A Talk before the Agni Yoga Society, November 18, 1982, by Daniel Entin
Presented before the Agni Yoga Society, November 17, 2015
1.If Beauty is seen in its aspect of cosmic perfection and universal justice, of absolute balance and ethical harmony, it is truly a path for us to follow, on which to strive and grow. It is a path of the heart. In our daily lives, a following of the path of beauty can manifest itself in an orderly room, an appropriate gesture, a just response. It can invest our thoughts and actions with the first glimmers of that balance and harmony which we so ardently seek. We can then, perhaps, base our chosen actions on what we perceive to be true and consonant with the thrust of our spiritual evolution. We can also surround ourselves with things which attract such orderliness and balance into our often agitated existence.
2. "Verily, it was rightly said about the significance of the fundamental principle of Our Work. Beauty has been proclaimed, therefore let us safeguard its foundation. Pearls must be guarded!" Hierarchy, 108
3. "Hence, the consciousness must be applied to a mighty understanding of Hierarchy, which holds the chain of all strivings. Thus, each manifestation of beauty placed by Us in the foundation of Our Works must be acknowledged as a vital action. Thus the power of the foundation consists in beauty, and striving to the fulfillment of the Higher Will, will lead to the predestined victory. Thus Our Towers should be built, verily, in beauty!" Hierarchy, 201
4. "Therefore, We demand that the first thought be dedicated to the Teacher. Is it possible to succeed when the disciple puts himself in the first place? Are We not building all upon a great Name? Did We not put Beauty at the foundation? We have given the great foundations for the world. Therefore each thought must be valued as the foundation of a great structure. Verily, the future is great!” Hierarchy, 313
5. "The stream of karma rushes like a torrent, and consciousness may transform this tide into a repeated sacred union of beauty. But the way in which people understand the karmic stream is attested in human deeds. The evidence of the affirmation of karma and of union is attested by Us as the greatest Truth.” Hierarchy, 25
6. "Our constructiveness lies in vitality. The pledge of happiness for humanity lies in beauty. Hence, We assert art to be the highest stimulus for the regeneration of the spirit. We consider art to be immortal and boundless. We make a demarcation between knowledge and science, because knowledge is art, science is method. Therefore, the element of Fire intensifies art and spirit-creativeness. Therefore, the wondrous pearls of art can actually uplift and transmute the spirit instantaneously. Everything is attainable through the growth of the spirit, for only the inner fires can give the needed strength of receptivity. Thus an Agni Yogi can sense all cosmic beauty without narrow scientific methodology. Verily, the pearls of art bring exaltation to humanity, and the fires of spirit-creativeness give a new understanding of beauty to humanity. Thus, We value integrity around the center and appreciate the Service to Hierarchy through the heart." Hierarchy, 359
7. “This subject (the education of the heart) should be taken up in the family and in school. Its status should be more than that of an experiment; it should resolutely lead to the development of memory, attention, patience, and benevolence, and finally should direct the student to observation of the sensations of the heart. That is how solemnity and love of the Beautiful will be firmly implanted. And that is how the boundary between Light and darkness will be defined. Children love Light.” Heart, 498
8. “Feeling will always prevail over reason. One has to accept this as a truth that cannot be suppressed. Therefore, when we speak about the heart, we are affirming the citadel of feeling. But how distant from lust is the feeling of the heart! The teaching about creative feeling will lead to an understanding of the creativity of thought. Let us not pick apart the domain of feeling, because it is a single field in bloom. We know what grows when feelings are sown, but where are the fruits born of reasoning alone? Reason cannot create if the seed of the heart is not provided. So when we speak of the heart, we are speaking about the Beautiful.” Heart, 391
9. “While delving into the Teaching, let us not forget the battle. It is unusual that in the midst of a battle without precedent we are discussing the wondrous heart. Our conversations might be called an affirmation of calmness." Heart, 393
10. “Doubt means the downfall of quality. Doubt is the tomb of the heart. Doubt is a source of ugliness. Doubt must be touched on in every talk, because where will we end up without quality? What will we understand without the heart? What will we attain without beauty? …
After thinking about doubt, let us recall treachery itself, for who is more intimate with doubt than a traitor? One can overcome this darkness only through communion with the Hierarchy, with the most inevitable, partaking of It as one would the radiance of the sun. True, it does burn, but without it there is darkness!” Heart, 6
11. "Not conventional rites, but prayer of the heart brings the World of Beauty near and makes it a daily sustenance. One can approach the Highest with the Chalice filled with the best thoughts. One can offer the best experiments by warranting them to be directed to Good. When the Good lives, it opens all the gates to the Higher World." Aum, 102
12. "Sleep is not understood by science. The idea of rest is primitive. If each action is preceded by a spiritual act, then such an extraordinary state as that of sleep must be especially noted. For almost half their lives people entrust themselves to an invisible world. It is necessary to purify one's consciousness before entrance into the sacred Gates. Thought about the Higher World, thought about the Guardians, already lights up the drooping consciousness; hence there may be more desirable meetings, and attacks may be warded off. Only the heart's thought about the Higher World provides an impenetrable armor. Thus, let us be conscious of all that is most beautiful and needed on the lengthy journey." Aum, 71
13. "It is superfluous to speak of the meaning of striving to the Higher World to poets, musicians, artists, sculptors, and singers, because their expression of beauty is founded on inspiration. Who, then, can define the boundary between inspiration and Hiero-inspiration? Such a boundary line between inspirations is undefinable. Each inspiration contains some particle of Hiero-inspiration. Only the heart itself can determine the degree of its exaltation. The true participant of beauty can sense the Guiding Principle brooding above earthly expression. Therefore, there is no need to convince the servitors of beauty of its lofty heights. He is no sower in the field of creation who feels no tremor in the realization that he creates beauty. Aum, 300
14. “Since inspiration is connected with psychic energy, then beauty also lies at the same source. Therefore I say that psychic energy is “beauty”. Thus one can enumerate all the qualities of the great energy, but as it is combined with all the manifestations of life, then it is correct to call it omnipresent and fundamental. Therefore let us so call it. It is beautiful to feel that such inexhaustible force has been given to each individual." Aum, 478
15. "Ugly thought cannot generate a beautiful action. When I speak about beauty, I have in mind first of all beauty of thought. Thought has form, which means that beauty of thought must be understood in all respects. For the sake of Cosmos, man must not think hideously.” Aum, 439
16. "The rhythm of labor is the adornment of the world. Labor may be regarded as a victory over everyday routine. Each hard-working man is a benefactor of humanity. To imagine Earth without workers is to see a reversion of chaos. Invincible tenacity is forged by labor; precisely everyday work is the accumulation of the treasure. The true toiler loves his labor and understands the significance of tension.
Work has already been called prayer. The highest unity and quality of labor arises from its rhythm. The best quality of work brings forth the rhythm of the Beautiful. Each labor contains within itself the concept of the Beautiful. Labor, prayer, beauty — all are facets of the great crystal of Existence.” Aum, 322
17. “Great beauty is contained in the realization of unlimited life, unlimited evolution, in the cognition of unity in the multiformity of all existence, and consequently in the basic equality of mankind. But no less beauty is contained in the realization of the unlimited power of the human mind and its thought-creativeness. The highest life is revealed in the incalculable variety of manifestations of nature, and man--its creation—in his turn is summoned to create in the images and ideas accessible to him.” Letters of Helena Roerich I, September 10, 1938, p. 502-3
18. “We cannot isolate ourselves from the rest of humanity and from the Cosmos. Verily, the Cosmos is in us and we are in it. But only the realization of this unity makes it possible for us to join in such an existence. The fundamental problems of the meaning of our existence were resolved long ago, but people do not wish to accept this, for no one wants to take RESPONSIBILITY for each thought, each word, each deed. And we shall return to Earth until we fulfill this accepted responsibility — by perfecting ourselves, Earth, and also all its surrounding spheres. After concluding our earthly perfectment, we shall cross in a glorious radiance of manifold Beauty to the far-off worlds, the next step of evolution upon the ladder of infinite perfectment." Letters of Helena Roerich II, October 17, 1935, p. 56