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New Era Community (1926) - 30:
It is one thing to discuss abstractly distant worlds; it is another to realize oneself a participant there. Only he who has not closed for himself the path to beauty may understand how near to him is the manifestation of the far-off worlds. Agni Yoga (1929) - 424:
I do not speak about love abstractly but as a physiologist. I consider that as necessity is the impetus, so love is the enlightener. Hierarchy (1931) - 262:
262. Our constructiveness can proceed in any circumstances of life. Many times already you could have been convinced of the distressful condition of the planet. We repeat untiringly about the urgent renovation of life, but humanity is deaf. Cosmogony is served to people at their meals with soup or desert, but not as a foundation of life. The hypotheses of many experimenters could be adopted, but the Hierarchy will not be realized. Many blows are being prepared; one must adhere to the Hierarchy with all strength! One must strain one's utter attentiveness to Our Counsels. I do not speak abstractly, but for application. Heart (1932) - 39:
39. Chiefly, speak of the spiritual. The path of the spirit, like nothing else, develops the consciousness and purifies one's life. Regard spiritual discourses as practical exercises of the heart. It is necessary to purify the consciousness as a path toward success. Again I speak, not abstractly, but for application to life. Try the experiment of administering medicines to a conscious and an unconscious being. It is instructive to compare the extent to which consciousness intensifies all the manifestations and processes. Thus can one recognize the essential worth of the consciousness. Besides, a spiritual discourse directs the striving of the A-energy into a definite channel toward the heights. Precisely, Ketub is the unifier of energies. Thus, one must not spend time in striving toward the habitual, when there are so many possibilities which attract one upward. Heart (1932) - 62:
62. The sun is the heart of the system; so, also, the heart of man is the sun of the organism. There are many sun-hearts, and the Universe represents a system of hearts; therefore, the cult of Light is the cult of the heart. To understand this abstractly is to leave the heart cold; but as soon as the Light of the sun-heart shall live, the need of the magnet's warmth will begin to shine forth like a true sun. It is said, "Cross Santana with the aid of the heart." Thus one can come closer to an understanding of the heart. The heart's rhythm can be regarded as the rhythm of life. The Teaching about the heart is as bright as the sun, and the warmth of the heart speeds as swiftly as a sunbeam. Everyone has wondered at the instantaneousness with which a ray of the rising sun warms all things. The heart can act likewise. Heart (1932) - 245:
Thus, it is indispensable to establish the significance of achievement in spirit. Autos-da-fe are already rare, but martyrdoms of the spirit are increasing especially; and so it should be when the Subtle World approaches the physical. There is nothing astonishing in a physical act being transformed into a spiritual one. Let us not forget the symbol of transfiguration, in which the transformation of the physical existence into the subtle one is shown. A multitude of symbols are manifested as milestones of evolution, yet humanity accepts them abstractly. AUM (1936) - 57:
57. Prayer is a purifier. This definition should not be understood abstractly. Spiritual health is the primary basis of bodily health. Precisely prayer as a real link with the higher Source will be the best purifier of the organism against all diseases. Infection appears when the body permits the entrance of manifested messengers of evil. Each body is predisposed to many diseases, but spiritual strength is on guard to quell such uprisings. When the spirit can be properly nourished by the higher energies, it also protects the body against dangers. AUM (1936) - 243:
243. It would seem that what has been said is simple; why, then, is it so rarely applied? No abstraction is taught; no mere wandering of thoughts ordained. It is necessary to stimulate the striving of thought in all reality. But only a few comprehend the difference between abstractly wandering thought and real thought. Only in immutability can the Higher World shine. AUM (1936) - 297:
What joy it is to devote oneself to the Common Good, not abstractly but in conscious advancement. AUM (1936) - 414:
One should understand the most proximate gifts of evolution: first - psychic energy; second - the woman's movement; third - cooperation. Each of these gifts must be accepted in full measure, not abstractly. We have many times pointed out the power of psychic energy. Now, just as insistently, should the qualities of the next two distinctions of the age be indicated. Brotherhood (1937) - 450:
450. Wherein, then, is progress? Some assume that it is in constant recognition of the new. Will not such aspiration be one-sided, and must there not be added to it regulation of the old? More than once it has been shown that people abstractly strive toward something new, and yet continue to dwell in an old pigsty. Someone gives lectures about cleanliness, yet is himself extremely filthy. Will such instruction be convincing? Or a lazy man summons to labor, but who will give heed to him? Let us not be afraid to repeat such primitive examples, for life is full of them. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 368:
The essential meaning of a society should not be judged by the outward conditions and customs of life which can remain unchanged from one generation to the next, but by its inner growth and striving. You should understand that I am not talking abstractly. I am observing a certain nation in which people are creating a new world-outlook, yet there is a strong opposition that attempts to force the nation to revert to the ancient concepts of past generations. Casual, short-sighted observers tell the most contradictory stories. It would be appropriate to ask these observers from which generation they have drawn their judgments.
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