It is instructive to observe how thought infects space — an analogy may be obtained in likening it to the process of gunfire. The bullet flies tar, but the dispersal of the smoke depends upon atmospheric conditions. The density of the atmosphere forces the smoke for a long time to cloak the sunrise. Hence, take care about your thinking. Also, learn to think beautifully and briefly. Many do not see the distinction between thought for action and a reflex of the brain. It is necessary to know how to cut short reflexive spasms that lead to semi-consciousness. The development of reflexive activity is similar to intoxication.
The community is arrived at in clarity of thinking. The manifestation of thinking produces a clear, inexpressible responsibility. We are very solicitous that the realization of responsibility should not forsake you.
102. It is necessary to guide the education of a people from the initial instruction of children, from as early an age as possible. The earlier, the better. You may be sure that overfatigue of the brain occurs only from awkwardness. The mother approaching the cradle of her child utters the first formula of instruction: "You can do everything." Prohibitions are not needed; even the harmful should not be prohibited. It is better instead to turn the attention simply to the more useful and the more attractive. That tutorage will be best which can enhance the attractiveness of the good. Besides, it is not necessary to mutilate beautiful Images for the sake of an imagined childish non-understanding; do not humiliate the children. Firmly remember that true science is always appealing, brief, precise and beautiful. It is necessary that families possess at least an embryo of understanding of education. After the age of seven years much has been already lost. Usually after the age of three years the organism is full of receptivity. During the first step the hand of the guide must already turn the attention to, and indicate, the far-off worlds. Infinity must be sensed by the young eye. Precisely, the eye must become accustomed to admitting Infinity.
It is also necessary that the word express the precise thought. One must expel falsehood, coarseness and mockery. Treason, even in embryo, is inadmissible. Work "as grown-ups" is to be encouraged. After its third year the consciousness easily grasps the idea of the community. What a mistake to think that one must give a child its own things! A child can easily understand that things may be held in common.
The assertion "I can do anything" is not idle boasting but only the realization of an apparatus. The most wretched being can find the current to Infinity; for each labor, of quality, opens the locks.
103. The schools must be a stronghold of learning in all fullness. Each school, from the very primary up to the highest institution, must be a living link among all schools. Study must be continued during one's entire life. Applied knowledge must be taught, without breaking away from historic and philosophic science. The art of thinking must be developed in each worker. Only then will he grasp the joy of perfectionment and know how to make use of his leisure.
104. Each school must be a complete educational unit. In the schools there must be a useful museum in which the pupils themselves take part. There must be a cooperative, and the pupils must also be taught such cooperation. All phases of art must be included. Without the paths of beauty there can be no education.
105. The study period will be a most agreeable hour when the teacher justly appraises the aptitudes of the pupils. Only discernment of capabilities makes for a just relationship toward the future workers. Often the students themselves do not understand their destination. The teacher, as a friend, prepares them in the best direction. No compulsion is applicable in schools. Only persuasion can be suitable for Stimulating learning. More experiments, more discourses — what a joy there is in the application of one's forces! Little ones love the work of the "grown-ups."
106. When the family does not know how, let the school teach cleanliness in all ways of life. Dirt comes not from poverty but from ignorance. Cleanliness in life is the gateway to purity of the heart. Who then is unwilling that people be pure? One should equip schools in such a way that they will be conservatories for the adornment of life. Each object can be considered from the standpoint of love. Each thing must be made a participant in the happy life. Cooperation will help to find a way for each household. Where one person alone does not find the solution, there the community will be of assistance. Not prizefighters but creators will be the pride of the country.
107. The school must not only instill a love for the book but teach how to read — and the latter is not easier than the former. It is necessary to know how to concentrate thought in order to penetrate into a book. Not the eye but the brain and the heart do the reading. The book does not occupy a place of honor in many homes. It is the duty of the community to affirm the book as a friend of the home. The cooperative, first of all, has a book-shelf whose contents are very extensive. There will be accounts of the treasures of the motherland and of her links with the world. The heroes, the creators and the toilers will be revealed; and the concepts of honor, duty, and obligation to one's neighbor, as well as mercy will be affirmed. There will be many examples prompting learning and discoveries.
108. The school will teach respect for useful inventions, but will warn against a machine slavery. All forms of slavery will be destroyed as signs of darkness. The teacher will be a guiding tutor — a friend who points out a shorter and better path. Not the process of compulsion, but the smile of summons.
But, if into the schools of life treason will have seeped, then the severest judgment will put an end to such madness.
109. The schools will determine where is laziness, where an unusual structure of character, where madness and where the necessary understanding.
110. Among the school subjects let there be taught the fundamentals of astronomy, but let it be presented as the gateway to the far-off worlds. Thus schools will stimulate the first thoughts about life in the far-off worlds. Space will become alive, astrochemistry and rays will round out the presentation of the magnitude of the Universe. Young hearts will feel not as ants upon the earth's crust, but as bearers of spirit responsible for the planet. Let us fix our attention on schools, for from them will issue the affirmation of cooperation. There will be no construction without cooperation. There will be no security of state and union while outworn egoism holds sway.
111. Many warnings were given against selfhood. This deadly sister of ignorance smites and extinguishes the best fires. Do not consider a reminder about egoism out of place during the establishment of cooperatives. On the contrary, each statute must be written not for oneself but for others. Among various appellations the word "friend" will be a most hearty one. Indeed, the heart does not admit egoism. The heart lives in self-abnegation. Thus, strong is the heart when it is concerned about the future, not thinking about self.
112. It is a most useful thing to be able to combine the tenderness of love with the austereness of duty. The new life will not be deterred by contrasts. It will not exert compulsion with one yoke, but will bestow breadth of receptivity. It is not fatting for people to sit in a chicken-coop. It is time to know the planet and to assist it. People cannot lull themselves by calculating how many years are yet left before the sun will be extinguished. A great number of various conditions may upset all calculations. It also cannot be forgotten that people can gnaw each other in two. This consideration must not be forgotten, since malice is deluging the Earth.
113. Cupidity is coarse ignorance. Only true cooperation can save from such a malignant mange. A greedy man has a stamp on his face. He is not concerned with the heart; his cup is a bitter one. And for the greedy man the Subtle World is only a source of torment.
114. People study the life of bees, of ants, of monkeys, and they are amazed at migratory birds, at their order and precision of course; yet from all this they draw no deductions for the betterment of earthly life. Natural history must be taught in schools as completely and attractively as possible. By examples from the vegetable and animal kingdoms one should dye to understand what treasures are contained in plan. If the comparatively lower organisms sense the fundamentals of existence, then so much more must man apply his efforts for a successful improvement. Many valuable indications are revealed everywhere. From the very first lessons let pupils rejoice at the wonders of life. Likewise let them apprehend how to make use of flights and of clairaudience. Thus, clairaudience will be a natural condition. Likewise the Subtle World will be studied, along with subtle energies. There will be no dividing line between physical and metaphysical, for all exists — which means that everything is perceptible and cognizable. And so, superstitions and prejudices will be shattered.
115. No one dares to stand up against the school, but few there are who think about its improvement. School programs are not looked over for years at a time, and meanwhile discoveries are on the march. New data are rushing in from all sides: the air spheres and the depths of the oceans and the mountain treasuries all relate wonderful facts about themselves. Haste is needed, else excavations will alter the data of conventionalized history. In the new schools prohibitions must be removed, in order that pupils may see reality — which is wonderful if truthfully revealed. Broad is the field of mental competition!
116. Shield children from everything false; guard them against worthless music; protect them from obscenity; protect them from false competitions; protect them from affirmation of selfhood. The more so, since it is necessary to inculcate a love for incessant learning. The muscles must not gain the upper hand over mind and heart. What sort of heart takes a liking to blows of the fist?
117. It is absurd to think that perspiration is only a physical manifestation. During mental work a particular emanation valuable for the saturation of space issues forth. If bodily perspiration can fertilize the earth, then that of the spirit restores prana by being chemically transformed in the rays of the Sun. Labor is the crown of Light. It is necessary that school pupils remember the significance of labor as a factor of world-creation. As a result of labor there will be steadfastness of consciousness. It is necessary to emphasize strongly the atmosphere of work.
118. It may be asked, "What signs in a teacher should be valued?" You already know about the quality of action, and thus can apply new methods in action. One should prefer that teacher who proceeds in a new way. Each word of his, each act of his, bears the stamp of unforgettable innovation. This distinction creates a magnetic power. Not an imitator, not a commentator, but a powerful miner of new ores. One should take as a basis the call of innovation. The time has come when it is possible to go only forward. Let us preserve the call of the will in an incessant run and not linger over the precipice.
One must tell the builders of life to find new words, forged by new necessity. Realization of the newness of each hour will provide the impulse.
Point out to friends what happiness it is to be eternally new. And each electron of the New World will give new power. Apprehend the power of the new call. You can apply it in the life of every day. You know well enough that My words are for application.
119. You think rightly that without the achievements of technic the community is impossible. Every community is in need of technical adaptations, and Our Community cannot be thought of without simplification in life. Needed is the manifested possibility of applying the attainments of science; otherwise we will become mutually burdensome. As practical realists We can boldly affirm this. Moreover, We can persistently reproach all pseudo-realists. Their subservient science and blindness prevents them from attaining that for which they are striving.
Precisely like the Pharisees of old, they conceal fear before admitting that which is already obvious to others. We do not love the ignorant. We do not love cowards who in their terror trample the possibilities of evolution.
Extinguishers of fires, haters of the Light, are you not all alike, from whatever side you come crawling! You wish to put out the flame of knowledge; but the ignorant community is a prison, because community and ignorance are incompatible. It is necessary to know. Believe not, but know!
120. We are ready to support each inventor, for even the smallest inventor is trying to introduce an improvement into life and is anxious to bring about economy of energy. The Teacher recognizes guaranty of and care about the conservation of energy. This persistent economy warrants trust in the disciple. Indeed this economy is tar from stinginess. The general who is careful in guarding his select troops is acting advisedly. Each possibility becomes our warrior, but one should understand things in the larger aspect.
How important it is to be circumspect with inventions in order not to deprive them of direct goalfitness! Let a consciousness of world evolution help to find the proper arrows. Your ears must harken to the steps of evolution, and resoluteness must not be deceived.
How wrong is slovenliness in an inventor, how pernicious is an ill-considered reaction, how inexcusable id an error of ignorance!
We can evaluate the work of the inventor on a “world scale through realization of the direction of world evolution. It will be difficult to understand the (applicability of the laws of dynamics so long as the fundamentals of matter have not been assimilated.
121. The new consciousness, supported by technical means, will give a powerful impetus to knowledge. Indeed, the community must be a most sensitive apparatus for the process of evolution. Indeed, in a conscious community no individual can make affirmation about an already molded world-study. Every dull barrier is swept away by the sharpened vibration of the collective. Even a hint at completion makes sojourn in the community impossible. Who then will assume the stigma of stupidity?
Even a worm will set no limits to his passageways of darkness—and you, looking into Infinity, you cannot resemble the worm!
The imperfect ingenuity of some people has guessed at invisible rays and inaudible rhythms. With crude imagination, with crude implements, nevertheless certain cosmic currents have been apprehended. But even a fool knows that the imagination can be refined and apparatuses improved. Starting with self-improvement you proceed toward Infinity. I shall repeat about the possibilities of improvement so long as the most obdurate one remains unashamed of his limitation.
One cannot be a community member who limits his own consciousness, thereby emulating the female foot of old China. The darkness of habit evoked also this ugliness.
What community member could wish to cover himself with the mold of superstition? Certainly, one does not now make use of the interior, primitive type of locomotive. It is equally certain that one cannot remain in an infantile understanding of reality.
A childish materialism proves to be a narcotic for people, but enlightened knowledge will be a ladder of victory.
Without negations, without superstitions, without fear, proceed to the true community. Without any miracles you will find serene reality, and as with the prospector's pick you will discover hidden treasure in the depths. Grow to love the fearlessness of knowledge.
122. It is necessary to indicate the quality of knowledge required. Knowledge must be untrammeled. Each conditioned, shackled science causes irreparable damage. The tree combination of elements will result in unprecedented new attainments.
Who can dictate to the chemist that he employ only one group of elements? Who can force the historian and the philosopher not to touch historical facts? Who can order the artist to use only one color? To knowledge all is disclosed.
The only key to preeminence in the domains of knowledge will be greater convincingness and attractiveness. If you wish to attract with your knowledge, make it attractive—so attractive that the books of yesterday appear as dried leaves. The victory of convincingness liberates from intolerable prohibitions.
Most of all, take care to expel prohibitions from the lives of pupils. For the community dwellers this is particularly easy, because their book can be especially inspiring and attractive. Indeed, a clerk's account of the community is intolerable. The contemptible pedant thrusts away each one who does not prove to have an untalented, cold attitude toward beauty. Around the community there must be an inspirational quality.
Plants reach out toward the light—this law of primary consciousness is immutable Proceed by the path of immutability and build life! There is nothing abstract, and life absorbs each thought. Therefore be realists of true reality.
123. Collectivism and dialectivism are two aids in thinking about materialism. The essence of materialism holds a particular mobility, ignoring not a single manifestation of life. The Teacher reveals only the necessary landmarks. One can develop propositions by thinking along suggested paths. Materialism must be well-grounded, so that all contemporary scientific attainments may enter constructively into the concept of spiritualized materialism.
We have spoken about subtle bodies, about magnets, about the luminosity of the aura, about the radiation of every object, about shifting of sensitivity, about change of ponderance, about the penetrating of one stratum of matter through another, about the sendings of thought through space, about the actuality of cementing space, about the feeling of the centers, about understanding the word "matter." Much of that which is invisible but perceptible by apparatus must be appreciated by him who wishes to apply the means of technic in life. It is necessary to replace fanciful drivel with sound reason.
We, the Bearers of the Spirit, have the right to require respect for and recognition of matter.
Friends, matter is not manure but a substance radiant with possibilities. The want of humanity is because of its despising of matter. Sumptuous assembly halls have been built, but hymns to knowledge have not been sung.
124. It is asked how to approach the Teaching. Indeed, for this it is necessary to regenerate the consciousness, and the consciousness is reborn after having the Teaching. At the start it is necessary to discover and cleanse the consciousness. Opening of the Consciousness is accomplished instantly—by one stroke of the will. Have the desire to open up your consciousness!
125. My young friends, again you have been gathered in the name of the Teaching and again you have bad an evening with guests. Whereas, it has been said and repeated that the hour of discourse about the Teaching must be devoid of ordinary gossip. Even though this hour be more infrequent, yet its quality must be upheld. You approach by round-about ways, you surmount the fatigue of the working day, you bear a particle of the common good; but the accumulated objects of the familiar room break up your striving, and imperceptibly you become dusty boarders. Moreover, one of you, observing what is taking place, becomes a self-appointed overseer and sinks into the pettiest irritation. The fabric of the communion is torn and an unworthy mending is begun. We urge you, even if for only an hour, to be consciously responsible people. If an hour a week is difficult for you, then better meet only every fortnight. Learn how to exclude at that time all troublesome beastly habits—smoking, drinking, eating, shallow gossip, dealings in small affairs, censure, anger. Upon being assembled, remain seated several minutes in silence. If then one of you will not find the strength to enlighten his consciousness, let him silently go back into cold and darkness. We are enemies of all compulsive magic, but a natural control of consciousness must become the prerequisite of real constructions. Surely for one hour one can dismiss personal ventures. If this be difficult, how then can you think about progress and growth of consciousness? An ox knows about chewing its cud but does not advance farther than digestion. Make an effort to give your discourses beauty, simplicity and purity.
The most unusual problems of knowledge, the most audacious forms of beauty, should force you out of your musty corner. Understand, I wish to see you, at least for a while, particular and able to absorb. These seeds of cooperative thinking will give you the perseverance for attainments. Not only resolve but also persistence is needed.
Understand concentration as a test of consciousness. Let Me see you proceeding aspiringly and consciously. I am speaking for immediate fulfillment.
126. Do you feel the actual harm caused by erroneous actions? Do you not perceive that the harm brought by your egoism first of all touches you directly? But in the plan of actions you are not alone, and each step of yours also concerns those who are responsible who proceed in self-sacrifice. Much that is irreparable is done during light-minded gatherings. The Teaching has pointed out many times the bond of the collective. It is needful to safeguard those who run risks for the hastening of results. Mentally beware of pernicious, harshly clouded moods. Furthermore I ask, "Have you learned to read the books of die Teaching? Is there a desire to anchor your thought to one pillar?" We are very fond of beautiful parables but we forget that in each of them is contained the cost of a life.
In connection with the evening gatherings, it is ingenious to note unusual contents of speech or a very strange expression. But reflect—does there not hang on each letter of this expression a great number of lives? To each one must flash the consciousness of the importance of the hour for which he has been called. When long ago light-mindedness was spoken about, it was necessary at once to take into the consciousness the seriousness of the moment and to compel oneself to accept a feeling of responsibility. Outride of current affairs, outside of individual and group achievements, it is needful to sense evolution with all its peculiarities. Thus, think clearly. Strive to Improve your gatherings.
127. If some very ignorant and unawakened person will say of the Teaching that it is apparently quite a different kind of communal teaching—know how to reply justly. Say that every community based on labor and the knowledge of reality does not harm the processes of perfectionment of humanity. Due to the motion of the Cosmos, it is impossible to remain immobile. There is either backward or forward movement. All who realize consciously the community move forward. And there cannot be communities opposed to each other; just as one cannot contrast different aspects of the sensation of hunger. Thus, against the community will speak only he who has begun to move backwards, entering into the formation of cosmic refuse.
Inexperienced community members have a considerable amount of suspiciousness and conceit, but a community is regarded by Us as an accepted form of life. And We can speak about it with all the lucidity of long experience. We are not frightened by any mental confusion. We have seen enough cosmic refuse and We are not disposed to be a part of it.
We shall defend with all forces of knowledge the community—based upon fellowship.
128. You are often astonished that the Teacher foresees the smallest details. But who told you that these details are small? Often a leg is broken from a it insignificant stone, and a blade of grass casts over the precipice.
Even in daily life you save your near ones from dangers. Then, in Our Community, are not the lives of the coworkers protected in a larger scope? The lips of Friends do not keep silent, but it is necessary to learn to harken to the call of warning.
In small groups it is easy to adjust one's attention, but the cooperation of mankind obliges one to become accustomed to unexpected manifestations. I am not exaggerating: each minute is insecure, but at the same time one should not become accustomed to this continuous insecurity, lest the vigilant sensitiveness be lost. Indeed, as an eagle on the summit, do not lose keenness. Sharp-sightedness grows only through perils.
Welcome dangers!
129. Beware of obtrusion, not only in relation to alien entreaties but be careful that you yourselves do not become obtrusive. It is impossible to calculate the harm of obtrusion, and one cannot view without contempt the selling of the Teaching in the bazaar at a discount. Learn to understand that the Teaching, conscious of its knowledge, will not expose itself in the bazaar. Only an exceptional ignorance in the followers can place the Teaching in a cringing position of falsehood and ignominy. One may pity those who, scantily informed, have taken on this purposeless labor.
But do not think while censuring alien obtrusion that it is as easy to avoid obtrusiveness of one's own. There is but a fine line between affirmation and obtrusion. It is easy to degrade oneself to no avail. Every drop falling aside turns into burning acid. But a forced swelling means only dropsy, and you know that its dire is impossible. Therefore—only duality, not quantity.
He who knocks takes the responsibility upon himself. but the forcibly enticed one will be as a millstone on the neck of the bell-ringer.
Therefore, ring the bell only at the right time. Thus you will avoid coercion.
130. Who, then, should be treated especially austerely? Definitely oneself. How should one carry the Teaching? Within oneself alone. How to pass between hypocrisy and insolence? Not by rows of witnesses but only in self judgment! Each one respects his own dignity, and each one appraises the pearl of his consciousness. The Teaching of life is appraised by the pearl of consciousness. Are we likely to cast out the treasure of existence?
One must know to carry the Teaching as the last fire, the last food, the last water. One must manifest love and sparingness as toward the last possibility the last drop of water. By acting within oneself can show the measure of devotion. One must know to create a world of personal responsibility one's own consciousness; then censure will be turned into true judgment.
131. On quality of advice. Often advice does not achieve its purpose for the reason that it is given as if for oneself. The condition of the brother is not taken into consideration, and the adviser puts himself in the place of the advised. Then the sympathy and pity and solicitude flow about the adviser himself. From such counsels one must of course expect harmful results—not only for the case itself but also in regard to the sufferer. His consciousness is pierced by an alien thinking as it by spikes. These clefts are healed with difficulty, for such counsels may be practically applicable yet their execution demands a quite different aura.
Indeed, as you well remember, the correlation of auras with the spatial substance gives quality to the result. Precisely, not the size but the color gives a particular approach to the action. The size of the aura will give tension to the action, but the path will be determined by the color. Thus, it is impossible to set any specific way of action under an alien color combination. A casual predetermination causes a mixture of rays and paralyzes the will. The infirmity of many workers is explained by the mixture of heterogeneous color groups. Here would be very useful a simple physical apparatus for the determination of basic radiations. Think, what an alleviation for the workers and what a deepening of intensity — true economy! Besides the increase in productivity, it is necessary to perceive how the correlation of colors will affect the well-being of the workers. A great deal of malice and misunderstanding will disappear, without threats and prohibitions.
Builders of life! Do not forget how easy it is, with simple technical equipment, to establish comfortable conditions for the workers. Not a foggy philosophy, not lazy musings, but a few physical implements will bring real assistance.
Already in America, Germany and England, basic radiation is being determined. Even this crude stage of investigation will help in primary groupings, and later perhaps you could approach the methods of the Eastern Laboratories. First of all, expel all ignorance, and without bombast simply know more! Mass leadership involves a broadening of consciousness.
Likewise, broaden the scope of primary schools. This is My Advice for immediate application!
132. Do not choke yourselves with verbosity. In verbosity resourcefulness and flexibility become lost. Verbosity cuts a furrow like a screw, and nothing can pass through this orifice. All kinds of bullets cast in the factory, but the factory does not produce a new banner. A community without flexibility and resourcefulness becomes very boresome. How then will you find for each one his particular bullet if all must fit one and the same rifling? Here comes a child, here a girl, here a warrior, here an old man - one should not give the same advice to all or one's guests will take flight.
Of course you will say: "We know perfectly well how to act". Then I will have to answer: "So much the worse, if you know and do not act. Much courage 4t required to listen to your cut and dried speeches." It is imperative to learn to speak more briefly and Concisely, otherwise the community will be undone through boredom. Boredom is a dangerous beast! Flexibility and resourcefulness alone preserve the freshness of the tree of freedom.
133. The community, being a fellowship first of all, sets as a condition for entrance two conscious decisions: labor without limit and acceptance of tasks without rejection. It is possible to eliminate faintheartedness by means of a two-fold organization. As a result of unlimited labor there may be a broadening of consciousness. But many people, not bad otherwise, do not envision the results, being frightened by incessant labor and enormous tasks. And yet they have accepted basically the idea of the community. It would be harmful to include these yet weak people in the community; but in order not to extinguish their striving one should not cast them out. For this it is useful to have a second organization—friends of the community. Herein, without forsaking the customary order of life, these newcomers can become more deeply conscious of the community. Such a twofold organization permits the preservation of a far more concentrated sincerity in the work. If, however, a formal entrance into the community itself be allowed, one will be obliged periodically to eject the unfit ones. In other words, the community will cease to exist altogether. It will be simply an institution under a false label, beside which the Sanhedrin of the Pharisees would be a highly righteous establishment.
Friends of the community provide the possibility of having a reservoir without danger of betraying the bases of the Teaching. Friends of the community do not conceal their weaknesses, and this gives the possibility of successfully strengthening them. Indeed, We use the word "friends" because for the Occident this term is more understandable. Among Ourselves We call them disciples of a certain degree, but the West poorly contains Our concept of discipleship.
Therefore, let us keep to the better-known designation—friends of the community.
It is absurd for the West not to accept Our simple propositions, fortified by long experience.
Our Communities are old! Have not the best people understood the community, not proposing any other form? From the community to the far-off worlds!
134. Acceptance of the commissions of the Community is shown by certain signs. Let us look at sincerity and pity. Sincerity is nothing but the shortest attainment. Vainly do sentimental people load sincerity with romantic tatters. Sincerity is a concept real and invincibly acute. That sincerity is similar to a properly directed spear thrust and is not a diffused goodness can be shown by example. Each doubt lessens the power of the blow. Therefore, for Us sincerity is the shortest attainment. Quite another matter is pity. Pity is a puddle in which the faithful foot may slip. The one who pities descends to the level of the pitied. His force is dissolved in twilights of that which he pities—a most whining result.
Pity must not be confused with compassion. In compassion nothing is dissolved, but crystals of action grow. Compassion does not weep, but helps.
Let us consider accusation and manifestation. Accusation is practical for the accused. The accusation is either merited—and then the alien formulation is instructive, because it always differs from your own understanding—or, as happens more often, the accusation is unmerited—and then you can calmly observe how your action has been refracted in the malice of ignorance.
Manifestation must be understood not in the sense of importunity but as related to the quality of being invisible. The dream of peoples about a cap of invisibility can be brought into life without sorcery. It is possible to divert attention from oneself, but this is far more difficult than to attract. Thus, it is necessary to know how to understand the impulse of the observers. In carrying out missions the ability to be invisible is important.
Let us look at communion and striving. During communion it is necessary to maintain the realization of one's need. Do not ask any advices; let them be given. Let not your striving turn into a chase; otherwise idlers and guards will rush after you. Thus realize the burden of missions.
Of fear and betrayal I spoke long ago.
135. Nothing is finite, nothing is immovable; there-tore let us be consciously concerned with that which may be foreseen. When I succeed in foreseeing needed actions, I do not consider this as final. On the one hand, you and a great number of karmic circumstances can disturb the level of that which has been foreseen; and on the other. We and a new karma can improve the correlation of the components.
Verily, when something can be simplified and adorned, it is our duty to do so. Blindly to be attached to something borne by the current would be like being in a shipwreck. One must comprehend the significance of the current. The indicated mobility is only a preparation for the realization of the great current. As an unfailing spiral fed by the forces of matter does the eternal current rush along. Thought can overtake the light that follows the current.
Alter the details of the everyday routine one should turn to manifestations of the great Motion. One should fly upwards and thus tear oneself away from Earth. Bring the realization of the great current to your work bench and give wings to your labor. How else will you infuse perfect technic into your craft? Saturation with the tremor of possibilities will give rhythm to the labor. From each seed consciously manifested rises a silver thread to the tar-off worlds. Thought pierces the strata of the atmosphere and weaves the web.
How to explain that without the unity of the worlds life on the earthly crust is an absurdity! Realization of the smallness and imperfection of the Earth can aid toward gravitation to the far-off worlds.
Let us not forget that we are micro-organisms populating the folds of the planet's crust. One must learn to think. No lecture can teach how to think. The quality of thinking is formed in solitude through rational striving. Indeed, thought strikes the spark of life from the substance of matter.
136. Have you noticed what a difference there is between action in compliance with an external order and that under the realization of an impulse? If I order water to be brought, the water may be obtained. But if he who draws the water is imbued with a realization of the necessity for doing so, then more than half the obstacles in the way will be removed. Therefore, We avoid external commands, preferring to guide the will in order that the consciousness should realize the need of action. Apart from obvious consequences, the karma created by this external command is important.
Pay attention that commands be prepared beforehand, so that they may enter the consciousness of the executers. Without cooperation a command is like the flight of an arrow against the wind. Even the unexpectedness of a command must be foreseen. The unexpectedness is thus transformed into an outlived tension.
Know how to evoke cooperation not only in actions but also in thinking. Only then is it possible to send a coworker on a distant journey. The fact of having received a commission obligates one to independent actions. The current will carry the striving ones.
137. A cosmogonic Hindu tale relates: "There lived long ago a terrible monster who devoured people. Once the monster was pursuing an intended victim and the man, seeking to save himself, plunged into a lake. The monster sprang after him, but the swimmer threw himself on the back of the monster and took firm hold of its projecting crest. The monster could not turn over on its back because its belly was unprotected. It rushed about in a furious course, waiting for the man to become exhausted. But the thought came to the man that, in maintaining his desperate plight, he was saving humanity, and with this pan-human thought his strength became unlimited and inexhaustible. The monster, meanwhile, increased its speed until sparks formed a fiery wake. Amid flames the monster began to rise above the earth. The universal thought of the man had uplifted even the enemy.
When people see a comet they give thanks to the valiant one, eternally striving, and the thoughts of the people speed outward to give new strength to the rider of the monster. White, yellow, red, and black people direct their thoughts to him who long ago became fiery."
Strive to the guiding thought about help to humanity. Think clearly that you are performing not a personal act, nor a group act, but an absolutely useful act. That done by you timelessly and without the limitation of space becomes a labor for the unification of the worlds. Preserve this guiding fiery thought.
When one is guided daily one may lose consciousness of the guiding thought. Weak minds think that they remain without connection with the guide—the details of daily routine reduce them to ordinariness. But, indeed, amidst daily routine it is possible to grow flaming thought. As a metal is forged with an ordinary hammer, and as seed filled with the great substance of life is gathered with an ordinary sickle, so amid ordinary matters look for the thread of greatness.
138. About uplifting the enemy. The Teaching of the Community has very solicitously in mind the upliftment of enemies. For this, one should not harass the enemies with direct proposals. But personal aspiration toward world tasks can attain such tension that inevitably the enemy is drawn in the same direction. We must not forget that the enemy by his very enmity is already connected with us. In this bond lies the weakness of the enemy. Hating us, the enemy begins to fill his being with a picture of us. The enemy chains his consciousness to us and often ends up as a simple imitator, to which fact indeed he will never confess. The enemy will imitate first in an external way, and then, when his hatred has led him to this point, the cosmic grandeur of the task may entice him inwardly.
When we know that the enemy is attached to us we can look upon him as a foolish member of the household. Thus, penetrate into the essential nature of the enemies and you will find a place for them. They may serve beautifully as the legs of your workbench. Out of the obstinacy of ignorance they intensify their forces in order to stick to you. But you have nothing to conceal because you work for humanity, and the enemy must become an imitator or else perish. This perishing, indeed, is not by your hand but is from a spark of the world apparatus. Therefore I insist upon fiery striving.
139. One should expel all words of negation. He who denies is poor; he who affirms is rich. He who denies is immobile; he who affirms is propelled. He who denies is constantly wrong; he who affirms is always right. He who affirms can be relatively right in place and time; he who denies is absolute in deadliness. Ignorance is the mother of negation. Expelling negation, the Teaching enslaves no one. The denier is already a slaveholder, for he does not wish to let his interlocutor go free from his circle. The Teaching of the Community must be active in the opening of all paths.
140. If your interlocutor expresses stubbornness and extreme ignorance, ask him if he has traveled much. You will doubtless receive the reply that his travels have been no farther than a sparrow's flight. Besides, arriving in new places he but falls into the old conditions as a result of not knowing the language and of general lack of knowledge. Such a man will be particularly argumentative, not being ashamed of his ignorance. Truly, the experience of journeying gives the best key to the realization of cosmic lives. The true traveler reflects lucidly on the path which lies behind and clearly expresses the desired direction. He will appraise former circumstances and will foresee the better possibilities.
Traveler, how do you imagine the path beyond the limits of the earthly crust? So many forces have been expended for defining the life beyond! It seems to people that they will at once sink into a state of groundlessness. This faint-heartedness is a result of undeveloped observation.
Experienced traveler, you know that on Earth are expressed the embryos of all possibilities. You know the imperfection of the past and you will perceive the embryonic future combinations. The imperfection of the traversed path will call to mind the rudimentary life of the worlds of lesser consciousness. Glimpses of solutions in new combinations will attract you, wayfarer, to paths preordained in all their super-stellar reality. To you mystic signs are not needed; you walk the visible path and each blade of grass sets before you a register of the forces of nature. Phantoms are for him who sits by the stove, and for you are the waves of luminous matter. Seals of forbiddances are for him who sits in the chicken-coop, and for you are the real forms of rays. For them magic and miracles, and for you the creative power of pure strata of matter.
Traveler, I rejoice to encounter you, I rejoice to see how steadfastly you proceed. Traveler, you know what you are seeking; help may be given to you!
141. We approve an abridgement of language. Combinations of new definitives are desirable. Such a new language releases from immobility of speech. It is of no purpose to worship dead words. It is far more joyful to see how the meaning of a sound effect penetrates and convinces. Everyone understands that not words convince but the sendings of the brain center. Sugary speech can attain its goal because of its impression upon the listener. One is more likely to conquer by a silent gesture than by cold rhetoric.
When people say, "This is the language of my father," ask them: "Are the worn-out shoes of your father still usable?"
Every science is in need of new formulas. Likewise, the certain periods of life bring new expressions. One must rejoice at each new expression. Nothing is worse than the embrace of a corpse! As it is, you are attached to a sufficient quantity of dead objects. The burying of each dead letter is accompanied by lamentations, as it there do not exist progressive actions of enormous significance! Certain people are illiterate and covered with stench and nasty insects. Which of the old worn-out prejudices to mourn? The whole trunkful of insects must be burnt, and this will not be a destruction but a renovation.
Seek renovation in all of life.
142. Rightly has it been observed that the protection and preservation of the offspring of animals must be provided for. Maternity means the same for them as for humanity. When animals are spared they will repay us in milk, wool and labor. The problem of animals living near man is a very important one. One may visualize how the atmosphere is altered when there are friends around the dwelling. Ask the Arab about the horse or a Northerner about the reindeer-he will speak not as about animals but as about his family.
