|
New Era Community (1926) - 151:
Indeed, a spark of light is the first to hit the target. The knowledge of how to sway the crowd lies not in eloquence but in the understanding of the nodes of the crowd and in the timely sending thither of a light-bearing thought. The lack of understanding as to how to address oneself into space and the fixation on a single listener are equally harmful. Likewise We advise making use of the phonograph for scientific data. But one cannot expect to kindle emotions by means of mechanical transmission. Agni Yoga (1929) - 406:
Poor is the consciousness that has no control over passing emotions. Invulnerability is Our Shield. Each speck of fear is a target for an enemy's arrow. After washing away these shameful specks, we become as invulnerable as are the far-off worlds. The development of Agni Yoga becomes a shield of thought. The all-penetrating Fire, when realized, endows one with supremely pure strength and replenishes the source of renewal. Heart (1932) - 584:
584. Much of that which is quite familiar remains uninvestigated. Have perspiration and saliva been exhaustively examined? We read of poisonous saliva. We know of beneficial saliva. We have heard of the varied properties of perspiration, and yet neither of these secretions has been investigated. The sweat of labor and the sweat of overeating will not be alike. The saliva of anger and the saliva of aid are different, but these symptoms are primitive. Every human state produces a special chemical reaction. In studying this truly cosmic multiformity of the microcosm, one can arrive at an understanding of the physical and spiritual worlds. With an intelligent man the reactions will be varied. One can learn how greatly the sweat of prayer and of high, heartfelt aspiration differs from the sweat of self-interest. The sweat of him who runs to help is completely different from the sweat of the hastening murderer. In comparing such contrasting reactions, the products of psychic energy can be traced. Thus the future scientific achievements are close. Of course, the investigator himself should manifest sufficient sensitiveness. He will have to detect different emotions and, through honest comparison, clarify many confused conceptions. The connection of secretions with changes in the aura will also enrich the experiment. Besides, there will be no need of vivisection or other tortures. The investigator could visit all possible localities of human activity and collect natural and not forcibly induced testimonies. The most difficult will be investigating the products resulting from prayer and higher aspiration - in other words, with the most important expressions. But also in these manifestations the one who desires will find the real treasures. You have noticed the evidence of perspiration in connection with the movement of the heart, this especially is a rare example of the aspiration of the heart. Thus, advise young physicians and scientists to pay attention to the urgency of these observations of the fiery diseases of which We have already spoken. These observations will be very useful. One should not forget about the coming fiery epidemics. Many elaborate reminders are spread throughout the history of humanity. Especially now, when the utilization of unstudied energies has reached significant proportions, one should think of the possibility of the rebounding blow. The scientists should pay attention to the peculiarity of many diseases. They cannot be explained merely as a condensation of the social vortex. The causes are far deeper, and Our Advice about the education of the heart is very timely. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 73:
73. Sound and color are among the principal fiery manifestations. Thus the music of the spheres and the radiance of the fires of space are the highest manifestations of Fire. Hence, it is impossible constantly to hear the sounds of the spheres or to see the scintillating fires. Such frequency of emotions would separate the earthly body from the fiery one to too great an extent. Thus the equilibrium so needed for Eternity would not be created. It is true that in consciousness we should separate our four bodies in order that their functions may be divided. The disturbance of equilibrium leads to premature destruction of the lower body. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 260:
260. If have just watched a pupil of Bekhtereff experimenting with the transmission of thought to a distance, but he could not master even the simplest condition. He could not dissociate tension from the irritation that clogged his apparatus. While he thought that he was exerting himself, in reality he was only irritated, presupposing that nothing would result. While his thinking was theoretically correct, he could not separate his emotions. Moreover, pseudo-materialism which assumes that everything is for everybody under any circumstances, interferes. Certainly, this may be possible after the evolution of two more races, but now it may be likened to an elephant's load on the back of a cockroach. The understanding of psychic energy is confused. Even though it be called a material hammer, let it at least be realized. The name does not matter. One can cite a mass of names, but crudity will not diminish because of them. The increasing coarsening of psychic energy is the most terrible epidemic. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 322:
322. Many desire to know details of the Subtle World, but many will be sorely perplexed. The entire perceptibility of the Subtle World is relative, depending upon the development of the consciousness. One can be enraptured by the light, or one may find oneself in fog. One can build beautiful structures by will power, or, one may remain on piles of rubbish. One can instantaneously assimilate the language of the spirit, or one may remain deaf and dumb. To each in accordance with his deeds. Each perceives in accordance with his consciousness. The Subtle World is a state of true justice. One can observe that a consciousness, even though simple, progresses if illumined by love. The bazaar-colored emotions of Earth-dwellers bear little resemblance to love. Love often remains unrealized. But in the Subtle World love is the key to all locks. For many people imagination is an unattainable abstraction, but in the Subtle World each grain of the accumulations of imagination is a path to possibilities. For Earth-dwellers, offense, bitterness, and vengeance constitute the bases of the bile and liver; but in the Subtle World, even for an average consciousness, these infamies fall away as worthless husks. Therefore We emphatically repeat about the fiery consciousness, in order that one be directed immediately into the higher spheres. One should indeed strive by all lofty means toward the fiery consciousness. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 330:
330. Music is needed for all fiery sowings. One should choose good music; it unifies our emotions. But one should not absent-mindedly let the music just pass by one's ears. People often have before them a great phenomenon, and yet they fail to hear the loudest and fail to perceive the brightest. People often isolate themselves completely from their surroundings, but fail to realize that precisely this state is very valuable if wisely induced. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 396:
396. When I indicate the beneficialness of gratitude, I do not mean that someone is in need of it, but that in itself it contains the chemism of bliss. One must analyze the chemism of various emotions; such observations will help in finding psychic energy. Not vitamins so much as the fiery energy must occupy the imagination. The revelation of the essence of human existence cannot be regarded a something occult! One should attract many minds to these researches; they will also observe in passing other useful peculiarities of feelings. Thus, one should first establish the direction of evolution. There cannot be two directions of progress. There can be but one true direction, and all other efforts will be errant. This should be remembered, because many confuse individuality with the general stimulus of the epoch. If a given epoch must strengthen in the consciousness the power of psychic energy, no machine can screen the imperative advance of the world. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 464:
464. Torpor, as well as repugnance, must be overcome. Many fail to take notice of this pernicious fellow traveler. Yet one can clearly trace how not only some unknown causes but seemingly the most innocuous everyday objects intercept the current of the fiery energy. Not only repulsion but a certain kind of unnoticeable torpor arrests the tension of work. The most common object obscures, as it were, the receptivity of brain and heart. Sometimes the pattern of a fabric, the rhythm of a song, the flash of a knife, the tinkle of metal, or a multitude of similar fragmentary emotions throw us out of the usual trend of aspiration. Whence comes this torpor? When and where were these reverberations and flashes perhaps decisive factors in our existence? Let us not deny the cumulations of the past; this is one more evidence of past existences. One should regard these recollections very soberly, and even record them as an exercise in observation. But one should not be spiritually encumbered by these fragments of the past. One may also encounter objects which can give impetus to one's striving; one may rejoice at such companions of bygone paths, but even they must not engage our attention too long. Forward, forward, ever forward! Each moment of torpor is a loss of progressive motion. How often it has been said that motion is a shield against the hostile arrows! Thus, proceed fierily. Let your fire be a beacon for your companions. One should remember that one must give light through thought. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 521:
521. A sigh was formerly regarded as a response to God. Concentration of the fiery energy produces this spasm. Notice that murderers and sinister criminals do not sigh. This tension occurs in connection with higher emotions. One could write a book about the sigh, and it would be shown to be very close to prayer. All the benevolent reflexes can be singled out in the same way. There is no reason to regard them as moral abstractions; it is better to accept them as foundations of health. AUM (1936) - 496:
496. Those born blind undoubtedly see internally but they do not know how to transmit their impressions in words. Their colors are multiform and more subtle, because therein they border upon the Subtle World. One has to observe the expressions on their faces in order to notice the inner emotions. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) - 161:
"The third battle resounds in the Infinite, in space, between the subtle energies and the waves of chaos. The human imagination is too limited to envision these battles in Infinity. Human intellect comprehends earthly collisions, but is incapable of looking into space and imagining the powerful storms and forces working there. Only when human emotions are completely controlled can man start thinking about the invisible worlds. One should develop such thoughts, for they alone will make man a conscious co-worker with the Infinite forces." Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 268:
People do not believe that great thinkers, such as Plato, Pythagoras, or Anaxagoras, lived the lives of ordinary beings. It is essential to understand that even the most lofty personalities cannot avoid the fullness of their earthly emotions, which are kindled in proportion to the scope of their mission. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 288:
Especially disgusting are the emotions evoked by small stings. During great calamities feelings of self-sacrifice or heroism may be aroused, but in time of decay there is only wasted energy. I affirm that the worst part of Armageddon is in the decay of organisms. During strong disturbances the Guidance can be increased, but what can be done about gangrenous aggravation?
|