THREE KEYS

by E.I. Roerich

To former,

present and future disciples.

My dear young friends!

These three great keys are stored neither on other planets, nor in the other celestial worlds, but within ourselves. But by taking possession of them, you will acquire something that is possible to compare only to these other worlds. Is it reasonable to refuse these keys? Certainly not. Therefore, wasting no time, we shall go for them.

In the name of my love for you I shall remind you the paths leading to mastering these keys.

Their names are: LOVE, BEAUTY and KNOWLEDGE. Remember these paths, take them and show them to others.

In each act, display mobility, love and prudence. Try to be a wise sculptor in molding yourself and others and beware of being friable clay in the hands of bad company.

Choose good friends enhance your good qualities and through conversation with them; read with them good books; make conclusions; try to remember all the best and apply it in life.

Develop in yourself plans and methods for the creation of a beautiful, willful and reasonable life, filled with work and harmony in relations with the outside world.

Be aware, that with each bad thought, word or action you are breaking the sacred rights which you, as any other creation, have been generously awarded by nature.

Develop in yourself firmness and perseverance and do not entertain yourself during work. If the work is boring, but necessary, manage to patiently bring it to the end. It will be easier to do, if you undertake each task with pleasure. You are not a doll or toy mechanically performing movements, but a reasonable man. Therefore you are obliged to treat each task wisely, respectfully and with love.

Try to purify your speech from empty and senseless words. Let your speech be clear, precise and brief.

Leave the place, filled with empty small talk, rage and hatred, where reigns contention, harmful entertainment and stupidity.

If you have decided to rest, be sure to give pleasant and burden-free entertainment to your mind and body during these minutes of relaxation.

Do not rush. Eradicate lies. Be honest and affable. Develop in yourself a sense of nobility, and in communication with people, be polite and simple. The feeling of fear should also be foreign to you.

Maintain balance in both pleasure and suffering, in joy and grief. Always forgive and reply with love to hatred. Only in this way will you defeat evil-wishing.

Your thoughts are your children. You should make each of them beautiful. Each thought

should become a creative force aimed to do good. Always remember that the power of thought is very great. Be prepared to use it for the benefit of the world.

Be precise in everything, truthful and sharp in your actions. Otherwise you cannot be entrusted with an important task.

Life should flow through you in all its shine and full force. Do not allow unimportant things to weaken your persistence in achieving the goal.

Love is a powerful force, which sustains the existence of everything in the Universe. Love is a force, ruling the world: everything that is done for the sake of it secures the power of the universal law. Only with love for all can you defeat evil. Bring love everywhere you go. You will soon understand, how it will help you on all your journeys.

Be pure and let love emanate from you, as the aroma emanates from a flower. Make a firm and unshakable decision to become an expression of love and willingness to help everywhere, wherever you can. Let your life be a ray of pleasure for others. Find in your soul diamonds, which you could put in the treasury of the common good.

If you have more knowledge than some your friends, do not be blindly proud of it, do not show superiority, but instead, share your knowledge, if it is appropriate in that moment.

Remember, that each minute of your life has a purpose. Be able to understand it. If you are having difficulties choosing a job or profession, consult with your senior friends.

Beware of empty minutes. They allow laziness to take hold. Hours and days can be made from empty minutes, and the task of a true man is great. The life is certainly multifaceted and interesting. From minutes reasonably spent, you can weave a true and beautiful fabric of your soul.

Therefore, try to fill each minute of your life with work, knowledge or pure thoughts.

Let untiring work bring you pleasure and let the fire of creativity inextinguishably enlighten your way.

Try to keep your thoughts always in absolute purity and give much consideration to what you can do to improve people's lives and mitigate their sufferings.

The nature is overflowing with sacred and pure gifts and is searching for vessels. Let your soul be sparkling and crystal clean for acceptance of these gifts. Become a ray of light, leave the world of empty dreams and apply your energy to incessantly climb upwards.

Let your soul be always radiating light and bliss, warmth and compassion, dynamism and desire to help the near one. Then you will feel how heavy tasks lose their weight, and the gloomy garments of suffering turn into the snow-white veils of pure, sparkling joy.

Be cautious and condescending in your judgement about people, for you are rather imperfect yourself. But be strict to yourself and indefatigably work on the correction of your own flaws.

You will face many tests in life. Only through them will you acquire infinite treasures. But you will be able to successfully pass these tests only if armed with the ammunition of prudence, perseverance and faith in yourself.

If you should fail, do not lose courage. Despondency will only weaken your forces and slow down your inner growth. Instead, mobilize your forces and determine the best strategy for further action. In this way, you will enhance your sturdiness and multiply your powers.

Transform each failure and bitter experience into a most valuable lesson, which will serve as a guiding light for you in the future.

Each obstacle along your way will show you what you must develop to be fully prepared for the further struggle.

But, during the battle you should always remember about the welfare of those near to you. Beware of buying your own well being at the price of bringing suffering on these near ones. Such well being is cruel and unstable.

Be able to spend your energy carefully and reasonably in any task. Manage to make your body strong, vigorous and sturdy. Do not burden it with food in larger quantities than necessary for normal nutrition; do not burden it with anything that is obviously harmful to your health. Study the laws, not only for spiritual growth, but also for correct physical development. Your body is your principal tool, which you should treat wisely. By such treatment, you will more lastingly carry this most precious vessel of natural forces and health through daily storms and paths of indefatigable work.

But, this vessel is given to all that exists. Therefore, be equally sensitive about the health of people, animals, birds and even plants. For example, flowers scoop the light and warmth from the sun the same way as you do. Flowers will die, just like you, if they are deprived. It means you are brothers. But you are elder, stronger and more intelligent. Therefore, one should always render adequate help and to pay more attention to a weaker being. You are endowed with greater strength and wisdom, than many standing below you, therefore, you should always protect the defenseless and helpless. Whether they be people, animals, plants, et al.

One saying goes: " The darker the night, the brighter the stars". And so, you shall be the carrier of light, love and knowledge in human darkness and earthly hassle. The more light you possess, the more darkness you will disperse.

Develop in yourself as much sensitivity and love of the nature surrounding you as possible, and you will hear her relentless voices singing a laudatory hymn to the life-giving sun. Adore the starry sky, penetrating its depths. In nightly calm turn your eyes to the sparkling stars, to the unknown worlds where there is also life everywhere, where all is full of mighty beauty and magnificent light. But, from the other worlds our Earth looks like an asterisk in turn. Hence it is also filled with much beauty and greatness. Let your soul be a spacious cradle, capable of embracing this beauty and greatness. Let your soul be a mirror, able to reflect generosity and intricacy of the creative genius of nature.

Expand your perception of beauty through the arts. Love music, paintings. Peer deeper at the play of colors. Sharpen your perception of sounds. Show more interest in everything, embodying the genius of the creators of beauty. In choosing a certain profession for yourself, do not be one-sided or narrow-minded. Whenever possible, take an interest in everything that can enrich your perspective.

Rejoice at everything that is an expression of beauty. Rejoice at the last rays of the sunset.

Rejoice at the first rays of the morning dawn. Rejoice - and the light of the sun will be brighter in your soul, and far-off worlds will be closer.

Be like the sun, generously spilling around itself light and dynamism. Look, how many paths to the great sources of light wait for their travelers. But to go along them, it is necessary to move always forward. And life itself is movement. Forward or backward. You move with each thought, step, action. If they are directed to Good, you go invariably forward. But beware of taking steps back.

It is necessary to reach the top of a mountain. But how difficult it is to climb up and how easy to be rolled downwards. Is the latter reasonable? Think, what an infinite happiness it is to take possession of the top and to show others the way. How much unknown you will see from there?

Which great and immense horizons will appear then before your amazed eyes? You will understand then the full value of the trodden way. You will receive what you yourself have persistently searched for, despite suffering deprivations and conquering difficulties.

And so, always, with each minute of your life, ascend higher and higher. Remember that during difficult ascensions you will be offered a helping hand.

And, the more you help people, the more magnificent and broader your mind and your soul will be, the easier the tough ascensions will be for you.

Therefore, eradicate in yourself the feeling of egoism. Do not be a debtor towards nature. She has awarded you with great gifts. She has planted in you great seeds. She is waiting - will you multiply her treasures? Will you share with others?

Try to hear the voices of all that exists. Thus you will comprehend its specific aspects. Having understood - fall in all-embracing love with all that exists. Acquire further and deeper knowledge.

Develop in yourself as much as possible an appreciation of harmony and beauty. With love, knowledge and beauty, go to people. Unite them. Build with them a life, full of light, vigor, indefatigable work and joy. In this great creative endeavor, you will acquire inexhaustible new sources of power and knowledge. And aspiring to learn the hidden secrets of nature in the name of the Common Good, you will thus be paying out your debt.

Following this path, you will acquire three great keys of BEAUTY, LOVE and KNOWLEDGE.

With them, you will open doors leading to luminous sources of divine truth.

Be able to take possession of these keys.