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New Era Community (1926) - 191:
Better to leave to corrupt cities this privilege of apishness; quite opportunely have these townsfolk begun to graft on themselves monkey glands. Indeed, each one receives according to his merit. No one has told them about a more goal-fitting means of restoring strength, which is to place the patient in a lengthy bath and subject him to an alternating current and a certain composition of mineral water, the treatment being accompanied by definite suggestion. Rational means will be disclosed when the community will take on a conscious character, and nothing will be borrowed from the monkeys. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 202:
202. Striving toward the rocky path is not acquired externally, it grows from within, solely through cumulative experience. One must know the complete immutability and eternity of life in order to proceed without fear. One must understand the indestructibility of our essential nature in order to place this value upon the scales. One can accept only an unchanging value; thus we shall learn to safeguard this value and affirm it. It need not be thought that many can corrupt the value of spirit - so be it. For we carry the ark of the monad, knowing that by uplifting it the world will be benefited. Fiery World - Book 2 (1934) - 134:
134. Competition is one of the difficult concepts. Only the fiery heart understands how many measures may be placed upon the light and upon the dark side. A pure understanding of self-perfection will not evoke competition. Where the consciousness is wild and unrestricted, there competition leads to mutual destruction. Envy nests around competition. It leads to the most subtle crimes. Cooperation must bring balance to the misunderstood competition. It is not easy to fix for oneself the boundary of a reasonable competition. The word competition itself is already dangerous; in it is expressed jealousy, in other words, a corrupt devotion. Therefore, it is best wherever possible to replace the concept of competition with that of perfectionment. A great number of concepts must be revised from their contemporary connotation. It should be acknowledged that a just history of beliefs would reveal the roots of many most perverted concepts. Care should be taken that the language of the basic ideas be resounding and as clear-cut as possible. One may enrich the language with new definitions, but senseless buzzing will not bring any benefit. Each letter denotes by its sound a vibration of the centers. It is foolish to infringe uselessly upon harmony. Turn your attention to the resonance of the ancient names of places. The new places do not always produce the same useful vibration. The ancient names had a timeless significance. Often no philology can discover the root inserted by manifest powerful peoples. The more carefully, then, must we regard an inheritance which is unknown but which forces our hearts to resound. Fiery World - Book 3 (1935) - 18:
18. Humanity does not ponder over the degeneration of many nations. There are evil-minded nations which are obviously corrupt and decaying, before the very eyes of the World! One may even trace upon the physical structure of its individuals a nations' degeneration jaws, cheekbones, arms, legs, ears as well as other symptoms reflect the process. An evil-minded nation also becomes a nursery of diseases of the spirit and body. But during the fiery creativeness and transmutation of the spirit the potentiality of progress and development of a nation will be disclosed to men. He who will not accept the Fiery Baptism, who will not follow the Origin of Light, will depart into the chaos of dissolution. One may observe the moral sinking and affirm that only the Fiery World offers the needed purification. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) - 64:
It is harmful when people envy the progress of others. When it is learned that someone has reached Our Abode because of just one service rendered to a Brother, many will think that they are also ready to render a similar service. But they forget that service was simply the last pearl in a whole necklace of self-sacrificing action. It is difficult for people to accept that someone of ordinary appearance might carry many accomplishments in his heart. For many lives the fires of Service may have shone brightly, and who can judge the progress of the heart? In general, people are uncomfortable with the unfamiliar. Thus, much is rejected that could be useful in Our Work. Even We have had to at times assume the most ordinary appearances, and have even been obliged to take earthly titles in order to enter more easily into the most exclusive and corrupt circles. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) - 122:
We have saved many works of art. We can foresee how the dark ones will apply all their skill to minimize favorable conditions, and from the highest spheres of existence We know at which time We must help humanity. These preliminary plans are in the Subtle World well in advance. We do not conceal the need for urgent measures, because, in the ongoing Armageddon, the dark ones hope to corrupt all human energies. But We know how to oppose them. Thus, observe where We direct Our care. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) - 244:
Heartless thinking is the plague of humanity. Ancient philosophers did not include heartless people in their concepts of government. Plato in his Republic and Aristotle in his Politics had in mind organized societies of intelligent co-workers, and did not tolerate tyrants, hypocrites, or swindlers. It is impossible to imagine a strong state consisting of hypocrites and swindlers. Hypocrisy is incompatible with the highest beliefs and knowledge, and a false foundation will serve only a false structure. We do not approve of the slightest manifestation of hypocrisy, and believe that this vice begets all other corrupt feelings. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 321:
Man has the gift of communication with his brethren. He learns that a life of enmity finally becomes unbearable, and that the family is ruined by discord. He should understand that this is also true about great nations, which become corrupt without constant, vigilant efforts toward improvement.
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