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1927_08_24 I SPOKE OPENLY


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From  The Way of the Disciple, AlphaDar

 

 

I SPOKE OPENLY

 

"Only the Love of God brings fullness to life."

 

And Christ answered him: "I spoke openly to the world; I ever taugth in the synagogue, and in the temple, wither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing."1

 

I would call the chapter I read from the Gospel of John a chapter of dramas and tragedies. Such chapters must be seldom read, because they spoil one’s good disposition. All nice and beautiful things in life become spoiled by dramas and tragedies.

 

Christ says: ’’I spoke openly to the world." If you ask any person, be it a mother, or a father, a teacher or a student, a priest, a judge or a servant why he has come to earth and what his predestination is, he will give you some sort of an answer. In spite of that, this question remains unsolved. When they asked Christ why He has come to earth, why He was born, He said: "To this end have I come into the world, to witness the Truth. Everyone who is of the Truth hears my voice." I say: The way of each person, who has come to witness the Truth is tragic and dramatic, it is full of dramas and tragedies. The way of each person who seeks the Truth, is paved by dramas and tragedies. And if you ask me now why you must suffer, why you must be unfortunate or die, I will answer you: This is necessary, in order that you may pave the way of the Truth. You will be the living stones, which will pave the way where the Truth will pass. You will say: "Are we, the people predestined for this work?" This is a fact. One unavoidably faces dramatic and tragic situations in life.

 

Now I will use a simple example to clarify this idea. If you go to some large farm-yard, you will see there a cock walking proudly, surrounded by a number of hens. He crows, gives them lectures like a teacher, turns towards this hen, then towards that one, and says: "You must not do this, you must not do that." He is a professor to all those hens, who are his students. He holds a stitck and when he shows it, everyone obeys and all the hens gather together in one place. What will that professor give them? "From hook to crook." He will give them only one corn-seed and keep the rest for himself. They see him eating and ask him: "What about us?" - "Next time for you -from crook to hook". The situation of this professor in the farmyard is unnatural. All the hens ask: "Why does our master praise this cock so much? He pays him more attention than to anyone else, and every morning he comes out and gives him the best food." After that the professor calls his students and feeds them. However, one day, the farmer is somewhat displeased with the professor and decides to chase him away, i.e. to dismiss him from his duty. One evening, he enters his room, candle in hand, takes the cock by the leg, turns him upside down, takes him out and says to him: "This is not the way to teach students, I will show you how." The professor begins to cry, but the farmer seizes him by the neck with his other hand and says: "You must keep quiet, I am commanding now!" This professor is a first-class singer and a great specialist in meteorology. He forecasts the weather better than any instrument. All year round he knows when the weather will turn bad. He is an educated man, and as such, he always sings. He climbs on the wall and cries: "Co-co-ri-coo!" Do you know what school have I finished? I have an instrument which I have designed for years." Actually, I agree with this professor. One evening I hear him giving a speech from his cathedra. He has climbed it and cries from there: "Tomorrow, at such and such a time, the weather will turn bad." I enter my room to consult my other professor - the barometer with eight drums, which also forecasts the weather and ask him: "What will you tell me about the weather, will it be bad soon or not?" - "I still do not have any data, the telephone has announced nothing yet." I say to him: "That professor in the yard told me already that the weather will turn bad tomorrow at 8 a. m.". Two hours later I see the drums forecasting the same thing. My professor in the room already forecasts the same change in the weather. Therefore, the instrument of the professor in the yard is correct. But he has barely come down from his cathedra when the farmer catches him and sentences him to death, because he has not taught well his students. His punishment is: the farmer cuts off his head with a knife and puts him in a pot with boiling water. This is the way educated professors are punished when they make mistakes. The farmer takes off his beautiful apparel and leaves him entirely naked. Not only that, but the farmer's wife comes with a knife, opens his stomach, takes out all his guts and roasts him. After that, they put him on the table, buy some wine, call the children and all the family sits around him and makes a grand feast. I ask you: What evil has this professor done to have such a destiny. You will answer at once: "That's God's will, such are the laws of nature and this is what our grandparents have taught us, so it must be the right thing.

 

I will draw a parallel now. Here we have one of the best men that has ever visited our planet, who has come to witness the Truth. This man has been absolutely unselfish and pure-hearted, history has not known the equal of. He had wanted to speak to people about the Truth and to show them the way to it. At last, the Jews, those who should have loved Him instead, had captured and delivered Him to Pilate, saying: "This man says that He is sent by God and that He must fulfil some mission on the earth, but we do not believe Him." They took hold of Christ and condemned Him as an ordinary man. When the servant of the high-priest heard Christ speak, he slapped Him several times in the face. I ask: Why did the invisible world admit that one of the best and most powerful men in the world should be beaten, reviled and finally crucified? Why did this good and strong man have to die tragically? The sacred book says, that it had all been foretold and written - nothing more. The deep reasons why all that happened are well known. Some say, that it had to happen, in order that the world might be saved. When they asked Christ why He had come, He did not say that He had come to die, but He said instead: "To this end was I born, that I might bear witness of the Truth. And everyone who serves the Truth will be in my place."

 

When we say that we must suffer, we know that this share is not ours to bear, but these are rather the external, material conditions of the world. You are poor and fail in life, you have sorrows and sufferings, men do not understand you, but this is the external side in the life of Christ. When He was in the garden of Gethsemany, He was praying to God: "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." But this cup did not pass from Him - it was admitted by the invisible world, that He should drink it. Why did they crucify Christ? Because Love was not sent to Him for help. Love did not take part in His life and there is always crucifixion where Love is not. Why do people suffer? Because there is no love among them. Why do contradictions exist in the world? Because Love is not there. Why was hell created? Because Love is not there. Why was heaven created? Because Love is there. Someone asks: "Why am I unhappy?" Because you have no Love. This does not show that you do not want Love, but that it simply is not there. Therefore, where Love is not, the greatest contradictions, the greatest dramas and tragedies in the world are found. Some men say that Love causes the dramas and tragedies in life. No, this is not true. Love does not produce tragedies, it is the competition for it that produces them. Love causes: life, light, peace, joy and happiness. Everything of an ordinary character, which people want to name love, is not love.

 

And so, if you want to solve this philosophic problem principally, you must take Love as a basis. Only in this way you can understand that great power in the world about which the Scripture says: "God is Love". We are speaking about the life, which we now have, which we have had at some time in the past and which we shall have in the future. If you want to continue this perverted life, which you now lead, you will experience the most complicated tragedies. Yet, if you want your life to change, you must understand the law of Love. Pilate asked Christ: "Arth Thou a king?" - "I am a king, but my Kingdom is not of this world." Since there is no Love in your kingdom, I can not reign in it. I was born and came to this world, so that I may witness the Truth. I can give all I have and leave this world. Such is the law in this world. If you live in a country and want to leave it and go to another country, you sell out all your possessions and then you leave it. Today all nations act like this.

 

I say: An inner organic process is taking place today in the social life, as well as in the consciousness of the individuals living in the world. Such is the collective understanding of contemporary humanity, which has turned aside from the right life, from the great Divine law, from Love. Why is it like this? Because God gave people the possibility to dispose of their own life. They allowed themselves things, which are not written in the Divine book, or anywhere in the annals of nature. Today every man, every home, every society, every nation can boast of the freedom which is given by God. At the same time, all people today bear the responsibility for their actions. This is what they call fate or Karma. There is something that oppresses every man.

 

So, I say: Lovelessness is the beginning of all the suffering in the world. I consider as senseless all sufferings, which are the result of lovelessness. A man who really suffers is any one who has glimpsed into Love and is suffering for the sake of that Love. There are people in the world who suffer for meaningless things. If you ask them why they suffer, they will not be able to answer you because they do not really know why. If you, who are here, expect to be welcomed by the world with wreaths and be understood, you still have to wait a long time. Often some of you say: "Let newspaper reporters and educated people come to see, that we are not dangerous." But I say: If professors, if newspaper reporters come, they will all act the way they want. They will act like the Jews did with Jesus Christ. Did not Christ speak to them? He said: "I spoke openly to the world." Didn't He say to them that His kingdom is not of this world? They were saying: "This man is dangerous for our country and we must get rid of Him, so that He may not band our nation with some dangerous connectious, which will hinder its future development." This was the understanding of the Jewish society: this was the opinion of their learned rabbis and scribes - men who were studying the kabala. They were men of Moses' law, who could not understand the law of God. TheTe was not a sign of Love in their hearts. There was only one man among all the others - Nicodemus, who said: "Let us leave this man free!" But what is the voice of a single person in the whole?" He is like a drop of water in the ocean. I ask you: Why is it so? If God has created all individuals, all societies and nations, if all people in the world are created by God, why is there such a contradiction in the Divine law?

 

I shall bring to your attention another contradiction. Take for example, a young man and a young woman who love each other and observe how their relations develop. At first, they call each other endearing names and say that they can not live apart. The young man kneels before the young girl but soon after they have married they start telling each other such words and have such relations that the Divine law does not allow. What are the causes for the perversion of the human heart?

 

In one of my talks I compared the first phase of Love with the lemonade in a bottle. He who drinks the lemonade throws the bottle away. I compared the second phase of Love with an apple, which people eat and leave only its seeds for planting. I compared the third phase of Love with a leather-bound book with fine contents. Everyone that takes it reads something in it, smiles, puts it in his pocket, takes it out again to read, meditates and then begins to study. It is not enough only to have love, we must also have an object to love. The greatest delusion in the world lies in the fact, that all people seek for someone to love them. Someone writes a book in order to be loved by people. Another one publishes a paper to be loved by people. Some artist is moulding a statue and tries to make it beautiful. Why? To be loved by people. A statesman writes and creates laws in order to be loved by the nation. The military man takes out his knife and goes to fight the enemy, so that he will be loved by his people. The worker digs all day for the love of his master. The student studies all day for the love of his teacher. The father works all day for the love of his children. The cock crows to be loved by his master. The dog barks and keeps the house to be loved by his master. I ask you: Since all people have such an understanding of things, who will love us? These requirements of contemporary people have put them in the state of that automat of ancient times, created by a great adept. After having learned well all the secrets of nature, an adept had allowed himself to make a live automat, capable of motion, thought and feeling, but had not been able to give to his automat a soul. The automat had started to follow the adept everywhere and to cry after him: "You gave me everything, but you did not give me a soul! I want you to give me a soul!". The adept had found himself in a most disturbing condition, not knowing what to do. He had started to run around the whole world, but the automat had kept following him, crying out constantly: "You gave me everything but a soul! I want you to give me a soul!" The adept had not been able to liberate himself from him for a long time.

 

I call people of today automats. Someone comes and says: "Give me love!" What does this imply? It implies: give me money! Is this love? That man wants to say: "Give me money and you will see how men, women, children, thg nation - everyone will love me." The man is right. He has a specific conception of love. This is the old philosophy of life, those are the dramas and tragedies, repeated again and again during thousands of years. As a consequence of this philosophy, men find themselves in a desperate situation, in a magic circle, which has no solution in life. Christ says about all those who have entered into the inner side of the Divine or Christ is teaching or in the mystical or the spiritual life: "If a man does not deny himself, or deny his external life, he can not be a disciple of the new teaching, he can not be a disciple of Love." Why is it necessary for a man to deny himself of all earthly things? When a man starts for heaven, he can not take anything from this world with himself. The Turks have a certain legend about Christ, that when He has started for heaven, a small needle had gotten pinned on his mantle, and for that reason He had not been able to enter there.

 

Now I say to you: The smallest needle in the world is in a state to deprive you of the Love of God. The pinning on of the needle represents a psychological act. When you enter Love, everything in you becomes new, nothing old can remain with you. You will be already men born in the new, not in the ordinary way. Some think that the Divine Way is difficult. No! According to my conceptions, the Divine Way is only for wise and intelligent people. It is the easiest way to climb. You can not climb this way riding a horse, or in a carriage, a train, an aeroplane - you will climb it by foot. You will not have any hat on your head, nor shoes on your feet. You should travel bare-headed and bare-footed! The clothes you will wear must be very thin and light - almost without weight. They will be made of the light of the sun rays. These clothes will be very beautiful and will keep you so warm, that the idea of cold will absolutely disappear from you. You will feel engulfed by a soft, pleasant heat. You can make as many folds and pleats in these clothes, as you wish - they will be so soft and flexible. You can create out of them thousands and millions of rational forms. However, such a disciple is not allowed to wear shoes made out of animal leather. As long as he is on the earth, he can wear leather-shoes of the rudest kind, if he wishes to.

 

Many of you, listening to me speak about Love, say: "Then we must not live in this world." No! One can have Love and still live in this world. Christ said to His disciples: "I am going to my Father to prepare a place for you. Till then, you will work on the earth. When I prepare a place for you, I will come and take you with me." Christ did not refuse to come a second time on the earth. He saw why people can not live well in this world. That's why He said to his disciples that He will go to prepare a place for them in heaven and will come to earth a second time to take them with him. But when Christ comes a second time on earth, He will set it on fire. Why? So that all traces of His crucifiction on the wooden cross will disappear. The sufferings of mankind today are a proof of that act, and all these sufferings must vanish, so that not even a memory remains. The whole old culture will be burnt up and a new culture with new forms of life will take its place. When these new forms come, there will not remain any sign or trace of the sufferings of Christ and of mankind. It is said: "Not a stone upon another will remain." This is true not only in the literal, but also in the figurative sense of the word. All conceptions of people about life, about the relations between fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, servants and masters, believers and disbelievers, all that history has recorded from ancient times till now, will be blown away by the wind, as the dust in the streets. What sense will have the life of a mother who has born ten sons and all of them have become robbers? Or what sense will have the life of a mother who has born ten sons, but all of them have died one after the other? What will gladden that mother who, after going into the other world, will see her life as on a film? This will be a life full of suffering. Is there any good in such a life? Why should such pictures be produced? They are the result of a loveless life.

 

I call this life - a life of lovelessness. People are born without love and die without love; suffer without love and are happy without love; develop, study, live without love, etc. This is the tragedy in life. You suffer because of that and say: "Why is life made like this? Why has not God made the world different?" I say: There exists such a world as you seek. It has been created a long time ago. God lives in it and reigns it. This world is the world of Love. It is said about it: "Everyone who comes to me, I shall in no wise cast him out, but will open the door for him, he will enter and find a pasture." The 23rd Psalm is speaking about this world.

 

And Christ answered him: "I spoke openly to the world; I ever taugth in the synagogue, and in the temple, wither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing." I say: Since you know this thing, there is no reason to be troubled by what is happening. It has already happened. As soon as one is born, he must know that he will die. As soon as one is born in the world, he must know that he will become rich, but he must also know, that he will become poor and fail. Today someone may be promoted to the post of a judge. He must know that tomorrow he will be discharged. Today someone is promoted as officer, but he must know that tomorrow he will be discharged. All bishops, all ministers and priests will be discharged some day, only the memory of their beautiful garments will remain. Such is the law of the living nature. No matter what position each one of you may have, he must know that one day he will be discharged. Then what will distinguish you one from another? There is something valuable by which people can be distinguished one from another. Contemporary scientists like phrenologists and physiognomists, say that the head of a criminal has marks, which distinguish it from the head of a king. When a phrenologist finds the skull of some person, he can describe his whole past life during thousands of years: how that man has lived and died; what his domestic life has been; what church he has belonged to, what have been his credo, his aspiration his social position, the cause of his death - in general, he can reproduce his whole life. The phrenologist reads on the head of people. Phrenology, as a science, proves that people have everything, but love. The center of Love in the majority of people is not developed. Therefore, people have everything, but one center - the center of love. When that center begins to develop, we call that a process of awakening the consciousness, or the awakening of the human soul, the human spirit, the human mind and heart. This process may be known by different names. There is something, however, which must be awakened in people from now on. Everyone feels an inner need of something. Everyone lacks something. Up to the time you obtain love, you will always feel that there is something missing in your life.

 

I am not speaking about the first phase of Love - the bottle of lemonade. Many people drink 30-40 bottles of lemonade a day. This is love. Others eat 30-40 apples a day, without planting their deeds. This is love also. I ask you: How many people will you find reading the sacred book of Love, if you entered their homes? What distinguishes such a home from the other homes? Peace, joy and happiness reigns in it. The relations between the husband and wife and among all the children, are loving relations; all have an equal share in the work, everywhere music and song can be heard, no contradictions arise among them. Cleanliness and order reign everywhere. There are no flies in the rooms; there are no hens, ducks and pigs in the yard, no cattle in the stall; gas-lamps can not be found there, neither electric lights, yet the whole house shines; they neither sow nor plough, yet the fields bear abundant wheat; they do not carry wheat into their house, but the wheat goes to them; they have no springs, but water seems to spring in their home; they have no teachers, yet they know everything; they have no servants, but everybody serves them; they have no money, yet they lend money to everybody. Tell me, do you know anywhere in Bulgaria, at least one such family as I have just described to you? Such is the image of the family whose members read the book of Love. If such a home can be found, it will be the first wonder in the world, the first lighted candle. When I tell you these things, you may say: "These are only dreams and illusions." But I am not describing even a thousandth part of the reality itself. When apostle Paul had seen that home, that religion, he had said: "Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." That's why he says: "From now on, I do not want to live, but let the One Who bears Love, live in me."

 

So, I say: I do not want you to leave the world, you will pass through this world, but you must be heros. Heaven requires this from you. Put in your mind the thought, that even if you are the greatest coward, you can become brave and resolute. Suppose you have in your pocket only ten leva, but a friend comes to you, you swear in love and he asks you to lend him some money. You open your purse and say to him: "I have only ten leva and I need them for my dinner." No! You should give half of it to your friend and keep the other half for yourself. Such is the law. If the two friends divide the ten leva, this money will appear again in the purse of him who has shared it. You can not understand this law. When I say that your purse must become empty, a contradiction arises in your mind.

 

I shall give you an example in order to clarify my thought. Imagine that you are a fountain, out of which flows pure water. Its water-trough is stuffed up by mud and dirt. You stop up the water for a time and begin to empty the water-trough, in order to clean it up well. Do you think you have caused a misfortune to the trough by emptying it? This is not a misfortune at all. You have cleaned up the trough. When you let the fountain flow again, the water will fill up the trough. This is a law: if you give, it will be given unto you. If you do not believe this, you can not be a man. If you believe that you will become poor, you will become poor. If you think you are a sinner, you will become a sinner. If you believe that the God of Love, Who has sent you to the earth, has the power to fill up your trough, as often as it is emptied during your life, God will always fill it up. He says: "Empty your water-trough for My sake!" You open up your purse and say: "God, I emptied my water-trough."

 

According to your philosophy you say: "But what if the water does not start to flow again?" You just open the faucet and do not fear. I say: Sow the seed in the field and do not think about it! But what if this year there will be drought and the wheat will not grow and ripen? I say: Take your money with you and start on your way! But what if robbers should rob me on the way? He is afraid of being robbed, so he deposits his money in "Girdap" bank. However, until he gets home, he hears the sad news that "Girdap" bank has gone in bankrupcy. I say: Do not deposit your money in the robber's bank "Girdap". There are robbers there and it will go in bankrupcy. People today believe in things which have no basis, but they would not believe in what has a firm foundation and upon which there happiness depends and rests. You say: "How is that, mustn't we be thoughtful and insure our life? How will you insure your life? By starting to work for God. How? As the angels work and as the greatest men work. Then the divine fountain will begin to flow and it will never stop flowing. Believe only in this. Make experiments, but do not speak about them until you are convinced. Be consistent in your experiments, always have the desire to fulfil the will of God just as He wants you to.

 

In the Old Testament, God says: "Try me". How? The first attempt you can make, is to try to walk in life according to the great law. When Christ was on the cross, He said: "This is the will of God. Father, into Thy hands I commit my spirit." Why did Christ suffer? In order to fulfil the will of God. When He was in the garden of Gethsemany, He said: "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. If this is not Thy will, I am ready to endure all suffering for the sake of Love." This concerns everybody. When sufferings come, you will say: "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me!" If it can not pass, you will pray and say: "This is the will of God." If up above it is admitted, the cup will pass from you. You say: "And after that, what?" They will crucify you by driving, at the most, four nails into your body, not more than that. And what will happen then? They will tell you to come down from the cross all alone. Christ came down from the cross all by Himself. How? By coming out of his body and going to Nicodemus. Who asked to take the body of Christ? Joseph of Arimathea. Jesus Christ did not want to leave His body on the earth. It was alive. He Himself went to take out the nails and raised His body.

 

You ask: "Does Christ think about me?" If Christ thought of His body, by taking out the nails, bringing it down from the cross, then laying it in the grave where angels raised it, must you ask what will happen with you? If you walk in the way of God, you will not remain nailed on the cross. They will take you down from it and place you in the grave. You will not remain in the grave, either, for the angels will come and take you out of there. How do you ask: "If we could get rid of this body!" No, do not ask that. You should be a hero in order to complete your evolution. The body is the temple of God. It is the greatest wealth which you have. You will take by the throat those robbers, who want to rob you and will take back everything that belongs to you to the last cents. What did Abraham do with those robbers who robbed Lot and took away his possessions? He reached them on the way and took back from them everything they had robbed.

 

It is said: "The righteous can not remain in poverty.

 

The righteous can not he deprived of the good." The disciple can always be rewarded. The best things in life await him who walks in the ways of God. His present life is also blessed. Christ says. There is no man that hath left mother and father for God s sake, but he shall receive a hundredfold that which he has lost and in the world to come Eternal life." The Eternal life implies to the beautiful and fine in life. Everyone aspires toward that. How can this present life be compared with the benefits of the Eternal life? You say: "This is nonsense! We shall die and that s the end. This is not true. Every person who lives according to the law of Love, no matter where he may go - to America, England, China or Japan, everywhere he will find people who will welcome him in their home in the Christian manner and will find some work for him. He who loves Jesus Christ can find in every place his own brothers and sisters. Do not think that you have brothers and sisters only in Bulgaria. Tell me: Which sinner and robber has brothers and sisters? Everywhere there is a place for the good person, but there exists a great lack of faith among people. Today, you think only about small Bulgaria and say. What will happen with us?" - What happened with Christ: they condemned Him and then they crucified Him. - "And then?" Then He was taken off the cross and placed in the grave. -Then? - An angel came who shook the grave and He rose up. - "What happened after that?" - After 2 000 years 500 million people believed in Him and accepted His Love. It means that 500 million people will love you. I ask you is it worth while to live for the Love of God?

 

Christ says: "Everyone who turns to God and begins to live for Him has his name written in heaven." Therefore, you, who live for God, will be dressed in beautiful clothes and wherever you go, they will welcome you with arcs, with flags and banners, with music and songs and with rich banquets. Is there anything wrong in such a life? How do people welcome someone and entertain you here? When a brother goes to pay someone a visit, after 3-4 days, they remind him that he must go away. When he goes to heaven to pay Love a visit, he can stay there as long as he wants to. Only then you will understand why one must live in Love. Love can not be described, it can only be felt.

 

I say: When you listen to my talks, at times I notice your faces darken. You say: "This is a terribly hard thing! What shall we do? We are simple people and do not know much." -That’s the right thing for you - that you do not know much. Since you do not know, you will study. Studying is work. It is a necessary law in Love. Only by study can Love be made clear and comprehensible. However, do not try to know everything, for that's impossible. I shall explain to you why you must not know everything. Suppose you are invited to a rich banquet. When you sit at the table do you have to eat everything? What sort of a monster would you be, if you could eat everything? You should eat little - one or two apples or pears and some bread. There is no reason for hurrying: if you live 120 years, your whole life will consist of eating. The same thing can be said about knowledge - you should receive a little at a time.

 

Someone says: "I want to know everything." No! You should know little, but know it well. This is the rule. When someone says that he knows much, I know already what his physical condition is. The good people know little, but they know well what they know.

 

Thus, the Divine Teaching has an application to life and must be applied. If you have the Divine Love in yourself, you will find people with whom you will be in harmony and who will cooperate with you. But you must work for God. There are three ways in which one can work. Suppose I write a book. Whom shall I write it for? I can write it for myself, for someone I love, and lastly, for God. If I write this book for God, that would be the right solution to the question. In that case, I shall take the second place, and have an inner contact with God. If I should write the book for someone I love, then I would be the inner tie between God and him. In the last case, I would be the third person. And then the verse: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy soul, with all thy might and thy neighbour as thyself' - represents two opposite poles in life. If man does not understand these two laws, the Divine Love can not be applied on earth. Who can apply the Divine Love on earth? I, the man who love, can become a tie in the great law of God. And if I could make this tie, I would be an honorable man. Then I will have on my side the angels, the saints, the righteous, the good people and all the disciples. All these people will send me every morning a light, pure thought, which will impart joy and happiness to my soul.

 

I say: You, as disciples of the great School, must distinguish yourselves by your right relations toward God. If you have such relations, you will not seek for men to love you, but you will love. I am not saying, that you must not want people to love you, but that you must not make that the purpose of your life. This is why back in ancient times, it has been said: "Love the Lord Thy God and thy neighbour." That has been said, but it is not applied yet. Who is not applying it? - The world. However, people of faith have applied this law in the past. By the words "people of faith", I mean those men who love God. There are people in the world who have always applied the law of God. If you want to have a place of honour in the world, you must, by all means, enter the way of Truth. In this way, you will study the Bible in the new way, you will study present day literature and science; you will study the rivers, the fire, and the winds. You will study everything from the standpoint of the Divine law. Everything you do and study should be dictated by the sole stimulus - for the sake of the Love of God. If you love anyone, love him for the sake of God. Let the Love of God be the inner stimulus of all your aspirations and actions. If you act like this, noone can ever deprive you of your future happiness and welfare. If you do not walk in this way, everyone can deprive you of your happiness. If you do not love God, they will take your money, your health, your social position, your children and wife, and, at last, they will take you as well. This is the tragedy of life. Now you know all this and you should not live under any illusions.

 

Some people say: "This law can be changed." No! The law of God can not be changed! To think that the law of God is subject to an evolution, is to have a false philosophy of life. Evolution does not change things. Some people say: "Evolution changes the order of things." Everything in the world will change, if you accept the law of the Divine Love. If you live in according to your human law, there would be no evolution. Where human law exists, there is no evolution, only death reigns. Where the Divine law exists, there is evolution and Love reigns there.

 

Christ says: "To this end was I born, to witness of the Truth." The same thing can be said in regard to you. You must ask yourself: "Why was I born?" If you answer that you were born to witness the Truth, you have given the right solution to the question. If you ask your daughter why was she born, she must tell you: "To this end was I born in this home, to witness the Truth." If you ask your wife why was she born, she must answer you, that she was born to witness the Truth. If you ask your husband, he must answer you the same thing. This is the important question. You will say: "Should we not marry?" You should marry. How? According to the law of Truth. But must we serve? You must serve according to the law of Truth. What positions should we occupy? You can occupy all kinds of positions, one after the other, but you must work according to the law of Truth. You will do all things according to the law of Truth. You must not be in a hurry. If I should now give you as a problem the achievement of the great ideal, how would you solve it? You must start with the little things.

 

I ask you: When the small child is born, does he start to walk right away? No! The mother carries him at first. Then he begins to crawl on all four, thinking that's quite an achievement. In the future this small child will be some great philosopher, but noone knows him now. At present, he crawls on the earth, wishing to stand erect, but he can not. When he gets tired, he sits for a while, looks around, srrTiles and says: "My time has not yet come." He is not discouraged and says: "There is no reason for being ashamed." He starts crawling again. When he gets tired, he cries a little, then he says: "This work will not be done by crying." Then he sits again to rest. After several months, you see that child standing by the wall, leaning against it, careful not to fall. And one day, unexpectedly, you see the child all alone upon his feet, walking without anybody's help. The mother gives a great banquet to celebrate the achievement of her little child and says to her friends: our great writer, poet, philosopher has begun to walk. Come, that we may all celebrate this day!

 

So, I say: You also, like the children, should not be ashamed that you are crawling in your moral life. Today you crawl, tomorrow you will become tired and will cry a little. The next day you will become tired and you will cry a little. The next day you will stand straight against the wall, and at last, you will begin to walk. People ask: "Why is such and such a person crying? I say: He has wanted to start to walk, but he has not been able to do it the right away. He has fallen on the ground, and hurting himself, has started to cry. The essential thing is that he has fallen. Some people say he is ill. He is not ill, he has just fallen, but he has not lost anything. He is suffering now, but some day when he would have learned how to walk, he will not cry, but rejoice and be glad. Now, you must be encouraged by the children. If someone among you becomes discouraged, let him take a small child by the hand, walk a while with him and say: "I want to be a hero like you." Observe the children every day! This is the right solution to the problem.

 

There are special methods for the solution of this question, but their time has not come yet. Why must I tell little children how they must dig, how they must plough, or plant vineyards? What can I tell them about the chemical processes? It is too early for them to be told such things. I shall tell them of things which correspond to their phase of life. And you, as children, have a great future ahead. You will begin with the essential, while what lies infront of you is for the far future. I am glad you are children, because there is a lot for you to learn. Let the knowledge, stored up for future times, make you happy. It will come, it is waiting for you. The goods stored are also waiting for you. They will also come. When? When their time comes. Some people ask: "Is there a definite place for us?" Yes, there is. And God is waiting for you there.

 

Christ says to His disciples: "Rejoice not that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven." What is there more beautiful than to be a citizen in the kingdom of those who love you? What is the price you pay now for the right to be a citizen of a modern state?

 

They take you into the "state safety" office and when they meet you at night, they point a gun at you and ask for your card of identification. Today we live in a world of contradictions, but for the Love which we have toward God, Who has sent us to earth, we will stay in this world and fulfil our duties up to the moment when He will give us new orders. You say: "What does the world think?" Let the world think whatever it wants to, we also will think what we want to. As the world is free to do what they will, so are we free to do what we want to. They decide to publish some paper and they do it; they decide to declare war and they do it; they decide to condemn someone and they condemn him; they decide to help someone, and they help him; they decide to enlarge or diminish the budget and they do it. Whatever they decide to do, they do it. The world wants to be free in all its actions, why then shouldn’t we have this same freedom? They say, that our ideas and conceptions are senseless! Allow us then to consider your idea and conceptions as senseless as ours. We know that everything people do has inner causes, so we will not pass any judgement about it.

 

When we reason in this way, we can understand one another. The wordly people have some good traits. I commend their great industriousness and bravery. When a man of the world finds himself in a difficult situation, he does not fall in despair, but takes a gun in his pocket, goes to some dark place in a side-street and waits for some rich man to pass by. Then he points his gun at him and says: "You better weep instead of me! I know that you do not have any belief in God, give me quickly your money!" - "As you please, only do not kill me! How much do you want?" He is told a certain amount. - "Take this money!" - "Thank you, but do not tell anyone about this, otherwise - do you see?" And he shows him his gun.

 

Now let us leave aside the moral of that man. I do not like this sort of moral, but I admire the boldness and courage of that man. He is neither ashamed nor afraid to point his gun at any rich man. But you will say, that he will be caught and condemned. He says to himself: "They will either catch me or not. This is a permutation. If they catch me, what will they say about me? They will try to prove that I am somewhat out of my mind and will condemn me to one or two years imprisonment, and after I come out of prison, the 200 000 leva I have stolen, will be still in my pocket." This is the way that man reasons. It is a particular type of reasoning. What must a man, who is walking in the way of God and finds himself sometime in a difficult situation do? If I were in his place, I would take a gun and go to the home of some rich man. I shall explain to you what sort of a gun I have. If I were a famous painter, I would have taken my gun - a paint-brush and my bullets - the paints, go to the home of some rich man - a man who prays to God, and say to him: "Listen, I want to paint your portrait, as well as the portrait of everyone in your home, so well, that they would please you. If you do not give me as much as I want, I will kill you - and I point out my brush at him." - "Please, how much do you want?" At first, he regards me with mistrust, but after I have made the portraits of his whole family, he sends me away with great respect. I say to him: "Listen, do not tell anyone about this!" He takes off his hat at me and says goodbye.

 

Now, this is all figuratively speaking, but I say: Every man needs a painter. If I am a doctor, I shall go to some village to cure people. If I am not good at any art, I would take the plough and the spade and would go to some field to work, but I would earn my living in an honest way - according to the law of love. Is there anything wrong with that? To be bold and resolute is the most difficult thing in the world. Often, you become discouraged and say: "The time for these new ideas has not come yet, they will not succeed in the world." No, this is not true. The only thing, which will succeed in the world is Love, including knowledge, wisdom, Divine life, justice, conscience, Righteousness, virtues, etc. All that’s high and noble has a great future. Therefore, each one of your acts born of Love will be successful. Every thought, every desire born of Love, no matter how small it may be, will succeed.

 

So, I say: This is the way you should conceive things. Do not be afraid, do not accept everything without reasoning. Someone says: "I shall die." When a man is born, he knows that death awaits him. The question now is to say: "I want to live." It is a fact that you will die, but it is also a fact that you will live. That's why you must say: "After I die, I shall live." If you think that you will become ill, you will say: "It is true that everyone who is born will be sometimes sick, but after the illness has passed, I shall be healthy." But I will suffer. It is true, you will suffer, but after suffering comes joy. Joy is the heir of sorrow.

 

Who is the heir of death? Life is. When contradictions come into your life, do not try to free yourself from them or block their way. If someone tells you that you will be ill, say: "I know this, but after the illness will come health." - "You made a big mistake." - "It is true, I know I made a mistake, but after I become well again, I will correct it and put in its place a virtue."

 

-    "You told me an offensive word, which hurt me." - "Yes, that is true, but when you meet me, after some time, my tongue will be so soft, that after I tell you a sweet word, there will not remain even a trace of the first word." - "You are somewhat a rude person."- "That is true, but after some time, I will be so polished, that you will wonder at me." - "You are a simple man."

 

-    "Yes, it is true, but after some time, I will be so learned, that you will be happy to see me so well educated."

 

This is the language you must use; this is the way which the occult disciple - the disciple of the Divine teaching, must pass. He must have a broad outlook on all things. Then there will be no falls on the way. If he should stop and start discussing the question why everything is happening this way and not that way, he will not find any solution to this problem. Can't things happen in a different way? No, they can not. Up till now, noone has solved the questions in a different way, neither can you solve them. I have travelled all life, but I have not met till today any great Teacher, or adept, or angel, or archangel, or cherubim, or some other divinity, who has been able to solve the problems in any other way than the way God has preordained. All we can do is study the ways of God. They are unsearchable!

 

Therefore, there is no reason why we should create new ways. We will bear the New, which God has created and we will manifest the Divine within us. The Scriptures call us by the respectable name of co-workers in the great plan of God, in the great idea, which He is now introducing us to; of the great Kingdom, which is coming into the world, in the great Divine home, which He is building today. And by building with Him, we will have a part in the Divine home. This way, each one of us will have a definite place.

 

I will give you an example with that good and righteous man, who had wanted to go up to heaven and see his condition there. He had been taken into the invisible world and had seen that his temple had been very beautiful, almost finished, but only a stone had been lacking. Therefore, if your temple would be perfect, you must put the last stone in its place. As soon as you do that, your temple will be perfect and only then would you be able to understand life. As long as one stone is missing in your building, they can not receive you into the invisible world. Your temple must be built up and fully completed.

 

Christ said to His disciples: "I will go to prepare a place for you, and after I have prepared it, I will come and take you. "Where?" Into the new conditions where we can live with God. The new conditions as I understand them, mean to live according to the law of Love, where an absolute order of all things reigns. What will life be then? There can be no comparison made between what life is today and what it will be then. The present is only a shadow of the future. In the present life all we do is suffer and fight, for today we taste the life of our past existence. Therefore, you must be grateful for anything life offers you today. If you want the great good of life, that is the way of the disciple. There are two ways, or two lives: the life of the world, or the life of God, which we call the way of Christ - "the life of the new teaching", "the way of the disciple".

 

First of all, you should try to get rid of that melancholy, which often takes possession of you, because you think that the world is closed up for you, and you have no conditions for development. Everyone who has a positive credo can create these conditions. As the rich men in the world, as the American millionaires gave rise to great industries, and thereby helped society, so every righteous person must create better conditions. Those rich men do not expect donations, but they make automobiles, they gather people around themselves and develop the industry. The righteous person and the disciple must be like them. They must create great thoughts. There is an inner understanding and mutual compromises among the rich men in the world. It often happens that people whom we consider as uncultured act very correctly in society, while very often we see religious people who use the methods of the world. They aspire toward the new life, but still they go by the methods of the old life. This is more dangerous than to live only in the old life and to apply its methods. That's why Christ has said: "You can not mend an old garment with a new piece of cloth." You can not put a new idea in an old system, for it can not survive there.

 

Christ has expressed this idea in the verse: "You can not put new wine in old bottles." It is like this - you must put the new wine in new bottles and the old - in old bottles.

 

At present, you lead two different kinds of life, as your feelings and thoughts are two different things. With regard to your heart, you feel one thing while with regard to your mind, you think something quite different. Sometimes, there is a disaccordance between the mind and heart, other times there is harmony. Sometimes, the heart does not understand life as the mind does, while other times both the heart and the mind have the right understanding of life. Now, as disciples of the Divine School, you must bear in your mind the idea to be contented with your present life. And in all cases, no matter how small your achievement may be, use it for your self-development, knowing that this life will be a foundation for your future life. Now, if you are old, aspire to be rejuvenated; if you have no knowledge, try to acquire it; if you are ill, try to become well; if you are a coward, try to become a hero - in general, you must strive for that which can make you real men and form in you a real character. Christ speaks about this in the 18th chapter of the Gospel of John.

 

Therefore Christ, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and saith unto them: "Whom seek ye?" They answered him: "Jesus of Nazareth." Christ saith unto them: "I am He." Here we have a strong man, a hero, who knew all that was expecting Him and could escape somewhere, but He came out before the servants of the high-priests and Pharisees and said to them: "Whom seek ye?" - "Jesus of Nazareth." - "I am He."

 

Christ says: "I did not come to conquer this world, but I came to give men abundant life." This means: I came to speak to people about Love, Wisdom and Truth. If they accept this teaching, it will be good for them; if they do not accept it, they may condemn me under their laws. Christ answered: "My Kingdom is not of this world; if it were of this world, my servants would have fought, in order that I might not be delivered into the hands of the Jews. But now, my Kingdom is not of the earth." Further on he says: "This is not important to me. I shall prove to you that you can not keep me on the cross, neither can you put me in the grave. I can also prove to you, that I can overcome the world." Actually he proved all that. Therefore, those who lived 2 000 years ago, are here again. And it will be just as Christ has said: "To this end was I born, to witness of the Truth." The future is His, the world belongs to Him, Righteousness is His. He is the bearer of the great Truth. And I say: We must all bear the great Divine Truth. If we conceive the world in this way, we will comprehend it in its fullness and will achieve happiness and joy - we will live according to the Love of God. Then everything in the world will be sanctified. The sun, the stars, everything in the world h..s been created for those who are born to witness of the Truth. From this point of view, the beautiful and fine things are for those who love God. That's why Christ says: "Father, I want that they also, whom Thou hast given me, be with me where I am." Where will He be? - In the Kingdom of Love.

 

I say: After this talk, some of you may feel discouraged and say that all this work is only for the men of learning, that you want to continue to live like your ancestors. I ask you: Have your ancestors really lived? For ages people have not led rational life, but have known only suffering and death. Almost all the water in the lakes, rivers and seas today js polluted by human blood and human crimes. Fire must come from above to burn and clean up all polluted things and to purify this water, so that after everything has been cleaned up and purified, the new culture may begin to take a form in life. A new wave will come soon, which will transform the entire social order and reconstruct the whole earth and the thought of the whole organic kingdom. Life will receive a new direction. As God created the world at sometime in the far past, so will He recreate it now. God will not allow people to revile His Truth! God will not allow the nations to continue to violate His laws! People must bow before the Truth of God and recognize His laws. A day will come when Love will reign in the world; people will live in love together and there will be joy and happiness everywhere. That day is approaching.

 

When I say to you that fire will come into the world, you ask: "What shall we do then?" I say: What do you have to do when you see that the hotel you are living in is burning? You who have awakened first of all and see this fire, take your clothes and run quickly out of the hotel! But what will happen with those who sleep? When they awake, they will also run out of it.

 

We want to see what will happen with the hotel. There is nothing to wait for. Take your clothes as quickly as you can and run out! The hotel is burning, there is no reason to stop to look at it. If you linger, others will awake and then there will be such a panic that you will not be able to find your way out. "Let us remain there to put the fire out!" - No! This is a fire which no water can ever put out. If the water of a whole ocean were poured upon it, it could not be put out. No matter what the scientists say, they can not explain the origin of this fire. This is a law of living nature.

 

Life must be thoroughly purified and an inner transformation must take place in it. I am not speaking about some sort of revolution among people, but there will come about a certain inner change, in which God will transform the whole order of life and liberate people from their pettiness, which prevents them from regarding one another as brothers and sisters. He who can understand this, can verify it and become free of the old life, of all the sediments of the past. See what the papers say about the earthquakes in Japan. Somewhere in that country, a mountain like Vitosha erupts and shakes up the earth, which opens up and swallows whole large cities, as well as 150-200 000 people at a time. Millions of people have been swallowed up by the gaping earth. Why do these things happen? You say: "These are natural laws." But suppose that the earth below us opens up and swallows us, what will become of us then? What will present-day scientists say about the origin of the earth and about all that is happening with it? Something terrible is taking place!

 

Present day mankind are children, playing with explosives, stored up in nature itself. They have not experienced, yet, the anger of living nature. When it is angry, it starts to move - to contract and expand, to swallow up everything in its way - cities, villages, people and animals. Nothing living can remain on its surface. What will you say, if you find yourselves down beneath all these ruins and wrecks? You say:~"This can not be!" Yes, if men lived according to the law of God, the earth would never open its mouth to swallow them, but if they do not live according to the law of God, it will open its mouth to swallow them all. It would still be a privilege for them, if they could be swallowed, but if the earth finds them too sinful, it would say: "I do not want to swallow you within myself", and it would throw them out. Do you know how terrible this is? The earth does not want them in its bowels, neither does space. What must they do? It is best for them, in such a case, to be on a ship, even though the worst ship in the world, and in the lowest cabine, for there would thus be a chance for them to reach the shore. But wouldn't it be better for them to be swallowed up by the sea-waves? In such a case, it would be a privilege to be swallowed by the earth, rather than to be thrown into space, where you would wander without any purpose or direction. There are such cases in life.

 

You will say: "This is mere threatening!" It is no threatening at all, but such are the laws of rational nature. This is a great Truth. And if people lived according to the laws of rational nature all their works would go smoothly and they would live in peace and joy. Threatening is of no profit, but I say: We have a different view of life. For us, the world is a great school and all its outer manifestations are small results, the remains of the world. There is another world in the sight of which your world of reality is only an external manifestation, an outer shadow.

 

Let us put aside these philosophic discussions and come to the important questions of life, which interest us. I ask you: When a man is poor, is he interested in the fact how many millionaires there are in the world? He is not. When a man is hungry, is he interested in the fact how many restaurants there are in the world, or in how many pots of food are being cooked, or how much bread is given to each person? No, these statistics do not interest him. In the given case, he is interested in finding someone, who could give him several golden coins, then go into a restaurant to have a good meal, and if he is a temperate man, to drink a glass of water, but if he is of the more evolved creatures, to drink a glass of water, colored red, and start to sing: "Green, green forest; cold, cold water." And actually, the green forest sings very well. Its leaves rustle, singing a tender song. The important thing for you is to make your life significant and to cast out of it all discontentment, discouragement and apathy. Someone says: "Nothing interests me." How is it possible that nothing can interest you? I do not want to live anymore, I do not want to exist. He who says that he does not want to live, is not speaking the Truth. We understand his language. There is another idea hidden in this expression. When a young girl says that she wants to die, I can discern back of that an idea, which she is trying to hide. This young girl wants to love in the real sense of the word. She says: "Up till now, I was accustomed to be loved by others, but from now on, I want to love, to sacrifice something of myself."

 

Therefore, when people want to die, I understand that they want to live in the new way. Everyone who dies, gives something. When a father dies, he calls his son and daughter and says: "Children, I am going to die and leave this world. I give you the two houses, which you should share between yourselves, while the fields and the other possessions I have, should be divided among my relatives." When you give up everything you have - that is death. In this sense, everyone can die and live again. When, after you die, you come to life again, noone can notice that you have died. When you give up all your possessions, everyone thinks that you have died a long time ago. When people speak about death, they imply that one dies and gives up all he has. However, we call death by its real name and say: He who dies begins to love.

 

I wish this thought to remain in your minds voluntarily, without any compulsion on my part. This is a day of triumph, for we are standing before the face of God and I want each one of you to solve this important problem within himself. If you solve it today, it will be solved for all time. Do not put it off for some other day, but solve it today, while you are before the face of God. God says: "Seek me while I am near you." When a ship reaches a port, what must you do? You must get your ticket before the third bell has rung. If you are late, they will not take you on the boat. There is a regular tariff for every ship. When the hour for his departure strikes, it does not wait for anyone. You say: "If I am late, I can start with the next ship." You can do that but you do not know how this question stands. Your father, mother, brother, sister and all your friends will start with the first ship. If you miss this ship, you will be sorry. That's why you must go there on time!

 

And now anything you do from this day on, do it for the sake of God, for the sake of His Love. This is what the new teaching, the new life requires of us all. We must distinguish ourselves from the rest of the world by the fact, that we have a great principle, a great idea for which we are ready to be burned, hanged or crucified - we can bear everything for it. If they put us over a pyre, we will burn like wood and work by burning, but we will never burn up! If they turn us into water, we will satiate the thirst of people, but we will not drown anyone! If they turn us into a rope, we will serve all purposes, but one - the hanging of people. If they make us into a pen, we will write all that's beautiful, but we shall never sign a death-sentence! Therefore, no matter in what situation you might place the righteous man or the disciple, he will always prove that the Love of God lives within his soul. Is there anything greater than this?

 

Now, as I speak to you like this, you say: "We have heard these things." Yes, you have heard them, but if I set you on fire, you will never be freed from it. Once kindled, even if the whole world should try to put out your fire, it will not be able to do it. The more they try to put out your fire, the stronger it will become and you will burn without burning up. This is what the Scriptures say about it: "The light of my feet is Thy word."

 

I want you all to carry a lighted torch, which God will give you today. When you go out of here, each one of you will see an angel. Ask him to give you a lighted torch and start in the way assigned for you by God. You will say to me: "Master, where is the door of the new life?" There is no need for me to show that door to people like you, who know so much. Is there a need for me to open the New Testament for you? I say to you: Find the 15th chapter of the Gospel of Luke and read. You all know where this angel is. The garden of Paradise is not outside of man, or somewhere in our "Sunrise" quarters - it is found within a person himself. The angel you seek, is in this Divine garden, at whose entrance God placed two cherubims with fiery swords, to see that no sinful men should enter into it. God gives a lighted torch to the righteous people and says: "You can enter Paradise, it is for you."

 

And now, I also say to you: Go into the Divine garden, into Paradise to take a walk, to meet the angel and to speak with him. Christ says: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." That's why He came to the earth. And if you have walked in darkness until now, unconsciously, from now on you will walk in light, consciously and will serve God out of an inner love, in a new way. Thus you will receive the blessing of God.

 

And now, I congratulate you with your lighted torches!

 

Christ says: "To this end was I born, that I should bear witness unto the Truth!"

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