Jacob and Esau

“He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.”

Genesis 28:12

Jacob and Esau: this is an interesting topic for discussion. Anyone who has read the Bible knows of these two characters. Jacob and Esau were two brothers: Jacob was the younger one and Esau was the older one. The age difference between them was small, for they were born only a few hours apart. There are seven characters that can be outlined in the story of Jacob and Esau. According to the prophecy, Jacob and Esau would become two different nations, of which the elder would serve the younger. Jacob and Esau jostled each other within their mother’s womb, thus causing her great discomfort. The story has it that Esau was the first one to come out, followed by Jacob whose hand was grasping onto his brother’s heel. They were very different in appearance: Esau was hairy while Jacob’s skin was smooth. In other words, Esau was manly while Jacob was feminine. From a physiological standpoint, Esau is a man of nature: he is straightforward, candid, and impulsive; he lives from day to day and does not value Life. He represents a lower culture. There are many people who are like Esau. After a good meal these people say, “Thank you, Lord, for giving us food. Tomorrow you will take care of us again.” They express thankfulness only in regard to their food. Jacob is feminine, but also bold, at the same time. He has some negative traits: he is cunning and deceptive. Jacob is like those moneychangers who gain from everything. Whatever he undertakes Jacob wants to come out a winner. According to Jewish law, Esau, being the firstborn, was entitled to his father’s blessing. However, Jacob harbored the desire to obtain his brother’s birthright. He was looking for an opportunity to make his wish come true, and soon he was presented with a chance to do that. One day Esau came in from the field, feeling famished and tired, and he saw that his brother, Jacob, was eating lentil stew. Esau asked his brother to let him have a pot of lentils. Jacob told him, “I will give you some, but if you sell me your birthright.” Esau begged him, “I will sell it to you, I swear, just give me food to eat. What good is the birthright to me if I am famished?”

At this point of the story, there are two more characters that come into play: the mother, Rebecca, and the father, Isaac. The mother loved Jacob more, for he had taken after her in his thinking and in the aspirations of his heart. The father loved Esau more, for he was a natural man with common sense. The mother represents the mind in man, and the father represents the reason, which has reached its highest point of evolution with the human being. Jacob’s mother, just like Jacob, himself, wanted for him to obtain his brother’s birthright. But the father who loved Esau more thought that, by law, it was Esau’s right, being the firstborn, to receive his father’s blessing. As Esau’s father was growing old and his eyesight was weak, he called Esau and told him, “I am now an old man and don't know the day of my death. Now then, get your weapons—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.” Then Esau left to hunt some game and bring it to his father. However, Rebecca overheard what Isaac told his son Esau. She, then, went to Jacob and told him, “I overheard the conversation between your father and Esau, and I want you to listen to my advice. Go out to the flock and bring me two choice goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. Then you will take it to your father to feast, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.” Jacob said to his mother, “But Esau is a hairy man, and I’m a man with smooth skin. My father might touch me and then I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.” His mother said, “Let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say.” So, Jacob went and got the goats and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. Then Rebecca took Esau’s clothes and put them on Jacob. She covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. This is how Jacob tricked his father into blessing him, instead of blessing Esau; and for this he later paid the consequences. All thoughts, feelings, and deeds, be they good or bad, bring forth their fruit. This is a law that any person can try out for himself.

People of the 20th century do not recognize this law and live according to their own rules: they eat and drink and never even think about the consequences of their Life. Men and women live in discord, but expect to have good children, regardless. If their children do not turn out good they wonder whom they have taken after. It does not even occur to them that they, themselves, might be the reason. The Divine law states the following: in order to have good children the father and the mother must be in complete harmony with each other. This does not mean that they should be absolutely the same, but that they should have things in common, and that they should love each other and get along with each other. There are some subtle differences between men and women, but those differences are difficult to perceive. A number of famous philosophers, scholars, and writers have attempted to describe the difference between a man and a woman, but their attempts fail in the end. They can describe that difference to a certain extent, but never fully. Commonly, women have oval lines, whereas men have straight or angular lines. The oval lines render softness to one’s character, and the straight lines render firmness and sharpness. With men the chromatic scale is more prevalent than with women.

In the story about Jacob and Esau we can see what advice the mother gave to her son. Rebecca made Jacob deceive his father, so that he could obtain his blessing. The fact that she gave Jacob such advice shows that she had deceived previously, in her past, as well. Someone says, “Today I lied.” This means that you have lied before, too. Lying was not born today. It has its roots in the distant past, from times immemorial. Who is the original source of lying: the human being or the animal? When did lying first appear in human life: during his ascent or during his descent? When he lied to his brother, Jacob was thirty-two years old; this is the period when a human’s character is formed. Therefore, Jacob was at an age when he consciously stole the blessing that belonged to Esau by right. Following his mother’s advice, Jacob fled to his uncle Laban to hide away from Esau and to avoid his fury. Jacob left his father’s home and set out on a journey. On the very first day of his journey, right after sunset, Jacob had a dream: “He saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to Heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.”

God saw what Jacob did and gave him what he deserved. This shows that He can see all of man’s thoughts and desires; He notes everything and for each deed he gives out either a reward or a punishment. Jacob went to his uncle Laban’s home; Laban was a smart and practical man and he became Jacob’s teacher. In Laban’s home emerge three new characters: Laban, himself, and his two daughters- Leah, the older one, and Rachel, the younger one. On his way to his uncle’s home Jacob met Rachel by the well; he helped her get water, then kissed her and told her that they were related. From this moment on he fell in love with her. Being a practical man, Laban asked Jacob to name what payment he would like to receive for his work during his stay with Laban. Jacob answered that he loved Rachel and he would like to ask for her hand in marriage in return for his work. The name “Rachel” is very meaningful; this name stands for the sublime ideal in the human being. Laban promised that he would give Rachel to Jacob, but on the condition that Jacob would work for him for seven years. Jacob agreed to this condition. When the seven years were complete, however, Laban gave Jacob his older daughter, Leah, for a wife, instead of giving him Rachel. It was not before the morning after the wedding ceremony that Jacob found out that he had been deceived. He asked his uncle, “Why did you deceive me and not give me Rachel as you had promised?” Laban replied, “According to our laws the older sister should be the first one to marry, and only then can the younger one marry. I will give you Rachel in marriage, as well, if you work for me for seven more years.”

This is the law of retribution: Jacob deceived his father and his brother, and for that he, in turn, was deceived by Laban. He had to serve for fourteen years for his two lies: seven years for lying to his father, and seven years for lying to his brother.

Many people think that Jacob’s mistakes do not pertain to them: they think that they never lie. For as long as man is on Earth, he is bound to play some role: either the role of Isaac or Rebecca, or the role of Jacob or Esau, or the role of Leah, Rachel or Laban. These seven different characters play their specific roles. People often sell their thoughts and wishes, and, in doing so, they are like Laban who sold his two daughters so that he could profit. The world is like a stairway on which people descend and ascend, lie to each other, persecute each other, chase each other, love each other, and hate each other. Those who love each other cannot marry each other. Instead of marrying for Love, people marry for money. Leah represents a woman who was married for money, and not for Love. Jacob had to marry Leah first before he could marry Rachel. The same thing happens in the Life of people today. A young man loves a young woman, but he cannot marry her, for they are both poor. Not being able to fulfill his desire, he meets another young woman, who is rich and supports him through his studies abroad. He promises her that he will marry her. This second woman is Leah; he marries her after a while and leaves the first one, telling her, “You are beautiful, good and noble, but in this world one cannot live on beauty and nobleness alone.”

Laban was a smart man, but Jacob knew the art of becoming rich. After having served his uncle for fourteen years for his two daughters, he decided to stay and work for him for another seven years so that he could save something for himself, too. This way he acquired a great fortune: sheep, goats, and camels. When the strong sheep and goats conceived, Jacob would plant white-striped trees in front of their watering holes and when the animals looked at them they gave birth to striped and speckled foals. Afterwards he would separate his sheep and goats from Laban’s ones. Thus Jacob became wealthy and acquired many herds, servants and maidservants, camels and donkeys. Finally, after having spent twenty-one years with Laban, Jacob returned to his brother.

Many people wish that they could be rich, but becoming rich is an art. If someone wants to be rich, he should be bold like Jacob. Jacob had some bad traits, but God put him through great trials and suffering to make him nobler. Many times would Jacob lament his fate! Even though he was an adult already, he had to tend his uncle’s flocks and he had to answer to him for every lost kid or lamb. Through his suffering and trials Jacob learned the art of contemplation. He made a connection with God; he prayed to Him and talked to Him until one day he decided to round up his wives, sons and daughters, as well as all his possessions, and leave Laban’s house to go back to his father’s home, and to his brother Esau. He fled from Laban and started his journey back home. When he approached his father’s home Jacob sent messengers to his brother while he, himself, spent the night in prayer. During that time a man came to him and he wrestled with this man all night, until dawn. Seeing that he could not overpower him, the man touched the socket of Jacob’s hip, and pushed him aside, saying, “Let me go, for it is daybreak already.” Jacob answered, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” “Who are you? What is your name?”, the man asked. “Jacob”, he answered. “From now on you will not be named Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God, and with men, and you have overcome”. It turned out that the man that Jacob wrestled all night was an Angel.

What does the name “Jacob” mean? It means Opposer. He stood his ground, i.e. he resisted both God and men. His name had to change because his character had changed. If a man’s name does not change, his character will not change either. In order for man to transform his face, he needs to transform his character first and then his name will change, too. Man’s form and name are one and the same thing in the other world. The number of letters in one’s name, as well as the order in which the vowels and consonants are arranged, are things that have influence on man’s character and Power, as well as his soul’s qualities. For example, the name Rebecca – the mother of Jacob and Esau- has two opposite meanings that are related to the two peoples that came from her. The peoples then were on the path of involution, whereas the peoples today are on the path of evolution. However, to this day there still exist two cultures: the culture of intuition, and the culture of pure reason. These two cultures can only be reconciled if the currents causing them are reconciled first. This is all too natural! When you want to classify a plant first you need to study it closely: you need to study its root, its stem, its leaves, etc.

When you study man you can clearly see the two currents in him, i.e. the two different expressions: that of Jacob and that of Esau. Esau represents the course of human nature; Esau did not value his birthright and sold his blessing for naught. He said, “What good is this blessing to me? Life is on Earth only; everything that exists is on Earth only. Only today is important, and so there is no need for me to prepare the conditions for tomorrow.” Esau did not even think that the past life and the present one are connected. The present life is a result of the past one, and the future life is regarded as a consequence of the present one.

Remember this: man is not on Earth for the first time. If this was your first time on Earth, how, then, would you explain the contradictions in your character? If you come out of God for the first time then you should be pure, you should be able to know Him. Is this so in reality? Most people do not know God because they have strayed from the right path. Therefore, man did not just come out of God, but has been created thousands of years ago. Someone was in prison, but now is given back his Freedom, and everyone says about him, “This man has been released from prison and is entering Life.” Is this his first time in Life? He was in Life already before he was thrown into prison. Man will come in and out of prison many times before he learns something and cultivates a character. When you read “Les Miserables” you see that Jean Valjean spent some time in prison, but there he acquired something valuable: he cultivated his character there.

Every person enters Life after having spent some years in prison, i.e. in the lower spheres of the Astral world. The fact that he was in prison means that he needed to undergo some schooling so that he could cultivate character and become a better person. Once out of prison, man still needs to work on himself for a long, long time in order to build character. Observe the characteristic traits of those children who were born fresh out of this prison: at first they are selfish and they think only about themselves. Give an apple to a third-year old and watch his reaction. He will hide the apple at first to keep it for himself. It takes a long time of teaching to cultivate nobility and tenderness into a child’s character. Yet, some children are impervious to all mentoring efforts and remain rough and selfish. You might object that children inherit their qualities from their parents. Well, where did their parents acquire their qualities? Thinking in this way is neither a science, nor a philosophy. Man’s bad desires and deeds are due to misunderstanding things.

Esau and Jacob wanted the same things but differed in their methods of acquiring those things. Jacob used violence, but he had to undergo great suffering to learn that his method was wrong. Similarly, some people attain their desires through suffering that make them better people. Other people, on the other hand, do not need suffering. They have a different way of attaining their desires and becoming better people. A sculptor needs to hammer at a statue for a long time before it is finished. Nature, however, does not use a hammer, but employs different means to work on its statues. Hammering away also constitutes a culture of some sort, but this culture is lowly and coarse. Nature has its own culture that is far better. For example, the ripening of fruits is a kind of culture, but Nature does not use a hammer. You should apply the same method, for this is the only way in which you can attain your desires. There are other ways, too, but they involve big expenditures and great difficulties. Give way to the good urges in you and do not worry about how they will be realized. Leave them to nature and it will take care of everything. If a sculptor is working on you give him a hammer to chip away as he knows best; if nature is working on you let it manifest freely. When you study yourself you will notice that some days God works on you and other days you work on yourself and this way there is a constant rotation. You will work for eight hours and then let God do the work for the rest of the time. It is through changing of work, precisely, that man is inspired by beautiful impulses and is enabled to express himself as someone great and talented.

When man sleeps God works hard on him. This is why when man gets ready to go to bed he should put aside all his “backpacks” and relax so that the Spirit can work on him freely. When man wakes up he can pick up his “backpacks” again and he can go on with his work. Dreams have an instructional effect on people. Through having a bad dream one can correct a wrongdoing of his. One’s consciousness is awakened and he sees that he has strayed in a certain respect. The better one sleeps the healthier he becomes. Do the following experiment: in the course of one month try to sleep calmly without any disturbance in your thoughts or feelings and you will see that by the end your overall condition will have improved. If you suffer from neurasthenia, you will be cured. If you want to be healthy, stay away from bad thoughts and desires. People create their own sufferings and difficulties. When they see that an acquaintance of theirs has advanced and has taken a higher position they look for ways to slander him and take him down from his position. The meaning of Life is not in looking for the wrong in other people or in taking them down from their high position; the meaning of Life is in the work that you can do. If you are a sculptor you must perform well the work that you were meant to do. If you are asleep let nature do its work freely: such a sleep is Divine. If one sleeps like that he becomes relaxed and receives God’s blessing. Jacob’s dream was also Divine, and Jacob fell asleep to wake up thinking of Rachel. It was the thought of Rachel that gradually transformed the practical and sly Jacob into a nobler person. Before he started thinking of Rachel Jacob would work for money; as soon as he started thinking of her he was ready to work for free. And so, if people ask when this world will become a better place I will say this: The world will become a better place when all people- teachers, priests, preachers, mothers and fathers- start working for free. Everyone should work freely, out of Love. If one does not serve God, he cannot become a better person. In this same way Jacob understood what it meant to serve God, i.e. to serve Love. “Where can we find God”, you ask. You can find Him in Rachel, for she represents Love. Human character is tested through Rachel, i.e. through Love.

A Frenchman spent many years in Africa and made a great fortune. Finally, he decided to go back to France to spend the rest of his Life there. He had two cousins living there and he intended to live with them, for he did not want to marry. In order to choose with whom he should stay he decided to test them first to see which one would prove to be a better and selfless person. He brought his two cousins together and told them, “I was rich and I earned a lot of money in Africa, but then I lost everything and here I am now, coming back to Paris to die in my hometown. Which one of you, two, would be willing to have me live with you?” One of them answered first and said, “Come and live with me for a while.” However, after the very first week this cousin told him, “You need to look for another place to live, for you cannot stay with me any longer.” The man went to his other cousin who told him, “You can stay with me for as long as you wish, brother. My home is your home: you can have and use everything as if it was yours.” After a few months had passed the man decided to reveal his true situation to his cousin and told him, “I wanted to test the two of you and find out which one is a true man so that I can stay and live with him. You were the one who showed selflessness and Love for me. I am rich; I did not lose any of my fortune and what I have I will leave to you.” When he learned about the man’s true situation the first cousin went to his relative, whom he had earlier told to leave his home, apologized and invited him to go back and stay with him for as long as he wished. “It’s too late now”, responded the rich relative.

The day will come when God will appear before each one of you in the form of a poor widow, or a poor young man or some suffering soul and he will put you to the test to see if you are ready to accept Him with Love and selflessness. He will test you to see how true you are to your ideal. This is the only way in which you will understand the deep meaning of Life, just like Jacob understood the meaning of the tall ladder on which God’s Angels descended and ascended. Today this ladder is bigger and is more branched out. I wish you all to see this ladder and when you come to the first ladder I wish you to understand the meaning of the earthly life and the meaning of the sufferings that you were given. Sufferings are but the shell that contains the blessings of Life. Just like a seed is enveloped inside its shell to protect the nutritious germ so do sufferings envelop all the blessings, and so man can receive them only when he is able to use them wisely. This is why he, who is looking to find happiness and bliss in the world, must go through suffering first.

Christ says, “Those who have ears to listen should listen.” And here is what I say: He who does not believe in my words shall try them first. Once he has undergone trials and sufferings he will understand that they contain the blessings of Life. Jacob had to pay for one lie with twenty-one years of service to Laban, and Moses paid for one murder with no less than forty years of service to the Jewish people. Every wrong and every crime will be atoned for through suffering. Knowing this, a woman should not wonder why her husband is treating her badly, for at some time in the past it was her who had treated him badly. Likewise, the maid should not wonder why her mistress is treating her with such cruelty, for at some point in the past it was her who had treated her mistress badly. This is the law of karma. If you trace the history of mankind, of peoples, of societies, or of families, you will see that this law works everywhere systematically and relentlessly. If you want to have good sons and daughters in the future you need to apply the law of Love. Karma is resolved only through Love. Jacob had twelve sons but only Joseph was born by the law of Love. Jacob worked for seven years for Laban, and after seven years he married Rachel whose only son was Joseph. If one is able to serve with Love for seven years he will give birth to Joseph. If one marries in the common manner, with no Love, he will have Leah whom he will not love and who will bear him many sons.

The law of reincarnation is a law through which man can atone for and free himself of the wrongs of his past. The human mind and the human heart are born and reborn following the same law. One American writer once described the day when his mind became clear. This clarity brought him great jubilation. Reaching such a state is but a moment of new birth. This man’s joy was as great as the joy a mother feels after giving birth to a son or a daughter. Just like a child cries when it is born, so does every man cry when his heart and mind are awakened. Great is the moment when the human heart takes the wheel in its own hands and starts directing the fate of its own life.

What Jacob saw in his dream several thousand years ago also pertains to people today, i.e. to people of the 20th century. Today God’s Angels are already descending and ascending; a new culture is being born and people and nations are being brought together in a new way. The sufferings that modern people undergo show that they are in the state of a woman who is about to give birth. As soon as she gives birth, the Angels start reincarnating into human minds and hearts one after another. God, who sends his Angels, follows the consequences closely. Every person will be given the chance to hear God speak. If you go out early in the morning in spring, at the time when nature is waking up and flowers are blooming, and if you go deep inside yourself you will be able to hear the soft voice of God. If your hearing is well developed, you will be able to hear gentle, barely audible music, which will bring peace, tranquility and joy into your soul. If you go into the forest you will be able to hear the soft rustle of the leaves that is transformed into a gentle and pleasant melody. The better developed one’s hearing is, the greater the chance that he may be able to hear the soft voice of God. He does not say much: He may say one word only, but it will be remembered throughout the ages. If a young man and a young woman cannot forget the words that they have told or written to each other how much more memorable are the words of God! Is there a young man or a young woman who has forgotten the words “I love you” that they have said to each other once?

A young man told me the story about an experience he once had. For some reason he once reached a state of great despair in his Life and he decided to commit suicide. At this moment he overheard the soft voice of his friend that was coming in from the next room. The young man listened closely to the song that was reaching his ears, and he clearly made out the words, “I am only thinking of you and I shall never forget you”. These words caused such a change in him that he gave up on his decision to commit suicide, for he told himself, “There is One Who is thinking of me. This has the power to make me want to live and enjoy everything that I have been given.”

Since you know that there is someone who is thinking of you, you should not lose heart. If even one thought alone can make you love Life, then you must love it all the more knowing about all the care, effort and work that is being done for you by not only one, but by many beings. Listen carefully to the words that each person speaks to you so that you can see into their meaning and understand the appeal of the human soul that calls out for liberation. If you hear someone complain about Life and say that he wished he could die you must know that this person wants to die like a tree blossom dies, but first he must set fruit and his fruit must ripen after some time. If you look at it this way, death can be seen as a symbol; it is a passing from one Life into another. When one dies, he is born again; when one is being born, he dies again. Therefore if someone wants to live and be free, he must renounce the everyday cares of Life. This does not mean that you should not think. Think without worrying. Everyone must decide on the program for his Life and then should strive to realize it: and all this without worrying. If you have a father like Jacob, and a mother like Rebecca, you should tell them, “Please, do not teach me to lie, for I don’t need such a lesson.” If you have an uncle like Laban, tell him not to abuse his neighbours’ Love. Many young women and men are unhappy because their parents are against their choice. Let everyone choose for oneself the young woman or the young man that correspond to one’s own heart. If they make a mistake they will suffer for it and will correct it for themselves, in which case they will be suffering for love, at least. No one in this world has been free of suffering. Suffering for one’s ideas is meaningful and elevates man. It is preferable that one should suffer for some idea than to not have any sufferings have been justified. However, if her children die then her sufferings are wrong. In this same way man’s thoughts and desires are born, then live for a while, and then die. A life in which thoughts and desires die right after being born is a meaningless life. Give your good thoughts and desires the chance to live for a long time and bear fruit that you and your neighbours can enjoy.

Man has a soul that wants to love; man has a mind and a heart that want to evolve correctly. What will become of you if you kill the life of your mind, heart and soul? What Life is the one in which the mind, heart and soul are not a part of it? Express yourselves freely without lying, stealing or murdering, because everyone receives his due. Every twisted or wrong thought that man gives birth to will follow him throughout his whole Life: on Earth and in Heaven. You need to work correctly and wisely for yourselves, as well as for your neighbours and your people. What might happen to one nation or another should not bother you. Soul is more important than nation. Someone who brings peace and wellbeing to people is worth more than a whole nation that brings sorrow, sufferings and destruction to humankind. Where is the great Roman Empire today? It fell apart, but the Roman people did not disappear. Back then there lived one true Man in the world and they crucified Him side by side with the vagabonds, but His ideas are still alive and govern the world to this day. This man was worth more than the whole Roman Empire. This great man was Jesus Christ.

Today all Bulgarians want to know what will happen to Bulgaria. If Bulgaria follows God’s ways then nothing bad will happen to it. Everyone should take care of one’s individual development and should give way to his good thoughts and desires, and should gradually get rid of fear in the process. The better person you become the lesser fear you will have. If you have Jacob’s character you will inevitably suffer. Rebecca, Laban and all other characters reap the fruit of their doings. Today most people are holding the keys to the material world in their hands and wherever you go they will tell you: You must pay for your expenses. Likewise, when someone preaches he also wants to be paid. There needs to exist at least one calling for which people would work for free. There is no calling more sacred than that to serve God with Love. He who serves God always speaks the Truth: the world needs such people. Such people come out of Rachel. This is what is required of women today.

Can you play Rachel’s role and tend the sheep like she did? Can you live among shepherds and be respectable? How many men should a woman have and how many women should a man have? They should have one man and one woman. In other words: Man should have one mind and one heart. Two minds and two hearts bring ambiguity into man, and all ambiguity causes harm. One mind, one heart and one will lead to Good. When a woman falls out of love with her husband, her wings fall off. When a man falls out of love with his woman and desires another one, he is committing adultery. Love must be pure and selfless. Laban, too, loved Jacob, but he also used him. Women should strive to be like Rachel and give birth to Joseph. If men and women give birth to sons like Joseph they will be chosen men and women, and they will give rise to a chosen people.

“God’s Angels descend and ascend on it.” They ask the Bulgarian young women, “Are you ready to give birth to sons like Joseph?” And then they ask the Bulgarian young men, “Are you ready to give birth to sons like Joseph? Are you ready to live well? If you are ready, we will come to Bulgaria.” Joseph came to Egypt and saved its people from perishing, he saved them from starvation. “When will the Angels come into to the world”, you ask. This depends on you. They may come in an hour, but they may come after many years. God’s Angel will come down to you when you allow your soul and your Spirit to express themselves. This Angel will know you and you will know Him. “But we are sinful.” Do not think about your sins. We do not deal with past things. We do not deal with the present, either. The past and the present are important only as much as they create the conditions for the future. A great future is awaiting you, and you should work towards it. If someone brings a dirty shirt to me I will not ask why the shirt is dirty or whose it is, but I will put it in the wash basin, pour some hot water on it and wash it until it is clean again. If your shirt is clean you should keep it this way, and should make sure that it does not lose its cleanliness. Aspire to that Love that cleans and elevates the human heart.

Who cleaned and elevated Jacob? His beloved Rachel did that. God told him, “I am giving you Rachel to love, and you should not think about other women.” Jacob, whose name today is Israel, now lives in a different way than before. For this reason he ranks among the chosen ones, among the learned people of higher culture who bring Light to the world. These people have sacrificed themselves for mankind.

All people today are gathered at the bottom of the ladder and are looking up to its top from where God is asking, “How do you intend to live now that you are descending and ascending on this ladder? Are you going to keep on lying to your brothers and sisters, and to your mothers and fathers? Are you going to be seeking after other men and women or are you going to love only those who have been given to you by God and who provide the conditions for your evolution?” Then He turns to the mothers and the fathers and asks them, “Are you going to keep on selling your sons and daughters?” “We have suffered a lot, oh Lord.” God has no pity for people who suffer. He is happy, for he knows that they are about to give birth. God says, “I am as happy when I look at the blooming flowers in the gardens as I am when I look at your children, playing, frolicking and enjoying God’s world.” It is a great thing when man lives for Love and enjoys the world. Then the Life of all people- men, women and children- will turn into songs and prayers. The world will become a garden of paradise. This shall happen, but there is one thing that is required of man: he should keep descending and ascending on the ladder, whose top rests in Heaven. He, who stays by this ladder, will benefit from Life’s blessings. He is like those trees that grow along rivers. They use the water from the rivers to grow well. The ones that are far from rivers are doomed to perish. The Divine blessings: Love, Wisdom, Truth, and Justice descend on the Divine ladder. Be alert so that you may benefit from them. You need to carve out the path for at least one rivulet in your gardens so that you can receive at least one stream of this great abundance. This is the only way in which you can transform your Life and enter the new that is already arriving into this world.

The new is like the month of May. Everything has come to life and has broken out of winter hibernation and is out of its cocoon. People, too, are already coming out of their tombs; they are rising from the dead. It is said in the Scriptures, “Come out, all of you who are dead, so that we may enter, who are alive.” What is the meaning of this verse? It means: Come out all you dead, who are alive so that we may enter: we, the alive ones, who are dead, so that we may rejoice. Do not worry if you are of the alive-dead or of the dead-alive, for it is good for both sides. Anyone who comes out of the tomb is already pure, and anyone who enters will be cleansed and will return again, but this time pure and renewed. Enjoy Life and sing praises for being alive.

In the story about Jacob and Esau I outlined seven characters, of which only Rachel merits emulation. I now wish all women to be like her; I wish you to bring beautiful and great ideals to the men, women, and children around you. I also wish all men to be like Rachel. Aspire for the new Teaching that Jesus Christ brings through the woman. This Teaching will dry the tears from the eyes of the suffering ones. What kind of woman am I talking about? I am talking about the kind of woman who has Rachel’s character. Such a woman will bloom and set fruit and her fruit will ripen. However, the one who has Leah’s character will have to be transplanted time and over again. Women must save the world and they will. Only mothers can save the world. If anyone thinks that the world can be saved and improved outside of the mother is fooling himself and is wrong. All priests, preachers, teachers, and governors should unite around the mother. The most sublime word, the strongest word in the world is the word “mother”. The words “God” and “Lord” mean “Divine Mother”.

All people talk about Love without knowing it. We are talking about Rachel’s love that requires that man should be ready for sacrifice. Without this Love Nature will remain a secret for man. Like man opens up to the one, whom he loves, so does nature open up its secret hiding places for the ones, who love it and whom it loves. He who carries inside the key of Love can penetrate into the great secrets of Being.

In conclusion I will say this: In today’s world there are six forces at work: Rebecca, Isaac, Jacob, Esau, Laban and Leah. They create the difficulties and the sufferings for mankind and make it weak. A new force is now coming into the world: Rachel. She brings Light to the human mind. One appeal can be heard everywhere: let women move forward to the frontline! When men move back to the rear and women move forward to the front the world will become a better place. God, the Angels and the saints have great faith in women. I, too, have great faith in them. Therefore, the world will become a better place when men become women’s beloved sons and brothers.

This lecture was delivered by the Master on April 8, 1917 in Sofia.

1