
concretely and practically?”
You show your fellow man that he has a soul,
that he is a soul, and how he can become immortal, invulnerable, fearless and
completely free.
As Prometheus brought fire to humanity,
you give them the priceless gift of immortality!
You teach him to think, feel, speak and act as
his Eternal Individuality, his heart desires: In such a way that he reveals not
the animal but the divine aspect of his nature.
You help him to establish and maintain the
ideal condition of his soul, the Fiery State of high vibration, of purity,
wisdom, vitality, joy of being and love.
In this way you provide your
neighbour with concrete, practical, philanthropic help! (Schnorr von Carolsfeld „The good Samaritan“)
This is how you abandon fruitless talk and
theorising and finally take action!
So everyone who
prepares his heart and uplifts the hearts of those around him is already doing
the will of the One who sent him. (Heart 332)
The good news with which you straighten up
those who labour and are heavy laden (Matthew 11: 28) is:
Guiding Thought:
You are a soul!
You are immortal!
You are invulnerable!
You are full of strength and
joy!
May this method of spiritual help spread worldwide.
Our slogan, our battle cry is:
Strengthen the soul through
transformation and elevation!
How, then, does a Hierarch
create on Earth? By uplifting all the surroundings. (Agni Yoga 663)
Step 7: Form Communities
The seventh and final step towards achieving
our goal (the World of the Future) is to join forces with others.
Guiding Thought:
The New World is conceivable
only
as a community of New Men
We cannot build it individually just for
ourselves.
Principles such as truth, justice,
beauty and love can only be realised within a community.
So with our example
we endeavour to get also other people excited about the New Construction.
Pass on your fire!
Don't stay alone! Connect with others who are
travelling the same path!
*****
We can turn any place in the world into a
temple. This does not depend upon the external circumstances, but solely on the
people who are living there. It follows:
Guiding Thought:
We can turn the whole world
into a sanctuary!
The more people practise the seven steps of the
New Construction in their everyday life, the more bases or outposts of the
World of the Future will emerge all over the Earth.
These isolated exclaves must
unite to form communities.
Let new communities burst
forth like new springs in the desert. Tender grass will grow green around the
springs, and in time their streams will merge into one current. (Community 226)
In this way, starting with small core groups, we
can create over time a World Community, the Temple of Humanity, the New World
governed by the Mahatmas.
Thus, beginning with one seed,
the construction of a community can result in the Community of the World.
(Infinity II, 283)
“How exactly should we
proceed?”
1.
Village and Ashram Tabenisi
Nicholas
Roerich “Tibet Himalayas”
Let me present to you a major project: Our aim
is to establish a village and an ashram called Tabenisi, where Agni Yogis live together
with their families, work together and jointly create a model settlement of the
New World.
Models for this project
include the various eco-villages around the world as well as spiritual centres
such as Auroville in India, Findhorn in Scotland or Taizé in France, where a
new, sustainable, ethically pure way of life is practised and exemplified.
In addition, there are the
Israeli kibbutzim, where a new, just form of social coexistence is tried out
and practised.
Above all, Halcyon, California,
the seat of the community “Temple of the People”, which was founded at the end
of the 19th century under the leadership of a Mahatma and still exists today,
serves as a pattern.
*****
“What is so special about
Tabenisi that sets it apart from similar projects?”
Here, a community places itself under the
leadership of the Mahatmas. With us, the laws, customs, rules and traditions of
Shambhala apply.
Guiding Thought:
Our statute book is Agni Yoga
The village is led by a Mahatma or his representative.
“That's pretty ambitious,
though!”
Yes, as long as this ideal cannot yet be
realised, we must place at the head that member who is most closely connected
to the higher levels of the Hierarchy and who therefore offers the best
guarantee of being able to lead the community according to the instructions or
at least in the spirit of the Brotherhood.
*****
In Tabenisi we actually
practise the spiritual order of a sanctuary that we have already spoken about:
Communion with the Higher World, service to the common good, service to the
neighbour and self-improvement. In such a community, the New World becomes a
tangible earthly reality.
It is not with words or
writings, but with our concrete, living example of a better world that we want
to inspire our fellow men to participate in the New Construction.
What constitutes true help for
Our work? Naturally, it lies in participating in the construction of Our
institutions. (Agni Yoga 246)
Let us, following the example
of St. Birgitta of Sweden in Vadstena, found in a
form appropriate to the times a “Monastery to save the World”!
2.
Community in Spirit
Nicholas
Roerich “Star of the Morning”
"How do you envisage this
in concrete terms? You just said yourself that people are not yet mature enough
to physically live together in communities under the leadership of the
Mahatmas."
Yes, as long as there
is still hardly anyone with whom we can and want to live together physically,
we have to begin on a lower level:
Guiding Thought:
We start by forming a virtual
community
Everyone who wishes to take part continues to
live in his hometown and is nevertheless a member of the community. The village
and Ashram Tabenisi initially exist “only” virtually, as an idea, as a thought
construction in the Subtle World.
“Doesn't that take us away
from our plan to build a model settlement on Earth?”
No, not at all! Think again: How does everything
that exists on this Earth become tangible, material reality? It always starts
with an idea, a concept, a dream. The first and most important task of all
pioneers is to imagine as precisely as possible the ideal that is to be
realised later and to define it mentally in all its details, subtleties and
ramifications.
Just like an architect who
first makes dozens of increasingly precise sketches before setting to work
erecting a building. (Michelangelo
“Architectural Study”)
We can visualise the ideal, the archetype of
the village and Ashram Tabenisi in the Spiritual somewhat like these two
paintings by Nicholas Roerich:
“Tibet
Himalayas”, “Star of the Morning”
Before we spend a lot of time, energy and money
to build and furnish concrete earthly houses, we first advance our project on
the soul level.
“How do we proceed?”
Consider: Your life would not change that much
outwardly if you physically moved to Tabenisi! You would continue to live with
your family and pursue your profession as before. The almost only, at least the
most important change in your life is:
Guiding Thought:
The community gathers in the
Ashram
in the morning, at noon and
in the evening,
steps before the Hierarchy,
and reports for training and
service
As long as the village is not yet physical
reality, we begin to realise our dream by visiting the Ashram in the Subtle
World and stepping together before the Hierarchy in spirit: In the morning at
least a quarter of an hour before the start of the earthly day, at noon around
1:00 pm and in the evening at 8:00 pm.
“What do you mean by 'visiting
the Ashram in the Subtle World in spirit'?”
Our souls go to this place, to their home, while
our bodies continue to dwell physically incarnated on Earth (see the Video
“Visit to Tabenisi”).
“What exactly are we doing in
these minutes?”
We invoke the Brotherhood of
Shambhala, Mahatma M and our teacher, send good thoughts into space, transform
into immortal beings of spirit, rise to the Fiery State of high vibration, take
on tasks for service to the common good and assignments for our personal
development, and receive comfort, strength, joy of being, knowledge, guidance and
help in personal conversation with our Spiritual Father. (Nicholas Roerich “The One stepping before Hierarchy”)
You can practise this just as well at your
current place of residence – strengthened by the awareness that the other
members of Tabenisi are doing the same at their home.
3. The 7
Pillars of a spiritual Community
Dessau,
Georgium “The Roman Ruin (The 7 Pillars)”
We know the further details of the higher
culture of the future from the Videos on the New World (Series “Introduction to
Agni Yoga I”, Video 15 “The New World”). Every member of the Tabenisi community
strives to realise them as far as possible in his place of residence.
Everyone behaves there as if he were living not
in Hamburg, New York or New Delhi, but in a little house with a garden in
Tabenisi.
We Tabenisians
belong together without having to live together physically.
“What is it that connects you
to a supra-regional community?”
These 7 pillars:
First pillar: The common Teaching:
We are all Agni Yogis. The instructions of the Mahatmas in the books of Agni
Yoga form the basis of our life.
Second pillar: The common
teachers: We all submit to the same guidance by the Brotherhood of Shambhala.
Third pillar: We all form and
defend the same consciousness: “I am a soul”. We adopt the attitude of an
immortal being of spirit in all material circumstances.
Fourth pillar: We all form and
defend the same consciousness: “On the soul level, I live in a holy place, in an
Inner Temple.”
Fifth pillar: We all follow,
everyone in his place, the same customs, rules and laws, namely those which
apply in the Brotherhood. In this way, we make our place of residence and work
an outpost of Shambhala.
We all observe the same
spiritual discipline.
Spiritual discipline is the
bridge between our ideals and their realisation.
Discipline is the beginning of
everything. (Leaves of Morya's Garden II, 253)
Sixth pillar: We all perform the same
spiritual exercises, the most important of which are: Attaining and maintaining
the Fiery State of high vibration, living in the continuous presence of the
teacher, and participation in the life of the Higher World.
Seventh pillar: We all pursue the
same goal: The New Construction, the next stage of evolution, the New Man of
the 6th Race and the New World.
4.
Joining the Tabenisi Community
Nicholas
Roerich “Zvenigorod”
You are cordially invited to join our community
and become a member.
“What do I have to do to
qualify?”
Adopt the 7 pillars just mentioned and practise
them in your everyday life! In this way, you will become one of us – even if we
are separated by long distances.
The New Construction begins on
the soul level!
This is possible in any place, at any time, and
under any conditions. This is how we form a community beyond the boundaries of
matter, space and time!
The experiment of bringing
together hearts over long distances is waiting for workers to carry it out. (Heart
339)
Guiding Thought:
Communities of men of the
future
do not need sanctuaries of
stone,
they have the temple in their
hearts;
that is enough
When you carry the monastery
in your heart, it does not matter whether the monastery building is existent or
not. (Starets Theophan)
You can find out more about our common practice
in the Video “Visit to Tabenisi”.
*****
The best preparation for the New World, for the
physical foundation of an Agni Yoga Village (and to test whether this higher way
of life actually corresponds to your nature) is: We
begin to participate virtually, in spirit, in the Subtle World, in the life of
such a community.
Thereby we draw the attention of the
Brotherhood towards us.
Thereby we attract the
possibility of the material realisation of our ideal.
A new construction attracts
the consciousnesses most akin to it. (Agni Yoga 254)
Each wholesome transformation
of life will be noted and supported. (Agni Yoga 175)
Guiding Thought:
An opportunity for the
physical realisation of our dream
may present itself any day.
Then we must be ready!
If you would like to participate in the
Tabenisi project and work together with us to advance the New Construction, I
invite you to join our Tabenisi Practice Group, see:
For further information, please write an email
to
We end with a summons from the Master, which is
both a programme and an instruction to get down to work:
Help build My Country! (Leaves
of Morya's Garden II, 231)
“To conclude, could you please
briefly summarize: What is it the Mahatmas want me to do?”
Here is your
Guiding Thought for every new day:
You appear as a New Man,
as a being of a higher
evolutionary stage,
like a biped among
quadrupeds.
You create the New World
by transforming every room you enter
into a sanctuary.