Observing the Sacredness of Daily Life
Carlos Cardoso Aveline
* Moral strength comes from concentrating the mind on one’s duty.
* Right action is inseparable from correct thought and honest emotion.
* “Better late than never.” Yes, and it is even better to act on time, with no postponements.
* In the absence of a strengthened will, confusion arises. A calm yet firm self-discipline is the key to transform good intentions in right action.
* Everyone knows that the true temple must be built in one’s very soul, and that it requires a certain amount of willpower.
* The cycles of life reflect Karma. Peacefully observing them allows us to harmonize the flowing of the energy from the Causes to the Effects.
* The essence of the universe guides every human life, and it shines in an almost invisible way in the centre of our individual being.
* To preach in the desert means emitting a mantra. The task requires discernment. If the work is well done, in the right time a little oasis will become visible.
* You should not think that comfort is happiness. The way to suffering is paved by attachment to personal satisfaction. Happiness results from wisdom, instead, and it is inseparable from discernment.
* Harmony and contentment depend above all on the strength of our soul and the firmness of our long-term decision to attain the Inner blessing. External factors invisibly adapt themselves to the condition of our soul.
* The path to wisdom includes creating in one’s daily life physical, emotional and mental habits that have the same substance as the philosophy one studies.
* Self-purification paves the way to self-knowledge, and it is inseparable from self-responsibility.
* Theosophy helps you widen your horizons. Through the study of ancient texts you can learn from the greatest sages of all time.
* Check your actions. Make sure you are proceeding in the right direction. Once you have done this with rigour enough, persist during any difficulties and an unconditional bliss will come to you.
* The ethics of generosity makes the difference between hell and heaven.
* All beings live in eternal unity. However, it is only on the territory of altruism that such union can acquire the substance of bliss.
* Each human being is himself a bridge or ladder between the Earth and the sky. As he learns about wisdom and undergoes the corresponding change, the celestial energies in his soul get more and more influential.
* There are times when falsehoods prevail. There are other times when illusions can’t resist their own weight any longer, but implode and are defeated. Then sincerity is reborn in freedom, bringing with it a new springtime of ethics and justice.
* The fact that civilizations keep succeeding one another along history should be enough for us to understand that they are illusory. To search for the truth, in esoteric philosophy, means transcending the horizon of present “civilization”; a society which, by the way, is in many aspects scarcely civilized.
* Present humanity will have to take a few decisive steps towards ethics and universal brotherhood, before everyone can see the true dimension of the mission fulfilled by Helena Blavatsky in the 19th century.
* All the aspects of time belong to eternity and to the present moment as well. Therefore the practice of learning lessons from the past and the efforts for building a better future are all parts of the one Time Eternal. The Seven Eternities are hidden in the Now, just as the Now dwells in and comes across the Seven Eternities.
* In order to act in an effective way and make the difference, one must identify the point in space and time where the difference can be made. Patience and perseverance, if practiced in the right direction, will build, first, and then reveal the decisive moment in the right place.
* Actual bravery is seldom announced by harsh words. Moderation in words is often associated with decisive action: hence the need for a balanced wording.
* Humbleness and audacity are both necessary. Firmness includes flexibility, and when necessary flexibility must become the firmness of a rock. Silence contains sound, and sound, or mantra, is a loyal disciple to silence.
* One of the keys to life is having a severe discernment of right and wrong and abstaining from unnecessary negativity. The priority is setting in motion and managing those creative energies which build a healthy scenario for life. Mistakes must be shown as such, and one needs to act to correct them. The central focus of one’s effort ought to be the preservation and expansion of the most valuable, and the most valuable is both eternal and new.
* An effective action has to combine the different levels of consciousness. There must be a balance and a harmony among the various kinds of effort on the emotional, physical and intellectual dimensions of life. One must pay attention to the whole cycle, from effort and rest back into a renewed effort. During the time of work, a creative use of positive energies prepares us to have a better rest at the end of the day.
* Examine the direction of your average feelings, thoughts and aspirations along the day. That direction is the direction of your karma. Have you chosen such a road? Is it bright and noble enough? Then do the necessary improvements so as to make sure your karma makes progress in the direction you consciously want. One must check and verify the degree of unity among the different links in the chain of individual life. What one wants, what one aspires to, what one thinks, feels, understands, what one does, and what one perseveres in, all these factors form a chain, and in such an association of different elements the strength of one link is the strength of all.
* No pilgrim should expect applause along the path. Wisdom is often perceived as meaningless, and – according to the Mahatma Letters – ridicule must be fearlessly confronted in order for anyone to live up to theosophy.[1] The daily practices related to self-discipline appear as senseless and foolish to those aspects of oneself who resist wisdom; and to other people as well. If one wants to follow one’s heart and make real progress along the path of self-knowledge, it is necessary to perform actions every day that seem to be silly; for foolishness uses the most shining garments of wisdom, and right action can be easily described as wrong.
NOTE:
[1] “The Mahatma Letters”, TUP edition, Pasadena, Letter LXII, pp. 351-352.
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An initial version of the above fragments was published in the May 2015 edition of “The Aquarian Theosophist”. It had no indication as to the name of the author.
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The other articles of the series “Thoughts Along the Road” can be seen in our associated websites.
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On the role of the esoteric movement in the ethical awakening of mankind during the 21st century, see the book “The Fire and Light of Theosophical Literature”, by Carlos Cardoso Aveline.
Published in 2013 by The Aquarian Theosophist, the volume has 255 pages and can be obtained through Amazon Books.
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