1923_01_24 Pride and Vainglory

[Jackline Spasova-Bobeva]

Note 1

 

Pride and Vainglory

 

Fifteenth lecture of the Youth Occult Class, given by the Master Beinsa Douno on 24th January 1923 in Sofia

 

Fir-für-fen Tau-bi-aumen

 

Meditation

 

The works on “The origin of fist” were read

 

Now I will ask you the question, what is the difference between the constant and the variable in Life? Constant in Life is that one which remains the same in all times and circumstances; variable is that one which is exposed to changes in all times and circumstances. What is the difference between the Reality and the shadows of Life? Imagine that you have a mirror in front of which you have put a lit candle. What will you see in the mirror? The candle lit. Is the candle in the mirror real? No, it is a reflection, a shadow of the true candle. Therefore, the lit candle is real while the reflection of this candle in the mirror is a shadow of this reality. Let us assume that some being takes a certain place in front of the mirror, under a certain angle and it watches from there the reflection of the candle in the mirror accepting it to be real. This being watches the changes happening with the candle in the mirror and works out theories of itself about this reality. At one moment, the candle goes out, at another moment kindles and this being concludes that day and night come in Nature. This is what it sees in the mirror and it starts investigating the reasons for the coming of day and night. This being sees in the mirror someone reading a book. Some time later, this one closes the book and blows out the candle. Therefore, what happens in front of the mirror the same happens in the mirror. From the changes in the mirror, it is judged of the changes taking place in front of it. This is the reason why often people take the shadows of things for reality.

 

Based on this we conclude that what happens in the Spiritual world, by reflection the same happens in the physical world. Some being in the Spiritual world has lit several candles and some being in the physical world makes use of the light of these candles. The being from the Spiritual world starts blowing out the candles one by one – the same happens in the physical world. Finally, after the last candle overhead had been blown out, the people in the physical world find themselves in darkness and say that the night has come. After twelve hours, the being from the Spiritual world starts lighting the candles one after another and the being in the physical world says the day is coming. Hence, the theories, which man founds about the phenomena in Nature in the physical world, are nothing else but theories, which the being in front of the mirror founds about the changes and the phenomena it is watching in the mirror. Is this being acquainted well with the Reality of things? It is not. Why? Because it has come to its conclusions from the shadows, from the reflections of the Reality. So, can you say that electric light is real? Electric light is not real, it is a reflection of the Sun; if the Sun dies, and it will die too. In this sense, electric light is nothing else but condensed solar energy.

 

 

Fig.1

 

Based on these thoughts, I ask, “Is man a real being?” Man is not a real being either, man is a reflection too, a shadow of something higher than him. What is more, man is a reflection of two more beings. That means that man lives in three worlds simultaneously. Imagine, that man is a shining body (fig.1) staying in front of the mirror C. Watching what is to appear in the mirror C, you will see the image of man in it. The rays coming out of the image in the mirror C fall on a second mirror A, in which the image is being reflected once more. This matter is discussed in physics too. You should study it well so that you do not fall in upon illusive knowledge. Knowledge acquired by reflection of images in mirrors paralyses the psychic and the mental development of people. In this situation, one lives a life similar to the life that takes place in the unorganized substance. If you obtain your knowledge from the images in the first mirror, you will be not able to develop either. Therefore, in order to acquire a true Knowledge, you should fall within the real rays of the Existence. Then you will be able to develop rightly. However, in order to make use of these rays you would have come to the position to distinguish the Reality from the shadows or the reflections of things.

 

For next time, write on the topic “The difference between pride and vainglory.” When thinking on the topic, be careful to derange not these two terms – to consider a vainglorious person for a proud one and a proud person for a vainglorious one. There is a definite distinction between proud and vainglory people. One, who can find this distinction, will by no means make a mistake. Pride results from the mind, whereas vainglory – from the heart. A proud person is similar to a mole digging the ground quietly, noiselessly, escaping anyone’s notice – people see mounds here and there but they know not who has made them. A vainglorious person is similar to a hen cackling against the world at each laying an egg so that everyone can hear that it has laid an egg.

 

Now I am going to outline some thoughts on pride and vainglory. Pride is due to a much too developed self-respect. And vainglory results from the human desire to be highly spoken of people, to be loved by them. Vainglorious people are people of the contemporary culture. They dress well, wear most fashionable clothes; their clothing, their shoes are always clean; the necktie and the tiepin are well put, in place; their hair is well, sleekly dressed. Vainglorious people want to show that they are special, that they are the same both outside and inside. They promise much but do little; not succeeding in fulfilling their promises, they apologize at once. Proud people are just the opposite of the vainglorious ones – they like not to externally present themselves. If people do not know them, they are reputed to be to be modest, humble – they do not make stir in the world but in fact, self-respect is strongly developed in them.

 

When writing your works, write also of the advantages and damages done by pride and vainglory.

 

Pride and vainglory play important role in science as well. When a vainglorious person does a discovery, that person will trumpet around about it. This is the reason why many theories appear and live for a year or two at most. All theories that have been founded in a hurry are result of the human vainglory – they appear fast and die fast. Vainglorious people are very self-assured but when they see for themselves that they are not right, they easily yield. Pride has produced the opposite effect in science - it has created conservatism. Because of pride, knowledge has been kept for the worthy people, for the aristocrats – the common masses, the people are not worthy of knowledge. Pride people do not stand people knowing more than they do. They consider that common people should be uneducated. Vainglorious people wish that all people have knowledge, be educated. Therefore, pride attracts the energies to the centre while vainglory scatters the energies outwards, towards the periphery. Whatever happens with vainglory people and around them, they will certainly reflect it at least through the two mirrors C and D. While the candle is burning in front of the mirror, the vainglorious one says, “I can do this, I can do that.” As soon as the candle goes out, the vainglorious one says, “I do not know what happened, I am surprised too.” While the candle is burning and the mirrors are reflecting, the vainglorious one says, “I am an educated person, I can do everything.” As soon as the candle goes out, they say, “Something happened, but I am not to blame for what happened either.”

 

Therefore, do study pride and vainglory in their natural state in order to transform them in something useful. They are weaknesses of which one can make use. However, when studying your weaknesses as well as the weaknesses of people, do not consider them as something individual but as collective properties, as remains from the past cultures of the humanity.

 

 

Fig.2

 

When studying the emotions and the capacities in people, you should pause on the structure of the human head and you will see that it is not developed equally all over. There are regions that are better developed. If the upper part of the head (Fig.2) is well developed, this shows that the moral senses C in man are more developed than the personal ones, the egoistic, that are located in the back part B of the head. In the lower part of the head, in region B, the home senses are located; in the fore part of the head, the mental capacities A in man are located. The bigger angle 1 is, the stronger developed the mental capacities in man are. Once angle 1 decreases, the mental capacities in man decrease simultaneously. While studying phrenology, you will find the places of all brain centres on the head and will know which of them are more developed and which are less developed. However, even though you know nothing of phrenology, you can find the places of some centres in the following way: when a relative or an acquaintance of yours outrages you, your personal senses will be affected. In order to know where these senses are located, do analyze yourself meanwhile, so that you can find in which place of the head you will feel more heat, more pressure. The place of the personal senses is where you feel heat and pressure because more blood has rushed into this place from the offence you had experienced. When the personal senses in someone are not strongly developed, in whatever way you offend them they do not feel hurt. If the case is to make some money, this person thinks of the money only and is not interested anymore. When self-esteem is well developed, people are very sensible; they look not to offend anyone. Self-esteem is a noble feeling whereas pride is a sore feeling. In addition, pride is dangerous in the respect that it makes people rancorous. Rancorous people do not easily forgive – they have been remembering the offence for one thousand years and are ready to revenge. That is why it is said in the Scriptures, “God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.” In moral respect, personal senses impede man. The stronger the personal senses are developed in man the weaker the moral ones are. In the course of development of man, one of the first feelings having occurred in them has been the sense of relish, of appetite, of desire to eat. This centre is located before the ears (Fig.2). Thanks to this centre, a desire to try, to taste things ha appeared in man and consequently the mouth has been created. After a time man realized it is impossible to work with the mouth only and felt a need of some other auxiliary means. Thus, man created hands as a second projection in their life.

 

The personal senses in man show that as individual being man lives for themselves only. Seeing that they are alone, that there are no people around to praise them, a feeling of vainglory has been created in man – the woman in man. Later, the pride appeared – the man in man. People like to boast by themselves. If a pupil is vainglorious, that pupil considers knowing everything. If teachers do not please them as expected, such pupils say, “This teacher knows nothing, that teacher knows nothing” etc. Teachers should not dispute with them but should submit to examination and let them demonstrate what he or she knows. The teacher in mathematics enters the classroom, calls the vainglorious pupil and gives a problem to work on. The pupil begins to work, makes efforts, groans, sweats – cannot solve the problem; he or she stands up ashamed, gives the sheet of paper to the teacher and sits down. This is how such a pupil is to be educated. The teacher needs not dispute with the pupil, to demonstrate the pupil not knowing. Being not able to solve the problem, the pupil will acknowledge that there are things he or she does not comprehend and know. This how Nature teaches us as well. Seeing that we protest and resent It, Nature gives us a difficult problem and leaves us to work on it. Once we cannot solve it, we give in by ourselves, start asking for help and acknowledge to not knowing. In the same way, educated people give in too. A scientist has been examining a certain scientific matter, making experiments, calculations – cannot achieve the truth. Finally, that scientist gives up investigating. A second scientist comes, uses the experiments of the first one but cannot solve the matter either. After that a third, a fourth scientist comes, but all they see for themselves that this matter is difficult to be solved. After these spiritual people come and take up this matter, they get in touch with the Rational world looking for a way of solving the matter. Some of the ways turn to be true, others – untrue, but spiritual people cannot solve the matter either. Why? In both, there is something personal, some vainglory being an obstacle to their work. As long as one lives within one’s personal senses, that one is unable to reach the positive science.

 

That is why when esoteric disciples strive for acquisitions, they should have knowledge of what resources have been put in them and what they can do with these resources today. They dispose of much more resources/powers than they are able to utilize. And really, huge energy is put in the brain of everyone, only one thousandth of which can be developed in the present circumstances. Overall, human energy can be developed in three directions: in width giving stability of the character; in depth giving activity and enterprise; in height giving aspiration and flight of the spirit. These three directions can be given to the energies in the human brain. Hence, every idea should have width, depth and height. The width is projected into the physical world, the depth – in the Spiritual world, i.e. in the Heart or the Astral world and the height – in the Mental world. In conclusion, we can say that the weaknesses in the contemporary world are due to the human thinking. This means not that there is any insufficiency in it; on the contrary, people suffer of surplus of energy that they have not developed. At the modern education, the following should be taken into consideration: a way should be found for the surplus energy and it should be put to work because Nature punishes all those that store its energy and do not utilize it. Everyone has noticed this. When someone slacks and acquires idle habits, they begin to put on weight and amass much fat. As they do not comprehend the laws of Nature, they are glad for gaining in weight. This is not any gaining in weight. Nature will be quick to teach that one a lesson. How? By sending a disease that will emaciate everything. By this, Nature wants to say that work is needed. Nature stands no standstill –it is not allowed to anyone to keep the energies of Nature standstill.

 

Therefore, Nature requires from people to be accurate in the three worlds at the same time – the physical, the Spiritual and the Mental. They should simultaneously work in all three worlds. This is especially required from a disciple. Watching your faces, I have noticed that you live more in the world of the emotions than in the Mental world. You have not entered the world of the sound, of the positive thinking yet. One who lives in the emotional world is like a lass looking at herself in a mirror for days on end – she washes, prepares, dresses and again before the mirror. After half an hour or one hour, the same repeats. You stay, examine and intend to do something; suddenly, something comes from outside and upsets your plan. What do you do then? You sorrow for a while but then you dress a new suit and again before the mirror. You think that going out dressed in such a way you will do something special. You go to the world but see that you can do nothing; you go back again but are a little disappointed. Have no illusions; do know that the new suit will impart nothing to you. In the present circumstances of Life suits save not people. Why? Because contemporary people still live in the lower fields of the Astral and the Mental worlds. Until they do not go out of these fields, they can do nothing. What happens in the physical world at present – sufferings, trials, everything comes in help to contemporary people in order to stimulate them to the New culture, to the new Life. The Invisible world has been sending its representatives to incarnate on Earth so that they give a new direction to culture.

 

Imagine that someone dresses well, looks at oneself in the mirror and goes out. What will this one do out? They will enter a café, will buy a newspaper, will light a cigarette and start discussing politics. A few days ago, I met one of the disciples, a quite advanced one; he was walking slowly, thinking about something and holding a cigarette in his hand. Seeing me, he hid the cigarette, greeted me and continued his way. Probably, this disciple said to himself, “Next time I will be careful so that I am not seen smoking.” No, this disciple had to be honest enough to say, “I beg your pardon, I have a weakness – I smoke from time to time -but I am going to work in this direction to overcome this weakness.” The disciple should be free of these weaknesses – smoking, drinking wine, brandy, etc. When the stomach of someone is weak, it is allowed to pour several drops of wine into the water from time to time for invigorating. This is for the people of the world only but not for the disciple. If a disciple feels like drinking some wine, that disciple can take a certain amount of wine in the thoughts thus satisfying oneself. The disciple is able to cure themselves through their thoughts. How? Make the following trial: some disciple catches fever; they know that physicians recommend accepting quinine against fever – one doze of 40 centigrams for adults. In the same time an acquaintance of yours, taking cure at physicians, catches fever too; he buys 40 centigrams of quinine at the chemist’s shop and swallows it. However, you will take the same doze of quinine in your thoughts: you will go to the chemist’s, will imagine that you are buying 40 centigrams of quinine, and will go back home and will take the quinine in your thoughts. Thus, you will test the power of thoughts. You should know that the elements of the quinine are both in the air and in the plant from which it has been obtained. The difference is that the plant has processed these elements, has synthesized them into one compound, while in the air, the elements of the quinine are free, detached from each other.

 

In the circumstances you are at present, you often come upon some hereditary features that you should be morally ready to meet with. In the primary/initial human body - the so-called matrix1 - all good and bad seeds of human thoughts and emotions are stored, showing themselves from time to time. In each incarnation, one gives a chance or a fillip to some of their thoughts and emotions to show themselves, to develop. For this purpose, one should have knowledge – to realize how to act in every given case. For example, there is a thorn bush somewhere in your garden; what will you do with this thorn bush? You will graft it, nothing more. – But it could be rooted out. No rooting out – you shall graft on it. Someone is proud; pride in that one is a thorn bush that should not be rooted out but should be grafted on. This thorn bush can be grafted on only when it submits to the moral senses in man. For this purpose, people should develop their moral senses. They are developed through the mind. Developing their mental capacities, people influence on their moral senses and develop them. In addition, for the development of the brain, of the mental capacities, all branches of the arts, of engineering as well as of science have been influencing.

 

Scrutinizing at Nature you will see that there are all three music, arts and science in it. Where is the music in Nature? It is in the flowing of water, in the gurgling of springs, in the murmuring of leaves, in the blowing of winds. Where is the art in Nature? It is in the various colours of flowers, of the winglets of insects and butterflies, of birds. Where is the architecture in Nature? It is in the structure of mountains and rocks. Where is natural science? Natural science is expressed in all minerals, plants and animals. Not only this, in Nature, you will find the philosophy of all sciences. Therefore, let one who wants to self-educate get in contact with the living, the rational Nature. This contact can be established when one places in their mind the thought that Nature is living, rational and intelligent. Wherever you go in Nature, you are surrounded by living, conscious beings and powers. It is enough that you tune yourselves in accordance with its vibrations in order to get in contact with it. As soon as you get into contact with Nature, it will guide you; will give you methods of right and wise work on yourselves. However, this cannot be achieved immediately but gradually, in the course of time. For this reason, do not leave your old life yet. In this life, you accumulate new conceptions and deposit them in the sub-consciousness where they reveal themselves in specific cases.

 

Now, if someone asks you in what the strength of the human mind is, what will you answer? What qualities should the human mind have? One of the qualities of the human mind is creative work, imagination. Looking at the human head from above, you will see that it is rounded; it has the shape of the arch of heaven. And really, while studying the stars, the Sun, people develop their imagination. One, who wishes to develop their imagination and good sense, should study the stars, should watch the sky. Imagination and good sense are two centres located in front, on the forehead. When these centres in someone are well developed, their places are bulged. People, in whom the centre of casualty is developed, are especially good in comparing. They confront phenomena, compare them and deduce common results. In order to compare two quantities, one of them should be greater or smaller the other. In order to compare these two quantities, you should use the corresponding sense. And comparing is being done by measuring. For this purpose one should enter the field of music. Music and mathematics are connected in man with certain centres as well.

 

Therefore, a capable, an intelligent person is that one who simultaneously acts in three fields of their mind – in width, in depth and in height. They should be good at mathematics, at music, at philosophy; besides, the moral, the social and the home senses in them should be well developed. In general, when all capabilities and senses simultaneously act in someone, that one is reputed to be an intelligent, a normally developed person. Watch, study the heads of the various people to see what the ideal head is like. You should consciously work, influence on the various brain centres, should develop them. Not succeeding in something, you lose heart. Losing heart is a weakness that results from strongly developed personal senses or from too much developed fear. Where fear and pride are strongly developed, hope is weakly developed. Strongly developed ambition and fear and weak hope cause pessimism. A pessimist says, “I will not make a man.” Such person gets to avoid people and becomes deeply absorbed within oneself. This is due to fear. Whereas, pride makes people give their air and be a hypocrite at the same time. A poorly developed hope makes people looks negatively on things because of which they use negative words in their vocabulary. When thinking and comparing are strongly developed, while charity is poorly developed, people become strongly critical. If charity in them is also well developed, they are reputed to be just. With strongly developed reason and comparing abilities but without charity one becomes a merciless critic. This is due to two strongly developed positive senses and one poorly developed sense – charity. This shows that ia critic is short of one moral sense. Contemporary critics are all people of this type. Bravery in man is due to strongly developed boldness, destructive force and fear. A husky is very bold and very cowardly at the same time. Huskies are very cowardly because in them, there is a strongly developed personal element.

 

The esoteric disciple should be a hero, should develop courage, self-control. This is necessary for the disciples because they like the military will go to the battlefield amidst a lot of shells and bullets – they will be fired on from all sides and they should stand. This is heroism! The esoteric disciple is not allowed to fear. Heroism is required from you too. From ordinary heroes shaking in their shoes, you should become real heroes. If you fear, you will acknowledge this weakness. Whatever weaknesses or virtues you have, you should disclose them as they are – you should neither overstate nor belittle them. You will state things as they are and will try to rectify them, if they are weaknesses. So that you may become steel, may overcome fear, do go out in the evening, in dark, wild nights, when it thunder and lightens – at first within half a kilometer, after that within one, two and more kilometers out of town, aiming to keep your presence of mind. It may happen that you pass a forest and are attacked by wolves. You should be ready to pass past them without being touched by them. Wolves never attack bold people. (- If somewhere we are being followed to be shot dead, must we pass this place?) If you are not ready, do pass through another place. (- In general, how should be dangers looked upon?) One, who has acquired courage, can come against the danger and nothing will hit them. One, who is cowardly, let them stay home until the danger passes. One thing is true: it is not possible that an esoteric disciple will be pursued in order to be killed. If some of you are undergone such a test, this is karma of themselves which they should settle in the right way. You shall be courageous – you will go against your enemy once, twice, thrice and the forth time the enemy will surely run away. If though they shoot, they will not hit. Why? Courage is a power that deflects bullets from their way. If you succeed in meeting your enemy in the face, you will put your hand on his shoulder and will say, “Listen, my friend, you need not shoot; if you have been offended by me, I am ready to rectify my mistake; if I owe you something, I am ready to pay off with interest.” One should be courageous – with relationship, with faith in their Master. Every evil yields before such a person. If your enemy raises his revolver to kill you, it is enough that he only looks at your face, sees your courage and Love in order to take down immediately his arm and to give up his intention. In this way, you will pass easily because you have passed your examination. This person has been sent by the Invisible world to examine you. This task is not easy but it can be solved.

 

Being disciples, you have been passing through certain difficulties, that are nothing else but consequences of your past life, i.e. experiencing of your karma. If you take no advantage of the experiences of your life, you have acquired nothing. If you learn no lessons from the contradictions of your life, you have acquired nothing. Laws, forces are hidden in the solving the contradictions through which a disciple can transform negative states in positive ones. When a disciple gets ahead, he or she will be placed in circumstances to meet a bear in the forest. The courageous disciple will look calmly at the bear in the eyes, will take the right side of the way whereas the bear will take the left side and in this way, they will pass each other. As soon as they pass each other, the danger is avoided. A bear never goes back from its way. Rarely, it may go back. A disciple should practice in courage for a long time so that he or she is able to cope with an external bear. There is something more terrible than external bears – these are the internal bears in man. What more terrible bears do you know than anger, than destructive force in man? After you get angry several times, after you fall and stand up several times, finally you will catch anger in your hand and will force it to obey you, to work. Therefore, to every bear out of us responds a bear within us.

 

Therefore, at their present development people should strive for the whole humankind, for the Cosmic man. The Cosmic man is being revealed in the whole humankind and that is why everyone should aim at loving everyone, loving the whole humankind. People should have new, large views so that they attract the cosmic energies to themselves and utilize them. For this, great moral is required not known by contemporary people yet. Once attracted, these forces start working in the human mind, in the human heart, in the human will, in the human soul and in the human Spirit.

 

Looking how you are arranged in your places, I find that there should be rearrangement in accordance with your temperaments. For example, two sanguine temperaments should not sit side by side. The right thing is a phlegmatic person to sit by a person of sanguine temperament. A choleric person should sit by a person of mental-nervous temperament. There can be and should be right exchange between people. This is achieved when their temperaments criss-cross each other. Then, right exchange of the energies will take place between them. When not arranged in this way, people fall easily asleep. Heavy atmosphere occurs between them. If you enter a class with indiscriminately arranged pupils, you will feel some heaviness, indisposition. And the pupils themselves are indisposed either, they easily fall asleep. When there is harmony between the mental, the moral and the social lines of forces of the pupils, they are smart, lively and easily learn. It is easy to work with such pupils, it is easy to influence on them. Let those of you who know astrology make a list for a new rearrangement of the disciples in the class in accordance with their birthday, their temperaments, etc.

 

Let us do now the following meditation: you will contemplate for two minutes rising in the space with your consciousness in that time and following meanwhile the angle at which the Sun is from you. As you are now, the Sun is to the west, at 600 below the horizon. That means that it is at an angle equal to two thirds of the right angle.

 

Secret prayer

 

Fir-für-fen Tau-bi-aumen

 

 

1 In the terminology of the Western European Christian Esoteric tradition, it is called phantom

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source