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Agni Yoga (1929) - 303:
Essaying investigation into everything, we must agree on the methods of research. We will know the direction of our action, but will not put obstacles in our way by making premature decisions about enemies. Let us combine insight with real action. When any aspect of the unknown becomes familiar, that will be a conquest - without astonishment, without a shudder, and even without excessive enthusiasm. For each hour, even the most inactive, may bring us closer to the unknown. The Great Unknown may be thought of as a friend, but for the researcher it is more useful to think of it as an enemy. All features of the unknown correspond more closely to those of an enemy. We speak always of fearlessness, but this is not needed against a friend. The achievement of victory also presumes the existence of an enemy. Heart (1932) - 514:
514. If a simple motion evokes memory, then special conditions of the Subtle World are necessary for illumination. One may notice with astonishment that sudden illuminations do not depend upon rational conditions. Illumination descends in quite unexpected moments. One can even notice a series of the strangest motions, pressures, and thoughts, as if coming from the outside. Psychiatrists should investigate this condition. Valuable observations could be accumulated that will help us to approach the conditions of the Subtle World. Of course, a sensitive heart will perceive this state of illumination by the quality of the pulse. The sacred knowledge has nothing in common with somnambulism and spiritualism; the state of illumination is an absolutely natural one. These fires of the past and the future have only to be noted. In the Subtle World one must also refine the consciousness. Hence, each educating of the heart is a gate to the highest worlds. We fear that these undeferrable advices will give place to everyday conventionality. Someone will say he knew this long ago and will go to the bazaar. You may then ask in overtaking him, "Why, then, do you not ponder upon the heart and think about Fire?" Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 366:
366. I have a long list of people who are harming themselves. How can one draw their attention to all the rejected opportunities? The least rejection can generate enormous consequences. The time will come when the list will be disclosed, and the astonishment will be great. Fiery World - Book 2 (1934) - 313:
313. Once a Teacher was summoned by the king for wise discourse. The Teacher gazed fixedly at the ruler and began to speak about the beauty of his crown, about the brilliance of natural color of the stones, about the lofty symbol contained in the golden circlet, comparing it to a magnet of attraction. To the astonishment of the disciples accompanying him, and to the gratification of the ruler, the conversation was limited to a talk about the significance of the crown. Afterwards the disciples asked the Teacher why he had not spoken to the king about the Universal Principle. The Teacher replied - understanding of the level of consciousness must be the measuring rod. Had I spoken about the Universal Principle, the king would at best have become bored, and at worst would have been cast into the depths of despair. Either one would have been harmful. But it could be observed that to the king his crown was a most precious treasure, therefore it was useful to exalt it and to remind him about the significance of the Crown of the World. Constantly have in mind the best that your listener has. Even if this be a most ordinary object, nevertheless it is necessary to find its utmost significance. Only thus you are made attractive and can open the path for the future. Incompetent and even criminal is the instructor who does not speak according to the consciousness of his listener. Let us remember this parable especially when we attempt to speak of the Fiery World. Any provoked defamation of the Higher Principle molds a heavy karma. Brotherhood (1937) - 360:
360. Transition from the subtle state into the mental calls to mind the change of the earthly body to the subtle one. Not often is it possible to observe the change of the subtle body to the mental. It is especially characteristic that the liberated one wonders what to do with the subtle body. It is not quickly dispersed, and therefore the astonishment at how and what awaits it is understandable. There can be manifestations of this envelope, there can be seizures of it; only the presence of a strong spirit can assist in dissipating the shell without wanderings. Such roaming envelopes are not at all necessary. Vacillations of the consciousness and attachment to the carnate state create these attractions to the earthly sphere. But if a strong spirit can exhort the liberated one and quiet the shell being left behind, then the transition can be a natural one. Thus it has been in a cited case.
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