|
Leaves of Morya's Garden - Book 2 - Illumination (1925) - 2.5.10:
2.5.10. It is necessary to speak truthfully about the fundamentals. You noticed that We call the astral world a heaped-up pile. We emphasize how "We avoid it. You know already that astral bodies have volume and weight and carry away with them many peculiarities of earthly life. The relativity of earthly knowledge is well-known. Of course, the astral bodies carry away with them not a small share of relativeness, but, being freed from the carnate shell, they acquire creativeness of the spirit. But you can picture to yourselves how the relativity of knowledge is reflected in these structures. Alongside an imagined Olympus, one may encounter a monstrous factory, unrealized during the earthly life. There exist harmonious oasis, but in general there prevails a fantastic cemetery of human survivals. It is inadvisable to delve far into the astral cliches, because only an erroneous presentation will follow. In this the usual mediums are harmful. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 83:
83. The dark forces have brought the planet into such a condition that no earthly solution can restore its conventional prosperity. None can regard the earthly standards of yesterday as suitable for tomorrow. Hence, humanity must understand anew the meaning of its transitory sojourn in an earthly state. Only through a fundamental defining of one's existence in the carnate form and through an understanding of the Subtle and Fiery Worlds can one strengthen one's own existence. One should not think that the delusion of trading can even temporarily insure a secure existence. Life has been turned into trade, but who of the Teachers of Life has ever been a shopkeeper? You know the great symbol of driving the money-changers out of the Temple; but is not Earth itself a Temple? Is not Maha Meru the foot of the Summit of Spirit? Thus one can indicate the predestined Summits to the inhabitants of Earth. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 108:
108. Ask Urusvati to tell about the multiformity of the fires seen by her. Let all these rays, stars, fiery Lotuses, flowers, and all other manifestations of the Fiery World live and be affirmed. It is impossible in earthly words to describe all the quality of these fiery visions. Beyond certain boundaries the Fiery Realm is disclosed like a vision. It cannot be defined by time, nor can the cause of its emergence be determined, for the Fiery Element is entirely beyond earthly dimensions. But if we can see it, both in its grosser manifestations and in its subtlest, it means that even our carnate being can anticipate the higher sphere. Fiery communion is unforgettable once it has been experienced. Thus let us gather courage for the ascent. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 130:
130. These same spouts and spirals are created by the disordered strivings of surrounding people, though not with bad intentions. You also know the effects of the striving of carnate and subtle bodies. They do not realize that in their tension they almost become vampires. Besides, one should distinguish the sendings of the intellect from those of the heart. Mentioning a name a great number of times may prove to have almost no influence, but a heart-sending, by its anguish of striving, can act as a spiral of asphyxiation. It may be truly said, "Do not strangle, even for your own good." Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 134:
134. In the carnate condition the Fiery World is invisible with rare exceptions, but in the Subtle World a fiery mist can be sensed. True, upon approaching it, lower beings feel a particular suffering, as if before the unattainable. For these lower beings the Sons of the Fiery Mist are seemingly armed with fiery rays, which are nothing but the radiations of their extremities. It is necessary that the conventional conception of the mist should be changed into that of a harmonious fiery universe, but for this the consciousness must be transmuted. How many shocks must be experienced in order that the visualization of Existence uplift the consciousness in all fearlessness! One must rid oneself of fear of the mist, and, by honest thinking and a developed imagination, one should advance beyond the monsters of superstition. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 163:
163. Perfectly comprehensible is the desire to know why in visiting the Subtle World we are not struck by the polychrome of the auras. In the first place, the consciousness transposes many impressions, but the main thing is that there exists a synthesized harmony. It is indeed possible to distinguish the degree of illumination, and the radiation itself, just as in the carnate world, can be evoked mentally. It would be unbearable if the whole Subtle World were atremble with many-colored rainbows. Even on Earth the rainbow can sometimes be irritating. But the Subtle World is actually aglow in perfect harmony. We are not speaking about the lower strata, where it is impossible to find harmony. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 549:
549. Spatial thought engenders a certain substance which in a vortiginous movement becomes a generating center for various inceptions. It would be beautiful to realize that human thought contains such a powerful substance; still only the most lofty and intensified thought produces an energy that is sufficiently powerful. But a small thought - unrealized, erratic, and unstable - will not give a creative impulse, and can even inflict harm. Lacking the correct coordination of attraction and repulsion, insignificant thoughts form as it were, ugly conglomerates and pollute space. We call them spatial slime. Much energy is wasted in transmuting these stillborn monsters. One can imagine how greatly spatial production could be increased were it not for these progenies of men. In this matter let us not accuse only the primitive peoples. Their thinking is potentially not weak, but the average result of civilization is complete degeneration in quality of thought. Such degeneration produces the whole store of slimy products which threaten to turn the bliss of Agni into odium. Not rare are the instances of the harm of petty thoughts. So many of the best channels are clogged by chips only because humanity does not respect thought. Brainless superstition will undoubtedly rail against each reminder about the reality of thought; people well cite the contrast between nature and bliss, whereas the lower carnate strata are entirely incommensurable with the highest. Discipline of thought will inevitably lead up to the highest fiery spheres. Instead of becoming a source of infection man can become a purifier of space. Fiery World - Book 2 (1934) - 125:
125. Many precious concepts have been perverted. When I say, "Be not too much concerned about tomorrow," this does not mean that I am advising you to be a sluggard. All thinking must be directed into the future; one should labor for the future, but one's care about the sacred future ought to be directed through Hierarchy. Then one's thought about tomorrow will assume proper consideration. Fear of the morrow is like amputation of hands and feet. Instead of flight into the future, people bind themselves with fear and stop their own movement. But without Hierarchy one can actually plunge into terror, as if sinking into a stormy ocean. Thus, the care, purified by Hierarchy, will not be an earthly one, though it will preserve action and usefulness. Besides, such consecrated usefulness is freed from any egoism. The care for the Common Welfare leads to communion with Hierarchy. Again, this judgment is not abstract ethics, but the path to the Fiery World. People in the earthly state also should select each seed which will grow into a plant for the thread of communion. It is not easy for Fiery Beings to penetrate into the earthly strata. Ought we not, while here, pierce through the carnate garments with our consciousness? There are many striving ones, but few are strengthened by the straight-knowledge drawn from Hierarchy. Fiery World - Book 2 (1934) - 375:
375. The Fiery World is as filled as the other spheres. Likewise, beings of different evolutions, yet of the fiery degrees, come together for cooperation. While those in the carnate state, under the influence of chaos, almost entirely fail to understand cooperation, and while in the Subtle World group cooperation is found, the Fiery World is distinguished by full cooperation. And such meditation is useful on the pathways to the Fiery World. Fiery World - Book 2 (1934) - 409:
409. Good for him, who by experience in life, and reverence for Hierarchy, has freed himself from the sense of personal property. Verily, he has shortened his path. But if the coarse, carnate garment does not permit as yet the liberation of the consciousness, then one should not be violently deprived of property. Such compulsion only provokes stubbornness and malice. Only by personal example and inculcation of the Teaching is it possible to attract people to the quickest true understanding of Lift. Fiery World - Book 3 (1935) - 107:
107. The spirit is actuated by various levers. Love and striving are the strongest levers. Love for Hierarchy and striving for Service provide the impulse for higher saturations. These powerful levers direct the spirit to perfectment, not only on the Earth but also in the Subtle World. Even if it were somehow possible to be freed on the Earth from certain manifestations, the supermundane spheres do not permit the spirit so easily to change spheres. The supermundane spheres have their vortices into which the spirit is drawn. These vortices may be called whirlwinds of expiation. According to the condition of striving or carnate desire the spirit falls into these vortices and may pass into other spheres only by atoning and by transmuting its energies. It is necessary to understand the conditions of the Subtle World. If humanity would reflect upon this remarkable bond with the Subtle World the concept of Karma would become clear. There is no action, no thought, no step which does not impel the spirit into a certain vortex. The fiery spirit is manifested as an inviolate link between the Worlds, for thus all paths are revealed. AUM (1936) - 95:
95. The law of Cosmos is adamant, but at the same time we see apparent fluctuations of it. If we take karma, affirmation of karma too can be changed, just as the span between returns to carnate life may vary in different cases - from an instant to millennia. Those who do not know will be perplexed as to how such steadfastness can be at the same time so variable. Such ignorance will merely prove the lack of understanding of containment. AUM (1936) - 462:
462. Observe how psychic energy must be allowed a free moment before action. It is necessary to slacken the earthly reins, as it were, in order to permit it to unite with the Primary Source. It is a mistake to suddenly force the energy with earthly sendings. One should give it a path, through consolidation of the bond with the Higher World. It is impossible to exercise command over such a bond. It is impossible to bid a carrier pigeon fly, one can only release it; it knows whither to fly. Likewise, it is necessary to release psychic energy from the carnate cage; a magnetic bond is immediately established. AUM (1936) - 490:
Complex is the contact of world events: karma of races and ethnic groups; karma of personality; karma, carnate and subtle; karma of long ago and the present - they all form complicated knots. To alter karma is difficult, but for all that, it is possible to regulate it to a certain degree; in this respect Guidance is extremely necessary. AUM (1936) - 490:
One must not understand Guidance as something beyond the clouds; in a different degree Guidance takes place also in the carnate world. Therefore since olden times the ordained concept of the Guru was extremely significant; reverence and devotion and love live around this concept. The living current of psychic energy works in such combinations of Teacher with disciple. AUM (1936) - 596:
Should one not listen attentively to everything which can unite the worlds? It is necessary to discover in the midst of life all the tiny flashes that can lead beyond the limits of the carnate world. Foggy hypotheses are not needed when scientific experiments can be formulated, nor confused doubts where a keen eyesight can look directly upon the immutable laws. Brotherhood (1937) - 320:
320. The experienced swimmer springs from the heights into the depths of the water. He feels daring and joy at returning to the surface. So, too, the conscious spirit plunges into carnate matter, in order to rise again to the mountain heights. Experience makes such a testing joyful. Among earthly manifestations one needs to find comparisons with the higher worlds. The wayfarer likewise appears as a useful example. Compare the sensations of a wayfarer with proceeding through the Subtle World and you will receive a better analogy. Moreover, call to mind the different kinds of wayfarers and you receive a precise picture of the dwellers of the Subtle World. Some are afraid in general even to think about the way. Some dream about profit; some hasten to the assistance of a near one; some burn with malice; some seek knowledge. One can picture to oneself all the peculiarities of the wayfarers and decide for which of them the path will be easier. 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. Brotherhood (1937) - 372:
372. People inquire if the envelopes left behind by the mental body can be seen? Not only can they be seen but they will be especially attracted to the earthly sphere. The subtle body is drawn to the earthly sphere if the mental body does not attract it to a higher sphere. It is entirely conceivable that a shell left behind by the mental body will be attracted to the earthly sphere. Such phantoms can be especially terrifying to certain people, because in them the rational principle will be absent. And for the shells themselves such wanderings are not useful; drawing near to the carnate stratum reinforces them and prevents their natural dissolution. But all such manifestations respond only to the lower and middle strata of the Subtle World. A lofty condition furthers the speediest decomposition of the abandoned vehicles. Thus when lofty consciousnesses help the one who is passing over, the envelope is immediately consumed. It is exactly the same as in cremation. The complete analogy should not be surprising.
|