Courage is Born of a Pure Heart

How different might seem world events if we observed them through the far-seeing and all-inclusive eyes of the Soul. Seeing through the immediate surface events of material plane living (and all that has been constructed to organise it throughout millennia) we might perceive souls infusing their outer personas to express in the world. And in spite of all the material forces militating against them we might see how they bring enlightened understanding into the world, not only through leading lights such as Pope Francis, Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela, the Nobel Laureates and all well-known individuals who reflect a greater reality, but also through millions of “ordinary” people serving with varying scope around the world to bring new qualities to the fore of humanity and so contribute to the enlightenment of our world.

All these lights comprise the growing army of Light Warriors – vastly different to all previous notions of what a warrior is. They do not bring death but restore life. They resist the darkness – firstly within themselves and then supporting others wherever there is need. They may offer material aid but their most valuable gift is knowing and acknowledging the human soul and spirit within all, and thus calling it forth. This is their frontline – knowing the inner reality, the true need of the moment and the measure of those forces militating against the emergence of the light of the Soul.

They are fearless because they see through outer illusions to the inner truth of situations and motives. They know that the true being is an eternal and integral part of the greater life and cannot succumb to death because it is part of life itself. They radiate this knowing through all that they are and do. They have the courage of the heart because they know it as the One Heart shared through each reflected presence. Their swords are the swords of Truth; their armour is the unquenchable radiance of the heart. They understand these words from the teachings:

We are fighting a great battle. You should not fear the approach of a time that was proclaimed long ago. When We see a battle for Light before Us, you should not think that it is misfortune creeping up. Nor should you forget that persecution accompanies the greatest success. Only a taut string can resound.” From the Agni Yoga teachings: Heart, sloca 24

The field of battle is not where we may think. This is a war for the hearts and minds of all who would build the new civilisation of the Soul. It is being waged on a far more subtle plane where light and clarity meet darkness and distortion. We cannot be misled or distracted by outer manifestations of darkness designed to undermine through fear – the obvious fears and also the subtle ones that creep in the pockets of unconscious habit. These little fears can often be the most destructive and debilitating: such as those which stir reactions of irritation, impatience, anger, or doubt, worry and lack of confidence.

The forces of light may manifest in many ways but their strength flows from the marshalled ranks in the subtle world of light, where the true “Light of Day” illumines the dark corners so that falsity and ulterior motive can no longer hide. This is the power of the shared life. The Tibetan Master explains:

Great united strength can be brought to the service of the [divine] Plan, and the occult significance of the words: ‘My strength is as the strength of ten, because my heart is pure’ can be grasped. The perfect strength of the Ashram (symbolised by the number 10) becomes available to the disciple whose purity of heart has enabled him to penetrate into the Ashram; his knowledge becomes more rapidly transmuted into wisdom as his mind is subjected to the play of the higher understanding of Those with Whom he is associated; gradually he begins to contribute his own quota of light and of understanding to those just entering and to those who are his equals.” Discipleship in the New Age volume II, page 330

We are redefining the “battle” within a vaster, more subtle and more essential context. The forces of a past and passing age are pulling against the power of the emerging new and more subtle era of the soul’s wisdom. Worldly authority imposed from without is meeting the inner authority of the souls, hearts and minds of all who rise up to question and to reconstruct the shrine of our living, our beautiful world. The Tibetan Master also explains that:

We are—if it could be but realised—in process of re-interpreting and re-arranging what can be called ‘the doctrinal structure underlying the relation between knowledge and wisdom.’ This involves the destruction of old concepts …and the assembly of those new and more correct ideas which must inevitably be substituted for the old… This …will gradually seep downwards into the consciousness of humanity, and the new world religion will be founded upon a deeper spiritual perception of the Father or Life Aspect…” Discipleship in the New Age volume II, page 403

The threads and colours of this new tapestry we are weaving to express Life are the qualities now moving to the fore and empowering the human heart: courage, fearlessness, gratitude, beauty, patience, calmness, equilibrium, peace, trust, silence, communion, synthesis.

Chaos should be opposed by better traits that live within us. Only by individual effort can one continuously ascend” and “Besides scientific learning, besides the brief exaltation inspired by art, courage is fundamental to the betterment of the inner life. Patience and courage develop together. One who is patient will also have courage and endurance…” From the Agni Yoga teachings: Supermundane III, 548

Primary amongst the traits growing in strength is courage – courage to withstand the assault of fear which has been the driving power of the passing world order. Courage might be defined as active heart. We are told that:

Courage can only be found in the heart. In the reasoning that arises from the convolutions of the brain one can find an intelligent distribution of forces, but the courage that proceeds on the straightest, most luminous path cannot live outside the heart.” Heart, 201

Courage is born of a pure heart.” Heart, 15

Courage does not come by order. It grows from within, giving the sensation of being the core of the spiral. If courage once takes root, nothing can eradicate it. It is beautiful to realize the existence of a process whereby qualities may be acquired which grow like a mighty tree.” Fiery World I, 511

We are building the new civilisation out of the substance we attract to us – but what is that substance? What are the substantial energies we entertain through our being? There is no place for fear and timidity in the light of the subtle reality and no place there for anything that arises from an illusion of separation from the real, from the eternal – from Life. The energy matrix for the new civilisation is gradually emerging cleansed of past illusions and delusions about who we are and our relationship with life as it expresses through all the realms and dimensions of being and into the material world.