Selections from the Agni Yoga Series
Presented before the Agni Yoga Society, March 9, 2004
I tell you, let the flame of your heart be alight with the fire of compassion.
In compassion is buried the great pearl of Secret Knowledge.
All Bodhisattvas, all Holy Ones, all Martyrs, strove along this Path. The Call, 324
About love I can say that in pure souls it rushes ever upward.
But compassion flows downward.
One may love God,
One may picture Him as a wondrous Martyr
for creative thoughts for the Good of the World.
One may trustingly and even daringly knock at the door of His Temple.
And if the knock is consciously delivered,
Then in response one receives new strength,
though it may not at once be recognized. The Call, 347
I told you of beauty, I told you of love, I told you of action.
I told you of devotion, I told you of readiness and compassion.
I have opened the window for you, and shown you the battle.
I explained the meaning of courage,
And finally I summoned you to the Great Service. The Call, 357
The whirlpool does not engulf pure thoughts.
Far-reaching compassion stands guard,
But love must be sent.
Fortitude will carry you through,
And the self-sacrificing achievements of the spirit
will be transformed into the fragrance of freesias. The Call, 433
Gathering the flaming hearts, you bear them as gifts to Us.
The power of harmony will announce triumph to the pure in spirit.
Teach smilingly, joyfully create, your ears hearkening to the song.
By pure love shall I preserve compassion in my bleeding heart!
Grant me, O Lord, the mastery of self! The Call, 35
Self-control is a very complex quality. It comprises courage, patience, and compassion. But courage must not become anger, compassion should not border on hysteria, and patience must not be hypocrisy. Thus, self-control is complicated, but it is imperatively needed upon entering the Higher Worlds. Fiery World I, 634
Pity must not be confused with compassion. In compassion nothing is dissolved, but crystals of action grow. Compassion does not weep, but helps. New Era Community, 134
Sentimentality is often taken for compassion, anger for indignation, and self-preservation for courage. It must be understood how acutely necessary it is to purify one’s concepts not in thought alone but in action. New Era Community, 229
Christ taught compassion, yet trampled is the law of love. Gotama, called Buddha, besought courage and energy, yet His followers surrendered to laziness. Confucius taught about an orderly system of government, yet his followers have succumbed to bribery and corruption.
It is difficult to say which crime is the worse. Therefore, it is impossible to speak about nations; one can speak only about individuals. Indolence is dreadful and can border upon crime. It is difficult to see the consequences of laziness, but it transforms a man into an animal. I assert that it is one of the chief obstacles on the path. On the spiritual plane at times a murderer is more mobile. Also, bribery deprives a man of the confidence of the Brotherhood, because the treason of such people is great. Also, lack of compassion makes a man unfit for achievement, because such souls are lacking in courage. Illumination, II:XI:1
It is said that a yogi has no desires; actually, he is filled with striving. A desire is not active, because it creates expectation, and expectation is the mother of passivity. Striving, on the other hand, is a generator of motion, leading to ascent of the spirit. It is said that the yogi knows no love; but in truth, he is full of compassion. People think of love only as constricting bonds. But compassion is boundless, a co-worker of Truth. It is said that a yogi is endowed with inexhaustible powers; however, like a diligent gardener, he must tend his own plants in the garden of opportunities. Agni Yoga, 210
Mercy, compassion, pity, love, and all benevolent strivings so indicated by Us—are they not wondrous ways of intercourse with the highest energies? One should become accustomed to regarding these resplendent qualities as actual methods connecting one with the highest worlds. Lacking these qualities, all astrochemistry will be astrovenom. From time immemorial alchemists understood the significance of the light-bearing unifying substance that emanates from the heart. Because the heart emanations continuously create the luminous substance which we term the very essence of psychic energy. Heart, 374
What is the nature of the Bodhisattvas’ compassion? Without coercing the will, They invisibly and patiently direct each suitable force toward good. It is not difficult to conduct oneself according to the Guidance of the Bodhisattvas, for all characteristics of the spirit are allowed for by Them. Agni Yoga, 332
Among strangers, amidst dangerous destroyers, it is difficult, and you are ready to flee. / To show compassion, to conciliate, to welcome them, is a hardship.
Sowing with travail, and reaping with happiness,
Our messenger performs miracles. The Call, 263
Let us learn to discriminate—thus we will become generous. No limited person can become spiritually rich, but one should have compassion for a neighbor’s color blindness. For, up to the highest steps, each one is subject to such diversities. Let us not demand that all people think alike. It is good if they can discriminate between Light and darkness. But subtle vibrations are not easily perceived. Fiery World I, 220
Unpreparedness is not transgression.
Love the unhappy, have compassion for the humble. The Call, 88
Do not falter at the sight of demons. Pity for them is sharper than a fiery sword. Through pity one can repel the most daring attack. A beast cannot withstand the look of compassion, whereas it attacks when it senses the trembling of fear. True, fear is evil, but an evil which intrinsically is insignificant because it is ignorance. You have had many occasions to convince yourself that the inventions of evil are begotten of ignorance. Thus, supply yourself with a coffer of compassion. Fiery World I, 608
He who transmits his influences does not always know what is being created. He notices that his energy has flowed out; he may sense a sudden weariness, but, like a generous donor, he does not know the measure of his benefactions. First, compassion is engendered, and then love for humanity. Aum, 185
He who loves has access to a higher communion. From the temple let us go into the cellar. Let us contrive to retain in ourselves not only soaring flight but also compassion. Each man has an open wound. Only psychic energy can point out this pain. Each study of the higher energies teaches open assistance. So, also, the wish to help must be cultivated. Aum, 556
Many have heard about the Kumaras, but few have rightly understood about them. This manifestation is something superearthly–thus do people say, but they forget with what labor the attainment is built. Scholars are already beginning to understand how a human personality enters into the pantheon of heroes. By the same path also are the qualities of the Leaders of humanity accumulated. If they do not pass through earthly sufferings, they cannot respond to people’s sufferings. If they do not experience the sweat of toil, they cannot guide people in their labor. Self-abnegation, mercy, compassion, courage are forged in life. Nothing abstract can mold the strength of the spirit. Thus let people understand the Kumaras as the true Leaders. Brotherhood, 489
Those who deny earthly conditions also deprive themselves of mercy and compassion, without which spiritual development is not possible. The teaching of the regenerated world cannot live with hard-heartedness. Humane science cannot flourish where the heart is numb. Our Brotherhood could not have existed without a full experience of earthly conditions. Supermundane III, 523
Urusvati knows that every good deed transforms some particle of chaos. Each kind action is a burning away of chaos. This description has a basis in reality, for every impulse toward kindness and Light kindles the best fires, which transmute chaos into a new, purified form.
Some think that collaborating with the Brotherhood will evoke the fury of darkness, but it would be nearer the truth to say that each good deed attracts the fury of the dark ones. Timid souls will probably wish to refrain from performing good deeds for safety's sake, and there are many such people who for this reason refuse to be compassionate. They have extinguished their fires and merged with the darkness. But the ghosts of darkness are repellent, and whoever fears goodness will sink into chaos. Supermundane I, 168
Urusvati knows that the far-reaching embrace of the consciousness, or containment, must be clearly understood. Many think that containment means the acceptance of opposing arguments, but in fact containment is the understanding of true motives. One can understand with compassion the motives that guide one’s interlocutor, but it is impermissible to immediately give up one’s own long-established and carefully-considered principles.
Containment has much in common with compassion. A compassionate person can clearly see how others err and act against themselves. But how careful one must be in trying to influence them! One should remember the ancient saying, “One does not argue about taste.” There may be karmic reasons for one’s tastes and inclinations, but often they can be traced to cultural conditioning. It is not possible to quickly help someone to eliminate such ingrained tendencies. Nor is it easy to persuade someone to question his own tastes when they differ from those of people around him, especially if his tastes cause no harm. The disharmony can be pointed out, but not everyone is capable of recognizing it.
Do not think that I am speaking about those strong habits that dominate people. Right now I refer to inclinations that are much deeper than habits.
The Thinker instructed, “If you learn to open your heart so that it can embrace another’s pain, you will then be able to find the needed words of comfort.” Supermundane III, 502
In order to accept and admit Fire as the path to Hierarchy, as the path of love and compassion, it is necessary to be affirmed irrevocably with one's entire heart. Only thus will the small stars become flaming giants. Fiery World I, 9