AGNI YOGA WEB TV
SERIES
EXPERIMENT IMMORTALITY
BROADCASTING 7
We are
creating the Man of the Future
Dear Agni Yogis,
we are starting a gigantic
project today: We transform into men of the future, into immortal beings of
spirit!
We shall be
undergoing a real metamorphosis: Just like a caterpillar which turns into a
butterfly!
Practising Agni
Yoga actually brings forth a New Man!
A New Epoch begins!
We are climbing a higher level of evolution and creating the spirit man of the
6th race! Will you join us?
Man is transfigured
into an overman and takes a place amidst the Highest Spirits, thus living in
Eternity. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter of 02.09.1937)
The disciple
interjects: "My dear Tsong, your high-flying ideas make me dizzy. Isn't
that far removed from our normal, earthly reality?" (Gudrun Stiasny "The Wanderer through the
Zodiac")
Then let me reassure
you: The core of everything we will be discussing in this Broadcasting is of
the utmost simplicity: All you have to do to transform into a higher being is:
1st Guiding Idea:
You expand your consciousness
and say to yourself:
"I am a soul"
Then you listen to
your heart: You think and feel, speak and act only the way your Eternal
Individuality wants you to: You appear as a being of spirit. Then you actually
are a spirit man. That is not so difficult, is it?
*****
"We are
creating the man of the future" – that is meant exactly as it sounds: I do
not intend to give a lecture here and explain to you how to do it. Let us
rather get to work together at once, here and now.
Let us actually begin
to bring forth the New Man – today!
Are you ready?
"We are
ready!"
Then let us get
going! Wherever each of us lives and is situated, let us unite our striving and
direct it towards the New Construction!
Enough words have been exchanged; now at last let me see some deeds! (Goethe
"Faust")
We do not merely
want to dream of the overman like Nietzsche – we are really striving to create
him!
Start with this
heroic deed, with this adventure, and there will never be another minute of
boredom or dejection in your life!
*****
What is it that
will actually change the world? Neither books nor lectures, but only the
reality of the New Man!
"Do you
seriously believe you can produce the man of the future through an educational
programme?"
There is indeed a
plan. Agni Yoga contains a complete programme for bringing forth the 6th race!
This we will now go through step by step.
The Great Plan for
the development of the new race is wisely designed. (Leaves of Morya's Garden
I, 100 [111])
The Brothers of
Humanity outline the plan for human evolution. (Infinity I, 303)
The man of the
future will not come out of the blue, nor will he be born.
Guiding Idea:
The New Man comes into being
through spiritual exercises
in the midst of everyday life
1. The
Call
Nicholas
Roerich "The Command of the Master"
The Mahatmas are
calling us! Do you listen?
Now We assemble the
spirits of the sixth race, and Agni Yoga is the Call! (Infinity I, 188)
If you have found
Agni Yoga, this summons is also addressed to you!
You are meant! Yes,
you of all people!
Do you want to
hearken to this appeal? Will you follow it? Will you fulfil your mission? Do
you wish to unearth your potential?
The books of Agni
Yoga are an urgent call to work for world evolution. (Leaves of Morya's Garden
II, 343 [347])
2. Aim
of Agni Yoga: The New Construction
Bruegel
"The Tower of Babel"
"What is the
goal of Agni Yoga?"
A New Construction,
a higher stage of evolution: the New Man and the New World.
"Where do we
begin this gigantic undertaking?"
Where else but with
ourselves?
The most urgent
problem is the birth of the true man. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter
of 14.08.1936)
Everyone thinks of
changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. (Tolstoy)
You must be the
change you wish to see in the world. (Gandhi)
Our transformation
into beings of spirit is the indispensable first step. With the old, mortal men
it is impossible to build a new world.
To seek to achieve
political reforms before we have effected a reform in human nature, is like
putting new wine into old bottles. (Helena Blavatsky "The Key to
Theosophy")
We must not hope to
build a better world without improving the individuals. To this end, each of us
should work at his own perfection and thereby at the same time take upon
himself a share of the general responsibility for the whole of humanity. (Marie
Curie)
Yesterday I was
clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing
myself. (Rumi)
Let us bring forth
a new species: Homo immortalis, which will replace the mortal Homo sapiens!
This new, superior breed
must inevitably spread. If we only show its greatness, strength, beauty and
dignity to the old man, he will emulate it as a child imitates the adults.
Guiding Idea:
The New Man is not born.
He comes to life through succession!
We show the way
with our example.
During various
times there appeared many, strong in spirit, who testified with their lives to
the right path of progress. (Supermundane 621)
You cannot do more
for yourself and for humanity as a whole.
My life is my
message. (Gandhi).
Guiding Idea:
The appearance of the New Man
will bring forth the New World all by itself!
"Don't you
promise too much? How are you going to turn us small, weak humans into great
and strong beings of the 6th race? And that of all things in an online
course!?"
There are two
things to say on this:
Firstly: We are not talking
about the education of the body, but of that of the Eternal Indivi-duality,
the soul. Everyone can form this non-material being with the help of his
thoughts and feelings alone (see the Video "Bringing the Soul to
Life"), you as well.
Secondly: We are speaking of
a route, of the Spiritual Path of ascent. Anyone can tread this path, no matter
how deep down he has to start. All great spirits who have already reached the
higher level have led this way. You only have to follow them.
Each Mahatma began his
ascent from the very midst of the people, having only dared to choose the
difficult path of the Great Soul. (Hierarchy 304)
You can train this
elevation in the same way as upright walk!
3.Leap
to the next Level of Evolution
Today we are
relying upon the earlier Videos of the Series "Experiment
Immortality". After so many insights, exercises and experiences, you are
now ready to take a great leap forward and to climb the next higher level of
evolution – combined with the firm resolution to securely stay there and not to
fall down again.
"Leap? Isn't
evolution a slow, continuous development? Isn't it said: 'Natura non facit saltus' – 'Nature does not proceed by jumps!?"
Yes, of course, but
nevertheless there comes the point when the caterpillar ends and the butterfly
appears.
When the baby no
longer crawls but stands. Maybe it wavers. Maybe it only stands for a very
short time. But it has stood. It has climbed the higher step. Once it has
stood, it can stand again. And if it has stood for a very short time, it can
stand for longer and finally permanently.
Exactly such a
heroic effort is required to bring forth the man of the future.
One cannot jump a
chasm in two leaps. You have to take just one bold leap. (Vaclav Havel)
You are either on a
higher or on a lower rung of the ladder of Hierarchy – in between there is
nothing.
Take the leap right
now! Do not just listen, but practise together with us – then today will be the
first day of your new life as a man of spirit!
*****
"Are you
already an overman so that you can instruct and train us? Or do you teach
something that you yourself do not live?"
A fair question.
But one should not classify oneself. Agni Yoga shows the path, the Mahatmas
lead the way, and I follow.
I present this
development in an easily understandable way and share with you the experiences
I have gathered in decades of practice. Whether that helps you or not, you have
to judge for yourself.
We send messengers
of truth, whose task is to announce untiringly the future steps of evolution.
(Supermundane 613)
The only important
thing is to walk the mapped-out path! Then it is irrelevant how far exactly
each of us has already advanced.
Chapter 1:
How to recognise the New Man?
Nicholas Roerich "Glory of the Himalayas"
"How do I recognise a New Man when I meet him? How does he differ
from the old one? Is he taller, stronger, blonder or more intelligent?"
Is he an emperor like Akbar the Great or a military leader like Napoleon?
Does he live in a palace? (Blenheim
Palace)
No, he may dwell in the simplest hut or earn his living as a shoemaker
like the great mystic and philosopher Jakob Böhme.
Because he is a spiritual being, because he can be man or woman, black or
white, American or Chinese, short or tall, fat or thin, poor or rich, you
recognise the man of the future not by outward appearances but by his inner
qualities.
If you are sensitive, you will feel from his radiance of purity, wisdom,
power, joy, light and love that you are in the presence a being of a higher
level. (Nicholas Roerich
" Saints Boris and Gleb")
1. The immortal Man
Let us not complain about the imperfection and egotism
of the old race. Let us rather set up a new, more beautiful image of man.
You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change
something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. (R.
Buckminster Fuller)
The New Man is greater, stronger and more beautiful than the old one.
"What is this greatness based on?"
On his immortality! This is the characteristic feature of the 6th
race!
Immortal man—is this idea not worthy of the future? (Agni Yoga 553)
He is a Cosmic Giant because his existence and his possibilities of
growth have no limits.
That thou can never end, doth make thee great. (Goethe "The
Unlimited", from "West-Eastern Divan")
A being of spirit that lives forever is among the old mortal men like a
giant among dwarfs. (Louis Rhead
"Gulliver")
2. The 7 Pillars of the mental Attitude of
an Immortal
The 7 Pillars, Dessau, Georgium
"So much information, so many teachings, what a heap of advice! I need
a short guiding principle, a leading thought, which I can call to mind in
difficult situations to give me orientation."
Yes, brevity is needed, clarity and simplicity! Here is the one
formula that is enough to transform into the man of the future:
The New Man differs from the old by the mental
attitude of an immortal!
Guiding Idea:
The man of the future makes his appearance
wherever someone rises above
the turmoil and storms of life
and takes the standpoint of eternity
"What does this exalted position look like?"
Here are the 7 pillars of the mental attitude on which the artwork of the
man of the future is unshakably based:
Pillar 1: Keeping the Vibration high
Whatever happens, wherever I end up, my first endeavour is: I keep the
vibration of my being high and the golden aura, the integrity of my light body
intact. I do not allow anyone or anything to drag me down and to destroy this
magnificent ideal state of my soul. Only when this has been achieved do I turn
to my earthly tasks.
Pillar 2: Living in
the Higher World
Whatever happens, wherever I end up: As a spiritual being I am living in
the world of the soul. I am far above grey everyday life. From these heights, I
am observing and directing the material conditions. My true, spiritual self is
not involved in them and not affected either by anything that goes on down
there.
Pillar 3:
Invulnerability, Fearlessness, Freedom
As a non-material being, I am immortal and therefore invulnerable. This
awareness makes me completely fearless: No one and nothing can do me any harm.
Not even the death of my body, which will soon pass away anyway, can frighten
me.
Fearless, I am entirely free to act in a strictly ethical manner without
making any undue concessions. I can fight with all my strength – if worse comes
to worst even at the risk of my life – for the realisation of my dreams, goals
and ideals.
I feel my kinship with all creatures which, like me, are endowed with an
immortal soul. I treat my little brothers and sisters lovingly – even if they
offend, insult or hurt me in their ignorance, laziness or selfishness.
I am walking the eternal Spiritual Path of self-perfection, of ascent to
God. I want to grow to become a great, beautiful and strong soul.
I rejoice in obstacles, difficulties and struggles. They are rungs of the
ladder. If they are missing, I can neither grow nor strengthen my psychic
energy.
I am grateful for every opportunity to pay off old Karma, to make amends
for wrongs I have committed myself.
I joyfully welcome the tests which my teacher sends me so that I may
prove my spiritual progress.
Pillar 6: Using the Body as a Tool
I disdain the
needs, desires and moods of my body. I keep my brother donkey in check.
I do not care about
its weaknesses. Is my vehicle tired, sick or frail? That does not matter to me
in the least: My spirit compels it to function.
Thy body must not
hinder thee upon the path. (Leaves of Morya's Garden I, 272 [320])
My Eternal
Individuality directs the thoughts, feelings, words and acts of my transient
personality! My tool will have to obey.
I do not reveal the
physical, animal, but the spiritual, divine aspect of my nature.
I do not require
any material things, neither for my survival nor for my well-being. I do not
want anything for myself personally. All I am striving for is the realisation
of the Divine Will, the establishment of the Cosmic Order on earth.
*****
Practise these 7
pillars diligently and make a habit of them! On this attitude it is based the
superiority of the New Man!
"Is a new mental
attitude alone really enough to bring forth the man of the future?"
Yes!
If you behave, if
you appear like an immortal, a king of the spirit or a disciple of the
Brotherhood, you are such a higher being!
However, do not
believe blindly what I am telling you! Try out for yourself and experience how
a new attitude towards the challenges of everyday life transforms your being
and transfigures your existence!
*****
As fantastic as it
may seem, it is true nevertheless:
In order to climb
the next higher level of evolution, you do not need to do more than two
spiritual exercises, which, moreover, are of the
utmost simplicity:
First: In the morning
meditation you transform into a spirit being of high vibration.
Secondly: In everyday life
on earth, you defend this sublime state and appear as a man of spirit.
Let us now discuss
how exactly these two exercises work.
Chapter 2:
Transformation into a Being of Spirit
The man of the future is not a physical, but a subtle reality.
Guiding Idea:
The New Man
is a being of spirit
So our task is: We transform from a material creature to a spiritual one!
"What does 'transformation' mean?"
A spirit being has a higher vibration than a material
organism.
Just as vapour has a higher vibration than water, and water again a
higher vibration than ice. The ice corresponds to the physical, the water to
the Subtle, and the vapour to the Fiery Body.
Remember the Video "The Law of Evolution", the cycles of
involution and evolution. At the beginning, the monads incarnate in highly
subtle, ethereal, that is, high vibrating bodies. In the course of involution,
on the descending arc, the bodies become denser and firmer, their vibration
decreases more and more. Today we have reached the turning point at the bottom.
On the ascending arc of evolution our beings shall again become more spiritual,
more ethereal, that means higher vibrating. (Leonardo da Vinci „Der vitruvian
Man“)
Therefore, transformation requires practically:
You raise the vibration of your being.
If it is high, your Eternal Self, your Fiery Body, is alive. If it
decreases, you turn back to ice – to an ordinary, material, mortal creature.
*****
We briefly repeat and deepen the 3 steps of transformation that we had
already talked about in the Series "Experiment Immortality" and the
Video "Initiation to Agni Yoga":
First, you develop a new consciousness. Secondly, you build up your
spirit being. And thirdly, you make your creation appear in the material world.
First Step:
Form a new Consciousness
You become aware:
"I am not my body, but the subtle being that permeates and envelops
it."
1. I am a Soul
You realise:
"I have a soul."
The development of this awareness is more than mere intellectual
cognition. Experience this yourself and feel the real existence of your Eternal
Being! We have already discussed how this can be achieved in the Video
"The Secret of Immortality Part 1".
Many of you still have the consciousness of a donkey (their body) because
they know nothing of the existence of the master, the rider (their soul). (Flandrin
"Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem")
You conclude from this expanded knowledge:
"I am a soul."
For that which is immortal and eternal is certainly more significant and
more real than that which is perishable.
Guiding Idea:
You identify with
the eternal part of your being
So to know the real do not think you have a soul, but the soul has you.
(Teachings of the Temple Vol. II, Lesson “Life and Death”)
It is a common conviction of humanity that man possesses an immortal
soul. To this Theosophy adds that he is a soul. (William Q. Judge, The Ocean of
Theosophy)
You may call your true, Supratemporal Self “Anima”, to distinguish it
from your transient personality named Mary Smith or James Baker.
2. Consciousness of Immortality
All material things must perish.
As opposed to that, a spiritual being is not restricted by the
limitations of matter, time and space. You realise:
"I am immortal."
Guiding Idea:
The New Man differs from the old one
by the consciousness of his immortality
Everyone may earn immortality by admitting Infinity into his
consciousness. (Infinity I, 70)
3. Forming a new Ego Consciousness
On this basis you take the crucial practical step:
You transfer your consciousness into your soul.
"We have discussed this concept already several times, but it is
still not quite clear to me: If I drag my consciousness out of my body and move
it into the soul, will then the body-awareness be lost?"
No, of course not. You remain aware of your body. We should better say:
You expand your consciousness in such a way that beyond the body it now
encompasses your soul as well.
Guiding Idea:
You form a new ego consciousness
The creation of a new consciousness is affirmed as the cornerstone of
evolution. (Hierarchy 322)
You learn to know thyself.
You form a new picture of yourself. You now perceive the complete reality
of your entire being, consisting of material and subtle aspects, which you may
imagine approximately like this:
You realise, you experience the existence of your own, very individual
soul, different from all others. This is much more than just saying
intellectually: "I have or I am a soul".
Within you there is dwelling an age-old being endowed
with the experiences of millions of years!
Should you not be able to sense its existence?
*****
"How can I have this experience? How does this new picture of myself
develop?"
Let us ponder: How does the ego consciousness of a baby arise?
A toddler perceives his arms and legs flailing around him. He puts his
fingers and toes in his mouth. Some time passes before he learns: This is me!
That which I notice and feel is a part of myself!
This is how man recognises his physical being.
With your Eternal Individuality, it is no different: Of course, you
cannot see it, you cannot grasp it and you cannot put it in your mouth. But you
can sense it too!
"How do I feel my spiritual being?"
You hear your soul speaking within you.
The very first, very simple, rudimentary stirring of your Eternal
Individuality consists in whispering something to you through the heart. You
can perceive this "voice of silence"!
Your immortal Self instructs you to behave lovingly towards your fellow
men, to do certain things and to refrain from others. You remark:
"That is me! That which is expressing itself there is a part of
myself!"
You feel that there is an invisible creature, hidden deep within you,
that wishes to reveal itself.
In this way man recognises his spiritual being, which is as real as the
physical one.
*****
A baby continues to develop its ego consciousness by learning to use its
physical senses and powers, for example to walk and talk.
Your Eternal Individuality continues to develop its ego consciousness by
activating its inner, spiritual senses: The eyes of your soul learn to look
down from above on the material world and therein on you yourself, your body.
Furthermore, you set about training and using the spiritual powers of your
Higher Self.
*****
A baby begins to discover, to develop and to assert its will.
"What does it want?"
What every physical being wants: food, clothing, shelter, warmth,
secureness, safety and material pleasures.
Likewise, you become aware that your soul, too, has its will.
"What does it want?"
What a spirit being aims at: that truth, justice, beauty and love shall
reign on earth.
*****
This is how you awaken your soul to its life.
You almost feel birth pangs like a pregnant woman. (L. A. Ring "The Artist's Wife")
You sense the Cosmic Giant within you. You know: You have to get him out
there. He is literally urging to the surface.
*****
This creation of a new ego consciousness is a long process. It is hard
work, inner work, spiritual work.
Nothing grows as slowly as consciousness. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol.
II, letter of 18.02.1936)
Know how to observe the growth of consciousness. Certainly it is more
difficult than observing the growth of hair or grass. (Fiery World I, 524)
*****
The consciousness of being Anima, an immortal spirit that uses many
material bodies as tools on its eternal path, is something you must
continuously preserve on all planes of existence, in all material and
non-material worlds, through all transitions.
Immortality means preserving a continuous consciousness on all planes of
existence. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter of 31.08.1936)
Eternal life is the most obscure concept from the point of view of
earthly thinking. Different people sometimes even belittle this concept into a
prolongation of life here on Earth. What an error! Worlds
will be renewed, yet the dwellers of Earth should remain congealed in the same
garment?! Is it possible for the Teacher to be concerned with the
prolonging of earthly life? The Teacher thinks of the eternal life in all the
worlds. The heart prays for eternal life of the consciousness. It knows that it
is a great blessing if the consciousness be uninterrupted and goes through the
ascent untiringly. (Brotherhood 576)
Second Step:
Building your Being of Spirit
Your spirit being is the non-material, invisible part of your nature. We
may also call it "body of light" or "Fiery Body". (see
Video "The Subtle Constitution of Man ") You are called upon to build
it up yourself through your own creative work.
"It is not yet clear to me what you mean by 'transformation into a
being of spirit'. What shall I do specifically? I am not a caterpillar. There
is no butterfly inside me that I could conjure up. And surely my body is not
supposed to disappear?"
No, you are right. Metamorphosis is a symbol. In practical terms, this is
what it is all about:
In addition to the physical body that remains
unaffected, you build your eternal body.
Or, to put it another way: There is your immortal soul inside you after
all. For the time being, however, it is still undeveloped, small and weak like
a child.
You must give this unhewn raw material a shape!
You form, educate and mould it into a great, beautiful and strong being.
In this way, a new creature comes to light that did not exist before.
On the divine plan
each one is the builder of his soul, and the architect of his own immortality.
(Teachings of the Temple Vol. II, Lesson “True
Knowledge”)
"I don't
understand: What raw material are you talking about? What stuff are our souls
actually made of? What am I forming, and how am I doing it?"
Your Eternal
Individuality is not a material but a subtle reality of the fourth dimension,
similar to a hologram.
Your soul is made
of highly spiritualised substance, of invisible subtle matter, of waves or
vibrations like light.
We are such stuff
as dreams are made of. (Shakespeare "The Tempest")
You can influence
the state of these vibrations and thus create a beautiful or ugly, great or
small, strong or weak body of light.
A "spectral
analysis" of the New Man, carried out on his aura, shows waves of high
vibration, of purity, wisdom, power, joy, light and love.
1.
Create the Body of Light through your Thoughts
"How can I
shape my soul?"
Rough matter is
formed with the hands or with machines.
Your Eternal Individuality
is made of such fine matter, of waves or vibrations, that you can shape it with
your thoughts.
You are what you
think. (Buddha)
You build your
true, non-material, Eternal Self with the power of your spirit, that is, with
your thoughts and feelings, with your imagination and your will.
Indeed, thoughts
create our inner being. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter of 21.01.1936)
Guiding Idea:
You "only" have to change your thinking
to become a man of the future
What a chance! You
make yourself independent of your physical body with all its shortcomings,
weaknesses and infirmities, independent of heredity, upbringing, environment
and external circumstances!
Your thoughts you
can determine all by yourself.
No one and nothing
can prevent you from always thinking great and beautifully and thereby to turn
yourself into a great and beautiful creature. There are no barriers in the
realm of thoughts.
Only thought can
elevate man. (Supermundane 853)
2. Man is
what he makes himself to be
We repeat: The man
of the 6th race will not be born.
He will not appear
all of a sudden out of nowhere and by its own, like some mysterious indigo
children.
You create the New
Spirit Man yourself.
Guiding Idea:
Man is what
he makes himself to be
Life is not about
finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. (George Bernard Shaw "An Unsocial
Socialist")
If you do not set
about this work, your soul will remain a nothing, or at any rate small and
weak.
Man is first of all nothing. Only subsequently he will be something, and
then he will be what he made of himself. (Sartre "Existentialism
is a Humanism")
This really is an
act of creation!
Like Paracelsus his
homunculus, you are producing a new living being.
The creator is you! (Michelangelo "The Creation of Adam")
The creature is
your soul! (Blake "The Soul")
Physically nothing
changes. Your body remains the same. What changes is "only" its
subtle cover!
The light body is
slightly larger than your physical body. It surrounds you like a garment of
subtle matter; it becomes visible in your aura. (Nicholas
Roerich "Fiat Rex")
The seed of the
spirit is indestructible, but it is clothed in garments that are woven by man
himself. (Supermundane 553)
The physical
appearance of your body is irrelevant. The only important thing is the subtle
picture, the emanations, the aura that your Eternal Individuality radiates.
3.
Creating a Work of Art
Edouard
Dantan "Une Restauration"
Cosmos wants you to
create a work of art out of the stuff of your soul, as Michelangelo made his
David out of a marble block.
The present human
race must perceive the world's greatest need, a higher type of humanity, and
procure the evidence of the existence of such a type. (Teachings of the Temple
Vol. II, Lessons “Unity – spiritual and material” and “The World’s Struggle”)
"How am I to
proceed?"
Like an artist, you
must first form a picture of the artwork which you wish to produce.
Guiding Idea:
According to this idea,
according to this ideal
you shape your soul,
your being of spirit
Man must become the
living image of the great Ideal set up in his mind. (Teachings of the Temple
Vol. I, Lesson 51 “The Suicide of the Soul”)
One of the most
wonderful, greatest instructions of the Mahatmas is:
You have to form an
ideal pattern, and then mould the soul substance by or into that ideal.
(Teachings of the Temple Vol. II, Lesson “The seven Builders”)
*****
You can become
whatever you want, whatever you are dreaming of!
What an
opportunity! You start a new life! You rise from your insignificant, everyday
identity as a shoemaker and family man to your true greatness: To a king of the
spirit, disciple or co-worker of the Brotherhood, teacher, spiritual warrior,
healer or spirit ruler.
Perhaps you will be
moulding yourself into the image of a goddess, a queen or a priestess, of a
Tibetan lama, an apostle or messenger of the Brotherhood, or even of a being
with wings like an angel or a fairy.
(Pallas Athene,
Edwin Longsden Long "Queen Esther";
Feuerbach "Iphigenia"; Nicholas Roerich "Lama"; El Greco
"The Apostle Peter"; John the Baptist)
"I am supposed
to be a winged creature? Now your imagination is running wild!"
Well, I just want
to illustrate that in the spiritual world everything is possible. There you can
create any creature that you can possibly imagine!
Man is nothing
other than what he makes himself into. (Goethe)
We are born on the
condition that we are what we want to be. (Pico della
Mirandola "On the Dignity of Man")
Imagine not only the office, but also the personal features such as face,
hair and clothes. Here are some examples:
(Nicholas Roerich "She who carries the Stone",
"Archat"; Raphael "The School of Athens"; St. Francis of
Assisi; Feuerbach "Iphigenia"; St. Casimir of Poland)
Let us collect the most beautiful, heroic images of all times and
countries, and with creative imagination let us apply their achievements in our
life, taking into consideration the peculiarities of our epoch. Only such
imitation will give the correct foundation for further progress. (Helena
Roerich Letters Vol. I, letter of 01.03.1929)
Which picture do you want to realise?
*****
Guiding Idea:
This idea,
your ideal,
this hologram
you bring to life
"Impossible! You can't make alive a fantasy character like Mickey
Mouse!"?
Yes, you can! We had already discussed in the Video "Participation
in the Life of the Higher World": You can fill the ideal of a king of the
spirit or a disciple of the Brotherhood with life by making it a reality
effective on the material plane; and thus you can actually be a king or a
disciple.
A king or a disciple is not a physical, but a
spiritual reality, which may or may not be realised by your Higher Self.
"Isn't that pure illusion?"
No!
This spirit being, this thought-form is visible to everyone in the Subtle
World and perceptible on the material plane to the sensitive ones. (Nicholas Roerich "Higher than
Mountains")
Your surroundings, the people you meet, will notice: Through your body a
Higher Being is expressing itself, which by its very nature is an emissary or
representative of Hierarchy.
*****
You are constantly busy improving the work of art of the New Man.
Your – spiritual – chisel is always in operation.
Not only in moments of leisure, but even in the midst of your earthly
work. Some string of your being is always in need of retuning to vibrate high.
You are permanently active on both levels at the same time.
*****
"So from one moment to the next, by merely changing my thoughts, I
can create a magnificent being with a radiant aura?"
No, it is not that simple.
You have to consolidate your lofty thoughts and thus the
hologram that arises from them into a permanent structure.
You must not change your ideal every day, or in one moment be a high and
in another a low being, otherwise you will not bring about a lasting, coherent
personality.
If you get out of control or even become aggressive at the slightest
difficulty, your vibration will drop and your aura immediately turn dark and
ugly again.
As the saying goes: From 30 onwards, you alone are responsible for what
your face looks like. You cannot turn mourning wrinkles engraved over many
years into smile lines within three days. (Berlotti "Portrait of an
Old Woman")
Likewise, you cannot make a grey or dirty aura shine overnight.
Third Step: The Spirit Being appears in the material
World
"That is still
not enough for me. Just because I think I am a New Man, I am not yet actually a
being of the 6th race, am I!? Just as I am not as great as Napoleon only
because I imagine to be Napoleon!”
No, of course not.
We are continuing our path: The new consciousness is at first only an inner
process which demands to take shape. To make your transformation complete,
something more must be added:
Your ideal, the
phantasy character appears in the material world.
Your Eternal
Individuality becomes a real factor, an acting entity which makes an impact in
material earthly life.
"Isn’t that
utterly unrealistic?"
Not at all! It is
always the spirit that produces, shapes and moves the physical things and
conditions!
"I don't
understand that."
Then let us look at
an example:
Example:
Containership
Nicholas
Roerich "Holy Himalayas"
What is it that
moves a huge container ship from China to Europe? The engine? The diesel oil?
The captain?
No! The force
driving this material colossus is actually a thought: The idea of an
entrepreneur that he can make a profit by shipping 10,000 containers. This
concept is the decisive impulse. If it is missing (e.g. because a loss is to be
expected), the ship remains in port.
The physical
circumstances are secondary: What does the entrepreneur do if no container
ships or no diesel oil are available?
He will use camels
or sailing ships to transport the goods. (Cargo
sailer "Pamir")
In the same way,
the spiritual aspect of our nature can pursue its goals on the earthly plane by
using the body as a tool.
*****
"What does
‘appearance of the soul in the world’ mean in practical terms?"
You lead the life
of your soul.
Your soul lives
when it (and not your perishable personality) thinks, feels, speaks and acts.
Guiding Idea:
You are a being of spirit
when you think, feel, speak and act
like a spirit man
You let your
Eternal Individuality, your alter ego, your avatar (as it is called in the
language of computer games) appear – but not in some imaginary, virtual fantasy
realm, but in real earthly life. How? By making it act through your body. This
is a much more exciting adventure and of course also much more fruitful than
playing around on your smartphone.
1. Appearances of the New Man
Nicholas Roerich "Zarathustra"
"Can you give some examples?"
Your eternal being appears in the physical world as a spiritual disciple. (Nicholas Roerich "Pearl of
Searching")
You integrate yourself into the chain of Hierarchy, under a greater one,
under your teacher. You think, feel, speak and act like a disciple.
This aspect of your being is of paramount importance for the building of
the New World: Only those who are willing and able to subordinate themselves
completely to the Mahatmas and their earthly representatives can participate in
the New Construction.
Verily, the sign of belonging to the Sixth Race will be the acceptance of
the law of the Highest Leadership, the acceptance of Hierarchy in all its
magnitude. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter of 31.07.1937)
*****
Your eternal being appears in the physical world as a spiritual teacher. (Francesca "St. Jerome with a
Disciple")
On the descending line of the Hierarchy, you pass on your knowledge and
help your smaller brothers and sisters on their Spiritual Path. You think,
feel, speak and act like a teacher.
*****
Your soul is by its very nature a fighter! (Guido Reni "Archangel Michael")
You fight against the forces of evil and for the realisation of the Will
of God, for the establishment of Cosmic Order on earth, for truth, justice,
beauty and love. You think, feel, speak and act like a spiritual warrior.
*****
Your Eternal Individuality, according to its essence, appears as a
spiritual healer. (Nicholas
Roerich "Pantaleon the Healer")
With your high vibration you raise the vibration of your whole
environment. You give spiritual help wherever it is needed and wherever people
are ready to receive it.
Help in spirit is the most powerful. (Leaves of Morya's Garden I, 359
[422])
*****
Your true, spiritual self is a bearer of light.
With your golden aura you illuminate the darkness and give comfort, hope
and courage to those in need.
With your enthusiasm you ignite the fire of spirit in others.
*****
On the stage of material life, you play the role of a builder. (Nicholas Roerich "Sergius the
Builder")
An Agni Yogi builds that which should be built. (Agni Yoga 375)
Namely the New Man and the New World.
*****
Your Higher Self manifests itself on earth as a priestly being. (Nicholas Roerich "Zarathustra")
You are always connected with the Higher World and lead your fellow men
to the Heights.
*****
You appear on the material plane as a Higher Being from a Higher World,
as if from a different planet, as an alien. (Nicholas Roerich "From Beyond")
Your realm is not of this world. Your home are the Supermundane Spheres.
You descend in order to fulfil a mission but will soon return back upwards. You
do not give to the Maya of the constantly changing conditions of material life
more than its true, that is a secondary importance.
*****
Finally, the New Man naturally emerges as a guide on the path to the
future, to the next stage of evolution. (Yesudian "On the Way to
the Summit")
"But I little midget do not regard
myself as a leader at all!?"
Well, it is quite enough if you transform into a being of spirit. Thus
you advance, the others will notice the achievement, will imitate it and follow
you.
*****
Take these (or other) examples as role models and
realise them in everyday life!
These performances of the soul do not depend on your worldly position
(king or shoemaker). They make you a new being in any material circumstances!
*****
"How do I know what my soul wants me to do, how I should present
myself?"
Listen to your heart, this voice of your Eternal Self. Direct your
thinking, feeling, speaking and acting through the heart.
Purify them in the fire of your heart!
Nothing can pollute a high Yogi, for everything is consumed by his inner
fire. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter of 30.03.1936)
2. Dignity
Dürer "Charlemagne”
"This is still not enough for me. Healer, builder and leader are,
after all, again inner qualities that can hardly be perceived. Are there no
visible characteristics of the man of the future?"
Yes, let us add one last aspect:
A dignified spiritual attitude must finally express
itself in a worthy posture of the body as well.
Keep yourself upright, not only in spirit, but also in body!
Do not face your fellow men stooping, but with your head held high! (Michelangelo "David")
Put on a majestic expression, move gracefully and solemnly!
Be able to face the waves of life with beauty. (Leaves of Morya's Garden
II, 156)
Keep in mind pictures of great personalities who actually embody majesty
and love, and orientate yourself on them.
(Dürer
"Charlemagne", Uta von Naumburg; Schnorr
von Carolsfeld "Jesus turns water into wine"; Sri Yukteswar;
Nicholas Roerich "Guru", Nicholas Roerich "Bhagavan - Sri
Ramakrishna";
Rembrandt "Apostle
Paul"; Lao-tse, Giordano Bruno; Svetoslav Roerich “Nicholas Roerich”)
But do not pose in any artificial way. You give your inner dignity an
appropriate outward expression, no more and no less.
"What is the secret of dignity?"
You stop thoughts, feelings, words and deeds in which your lower self is
expressed, and only allow those to manifest which come from your Higher Being.
Ödön v. Horvath laments:
In principle, I am quite different, but I rarely manage actually to live
like that.
You do better: You enable your other, Eternal Self to appear and thereby
build up your dignity:
I reveal the Divine only!
It is beneath your dignity to give in to the coarse, sensual desires of
your transient personality or to submit to its whims. (Thomas Couture "Les Romains de la Décadence", Munch "Melancholia")
Just as it is beneath the dignity of a lion king to ape the relaxed life
of its subjects according to the motto "Hakuna matata", and to
vegetate irresponsibly without any higher purpose.
A great man is only the one who first rules himself!
To rule oneself is the greatest rule. (Seneca)
A master first of all masters the beast within himself. (Ernst Barlach "The Spiritual Warrior")
It is unworthy of the rider to be bullied by his donkey.
Your dignity is your most precious possession! Let
nobody and nothing take it away from you!
May you all remember that you build your human dignity amid daily
turbulence. This awareness will make your achievement permanent. (Supermundane
324)
Ultimately, the aim of every great teaching, of every wise teacher, and
thus also of Agni Yoga, is to explain to people how to go through earthly life
with dignity.
The useful Teaching is given for the upbuilding of a worthy life. (Fiery
World II, Preface)
"Isn’t human dignity one and the same for everyone?"
In the spiritual sense, every animated being has its own, but you have to
uphold the higher dignity of a king of the spirit or a disciple of the
Brotherhood!
Chapter 3:
Acquiring the Qualities of a Being of Spirit
Now you have transformed and become a spirit being of the 6th race. This
is like a second birth: A new creature came to life that did not exist before.
Thereby, however, you have only taken the very first step. Your actual
development to a man of the future is just beginning.
Like a baby walking and talking, you must learn to acquire the qualities
of an immortal.
The most important properties are: Invulnerability, fearlessness,
freedom, purity, wisdom, vitality, joy of being, light, love and selflessness.
1st Chief Exercise: Transformation through
Meditation
"How can I attain these qualities?"
By performing the exercises "Elevation", "The Fiery
Condition" and "Connection with the Higher World (Meditation)".
"I don't understand. By looking at the tip of the nose I acquire
capabilities?"
No! Agni Yoga meditation is a creative act! Watch again these three
Videos or read the text (www.lebendige-ethik-schule.de/tvtexte.engl.htm). There we had said:
In meditation heavenly love, joy, purity and power pour down on you.
You fill yourself with the universal love, joy, purity and power that
permeates all space.
Thereby you yourself become loving, powerful, joyful
and pure.
You receive the Divine Spirit.
One may suffuse one’s heart with the Holy Spirit. (Fiery World I, 336)
Guiding Idea:
The spirit becomes flesh.
It takes on human form.
This is how the flesh becomes divine.
That is the mystery of meditation.
When you rise from your seat, you radiate love, power, joy and purity to your
surroundings. The evil habits and bad qualities of your animal nature have
faded away!
"Isn't that pure theory?"
No, let us consider an example:
Example: Peace
The Dalai Lama teaches so wonderfully:
He thereby reveals the secret and the basis of the New Construction:
Through meditation we actually transform our nature and become peaceful. And
once people have become peaceful, peace on earth will come about by itself.
*****
The same applies to all the other qualities of an immortal: Just as a
Shaolin monk, a Samurai or a Tai Chi master acquire their skills through
physical, so you gain through spiritual exercises invulnerability,
fearlessness, freedom etc.
Guiding Idea:
In the morning meditation
you create
your happiness,
your beauty,
your strength
and your greatness
You cannot get by without morning meditation: If you do not start the day
in an elevated state of mind, later, amidst the storms of earthly life, you
will hardly have the opportunity to uplift yourself.
2. Reveal the Qualities of a spiritual
Being in everyday Life
Nicholas Roerich "Gorynych"
"So I will meditate diligently, thereby become a New Man and save
the world?"
No, unfortunately it is not that simple. Meditation is the basis, but
only an inner process to start with.
The awareness alone of being, as a New Man, as a creature of spirit,
immortal, invulnerable, invincible, fearless and free is not enough.
Fearlessness, for example, you must not only feel inwardly, but also express
outwardly. Whether you actually are invulnerable and fearless will only come to
light in the next dangerous situation.
You still have a long way to go before you reach the goal:
A being which, even when threatened with death, actually
no longer feels fear inwardly and no more shows it outwardly either.
Practical
Tip: Do not withdraw from Life
Nicholas
Roerich "Brahmaputra”
You must not remain
seated on the meditation cushion, hide behind monastery walls or withdraw into
solitude. You cannot develop the qualities of the New Man on your comfortable
sofa, but only in the midst of the difficulties of material life.
You need to go out
into the world, into normal earthly everyday life!
The superiority of the
New Man must prove itself among the old mortals, in your family, at work and in
society – where else!?
A spiritual path
that does not lead to everyday life is an aberration. (Willigis Jäger,
Benedictine monk and Zen master)
3.
Qualities are mental Attitudes
"The New Man,
the coming 6th race, of which you like to speak so pretentiously, acquiring
invulnerability, invincibility and complete fearlessness – all this is out of
my reach. A little man like me will need many incarnations for that. And even
more ones to attain in addition the higher abilities of a Mozart, Gandhi,
Napoleon or even Jesus."
Yes, on the one
hand you are right: Of course, a small, weak soul cannot become great and
strong one from one day to the next. This is a process of growth which takes
time.
It is impossible to
be a dwarf today and a giant tomorrow. (Supermundane 712)
On the other hand, however,
we are now coming to a step of realisation of the utmost importance:
Guiding Idea:
A quality like invulnerability
is basically a mental attitude!
If you feel hurt by
someone or something, in order to become invulnerable, you "only"
have to change your thinking and say to yourself:
"As a spirit
being, I – namely my true Self, my soul – am not affected by the attack at
all."
Just as little as a
rider is affected by an injury to his donkey.
Then indeed you are
not injured – at least at this very moment. We learn:
Invulnerability is
a state of the consciousness!
We generalise:
Guiding Idea:
You acquire the qualities of the New Man
just by changing your attitude towards
the turmoil and storms of life
This is possible for
anyone at any time, even in the worst situation, and from one minute to the
next. That is why it is said:
Agni Yoga can be
called the lightning fast Yoga. (Supermundane 767)
*****
You adopt this new
attitude whenever you feel hurt. With practice, the attitude becomes a habit.
You keep this habit reliably. Then it becomes a quality and you have actually
grown permanently and finally invulnerable.
We will now discuss
this path in detail.
4. New
mental Attitude
"So how do I
now convert consciousness into appearing in the outside world?"
We call the link
between inside and outside, between consciousness and acting on the material
plane "mental attitude".
Being aware of the eternity
and indestructibility of your true being, you take a completely different
position towards the challenges of everyday life than before, when you still
considered yourself mortal.
Such an attitude is
more than just an inner process. Showing it, your immortal, spiritual Self
actually appears visibly on the material plane.
Practical
Tip: Material Conditions irrelevant
What matters are
not the events. What has to come will come. You can foresee, let alone
influence almost nothing of what befalls you.
The main thing is
how you face the ever-changing circumstances.
How you carry them,
what attitude you take in adversity, suffering and worry.
Über Nacht, über Nacht
kommt Freud und Leid
und eh du‘s gedacht
verlassen dich beid
und gehen dem Herrn zu
sagen,
wie du sie getragen. (Hugo
Wolf)
By night, by night
Come joy and grief,
And before you’re
aware,
Both leave you
And go to tell the
Lord
How you have borne
them.
Practical
Examples
Here are some
examples:
The New Man is not
spared any of the humiliations which the inhabitants of this planet inflict on
one another. The difference to the old man lies solely in the mental attitude
he unswervingly retains:
Jesus on the cross
does not scold and curse, but lovingly prays for his little ignorant brothers
and sisters: (Tintoretto "Crucifixion of Christ")
Father, forgive
them; for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)
Plato, sold into
slavery, does not despair but even joyfully declares:
Thanks! Evidently I
can pay back some old debts. (Brotherhood 273)
When obstacles and
problems are piling up in front of you, your position is:
I rejoice, for I
can grow greater: Another rung of the ladder of ascent is before me.
A king of the
spirit is not a great man because he never gets into trouble, but on the
contrary because he proves superior to them.
You take the
attitude of a king of the spirit or a disciple of the Brotherhood under all
circumstances.
Then you really are
a king of the spirit or a disciple of the Brotherhood!
You keep your head
– your Eternal Individuality – above the clouds, in Heaven, in the Spiritual World,
while below at your feet life rages and little mortal men swarm.
Call this picture
of yourself to mind whenever everyday life threatens to bear you down.
*****
Every time you
muster the strength to take such a lofty stand in the face of the horrors of
life, you have won a victory and climbed a higher level! The consolidation and
strengthening of this achievement take place by way of many such small and
simple steps.
Your ordinary life
offers countless opportunities every day to win such victories and to make your
transformation into a higher being permanent: Not only in distress, but also,
for example, in moods such as irritability and dejection, or with cravings for
alcohol, meat, tobacco or sweets and the like.
*****
This is Agni Yoga!
The ascent in
infinity, to immeasurable heights, the path to God consists of many, small,
simple steps in the middle of everyday life.
The decision
whether you continue to climb up step by step or keep falling down is made
dozens of times every day in seemingly insignificant situations.
The hero of
everyday life wins many small victories and thereby gains great achievements
over time. (Archangel Michael, Kiev)
Everyday life is
the foundation of ascent.
Once you have
mastered it, greater opportunities for more eminent deeds will arise one day.
*****
Guiding Idea:
All religions and teachings of wisdom
basically teach mental attitudes
The Bhagavad Gita,
for example, teaches desirelessness and equanimity;
Christendom: love your neighbour as yourself, even if he is your enemy; or the
Stoics Zenon, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius and Frederick the Great the proverbial,
unshakable Stoic calmness.
So does Agni Yoga:
I rejoice in obstacles, I want nothing for myself, I do not fear, I disdain
food; I am not worried or concerned about the well-being of my body or about
world events; I despise the weaknesses and animal desires of the lower self –
these are all nothing but mental attitudes.
Practical
Tip: Mental attitude as ultimate Bastion
What is the very
last thing you are left with when everything around you, the material
foundations of life and finally you yourself, are in danger of perishing?
Nothing – except
the smile of a superior mental attitude!
"One must keep
one's composure until the very end" said Queen Marie Antoinette when the
French Revolution buried royalty, her husband and finally herself under the
Guillotine. (Joseph Ducreux "Marie Antoinette". Execution of King Louis XVI)
Listen to the
moving, arousing words of Auschwitz survivor Viktor Frankl:
We who lived in
concentration camps can remember men visiting the huts, comforting others, giving
away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they
offer sufficient proof for this truth:
Everything can be
taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms: in any given
set of circumstances to choose one's attitude, to walk one's own path.
Bravery and
dignity: This is the code of honour – the attitude – of a true spiritual
warrior who prefers to die rather than to surrender and who holds the position
entrusted to him to the last.
Life bares its
teeth, but the spirit is undaunted. (Leaves of Morya's Garden I, 129 [146]
5. An
Attitude becomes a Habit
Habit is second
nature—a wise proverb indicating to what an extent habit dominates man.
(Brotherhood 529)
We should not look
at this law with regard to its negative effects only. We may just as well take
advantage of it:
If you have adopted
the proper mental attitude in a given moment (for example, that of an
invulnerable immortal), in order to advance further you "only" have
to take this same position again and again in in the next difficult situation,
in the one after that and in the following one.
This, in practical
terms, is the crucial step in growth: To perpetuate the chosen mental attitude
by confirming it in every situation. If, on the other hand, you get it right
only once and then three times wrong, you will not change.
Guiding Idea:
With a lot of practice
a mental attitude
becomes a habit
Practical
example: Diet
"Can you give
an everyday example?"
It is only a small
step forward if you follow a fasting diet to lose weight but afterwards return
to your old habits and quickly accumulate your previous weight again.
The Teaching
advises against such extremes. The Spiritual Path looks different: Take small
steps. Eat just a little bit less than before, but do that steadily: every day,
at every meal, so that the new measure becomes a habit over time. Only then
will you transform your nature and lose weight reliably and permanently.
6. A
Habit becomes a Quality
A habit so
entrenched that it has become part of your nature is already a quality: If you
appear habitually fearlessly in every situation for years, you have indeed
turned into a fearless being.
Guiding Idea:
With a lot of practice
a habit
becomes a quality
As the Talmud so
beautifully says:
Watch your
thoughts, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions.
Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become
your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.
Agni Yoga advises:
Purify your
thoughts, and after determining your three worst traits, sacrifice them to be
burned away in fiery striving. (Agni Yoga 185)
We broaden this
concept and say:
Form the three most
important qualities of the New Man by making them a habit:
Invulnerability,
joy over obstacles and selflessness. When this has been achieved, move on to
the next three qualities. This is the easy way to a higher stage of evolution!
Chapter 4: The Individual Qualities of the New Man
We will now discuss
how you can acquire not only invulnerability, but also all the other qualities
of the New Man (invincibility, fearlessness, freedom, etc.):
Through expansion
of consciousness, a new way of thinking and a new mental attitude.
1.
Immortality
Immortality is a
state of the consciousness!
It is acquired, as
we had said earlier, through right thinking, which leads to an expanded
consciousness and eventually to a new mental attitude:
"I am a soul
and therefore immortal".
2.
Invulnerability
Nicholas
Roerich "Tsong kha-pa"
We had just
discussed: Invulnerability is a state of the consciousness and a mental
attitude.
This is true not
only physically (your soul is not affected by injury to or even death of the
body), but also psychically: Insults, disrespect, mockery, humiliation and
belittlement do not concern a high consciousness.
You no longer
succumb to dejection, depression, melancholy, discontent, despair,
pusillanimity, grief, sorrow or self-pity. (van
Gogh "Mourning Old Man")
You are superior, high
above the worldly affairs and not affected by them.
In practical terms,
invulnerability is the most important and fundamental property of a spirit
being! Watch again our Video "Exercise Invulnerability". Practise
this attitude constantly, so that it becomes a habit and eventually turns into
a quality!
3.
Invincibility
Archangel
Michael, Kiev
Invincibility is a
state of your being!
It is acquired
through right thinking, an expanded consciousness and the new mental attitude
of an immortal:
Guiding Idea:
I am imperishable and invulnerable
and therefore invincible
*****
"Aren't you
promising too much? If a whole gang of robbers attacks me, surely I will be
defeated!?"
Indeed, on the
physical plane, no one is invincible. You are being persecuted and crucified
like Jesus and others. The fate of your body, however, which will soon perish
anyway, is insignificant.
The crucial point
is that your true, inner being, your Eternal Individuality is not defeated and
dragged down, but preserves in every situation unshakably its integrity as an
immortal, disciple of the Brotherhood or king of the spirit: That depends solely
upon you yourself, namely on your attitude!
4.
Fearlessness, Freedom
Fearlessness and
freedom are states of the consciousness!
They are acquired
through correct thinking:
"Nobody and
nothing can harm a spirit being, so I have nothing to fear. I have nothing to
fear, so I am completely free to do only that which is proper and right."
Contrary to popular
belief, freedom is not something that the government or other people can grant
or deny you.
Freedom is within
you yourself!
This true, inner
freedom is the new mental attitude of the immortal man of the future.
The feature
distinguishing high spirits from others is a firm awareness that their inner
“I” is indissoluble, and from this consciousness is born the concept of a
higher freedom. (Leaves of Morya's Garden II, 289 [293])
5.
Purity
Gustave
Doré "Baptism of Christ"
By purity is meant,
of course, above all mental purity, which comes about through pure thoughts.
If you think
purely, you are pure.
Purity therefore is
obtained through mastery of thoughts (see the Video of the same name): You only
allow thoughts to arise that correspond to your Higher Self and reject all
others.
6.
Wisdom
Leonardo
da Vinci "Self-Portrait”
That wisdom is
acquired through expansion of consciousness and proper thinking is obvious to
everyone: Through higher knowledge and an understanding of the fundamentals and
laws of existence as imparted by Agni Yoga. Therefore, only an Agni Yogi can be
a New Man.
"Isn’t this
just as fanatical and outdated as the idea that only those who believe in Jesus
Christ will go to Heaven and all others are heathens who will roast in
hell?"
No! Those who do
not recognise or accept this knowledge necessary for the Aquarian Age, nor
procure it from another source, or draw it from themselves, lack the foundation
for the superiority of the man of the future in every situation.
As a therapist, my
wife deals with sick and dying people. Here spiritual is much more important
than physical help. The patients have existential questions: "Why does
this illness hit me of all people? Why do I have to suffer so much? How can I
overcome it? What happens after my death?" These questions can only be
answered, a way out can only be shown and true consolation only be given with
the knowledge of the fundamentals of existence: Karma, reincarnation, the
meaning of life, the meaning of suffering, the benefits of obstacles, the
conditions in the Higher World, etc.
7.
Vitality
"What has
vitality to do with thinking?"
Well, what do we
mean by "vitality "? Not muscles, not the mastery of external
circumstances, which in many cases is impossible, but an attitude which reads:
I can cope with any
situation. I go my way unswervingly and pursue my goal unshakably. I do not let
failure get me down, I never give up, but try again and again. I do not let
myself be dragged down.
To maintain this
true power in any situation is an expression of spiritual strength, of a great
store of psychic energy.
8. Joy
of Being
Nicholas
Roerich "Krishna"
The New Man differs
from the old one in that he is always in a joyful frame of mind.
"Is not joy a
feeling?"
No, joy of being is
a mental attitude with which you face even the most horrible circumstances! It
comes through expansion of consciousness and right thinking.
Joy is a special
wisdom. (Community 156; Agni Yoga 185 et al.)
Joyful thoughts,
continuously cultivated, become a habit, eventually a property, and in time
make you a positive, cheerful, sunny person! Watch again our Video “Joy is a
special Wisdom”.
"What kind of
joy then shall be possible in the terrible conditions that prevail on earth
these days?"
You rejoice in your
true, Supermundane Existence: In the purity, greatness, strength, beauty and
dignity of your soul in its ideal state, the Fiery Condition. You enjoy the
life of your Eternal Individuality in its Supermundane Home, in a sanctuary, in
the Ashram of your teacher. You feel at ease in the proximity of your Spiritual
Father and your soulmates. You rejoice in the beautiful and just Cosmic Order,
which puts you exactly in that place and in that situation where you can do
meaningful work and go on learning.
*****
"What about
material pleasures?"
They cannot satisfy
a being of spirit. You change your mind: For an immortal, the greatest pleasure
of the day is not an opulent supper in the evening with a glass or two of red
wine, but a spiritual delight: meditation, the intimate dialogue with his teacher.
*****
Once you have really
transformed and are constantly in a state of high vibration, you no longer
respond to the gross, low vibrations of alcohol, meat, sweets and other
physical delights. You will find out yourself what earthly pleasures you will
have to give up in order to remain in the enjoyment of this higher bliss.
Austere is the path
of approach to Brotherhood. Earthly joys leave us. But much higher and deeper
joys come to take their place. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter of
19.07.1937)
Joy is the
synthesis of the qualities of the New Man and the indicator of the health of
his spirit.
9. Joy
over Obstacles
Hans
Günter Winkler
You even feel glad
about the obstacles, difficulties, hardships and temptations on your path: They
give you the opportunity to practise, test and strengthen your spiritual power.
Watch again our Video "Rejoice at Obstacles!"
Your Eternal
Individuality grows by overcoming adversity.
Joy over obstacles
remains all too often abstract. We like to repeat formulaically phrases of Agni
Yoga such as:
Blessed be the
obstacles, through them we grow! (Leaves of Morya's Garden II, 349 [353])
However, as soon as
in real life problems arise, immediately anger or complaints are coming up.
Instead, you really have to take to heart:
Surmounting
obstacles and difficulties is actually the only way to become a New Man!
If they are missing
in your life, you will remain on the level of the old man and not get any
further!
An easy life does
not allow you to ascend.
It is not an easy
life, but a life tensed and saturated with difficulties that brings
achievement; therefore, it is so very important to learn to love obstacles.
(Helena Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter of 30.03.1936)
Guiding Idea:
The man of the future
uses obstacles in order to
make progress on the Spiritual Path!
If you really want
to grow (not only with words), you will joyfully and gratefully welcome
difficulties as stages of ascent, and even long and actively look for them! You
will enthusiastically set about overcoming them and thereby become a little
greater.
Just as a child
tackles a task that is set for him with passion, because he regards it as a
challenge from which he can only learn and develop his strength and abilities.
Confronted with
imperfection (of conditions, of your fellow men, or of you yourself) you are to
prove:
What is stronger,
your spirit or the circumstances?
Are you already
smiling or still being dragged down? If you rage, curse, complain, moan or
react harshly, you have already lost. If you keep your composure, you are the
winner.
There was an
ancient game in which people tried to make each other angry. Whoever became
angry first was the loser. (Brotherhood 47)
10. Joy
in Battle
El
Greco "Expulsion of the Merchants from the Temple"
Life means struggle
with chaos.
You go joyfully
into this battle that gives birth to a New World!
Joy of battle is a
fundamental note of Being. Through struggle comes great power of spirit and the
great gift of immortality. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. I, letter of
13.05.1931)
You know: In the
course of the day there will be many attacks on the holograms of the disciple
and the ashram. You will repel them all victoriously and thereby further
strengthen the reality of the New Man and the New World.
11.
Light
Nicholas
Roerich "Fiat Rex”
Of course, the
light of the aura that you radiate is created by a high consciousness, lofty
thinking and a royal attitude.
What you think, you
are. What you are, you radiate. (Buddha)
12. Love
"Isn't love a
feeling?"
No, we are not
talking about infatuation. True love is an expression of the high awareness of
the unity of the souls of all creatures on this planet. This leads the man the
future to loving thoughts and an affectionate attitude towards every living
being.
Not egoism dwells in the heart, but a feeling that embraces all humanity.
(Heart 7)
Thus the love for humanity grows, not just for individuals, but for all
mankind. (Supermundane 170)
13. Selflessness
Gustave Moreau "St. Martin and the beggar"
The New Man is completely selfless: He wants nothing for himself. All he
desires is to serve the common good and his neighbour.
This, too, is nothing other than a mental attitude which takes shape with
the expansion of consciousness and correct thinking.
14. Developing and using the Potential of a
Being of Spirit
The qualities just mentioned are only a first stage of your infinite
ascent.
Guiding Idea:
You are much greater
than you think!
You are already now equipped with an immeasurable potential for an unlimited
development to higher levels far beyond the present human race. Within you is
planted the seed of higher skills, such as telekinesis, levitation, thought
transmission, spirit healing and many more.
Within you slumbers the potential of a God! (Veronese „Godfather“)
Reflect that people are fully equipped for the furthermost evolution.
(Brotherhood 492)
But keep in mind:
A potential is also a mission!
If you do not develop the abilities that are inherent in you, you will
fail in your life’s mission!
*****
Here is your further path after having transformed into a New Man:
You strengthen your Eternal Being so that you grow
from a small to a Great Soul, to a Mahatma.
"How exactly do I approach this high goal?"
Develop and use the spiritual senses of your Eternal Individuality,
especially the strait knowledge of feeling, of intuition! Learn with the help
of your heart to judge every person and situation correctly and to recognise
the right path.
The representatives of the new race will be distinguished by the
refinement of the heart—this key to all achievements. (Helena Roerich Letters
Vol. I, letter of 10.10.1934)
Develop and use the spiritual powers of your Eternal Individuality by
enforcing what the heart advises you to do against your lower self and the
resistance of your environment!
We will talk about the details of this path in the Video "Education
of the Eternal Individuality".
Chapter 5:
Defending the New Man in Everyday Life
If the meditation in the morning is successful, you are indeed a New Man.
After that, all that matters is: Remain true to yourself – to your Higher
Self! Defend and assert this high position in the midst of earthly life despite
all hardships, attacks and difficulties.
You can prove the true greatness of your soul only in
everyday life.
Is your spiritual strength, your psychic energy sufficient to ensure the
survival of the work of art which you created?
Are you strong enough to remain yourself unwaveringly?
1. Keep your Vibration high
All the rules of spiritual discipline serve one purpose only: To keep the
vibration you raised in the morning meditation high also the throughout the
day.
The New Man is engaged at every moment in the spiritual exercise of
keeping the avatar of his Eternal Individuality alive.
Guiding Idea:
This inner work
takes precedence
over all other duties!
The external conditions are indifferent. The higher stage you have
reached, your position as a spirit man, must not depend upon how circumstances
develop or how other people treat you.
First comes the being – the Fiery State, the high vibration – only then
everything else:
Words and actions, daily work and worries.
It is not what we do that counts in the great sum; it is what we are.
(Teachings of the Temple Vol. I, Lesson 51 “The Suicide of the Soul”)
*****
You are determined to remain a New Man, to maintain yourself on the higher
level of evolution you have reached, and to stay there firmly and securely.
As a biped, after its elevation, continuously falls back into the
four-legged state and has to learn to walk permanently on two legs.
As a baby practising walking has nothing more important to do than to
stay on its feet – so the man of spirit must train to preserve the fragile
structure of his body of light.
The symbol of fire reminds us about the most sacred substance, which is
accumulated with such difficulty, but can be lost in an instant. (Agni Yoga
369)
Practical Tip: Greatest possible Damage:
Crash
The worst thing that can happen to you during the day is not misfortune,
failure, hardship or suffering – all that will pass. A real disaster occurs if
you retransform from a great, beautiful and strong creature to a small, ugly
and weak one; if you fall down the ladder of Hierarchy on which you have
climbed so high already.
When the butterfly reverts to the level of the caterpillar, the giant to
that of a dwarf, or the state of aggregation of fieriness (of steam) to that of
carnality (of ice).
Like Satan/Lucifer, who had already reached the level of an angel, and
nevertheless fell down. (Gustave Doré
"The Fall of Lucifer")
The best you can achieve in the world in terms of success and recognition
is worth nothing if you have to pay for it with damage to your Higher Self.
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose
his own soul? (Matthew 16:26)
Better thou shouldst lose the world in all its glory, than gaining the
world in its entirety, thou shouldst lose thine own soul. (Teachings of the
Temple Vol. II, Lesson “The crystal Path”)
2. Steadfastly maintain your Position
We had just said: You acquire the qualities of a spirit being, such as
invulnerability, strength, joy, light and love, by taking a certain position
with regard to the events of the external world. The defence of the New Man in
everyday life therefore takes place like this:
Whatever happens to you, you steadfastly maintain the
attitude of an immortal, a king of the spirit or a disciple of the Brotherhood.
Then you are an immortal, a king or a disciple. No external event,
however terrible, can prevent that.
Guiding Idea:
Only you can make yourself small
by giving up your superior position
We see again: The man of the 6th race is created and
maintained solely by spiritual exercises.
The new ones are those who are strong in spirit. (Leaves of Morya's
Garden II, 246 [248])
"For the time being, this is still quite theoretical and not yet
suitable for everyday use."
Yes, let us now proceed to practice.
3. Detection of an Attack
Hieronymus Bosch "Hell"
In everyday life there are many attacks against the greatness, beauty and
strength of your Eternal Individuality. In case of such an assault as well, it all comes down to the proper attitude: Now the
motto is:
Do not give in, do not despair, but take up the fight!
Your goal is:
You do not let yourself be dragged down by anyone or anything, not by
repugnant circumstances and not by the many hands that greedily grab at you. (Bosch "Heaven and Hell", Rubens
"The Fall of the Damned", Bouts "Hell", Bosch
"Hell")
*****
The first, most important and usually neglected step in defending the man
of the future is: Do not immediately burst out with some hasty reaction in
feelings, thoughts, words or deeds, but first become
aware:
"There is an attack on my work of art, on the integrity of my light
body. I am in danger of losing my high vibration, the ideal state of my soul,
my Nirvana, the Fiery Condition."
To detect an assault is essential for an effective
defence.
For how will you defend yourself effectively if you do not recognise the
enemy and are not even aware of an attack?
Only in a second step will you find out what kind of an aggression there
is and how you can best organise the defence.
6 Practical Examples
Here are some practical examples from everyday life:
First example: No sooner have you left the meditation room than
trouble is arising: Your partner has neglected to set the breakfast table, or
the children refuse to brush their teeth.
You do not start scolding and raging, but just calmly realise:
"There is an attack on my mental balance."
It is most important that you actually express that, at least inwardly,
in spirit.
"I am on the verge of getting angry and already losing the high
vibration achieved in meditation."
Only then does the defence come into play. If you are well acquainted
with the books of Agni Yoga, the keyword "irritation" will
immediately bring this teaching to your mind: The misbehaviour of other people
is no reason to give room to a spiritual poison and to give up your inner
balance.
*****
Second example:
Technology or other people do not do what they are supposed to do. They do not
perform their task reliably, not completely, not in time or not at all. They
cannot or do not want to understand what you are explaining to them. They or
the circumstances stand in your way and prevent the realisation of your plans.
Or your own body functions not or not well because of illness, old age or
weakness.
You realise:
"There is an attack. There is an obstacle in my way."
Only then comes the defence. If you are well acquainted with Agni Yoga,
the keyword "obstacle" will immediately remind you of this teaching:
You should joyfully welcome difficulties as opportunities for spiritual ascent.
*****
Third example: Someone
hurts you out of ignorance, impudence, laziness or cruelty.
You discover:
"I am being assailed. I feel hurt, offended, insulted or
belittled."
Only then will you consider the defence. When being hurt, an Agni Yogi
thinks, "I am a soul and not affected by such filth at all".
This is an eminently practical exercise that you can and must perform
several times a day in order to prevent being wounded!
*****
Fourth example: You feel a craving for alcohol, meat, cigarettes or
sweets.
You perceive:
"There is an assault. My transient personality is harassing
me."
Only then comes the defence. At the keyword "narcotics" you
realise: My soul does not want such poison.
*****
Fifth example: A
stroke of fate, misfortune or another catastrophe befalls you.
You remark:
"I am being attacked. The circumstances of life are terrible."
Only then you think of defence. "Calamity" means for you: There
are karmic debts to be discharged. You should be grateful for such an
opportunity!
*****
Sixth and last example: The hardest thing to
recognise is egotism. It hides everywhere, in unsuspicious and even in
seemingly selfless thoughts or acts. Not only when a child takes away another's
toy or a nation another's land. But also when you do not want to share, as well
as in every desire directed not to the common good but to personal advantage.
How carefully must the disciples examine the quality of their thoughts!
Has not the worm of egoism, or conceit, or the manifestation of self-love
hidden somewhere? The ability to admit this honestly is something that each
spirit must develop within himself. (Agni Yoga 661)
4. Defence through Self-control
Once you have noticed an attack, the next step is to initiate the
defence. The good news is:
Whether you are and remain a New Man depends solely
upon you yourself!
Nobody and nothing, no external circumstances, no matter how terrible
they may be, and no other man can stop you.
The "bad" news, however, is: You must control yourself if you
want to be a spirit being.
Discipline is the beginning of everything. (Leaves of Morya's Garden II,
250 [253])
– also of the New Man! You cannot
do without it.
Nobody and nothing can damage the work of art of your Eternal
Individuality which you created – only you yourself! (Botticelli "The Birth of Venus")
Only you can hurt yourself – your Higher Self – by
harbouring destructive thoughts, such as greed, anger or dejection.
Guiding Idea:
The defence of the New Man
is effected through self-control
5. Self-control as a Defence against
Attacks from outside
Disturbances of and attacks against the hologram of your Eternal
Individuality by your fellow men and by adverse circumstances are impossible to
avoid.
What alone you can and must control, is your response
in thoughts, feelings, words or deeds.
It is of utmost importance that you realise, ponder in your heart and
truly internalise:
Guiding Idea:
It is not the behaviour of other people,
not terrible circumstances,
but your reaction to material things
which forms your Eternal Individuality
So the defence against external attacks is to control the thoughts,
feelings, words and actions by which you answer to them.
You remain composed, joyful and loving whatever happens to you. (Leonardo da Vinci „Angel“)
If whatever challenge triggers irritation, unkindness or even aggression
within you, this is a step backwards to the lower level of the old, animal man.
Practical Tip: Self-control as a Tool of
Creation
Understood in this way, self-discipline is not an oppressive duty, but a
wonderful blessing! You alone, nobody and nothing else, determines in every
moment whether your soul, your being of light, vibrates high or low! You make
yourself either great, strong and beautiful – or small, weak and ugly.
You yourself create an aura that either shines golden and illuminates
your surroundings or merely glows grey and devours the light of the
environment. (Grünewald Isenheimer Altar)
6. Self-control as a Defence against
Attacks from within
The worst attacks against the artwork of the man of
the future come from within you!
"Who or what is attacking me?"
The desires, instincts, cravings, passions and moods of your physical
personality are a powerful threat to your existence as a being of spirit!
At a higher stage of evolution, you reveal the Divine within you to a
higher degree than you did earlier, as a mortal. Therefore, you have to keep
the animal within you in check and discard the remnants of your lower nature.
You direct your tools, the four mortal bodies to the effect that they
only express thoughts, feelings, words and deeds that are in harmony with your
Higher Self.
Practical Tip: Sensing Poison
However, you should not blindly take for granted everything I am telling
you! Rather observe yourself what lowers your vibration and destroys the avatar
of your Higher Self! After all, you sense how your strength diminishes when you
give in to the temptations and whims of the body!
Then you will shun all that poison which makes your soul small, weak and
ugly and extinguishes your fieriness.
"What is poison to my Higher Self?"
Everything that does not refine but coarsens, that does not spiritualise
but carnalises.
*****
You establish the rule of the spirit over yourself, over your transient
personality. You despise the desires, weaknesses, passions, habits and fears of
the body. You superiorly disregard them.
The mastery of thoughts, feelings and instincts is
true freedom – namely from the bondage of the lower self.
The New is superior to the old man primarily because he first masters
himself and then circumstances.
Overcome yourself and you will overcome the world. (Buddha)
*****
In the morning in meditation, the lower self is silent, your higher,
eternal being reigns. You harbour no negative thoughts or feelings, no desires
or cravings. Self-mastery then "only" means: You preserve this
wonderful state in the course of everyday life on earth.
*****
Frequent attacks against your Higher Nature, which you usually do not
even notice, are launched by your outdated habits, for example with regard to
the amount and kind of food.
Recognise how things you have "always done this
way" are damaging your soul!
It is a gigantic task, for the individual and for mankind as a whole, to
review and reform these old customs and traditions!
People want to preserve all their petty habits, forgetting that the
habits of the body implant also habits of the spirit. The spirit weakens and
begins to fear courageous action. (Agni Yoga 262)
2nd Chief Exercise: Stepping before the
Teacher
Nicholas Roerich „Monk in the Himalayas“
We immortals do not wear the badge of our association, nation or
community on the chest. That is why you asked earlier how you can recognise a
representative of the race of the future from the outside when you meet him.
Here is another visible characteristic:
The New Man closes his eyes every now and then and steps in spirit before
his teacher – before the Lords of the World, the Mahatmas of Shambhala.
Get into the habit of this salutary practice, which we discussed in more
detail in the Video "Become a disciple"!
You regularly interrupt your everyday earthly life for a few seconds,
preferably every hour. You make sure that you are fulfilling your mission and
behaving as is appropriate in the face of Hierarchy. You strengthen your
Supratemporal Identity (king of the spirit or disciple of the Brotherhood). You
renew the awareness of your participation in the life of the Higher World of
your teacher’s ashram.
The awareness alone that your Spiritual Father is present elevates you! (Svetoslav Roerich "Sacred Words")
With the help of this exercise you keep your vibration constantly high.
Regularly stepping before the teacher is the second chief exercise of an
Agni Yogi next to morning meditation.
The training, the upbringing of the New Man does not take place in a
spiritual centre, in a gym, on a sports field or in a fitness studio, nor on
the yoga mat.
Guiding Idea:
Agni Yoga is a path
of spiritual exercises
in the very middle of everyday life
Let no one leave his ordinary sphere of life or even neglect his worldly
duties! May each of you be confident that Karma has placed him exactly there
where he can best progress and serve the common good!
*****
This practice of stepping before the teacher is vital for the survival of
your Higher Self especially then when the turmoil around you is at its
greatest! Leaving the situation for a moment and closing your eyes is certainly
better than disfiguring your soul by grimacing in annoyance or bursting out in
anger!
*****
Practise this retreat not obtrusively, but very well a little
ostentatiously: May sensitive fellow men notice that you are concentrating on
higher matters. If they ask you what you are doing, you may explain:
"I am performing a yoga exercise to strengthen my soul.”
By this common habit we harbingers of the New Era recognise each other!
7. The Key to Defence
The key to the defence of the spirit man lies in the experience:
Guiding Idea:
A Fiery Condition
of high vibration,
is your greatest bliss!
You are perfectly happy. Compared to that, all other pleasures are dull.
When you experience this glorious purity, wisdom, power and joy, you no
longer require any reminders of self-control and discipline: Then you feel only
one desire within you:
To preserve, to prolong and to strengthen this sublime
state of your being.
You are not carrying out any instructions.
You defend your happiness, your beauty, your greatness
and your strength!
Practical Tip: Defence of the Spirit Man is
top Priority
"Why do I fail so often? Why do I so rarely succeed in implementing
my New Year's resolutions?"
Because despite all your good will, the transformation into a New Man is
not your paramount concern. Because ultimately, in everyday life, you give
priority to the worldly affairs.
Make a firm resolution in the morning that the defence of your being of
light is by far the most important business of the day. All other matters are
not completely insignificant, but of secondary priority only.
*****
Of course, this is not a licence to neglect your earthly duties. The
activity of your soul rather takes place on the inner level simultaneously with
and in addition to your material work.
3rd Chief exercise: Immediately counteract
any Drop in Vibration
If, however, a craving of the body or a mood succeed to overcome you,
your vibration crashes, your fieriness cools down and your enthusiasm fades
away, you have to carry out the 3rd chief exercise:
Guiding Idea:
As soon as you feel a drop,
you immediately raise your vibration again
It is crucial that you do not reach for alcohol, chocolate or other
physical comforters. The way of the future, the Spiritual Path is:
You restore the original pure, wise, powerful, joyful,
light-full and loving condition of your Eternal Individuality with spiritual
means.
Then the fit or mood will disappear immediately! In a state of high
vibration, you are no longer receptive, you do not respond to coarse, low
vibrations; they no longer find any resonance in your being.
As the popular saying so beautifully advises:
Crashed? – get up again – adjust
your crown – move on!
With this exercise you bring to an end the eternal brooding, this
permanent inner struggle at every challenge:
"Should I do it or should I leave it? Should I give in or stand
firm? "
You do not think in the least of discipline or fighting, but of one thing
only:
"I want to rise again immediately to my ideal state!"
Practical Tip: Think positive!
Do not think negative:
"I am tracking down the poison that is harming me."
Think positive:
"I keep my vibration so high that even the slightest drop will
immediately make itself painfully felt."
Do not think:
"Here is a craving or mood I must suppress."
But rather:
"I am raising my vibration again."
*****
This panacea looks quite simple. But it is actually by far the most
difficult of the 4 chief exercises we are discussing in this Video. You will
need to perform it out successfully a dozen times or more during the day!
What a multitude of things keeps pouring down on you! Distress,
suffering, catastrophes, greater and lesser misfortunes, desires of the body,
moods such as despair, anger, depression, fear or rage, physical or mental
pain, physical or mental illnesses, bad vibrations of other people, influences
of the stars, cosmic currents and so on and so forth.
Everywhere along your path are lurking the forces of evil, darkness,
negation, distraction, degradation and destruction.
The waves of life are crashing over you, and you are constantly
threatening to sink. (Aiwasowsky "The Ninth Wave")
There is only one way to cope with all this:
You immediately notice the slightest drop in your
vibration and take countermeasures straight away.
"How do I proceed to raise my vibration again?"
By doing the exercises "Elevation" or "The Fiery
Condition", most quickly by carrying out a brief "emergency
meditation" with the 7 steps of the "Initiation to Agni Yoga"
(see the three Videos of the same name). Or, even shorter:
You put before your eyes the ideal image of the person you want to be and
visualise around you the Spiritual World in which your Higher Self is at home.
That elevates you instantly! (Nicholas
Roerich "Lama", "Star of the Morning")
8. Constant Vigilance
Arias "The Palace Guard”
If you want to counteract a lowering of your vibration instantly, you
must develop a quality that Agni Yoga calls "constant vigilance". May
your inner senses be wide awake so that they immediately register the slightest
danger to your exalted state of mind.
An attacking enemy must not find you asleep, but on guard and in full
readiness to defend yourself.
"What is it that I have to watch over?"
Over the degree of your fieriness! Remain highly concentrated at all
times! Do not miss by oversleeping, but immediately sense a drop in your
vibration, a discolouration of your aura from gold to grey!
*****
The New Man is a spirit being of high vibration. If the vibration gets
low, he actually disappears! The work of art dissolves into nothingness. The
sublime immortal falls back to the level of an ordinary mortal.
The spirit man becomes a material being again.
To prevent this, the utmost vigilance is needed.
It should not be thought that, in his consciousness, an Arhat could lose
sight of the Guiding Will even for an instant. He turns out to be a simple
mortal, if he does not always solemnly bear the chalice of achievement. The
power of His heart becomes dormant as soon as He ceases to feel the Hierarchic
thread in His hand. In this realization of constant vigilance lies the
uniqueness of an Arhat. (Fiery World I, 196)
You manoeuvre your being of light through the cliffs of everyday life
with the greatest care, like a highly delicate vessel that surrounds you and
that can break at the slightest carelessness.
Not for a single hour should one extinguish within oneself the flame of
lofty thinking. This thinking should accompany one even during the hour of most
intense activity. (Supermundane 651)
Guiding Idea:
Uninterrupted concentration is the feat
that creates and sustains the New Man
One should not in any manner be diverted from
inner concentration. (Fiery World II, 203)
Practical
Tip: Follow Your Guiding Ideal!
Nicholas
Roerich "Star of the Mother of the World"
"How do I achieve this
highest concentration?"
You choose one thought, one
idea as your Guiding Star and let it lead you throughout the day, just as the
three Magi followed the Star of Bethlehem.
"What is the Guiding
Ideal of the New Man?"
At all costs, by
all means, whatever it takes, I want to be an immortal, a king of the spirit,
or a disciple of the Brotherhood, and live in a sanctuary!
Continuous, concentrated
thought about the most beloved is the most reliable means. One must first of
all concentrate upon the most important thing that has been chosen as the
guiding concept. Man learns to constantly remember his ultimate aspiration. Such
concentration will increase the sensitivity of the nerve centres. (Supermundane
451)
Guiding Idea:
Remain true to
your Guiding Idea,
true to yourself
–
that is the
secret of ascent!
Keep the wonderful image of
the Christmas Star constantly before your eyes! Feel how it is hovering above
you! Look how the radiance of its rays illuminates the darkness and
transfigures your life!
Follow your Guiding Star! (Nicholas
Roerich "Star of the Hero")
The ideal hangs over our
heads, like the weaver's pattern above his loom. (Teachings of the Temple Vol.
I, Lesson 62 “The Murder of Ideals“)
We recognize it as a special
achievement when a man, whether in success or in failure, continues to strive
toward the chosen goal. But first one must have a goal and realize that without
it there can be no advance. From such an attitude come heroic deeds.
(Supermundane 174)
The Guiding Idea shows you
infallibly how to behave in every situation and how to cope with every problem.
Each life has a foundation
upon which all actions must correspond to the Highest. (Hierarchy 119)
Do not allow yourself to
deviate from the Spiritual Path, which the shining light of your Guiding Star
points out to you!
What kind of warrior would
he be if, in the first difficult hour he loses his guiding star? (Supermundane
605)
*****
"Why is vigilance in
every moment so important?"
Because every
single thought, feeling, word and deed weaves on the structure of your inner
being and either further embellishes or destroys the artwork of the New Man.
One may through each deed of
life either attain the highest tensions or be cast into the lowest sphere.
(Infinity I, 108)
Even the tiniest disturbance
immediately lowers your vibration and annihilates the subtle hologram of your
Fiery Body, which consists of waves only. So you have to be incredibly careful,
watchful and cautious with it.
In this world of light, the
materially incarnated human being is like the proverbial bull in a china shop: At the slightest careless movement, the
smallest unrestrained outburst, the entire ethereal glory will immediately fall
to pieces!
An unworthy desire, even a very
slight one, can destroy a construction already prepared. (Heart 207)
How many achievements
accumulated through centuries are swept away by one unrestrained roaring.
(Hierarchy 400)
Exercise:
Constant Self-examination
Nicholas
Roerich „Warrior of Light“
Examine yourself every
moment:
"Am I still an overman?
Do I appear with the mental attitude that belongs to this new species?"
Have you observed how
animals, birds for example, are constantly securing, looking around for enemies
every few seconds?
You must be equally vigilant
in protecting the integrity of your being of light.
Friend, test yourself on
each step of ascent! (Supermundane 895)
*****
One day there will be devices to wear on your wrist that will incessantly
measure the degree of your vibration and give a warning signal whenever it
drops.
Until then – and of course this is much better and the real progress! –
you must monitor your vibrational state with the help of the straightknowledge of your heart.
Not the happy fool of popular tales, but the warrior, vigilant, with
foresight—such is the image for the present time. (Agni Yoga 132)
It is also interesting to measure the level of your vibration in certain
situations: Before and after eating, when drinking alcohol, when feeling
irritated or depressed. Or in a museum, when looking at art, listening to heavy
metal or classical music.
Practical Tip: Constant Vigilance as
continuous Meditation
"Are we talking once again of hard work, burdensome duty, violent
effort or self-imposed compulsion?"
No! Rather understand this supreme concentration as continuous
meditation! (Nicholas Roerich
"River in the Himalayas - Santana")
In the midst of the vortex of everyday life you preserve the peace of
your soul, your inner balance, your paradise, your personal nirvana.
4th Chief exercise: Evening Meditation
At the end of the day, the sculptor puts down the chisel and contemplates
his work:
What have I achieved today? Have I made progress through this day's work?
What has turned out well? Where do I need to make improvements? Where can I
continue working tomorrow? (Rodin,
study on "Balzac")
With the same pride as a child who has learned to walk, you shall one day
say:
Here I succeeded to produce a masterpiece! (Rodin "Balzac")
You will have created a great, beautiful and strong being of spirit. Then
you may state with satisfaction like God on the sixth day of creation:
And, behold, it was very good. (Genesis 1, 31)
*****
The transformation into a spirit being is your life’s
task in this incarnation!
Begin with it immediately! You do not know how much time you have left to
complete this mission!
At the end of this life on earth you will have to step before the Higher
Powers and give an account of whether you have carried out your assignment.
Then you will be judged by how far you came with this inner work – not by your
external, worldly successes or failures.
"What can I do so that I will not come empty-handed to my Master in
Heaven?”
It is best to act out this situation in the evening of each earthly day
and to ask yourself:
"Did I live the day properly? Did I always appear as a New Man? Did
I keep my vibration high every moment? Did I maintain my dignity?"
You examine yourself:
"Have I upheld the 7 pillars of the spiritual attitude of an
immortal? Have I faithfully performed the 4 chief exercises of transformation
into a being of spirit?"
You calmly analyse the cause of mistakes so that you can do better
tomorrow.
*****
You cannot do without evening meditation:
As your whole life, so every day is directed towards
the return to your home.
Man should remember that his true Stronghold is not on Earth, and that
all his earthly labours should be performed for return to the Supermundane
Stronghold. (Supermundane 803)
Guiding Idea:
A beautiful evening meditation
is the crowning conclusion of a successful
day,
just as the transition to a high sphere
is the crowning of a successful life
Chapter 6:
The Life of the New Man
The man of the 6th race, a higher level of evolution,
necessarily requires a new way of life. Communities of New Men build a higher
culture.
The movie "One Million Years B. C.", which is otherwise of
little significance, at least vividly shows how a finer type of man creates a
higher civilisation.
This is what every individual spiritual disciple can and must work on
already now.
Guiding Idea:
Wherever an Agni Yogi lives and works,
a nucleus of the world of tomorrow is being
created
"What does this advanced way of life look like?"
A higher culture comes from living by higher rules.
These rules were not established in order to annoy or to test you, but simply
because they are necessary for the survival of your Eternal Individuality and
for the coexistence of men of spirit.
These higher customs and practices are summarised in the 10 Pillars of
the Practice of Agni Yoga, on which there is a separate Series of Videos. The
civilisation of the future is presented in the Videos on "The New
World".
We shall now be addressing the five main aspects which are fundamental
for the transformation into the New Man:
1. Living in the World of the Soul
Nicholas Roerich "Mount of five Treasures - Two
Worlds"
The man of the future lives in a world of his own.
Guiding Idea:
The soul is living in the world of the soul
The spirit beings of the 6th race live in two worlds at the same time:
With the physical body on earth and with their Eternal Individuality (the Fiery
Body) in Heaven.
An Agni Yogi verily lives in two worlds. (Infinity I, 238)
This painting by Nicholas Roerich is called "Mountain of Five
Treasures – Two Worlds". It beautifully expresses how behind or above the
material sphere towers as a backdrop the Spiritual World.
While your transient personality toils and suffers on the material plane,
your Eternal Individuality is dwelling unshaken and untouched in the Higher
World.
Our task is to remind men that as the highest expression of the
manifested world they can be centres for uniting the worlds. (Fiery World I,
479)
If your soul is your real Self, the world of the soul
is your true home.
The expression "At the death of the body the soul returns to its
homeland" is basically inaccurate: The soul is always living in the Higher
World. As a spiritual being it cannot exist anywhere else than in a spiritual
world. It only has to become aware of its participation in life there.
*****
"What does the Heaven look like in which I live?"
The spiritual disciple lives in a sanctuary:
At the foot of the Holy Mountain of Shambhala. (Nicholas Roerich "The Song of
Shambhala")
In the ashram of his teacher, as described in our Videos "The Path
of the Interior Temple", "Living in the continuous Presence of the
Teacher", "Participation in the Life of the Higher World" and
"Living in the Ashram of the Teacher".
In this true, supermundane abode of your soul, nothing but joy, peace,
beauty, solemnity and love prevail. (Nicholas Roerich "Kanchenjunga")
Here you are safe. Here you are not affected by the turmoil, hardship and
suffering of material life. Here lies your true happiness, which cannot be
found on earth.
The New Man does not seek the land of his dreams in the outside world. He
carries Heaven in his heart and lives in paradise under any material
circumstances.
*****
A soul that wishes to be a spiritual disciple cannot exist in any other
sphere.
Imagine the hologram of the temple like an air bubble, a protective shell
around you. With its help alone you can survive, like an astronaut in space, in
a hostile environment.
You sense when the vibration of your Inner Temple drops: Then your Higher
Self, so to speak, runs out of air to breathe.
Should this protected, sacred space around you collapse, you (your
Eternal Individuality) plunge down into a low, coarse, ugly world. In such a
hostile environment, a high being of spirit cannot linger for long without
himself going down as well.
Practical Tip: Life in the Higher World
furthers the Transformation
We have already discussed (Video "Participation in the Life of the
Higher World"): The transformation into the New Man is only possible if
you simultaneously build a New World in which the work of art you created can
live.
A fiery being can only exist in a Fiery World!
From my experience I tell you: The effort alone to keep your vibration
high is usually not enough, as it is like trying to pull yourself out of the
swamp by your own pigtail. According to the laws of physics, you need a firm
point of support from which you can drag yourself up.
The most important tool to protect the artwork of your Higher Self from
damage, to hold your ground on the material plane as a being of spirit among
barbarians, is to participate in the life of your teacher's world.
Guiding Idea:
Move constantly in the solemn atmosphere
of a sanctuary, of your Interior Temple.
Thereby you also maintain your being
in a sublime state!
Give freedom to the spirit; do not bind it with human limitations. It
will soar by itself and return triumphant; thus man becomes attached to the
Supermundane World. (Supermundane 759)
2. Attachment to Shambhala
The New Man is constantly attached to the Hierarchy.
"What do you mean by ‘attachment’? How do I establish it? How do I
preserve it?"
"Attachment” means harmony of vibrations.
You are vibrating on the same wavelength. You maintain around you the
same atmosphere that prevails on the Holy Mountain.
"Isn’t this mere illusion?"
No! This world is existent. You lived there before birth and will return
there after death. You may approach it already now and establish a living
connection, see our Video "Connection with the Higher World -
Meditation".
The Holy Mountain and its mighty inhabitants literally stand behind you!
You are being guided from Above. You receive comfort, strength, joy,
knowledge, inspiration and instructions from the connection with your Spiritual
Father.
Thus you can always live the right way and move forward in harmony with
the Higher Will, with necessity and the Plan of Evolution.
*****
Attachment further means:
Guiding Idea:
Your place of residence and work
is an outpost of Shambhala
"How do you mean that? Shambhala is so far away!"
Despite being far away from London, despite being geographically part of
Spain and inhabited by Spaniards, British laws and customs apply in Gibraltar.
Here the British King rules, even if hardly any one of the citizens has ever
seen him.
Similarly, in your house, in whatever state it is situated, the laws and
customs of the Brotherhood apply, and the Mahatmas are the government to which
you submit.
The more places there are where this glorious concept
is realised, the further the Kingdom of God will spread on earth!
By living in an Interior Ashram against the backdrop of the Holy Mountain
of Shambhala, the New Man makes the earth a sanctuary, a New World which we had
called “Temple of Humanity” (see the Video "We are building the World of
the Future")!
Heaven lies over him wheresoever he goes or stands on the earth; making
all the earth a mystic temple to him, the earth's business all a kind of
worship. (Thomas Carlyle, cited in Blavatsky „The Secret Doctrine“, Vol. I
“Cosmogenesis”, Book 1, Part 1 „Cosmic Evolution“, Stanza VI 7.) (John Millais „Thomas Carlyle“)
3. Living in the Presence of the Teacher
Lambardos “St. John and St. Prochoros”
When we speak of the world of the soul, we do not mean just a place, but
above all certain beings residing there. Participation in the life of the
Higher World consists of:
Living in a sacred place surrounded by friends. (Nicholas Roerich "Zvenigorod")
In this beautiful world, in your Eternal Home, you enjoy the happiness of
living together with your Cosmic Father (your teacher) and your spiritual
family (your fellow disciples, friends, co-workers and disciples). You can even
converse with them, already now, while on earth!
The broadened consciousness carries over the starting point of the
thinking into the supermundane plane and attaches itself to the consciousness
of the Elder Brothers of our humanity. Such a consciousness learns to live in
its true home and knows in spirit and heart its Friends and Helpers. (Helena
Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter of 08.03.1938)
*****
Your soulmates notice all your words and deeds, and even your thoughts
and feelings. Therefore, you will always behave in such a way that you bring them
joy and remain a valued member of the community.
Guiding Idea:
In the presence of the teacher
you cannot help but behave with dignity
I entrust you to reject all that demeans communion with Us. (Agni Yoga
183)
*****
The old man used to say: "After death I shall step before my
Creator, Lord and Judge". The New Man is aware of something better:
"I am in the presence of my Spiritual Father, my teacher at any
moment".
*****
While you are toiling in the midst of worldly life, make sure every
minute that the connection with your teacher is not disrupted. He is always
near. Only you can distance yourself from him through inappropriate behaviour.
Always ask yourself:
"Is my father with me? Am I connected to him? Is he smiling?"
*****
"What can I do in case of a crash?"
Turn to your Master. Throw yourself at his feet.
"How will he help me?"
The Guru speaks to you through your heart. If only you open your heart,
you will recognise exactly what he would advise you.
Practical Tip: Put up a Picture of the
Teacher
In order to remind yourself of his continuous presence, put up a picture
of your teacher, or of Mahatma M, not only in your meditation room, but also in
the kitchen and the living room.
"But my family doesn't want anything to do with these things!?"
Well, we do not want to impose anything on anyone. So put up the picture
in spirit and turn to it once in a while, just as if it were there physically.
4. New Eating Culture
A higher eating culture is an essential part of the new way of life of
the future. The details are described in our Video "Nourishment according
to Spiritual Principles". Let us briefly repeat and dig deeper into the
most important aspects:
A being of spirit does not require material, but spiritual food: High
thoughts, ideas and ideals which grow from the study of the Holy Scriptures and
in meditation.
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4, 4)
Guiding Idea:
My soul looks for
spiritual nourishment
and spiritual pleasures
You eat only as little as is absolutely necessary to preserve your body
as a suitable tool.
"Why this asceticism?"
Because any, even the smallest intake of physical food
lowers the vibration of your true, non-material being.
This is why Agni Yoga advises:
Let us affirm
disdain for food. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 237 [271], 373 [438])
"I don't
understand that. Surely I won't despise an apple, a cucumber or bread which
ensure my survival!?"
No, of course not.
The Master means to say: Your Eternal Individuality wishes, as far as possible,
to overcome step by step the animal, backward state of the body, which still
requires material nourishment. It holds in contempt the palate's desire to indulge
in food. It wants to rise to a higher level where eating more and more loses
its importance.
Practical
Tip: Proper Nourishment by raising the Vibration
In a state of high vibration
you have no appetite. In other words, if you feel a craving for food, raise
your vibration and you will no longer yearn for physical pleasures.
Plants reach out
toward the light. Only people dream about their stomachs when their spirits
should be filled with the grandeur of the Highest. (AUM 36)
*****
There is another
outward sign by which you can distinguish a member of the 6th race when you
meet him:
The New Man does
not drink alcohol, does not smoke and does not eat meat or sweets.
"Is that
really so important? Aren't these rather harmless failings of our
culture?"
No! These are
actually spirit poisons which dull and extinguish the fieriness of your soul.
We are definitely
against narcotics which calm and deaden the intellect. How, then, will the
quality of thoughts, so needed for the future life be developed if we dull it
with poison? (Hierarchy 186)
Sometimes, I hear
the objection:
"Giving up
alcohol, sweets, cigarettes and meat alone doesn't make me a saint!?"
Just as an elephant
does not eat meat either and yet is not holy.
Yes, a fiery being
is the one who reveals the divine aspect of his nature only. To achieve this,
overcoming the lower, animal desires is an indispensable, although only the
first and not a sufficient step.
Take Master Knecht
from Hermann Hesse's "Glass Bead Game" as a model: "The abbot
had long since given up his initial attempts to seduce the guest into
occasionally drinking wine."
People can be, each
one for himself, severely moral and thereby achieve a healthy radiation.
(Supermundane 306)
*****
However, you should
not slavishly carry out what other people recommend to you! Sense, experience
how your Higher Self rejects poison!
Consult your heart!
What does it say at
this sight? "I don't need this! I don't want that! It gives me no
pleasure! It disgusts me! It only hurts me!"
Even before I
became a vegetarian through Agni Yoga, I felt that eating meat was not good for
me and reduced consumption drastically.
*****
The man of the
future gets by with only two meals a day.
He allocates to
himself the type and quantity of food before the repast and does not allow
himself a second helping later:
Your spirit rules
your body!
It is not the
appetite of the body, but the spirit that decides whether, when, which and how
much food you consume.
Guiding Idea:
For your soul
eating is not a pleasure,
but only an annoying necessity
5. Service
to the Common Good
Coat
of arms of the Prince of Wales
The best thing you
have to contribute is your work. May it be dedicated to selfless service to the
common good!
The man of the
future as well has to work like any other human being. He differs, however,
from the mortal man in that he does not place his labour at the disposal of the
interests of stagnation, regression or destruction. He cannot live in the
unbearable conditions of today’s time and therefore actively contributes to the
construction of a better world.
Life is service for
evolution. (Supermundane 305)
How can we explain
to people that they live for the success of evolution? (Supermundane 896)
Chapter 7: Transformation as Service
Let us now come to
the conclusion of this Broadcasting: Your transformation into the New Man is
not just a private pleasure, but also service: If you climb the next higher
evolutionary level, this is at the same time a giant leap for the whole of
mankind!
Here is a lighthouse
that illuminates the darkness, gives people hope and shows the path to the
future.
Here is an example
that can be imitated. Here is fieriness that sets others on fire!
Spiritual ascent is
the only way to individual attainment and to attainment of the Common Good.
(Fiery World III, 247)
The process of
self-perfection was not regarded as egoistic. Improvement has the General
Welfare as its goal, and by its nature cannot be a personal acquisition. (AUM
254)
Practical
Tip: Service by working on yourself is always possible
Many a one
complains:
"I am unable
to find a way to become active in this hostile to the spirit world."
Yes, indeed, it
were bitter should you really be unable to open up a field of work for your
powers and abilities.
A frightful
emptiness appears when there is no application of one’s forces for the Common
Good. (Fiery World II, 247)
Like clouds without
rain is a wise man without deeds. (John Steinbeck)
For an Agni Yogi
there is a way out: You can always work on the artwork of the man of the
future. This service to the common good can be carried out by anyone at any
time in any place and under any circumstances.
*****
In view of the
terrible conditions, the absolute necessity to create a New World clearly comes
to light. (Hiroshima 1945; Dresden 1945)
"What do we
need for that first of all?"
New Men! With the
old, mortal, selfish ones we cannot set about building the future!
Only communities of
New Men will create the New World.
A new banner
requires new people. (Leaves of Morya's Garden I, 375 [440])
Therefore, your
transformation into a being of spirit is your first, best and most effective
contribution to the progress of humanity as a whole.
If you want to
awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself. If you want to eliminate
the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is dark and negative in
yourself. Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own
self-transformation. (Lao-tse)
The greatest
benefit that we can contribute consists in the broadening of consciousness, and
the improvement and enrichment of our thinking, together with the purification
of the heart, in order to strengthen our emanations; and by thus raising our
vibrations, we restore the health of all that surrounds us. (Helena Roerich
Letters Vol. II, letter of 25.10.1936)
Change yourself and
you will have done your part in changing the world. (Yogananda)
Guiding Idea:
Transform into a man of spirit,
then help others to transform themselves;
thereby you will transform the world!
How, then, does a Hierarch
create on Earth? By uplifting all the surroundings. (Agni Yoga 663)
At the end of the
exercises we have performed together today, you will be able to proudly show to
the world:
Here is the New
Man! (Botticelli “The Birth of Venus”)