Observing
the Sacredness of Daily Life
Carlos
Cardoso Aveline
* Detachment and wisdom come from a long-term view of
time.
* Right contemplation paves the way to effective
action.
* Daily moments of silence and quietness are essential
to the strengthening of one’s inner peace.
* A thorough understanding of life produces detachment
and leads one to higher levels of perception.
* An open mind must examine facts from various points
of view before making a decision.
* Keeping one’s inner peace in daily life is an act of
will and requires a firm decision.
* The world of the soul has its own atmosphere. In it,
only the selfless heart and mind can see with clarity.
* Think the best, do the best, and never cease to
listen to the most beautiful voice anyone can hear: the voice of the silence.
* We are co-responsible for whatever will come to us. The
correct way to live the present moment includes taking into consideration the long-term
future and accepting that we are its co-creators.
* It is not enough to develop a universal view of the
world. One must bring transcendence into daily existence and gradually liberate
human life from attachment to ignorance.
* By keeping in mind the most elevated in ourselves,
we attain an accurate sense of direction. Time and energy are used correctly as
long as we maintain a wordless contact with our true sources of inspiration.
* We must start by adopting an ideal that is noble and
challenging enough to liberate us from organized mediocrity or spiritual death.
We then have to struggle with the painful distance between noble intentions and
clumsy actions. It is wise to accept a gradual progress. One should not be
deceived by difficulties that present themselves as insurmountable.
* Do your best and don’t worry about short term
results. The working of the Law cannot be hurried up. Springtime, or a new day,
will not come sooner just because someone is personally anxious.
* The mind works in multidimensional unity with the
heart. No divorce is possible between them, except on a superficial level.
However, their cooperation can always be improved, by knowledge and by wisdom.
* Compassion means “co-feeling”; feeling together;
feeling the same as the other. It is the ultimate origin of solidary actions.
One who has compassion sees human suffering, understands its causes and still
preserves peace in his heart, because he knows of much larger cycles of Karma
or space-time, where bliss is correctly seen as the ultimate Law of life.
* An effective way to help the world attain peace is
to live in peace yourself under whatever circumstances. The world around will
then silently learn from you. But remember: peace is no paralysis. Living peace
implies being active, creative, humble, and at times severe.
* “Good” is not the same as “comfortable”, as Musonius
Rufus and every authentic sage clarify. And “bad” is not a synonym to
“uncomfortable”. Bliss is challenging. Theosophy cannot be separated from a
degree of stoicism, or “tapah” - austerity. The hardest and most unpleasant
duty is a source of eternal happiness, as long as one is connected to his own
spiritual soul.
* In any time in history, the amount of external peace
reflects the level of peace in human hearts. A small number of actively
altruistic persons makes a big difference in the collective karma. (See
Genesis, 18: 20-33, and Genesis, 19.) Even today, the peace in the heart of
those who search for wisdom can effectively avoid the worst aspects of military
conflicts and other forms of ignorance.
* There are two ways one can be defeated by deliberate
falsity. One of them consists in
believing the lies. The other one happens by getting angry. Falsehoods must be
dismantled with a firm serenity. The warrior who feels intense anger is
defeated. Victory results from a stable, accurate action, and a combination of watchfulness
and confidence. The struggle takes place fundamentally within the student’s
consciousness: he himself is the battlefield.
* All expression is
limited. As we make something become “visible”, we leave aside the unutterable
essence. The inner nature of
things can only be perceived in unworded silence, on the basis of humble hints
given through words and other visible signs.
* The right kind of silence is produced by a complementary
harmony among the different viewpoints, once they are at least partially true. Illusion
must be destroyed by the good law of karma before one’s heart attains to a
lasting glimpse of truth, and the glimpse will be silent.
* Although popular in some “esoteric” circles, the
“mystical paralysis of the soul” brought about by quietism is worse than
useless. The practice of false or “choiceless” contemplation strengthens
spiritual ignorance and expands the lack of ethics. Every student of theosophy
must test his spiritual will in altruistic action. One needs to observe the
practical results of his actions, identify the lessons to learn, and try again from
a long-term perspective.
* There is no reason to be too naïve: let’s not
deceive ourselves, if we see an apparently solid wall blocking our path ahead
and upwards. When we look at difficulties from the right angle, they open the
magic door to transmutation. The fire of probation gradually provokes the
alchemy of spiritual soul. Such an inner revolution transforms the dense karma
of ignorance in the plastic and creative karma of that learning which takes
place in the direction of light.
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An initial version
of the above fragments was published anonymously in the March 2015 edition of “The
Aquarian Theosophist”.
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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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