AGNI YOGA WEB TV
SERIES
„THE PATH
OF THE DISCIPLE“
BROADCASTING 4:
Living in the
Ashram of the Teacher
Dear Agni Yogis,
today we turn to one of the most
beautiful and most important topics: Living in the Ashram of the Teacher is the
synthesis of the practice of Agni Yoga:
A pure, holy, spiritual life
in the midst of the storms and adversities of everyday worldly existence.
We now continue on the path we
began with the Videos "How do you find your Teacher", "Become a
Disciple!", "Exercise The Fiery Condition", "Living in the
continuous Presence of the Teacher", "The Path of the Interior
Temple" and "Participation in the Life of the Higher World". We
cannot repeat all this again. The mastery of this knowledge and of these
practices must be taken for granted today.
Section I: The Ashram of the Teacher
Nicholas
Roerich "Glory of the Himalayas”
1.
Higher Way of Life
Whether you are or want to
become a professional athlete, a concert pianist or an astronaut, every
vocation requires a particular way of life.
Even for breeding pigs there
are required definite conditions of life. How then can a man, who decides on
achieving the heroic deed of a social life, remain in the old philistine dens?
(Community 179)
If you want to be a spiritual disciple,
you must give up the habitual way of life of the average man.
The life of a disciple, from
the moment of his acceptance, becomes entirely new. His dormant energies are
awakened, and their development and transmutation are accelerated. The tension
of the disciple is great. He must follow a certain regime without abandoning
his regular duties. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol I, letter of 21.07.1934)
We wait for those who strive
to abandon the old life. (Community 229)
The disciple asks, "What
is the best way of life for a disciple?"
The ashram of his teacher. For
him there is nothing greater and more beautiful than to live at the feet of a
wise master.
2. The
Monastery as an Archetype
Monte
Cassino Monastery
The monastery is an archetype
of humanity. For thousands of years, in both East and West, it has been a place
of spiritual perfection. Here people practised living according to the precepts
of their higher nature.
In former times, here lived
those who were not content with making just beautiful words, but strived to
seriously start the realisation of a higher, purer life.
We are talking about the way
of life of the Egyptian and Greek mysteries, of the schools of Pythagoras,
Confucius and Buddha, the Academy of Plato, the Eastern and Western monastic
orders in their heyday, or the ashrams of Milarepa, Bede Griffiths and Gandhi.
In all countries, at all times
and in all cultures, monasteries were centres of spirituality, bulwarks of the
spirit against materialism, and sources of wisdom and spiritual guidance for
entire peoples. (Chorin Monastery, Rongpu Monastery,
Tiger's Nest Monastery)
*****
We owe Western culture as we
know it today to the civilising work of the Christian monks.
In the Middle Ages, monasteries
were places of making land arable, of scholarship, cultivation of the arts,
education of the young and selfless service to the sick and the weak. Abbots
often exercised political functions in the government. The preservation of the
writings of the ancient Greek and Roman authors through the turmoil of the
Migration Period was above all the work of the monks.
In the midst of the bloody
chaos of the fall of the Roman Empire, monasteries were oases for the
preservation of civilisation and germ cells of the new, Christian culture. (Monte Cassino Monastery)
*****
"Isn't monastery an
outdated term?"
Yes, of course. Most
monasteries are degenerated.
We are absolutely opposed to
monasteries, as they are the antithesis of life; only seedbeds of life,
communities displaying the best manifestations of labour, will find Our
assistance. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, 130)
What we have in mind, what
they once were, and what they can become again in a new, contemporary form, is:
Holy Places!
"What is such a
sanctuary?"
A place where a community of
spiritually elevated people is in connection with the Higher World, serves the
common good with selfless work and rises to greater perfection through
spiritual exercises.
3. The
Path of the Interior Monastery
Who does not long for the
peace and solemnity of a holy place?
We are looking with awe at the
holy lives of the founders of religious orders and monasteries, the ancient
monastic fathers and mothers, whether their names are Anthony, Pachomius, Basil,
Benedict, Francis of Assisi or Sergius of Radonezh, Hildegard of Bingen, Teresa
of Avila or Catherine of Siena. (St. Anthony, Fra
Angelico "St. Benedict"; Rubens "Teresa of Avila"; St.
Hildegard of Bingen; Nicholas Roerich "Francis of Assisi",
"Sergius of Radonezh").
At least when you were a child
you too dreamed of imitating such heroes and saints!
"How can we today, in our
Western culture, under modern conditions, follow these venerable role models
and rise again to such heights?"
The path of earlier epochs,
the retreat into the desert, to a hermitage or a cave in the Himalayas is no
longer viable.
Above all things, put away
from you the false idea that such training is to be had by seeking it amidst
the mountains of the Himalaya or the temples of ancient Hind or Egypt, the
religious monasteries, or the countless self-announced teachers of other lands
than your own.
If you believe in the laws of
cause and effect, you should be able to see that you have been placed in your
present environment to work out some much needed change in your own character
and surroundings. When that change has been made and it has become necessary
for you to seek other racial opportunities, the law will place you there.
But if you run away from
present duties and necessities, you will gain nothing and only have to return
to and remain in the environment you have deserted. When you are ready for a
change in the right direction, if your heart is fixed on necessary training for
such a field as I have suggested, the way will open for it. (Teachings of the
Temple Vol II, Lesson “The seven Builders”)
It does not meet the
requirements of our time to isolate oneself from the earthly conditions and to
withdraw behind monastery walls.
Not hiding from life, but
transforming it is required. (Supermundane 812)
The Kingdom of Christ will not
be won by the disciple who betakes himself to some quiet corner for the express
purpose of getting out of the strife and turmoil of the world. If it were so,
evolutionary law would have placed that disciple in another world, upon some
other planet in space. (Teachings of the Temple Vol II, Lesson “The World's
Struggle”)
The omnipresent need downright
cries out for relief. The spiritual man cannot close his ears to this call.
We serve humanity, We love
humanity. Many activists remain in the earthly spheres so that they can
continue working amidst all calamities. (Supermundane 420)
We certainly do not approve of
those fanatics who abandon their earthly obligations and bring nothing but
confusion to all around them. They talk about higher harmonies, but at the same
time forget that there must be harmony between the earthly world and the
Supermundane.
These fanatics consider earthly tasks to be beneath their dignity, and thus
prove their ignorance. They came to Earth to fulfill some task, and should
honour their obligation and love their task. With proper devotion to their
earthly work, they would be able to sense the Supermundane touches. This kind
of devotion is a natural link between the worlds. (Supermundane 641)
*****
"I for one certainly
don't want to give up my partner, children, job and participation in earthly
development!”
You are right, for in doing so
you would deprive yourself of the best opportunity to learn and perfect
yourself. Everyday life is a touchstone for your progress that nothing can
replace. Only here can you train, test and confirm your spiritual achievements.
Only here can you find out with certainty which spiritual level you have
actually attained.
So the great challenge of
today’s time is:
On the one hand to work in the
midst of the world, and on the other hand to lead a pure, spiritual life.
"Is that even
possible?"
Yes! These two requirements
are combined in the way of life of the Inner Monastery, which we had already
discussed in detail in the Video "The Path of the Interior Temple".
Let the inner life of each one
of you be his own sanctuary. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol I, letter of
19.10.1929)
This is a realisation of the
ancient ideal which is appropriate for the present time.
Let us collect the most
beautiful, heroic ideas of all times and countries, and with creative
imagination let us apply their achievements in our life, taking into
consideration the peculiarities of our epoch. Only such imitation will give the
correct foundation for further progress. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol I, letter
of 01.03.1929)
Thereby you combine the
contemplative way of life of a saint with the struggle in the world for the
triumph of the spirit. This will be a much greater achievement than leading a
spiritual existence secluded in a monastic cell.
People should not think that
they must retreat to the life of a hermit in order to properly develop their
consciousness. Amidst daily life on Earth can be found beautiful striving, and
such a heroic deed will be even more wonderful. (Supermundane 853)
Thus the promise becomes true
that you can live in Heaven, whatever your external life situation may be.
Man should strive with all his
power toward the Supermundane World. By doing this, he will develop a conscious
awareness that he participates continuously in the Supermundane World. At the
same time he must treasure his earthly life, must learn to rejoice at high
quality in his labour, and must continue with the earthly life, as he finds new
ways of perfectment in it.
One might ask how it is
possible to reconcile these seemingly contradictory ways. Truly, it can be
done, for man can perfect his consciousness. Those who embrace these opposites
are especially useful for the perfectment of the world. They strengthen their
magnetism and thus naturally attract the hearts of disciples. (Supermundane
738)
4. The
Monk as an Archetype
The monk is an archetype of humanity.
The monastic dimension is a necessary part of the fullness of our existence. In
each one of us there is hidden, among many other things, a monk: Everyone feels
within himself the longing for a higher, purer life.
Up to today, the saints,
heroes of faith and spiritual leaders of all religions of all times, from
Buddha, Pythagoras and Plato to Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa, have led a
monastic life.
There is no higher profession
than the monastic one. May God grant that we may one day put on the simple
monk's robe for which my soul is longing! The mere thought of it gives me great
joy. But by our own strength alone, without being called upon by God, we cannot
accomplish this. (Nikolai Gogol)
"Why does Gogol call
monasticism the highest rank in society?"
Because its members tread the
only promising path to the salvation of the world:
The road to
self-sanctification. (Andrea Sacchi "The
Vision of St. Romuald")
It has always been the way of
the monks not to use big words, but to offer in
silence the highest commitment and to bear witness to the right path with the
example of their own lives. This was and is at all times the highest path!
Intellectuals experiment with
ideas, monks experiment with their lives. (Raimondo Panikkar)
And if Alyosha took the path
of monastic life, it was only because at that time this path alone impressed
him and seemed to guarantee him, as it were, the ideal way out for his soul,
which was urging out of the darkness of worldly depravity into the light of
love. (Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov)
Our time downright cries out
for monastic achievements!
What we need most urgently is:
Revival of spirituality, turning to the Higher, Eternal Self, obedience to
God's Word or, to put it differently, to the Cosmic Order, elevation above the
affairs of this world, spiritual guidance by wise teachers, and community.
*****
"But I for one would not
like to bear the name 'monk'!"
No, of course not, this term
is outdated.
Today, we better say
"spiritual warrior", "hero of faith", "Agni Yogi"
or "spiritual disciple" in order to point to the possibility of a
radical alternative to the conventional, bourgeois existence, and to the seriousness
and rigour of following the Great Masters, which is so alien to the present
time.
The life of the man of the
future is shaped by discipline, contemplation, living in two worlds,
self-improvement and selfless service.
It thus corresponds very
largely to the monkish ideal. Alyosha Karamazov is the eternal monument of such
a person, who appears as a saint in the midst of the most repugnant
circumstances.
Monks are not special beings,
they are just what all people on earth should be like. (Dostoevsky "The
Brothers Karamazov") (Vasily Perov "Dostoevsky")
5. New Monasticism: Spiritual Warrior in all
earthly Circumstances
"What
do you mean when you speak of a "new monk"?"
A
person who lives a holy life in the midst of the world.
We
expect the spiritual renewal of humanity from a new kind of saint who is
serious about discipleship and succession, about an earthly life oriented
towards supermundane ideals.
I
dream of a new St. Francis or a new St. Ignatius who teach us a new kind of
Christian life that is more engaged in the world and yet at the same time more
detached from it. (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, letter of 21. 06. 1921)
I
believe to know that I will actually be inwardly clear and sincere only when I
really begin to take the Sermon on the Mount seriously. The restoration of the
Church certainly comes from a new kind of monasticism, which has in common with
the old one only the uncompromising attitude of a life according to the Sermon
on the Mount in following Christ. I believe it is time to muster people for
this purpose. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, letter of 14. 01. 1935)
Who
is inwardly equal to the robot of our time and able, as an adversary, to beat
it in the spiritual battle? Salvation comes through a new, transformed
monasticism! In order to recognise the unavoidable necessity of founding new
religious orders, one only needs to consider the significance of the spiritual
orders of knights for the Middle Ages. In the long run, modern Christianity
will not be able to get by without a new transfer of the idea of the order to
the present time. It needs new orders because only a new "brotherhood of
those marked by pain", as Albert Schweitzer says, can give the right
answer to the spiritual need of the present time. (Walter Nigg, On the Mystery
of the Monks)
James
Hilton's "Shangri-La", Hermann Hesse's "Glass Bead Game"
and Dostoyevsky's "Brothers Karamazov" bear witness to the hope that
the world can be saved by the example of a monastic elite.
*****
"Does
a holy life mean, for instance, that I should give up all possessions, take the
bowl and roam the streets as a mendicant monk?"
No,
of course not, that is an aberration! Property used for the common welfare is a
good thing!
A
modern saint participates in normal earthly life. Following the example of
Helena and Nicholas Roerich, he has a wife, children and a bread-and-butter job
to earn his living with his own hands. He is distinguished by one thing only:
He
always reveals only his Higher, Eternal Self.
He
directs his thoughts, feelings, words and deeds through his heart.
The
fire of the heart constitutes the principle of the New World. (Hierarchy
375)
This is
law of the heart: One should sow the good with every glance, every touch.
(Heart 410)
You
can realise this ideal at any time in any place, in whatever circumstances fate
has placed you.
A
negative example is Tolstoy: For years, until shortly before his death, he
tormented himself and those around him with the question: "Must I not, in
order to live up to the high moral standards I am propagating, in order to
fulfil Christ's commandments, in order to lead the life of a saint and to be
close to God, give up my entire enormous fortune, leave my wife and children
and roam the world as a pilgrim?” Had he known the concept of the Interior
Monastery, he would probably have lived a happier life. (Ilya Repin "Tolstoy")
*****
The
New Age calls for an expansion of the concept of monasticism:
The
outer, physical monastery is the ideal of the mortal: He regards his existence
as limited to only one earthly life. He therefore is faced with the necessity
of hurriedly forcing his way into Heaven before he dies.
The
Inner Monastery, on the other hand, is the concept of the immortal: He
perceives ahead of him many lives with a wide variety of tasks. Of course, you
cannot always incarnate only as a monk in a holy place, in this way you would
not make any progress. You must also prove yourself on your eternal path as a
politician, craftsman, employee, worker, judge, doctor, architect, philosopher,
army commander, artist, scientist, headmaster, businessman,
family father and in many other functions.
Urusvati
realizes the multiformity of the Great Service, which is usually completely
misunderstood, or if accepted at all, mistaken for monastic monotony. But the
Great Service responds to earthly needs, and the true servant of humanity must
know all conditions of life. He must appreciate the various fields of labour in
order to be able to give wise encouragement. In this way Service will bring
benefit everywhere. (Supermundane 111)
You can
distinguish such children from an early age, children who bear their own world
of spiritual manifestations. Very rarely, almost never, do they limit
themselves to just one specialization. In fact, the absence of specialization
is a defining characteristic. When you look through their past lives, you can
see representatives of religion, royalty, science, art, and mechanics, who are
waiting, well equipped for the journey ahead, and ready to leave at any hour
without regrets. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, 165)
A
king is reborn as a shoemaker and tested whether he is able to maintain his
position in the Hierarchy even in this situation. (Dürer "Charlemagne"; Max Liebermann
"Shoemaker")
The
events before and after flow by utterly unnoticed. Whether a life passes in a
throne room, a monastic cell, or a cobbler’s corner makes no difference: the
entire aura that has been accumulated accompanies this final path. (Leaves of
Morya’s Garden II, 165)
We
must test ourselves in the most diverse circumstances; in this is contained the
secret of the most manifold incarnations. But people cannot understand in what
manner a king is transformed into a cobbler. (Brotherhood 218)
Like the philosopher sold into
slavery (Brotherhood 273), you must face adverse conditions in order to
atone for old karma. Even if you have already lived in a sanctuary, you will be
sent back into the world for as long as it takes to further perfect yourself.
The Thinker [Plato], even
when He was sold into slavery, said, “This is splendid proof of the diversity
of the human path.” (Supermundane 527)
It is not foreseeable at all
in which family, political, social or economic circumstances you will have to
assume responsibility. All these external conditions, where and how you have to
live, in poverty or wealth, in contemplative or hectic times, in work or
leisure, are basically indifferent.
One should constantly exercise
one’s individual subtle energies in various spheres, for this helps one to feel
at home everywhere. (Supermundane 223)
The warriors of light must be
present and carry out their work all over the world.
Not only in the countryside,
but also in the big cities; not only among primitive peoples, but also in the
materialism of affluent societies; not only in solitude, but also in family;
not only in a monastery, but also in secular professional life, among the poor
and the rich, the high and the low, and so on.
The Master must be able to
send his disciples wherever there are tasks to be fulfilled – precisely there
where conditions are worst and need is greatest.
Thus, in the ancient days, the
Great Teachers sent their advanced disciples to places threatened by
earthquakes. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol I, letter of 23.08.1934)
You do not have enough
imagination to conceive the places, times, historical situations and even
catastrophes that you will go through on your infinite path.
The quality of
finding new ways is precious. Therefore, We test a disciple upon his ability to adjust himself to unusual conditions. (Infinity II, 484 [84])
6.
Spiritual Warrior in all Worlds
Your soul must even prepare
itself to be transferred to other worlds, other planets than Earth, into
circumstances of such strangeness as you cannot even imagine today.
If you really take immortality
and eternal life seriously, you will realise that you will not be bound for all
times to the earth alone.
One should never limit one’s
thinking to a single planet. (Agni Yoga 314)
At each juncture of a
life-line and wave, man will find new worlds, new beings, new forms of life
confronting him, forms both like and unlike his own, replicas of his own form
and forms of others far beyond his present power of visioning. (Teachings of
the Temple Vol. II, Lesson “The Lamp”)
He who is not satisfied with
the flow of present life thinks of the continuous flow of existences on other
planets. (Agni Yoga 147)
The immortal needs an order, a
framework of life, which he does not have to change constantly, which is
applicable for all worlds and all times he will enter on his infinite path in
countless earthly and supermundane existences.
For complete knowledge it is
necessary to be in touch with various spheres. (Supermundane 220)
The Interior Monastery is a
concept of life for all planes of existence.
It enables you to continue
your ascent in any material or non-material world and to carry on your work as
a representative of Hierarchy.
Amidst earthly conditions one
must learn to find that which is applicable to all worlds. (Fiery World I,
638)
Amidst the currents of space,
amidst evil will, amidst terror, the courageous heroes labour and create. The
heroes know that their earthly life can end at any moment, but this knowledge
does not reduce their efforts. They realize that they will continue their
heroic deeds even under the harshest circumstances. Nothing can stop their will
from manifesting itself in any sphere. (Supermundane 130)
"So I am a monk in all
earthly functions?!"
Yes, so it is – and even in
supermundane functions!
In this state of consciousness
the heart receives a durable armour that will even prove useful for the Fiery
World. Let us strive to have an armour that is useful everywhere. (Heart
411)
"Are there historical
examples of such spiritual warriors?"
Yes, countless! The orders of
the Knights Templars and Hospitallers combined a monastic way of life with
sword fighting to protect the Holy Land. (Castle
Krak des Chevaliers)
Also think of St. Gregory the
Great, who, as Pope and statesman, lived like a monk in the most challenging
times (see our Video "The Invisible Toga"). Remember St. John of
Capistrano, who, as we have already related, succeeded in transforming the army
camp before Belgrade into a monastery (see the Video "The Path of the
Interior Temple"). Or think of St. Frances of Rome, who, as a wife with
six children and social obligations, set up a cell in the attic of her stately
home in order to receive her famous visions there. (Goya
"Gregory the Great", Gentileschi "The Vision of Saint Francisca")
Imitating these high examples,
you too can learn to wear an invisible philosopher's cloak and lead a spiritual
life in the midst of your worldly tasks. All saints and heroes of faith had to
bear far heavier earthly burdens than you or me.
Amidst the boundless tumult of
life do We erect Our Temple. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 135 [152])
7. In
the Ashram of the Teacher
Nicholas
Roerich "Star of the Morning"
"So I will be moving into
a monastery with dozens or even hundreds of spiritual disciples?"
No, that will not meet the
needs of the time. We may refine the concept of the Interior Monastery: Let us
better think of smaller spiritual centres.
The nucleus of any spiritual
community consists of a teacher and his seven closest disciples.
The place where a spiritual
disciple belongs, his Eternal Home, is the pure, holy abode of his teacher.
My House is your refuge.
(Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, 47)
The Teacher grants us permission
to live in His house, feast our eyes on His things, and feed on the fruit of
His garden. (Heart 281)
In contemporary terms, Agni
Yoga calls this house "ashram".
We treasure Ashrams where
purified Agni is gathered. Many teachings have pointed out the importance of
pure places where psychic energy can be realised. References to the importance
of pure places are found in the Sacred Writings. We rejoice when We notice the
rise of new Ashrams, for people so seldom think of the power of their spirits!
(Fiery World I, 664)
An Ashram means a sacred
place, a temple, a monastery, a school of sacred wisdom. Therefore, the earthly
Stronghold of the Great Brotherhood can be called an Ashram. (Helena Roerich
Letters Vol II, letter of 19.03.1936)
8. Living
on the Holy Mountain
Nicholas
Roerich "Kanchenjunga"
Let us extend our dream by one
more step: The ashram of your teacher does not stand alone and isolated in the
world. It is integrated in many ways upwards and downwards, to the right and to
the left. It is part of a larger spiritual community.
Let us imagine the highest
place on earth like a Holy Mountain.
A mountain dotted with
innumerable ashrams and temples of many greater and lesser spiritual teachers.
Crowned at the top by the
highest bulwark of the Hierarchy: Shambhala. (Nicholas
Roerich "Potala")
What a majestic image! At this
sight you may rejoice like a child:
"How glorious is the
world at the Holy Mountain!"
If you are looking for a physical
role model of this Sacred Mountain, think of the monastic republic on the Greek
peninsula Chalkidike: there hundreds of monks are living in dozens of smaller
and larger ashrams at the foot of the holy mountain Athos.
*****
The Holy Mountain starts on
the material plane, that is where it touches ground. It has an earthly basis.
Towards the top it becomes finer and finer and ultimately invisible to the
physical eye.
You do not see the peak, but
you know it exists! Your physical eyes see a mountain in clouds, your inner
senses perceive the subtle reality beyond the clouds. (Nicholas
Roerich "Kanchenjunga")
At the top, far in the
distance, the Mahatmas are recognisable to you as the general is to a common
soldier standing in the rear ranks.
Being a disciple in the ashram
of your teacher, your earthly life takes place at the foot of the Holy
Mountain! (Nicholas Roerich "Shambhala")
Lord, who may have a
resting-place in your tent, who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks his
way uprightly, doing righteousness, and saying what is true in his heart.
(Psalms 15, 1, 2)
Section II: Living in two Worlds
We had already discussed many
times (i. a. Videos "Living in Two Worlds" and "Participation in
the Life of the Higher World"): You have to learn to live in two worlds.
You participate in the life of
the Higher World without withdrawing from the earthly sphere.
This now becomes tangible,
concrete, practical and alive by making your soul a spiritual disciple and
creating a spiritual world for it where to live.
1.
Create the Identity of a spiritual Disciple
Svetoslav
Roerich "Sacred Words”
We remember: You create your Eternal
Individuality yourself, namely with your own thoughts and feelings. (Video
"Bring your Soul to Life")
Man is what he thinks.
(Buddha)
Thoughts create our inner
being. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol II, letter of 21.01.1936)
Life is not about finding
yourself. Life is about creating yourself. (George Bernard Shaw „An Unsocial
Socialist“)
You build and animate the
avatar, the alter ego of a king of the spirit or a disciple of Brotherhood. We
had talked about this practice in detail in the Videos "Bring your Soul to
Life" and "Participation in the Life of the Higher World".
*****
How do you want people to
perceive and call you? Everything is possible! The most devoted disciple of
Buddha? A true king? The Merry Widow? Old Teacher? But you have to earn such a
title by embodying this ideal!
"Why do you so much
emphasise the role of a disciple?"
Because on whatever rung of
the ladder of Hierarchy you are, and whatever else you may be, you are always a
disciple and you definitely have a teacher. Because even the Mahatmas are still
disciples and in turn have their teachers (see the Video "The
Hierarchy").
*****
In a unitary world (physical,
subtle and Fiery) you must form a unitary identity out of your three bodies
(physical, subtle and Fiery) and always remain one and the same person on all
three levels.
The human pyramid is a unity.
Therefore, if you are not to be torn asunder, your transient personality on
earth must be nothing other than your Eternal Self in Heaven.
You are – your indivisible total
being of body and soul is – only then really and fully a disciple, if you
appear and live as such on all planes, in all worlds, thus in particular also
in the earthly sphere.
You were a disciple before you
were born. You want to be a disciple again after death in the Higher World. So
you must remain a disciple in the meantime on earth.
*****
"Am I not withdrawing
from life when I dream of an existence as a disciple of wisdom?"
No, your earthly and your
supermundane existence are running side by side. You appear simultaneously as
father of a family, baker or shoemaker, and as a master disciple.
"Does it not mean a splitting
of my consciousness if I work as a shoemaker and at the same time imagine that
I am a disciple?"
No, on the contrary! You are
expanding your consciousness!
In every material situation
you are simultaneously consciously acting on the second, the spiritual level of
reality as well.
Only in this way do you
realise the unity of your personality, which is, in its essence, a disciple in
all worlds, at all times and on all planes of existence. Only on the material
level do you temporarily hold also other offices in various incarnations.
2.
Creating the World of the Soul
Taj
Mahal
As a unitary creature you live
in all three worlds simultaneously. This means: You have to arrange your abode
not only on the material but also on the spiritual plane in a way that
corresponds to the essence of your being.
"How do I build the world
of my soul?"
Just like your Eternal
Individuality, you also create the world in which it lives with the help of
your thoughts and feelings.
*****
We repeat (Video "The
Significance of Consciousness"):
Your consciousness determines
the world in which you live.
It is our own consciousness
that determines the wellbeing we deserve. (Heart 572)
To transform the consciousness
means to enter a special world; it means to acquire a special evaluation of all
that occurs. (Fiery World I, 112)
Do you recognise the huge
opportunity? By changing your consciousness you can improve the world in which
you live – regardless of the external circumstances!
*****
How do you want to make use of
this invaluable opportunity? What kind of a world do you want to create? Where,
in which environment do you wish to live? What does your personal paradise look
like? Aim high! Reach for the stars! Recognise:
The highest imaginable – and
thus the highest accessible! – world in which a soul can live which regards
itself as a disciple on the path to mastery, is the ashram of its teacher.
Imagine a holy place, in
nature, a temple on a mountain top, far above the lowlands of the earth!
Imagine a community of wise
teachers and spiritually toiling disciples in white robes, embedded in a firm
order of prayer, striving for perfection and selfless service, in an atmosphere
of purity, spiritual discipline, dignity, solemnity and peace. This is what the
heaven of a disciple of the spirit looks like!
"Is there a concrete
example?"
Read again how Elisabeth Haich
in the classic "Initiation" describes her sublime life in an Egyptian
temple school among great teachers and pure, spiritual fellow disciples.
I cannot think of a higher way
of life. If you are aware of one, please let me know.
"But all this is quite
far removed from my normal everyday life!?"
Well, then think of Helena Roerich,
who lived with her husband and two sons in the Kulu Valley such a pure life
that she was able to have a spiritual discourse with the Ruler of this Earth
for several hours every day and to receive from Him the thousands of pages of
the books of Agni Yoga.
*****
People dream of driving a
beautiful car or owning a magnificent palace. You do not just dream. (Taj Mahal)
You are actually building the
world you are longing for, and you really live in it.
And you do so with your
spiritual power, only with an adjustment of your consciousness.
*****
You may carry this inner world
with you wherever you go. You never have to leave it, not even in the greatest
turmoil. All the attacks of chaos are defeated by it. With some practice, the
sacred peace and quietness of a temple can imbue your whole life.
Only the heart can sense the
sacred stillness. An elevated sensitivity can fill the whole live of
experienced people without diverting them from labour and creativity.
(Supermundane 865)
Sensitive people will feel the
sanctuary that surrounds you, in which you are living.
The sacred is not to be sought
in a place, but in deeds and life and customs. If these are according to God’s
Will and to the Commandment, you serve the word of God also when you are at
home, also when you are in the market, and what do I say in the market, even
when you are in the theatre, do not doubt that you are in a holy place.
(Origen)
Section III: Entering the Ashram of the Teacher
You are now entering your
Heaven, the world of the soul you have created. Thus, living in two worlds,
your participation in the life of the Higher World, the transformation of your
Eternal Individuality into a master disciple and of your environment into a
sanctuary become concrete and alive.
1. Entry
Nicholas
Roerich "And we are opening the Gates"
You remember (Video "How
do you find your Teacher?"): Without a teacher there is no progress.
One cannot pass without the
Teacher, one cannot advance without Him, one cannot attain without Him. (Fiery
World III, 154)
Therefore, only the entry into
the ashram of your teacher is the true beginning of your Spiritual Path.
Thus you create the best
conditions for the growth of your pupil, your Eternal Individuality.
One cannot realize the great
Teaching without the Fiery Teacher, without the striving of the spirit to the
World of the Teacher. The manifestation of the Fiery Teacher is the path to the
Fiery World. (Fiery World III, 154)
*****
The present time is suffering
not so much from a lack of high ideas and ideals, but from the fact that what
was recognised as good, right and salutary is not being put into practice.
As long as the teacher simply
instructs in the fundamentals of life he will be listened to and agreed with,
but as soon as he appeals to people to actually apply his precepts, the
listeners disperse. (Supermundane 415)
If you wish not to make just
idle talk about Agni Yoga but to prove that you actually are a spiritual
disciple, you must take up residence in the world of your teacher. (Nicholas
Roerich "Stronghold in the Mountains")
This is how you make your
dream of starting a new life come true.
This is the beginning of the
heroism of the New Age which will truly change the world.
The commonplace life is over,
and the dawn of heroic deeds has begun. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, 274
[277])
What, then, can
lift us above the chaos of mediocrity if not the wings of achievement?
(Hierarchy 438)
The world will be shaken with the
reality of heroism. (Community 234)
*****
This step is no small thing,
but the greatest and most difficult project a man can undertake.
You may enter for a trial
period and leave the Master's ashram at any time. But at least for one day you
have to make a clear decision.
You can only cross the
threshold or stay outside the door – there is nothing in between.
The time of choosing has come
and there is no middle course on the path to the Fiery World. (Fiery World III,
327)
2. Entry
in Spirit
"I have a wife and
children, my job; also I have to look after my elderly parents. How can I
nevertheless enter an ashram?"
This is why we are now talking
about entry in spirit, which is possible for everyone in any circumstances.
"I don’t see an
incarnated teacher with a physical ashram to join either."
Then you will have to move
into the ashram your teacher has in the Subtle World.
Religion says: He who goes to
the fathers will dwell with them; he who goes to the angels will dwell with them;
and he who goes to God will dwell with Him. It means that a person who sets
himself the maximum degree of progress will arrive at the best attainment.
(Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, 225)
In the Spiritual World there are
the most beautiful ashrams, because without the limitations of matter, time and
space it is easier than on earth for the Guru to build his wonderful world and
attract kindred spirits.
In the Subtle World there are
also ashrams of the White Brotherhood. Just as on Earth, they are not numerous,
for there, also, great discipline and tense labour are demanded; and where are
those who are willing to give themselves to greater labour instead of the
promised “rest”? (Helena Roerich Letters Vol II, letter of 19.03.1936))
There you enter. You are going
to live physically in normal earthly everyday life and in spirit in the
supermundane abode of your teacher.
*****
This is an inner process which
does not necessarily need to be expressed to the outside world. So at first you
hardly have to change anything at all in the external circumstances of your
life: You continue to live with your family, go about your work as before and
remain in the habitual sphere of life.
A yogi can pass through life
unnoticed. (Agni Yoga 180)
You do not need to make
yourself known as a monk of an Inner Monastery to the ignorant, from whom you
can expect nothing but incomprehension and hostility anyway.
In the midst of the maddened
crowd, keep the fire of the spirit concealed. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden II,
8)
Living in the ashram is a
state of your consciousness.
The Supermundane is not simply
a realm; it is also a level of consciousness. (Supermundane 697)
"I am sorry, but I do not
understand that."
Well, you live with unaltered
external conditions as if your dwelling were a temple and as if your teacher
were present there. For this you "only" have to change your mental
attitude!
*****
Dostoyevsky also knew about
the path of the Interior Ashram. Let us listen to what advice Father Tikhon
gives to the evildoer Stavrogin in the novel "The Demons":
"No, not church penance, I
have something else in mind for you! I know a starets, not here, but not far
away, a hermit and shimnik [monk who has received the highest monastic
consecration, the Great Shima, the so-called angelic robe], of such Christian
wisdom as you and I will never be able to comprehend. He will listen to my
pleas. I will tell him all about you. Go and follow him, initially for five
years, or for seven, for as long as you yourself deem necessary. Make a vow to
yourself and by this great sacrifice purchase all that you long for, even that
which you do not expect, for you cannot yet comprehend what will be given to
you."
"You are proposing that I
enter that monastery as a monk?"
"You do not have to enter
a monastery, you don't need to receive the tonsure, just serve him secretly,
not publicly, that is possible, while doing so you can live completely in the
world."
*****
By entering the ashram you
join the invisible supratemporal community of all those who are walking the
Spiritual Path.
Although
I am a typical loner in my daily life, my awareness of belonging to the
invisible community of those who strive for truth, beauty, and justice has
prevented me from feelings of isolation. (Einstein)
You affirm your incorporation
into the Hierarchy!
*****
"How does the entry take
place in concrete terms?"
Very simply: All you need is a
quarter of an hour in the morning. Start the day a little earlier than usual.
Place yourself in spirit in your Supermundane Home and at the feet of your
teacher, as we discussed in more detail in the Video "Communion with the
Higher World (Meditation)".
Stepping before the teacher
daily is the very basis for a life in his spiritual presence. (Piero della Francesca "St. Jerome with a
disciple")
The teacher accepts you as a
disciple, for the moment for trial. He receives you into the community of the
ashram (see the Video "Initiation to Agni Yoga").
In the course of the day, you
descend into the world in order to work, to learn and to help there exclusively
on Higher Orders. (Dürer "Jesus in
Hell")
In the evening – as at death!
– you return to your Heaven (the ashram). As at death, you give an account of
what you did or did not do during the day. You repair some of the damage that
your armour has suffered in the battles of the world. You consult with your
Master and your fellow disciples on how you can do better tomorrow.
3.
Attachment to the Ashram of the Teacher
We have already talked in detail
about the concept of attachment in the Videos "Living in the continuous
Presence of the Teacher" and "The Path of the Interior Temple".
For our today’s topic, we specify:
You can attach any place in
the material world to any place in the Spiritual World.
You connect your Eternal Home
with your material place of residence and work, which thus becomes a physical
branch of the Subtle Ashram of your teacher on earth.
"That is still rather
unclear to me. What exactly do you mean by attachment?"
Think of the pyramid of the
worlds. Imagine Heaven as a pyramid consisting only of the upper two
non-material levels and open at the bottom.
Our task is: We are to add the
foundation at the bottom; to dock, so to speak, the material plane to the
spiritual one, and only thus to create the unity of the three worlds.
Just as a pot is open at the
top and needs a lid to be complete, so the Higher World is open at the bottom
and must be closed there with a suitable material base in order to make the
entire world building a unit like a monolith.
It is of the utmost importance
that you realise: Shambhala is not complete until it becomes a reality not only
in the Higher World, but also on the earthly plane.
"And how now do I attach
myself?"
You move ever closer to the
subtle sanctuary in Heaven.
"Surely I can't soar into
the air!?"
No, the docking is not meant
physically: You set up the spiritual order that prevails in your teacher's
ashram in your place of residence as well. Thus you produce a spiritual harmony
regardless of the material distance.
You are now living in the same
(spiritual) world as your teacher.
*****
We can also express it in another
way: You put yourself and your surroundings into the same vibration of
sublimity and solemnity that reigns at the Holy Mountain.
Places of the same wavelength,
spheres of the same vibration are indeed inwardly connected.
Here is a deep realisation and
great wisdom:
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.
(Albert Einstein)
So you create Little Shambhala
on earth by producing the Shambhala vibration in the place where you live.
*****
Finally, a third picture:
You take the ashram of your
teacher as the subtle backdrop for your material life, just as you choose a
wallpaper for your room.
You perceive and experience
the whole reality, which consists of physical visible and spiritual invisible
aspects. You are living and working on earth against the scenery of the Holy
Mountain.
The world which is in contact with
each spirit is an expression of his own striving. What a beautiful creative
world the Agni Yogi builds around him! (Infinity II, 729, 730 [329, 330])
Your life on the material
plane is beautiful when it is attached to the Fiery World.
Practical
Tip: Attachment through Cooperation
Nicholas
Roerich "Brahmaputra”
You should not
think that a merely passive attitude is sufficient! Approaching Heaven also
requires your active participation in the Great Work of the Brotherhood that is
carried out there. Hardly anything contributes so much to mutual attachment as
joint work on a common project.
At the foundation of Our
Community is the fullness of labour. In labour lies the secret of a group of
people living together. (Agni Yoga 134)
Nothing removes you more from
the Higher Spheres than refusal to contribute to the work deemed vital by the
Masters.
The community,
being a fellowship first of all, sets as a condition for entrance two
conscious decisions: labour without limit and acceptance of tasks without
rejection. (Community 133)
Exercise:
Connection through Dialogue
Nicholas
Roerich "Warrior of Light"
As below, so above; as on
earth, so in Heaven: As in everyday life, you cultivate the connection with
your teacher best by regularly meeting him and having a familiar conversation
with him.
In the Subtle World, a teacher
and his disciples actually come together in the morning and in the evening. (Nicholas
Roerich "Treasure of the Mountain")
Not your body, but your soul
can join and participate in this conversation.
Those who wish to attach
themselves to Our Abode must commune more often with their heart, and through
it send Us at least silent calls. Sometimes these calls are referred to as
“without thought,” because they are expressed in feeling rather than thought.
(Supermundane 80)
4. Entry
into the Area of the Ray of the Teacher
You may also understand the
entry into the ashram of the teacher in this way:
You enter the area of the ray
of your teacher.
I have already spoken about
how the spirit understands. When the ray joins the Master with the disciple,
then the main flow of understanding is transmitted by the perception of the
spirit. What then guides the disciple’s conduct is neither a note nor a sign,
but the spirit’s incontestable knowledge. This certain knowledge provides the
swiftest channel. Precisely, not a mental decision but the knowledge of the
spirit. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, 102)
"I don't understand that.
What is a ray?"
You can imagine the ray of the
teacher as a protected channel that goes through the dark layers close to earth
and connects you with Heaven. Through this channel, power, joy, light, love,
comfort, hope, knowledge, guidance and help flow to you from Above.
"And how exactly do I
enter the area of the ray?"
The connection is established
through your love, devotion and obedience towards your teacher.
Once the energy of the heart
swells up with love and devotion, a luminous spiral will whirl out into space
and, naturally, will encounter the Teacher’s ray due to the law of attraction.
(Heart 250)
*****
Living in the sphere of the
ray transfigures your material, everyday existence.
Heaven is open! Heaven is
accessible!
You can visit your teacher at
any time. His door is always open to you. But it is you who has to cross the
threshold.
The ray of the teacher
illuminates you. You illuminate your surroundings.
As the moon radiates the light
of the sun, you radiate the light of Hierarchy to your surroundings.
However, this is a privilege
you have to earn:
The divine light is
bestowed upon the Universe to the extent that this is worthy of it. (Dante, Divine
Comedy, Paradise, 31st canto)
Exercise:
Staying in the Area of the Ray
Be vigilant and ask yourself
at every moment during the day:
"Am I still under the
ray?"
We protect only those upon the
right path. When someone wavers in darkness, he falls out of the area of the
Ray. (Hierarchy 413)
You have already made this
observation: The light path which the sun casts on water always leads exactly
towards you. When you move on, it moves with you.
In the same way, you must see to
it that you never leave the sphere of the ray of the teacher (that is, never
lack love, devotion and obedience), wherever you are standing and wherever you
are going.
5. The
Place
The Interior Monastery is a
spiritual framework of life that needs no material place in the earthly world.
I teach you how to
live without a home in spirit. (Agni Yoga 312)
As physical basis for the
sanctuary it is sufficient to use a small devotional room, a family altar, or,
if there is no space even for that, a prayer rug that is rolled up in a corner
during the day.
Within a small room, upon a small
rug, you have shed your former scales. The wisdom thus released will receive a
new skin. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 239 [275])
You will behave there as if
your teacher were temporarily absent, as if he were working in the next room,
and could enter any moment.
Let us imagine a dear one who
is in an adjoining room absorbed in some important work. We are patient,
knowing that we shall be together at the right time. You should have the same
attitude toward Us. This attitude will broaden your consciousness and is
beneficial for your inner life. (Supermundane 354)
An ashram is everywhere where
the holy atmosphere of spiritual discipline, contemplation and selfless work
prevails! The externals are meaningless.
*****
The Inner Temple is one of the
many thought-buildings that populate the Subtle World.
It is not a material but a
Subtle Reality!
The ashram is a
superstructure, a spiritual order of certain customs, laws, traditions,
worldviews and beliefs that vaults over your physical abode. In any place you
can proudly say:
"I am living in an ashram
of the Brotherhood! But how do I erect this building?"
In the Video
"Participation in the Life of the Higher World" we had already
discussed in detail how you can first imagine an ideal (for example, an ashram)
and then make it a living reality.
If the clarity of the Image of
the Teacher brings us into closest cooperation with him, then each clear and
vivid conception of an object in our third eye makes it near and attainable.
One of the conditions of ancient magic was to teach the vividness of objects
evoked by our inner conception. If the object is called forth with all
completeness of line and colour, one can apply it to achieve the most immediate
impact; one may, as it were, possess it.
Without limitations of
distance, one can direct it and use its possibilities; from the most customary
objects to the far-off planets one can utilize this influence. There is nothing
of the supernatural in this;
in a sense, one identifies
with the duplicate and creates a vital connecting thread. One can gradually
develop in oneself these abilities using habitual objects, noticing thereby
that when a clear image is created, a peculiar trembling vibration occurs,
similar to a magnetic influence. (Hierarchy 91)
We now specify in relation to
our today’s topic:
Visualise the ashram on the
Holy Mountain and yourself at the feet of your teacher. (Nicholas Roerich "Pearl of Searching")
Imagine, dream, play that you
are living in the community there.
Project this image, this
vision into space and create a corresponding hologram, a Subtle Reality around
you.
No one admits that a thinker creates
something real through his thinking: He builds structures in the Subtle World.
(Supermundane 363)
This is like an extension of
your aura. You create the atmosphere of a sanctuary around you. Other people
can sense this.
In this way your dream is
densified more and more to become a material reality.
I advise him who wishes to
reach Our Community to add to his knowledge. The dream to return to the
mountain valley, where it is possible to increase knowledge, will constantly
lead to the attainment of the goal. (Community 243)
This is a spiritual exercise
which can be carried out in any place. The monk of the Inner Temple is
completely independent of local circumstances. You can establish your virtual
monastery anywhere.
A disciple of the Brotherhood
does not care where and how he has to spend his incarnations in matter: He is
continuously living in the spiritual world of the Interior Sanctuary.
Practical
Tip: Develop an exact Idea of Heaven
In order to erect this subtle
building, you must form a picture, an exact idea of your father's house.
You will choose a place at a
high altitude, preferably in a distant country, in the Himalayas or in the
Altai, where you are removed from earth and the burdens of everyday life but
closer to Heaven; where from above you can observe life down in the valleys and
also you yourself in the middle of it. (see the Video "Exercise
Elevation") (Nicholas Roerich " Star of
the Morning ")
Erect your Throne upon the
highest summit. From there you will better see the anxiety of human hearts.
(Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 274 [327])
Picture your new dwelling as
vividly as possible and imprint it firmly in your mind so that you can really
live there in spirit.
*****
"I can't build a place for
my teacher, can I? I can only just conceive creating my own Heaven with my
thoughts and feelings. But how can I set up with my imagination the Heaven of
others, of my teacher and my fellow disciples!?"
Who says that you alone have
to create the home in the Spiritual Sphere in which your soul is to live? You
can build such a world in cooperation with others. Or you can move into a
dwelling others have erected and later, together with your companions,
embellish and extend it further and further.
*****
Make it absolutely clear to
yourself: The place of your longing, your Eternal Home, is not far removed from
you.
He who knows how to discern
the presence of the Higher World in the smallest things is already on the path
of ascent. Indeed, it is needful in everything to link oneself to the Higher
World. Without such attachment, the path will be a long one. Amid the densest
of earthly conditions it is still possible to direct oneself toward the Higher
World, and this World of Beauty will be close by. (AUM 82)
It is not the external
circumstances you have to change in order to get there, but “only” your
consciousness!
We must be found not
geographically, but first of all in spirit. The Kingdom of God is taken by
force – but in spirit. (Supermundane 16)
6.
Celestial Community
Nicholas
Roerich "Zvenigorod"
We had said already several
times (Videos "The Path of the Interior Temple" and
"Participation in the Life of the Higher World"): Conceive Heaven not
so much as a place, but more as a community of spiritually related beings.
It may help us to understand
the Devachanic condition somewhat to consider the degree of happiness a number
of people in perfect sympathy and affinity may experience when, actuated by a
single high motive, they meet to lose themselves in considering the beauty,
strength and joy of the ideal which has been the motive power of their
gathering. (Teachings of the Temple Vol. II, Lesson “The Plane of Devachan”)
So you are entering not only a
building, but above all a community. You attach yourself to your true family by
connecting with them in the morning and evening meditation and by contacting
them again and again in the course of the day.
*****
"What is so beautiful
about Heaven anyway?"
Not so much the majestic world
of the mountains, the building of a castle or ashram, but most of all one
thing:
The communion with your
soulmates. (Nicholas Roerich "Zvenigorod")
Heaven is such a pleasant
place because lower consciousnesses, who make life on earth hell for you, have
no access up there (see the Video "The Supermundane World"). You are
alone with your own kind, with high beings, with great spirits.
Within these sacred walls,
where man loves fellow man,
no traitor can lurk,
because enemies are forgiven.
He who is not gladdened by
such teachings
does not deserve to be a man.
(Mozart "The Magic Flute")
*****
Man is a community animal. He
was not made to live alone.
Without a community there is
no happiness and no progress for you.
"Does it necessarily have
to be a physical community?"
No! You can be a Pythagorean,
Platonist or Stoic, a Samurai, Shaolin or Agni Yogi under all circumstances, in
any place, in any world and at any time. The code of honour that applies to all
members, the common customs and submission to one and the same leadership unite
much more strongly than living together physically.
*****
You actually belong, whether you
are aware of it or not, to a supratemporal community that is in existence
already for thousands of years.
One can observe that there are
appearing whole groups of people connected with each other from former times.
(Fiery World III, 550)
There you lived before you
were born. There you will go back after death. With your incarnation on the
material plane you do not cease to be a member of this community. It is just
that your mission demands a short physical – not spiritual! – absence. Soon you
may return to your family.
No individual can be drawn
into The Temple or any other organic body, who does not belong to that body by
karmic right and long association in past lives. The bonds that formerly united
you, the fires that welded you into that one body, were made and built many
thousand years agone. The currents of thought that are constantly flowing
between you, cementing and intensifying the strength of your unity, are
indissolubly binding you to each other, to the Lodge, to myself. (Teachings of the
Temple Vol. I, Lesson 39 “The Power of Thought”)
This is how Mahatma Hilarion
speaks to his disciples in our days:
You have been told the time
when with me you were associated in the Order of the Sons of the Dragon,
Children of the Glory of Ancient Egypt. (Teachings of the Temple Vol. II,
Lesson “Teachings of Master Hilarion”)
You have been in the past –
and may be in the future – united members of a group – united members of one
family, with power sufficient to wield a world. I have told you in the past of
your relationship to me. (Teachings of the Temple Vol. II, Lesson
“Dissention”)
How wonderful is it be safe
and sound in such an eternal community in all worlds, on all planes of
existence! You can draw much strength from this awareness when you are walking
the earthly path in loneliness.
*****
Your true relatives are not
your blood relatives, but your soulmates.
It is necessary to feel how
there are gathered around the fiery heart those who have been drawn to it by
the striving toward Fiery Service. The attraction of the magnet of the heart
acts as a law; it must also be remembered that each life of the heart attracts
those who reveal kinship of spirit. (Fiery World III, 102)
The way of life in accordance
with a common rule separates you from other people and unites you with your
supratemporal family. As Jesus said:
Who is my mother? And who are
my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said,
Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father
which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. (Matthew
12, 48-50)
Try to reawaken the memory of this
community – at least of its nature, its essence, its spirit. Make yourself as
clear as possible where you belong. Just as your teacher, your true spiritual
father, you can also rediscover in time the brothers and sisters with whom you
are spiritually related.
If the Subtle World influences
are so frequent, deep and lengthy, relations should be established between
co-workers of the two worlds. And so it is. In this case, the relationships are
not so much a matter of blood kinship as of spiritual kinship. Often such
co-workers meet also on the earthly plane; though they may be separated by
differences of nationality and circumstance, yet an inner feeling will draw
them together. Between them a confidence will be established very easily. (AUM
156)
*****
These soulmates of yours are
living either incarnated somewhere on earth or non-incarnated in the Subtle
World. In both cases you are dependent on establishing and maintaining a
spiritual connection with them.
In spirit you can always be
connected with the other members of your family, no matter on which plane of
existence they are at the moment and how far away they may be from you
physically.
Some bemoan the need to leave
the vicinity of Our Towers. They forget that spiritual contact is indestructible
and that distance has no meaning. (Supermundane 141)
You know that your eternal
brothers and sisters exist, that you belong to them and that you will return to
them after death. You just do not see them while you are incarnated on earth.
Whether you ever reach the
material centre of the Temple work and become associated with your comrades
there or not; whether you are so isolated as never to meet another Temple
member in your present incarnation, the fact remains that you are one of the
constituent parts of a single Group Soul, else you never would have been
impelled to unite yourselves with the Temple body, for you are under the
guidance of that Soul. (Teachings of the Temple Vol. I, Lesson 67 “Love of
Ideals”)
In spirit you can overcome all
material limitations.
Community of spirit is the
highest transfiguration of life. Many of the ignorant do not wish to understand
that community of spirit does not depend upon external form. It is created
there where the concept of the broadening of consciousness is alive. Community
of spirit is possible where there exists a living magnet. Then it is possible
across all earthly boundaries to attach oneself to every cooperative or
community. When a community lives in the sole service of Truth there exist no obstacles.
(AUM 167, 168)
The experiment of bringing
together hearts over long distances is waiting for workers to carry it out.
(Heart 339)
7. Your Teacher is your spiritual Father
Nicholas
Roerich "Archat"
Besides your physical parents,
you also have a spiritual father or mother, your teacher.
The first great reality that
dawns upon the awakening consciousness of a disciple is a recognition of his
kinship to – his oneness with – that Master; and having once recognized, he
cannot repudiate Him; his duty, his pleasure, his very life, is bound up with
that of the Master. (Teachings of the Temple Vol I, Lesson 32 “How long, o
Lord”!)
Your spiritual family consists
of this teacher and his disciples, who are your fellow pupils and your true
brothers and sisters.
The Master is not only acting
as the Father of a family, he IS that Father to the chela if both are parts of
the one Group Soul. And no more than the child can supplant his own physical
father by delegating the functions of a father to some other man, can the
disciple, even temporarily and unconsciously, supplant the Master by delegating
the functions of that Master-Father to another, by accepting the admonition,
directions or advice of that other. (Teachings of the Temple Vol I, Lesson “The
Relationship between Teacher and Chela”)
So the ashram of the teacher
is your family home.
Was it not clear to you that
my right place was in my Father's house? (Luke 2, 49)
This is how twelve-year-old
Jesus spoke when his parents searched for him and finally found him in the
temple. (Liebermann "Jesus in the
Temple")
*****
Just to be allowed to dwell in
the aura of your Father is your highest bliss. Your love for him is the
greatest incentive to submit to the rules that apply in his abode.
You long to be close to your
beloved one.
For this you joyfully accept
all requirements.
He who strives toward something
beloved does not count the steps of the ladder. Thus, it is necessary to love
in order to attain. The Brotherhood teaches this means of ascent. (Brotherhood
321)
*****
"Why do you always speak
in the masculine form "teacher"? Are there no female gurus, no
priestesses and feminine teachers?"
Yes, of course there are. But
consider (Video "Sexuality"): The soul, this being of the Spiritual
World, has no gender. It incarnates on earth sometimes as a woman, sometimes as
a man. It is a synthesis of both. So we should actually speak of your eternal
"father-mother".
*****
"Another question: Once I
have learnt everything from one teacher, do I then have to look for a new,
higher master later on in order to continue to ascend?"
No. Agni Yoga advises against
changing the teacher. He is the next higher link in the chain of Hierarchy to
which you remain attached. The proper image is: He goes on ascending and you
follow him.
Rarely, it may happen that a
disciple to surpass his teacher. But the normal case is: When your teacher has
learned and taught you everything that can be learned on earth, he will ascend
to a Higher World and you will take over his position.
8. Living together with your Family
We had already discussed in
detail in the Video "Participation in the Life of the Higher World":
Your soul in its world is
actually living together with your spiritual brothers and sisters!
And this already now, during
your earthly incarnation, not only after death. If only you remain attached to
the Higher World and participate in life there.
Your soul reaches up to the
Higher World of the teacher while your body dwells on earth.
When your consciousness has
expanded, you perceive the whole reality: Just imagine, never lose sight of the
fact that your spiritual father, your soulmates and your true friends are
constantly present in the Subtle Sphere of reality around you.
You are never alone!
When we search for true
friends, we will find them in the Subtle World. (Heart 564)
Living in the family circle of
your Eternal Home is your highest bliss, namely the happiness of your soul!
This is a spiritual reality which should determine your material existence.
Your spirit is jubilant. Where
does this joy come from? You know that your home is near and that the darkness
does not keep you from discerning those close to your heart. (Agni Yoga
152)
Exercise: Is your Father smiling?
Become aware:
Your kindred spirits see
everything you do!
Then you will be ashamed of
being unfaithful. You feel how they suffer when you disappoint them! And of
course you punish yourself: With behaviour that does not belong in a heaven,
you banish yourself to a lower, coarser, uglier sphere.
How can a man think of the
refinement of forms when he never pictures them in thought, thus trying to make
his surroundings worthy of Higher Beings? (Fiery World I, 645)
Always ask yourself:
"Is the teacher watching
me with a joyful smile, or is he grieved on my account?"
Practical Tip: Other People are Guests of the Ashram
"How should I treat the
fellow human beings I meet?"
Regard all other people, even
the members of your temporal family, as guests of your ashram. They come to you
with their hardships and vices like the depraved brothers Karamazov to the
venerable Abbot Sossima. They must abide by the rules that apply in your
temple. You grant them spiritual help if possible.
9. Home
of the Soul
The ashram of your teacher is your
true, Supratemporal Home. This is where you belong. Here is your father's
house. Here lives your eternal family. Compared to this, the material world
with its changing, temporary relationships is pure illusion.
Here we have no fixed
resting-place, but our search is for the one which is to come. (Hebrews 13,
14)
There is the safe harbour from
which your soul begins its earthly journey and to which it returns after its
dangerous wanderings through hostile realms.
Only a correct understanding
of the Supermundane can bring about a solution to the confusion. During a storm
one should at least know the whereabouts of the longed-for harbour.
(Supermundane 688)
There you are safe and sound.
To this sphere you are drawn back, just as you long for your home country when
you have to live abroad for a longer time. For your soul the material plane is
a foreign country, it is at home in the Supermundane World.
In the earthly body the spirit
already learns to connect with the Higher World as if returning into its own
wondrous native realm. Man feels an attraction even to his earthly native land
which is transitory; so much the greater is his attraction to the eternal
Fatherland. (AUM 82)
*****
Your soul needs a home where
it can live in harmony with its nature.
It cannot find such a place
anywhere on earth, but only in the pure, spiritual atmosphere of the
Supermundane Sanctuary. Here the soul can take off the mask of the worldly man
and rest, but also learn, gather knowledge, form new ideas and develop higher
ideals.
Knowledge of transitoriness
results in a feeling of breaking away from the Earth and impels the spirit to
those planes where man verily dwells in his fiery essence. (Fiery World III,
368)
You recognise like Jesus:
My kingdom is not from this
world. (John 18, 36)
People are afraid to think
that their true home is not on Earth, but somewhere in space. (Supermundane
171)
*****
Listen how Helena Blavatsky speaks
of her homeland with heartfelt love:
O these blessed two days! It
was like in the old times when he visited me – a wooden hut of the same kind, a
cottage divided into three rooms, the same yellow-skinned, noiselessly gliding
chelas, the same incessant "gul-gul" sound from my boss's
inextinguishable chelum pipe; the old, familiar mild voice of your K. H. (whose
voice has become even milder and whose face has become even narrower and more
translucent) and the same furnishings – skins, cushions stuffed with yak-tail
hair, bowls for salt and tea, etc. (Letter from Helena Blavatsky to A. P.
Sinnett dated 09.10.1882) (Nicholas Roerich
"Mountain Abode")
Steadfast love, devotion that
burns unextinguished through all of life’s trials, is the best guide to the
Supermundane World. Such love leads to the Homeland of the heart, where, as in
one’s beloved fatherland, all is familiar, dear, beautiful. (Supermundane
769)
Exercise:
Make Use of free Moments
Use every free moment (on the
way to work, in the waiting room, while doing the dishes) to visit your home.
10. Your
personal Paradise
Botticini
"The Assumption of the Virgin"
You will only grasp the full
beauty and magnificence of the ideal of living in
an Interior Ashram if you realise:
Here is your personal
paradise.
Here you are living as in
Heaven, already now, on earth, not only after death. The monks used to say:
Live in your cell as in
paradise. (Little Rule of St. Romuald) (Fra
Angelico "St. Romuald")
We extend this concept:
Pitch your Inner Cell wherever
you are, in every place, at every moment, and dwell there as in paradise!
You will find:
Life in Heaven is much more
beautiful than all material pleasures! (Botticini
"The Assumption of the Virgin")
*****
"Where does the strong
impulse come from to build a sanctuary like an Inner Temple?"
It arises from our longing for
paradise (the Higher World), from which we were expelled, namely into
incarnation on the material plane. (Peter Wenzel
"Adam and Eve in the Earthly Paradise")
It is the memory of our life
in Heaven before birth which makes us wish to create a reflection of this
higher state on earth as well, in order to dwell there again already now, not
only after death.
A disciple must not refuse or
neglect to make a home in the environment karma has placed him in, whether it
be a palace or a low-ceiled attic or a hut, however temporary his proposed stay
in that environment. If he were only able to associate those images of an ideal
home within the narrow confines of the room he occupied he would have created
the nucleus of his ideal home.
Every such effort
would place a stone or nail a plank, figuratively speaking, in the home he
hoped to have one day for his own. The universal truth behind the allegory of the
banishment of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden is the truth of
reincarnation, the impulse which drives the soul from Devachan – its heavenly
home – into banishment, that is, into physical incarnation.
It is the incessant longing of
the soul for its true home that incites every impulse toward home building. It
is the soul memory of the beauty, the grandeur, the harmonious surroundings,
the peace and joy radiating from each member of that heavenly home that impels
the normal man and woman to unite and endeavour to reproduce some semblance of
that home upon earth. (Teachings of the Temple Vol. II, Lesson “The Homeless”)
Practical
Tip: How often are you dwelling in Heaven?
Here is a decisive question:
"How often am I dwelling
in Heaven?"
Three times a day during
retreat or only once a week because you fail to observe the meditation times?
Regularly during the day even when you are in the world?
Extending these periods is the
crucial inner work you are to carry out. The great, distant goal is:
Constantly, even during
ordinary earthly work, you are living in the Highest World.
At the end of each day, give
yourself an account of how often and for how long you have maintained yourself
on the heights.
Exercise:
Heavenly Conditions for one Day
Here is an important exercise:
Try to remain in the heavenly state for at least one whole day.
Choose a specific day of
undisturbed tranquillity (preferably a Sunday). Concentrate solely on living in
the ashram and not letting yourself be driven out of your spiritual paradise.
That is your only goal on this
day!
Nothing else matters today!
Observe what gets you out of this condition: Other people, the circumstances,
your own bad habits?
Learn to rise again
immediately when you have fallen into hell. (Bosch
"Heaven and Hell")
This is the basis for the next
step, which is to make sure at every hour of each
normal working day that you are still living in Heaven.
"Isn't Sunday supposed to
be a day of rest, not of doing hard work?
We can also express it
differently: Take a break, go on holidays for a day, as far away as possible
from everyday life.
But not in the Caribbean, but
in a paradise for your soul.
"All this still looks
quite abstract to me. I am not sure if I alone will succeed in living in an
Inner Monastery."
Well, then let me invite you:
Instead of spending a Sunday alone at home, visit an existing virtual temple.
Take part in the life of the Tabenisi Ashram for a weekend. This is possible in
spirit or via Skype or Zoom!
www.tabenisi.org
or write to
mail@tabenisi.org.
11.
Indestructible Foundation
Staretz
Theophan
Unlike all material temples,
the Inner Sanctuary can never be destroyed – if only you remain firm.
The tragedy of the monasteries
of Tibet, the secularisation of European monasteries and countless other
examples in history teach: Everything external, material must decay. (Ruins of Ganden Monastery, Tibet)
You will find a firm hold
against the waves of chaos only in your heart. In the whole world there is only
one safe place for building a temple: within you yourself!
Only the flame of the heart
can warm when the clothes are torn apart by a whirlwind. (Supermundane
232)
Only the heart will serve as a
stronghold in battle. (Heart 41)
The world of your spirit alone
is insurmountable.
Dead are those who presume that
by means of earthly Maya they can create strongholds. It is as unwise as
children dreaming to build a fortress out of mud! Only the world of the spirit
is truly strong, for it is indestructible and invincible. (Hierarchy 146)
Life shows its teeth, but the
spirit is indestructible. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 129 [146])
*****
The outer temple is worth
nothing if an impure, worldly spirit rules its inhabitants. There are enough
degenerated monasteries in which life is made hell for the spiritually minded.
True achievement is revealed
when you are able to lead a holy life even in unholy circumstances.
When you carry the monastery
in your heart, it does not matter whether the monastery building is extant or
not. (Staretz Theophan)
Practical
Tip: Never vacate the last Bastion
The Inner Monastery is the
impregnable fallback position, the firmest bulwark capable of withstanding the
heaviest attacks. (Castle del Monte)
You must uphold this last bastion
with all your strength. Never give it up, otherwise you will be left
defenceless as well as homeless.
The heart is the stronghold of
the hero. (Hierarchy 436)
Create for yourself a cell in
your heart and never leave it! (St. Catherine of Siena) (Beccafumi "St. Catherine of Siena")
12.
Refuge
A major German magazine once
ran an article with the headline:
"Monasteries – where the
soul finds peace." (Bebenhausen Monastery)
This shows: Today's man still has
some remnant of knowledge about his Eternal Individuality and the place where
it is at home, where it feels at ease, finds peace and can recharge its
batteries.
*****
Your soul, this spiritual
being, which was banished from paradise to the hell of matter, needs a place of
retreat where complete peace, tranquillity, solemnity and a sublime atmosphere
prevail. It will find such a location in the Spiritual World only.
Earthly life is unbearable if
you do not visit Heaven regularly!
"Outside my window children
are shouting and screaming, below me tenants are playing music, beside me they
are quarrelling, and upstairs they are trampling on my head. What am I to
do?"
Only one thing: Put yourself
mentally – inwardly – into the state of silence, rapture and exaltation that
reigns in a holy place. Then you will not be affected by worldly vibrations.
The great reality must be
purified once more, in order that it may become like a lodging for the
traveller. If the spirit has chosen a beautiful path, then its dwelling will be
beautiful. (Heart 163)
Your mantram is:
I take refuge in the teaching,
in the teacher and in the community.
Practical Tip: First find Peace, then put Things in
Order
Like most people, you believe:
"I must first settle
everything and put it in order, then peace and tranquillity will come."
This, however, is an illusion.
Correct is:
Peace is within you yourself.
"I don't understand that.
That's another obscure esoteric saying. Mostly there is actually no peace and
no quietness within myself."
Then you have allowed yourself
to lose your peace. Then your first task before you turn to the earthly worries
is: At first restore your ideal state:
The peace of the soul in the
midst of the storms of the world.
Only after that will
everything external get right.
The ego says, "When
everything becomes good, I will find peace." The spirit says, "Find
your peace and everything will be all right." (Marianne Williamson)
You will find this inner
peace, joy and harmony only in your true existence "above the
clouds", in the ashram of your teacher.
13.
Panacea
In temptation, dejection,
disgust with the world or hopelessness, there is only one panacea: Throw
yourself at the feet of your teacher. In his aura you will instantly be
purified and uplifted.
In Heaven, in a world of high
vibration, no lower vibrations such irritability or appetite will come up.
Help yourself to relaxation,
recreation or gratification not by eating, drinking, watching television or other
material pleasures, but by visiting your homeland!
Everyone feels the elevating
and cleansing force of a sanctuary, such as an ancient cathedral. (Ely Cathedral)
In the age of the spirit, you no
longer have to go there physically in order to partake of this salutary power.
In meditation you can create such a place in the Spiritual World, visit it
whenever you wish, and receive the same strength.
"Isn’t this mere
delusion?"
No, it is experience: The
inflow of energy is real!
Section IV: Life in the Ashram
By living and working together
in the ashram with your teacher, your disciples and your fellow disciples, the
ideal of participating in the life of the Higher World becomes concrete, practical,
real and alive.
What goes on in the physical
world is insignificant. What matters is alone the eternal life in your
homeland.
Your existence as a disciple
on the second, higher, subtle level of reality is more than mere intellectual
playfulness.
Your soul is your real Self.
So its life in the ashram is your true existence!
No one lives on Earth alone.
An existence in three worlds is given to us, but we must prove worthy of each
of them. We wish to bind ourselves to Earth, which will perish, and forget that
an everlasting existence was given to us! (Supermundane 203)
Bellini
"Transfiguration of Christ”
My favourite term from Agni
Yoga is "transfiguration", which means the elevation, refinement and
beautification of any situation in life by spiritual power alone.
Let us not forget the symbol
of transfiguration, which shows the physical existence being transformed into
the subtle. (Heart 245)
To overcome inwardly the
external conditions in which fate has placed you – certainly not by chance – is
the first step on the Spiritual Path.
Whoever triumphs in spirit is
already one of Us! (Heart 21)
To create for oneself Heaven
already on earth is one of the fundamental spiritual exercises of Living
Ethics.
The experiment of Agni Yoga is
the transfiguration of material earthly life solely through the power of a
right mental attitude.
He who thinks beautifully will
not suffer! (Brotherhood 160)
Gradually one can accept many
subtle manifestations as ordinary conditions of life. This also is a
transfiguration of life, and it can lead to the loftiest condition without
withdrawing from life. (Heart 382)
"What must I do
practically to transfigure my daily life in this way?"
You take a new mental attitude
towards every life situation: the standpoint of eternity:
"I am a disciple of the
Brotherhood and I am living on the Holy Mountain in the ashram of my
teacher."
Earthly existence can be
transfigured only through the force of a clear visualization of the future
life. Such visualization is like casting an anchor—the ship is then drawn
towards the desired goal by a strong anchor. (Supermundane 476)
As a disciple you appear. Thus
you are great, strong and beautiful. (Nicholas
Roerich "Lama")
In the ashram you are
dwelling. Thus the world in which you live is sublime and beautiful. (Nicholas Roerich "Tibet Himalayas")
This attitude must prove
stronger than even the most terrible material conditions. With the help of this
exercise you actually transform grey everyday life into the promised land of
your dreams.
The temple is in spirit, the
justification is in spirit, and the victory is in spirit; thus one can adorn
life with a splendour that is constant and true. (Heart 80)
3. Rules and Customs of the Ashram
If you want to live in Heaven,
in an ashram (even if it is only for a weekend), you must of course abide by the
laws that apply there.
Especially since Heaven is
created by these habits in the first place! Where there are lower, coarser
customs, there is also a lower world – all the way down to hell.
Submission to the rule is the
price to be paid for living in a high, beautiful, majestic world.
*****
You are dreaming of a life in
the ashram of a Great Teacher? Then you have probably already lived in such a
temple in a previous existence on the material or spiritual plane. Or more
modestly: You once saw such a sanctuary in whatever world and were so excited
that you resolved:
"I will do whatever is
necessary and required to be admitted there."
I hope you have not already
forgotten this resolution.
*****
The old slovenliness is over.
In the ashram you live a purer, harder life according to higher principles. You
are now under the guidance of a master who demands more of you than you have
demanded of yourself so far.
The disciple
must not consider his soft arm-chair higher than the throne of the Guru.
(Infinity II, 427 [27])
If you are satisfied to evolve
with the masses, well and good; if you would pass beyond the masses, you must
be subject to higher laws than those which govern material substance.
(Teachings of the Temple Vol I, Lesson 21 “Prayer”)
The usual pleasures come to an
end.
The common highway does not
lead to the Holy Mountain. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 213 [239])
From the moment your feet
shall cross the sill of the high-barred gate which now divides the things of
the spirit and the things of the flesh; from that moment life has changed for
you. You are no longer owner of yourself; you have no longer a right to claim
for yourself the easy things, the delights, of that part of life's path you are
leaving; you have only the right of renunciation, the joys of introspection.
(Teachings of the Temple Vol I, Lesson 105 “My Brothers Keeper”)
*****
"What exactly are these
rules and customs I now have to follow?"
Essentially, we are talking about the 10 Pillars of the Practice of
Agni Yoga, on which there is a separate Series of Videos.
Your life is now governed by
the threefold spiritual discipline of defending a higher consciousness, rhythm
of the day and nourishment according to spiritual principles; by the three
principles of life, obedience, living in two worlds and selflessness; and by
the four spheres of life, communion with the Higher World (meditation), service
to the common good, service to the neighbour and education or self-improvement.
You will experience: Just by
placing yourself under this spiritual order, you lead a new life.
You introduce at your home the
customs and laws of the Brotherhood. In this way you establish Shambhala or Heaven
on earth. (Nicholas Roerich "Path to
Shambhala")
*****
What is banned from an ashram
(for example, alcohol, meat, tobacco or sweets) should not be available in your
world either.
These are questions of duty
done or undone, of responsibilities assumed or ignored. (Teachings of the
Temple Vol I, Lesson 39 “The Power of Thought”)
"Can we do without moral
preaching?"
Yes, of course: It is an experience
that you make often enough: If you do not adhere to these customs, for example,
if you drink alcohol or eat too much, your vibration drops. You lose touch with
your Heaven. You remove yourself from the blissful presence of the teacher and
your soulmates. You fall into a lower sphere of the Spiritual World.
A place where one dines
sumptuously and indulges in the excesses of the body is certainly not an ashram
of the Brotherhood! (Thomas Couture "Les
Romains de la Décadence")
*****
"How dare you explain to
us how things are in the ashrams of the Great Teachers in the Subtle World,
what rules and customs are in force there? How do you know all that? Isn't that
presumptuous?"
Well, the age-old Hermetic
principle applies:
As below, so above; as above,
so below. As on earth, so in Heaven; as in Heaven, so on earth. (Agni Yoga 4,
225; Fiery World II, 16, 30)
We may therefore safely
assume: The Great Teachers, when they incarnated on earth, lived here no
differently than they did in the Heaven from which they came. They have built
down here the same structures as those in which they used to live up there.
What we know about their earthly existence therefore also shows us how things
are in their Supermundane Dwellings.
Now we are astonished to find:
All the Great Masters of all times and all religions (from Buddha, Pythagoras
and Plato to St. Pachomius and St. Benedict, from the medieval monastic orders
to Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa) have exemplified and demanded of their
disciples more or less the same way of life.
The 10 Pillars of the Practice
of Agni Yoga are the contemporary expression of this supra-temporal order of
life.
*****
"Aren’t you exaggerating
the importance of these outward precepts?"
No! The angel gave St.
Pachomius the rule of the first Christian monastery with the words: By
following this rule all flesh will be redeemed!
You can experience for yourself:
By living in a pure place you yourself become pure. The assertion of higher
laws actually brings about a higher civilisation.
Culture is a
monastic rule. (Wittgenstein)
"Once again, this is
rather lofty and far removed from my normal, everyday life."
Then let us put it more
simply:
Read again the beautiful novel
"Enchanted April" by Elizabeth von Arnim. Witness how an atmosphere
of beauty transforms, uplifts and transfigures people. The inconspicuous one
becomes the boss, the hypocritical rediscovers life, the embittered blossoms
and the bored finds love.
The disciple, in order to
assert his Higher over his lower Self, must submit to a set of rules quite
similar to the vows of a monk. In an Interior Temple, this spiritual discipline
is even more important.
"Why is that so?"
Because here the external
support from the physical community is lacking, in which you can hardly behave
differently than everyone else around you. Alone, it is more difficult to
observe the rule.
"Nevertheless, I don't
particularly like the term discipline. It sounds like coercion imposed on me by
some foreign authority."
How do you like the word
"self-discipline"? It expresses: Self-control, mastery of your animal
nature, is in your own interest – namely in that of your Eternal Divine Self.
You avoid all this poison that
makes your soul small, weak and ugly and destroys the paradise in which you so
much love to live.
Your life cannot succeed if
you do not remain true to your mission, to your Guiding Idea!
That simply requires
discipline.
*****
The great advantage of the
exercise "Living in the Ashram of the Teacher" is: We do not have to enforce
with violence and prohibitions the observance of an external discipline, which
many of you find so difficult. You will see: When you move in with your teacher
(even if it is only virtually), you will soon notice all by yourself which of
your old habits you have to give up and which new ones you must establish.
If you really want to be a
chela i.e., to become the recipient of our mysteries, you have to adapt
yourself to our ways, not we to yours. (Mahatma Letters, letter No. 30 of ca.
28.08.1882)
In this new environment you
will naturally imitate that what the soulmates around you and especially your
teacher are doing. When you are living with your family, you cannot help but
follow their rules and customs as a matter of course.
For example: I have four
children. With the first two, you ponder and worry a lot about how to bring
them up properly. The last one, on the other hand, just goes along with the
others. It is not really brought up at all: It adapts all by itself to the
everyday practice that has become established within the family.
Another example: As a guest of
Helena Roerich in the Kulu Valley, you would not even think of desecrating the
solemn atmosphere of this sanctuary by giving in to the primitive desires of
the body, by actions that are not customary there and obviously out of place. (Urusvati
Institute, Kulutal)
Therefore the Teaching speaks
of a spiritual discipline which is externally imperceptible.
Agni Yoga exacts an obligation
to construct one’s entire life in accordance with a discipline that is
externally imperceptible. (Agni Yoga 163)
Practical
Tip: Learning through Imitation
We are no longer talking so
much about following rules, but more about the universal principle of imitation
or succession, which we had presented in the Video "The Hierarchy":
You will learn most easily and
most surely to lead a holy life by imitating your Spiritual Guide in all the
details of his everyday life.
In the rhythm of the day, in
eating, in meditation, in spiritual exercises, in service, simply in
everything.
Even in the smallest matters
try to be as Christ. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 277 [331])
Ideally, the teacher does not educate
the disciple at all: He simply lives together with him and shows him by his
example alone how to walk the earthly path in dignity.
The teacher is a guiding
counsellor — a friend who points out a shorter and better path. (Community
108)
"What are you talking
about? I am not living with a teacher at all!?"
Remember: We are talking about
a way of life "as if" your teacher were continuously present, not of
a material, but of a virtual ashram! In this case, the concept of learning
through imitation requires "only" one thing: Be aware of the subtle
presence of your teacher at every moment!
The great art, the skill of
the man of the New Era is to make a spiritual reality (such as the Interior
Temple) as effective in life as a physical fact!
5. Education
An ashram of the Brotherhood
is first and foremost a place of education. Life there offers the best
conditions for the growth of your soul.
Some may regard the time spent
in an Ashram as imprisonment, but with the development of the spirit it will be
the most salutary of all sojourns. (Fiery World I, 304)
You will indeed find here a
school with an agenda, timetable, teachers, exercises and examinations, as well
as a hard training for the few who are ready to face already today the demands
of the future.
Accept harsh lessons with a
smile. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 109 [121])
"What is the highest goal
of a disciple of the Teachings of Wisdom?"
To be called, like Helena
Blavatsky and a few others, to the Himalayas, to a bulwark of the Brotherhood
for training and preparation for a mission. (Nicholas
Roerich "Castle
in Ladakh")
Sometimes the Mahatmas call
their disciples into one of their Ashrams for a certain period; here They
prepare their organisms for the sacred assimilation of subtle energies and give
them instructions. So it was with Helena Blavatsky, who spent three years
in their Ashram before giving the world “The Secret Doctrine”. (Helena Roerich
Letters Vol II, letter of 07.12.1935)
You can now realise this high
ideal: By entering in spirit a virtual ashram.
"What is the aim of this
education?"
In an Agni Yoga Temple, there
is actually bred the man of the future, the New Man of the 6th race.
The spiritual groups of
today’s time present a sad sight because they do not produce real teachers and
neglect the education of the newcomers.
You know that the conditions
of Our Community are not easy. Many social organisms pay no attention to the
inner education of their members. After acquiring Our discipline, you cannot
recognize a community there where only certain external signs of it are
preserved. (Community 232)
You will find the details of
the training programme in the Series "Education".
6.
Service
You not only live, above all
you work together with your supratemporal family. You realise:
A collaboration which is
extended into the Highest Abodes. (Fiery World II, 126)
The ashram of the teacher is a
place where selfless service is being rendered for the common good. The practical
implementation, using the concept of the Agni Yoga Temple, you will find in our
Video "We are building the World of the Future".
7.
Descent
Palma
i Giovanne "Descent of Christ to Hell”
We have discussed the practice
of the Inner Temple already many times: In the morning, in meditation you go to
your Eternal Homeland, during the day you work in the world and in the evening
you return to your family.
*****
Not unlike in a physical
ashram, the teacher sends you out into the world for the day: With a task for
your personal development and a mission to serve the progress of evolution. You
cannot imagine this concretely enough:
You clothe yourself – in
spirit! – in the white robe of a temple disciple (see the Video "The
Invisible Toga"). You go into the world as an emissary of Hierarchy. (Nicholas Roerich "From Beyond")
You work down there to
establish the Cosmic Order: Truth, justice, beauty and love.
Among the worldly ones you are
recognisable as a spiritual person. All look up to you. All expect spiritual
guidance from you.
*****
If you truly love your family
and friends, your fellow disciples, your teacher and the Mahatmas, you will
want to please them and bring them joy.
"How can I achieve
that?"
Mainly by reporting back to
the Master in the evening (as well as after death) with the words:
"Mission
accomplished!"
In order to be able to
pronounce this proud sentence, you must live up to your vocation and maintain
your position during your stay on the material plane. Rather remain a disciple
and (like Jesus) reap ridicule or humiliation than succeed in the worldly sense
but lose your dignity as a representative of Hierarchy.
Exercise:
Defending the Ashram
We are now coming to the key
exercise of this Broadcasting: Creating a sacred atmosphere in the morning
meditation is relatively easy. Much more difficult and more important than
anything else is: When you descend into the world you have to maintain the
hologram, the backdrop, the spiritual world of the ashram around you. In every
situation applies:
First comes the defence of the
ashram, only then the solution of everyday problems.
Your sanctuary must stand
firm, no matter how horrible the circumstances are to which you were exiled. (Nicholas Roerich "Holy City")
You are defending a virtual, a
spiritual temple. It is not by chance that this painting by Nicholas Roerich is
entitled "Stronghold of the Spirit”.
The aura you radiate, the
atmosphere you spread around you, is always that of a sanctuary – even if, like
Dostoevsky's Abbot Sossima, you have to deal with the disgusting affairs of the
Karamazov brothers.
You will not let anything or
anyone drag you down to a lower world, not repulsive conditions and not the
many hands that are greedily reaching for you. (Rubens
"The Fall of the Damned", Bouts "Hell", Bosch
"Hell")
*****
"It is very difficult for
me not to forget this inner work in the midst of all my everyday earthly cares,
toils, distractions and demands."
Yes, this requires the highest
concentration and constant vigilance. Here is your main task. You have to make
a firm commitment to this objective in the morning and remember it again and
again in the course of the day.
Keep the leading ideal of
living in the sanctuary constantly before your eyes!
Our sojourns in the various
strata are short, but on entering the Fiery World we can remain there. And when
we come from there, we preserve the fiery solemnity wherever we are. (Fiery
World I, 576)
*****
This practice is closely
related to the exercise "The Fiery Condition", the maintenance of the
high vibration of your being. Only both together bring about the synthesis of
the practice of Agni Yoga:
You keep your own and the
vibration of your surroundings high.
Both practices complement each
other: When your own vibration is high, you raise at the same time the vibration
of your surroundings. When your own vibration is low, you can raise it by
visiting, even if only in spirit, a place with a high vibration, for example
your teacher's ashram.
Practical
Tip: A moment of Time out
It is best to interrupt your
earthly work every hour (or at least at noon) for a short moment, to close your
eyes, to turn to Heaven and to mentally rebuild the world of the sanctuary
around you.
Section V: Living in the Ashram as Service
"I don't quite see yet:
What is the difference between a dreamer who imagines a better world as a kind
of castle in the air and a spiritual disciple who lives in a virtual, thus also
an imagined ashram?"
The dreamer is only dreaming.
As opposed to that, we are actually working on a real improvement of everyday
worldly life. We strive to establish the conditions of Heaven, where our soul
lives, on earth as well.
The Teaching of how to walk on
earth is revealed to those who consider heaven to be alive. (Leaves of Morya’s
Garden II, 107)
Your existence in the ashram
of a teacher, even if it is only virtual, is already service to the common
good.
1.
Preparation for the World Government of the Mahatmas
What is the aim of Agni Yoga?
To establish the rule of the spirit. This, as we discussed in the Video
"We are building the World of the Future", is only conceivable as the
rule of the Mahatmas on earth.
We are working towards the day
when a Mahatma or his High Plenipotentiary will appear and take over the
leadership of one of our communities or even, as in ancient Egypt, of an entire
country.
Many are dreaming of the
advent of the Avatar. But you must clearly realise: The present time does not
permit the physical appearance of a Mahatma at all!
It must be understood that not
a single teacher of the Brotherhood, after spending very many years in the main
Stronghold, is able to live among people during the time of Armageddon. If even
advanced disciples are unable to stay for long in the valleys and cannot endure
certain auras, how much more difficult is it for the Teachers of the White
Brotherhood! (Helena Roerich Letters Vol I/2, 149; letter of 01.08.1934)
The Greatest Individuality
cannot be manifested now, in the midst of chaotic thinking and the vibrations
of depraved crowds. In view of the level of contemporary humanity, the Advent
in a physical form is entirely impossible. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol I/3, 75;
letter of 12.04.1935)
We humans have yet to become
mature enough for a member of the Brotherhood to appear in our midst and guide
us.
The present race as a whole
has been informed that if its units are to be individually benefited by means
of the advent of an Avatar, they must make conditions of mind and body for the
reception and subsequent use of the forces to be spread by that Avatar.
(Teachings of the Temple Vol I, Lesson 231 “The Unknowable”)
The coming of the Avatar will
sound the keynote for the new cycle. The conditions of the old cycle must
practically be over before He can come in full measure. This means the
stabilizing of conditions in the world, on the truth of the Middle Path before
the great event occurs.
It will also mean that at last
the children of Man will have to be able to establish on earth conditions that
will prevent wars – a condition of Universal Peace. On this foundation and on
this foundation alone can the Avatar appear. (Teachings of the Temple Vol II,
Lesson “The Middle Path”)
"How can we become worthy
of such a return of a Mahatma?"
The best preparation is
undoubtedly:
Let us live already now as
individuals and as a community as if a Great Teacher were present and guiding
us.
Our mantram is:
“I will endeavour to realise
the Presence of the Avatar as a living power in my life.” The earnest
endeavour to realize His Presence daily will help in His Manifestation.
(Teachings of the Temple Vol II, Lesson “The
Avataric Mantram”)
We already now submit to the
spiritual guidance of the Brotherhood. We are cultivating already now, first
individually and then in small communities, a way of life so sublime (that is:
so largely in accordance with the Cosmic Order) that even a Mahatma could
physically live among us.
With the still nearer approach
of the Avataric Light, the old order of things will crumble more and more and
will disappear, to be replaced by an order of life more in accord with natural
and divine law. (Teachings of the Temple VII, Lesson “The Middle Path”)
The possibility of preparing
as it were, for the coming central figure of a new humanity, rests upon
implicit obedience to the laws laid down, and not upon the action of any
personality. We cannot form the Guardian Wall for that Great Centre, the coming
Avatar, without the suitable, steadfast, coherent stones (disciples) with which
to build it; and without that Wall no such Centre can maintain individual form
and carry out a divine purpose while in that form, for any length of time on
the physical plane. (Teachings of the Temple Vol I, Lesson 93 “The constructive
Forces of the Temple of The People”)
"But aren’t we far away
from that today!?"
Yes.
Before we can think of physically
building such a settlement of the New Era, it must first grow in our hearts.
Now you realise the paramount
importance of practising the Interior Temple or the Ashram in the heart: As we
had already said in the Video "We are building the World of the
Future":
The Temple in the Heart of
every individual human being is the foundation of the world state Temple of
Humanity.
I have told some of you of the
former existence of a great city whose inhabitants were far ahead of the
present civilisation in art and science as well as in sociology and ethics. I
have told you that the cycle of the rebuilding of that city has now returned.
In no other city can the first appearance of the next Avatar on the physical
plane take place.
The reappearance of the last
Avatar is already an accomplished fact on the astral plane. His return to the
physical plane will come to pass when a place and a people are prepared for it.
But this city must first be built in the hearts of the people before it can
materialise on the physical plane. (Teachings of the Temple Vol II, Footnote to
Lesson “The Middle Path”)
In this case the Avatar does
not necessarily have to appear physically: He can spiritually lead those far
advanced disciples who are close to him, and
through them a whole community.
If a man has evolved to the
degree where it will be possible for him to interiorly recognize the presence
of the Christos, it will be a matter of indifference to him personally whether
that Avatar will appear in a physical body or not. In the process of
development, he would have created within himself a psychic centre of action
within which a response would be aroused by the mental stimulus of another who
was attuned to the same key. Perfect devotion to, and inter-communication with,
the Christos, would attune the consciousness to the key-note of the Christos.
(Teachings of the Temple Vol I, Lesson 197 “The Avatar”)
2.
Nucleus of the New World
Simon
de Myle "Noah's Ark"
Not only the individual, but
also a community, a whole nation creates for itself the world in which it lives
according to the level of its collective consciousness. Everyone can study how
different worldviews form different spiritual spaces in which peoples live in
different ways.
The Indians are living in a
spiritual framework shaped by the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita and Buddhism, we
Western Europeans in a completely different one brought about by Christianity,
the Enlightenment and capitalism.
This
spiritual world, which first determines the daily thinking and then the daily
actions of its inhabitants, must be improved if humanity is to progress.
You
change the world by confronting it with a new, higher ideal. This ideal you
must not only propagate, but also realise yourself in an exemplary way.
Consequently, by living in an Interior Temple, you are making your contribution
to the establishment of a higher spiritual order of human coexistence.
*****
We are
at the turning point of the present evolutionary cycle (see the Video "The
Law of Evolution"): At the peak of the power of the material and at the
nadir of the spiritual, where all the abodes of the spirit are destroyed.
Licentiousness
and coarseness have now reached incredible limits. Savagery has finally broken
into the cities and disrupted all the implantations of the spirit. (AUM
109)
When
now the spirit is only just beginning the path of elevation and
spiritualisation, we can do little more than to lay in the interior of a few
people a firm, lasting foundation on which humanity can later continue to
build.
The
Interior Monastery is a nucleus of the New World.
Like
the Holy Mountain of Shangri-La or Noah's Ark, it offers protection against the
tide of materialism and gathers those who belong to the race of the future. (Simon de Myle "Noah's Ark")
In
this Higher World the spiritually minded can gather again, and those troubled
and weighed down with care can find salvation. Let us build such centres, the
fugitives, the seeking ones and the young at heart will come! The peculiarity
of the New Era is merely that the way out is not of a material, but of a
spiritual nature:
The
New World is within you!
The
kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here!
or, lo there it is! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luk 17, 20,
21)
„I don’t understand that.“
Well, remember (Video “We are
building the World of the Future”): The New World is nothing physical – it
is a superstructure: a higher spiritual order of material conditions!
We
go one step further: The practice of living as if you were dwelling in your
teacher's ashram yields an almost material result:
Your
home actually is an ashram! (Dürer: „St.
Jerome in his Study“)
You
produce the atmosphere, you establish the spirit of a temple and thereby you
actually create a holy place. You have set up a bulwark of the New World, you
contributed a stone to the building of the world state Temple of Humanity. At
least here the higher culture of the future has become reality. You are in a
position to proudly show humanity:
Here
is the New World!
Practical Tip: First Interior Temple then
outer Temple
It
is essential that we first practise living in an Inner Temple before we join
together in a physical community. If the individuals do not master this
exercise all alone, they will not succeed as a community either in building an
outer temple.
Anyone
who wants to participate in the construction of the New World must first prove
that he is able to live in his own home according to the laws of a sanctuary
and keep his vibration high.
3. Role Model Gandhi
"Isn’t
it completely out of date to live in an ashram? Is there a convincing modern
role model for this way of life?"
Yes!
A saint of our time was Gandhi, rightly called "Mahatma", meaning
"Great Soul". Read again his biography "The Life of Mahatma
Gandhi" by Louis Fischer and learn:
Gandhi
founded in South Africa an ashram called "Tolstoy Farm" and in India
the Sabarmati ashram in order to practise a higher way of life together with
his disciples and co-workers; and this according to almost the same laws and
customs as Agni Yoga suggests.
In
order to abide by the rule of his ashram, Gandhi even brought with him his own
yoghurt to meetings with the English Viceroy, knowing well that he would not
get food suitable for a spiritual life there.
The
concept of the Interior Ashram gives you the invaluable opportunity to emulate
this high example in the midst of your ordinary everyday life.
4. Spreading the New World
You will
strive, to the best of your abilities, to expand your inner spiritual realm to
the outside world: To other people, communities, settlements and institutions,
whom you will inspire by your example to also submit to the rule of the spirit.
In this way, you help to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.
Such
ashrams, like magnets, attract powerful hearts; they are nurseries of
spirituality. Even material nature is transformed in the proximity of these
towers. (Hierarchy 287)
"How
do I work on this practically? How can I conquer the world?"
You
vault the spiritual order of your ashram – the superstructure of the New World!
– like a bell over every group of people with whom you come together.
Just
as the light of a candle transfigures a place, so your aura illuminates every
room you enter.
Wherever
we are, wherever we go, we take our cell with us. (St. Francis of Assisi) (Nicholas Roerich
“St. Francis of Assisi”)
You
do your best to make sure that the Mahatmas – or at least their spirit! –
reign.
Wherever
you stand, you create around you a hologram of vibrations in the form of a
sanctuary and keep it alive with the power of your psychic energy.
Making every place a Spiritual
Temple is a much greater achievement than building a physical monastery.
This inner work, this
spiritual struggle against the surrounding low vibrations is the adventure of
the present time! (Archangel Michael,
Castle of Schwerin)
You are building what needs to
be built: The New World!
Wherein lies the success of a
yogi? It is not in the attraction of crowds, not in the conversion of
multitudes. But, near the works of the yogi, one can observe how others emulate
him. Consciously or unconsciously, voluntarily or involuntarily, people begin
to do the same thing. Even his enemies, while cursing him, are drawn in his
wake.
It is as if a special
atmosphere had gathered about the actions of the yogi. This is true success,
when neither money nor fame, but the invisible fire kindles human hearts.
Desiring to emulate him, these ignited hearts enter the yogi’s atmosphere and
bear away with them some drops of the creative dew. The
yogi builds that which should be built. He lays together the intended
stones. (Agni Yoga 375)
"This again sounds rather
abstract. Is there a practical example?"
Think of the millions of
people who, centuries ago, fleeing from bondage, hardship, exploitation and
oppression, emigrated from Europe to the New World, to America, and built a new
existence there. Finally, the isolated efforts of many individuals have created
the most powerful nation on earth. This is how the Agni Yogis of today’s time
can and must proceed. ("The Departure of
the Pilgrim Fathers")
Section VI: Preparation for the Hereafter
All religions and teachings of
wisdom agree:
Earthly life is above all a
preparation for your existence in the Higher World after death.
The earthly path is a path of
preparation for Infinity. (Supermundane 371)
Whether you have already lived
in a sanctuary before your birth and wish to return there after death, or
whether you want to apply for admission for the first time: In both cases you
must prove on earth that you are worthy of being accepted.
Practical
Tip: Look to the Future
The older people get, the more
they tend to look back to the past. But it is better to look ahead, into the
future! Ask yourself:
"How and where do I want
to live in 50 years from now after death in the Higher World?"
If your answer is: as a
spiritual disciple in an ashram of the Brotherhood, you can and must prepare
for this high goal from now on.
1. Build
your future Abode already now
We repeat (Video "The
Supermundane World"): After death, you come to that – higher or lower –
layer of the World Beyond which corresponds to your being, to the state of your
self-improvement, to the level of your consciousness.
Heaven is a better world
because there you can no longer be harassed and tormented by consciousnesses
that belong to lower levels than you.
He who leads a pure, holy life
on earth enters the highest spheres of the Other World, which we call Heaven.
The one who lives an unworthy
life down here and passes over soiled with gross accumulations cannot meet with
a Master over there, but only with lower consciousnesses.
Someone whose god is mammon,
power or violence will find himself in the Hereafter as well in those strata
where homage is being paid to these idols. To that what he loves, to what he is
attached to, he will continue to be chained over there too.
He, who at the close of this
frail life of thine, will sound thy soul with Faith’s own plummet true, and
finding naught but that which is of Earth most earthly, then must say to thee:
“Go back to that thou lovest.” (From the Mountain Top Vol II, Lesson “The Power
to know thy God”)
"What does this mean in
practical terms?"
You yourself, by your
thinking, feeling, speaking and acting, determine today which sphere of the
Spiritual World you will go to after your death.
As the devachanic existence is
the reproduction and idealizing of all that has appealed to us and that we have
thought or done in earth life, it is very evident that every thought and act
making for a home centre on earth is an addition to the devachanic home centre.
(Teachings of the Temple Vol II, Lesson “The
Homeless”)
It is by the power of free
will that people create their existence in the Subtle World. (Supermundane
171)
You can and must actually
furnish your future abode now, during your stay on earth – stone by stone, not
unlike a physical house.
Help them to build a Home on
that other side, that you too, may have a right to that Home when your turn
shall come to pass over. Every unselfish thought and deed will set a stone in a
wall, add a pillar, put on a roof, or lay a plank to help in the building.
Every lifting of the heart to God will throw open a window to the rays of the
sun. (From the Mountain Top Vol II, Lesson “To the Sorrowing”)
While still on Earth, people
should carry themselves to where precisely they would like to continue their
progress. They must concentrate their free will, so that their thought works as
a messenger making provisions for their future place in the Subtle World. Let
your thought fly ahead of you and prepare your next beautiful dwelling.
(Supermundane 220)
"How should I proceed to
build my eternal home?"
In two steps:
First step: First of all, you
must form an exact idea of the sphere which you want to go to.
Heaven is the goal of your
earthly journey.
If you do not know where this
goal lies and what it looks like, you cannot set out on the path in any
meaningful way.
People complain that the
picture of the Fiery World is not clear to them. Let us not insist as to who is
at fault in this. Let us propose to them that they picture the Fiery World in
their own imagination. Though such visualization be a poor and hazy one, let it
begin at least in some way. It thus can be utilized as a beginning, but it is
bad when there is nothing upon which to build. (Fiery World II, 171)
So constantly refine the
picture of your Heaven, of your teacher's ashram.
*****
Second step: You let your
imagination become reality – a reality of the Spiritual World of course, as we
are talking about your otherworldly abode.
"How do I achieve
that?"
Heaven is the plane on which
your ideals become reality.
Every man makes his own
Devachan. The results of his kindest acts, his highest and purest ideals and
desires, form the basis of his realizations in the Devachanic Interludes.
(Teachings of the Temple Vol II, Lesson “Reality”)
The conditions there are
created by your thoughts. What you are dreaming of on earth becomes a living
reality in Heaven. For over there, no resistance of matter and no ignorant or
hostile people exist that could prevent the realisation of your plans.
So you create a Subtle
Reality, the hologram of an ashram around you.
In this way you erect a
thought-building which really exists in the World Beyond. Keep this
construction alive with the help of your spiritual power, your psychic energy,
so that you may move in there at death.
Thus you are living today
virtually and after the transition really in this place.
They cannot even dream of the
future life. Their imagination does not allow them to wish for a worthy life
beyond the limits of Earth. But such dreams, intensely perceived, can be
transformed into reality in the Supermundane World. There, thought creates, and
already in the earthly life thought should build the castle of future heroic
deeds. (Supermundane 882)
What an improvement of the old
world view! What a chance!
Ideally, you enter after death
a sphere in the Hereafter that is already familiar to you because you have
created it yourself!
Greatly blessed is the one who
enters a Subtle World already known to him. (Supermundane 391)
Then, when you die, you do not
leave the world at all in which you have been living for a long time already!
Before and after death, your soul dwells in one and the same sphere: in the
ashram of its teacher!
With such a practice, death is
no longer a transition at all!
It is within human capability to
greatly facilitate entry into the Subtle World. Indeed, great is the joy when
one can enter these new conditions as if into a welcoming home, to find there
all those for whom one has yearned, and to sigh with relief that one more
earthly journey has been fulfilled. But such a state of mind can only be the
result of conscious imagination. Therefore, please understand why We direct you
to everything that develops the imagination. We know how gradually this
precious quality must be attained. We could not help mankind without
imagination, which furthers foresight! (Supermundane 380)
2. Best
Preparation: Living already on Earth as in Heaven
From what we have just said
follows:
After death in the Hereafter
you will come to the same sphere in which you are living today on earth!
If you live an impure and
unholy life today, Heaven will not be accessible to you. The high vibrations
there are unbearable for a low-tuned being.
How can an evil-minded
murderer, a seducer, or an idiot experience a condition of well-being in the
higher spheres, which would be unbearable for him owing to their subtle
vibrations! And more than unbearable, for the very approach of a being from the
higher spheres causes incredible pains to such as he; furthermore, from contact
with the higher energies, he decomposes. (Helena
Roerich Letters Vol II, letter of 17.10.1935)
It is therefore of no use to
crave for Heaven as long as you still carry within you coarse, animal desires
for things which are not available in such a high sphere, for example for
alcohol, meat or tobacco. Even if you were able to somehow manage to sneak in,
you would suffer (like an alcoholic in withdrawal)
because there you cannot get what you are yearning for, on what you depend for
your well-being.
"So what must I do to go
to Heaven?"
What is required is a thorough
purification of your being, of your habits. (Tintoretto
"Baptism of Christ")
The preparation for contacting
the higher strata first of all entails purification of one’s consciousness and
development of the life of the heart. (Heart 328)
He who really comes from a
Heaven will not live on earth as in a pigsty. And the one who lives here as in
a pigsty, with all the filth clinging to his aura, will not be admitted by any
Great Teacher into his abode over there.
Who shall ascend into the hill
of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands,
and a pure heart. (Psalms 24:3, 4)
Consciousnesses which are
ruled by low impulses can be impelled only to the lower levels. (Fiery World
III, 328)
*****
"Don't you fear that your
permanent exhortations to abstain from "carnal pleasures" like
alcohol, chocolate, good food and other pleasant things, will rather frighten
people off?"
Well, you have to understand:
We are not talking about a "guilty conscience", but about
goal-fitness, even necessity!
After death, in the World
Beyond, all these physical pleasures simply do not exist.
So very soon with certainty
you will have to make do without them. Therefore it is only wise to learn to
renounce them. If you get used to such delights in this world and if they are
the highest pleasure of your life, you will be deprived of joy in the Hereafter,
because there you will no longer be able to fall back on these means. To change
your habits is not possible there.
If you use on earth chocolate,
alcohol or other things to get you out of a bad mood, you will not find a way
out in Heaven because these material comforters are not available there.
Better get used to spiritual
pleasures now, which you can enjoy in the Higher World as well.
I am not trying to exercise
pressure or compulsion, on the contrary:
Create for yourself such a
beautiful supermundane reality that your desire for material pleasures
vanishes! (Nikolaus Roerich “Stronghold”)
"Is that practically
feasible at all?"
It is not that difficult: Put
yourself in the Fiery Condition (see the Video "Exercise The Fiery
Condition") and create a sacred atmosphere of high vibration around you,
then no desire will arise, or at least be quickly overcome.
The plants reach out toward
the light. Only people dream about their stomachs when their spirits should be
filled with the grandeur of the Highest. (AUM 36)
Exercise:
Living in everyday Life like in Heaven
We recognise: The best
preparation for Heaven is:
Live already now exactly in
the same way as one lives in the world you want to go to after death!
You want to be accepted into
the ashram of a Great Teacher in the Other World? That is possible. But only if
you live already down here on earth in the same way as is customary over there!
The disciples asked, “Where
will we be after death?” The Thinker answered, “Not as far as you think! Each
of you may visit the place of his future abode already during his lifetime.”
(Supermundane 193)
So the question is not, as
many people childishly think:
"Will I go to Heaven
after death?"
Rather, the crucial point is a
quite different one:
Are you already living in
Heaven, right now, here on earth?
Even if you were placed in the
most terrible circumstances? Only on earth can you prove that you really
already are such a high creature that you belong in the highest sphere, that
this highest form of life corresponds to your nature, to your inner being!
"Living in Heaven,
already now – how do you imagine that for someone who does not want to enter a
teacher's ashram right away as a disciple?"
A wonderful example is the
biblical story of the transfiguration of Christ (Mt 17:1-8): In the midst of
earthly life, Jesus converses with Moses and Elias. This means for your
everyday life: When your vibration is high and your Fiery Body is built up,
when your aura radiates with purity, wisdom, power, joy, light and love, the
spiritual part of your being reaches up to Heaven. Your Spiritual Father, your
Supermundane friends and co-workers are close to you. Sense their presence!
Talk to them! Make sure that you behave with dignity so as not to drive away
your guests from the Higher Spheres! (Bellini,
Bloch, Savoldo, Raphael, Titian "Transfiguration of Christ")
*****
Only if you are living in
Heaven already now can you honestly say:
I am looking forward to my
death! (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Because then you know exactly
what you have to expect. And you realise that life in the Higher World, where
material adversities no longer exist, will of course be even more beautiful
than the most heavenly earthly existence.
Practical
Tip: Live in Heaven on trial
Before you finally determine
the goal of your life, be sure to try it out beforehand:
Are you capable at all of
living in the heaven you imagine?
Are you still dreaming, or are
you really already living according to higher laws? Or do you perhaps prefer to
set your sights on another, lower sphere?
3.
Prepare in good Time
"Why are you talking so
much about the Hereafter? I am young. That doesn't concern me in the
least!"
There are three things to say
to this:
First: You cannot know how
long your life is going to last.
Secondly: There remains so much
to do to make your existence in this world, and thus also the one in the
Hereafter, worthy that you cannot start soon enough!
Thirdly: What do you want to
use the rest of your life for, however much time is still given to you?
In order to gain experience
and to grow, of course!
You can have the best
experiences, learn the most and gain most at the feet of your teacher – so do
not lose a single day!
True longevity is not
calculated by the number of years, but by the progress in virtue. If the Lord
God gives me one more day of life, he does it so that I may correct yesterday's
mistakes: not to do so would be a sign of great ingratitude. (Matteo Ricci)
*****
Preparation for the Hereafter
should begin in good time, preferably immediately. If you wait until shortly
before the transition, there will not be time enough to acquire the skills you
will need over there.
One has to acquire the right
of entry into the Subtle World with full consciousness, but this is impossible
to attain on the eve of departure. (Heart 170)
Use every single day as a
unique, non-recurring opportunity to get closer to the Highest Spheres and
their sublime inhabitants!
Each day and hour man either
draws nearer to or recedes from the Higher World. (AUM 119)
If you set out seriously, you
will soon realise: Contrary to expectations, the main difficulties do not lie
in the external circumstances, but within you yourself!
4.
Community of Soulmates
Communion
of Saints
We have just said: You will
not so much come to a certain place but to a community of souls which are
spiritually close to you, which are on the same level of consciousness as you.
Know then, my son, that even
in the other life you will be counted among the number of those whose comrade
in joys and sufferings you have been in this life. He will be counted among the
people of the world in the other life who deals with them and their affairs in
this life. (St. Anthony the Great)
You will find yourself in the
Hereafter among the same souls with whom you were already spiritually connected
on earth.
Did you cheer gladiator fights
in the arena in ancient Rome and are you today bellowing around in football
stadiums? Did you already roam the streets in the Wild West and again in this
life as a member of gangster gangs? (Gérome
"Pollice verso")
Then, in the Higher World as
well, you will come exactly to that sphere where your kind, your cronies gather
together again for such activities and continue to do mischief. Even the
earthly wars will be continued over there by those who pass over full of hatred
and aggression!
The Devachan of an ardent monk
whose devotion is to the Saints, the Virgin Mary, the Church, and all that it
signifies, will be passed in those surroundings and with those who have called
out that devotion. (Teachings of the Temple Vol II, Lesson “Reality”)
Ask yourself:
"With whom do I have a
real spiritual connection, a true closeness from soul to soul?"
To this sphere you belong,
there your soul will go after the death of the body. What are you doing on a
plane whose inhabitants, customs and laws are alien to you, among whom you do
not feel comfortable at all?
*****
The way of life of the Interior
Ashram is an expression of the incarnate's membership in such a spiritual
community.
Do you want to return from
this life to your family as a hero or as a traitor? Only if you live down here
in the same way as your soulmates do up there in the Eternal Home, you really
belong to them.
Each life of the heart
attracts those who reveal kinship of spirit. A life which is thus begun is extended
in the supermundane spheres. (Fiery World III, 102)
If you are not faithful while
in exile on earth, you will not dare to look your teacher and your fellow
disciples in the face again in the Other World, and you will exclude yourself
from their community!
Prove in earthly life that you
are a disciple of the Brotherhood, otherwise you cannot be such a one in
eternity, after death in Heaven either.
Section VII: Founding your own Ashram
Always remember: As disciple
of a master, you in turn are at the same time on the descending line a teacher
of smaller brothers and sisters who are below you on the ladder of Hierarchy.
You begin your
"career" in the Hierarchy as a disciple. If you fulfil this office
well, in time you will rise to become, for example, the novice master of your
ashram.
An Agni Yogi always
looks upwards and emulates role models higher than him.
He looks ahead, to the future.
He is never satisfied with what he has achieved.
Dissatisfaction is
no more than the knowledge of possibilities. In Our Brotherhood there is no
satisfaction, for satisfaction means the death of the spirit. (Leaves of
Morya’s Garden II, 170)
The onrushing task of world
creation cries out against satisfaction. Can there be joy in completion? We
gain impetus from the joy of new beginnings. (Agni Yoga 463)
So you will not want to remain
permanently on the level of a disciple in your teacher's ashram. Let us also
look ahead to the next step:
When you have learned enough,
one day your teacher will send you out to set up your own ashram.
So that you may pass on the
knowledge you have acquired and educate disciples yourself. This is how the
sublime way of life of the ashram spreads among the people.
Those who receive must also give.
(Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 66 [71])