Jump to content

1924_04_02 Mindful Heart


Jackline Spasova-Bobeva
 Share

Recommended Posts

from The Blossoming of the Human Soul

 

MINDFUL HEART

 

Every activity and undertaking in the world should be set not on shaky but on a solid foundation. By “solid,” I mean unchangeable, indicating that in any conditions it remains the same. Such a foundation is the true one. Now, let us assume that while you are living on Earth, your foundation is solid. It implies that you can rely on your personality. Yet, what foundation will you use for your life after death? Therefore, the Earth is not a stable foundation on which you can stand. What then will the real foundation be? We call the mindful, intelligent, and wise human heart a real foundation.

 

I consider the mindful heart not of the contemporary person, but of the Divine human being. Apostle Paul said that in physical form one cannot understand spiritual subjects because they could only be perceived in spirit.

 

You need to set your life on a new course based upon your mindful heart. The Divine Spirit acts in it; so what you undertake based on your mindful heart is always right. Those who act in compliance with it never err because all errors are instantly resolved. The errors in the world originate from the human objective mind, which is the means of reasoning today. When a good thought comes into your mind, you begin to reason which way to apply it and in doing so, you are losing the opportunity.

 

Often we say that if you go into the water, you may drown. Either you should be capable of swimming or you should learn to swim. I ask: In which school do little ducklings learn the art of swimming? In fact, it knows how to swim from its incubation. It had learned that art thousands of years ago. All this indicates the Divine connection existing in the human mind. What acts consciously and without exception is the Divine Spirit. And when we listen to this inner Voice (which I call “the mindful heart”), our thinking differs from the ordinary one.

 

A simple experiment can be conducted. If you think with your head, you will think for a long time. You will do research on a certain subject for one-two-three-five-ten or more years until you come to some conclusion. Let’s say you think about the weather on Monday. Your mind begins to reason and says, “It will be beautiful.” Well, you need to verify this. After that, you will ask yourself if the weather will be totally or partially clear, if it will be rainy or just cloudy, and so on. You will put this question to stay clearly in your mind. Through such experiments you will notice that the responses you get through your mind scarcely prove true: one time in a hundred. It is a mental assumption that the weather will be nice. But if you ask your mindful heart the same question, it will state the weather on Monday with absolute accuracy. When the mindful heart is involved, there is no reasoning, no erring. As soon as you begin to reason, the Divine has already been lost.

 

If you think with your mindful heart, you will experience a pleasant sensation in your solar plexus and then every one of you can say, “The weather will be such and such.” Ask yourself, for example, about your life this year: whether it will be good or bad. If your answer comes from your mind, it will give you either the most favorable projects or, sometimes - the most dismal ones. However, if you ask your mindful heart, it will give you a definitive answer. Not only this, but it will also indicate the difficulties you are going to pass through and at the same time, will provide you with guidance to safely overcome them.

 

Good aspirations are also included in the concept of the mindful heart. Everyone has good aspirations. In some people they are manifested at a younger age; in others - later on. For example, there is an impulse coming to you: a good idea to do a favor for someone. Walking along the street, you see a poor widow. You put your hand in the pocket, but immediately start to rationalize and tell yourself, “I have money, but I need it today. Well, I will do a good thing another day.” By thinking in this way, you have already made the first omission. After some time you should pay a tenfold fine for not realizing your good impulse coming from the Divine.

 

Therefore, we should follow the Divine Voice within us at all times. As soon as the Divine impulse begins to speak to us, it becomes a kind of a test in our life. God is testing us and we absolutely need to obey Him. As soon as you perceive the Divine, bring it to realization. It is not necessary to give all your wealth for the good you are willing to do; it is only a small service that is required from you. For example, a child fell in the street and had a leg fracture. Would it be a big bother to take him to your home and help him? You will lose only half an hour. But you say, “I have a very important work to do.” All misfortunes in our life come from not listening to the good impulses and aspirations arising in our hearts. We fixate on various philosophical arguments and speculations saying that we must put our lives in order. Our first delusion lies in the desire to arrange our lives by ourselves and in our belief that we are capable of doing it. According to the mindful heart, our life has already been arranged. All conditions under which we should live, all people whom we should meet and who will affect us has been predetermined. And as it was set so it will be. In this way, the entire Heaven works upon us. In reality, it is God Who acts in this world through us. Therefore, every good deed is a manifestation of God in us. So, whenever we resist a Divine Thought, we are creating our misfortune in the world.

 

It is not required from you to carry the whole weight of the world through the good aspirations that you have. I have told you on other occasions that every good thought is connected with thousands of other good thoughts. Now, when you fail to realize a good thought, do you not admit that God has foreseen this? God has foreseen everything, but you are losing an opportunity. With each failure to realize a good intent, you descend and sink down; and thus your life becomes more difficult. Whenever you refuse to manifest a good thought, you debase yourself. The conditions will become harsher and harsher until finally, your willpower will be paralyzed. You will become a plaything of destiny, that is to say, of the external conditions. The sole cause for the appearance of these unfavorable conditions is that we have not listened to the mindful heart.

 

How do we know that the mindful heart is acting in us? If it is so, there is always an expansion taking place in our souls. Doing even the smallest good, you will feel pleased as if you had taken on the entire world and have won. You all should not speak of the good you do. As soon as you declare it outwardly, you will stumble. When you do good things, you have already God’s approval and feel joyful. So, you should not commend yourself with this, God will commend you.

 

Let’s say that someone was drowning and you saved him. After pulling him out of the water, do not linger for him to reward you. Leave it and let him search for you. If you write to the newspaper that you have saved someone from death, that you have done such and such good, half of it will be lost.

 

The students of the Divine Teaching have a moral power hidden in their absolute faith in God. We might not know where Heaven is, where God lives, how far He is away from us, but we need to experience God. An English clergyman once said, “I do not know where Heaven is, but when I begin to pray to God in the privacy of my soul, I feel the presence of the Divine Spirit.” It is an indication that God hears him immediately. That is the important thing: to be heard at the moment when we direct our spirit to God. It is said by the Prophet, “Truly, God does not live in Heaven but within the hearts of humble people.” Who are humble people? I say: people of the mindful heart.

 

If you all follow your mindful hearts, all disputes arising among you at times will disappear. For example, some of you have bad habits; sometimes you are losing patience. All this is due to the rationalizing of your mind that you have been insulted. In what does a person’s dignity lie? A person’s dignity lies in the fulfillment of the Will of God, in the application of the smallest virtues. You might have won one of the greatest battles. You might have uplifted an entire nation. Yet, if one day your heart tells you that you should tie the shoelace of an old man, but you do not obey it, every other accomplishment of yours will fall away. To tie an old man’s shoe is more valuable than to win a battle.

 

Now I am going to tell you about two hermits: they have been living in the desert for twenty years constantly praying to God. One day, the first hermit noticed that his companion passing through a certain place, jumped and started to run. He wondered what his friend could have seen to frighten him enough and make him flee. He went over to this place and saw a big pot, full of gold. He thought to himself, “How naive one can be to run away from gold.” He took the gold out from the pot and went to Alexandria where he built a large inn. He began to help the poor and when he spent all the gold keeping nothing for himself, he returned to the desert. He prayed to God to let him know if He was pleased with him. An Angel appeared before him and told him that all his good works as a whole were not as valuable as the act of his brother.

 

Therefore, if we take and assess what is accomplished by our present objective mind from childhood to passing away, it is all not as precious as one small act of our mindful heart. It is mentioned in the Scriptures that David contemplated with his heart[1]. It means that he contemplated with his mindful heart.

 

That is what is now required of you all being in the second stage of your life: good behavior is a prerequisite. In other words, you should know how to behave respectfully to one another. For example, when you want to admonish someone, you can do it, but in a loving way, the same way as you would act toward yourself. When you admonish yourself, how do you do it? Do you judge yourself severely? You consider the circumstances, do you not? Why do we not behave well with others as we behave with ourselves? Therefore, we should make the truth known in a loving way. When we correct our brother for his mistake, it is good to make him realize that we are doing this out of Love and not because we want to mock at him.

 

The principal thing that people lack today is noble, virtuous character. For example, in this School, you sometimes argue about the seats. Some ask me, “Do we not have the right to listen to you from the front places?” I ask: Whose character is nobler: of that one who is in the front or in the back? If you are a person of sweet tongue and fulfilling God’s Will, you may sit in the first seat. If you are someone using the rudest words, sit in the last place! Even if you are called to sit up in front, say, “Brother, I am not a person for the first seat. I will sit in the back now and will gradually move up to the first seats.”

 

You say, “Let’s sit up in front!” I will be glad to see you in front, but you should know that I “read” these first rows. They should be the rows of Divine Love so that everyone you meet after sitting in them could feel that sweetness coming from you - that kindness and the power to help one another. You might say, “Yes, but these are inherited traits.” It is a lie: the concept of “inherited traits” is your fabrication. When God created you He implanted in you virtues and qualities like kindness, good intent, and noble heart. Therefore, in every case, we have as many opportunities to be good as to be bad.

 

I have explained on other occasions what evil is. Evil always stems from our refusal to be good. Evil is the unaccomplished good. Let's assume that two students start to argue and insult one another; this is quite natural. How will they settle this dispute? If one of them tells himself, “Wait, I will act according to my mindful heart,” the other one will tell himself, “I, too, will act according to my mindful heart.” If both of them do this, the dispute will be settled immediately. What do you have in this world to contest? After all, what of that which you possess is to be contested? Is Divine Love not the best thing to possess?

 

Only God can give power to our mind, heart, and will. He has limited Himself to be able to abide in us. There is One God in the world Who has limited Himself for our sake. That is a sign of God’s Sublime Glory. If you do not recognize the Sacrifice, which God has made to enter human heart, you will create inner conditions for death. Death ensues from there. We die and resurrect every day. If you decide this evening to be true to the Great Law of the Divine Manifestation, do you have any idea of the change that will take place in you? If you observe this Divine Law, whoever you meet in your way - it might be even the most wicked people - when you stop and look at them, God will smile at you through their eyes. You will say, “I recognize Him!” God is hidden deeply within the wicked people. They are such because they do not live well. When roads in the country get worse, shall we lay the blame with the roads or the people? The people who failed to repair the roads. Therefore, because of our disobedience to this Great Intrinsic Law, we have come to the state, in which the entire world is suffering under the conditions of the contemporary life. That is why, a mild and tolerant disposition is needed.

 

Someone once said that death shines from the faces of the local cadets. I do not know whether death can shine or not, what I know though is that our faces shall breathe Life not death.

 

Now, speaking about the mindful heart, you should know that for its development suffering should touch you deep inside; you should be shaken to the depth of your soul. What is needed exceeds those emotions, which touch you only superficially, like the waves that scarcely reach ten meters below the sea surface: radical revitalization is required of you.

 

We should have Abraham’s character. Abraham had not any heirs. According to the Hebrew law’s line of succession, his inheritance would be left to one of his servants or one of his sons by his female slaves. And yet, God told him that He would give him an heir. Who was Abraham’s heir? Isaac, who was born thanks of his father and mother ’s devotion.

 

God said to Abraham, “You shall offer your son as a sacrifice.” If you were in Abraham’s position, would you say, “Let God’s Will be done”? He took his son, put some wood on his back and went straight to the place where he had been told to offer his son as a sacrifice. He was being tested to the very last moment. When he raised the knife, God said to him, “Do not lay your hand on the boy, neither shall you harm him, for now I know that you are a man who reveres God. I know that you are a man of obedience; and for this reason, you shall not offer your son as a sacrifice.”[2] This quality of Abraham is worthy of praise! With this, he showed that he was ready to sacrifice even the most precious that he had. For this reason, Abraham is called “a friend of God.” I call him “father of the faithful” because he was a man of absolute faith, a man who has no doubt.

 

Of course, you should apply this Teaching according to the situation in which you find yourselves in life. You will experience God and He is going to test you. He will test you as He did with Abraham. He will test you as He tested the apostles and prophets. You all shall pass through Fire - not just once, but seven times. When I say this, you get frightened. It is a necessity, but it is also the greatest blessing for each one of you to pass sevenfold through the Divine Fire. It is the sacred Fire of Love that will purify your minds and hearts so that you may come to know God’s Goodness and how to apply it in your lives.

 

Never act in haste. No matter what you do, do not hurry up. One of you is a merchant. Your accounts are in disarray, you lack money. You go home, hold your head and are discouraged. Do not get in despair! When you go home, sit down and turn your mind to God - to your mindful heart - and listen to the advice that will come: what to do in this situation. Certainly, you will receive some answer. If you are a mother and have a daughter who is very disobedient, do not scold her, do not ask her to do this or that. Instead, turn to your mindful heart and ask it what to do. After one, two, three, or four days the best answer will come to you how to behave with her. You are a teacher, servant, or student - no matter what your position is, do not act in haste.

 

I will give you an example illustrating that those who have faith always save themselves. About 250–300 officers were sentenced to death by the Bolsheviks. One of the officers was called forward and they asked him, “Do you believe in God?” “I do not.” They shot and killed him. The second, the third, the fourth - they asked each one, “Do you believe in God?” and the answer was negative. Finally they asked one, “How about you, do you believe in God?” “Yes, I believe!” and he made the sign of the cross. “At last, here is one believer. Go, you deserve to live.” They let him go free. Why? It is because God whispered to the executioners, “Let this one go free. He is My man!” This man had faith in his mindful heart; and he listened to his inner voice.

 

I can give you many other examples regarding the counsel of the mindful heart, but the benefit of these examples is in their application. I know how difficult it can be for a person to apply a certain precept! When someone becomes angry, doubt and hesitation immediately follow. You can doubt anything in the world but never God! Be ready to sacrifice yourself for this Great Love - for God Who has chosen to limit Himself in order to come and dwell within us. Be prepared, in any instance, to sacrifice everything for Him! In this, Christ has distinguished himself. “For I have come down from Heaven, not to do My own will, but the Will of Him Who sent me,”[3]said Christ. When they told Him that He must bear the cross of suffering, He said, “I will do everything that my Father has told me to do.”[4] Christ possessed both knowledge and power. He said, “Could I not ask for one or two legions of Angels to come and deliver me? I could, but I will not do it. I prefer disgrace, suffering, torture, as all of this is to be for the sake of my brethren.”[5] This is Divine Will! How is Divine Love revealed? In obedience.

 

A time will come when there will be no suffering. Christ will never be crucified again in this world. Why? It is because such tree on which to crucify Christ does not exist. This Christ Who is living nowadays in the hearts of millions cannot be crucified - there is not such a big tree for this. Christ is already very powerful and His might will increase even more. We, too, can have such power. This is why Christ said, “And whatever you ask in My name, it will be done.”[6] In which name? In the name of God’s Love, in the name of your mindful heart. If you have a mindful heart, Christ can come and dwell in it.

 

I can advise you, but cannot impose rules on you. I want one thing from you: to compete in showing respect to one another. This is a principal thing. You have enough philosophy; you could even be professors. You could hold lectures. You could preach to people on morality. You could even interpret the Scriptures, but what is required of you is the application, which is the most difficult thing. Whoever can apply the inner knowledge will pass into the second phase.

 

One can already speak to that person who is listening to his mindful heart. You can rely on your good aspirations. You should know that you all have them. I can prove this to you. If I insult you, you will show me how I should have behaved. You will tell me, “You should have been kinder.” If you can speak to me on morality, it means that you understand the good aspirations. Why can you not behave accordingly? We all know how we should behave. Why are we unable to apply the knowledge which we have? We can apply it! All of you, without exception, can apply it. We have good aspirations and mindful hearts, in which God has limited Himself to dwell. If two thousand years after Christ we say that we cannot live a pure Christian life - that is a pity!

 

I have been listening to you before the lecture. One brother said, “Brothers, let us pray!” I want only one of you to pray, not all. One of you can accomplish the whole job. How many engineers are needed to drive a train? One. If all become engineers, there will be a quarrel. One engineer per train is enough. He will get into the locomotive and all others will sit in the passenger compartments; then the work will advance. The good heart will begin to advance; this piston rod will operate according to the Great Divine Law and the rest will sit in the passenger compartments, quietly and calmly. You may ask, “Can we be sure there is no chance for mistakes?” The history of thousands of years tells us that all those who have been guided by their mindful hearts have acted wisely. Never have they caused an accident. For this reason, the psalmist said, “I have been young and now I am old; but I have not yet seen the righteous person to beg for himself. I have not seen anyone of mindful heart to beg for oneself or be subjected to profanity!” If the righteous have been subjected to profanity at times - this has occurred for the simple reason that they wanted to help their brethren.

 

And so, we will now appeal to your good aspirations, to your mindful hearts. After that, we will appeal to Christ, to this living Christ whom I call the Son of Love, the world’s sole Teacher. We know His name - Christ. And yet, He has a Sacred Name that we do not dare to mention. When I turn to Him, I say, “Lord, in Your Name by which You are known in Heaven above, may Your Will be done!”

 

Compete in showing respect! For the Bulgarian, this is essential. Among all Slavic nations, the Bulgarians are the coarsest. You need to accept this. Accept this. There is no shame about it: there is nothing wrong in being coarse, but polishing is needed. In order to become more polished, you need to compete in Divine Love. This Love will polish you. Then, like the oyster, you will produce a pearl out of your coarseness. First, you need to begin with good conduct.

 

I am constantly hearing some of you saying, “The Master is kinder to some of us and tougher to others.” You are considering things according to the physical manifestation. We cannot show favoritism. Love manifests itself equally to all people. It is so, but not all people manifest God’s Love equally. Therefore, your souls differ: some of them are more prepared than others and because of this, God manifests Himself more intensely through them. However, you should know that you all have the same opportunity. God treats Angels in the same way as humans, plants, even the smallest stones - there is no difference. I do not speak of the external, physical world but of the living stones and plants; because in Heaven, both stones and plants can speak and are alive.

 

Hence, you all need to manifest your good aspirations! I would like to see that the coarseness and complaining among you have disappeared because God’s Love is violated by such behavior of yours. All people complain, saying, “We need Love.” Well, Love is within us; you only need to manifest it! If your faucet is turned off, whose fault is it that the water cannot flow through it? Is it the fault of water or yours? Open the faucet and your mindful heart will immediately allow this Wellspring to flow forth.

 

The principal focus for the young, as well as for the old among you, is to compete in showing respect. Spiritual students who do not show respect for one another will not show respect for their Master too. Spiritual students who cannot live in harmony with one another do not respect their Master.

 

God says that He is not pleased with those who do not listen to Him. All hearts should be ready to fulfill God’s Will. All should do God’s Will through Love so that His Kingdom may come. Then we all will rejoice. We can apply this even tonight. No, this night will be a day. We can transform even the night into a day.

 

I want you now to remember this: Each one of you should resolve in a specific way the issue of relationships and good behavior, regardless of how the others treat you. This is the main issue; and yet, you begin with the opposite. No, each one of you should resolve on your own how to treat others well with the awareness of whether God is pleased with your attitude or not. I do not say that God is displeased because it would be a judgment.

 

You can rectify all your faults. This evening, God will take up all of your wrongdoings and put them behind Him. This will be done in an instant. Then a new state will arise: rebirth of the human being. A new uplift will occur with the human spirit. The newly born will be free of torments, being joyful and happy. This can come to pass even tonight; you can resolve this issue even now. Those who are ready - may they not be late. However, those who are not ready shall wait for their time to come. Those who are ready can resolve this issue instantaneously.

 

God of Love is not God of the dead, but God of the living.

 

Lecture by the Master Beinsa Douno for the General Esoteric (Occult) Class, held on April 2, 1924, Sofia.

 

--------------------------------------

1. See also Psalm 53.

2. See also Genesis 22:1–19.

3. See John 6:38.

4. See also Matthew 26:42.

5. See also footnote 3 on page 15.

6. See also John 14:13.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...