References compiled from the Agni Yoga Series
I:IV:12. Great is the knowledge of the absence of death.
I:V:13. But We say that man is eternally being born, and particularly at the moment of so-called death.
III:V:13. One may know how loftily the Teachers have regarded the transition to future manifestations ...
The attitude toward death is a very important indicator of the character of the Teaching, for in it is contained the understanding of reincarnation. ...
Read attentively the writings of the Teachers published by you, and you will be amazed at how unanimously in all ages They speak about the change of life.
236. Fear of death is the weightiest self-judgment. Fear of death shuns growth and envies each one who welcomes a change of life. ...
We see indeed how the structure of the community wipes away the attributes of death; how the very process of crossing becomes generally imperceptible.
335. The earthly consciousness retains possession of all its senses, which are found in the Subtle World though in transmuted form. The precise moment of transition into the Subtle World is accompanied by a sensation of dizziness, as during fainting or at the beginning of a fit of epilepsy. The sensations that follow depend entirely upon the preparedness of the consciousness, or rather upon the fiery ego. If the consciousness has been obscured or dimmed, the senses cannot be carried over into the new condition. In this case a kind of oblivion or drowsy roaming about occurs. ... Thus, if Agni has been awakened during life through knowledge or heroic feeling, it will immediately accomplish the great transmutation. Like a veritable torch, it will indicate the way; like radiant helium it will carry one up into the predestined sphere. Though so imperceptible in earthly life, Agni becomes the guiding principle in the Subtle World. And not only does it light the way in the Subtle World, it acts as a guide to the Fiery Beings.
388. It is very bad to cross over into the Subtle World filled with the black fires of malice; this results in blindness. Besides blindness, such malice deprives one of means of communication, in other words, of the language of the spirit.
422. You were right in recalling the useful Burmese custom of reminding those who are seriously ill or dying of their best deeds. Even from a medical point of view such reminders undoubtedly are beneficial.
497. People who have surrounded themselves with darkness will cross over into the Subtle World in darkness. Fiery glimpses are so insignificant to them, and the desire for ascent so unimportant, that Light remains inaccessible. So they walk about in darkness, fighting against the Light.
597. And so, the greatest misconception lies in the fact that people prepare themselves for death instead of educating themselves for life.
609. A traitor cannot live long in the world of matter, and when he crosses into the Subtle World, being entirely without life-giving energy he is sucked into chaos and is doomed to disintegration. ... It must be understood that the return to chaos is, first of all, inexpressibly painful.
616. One can imagine the state when death will be no more, and the transition will be a usual attainment.
621. It is a natural desire to want to know how the transitions into different spheres are accomplished. It is not difficult to understand that purified Agni is the decisive factor. If we gradually fill a balloon with combustible gas, it will begin to rise proportionately. If the balloon cannot retain the gas it will descend. This is a crude example of the principle governing transition into the various spheres of the Subtle World. The subtle entity can ascend by itself if its fiery seed is appropriately filled. Fire—the transmuter—helps to assimilate the new and higher conditions. Agni facilitates the understanding of the language of each sphere, because the intercourse of beings becomes more refined as the ascent is made. Of course, the high Guidance does not forsake the striving ones, but for assimilation of Guidance devotion is needed. Thus, a being can ascend the ladder—there is no other symbol which can more accurately define the ascent of the spirit. If a being is detained on one step, the cause is apparent in the aura. So many travelers quite unexpectedly find themselves a few steps lower! The usual reason for such retrogression is some earthly remembrance which engenders cravings. The Guide considers a store of patience indispensable to protect those who stumble. But one should not draw too frequently upon this precious energy. The being who can discover the cause by himself will actually ascend more quickly. Truly, ascent is accompanied by the joy of new companions, and finally the earthly asp of envy falls away, and thought-creativeness is no longer impeded by the currents of malice. But one should prepare even now for mobility of consciousness. A torpid consciousness obstructs the striving of Agni. Thus, let us envision perfectly clearly the ladder of ascent.
638. There will be no time for deliberation at the moment of crossing into the Subtle World; the illumination by joy can and must be instantaneous.
21. Many would like to ask to be taught how to enter the Subtle World, but they do not know how to ask without appearing ridiculous. ...
Thus in the morning hour as well as in the evening let us get accustomed to the thought of the crossing into the Beautiful World. Let it be Beautiful for us.
369. “We do not die, but change”— can one speak any more clearly about eternal life?
68. Upon leaving the earthly sphere the spirit is intensified in the consciousness of the achievements which were dominant in that life. The life of a man has, as it were, its leit-motifs, and upon these songs, or laments, the spirit is intensified. The achievements of the spirit lead upward, and departure from the earthly sphere is always a joy for the spirit which has realized the luminous achievement of Service. Even during physical pains the spirit surmounts all earthly infirmities. In the breaking away from Earth the bond with the Higher Worlds, to which the spirit aspires, is affirmed. ... Many hearts which have accepted the power of Service aspire to the Higher Worlds. A ray of help is extended to the devoted disciple. On the path to the Fiery World let us remember about parting from the earthly sphere with the joy of Service to Light.
84. Departing from the earthly sphere, the spirit must be cleansed of lower emanations. Any superfluous husk which the spirit brings along into the Subtle World causes inexpressible pains. In a well-developed consciousness a purification takes place which frees the spirit from the husk. But the spirit which zealously retains its earthly habits experiences in the Subtle World all the infirmities which it was accustomed to undergo on the earthly plane. Going uphill, any superfluous load causes shortness of breath in the Subtle World. It is very distressing to carry things which were not previously overcome, and which in the Subtle World have become a burden. Most painful of all is the perception of one’s own coarseness.
95. At the threshold of passage into the Subtle World there occurs a separation of the mental body from the physical. The development of fiery receptivity assists the flight into the Higher Spheres. The separation of the mental body can be clearly realized by the spirit which senses the breaking away from the Earth and aspires into the Higher Spheres; thus takes place a unification of the two Worlds, which liberates the spirit from the physical body. The question of death greatly preoccupies humanity. Precisely it is the transition which frightens people so much. ... One should consciously prepare the spirit for the breaking away from Earth. In this manner the affirmed threshold is disclosed to the one newly arrived, in all the Fiery Grandeur.
97. One should be very solicitous about the last hours of sojourn on Earth. Often the final striving can predetermine the succeeding life, also the stratum in which the spirit will dwell. Indeed, it is inadmissible to recall the spirit into the earthly spheres when it already has broken away. Tissues which already have been freed from earthly attractions must be strained in a terrific effort in order again to be assimilated into the earthly atmosphere. People should learn to think during someone’s departure, as well as during birth, and should be able to ease the processes. As delays are harmful during birth, they are likewise harmful during death. The subtle formation of the new body must be taken into consideration. ... It may be said that it is not death which torments, but living people.
108. How much more clearly can the spirit grasp the process of life and death when the concept of the Supermundane World lives in one’s consciousness!
109. Happenings in life can be made real only when the spirit senses each higher vibration. Obviously, humanity lives without cognition of the heart, which moves with the force of the Fiery World. For better forms one should look upon life as a union of the two Worlds. Each striving in this direction will be helpful for ascent into the Subtle World. If the perception of higher energies is established as a vital process, one may become aware that earthly life, with all its pangs, is extended into the next World. Thus, let us apprehend the law of atonement on the Earth, in actions and meditations.
296. The liberated spirit always aspires into the higher spheres, but the spirit attached to Earth remains for a long time enchained in the lower strata of the Astral World. The bond between the physical body and the astral is not easily broken during earthly consciousness. The occurrence of a rupture between the bodies recoils painfully on those spirits which manifest earthly attractions. During ascent of the spirit, of course, the liberation is affirmed at the point of breaking away from the Earth.
297. The bond between the physical and astral centers is saturated by intensified transmutation during life. Functions on both planes manifest unity, the distinction being merely in that independent activity which is manifested by the centers on each plane. The transmuted centers intensify the centers of the subtle body. But at the same time, while the centers are laboring in fiery tension on the earthly plane, the astral centers have an opportunity to propel the subtle body into the Fiery World. A sensation of pains is manifested on the astral plane and on the mental, but only at the beginning of the ascent. After that, each center, while preserving its connection with the physical body, can function by being intensified in other spheres. There follows a separation of the bodies, freeing the subtle body from pains. The physical pains then correspond to the creative tension of the astral centers. Thus do the Worlds act in mutual intensification. On the path to the Fiery World let us be affirmed in fiery transmutation.
298. At the threshold into the Subtle World striving plays the decisive role. Striving into the higher spheres gives the spirit the strength to break away from the Earth. The greatest task is to teach every living being to aspire.
307. The condition of the spirit during the crossing into the Subtle World is subject to the state of the consciousness. Withdrawing from life with the most subtle striving, the spirit is unable to harmonize its vibrations, and thus for a time remains within earthly limits. Yet not only does the sojourn in the earthly state place a burden on the spirit, but, indeed, the conflict between physical emanations and flashes of the higher magnet makes the dwelling of the spirit in the lower strata very burdensome. The feeling of hopelessness which man so sharply senses gives rise to many torturing experiences. Indeed, hopelessness becomes the lot of him who lacks refined aspirations. While on the earthly plane man can atone for his Karma, but in the Subtle World man is dependent upon his aspiration. Space is filled with ones who have not expiated their Karma on the earthly plane. Thus, the exalted spirit knows not these fiery torments. Refinement of the spirit is the key to the Gates of the Fiery World.
415. The spirit which realizes in life the power of tension of psychic energy can count upon the strength of psychic energy also during the crossing into the Subtle World. Our subtle body is fed by these saturations, and the fluids of psychic energy form the subtle body.
118. There are some who suppose that man is continuously dying; others know that man is incessantly reborn. The former are motivated by fear, the latter by joy. The former suggest death to themselves, the latter recognize life. ... One may be confident that he who destines death for himself does not know about the Higher World. ...
Affirmation of life is affirmation of Light. The human spirit is immortal, but such a simple truth is not close to people; for they care more about the body than about the spirit.
119. People, in principle, prefer to understand death as destruction. Existence itself affirms eternal renewal. Each man dies for yesterday and is regenerated for tomorrow. ... Each day and hour man draws nearer to or recedes from the Higher World.
153. Amazing is the extent of man’s transformation at the moment when he leaves the earthly sphere. People call this death, but it is really birth; therefore, how pitiful it is when the subtle body sojourns long in sleep. Especially noteworthy is the transition wherein consciousness is preserved. Then it can be clearly imagined how the earthly tatters fall off and the imperishable accumulation emerges, revealing itself to be a true treasure. It can be understood why this most subtle treasure cannot be revealed amid crude conditions.
573. It is shocking to see the relativeness of people’s judgments. Take as an example the definitions of the state of one who has passed into the Subtle World. Of the same person it will be said: he perished, he is annihilated, he suffers, he sleeps, he is resting, he is learning, he ascends, he rejoices—thus each one judges the Subtle World according to his own understanding. But inasmuch as no one has told people about the Subtle World, they have begun to form opinions in accordance with their own imagination; however the imagination is often uncultivated. In this way, the closest sphere still remains within the limits of a phantom world.
When someone weeps at a funeral, there may be found one who deplores such ignorance. Likewise, if someone rejoices at such an occasion, people are indignant at a seeming madman. Thus, people cannot assimilate the relationship of earthly existence to the superearthly state of being. Many cases can be cited when people have seen their near ones of the Subtle World, but even such evidences merely remain listed as phenomena. It is impossible to convince people of the naturalness of the change of existence. They are forbidden to think about reincarnation, and they are agreed that they dwell on the edge of an unknown abyss. Yet each year brings the worlds closer together, and it is possible to increase the number of cases of evidence of memory of former lives. Already each one can cite many examples; all that is needed is an attitude of good will.