|
Agni Yoga (1929) - 40:
40. A blind man dreams of material reward. But, if he were to gain sight, he would be astonished to see that he creates his own reward. Ascending in consciousness, a man progresses filled with joy, and the thought of reward would return him into slavery. In fact, there are many slaves, precisely those who try to conceal the servility of their spirit beneath an icy impenetrability and a seeming renunciation of that which they do not even possess. Each one wanting reward is already a slave. Only by a free consciousness, lacking both self-aggrandizement and self-disparagement, can evolution be constructed. Agni Yoga (1929) - 286:
286. Success in life can be found both by those who with particular clarity understand the essential nature of things and also by those who have accepted their own very distorted perception of things. The difference lies only in the consequences. Those who have realized the nature of things are not attached to them, but the distorters are slaves to them. If someone finds no success, it means that he has remained at the fulcrum of the balance rather than placing himself in either cup. What is the measure of whether things are understood or distorted? Whether or not the conditions of one's life have changed. If nothing has changed, it is because there has been no action of thought. Those who are slow to understand cannot succeed. The majority of people are dragged down by their own weakness and inertia. Life is like chains to them, whereas life should be a conquest. The guarantee of success lies in action. Agni Yoga (1929) - 300:
Thus do I wish to strengthen those who have realized the urgency of the Teaching of Agni Yoga. One should not delay until the time when the torrent drives the crowd in search of salvation. This would only be knowledge gained under threat and terror, and such knowledge is of no value. It is necessary to know those who are guided by a free consciousness. Only those who know the purpose of a battle can participate in it. Slaves driven by force are not needed. I consider it right to protect sincere striving rather than to search for the fragments of a broken vessel. Infinity - Book 2 (1930) - 140:
140. Humanity is saturated with cravings. When the spirit yields to the asserted cravings, the step into evolution is limited by the visible. The opposite striving of the spirit establishes the step of affirmed evolution. The two opposites are always mutually confirmed. While one part strives to possess the visible, the other part strives toward the invisible. Thus, in an epoch of cosmic reaction, humanity may be divided into slaves and those who strive for cosmic possession and by those who carry the cosmic fires. Thus, Our Carriers of Fire so battle, and the clutching hands are of the slaves bereft of spirit. Only those striving to Infinity can understand the beauty of Be-ness. Heart (1932) - 79:
79. If the heart is an accumulator and transmuter of energies, there must also be better conditions for arousing and attracting these energies. The most fundamental condition is labor, labor in thought as well as physical labor. By this act are gathered the energies from space. But one must understand labor as the natural saturation of life. Thus, each labor is a bliss, but the sophistry of inaction is the most harmful in the cosmic sense. To love the endlessness of labor is already an initiation of considerable order; it prepares one for the conquest of time. The state of conquest of time guarantees a step in the Subtle World, where labor is an absolute condition, just as it is in the body. A complaint against labor can only come from slaves of the body. Fiery World - Book 2 (1934) - 97:
97. Surveillance must be very vigilant, but it must not appear as a sign of mistrust. One must transform control into cooperation and reciprocal information. Measures of trust and refinement of quality must be introduced from top to bottom. Many useful measures have been condemned and destroyed only because of hatred of supervision. Of course ignorance is the cause of such lack of goal-fitness. When people will become cognizant of the Subtle and Fiery Worlds, they will comprehend the infinity of relationships. In truth, who is outside of Hierarchy? Only ignoramuses or conscious deceivers can render Hierarchy unintelligible under various names. But they themselves will breathe not the freedom of Hierarchy, but will bear the brand of slavery. One must be cleansed of all covetousness and bondage. From early childhood the freedom of discipline of spirit should be emphasized. One may arouse all dignity and honor. Without honor a man cannot be honest. It should not be thought that slavery can be approved by Hierarchy. On the contrary, the Fiery World seeks not slaves but co-workers. Consider the refinement of the heart as the measure of honor. Thus let us not forget that in the most everyday life are laid the foundations of the world's grandeur. Fiery World - Book 3 (1935) - 41:
41. Kingliness of spirit is contained in fiery consciousness, precisely as discipline of the spirit, as an affirmed synthesis, and as a manifestation of broad understanding. Thus, only slaves in spirit are afraid of everything which is fiery, because each manifestation of Fire scorches them. One may trace how regally the revealed co-worker proceeds, illumined by the Fire of consciousness. One should note not only the achievements of apparent heroism, but also the great path of kingliness of the spirit amidst daily life. It is impossible to err in the potentiality of the regal Bearer of Fire. We know these great heroes who saturate the space and all surroundings with their fire and inspire others to achievement. Thus, it is necessary in life to watch the subtle actions of the kingly spirit. One should subtly discern heroism, because we do not always see the fiery heroism of the spirit; and the basis of heroism is not always revealed to the eye of the ordinary man. How beautiful is the path of a kingly spirit! Fiery World - Book 3 (1935) - 217:
217. Of all the depraved traits of humanity one must subtly note faint-heartedness. This quality borders on many other dark traits. Nearest of all is treachery. Faint-heartedness borders on fear, cowardice, and selfhood. And in the Fiery World there is no place for faint-heartedness. And the crown of courage can be placed only on the brow which is bared in self-renunciation. Yes, let the lone warrior fight single handed. Let the arrows of hypocrites pierce his breast. Let each manifest aspiration be met with rejection. Yet will his armor be studded with courage. Who, then, knows the fiery striving of the warrior? Who knows the truth of the aspiring heart? Only the manifested fiery heart. The subtle consciousness will illumine the manifestation of courage. Faint-heartedness is contempt for the higher Ego. Faint-heartedness is slavery of the spirit. Only the head which bows not in faint-heartedness will be adorned with the great crown. And the disdain of slaves of the spirit is an attainment for the warrior who walks the fiery path. And alone, the courageous warrior, scorning and scorned by faint-heartedness, finds the Fiery Gates to the Hierarchy of Light. Verily, faint-heartedness and self-deception are sisters of darkness! Brotherhood (1937) - 529:
529. Habit is second nature - a wise proverb indicating to what an extent habit dominates man. Precisely, habits render a man immobile and unreceptive. One can suppress habits, but it is not easy to eradicate them. People are continually encountered who boast of their victory over habits. But observe the daily routine of such victors, and you will find them slaves of habit. They have become so imbued with habits that they do not even feel the weight of such a yoke. It is especially tragic when a man is convinced that he is free, whereas he is really shackled in the fetters of his habits. It is most difficult to cure a sick man who denies his illness. Each one can name such incurable ones among people known to him. Yet in order to assimilate the concept of Brotherhood, mastery of existing habits is indispensable. Under habits We have in mind not the service for good, but the petty habits of selfhood. Brotherhood (1937) - 607:
607. Captives were formerly considered the indispensable attribute of the conqueror. Later it was realized that such barbaric customs are incompatible with the dignity of man. But let us see, has the number of captives really diminished? On the contrary, it has increased in all walks of life. Such abasement particularly strikes one's eye when one observes the prisoners of ignorance. It is hard to picture the throngs of those bound by superstition and various prejudices! The most demeaned slaves could not have been in a more bestial state than those bipeds shackled in ignorance. Only the most urgent measures of knowledge can prevent mass madness.
|