Refinement

1. "If during the process of evolution instinct has developed into feeling, then refinement will lead to straight-knowledge. Each refined sensation means contact with the Spatial Fire. Therefore, only the highest Agni Yogi transmits to humanity the subtlest receptivity. The entire evolution is based on refinement." [Infinity II, 374]

 

2. "Evolution means refinement and improvement. Evolution can still be defined as the gradual transformation of the dense into the subtle, in order to then become fiery. It is the refinement of everything and in everything that happens." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1954, 423]

 

3. "Life rushes upward to the rarefaction and refinement of the dense into the subtle. Everything that contributes to this is evolutionary, everything that hinders and counteracts is from darkness. So we will distinguish where the promotion is and where the regression is. It is impossible to combine coarsening with refinement. Refinement and spirituality are inseparable. Effeminacy and luxury are not refinement and neither spirituality." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1965, 41]

 

4. "Spirituality is a refined striving for true evolution, which is always synthetic, containing all concepts, all things." [Letters of Helena Roerich in 9 Volumes - 6. 135]

 

5. "The refinement of the spirit is determined precisely by the degree of its reverence for higher values." [Letters of Helena Roerich II, Oct. 1, 1935]

 

6. "Refinement of thought provides a passageway to refinement of life. Refinement is also upliftment and growth." [Brotherhood, 271]

 

7. "Without the development and refinement of the heart, no progress, no progress is possible..." In the future, people "will be distinguished by the refinement of the heart, this key to all achievements." [Letters of Helena Roerich in 9 Volumes - 2. 104]

 

8. "Evolution in refinement, and above all in the refinement of sensations and straight-knowledge. With the refinement of the inner man, the range of feelings and perceptions of the brain increases and grows incalculably! True Knowledge becomes the lot of a refined person." [Letters of Helena Roerich in 9 Volumes - 9. 133]

 

9. "Refinement of the heart’s condition calls forth special activity on the part of all the senses. The senses of smell, hearing, sight, and taste act continuously. There is no silence, because once the earthly sounds are still, the echoes of the Subtle World begin to be heard. There is not a moment without smell, for even the purest air is full of fragrances. There is no visual void. … So without breaking away from this world, the heart makes us participants in a multitude of subtle manifestations. And if someone insists on the existence of absolute silence, do not think of his heart as refined." [Heart, 330]

 

10. "The refinement of consciousness primarily depends on attention to the surroundings." [Fiery World II, 27]

 

11. "In the fire of love, all the powers of the human spirit are refined. It is love that reveals those subtle properties of a person that will open to him the Gates of Knowledge of the Supermundane World, the Higher World." [Letters of Helena Roerich in 9 Volumes - 7.  106]

 

12. "After ignorance, we reach civilization, then we get education, followed by intelligence, then refinement, and after that synthesis opens the gates of high culture." [Banner of Peace by Nicholas Roerich]

 

13. "Civilization is one thing, but Culture is completely different. Even in a few years in one generation it is possible to become civilized, but culture is composed only by the greatest efforts and efforts in the realm of the highest concepts for centuries." [Letters of Helena Roerich in 9 Volumes - 7. 040]

 

14. "What good is education if the brain remains crafty and the tongue false? People can be divided according to refinement of heart, but not according to falseness of consciousness." [Fiery World I, 194]

 

15. "... Coarseness will be eradicated only by education. ... Clearly, formal education alone does not necessarily eradicate coarseness. … A coarse nature cannot deal with subtle perceptions, and the science of the future will require genuine refinement, without which synthesis is impossible. It is indeed, for you must acquire subtlety of understanding if you want to refine your consciousness. ... Many basic principles are indeed inexpressible, and must be intuitively perceived. Such silent understanding and receptivity are bridges to future achievement. Not words, but an inner feeling will be remembered and will help lay the foundation of evolution. Thus, he who is refined in his feelings will never be coarse." [Supermundane, 326]

 

16. "It is necessary to show the strength of the spirit and tirelessly strive to eradicate age-old heavy accumulations, otherwise no refinement is unattainable. Only the refinement of all the senses brings all the best possibilities closer. ...Mindfulness is the first approach to the refinement of perceptions, and we know that only refinement gives a subtle consciousness and creative power is confirmed by the centers of subtle perceptions. The thinner, the higher, the higher, the stronger! After all, nothing delays evolution so much as the coarseness of perceptions!" [Letters of Helena Roerich in 9 Volumes - 1. 073]

 

17. "The most subtle consciousness has the best receptivity." [Infinity II, 370]

 

18. "The fluff of wool, falling on the palm of a person, is not tangible, but, penetrating into the eye, it causes pain. The palm is a rude, ignorant person, the eye is a refined sage." From Buddhist scriptures. [Letters of Helena Roerich in 9 Volumes - 5. 079]

 

19. "I am trying to bring you closer to Infinity, not merely to give you an exquisite concept but so that you may acquire refinement of consciousness. If through the knowledge of causes we expand our consciousness, then through the cognition of quality we refine it. This property, and the quality of thought and feeling, will evince the cognition of the origins of creation." [Infinity II, 518]

 

20. "Consider the refinement of the heart as the measure of honor. Thus let us not forget that in the most everyday life are laid the foundations of the world’s grandeur." [Fiery World II, 97]