The Discipline of Joy and Achievement

Those who are awakening from the thoughtform of the passing civilisation are now seeing clearly the breaking down of all that formed part of the age now ending. They see how the limitations of our understanding and sense of identity have led to the destruction of our world and the oppression of the innocent. At the same time, new points of light are growing here and there like radiant flowers among the weeds. Great souls are planting the seeds and nurturing the new shoots of the coming age in which the wholeness of our world and all within it is served and protected.

While old ways must give way to what will better serve the world in the coming era, the retrogressive forces exploit the confusion of these transitory times to exert their power. So, as the old comes to an end and the new begins to emerge, a battle is waging between the progressive forces of light and the oppressive forces of darkness. These times have been foreseen and how we navigate through them depends on our realisation of the vaster divine process and our role within it. The Agni Yoga teachings point to the nature of the times we are now experiencing:

Can one build life amidst the hatred that prevails at the end of Kali Yuga? But the complete task of the future Satya Yuga must be expressed now, amidst today’s animosity and destruction.” Agni Yoga, sloka 511

The dying out of generations of human and animal life, as well as the depletion of nature’s generative forces, indicates the end of the Kali Yuga. This process is taking place before your very eyes, but only a few people take the trouble to notice this cosmic manifestation.” Heart, sloka 474

Thus one can see the end of Kali Yuga. It depends upon humanity where will be the beginning of Satya Yuga. We know that Satya Yuga is preordained, but its location and conditions may differ. My warriors, I can assemble you according to usefulness and devotion.” Hierarchy, sloka 118

Life flows through every atom in the Cosmos. It is directed by the creative power of thought – including human thinking. Where the heart directs thought a divine expression comes into being for the heart is where everything meets in right relationship, in divine equilibrium:

Sūrya-Vidyā, the Solar Knowledge—this was a name sometimes given to the Teaching of the Heart, a name that expressed the fieriness, the sun-like quality, and the centrality of the heart. In fact, anyone who wishes to get to know the heart cannot just approach it as a part of the organism. First of all the seeker should recognize the central nature of the heart and study outward from it, not inward toward it. The solar plexus will be the antechamber for the Temple of the Heart. The Kundalini will be a laboratory for the heart. The brain and all the nerve centers will be estates for the heart, because nothing can live without the heart!
… the heart stands as the Temple of humanity. One cannot conceive of the unification of humanity by means of the brain or the Kundalini, but the radiance of the heart can bring together the most seemingly diverse organisms, and even work over great distances in doing so. This experiment of bringing together hearts over long distances is waiting for workers to carry it out.
The wish to launch lengthy experiments is perfectly correct, because through them one can create another bond between the generations. Heart, 339

As the age of materialism passes away, new and finer structures are forming in subtler dimensions which will serve the coming civilisation. Christ said: “Not in a temple but in spirit shall you pray.” (Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, 130). We are in process of expanding beyond the limits of old disciplines that relate only to the material world and learning the new disciplines of soul being. The Tibetan Master explained to a disciple:

Have you ever thought, my brother, that just as there is a discipline of pain and of sorrow, there may also be a discipline of joy and of achievement? This is a thought worthy of attention. Men need these days to learn this new truth, and its perception will greatly change human consciousness. That which is bliss is today here or on its way, and the disciples and aspirants of this present time must be taught how to recognise and implement it.” Discipleship in the New Age II, page 671

Joy and achievement can be experienced even in the midst of pain when our conscious being transcends the form we inhabit. Many are now demonstrating this: those who sacrifice their own safety for higher ideals and for others; those returning home after ceasefire knowing joy even in grief as in Gaza and Syria. Under new leadership the Syrian people are now rebuilding their nation out of the ashes of the old, and reestablishing right relationship with other nations. They are building on a new foundation of peaceful inclusiveness, unity, and a place for all, emphasising the essential goals we all long for: peace, truth, justice and the good of all. These are the goals of the soul in manifestation. The new Syrian president speaks to this in an extensive interview in the video at: https://youtu.be/-iWCRJTww4Q

Out of pain, sorrow and the destruction of the old, the new Aquarian civilisation is beginning to manifest in joy. Here and there around the globe a new radiance is breaking through – new shoots for us to nurture with recognition and loving understanding. Some are close to us and in familiar surroundings, others are far and unfamiliar, but all sound a new joyful note of our essential oneness with one another and with the beautiful world in which we are all integral parts.

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When through the tatters of your temporary bodies shines the splendor of your spirit,
Are you not filled with strength and joy?
And are not all your beings united in the joy of that labor of your spirit?
And then am I near to you.
And then does your ear discern the soft sound of My step.
Leaves of Morya’s Garden I 332.

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