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1931_10_25 In Those Days


Ani
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In Those Days

 

"It came to pass in those days,

that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee,

and was baptized by John in the Jordan."

Mark 1:9

 

The name of John can be given only to that man who can discern the hidden wisdom of nature. A national, sane man can read and comprehend well the sense of the books written by the great souls who have lived before him. I use the words 'great souls' in a broad sense of the word.

 

There are two processes in the world. The one process is that if temporary limitation. It is common to the whole animal kingdom from the most inferior to the more superior beings bordering with man. It is an auxiliary process. The other process can be called Divine. Its specific quality is that it is liberating. If man could understand this process, he would see that it alone could set him free. Once come to earth, the purpose of man is attaining freedom. He wants to become free from something, which he himself can not understand. Man can not know this, because his spirit passes through four phases of consciousness: sub-consciousness, consciousness, self-consciousness and super-consciousness. He does not understand the processes within his sub-consciousness, because it includes all creation; that is the reason why man does not remember his past existences. He is aware, to an extent, of his past in his consciousness, since it is a process, which is temporary manifested. That which mans knows with his consciousness is that he is a being who lives, who has certain rights and a certain freedom to develop himself normally. Consciousness, as a process, exist in all animals. The self-consciousness, however, distinguishes man from the animals. He says: "I am a man!" Therefore, he is self-conscious. The final state is that of the super-consciousness, of which very little is known. It is the purpose, toward which man aspires, for it gives meaning to life. As soon as man understand he laws of his super-consciousness, he is free. In that state, he would be exposed to all the changes, which are now taking place in the world.

 

Contemporary man, however, is not free. When someone says that he is free, it means that he is relatively free, for a certain time. The freedom of men today is relative. The young man is only temporary free from old age. At first, the young man is being life with his weakness and helplessness. He struggles for a time with it until he becomes stronger and thinks he has won the battle. As soon as he reached the climax of his victory, he begins to grow old. In his old age, he again becomes like an infant. And you will be that old man. That sage had thought he had understood the sense of life, in need of others to take him from one place to another. The old people like the small children can not work.

 

When people make hurried conclusions and say: "This man is young, this man is old. However, they must understand what young and old mean in the fill sense of the word. Youth and age are two important processes, two important phases in the life of man. Someone says: "I am a man." You must understand what it is to be a man. - I am a Bulgarian. - You must understand what is it to bea Bulgarian. Then you must understand what it means to be a Frenchmen, a German etc. - This is an animal. - But you must know what animal is. - This is a wolf. - You must understand what a wolf is. On the whole, contemporary people have given certain interpretations to all the things, but for the most part they are not right. For instance, one must give a right interpretation to the wolf. Since nature has created him, she has had in view something rational. In the economy of nature, the wolf fulfils an honorable service. Therefore, we must not consider only his external form. If he does not fulfill his service well as a clerk, he will only remain with the title wolf, but everyone they will persecute him. He is employed as a treasurer of a bank, but he opens up the treasury, takes the money out and runs away. He is like some great military personage, like general, who sent to the battle- field to fight, but this general run away and the soldiers do the same. After that he tries to find excuses for his escape.

 

You ask why he must run away. - Because he does not want to die -that is all. - Why does he not want to die? When we are at home, it is easy to say that must die, but on the battlefield, it is not an easy matter to speak about death. Often speakers, orators deliver speeches before the people about their patriotic duties and encourage them to fight by saying: Brothers, you must to go to the battlefield to fight the enemy and sacrifice yourselves for your country. You must be ready to die! Yes, these men will fight and die for their country, but those who speak must remain at home.

 

Now on the basis of this same moral, some people say: "The Christians must lead a good life. - If only the Christians live well, the whole problem is not solved. It is true that the Christians must live well, but all the rest humanity must well, too. If we live, we must all live well. Life was created for the sane people. In their studies and researches, all men of talent in the past and in the present have at this conclusion. There are as many people of this kind as you wish, however, it is better for you to believe in this fact without referring to them, but if you can not believe, all the worse for you. Nature has an extreme reluctance of the cowards, the criminals, the foolish, there who slander and spend their energy in vain. In a word, nature had an extreme abhorrence of all crimes which people commit today: "She is enraged at them that she is continually thinking what penalty to impose upon them. She has already made up her mind to put plan into execution, and after it is applied, all men will see it and pass trough suffering. You say: "What does nature think?" She thinks how to punish all those people who have violated her laws. Why and what for, she not gives anybody an account to her acts.

 

Now, you may or may not believe my words. Faith is rational process, or a process of the higher mind. People must live well. There is no sense in their tormenting each other. It says in the scripture that Christ went to be baptized by John. Christ, who stands higher that John, went to the latter for his baptism, thereby giving people a good example of humility. He said to John: "You must baptize me with water!" The way John baptized Christs is a symbol. According to that symbol, every man has been born in order to be baptized. Someone says: "I want to baptize!" Even if you do not want to baptize, someone must be found to baptize people. Whether you want to of not, you will be baptized, but not only by water, as you understand the baptism. Every suffering is a baptism; every trial is a baptism. After being baptized in Jordan, Christ was speaking about another baptism. Therefore, his baptism was not finished. The first baptism by water is easily performed. One is dipped and washed in the water, and that is all. After that, however, comes the difficult baptism through the trials in life, when man must become free from the limiting conditions in life and understand the relations of good and evil.

 

Sometime people regard evil as if it does not concern them. In the evil as well as in the good is hidden a certain philosophy which must be studied. Someone says: "What is the sense of the cosmos? Man can understand the sense of the cosmos to the extent that he understands the sense of his own life. The cosmos has a relation to the human life to the extent that men have relation to it. People often ask what is the sense of life. It is not important for you to know the sense of life according to the philosophers, theologists or the believers, but in a given case, it is important for you to know the sense lo your own personal life. If I can give a solution to this question, themselves will solve the other questions. There is a continuous connecting link among all living beings. No one lives for himself alone. If someone thinks that he lives for himself, this is only apparently true. In reality, no man lives for himself.

 

Notice that every branch of a tree lives for itself, but at the same time it has a relation to the tree; it lives for the whole also - for the tree. So long as it is bound to the tree, it grows, develops and leads its own life. But as soon as it admits thought that it can live outside of the tree, independently, it withers. If you ask the mystic or the occultist for the reason why the branches wither, they will draw the conclusion that the branches of a tree wither when the}' think they can live independently from the life of the whole. Why is there so much unhappiness and suffering today? - Because the scientists and the men of letters admitted something wrong in their conceptions. They introduced the idea that men must conquer nature and become its masters. Up to this day there is a great struggle between man and nature. A Great War is being waged, but we shall see who will make amends after it is all over. It man conquers nature, the latter will pay the indemnity, but if she is the winner, man will pay it.

 

In this respect the learned men are divided into two opposing parties: some maintain that nature must submit to man; the others say that man must submit to nature. Therefore, when one asks what the evil is, I say: "When men want to make nature submit to them, they create the evil." He, who wants to conquer nature, brings unhappiness and evil into the world. He, who lives in concord with living nature, is in the realm of the good. - Where is the good? - The good is always around you. When the sun raises, that is good; when the stars rise, that is good; when the wind blows, that is good; when the water flows, that is good; when the earth brings forth fruit, that is good; when the plants grow and develop, that is good. Everything around is good and still we ask what is the good! Is it not good to sit at the table to eat, then to feel well disposed and happy? Is it not good after you have hungered for three days to have someone brings you some bread? Someone says: "If I hunger tree days, it shows that such is the will of God. That is not true. If you have hungered three days without any important reason and have not gained anything by that fast, it is a result of the human will, which wants to conquer nature. He who three times a day says that he is in accord with nature; he who does not eat, says that he is at war with nature.

 

Now men preach fasting and the churches also advise men to fast. In both cases by fasting is understood abstaining from bread and food. According to me, the rich must fast, but the poor must eat. - Why? - Because the rich have eaten so much that they have overeaten, and it is necessary for them to fast for a while. When they fast, they must give to the poor people the food which otherwise they would use up. Today fasting is preached to people, but the poor fast anyway they want to or not. That is why the poor always complain. They say: "We are tired of fasting!" are not the years of fasting ever going to finish and the good times come at last? When we speak about fasting, we must understand it in its deeper sense. There exists today a perverted idea about fasting. Fasting means abstaining from evil, from violating the Divine law and not merely abstaining from food. When a man fasts, he must have in mind the thought if giving his food during that day to someone who has been hungry and lost his balance in life. He who fasts must sustain his hungry brother, because no one lives for himself. The servant who does the work for his master must be fed by all means, otherwise he will not be in a condition to work. Therefore, one of the important questions in life is that of food. The economic question is based on the process of nourishment. Contemporary scientists, biologists, financiers and philosophers solve this question, because it is one of highest importance for life as a whole. Every nation must live well. Every man must also live well. Every man must have only food, but air, light, water and a home, as well. Nature itself as created mans this way. Man has a house - his body; he has two windows - his two eyes through which the light enters; ventilation's - his nose; a main entrance - his mouth, that economic net -work in which are deposited all the necessary provisions for the sustenance of the body. Man has two telephones also - his two ears by means of which he make contract with the external world.

 

Now if we discuss the question why Christ went to John for his baptism, what would you say about that? What is the relation between Christ and John? The relation between them is such a relation between a strong and a weak man. The strong must go to the weak to help him. Therefore, Jesus wants to John to help him - which was all. Christ said to John: "you preach a teaching of repentance which does not appeal to people. The rich do not want to repent that is why they will cut off your head. Now by baptizing me, we shall come to the agreement that you will not be weak-hearted or cowardly. You will prove to the people the truthfulness of your teaching even at the expense of your head. Moreover, you will know that you will pass through suffering, but I also will suffer. You will be beheaded, but I shall be crucified. When they nail me to the cross, you will come to help me.

 

Many people today think that everything ends with their death. When a man dies and goes to the other world, he helps people from there. While man is in his body, he is weak, but as soon as he leaves it, he becomes strong and powerful and able to help people. While man is in his body, he is like a debtor who owes money to at least a thousand men. As soon as he goes out of his house and meets any of the men to whom he owes, he is called dishonest and considered as an unreliable debtor. They call him a thief and all kinds of bad names, until he finds himself in a position not to know what to do. I tell that to go out of the land of bills, to pay all his debts and to become a free citizen. Then whoever of your creditors would meet you, he would say: "I am a glad to meet you. You are an honest and good payer. Now you can walk on the earth freely. Such is the state of everyone who can freely go out on his body. Contemporary people have work only with bills. Visit any institutions: the Congress, the churches, the Public Safety office etc. everyone you will find men talking about bills.

 

Often people judge someone, and accuse him for wishing to bring about a certain reform, a new political order, as a result of which he is turning the world upside down. I say: "The world has been upside down for the last eight thousand years." Who has turned it upside down? According to you a certain man is turning it upside down. But who been doing that till now? Certain people say that the religious, the spiritual people are psychopaths, somewhat abnormal. However, the statistics show that in Bulgaria there are more that 10000 insane people. Who is to blame for their insanity? Are they all religious men? I give an interpretation to the word 'psychopath' and find that it is not a bad word. It is composed of the word 'psyche' - soul and 'pathos' - disposition, an emotional state. Thus, a psychopath is a man in a good disposition of the spirit. People do not accept this interpretation but they will answer for that. The psychopath is a man who does not interpret things, as people understand them, as a result of which, he comes into conflict with them. Sometimes, he exaggerates things, since his nervous system is more developed than necessary. He is extremely sensitive. Since you say that the psychopath is an abnormal type of man, what is then the standard for the normal type? An abnormal person is one whose nervous system has fissures through which a great amount of his nervous energy flows out. A neurasthenic, on the other hand, is a man who is distinguished in some way from the other people - who has progressed in a certain department of life. It is not a bad thing for one to have a well-developed nervous system, but the evil lies in the fissures, which take place in it. This is like the interruption of an electric installation, as a result of which communications are irregular. Today 'psychopath' perverts the sense of the word psychopath; men understand a man who has a certain mental deficiency. We can draw the following conclusion from this: "If the mind of someone is sufficient for the committing a certain crime, he is not a psychopath. If the mind of someone is sufficient for violating a law, or going around it and then justifying himself before the people, he is not a psychopath."

 

Now it is not a question of disputing, or of comparing different teaching. Whenever the question arises as to which religion or teaching is right, I take as a starting point the following view: in nature there is only one light. All fires, all lights existing on earth, have issued forth from the sun. Which is the standard, which determines the power of the different lights? -The sun. If the sun should be extinguished only for a moment, you would not be able to light any fire. Therefore, if your candle burns, be sure that the sun is in a normal state. On the same basis, when you think well, when you have a good disposition, you must know that at the same time, many other beings think like you. You are not the only person who thinks in this way. Wise nature is the standard for all things.

 

If you examine life closely, you will see that there is a close, continual connection among the minerals, plants, animals, man and the beings superior to man. According to me, minerals represent life in a genetic state. They are deeply buried in the earth. Those minerals, on the other hand, which have sprouted up and have shown some of their parts on the surface of the earth, are the plants. Thus, when a mineral has solved an important problem in its life, it sprouts up and passes into the phase of a plant. The lower parts of the plant - the roots, remain in the earth. The plants are not yet completely free. After they have thought for thousands of the years how to liberate their heads - the roots - from dense matter and to obtain heir liberty, they appeared like animals in which state they found a solution to that question which they, as plants, had not been able to solve. The animals, however, remained for a long time in bad, unfavorable conditions for their development. It was necessary, finally, for man to come think for a long time about this problem until he could find a way to liberate himself. Man solved the question, which the animals could not solve. The animals, because of their lack of reason, developed different passion by which they usually destroyed themselves. The crime which men of today commit, is nothing other than an ancient heritage of the mammals. If men would return to there past and examine the life of their forefathers, they would be terrified at the sight of that terrible destruction, of the awfully cruel wars and contents of mankind. The present wars are nothing compared to those in the past. Perhaps, the future in which man will use poisonous gas could be compared to the cruelty of the past wars. There has been a time when terrible devastation and distractions have taken place in the world, until finally, man has appeared with his thought, in order to put an end to those distractions and to introduce order into the world. When man has appeared in paradise, he has restored peace and calmness on the whole earth by his thought. This is, in fact, the reason why has come into the world. However, after the fall, this destruction started again among mankind, as among all the nations.

 

I ask you: "How humanity come out of the condition in which it is now? Today, man must come again with his new, right thought to solve all questions. The solution of these questions is not a problem of a single man, or of a single nation. A single man or a nation can solve only one question, but the solution of all questions represents the problem of the entire humanity. It must participate in this great problem, which concerns and engages all men equally. Contemporary nations are conscious of this fact and are working toward the realization of this problem. Christ came to earth with a great mission. He wanted to show contemporary European nations how they must act. Everything Christ preached in his time has a relation to the present epoch. He told all nations: "You will come to a great crisis. If you want this crisis to be averted, you must apply my teaching. If you apply my teaching, you will be saved from a great catastrophe, if you do not apply it, the catastrophe is inevitable. One of the ancient prophets has said: "The time when this catastrophe will come is not very distant." How will this catastrophe come? The time has come when scientists will be able to inflame the air. Imagine that the air enveloping the whole earth is inflamed. What will become of the present culture then? The Scripture says that the whole earth will be on fire and everything upon it will disappear. This time is near. If men do not apply the law of Love, the air will be inflamed, by all means, and then the earth will purify both the good and the evil people. However, the good will not burn up - They will pass trough fire and become pure, while the evil, who are in contradiction with nature, will be burned and melted away, as the dead bodies are incriminated in special kilns. Only in this way the contradictions in the world, which cause many diseases, will disappear. On account of these contradictions, contemporary men have not solved the question what their relations toward nature is and whether their acts agree with its laws or not. They say: "The conditions do not allow us to act in accord with nature. But conditions do not justify men. If I am a man and think of my welfare, I must know that I have a relation to the whole as well as to the parts of the whole. If I am conscious of this fact, should I admit a misfortune in my life, which will inevitably have a reflection upon the life of the other people? The law is one and the same both for misfortune and fortune, fortune, for the evils as for the benefits. They are equally transmitted from the whole to the parts and from the parts to the whole.

 

Today, men all over the world are beginning to realize the influence of the pure Divine thought upon man. All good people must become united and concentrate their thought in one direction - toward the reconstruction of the world. If all mothers say: "We do not want anymore wars! - They would have success. If all mothers would say to their children, while they are still in their womb, that they do not want to fight and to kill, those children after they are born, will bear the ideas of their mothers. They will become transmitters of the new thoughts and for the rectification of the world. If a son wants to marry, his father must say to him: "If you marry in order to give birth to criminals who will kill each other, it is better for you not to marry. But if you marry, in order to give birth to good sons and daughters who help their neighbors, then you can marry. Today, good people are needed in the world! If good people are born, marriage is in its place. The good people must work collectively for the elevation of the world. The good people must occupy such posts as living nature has assigned to them.

 

"Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee." Nazareth represents our lowly, humble origin. In this sense Nazareth is a symbol. Galilee is the beautiful and fine in life. Galilee is a region where Nazareth is found. Contemporary people must nourish in themselves the beautiful and fine; they must maintain the great idea of the nobly human in life. This idea is as necessary to the wise men as health. While he is ill person. The sick man does not need wealth but health. While he is ill, the most important thing for him is health. If he health, wealth will come to him. Which is the most important thing for the ignorant man or for the small child? - To become educated. By the word 'educated', I understand that knowledge which can set man free from all the limiting conditions of life. What is the most important thing for a man who is in darkness? - Light. He wants to find the way in which he must walk.

 

Thus under the present conditions, there is no better thing for man than to have a sane mind, to understand the relations among people, to know the laws and study the language of nature. People today do not understand nature. For instance, scientists say that heat expands the bodies, while cold causes them to contract. They do not give any explanation what the relation of expansion and contraction is, in regard to man. Men have not observed what changes take place in them when they experience pleasant or unpleasant feelings. When you have a pleasant feeling, measure your hand or neck and see what change you can notice. Then do the same when you have an unpleasant feeling. In the first case, you will notice an expansion in the hard and neck, while in the last, you will notice a small contradiction.

 

You say: "Man is wise, he knows the laws and knows how to cope with his difficulties. It is true that man is wise, but often when this wise man find himself in difficult conditions, he becomes afraid of the future and commits suicide. In this respect, the hare, which is considered as the most timid animal, when frightened, does not commit suicide, but even retains the presence of mind and can think. There are examples from the life of the hare when in the most difficult situation of life, it thinks like philosopher. For instance, when a hound which runs faster than it, is chasing it and the hare downward with greater difficulty than upward, as soon as the hound comes close to it, it lies down for a second and the hound in its speed jumps over it and continues on. At that moment the hare jumps up and runs in the opposite direction. Thus, while running away from he hound, the hare is thinking how to get free from it. When a setter is chasing it, the hare has another method of running. It begins to run around in a circle, as if dancing a Bulgarian horo, then suddenly it jumps the pace often feet from the center and runs away. In this way the hare gives the setter a geometrical figure for solution. And after all that, you say that the hare is cowardly and foolish! The hare is not foolish, but the one chases it: - You are a man, but so long as you chase me with your gun, misfortune will never cease to follow you. As the hounds and setters chase me, in the same way your evil thoughts will chase you until you become sane and see the consequences in your acts. Stop chasing me! The long ears of the hare indicate good intelligence. If men, according to the degree of their development, were as wise as the hare, the world today is all in order. You, who are listening me now, will say: now this is too much be the prophet Isaiah says: "The ox knows and returns to its manager but Israel does not know God and does not return to its home." Who ranks higher? The ox knows his master, but man whom God has endowed with a mind denies the Rational Principle in life and says he will direct his life alone. Thousands of years man has tried to put order in his life and has not yet succeeded in doing it.

 

There is an ordinary way to liquidating with your debts. It is that of John, i.e. the way people use today for liquidating with their debts. John was a man of the Old Testament. He represented the old law: "If you owe, you are obligated to give. Christ, however, showed people another way for liquidating with their debts: "Liquidation by the law of Love - giving out of love. Christ did not have in mind that love which does not give man liberty, which does not enable man to do away with all fear, hatred, sickness, suffering and all bad conditions of life. This is not love. The love Christ spoke about brings beauty, joy and happiness into life. This love has in view the welfare of all beings. Therefore, if some men say they have grown old, the reason for that is their old conception of life. The old man must give up his old conceptions, if he wants to become young. Contemporary people are still supporting the thoughts and conceptions of the thousands of generations before them; the father tells his son that he will grow old, for that reason he must build himself a house and become insured. And actually, present-day people know everything they can build houses, sew clothes, graduate from universities, become generals, ministers, princes and kings, but life remains the same. The king lives like the simple man and the simple man lives like the king. Every man can be king, but according to me, a king can be only that man who has freed himself from death and evil. He, who is not set free from death and evil, is a slave of the conditions of life. He can only bear the title 'king' without being a one.

 

An acquaintance of mine that has studied medicine in Boston once told me the following interesting story about a king. While walking in the streets of Boston, he saw a tall man coming towards him, about two meters tall, with crown on his head, in a mantle, holding a scepter in his hand. All the people passing by did not pay any attention to him. He wondered why these Americans did not pay attention to this European king, as he thought him to he. As he passed by him, he turned around to look at his back, but his surprise was great when he saw on his back the advertisements of a factory. I say: "Every man is a king, but if the advertisement of all his crimes are posted on his back, what sort of king is he? When speaking about a king, understand the real man. The man of today has many advertisements of crimes in his back. I ask you: "Should he recommend by them? Today people are trying to become free of the external crimes, but they do not think of the inner crimes. However, both the outer and crimes are registered not only upon paper, as it is done today, but they are also written upon the whole body of man. Some day you will meet more advanced beings than you will. How will you look at them? Some day you will meet beings that have expected love from you, which you have not given them; some day you will meet you brother who have expected help from you, which you have not rendered them. How will look at them?

 

You say: "What was the sense of Christ's coming to the earth and suffering. Could He not save Himself? - Christ had great powers at His disposal and could save Himself. It says in the Scripture that Christ could call to His aid 12 legions of angels. In every legion there are 6 000 angels. A single one of these possesses such great power that he can destroy in one night a well-armed army of 150 thousand soldiers, so that not even one would remain alive. Then how many such angels are needed for wiping the Bulgaria off the face of the earth? If 6 000 come, they will destroy the whole of humanity.

 

However, the destruction of humanity should be uplifted is not the question. It is important that humanity should be uplifted through the good. The good is distinguished from the evil in that it always constructs and creates, while the evil destroys. Love is that which always constructs and liberates man. That which always constructs and liberates man is wisdom. That which always constructs and liberates man is the truth. They are eternal processes. The desire of someone may say: "This is all in vein, it is only for children." I ask you: What is the real, the essential thing in life?

 

We often pronounce the name of God, but in this beautiful name are done great crimes today. All sorts of crimes have been committed in the past, all in this sacred name! Christ says: "The hour comes and now is when everyone who kills you will think that he is offering service to God." And contemporary people think that by killing the criminals and the bad people, the world be set right. If actually the world could be set right by killing people, every year about 35 million people are condemned to death and still the world is not rectified. Therefore, the question can not be thus solved. Every year 35 million men die and, in their place about 40 million are born. Thus million men more come to the earth than those who go to other world. The evil kills 35 million, while love sends 40million men. It would be interesting to see in the end: who shall take the upper hand. Finally, the hands of evil will weaken and it will not be able to kill anymore. The evil will kill until it capitulates. The necks of people will become so tough, that no knife will be able to cut them. A time will come when the human neck will be in such a state that as soon as a knife comes close to them it will be thrown off them and break, but the necks will remain untouched. A tire will come when the human bodies will be so constituted, that every bomb thrown at them will melt without causing them any harm.

 

Then I ask you: how will people kill one another? A time will come when man will not kill the bad people and the criminals, but they will put to sleep and rest, while the good people will do their work. This time is coming, is it not far; the question is - what we must do now. It will be easy to attain everything in the distant future, but today, the evil people can not be put to sleep yet. Someone was asked once: how are you getting along? - I am a very difficult condition. - What will you do then? - At last, I shall get used to it. However, I do not stop at this point. The question is not that man should get used to the evil, but there is a natural way by which man can become free of the influence of all diseases. This is a real science. And in this science is hidden the sense of life. The future sciences will not deal with the pathological states of people, but will rather study their states. Let us admit that a merchant loses a hundred thousand leva and remains without a cent in his pocket, so that he has no money to buy bread. He wonders what to do. He goes home and can not bear to see his wife and children hungry. At last the thought of suicide takes possession of him. I call this state a state of stupidity. In the world there are many resources by means of which man can be delivered from even the worst conditions of life. You have no admittance yet, to these resources. If you knew the laws of nature, you would find a way to them and be saved.

 

I shall cite an example as an affirmation of this idea. It is concerning a principal of a grade school in Kazanluk before the war. Up to the time of the war, he had been a great atheist and had often to his students that God does not exist, but man directs his own life and forges his destiny. During the last war, he took part in the battle with the Greeks and during the retreat of the Bulgarian army he hid with great difficulty in a cave where he spent three days hungry, without a bite of bread. The hunger began to torment him so terribly that the idea of turning to God came to his mind. He said: "God, my father and mother have said to me that you exist but I do not believe in this. Of what benefit is at this moment your existence when I am dying of hunger? If you can save me from this difficult condition, I shall believe that you exist. I promise you, that when I return in Bulgaria, I shall gather all my students to whom I have preached that there is no God and shall convince them in the opposite. After pronouncing these words, he smiled and naively said to himself: ""When one has no other work, he talks nonsense like me. However, half an hour had not elapsed before there appeared at the entrance of the cave a tortoise carrying half loaf of bread in its mouth, which it left in front of the cave and returned in the direction from which it came. He took and ate the bread and thus gathering some strength, he continued on his way. When he returned home, he called together all his pupils: -"Children, I preached to you before that there is no God, but an important fact convinced me completely in His existence. And then he told them of his experience. - Up till now - he continued, neither Kant, nor some other philosopher could convince me that God exists, but the tortoise succeeded in doing it. That man had a great influence upon the others, because he told them of a living experience of his. I say: "The great truth must be tested, we must acquire experiences upon which we can build our future creed. Contemporary people must have a creed in which they absolutely should not doubt.

 

I say: "If a present day people, who believe in a certain Supreme Principle would concentrate their thought on Him with the desire that He should set the world right, the world would become right. Even if only the Christians wished it, they could set the world right. That can be achieved even in the course of five years. There are no obstacles for that. The only obstacle is the personal, selfish interest of people. Two brothers who had been in a great conflict, were taken captives in the same place and were delivered to a soldier to kill both of them along with some other captives. When they saw each other, both of them embraced and kissed one another and said: "We shall not dispute from now on. We are both going to the other world, let us become reconciled here. The soldier who accompanied them, asked them why they embraced and kissed each other. They told him they were brothers who were becoming reconciled after a long conflict. He answered them: "Since this is a fact, go to your homes, I give you your life that you may live at liberty in the new way. There is a language in nature, which is the same for all plants, for all animals and for all men.

 

I shall cite an example from Bulgarian life, by which you can see that actually, there exists a common language for all beings in nature. A little girl lost her parents and got lost in a forest. She started to cry and to seek her mother. Suddenly, she saw a bear, which immediately squatted, on the ground, in order not to frighten the child. The girl approached it and asks it: "Tell me, where is my mother? The bear squatted still lower, so that the girl might get on its back. Thus, with the child on its back, it continued its way through the forest to take the child to her mother. The bear is a clairvoyant, for it saw the father and mother climbing a rock, because they were afraid of it. When they saw their girl on the back of the bear, the mother immediately called to her: - Come down from the back of the bear! They were afraid of it, while the little girl calmly sat on its back. After that, the bear squatted low again, the child came off its back and joyously went to her mother. Many people will say that this is one of the stories from "Arabian nights"

 

It is to be remarked that people today have lost all faith. Unbelief as reached its highest point. Men have no faith in each other. The husband has no faith in his wife; the wife has no faith in her husband; the son has no faith in his father and the father has no faith in his son; the daughter has no faith in her mother and the mother has no faith in her daughter. All over the world there exists extreme unbelief. And all these people who have lost their faith preached some kind of liberty to the world. All men must return to the true faith and know that if they do not believe in their father, mother brother, sister or friends, there can be not order whatever in his world. What can these people preach? They will preach that Christ has suffered and has been crucified. And after that they will weep for him. I say: "You do not weep for your brother who is suffering, but you weep for Christ. Christ for whom you apparently weep, is in your brother who suffering and calls for your help.

 

Now you ask: "Which teaching is right? Only that teaching brings freedom for all beings without exceptions: "For all plants, animals and peoples. Wherever it may come from, so long as it brings liberty for all living beings, this teaching is right. I am not speaking about a temporary freedom. If it is a question of temporary freedom, the Bulgarians, for example, acquired such freedom - Russia liberated them, but up to this day they are not free. Now someone else must come to liberate them again. I do not know who will liberate them now. Not only the Bulgarians, but in America, in England, in Germany, everywhere you go, you will find that men are not free and need liberation. If you go to London, for instance, There you will find city-quarters of 45-50 thousand people: men, women and children, but the children in those quarters do not know their fathers and mothers. If a foreigner happens to pass through such a quarter, a police must, by all means, accompany him. He who passes through such a place is exposed to some danger. This is true of all large cities: New York, Paris, Berlin, etc. Even in small Bulgaria their are quarters in the cities where one can not walk freely. As soon as ore becomes angry, he does not think much and is ready to send a bullet through somebody. In case he does not shoot anyone, he is ready to say offensive words to that person and after that begin to regret his act. Every man has such a section behind his ears where the center of destruction is found inhabited by 45-50 thousand cities. There is one way for getting saved from the inhabitants of these quarters.

 

There is one way for acquiring freedom. When I say that there is one way for acquiring freedom, I do not deny all the other ways, but I do not say that all attempts of humanity for freedom are out of place. I mean to say that today humanity is in need of a special starter, which will give it a strong impetus forward. All men have a good desire acquire this starter in order to understand that freedom acts always in the same way and must be common to all people. So long as man wants freedom only for himself he is in the wrong way. If he wants freedom for the others, as well as for himself, he is in the right way. If you wish good for all people, as well as for yourself, you are in the right way.

 

Now when you get up in the morning, ask yourself where you ha\ e come from and how you have acquired all that you have within yourselves. Without thinking about these questions, you say: "I was born, but some day I shall die and my life will come to an end. I say: "It is easy to die and finish up with everything, but just when you think you have come to the end, you will find yourself in a contradiction. You will find yourself in the position of that man who had to pay a bill of one hundred thousand leva, but not being able to pay it, he decided to commit suicide. He climbed a high rock and jumped down, but he did not succeed in killing himself, only his legs were broken. When he saw himself in such a condition, he despaired still more and said: "If my legs were good, I could pay the bill, but now both my legs are broken and the bill - not paid. Many people think in this way. They hope to pay their bills after they die. When they die, they neither pay their bills, nor have life. Therefore, it is better for man in the present conditions, to have strong legs and pay up his bills gradually.

 

Back of every creditor stands an angel who tests people. When you believe that your creditor is an honest man and there is a Divine Principle in him, as well smile at you fall in love with your creditor. As young man falls in love with a maiden and is ready to kneel before her, this robber. As you call your creditor, will smile at you, pat you on the back and say: "I am ready not only to forgive your debt of one hundred thousand leva, but also to give you that sum. Men have done this in the past and are still doing it. This is the only way of becoming brothers. This is what men ought to preach in the world today!

 

Today all men are disputing which church, which teaching, or which philosophy is right. All churches must preach the teaching of nature. All men must become coworkers with nature. All must receive a baptism along with it. Where? All must be baptized in the river, which Love proceeds from. All must be baptized in the lake of wisdom Love flows into. And finally, all must step firmly upon that soil upon which is poured the rain of truth. Therefore, you will dip yourselves in each one of these, three times: "Dip yourselves three times in the river of Love; then dip yourselves three times in the lake of Wisdom and finally, expose yourselves three times to the shower of Truth. Only in this way can one enter the Kingdom of God. He who has not dipped himself three times in Love. Wisdom and Truth can not enter the Kingdom of God, neither can he solve anything in the world. There are not vain words, but they are an interpretation of the verse: "And in those days came Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized of John in Jordan."

 

Now, I speak, I raise my voice a little. However, the power of the words does not lie in their loud pronunciation; they are powerful in so far as they are true and applicable; they are powerful in so far as they are in accord with the Divine in man. You say: "We must speak the truth! This is True, the truth must be spoken, but there are things which are only external folders. To speak the truth to a man implies saying to him that which can rejuvenate him. Man is rejuvenating when he applies his ideas. If a nation applies the laws of Love, Wisdom and Truth, it will be completely rejuvenated.

 

You say: "What is the Bulgarian accomplish? If they apply the teaching of Christ, they could set the whole world on fire and liberate it. Many have asked me: "What is the mission of the Bulgarian nation? If the Bulgarians are ready to fulfill that which I say to them, they will know what their mission is. If they do not fulfill that which I preached to them, I shall not say what their mission is.

 

The apostle Peter has said: "You are Sons of God" - If today someone says that he is a son of God, everybody condemns him for calling himself a Son of God. The Scripture has said this not only about one person, but also about everybody. In this sense, I would like all of you to be Son of God, i.e. Sons of the Divine Love, the Divine Wisdom and the Divine Truth. I would like all of you to be bearers of the new teaching and wherever you pass, to wipe the tears off men's eyes, to liberate them from all diseases, from all poverty, infirmities and suffering.

 

Therefore, be Sons of God, sons of Love!

 

A talk of the Master held Oct. 25, 1931, Sofia, Izgrev.

 

 

In Those Days

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