AGNI YOGA WEB TV
SERIES
„SPIRITUAL EXERCISES OF AGNI YOGA“
BROADCASTING 1
Exercise „Elevation“
Dear Agni Yogis,
welcome to our new Series:
"Spiritual Exercises of Agni Yoga". Let us start to train our soul, our
Eternal Individuality, so that it grows and becomes greater and stronger.
*****
The practice of Agni Yoga is divided into two
areas: We are working in order to build the New World and to create the New
Man.
The second area is all about spiritual exercises:
When you transform into an immortal, a spiritual warrior, or a spiritual
disciple, and keep the corresponding consciousness uninterrupted; when you
reserve in the morning before and in the evening after the worldly day fixed
times for meditation; when you lead a spiritual conversation with a
non-incarnated teacher; when you live in two worlds; when you respect the rules
of nutrition; when you preserve vitality and joy of being in all circumstances;
when you succeed to overcome bad qualities – all this and much more are nothing
but spiritual exercises.
However, the Agni Yogi does not practise in an
Ashram in the Himalayas or in an esoteric school on a Yoga-mat, but in the
middle of everyday life.
*****
The most important exercise of Agni Yoga is
your transformation from a material, mortal, into a spiritual, immortal being.
We will turn to this topic in one of the next Broadcastings.
Today, we shall practice "Elevation"
– an exercise that does not require any previous knowledge, neither of Agni
Yoga nor of any other religion, doctrine or philosophy. Today, we are really
addressing everyone.
Nevertheless, "Elevation" is the
basis for all further spiritual exercises of Agni Yoga, and we shall return to
it again and again.
Exercise “Elevation“
Nicholas Roerich “Mountain Peaks”
We are now starting with the exercise
"Elevation".
Let us make a virtual journey. Come with me! We
move in spirit to a mountain peak in the Alps.
This is not a dream. You will see: We are
aiming at real effects.
Imagine what you see and feel up here on the
summit. The best way is to close your eyes and to create an image within you.
1. What do you see?
What do you see up here?
Nicholas Roerich "Lake in the Mountains"
Above
you a deep blue, sun-lit sky.
At
eye level endless chains of majestic, snow-capped mountains.
At
your feet magnificent nature: Trees, lush green meadows with grazing cows,
mountain huts with unspoilt peasants. Here the world is still fine.
Deep
down in the valley the life of the people: A highway, on which the cars are
hurrying. A small town with people swarming like ants. Just a few hours ago,
you were one of them and did your errands there. Soon you will be back down
there.
How
wonderful is the world in which we may live!
2. What do you feel?
What do you feel up here on the summit?
Purity
Titian “Annunciation”
Nicholas Roerich “Mount of five Treasures“
You
feel pure, as in the old days, when you were a small, innocent child.
Up
here you feel the golden core of your soul. In everyday life it easily vanishes
under the thick layer of dirt which you have accumulated in the course of your
life.
You
restore the connection to your inner, true being, to which all these filthy
accumulations are alien, obstructive and disgusting.
You
recognize with pride, with fury and with shame: You are actually quite
different from the person that you appear to be down in the valley.
You are
longing to lead in the world as well a purer life that corresponds better to
your true, higher self. You are longing to finally become the creature you
should be, the creature that God has meant you to be.
The writer Ödön
von Horvath says:
“In
principle, I am quite different, but I rarely manage actually to live like
that.”
Negative
feelings such as irritation, anger, impatience, depression or hatred will not
arise up here. You are actually unresponsive to them on this summit.
You
have hardly any need for food, and no desire at all for material possessions or
for delights such as alcohol, tobacco or sweets. You feel that your real,
childlike, pure being in truth has no pleasure in these things. In an elevated
atmosphere, such desires do not arise. This is accompanied by a gratifying
feeling of liberation.
The
mountains are important, since like a principle, they lead us out of the lower
earthly conditions. On the heights one feels that one has been freed from
ordinary earthly demands. (Agni Yoga 73)
The
smoker has actually overcome his addiction to cigarettes, the drunkard the
alcohol, the sick his depression – for the moment. You suspect: You can
permanently get rid of your bad habits, if you succeed to preserve this high
state of spirit down in the valley, in worldly life as well.
You see, we are not dreamers. Our virtual journey has a very tangible, material result: You have actually purified yourself. Depressed by the burden of everyday life, you have started our spiritual journey; elevated you rise from the meditation.
Power
Nicholas Roerich “Tsong kha-pa”
Let us continue the exercise “Elevation”. What
else do you feel when you move in spirit to the mountain peak?
Nicholas Roerich "Himalayas"
You
feel how strong and powerful you, your true being are. You feel a great
superiority. You discover a power within you, great enough to cope with your
lower self and all the adversities of everyday life.
This
is first of all a power over the external conditions: At the top of the mountain
you stand superior like a king over and above the circumstances, above all
events and all people who approach you. You look at the world beneath you, at
the circumstances prevailing there, and also at your own life down there, from
above, with the spiritual eyes of your soul, from the higher standpoint of
eternity.
At
this height, nothing comes close to you, nothing can affect you, nothing can harm you. Up here you are much greater and more
powerful than usually in everyday life.
It is
essential that the art of thinking again rise above the external conditions,
which are subordinate factors of existence. (Brotherhood 510)
This is not an illusion. The mountain peak –
whether physically or virtually climbed – is a place where your higher self,
the soul, awakens to its life, finds expression and brings to bear itself. As an spiritual being, it is actually not affected by the
material conditions down in the valley.
You
look at yourself from above, with the spiritual eyes of the soul. Your Eternal
Individuality faces your body, your earthly, perishable personality. You
recognize yourself.
You
control yourself. In the state of "Elevation", your lower physical
ego is in complete harmony with your higher spiritual self; it therefore
expresses no negative thoughts or feelings like greed, egotism or depression.
The
king sits on his throne. The captain is on the bridge of the ship. Your higher
nature directs the vehicle – the body, controls its actions, thoughts and
emotions, from the outside, from above.
On the summit you have established the rule of
the spirit – over yourself and over the circumstances as well.
I set you above a precipice as on an inaccessible tower. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, 66)
Joy
Nicholas Roerich “Krishna”
What do you finally feel up here?
Nicholas Roerich "Holy Himalayas, Sketch"
On
the summit, only joy can reign: You rejoice at the world, which proves so
beautiful when seen from above.
You
rejoice at the people whom you meet here with their true nature: pure, powerful
and in harmony with themselves.
You
rejoice at the cosmic laws that create a wonderful, just and meaningful order.
You experience again the instinctive blissful certainty of childhood:
Everything that happens to you is exactly what you deserve – or what you need
in order to proceed.
You
feel the joy of being which lives in the heart and is independent of the
external circumstances. Up here, you assume joy as a spiritual attitude which
you can oppose to the attacks of chaos. You suspect how wonderful it would be
to be able to maintain this attitude in the midst of the storms of the world.
You
feel free from all sorrows. From this higher point of view you recognize how
vain and small the everyday problems, sufferings, and affairs are, which
torment you down on earth.
The entire earthly existence must be comprehended from the level of the
Higher World. (Fiery World I, 508)
You
are dwelling above the storms in the valley in a state of serenity,
tranquillity and inner peace.
Earthly
cares are like stones rolling down a mountain. The lower down they roll, the
more violent the impact of the landslide. Would it not be better to ascend to
the very summit where there are no falling stones? Upward striving also
transforms our attitude toward earthly cares. Even though they continue, their
meaning is altered. Thus one may perceive how many advantages the summit has
over the canyon. (AUM 304)
You
rejoice at the immeasurable possibilities that each day offers to your spirit
for unlimited growth.
You
feel indomitable strength within you. Based on it, you are even looking forward
with joy to continue to struggle with the obstacles and difficulties of
everyday life, which is waiting for you down below in the valley.
All
of a sudden, you realize: Whether you are happy or sad, is your responsibility
alone. You must not blame the external circumstances or other people.
You
realize that happiness and suffering are not objective facts; they are states
of your own consciousness. It is entirely up to you, it is completely in your
power to establish one or the other state.
Therefore, the popular wisdom says:
He
who does not carry heaven in his own heart will not be able to find it anywhere
else.
Suffering
does not come from without. It results from nothing else but your own negative
thoughts. You can defeat it if you manage to find – as here on the mountain
peak – a basis for positive, joyful thinking. This is possible down in the
valley as well, even in the most terrible circumstances.
If you can follow me so far, you are on the way
to that true wisdom which lives in the heart and goes far beyond intellectual
knowledge. For it is said:
Joy
is a special wisdom. (Community 156)
When
joy keeps its glow even under the most difficult circumstances, the Agni Yogi
is filled with impregnable strength. (Fiery World I, 561)
One of the most important paragraphs of Agni
Yoga on the subject of "Elevation" runs:
When
through the tatters of your temporary bodies shines the splendor
of your spirit, are you not filled with strength and joy? Then am I near to
you. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 277 [332])
To put it more simply: You feel yourself how
you are elevated and full of power and joy, and how the forces of Heaven are
near you, when the spirit – your Eternal Individuality – awakens to its life,
finds expression and radiates from your perishable body.
*****
You have elevated yourself. If possible, you
would never give up this wonderful feeling of purity, power and joy of being.
Learn to enjoy and to love this sublime state of consciousness and prefer it to
everything else!
3. Spiritual Reality
Let us take a short break for an explanation.
One of the most important teachings of Agni
Yoga says: It does not matter whether you physically or spiritually climb a
mountain peak, or visit a concert hall, a cathedral or another holy place. The
effect is the same in both cases!
No
routine practices or exercises are needed; only thought can elevate man.
(Supermundane 853)
The state of elevation is a spiritual reality.
We can achieve this state by making a long,
expensive and time-consuming physical journey to the Alps or the Himalayas and
by arduously climbing a mountain peak physically for hours.
Or we can reach the same state much easier by
stopping for a brief moment of rest, closing our eyes, and taking our spirit to
the summit in a moment.
*****
You feel as pure, superior, peaceful, powerful
and joyful – in a word: as "exalted" – after a meditation like this
as after a physical mountain tour. Just as from the mountain peak, you return
from the meditation with new – spiritual – forces to the earthly life, and are
now better able to cope with its challenges.
*****
The spiritual path has the advantage that you
do not have to wait for the weekend or for holidays. You can attain this
splendid, elevated state of mind not only every day, but even several times in
the course of a day.
The effect of a physical ascent fades away
rapidly in everyday life. The effect of a spiritual ascent can be renewed every
hour.
4. Elevation for the Advanced
Nicholas Roerich “Pearl of Searching”
For those of you who have already progressed in
Agni Yoga or generally on the Spiritual Path, we offer two advanced versions of
the exercise “Elevation”:
First:
Place yourself in spirit on a mountain peak where there is a temple. Now, you
not only climb a summit, but visit a sanctuary in order to detach yourself for
a moment from the world and to uplift yourself spiritually, perhaps in order to
pray or to meditate. (Nicholas Roerich “Hermitage of St. Sergius”)
Secondly,
you can go even further: You can imagine that there stands on the mountain top
the Ashram in which your teacher lives. Then you visit Him in spirit! Through one
moment in His presence alone your spirit is elevated, namely, purified,
comforted, nourished, and strengthened. (Nicholas Roerich
"Star of the Morning")
A spiritual disciple will practice
"Elevation" as follows: He will regularly visit his teacher in His
abode in order to learn from Him, to practice under His guidance and to receive
tasks and assignments from Him.
*****
You know: There, at the seat of your spiritual
father, in the presence of your spiritual brothers and sisters (the other
disciples of this teacher), is your true eternal home. From there you came when
you were born; there you will return after the death of your body.
Nothing is more beautiful and more fruitful,
than to call in up there regularly during material earthly life.
5. What else do you feel?
Let us continue the exercise “Elevation”. What
else do you feel on the mountain top?
Consciousness of the Soul
Nicholas Roerich „Higher than Mountains“
Down
in the valley, you are inclined to consider only that as real what you can see
and touch.
Up
here you sense your soul. In this holy place, remote from earthly life, far
above the oppressive burdens of your material existence, your higher self awakens to its life.
It is
your soul that is elevated, not the body!
You
recognize: Your soul, as a spiritual being, has far greater possibilities than
the body which is limited to the material; an infinite potential that you do
not nearly make use of in full.
When, at night, there appears over the summit the starry sky with its billions of suns, whose light has travelled millions of years to reach you, you sense the eternity. You feel: You yourself are a part of this eternity. You – your higher self – are eternal and thus immortal. (Nicholas Roerich “Star of the Hero”)
You do
not feel small any longer, but great. For your soul – when it realizes its potential and begins to grow – is on the way to God!
If we
recall the sensation of standing on a rock before a phenomenon of nature, does
not the heart contract from rapture? After this stage, the sensation of
embracing boundlessness will be realized. (Leaves of Morya’s
Garden II, 160)
You feel: As an eternal being you are a cosmic
giant: indestructible, inviolable and invincible, and thus fearless, completely
free and full of dignity.
Higher Communion
Nicholas Roerich „Holy Himalayas, Study“
You
feel: Up here you are close to Heaven, physically and spiritually.
You
experience with a certainty beyond all reason: They really exist, these higher
powers that protect, warn, teach, guide, comfort and strengthen you.
You
know: There is no insurmountable barrier between Them
and you. There is a way to get in touch with Them: Use
the potential of your spiritual being and open your inner senses – your heart!
You
are already now receiving strength, consolation, and knowledge from Above.
When a traveller stands on a summit, does he not feel that his body is
being raised as if he were a unifier of worlds? (Community 215)
Selflessness
Jacques-Louis David „The Act of Selflessness“
Nicholas Roerich „Blue Mountains“
You
perceive a soul not only within yourself, but also in everything else that
surrounds you.
You
feel one with nature, with all the other creatures – plants, animals and human
beings –, yeah, even with the whole universe! You feel that everything around
you is animated with the same divine spark that you are carrying within
yourself.
On
the summit every selfish desire disappears. You feel: You must not and cannot
separate yourself from the other souls. Up here there is no thought of striving
for your personal benefit to the detriment of others.
Up
here, you love all fellow human beings and all other creatures as well.
6. What is the Use of „Elevation“?
Why do we practise the exercise “Elevation”?
What do we gain by that?
Purification
Tintoretto “Baptism of Christ”
By an "Elevation" you purify your
higher, spiritual being, the soul.
If we want to use a scientific expression, we
may say: You put your Eternal Individuality in a state of higher vibration.
Thus, particles which are responsive to lower vibrations are driven out of your
soul. Instead, you fill your spiritual being with particles which are
susceptible to higher vibrations. We have already talked about this phenomenon
in our Broadcasting on Meditation.
*****
During "Elevation" you experience: It
is indeed possible to return to the original state of purity in which you were
created.
What remains to be done is "only" to
preserve this elevated state of mind permanently down in the valley. Then you
can completely get rid of the bad qualities under which you are suffering, of
the dirt, which tarnishes the gold of your soul.
Gain Vitality
You are strengthening the
power of your spirit. Your Eternal Individuality grows and becomes stronger
when it strives to control both itself and the material conditions. The power
over yourself is the source of your power over the circumstances.
*****
During "Elevation"
you take up energy from space. You refill your supply of psychic energy, this
spiritual force, on which all your possibilities and higher abilities are
based. After an "Elevation" you are again full of vitality.
Fundamentally man was striving to create a particularly exalted state of
mind, thereby promoting the reception of higher energies. (AUM 4)
Gain Joy of Being
You experience: Your soul, your Eternal
Individuality, can rejoice, even when your body suffers.
Your perishable personality does not have much
to laugh about indeed in everyday life down in the valley. Therefore,
"Elevation" is the way to regain your joy of being in every
situation, to transform suffering into joy, and to turn difficulties and
distress into opportunities for your further spiritual ascent.
Gain Knowledge
Raffael “The School of Athens”
In the state of the "Elevation" our
knowledge grows.
Another
means of cognition is: Man heroically uplifts his consciousness and then
observes manifestations from above. Thus, the most complex manifestation will
appear to be below his consciousness and will be easily apprehended.
(Brotherhood 595)
On the summit we are closer to heaven – and
thus to truth – than in the valley.
The
meaning will be clear when you will look from the mountain tops. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, 34)
From the standpoint up here we can see the life
below in the valley more clearly. That what lies beneath us is easier to
understand.
Mundane
occurrences are best seen from the Summit. The higher one ascends the broader
and more powerful is the vision; and the more powerful the vision the stronger
the fusion into oneness. (Fiery World III, 19)
Up here our inner senses, above all the heart,
are more open to the streams of knowledge that are continuously pouring down
from the spiritual world to the earth at any moment.
Standing
on the peaks where one may look down – and understand – the Word thunders its
truth to the inner self – the inner senses; in the valleys however are but the
whisperings of this truth, not easily heard, and most easily misunderstood
(Teachings of the Temple Vol. II, Lesson “Truth and Authority”)
Living in your own Higher World
Every one of us feels from time to time an urgent
desire to leave for a moment the everyday world with all its difficulties and
distress. For this, however, you should not take refuge in watching television
or visiting a football match.
It is much more creative to build your own
wonderful world, your own personal paradise on the peak of a mountain, and to
visit it regularly during "Elevation".
When
our consciousness is completely transported into the domain where there is no
fear and depression, then we are invulnerable to any filth. (Fiery World II,
72)
Then you actually fly to a better world, to
your true, supratemporal homeland.
Hopeless
grief reigns simply because of the inability to think or to imagine. No one
cares to develop the imagination, but without these wings it is impossible to
soar to the higher spheres. (Supermundane 110)
Nothing base or low comes near to you here, no
enemy and no trouble.
One
must think loftily in order to rise above the dust. (Fiery World I, 510)
Such an ascent is the right way to free
yourself from the misery of the world.
When it is so burdensome on the Earth, thought can lift itself up to the Supermundane Spheres. (Fiery World III, 549)
Get rid of bad Habits
The practice of “Elevation” is the best way to
get rid of cravings or bad habits (for example smoking, alcohol, sweets,
overeating), of negative thoughts, of false attitudes such as doubt, anxiety,
suffering, irritation, depression, moods, sadness, and of other encumbering
properties.
*****
In the state of "Elevation" you are
redeemed from all this, as in a church or a concert hall. You can learn to
recreate this state of higher vibrations every time you threaten to crash.
Thus, step by step, you will change your habits, and with them your nature, and
actually become immune to such lower vibrations.
This spiritual way is better than a diet or
other external measures, because thereby you can eradicate the tormentors from
within you and thus drive them out once and for all.
The New Man
Nicholas Roerich “Lama”
There is so
much talk about the "Man of the Future". On the mountain peak you
feel that you can reach this higher level – indeed, that you have already
reached it – for the moment!
The New Man
differs from the old one by the elevated state of his consciousness, which we
have described with "purity, power, and joy of being." In our
meditation you have created this state. As long as you succeed to preserve it
in material earthly life, you are indeed a New Man!
Spiritual Pleasures
Bellini “Christ on the Mount of Olives“
Even the spiritual man seeks pleasures – but
not material ones. It is not goal-fitting to forbid yourself, or others, the
gross earthly delights, or to suppress them artificially. The better way is:
Fill your life with higher, with spiritual pleasures! Besides them, the desire
for the lower material enjoyments will eventually die down by itself.
It is
easy to say that people should not drug themselves, but one should show them
elevated paths. (Supermundane 500)
So enjoy the magnificent state of
"Elevation"! Rejoice up there at the majesty of the world and the
greatness of your soul! This is the only joy that is possible always and
everywhere, even in the most terrible external circumstances.
No
other joys can be compared with those spiritual exaltations which are
experienced by the true disciple. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. I, letter of
24.06.1935)
Transfiguration of Life
C. H. Bloch “Transfiguration of Christ“
The exercise "Elevation" allows
everyone to transform into a New Man. Within a moment, you become a new, a
higher being.
It allows everyone at any time and in any place
to live in his own personal heaven, in a New World.
It creates a true transfiguration of your life
– independent of the external conditions.
*****
Would you not like to be rather great than
small, rather pure than unclean, powerful than weak, joyful than sad, healthy
than sick, above than below, sublime than depressed?
Do you not prefer to live in a beautiful rather
than in an ugly world?
7. Practice
First Step
To practise "Elevation" means:
In the morning, before your worldly day begins,
you must first of all establish the state of "Elevation": purity,
power and joy of being.
You must not allow the earthly thoughts,
projects, worries, and hardships to fall upon you as soon as you get up. You
must first create the awareness of your Higher Self and your mission. Otherwise
you will not be able during the day to think, feel, speak, and act from the
higher standpoint of the mountain peak.
*****
Painful experience teaches: He who starts the
day down in the valley, will in its course hardly have the possibility to
ascend. You have to start the day on the top of the mountain, in the spiritual
world.
From this height, you deliberately descend down
to the earthly life. There you will be supported by the certainty that you will
soon return to the summit, namely at the latest in the evening.
Therefore, the popular wisdom says:
When
you begin the day with a smile, you have already mastered it.
*****
At noon, for a brief moment, you will take a
"time out" from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, visit the
mountain top, practise "Elevation" and restore the rule of the
spirit.
*****
At the latest in the evening you have to
reserve a fixed time for our exercise in order to recreate the state of
"Elevation".
You will look back at the day from above. You
will give yourself an account on how you have spent it, in order to learn how
you can do better tomorrow.
You should consciously conclude the day, leave the
earth and all earthly affairs, and – as at death! – return
to your marvellous homeland, where there is no oppression.
*****
These three pillars of a spiritual day should
gradually become a habit through a salutary discipline, such as for example the
five prayer times of Islam. To establish the rule of the spirit also means: To
uncompromisingly make sure, against all demands of the world, that your
spiritual being is granted the space it needs to live.
The first practical step, therefore, is to
establish, at least during these three times of the day, an elevated state of
mind. If you succeed, you will not fall too deeply in the short intervals in
between.
Second Step
An even greater challenge is to constantly
maintain a state of higher vibration, not only on the mountain peak, but also
down in the valley, in the middle of earthly life. That means: Always stay in
"Elevation", never crash, do not allow yourself to be dragged down by
adverse circumstances or human attacks – or at least rise again immediately
after every crash.
*****
The crucial exercise therefore is: Create the
state of "Elevation" in any situation. "Elevation" is a
spiritual attitude which we must preserve in all circumstances, not only in the
morning and in the evening on our mountain.
Each
man experiences the manifestation of enthusiasm, but these sparks of lofty
elation occur as isolated flashes and do not transform the whole life. But for
all that, such states of the spirit are possible even amid trying conditions.
Let us imagine such an exalted state as continuous, it will then bestow still
higher enthusiasm. Of course, all existence shall likewise be elevated. (AUM
449)
You have to ask yourself at every moment:
"Am I in (in the state of "Elevation "), or am I out? Am I up,
or am I down?" What is required is constant vigilance.
It
should not be thought that, in his consciousness, an Arhat
could lose sight of the Guiding Will even for one instant. He proves to be a
simple mortal, if he does not always solemnly bear the chalice of achievement.
The power of His heart becomes dormant as soon as He ceases to feel the
Hierarchic thread in His hand. In this realization of constant vigilance lies
the uniqueness of an Arhat. (Fiery World I, 196)
When you feel pure, strong and joyful, you are
up. When you feel unclean, weak or sad, you are down.
You are like a baby who is learning to walk.
When you have stumbled, you have to get up again in spirit immediately before
you continue to act on the material plane.
*****
Especially before meals you should carry out a
short "Elevation". Thereby, you transmit your higher vibration to the
material food and purify and elevate it.
In addition, this helps you to eliminate the
desire of the palate and to make sure that you eat only that and only so much
as your body really needs.
*****
One of the most important paragraphs of Agni
Yoga on our topic runs:
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)
This tells us: In difficulties, facing
important decisions, or before you are looking for the solution to a problem,
always create the state of "Elevation" first. You should not think,
feel, speak, or act in a downcast mood – that would only produce a negative
impact on you and your environment.
As long as you are depressed, you will hardly
find the best solution. Furthermore, it may be that in some situations there is
no way out. Even this must not drag you down from your elevated state of mind.
Your motto, therefore, should be: first
elevation, then problem solution.
*****
You should regard the exercise "Elevation"
as successfully completed only once you have reached the state of mind that we
have described as "purity, power, and joy of being." And you should
return to the exercise whenever you have lost this state.
8. Service
At the end of this Broadcasting, let me point
out: The exercise "Elevation" is not a selfish practice which only
aims at your personal wellbeing. It is a service to mankind as well!
*****
The state of your mind has a great significance
for the work you are doing on the material level: The bread you bake, the
children you educate, the letters you write, the houses you build, the
furniture you fabricate, the pictures you paint, the conversations you lead –
everything you do succeeds in a state of "Elevation" better than when
you are acting in a depressed mood or with negative thoughts or feelings.
*****
Depending on your inner condition, you radiate
good or bad emanations at any moment. They exert a powerful effect on the
people and even on the objects around you.
One
should sow the good with every glance, every touch. And the heart will grow in
this exercise of goodness. (Heart 410)
In a state of “Elevation”, you illuminate your
whole environment by radiating warmth, light, love, joy and strength!
We must
attain the stage where we radiate light from our innermost being, for it is
then that we are true coworkers with the higher
worlds. (Heart 38)
Through the radiant example of your own
elevation, you show other people the beauty and dignity of this state of mind,
and awaken in them the desire to elevate themselves as well.
It is
impossible for anyone to either raise or lower his own individual vibration
without raising or lowering everything connected with him. (Teachings of the
Temple Vol. III, Lesson “To Templars”)
You prove your fellow human beings that
suffering and desires can be overcome by this practice.
*****
He who has "elevated" himself is
called upon, if possible, to help his fellow human beings to elevate themselves
as well.
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)
This is an endless task for every new day.
Everywhere the people and the circumstances around you call desperately for
"Elevation", in the family and in the circle of your friends and
acquaintances as well as in public.
Here are two of the most important paragraphs
of Agni Yoga:
How,
then, does an Hierarch create on Earth? By uplifting
all the surroundings. (Agni Yoga 663)
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 labor that
must be performed by those who are launching the New World. (Heart 292)
You cannot esteem the value of the work on your
"Elevation" highly enough: it has a world-wide significance!
Can
one ascend and descend in isolation? Truly, no being can act without affecting
his surroundings. Man must realize his responsibility toward the universe. A
person, with each elevation of the spirit, is of substantial aid to others. But
a person falling in spirit may thereby even kill someone. One can cite numerous
examples, such as how one who became insane in Asia was the cause of the death
of another in Europe, or how one who rose in spirit in America healed another
in Egypt. (Agni Yoga 168)
May your mantram be:
I
elevate myself
I am
living in an elevated state of purity, power and joy of being
I elevate others