AGNI YOGA WEB TV
SERIES
„INTRODUCTION TO AGNI YOGA“
BROADCASTING 12
The Mission
of Man
Ladies and Gentlemen,
welcome, how nice that you are watching our program
again.
We are nearing the end of another section of our
Broadcastings. Let us therefore briefly look back:
In the Series "Experiment Immortality", we
had spoken about the very first and easiest steps of the practice of Agni Yoga:
Know thyself - namely, as an immortal, spiritual being; transform yourself -
into an immortal, spiritual being; and transform the world – into a better
place.
We have then, in this Series "Introduction to
Agni Yoga", looked at the main theoretical foundations, the cosmic laws,
without the knowledge of which practical progress is not possible: The
significance and the expansion of consciousness, evolution and hierarchy, karma
and reincarnation and the conditions in the Supermundane Worlds.
We now return to practice: We shall be discussing in
this Broadcasting the mission and in the next Broadcasting the path and the
goal of man. Thereafter will follow a new Series entitled "The 10 Pillars
of the Practice of Agni Yoga". It will address the concrete implementation
of the higher knowledge in our ordinary everyday life.
1.
Meaning of Life on a scientific Basis
We had already said several times: The Agni Yoga is a
synthesis of science and religion. We therefore show you now how to find the
meaning of your life on a scientific basis:
Man has a dual nature: He consists of a visible,
perishable and an invisible, eternal part. We need to develop both sides of our
nature, the body and the soul, otherwise we shall miss our mission.
You remember the cycles of involution and evolution
(see Broadcasting 4 "The Law of Evoluti-on")? According to this,
humanity has developed, on the descending arc of the involution of the spirit,
the physical, material, intellectual part of our being.
Today, after crossing the lowest point, we are
required, on the ascending arc of the evolution of the spirit, to refine and to
spiritualize the material creature that the spirit has produced: ourselves, our
body.
In today's fifth and in the upcoming sixth and seventh
race - and even more so in the coming V., VI. and VII. cycles! - the
development of our mortal Ego (lower tetrad: physical body, body of feelings,
body of instincts and body of thoughts) has largely been completed. It is now
the development of our immortal self, the soul (higher triad: Manas, Buddhi,
Atma) that is on the curriculum of the evolution.
Consciously
must the spirit be nurtured. (Agni Yoga 27)
Please review once more our Broadcastings 4 ("The
Law of Evolution") and 11 ("The subtle Constitution of Man"), if
you do not remember these indispensable foundations of a scientific
understanding of the meaning of life.
2.
Man created in the Image of God
Evolution of the spirit means: The divine spark, the
particle of the divine spirit within us strives to express itself in matter, to
realize or to manifest itself through matter.
For every one of us is true, what the Church admits
only for Jesus Christ: We are an incarnation of the divine spirit or logos. We
were created in the image of God. We must never forget this high dignity.
According to this inner model we should mould ourselves - make of ourselves a
work of art, as a sculptor does.
As it says in the Bible: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him. (1. Moses 1,
26, 27)
Similarly says Agni Yoga: One cannot express it more powerfully than to say that man is created
in the image of the Highest. Mediocrity arises from the failure of man to realize
his inherent forces. (Fiery World I, 490, 491)
This is the mission of every one of us: To embody the
divine spirit that animates us.
As so often, here, too, Goethe has found the right words:
I believe
that we carry a spark of that eternal light within us that needs to shine in
the ground of all Being and which our feeble senses have guessed only from
afar. To make that spark within us become a flame and to realize the divine
within us - that is our highest duty.
3.
Man as a Manifestation of the Divine
Reveal the divine within you means: Let this part of
your being - not your perishable, animal Ego – act on earth through thoughts,
words and deeds. Your dignity as a human being demands that you bring your
higher Self to expression.
The divine of your nature yearns to grow, to flourish.
It strives to imbue, to transform, to transfigure, to spiritualize - that means
to deify - not only you, but the whole material world as well.
Agni Yoga says: All
the forces of Cosmos should be consecrated to the blossoming of the spirit.
(Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 238 [272])
In every situation there is a higher and a lower path.
The choice is always to you: Do you want to manifest your animal nature or the
sacred within you? Every thought, every word, every action should be marked by
your spiritual being, the soul.
Allow to the
spirit its will. Ask yourself: "What does the spirit wish?" As it
wishes, so you should act. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, 120 [ Part Two III
13])
The scientific answer to the question of our mission,
of the meaning of our life, thus leads us to a mantram that you should keep in
mind at every moment:
"I shall
realize the divine of my nature only." (Elisabeth Haich)
4.
Higher Step of Evolution according to the Manifestation of the Divine
The goal of our earthly stay, the new stage of evolution,
the new man, is only achieved when we have learned to manifest at every moment
our higher self.
The higher and lower levels of evolution - stones,
plants, animals, human beings, Masters of Wisdom, angels, rulers of planets,
solar systems and universes – differ only insofar, as some manifest their
divine core already to a greater extent than others.
Helena
Blavatsky recognized Jesus’ Divinity only so far as He had cultivated the Spark
of the divine in His nature to a greater degree than had the masses of
humanity. (Teachings of the Temple, Vol. II, Lesson “Faith in Christ - a
spiritual Guidepost”)
We had already said: Evolution means: Man is on the
way to God. You actually become a god to the extent that you embody the
eternal, the royal, the priestly, the divine side of your nature.
The spiritual greatness of a man is determined not so
much by what he is doing (because our opportunities for action depend upon
circumstances that we cannot fully master), but more by what he is – namely by
the extent to which he already manifests the attributes of God.
5.
Man as the Light of the World
Man is the light of the world. He is sent to bring the
divine light into the darkness of the material spheres.
As it says in the Bible: Ye are the light of the world. Neither do men light a candle, and put
it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are
in the house. Let your light shine before men. (Matthew 5, 14-16)
This mission you realize by kindling, maintaining and
nourishing the divine fire within yourself; by letting this flame permeate and
transform your whole being. When the fire of the spirit burns within you, you
shine in its glory. Then you are a pure chalice from which the divine light can
radiate into the world.
We must
attain the stage where we radiate light from our innermost being, for it is
then that we are true coworkers with the higher worlds. Radiating the light of
Grace, we are at the same time doctors, creators, and protectors on the
descending line of the Hierarchy. First we see the outer light, and then we
come to know the light within ourselves; but only after the kindling of the
“torch” can we radiate Light. (Heart 38)
The divine light that transfigures you, also flows
into your environment. A light bearer, by emitting warmth, knowledge, peace and
blessings, not only raises himself, but also everything else with which he gets
in touch.
How, then,
does a Hierarch create upon Earth? By uplifting everything that surrounds him.
(Infinity II, 722 [322])
You can light the fire of the spirit everywhere. If
you are yourselves imbued with the spirit, your fire can ignite others, enlighten
the darkness of the world and show the way upwards.
Though not
many people know the fires of the heart, these torches must provide light for
all. (Heart 20)
Let your fire
be a beacon for your companions. (Fiery World I, 464)
6.
Man as Mediator between the Worlds
What does science tells us more about our mission?
Man belongs with his perishable body to the earthly
plane and with his immortal soul to the higher, spiritual world. He is the
creature that rests with his feet on the ground and touches heaven with his
spirit.
This dual nature determines our mission: Man is a
mediator, a bridge between the two worlds.
Man is a bridge to
the Higher Worlds. (AUM 67)
He is a link between the material and the spiritual
world.
The Agni Yogi
is a link between the planet and the Higher Worlds. (Infinity I, 238)
7.
Unification of the Worlds
This bridge serves to connect the two worlds, to bring
the spiritual and the material spheres closer together, so that heaven descends
to earth and the earthly life is raised and brought nearer to the higher
realms.
The chief
task of humanity is to unite the world of matter with the world of spirit.
(Infinity II, [I] 360)
Man is the center for the unification of the worlds,
because he comprises both a material and a spiritual nature within himself and
is the first earthly being to become aware of the latter.
When a
traveler stands on a summit, does he not feel that his body is being raised as
if he were a unifier of worlds? Indeed, not breaking away from the Earth, but
the capacity for unifying is what makes man a creator. (Community 215)
8.
Establish the Conditions of both Worlds
Man brings about the unification of the worlds by
establishing the conditions of both levels: the conditions of the material
world from which he cannot part anyway, and the conditions of the higher world
with its solemnity, dignity and serenity, peace and joy, beauty and justice.
So, each one of us can at any time and at any place
where he happens to dwell, create a state where the two spheres touch each
other, where both can reveal themselves: Then the gate to heaven is open.
This is a process of mutual rapprochement: The material
world, strained by the indwelling divine spark, strives upwards. The divine
spirit is directed from above to penetrate the gross sphere in order to come to
tangible material expression down here. Man as the head of the material world
is the focus in which this unification is realized.
To uphold this link is a daunting task: We are exposed
in these times to a tremendous tension, because heaven and earth have moved so
far apart from each other: The level of ideals and the level of the tough
material reality can hardly be reconciled in the daily life of our time.
The world
suffers from a dismemberment which engulfs all great beginnings. In place of
unity, dismemberment is preached everywhere. The invisible is isolated from the
visible World. The Higher is isolated from the Earth. Only striving for the
unity of the concepts of magnitude can establish the necessary link between the
Worlds. The dismemberment of the Worlds leads to a state of savagery. (Fiery
World III, 124)
Instead of getting closer together, heaven and earth
are drifting farther and farther apart. Man, belonging to both spheres, is
threatened no longer to endure this tension and to be torn apart.
The
evolutionary movement is not realized so long as the correlation between the
spheres is not established. For, when the Higher World is striving upward and
mankind propels itself downward, then indeed the cosmic current cannot be
realized. Therefore, disharmony rules in the World. (Fiery World III, 189)
9.
Establish the Rule of the Spirit
If it is our mission to express our higher self, to
reveal the divine within us, this means: We are to establish the rule of the
(divine) spirit!
We establish the rule of the spirit over ourselves by
enforcing the interests of our soul against those of our body.
And we establish the rule of the spirit in the world
by introducing here on earth the higher, heavenly conditions of our true home,
the world beyond of the soul.
10.
Incarnation of higher Principles
What does it mean concretely to establish the rule of
the spirit, to introduce the conditions of heaven on earth, to manifest the
divine down here? The unification of the worlds is achieved when the spiritual
principles that prevail in the supermundane spheres are turned into reality on
the material level.
In heaven rule truth, justice, beauty and love.
Because heaven is the highest world you can imagine. And the highest world you
can imagine is a world, where exactly these principles apply.
The supermundane world differs only insofar from the
earth, as people fail to give validity to these principles down here.
The bridge
between the two Worlds can be made real if the actions are filled with beauty.
(Fiery World III, 115)
If life on earth is arranged according to the
principles of the spiritual world, if as many of us as possible assume these
ideals and express them in their daily lives - then the divine spirit, the
Higher Will rules not only in heaven but on earth as well; then we have established
the kingdom of God, paradise on earth.
Therefore it is said in the Bible: Thy will be done in earth, as it is in
heaven. (Matthew 6, 10)
Or in the Agni Yoga: The victory of the spirit lies in the enforcement of the unshakeable
principles. (Heart 71)
To manifest God means: Put into effect truth, justice,
beauty and love. The divine is made a reality in the material world by
embodying these principles. God reigns wherever man ensures the realization of
His principles. A servant of God is the one who enforces these ideals on earth.
The
correspondence between the Worlds is manifested by the action which realizes
the firm foundations. (Fiery World III, 246)
The mission of mankind is to fight for the victory of
the spirit against the powerful resistance of the forces of ignorance, unbelief
and materialism.
How easy it
is to ameliorate life only by striving to the victory of the spirit! (Hierarchy
453)
This applies to the individual as well as to humanity
as a whole: The opposition against spirituality must be overcome both within
ourselves and in the world. Instead, both we ourselves and the order of human
society must reflect the divine.
11.
Unalterable Principles
You will only be able to cope with this task if you
realize: Principles such as truth, justice and beauty, which make life so
wonderful in heaven, are absolute and immutable. There is only one truth, one
justice and one beauty.
Many truths
are spoken of. Should one not break through their shells and strive to the One
Truth? (Agni Yoga 590)
Only absolute values can provide an unassailable basis
for the transformation of life and the building of the New World. Without them,
you will find neither support and nor orientation.
Therefore, on
the loftiest principles will be erected the future evolution, for that which
was destroyed must enter anew into life, as a great guiding foundation. (Fiery
World III, 162)
It is one of the most harmful diseases of the time
that people no longer believe in the one truth, the one beauty and the one
justice.
People
mistakenly presume that justice is a relative concept, that everyone has his
own justice and his own good. Such a misconception can cause irreparable harm.
(Supermundane 820)
If, as the saying goes, every man has his own truth
and his own ideas of beauty and justice, that means only: Everyone has its own
individual approach to these principles – the one a higher, more advanced, and
the other a lower, more limited one. The ability of us humans to recognize and
to put into practice these high principles is still imperfect.
Truth is
always the same, but the connexions are different, as they depend on the
consciousness. (Heart 5)
The world is very different from the state which most
of you imagine: The phrase "everything is relative" applies, as Einstein proved, only for the seemingly
fixed and invariable plane of matter, space and time. On the spiritual plane,
however, nothing is relative, but everything is absolute.
12.
Creative Task
The victory of the spirit must be won in the midst of
life. Down here, in everyday life on earth, the carrier of a higher mission has
to prove himself. Here, his faithfulness to principles and his perseverance are
required.
The suffering, the tension that we feel between the
higher reality and the imperfect earthly conditions, call us to action, to
amend the conditions, to bring the material circumstances closer to the ideal.
How beautiful
is the spirit that ascends and transforms life into the radiance of Infinity!
(Infinity I, 21)
Wars, disasters and destruction, chaos in public and
personal life are setbacks on the way which are incompatible with human
dignity. They must be fought and overcome.
He who
understands imperfection must start with perfectionment. (Community 226)
Only the
mainspring of transformation of darkness into light can strengthen the spirit.
(Infinity I, 108)
Every man has to seek the path that raises his life
and that of his surroundings. This is the truly creative task of man, the much
brooded over meaning of life:
To find ever new ways to bring the warmth of the heart
into the world; to introduce the high teachings, commandments, advices and
principles into daily life; to enforce the spirit against all the chaos and all
the resistance of matter.
Let us
inflexibly strive to be aware of the warmth of the heart, and let us start
feeling ourselves to be bearers of this temple. (Heart 5)
Above all the questions of everyday toiling must stand
the one: How can I, at any moment, advance the cause of truth, beauty, justice
and love? This is the task we need to work on. Only then the spirit prevails
over the material circumstances.
Without
betraying one's principles it is possible to find hundreds of worthy solutions.
I wish to see you upon the next step. (Community 17)
The ideal is given to us from Above. Its realization
in each, even the most insignificant everyday situation, is the truly creative
human achievement.
One should
sow the good with every glance, with every touch. And the heart will grow in
this exercise of goodness. (Heart 410)
13.
Living Truth
We are not uttering dead words. Everyone can feel the
living truth:
A moment in which we manage to realize in our everyday
life truth, beauty, justice and love, fills us with a satisfaction which is
higher than any other feeling. We feel that, at this moment, we lived up to our
highest mission and are close to heaven.
When through
the rags of your temporary bodies shines the splendor of your spirit, are you
not filled with might and joy? And then I am near to you. (Leaves of Morya’s
Garden I, 277 [332])
We actually suffer from situations in which the spirit
is gone, which are determined by the narrow earthly conditions: By material
hardships, discord, evil or chaos, by falsehood, injustice, ugliness or lack of
love. Even if we ourselves are not at all affected, we long to help to overcome
such unworthy situations.
14.
Battle
Evolution means fight. The coming Age of Aquarius
puts, in contrast to the departing Age of Pisces, fighting into the center.
Without struggle, there is no life and no progress.
Every atom of
Cosmos is battling. (Community 39)
We do not mean the wars of nations against each other.
We are talking about the struggle between ideas, spiritual principles; about
the confrontation between the forces of Light, of progress, and the powers of
darkness, of chaos, whose purpose is to prevent any higher development. The
material forces have grown to a mighty power during the descending half of the
cycle of evolution: They will not give up their position without a fight.
So, Jesus
says in the Bible: I came not to send
peace, but a sword. (Matthew 10, 34)
And Agni Yoga: Never
before has the World been so in need of the sword of the spirit! (Fiery World
III, 191)
The forces of the spirit and of materialism are
hostile to each other. They are struggling for supremacy - over every single
individual and over the planet as a whole. Man alone has it in his hand, to
help the one or the other side to victory.
For you,
without need of hypocritical softening, it may be said that the battle of Light
against darkness proceeds incessantly. (Hierarchy 354)
In this battle, every one of us must choose his place.
Make sure that you do not serve the wrong side with your work - not even under
the pretext of the necessity to earn your daily bread!
Verily, when
the highest and the lowest meet in the Cosmic Battle, let us defend that which
is sacred. In the Cosmic Battle let us manifest that by which the life of the
future is constructed. (Fiery World III, 197)
15.
Warrior of the Spirit
Therefore, it is the mission of man to be a spiritual
fighter, a warrior of light. Fight is the purpose of our life. He who cannot
find, in spite of all the misery, suffering and imperfection in his
environment, anything worth fighting for, has missed his mission.
The New Era calls for warriors of the spirit, for
knights, Samurai or Shaolin who stand up for the higher values against
materialism.
Battle is our
destiny, and one must simply include it in the daily plan. (Agni Yoga 179)
Only the fighting man can establish the rule of the
spirit.
It is
necessary to become as accustomed to battle as to daily labor. We cannot think
of mastering the elements without battle. (Hierarchy 233)
The sign of the departing Age of Pisces was the dove,
the symbol of a pure, peaceful creature in a brutal environment. The leading
sign of the coming Age of Aquarius is the spiritual warrior, the Archangel
Michael, the fighter with the dragon who subdues the evil within himself and in
the world and enforces everywhere the supremacy of the noble and the holy. Its
symbol is the lion (AY 438).
Even a dove
should become a lion. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, 72 [Part One XI 3])
Formerly We
sent the olive branch of peace. Formerly the dove was Our symbol; now it is the
chalice of achievement. Yes, each age has its symbol. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden
II, 261 [264; Part Three I 4])
The New World does not need saints anymore; it needs
fighters!
Not the
receiving of sweet pastry but the forging of a sword; not sugared fingers but
the strong hand of a warrior of the spirit. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, 156
[Part Two V 8])
16.
Conscious Co-moulding of the Evolution
At the lower levels, creatures like the animals are
driven by the evolution without their being aware of it. They are the
weak-willed objects of seemingly blind forces which they do not understand.
Man, however, has gained a consciousness of his higher
nature. He has acquired so much insight that he can recognize the course of
evolution, its laws and its direction.
Moreover, he is so far advanced that he, as the first
living being on earth, is able to work together with the higher powers, to
purposefully drive evolution forward and to consciously participate in the
uplifting and the spiritualization of himself and of the earthly conditions.
Life is
service for the evolution of the spirit. (Supermundane 305)
It is up to ourselves how completely the spirit
expresses itself in the flesh - within ourselves and in the world we dominate.
17.
Cosmic Co-Worker
What a wonderful idea! You are called upon to
participate as a creator and a builder side by side with the higher powers in
the great, universal work of evolution! Can there be a more beautiful, a
greater, a more worthy task?
People must
be participants in evolution. (Supermundane 515)
A great many
people prefer not to realize that they can take part in world construction.
(Fiery World I, 492)
Not many are aware of this holy mission.
Man, who has
been predestined by Cosmos to be a builder and co-creator, has turned himself
away from this crown. (Fiery World III, 374)
When thought
wandered from the sacred destination of Being, the very meaning of Being
evaporated. (Infinity I, 95)
Man is not a plaything of the higher powers, but is
summoned to a conscious cooperation with them.
I shall say
that you can become participants in the evolution of Cosmos. You can improve
the fate of the planet. (AY 640)
How can one
be isolated from the entire cosmic creation when man is the creative fulfiller
of the Cosmic Will! (Hierarchy 72)
The further evolution of man is only possible with our
conscious participation: No one can be forced to spiritualization against his
will. To God-Men, people cannot be made by anyone else; you must reach this
level yourselves by your own efforts.
18.
Cooperation with the Hierarchy
The mission to enforce the higher will on earth leads
us to the collaboration with the Hierarchy and its Representatives on this
planet, the Brotherhood of the Mahatmas of Shambhala. Hierarchy is nothing else
but cooperation between above and below.
Striving
toward the higher powerful cooperation has given a direct contact with the
cosmic forces and with the Highest Fiery Brotherhood. (Fiery World III, 75)
Man as a cosmic co-worker must understand himself as a
helper of the Brotherhood. Each of us was summoned, at his place, according to
his abilities, to participate in the realization of the cosmic plan.
It is of no importance where you stand, whether at the
top or at the bottom. As long as you are a link in the chain of the Hierarchy,
as long as you serve at your designated place, you take part in the dignity of
the Great Work.
Two of my favourite saints had, during their entire
life, no other external, worldly position than that of a gatekeeper of their
monastery: St. Alfonso Rodriguez and St. Konrad of Parzham.
Therefore,
let each one ponder on how better to serve Hierarchy, eliminating all evidences
of selfhood, injury, levity, and the standardized formulas of the crowd.
(Hierarchy 218)
You would commit betrayal to yourself - to your higher
self - and to your mission, were you to refuse this call for cooperation.
Usually man
dissipates his energy in an aimless striving for a vegetating life, excluding
himself from the cosmic chain. Therefore, We say that a man can create his own
world as a part of the World Community or become a link with the Cosmos and
thus become a cosmic co-worker. Thus, striving brings one to Infinity.
(Infinity II, 681)
With whom of you will the Elder Brothers of humanity
find support for their efforts to advance the evolu-tion on earth?
But where are
the people who will direct the cooperation of their energies to the Subtle
World? Where is courage? Where is solicitude about the Invisible? (Heart 204)
19.
Man as an Instrument of the Spirit
Ultimately, it is the mission of man to withdraw
completely, to lay his life in sacrifice at the feet of the Elder Brothers, not
to pursue his own purposes anymore but to be active only as an instrument of
the Mahatmas, as a pure channel of the spirit in the world.
If you have reached such a high level that the forces
of evolution can act through you on earth; if only the divine spirit thinks
within you, speaks out of you and acts with you - then you have fulfilled your
mission. Then it is not you who acts, but the Hierarchy, the spirit, and
ultimately God through you.
20.
Your personal Mission in Life
As carrier of a spark of the divine fire, every man is
a son of God - like Jesus, who was sent into the world with a higher
assignment. Each one of us has in each earthly life his very own individual
mission. This you need to identify and to fulfill.
They came to
Earth to fulfill some task, and should honor their obligation and love their
task. (Supermundane 641)
This mission may concern your own personal
development, or worldly duties in the interest of the cosmic plan, or both.
Not only are
great missions given, but also some very ordinary ones, within the limits of
everyday life, where one can be useful. (Supermundane 633)
No one else can fulfill your life's work, your very
own personal mission. If you fail, the loss to the world is irreparable.
In a
well-designed machine each of its parts is irreplaceable. One should more often
imagine oneself as part of the Universe. (Supermundane 627)
You must try to ascertain: What role has your higher
self to play in this earthly life? Will it not be a wonderful progress to
realize the benefits that you were called upon to bestow on the world?
This role you will need to fill in an entirely
impersonal manner, only the higher goal in mind. Whether it requires a work in
poverty or wealth, at the top or at the bottom of society, in happiness or
unhappiness, in secret or in public, must be indifferent to you.
To every
human being has been given some particular field of work, for training in and
performance of which he is best fitted by nature and desire. It matters not
whether that work is to rule a nation, to build a road, or to take up some
profession or trade; it is his divinely appointed task. As a general thing, his
restlessness, his discontent, or tendency to crime is the result of his
betrayal to his task, his not raising his work to the highest point of service
and efficiency possible to him, thereby losing all interest in it. (Teachings
of the Temple, Vol. I, Lesson “A Supreme Being”)
Whether your soul, in order to reach its goal, has to
appear, in this short, transient life, as a king or a shoemaker, as a beggar or
a millionaire, is unimportant.
It is
difficult for humanity to understand that a king and a shoemaker are congruent
in every respect. (Agni Yoga 645)
21.
Enlightenment at Incarnation
Before each earthly incarnation, in the Subtle World,
you will be told your mission. You must try to remember it.
Every dweller
of the Subtle World receives a task according to his abilities. But there are
few who can remember these missions. (Supermundane, 633)
The task was entrusted to you with your consent. In
the higher world, you were well aware of the necessary development.
Unfortunately, this memory is lost on earth. It is one of the most important
exercises to regain it.
Decisions are
made in the Subtle World concerning the tasks in one's future earthly life.
Most people in the earthly state do not accept this, but those in the Subtle
World know that their incarnations will take place with their knowledge, and,
more importantly, with their consent. When they are about to incarnate, people
have a spark of enlightenment when they understand the karmic load that will
compel them to undergo certain trials, but once in the earthly state they lose
the memory of how their destiny was determined. (Supermundane 256)
Even those who are more likely to be counted among the
opponents of evolution, do not come to earth with bad, but with good
intentions!
Souls
incarnate with good intention; such is the Great Law. Even the spirits in the
lower strata, just before incarnating, receive a ray of enlightenment about
goodness as the foundation of life. But just as the finest aroma cannot
permeate space for long, kind intentions are dissipated by the influence of the
varied conditions of life. (Supermundane 328)
22.
Signs of Life
If it is difficult for you to remember, you can find
out your life's mission by paying attention to the circumstances into which
destiny has placed you:
It is not
without reason that someone is born in a certain country and belongs to a
certain people. Karma leads one not only to a particular place, but also to
certain tasks to serve a certain people. (Supermundane 565)
The historical and personal conditions that call for a
change; the responsibility that falls on you; the people you meet on your way -
all this points clearly to where there is need to act, to improve and to
spiritualize. If you go through life with the open eyes of your higher self,
you will find work enough.
Some sense
that they must fulfill something, but their consciousness does not provide a
clear indication. For such born heroes circumstances will be the key. The
circumstances awaken the hero. (Supermundane 664)
The very circumstances mould themselves in such a way
that you are strongly pushed to a certain direction.
The world of
effects draws man into a current which carries him toward his destination.
(Infinity I, 250)
Do you not often recognise in retrospect that
seemingly accidental or even circumstances initially perceived as unfavourable
were in truth helpful in order to come closer to your goal in life?
In
biographies it is highly instructive to trace the intervening circumstances
which help to conclusively define a life task. It may be noted that many
apparently accidental factors helped along in the predestined direction. As a
matter of fact, not accident but many profound causes contributed to such
achievement. In this can be seen the participation of the Subtle World. (Fiery
World I, 551)
In addition, there are smaller and larger signs
sprinkled into your life again and again. Those you must notice sensitively and
follow.
That is why
we have to be so assiduous in observing and examining the manifestations of our
own lives. Quite often important signs surround us and reveal the significance
of our future, but because our power of attention is undeveloped we are unable
to discern the convincing reality. (Heart 211)
Your true, spiritual father, the teacher who guides
you, will make sure that you get the necessary information if you turn
confidently to him.
There rules the law of goal fitness: The Hierarchy
will not allow any energy that offers itself to be wasted. It will, therefore,
help each one of you who is looking honestly and selflessly for his task.
It is best to
seek the Teacher's Indications in the various manifestations of life. (Leaves
of Morya’s Garden II, 236 [237; Part Two IX 11 (12)])
Live a full
life, rich in experience. Whatsoever your doubts We shall dispel them in life
— but hearken. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 13 [15])
23.
Orientation
The execution of your higher mission is the thread
that guides you through life. When you have recognized your task, you have
found a guide that clearly and unmistakably shows you the direction with all
questions of your life.
It is
essential that amidst all one’s labor and difficulties should firmly stand the
Beacon of the Higher World. (Supermundne 708)
All your actions must be guided by the desire to come
closer to this true, spiritual goal of your life.
Only if you have meaning and goal of your life firmly
in mind, you will be able to find your way in every situation. He who, like so
many, does not even know why he lives and what he is working for - he cannot
know to which external demands he should adapt himself and which he should
oppose; where upon he should use his powers and what he should refuse; where
the essential and necessary lies in contrast to the insignificant; he will be
tossed to and fro like a leaf in the wind.
Man should
know what he is striving for and which good deed he is rushing to perform. May
man not forget that he has a mission here on Earth which he must fulfill.
(Supermundane, 188)
The knowledge alone that your life has a deep meaning,
that you have to fullfil a higher mission down here on earth, entrusted
exclusively to you, is a source of strength which will enable you to overcome
all difficulties.