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Agni Yoga (1929) - 30:
But people almost always assume that he who bends over is picking up a stone for murder. They are sure that he who races astride his horse hastens with slander. They "know" that he who calls out pronounces a lie. They "know" that he who offers his hand is afire with treachery. They interpret every move of others according to their own way of thinking. Hierarchy (1931) - 360:
360. How pervertedly people interpret the foundations of the world! What formulas they invent for the interpretation of vital principles! Without understanding the great foundations of the unity of all cosmic principles, they saturate space with all the disrupting principles. Thus, there results imbalance of the origins, disunion of all the highest principles, and striving to many authorities. Thus, dividing the great Origin of Hierarchy through human frailty brings its effects, and humanity strains all efforts to depreciate the great Principle. Thus occurs the substitution of the small for the Great. Fiery World - Book 3 (1935) - 116:
116. The connection between the life of each Servant of Light and the succeeding step reveals a saturated heart striving. Indeed, people debase the feeling of love and interpret vulgarly the great law. But one must harken subtly to the great law. Thus, verily, the Yoga of the Heart brings one to the mighty summits of consciousness far more strongly and speedily than does the Mind, however refined it may be. Therefore, the great Epoch of Woman will be distinguished by greater refinement of feelings and of consciousness. AUM (1936) - 127:
127. Realization of the Higher World should arise freely, voluntarily and benevolently. Coercion is unfitting in such a transcendent matter. Thus, each teacher should interpret the Higher World as a higher joy. No one will call joy coercion. No one will condemn him who brings true joy. Yet how much inspiration must one develop in oneself in order to be a harbinger of joy! If a teacher has attained such a degree, he merits all reverence. Brotherhood (1937) - 26:
There are many instances when essential signs have been explained by the ignorant as something completely opposite. In their earthly customs people often interpret letters in their own way, not being concerned with the precise meaning of the words - such conventional egoistic practices have to be abandoned on the paths to Brotherhood. Brotherhood (1937) - 115:
115. One may make the mistake of assuming that the majority of people know how to read books. Such ability has to be cultivated. When people accept the book, it does not mean that they know how to read it properly. It can be seen how relatively they interpret what has been read, and how far removed their understanding often is from the writer's thought. I affirm that books are too little comprehended, yet the manifestation of the primary energy can be an excellent guide. It frequently helps one to find a needed book and to select from it what is desired. One has but to be attentive. But this quality also must be cultivated in oneself. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) - 168:
The Great Pilgrim taught the love of goodness, but His Teaching was greatly distorted. Even His simplest words could not save the Teaching, for people found ways to interpret Truth for their own profit. The expulsion of the merchants from the Temple is a symbolic warning, and the Temple should also be understood as the human spirit from which mercenary thought must be ejected. No one can forbid the exchange of daily necessities, but merchants must attend to their business with enlightened hearts. Even the basic elements of life can be spiritualized. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 404:
For example, one may have read much about thought-images, but when actually passing into the Subtle World one becomes confused by the profusion of images in space. Only experienced observers who truly understand art and who can make use of the loftiest images in their thinking can interpret this phantasmagoria. Nature is certainly the best source for such imagery, but one must know how to observe it. In this, the works of the great masters will be helpful. Like magnets they attract the eyes and feelings, and through them people can learn how to approach nature.
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