AGNI YOGA WEB TV
SERIES
„SPIRITUAL EXERCISES OF AGNI YOGA“
BROADCASTING 2
Transformation into a spiritual Being
Dear Agni Yogis,
we continue our Series "Experiment
Immortality" with the key practice of Agni Yoga: The transformation of man
from a material, mortal into a spiritual immortal being.
1. Complete Program for Renewal
There are some of you who told me: "I
have now watched almost 100 of your videos, from Karma and Rebirth to the Order
of the Economy and of the Family in the New World. What shall I now do, every
single day, in order to advance on the pathyou are describing so beautifully? "
In a word, there is a risk that you
overlook the forest for the trees. We therefore propose to begin the practice
of Agni Yoga step by step.
We
prepare a hand-rope for those who have resolved to ascend. (Fiery World II,
469)
Agni Yoga offers a complete program for the
renewal of both the individual and the human society as a whole; for the education
of the man of the future and for the construction of the world of the future.
We propose to accompany each of you who
welcomes assistance at each and every one of the steps
that lead to this lofty goal.
Everyman
I will go with thee
and
be thy guide
in
thy most need
to stand by thy side.
2. The New World: Community of New Men
Nicholas Roerich “Zvenigorod”
The aim of Agni Yoga is to build a new step
of evolution: The New Man and the New World. In order to
achieve this goal, we must first and foremost create the man of the future. The
more of him come to life, the more the world of the future arises by itself
through the formation of communities of New Men.
On the other hand, the construction of a
New World is impossible with the old, materially-minded,
selfish man.
*****
Thus, if you wish to contribute to making
the new step of evolution a reality, you must first work on yourself and
transform into a New Man. The world of the future is a community of immortals.
If you wish to join us, you have to gain immortality.
You yourself must be the change you wish to see in the world! (Gandhi)
3. Immortality: A State of the Consciousness
It may seem hard to understand, but it is
true nevertheless:
Gaining immortality is a spiritual exercise!
This is so because immortality is a state
of the consciousness!
In fact, you are an immortal when you
think, feel, speak, and act at all times and in all
circumstances as an immortal; that means when you appear on the material plane
as a non-material spiritual being. We had discussed this already in detail in
our Broadcastings “The Secret of Immortality”
*****
In practical terms this means: If you want
to transform into the man of the future, you have to
take "only" two steps:
First, in the morning, in meditation, you
establish the state of the consciousness of an immortal.
Secondly, in the course
of the earthly day, you make sure that you do not lose this position,
that you act in the world at every moment with the attitude of an immortal.
The most important practice of Agni Yoga
comes down to this one exercise, in principle quite simple, but not easy to
implement in everyday life.
Section I. In Meditation
Nicholas Roerich “Nan Shan”
Let us now look more closely at these two
steps: First, the creation of the state of consciousness of an immortal in meditation
in the morning, and later the preservation of a corresponding attitude in the midst of everyday earthly life.
1. In the Morning
The path of the immortal begins in the
morning of each day. You have to spend at least
fifteen minutes in order to transform into a soul.
Each
morning brings us closer to the sun. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 253 [289])
Each
tomorrow brings new knowledge. I am now referring to those who are able to greet every morning as the beginning of a new
experience. (Supermundane 138)
2. Shift your consciousness to your Higher Self
This transformation is carried out like
this:
You draw your consciousness out of your
body and shift it to your Eternal Individuality. Thus, you become a
non-material, invisible and immortal spiritual being. You affirm this by
saying, "I am a soul."
You begin with the practice to allow only
your true, higher self to think and to feel within your body, to speak from it
and to act with it.
*****
You take possession of your soul. Your
consciousness enters this spiritual shell, much as you climb a material
vehicle, for example a car. You learn to make use of your spiritual being just
as a child learns to use its body.
*****
How this is being done in detail, we have
described in the Broadcastings "The Secret of Immortality". Go
through every morning and memorize again:
1. The 7 steps to immortality,
2. The essential characteristics of
an immortal (new gender, new people, new religion, new family, new home and new
name, etc.) and
3. The most important qualities of
your new identity (invulnerability, invincibility, fearlessness, freedom,
selflessness, vitality and joy of being).
Your transformation becomes a reality when
you acquire these characteristics and reveal them in daily life.
3. Meditation
Nicholas Roerich "Buddha"
The morning meditation is indispensable to
make sure that your transformation does not remain abstract and theoretical.
Only during this time, when all earthly concerns remain silent, you can really
be a soul. Now you are actually experiencing what it
means to be a spiritual being.
*****
You have to start
the day with the sublime consciousness of an immortal. You must establish the
ideal state first before you can put it to the test and apply it in practice in
earthly life.
One
should recall that in the hour before dawn it was
ordained that subtle and beautiful ideas be brought to Earth. (Supermundane
105)
Think
of yourselves as heroes, and sense what heroic deed you can perform today.
(Supermundane 513)
Bitter experience teaches: During the day
it is hardly possible to find that high state of mind, if you fail to establish
it in the morning.
The
best connections with the light are obtained in the morning. (Leaves of Morya’s
Garden II, 352 [356])
It
is better to begin the day with a blessing than in bitterness. (Fiery World I,
561)
The regular connection with the Higher
World is literally necessary for your survival! It alone provides your soul
with the energy which it needs to subsist on the material plane.
4. The State of Mind „Spiritual Being“
Nicholas Roerich “Higher than
Mountains”
The morning meditation puts you in a state
of mind, which we had described in detail in the Broadcastings "The Secret
of Immortality". Let us summarize:
*****
Your consciousness rests firmly within your
Eternal Individuality. You think, feel, speak and act only as your soul wants
you to do.
*****
You are invulnerable, thus invincible,
fearless, completely free, and in a calm and solemn mood.
*****
You do not want anything for yourself. You
do not need anything. You are perfectly happy and completely selfless.
*****
You are full of vitality and joy of being.
*****
During the time of meditation
you are completely pure. You control your body, your thoughts and your
feelings. As in a church or another sacred place, you have no desire for
material things or for spiritual poisons like meat, alcohol, tobacco or sweets,
not even for food.
Negative feelings such as fear,
irritability, impatience or depression do not arise at all.
*****
Finally, you know the tasks that are set
for you, and the assignments which you have to fulfill this coming day.
5. At Noon
We shall discuss straightaway in more
detail: This high state of consciousness is constantly endangered. In everyday
life you threaten to crash again and again. In order
not to fall too low and not to lose sight of the goal of your day, you must
take a short break at noon, go into meditation again, and affirm your
transformation into a spiritual being.
Thus strengthened, you get down to
mastering the second half of the day.
6. In the Evening
The path of the immortal ends in the
evening of each day. You have to spend again at least
fifteen minutes to re-affirm your transformation and to repair the damage your
mental armour has suffered during the day.
How
beautiful it would be if everyone, on completing his day, would ask himself
about the quality of his thought during those hours! (Heart 16)
In addition, in the evening meditation, you
will render an account to yourself: Did you succeed in asserting yourself as a
spiritual being throughout the day?
The
wise one will realize what a responsibility he bears for the use of the
treasure of the free will. It is as if a purse full of gold were given him; it
can be spent at his discretion, but an account would have to be rendered.
(Brotherhood 570)
Of course, you made many mistakes. You have
crashed again and again. That is no problem – provided
you learn from these mistakes!
The next morning, you will continue your
path. You will then strive to do better than the day before. That means not to
repeat these mistakes at this new opportunity that is granted to you.
We
await those who pronounce the new day a desired one—who regard the best past
day worse than each new one. (Community 144)
Each
new day offers new possibilities for approaching the limitless growth.
(Infinity I, 113)
At your birth, you descended
down to the material level. At your death you will return to the
Supermundane World. Man tends to forget that he comes from above and belongs to
the world up there.
It is therefore useful that you reflect
this eternal healthy rhythm of descent and ascent each and
every day. Why wait dozens of years – namely until your death – until
you visit your homeland again?
Section II. In the World
The path of the immortal is being continued
in the material world during the day.
When you were capable of
becoming a spiritual being in the morning meditation, it is also
possible for you to keep this position in the course of
everyday earthly life.
*****
Thus, the second part of the exercise
“Transformation” runs: You need to preserve throughout the day the sublime
state of your consciousness created in the morning and defend it in the midst of earthly life against all attacks,
temptations, and deep-rooted habits.
No one and nothing must be able to knock
you down from the height you have climbed in the morning.
*****
Something more is vital: Consciousness is
"only" an inner state. It must be reflected in an outward attitude
vis-à -vis the worldly circumstances.
Therefore, your transformation into an
immortal is complete only when you actually appear on
the material level as a non-material being, showing in every situation of
everyday earthly life the attributes of a spiritual being, namely
invulnerability, fearlessness, freedom, purity, vitality, joy of being and
selflessness.
*****
In the morning meditation, you place your
Eternal Individuality in a sublime state. According to this image, you have to shape the being that will later appear in the
earthly world. You create an ideal, and this you have to
transform into a tangible material reality.
*****
You must not allow any gap to arise between
your spiritual nature on the one hand and its material expression on the other
hand. Both are – you are – a unity that cannot be divided into high (on the
spiritual level) and low (on the material plane). Your being, consisting of
both body and spirit, stands in its entirety either high or low at any given
moment.
Now let us see how this second part of our
exercise can be successfully carried out:
1. Observation from Above
Nicholas Roerich "Tsong
kha-pa"
In everyday life, the first step of the
exercise “Transformation" goes like this: You must learn, wherever you are
and whatever happens, to keep your consciousness within your Eternal
Individuality.
You – your true, higher self –always stand behind and above your physical body, as well as above every situation.
*****
From this higher point of view you observe with the eyes of your soul calmly and
uninvolved what is going on around you. You are not affected by what is
happening. All this does not concern the spiritual part of your being at all.
*****
From up there you look down not only at the
circumstances, but also at you yourself: What does your lower being think, what
does it feel? We had already said: You must identify neither with your body nor
with the feelings, instincts and thoughts of your perishable ego.
You learn,
to
stand in spirit above all those turning to you. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden I,
289 [345])
2. Guidance from Above
The next step of the exercise
“Transformation” runs: Your Eternal Individuality should not just watch what is
going on around it. It is also to direct its vehicles, the four mortal bodies
(physical body, body of feelings, body of instincts and body of thoughts):
Your true, higher self
determines what your lower self feels and thinks and how it acts in the
material world. The rider must govern the donkey. When the donkey takes over
command, both spoil their mission.
*****
Therefore, you have to
work on mastering your thoughts and feelings. For it is not the external
circumstances, but your own thoughts or feelings that either keep you in a
sublime state of consciousness – and a corresponding attitude in the world – or
cause you to sink to a lower level.
We shall discuss in one of the following
Broadcastings in more detail how this exercise "Quadriga" looks like.
3. Appearance as a Spiritual Being from a Higher World
Nicholas Roerich „From Beyond
“
As an immortal, you are a king of the
spirit among mites, a spiritual being among material creatures, one of the
first representatives of the new step of evolution, of the humanity of the
future, of the New Race among the old men. You are like a biped among
quadrupeds or an eagle among chickens.
*****
You are a spiritual being. Your homeland is
the Supermundane sphere. You are only briefly and temporarily visiting the
material level. This world is foreign to you. You do not feel at home down
here, any more than a German, American or Russian soldier in Afghanistan.
You feel like Jesus:
My
kingdom is not from hence. (John 18, 36)
You, your true Eternal Individuality, as a non-material
being, are a stranger on this material earth, a guest from a distant star, an
extraterrestrial creature, an alien!
It
would be correct to think of Our co-workers not as dwellers of Earth, but
rather as guests, filled with memories of better worlds. Indeed, earthly life
is not easy for them. They are filled with the spirit of service to humanity,
but this concept is little understood on Earth. These toilers cannot find a
common language with coarser earthly people. (Supermundane 369)
As an immortal you stand one level higher
than the normal inhabitants of the planet you are visiting. It is as if you are
moving among children, whom you must treat with love and severity, but always
from a superior position.
Those who have risen must help their fellow
men to uplift themselves as well.
Here
on this painting you find yourself – your true self –
depicted: A being from a purer sphere leaves its height, crosses the border
between the worlds, and descends into the chaos of the earthly events, where it
is already eagerly awaited. You help when you are being called and where it is
possible. However, you remain unaffected by the worldly affairs. At the latest
in the evening, you return to your homeland where you can live in peace and
quietness far above the madness down here. (Nicholas Roerich
"From Beyond")
You come from a better world, from Heaven;
from a paradise in which the cosmic laws and principles such as truth, justice,
beauty and love actually apply.
*****
The exercise "Transformation" is
continued as follows: You take a corresponding attitude and really do appear on
the material level as a stranger, as a spiritual being from a higher world.
You act as a representative of the
Hierarchy, as an ambassador of the king of a distant country called Shambhala.
May the people who you meet experience the
same that Knecht experienced in Hermann Hesse's "Glass Bead Game"
when he first met the music master:
He had experienced the process of vocation, which may well be called a sacrament: The ideal world, which until then had been known to the young mind only partly by hearsay, partly by ardent dreams, became visible and opened itself invitingly. This world existed not somewhere in the distance, in the past or in the future, no, it was here and it was active, it radiated, it sent messengers, apostles, envoys, men like this old Magister. And from this world, through one of these venerable messengers, a reminder and a call were sent to him, the little classical scholar!
When
you leave your heavenly home and enter an earthly room, this should be as if
the spiritual world breaks into the material sphere! May the people who you
meet feel: In your presence Heaven is open and the Higher Powers are near! (Titian
“Annunciation”)
You are not an angel yet. But like an
angel, you have a mission to fulfill, as we said at
the beginning:
You are to help the inhabitants of this
planet to build a new step of evolution. You are to elevate the world to which
you have been sent, and bring it closer to the
conditions in the Higher World, your homeland from whence you came.
You are called upon to contribute your part
to building the Kingdom of God on earth. This is done by enforcing down here
the principles of truth, justice, beauty, and love which prevail in Heaven.
It
was said in antiquity, “All people are angels.” Verily, people are messengers
of the far-off worlds. Hence great is their responsibility. They carry out
little of that what is entrusted to them and are not even distressed at losing
the treasure. Only a few individuals may sorrow that they have forgotten
something they have heard. Let people not forget that they are messengers and a
bond with the distant worlds. Such a consciousness in itself
beautifies everyday life. (Supermundane 278)
4. Do not allow yourself to be dragged down
You can hardly imagine how difficult,
arduous and disgusting the stay on the material level is for your soul! You
step down to a barbaric world. This is like a descent to hell!
Legend
has it that after his crucifixion Christ climbed down to the underworld in order to redeem the souls waiting there. "He
descended into hell" says the Apostles’ Creed. (Domenico Beccafumi “Descent
of Christ to the Underworld“)
Likewise, you too, on each new day, betake
yourself into circumstances that, as a being from the higher world, you can only
describe as complete chaos. Do not indulge in any illusions! Be prepared for
the worst! Do not expect any honey licking from the day that lies before you,
but nothing else than incessant struggle with chaos!
*****
When you appear down here as a spiritual
being from a higher level, there are many jealous, resentful, or malicious
hands who know only one end: to throw you off your pedestal.
Learn
to rise above the hands that drag one downward. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden I,
352 [415]
As an alien, you must not adapt to the
rotten customs of the primitive civilization into which you have been exiled.
When
the current strives upward myriads of small sendings
rush forth to impede it. Not only conscious and malicious sendings
but also chaotic particles move to restrain the rising current. (Fiery World
II, 108)
The ignorant inhabitants of this planet
must not succeed in dragging you down to their level.
Madmen
have no right to drag worthy ones along with them. (Fiery World II, 446)
On the contrary, your mission is exactly to
lift them up to your height!
How,
then, does an Hierarch create on Earth? By uplifting
all the surroundings. (Agni Yoga 663)
When you sink to the level of the old,
mortal men around you, you stop being an immortal, a higher being.
It
should not be thought that, in his consciousness, an Arhat could lose sight of
the Guiding Will even for an instant. He proves to be a simple mortal, if he
does not always solemnly bear the chalice of achievement. (Fiery World I, 196)
In practical terms, this means above all:
You have to continue down here to live according to
the rules and laws that apply in your homeland, in Heaven. How do you want to
bring the earth closer to Heaven? Only by introducing down here the higher
customs prevailing up there. This, in turn, can only be achieved when you
yourself live by these rules, convince your fellow men through your practical
example of their goal-fitness, and incite them to imitation.
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)
How this can actually
succeed, we shall discuss in more detail in the Broadcasting on the
construction of the world of the future. In short, first of
all, one thing is crucial: You have to
implement The 10 Pillars of the Practice of Agni Yoga
(see the Series “The 10 Pillars of the Practice of Agni Yoga“)
yourself and introduce them as far as possible to your environment. The New
World will arise by itself when more and more people
live according to these principles.
5. Keep your Position
Michael Lukas Leopold Willmann “The Angels‘ Ladder“
It is of the utmost importance that you
recognize: By transforming into an immortal, you take up a new position – like the
leader of a football team, the foreman of a construction crew, a teacher in a
school or the president of a company or a state.
You are new to this office. You still have to learn to fill this dignity with life.
*****
We may as well say: You ascend to a higher
rung of the ladder of Hierarchy. This concerns much more than your present
short material earthly life. This applies to all worlds and all levels of
existence, to all eternity: You are taking over a new cosmic position!
A Christ is a cosmic position, a Buddha is
a cosmic position, an angel is a cosmic position. Likewise, to be a spiritual
being, a member of the 6th race, means to occupy a certain – of course lower –
position in the Cosmic Hierarchy.
*****
This your new, higher position is
constantly in danger. Even a formidable creature like Lucifer, who has reached
a much greater height than you and ascended to the rung of the angels, was
still not immune and has fallen.
Every new day you are being examined to see
whether you are worthy of this cosmic stage.
You
ask why so many tests are necessary. In the Community everything is attained by
experience; therefore, it is right to regard testings
as growth. Tests lie as thresholds to the gates of Beauty. (Leaves of Morya’s
Garden II, 337 [341])
Tell
those who find trials cruel that their goal-fitness lies in that the hardening
of the spirit either progresses or regresses. (AY 634)
You still have to
prove that you are actually able to keep yourself
permanently on this higher level of evolution and belong to the new 6th race.
For the time being you are just a beginner. It is natural for you to crash and
to fall back again and again, like a baby learning to
walk.
The
testing of people is unending. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 362 [425]
Experienced
people ask for tests; otherwise upon what can they affirm their strength?
(Fiery World I, 634)
It is crucial that you take every crash as
an opportunity to rise again and do better next time. Then you will stand
greater and stronger afterwards than before, and will actually have used the crash in order to
make progress in your ascent.
It
is needful to deepen the consciousness by continuous testing. One only needs to
understand testing as improvement. (Community 87)
Truly,
anything of good quality fears no test. Each test teaches new conditions which
might otherwise remain unnoticed. Whoever fears testing is an ignorant coward.
(AUM 297)
Therefore, the last aspect of the exercise
"Transformation" that we want to discuss in this Broadcasting is:
As you descend into the world, your first
aspiration is not to earthly affairs. Rather, you firmly undertake to maintain
the position as a higher supermundane being, reached in the morning meditation,
to preserve the dignity of a spiritual being in every situation, and to fulfill your mission as well as possible.
*****
This position is a spiritual reality which
you must defend against the material reality around you. You practice to maintain always and in every situation
the superior attitude, which rests on the higher point of view of an immortal.
When you fall down, you have to
get up again immediately. Your Eternal Individuality stands smilingly above the
chaos of the world. You must never lose that smile!
*****
The key to this tremendous project is: Base
your earthly daily life firmly on the three pillars of meditation in the
morning, at noon and in the evening. At least, at these three times of the day,
you must be a spiritual being with all the attributes described.
Then you will not fall too low in the two
short intervals in between. And when you make sure in the long run that you are
a supermundane being at least during these three times of the day, it will
become ever easier for you to keep this position even in the time between the
meditations.
6. Outlook
The potential of an immortal spiritual
being is truly inexhaustible! There are no limits to the growth of your Eternal
Individuality!
Therefore, the exercise
"Transformation" has no end. It can and must be continued infinitely.
We shall address more exercises in the following Broadcastings in order to further advance on our common path step by step.
*****
Next, you will have to strive to develop
the property of invulnerability. On it are based your invincibility, your fearlessness,
your freedom and your superiority. It is the very foundation of your whole
spiritual ascent. We shall discuss this in more detail in one of the
forthcoming Broadcastings.
*****
In the following exercises, we shall come
back again and again to the pattern explained today.
Therefore, mark well this basic principle:
In meditation, you create a higher state of
your consciousness, such as immortality, invulnerability, mastery of thoughts
and feelings, vigilance, etc. Then you apply this inner state to the outside
material reality by taking a corresponding attitude in every situation of your
everyday life.
Like this it goes on, on and on, step by
step, on the path to God.