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D E S I R E
Selections from the Agni Yoga Series

Presented before the Agni Yoga Society, April 19th, 2005

      If all impulsive desires were satisfied,
            the Universe would be destroyed.
      Fear not moods; like leaves they will be blown away.
      The pure spring bursting from beneath the snow will quench
            your thirst. Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 196.

      You must use your imagination.
      For the imagination opens windows that reveal new vistas.
            Who desires—receives.
      All things have their significance. Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 183.

      Across the deserts, seas, and mountains,
      You transport yourselves in one breath.
      And there, face to face, we meet.
      There is no space. Time exists not.
      The power of knowledge is manifested.

      Is it easy to soar when you have wings?
      I shall say, it is easy for those who sense their wings.
      But those for whom the cup of worldliness is sweet,
            fly not.
      Chained to their idol, their delight, whither to fly?
      By experience will you learn the fruitlessness of
            earthly desires.
      It is simple, for all things are simple.

      Soar with your thoughts. Fly by affirmation.
      Fly by love.
      And you will realize the joy of flying.
      And the gulf of life will remain far below you.
      And a miracle of flaming colors will radiate
            near the splendor of the Southern Cross.
      All is attainable. Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 328.

      A smile of determination is the best guide. One must acknowledge the goal and devote oneself to the plan of the Teacher.
      Every personal desire is harmful, but striving toward achievement is required. Desire is not an achievement. Achievement is the realization of necessity. Desire can grow; a desire can be renounced or modified. The torrent is rushing on not because of its own desire, but because of an inevitability born of necessity.
      The spirit knows where is the impulse of desire and where the rock of necessity. I see the torrent of truth rushing on, and nothing can impede its course.
      How often a Name of the Lords pronounced with faith helps to create the bridge of succor!
      We see much that is far from beautiful. When working with humanity one has to wash one's hands often.
      When you feel weary do not always ascribe it to yourself, but remember the waves of world reaction.
      Only through consciousness of utter urgency will you swim across.
      The pattern of work of the dark ones is first to sow disbelief, then to saturate it with desires, then to inflate these into crimes and reap a double harvest.
      Ponder upon how to be more intelligible to humanity.
      Besides the sacred language We have a language of silence. The condemned language of refusal and negation tears the hem of the garment. Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, II:VII:16.

      About the qualities of expectancy.
      The highest expectancy is that of the evolution of the world. The usual expectations are divided into the dark, the sluggish, and the vigilant. The chaos of the dark ones brings only harm to space. The sluggish expectations are like smouldering coals. The vigilant expectations manifest readiness to accept the new at every hour.
      I have said, “Know how to desire.” I will also say, “Know how to await.” Be able to purify the quality of expectation. Through storm carry expectation as an inextinguishable torch.
      The inner quality of expectancy is its growth in tensity. With what could one best correlate this sign, if not with the evolution of the World? Such expectancy should penetrate your whole life and fill your work with the throbbing of action. For in this union is the best and most beautiful.
      Upon entering a house full of restless people, say to them: “Look forward to the evolution of the world!” Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, III:IV:15.

      It is said that a yogi has no desires; actually, he is filled with striving. A desire is not active, because it creates expectation, and expectation is the mother of passivity. Striving, on the other hand, is a generator of motion, leading to ascent of the spirit. It is said that the yogi knows no love; but in truth, he is full of compassion. People think of love only as constricting bonds. But compassion is boundless, a co-worker of Truth. It is said that a yogi is endowed with inexhaustible powers; however, like a diligent gardener, he must tend his own plants in the garden of opportunities. Agni Yoga, 210.

      Many concepts should be considered in the light of yoga. Can one live without desire when even the spirit is incarnated by desire? Desires are like sparks igniting motion. Then what does it mean to say that a yogi is free of desire? Let us take the precise meaning of the words: a yogi is free, not from desires as such but from their burden. He knows himself to be free because he is not a slave to desire. On the path of goal-fitness, a yogi, applying co-measurement, relinquishes desires in the name of the most essential. This ability to change easily is at the core of the yogi's liberation. Nothing hinders his progress.
      It is precisely the inert, stillborn desires that become the chains of bondage for humanity. It is people who chain themselves with such bonds. Either incaution or the karma of others brings on the infection of desire, and a person, instead of progressing, loses all ability to change.
      Pay attention to those who stand and wail. What arrested their way? What forces diverted them from the contemplation and understanding of the world? The most minute, almost indistinguishable, desire burdened them and obscured their vision. How monotonous has their world become! Their desires, like parasites, depleted their energy. Desire can be worms and chains, or sparks and wings. The liberated one soars in realization. The one enslaved wails in despair. Agni Yoga, 259.

      Manifest the desire for new images. Manifest the desire for new paths. Having awakened the desire toward the beauty of Infinity in everything, humanity will walk forward without glancing back. Only the grandeur of Cosmos will impel the spirit toward the Inaccessible Heights. Infinity I, 46.

      Let us pronounce the prayer to Shambhala:
      Thou Who didst call me to the path of labor, accept
            my fitness and my desire.
      Accept my labor, O Lord, because by day and by
            night Thou beholdest me.
      Manifest Thy hand, O Lord, because great is the
            darkness. I follow Thee! Agni Yoga, 104.

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