Selections from the Agni Yoga Series
Presented before the Agni Yoga Society, March 7, 2017
1.My Hand is a Shield of Protection over you.
My Hand will scatter the clouds. The Call, 166.
2. Remember how necessary it is to keep the Teaching;
Especially at this time of world-wide commotion.
Count the days until you will pass safely through the conflagration.
I offer you My Hand and I will conduct you unscathed.
But be sensible and reject not the Hand. The Call, 391.
3. The best remedy, the best weapon, is your understanding of Our Care.
Affirmed in union with Us, you will proceed invincibly.
Displaying the example of achievement, you will grow to the stature of giants.
Some are terrified by destruction, some rejoice in it.
But for you each fallen wall provides a new pathway to Light. The Call, 376.
4. The best protection not only against sicknesses but also against hostile attacks will always lie in the conscious application of psychic energy. Its development is the most vital task of humanity. Agni Yoga, 569.
5. A very old story tells how a certain king, desiring to free himself of all outside influences, asked a sage for advice. “In your heart you will find liberation,” said the sage, but the king waxed indignant and replied, “The heart isn’t enough. A good guard is more reliable than that.” So the sage took leave of the king, saying, “Then the main thing, Your Majesty, is that you stop sleeping.” The story indicates that the heart is the sole source of protection. Heart, 92.
6. Much can be forgiven him who even in darkness has preserved the concept of the Teacher. The Teacher uplifts the dignity of the spirit. We liken the concept of the Teacher to a lamp in the darkness. Therefore, the Teacher may be called a beacon of responsibility. The bonds of the Teaching are like a saving rope in the mountains. The Teacher is revealed from the moment of kindling of the spirit. From that moment on the Teacher is inseparable from the disciple. We do not see the end of the chain of Teachers, and the consciousness imbued with the Teacher elevates the attainment of the disciple as a precious, all-penetrating aroma. The bond of the disciple with the Teacher forms a link of protection in the uniting chain. Within this defense deserts bloom. Community, 60.
7. The yearning for communion with the far-off worlds provides the possibility for adherence to the course of Cosmos. The date predestined to humanity for the realization of Infinity pierces already the strata of cosmic fires. People have sought the approach to Truth in varied ways. Various manifestations impelled them to fasts, flagellations, tortures of their bodies and benumbing of their spirit. Manifold searches are inscribed in the book of striving. But progress of the spirit cannot be achieved without the realization of the endlessness of the battle. Progress of spirit is there where the spirit develops its protective net through unlimited striving. But the one who tries to find his protective net in leisure retreats into the mist of non-understanding.
Let the Fiery Flame illumine the people! Infinity I, 51.
8. Urusvati knows the true nature of self-protection, the rhythm that creates the vibrational, protective net. It should not be thought that such a net can be given from outside. It must be created, at least in the beginning, by the individual himself. Free will must lead man to the realization of his need for protection.
The archer shoots his arrow, but the distance it flies can be tripled if the supermundane link is strong. We have already indicated that the highest Help can be given only when a decision is made freely. Only in this way is cooperation developed; in the Supermundane World the law is the same. Our help will not be delayed if there is a strong and conscious desire for cooperation.
Thus, amidst all conditions of life, one must master the art of self-protection as a defense against attacks by one’s enemies. One’s shield must be ready to accept the arrows of the enemy. It is not an exaggeration to remind about the battle, for it is the threshold to victory.
The Thinker said, "I shall not forget about self-protection for it will affirm my readiness for battle." Supermundane, 879.
9. In the sacred evening of the Greatest Holy Day,
In the Name of the Universal Symbol, I say to you:
You have been admitted to the task of building the New World.
I say to you: Strengthen your eyes, that you be not blinded when I raise the hem of the veil of the Future. Should confusion arise in you, raise the shield of devotion;
For by it you will be saved.
And repeat My Instructions—I say to you—repeat.
I have said it. The Call, 428.
10. It is futile to think that chaos is somewhere faraway; it is admitted by humanity during all disorderly thinking. Only a steadfast consciousness can be a protection against chaos. Sometimes the smallest outward manifestations will be the results of most profound admittances. A reaction may be not from malice alone but also because of the decomposing chaos; this is an extremely dangerous quality during cooperation. Brotherhood, 129.
11. Along with pressure one can also sense a sort of emptiness. This sensation should be dealt with very carefully. Most often this involves a certain protective zone that keeps the heart safe from destructive blows, a kind of protective armor. Seekers should know about this condition. Some people regard it as a separation from reality and are distressed without cause. Others believe that this sensation marks the end of danger and they stop being vigilant. Either approach impedes the flow of energy. But an experienced warrior values this shield that protects his power so effectively. You know that blows to the aura are quite painful for the eyes and ears, but there may also be sensations that feel as if one has sustained a cut or stab wound. These sensations are especially painful on the shoulders, neck, and lower abdomen. They may also be felt upon the opening of wounds—stigmata—when the energy of the heart draws a condensed particle of Fohat to a particular spot and injures the cells of the skin tissues. Indeed, the joining of the heart with the energy of Grace generates the most powerful combination. Heart, 350.
12. The substance of fiery immunity was described by Zoroaster. He pointed out that from each pore of the skin people could call forth fiery rays to smite all evil. A man clad in a protective armor cannot succumb to any contagion. One can increase this resistance through unity with Hierarchy. Thus, the heart becomes like a sun reducing all microbes to ashes. Fiery World I, 17.
13. The fabric of the protective net is strung by the most diverse energies. Each spiritual center is based upon the collection of precipitations of the subtlest energies into the protective net. All the centers are transmuted and saturated by fire, which weaves the threads of the protective net. Thus, this shield is an affirmation of all cosmic currents, which are refracted in the protective net. Each blow upon the aura may be reflected, as a boomerang, upon its sender. When the protective net can reflect all the Higher Fires, then, indeed, can be fused in this furnace many manifest blows. Each striving consciousness must weave its own protective net. One may deflect many blows and painful stings if the protective net remains impenetrable. The immunity of the spiritual centers may become complete when the protective net is continually nourished by fire from within. Hence, it is so important to be solicitous about the tension of the protective net. Psychic energy, aspiration of the spirit, and fiery transmutation will supply the needed fabric for the protective net. On the path to the Fiery World let us remember the power of this Shield. Fiery World III, 114.
14. It is right that you turn your attention to the blows repelled by the aura. Only a few realize such mental assaults. People usually attribute such manifestations to accidental physical causes, but the developed consciousness, even during sleep, will determine the true cause. The consciousness is a faithful shield. The aura and the consciousness form a protective armor. Aum, 275.
15. The dark forces, in their desire to disrupt the pure beginnings, will come to the temple uttering the formulae of the Teaching, and after lulling suspicion they will tempt fools by offering to quicken the development of their psychic energy. Of course, for the fulfilment of their evil design, they must break the protective auric net. This hideous aim is achieved by various prescriptions and methods which depend upon the weakening of the organism of their victim. Thus, the dark ones penetrate through the breach in the protective net, that is why so much is said in the Teaching about the protective net, and about the need of keeping the aura in purity, in order to prevent the dark ones from approaching. And the best measure is complete devotion to a single Teacher. Every deviation (even if only temporary) from the chosen path can throw us into the power of darkness. Letters of Helena Roerich 1, 7 June 1934.
16. When the wind murmureth through the reeds, dost thou understand that this is the arrows of Maitreya flying in protection? On Eastern Crossroads: Prophecies of Shambhala and Maitreya