A paper presented by Gvido Trepsa at the Agni Yoga Society meeting
New York City, March 29, 2022
One of the goals of Agni Yoga, in layman’s terms, is to help each of us to become an enlightened being, good for ourselves, for others, and for the world. In this, Agni Yoga is no different from other advanced spiritual disciplines, but the paths towards perfection in each of them do differ. Every teaching, with time, branches off into sects and schools, and they, in turn, create their own practices, methods, routines, and exercises. An ageless teaching deals with permanent truths, while the practices depend on, and are adopted according to, the age, place, and idiosyncrasies of the people. Theory and practice are two sides of the same coin, and in Agni Yoga the importance of practice and discipline is outlined in no uncertain terms.
“One must manifest discipline of spirit; without it one cannot become free.” (Illumination, preamble.)
“Discipline is the beginning of everything.” (Illumination, 253.)
“Let us speak about Lord Buddha.
People do not realize the foundation of the Teaching of the Blessed One. The foundation is discipline.” (Illumination, 254.)
“People read about instantaneous enlightenment and imagine that they can succeed without spiritual practice and protracted experiments.” (Supermundane, 276.)
“It is also a mistake to call every beginner of any of the Yogas a Yogi. Yoga, or communion, is achieved by hard and constant spiritual practice.” (Helena Roerich, Letters I, 5.6.1934.)
The goal may be one, but the core principle to be perfected along the way may vary, as is distinctly manifested in Bhakti, Jnana, Karma, and Raja Yogas. What kind of practice, then, does Agni Yoga suggest?
“Human consciousness can be directed toward the disciplining of unbridled and unconscious thoughts.” (Infinity I, 4)
“At times people are ready to recognize the power of thought, but they do not apply this recognition to themselves. They dream about great thoughts but will not put the small ones in order. They will ask how to set thought into motion. One has to start by disciplining the smallest thoughts; only when that is done can one create a thought that moves mountains. By following this advice about putting small thoughts in order, one begins to bring health to the heart. Do not rely on an assortment of outer pranayamas. The path of Agni Yoga is through the heart, but one must help the heart by putting thoughts in order.” (Heart, 495)
“He who said, ‘We see with the eyes of the heart,’ had in mind not a symbol but a physical law. A consciousness that has been deepened and freed manifests a transformation of all feelings. The most vivid color becomes invisible, the loudest symphony inaudible, the most powerful touch unnoticed, the hottest food unfelt.
That is how real the realm of feelings becomes—in the heart. This quality should not be considered an abstraction. Quite the contrary, in it is contained yet another approach to the Subtle World. We make Our disciples practice this transmutation of feelings as one of the clearest ways to refine the heart.” (Heart, 559.)
“One who is unable to practice discipline of thought and feelings cannot hope to progress speedily on the chosen path of Light.” (Helena Roerich, Letters II, 1.11.1936.)
“We frequently perform exercises for clarity of thought, for thinking requires practice. Even the loftiest thinker will not deny that he too must exercise this capacity, just as a musician must practice constantly for clarity of sound. Let fools insist that they need no such exercises. Composure, too, is acquired through the exercise of thought.” (Supermundane, 424.)
“Some will insist that special schools are required for learning concentration of thought. Not at all–everyone can practice thought-concentration, beginning with the most simple ways. If one compels oneself to think clearly at least one quarter of an hour daily, there will be good results.” (Supermundane, 555.)
“Few wish to understand that the highest achievement is not in psychism, not in astral visions, but in synthesis, in the development of one's own abilities. This is achieved by the scrupulous fulfillment of one's duties, or, as those of the East would say, by dharma. Truly, the manifested world is upheld and is developed by action, and only action gives birth to new energies.” (Helena Roerich, Letters I, 10.18.1934.)
There are many more direct statements and hints in Agni Yoga outlining which faculties, virtues, and qualities lead to “the highest achievement.” After learning what needs to be perfected, a true student is inevitably thirsty to learn how to proceed: what are the best practices, methods, rules, exercises?
The Agni Yoga texts give no orders. Even the occasional pieces of concrete advice, which should never be taken out of context (e.g. in Aum, 350, 404; Supermundane, 441) do not exceed a dozen.
This lack of easily digestible sets of prescriptions has resulted in all kinds of misconceptions among the aspirants. One of the most widespread is the perception that to be excited about the lofty concepts and theories that strike us is already a practice, and a sufficient one. Agni Yoga gently corrects this with several subtle hints.
“Again they will ask: ‘Why at the beginning of the path is so much that is pleasant accorded and so much forgiven?’ It is because in the beginning all fires are full blown and the one who is called walks as a torch. It is up to him to choose the quality of his fire.” (Illumination, preamble.)
“It is also said that the world is created by thought, or that thought engenders action. Therefore many, supposing that thought is higher than action, plunge into dreaminess, taking it for creative thought, forgetting that only that thought which is saturated by fiery will can create. But one can acquire such will only by stubborn practice…” (Helena Roerich, Letters I, 10.18.1934.)
Some never get past this beginner’s state of excitement, and when the initial flame gradually decreases, become content with occasional bursts, more and more rare as the years pass by. Others settle on the cozy conviction that practice consists of reading a certain number of Agni Yoga paragraphs with more or less constant frequency. Still others express themselves through meetings and discussions; or by individual or collective sendings of good thoughts into space; and this list can be expanded.
All such activities have their own applications and benefits, but they do not automatically constitute the practice of Agni Yoga. Reading and discussing the teaching; praying and sending thoughts; calling upon psychic energy; randomly engaging in visualizations; teaching others or being taught—these and other activities of a similar kind become practice only when one approaches them as art and first spends all the necessary time and effort to master them.
Such understanding is important, and when it pushes one beyond the stage of mere intellectual recognition, Agni Yoga, or the teaching of Living Ethics as it is often called, opens one’s eyes to the actual method of the work. It is right here, before our eyes all the time, in the name itself, in the word “living”.
“It is true, the practice of occultism in the way it is understood by the majority, that is, the performance of mechanical exercises, is most dangerous. But the path of Light, the path of selfless service to humanity, readiness of the spirit, constant striving toward the perfectment of the inner man, and steadfast devotion to the chosen Ideal, this path, although difficult, has its spiritual joys.” (Helena Roerich, Letters II, 11.4.1935.)
“I am charging you to walk with Us through joy and sorrow; it is only in this twofold flame that consciousness is created. Training in consciousness is the Yoga of the Heart. This practice is impossible outside of everyday life.” (Heart, 598.)
“This practice is impossible outside of everyday life.” — Everyday life—the 24/7—is the perfect, and only, battleground for the practice of Agni Yoga. But once more, this should not lead to the wrong conclusion that such practice is a free-flowing effort to lead one’s life in a more ethical manner. Undisciplined, unskilled effort can still not be considered practice.
Living Ethics describes at length the qualities of an enlightened, perfect being, good for humankind and for the universe. And we need only life itself —regardless of circumstances, age, wealth, physical and mental idiosyncrasies—to strive to become this enlightened perfect being. But this striving becomes practice only when we are aware of it. And not aware intellectually or randomly—by thinking about it or remembering it when we wake up and go to sleep, and several times during the day. Here awareness means to be aware to the marrow of one’s bones, with every particle of one’s whole being. The concept is simple, but it is one of the most difficult achievements to which one can aspire on earth. The moment we are aware, we practice; as soon as we step out of this awareness, we drift along.
Everyone can self-assess how advanced their practice is—the moments of awareness of practicing are moments of unconditional happiness, and clarity. More importantly, you are in control of your feelings and thoughts, and consequently, of your actions, which is the only way to manifest the teaching in your life. How frequent and how long are these moments? Seconds, minutes? Once a day? or week? or month?
Continual awareness is a sine qua non requirement for becoming an enlightened perfect being. But before it becomes ingrained in one's everyday life, before the actual practice of Agni Yoga sets in, a relentless life-long practice is needed to extend the moments of true awareness; from, say, one moment once a week to two moments twice a day, steadily increasing.
How to practice in order to reach the stage at which true practice begins, is up to the individual. The collective wisdom of the ages provides enough disciplines, exercises, methods, and routines to choose from. Agni Yoga itself has at least one direct pointer, in Heart, in plain sight.
© 2020, by Gvido Trepsa
First published in Agni Yoga Quarterly, Vol. XLII/No.2 (2020)