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Leaves of Morya's Garden - Book 2 - Illumination (1925) - 2.8.16:
The best instance of this is found in the Biblical legend about Lot. For a new life they walked out of the city, and only one condition was imposed upon them - not to look back. But the wife of Lot looked back, and bound herself to Earth. New Era Community (1926) - 115:
115. No one dares to stand up against the school, but few there are who think about its improvement. School programs are not looked over for years at a time, and meanwhile discoveries are on the march. New data are rushing in from all sides the air spheres and the depths of the oceans and the mountain treasuries all relate wonderful facts about themselves. Haste is needed, else excavations will alter the data of conventionalized history. In the new schools prohibitions must be removed, in order that pupils may see reality - which is wonderful if truthfully revealed. Broad is the field of mental competition! New Era Community (1926) - 224:
224. It has been repeated again and again - know how to find joy in eternal labor and in eternal vigilance. You have heard music and singing in Our Community. These must be looked upon as a part of the labor. Usually, under the influence of sounds people fall into psychic inaction and are even incapable of creating forms. This results from the custom of understanding repose as torpor. One can become accustomed to making use of art as a condensation of forces. A work of beauty can produce not only a heightening of activity but also a sharpening of forces. But one should accept this fact consciously and learn to make use of emanations of creativeness. Agni Yoga (1929) - 437:
Today We looked into Our mirrors. I saw surface agitation in the disciples' auras. Let us be firm in the coming new year, because all is growing. Yesterday's measures are too small for future problems. The pure heart produces a clear picture, but surface agitation indicates a new growth in consciousness. The period of shaping new conditions must be gone through, without confusion, desire, or irritation. There is much tension in space, and it can be oppressive for the human aura. Agni Yoga (1929) - 441:
It is difficult to turn one's attention away from the foam of events and to perceive the most important currents. How much energy would be saved if we looked past the illusions of the surface! It is not difficult to train one's discernment upon the manifestations of nature. Our Teaching directs one towards seeing man as an integral part of nature. Hierarchy (1931) - 347:
347. Many pillars of salt are spread upon the face of Earth. Not only did Lot's wife turn back to the past but numberless are those who have looked back. What did they expect to see in the burning city? Perhaps they wished to bid farewell to the old temple? Perhaps they looked for their cozy hearth? Perhaps they looked in anticipation of seeing the house of their hated neighbor collapse? Certainly, the past chained them for a long time. Thus, one must strive onward for enlightenment and health and for the strength of the future. Thus it should be always; but there may be cosmic knots when an impetuous onward motion is urgent. One should not be disconcerted and mourn over the past. Even mistakes are obvious, yet the caravan does not wait, and the very events press onward. We hurry, and We summon to hasten. The future is crowded, but there is no darkness ahead! Heart (1932) - 153:
153. In hoary antiquity incense was used to determine the aura of objects. It was supposed that objects with good auras became imbued with incense, whereas bad emanations did not absorb the effusions of the plant. Afterwards, incense was used in the temples in order to strengthen the Subtle World and being it nearer. Verily, incense has the property of increasing the vitality of the Subtle World. When used at funerals, its purpose is to safeguard the one who has passed the borderline of consciousness and to liberate him from the state of slumber that is usual for those who are unprepared. Such details of the ancient knowledge are completely forgotten; similarly forgotten is the significance of various fragrances. The manufacturing of perfumes has lost its ancient meaning; not only has it lost this, but through ignorance the most harmful combinations are often used. The affirmed knowledge, based upon wide study, will afford an entire domain useful for application in life. The use of aromas in antiquity was connected with the study of cures. The priests indicated how to utilize aromas and in what cases to apply them. Thus, without witchcraft, one can trace an entire system of cures based on inhalation and the nourishing of the nervous system by rubbing aromatic essences into the skin. Thus, the ancients looked far deeper than the surface of the skin. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 367:
367. One should remember about harmful objects. People are sometimes willing to acknowledge a certain significance in teraphim fashioned for the purpose of influencing people. But, after all, many objects carry upon them accumulations of influences. Not rare are the objects made in an hour of hatred, fatigue, terror, or despair; they will carry these sendings with them into the world. And if they fall into the hands of an owner who is under the same astrochemical conditions, they will act in accordance with the message with which they have been suffused. Sociologists are trying to improve working conditions. This is right, but in addition the spiritual level of the workers should be raised. It does not matter whether they create great things or small, the poisonous saliva can saturate them equally. For natural magnetism there is no need of special black magic. Black fire fills every evil heart, therefore let us be very observant in regard to objects. One may recall that Apollonius of Tyana never touched objects that were unfamiliar to him. First he looked at them carefully, especially when they were ancient. When one of his disciples wanted to put a ring on his finger, the Teacher warned him against touching poison. A deadly poison was discovered concealed in the ring. And Apollonius added, "Such poison is less deadly than the poison of the heart." One should not regard the sayings of the sages as remote symbols. Often they have a literal meaning, which must be remembered and applied. We do not go to a shop to purchase clothing infected with smallpox; yet this infection will be only a one-thousandth part of the contagion present. How often have I stated that the accumulations of thought are far more virulent than poisons! Just as fire deposits a patina upon a vessel, so is the fire of thought irremovable when it saturates the surface of an object. Among purifiers eucalyptus is useful, for it contains much fire. All living fire is also useful. Much infection has been destroyed around bonfires. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 563:
563. Today is a difficult day, therefore, I shall narrate a tale. "A certain demon decided to tempt a pious woman. Dressing himself as a sadhu, the demon entered the hut of the woman, counting his beads. He asked for shelter, and the woman not only invited him in and set food before him but asked him to join her in prayer. The demon, the better to succeed, decided to accede to all her requests. They began to pray. Then the woman asked him to tell her about the lives of the saints, and the demon began to recite like the best of sadhus. The woman rose to such ecstasy that she sprinkled the entire hut with holy water, and naturally sprinkled some over the demon himself. Then she proposed to the demon that they perform the pranayama together, and gradually she developed such a power that finally the demon was unable to leave the hut and remained to serve the pious woman and to learn the best prayers. A Rishi, passing by the hut, looked in, and seeing the demon in prayer joined him in praise to Brahma. Thus all three sat around the hearth, chanting the best prayers. Thus a simple woman, through her devotion, impelled a demon and a Rishi to sing in praise together. But in the Highest Dwelling Places this cooperation occasioned no horror, only smiles. Thus even a demon can be compelled to join in prayer." Fiery World - Book 3 (1935) - 78:
78. In the idea of traditions, one should be very subtly discriminating. If they are understood as stratifications coming from the ancestors, then indeed we arrive at the same emanations, which came from all the surroundings; the traditions will contain all the imprints of the time. But for evolution a constant renewal and broadening is required. It is correct to think about the spiral, because eternal growth affirms infinity. Creativeness is intensified in continual renovation, and infinity shines truly by the creative power of diversity. Thus traditions cannot be looked upon as a guiding principle. Usually the so-called traditions, affirmed by people, degenerate into customs. Customs pass into habits. Thus, habits will express all the stratifications of the past. Therefore, having faith in the Fiery World, one should accept all renewal as a movement of mighty time in evolution. Thus, traditions go with the passing time, but the eternal breath of motion leads to Infinity. On the path to the Fiery World let us remember about the saturation of space by great and powerful energies. Fiery World - Book 3 (1935) - 333:
333. How, then, is it possible to expect successful results, when the seeds, laid into the foundation, bear within themselves a potential of dissolution? The process of planting the seeds is, indeed, that fundamental on which is molded the main foundation. The stones of which the foundation is composed must be used with the most exact perspective of the entire structure; a breach in them can wreck the entire building. The process of planting the seed must be looked upon as the potential of all the following consequences. Thus the husbandman is solicitous about seeds. But woe to the plougher who is ashamed of his field! The seeds which are planted too deeply may come up too late for the harvest. Deep planting of the seeds exposes the earth to suffocating brambles. The process of planting seeds is a most important one. Creativeness of the potential works by invisible effects for him who is stupid and blind, but the essential nature of the field reveals a frightful aspect of consequences for him who does not harken to the Voice of Justice. Woe to the plougher who did not estimate correctly the planted seeds. Only the great is suitable for the great. Only from the luminous germinates the luminous. On the path to the Fiery World one must remember the great significance of the process of planting the seeds. Fiery World - Book 3 (1935) - 346:
346. Spiritual development must inevitably open the eyes of man to those frightful errors which are roots of evil. Inadmissible are discussions about the stronger or the weaker principle, for such discussions lead to lack of co-measurement. Cosmic Equilibrium is not maintenance of stronger and weaker principles. In fact, this human division is what has brought the Cosmic Scales to such a condition. And only atonement by humanity for the violated law will result in new constructiveness; for it is possible to divide mankind only according to established potential. Often man does not even understand what has affirmed the equilibrium on Earth. Cosmic Laws must be looked upon as prophetic Commands. Therefore humanity must learn to adapt the small to the great. In the reconstruction of the World a most important care will be the establishment of the cosmic laws, precisely by the Cosmic Will, not by the earthly. Thus, on the path to the Fiery World only equilibrium reveals the Gates. Fiery World - Book 3 (1935) - 350:
350. The planet is completing a cycle which leads everything to summation. The time is coming when each principle must manifest its entire potential. These rings are looked upon in history as downfall or renascence. But these rhythms must be regarded as the triumph of Light or darkness. The time has come when the planet is drawing near to such a circle of summation, and only the most saturated tension of the potential will result in victory. The circle of summation awakens all energies, for in the final battle all the forces of Light and darkness will take part, from the very Highest down to the dregs. Sensitive spirits know why there is being manifested so much of the Higher, side by side with the guilty and the inert. In the conflict, before the circle of summation there will be contentions of all spatial, earthly and supermundane Forces. On the path to the Fiery World the co-workers must remember the Ordinance of the Cosmos. Fiery World - Book 3 (1935) - 610:
610. Especial attention is paid to dwarfs. As a special race they appear everywhere. One may observe in them not only bodily peculiarities but also a special psychology. No one discerns the cause of appearance of such small creatures; the more so since side by side with them, in the same conditions and families, appear people of lofty stature. But it has already been observed that there do occur unexpected materializations of very tiny beings. Even a clumsily embellished story from the life of Paracelsus recalls how he tried to preserve such small creatures. Of course the experiment was unsuccessful. But even now imprints of very tiny extremities are known. They must be looked upon purely scientifically. The solution will lie in a property of the ectoplasm - hence come both giants and dwarfs. But giants have already been forgotten. Few of them are of interest to anyone and few exceed two meters; and the materialization of giants is rare. But the tiny creatures reveal definitely their similarity and singularity. The dwarfs of southern India and Africa, and the Eskimo pigmies will be very reminiscent of their European brethren. When ectoplasm shall be diligently studied, then its specific properties will be discovered. And in relationship to the Fiery World such study will be a great attainment. AUM (1936) - 62:
62. If someone maintains within himself a dull negation without any mental construction, such poverty of thought must be looked upon as madness. How many times have you yourselves encountered such madmen! They arouse nothing but pity. As a small shopkeeper calculates the amount of his profit but ridicules higher mathematics, so does the ignoramus make out of a thorn from the crown of great achievement a toothpick for himself. AUM (1936) - 219:
219. Lethargy is a peculiar, undefined state between sleep and death. The heart almost stops, the body is motionless, and an unearthly expression of the face is maintained. Yet the man is not only alive but returns to wakefulness for a reason of his own, which no one understands. The falling of one into lethargy is unexpected, and the circumstances of such a transitory state can never be known to those around him., In Our language this is a protracted extrusion of the subtle body. Such a state is not a sickness, and should be looked upon as an unnatural tension of the organism in relation to the Subtle World. It may be the result of overfatigue, fright, shock by grief, or unexpected joy. Especially noteworthy is the instant of awakening. Usually those present create great harm by their untimely exclamations and questions. Each question of this kind is already a suggestion. One should take the greatest care not to dissipate the retained impressions. Most often, people emerging from lethargy begin to assure us that they remember nothing. Rather, such remembrances have been stricken from their consciousness by some inopportune questions or noise. In such a manner an opportunity of acquaintanceship with the Subtle World is lost. During the awakening, the aroma of attar of roses is very useful. Brotherhood (1937) - 17:
17. Brotherhood must be looked upon as an institution wherein the members work not by day but by the task. One must love the labor in order to prefer the task work. It must be realized that the tasks are infinite and the process of perfectment is also unending. Whoever is afraid cannot grow to love labor. Brotherhood (1937) - 201:
The ancient knowledge protected cows as sacred animals, and it wove an attractive legend about bees. But in time people lost the conscious regard for the remedies as first given to them. In the old manuals of healing, each remedy was looked upon from the standpoints of both usefulness and harmfulness. But such valuable substances as milk, honey, and musk carry no injury when they are pure. It is possible to point out many useful remedies in the plant world also, but the majority of them are best in the pure state, when the basic energy inherent in them, over and above so-called vitamins, has not been lost. The juice of carrots or radishes, or of strawberries, is best in the raw, pure state. Hence, it may be understood why the ancient Rishis subsisted on these wholesome products. Brotherhood (1937) - 495:
495. The Teacher has more than once exclaimed, "Joy!" But the disciples have looked around in perplexity, asking, "Where is this joy? The sky is beclouded and there is sorrow everywhere." Yet the Teacher has foreseen joy over and above the temporary frame of mind. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) - 179:
He who undertakes labor in the far-off realms can be called "the Striving Light," and his difficult task, undertaken amid strenuous conditions, should be looked upon as a heroic deed. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) - 227:
The Thinker was particularly concerned about wise dissemination of the Teaching, and practiced strict discipline to prevent the word from reaching those who were not ready to receive it. A foolish broadcaster was looked upon as if he were obsessed, and often he was. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 337:
The Thinker looked at the fragments of a priceless amphora and said, "Great is the power of man. He can break even the most precious vessel." Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 393:
Some people will argue that it is impossible to draw a clear line between reality and illusion, and it is true that only through straight-knowledge or the highest intuition can one discriminate between them. By refining one's perception reality may be seen in its true proportions, but a correct point of view must be obtained. For example, people may rejoice at the beginning and sorrow at the end of an undertaking, but looked at from another perspective it might elicit a quite different reaction, and they would rejoice at the end while bearing good will toward a beginning that is fraught with dangers.
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