“Morya wishes to see you at His place teaching self-perfection” (Helena Roerich’s Diaries, Sept 29, 1921, evening).

“In order to be accepted as disciples it is necessary, first of all, to practise self-perfection, to improve morally and spiritually, and to apply the Teaching in life. This will broaden the consciousness and bring the necessary balance (Letters of Helena Roerich, vol. 1, May 6, 1934).

“From far-off India, the country of beauty, of achievements of the spirit, and of great thought, I send to you who are gathered in the name of the great labor and structure of the future—greetings of the heart! I call you to self-perfection and unlimited attainment” (Ibid., 1929).

The Teaching of Self-Perfectment is found in Agni Yoga. It tells us that our future is to reach human perfection. That is our future, human perfection. Then, we are going to reach planetary perfection. We are going to reach perfection as human beings. We are going to reach perfection as a Planetary Being. The future is continued in infinite continuity of blooming and unfolding and manifesting the depth that is within us. The mystery that is within us is slowly, slowly unfolding, and there is no end to the glory that we are going to express and manifest. That is our future.

When you take a direction toward perfection, people will seek you out. If you go toward the Hierarchy, toward the direction of perfection, people will trust you. As human beings we must try to improve ourselves and reach perfection.

Helena Roerich, in writing to one of her students, wrote, “All members must firstly, secondly, and thirdly, perfect themselves in the qualities pointed out in the books of Living Ethics. This should be the main and urgent goal of everyone who approaches. And this task is so immense that more than one life will be needed to acquire at least a few of those qualities. One of the primary and basic qualities will be knowledge of how to safeguard that which is entrusted” (Letters of Helena Roerich, vol. 2, May 7, 1938).

In striving toward self-perfectment, M.M. says, “One ought to test all qualities.” What does this mean? He means to cultivate them, to make them grow so that we eventually reach the standards that God has set for our future—the standards of the Hierarchy. How can we be like members of the Hierarchy? How can we be like a Buddha? How can we be like those great Angels? They were like us, but they went beyond. They transformed Themselves.

Transformation occurs when we receive light, assimilate it, and put it into action. When we touch qualities, when we touch virtues and make these virtues live through us, then we are changing our whole system. We cannot hear these things and say, “I know all these things.” That kind of knowledge is totally ridiculous. Knowledge is not buying a book and putting it on the shelf. Courage, tolerance, devotion, gratitude, and others are among the qualities that make up the armor of achievement and lead us to self-perfectment.

Courage, tolerance, devotion, solemnity, responsibility, cooperation, and love are not only some of the qualities listed in the books, but these make up the armor of achievement. This means that we cannot really climb to the top of the mountain of our spiritual achievement unless we have these qualities within us.

President and Founder, White Mountain Education Association, Inc.