Lecture given by the Master Beinsa Douno, October 11, 1925, Russe
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." Luke 10:27
Today the human race is answering many important questions, but people have not taken time to consider the most important question to be answered, the most important problem to be resolved. They disagree on this topic. At the present time, they are resolving the economical problem, namely that of food, considering its scarcity to be of utmost importance. This is true, but I ask, has the problem with the scarcity of food, which has persisted for thousands of years, been fully resolved? It is being resolved only partly and as a result it persists. Others claim that the most important problem is the lack of knowledge and education. And truly, for thousands of years people have been seeking enlightenment, but in reality have they attained it? This problem also remains unresolved. Others still consider another question. They say that every country must be strong and mighty and have a powerful army, so that it may withstand its enemies. And this is true. But which country, through its strength, has answered the question of its existence? Give me one example of a country which has maintained its power for at least two or three thousand years? Until now, all countries have risen and then disappeared.
Therefore, there is one more important problem, which has not yet been resolved. It is neither national nor social nor does it pertain to the learned. The nations as well as the social activists and the learned have always occupied themselves with something, but the most important problem, which the humankind should consider, is that of the human soul or the question of the human spirit. However, the humankind should not focus of the question of the human mind because man [1] is more than the human mind. The human mind is only a servant of the human spirit; the human heart is also a servant of the human spirit, and the human will is a servant of the human spirit as well.
Man, by his descent, by his nature, is something great! If you understand man, if you believe in him (but not in his outward manifestation), you will see how great a being man is. Would you call a man a merchant, who sells you cloth? Would you call a man a professor, who teaches you in school and at times demeans you? Would you call a mother a woman, who aborts her child at five or six months and throws it away? Would you call a man a father, who takes advantage of his son? Would you call a man a statesman, who issues senseless laws? We should define what man is. It is said that man is a being who thinks. No, he is more than that. Therefore, that which is great in the world cannot be fully defined.
The most important question, which occupies the mind of the learned, is the question of the higher conscious Life. You will say that this Life is born through the sustenance of light, heat, food, clothing, etc. Life, which was born through the sustenance of heat is not Life; it is only a certain energy, which is in need of support. The true Life gives birth to all these things. When we receive Life, it carries within itself Light; it carries within itself Heat; it carries within itself food; it carries within itself clothing. Life is something mighty, once you understand it.
You will say: "Yes, but what do learned people say about life?" The learned should forgive me for saying so, but they have not yet understood what Life is. I will say to them: "Please, resurrect this dead man!" After all, they cannot even fully cure the sick! The sick of today die with or without the existence of the physicians; then, what use have we of them? With teachers, people die and without them they die as well. With teachers they slander and without them they slander; with clergymen they steal and without them they steal. Then, what have we gained from the service of humankind? But you will say that we should maintain law and order in the world. What do law and order consist of? The bandits, when they form a gang, also institute law and order; and the ants have law and order; the bees too, have law and order. If you find yourself near a bee-hive, you will get away as quickly as possible. Why? Because there reigns law and order. They have rapid firing guns. You will tell me: "The important problem for us to solve is that of Life." Finally you conclude: "Man dies, and there it all ends." I agree with you, people die, but have you answered the question of what death is? Death is due to the fact that people have not resolved the true problem of Life. They have not attained Life.
Christ says: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourselfself." Why? – Because the source of this great Life is Love. What is Love? Love is the source of this Life, which contains Light, heat, food, clothing and power in it. It contains everything. This is how Life is defined through experience too. Of all those who have thus resolved the problem of Life, it is written in the Scriptures: "And this is Life eternal that they should know You, the only true God." Through the word "God" we do not understand a Being Who is outside ourselves and to Whom people bow, but we understand the Source of Life. This shows that the Infinite can manifest itself as finite. Therefore we people of this world, as a manifestation of this Infinite, are solving a great problem, namely, how the Eternal Life may manifest itself within the finite. In order that this Life may manifest itself, we should have knowledge and Wisdom, which will create harmonious relationships throughout humanity.
Every person should know why he is on Earth. If you are asked about your purpose on Earth, you will say: "This is not an important question." How strange you are! If you ask me why I came to the Earth, I will tell you why. If you ask a little child in first grade why he goes to school, he will tell you: "I go to learn." This child will take out his primer. "Who is your teacher?" He knows this too. "And who are your father and mother?" He knows. This child knows everything. But if someone asks you, you will say: "I do not know." You have come to the Earth. What are you going to learn? "I do not know." Once you complete your earthly life, where will you go? "I will go to the other world." Many people, even great philosophers, find themselves in this situation. For thousands of years the philosophers in their discourses have deliberated on the questions: is there God or not; is there a soul or not? Finally, some of them have concluded that there is no God and that there is no soul. They answer all questions with ease. And drunkards too, when they are drunk, get into a fist fight with each other and thus resolve their problems easily. But the problems are not really resolved, because the next evening their fight repeats, the third evening the same happens again. I say: "They are done for this evening, but not for tomorrow". You tend to say the same of someone who has died: "He is done, he died". Yes, he is done for a time, but not for eternity. Nothing in Nature is lost. You ask, "Where did this man go?" I ask: from where did he come? From whence he came, there he returned. Such is the Law. Things always return to where they come from. All things, be they conscious or not, always return to God. We call this Intelligent Source, which is without end, which is infinite, the Law of Love.
Currently, all people recognize that there is a dispute as to what Life is. We convey that there is no dispute. Why? – Because the attributes of Life are: Intelligence, Light, Heat, etc. Should there be any dispute about Life under these conditions? As long as there is a dispute, Life is not noetic. All people have the same conception of Life and all desire it. All people acknowledge Love and desire it, but when? When they are young they acknowledge Love, but when they grow old they deny it. Love contains the following quality: when you learn to love a person or an object, they become valuable. Why? – Because you can appreciate only these objects, which contain Life in themselves. Everything that contains Life grows in value. When you come to love it, you take care of it and protect it. If you love your friend you write him letters regarding pleasant things, but if your love turns to dislike, you forget him. Then, what is Love? Love is a Power, which expands you and gives you an impulse. Some say that when one falls in love this one has no desire to study. This is not true. Love brings a desire for knowledge. A person, whose heart is inflamed, studies and strives. It is also said that Love makes people absent-minded. That which makes people absent-minded is not Love; nor is that which prompts the wolf to eat the lamb or the thief to steal. When someone falls in love with the property of another person and wants to deprive him of it, that is not Love either. Love has the following attribute: when one truly falls in love he not only values things, but his heart expands and he becomes generous. When someone truly loves his purse is always open and he resembles an overflowing wellspring. He is not like a barrel filled with wine of which a strict account is kept as to how much is taken out and how much remains. He resembles a fountain which continuously flows, but is never depleted. Therefore, if you can unceasingly flow out as a living fountain, then Love has come to you. If you can see the good in all people, if when you raise your eyes towards the Sky, you can see and understand the things written therein, then you are on the threshold of that great Divine Life and Love has come to you!
I speak to you about the great Science, which has its foundations within you. You have experienced Life and I believe that is true. Whether you admit it or not – this is a different question. You have come to the Earth many times and in different forms, whether you remember it or not, whether you admit it or not, it is recorded in the annals of Nature. What you believe is not important. The important thing is that which is written by Nature. You may object: "We do not remember." Neither does he who has gotten drunk remember anything, but the bartender remembers it and has taken note of it in his book. He writes that on a certain date you drank with a certain person a certain amount of wine and brandy. You declare that you do not remember. He calls you before the court and the judge decides that you must pay, regardless of whether you remember it or not. Similarly, Nature has a great book, in which She records everything. Why do you not admit your deeds? Why do you not remember them? – Because you must pay the bartender. Those who remember are the creditors to whom something is due, but those who do not remember are the debtors who have something to pay. The human being has come many times from God and has returned to Him. It is written so. What your beliefs and convictions are is a personal matter, because they are specific to all beings.
It is not important to believe in something. Rather the true question standing before us is that of Love. We should deal with the most important question. We are not interested in that who will be the next president, who is the richest person in the world, or who is the most learned one. Why? – Because these are questions, which the children can answer. We answer one of the most important questions – about Life and its fundamental principles. If you want to live and if you want your life to have a meaning and to improve, we are going to show you the way. We will tell you: "Receive Love!" Which love, love of the young? No. Love of the old? No! Why do young and old people cheat? -Young people are inconsistent. They grow tired and desert their love, and marry someone else. Old people die before paying their debts. We say: "May God forgive him-he was old!" A person who makes promises should not die. He is obliged first to fulfill his promise and then to die. If he promises something and dies before fulfilling it, that means he had some hidden motive. You can excuse him, but we cannot. In the Law of Love every noble thought, every noble feeling, every noble desire should be fulfilled no matter whether it is directed towards a mother, a father, a child, or any other being. The law is one and the same for all. We are to show the world that we are carrying within ourselves the great Life of God, that He lives within us, and we should live like Him.
Why do people deny God? – Because they are His debtors. Why do some believe in God and accept Him? – Because they want to borrow money from Him. According to us, those who believe in God and those who deny Him, do it because of their personal interest. We however, have a different idea of God. We wish to serve Him, because we believe that all that we have and are, we have been receiving from Him. We do not go to God to borrow money from Him. We do not deny that we are His debtors, but we know that the Universe has great Wisdom, which awaits us in the future.
What do present scientists know? They know many things, but the things, which the most learned persons and the greatest philosophers of today know, after two thousand years will be elementary even for the children. In time the children will be more learned than the present philosophers. Hence I ask, where is our science? This is not a reproach. I only mean that the true person has not yet manifested oneself. When I come to visit you in your home and your heart is filled with resentment because I have come, do you think that you reveal the true "man"? You come out and ask me, "What do you want?" "Please, can you shelter me for a night?" You begin to excuse yourself that it is not convenient, that you have no place, that your wife and children are not at home, that there is a hotel where I could go, etc. I ask, is this the true man? But if I tell you that I am bringing you one hundred thousand in gold, then you will find a place for me. You will have a bed freed for me and more than that, you will even slaughter a fatted calf. Not because of me however, but for the sake of the one hundred thousand in gold. Does this reveal the true man, the noble man? Now you are looking at me, asking yourself: "Is this man speaking Truth, or not?" I ask, who of you has, in such cases, acted according to God's Will? This is the first question we need to answer. Have you answered this question for yourselves? When all people live according to God's Will, there will be no capital punishment, no prisons and everyone will be in his appropriate place. People will be open, and when someone meets you, he will say, "Brother, I am so pleased that I have met you, come to my home. I have been expecting you for so long!" You will say: "Well, where will this lead to?" Your thoughts surprise me, as I will not enter your home with evil intentions, but I will bring my blessing with me.
Once upon a time there lived somewhere in Palestine, a Jewish prophet, one of the great sages of the ancient times. He embarked on a long journey. One evening he stopped at the house of a very poor man, imploring him, "Man of God, will you allow me to spend the night with you?" "Oh, gladly", replied the man, "my home and all I have is at your disposal, but I have not a crumb of bread to offer you." "Please search, see if you can find even the smallest morsel." The man searched thoroughly, and at last found a very small piece of bread. The prophet took it and blessed it, and at once there appeared a large loaf of bread on the table. "Wake up your children. Summon them all to come and eat as well!"
We should understand that the person, who fulfills the Will of God, brings his blessing with him when he enters a home. You may disagree with me on this subject, but this is Truth in the world. If this sage will come into the world, bringing along a grain of wheat, he will say to you: "Take this grain of wheat. It will resolve the economical problem of bread." – "In how many years?" – "In twelve years." You will not eat it, but will sow it in fertile soil and after twelve years, it will yield such an abundance of crop that not only you, but all your relatives and friends may eat from it. Do you know how heavy this grain of wheat will be? As heavy as the whole Earth. Therefore, even the smallest particle of life contains an enormous energy and if we live in accordance with the Law of God, the Law of Love, this energy and power can be developed.
People of today who do not understand Life say that they need money. In fact, money has increased, but food has decreased and as a result of this avarice, our organism is damaged. Currently, we have everything in abundance, but we cannot eat. The richest billionaire in America, Rockfeller, who owns forests, estates, dwellings, oil wells, etc., suffers from an upset stomach. He cannot eat anything and the physicians prescribed him a strict diet solely of oatmeal. He laments his fate, saying, "Although I posses many millions, I am compelled to eat oats, like a horse, because of my sick stomach!" I ask, what is the meaning of Life in this case? You say: "A person should be wealthy." That is fine. It is true that the meaning of Life is in the search of wealth, but you search for it in a wrong way. Love is the great Life. Love is the meaning of Life. Love is the wealth of the human soul. When we find God or in other words, when He comes to dwell within us, only then a true connection will be formed which will give rise to Life. Then people will not ask each other if there is God or not.
When someone asks me if there is God, I tell him: "Come to see me tomorrow evening." When he arrives I invite him to dine with me. I converse with him pleasantly and accompanying him to the door. I bid him goodnight. He says: "But you have not told me anything about God!" I answer, "Come to see me again tomorrow evening." He comes. We again dine together and converse pleasantly. Again I send him away kindly. I never answer the question about God. It is strange that people pose this question, "Is there God or not?" That is the most important question! People also ask: "What is Love?" Come tomorrow night to me! I also do not answer the question of Love. If I am a person of Love, or in other words if I live in accordance with God's Law, you will know me. If my trust in you is unchangeable, I will receive you in my home and will say to you, "Taste me!" It is not what I think, but how I live. That is the essence!
To solve any important problem three important factors should be united in one: your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions. You should be consistent at all times. You may wonder, if there is God? You will know it by the following: you ask someone to lend you 1,000 dollars and he responds: "Certainly, with pleasure." Afterwards you ask for a loan of 2,000 dollars and you receive the same answer without a tinge of hesitation. You will have found yourself before a fountain to which you can come with a big bucket. You may fill it as many times as you like, on condition that you carry it yourself. People should have abundance, such an abundance that will tire them, and they themselves will say: "This is enough".
Christ said: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." This means that one should be completely filled with God's Love. Some claim that when one falls in love this one cannot work. This is not true. Then, and only then, will the true work begin in the world. Nowadays we toil. We do not work. Work will be a great undertaking for the future generation or in other worlds for these great souls in whom there will be no doubt about life after death. It will be these great souls who will answer the question of Life. If you ask such a person whether he knows you, he will invite you at once to his home. You will ask him: "But where do you come from?" He will answer: "Come tomorrow evening to see me." You go to his home. You dine with him, he entertains you, converses with you in the most pleasant manner, and finally, in parting with you, he says kindly: "If you ever have need of a friend, come to me." This is the example, which we should give to the world. Whatever we have, all should be brought and laid upon the common altar of sacrifice. Currently, people have a wrong conception of sacrifice. They think that what they sacrifice will be lost.
Let me relate to you the sacrifice of the grain of wheat. If the grain of wheat does not sacrifice itself – if it does not fall in the ground and die, what will be the state of the farmer? Those who die deposit their strength and their strength increases. This is one of the qualities of the sacrifice. Some say: "We should not make sacrifices. We should not give anything to anyone." That means that no one should sow and no one should plough. No, we will sow and plough, but we should do it wisely.
Therefore, we should have a solid foundation in our lives. The fact that you are of a certain nationality or that you are well educated or that you have a new conception of life, all this is not a foundation. The true foundation of Life is Love and Love is Life. We possess this Life, but we have not yet manifested it. I consider the present theories on Life as puddles of water formed by the rain and though frogs are croaking therein, people drink from them for the lack of something better to drink. According to me, frogs symbolize the great materialism, which exists in people of today and causes them to wish more and more of the luxuries of life. Do you know how people understand that which is material in the world?
I will give you an example. In the kingdom of the tenth dynasty of Egypt, during the reign of Pharaoh Zenobee, a law was issued by which all criminals were to be condemned to death. Two Egyptians committed the crime of offending the Apis and thus both received the death sentence. The Pharaoh in this case, changed the sentence to life imprisonment, but the jury issued the following decision: one of the criminals was to carry on his back a sack of wheat weighing one hundred pounds and the other was to carry a louse on his head. These men were to carry their respective punishments until someone volunteered to relieve them of their burdens. It was left to them to decide who should carry the wheat and who – the louse. The more cunning one said to himself: "Who would be so stupid as to carry that sack weighing one hundred pounds on his back? It is impossible to carry such a burden!" So he chose the louse. No choice was left to the other, but to shoulder the sack of wheat. According to the decision of the court, they were to travel unceasingly. Neither had they the right to stop and rest until someone stopped someone of them and asked for a part of his burden. The two men started out. The one that chose the louse asked the other: "How is your load?" Of course, the louse weighed almost nothing. The other with the hundred pounds of wheat on his back groaned under his burden and often turned to God in prayer: "O Lord, please lighten my burden just a little!" After traveling sometime, a stranger approached them on the road and asked: "What have you in that sack?" "Wheat", was the answer. "Will you give me a few pounds of it?" – "O, gladly", the man shouldering the wheat replied. After giving the stranger all he desired, he continued on his way. Then turning to the other, the stranger asked: "What are you carrying?" "A louse", was the answer. "Oh, I do not want any lice", said the stranger and hurried away. The trouble was that the louse began to multiply and in a year's time the cunning man carried hundreds instead of one, while the sack of wheat of the other had been reduced to half of its weight. When the man carrying wheat passed through a village, the people were glad to relieve him of a part of his burden and at the end of three years he had only one grain left. The other man who carried the louse however, began to realize his sorrowful plight. Everywhere, he was met with aversion. He found himself in a dreadful condition.
And we people of today solve our problems just in this way. Materialism – that is the louse. That louse will draw all the essence of Life out of the human being. When the louse enters a person, it increases continually, until it crowds out every noble feeling. If we lose that which is supreme and noble in us, if we lose our highest ideals, feelings and thoughts, if we lose the Divine within ourselves, I ask, what are we living for?
Christ said: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." Present religion has misinterpreted this great law of Christ by merely saying: "Believe in the Lord!" It is not said: "Believe in God", but the Great Law, which resolves all difficulties says: "You shall love your God!" However, people have taken the verse "Love your God!" and have interpreted it as "Believe in God." When we refer to serving God it is true that faith is needed, but when we are solving the most important problem a different belief is needed. And that is to love God! Some people ask me: "What do you believe in?" "I believe in nothing." "How is it possible?" Nothing is nothing. They ask me: "Do you not believe in God?" Show me your God in whom you believe. Show me the path in which you walk! "We believe in that God in whom our mothers and fathers and grandparents believed." Very well, did your father and mother fulfill the Law of God in whom they believed? Let us open your records and see what you have done for that God in whom you believe.
I will tell you an interesting incident connected with such records. A very rich merchant fell seriously ill. He lost consciousness and found himself in the other world for a certain period of time. When he regained consciousness, he called his sons at once, and said to one of them, "My son, bring me the two books in which I keep my accounts." The son brought the books. The father took them and burned them in the fire. Then he gave to each one of his sons what was coming to him and said, "Take that which is yours, so that you may not call me before the court after my death. I went to the world beyond and saw and understood what was the most essential for us. I want to live accordingly to the Will of God."
I ask: "Where are your account books?" You answer: "We have none." I will pull out your accounts to show you what you have recorded in them. For instance, your neighbor has said something to your discredit and you hurry to write it in your account book. Someone has insulted you and you quickly write it in your account book as well. Similarly, the merchant pulls out his account book and records who bought how many olives, who took how much sugar and so on. I ask, what is the difference among the woman, the man and the merchant who record everything in their account books. The clergyman also has his own account book. He says: "This man does not believe in God." He notes it in his records, but when he is called to conduct a funeral service, he wants to be paid. They tell him: "We have no money." He then takes out his account book and writes down: "They have to pay me." I ask, is all this according to God's Will? Let us all be persistent and consistent in that great Life, that great Love which resolves all fundamental problems, and which places Brotherhood and Sisterhood as the foundation of Life. Not that brotherhood and sisterhood which exists only for a day and a night, but the Brotherhood and Sisterhood which withstands all trials.
A priest once said to me: "Your Teaching is not right." I answered him: "It is your right to doubt, but I will give you a rule. When you conduct a funeral service, not only should you not expect payment, but to every poor widow you should give something from your own pocket. Also, when you are called to court to administer an oath, not only should you not do this, but you should seek to settle the difficulty so that there will remain no enmity between the two parties." You will say: "Where will all this end?" You are inquiring about the end. Have faith that the Lord has not sent you on Earth to accomplish these things, but to fulfill His Will. May these lies and exploitations disappear from the world! Those, whom God placed in a certain service on Earth, should act in the right way.
You claim that according to the Scriptures every power is given by God. No! There is something omitted from this verse for it should read: every righteous power is given by God. The Bolsheviks in Russia also have power! You will say that your power is of God and theirs is not. No, the law is as follows: every righteous power is given by God. Every righteous power contains the Law of Love. It is not absolutely necessary that the judge should condemn the criminal. In Turkey they issued a very good law according to which the judge asks the defendant: "Do you acknowledge that you are this man's debtor?" "I do." "Then return to him, that which is due." This approach to resolving difficulties is excellent. Nowadays, they postpone the case for one, two, three years until finally, they say: "Where is justice?" There is no justice. I say, this is only a waste of time, for we have come to Earth to answer one of the important questions.
You may say: "This teaching is difficult". It is difficult because your account books are voluminous. You should burn them! You will reply: "We do not believe in such stories." You will believe, because tomorrow, when they burry you in your grave, they will ask you, "Did you burn your account books?" There you will decompose hour after hour and the worms will devour you. Then you will say, "Return me oh Lord, to the world so that I may burn my account books!" No, others will burn them. All of you – mothers, fathers, children, are walking on coals of fire. Why? – Because you have numerous accounts. The Lord has two books: one is the book of Life and the other is the book of good and evil. The Lord is in His right to keep two books. He keeps an account of everything. He has every good intention in relation to us. He does not ask us why we commit injustice, instead he teaches us. The fact that there is destiny or judgment comes to show that God wants to teach us, through experience and practice, to fulfill His Will. No matter how sinful we may be, the moment we resolve to live according to His Will, He erases all our sins, and He no longer remembers them. God says: "Here is a person. He is one of my children who has resolved to live according to my Laws!" God is rich, merciful and abounding in grace. He can settle all our accounts. When someone does not want to live according to God's Laws, there is a book of Life, which opens and the Lord records in this person's account all of his obligations.
People of today are unfortunate. All nations are unfortunate. Why? – Because they have not answered the most important question. All priests, bishops, preachers and statesmen should have answered this vital question, not only here, but in the whole world. There are two more factors that should have answered this question-they are the fathers and mothers on one side, and the teachers and instructors on the other. They have not answered it either. Those who get married and want to answer this question should ask themselves why they are getting married. Marriages of today are not marriages, they are sales. After four or five years you witness the husband deserting his wife and getting a divorce. He marries another woman. Time passes and he abandons the second wife too and says, "My hair turned white because of these women. What horrible snakes they are!" Wonderful, women are horrible snakes and men are dreadful dragons! Then, where are people? If all men are bad and all women are bad, then, where is humanity? The assertion of this fact is not a solution to the problem. By the word "snake" we understand that men and women are cunning, but not virtuous in their relationships. This problem is difficult to resolve. It is as difficult as to understand certain pieces of classical music. It is as difficult as some of Paganini's passages. For the piano players there are similarly difficult pieces to understand and perform. We know people, who after ten years of practice, hardly venture to play in public one of these pieces of classical music. Do you think that without great efforts you can decide the great question of Life and Love? Great efforts are necessary, but do not become discouraged! This question is most alluring.
When you come to understand God, your heart will become inflamed. It will grow tender and Light will illuminate your mind so that you will see such things in the world that you have never seen before. You will ask: "If we live like that, how can we earn our living?" If you live according to God's Will, one of the great Masters will come to you bearing a little wand, which will have magical powers. If you encounter a difficult situation and feel hungry, you will tap gently with this little wand and at once a table will appear before you, filled with all kinds of food. Once you are full you will tap again with your wand and everything will be taken away and you will continue along your way. Is this not an easy solution to the problem? You will say: "This is a tale from "A Thousand and one Nights. " But is our present life not a fairy tale? Is there something real in it? It does not matter whether you believe in the existence of the other world, but one day, when you find yourself there, you will laugh at your present life.
A man once related to me one of his dreams. He had many debts and often prayed to God to help him repay them. One evening, he dreamed that someone brought him a bag of gold. Precisely at this very moment, one of his neighbors appeared and said, "This bag of gold is mine!" They began to quarrel and fight, and in the resulting commotion he kicked and thus upset a bottle of water that was on the table by his bedside. The bottle fell and broke, and the water flowed out. When he awoke, he saw the resulting mess. He found himself holding the table cloth, but the bag full of gold was not there. You will find yourself in the same ridiculous situation after death. When you awake in the other world, you will discover that the water is spilled all over the ground, you are holding the tablecloth and all the money you had on Earth is gone.
The time is approaching for people of today to come to their senses. Their minds are obscured. Their wish to insure themselves is right, but their way of achieving it is wrong. Their desires will never be realized in this manner. I agree with you that we should be rich. I agree with you that we should be insured. I am not an advocate of poverty, but if we are rich we should be the richest of the rich. The richest one, according to me, is that one who carries Life within. The richest is that one who carries Light within. The richest is that one who carries Warmth within. The richest is that one who carries food and clothing within. The richest is that one who carries Love within. This is the greatest wealth. This is what we proclaim. If you have gained this wealth on Earth, everything else is easily attainable. When someone has attained this rich inner Life, it will be a blessing not only for him, but also for all those who are near and dear to him.
Thus all of you are in need of faith! You ask: "Is all that you have said true or not?" I ask you, is all that you believe in and have faith in true? Let us put our faith to a test. If you wish to understand my faith, I will tell you: "Come to my home this evening and not only this evening, but I invite you for the whole year." This is how I resolve difficult problems and you should resolve them in the same way. Everything should be put to a test! A problem cannot be resolved with money. If I give you a bill of two or three thousand, or even twenty five thousand, it will not be the proper solution to a problem. Money causes dispute. I will only give you an idea. I will give you only one grain of wheat and this grain of wheat will be a blessing for you if you understand how to cultivate it.
I will relate to you another incident which happened during the time of Zenobee, the Egyptian Pharaoh. At that time, the laws of Egypt were very severe: all criminals received death sentences. One of the noted students of the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of Light, Eshuah Bentham, was sent to Egypt to hold his examination. He had to solve the following problem, namely, to find some rational way by which to elevate the conditions of those beings who were condemned to death for the slightest offence. After having solved this problem, he was to return to the school of the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of Light, and relate the manner in which he resolved it. At one time, the Pharaoh's daughter became sick from an incurable disease. Eshuah Bentham went to him and said, "I will cure your daughter on condition that you grant me a certain favor." Zenobee answered, "Ask whatever you wish. I am ready to grant you any favor." "I want from you to issue an order to bring before me all those criminals who, according to your laws, are condemned to death, by having their hands and feet cut off, their eyes taken out, etc. Bring them to me in this maimed condition."
The Pharaoh consented to do so and Eshuah Bentham cured the daughter of the king. Then the Pharaoh gave the order, "All the criminals who were sentenced to death, after having received their punishment, are to be brought before Eshuah Bentham." They were carried into his room one by one. Eshuah Bentham knew the laws by which they could be made whole and he began to heal them restoring the eyes of one, the hands of another and the feet of a third. And after he had healed them completely, he changed their faces and gave them their freedom, advising them not to tell anyone how they were healed. All of these offenders became his disciples and followed him. The people were astonished and inquired, "How has this man drawn you unto himself?" They answered, "Has your head ever been cut off your shoulders?" "No!" "When your head is cut off your shoulders, then you will understand who Eshuah Bentham is." To another they said, "Have your hands ever been cut off?" "No!" "When your hands are cut off, then you will understand who Eshuah Bentham is." "Have you had your feet cut off?" "No." "When they are cut off, then you will understand who Eshuah Bentham is." "Have you ever been so unfortunate as to have your eyes and heart taken out?" "No!" "When your heart and eyes are taken out, you will understand, love and follow Eshuah Bentham"
Those who have this great inner Love should mend the heads of people, their feet and hands. They should adjust the human hearts and eyes. Our thoughts and feelings should be adjusted! Our minds and hearts should be put in place! Therefore, the currently existing doubt should disappear in people. People should have faith in one another. When you meet me after a year or two you should see no contradiction between my thoughts, feelings and actions. You should be ready to sacrifice all for God. God is the most well-known and supreme Being in the world. God is all that causes us to rejoice in the beauty of this world, all that impels us towards the higher. It is the Divine in us. Thus, the delicate, soft voice which speaks within us is God. This delicate soft voice speaks in all of us. How often you regret that you have not listened to this voice and therefore, have made a mistake!? The Divine in us does not speak in the voice of a thunder, but it speaks softly and sometimes, when we make an error, it says softly: "Let it pass. There is a way of correcting all mistakes!" Suppose someone stubbornly confronts someone else. The still inner soft voice will murmur: "Let us go, step away!" As a rational being when I see an ant in my road, I should not crash it under my foot, but step aside. This miniature insect does not realize that some great giant is coming towards it, but I, who sees the ant, should step aside. Therefore God, Who sees all our needs and weaknesses, has taken upon Himself to rectify the world. The world will be set right. It will not remain as it is now forever. But you should accept this teaching and adopt it. Taste Joyfulness and you will solve one of the greatest problems, which occupies your mind – to love the Lord with all your heart.
Have you ever loved God? You reply: "Yes, I have loved Him." "You have loved Him, but how? You have loved Him coldly, like ice. You have loved, but what was it you loved? Your love is immature like a green pear. The ice melts and the pear decays. Where is your love? You have lost it. When you begin to love God, the Infinite, you will never lose. God will speak to you at all times and your faces will attain an unusual light.
Therefore, we should all love God! Only then will our lives attain meaning. Then God will teach us how to love and you will love your neighbor as yourself. This is the greatest art. If we are to learn to love, God is to enter and make His dwelling place within us, because we are not Love – God is Love. We are not Life – God is Life. He will teach us as a Master how to love and how to live. It is required of us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength and with our entire mind. This is the greatest and easiest art, which everyone can attain.
You may contradict me: "I will wait a while. I will read what a certain philosopher has said and then I will decide." You may read the works of thousands of philosophers, but they have not answered this question. The question is already answered as follows: Come to love the Lord, your God! This means to come to love everything in the world and to understand that everything in the world is noetic in its manifestation. Then once you go out and raise your eyes towards the stars, your heart will leap with joy and happiness. When you raise your eyes towards the Sun, your heart and your whole being will leap. Some people say that the Sun is a fiery celestial body. Every morning I witness how the Lord takes the Sun as a great lighted candle and makes His rounds all over. He comes from the East! This is how I see the Sun. Behind this Sun there is something still greater and more glorious. Similarly, behind our lives something Great is hidden. Behind this ordinary manifestation of life there is something else, which everyone of you is conscious of. This is the Divine in the human being.
Some persons ask me: "Who is God you believe in?" We believe in that God Who is Love, Who is Life, Who is Light, Who is Warmth, Who is food, water, clothing and all that is within us. We believe in that God, Who does not need us to serve Him outwardly. He wants us to manifest His Love. He wants His Love to pass through us just as water passes through the earthly strata and it is filtered and rises to the surface of the Earth purified. He wants all of us to be channels through which His Love may pass. If we allow His Love to pass through us, we will receive His Blessings and His good Will and then we will all be called "Sons of God". Is there anything higher than to be the sons of God? Is there anything higher than to live according to God's Will? This is the most important question to be answered. Each one of us can answer it at once.
After you have answered this question, you will enter the world and begin to learn. The great Divine Science awaits you. But first, you should attain eternal Love and eternal Life. You should come to know God that is eternal Truth, in its totality.
Translated by Jana Rouptchina
Proof-read by by Marianne McGowan
Edited by Maria Braikova
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[1]The Bulgarian word "chovek" signifies a thinking and conscious human, without reference to gender. The current text translates the word "chovek" as "man". The use of "man", "he", "his", "him" in reference to "chovek" are employed to facilitate the reading of the text, however they should be interpreted as an indication of both the feminine and masculine genders.
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