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Leaves of Morya's Garden - Book 2 - Illumination (1925) - 2.6.8:
2.6.8. The flight of the spirit is not reckoned in hours. The manifestation of the spirit rushing between the planets is beyond time; a moment, because it cannot be extended. Otherwise there results a rupture between the densified body and the mental. But one should remember that the spirit, which acts beyond time, also cognizes beyond the limitation of numbers, and is able to cognize up to the fourteenth gradation of hearing, whereas on the earthly sphere one can attain only up to the ninth. Leaves of Morya's Garden - Book 2 - Illumination (1925) - 2.7.14:
One can be strong in the first circle without being able to grasp the next one. Therefore, it is better to develop the seventh circle, because all manifestations are accessible to it but without personal gravitative influence - without limitation by the personal, narrower, sphere. It is better when, following a personal sign, one can receive signs about coming events of nations, or glimpses of a cosmic order. New Era Community (1926) - 89:
Austerity is not insensibility, and immutability is not limitation. Through all the gravitation of the firmament you will sense the vortex of space, and you will stretch forth your hand to the far-off worlds. It is impossible to force the perception of the manifestation of the worlds; but, indeed, through this cognizance do we accept responsible labor and devote ourselves to the real possibilities of evolution. New Era Community (1926) - 121:
The imperfect ingenuity of some people has guessed at invisible rays and inaudible rhythms. With crude imagination, with crude implements, nevertheless certain cosmic currents have been apprehended. But even a fool knows that the imagination can be refined and the apparatuses improved. Starting with self-improvement you proceed toward Infinity. I shall repeat about the possibilities of improvement so long as the most obdurate one remains unashamed of his limitation. New Era Community (1926) - 237:
237. To renounce or to multiply? Indeed, to multiply sanguinely, joyfully, but for the Common Good. The smallest hint of sectarianism or bigoted limitation will contradict the sunlike evolution of the community. Austere joy avoids darkness. Moles of forbiddance and limitations will never see the sun. Agni Yoga (1929) - 126:
126. The misfortunes of humanity result from an inability to distinguish between the signs of good and the signs of evil. People first apply the signs to their own future, because thinking primarily through themselves, they see no world beyond themselves. With a measure such as this, how can one have true perceptions? The chief and most heinous consequence of such limitation is that much of what is good and useful is not separated from the harmful. Numberless are the instances when an indication given for the future is applied to the immediate moment and thus loses its intended usefulness. Agni Yoga (1929) - 126:
Sometimes the destiny of entire nations can be expressed in a simple formula. But people want to appropriate for themselves what is meant for the larger group. And the given formula is then crumbled like a piece of sculpture under a crude hand. This crudeness of individual limitation is a most harmful contributor to the dissolution of valuable opportunities. Agni Yoga (1929) - 223:
223. Claws do not frighten you; roaring does not terrify you; animals wag their tails and stand ready to serve you. Thus precisely, the path of Yoga transforms dangers into fiery blossoms. When I advise you to preserve your earthly cumulations, I mean only the armor of your spiritual strength. We condemn waste. Each accumulation is a step toward freedom. But where shall we set the limits of permitted accumulations? By straight-knowledge and experience, the Teacher will confirm what is permissible. A yogi is able to do everything, but not all is permitted to him. Where then are the borders of limitation? A yogi's responsibility is to his spiritual accumulations, for they are his only treasure. The rest is nothing more than the arms of the warrior, returned to his commander after the battle. About this there can be no doubt. Agni Yoga (1929) - 240:
One duty of a yogi is to dispel excessive awe of death. One can retreat to such a state of limitation that just moving to a neighboring town becomes a major event. Worse, one could fear to move from one room to another, and even a change of garment would present difficulties. People who fear change fear death most of all. They fear to think of it, and think of the present moment as an ultimate condition. Even the skin on our body is constantly renewed, yet we do not summon grave-diggers to bury the shed epidermis. Then why not draw a parallel from the microcosm to the Macrocosm, recalling all that is said in the Bhagavad-Gita about the indestructibility of the spirit? Agni Yoga (1929) - 468:
Similarly, when teaching the foundations of life, one can provide varicolored signs of the fundamentals, but the complete Teaching must not be, and cannot be given. No book can contain the entirety of life, and it is not the purpose of the Teaching to turn students into wind-up mechanical robots. Truly, no Teacher has left a final and complete exposition of the Teaching. This would contradict the principle of Infinity and would assume limitation in the consciousness of the followers. Agni Yoga (1929) - 540:
540. True, people make contact with many kinds of energy, but in most cases in a very limited way, and they experience only one aspect of the energy. Out of this limitation can arise many dangers. For example, universal electrification is of benefit to civilization, but since people approach it too one-sidedly, the artificial saturation of space by electricity may cause dangers. One can receive discharges of considerable strength in places highly charged with electricity. But if the cause is intensified so also will be the effects. Thus, instead of just a powerful discharge, mass destruction can occur. Likewise, one can envision the overfilling of space with currents of many kinds of energy, causing most unexpected disturbances in life. Infinity - Book 1 (1930) - 9:
9. People are often perplexed as to what lies beyond consciousness. Of course, in the human understanding the concept of consciousness is limited. This results from the acceptance of the visible world only. Knowledge remains confined within limits if the boundaries of visibility are not broadened. But let us look beyond the boundaries of human consciousness and knowledge; let us find a minute grain of cosmic understanding. How beautiful is the vast horizon! How powerful is the thought penetrating Space! What new ways are disclosed by communion with Infinity! Seek these treasures; in them is the guarantee of your advancement. Of what use is knowledge which brings one to closed gates marked by the sign "we know no more"? Limitation of knowledge is a grave. Therefore, fathom Infinity! The limitation of consciousness is the death of spirit. Infinity - Book 2 (1930) - 26:
26. The spark which kindles creativeness is inherent in the very seed of the spirit. The basis of cosmic creativeness is established upon this principle. The limitation of human thought directs man into the spheres separated from the designated path. In antiquity the communion with the Fire of Space was known and the departure which affirmed a new life was venerated. The entire essence of Be-ness is contained in this law of communion with the Fire of Space and in the principle of interchange of energies. Observing sensitively the manifestation of energies, one may note what the impulses are which activate the energies. As in a chemical reaction the properties of the energies are distinctive, so also the properties of the impulses of spirit must be observed. The impulses of children can afford the best indications. One can direct the impulse to a reaction and can induce it to take on a new tone. One may observe how a child, having lost one such impulse, will apply a new energy to his spirit. In the great laboratory of Cosmos all the heterogeneous elements may be applied. But humanity has lost its possibilities to such an extent that it is impossible to affirm such interrelation without explosion. Infinity - Book 2 (1930) - 153:
153. The basis of attraction is under strain in all vital manifestations. Therefore, when life creates its steps, one may affirm the principle of this basis. Of all bases, the strongest one is Fire. Of all bases the heaviest one is limitation in selfhood. Under the symbol of Fire all principles are united. Under the symbol of limitation a small circle of consciousness is drawn. Life collects the universal energy through the creative fires. Humanity has been endowed with manifold threads of the universal energy, but only through fiery attraction can life, as the basis, construct. Thus resounds the great base of Be-ness. Infinity - Book 2 (1930) - 387:
387. Humanity's conception of the world is quite far from the truth. Only when the conception will correspond to Cosmic Truth can a proper striving be expected. The limitation of consciousness is the doom of the spirit; in it is contained a complete extermination of the best possibilities. Therefore, when the consciousness is limited by the visible world alone there is no link with Cosmos. Only that consciousness which embraces the world in the scope of vast actions can become a true co-worker of Cosmos. The law of cause and effect is so powerful that humanity must apply the understanding of the principle of coordination. It is customary to consider that time guides humanity, but this conception must be broadened. We say that the impellent force of actions in time moves each cosmic effect. Thus is Infinity created! Heart (1932) - 9:
9. Heartlessness is nothing save an uncultured condition of the heart. Faint-heartedness is a limitation of thinking. Intolerance belongs to the same family of abominations which impoverish the sacred vessel of the heart. You know already that the subtle, intensified heart creates an impetus like a dynamo, thus proving that it is a vessel of universal energy. But the culture of the heart is not accumulated if it does not receive proportionate nourishment; likewise the best accumulator is inactive without protection and correct connection. The heart demands constant nourishment, otherwise, deprived of the highest link, it decays. Thus let us not forget how at the bottom of the chalice an infant was represented as the symbol of ascent. Heart (1932) - 26:
26. You know that suggestion can be given in any language; thus obviously the sense and essence of understanding is proved without the limitation of dialect. I consider the manifestation of hearty understanding as a necessary step in the approach to Us. The language of the Subtle World brings into effect the dream about mutual understanding. One must realize this possibility before beginning to use it. Heart (1932) - 287:
287. If you notice an excessive concentration upon physical yoga in someone, remind him again about the undesirability of such a limitation. Say again that the steed that knows and performs many exercises is not taken for a speedy message. Thus, do not fall into the limitations of the body. Heart (1932) - 287:
Every bodily accumulation also results in a new limitation. Only the spirit knows no limits, and the teaching of the future will be based upon the conquest of the spirit. The bodily yoga must be transmuted into subtle fires. The bodily yoga cannot lead toward unification with the Subtle World; in it the heart does not hold an exclusive position. But the subtle transmutation will endure only through the heart. It preserves that fire-aptitude which is the only condition for transmutation. Heart (1932) - 572:
572. A certain stage of the human consciousness can be observed when, to the question as to what is needed, the following answer is given Money. So long as this mercenary limitation is not outlived, no spiritual help can be provided. One's consciousness must be advanced toward more significant values, then help will come even materially. The law of the highest values is affirmed in the whole of Existence. Thus, our own consciousness determines the well-being that is deserved. Heart (1932) - 579:
579. Absorb forever - the so-called gift of discrimination is not a gift but the result of labor and experiment. The foolish word intuition expresses nothing but limitation. Not through intuition but by many accumulations can one acquire discrimination. To affirm that discrimination is not based on anything is analogous to the statement that imagination is not a reflection of former experiences. The time has come when that which is seemingly most abstract enters into the chain of events. Man has encountered many situations and has thus refined his judgment. Be assured that he who has no discrimination passed through a coarse existence and made no effort to free himself of it. Thus he deprived himself of the benefit of cognizing through the heart. The heart of man is not young, for its substance is permanent. Some will rejoice at this permanence, because in this concept is eternal life. Some will rejoice that one's own consciousness is also one's own responsibility. Thus the Tablets of Truth enter life. Do not tire of reading the Teaching of Life of all ages. The open heart will rejoice at the intermittence of rhythm. Also, having such foundations we shall understand that the impetus that guides humanity cannot be visible in daily life. In this comprehensiveness let us also find the path to joy. Heart (1932) - 591:
591. Each despair signifies limitation. The heart signifies Infinity. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 27:
27. Observation of people who love the structure of flame constantly yields new deductions. Approaching fire, we begin to discern the rhythm of energy, which produces all combinations. One should love this element with full understanding, in other words, with thoughts in harmony with space. If we are prepared to remain earthly gnomes let it be remembered that the best gnomes serve Fire. Thus one should understand that even the lowest consciousnesses are being drawn upward. Even fairy tales speak of gnomes who cannot exist without devotion to the Fiery Beings. Thus the ancients tried to inculcate fiery conceptions in the children's consciousnesses. Nowadays science, through the caloric theory and astrochemistry, gives the identical fairy tale about the Great Fire. But the exceptional character of the fiery manifestations still does not permit the average man to introduce the concept of fire into his daily life, so that Fire remains within the confines of an undesirable abstraction. One must overcome this limitation; I speak as a physician. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 109:
109. The three dimensions are demons' chains - as someone has said. Truly, he who chained the human consciousness with three dimensions was a veritable jailer. How could it have been possible to conceal the other beautiful, higher dimension! In their first questions children often strive beyond the boundaries of conventional limitations. At no time did the ancient wisdom insist upon three dimensions. Only with the gradual coarsening of humanity did this limitation take possession of the mind. It is remarkable that when the lamps of the heart become extinct, people begin to concern themselves with limitations. One can quote numerous historical examples of this self-abasement. But the human consciousness prefers to ignore the fundamentals of self-perfectment. Thus it attempts to conceal the most precious possibilities. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 207:
207. The root of feeling is its boundlessness. Thus, one can understand why I speak about the approach and constant deepening of feeling. Consider that the fiery approach knows no boundaries - it is beyond our dimensions! Such a condition must be taken completely scientifically. Only recently it was asserted that the atom was indivisible, but, as was proved, this limitation is only relative. Thus, one can conjoin oneself with thought about Infinity. But, as we agreed, substance is feeling and vice versa. Thus, let us begin to comprehend feeling as Infinity. In other words, feeling will bring us to the Fiery Gates. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 598:
598. The established facts of the simultaneous appearances of the subtle body in different places should do away with the ignorant prejudice that the Higher Beings cannot appear in various parts of the world at the same time. If even in the physical state one can know the divisibility of the spirit, then certainly in the fiery state, above all, there would be no limitation to one time, one place. When one succeeds, logically and intelligently, in visualizing the primary qualities of the Fiery World, one can immediately begin to assimilate its reality. What joy when Infinity ceases to be a void! Fiery World - Book 2 (1934) - 73:
73. People usually make the mistake of assuming, due to limitation of consciousness, that an object can exist in only one aspect. Therefore they cannot conceive that in ancient times people could avail themselves of various energies but applied them quite differently. People also forget that they themselves, when moving from their dwelling places, destroy many objects. So, too, the wise Teachers took measures for a timely concealment of that which was not to be revealed before its appointed time. Can new discoveries be given out before the appointed date? The very foundations could be shattered by such arbitrary attempts. Does not the Hierarchy participate in all discoveries? Do you not know that many discoveries have been destroyed as harmful because of their untimeliness? The Guiding Hand untiringly watches the current of possibilities for the Good. Fiery World - Book 2 (1934) - 90:
90. One cannot appoint for responsible positions people who are embittered. One must guard very carefully against such a quality, because embitterment is a limitation. Of course limitation, up to a certain extent, can be cured, as can embitterment. Both qualities yield to suggestion, but such transformation requires time. A terrible harm results from embitterment. It imprints itself as an unsurmountable obstacle upon all actions of a man who has succumbed to it. Fiery World - Book 2 (1934) - 311:
311. In the higher action there will be nothing repulsive; let us leave this quality to the elements of chaos. Let us apprehend that electricity also, which has positive and negative manifestations, will never be repulsive, for the energy is already of a higher dimension. The teaching of exchange and cooperation will not be repulsive. A repulsive thought is already a basis of limitation. A thought of non-admission is contrary to the Fiery World. Fiery World - Book 3 (1935) - 15:
15. Among the receivers of the Teaching there are many channels; each channel has its own special characteristic and designation. But the ocean of thought of the Teaching can be given only through the source nearest of all to it. There are many branches and means for the communication, and special qualities of the channels indicate the limitations of the receivers. Those fiery receivers who can contain the ocean of thought of the Teaching function as the chief unifiers between the Higher Forces and the World. It is not difficult to investigate how these Hiero-Inspirations have proceeded, nor is it difficult to trace how the Bearers of the Fiery Consciousness have proceeded. Therefore one should observe, and place an achievement of light over and above the manifestations of limitation. In this achievement the fiery understanding of humanity can truly be affirmed. Fiery World - Book 3 (1935) - 481:
481. Nothing ever turns back, but all is impelled infinitely. Happiness is indeed in infinity. Each limitation is already a wrong against higher creativeness. Limitation is a prison, but flight into Infinity already creates the swan wings. Thus, not without reason has been used the name - Swan. AUM (1936) - 15:
15. Spatial thought is sometimes explained as the pressure and fluctuation of thought from the far-off worlds. Thought, being rotated as it were, in the megaphone of Infinity, is purified, and, returns exalted to the manifested worlds. More than once have people tried to advance their own mechanistic explanations, but all such attempts merely demonstrate a limitation of thinking. Through egoism man wishes that his own thought be returned exalted. But when we know the infinitude of Hierarchy, a far more majestic solution will be appropriate. Let us not demean where it is possible to exalt! AUM (1936) - 104:
104. Meditation in quiet about the Higher World will be equal to the best remedy. It is possible thus to sense the relativity of that which exists. Such a measure will not be a limitation, on the contrary it will strengthen the flight of thought. When confusion takes possession of the world, propound the most simple. AUM (1936) - 286:
286. Another limitation which hampers the ascent of man is his failure to pay attention to what takes place close around him. He wants that which belongs to another; he is impressed only by something alien; yet the closest and most precious attracts no attention and provokes no study. Such incommensurateness is the result of ignorance. One must apply judicious observation to everything. Such a state of affairs is quite usual, but the developed consciousness must correct such limited thinking. AUM (1936) - 492:
It is a mistake to think that certain initiations elevate one to the step of absolute Teachership; only continuous discipline of cognition can be the living source of perfectment. Let us not look for limits in Infinity. Let us not understand cognition as something finite; in this limitation we lose the joy of Be-ness. AUM (1936) - 493:
493. "It is not I who give, but you who accept." The Guide very rarely says that He gives. Only in the case of necessity will He confirm His pledge and give a manifestation of His "I." Throughout life the Guide says, "Accept." He affirms that a gift through Him proceeds from Hierarchy. One should keep these formulae in mind, for in them is contained the joy of Hierarchy which labors for Good. One must not refer unreasoningly to words; in them is contained the imprint of limitation, as it were. There is no reason for forgetting the salutary bond of Hierarchy! Therefore - "It is not I who give, but you who accept." Brotherhood (1937) - 167:
167. Rarely is found a ready consciousness, one which does not limit itself by fear, doubt, malice and hypocrisy. It can be seen that harmful limitation comes not only from without; first of all, it stirs about in the corners of the consciousness. Brotherhood (1937) - 341:
341. Thought is the law of the world. This law must be understood in all its fullness. Thought is not only verbal expression, the domain of thought is also the domain of mental energy. Precisely this circumstance is lost sight of, and only a small range is allotted for the diffusion of thought. Such limitation prevents from representing thought as beyond the limits of the planet, in other words, it deprives thought of its noble meaning. Thought, just as does thought-energy, actually assumes due significance when it is understood as existing beyond the limits of Earth. It is impossible to limit thought to the earthly sphere, otherwise radio waves could compete with this greatest of energies. Constricting the greatest energy also aids the belittlement of human thinking. Verily, the more man constrains his possibilities, the more does he cut himself off from great cooperation. Brotherhood (1937) - 505:
505. A union called a partnership, based on trust, requires a very succinct statute, but the Brotherhood cannot have a written code. Brotherhood cannot be maintained by a stipulated constraint. The very word limitation is out of place in the boundlessness of Brotherhood. Brotherhood (1937) - 606:
606. Determine in your consciousness whether the concept of Brotherhood serves the limitation or expansion of your possibilities. If someone feels even the least constricting reaction, let him not come near the Brotherhood. But if the heart is ready to accept the advantages of Brotherhood, then the message will come. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) :
Even if man accepts the truth that fundamentally there is only one energy, this alone will not be enough for progress - one must also learn to picture to oneself its innumerable qualities. Man's customary narrowness of thought limits his perception of the properties of this energy, and thus limits his understanding. Lofty thinking helps one avoid harmful limitation, but it is not easy to establish an appropriate level of beautiful and lofty thought amidst life's misfortunes, and very few are prepared to understand that it is life's difficulties themselves that can assist lofty thinking. Goal-fitness will help one's thinking when the properties of the fundamental energy appear to be contradictory. A blind man may be unable to perceive an event visible to others, but everyone can realize the Supermundane by learning to understand the many properties of the fundamental energy. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) - 61:
Let us not belittle the dark hierophants; they are not minor adversaries. Their ways are cunning, and they are aware of Infinity. But We know something beyond their knowledge, and they sense that there is something they cannot attain. Great is their wrath against such limitation, but that is the law. It is amazing to observe what base means they use to attract people! One must rely not on transient earthly ideas, but on immutable values. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 273:
The Thinker taught about the harm of limitation. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 279:
Only an awareness of the great manifoldness can save one from the perils of limitation. One must feel oneself living in the Infinite, and then gain strength by directing one's consciousness to the far-off worlds. In this way, the idea of the manifoldness of evolution will become clearer. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 393:
Most people forge their convictions and beliefs in ignorance of a future life. Such limitation binds the free will and creates a narrow view of Cosmos. The modern mentality has not changed much and repeats the errors of the ancients. In most cases only the terminology has changed, and the understanding of essential meaning is no deeper. Our work is considerably complicated by the gross conventions invented by the human mind. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 448:
It is essential to preserve unity under ordinary, earthly conditions in order to attain at least an approximation of Our unity. May people rejoice, knowing that somewhere there exists the Ladder of the Worlds! This very idea will serve as a bridge for evolution. It is the ignorant preacher who teaches indifference towards the highest unification, but such limiting advice will certainly not help anyone on the earthly plane, for every limitation closes doors and deprives one of fresh air.
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