There Is Nothing More Beautiful Than Truth
Carlos Cardoso Aveline
* A correct use of time paves the way to inner happiness.
* If you want to save time, preserve calmness. An absence of hurry allows one to act in an effective way regarding that which really makes the difference.
* Hard work is a source of bliss. A correct effort eliminates ignorance and liberates one from the causes of suffering.
* The soul of a wise man is a magic mirror reflecting the sacred potentialities present in the soul of each student. [1]
* The real blessings flow in the universe of altruism. A choice for the apparent Void of silent renunciation, made in the realm of personal existence, entitles us to attain plenitude.
* Concentrating one’s consciousness is not the same as forcing the mind to keep thinking of something. Concentration is above all leaving aside and abandoning those mental topics that are not worthwhile.
* Truth-seekers are no Egyptian mummies, and life cannot flow without diversity. Courage is as important as detachment. We also need patience, a sense of balance and equilibrium, the ability to stay in silence, audacity, and determination.
* Good books can connect people with the lives of the great souls of all time. They reveal the long term, bright future before the reader. Their pages liberate the student from short term material futilities and guide him to the contemplation of universal truth.
* Knowing material things is of secondary importance. Education should strengthen self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-responsibility. Such is the goal for children of every age, including the ones beyond 90.
* Let’s not deceive ourselves with pleasant moments. The ups and downs of life constitute an indispensable training and they strengthen one’s will. Thanks to them, one expands his consciousness to that wider Reality which is not Probationary and not unstable.
* Individual simplicity and self-organization are two indispensable factors for the student of philosophy to transcend terrestrial entanglements. Having basically solved the small issues of life and renounced to that which is not necessary, we are free to think of universal truth.
* Life is the mutual presence of the instantaneous in the Eternal, and of the Eternal in the instantaneous. Each human being combines these two aspects of time. His existence and evolution constitute a gradually emerging bridge between the energies of the sky and the energies of the Earth.
* It is in part by accepting our personal meaninglessness that we can see the larger meaning of our existence as souls. The spiritual intelligence now present in us lives across the numerous eternities of the universe. We are passing fragments and projections of it.
* Life needs a dynamic balance between thoughts and actions: theosophy must teach by example. Esoteric wisdom can only be transmitted by a living combination of words and actions. This will be imperfect, for it is human. However, theosophical action must be ethical, loyal to the Source, and grateful to It.
* With the same intensity as the pilgrim elevates the focus of his individual consciousness, he will be tested in the lower levels of life.
* Vigilance and caution are necessary. The practical example of somebody who is sincere to his own soul may inspire some individuals, and irritate many others.
* Although sincerity to one’s conscience destroys a number of comfortable situations, it constitutes one’s greatest talisman along the way.
* Self-forgetfulness liberates us to think of our highest duty.
* Through inner communion with the wordless center of eternal peace within himself, the student of theosophy can become more effective in the fulfilment of his daily tasks.
* Silence delivers us from attachment to mere words. It reveals their true meaning and shows the future result of actions. The intention and substance of sound can be better measured in the silence surrounding it. In a society that fears the absence of noise, there is a deficit in understanding and intelligence tends to be scarce.
* “Order and progress” is a useful idea for a community and for an individual. Self-organization opens the way to progress; and each step ahead will demand new levels of order.
* The voluntary ordering of one’s life is not an obstacle to creativity or self-transformation. Actually, it makes change more effective.
* Superficial efforts may produce quick results, and these are what shallow minds look for.
* Deep and renewing action requires patience. It demands tenacity and its fruit may take a long time to emerge.
* A wise mind is not governed by banalities: it follows the voice of the inner conscience, which points to the difficult, and rewarding, uphill Path.
* There is nothing more beautiful than truth. However, if our sense of beauty gets distorted, we can see beauty in something that is untrue, and believe that there is ugliness in spontaneous sincerity. An experienced individual knows that the good, the beautiful and the true never part from each other.
* The honest soul considers blunt sincerity much more beautiful than well-adorned falsehood.
* An expanded contact with that which is immortal allows the pilgrim to see the unlimited beauty of life. The effects of such a vision are often revolutionary.
* When one’s heart is tuned to truth, goodness and beauty, it will be rather out of tune regarding various and influential forms of organized ignorance.
* Wisdom is probationary. Life is about affinities: those who love truth cannot easily stand falsehood.
* When the ability to listen is scarce, words cannot say much, and a deeper approach to communication is needed.
* If one has the direct experience of an elevated ideal, teaching by example will be at least as effective as the use of words. Although verbal dialogue may expand the pedagogical effect of right action, it can never replace one’s silent example.
* In terms of both individual and collective evolution, the 21st century is not the appropriate moment to lose time. However, using time with efficiency is not the same as acting in a hurry, or out of anxiety. It consists of deeply examining oneself; examining one’s adopted goals; evaluating the efforts made up to now; and acting in a wise way towards that which has supreme importance to us.
* To him whose priority is right action, the realm of appearances has no substance.
* An individual who ascribes significance to superficial images has no time to live an ethical life.
* The altruistic effort is not always the one which seems to be noble; and ignoble practices are often presented as selfless and generous. Real blessing is completely independent from the world of outward images.
* There are strong reasons for a student of theosophy to improve himself. Every aspect of his life is in a silent and active communication with every other aspect. Each and every mistake corrected, action rightly done, lesson he learns and moment of peace he lives emits its corresponding magnetic energy to his aura as a whole, and to the other beings.
* There is something you may do, if you want to test the true significance of your present efforts. Imagine that, twenty-one years from now, you look back at your life today: how relevant are your ideas and thoughts of this week, and your goals for tomorrow?
* One ought to clearly define what is relevant in life. “Important” is that in which one’s entire soul is present. In the absence of the soul, irrelevance reigns supreme. Act and think from the point of view of your spiritual soul, here and now, and in future occasions you will be content with your actions of today.
NOTE:
[1] Translated from the text “A Energia da Compaixão”, by CCA. The article is available at www.FilosofiaEsoterica.com and its associated websites.
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An initial version of the above notes was published in the September 2015 edition of “The Aquarian Theosophist”. It had no indication as to the name of the author.
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