New Era Community (1926) - 92: 92. Menacing hands do not reach you when you proceed surrounded by the spiral of devotion. If through lower physical sight the eye could see the armor of devotion, then the man would already not be in a state of lower consciousness. Lessons of former lives do not reach closed eyes. Verily, without wings over the abyss remains each one who approaches Our Community in an outworn consciousness. Each one who attempts to approach Us in pride will be struck as if by an explosion of ozone. But how to explain that We do not smite, that the proud one smites himself? In the same way perishes he who enters a powderhouse in metallic footwear. Knowing how to use steel spikes on shoes makes a fair runner, but any workman will advise to wear soft slippers when walking on an explosive surface. Hence, there is needed a buffer for a saturated atmosphere. Agni Yoga (1929) - 522: People who have stored psychic energy should be considered as treasures of the nation. Not of its millions of citizens should a country be proud, but of its store of psychic energy. For the sake of even one individual with a store of energy, thousands of average ones must be spared. Like a magnet, each one with an intensified store of psychic energy attracts the embryonic energies buried deep within people. This means that each possessor of conscious energy is himself an embodiment of the General Good. Therefore, let us treat with care every accumulated store of energy. Heart (1932) - 458: 458. Indeed, not long ago the potato was regarded as the devil's apple. Let us not become proud, for these examples of ignorance are innumerable. One may even prefer the ignorance of savages, because they can be enlightened more easily on the possibilities of the distant worlds. Reincarnation itself remains a curiosity or superstition. All the indications regarding nature's laws do not as yet lead to significant conclusions. I do not repeat this for you but for the cowardly ignoramuses who seek to cloak crime with irresponsibility. How afraid they are of death! But at the same time, they fear also to cross to the other shore of the river. Sometimes it is necessary to disturb their ignorance. Those who slumber are often in need of a blow. Fiery World - Book 2 (1934) - 80: 80. To those who cannot accept the concept of the Leader, let us say All your words presuppose the priority of something or someone. You yourself do not notice that each of your affirmations is based upon a discovery of something established by someone. There is no man who can get along without being taught. One must not become proud in one's own heart. The understanding of Hierarchy will help to establish the manifestation of the Leader, who in relation to the Higher Ones is not a leader but a follower. People, under the influence of ignorance, try sometimes to cut the ropes, but any sailor will tell you that masts are cut down when the elements overcome human strength. The same sailor knows that without masts and ropes the voyage is catastrophic. This means that the unavoidableness of Hierarchy throughout the Universe should be affirmed through education. AUM (1936) - 419: 419. In establishing full rights it is necessary to avoid making it appear as something extraordinary. It is a natural condition and must be accepted calmly. In spirit one may deplore the fact that such a natural condition was not reached sooner. But it is no cause for proud boasting when something is done which nature itself preordained. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 321: One should not look upon illiteracy as an obstacle but as a reminder of the urgent need for education. How can we be proud that many schools already exist, when humanity has not yet outlived the shame of slavery, and education has not been sufficiently fostered? Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 345: What then do we see in this age, so proud of its discoveries? People reject completely all that is beyond the earthly realm and become victims of destructive imbalance. They forget their immediate responsibility toward Earth and begin to wander in a fog of abstraction, and if they meet those who have attained harmony, they despise them! Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 399: I speak about these ancient achievements in order to put to shame many of our contemporaries, who are proud of their numerous discoveries but often cannot maintain the simplest conditions necessary for their experiments. Furthermore, people do not wish to learn patience. They should think about what great patience was needed by the ancients for the investigation of alloys. As the centuries passed some metals were forgotten and later rediscovered. It is instructive to note how many things were forgotten by humanity! Among these was radium, which in ancient times had another name; it was called "heart of the firmament."
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