Helena Roerich on Masters of Wisdom (Theosophy)

“Now, the science of Hatha Yoga rests upon the 'suppression of breath,' or Pranayama, to which exercise our Masters are unanimously opposed. For what is Pranayama? Literally translated, it means the 'death of (vital) breath.' . . . Several impatient Chelas, whom we knew personally in India, went in for the practice of Hatha Yoga, notwithstanding our warnings. Of these, two developed consumption, one of whom died; others became almost idiotic; another committed suicide; and one developed into a regular Tantrika, a Black Magician, but his career, fortunately for himself, was cut short by death.”

“Indeed, how can the Masters, who are on watch over the world and who lead the greatest Cosmic Battles, overburden themselves by accepting a great number of disciples? Considering the present state of consciousness of humanity, this would be an unproductive expenditure of the most precious energy, which is so essential for maintaining the equilibrium of our planet. There are many who read the books of the Teaching of the White Brotherhood and who mentally follow the indicated path, and because of this they consider themselves as disciples of this or that Great Teacher chosen by them. They are partly right, for if they continue to strive, and mainly if they try to apply the Teaching in life, they will enter the path of true discipleship, sooner or later, in this or another life. But ask yourself sincerely and seriously—have you met many such disciples, who even partially apply in life the foundations of the Living Ethics learned by them from the books of the Teaching? And without a complete application of the Teaching, or rather, without self-denial in carrying out life's achievement, is it possible to hope for a closer approach?”

“There is only one Hierarchy of Light, which is of course, the Trans-Himalayan Hierarchy. Just as Light conquers darkness, so does the Hierarchy of Light battle against and defeat the hierarchy of darkness. The latter is very strong, since it acts through a multitude of followers. Not one teacher, living on Earth in ordinary earthly conditions, can be compared with the great Himalayan Masters. Those Masters are so lofty in their spiritual achievement that they are no longer able to accept the burden of purely earthly existence and of a personal, direct leadership of and contact with the masses. That would constitute an unproductive expenditure of forces.Their tasks are planetary-cosmic to such an extent that They can allocate only a portion of Their forces to the direct guidance of certain units of humanity, and therefore They use Their nearest trusted ones and disciples for the purpose of transmitting the spiritual Teaching. At the present time, Their main forces are concentrated on the gigantic battle with the destructive dark forces in the Subtle World and on Earth, on staying the clashing of the nations until a certain time... Verily, frightful is the tension of Their forces for the salvation of Earth; while humanity, in its madness, walls up dynamite everywhere. Thus, because of such small numbers of co-workers on Earth, these selfless Guardians of ungrateful and ignorant humanity have taken completely upon themselves the incredible burden of discharging destructive energies.”