Fiery Aspiration

Wisdom Teachings
The Journey Inside

The eastern wisdom teachings describe that in the state of existence before creation everything is hidden like in a seed. As soon as a centre is formed, the inner is separated from the outer and shapes to a globe, the cosmic egg. In the inner the globe is full of fire; all around it is totally cool. Through the heat and the cold expansion and contraction come about, the pulsating principle. The fire is the principle of cosmic enthusiasm. Through enthusiasm as will the other cosmic principle come out into the ocean of space with the time: The root matter of nature, consciousness and the circumscriptions of time and of form.

The seed of cosmic will also exists in us. It is the impulse which makes us awake and get up in the morning, just like creation awakes from the state of existence.

Part of this fiery will exists in us in the mind, in the third chamber or plane. When the individual will is connected with the cosmic will, it lifts up the personality to a higher vibration, and thus the soul can express through it. However, when the will of the personality prevails, the soul withdraws and waits in a sleep-like state. For transforming the personality we have to ignite the higher will in us. This is done through continuous fiery aspiration, and intense spiritual search.

Many people are dreamy and only half-hearted in their search. For them spirituality is only one of the many things they are busy with. They lack a deeper commitment. With their wavering attitude they confuse themselves and others. Half-heartedness doesn’t give any progress; it is like only half-cooked food. Therefore it is said in the scriptures that the Path of Light is not suited for indecisive, impractical aspirants. When we really want to develop spiritual aspiration, it must spread into every activity of ours. It cannot be a part-time job. Whatever we do, wherever we become involved, we can carry it out with a spiritual understanding. Then we have spread spirituality into every part of our life.

Being interested in spiritual knowledge alone is not enough. It is no spiritual aspiration. He who only is interested in knowledge for the sake of knowledge remains a mental activity, the precipitate of aspiration. This way he cannot become an aspirant and doesn’t find access to the subtle worlds. Even an intense urge for knowledge is not aspiration, in fact it can be a hindrance. Many aren’t aware of this. They want to know, but for which purpose? To feel special or to use the knowledge for personal benefit? It is important that we question our motives. A noble aspiration manifests into a practical service activity for the well-being of other people. Impractical ideas lead to a waste of time and energy.

When we want to walk the path, it has to be a firm decision to walk it up to the goal, until we have reached Yoga, that is union. This is called “fiery aspiration” and in the eastern teachings “Tapas”, and this fire causes the inner transformation. Without a firm decision we start our exercises with much enthusiasm. But already after a month or a year everything is forgotten. Enthusiasm alone therefore is not enough to walk the inner path. When aspiration dies in favour of non-essential things, then the way gets closed for a while.

In all areas of life man only reaches certain heights if he develops fiery aspiration – be it in great inventions or in outstanding achievements in some areas of life. When in spirituality we set ourselves high targets and work for them, the attention gets focused into one direction. Fiery aspiration is like concentrating a sun ray through a magnifying glass to obtain the full power of the light. Through aspiration all energies are directed upward, and we have no more time for silly things. Here it is important not to suppress the lower thoughts, for suppression will produce diseases.

Many people are not able to organise their everyday life in a way that they find time for the inner life. We need a strong interest in the inner, otherwise we will be swept away by outer engagements. The fire cannot be ignited overnight, it takes training and practice. The continuity of aspiration has to be maintained over long years. We also must have made certain experiences in life and fulfilled duties. Then the flowers of the etheric lotuses unfold in our inner and give way to higher planes.

We can pray that we get the strength to conduct the exercises regularly and to keep the inner link. Prayers strengthen the exercises and the thread which connects us with the universal soul. Just as we align ourselves, we get contact and we attract the corresponding energies. When we keep the fire of aspiration alive, there remains a good connection during everyday life: When we have learnt driving a car, we can have a lively conversation and at the same time listen to music and follow the traffic. Thus our consciousness can remain connected with the background of cosmic consciousness, even while we are active with other things.

What we do with a concentrated focus we call devotion. Without devotion and appropriate aspiration we don’t find any mental alignment. Up to the present many people are still quite emotional. Emotions are often adulterated by selfish desire, an exuberant enthusiasm leads to problems. We might burden ourselves with unnecessary responsibilities, take over work of other people and thus incur consequences.

However, the unregulated emotions can be balanced through right direction and transformed into aspiration. Aspiration is also an emotion, but a directed one. For emotional people role models are important, which they follow then. This is called the childhood stage of consciousness. Through right models the emotions can be directed into noble channels. Then such people can do much better work with joy and enthusiasm than mentally oriented people.

Master Morya, the master of the first ray, has been working for a long time with the sixth ray of devotion, because he has found out that a man full of devotion can better pool his forces and advance faster than someone who is fighting the whole time with his own mind.

We should not think that the sixth ray is no more necessary on the path, because now the seventh ray is gaining dominance. The seventh ray is an orderly way of working, the seventh ray helps to tame and to align the wild or the indifferent nature. Thus people of the sixth ray can pass over to the seventh ray more easily.

The fiery aspiration linked to striving for an ideal is nothing but the first ray working through the emotional body. The sixth ray adds worship and a deep interest to service, so that the enthusiasm can be permanently sustained and the work conducted with the rhythm and order of the seventh ray. Aspiration thus leads to the light of the soul and from the soul to the light of the universal soul.

Sources: K.P. Kumar: The Aquarian Cross / notes from seminars. E. Krishnamacharya: Lessons on the Yoga of Patanjali. The World Teacher Trust - Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India.