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New Era Community (1926) - 206:
Not long ago We spoke about the defense of reality. Remember that it is not the illiterate people who will be furious against reality, but these little "literates" will violently defend their short-sighted evidence. They will think that the world enclosed within their horizon is the actual one, and that all else remaining invisible to them is a harmful fiction. What lies at the base of this beggarly narrowness? In an altered aspect it is that very same idea of personal ownership. This is my own pigpen and therefore everything outside of it is not necessary and pernicious. This is what is apparent to me and therefore nothing outside of it exists. The well-known fable about the elephant and the seven blind people is sufficient as an example. New Era Community (1926) - 258:
258. Let us turn once more to the mirage of Maya. Clearly there will loom before you the evident futility of working upon humanity. How obvious are the traits of mutual abasement! How prominent are hypocrisy and falsehood! How stifling the ignorance and deadly laziness! This mirage of evidence clouds the horizon of reality. But as the white elephant of Maitreya reality marches on. Agni Yoga (1929) - 164:
164. People talk much about the aid that should flow from Our Abode. But let us examine the ability of people to accept Our help. Each person who yearns for assistance has already decided selfishly the direction and measure of it. Can an elephant find room in a low cellar? But the seeker of help cares about neither its proportion nor its suitability. For him, lilies should flower during wintertime, and in the desert a spring must burst forth; otherwise the Teacher's merit is small. Agni Yoga (1929) - 339:
339. People love manifestations to be no smaller than an elephant, and sounds no softer than thunder. But the action of the fine energies is performed in stillness. Agni Yoga (1929) - 527:
Exultant on the first day, he will not tire on the next. He will proceed like a joyous elephant, bursting through the brush. He will see his successes as the smile of the sun. He will drive away the scorpion of fear. He will accept the gift as the light on the path. He will understand the realization and development of the fires of the centers as an attracting magnet. And he will understand that the fires grow imperceptibly, just as plants do. He will understand that the fires burn away the past and illumine the future. And he will understand what podvig means! Agni Yoga (1929) - 651:
651. Attentiveness can be tested in a simple way. Move an object to a new place; if it remains unnoticed, do the same with a larger object and observe what "elephant" finally attracts the "sharp" eye. Test yourself and others. Test for fear, for irritation, and for laziness - and for all failings that cause the litmus paper to blush with shame. There is no need of complicated invocations, since simple attentiveness moves one many steps further. Thus one should begin to develop the "eagle-eye." Hierarchy (1931) - 49:
49. Attentiveness can be tested by a very simple method. Place an object in a new place; if it remains unnoticed, enlarge the size of the object and observe what elephant finally attracts the "sharp" eye. In general, test yourself and others. Apply tests for fear, for irritation, and for negligence, and in all cases where the litmus paper may blush from shame. There is no need of complicated invocations, simple attentiveness will permit one to advance many steps. Thus one should begin to develop the "eagle-eye." Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 482:
482. In Tibet horses are fed on leopard flesh in order to make them fierce. The Kshatniyas of Rajputana depend upon a meat diet to maintain their warlike spirit. These two examples alone show the significance of meat-eating. People do not slaughter a vast number of cattle from a sense of refinement. Like troglodytes, they are ready to devour bears. One must realize that the mass slaughter of animals is carried on in full consciousness. People know that vegetables or fruit give more vital energy than a cup of blood, yet they prefer being served with bloody meat, greatly relishing this coarseness. There is no other name for the frenzy of blood consumption. People are perfectly aware that a handful of wheat or barley is sufficient to sustain life, but their animal instinct tries to drag their minds back to a bestial state. Do not beasts try to tear each other's throats? Does not darkness impel people to the lowest actions? Let us not forget that mass killings, whether in war or in the slaughterhouse, equally pollute the atmosphere and violate the Subtle World. It must be realized that every conscious killing shakes the entire surrounding atmosphere. Moreover, these actions strengthen the forces of darkness and chaos, breaking the rhythm. One must avoid disturbing the Subtle World in any way. We can allow a diet of vegetables, farinaceous food, and milk, also eggs, the very freshest and in a liquid state. You know how repulsive the very sight of meat becomes to the organism accustomed to a vegetable diet. Thus, in practice one must accustom oneself to refinement and remember that even an elephant increases his strength through plants alone. One should not think that people eat meat because of poverty. With the least effort one can obtain a vegetable diet; besides, many nourishing herbs and roots are not utilized. One could learn much from certain animals, they know far more about natural foods than man, the meat-eater. Do not be concerned if the lover of blood scoffs at vegetable food; only remember him, because he is from darkness. Many are indifferent to meat and are compelled to it only by ugly home conditions. We do not mean them. We deplore the conscious vampires and necrophagi. Hence, be simpler and more refined in your diet.
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