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Leaves of Morya's Garden - Book 2 - Illumination (1925) - 1.8.1:
1.8.1. I speak of alien bridges and gates. On the way, alien bridges are encountered. One must cross them hurriedly, not looking downward, having but one wish - to reach quickly the other side. Also, do not pause before foreign gates, but demand the right of way without disturbing your calmness, because your way is determined. One must with pure thoughts close one's pores to bad air. But when times are difficult repeat: "Nevertheless, I am going into a Garden of Beauty. I fear not the predestined gates. Why is the shield above me? To safeguard me. If new dams arise I shall cross them, because I do not fear!" New Era Community (1926) - 43:
Inhaling air, we are attuned to all worlds. The wise one proceeds from the Earth upwards, for the worlds will reveal to each other their wisdom. Repeat this parable to those who demand miracles. New Era Community (1926) - 179:
179. Let us imagine that you see a man doing harm who yet has a spark of psychic energy. You naturally will begin to speak to him about the better qualities of man, who is in the process of evolving. Your interlocutor, as it usually happens, will immediately agree with you without thinking it refers to himself. It would be of no avail to tell him that he is acting wrongly, but it is possible to say that his action does not follow the trend of evolution. It is not a matter of bad or good, it is only that his conduct is not goal-fitting, and therefore not practical. If your companion pretends to be a community member, the conversation becomes simpler. For then, as adherents of the community you may demand the guarding of the foundations of evolution. Even for breeding pigs there are required definite conditions of life. How then can a man who decides on achieving the social life remain in his former vulgar haunts? How can falsehood or cowardice live under the mask of cooperation? New Era Community (1926) - 207:
Introduce the study of handicrafts, allow freedom of choice, and demand quality of work. For this every teacher must understand the meaning of quality. Agni Yoga (1929) - 119:
119. Each act of reverence for the Teacher shows an understanding of the Teaching. Each sign of reverence for the site of the Teacher's labor will show deep understanding and devotion. But these signs of attention cannot be prompted. These signs must by themselves flower in the consciousness. The Teacher will not demand, "Pay your respect to Me!" Agni Yoga (1929) - 449:
449. The tension of eternal vigilance, the tremor of striving and salutary toil, demand a special adaptability of the organism. We value this vigilance. Agni Yoga (1929) - 528:
528. We would prefer to avoid repetition, but sometimes We are compelled to return to a previous subject. Pay attention to these repetitions; they are usually provoked either by a disciple's misunderstandings or by cosmic complications that demand special attention. For example, We must repeat about the proper attitude toward psychic energy. Of course psychic energy is always present, but it can become dormant, and then it will crystallize and become inactive. That soil will have to be turned again with the plow of self-sacrificing labor. Certainly, not a grain of psychic energy can ever be lost, but its accumulations must be stirred. That is why the Teaching so condemns immobile self-satisfaction and conceit. Truly, it is better to be aflame than to be dormant. Agni Yoga (1929) - 656:
One should not reject the invisible world; one should demand of oneself cooperation with it. Infinity - Book 1 (1930) - 145:
145. The entire cosmic life is permeated with subtle energies. The driving force of creation creates the forms of Being in eternal vibration. The Universe scintillates with the treasures! Cosmos discloses that stream which touches each striving spirit. Subtle energies demand the subtle understanding upon which the sympathetic vibration with the Cosmic Magnet is set up. In creation, the spirit unites with the Cosmic Magnet. The strata of the Spatial Fire determine the earthly strata. But it must be perceived how this confirmation differs from actual absorption. When an asserted truth runs current with the plan of the Lords, then each cosmic vibration can be discerned. But when an assertion expresses only human irrationality, then the receiving of the energy results only in an opposite manifestation. Infinity - Book 1 (1930) - 192:
The assembling of a race is accomplished by the law of the Magnet, and unlimited thought lies at its foundation. If man would manifest fire as a conscious task of the spirit for the future, then the race could be united easily; but the conditions under which We now assemble the race demand great labor. The Agni Yogi must melt the old residue in the consciousness and direct humanity to new consciousness. So strongly propelled toward the attestation of the cosmic fires is the consciousness of the future that it is necessary to manifest a new generation through selection of the very young. Hierarchy (1931) - 130:
130. During construction one should develop all strivings toward synonymous understanding. Each task carries equivalent strength. One should strive toward finding this key. One cannot demand that a great manifestation be gauged by small measures. A small thought cannot be embellished. Small thoughts cannot make a hero. Only a subtle identity affords correspondence. Therefore the highest to the highest. The higher, the more affirming; only thus can one grow and introduce the predestined into life. The Highest Plan requires application of the highest measures. Hierarchy (1931) - 166:
166. Verily, humanity is a link between the worlds. One should be used to that thought and try to apply it in life. It is strange that physicians do not avail themselves of the opportunity of becoming carriers of health, applying the knowledge of nerve centers, because precisely these centers are the spiritual antennae and magnets. Even a physical magnet is placed in a special vicinity in order that it may not lose its strength,. Do not the nerve centers deserve similar attention? And must not people especially protect the representatives of the next race? The bridge between the shores is especially protected. One may demand of man, "Friend, do not evoke earthquakes." Hierarchy (1931) - 226:
226. The foci of life should be gathered. Thus is accumulated that quality which is called culture. Culture cannot be created instantaneously. Nor can the foci of life make their appearance like cannon balls. Thus, the manifestations of life demand tuning like the instruments of an orchestra. It would seem that I speak of various subjects, yet they are all nothing but Fire, Energy, Hierarchy! Hierarchy (1931) - 313:
Therefore, We demand that the first thought be dedicated to the Teacher. Is it possible to succeed when the disciple puts himself in the first place? Are We not building all upon a great Name? Did We not put Beauty at the foundation? We have given the great foundations for the world. Therefore each thought must be valued as the foundation of a great structure. Verily, the future is great! Heart (1932) - 93:
93. In all scriptures are presented symbolic narratives of how hermits and saints compelled demons to serve and labor for something useful. Truly, this is quite possible in case of a disinterested impulse. I attest to what an extent all the dark ones serve the structure when the power of self-sacrificing demand protects the commanding heart. But one circumstance can be dangerous and harmful-irritation full of imperil opens the entrance for the dark ones. Where there is irritation various newcomers set themselves to profit by it and increase the action of the poison. How much of the texture is torn, how many tests and experiments are impeded, to the joy of the malevolent ones! Advise to accept this not as a fairy tale but as a dangerous reality. The source of good and evil does not disappear. Heart (1932) - 97:
97. After two weeks of apparently superficial striving, a man comes to the conclusion either that he is unfit or that the Higher World does not exist. Whereas the very same man will tell his servant after a year of service, "A year is too short. I cannot yet raise you." Even in common earthly affairs, people understand the significance of dates. But in considerations of a higher order, people do not wish to know the essentials of assimilation. It is difficult to speak to those who have not matured in heart or who have succeeded in extinguishing it. It would seem that the fires of the heart are very natural and simple in manifestation; but long periods are needed in order that this understanding which links the lowest with the Subtle World may become evident in the physical world. Of course, a great number of the fires demand adjustment to them, in order to bring a seeming casualness into the cadence of the rhythm. There are very few who strive to become citizens of the Universe. This title demands numerous cares, observation, vigilance, and, primarily, and indomitable striving. Heart (1932) - 153:
Inseparable from the question of aromas is the concept of our emanations; but this field also is hardly studied. Each evidence of investigation of various emanations always encounters the stigma of charlatanism. Likewise, each sensitive sensation only encounters doubt, as if the multivariety of nature does not demand refinement! Heart (1932) - 194:
194. Antennas can be adjusted for various waves, but their character is not disturbed because of that. Likewise hearts can catch various currents, yet their essence will be one. This can be observed especially about presentiments. Comparisons can disclose a remarkable scale of human hearts. It can be observed how one event may evoke unfailing effects, but how diverse they will be as to time and quality! One event can provide an entire volume of observations. One heart will grasp the cliche of the Subtle World, another will demand a physical current, and a third will respond only after the event itself. It is one thing to evaluate an event according to its merit, another to exaggerate it, and it is something else to unconsciously reflect it the rhythm of the pulse. No doubt the response of the heart is much more vital than one thinks. Presentiment is not superstition or imagination, but a physical fact. By a slight observation one can foretell an event, for the background of the event is not important; it is its potentiality that counts. Thus, the heart reverberates according to the most varied waves. Is it not instructive to ponder upon these manifestations? Heart (1932) - 201:
201. Courage can be acquired only in the heart. In the cerebral sinuosity of the brain, one can find an intelligent distribution of forces, but the courage that proceeds by the straightest and most luminous path cannot exist outside the heart; judge it by the antipode of courage - fear. First of all, fear reacts upon the heart and from there proceeds to the extremities. Verily, all qualities are measured by the heart. A physician will be enabled to study all the qualities of human nature through the heart, through all the nuances and tones of the pulse. Of course, a dual pulse will not be the common rule, because the fiery condition of the heart is not comprehended at all by contemporary science. One can supplicate physicians to pay attention to the obvious manifestations which demand only watching. Let them be angered, but let them perceive who supplicates. In ten years the blows of fate will force one to venerate the Book of Life. Heart (1932) - 222:
222. We constantly insist upon the conquest of every aspect of fear. This demand is not an abstract one, but is connected with one's immediate ascent. Fear, like many negative qualities, creates a negative magnet as soon as it increases. This magnet during successive existences will impel the personality along the implanted object of its fear. If a man fears anything he will inevitably be compelled to cross precisely the path of this horror, until he exhausts his fear. Therefore it is useful that a man, having realized the invulnerability of his spiritual essence, should liberate himself from all fears, for all threats are insignificant. Even the encounter with powerful dark entities is not dangerous if the firm link with the Hierarchy is safeguarded. Other negative qualities can also be neutralized by being conscious that it is unworthy to recur to them, since one must experience their rebounding blow. Heart (1932) - 346:
346. One should also not forget that all the details of these days take on a highly confused aspect. One should not demand customary thinking from people when the air itself is unusual. One must accept the difficulties of the period, preserving steadfastness. Consolation lies in that we can mentally affirm the future. Thus, hold firmly; beyond the heart's thread there is nothing. Heart (1932) - 394:
394. "And at evening he laid the thought upon his heart, and at morning he pronounced his decision" - has been said of the Sage of the Mountain in Persian annals. For many people this is simply a quaint saying. Yet an entire Teaching is contained precisely in the saying, "Laid the thought upon his heart." Nowhere can the thought be transmuted except upon the altar of the heart. Many readers of the book Heart will wonder whether they have learned something new and applicable. Such people demand a pharmacist's prescription to exalt their hearts with patent pills. For them the command of placing a thought upon one's heart is nonsense. It is difficult for them to dissect thought in their disturbed consciousness. And it is impossible for them to discover the heart in the convolutions of their minds. But he who has already sensed the altar of the heart will also comprehend the discipline of spirit. We send calls of the heart to those friends who meet upon the crossroads of the East. We send calls of unity to those whose hearts have already sensed the music of the spheres. For him to whom the spheres are void the heart is only a sack of blood. Heart (1932) - 395:
395. Who can fail to be serious now when all thinking beings realize the downfall of the old world? Precisely, the downfall! Because many things are not yet outlived, incommensurable ingredients are thrown into the one Furnace, and the atrophying lack of discipline carries decomposition with it. It is necessary to summon all valor in order to advance in thought about the heart. The vibrations are aquiver, and it is impossible to demand precision from warriors when confusion dulls the eyes. Conquer anxiety, for the world is atremor, but do not believe that one can continue thinking in the habitual manner. Think only of the future, only of the Teacher! Heart (1932) - 397:
397. Often the projection of will is taken for the heart energy. One can easily distinguish a demand of the will in which the brain acts through the eye or through the currents from the extremities. In such an influence of the heart no external method is needed. It can be said that for the last century the West has accepted the methods of the brain because they are apparent, although superficial and imperfect, like everything that necessitates external technique. Despite its numerous declines, the East nevertheless preserved the methods of the heart. Thus, in all things, let us strive to the inward, in other words, to the depths. Heart (1932) - 448:
448. People easily recognize the scientific quality of the lower, Hatha Yoga, but they do not even attempt to bring the highest signs into the circle of scientific observations. Of what use are mechanical siddhis compared to the manifestations of the most exalted heart? The siddhis of the body cannot be applied often, whereas the activity of the heart is an incessant stream. Of course, one's attention should be intensified in order to observe the most subtle manifestations of the heart. But serious experiments also demand attention. Is it not better to become accustomed to attentiveness through one's own heart? These experiments in attentiveness will not be in vain. Above all, they are fitting for the approach to the Subtle World. He who has once listened to his own heart does not see even any end of observations. Observations that are begun in the home will inevitably guide the consciousness of him who observes universally and will indicate the path to the highest worlds. Why write a multitude of formulas without desiring to apply them to life? Contact with the subtlest energies refines the entire being. He who has entered the fiery path understands the refinement, keenness, and vigilance of which I speak. Heart (1932) - 457:
457. The flow of heart energy is often felt on the right side of the organism. The energy strikes the Chalice and from there naturally is reflected upon the right side of the organism. The temples, the neck, shoulders, knees, extremities evidence a sensation which is very close to physical outflow. Incalculable is the amount of energy thus radiated from the fiery heart. Hence, the Teacher often advises caution. It is difficult to determine in advance exactly the beginning of this outflow, because the spatial magnets and attractions often demand simultaneous projections into various parts of the world and various spheres. If the calls upon the heart energy could be connected with an electric bell, a continuous ringing would often result, varying only in its intensity. Such experiments will undoubtedly be made, but the experimenters will rarely agree that it is the energy of the heart, attributing it rather to some kind of nervous contractions. It is not long since one might have been burned at the stake for such a telegraph. Heart (1932) - 491:
491. You see how powerful is solemnity. You see how, precisely through solemnity, one can attain. Therefore, not only must you advise solemnity but demand it as salvation. We have but begun the path of solemnity. If you succeed in pursuing it, you will see miracles. Already for a month We have been on the solemn ascent. Despite the battle We gather in solemnity. We have rejected everything planted in malice and have collected the manifested store of good. Above all achievements of the heart, solemnity radiates. We sound the summons toward it, We indicate it! Heart (1932) - 494:
494. You want salvation and success, but for this there must be unity in action. It is necessary to understand how destructive is each interception of the rhythm. For a decade I have prepared for this hour of battle. Tell the disobedient that a violation of the thread is analogous to falling away from the Lord. Now especially, let us remember it with finality. It is now necessary speedily to cross many bridges, and the treasure must not be squandered! We demand, at least at this time, that the present should be realized as unprecedented, otherwise, instead of the brilliant victory, one may be hurled to ruin. We guide you to victory and no one has the right to impede Us! The dark ones will now act through unworthy pettiness, but solemnity can easily be tempered precisely upon them. Heart (1932) - 524:
524. People do not want to imagine how many dangers take place around them. How many times the Highest Forces and participants in the Subtle World have saved them! But mankind assumes that if the day has passed nothing has threatened. Such a trend of thought deadens the embryo of the sense of gratitude, yet without this feeling humanity cannot succeed. Instead of gratitude a demand appears and then a threat. But one cannot cross by a threat, just as one cannot do so on nettles. Pitiful are the threats against the Highest Powers! There is nothing more disintegrating than threats. The heart withers from the dust of threats. Heart (1932) - 551:
551. Man cannot conceal his inner motives. Though these may not be reflected in earthly expressions, in the subtle feeling there are no secrets. Usually, people do not know how to assimilate the feelings of the Subtle World. But they feel a seeming disquietude, confusion, or joy, as if some secret record were before them and they felt its significance before unsealing it. Yet with the education of the heart one can have an understanding of human motives that is not incidental. Moreover, one can evaluate not only the significance of thoughts but also their substance. Is it not true that the heart often does not reflect people's motives because they do not exist altogether or resemble down wafted by the wind? Ask your interlocutor what he desires. The usual response will be an evidence of confusion. Such a heart, not having crystallized its strivings at all, will be confused in the Subtle World. The Teaching is not luxury. It teaches the minimum that should be expected from those reincarnated over millions of years. Let us not impede in any measure the flighty tendency of thought, but it is necessary to demand cognizance of the heart. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 36:
36. Let no one be disconcerted by My demand for battle. Those who stand on one spot are a thousand times more exposed to danger than those who strive. However, the striving must be in the heart and thoughts, and not only in the feet. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 193:
193. In human hands benevolence is like the evening lamp. Darkness falls, but the lamp is ready and an experienced hand is there to light it. But again I say - praise each good deed, it is a manifestation of generosity. Let each spark of good be blown into a flame. Though good be accidental to a great extent, it still is good. It would be too much to demand always a conscious good action; let the darkness be dispersed, even by dim lights. Even with one spark of light, absolute darkness will no longer be such. Behind the thought, word, or deed, Light is already standing. Thus, he who knows how to find a spark of Light is already an illumined co-worker. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 220:
220. Let us learn to discriminate - thus we will become generous. No limited person can become spiritually rich, but one should have compassion for a neighbor's color blindness. For, up to the highest steps, each one is subject to such diversities. Let us not demand that all people think alike. It is good if they can discriminate between Light and darkness. But subtle vibrations are not easily perceived. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 399:
399. Evolution is independent and voluntary, this is a fundamental law. It is not only the basic elements of karma but also the Fiery World which constitute a manifestation of conscious evolution. It is impossible to force people to evolve spiritually. A sleeping heart cannot be forced toward good. One can point out, one can set milestones, but to break the consciousness means to kill the root of the future tree. Millions of years may seem long, but neither years nor centuries exist. People have divided existence into seconds and have drowned themselves in zeros. Therefore the psychology of the Subtle World is so important, since here hours are not needed and only results are important. People are often indignant at the ordainments of the Teaching, exclaiming, "Why does not the book give the final formulas?" But such a demand proves an ignorance of the foundations. The Teaching gives the precise direction and kindles the fires along the entire path of labor. One can proceed by these beacons. One may find solutions already cosmically ripe. One may hear exact things, but the spirit must by its own will combine them into a mosaic. To affirm the path is the Ordainment of the Great Architect. As in legends, we must put our ears to the ground lest we miss a single step or whisper. Though people read much they apply but little. Yet the dates are so close! Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 445:
445. The Teacher must remember that each one carries his own load. It is impossible to make all equal. One cannot demand the same speed from all, and one must encourage each one who knows how to bear his burden. It is not easy for the Teacher, and no one should think that an Arhat rests. When we approach the preordained dates, is it possible to imagine a pleasant respite in the earthly sense? Fiery World - Book 2 (1934) - 318:
318. No doubt someone will ask, "Where are the words about the Fiery World? Teaching about Ethics does not delineate for us the element of Fire." Such people will never understand that the beginning of approach to the Fiery World will be in the assimilation of the fundamentals of life. Only the ignorant will demand the chemical composition of a Fiery Being. But the refined consciousness knows that psychic energy leads to understanding of the Fiery World. Only the heart whispers how it is possible to ascend to the heights upon a polished stone. Fiery World - Book 2 (1934) - 363:
363. The idea of immediate reward is also to be expected of ignorance. Where, then, are the hours and moments of eternity by which may be measured off portions of the flame? There cannot be any spiritual striving where a demand for reward is obvious. Who can impede the movement of Karma? The flow of Karma must be understood as the approach of requital and of possibilities. Fiery World - Book 2 (1934) - 425:
People will demand from you new remedies, new indications about food - merely for bodily comfort, but not for the improvement of their own future, which is in need of constant and solicitous construction. People are unwilling to imagine that their earthly life is shorter than the very briefest stop of a railway train. The worthy wayfarer, in a short night's lodging, is concerned not with troubling his host, for his consciousness is directed toward the goal of his journey. But travelers of the Great Path often think only about the night's lodging, unconcernedly forgetting about their destination. Petty thinking is not commensurate with the Great Path! Therefore the fiery path will be the path of consciousness of the future. Every traveler who is enlightened by thought about the eternal path can proceed in joy. In each such march one must carry a particle of eternal Fire. One should approach the Fiery World with a whole purpose, with all desire, with the whole heart. Fiery World - Book 3 (1935) - 25:
25. As the highest humility and the highest self-renunciation, should one accept the Image of Those bearing the full Chalice of self-sacrifice. They carry a heavy burden in the heart. They bear the brunt of the tension manifested by humanity. They carry the burden of the entire discrepancy. Such humility is redemption. Who will give himself wholly to the achievement of drinking the cup of poison? Who will take upon himself the Fiery Shield for the good of humanity? Who will resolve to accept the fiery energies? Who will manifest the understanding of the entire Cosmic tension? Verily, he who is in consonance with the Higher Forces. Mankind is accustomed to demand Good, but very rarely does man think of giving. Hence the humility of a saint who carries a fiery chalice is regarded as the highest humility. The fiery chalice holds the essence of the saving of the spirit of mankind and the atonement. Thus, let us remember and manifest understanding. Fiery World - Book 3 (1935) - 42:
42. How differently is the manifestation of heroism commonly understood. One should remember that a hero is not always proclaimed by a trumpet blast. Not in universal glamour does a hero of the spirit proceed, but in true draining of the chalice of poison. To those who demand more, more is often given, to meet their requirement, but earthly gifts are no affirmation of higher gifts. Verily a hero of the spirit proceeds by another path. His burden will be the Burden of the World. And how wonderful is the countenance of the hero of the spirit, proceeding impetuously onward in silence and in solitude! The fiery creativeness of the hero of the spirit is comparable only to the Fire of the highest tension, because the higher flame is invisible. The space intensifies greatly the rays of the creators of the spirit. Is not the image of the Giving One an image of the miracle-working Heart? Thus let us remember on the path to the Fiery World. Fiery World - Book 3 (1935) - 184:
184. Each epoch has its own distinctions. Each peculiarity of time is an imprint of consciousness. These manifestations of peculiarities can be magnified by the will of humanity. The peculiarities of the epoch, in the same way as evocations, have their roots in the consciousness. Those visions and conditions which filled life and thought several centuries past were engendered in the spirit of the servants of religion in response to popular demand. Long ago was it enjoined, "Seek and ye shall find." In this evolutionary and incessant turn of the spiral, man will find the Truth. The affirmation of Truth is purified of all distortions, because the rubbish and accumulated dust is transitory. But Truth is manifested in Infinity. And though human darkening be prolonged, yet from under the dark strata will be exhumed the affirmations of the Light. Thus, that which is ordained enters in awesome immensity. AUM (1936) - 390:
I affirm that psychic energy must be studied with all attentiveness. During discussion about psychic energy there must be no dissension. Every experiment can be repeated with an understanding of the individuality of each case. Indeed, each experiment proceeds under special conditions. This circumstance should be remembered; for there are people who demand mechanical duplication even from the subtlest energy. AUM (1936) - 417:
417. You will encounter two types of opponents of equal rights - one, an admirer of the rule of the harem, who says that age-old customs should not be disturbed; the other, indignant at the past, will demand supremacy for herself in everything. Both will be remote from evolution. It is impermissible to drag past offenses into the future. It is impermissible also to preserve the ossification of an outworn way of life. AUM (1936) - 418:
418. Universally full rights for all humanity should be a sign of the times. Public opinion must imperatively demand justice. Such fullness of rights must be manifested as a natural law in world relationship. Full rights are the most indispensable condition. Brotherhood (1937) - 256:
256. It may be noticed that people who remember their former lives belong to the most diverse levels. This merely illustrates that the other-world law is far more complex than people on Earth assume. All the more then ought it to be respected and studied. Such investigations must inevitably be of a fragmentary nature, yet this fragmentary information must constitute a convincing chain of facts. The quicker such an earthly chronicle can be begun, the sooner will the truth be revealed. It must be understood that it is not Our custom to demand blind faith. What would be the use of such a demand, since observation and attentiveness yield better results? Brotherhood (1937) - 400:
400. Even the smallest signs lead to great manifestations, but people do not realize that a pathway overgrown with brambles can lead to a glorious achievement. It is the usual mistake to demand large earthly signs for advancing. One must understand the entire and most subtle fabric befitting the Greatest Image. One must not permit people to defame beautiful existence. Those Images must be brought to Earth which do not cause harmful confusion. As it is, the great Tree is cloven, its separate branches withered. It is not evident that anyone has regretted the scattering of the One Treasure. The foolish assume that discourse about the severed branches is a needless symbol, for they do not even know how to think about Oneness. These ignorant ones cannot understand the collective concept of Brotherhood. What is the dome to them, when they have not even laid the steps! Brotherhood (1937) - 442:
442. Without any instructions people know how to care for a beloved object. They will resourcefully discover how to keep it in concealment. They will exert themselves not to break or damage a beloved thing. Someone has said that people are most competent at preserving stones and metals, less so with plants, still less with animals, and least of all with man. You can judge for yourself how just is such an understanding. Man is a most subtle organism, and yet the most cruel treatment falls to his lot. Let us not close our eyes to the fact that the so-called abolishment of corporal punishment is merely a screen for still greater cruelty. When will the abolition of spiritual persecutions finally come! When will people realize that the highest degree of torture is torment of the spirit! As long as they are not conscious of the Subtle World, humaneness will not be realized. Let us not be surprised that some people require the division of the higher worlds into many degrees. Rather, let people, including those who demand the most, understand at least the Subtle World, so that they may know how to enter it worthily. The division will be grasped afterwards when at least the first degree of Infinity shall have been comprehended. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) - 11:
11. Urusvati would like to provide more knowledge to people, but straight-knowledge indicates to her the limits of what is possible. The discovery of these limits is a stumbling block for many, and great misfortune results from overlooking them. It is impossible to indicate in earthly terms the hidden, co-measured boundary, but a broadened consciousness can suggest where the possibility of harm begins. You yourself know how often people demand an answer that they then cannot accept. They say, "Tell us quickly, and we will decide what to accept and what to reject." They like to play jackstraws, pulling out only that which is most attractive to them. They do not care if it all falls to pieces, although even children know that the whole should not be disrupted. Grown-ups throw bombs and are astonished when they are maimed by them. They love to repeat Our analogy of a boomerang but do not see the consequences of their own blows. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) - 128:
It is difficult for people to understand that the knowledge acquired on Earth is essential for their experience in the Subtle World - not only the knowledge itself, but also the degree of perceptiveness and tolerance. When people demand these qualities of themselves they will automatically develop an open-mindedness that will bring them to the Fiery Gates. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) - 152:
People wish to see the Teachers just as they see themselves, and if the Teacher differs in some way they will disbelieve. The ignorant demand, never realizing that their demand is based on ignorance, and that the image they have invented is belittling. In general, most pictures of the Great Teachers are tasteless. People want to see their Teachers as exceptional, even in their outer appearance. If people have such an attitude toward true greatness it indicates that they would not have recognized the Great Pilgrim. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) - 231:
The Thinker taught, "Know how to recognize joy. Among the Muses there is the Muse of Joy, but you can invite this Protectress only by beautiful words and thoughts. Do not attempt to threaten and demand, for She comes only by the path of Beauty." Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) - 245:
Only if there is inner striving can one achieve the harmony that enables him to apply many formulas of the Teaching. But some fools demand immediate delivery of the philosopher's stone, and do not even take the trouble to seek out the literature on this subject. They expect the Teacher to send them a talisman with which to find hidden treasures, and assume that, without taking the level of their consciousness into consideration, He should immediately reveal to them the secrets of Nature! Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 372:
Our instructions are quite clear, yet there will be people who try to confuse others and cause harm. These troublemakers will assure everyone that We allow the use of wine, narcotics, and meat, and they will demand absolute abstinence. Yet, should they be hungry or ill, they will be the first to accuse the Teacher of allowing them no exceptions. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 439:
Some people express communion only by asking for help. Perhaps traditional prayers have accustomed people to demand earthly blessings from Deity. This error is common in all teachings - people stop striving toward illumination and restrict their communion with the Highest to requests for an increase in earthly benefits. Thus, it is necessary to explain that the Teaching of Life cannot contain contradictions. Let those who fail to understand ask, and they will learn that the Teaching knows life in all its aspects. Let them remember that a devoted pupil communes with the Teacher in one unified current of energy.
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