Infinity - Book 1 (1930) - 38: 38. If we compare the work of Cosmos with the work of man, we may find the closest correlations on our planet. Let us see wherein cooperation with the elements has been realized. The vegetable kingdom takes what it requires for its growth. The cooperation between man and the cosmic riches is clear. From the animal kingdom we take what is necessary for our existence, accepting it as being customarily due us. When man built his dwellings upon the lake shores and hewed them out of the rocks, he subordinated the world to himself and proudly dominated it. Now the same man dominates, but, having been enriched by all manner of subtle means, he has progressed toward an understanding of the riches of Space. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 541: 541. Earth still harbors the good robber and the cruel devotee. One would suppose that people, as the highest elements of Earth, would evolve far more rapidly than other elements of the planet. But a strange phenomenon is taking place - rejecting the ethics of spirit, people have encased themselves in a spiritual inertia. It seems that even the climate changes more rapidly than the human consciousness. Many inventions have appeared on this planet more than once. Bygone nations knew much, but the quality of thinking has progressed very little. And still people talk a great deal about a new race and a new humanity. But no Golem is to be the prototype of the new race. The quality of thinking will differ from that of past ages. The art of thinking must be completely and consciously regenerated, but without understanding the three worlds it is impossible to raise thinking to a new level. He who does not yearn for self-perfection will not think on a planetary scale. He who considers discussion of the Fiery World as superstition or paganism cannot revere the Image of the Savior. One need not wonder that people become accustomed to honest thinking so slowly, for throughout their many incarnations they have been bereft of the best images of the heroes of mankind. People have continually seen that it was precisely the heroes who were tortured and killed before their very eyes. By such thinking one does not arrive at the concept of the new man. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) - 183: People assume that they have progressed in so many ways and proudly point to their technical achievements, but they have advanced very little in the cognition of truth. One can search throughout the world and will discover the shameful fact that only a few strive toward the realization of Truth, and these few will only whisper timidly about the Subtle World. If one were to explore the history of human enlightenment, one would discover that there exists an immobility of consciousness.
|