Easter

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Math. 28:19

In the sermons of the whole Christian world has been read the text of Christ's resurrection. In America today there are eighty to one hundred thousand preachers, and in Bulgaria at least - three thousand and three hundred, preaching about the resurrection, but I will make a slight detour.

Many people study the question on resurrection from a historical or philosophical point of view. About this question, if it is possible also for a man to resurrect there is an argument from a purely physiological point of view. The ideologists and theologian write about it and try to prove that resurrection is possible but they still cannot prove it.

I will stop on the words: "Go therefore and teach all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." The teaching of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is very deep. What is this teaching? Often you pronounce these words: "The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit," but what meaning do these words have for you? They have a meaning only in the case that they can produce a certain effect upon you. When you hold a match in your hand you cannot try out its power if you do not strike and light it. As soon as you light it up, you can understand its power. The resurrection will be an unknown subject for you as long as you do not lit up this word like a match, so that it may produce light in your mind and warmth in your heart, or until you plant this word in the soil, like a seed, to have it grow and see its fruit. It is sufficient for man to have only one such word in his life understood fully in order to become a man of genius. If he understands two such words, then he can become a saint. If he understand three such words he becomes one with Christ.

In every language we speak there are words which, if we truly understand them, produce magic power for us. When Moses raised his sceptre at the Red Sea he spoke one word and the sea split in two. When Christ was in front of the grave of Lazarus he spoke the words "Lazarus, come out!" and Lazarus was resurrected. In the beginning of Genesis God said only one word and the world was created. You write and speak grammatically correctly, you use commas, periods, question and exclamation marks, you discuss important philosophical questions but you still do not know how to arrange your lives. You resemble the philosopher who went out for a boat ride in the sea and entered into conversation with the boatman: "Have you ever studied? Do you know anything about astronomy?" - "I know nothing." - "You have lost one quarter of your life." - "Do you know anything of geology?" - "I do not." - "You have lost two quarters of your life." -" How about mathematics?" -" Nothing." - "You have lost three quarters of your life." As they spoke the weather changed quickly and a great storm began to rage in the sea. The boat was endangered to the point of sinking. The boatman become worried about the professor, asked: "Can you swim?" -"No, I have never learned." - "Now you can lose all four quarters of your life, you can lose your whole life, Sir!" Now too, you like this philosopher, sit and discuss important questions; like how Jesus was born and how he came to this earth but when a storm starts raging in your lives, or you cannot cope with difficulties and suffering, you are unable to swim and start to sink into the water. Where is your philosophy of life? Where is your astronomy, geology, mathematics? Why do you need these sciences if they cannot help you in a difficult moment? Mathematics is a science which should teach you how to build your life correctly. Biology is a science which must teach people to keep the cells of their organism in perfect order. Geology must teach people to have a correct relationship to the earth.

In the life of Christ, there are three notable, important periods: birth, death and resurrection. These phases must be natural to the common man also. When Christ was born angels appeared in heaven and proclaimed peace among all people; therefore, Christ's birth was a festivity, but this same Christ was exposed to shameful death, too. People still ask themselves today: "Why was it necessary for Christ to suffer such a death?" There are certain reasons for this. Christ was exposed to a shameful death, but in the end He rose from the death. Modern man die also, but none of them have risen from the death. There are reason for this also.

Now I will make a comparison between life and death. When Adam was in Paradise, God introduce to him life in the form of two fruit trees, one of which was called the Tree of life, and the other, the Tree of knowledge. From the occult point of view, "Tree of life" implies the striving of everything in nature toward the divine. This impulse moves from down-upward. It is the high tide in nature, which gradually rises and grows. The "Tree of knowledge" implies the urge of the beings to move out from the center of life and proceed toward the periphery. This impulse moves from above downwards, and represents low tide in nature. Since these two flows exist in nature, it is easy then to explain the origin of death. Two trains start out from two opposite positions and move towards one and the same point. What will happen with them? - They will crash. Adam was placed between such two trains and since he could not avoid the catastrophe, he died. He who tries to eat from the fruit of the Tree of knowledge will end his life like Adam. This means that on the day in which a man eats the fruit of the Tree of knowledge he enters the life of the low tide, of reflux, or of the flow that moves from above, down to the center of the earth. Only God can save a man from this flow. Christ came to earth for this purpose, to pull people out off this current and lead them into the opposite flow, into the high tide of life, which we call resurrection.

In order to receive the life which leads toward resurrection, one must understand the teaching about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. What does one understand by the Father? - it is the teaching of divine wisdom. By the Son? - the teaching of divine love. By the Spirit? - the teaching of the raising, of the evolution of man. In Scripture it is said: "He who comes to believe in this teaching will be saved." Everyone must understand the laws of this teaching. What is expected of you? Many of you are in the position of fathers, but do you understand the calling of the father? Everyone of you has been in the position of a son, but do you know what the relationship of the son to the father must be? You have not yet been in the position of the Holy Spirit, but this will also come. Now you are getting ready to pass through the Spirit, who uplifts the people, who raises Christ in them.

In order to properly understand the teaching of Christ, you must free yourselves of some ties with the world. This doesn't mean that you must reject the world. No, this is a wrong attitude. The world has two faces, one is the inner face, which is pure, fair, the Divine face; the other one is the external face which is exposed to constant changes, therefore, when one speaks of turning away from the world one must understand to turn away from its external face, from those elements which have a transitional, illusive character. These elements do not give any essential support to man's life. But everything else which serves for your growth, you must guard because it has been said: "God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, so that he who believes in Him will not perish." The fact that the world has two faces is supported also by the verse in which was St. Paul said: "The face of this world is transitional." So then the face of the world that changes is transient. Now there remains the other face of the world which is not transient. A man is born, grows up and thinks that he can rectify and govern the world, but when he reaches the age of 45 - 50 years he notices a certain weakening of his power, and gives up this idea. He becomes friendly, thoughtful, and makes the young people work for him. He begins to think about his old age, that he may become sick, and that he will die. I ask, why does the old man turn his eyes toward the centre of the earth? Why is he not keeping in his mind illuminated thoughts which will refresh his spirit, which renew and lead towards resurrection? Modern men are infected by the thought that they cannot be resurrected, to remain alive, to be born anew. This is the greatest delusion in the world. A man can be risen from death as well as he can die. Death and life are two relative things. If you come into conflict with the powers and laws which work in rational nature then you will be smashed, destroyed. If you are in harmony with the powers and laws of rational nature, you will rise, you will be risen from the grave. In order for resurrection to come, you must free yourselves of some obstacles, of some handicap, which is inherited in your souls.

I will give you an example in order to explain the great law that regulates life. A few English sailors decided to leave the ship where they worked, and visit a European city. They roamed through the city, went here and there, and entered a few taverns until they were considerably drunk. In the evening they returned to their boats and began to sail, but they had forgotten to untie their boats from the poles where they had them docked. They were sailing all night thinking that they were approaching the ship. What surprise in the morning, when they found themselves still on the shores! Why was it that they could not reach the ship? Only in the morning did they realize their mistake - they had forgotten to untie the boats. The short rope with which their boats were tied to the poles had kept them in one place all the night. It had kept them fastened. This rope was their hindrance If modern men cannot resurrect, this is the reason; they are fastened by a short rope to a pole. Children do the same. A child catches a bird, ties it to a thread with one foot and then lets the little bird fly. The bird flies up but soon falls back to the earth. Why? - Because it is fastened to a thread. Modern man too, are fastened. They must have a high ideal. What kind of ideal? One that will pull them up to heaven. Someone says: "I flew high, but soon I fell back to the earth. Why? I have no idea." - I say, you have been fastened. You had some doubt in your mind, or you wanted to solve some important questions, but you could not." -What shall I do now? - Untie the boat from the pole, start to row the oars forward and upward towards your goal. Whatever a man may try to do, he cannot escape the consequences of his life. Do not think that your thoughts and emotions haven't any influence upon you. Every thought and every feeling, as weak or faint they may be, influence not only you but also those around you. In Deuteronomy it is said that for every crime, God will recompense unto the forth generation. From here it follows that within one hundred years at the most, every crime must be settled. Those who have studied this law have noticed the following phenomena: if a woman from the black race has contact with a man from the white race, the child may be white in the first generation, yet in the second, third, or at the latest, the fourth generation, there will be born a black child. If a black child comes immediately in the first generation, this eliminates the karma. This law has the opposite function also: if a woman from a white race has a contact with a man from the black race, in one of the four generations inevitably will be born a black child. If a black child is born of a white mother and father, they will wonder from where this child has come. They do not suspect that one of their great grandmothers had contact with a black man one hundred years ago.

I say, the same law also works also in the field of the thoughts and feelings of man. For example, someone sits calmly and suddenly through his mind passes an evil thought. From where has this thought come? - A hundred years ago this man had contact with a black man or a black woman. The black man or woman represents the temptation in the world. Every evil thought or every evil feeling, is the child of he who is raising them. This is effected by the law of karma. The karmic law is very strict. You must be very careful with it, because you cannot escape the consequences. Do not give place to evil thoughts in your mind. If you let them come in, they will create their forms, which will in the future obstruct you. It is of no importance that someone has been born by a father or a mother from the white or the black races, but it is important that the vibrations of the people of the black race differ considerably from those of the white race and for this reason the last one must make a considerable effort to cope with them. The direction of the movement of the black race is towards the centre of the earth. They are the people of the tree from which Eve, the first mother of humanity, has eaten. The impulse of the people of the white race is towards heaven. This impulse is felt the strongest at present. They want to be the people of the "Tree of Life" and eat its fruit, therefore from whatever tree we eat so we become. The "Tree of life" is Christ. When this great thought penetrates your mind, then you will come to the salvation. You do not need to occupy your mind with abstract question whether Christ sits at the right side of the Father, but you must think of Christ as a power that penetrates the whole earth. When this power has pass through all beings, from the smallest to the greatest, will come the salvation of the whole of humanity. When Christ was crucified, in other words, when the flow of this power was interrupted, great darkness came everywhere. In Scripture it is said that after this Christ descended to Hell to preach his teaching there. All people who listened to him, emerged from hell and went to live on earth. Were you not also there when Christ was preaching? - You were there, but you have forgotten. What did Christ say when he descended into hell to free you from darkness? - Go, and sin no more!

Now, I say also: If you sin you will give birth to black child and suffering will follow one after the other. Since Christ is already on earth He has decided to free humanity and He will definitely do it. There is no power in the world, as strong as it may be, which would be able to withstand Christ's power. Christ says: "No one can take away from my hands the lamb which God has given me, because there is no one greater than He. If, at some time there should appear in your soul a doubt, you must realize that this is your black father. Discontinue your connections with him. The pure one should not be connected with the impure one. If the mother sees that her child is soiled, does she embrace it immediately? No, first she will punish it mildly, after that she will give it a bath, dress it in a clean clothes, and then she will embrace and kiss it. This is the simplest philosophy of life. Someone says: "No one loves me." Your clothes are soiled, friend! If you wish for people to love you, go first and take a bath, cleanse your body properly. After that cleanse your heart and your mind, and then see if people will love you or not. Cleansed and bathed, the way man is ready to resurrect.

Christ has risen but before He came to resurrection, He first passed through crucifixion. What does the cross mean. The cross is the sides of a cube, laid out on a flat surface. At the same time the cube represents man's home. Christ was crucified on the cross, on this unfolded cube, with which God wanted to tell the people to open the windows and doors of their homes, to wash and air them and prepare them for the day of resurrection. In the church people are given the cross to kiss. I say, before you kiss the cross, it must be purified. The cross is in the mind, in the heart of man; therefore, you cannot kiss a man's cross before it is perfectly purified, i.e., before the mind and the heart of this man are completely purified. All people are living crosses which must be uplifted. When this happens a sphere will form around the cross which indicates eternity. Therefore the cross will change into a sphere which will be constantly in motion.

With His teaching, Christ wanted to show people the basic laws through which they can change the order of things which they themselves have adopted. In order to change this order, a man must have an ides to lay as a foundation of his life, and then endeavour to fulfil this ides. Modern men cannot realize their idea for the simple reason that they are victims of their merciless egotism; everyone thinks only about themselves, everyone wants to be the first. In one of his paintings, an artist represented the human egotism very well. He painted a high mountain peak on which was placed an idol. Millions of people looked towards this peak and everyone desired to reach it first and worship the idol. He who first stove towards the peak was stopped immediately by those behind him, so that he may not be the first to reach it before them. In this way they hindered each other, and as a result, no one has yet reached the peak. What do we see in life? As of today people still continue to fight, to hinder each other, so that no one will reach the peak and receive the wreath of laurels. In the races in the Olympic games in old Greece, he who was first received the crown of laurels. Yet in man's aim towards Christ victory, every one who fulfils His teaching can receive the wreath of victory.

And so in Christ's teaching, there are three important words: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. If you can pronounce these words in their depth, and full meaning, you have already entered the teaching of Christ. When you say the word "Father", you must feel the pulse of your Father who moves the world. You must feel Him in the same way a mother feels the pulse of the child in her womb. To feel God's thought is to come to understand and know it. If you have attained all this, you will understand the verse in which it is said: "Before you even wish something, God will fulfil your desires." All must have this relationship, of sons to God, so that they may fulfil their obligations to Him, to their Father. He did not come to earth but sent His son as a sacrifice, so that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish. On the same grounds, once we have come to earth we must sacrifice ourselves. Many people fear the sacrifice because they think that in a sacrifice there is no life. They are confused by Christ's words: "If you not eat my body and do not drink my blood, you have no life within you." In order to live, we eat every day. The wheat grains, the plants, the fruits which we eat every day, do they not sacrifice and die? This sacrifice must be justified! They say: "We are ready to die, to sacrifice for you, as long as you become true men." Milliards of beings serve men, but what do they do in exchange for this? They occupy themselves with scholastic questions as did the theologians in the middle ages, who pondered how many devils can dance in the peak of a knife?

I say, Christ's teaching holds within it the meaning of life. Between two great epochs there is always a lowland. If we study the brain of man, we can see that in it too, are noticeable depressions and elevations. The human thought can circulate due to these depressions and elevations in the brain. In earth there also exists these depressions and elevations in which we live. Someone says: "I do not want to live in a valley." - Where do you want to live then? - "On some high mountain peak." I ask, how many people can live on one mountain peak? All people cannot live on peaks. Some will live in the valleys, other - on the peaks. Everyone will live on his own earth; once he will be in the valley, another time he will be on the peak, the third time he will descent into the valley, the fourth time he will climb the peak. This way he will constantly descend and rise until he will realize that the law of evolution is a movement in a broken line, in which there are depressions and elevations. When man learns Christ's teaching, which is related to the movement in the circle of eternity, he will enter into another evolution, in which there is no descending and climbing, but a circular movement.

"Baptize them in the name of the Father, of the Son and the Holy Spirit." The teaching of the Spirit is a real teaching which modern men reject. The Father is the creator of all things. The Spirit implies the unity and diversity of all things. Christ, the Son, represents the sap that flows in the "Tree of Life". The Spirit also represents the environment in which we live. Modern astrologers say that man is in contact with the whole of the universe, which is to say that all beings are in a certain relationship to each other. The heart, the brain, the eyes, the ears, the nose, the mouth, are organs through which flow powers correspond to certain beings in space. When among some of them, there occurs a conflict, in the respective part of the body man feels some change. And in fact we see that he starts to complain about pains in his hand, in his leg, or another part of his body. This is due to some external influence, which according to the learned men comes from Jupiter, or Saturn, or Mars, etc. Someone may object: "How is it possible that Mars has an influence upon the people?" I ask, if one nation can with its thoughts and ideas influence another nation, why should it not be possible that a planet can do the same? We see that England. France, Germany, Russia, and other countries influence each other. In the same basis the beings, who live on Mars influence people in certain way. Their thoughts travel through space creating a flow. Whoever enters this flow becomes aggressive. Modern men under the influence of Mars, and for this reason they fight until this influence fulfils its purpose. You may object that Christ's teaching stands for peace, therefore, war should not exist. It's true that Christ is for peace, but if the peace, the balance which Nature has established, become violated, war will become inevitable. According to the existing mentality of people, the violated balance can be restored only through war. We can see this law also in practical life. When a housewife wants to extract butter from the milk, she puts the milk in a churn-staff and starts to churn it, therefore, the war in the world will stop only when people will have extracted the butter from the milk. Why do people fight? - So that they may acquire butter. Christ says: "I want some butter from the people with which they can lubricate themselves and become softer, more gentle." Modern men are dry, crusty even more that necessary. One can see the need of lubricant from the proverb about the five unwise maiden who had forgotten to supply their lamps with oil, and for this reason had to remain outside. He who wants to enter the kingdom of God must by all means have oil in his lamp.

This is the teaching of the Spirit. Now, I speak in an allegorical sense, but if you stop and think deeply about this question, you will see that there exist powers that act as an emollient upon man, and you will understand their relationship to him. You ask: "Why did God create the world?" - So that you may learn. The spirits that were created at the very beginning become crystals. After that the earth had to be created with new cells having a round and not a geometrical form. In order for the crystal to evolve, and change into a living plant, it must first change into a living cell. By this same law even the most evolved and ennobled plant must change its woody, immobile cells into muscles and nerves, so that like the animals, it may feel and move about from one place to another. In the same way we too, must pay off everything, so that we may form in ourselves that cell which creates saints. For the time being, the people are dead. In heaven they are planted with their heads down. A man must self-sacrifice, become a rational cell, become one with Christ, and when he passes through Christ's body, through His mind, His heart; to become tuned, to understand the deep meaning of all things. For the moment I will not go into explaining these deep truths, because this would take me away from the central idea.

The first thing in life is obedience. In ancient times a Greek learned man went to Egypt in order to learn the secret sciences, and for this purpose he become a student of the so called school "White Brotherhood". The high priest of the temple of Izida guided him through many places and took him at last to a statue and said to him: "This is Truth." - "Why did you not take me first to Truth, but took me to other places? You should have taken me here right away", was the answer of the disciple. "This is not possible, because that is the path to Truth. Be careful not to lift the curtain of this statue, not to touch its veil. Study it only from outside." The disciple had the greatest desire to see what was beneath the veil. He thought: "If I lift the veil, I will find Truth, and when I return to Greece I will posses great power." One evening he silently went out, entered the temple and lifted the veil. And in the morning he was found dead in the temple at the foot of the statue. What did he learn? Nothing. Someone says: "Why don't you lift the veil, I want to see Truth!" - It is dangerous to lift the veil of Truth before time. Man must be ready for this moment. Christ has come to earth to prepare us, so that we may meet this moment without fear.

First you must understand which life leads to salvation. After that you must pass through another process which says: "If you are not born anew you cannot enter the Kingdom of God." It was said also to Nikodemus that if he is not born of water and spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God, therefore, there exist two kinds of birth, but not rebirth, because rebirth implies a process of interruption, of braking up. Rebirth is a process of disharmony. To be reborn means to start again the work which one has left. You are taken captive and imprisoned for twenty five years. When you stay in prison ten years, fifteen still remain, but one day you decide to run away, you are caught again and penalized for ten more years, which causes you to be imprisoned for twenty five years. After five years you run away again, and again you are caught, judged, and imprisoned for a third time, and your penalty is even greater. Therefore, a man who does not want to serve his time, transmigrates. Or, said in different words, he who is sent to earth but does not want to live according to God's determination, goes through rebirth. He wants to live in an easy way, he wants to run away from prison. For this reason he is caught and penalized anew, and if he continues to run away from prison, this penalty will not finish in eternity. The law of being born anew implies fulfilment of God's will. It is not difficult to fulfil God's will. The difficulty is in the misunderstanding of life. Modern man are inclined to criticize. Everyone sees the shortcomings of others - someone is not living as he should. - Can you say that you live as you should? - He is not a good man. - Can you say that you are good? First of all man must come to know himself. He must study his construction. Do you know why God has given you a nose, two eyes, two ears? Do you know why some eyes are black, others blue or green, and why a man has eye brows? The eyes form the number eight. What does the number eight signify? It is a number of work. The nose is the plow in man. When you place a man in horizontal position this indicates that he must plow. Then God's blessing will come upon him and support the growth of that which he has sown

I ask, what is the essence of thinking? What process is thinking? Someone will say that thinking is a process of concentration. What is concentration? Years ago in the town of Varna, I met a Bulgarian, a man with liberated conceptions who told me: "I had saved eight thousand leva, but with that money I helped a man who was merchant and he lost it. With him, I too have lost but God is good, I will earn some again." I say, here is a man who has understood the law. He is not a mystic, but he knows a law that will guide him in what to do, so that he may earn some money again. He says: "God gives and God takes." Wealth, power, knowledge are transitory things in the life of man. Through them God is trying us as the mother tries her children. Often mothers call their children angels. Some mother says of her child "My little angel!" I say: Try it, and see if he will become an angel. Give him an apple and wish him to give it back to you. If it returns the apple without becoming angry, it will be an angel. In the same way God gives you a blessing and says: "With this blessing give to others also!" - "I do not give." - Here is an unknown quantity which you have not solved. - ""But I do not believe in life!" - This is a second unknown quantity which you have not solved. - "I will escape from life." - A third unknown quantity. Often you solve mathematical problems with several unknown quantities by finding what they are equal to, but when it comes to real life you cannot solve them. Each unknown quantity has a content, has its value, which one can define only through work. Therefore, in order to be able to define what an unknown quantity equals, you must apply your thoughts and feelings in work. When a man cannot solve the unknown quantities in his life he weeps, he feels unhappy. The world is a school in which only he who wants to learn can enrol. If you do not want to study, to concentrate, you should not have enrolled.

If you do not want to learn then enter the plant, the mineral. Only trough intense concentration can you understand the teaching of the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit, and come to love God. Many say that only the ignorant loves. No, love is an unknown quantity which must be calculated, its true value must be defined. Only from the point of view of the teaching of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit can the riddle of love be solved.

The master of this teaching comes down every morning and plants in your souls one thought, yet you still deny yourself. Why do you deny yourself? Because you cannot evaluate the thought which Christ is giving you. Someone says: "I want glory, I want wealth, knowledge." - The blessings which Christ gives are more essential then those which you desire. The glory of God costs much more than the glory of the people. Christ wants to give power to all of you, to become masters over life and death. Do you know who creates death? - These milliards of spirits that constantly destroy. Every day you are filled with doubts, envy, and at the same time you want to be people of the advancement. There are some who even speak of the secret teachings, but their thoughts are not free, they do not understand life.

Christ resurrected and indicated the way through which we must pass - through the process of birth. What is birth? Tolstoy speaks about one of his dreams. One night he dreamed that he was pregnant and that he was in labour and in great pains. When he rose in the morning he asked: "Do women have great pain when they deliver?" When his question was answered positively, he said it is not easy to be a woman! A thought is conceived in your mind; great sufferings will be brought to you until you give it birth! Do not think that sufferings are a bad sign. As the mother gives something of herself, so you too, must give something to your child. You must give life and power to a noble thought in your mind. Lastly you must have the courage to role away the stone from the tomb and not sit like the modern philosophers, who ponder: has Christ risen or not. There are people who were present when Christ arose. You may say: "Give us a prove!" I can prove it but you must be in the same condition, an important law must be observed. What is to prove? - You will bring the man to a certain path and you will give him a method by which he himself will prove the truth.

The last hour has come and we all must resurrect. We must resurrect and we will resurrect! When you come to resurrection, you must not ask if Christ truly resurrected, but ask if the time for your resurrection has come. Many ask the question even today: "Did Christ stay three days in the grave?" Leave this question aside. For eight thousand years you are in this grave. Is this not time enough? - It is. The angel who comes from above to role the stone away is Christ's appeal, which is that the Last Judgment comes. How will Christ find you? If the stone of your grave is not moved away could Christ say: "Lazarus, come out!" Your friends and neighbours must grant you the favour of rolling aside the stone from your grave. Then Christ will say: "Rise!" - and you will resurrect.

To all who listen to me this morning, I role aside your grave stones and say, Christ is coming! He will stop in front of your open graves and say: "Come out!"

2nd ser. 3rd lecture of the Master, March 22, 1913

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