1. “Let people grow to love tension, for weakening is already dissolution. No one in a weakened state will truly cognize an object. Firmness of spirit has been called armor, but one needs to become accustomed to each suit of armor.” [Aum, 568]
2. “Your only asset is the strength of your spirit.” [Hello My Dear Friends by Nicholas Roerich]
3. “They are constantly tormented, constantly worried, disturbed constantly - and all of that to the immunity of the spirit be affirmed. Thick skin grows on the soles if you walk without shoes. The skin of the palms is covered with a denser layer from work and even calluses – all these are measures of protection and adaptation of the body. In case of poisoning, the body produces antitoxins. So it resists external influence, creating in itself a kind of protective armor. In the same way, in everything and under all contrary conditions, bodily and spiritual, something is developed in the human microcosm that can resist external energies and protect it from destruction. The armor of the spirit grows and increases in strength of resistance to external blows. Fortitude and strength develop. In the end, a person learns not to be afraid of anyone or anything, because he feels something in himself that can resist everything and overcome everything. After all, the external is overcome not outside, but inside a person. And when it is defeated inside, it also loses the power of external influence.” [Facets of Agni Yoga 1954, 523]
4. “The tower is a symbol of strength, steadfastness and stability, hence: the Tower of the Spirit. Whoever built it can lean on it and stay in it." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1954, 387]
5. “Desires can appear and disappear, but aspiration is a monolith of insolubility and surrounds the essence of a person with a fortress." [Еxcerpts by Boris Abramov from the book "Aspiring Heart" 1954, 260]
6. “Claws do not frighten you; roaring does not terrify you; animals wag their tails and stand ready to serve you. Thus precisely, the path of Yoga transforms dangers into fiery blossoms. When I advise you to preserve your earthly cumulations, I mean only the armor of your spiritual strength. We condemn waste. Each accumulation is a step toward freedom.” [Agni Yoga, 223]
7. “How should one understand the benefits of obstacles when one is told that psychic energy, acting as a magnet, attracts all possible advantages? Truly, when a large ship increases its speed the resistance of the waves increases too. Similarly, many obstacles are brought about by our own striving. It is this process that attracts to us unexpected actions by an opposing will. If they are very strong, our own counterstroke will develop accordingly. Most important, the currents opposing us should be strong, because then our flame is ignited. …When someone is said to be depressed by circumstances, be assured that he lives unignited, and that any encounter with an obstacle confuses his consciousness. Sometimes it is difficult to discern the moment of confusion, yet it poisons all subsequent actions. But when the step is firm, the counterforces are beneficial. They generate lightning, and the thunder shakes distant mountains. Pettiness begets pettiness, however. Therefore, when bidding people Godspeed on a journey, bid them also to shun pettiness. The future is constructed by lightning-bolts of realization. The power of these great sparks depends upon the strength of the counterforce. Clearly then, success will not come from embarking on a voyage in a tub across a stagnant pool.
When We say, "Set sail," We mean that you must try the ocean; the grandeur of its waves will give you joy. Does not the testing of one's strength lead to a growth of power? It may seem impossible to cross an abyss, but you have already crossed many an abyss and smiled." [Agni Yoga, 257]
8. “To whom and to what will we give power over ourselves to break the balance of the spirit and deprive of strength, emptying the treasury of energy? It is necessary to think hard before allowing anything to knock out from under your feet the foundation on which the power of the spirit rests. Everything and everyone who seeks to deprive us of balance can be regarded as a hostile principle to the fires of the spirit, which tends to extinguish them. ... Balance and calmness are two sides of the same coin, the medals of indestructible fortitude and fortitude. Spare no effort, no thoughts, no aspirations to assert these most valuable and necessary qualities in yourself. Having lost them, you lose everything, and exactly what you allowed them to be violated for. The magnetic power of these qualities is enormous. By asserting them, a person strengthens the magnet of his spirit extraordinarily." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1956, 879]
9. "It is good to be able to pray. Prayer, or spiritual conversation, is the highest manifestation, but mental refinement and spiritual strength are necessary." [Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, 237]
10. "Prayer is a purifier. This definition should not be understood abstractly. Spiritual health is the primary basis of bodily health. Precisely prayer as a real link with the higher Source will be the best purifier of the organism against all diseases. Infection appears when the body permits the entrance of manifested messengers of evil. Each body is predisposed to many diseases, but spiritual strength is on guard to quell such uprisings. When the spirit can be properly nourished by the higher energies, it also protects the body against dangers.
Therefore, it can be affirmed that prayer is a purifier." [Aum, 57]
