1914_11_02 The High and Low Tides in Life / The Spirit and the Flesh. High and Low Tides in Life / The Spirit and the Flesh. Afflux and reflux in life

[Jackline Spasova-Bobeva 0]

The Book - The Spirit and The Flesh. Beinsa Douno

Translation from Bulgarian - Vessela Nestorova

 

THE HIGH AND LOW TIDES IN LIFE

 

For the ffesh fusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the ffesh; and these are contrary the one to the other. ¹

 

In general, people have very vague ideas of those deep Laws upon which life rests. The world we live in is ruled by Laws and regulations which God has put into the Universe when He was creating it. And when He led the first man into it— here the Scriptures are silent—the Lord taught him for a very long time, instructing him in the heavenly arcane. He acquainted him with all the basic Laws of this great building in which He placed him to live; He showed him the properties of all herbs; revealed to him the properties of the elements and their action, and making man a master over everything, He told him, "If you observe My Laws, you will always be happy, joyful and in a state of bliss and you will succeed in everything you undertake to do, but the day you violate my order everything will rise against you."

 

The two trees spoken of in the Scriptures, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, are witnesses to this fact. If I should start explaining what these trees are, I shall digress too much, so I shall leave this for another sermon. These two trees in Paradise were living, intelligent, possessing certain powers and qualities. And the Lord said to the first man, "There is a great danger for you in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the day you will lay hand on it, you will lose everything. The elements hidden in that tree are not for you yet, for you are not sufficiently strong yet to master them. You can learn that in the future, but in the present you can make use of all other trees, of everything in life, but not of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."

 

I shall not stop to discuss the deep reasons which induced Adam to violate the Divine command. Some people preach that we must have faith. In fact, faith is necessary, be it positive or negative, it is the foundation of life and life cannot exist without it. All beings, from the microscopic to the greatest, have faith. But what is their faith? The unbelievers say that they do not believe in God, but their statement affirms in the same time that they believe in something—that there is no God. Therefore, they have some kind of faith. I would like to see how a person can remain without faith, not even in themselves. If people believe in themselves, they have faith—the only difference is that they believe in their mind. We are not right in saying some are unbelievers—this is half-right, for they have given up their faith in God, but they believe in themselves. Therefore, faith can be positive and negative. Adam and Eve expressed the principle of disbelief in God because Lucifer entered the garden of Paradise and they believed in him, leaving God. As a result of this came the fall of man. And the Apostle Paul says to the Romans, "Whom you obey, his servant you become."

 

This morning my sermon will be about two great Laws, which I formulate thus: the Law of opposites and the Law of similarity. These are Laws which we can test every day. They are not an abstract philosophy like reincarnation or the transmigration of souls, but things which we can test daily within ourselves. From the point of view of these Laws, the dark aspects of life may become somewhat clearer to you. For instance, you are at the seashore and the sea is calm and quiet, but suddenly you notice that it begins to get turbulent, rising toward the shore like a flood— what the scientists call high tide. In some places the sea rises as high as sixty feet. At such times, you must run away as soon as you can, or you will be swallowed up by the waves. This high tide lasts twelve hours, after which the sea begins to subside and the waves draw back into their previous place. You can watch this often, sometimes daily—in twenty-four hours the water moving once forward and once backward.

 

Such high and low tides take place in you as well. Where? Naturally, neither on the high mountain peaks, nor on the high places of life, but in the low places. It often happens that you go down to the calm sea singing some sweet melody and suddenly a big wave dashes at you, washing you away with your sweet melody or wetting you all over. Or rowing in a calm sea, a storm comes up and turns the boat over and you find yourself in the stormy waves. This is not an exaggeration, but true to life facts. How many times people disappear without trace in the sea of life with their songs, dreams and ideals! You say, "A misfortune!" and, not knowing the Laws of Nature, seek the cause. When the ancient philosophers said, "Know yourself," they meant that a person should know these two Laws of regular motion—high tide and low tide. These two words are hazy in your mind, so I shall try to explain them.

 

This phenomenon is called the Law of rhythmic motion in present-day science. In all things there is a movement from the center to the periphery and from the periphery to the center; in all things there is high and low tide, rising and falling, conception and deterioration. In chemistry there is action and reaction—action is high tide after which is formed a reaction or low tide. If you notice your watch ticks quite noisily and then the ticking gradually fades away and then its sound again begins to increase—the same thing is true of your heart. If you put your hand on your heart, you will notice that at times it starts beating faster and you get frightened. The doctor says, "This person has palpitation." It is high tide in your organism reflected in the heart. This Law functions everywhere. And when the doctors say about some that they have a valvular disease, I say that these people have high tide in their mind, in their heart and in their soul and after 12 hours this tide will subside and the palpitation will pass. These 12 hours may be 12 seconds, 12 minutes, 12 hours, 12 days, 12 weeks, 12 months, 12 years, 12 centuries, 12 thousand years, 12 million years, and so on—it is all the same since the relation of things remains all the same. This is how this Law works.

 

In the above quoted chapter, the Apostle Paul speaks of the Law of the flesh, which is the Law of the low tide, and of the Law of the spirit, which is the Law of the high tide. The Law of the opposites includes the Law of the low tide, whereas the Law of similarity—the Law of the high tide. In some places of stagnant water, the evaporations spread microbes and near such places appear different diseases. This Law works in our brain, in our heart and in our soul. In the organism there are often sediments, which cause the diseases and what we call rheumatism in the legs, in the joints, or in the head when we feel pains and begin to complain. If we are sensible and understand the Law, we can put a strong barrier, a big wall where there is a high tide. If we are foolish, we shall gape in the shore by the stormy sea. People consistently repeat, "The world is bad." In what way is it bad? Now this World War! It is a high tide of the forces and in this tide there is collision and all are running and crying that the sea is raging. And they call war this rush of people and ask, "What will become of the world?" I say, in twelve hours, twelve weeks, or twelve years everything will be calm, the places where blood was shed will be dry and people will ask, "What was all this about? What was the cause, why did the sea rage against us?" The sea is not raging but breathing, and when it makes an effort to breathe, its breast rises 60 feet—however, when the sea is taking its breath, you must be 60 miles away from its shore on some high peak. When it is breathing out, you may go on the shore and enjoy it; but as soon as you see it inhaling, run away from there to the high place.

 

If we can understand these two Laws, of the opposites and the similarity, we shall know two great things in the world. The Law of similarity is the Law of heaven, the other Law—of the opposites—is the Law of the Earth, of the organic world, of the flesh. You get up some morning in a bad disposition, the whole world is wrong, you have no desire to work; your mind is confused. You say: "God has not made the world as it should be." All the devils are in your mind and you are ready to quarrel with everybody, you have let loose your girdle waiting for someone to step on it and for you to burst out—this is the Law of the opposites. On such a day when the wife notices the loose girdle of her husband, if she understands the Law, she must run 2 kilometers away from him and say to herself: "Today my husband has low tide of the spirit and high tide of the flesh." You should not laugh because on the next day the wife will loosen her girdle. This is a Law. All do not loosen their girdles at the same time. Ten years ago I lived with a family of seven members—father, mother, a son and four daughters. I was making small observations, testing how this Law worked—it worked like a clock! Each member took their turn during the week. On Monday the father was indisposed, his girdle loose. The others whispered, "Father is indisposed, scowling, yelling." They all keep quiet, looking for the cause. On Tuesday the father is happy, but the mother is scowling, her girdle is loose. The father giggles and says, "Your mother is on duty today." It is interesting that on Wednesday the big son lets loose his girdle. They all laugh, yet each one takes their turn during the week. I knew who was on duty each day and the program was fulfilled with no mistake. It is easy, and pleasant to a certain extent, when one at a time lets loose the girdle, but when two do it at the same time, or, scientifically said, when two are at low tide, then the situation is bad.

 

In this chapter Apostle Paul says that the flesh is opposite to the spirit and the spirit is contrary to the flesh. It is unthinkable to reconcile these two Laws, because they have a diametrically opposite direction—the one moves forward and the other— backward. The Law of the opposites destroys, it demolishes harmony and happiness. As soon as it comes to you, it carries away all your furniture. When you fall under the power of the Law of the opposites, it can influence your mind for a long time: 12 minutes, 12 hours, 12 years. There are certain periods in life which influence the character of a person from the very beginning. If children are conceived during the period of the opposites, they will become criminals by all means, unable to avoid the consequences of the elements which incite their life in a deviant direction. If the father and mother are under the influence of the Law of similarities, a noble son or daughter with a good and well-developed mind will be born of them. This is how these great Laws work. The first people, before the fall of man, had known them; but after the fall they have forgotten them.

 

People want their priest to preach to them after the service, but he is under the Law of the opposites and his vibrations, disposition and speech on that day cannot bring a blessing to them. He may serve reluctantly, out of duty or necessity. Yet if he were free, he would have put his hat on and gone somewhere else. However, people want him to preach to them. What can he preach? He will condemn them, call them bad people, sinners and send them to hell. That day he has said a lie: he has spoken of himself and people have been only a mirror in which he could see himself when he is under the influence of the Law of the opposites. People speak of an eminent American preacher in New York who moralized for a long time under the Law of the opposites and told his parishioners such terrible things that he frightened them all. The influence of the Law of the opposites often leaves in the stomach sediments obstructing digestion and doing harm to the whole organism. Because of that one day the parishioners took their preacher to hospital to cleanse his stomach of these sediments. A tube was placed in his mouth, then 4-5 kilograms of warm water was poured in, his stomach was washed two or three times and when the sediments were rinsed out he appeared in church and started preaching about the Kingdom of God, the coming of Christ, about Love, etc. People said, "Look, our preacher is transformed!" So I say when an orator wants to speak to people in church, in the chamber or anywhere else, he must cleanse his stomach, his heart and his mind of all sediments and then speak to people.

 

Let us suppose you get up some morning somewhat indisposed and you cannot explain the cause. A few minutes pass and your mind begins to clear up and you say, "Thank God, I am relieved now." But after some time bad thoughts overcome you again. You ask, "Where did this devil come from?" People cannot understand that there is a Law that periodically and systematically works in the world. No devil with a trap has come to catch them, but it is the Divine Law. The Lord says, "I gave you a mind to reason about the order in the world. I told you about this Law long ago, but you forgot it and now the Law itself will teach you." When contemporary societies become able to understand the deep sense of the two Laws, the world will be fundamentally set right. Some people ask, "How can the world be set right?" When we begin to act according to this Law, the world will be restored to its original state as God ordered it. Like causes produce like effects; contrary causes produce contrary effects. The Hindus, who know these two Laws, explain them by the word karma—the Law of cause and effect. The karma may be good and bad or karma of the high tide and karma of the low tide. The commercial language expresses it as give and take. If you give, this is low tide, if you take, this is high tide. The one to whom you owe will come on the exact date of payment and invite you to pay your debt. Date of payment means a Law which regulates things. This Law is conditioned by the debtor as well as by the lender.

 

Therefore, when God sent us into the world, He laid down certain terms. We have signed that we are obliged to do this or that, but now we say to Him, "We do not owe You anything." "Is that so? Then I shall apply the Law on you, the Law of the opposites. You beat someone, but he will beat you in turn, what you do will be done to you in return." These two Laws dominate and work on the Earth. The like always repulses the like. A cock perches on the dunghill, but a stronger cock comes and chases it away. Why do not both of them crow on the dunghill? The Law says—only one cock can crow on a dunghill. Therefore, in the world there can be either good or evil. Two evils cannot reside in one place and the same refers to the good. A saint cannot tolerate another saint and a learned person—another learned person. These two Laws work on the Earth—the Law of the opposites and the Law of similarity. The good strives after the evil and the evil after the good. That is why those who want to live on the Earth must have bad people as friends by all means, while the bad people must be friends with good ones. However, in heaven there is a different Law. Here the good person who wants to have only good people as friends will always be unhappy. Why is that so? Because there must be an exchange between the good and the bad people. If a merchant has textile goods for millions and his neighbor has the same, whom will they sell them to? Their interests do not coincide. One of them will say to the other, "Go away from here. Find another place on the other end of the Earth to sell your goods; I shall sell mine here." The Law of opposites is at work in this case.

 

Christ, who knew this Law, spoke about self-denial. When people deny themselves, they become servants and then the Lord says to them, "I love you." If some say that they want to be masters, God will answer them that two persons cannot be masters at the same time, one must be a master and the other a servant. Evil is born when two people want to be masters. If they insist on being masters, God says, "Two masters cannot be with me. If they insist on that, I shall send them to the other end of the world." Which is the other end of the world? The Earth is. That is why God has sent people to the Earth. The Law of contrasts works in all of you, who want to understand the Law of similarity—that is why you are unhappy. You must come out of the Law of the opposites and enter the Law of similarity, which is self-denial. Self-denial does not mean losing your life, but only changing one occupation for another. Suppose two men are candidates for Headmasters of a High School. If one acts according to the Law of similarity, he will say to the other, "You become a Headmaster and I shall become a teacher." But if both of them should insist on taking that post, there will be intrigues with the minister and each of them will say to him, "I am more capable than the other man." Under which rule are they? Under the Law of contrasts.

 

But the Teaching of Christ is under the Law of similarity. He says, "I came not be a master over you, but to teach you how to be happy; if you love me and fulfill my Law, you will live in bliss." If you are indisposed, if you hate or blackmail; you are unhappy for you are in the Law of the opposites. You must leave it, or in scientific terms—come out of the Law of contrasts and enter the Law of similarity. In other words, you must change the conditions and the environment. Begin to love. Actually, you cannot love until you go to the place of Love. It would be the same if you were shut in a dark room and were asked to see something, but you cannot see anything in the dark. The dark room is not the place of similarity. You must go out of it. If you have a candle, you may strike a match and light it. Therefore, when Christ says that we must deny ourselves, he means that we must leave the dark room of our egoism and enter the Law of similarity, of Love. See how sensible this is! Go out and find those places where you can draw elements necessary for your happiness, for your heart.

 

You cannot do this under the Law of the opposites. In such a case, many will fight for one post, or for one professor's cathedra. Once there was a competition in France for a post in a Department and 15 thousand people applied for it. Only one candidate could take the post. In contemporary societies such desires are often born. Why? Because everyone wants this position. You hate someone and try to get him out of your way. Why do you hate this person? Because either they or you want this post. The Law of the opposites in life is implacable. This Law works also in our thoughts, in our feelings and in our will. The billions of cells constituting our bones, our nervous system, the stomach, the lungs, the heart and the brain during certain periods of time are under the influence of the two Laws—that of the opposites and that of the similarity—as a result of which high and low tides take place in them. We are angry, indisposed—there is a low tide in us. After that, a high tide must necessarily take place in us. How? We should concentrate, turn our mind to God, climb the high mountain where God can be found and have a conversation with Him and when the low tide is over, we will return to earth.

 

By the word high tide I do not understand only that of the sea, but also that of the plants which takes place whenever there is moisture in the air. As soon as the fruit is ripe, it begins to wither. This is the Law of contrasts, which prepares soil for the next year. The Law of contrasts takes off the old clothes, but the Law of similarity supplies new clothes. You undress—this is the Law of contrasts; you put on clothes—this is the Law of similarity. Your body gets soiled—you are in the Law of contrasts; you bathe—you are in the Law of similarity. You wash your face every morning after getting up. Why? By way of habit. Today you must go to God, because there is low tide in you. You wash your face and say, "I shall take the burden off my heart, I shall wash the sediments off my brain and then I shall stand before God." This is what the washing of the face means. But since you cannot interpret this act, you wash it and the whole day after that you meddle with the mud. And your work does not go well. How can it go well, when the mud is in you! In order not to dirty yourself, you must be at a high place.

 

According to the Apostle Paul, the Law of similarity has application in the verse, "The fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance." Love is the father; Joy is the mother; Peace is their child. That is, they form a triangle which belongs to the Divine World. Those who want to be blissful must possess these qualities. Then they are in heaven. Then comes the second category of virtues which belong to the angelic world: Longsuffering—the father; Gentleness—the mother; Goodness—their child. Acquire them, and you will be among the angels. The third category is: faith—the father; meekness—the mother; Temperance—their child. Therefore, I say that according to the Law of similarity first you must have a father. Who is your father? Faith is. "But I have no faith." "Friend, I have a bad opinion about you. If you have no father, you are an unlawful child—your mother has not born you in the Divine way." This is what I understand when people say they have no faith. When people say they have faith, I say, "I congratulate you for having a father of noble birth, of a royal family." "But I do not believe in this father." "You are the last scoundrel."

 

Let us consider the word gentleness. We said that gentleness is the mother—it is of royal birth. If you believe in gentleness, you have a mother. "But I do not want to be gentle." "Then you are without a mother." Therefore, every Christian must have a father and mother—faith and gentleness—but the person him/herself is temperance. When we say temperance, we must understand ourselves—the children of our father, faith, and our mother, gentleness. Someone says, "I want to go to the angels." You can go but you must be born of a father, longsuffering, and a mother, gentleness; she should carry you in her womb. And when you are born what will you be? Goodness—an angel, a saint. If you are good, you are an angel having a father longsuffering, and a mother, gentleness, who are among the angels. This is the Law regulating human life. It is the foundation of a philosophy which is tested daily. Do not deceive yourselves, nor try to deceive others. Only those who live under the Law of contrasts can deceive themselves. I exclude from myself the Law of contrasts. If I am at a low tide, I go to God; if I am at a high tide, I come to earth to work. If I am with God, who can deceive me? That is why I said in a previous sermon: where God is, the devil has no access; where God is not, there the devil is. When people say that the devil is crushing them, I understand what they mean. If God is in your heart, the devil cannot crush you. According to the Law of similarity, evil cannot be turned into good, nor can good into evil.

 

A saint who has spent twenty years in a desert was visited once by a white-bearded old man who said to him, "I am a big sinner, so I ask you to pray to God to forgive my sins." When the old man went away, the saint began to pray to God for him. An angel appeared and said, "Your prayer is not accepted by God, because this old man is the devil. In order to find out whether he tells you the Truth, tell him so, 'I shall pray for you, but you must confess your sins. Climb a high rock and say: God be merciful to me for I am a great sinner. Repeat these words for a whole year.'" After sometime the old man visited the hermit again and the latter told him what the angel had said. "What!" cried the devil, "I cannot do this! I, who rule the world and command, do not want to pray, you pray." Then the hermit said to him, "The old malice cannot be a new virtue."

 

Those who preach the Scriptures must know that they can never turn the Law of the opposites into a Law of similarity, i.e. they cannot turn to God someone who always lives under the Law of the contrasts. They cannot make them happy, as they cannot turn the woman into a man. The wife wants her husband to make her happy. How can he make her happy when she does not love him? He buys her a suit—she is not pleased; he brings meat—it is bad meat; the house is not built as it should; this is wrong, that is bad... How can he satisfy her when she is in the realm of opposites in her mind and when anything the husband does will not change her nature. Neither can the wife satisfy her husband, if such is his nature. She may cook and keep house, but he will always be dissatisfied, because he lives under the Law of opposites. Someone says, "I do not know what to do: my husband has become wrong- headed." I reason calmly and say, "He is unfortunately under the Law of contrasts, at a low tide; put him in your carriage, harness the horse and take him to a high place where he can take his breath— that is what your husband wants." When a woman wants to take her husband to church, she takes a phaeton and says, "We shall go to God; such and such a man will preach today and we shall learn something new."

 

Now we say, "We want the world to be set right." How can it be set right? After grunting for million years under the tree, the swine, when she has eaten up all the pears, starts digging the roots to look for pears there. Now I ask you, how can the tree bear new pears when the swine spoils the whole tree? In the same way, when you do not find pears in the tree, you start digging the roots and say, "The money we seek is buried in the Earth." Thus, you become gold-seekers. But I say, you are under the Law of contrasts. There are no pears in the roots, no treasure either. You should not dig at the same place, but take your bag and staff and go to another place. Why? Because when the master comes and finds you digging, he will give you a good beating. Now this is what God is doing on the Earth. You are digging, looking for pears, but God says, "Give every person 25 cudgels on the back."

 

Therefore, apply this Law to your life. The wife should not dig around the root of her husband if there are no pears, but wait. The husband, too, should not dig around the roots of his wife; the priests—around the roots of their parishioners; the students— around the roots of their teachers. All must apply the Law and you will understand life as God created it. This is a philosophy which you can apply in this world. It is so simple that everyone can understand it. If you say you cannot do this, I shall consider you as being in the mud, in the bog of the opposites. If you say, I can, you are under the Law of similarity. Take a step forward and you will be on the way to salvation. Some say, "We cannot love." "I am sorry, but I cannot help you, since you are in the region of contrasts, where you are amassing sediments and mud." "I can love." You are under the Law of similarity and God is with you. You get up some morning ill-disposed, say to yourself, "Today I am at a low tide, I shall harness my horse in the carriage and go on a journey." Do not go to a tree to pick pears when it is not time for that. You will find the pears at another place. Get up and pray, if you know how to pray.

 

You will grow strong by prayer. Praying is the highest and noblest work one can do in this world. Only in this way can the human heart be raised and ennobled. I am not speaking about the external side of prayer in which only the tongue takes part, but of the prayer expressing the conscious aspiration of the soul towards God—the Supreme Love. But all people do not have such a view. Some say, "I cannot pray." Another one laughs and says it is self- deception to pray: how can a scientist, a university graduate, pray to God! The learned people are inconsistent. When they want a post, they write a petition saying, "Since I am a university graduate, I ask you most politely to employ me, promising to fulfill sufficiently my duty." Is it not a prayer? Yes, it is quite a characteristic prayer, but it is a shameful thing to pray to God! As long as there are people who pray only to their fellow beings and not to God—the Supreme Good—the world will go on just as it is. These people live under the Law of contrasts.

 

I ask how we can be good when falsehood follows at our heels? We deceive ourselves, our fellow beings and God. We have unconsciously given citizenship to falsehood. We act under fear. Let us become free of fear and make the slogan of our life— speaking the Truth at least before God. Let us say, "Today I shall not speak falsehood before the face of God." If you make a mistake, say, "God, forgive me, I made a mistake." Do not say that so-and-so was the cause of your mistake and you are higher than them. Do not be like a Pharisee, with a high opinion of yourself. If you act this way, you are in the region under the Law of contrasts, in darkness. Speak rightly, "I made this mistake." By confessing your mistakes you will correct yourself. Read the confession of Tolstoy, which is a good example of this. Tolstoy became great after his confessions. There are only a few such examples in history. Can you also make such a confession? If you want to become a noble person, an angel or a saint, this is the easiest thing to do. You can become an angel or a devil ten times a day. Many do not believe in reincarnation, yet they can be reincarnated ten times a day. If you want to kill a person, you are a reincarnated devil—you are in the region of the opposites and are in a state to do any kind of evil. If you are under the Law of similarity, you are an angel. If you are ready to sacrifice yourself, or to do a noble deed, you are a saint. The only sad thing is that you cannot remain in this state for a longer period of time.

 

It is said that people were made in the image and likeness of God. Here is what I understand by the words the image and likeness of God. When they say that a man is employed as general or minister, I ask, "Has not this man existed before?" He has existed before as an ordinary citizen. And when God said, "Let us make man in the image and likeness of God," he wanted to promote him to a higher post, to make him a general, to clothe him in a general's uniform and epaulets of a general. However, man did not fulfill the will and the command of God and He deprived him of that post and had his coat and epaulets taken off. This is the fall of man. "Take his coat off," said God, "because he does not fulfill his general's duty as he should." As soon as you turn to God, He says, "Today you are in the image and likeness of a general. Enter paradise!" If after five or ten minutes you do not fulfill the Law, He says, "Take off the coat of this general!" If you are angry or in bad disposition, you are out of paradise. A year or two pass, you begin to repent and God says, "Bring him to me, I shall promote him general again." Many times in the past, God has promoted you general and brought you down or discharged you. Today you are well, you are an angel in heaven; on the next day you are badly off, you come down to earth. If you do not pray and observe God's Law, you will serve evil.

 

The two Laws of the opposites and of similarity regulate the world. The spirits who live under the Law of opposites have no disposition to return to the Law of similarity; that is why God cannot transfer them from one region to another. The first thing we encounter in Christianity is the boundary that exists between these two Laws. When you come to this boundary, you must leave all your luggage of thoughts and desires which are under the Law of contrasts and enter the Law of similarity free and pure. Then God will clothe you in a new coat and promote you generals. Man became naked when he disobeyed God's command not to eat of the forbidden fruit. God took off his general's coat and man was forced to make himself clothes out of leaves. God says, "Make him a coat of skin at once!" That is why today you wear a coat of skin which you call flesh. How and when can you become free from this skin? When you enter the Law of similarity. This skin will fall from you and God will give you a general's coat an epaulets. Such is the Christian philosophy, which you can apply to your life. It is not a philosophy of the past, but of the present. You are daily reincarnated by serving good and evil in turn. It is what reincarnation means.

 

Contemporary people say, "Those who believe in reincarnation must be thrown out of the church." Why will you throw me out? Is it because I believe in the Laws of contrasts and similarity and live accordingly? When I live according to God's Law, whether you throw me out of the church or keep me in it, does not affect my soul. When I live with God, do not hate anyone, and try to love everybody, can anyone throw me out? Only God can do that. This is the Teaching I am preaching. I say, "The day you sin, you are turned out of the Divine church, or paradise." What are the contemporary churches? They are a distant echo of the greatness of the past. Do you know what secrets are concealed in these churches? If I start interpreting the meaning of the church, the stones of which the churches are built, the meaning of the priest's vestment, of the candles; you will understand—there is a deep philosophy in all this. The Laws of God are inscribed on the priests' vestments. The priests put them on daily, but cannot read what is written on them. Do you know the meaning of the vestments, the crown and the scepter of the bishop? What about the censer and the incense? We have closed the sacred book of life, saying, "This book is sacred, do not touch it!" But God says, "See that you do not soil it on the outside, keep it clean; open it carefully and read a little every day taking down the valuable thoughts in it." The church, the vestments, the icons, the candles, the censer and the books are all in their places. You must observe the contents of this sacred book. From it you will learn the Laws of the opposites and of similarity. When you learn them, you will put Christ's cross on your back and be ready to be nailed. Then God will say, "This man will be with Me in paradise," and you will be saved. This is done momentarily. I can be in heaven this very minute, but the moment I waver about God and think evil of Him, I am already at the bottom of hell. The moment I love God in my soul and say, "God, forgive me!" I am with Him. He stretches His hand and takes me to Him.

 

Now I shall conclude my sermon with an illustration. A man died and was taken to hell. He spent ages of suffering there, praying God to forgive him. At last God said, "Open the book of life and see if he has done at least one good thing in his life." When they opened the book, they found that he had given once a carrot to a poor man. Then God said, "This man can be saved" and ordered an angel to hold the carrot, which he can get hold of, and thus be pulled out of hell. However, along with him many other sinners caught each other's feet and the angel carried them to paradise. But the owner of the carrot said to the others, "This carrot is mine!" and as soon as he said these words, the chain broke and all fell down in hell. Let your carrot help save other people as well as to rise to heaven, otherwise if you say, "This carrot is mine!" you will fall down again. Let them get hold of your clothes, of your feet, you keep quiet, do not say anything. When you say, "This carrot is mine!" you are far from God. Selflessness always lives under the Law of similarity. Sacrifice and self-denial—this is Christianity.

 

Sermon held on November 2, 1914, Sofia

 

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¹ Galatians 5:17,22.

[Ani 0]

Note 1

 

The Spirit and the Flesh. High and Low Tides in Life

 

"For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other...But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law."  Gal.: 5:17, 22 - 23

 

In general, people have very foggy concept about those deep laws upon which life is based. The world in which we live is governed by laws and rules which God set down long ago when He constructed the universe. When He introduced the first man into the world, (about this the scriptures say nothing) God taught him for a long time and instructed him in the Divine knowledge. God acquainted man with all the basic laws of the great building in which He placed man to live. He instructed man about the properties of the herbs, acquainted him with the qualities and functions of the elements and, as He made man master over all these, He said to him: "If you obey the laws which I have laid down, you will always be joyous, blissful and you will succeed in all that you will do; but on the day on which you break My commandment, everything will turn against you." The two trees of which it is written in the Scripture, "The Tree of Life" and "The Tree of Knowledge", witness that this was true. If I should pause now and explain what these trees are, I would digress from the main subject. I will give the explanations in one other lecture. These two trees in Paradise were living, intelligent, and possessed certain power, certain qualities. And God said to the first man: "In the Tree of Knowledge is hidden great danger and on the day when you touch it you will lose everything. The elements which are hidden in this tree are not for you yet; you are not strong enough to be able to govern them. You may explore them in the future, but for the time being you will make use of all the other trees, of everything in life, but not of the Tree of Knowledge."

 

I will not stop now to explain the deep cause which instigated Adam to break God's law. Some people preach that we must have faith. It is true that either positive or negative faith is necessary; this is the basis of life, and without faith life could not exist. All beings, as small as they may be, beginning from the microscopic ones up to the most advanced ones, all have faith. What is their faith? A disbeliever says, "I do not believe in God." At the same time his assertion indicates that he must believe in something and this is that there is not a God. This indicates that he has some faith. I would like to see how a man could remain without faith, not even to believe in himself. If he believes in himself this indicates that he has faith, yet he believes in his own mind. When we say that someone is a disbeliever, this is not correct. This is only half of the truth, he has dropped the faith in God but he still has faith in himself. Therefore, faith can be positive and negative. Adam and Eve manifested this principle of disbelief in God when Lucifer came to the garden of Eden and they believed in him instead of in God. As a result of this came the original sin. Saint Paul says in his letter to the Romans: "To whom you submit, his servant you become."

 

This morning my lecture will be on the two great laws which I formulate as follows: "Law of opposites" and "Law of similarity." These are laws which we can verify every day. They are not abstract philosophy, they are not complex as reincarnation or transmigration of the souls, but rather things which we can check in ourselves. From this view of the laws, even the darker sides can become to a certain degree clearer to you. For example, you find yourselves at the sea shore. You see the sea calm and peaceful; but suddenly you notice that it gradually starts to be agitated, and towards the shore a flow rises - that which the scientists call "high tide". There are places where the sea rises as much as 60 feet high. In such cases, you must flee as soon as possible. Only in this way you can save yourselves, otherwise you will be caught and swallowed by the waves.. This influx, this rising of tide, continues for twelve hours; after this, one can see, for the next 12 hours, the waves receding back to the see. You can observe this phenomenon often, sometimes every day; in 24 hours, once towards and once away from the sea shores. Such a high and low tide occurs also in you. Where? Naturally not in the high mountainous places, not at the peaks of life, but in the low places. Perhaps once it has happened to you, that while going out in clear weather to the sea shore to sing some beautiful song, a wave has come and carried you off together with your nice song before you have even realized what has happened to you; or at least it has splashed you well. Or perhaps you were sitting in a boat in the calm sea, when suddenly a storm came up and turns your boat upside down and you found yourself afloat in the raging sea. Someone may think that this is a slight exaggeration of the facts, but this is true for life. How often people disappear without a trace in this sea of life, with their songs, dreams, and ideals! You say: Misfortune! and search for the reasons without knowing the laws of nature. When the old philosophers were saying "Come to know yourself!" They had in mind the knowledge of these two laws of measured movements of high and low tides. In your mind these expressions may be foggy, but I will try to explain them. In modern science, this phenomenon is called the law of "rhythmic movement". In all things, there exists a flow from the center to the periphery and from the periphery toward the center; in all things there is a high and low tide, a rising and a sinking, a generation and degeneration. In chemistry, there exists "action" and "reaction". Action is flood; after that follows reaction, which is reflux. If sometime you observe your wristwatch, you will notice that its sound becomes at one time stronger, then gradually it becomes weaker, to die, as if it may stop at any minute; and then it starts picking up again and weakens again. The same happens also with the human heart. If you place your hand on your heart you will notice that sometimes it starts to beat faster and you are afraid. The doctor will say that this person has an increased heart beat. This flood in your organism is reflected in the beat of the heart. This law works everywhere. When the doctors say that someone has had a heart attack, i say that this man has a certain flood of his mind, of his heart, of his soul and after 12 hours this flood will recede and the heart beat will slow down. These twelve hours can be twelve seconds, twelve minutes, 12 hours, 12 days, 12 weeks, 12 months, 12 years, 12 centuries, 12 thousand years, 12 million years, etc.; there is no difference, the relation of things remains the same. This is how this law works.

 

In the chapter which I have read, St. Paul speaks about the law of the flesh - this is the law of reflux and about the law of the Spirit which is the law of influx. The law of opposites includes in itself the law of reflux, and the law of similarity - the law of influx. In same places miasma are formed and their evaporations propagate microbes from which diseases are spread. This law works in our brain, in our heart and in our soul. Often residue remains in the body which brings about diseases. We call these rheumatism of the joints, of the feet, of the head. We feel pains and begin to complain. If we were smart and knew the laws when there was high tide we could build a barrier, a big wall. If we are foolish, we start singing on the shores of the stormy sea.

 

People constantly say: the world is evil. What is evil about it? What about the war? It is an influx of powers and in this influx there are some collisions and all people rush away and say that high tide is approaching. This rushing and running they call war. They ask what will happen with the world? I say: after 12 hours, or after 12 weeks, or after 12 years everything will calm down; the places which are covered with blood will dry out. Then the people will ask themselves: what was this all about, what was the reason, why did the sea rise against us? The sea has not become mad, it only breathes, and when its chest upheaves to take in the air it rises 60 feet. When the sea rises 60 feet, you must be 60 miles away from the shores standing on a high peak, this is what matters. When it exhales you can go to the shores and enjoy it; but when you see it inhaling, run to the high peak.

 

If we could only understand that the two laws of opposites and similarity are two great things in this world. The law of similarity is the law of heaven; the other law - of opposites - is the law of the earth, of the organic world, of the flesh. You rise in the morning ill-disposed, the whole world seems to be against you, you do not feel like working, your mind is troubled. You say: God has not created the world properly. All the devils are within your mind; you are ready to quarrel with anyone, you ride roughshod and wait to start a fight with somebody - this is acting according to the law of opposites. On such a day the wife sees that her husband is riding roughshod. If she understands the law of the opposites she must run at least two miles from her husband and say to herself; today me husband has low tide of his spirit and high tide of his flesh. Do not laugh because the next day the wife will do the same. This is a law. All people do not ride roughshod at the same time. Ten years ago I lived with a family. It consisted of seven members: the father, the mother, one son and four daughters. I made some minor observations and checked the functioning of this law; it worked like a clock. All members of this family took turns each day of the week. On Monday the father was ill-disposed. They all said: today our father is not well disposed, he is serious, shouts, and scolds. All the others were quiet and tried to understand the reason. On Tuesday the father was cheerful, but they saw that the mother was ill-disposed. The father only smiled and said: Today is your mother's turn. It is very interesting that the older son was ill-disposed on Wednesday. They all laughed and in this way they all took turns. I knew well who's turn it was, and the schedule worked inviolably. It was to acertain extent pleasant. If one is ill-disposed, it is easy, but when two have their turns, or said in a scientific way - if both are in low tide, then it is bad. In the chapter that I read, St. Paul says that the flesh counteracts the spirit, and the spirit, the flesh. It is impossible to reconcile these two laws because they move in opposite directions: one moves forward and the other backwards. The law of opposites destructs, it ruins happiness, harmony. When it comes to you, it robs you of all your belongings. If you are subject for a long time to the law of the opposites, it can influence your mind for 12 minutes, 12 hours, 12 years. There exists certain periods of life which influence the character of a man right from the beginning. If a child is conceived and born in the period of opposites, it will inevitably become a criminal and will not be able to escape the consequences, because the parents have given him those elements which stimulate his life in a different direction. If both the father and the mother are under the influence of the law of similarity, they will give rise to a noble son or daughter with a good and well developed mind. This is the way in which these great laws work. The first people before the great sin knew the laws and understood them, but after the great sin they forgot them.

People want to have their priest preach to them after the service, but it may happen that he is under the influence of the law of opposites; his vibrations, his mood, his sermon on such a day cannot bring a blessing to the people. He may serve because he is forced to do so. If he were free, he would take his hat and go somewhere else. But the people expect him to preach to them. What can he tell them? He will judge them: you are such and such, you are bad people, and he will send them to hell. On that day, he will have spoken a lie, for he has spoken about himself. The people in this case were serving as a mirror in which he was seeing himself; he was under the influence of the law of opposites.

 

People talk about a well known American preacher in New York who was preaching for a long time under the influence of the law of opposites and voiced such terrible things that all his parishioners were afraid of him. Since he was under the influence of the law of opposites, deposits remained in his stomach which hindered proper digestion and harmed the whole organism. They caught the priest one day and took him to the hospital to clean all the impurities from his stomach. In the hospital, they pushed a hose into his stomach and flushed it out with 4-5 quarts of warm water, cleaning it once, and then a second time, ridding it of all the deposits. A week later, the preacher appeared in the church and preached about the Kingdom of God, about the second coming of Christ, about love, etc. The people said to each other: Do you see how our preacher has become a new man! I say: When a priest or a speaker speaks in a church or in congress, he must first throw out all the deposits from his stomach, his heart, and his mind. Only then should he speak to the people.

 

Let's assume that you rise in the morning from sleep slightly ill-disposed and you do not know why this is. After five or ten minutes your mind begins to clear up and you say to yourself: Thank God I fell better now. Some time passes and you are attacked again by evil thoughts and you say: Where did this devil come from? People cannot understand that there is a law that periodically and systematically functions in this world. There is no devil to catch people in a trap, this is a divine law. God says: "I have provided you with a mind so that you may contemplate upon the order of the world. At one time I instructed you about this law but you have forgotten it and now the law itself will teach you." When modern societies understand the deep meaning of these two laws the world then will change fundamentally. Some people ask: How can the world be changed? When we start to act according to this law, the world will be arranged the way that God originally ordered it.

 

Similar causes produce similar results: opposite causes produce opposite actions. The Hindu explain these two laws with the word "karma" - the law of cause and effect. The karma can be karma in high tide and karma in low tide, or also good and bad karma. In commercial language this means: to give and to receive. When you give, this is a low tide; when you receive this is influx. He to whom you are indebted will come to you exactly on the day of payment and will ask you to pay your debt. The day of payment indicates a law that regulates all things. this law is conditioned by debtors and by the person who is to receive.

 

Therefore, when God sends us into the world He places upon us certain conditions; we have signed an obligation to accomplish this and that. But now we tell Him: "We owe nothing." Is that so? I will apply the law upon you, I will apply the law of the opposites. You are hurting someone and he, too, will hurt you; you love him, he too, will love you; what you do to another the same will be done to you. These two laws rule and function on earth.

 

The like is repulsed by the like. A rooster climbs on the compost heap, another, a stronger one, comes and chases him away. Why don't they both crow on the dungpile? The law says that on one dungpile only one rooster can crow. Therefore only good or evil can exist in the world. Two evils can not tolerate one another in the same place; two goodnesses cannot stay in one place either. A saint cannot stand another saint, one scientist the other. This is how a Turkish saying goes: "The cotton merchant is not afraid of a white dog."

 

And so, on earth these two laws work: the law of opposites and of similarity. The good strives toward the evil and the evil - toward the good. This is why he who wants to live on earth inevitably must have evil people as friends; the evil ones on the other hand must have good people as friends. The good person that wants to communicate only with good people will be unhappy. Why? There must be an exchange between the good and the evil people. For example, a merchant has produced fabrics for millions, but his neighbor also has just the same fabrics. Who will be the customer in this case? Their interests do not match. The one will say to the other: "Go away from here! Go somewhere else, go to the other end of the earth, I will sell here." Therefore, the law of the opposites is working here.

 

Christ, who knew this law, speaks about self-renunciation. When a man is self-denying, he becomes a servant and then God tells him: "I love you." If someone says that he, too will be a master, God will tell him that two people cannot be masters at the same time, one must be the master, and the other, the servant. Evil comes about when both want to be masters at the same time. If they want to be masters and insist on this, God says: "Two masters cannot exist here with me. If they insist in this, I will send them to the other side of the world." Which is the other side of the world? - The earth. This is why God has sent men to earth. Within all of you who want to understand the law of the similarities works the law of the opposites and because of that you are unhappy. You must leave the law of the opposites and enter into the law of the similarity, and the law of similarity is self-denial. To deny oneself does not mean that one must lose ones life, but only to change one service for another. Let's assume that two candidates want to become high school principals. If one of them acts according to the law of the similarity, he will say to the other: "You become the principal and I will be a teacher." But if both of them insist on becoming principals, there will be some plotting in the Board of Education; each of them will say; "I am more capable." Who rules them in this case? The law of the opposites. Christ's teaching is on the side of the law of similarity. Christ came to this world to install the law of similarity. He says: "I do not want to rule over you but want to teach you how to be happy: if you love me and obey my law you will be blessed." If you are ill-disposed, hateful, critical, unhappy; you re under the law of opposites. You must leave it, or stated in the scientific way, you must emerge out of the law of the opposites and enter into the law of similarity. Or placed in other words - you must change the conditions and the environment. Start to love. - How shall I love? It is true, that you cannot love if you do not go where love is. It is the same as if you were locked in a dark room and someone tells you: "Look!" What can you look at? A dark room, but this is not the place of similarity. You must go out from this room. If you had a candle you could strike a match and light it. Therefore, when Christ said that we must deny ourselves, He wants to imply that we must leave this dark room of self-seeking and enter into the law of similarity, of love. You can see how rational this is. Go out and find the places where you can find the elements which will make you happy, which will please your heart. You cannot do this as long as you are in the law of the opposites. In this way, many people will fight for one position as a professor. Once in France, an opening was announced for a professors job and fifteen thousand candidates applied for it. How many people can receive this appointment? One candidate for one position. In modern society such desires often occur. Why? Because every one is a candidate for the same position. You hate someone and want to do away with him. Why do you hate him? Because either you or he are candidates for the same position. The law of the opposites in life is merciless. This law works also in the world of our thoughts, of our desires, and of our will. During certain periods of time, the myriads of cells of which our bones, our nervous system, stomach, lungs, heart and brain are composed are under the influence of both the law of the opposites and of similarity, and therefore there are also high and low tides in them. A man is angry, ill-disposed, which indicates that he is in a period of low tide. After that inevitably there must come in him a period of high tide. How? He will concentrate, direct his thoughts toward God, he will climb to the high mountain where God abides and speak for a while with Him and when the low tide passes by he will return to earth.

 

By influx I do not imply only the phenomenon that happens with the sea but also in the plant kingdom which always comes when there is humidity in the air. As soon as the fruit ripens it start to wither.Here we have the law of opposites which prepares the soil for he next year. The law of the opposites takes off the old clothes, and the law of similarity provides the new clothes. When you undress, this is the law of opposites; you got dressed - the law of similarity. Your body gets soiled, and this indicates that you are under the law of opposites; you take a bath, you are in the law of similarity. Every morning you rise from sleep and wash your face. Why? - Because of habit. Today you must go to visit God because there is a low tide in you. You wash your face and say: "I will take a load off my heart, I will rinse away the dust from my mind and this way I will go to see God's face. The washing of the face is exactly this act. Yet since you cannot explain this, you wash your face and after that, you stir the mud all day long again. And then your affairs do not work out as they should. How should they if you are stirring up the mud which is in you. In order not to be soiled, one must be in a high mountainous place.

 

According to St. Paul, the law of similarity has application in the following verse: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." Love is the father, joy is the matter, and peace is their child. Therefore, they form a triangle which belongs to the Divine world. He who wants to be blissful must have these qualities. Then he is in heaven. After that follows the second category of virtues which belong to the angelic world: long-suffering - the father, gentleness - the mother, goodness - their child. Attain these and you will be among the angels. The third category: faith - the father, meekness - the mother, temperance - their child. Thus I say: "According to the law of similarity you must first have a father." Who is your father? Faith. But I have no faith. Friend, I have a bad idea about you. If you do not have a father, you are born of lawless parents; your mother has not born you in a divine way. This is what I understand when someone says that he has no faith. If he says that he has faith then I say to him: "I congratulate you, because you have a noble father, who comes from a royal family." But I do not believe in this father. In such a case, you are the lowest scoundrel.

 

Let's come back to the word meekness. We said that meekness is the mother; she. too, is of royal family. If you believe in meekness this indicates that you have a mother. - But I do not want to be meek. - Then you have no mother. Therefore, every Christian must have a father and a mother - faith and meekness, and he himself is temperance. When we say "temperance" we must understand that this is us - the child of our father - faith, and of our mother - meekness. Someone says that he wants to go among the angels. - You can go, but you must be born of a father - long-suffering and your mother - gentleness - must have conceived you and bore you in her womb. When you are born what will you be? Goodness, an angel, a saint. If you have mercy, you are an angel, among the angels you have a father - long-suffering and a mother - gentleness. This is the law that regulates the human life. It is the base on a philosophy which can be proven every day.

 

Do not deceive yourselves nor should you deceive others. Only he who lives in the law of opposites can deceive himself. For my self I exclude the law of opposites. If I am in low tide I go to God; when I am in high tide then I come to earth to work. If I stay with God, who can deceive me? This is why I have said in a previous lecture: Where God is the devil cannot enter. Where God is absent the devil is there. If someone says that the devil is riding his back, I understand what he wants to imply. If God is in your heart, then the devil cannot step on you. According to the law of similarity, the evil can never change into good, nor the good into evil.

 

An old white bearded man appeared one day in front of a saint who was living in the desert for twenty years. He said to the saint: "I am a great sinner, please pray to God for forgiveness of my sins." When the old man left, the saint started to pray to God for him. An angel appeared to the saint and said to him; "Your prayer is not accepted by God because this old man is the devil himself. In order to try him and see if he speaks the truth, say to him: "I will pray for you but you must confess all your sins. Climb this rock and say; "God have mercy upon me because I am a great sinner. This you should repeat for a whole year." After some time the old man came back again and the saint told him as he was advised by the angel. "What?" - screamed the devil. "I can't do that! I, who am ruling the whole world, do not want to pray, you must pray." The saint said to him: "An old hatred cannot become a new virtue."

 

Those who preach the Gospel must realize that they never can change the law of opposites into a law of similarity. They cannot draw a man to God who lives constantly in the law of the opposites. They cannot make him happy, nor can they change a woman into a man. The woman wants her husband to make her happy. How can he make her happy when she does not love him. He purchases a nice suit for her - she is dissatisfied; he brings some groceries - they were not good; the house was not built the way it should have been, this or that is not in place. How can you satisfy her when she is in the sphere of the opposites of her mind and when all the things which her husband would do for her would not be in the state to change her nature. Neither can a woman change her husband if he has such a disposition. She can cook, clean the house, but he will still be dissatisfied because he lives within the law of the opposites. A woman says: "I do not know what to do with my husband, he has become so impossible." I contemplate calmly and say: "Unfortunately, he is under the law of the opposites, in law tide; put him in your wagon, harness the horses, take him to a high mountain to rest - this is what your husband needs. When the wife wants to take her husband to church, she takes a coach and says to him: "Let's go to God, in the church a famous man will preach and we will learn something new."

 

Now we say: The world must change! How will the world change? If for millions of years the pig has been grunting beneath the tree and after it has eaten all the pears, it starts to dig the roots of the pear tree, I ask: How can the pear tree bear new pears next year? The pig will ruin the whole tree. You, too, in the same way when there are no pears on the tree start to dig the roots and say: The money which we search for is buried in the ground. This way you become gold-diggers. I say: you are in the sphere of the law of the opposites. In the roots of the tree, there are no pears, nor gold. Do not dig constantly in one place, put your bag on your shoulder, take your cane and go somewhere else. Why? Because when the master comes and finds that you are still digging at his tree, he will punish you well. This is what God does to this world now. You dig and search for pears and God says: Strike every one of these men, twenty-five times.

 

Therefore, apply this law in your life. The wife should not dig around the roots of her husband; if there are no pears on his tree, let her wait. The husband, too, should not dig around the roots of his wife's pear tree; the priests - their parishioner's tree, the students - their professors' tree. Let all apply the law and they will understand life as God has created it. This is a philosophy which can be applied in this world. It is so simple that everyone can understand it. If you say that you cannot do this, then I will tell you that you are sunken in the swamp, in the mud of opposites. If you say that you can, you are in the law of similarity. Make a step forward and you will find yourselves on the path of salvation. Some people say that they cannot love. I am sorry, I cannot help you, because you are in the realm of the opposites where you collect the scum, the mud. I can love. You are in the law of similarity and God is with you. If you rise in the morning, ill-disposed, say to yourself: Today I am in a low tide, I will harness the wagon, I will take the yoke of the horse and go on a trip. Do not go near the tree to pick some pears when the time is not right. You may find pears somewhere else. Get up and start to pray if you know how. In prayer you will become strong. The most sublime and noble occupation which one can do on earth is to pray. This is the only way for human hearth to be uplifted. I do not speak about the external aspect of praying, in which only the tongue participates, but about the conscious impulse of the soul toward God - The Highest Love. Not all people have the same outlook. Some say: I can not pray. Someone else says mockingly: "It is a delusion; I am a learned man, I have education, how can I pray to God!" The men of science are inconsistent. They apply for a job and write the following way: I have completed my education and herewith I am applying most humbly for a position promising to fulfill my duties in the most accurate way. Is this not a prayer? Yes, quite a prominent prayer. yet praying to God is a shame. As long as there will exist people that pray only to their equals and not to God, the world will remain the same as it is. These people live in the law of the opposites.

 

I ask: How can we be good when lies are at our sides wherever we go? We deceive ourselves, our neighbors and God, too. Unconsciously we have granted citizenship to lies. We act under fear. Let us free ourselves from fear, let us decide to be honest at least in front of God. If you make a mistake, say: Pardon me God, I have made a mistake! Do not say that such and such was the person who made you err, that you are better than he is. Do not act like the Pharisee who has a high esteem of himself. If you are acting this way you find yourselves in the sphere of the law of the opposites, of darkness. Be honest and say: "I have made this mistake." When you admit that you have made a mistake you will be able to improve. Read the confession of Tolstoy where you can find a good example about self-confession. Tolstoy became great after his confession. There exist in history only a few such examples. You, too. aren't you able to do the same? If you wish to become a noble man, an angel, a saint, this is the easiest way for you. In one day you can become ten times an angel or a devil. Many people do not believe in reincarnation but nevertheless they can reincarnate in one day ten times. When you want to kill a person you are an reincarnated devil, you are in the sphere of the law of the opposites and are able to commit any evil. If you are in the sphere of the law of similarity you are an angel. If you are ready to self-sacrifice, or to do a noble deed, you are a saint. One thing is sad in this case; that you are not able to keep this state for a longer period of time.

 

It was said that man is created in the image and after the likeness of God. Here is what I understand by "image and likeness of God." When you hear it said that some man has been elected as a governor or judge, I ask: did this person exist before the election or not? He existed earlier, but as a common citizen. And when God said: Let us make man in our image and after our likeness". He wanted to promote man to a higher rank, to make him a general, to adorn him in the uniform of a general with all the signs of dignity. But man did not fulfill the will of God and God took him down from this high rank, took away his adornments and clothes. This is the great sin of man. "Take off his full-dress" said God, "because he did not perform his duties as a general properly." When you turn to God, He will say: "Today you have the image and are after the likeness of a general, enter Paradise!" If after five, ten minutes you seek to fulfill the law, again He says: "Take off the full-dress of this general!" If you are angry, or ill-disposed you are outside Paradise. After one or two years you repent and God says again: "Bring him here, I will promote him to a general."

 

Many times before now God has been promoting and discharging you. Today you are OK, you are angels in heaven; tomorrow you are bad, you are sent down to earth. If you do not pray, if you do not obey the divine law, you will serve the evil. The two laws of the opposites and of similarity regulate the world. The spirits that live under the law of opposites don't have the desire to return under the law of similarity and for this reason God cannot transfer them from one sphere to the other. The first thing in Christianity is the border line which exist between these two laws. When you come to this frontier, you must leave all your baggage - thoughts and desires that are under the law of opposites - and then enter the law of similarity, free and purified. Then God will give you new clothes and will promote you to generals. Because of disobedience to the order of God - not to eat from the tree of Knowledge - man become naked. God took off his full-dress as a general and man had to prepare clothes for himself out of leaves. God said: "Quickly make him clothes of skin!" This is why today you have clothes of skin called flesh. How and when can you free yourself of this skin? When you enter the law of similarity. This skin will fall off you and God will give you full-dress of a general with epaulets. Such is the Christian philosophy which you can apply in your life. This is not a philosophy of the past, it is a philosophy of the present. You reincarnate every day by serving once the good and another time the evil. This means reincarnation.

 

Modern Christians say: Whoever believes in the law of reincarnation will be expelled from the Church. Why should you expel me? Because I believe in the laws of opposites and similarity and live according to them? If I live according to God's law it doesn't matter to my soul if you expel me from the church or keep me in it. When I live in God, when I do not hate antibody, when I try to love all people, would it be possible to expel me? Only God can expel me. This is the teaching which I am preaching. I say: In the day when you fail, you will be expelled from the Divine church, from Paradise. What are modern churches? They are only a remote remembrance of a great past. Do you know what secretes are hidden in these churches? There is a deep philosophy in the church: the stones of which it is built, the meaning of the priest's vestment, the candles. Upon the vestments of the priest are written God's law. They put on these vestments every day but they cannot read what has been written on them. Do you know what is the meaning of the vestments, the crown, the scepter of the cardinal? And of the censer and the incense? We have closed the Divine book of life and say: Do not touch this book, for it is sacred! God says: "Watch out not to soil this book from without, keep it clean; open it carefully and read of it every day a little and take notes about the valuable things which it contains." The church, the vestments, the icons, the candles, the censer, the books, everything is in its place. You must keep the contents of the sacred book. From it you will study the laws of opposites and similarity. When you accomplish this, then you will put Christ's cross on your back and will be ready to be crucified. Then God will say: "This man will be with Me in Paradise" and you will be saved. This happens in one moment. In this moment I will be in heaven, and in the moment when I have a doubt about God and think evil about Him, I am already at the bottom of hell. In the moment when I come to love God in my soul and say: "God, forgive me!", I am with Him. He stretches out His right arm and takes me with Him.

 

Now I will give an example and I will finish with it. A man died and was sent to hell where he remained for a long time, for centuries. He suffered and prayed to God to forgive him. At last God said: Open the book of life and see if he has done at least one good deed during his entire life. When the book was opened, it was found out that once this man had given a carrot to a poor man. God said: This man can be freed. He gave the order to one of his angels: Reach out with a carrot so that he may hold on to it and this way you will be able to pull him out from hell. Yet together with him, other sinners kept holding to the carrot and to each one's feet and the angel took them all up to heaven. The man whose carrot it was said to the others: This is my carrot! As soon as he spoke these words the chain broke and they all fell back into hell. Let your carrot serve to save other people also, let it help to raise them up to heaven because if you say, "This is my carrot"; you will fall down again. Let others hold on to your clothes, to your feet; keep quiet, say nothing. As soon as you say, "This is my carrot" you are far from God. Unselfishness lives always according to the law of similarity. Sacrifice and renunciation - this is Christianity.

 

(II. ser., 1st lecture of the Master given in Sofia on Nov. 2, 1914)

 

 

Source

[Ani 0]

Note 1

 

THE SPIRIT AND THE FLESH

AFFLUX AND REFLUX IN LIFE

 

 

 

¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other…. ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness

 

Galatians 5:17,22

 

 

 

In generally, people have very confused understandings about these deepest laws upon which is grounded [ira1] Life. The World we live in is governed by laws and rules which God has grounded since the day of organizing the Universe. And when He led in the first man (The Scripts keep silence here), God learn him for a long time on heavens knowledge. He introduce him with all basic laws of that great building, where He put him to live, He explain him the characteristics of herbs, He introduce him the qualities and operation of the elements as He put hum to rule over everything saying: “If you keep the laws which I put here, you always be happy, joyful, blissfully and everything what you begin will be successful[ira2] : but in the day when you break My law, everything will be rise against you.” About that attest these two trees about which is talking the Scripture – the Tree of Life and the Tree of knowing Good and Evil. If I shall stop here to explain what are these trees I risk digressing a lot that is why I will leave that subject for another lecture. These two trees in Heaven were alive, intelligent, have some strength, some properties inside. And God said to first man: “Into Tree of knowing Good and Evil is hidden great danger and in the day when you touch it you will lose everything – the elements inside that tree are not good for you, you are not strong enough to manage with them. You can study them in future but now you can use all other trees, from every thing in Life, but not from Tree of knowing Good and Evil.”

 

I will not stop to talk about the deepest reasons which incite Adam to break the Divine Law. Someone preach that we have to have faith. And really we need faith because no matter what it is, positive or negative – it is the foundation of Life, without her Life could not exist. All beings no matter how small they are, as you start from microscopically and reach to highest ones all they have faith[ira3] . But what kind is their faith? [ira4]  An unbeliever says: “I don’t believe in God.”, but in the same time his thesis shows that he believes in something anyway – he believes that God did not exist, so he should have to believe. I would like to see how a man can be left without any faith even in him self. If he believes in himself he have faith, but he believes in his mind. When we are saying that someone is unbeliever, that is not right, that is half true – he left the faith in God, but he believes in himself. So faith could be positive or negative. Adam and Eve, expressed that principle of unbelief in God, because Lucifer has came into heaven garden, they believe in last one and left God. In consequence of that happens the original sin. And Apostle Paul says into his message to Romans: “Whom you submit to, you became a servant to him”.

 

This morning my lecture will be about two great laws which I can be formulated like that: the law of opposites/contrasts and the law of likeness/similarity. These laws we may test every day. That is not an abstract philosophy, they are not like rebirth or transmigration of souls – these things we could taste every day upon ourselves. The dark sides of that point of view will become clearer in some ways. For example you are standing on a coast, and you are watching the sea which is calm and quiet, but suddenly you notice that it became to ruffle bit by bit, forming a stream – that what the science calls tide. There are some places where sea is uplift toward coast to 60 legs high; then you have to run as soon as you can, anyway you will be touched and absorbed in waves. And that tide/afflux, that rising of waves continue 12 hours; after 12 hours you will notice that waves become to withdrawal back to the sea. This you could notice often, sometimes everyday – in 24 hours once foreword, once backward of the coast. Such afflux and reflux happens inside you. Where? Of course not in uplands, not in high places of Life, but in low places. May be often happens to you to get down at the coast in quiet time, to start singing a beautiful song and you see at once that a wave came and lift up and you and your beautiful song and least it makes you wet perfectly. Or you went boating in quiet see, here begins a storm and turn over your boat and you find yourself into rough sea. May be someone will think that this is a little bit exaggeration of the facts but it is true in life. How many times people are missing into that sea of life, with their songs, dreams and ideals? You are saying; “Misfortune”.You is looking for reason without knowing the laws of Nature.

 

When old philosophers said: “Know yourself”, they understand to learn man these two laws of rhythmically movements – afflux and reflux. In your mind these two words are dimly but I will try to explain them to you. This manifestation/expression of a modern science is calling the law of rhythmical movement. In every thing have a current from the centre towards periphery and from periphery towards centre; in every thing have an afflux and reflux, rising and falling, nascence and degeneration. In chemistry have action and reaction – action that is an afflux, after that forms a reaction which is reflux. If you look on for some time your watch you will find out that sometime its voice[ira5]  once increased begins bit by bit to decrease, to stop tic-tacking even it stops at all for some time [ira6] , then it increase again and decrease again, the same thing happens with your heart. If you put your hand on your heart you will notice that sometime it starts beating faster and you become frightened; the doctor says: “This man have palpitation”. This is an afflux into your organism and this afflux reflex on heart. This law operates everywhere and when sometime the doctors say about someone that he have disease of a valvular. I am saying purely and simply, that he have some afflux in his mind, in his heart, in his soul, and after 12 hours that afflux will decrease and palpitation will pass away. These 12 hours could be 12 seconds, 12 minutes,12 hours, 12 days, 12 weeks, 12 months, 12 years, 12 centuries, 12 thousand years, 12 million years etc. – anyway attitude of thing stays the same. So that laws operates.

 

Apostle Paul, into that chapter I had read off, is talking about the law of flesh – that is the law of reflux; the law of Spirit – that is the law of afflux. At some places may be formed miasmas, effluvium of which could spread microbes and everywhere around begins diseases.[ira7] This law operates into our brain, into our heart and into our soul. Into organism often is leaving of sediments, which lay a foundations of diseases and which we are calling rheumatism into joints, in legs, in head – then we are feeling pain and begin to complaint. If we are clever and do understand the law, there, where is the afflux we can put a strong barrier, big wall. If we are stupid we are gaping around the coast of the stormy sea. People always say: “The world is bad.” But where its badness exists? – “What about that common war” ⁸ It is the reflux of the power and into that reflux there is a conflict, all they are running away saying that sea is flooding. And that rush is what they are calling war. You are asking what will happen with the world. I am saying: after 12 hours or 12 weeks, or 12 years all that will be hushed, impregnated with blood areas will dry up again and people will ask: “What was that, what was the reason, why that sea become angry against us?” The sea does not get angry; it is breathing and when it makes exertion in breathing, its hollow, its chest rise up on 60 legs. But when the sea is breathing and it is taking an air you have to be positioned 60 km away from the coast - onto some high top. When the sea breathe out, you can go to the coast and to admire it, but just you see that it is taking a breath, run away over there onto top.

 

These two laws are opposites and similar, if we may understand them, they are two great things in the world. One law – of similar – is The Law of Heaven, the other – of the opposites – that is The Law of The Earth, of the organically world, of the flesh. You wake up in the morning felling not quite well despondent, on bad terms with the world, you do not want to work, your mind is confused, you say: “God didn’t make the world as it should have to be”, all devils are into your mind, you are ready to scolding with everybody, you let go the girdle waiting for someone to step on it, ready to flare up – that is the law of the opposites. That day if wife see your man like that if she does understand the law she will run on 2km away and will say: “Today inside my man have a reflux of a Spirit and afflux of the flesh”. You should not have to be laughing, because tomorrow the wife will let go her girdle. This is a law, everybody could not in the same time to let go their girdles.

 

Ten years ago I had lived to a family which has 7 members – father, mother, a son, and four daughters. I had made some observations – it operates as a watch. All members of that family everyday of the week alternate with each other[ira8] : in Monday –father indisposed, his girdles let go, everybody says: “Father is indisposed, gloomy, shouting and yelling.” Everyone are hushing up and looking for the reason. In Tuesday father is jolly, but look – mother has let go her girdle; father gives a faint smile and says: “Today your mother is on duty”. It is interesting because in Thursday the son lets go his girdle, and everyone is laughing because they know him. That way everybody take their turns. I knew who and when is on duty and program follows inviolably. Well it is nice for a little while – if one lets go his girdle, and the other did not it is easy. But if both of them are on duty letting go the girdle – in other words on a scientific language, when both have a reflux, then the things goes wrong.

 

Here what the Apostle Paul is saying into readen chapter – the flesh opposites to Spirit and contrariwise. We could not make these laws reconcilable; it is inconceivability, because they have diametrically opposite movements: one is moving forward and other backward. The law of the opposites is the law which destroys; he destroys harmony, happiness; when he is operating inside you when he goes back he is stilling all your belongings. When you fall into that law of opposites for a long time it may have an influence over your mind 12 minutes, 12 hours, and 12 years. In human life exist some periods which exert an influence over character of a man still from the beginning. If one child get conceived and get borne during the period of opposites it will became surely a criminal, the biggest rascal – he could not run away from consequences, because they gave him those elements which drive on his life into other direction. If father and mother are under operation[ira9]  of the law of similarity they will gave a birth to a very noble son or a daughter, with good and well developed mind. So do these great laws operate, [ira10] and first people before the original sin understood them, but after original sin they forgotten them.

 

After churches people want listen to pastors preach, but he is in the law of opposites – his vibrations, his mood, his preach that day can not bring blessing to people. He may serve willy-nilly, it is his duty; if he was free, he will take his hat and to go somewhere, but people want preach from him. What about he will preach them[ira11] ? He will jaw them: “You are such and such, you are bad[ira12]  people.” And will send them to hell. That day he told a lie. He spoke about himself, because that what he was talked about reflected inside you, because you were a mirror and he looked at himself, he lived under influence on the law of opposites.

 

People are telling about one famous American pastor in Town of New York, who preached for a long time under the law of opposites and he spoke such a terrible stories, frightened that way all parishioners, seems the end of the world has came. Because under the influence of that law of opposites often onto stomach are formed sediments, who can not digest and secret the gastric juice and do harm to all system, so one they took him and drove him to the hospital, to clear away these little papilla. They putted into his mouth one gut, let trough it for-five kilograms hot water, washed out once or twice his stomach, cleaned out the sediments and on the second week pastor came into church and preached about The Divine Kingdom, about coming of Jesus, about Love and etc. People say: “Take a look our pastor has transformed” So I say: when a pastor or orator begins to preach into church or into chamber, he has to clean away the sediments out of his stomach, out of his heart, out of his mind and then to preach to people.

 

You wake up, for example, in the morning you are little indisposed, but you can not give an account; after 4-5 minutes your mind gets bright and you are saying: “Thanks to God I heave a sigh of relief”. Within some period of time you become oppressed with bad thoughts and you say again: “From where does it appear that devil?”People can not understand that here operates a law, who at regular intervals methodically is acting in the world – no devil has come here to capture them into trap, this is one Divine law. God is saying: “I gave to you a mind to be judicial about arrangement of the world[ira13] , I had told you once upon a time about that law but you have forgotten it and now the Law itself will teach you.” When the present societies reach the understanding of deepest sense/meaning of these two laws, only then the world will be fixed up fundamentally, law courts will be fixed up – everything.

 

Someone’s are asking how can be fixed up the world. It can. When we begin to act in conformity to that law, the world will be settling as the God creates it in the beginning. The equal reasons generates equal consequences, the opposite reasons generates opposite consequences. The Hindu which knew these two laws, explain them it word karma- the law of reasons and consequences. But karma could be a karma of afflux and karma in reflux; it means good karma or bad karma. On trade language it means to give – to take; when you are giving that is a reflux, when you are taking that is an afflux. And that who you are obligated will came on the day of payment to invite you to pay your debt. The payment day means law which regulates the things. This law is dependent on such debtors and on person who have to take. Therefore when God place us into the world He stipulates some conditions. We had undersigned obligatory that we had to do these or that but now we are saying Him: “We didn’t owe you a thing” – “Really, so then I will apply over you the law, I will execute The Law of opposites “. You are beating somebody – he will beat you, if you love him – he will loving you too, that is to say what are you doing to others the same they will doing to you. These two laws rule over and operate on the Earth. Similar always repel similar: one cock lift up on a pile – other stronger than him came here and chase him away. Why bouth should does not crow? The law says so: over one pile one cock should have to crow. So in the world can exist only good or only evil – two evils could not stand each other at same place, therefore two goods could not stay together at same place. One saint with another could not stand each other, scientist and scientist too, take pattern by two doctors – it is the same thing[ira14] . About that one Turkish proverb says that “quilted coat from white dog is not like particular”. Because here on the Earth operates exactly these two laws – of opposites and of similarity: The Good have aspirations for The Evil – and The Evil to The Good. For that reason namely those who want to live on the Earth surely should have to have for a friend’s bad people, and bad people should have to be friends with good people either. In Heaven the law is different, but in the Earth so it is. That who wants to joint good people, people as himself [ira15] always will be unhappy. Why? Because should have to exist an exchange?

 

Let’s take for example two tradesmen of a cloth which costs millions leva and his neighbor who have the same cloths, to whom they will sale these clots? Their interests are in conflict – one will say to another: “Go away from here, go to another place, to the end of the world, I am willing to sell here.” This is the law of opposites. Therefore Jesus who had understood that law says: “To renounce ourselves and to leave other people to live here.” If a man denies himself he becomes a servant and when he becomes a servant God says: “I love you.” But if only someone says: “I want to be a master too.” God give an answer: “Two people could not be masters at the same time – one should have to be a master and other should have to be a servant” Evil get borne when both want to be masters. And when they want to be masters and if they insist on that God says: “Two masters could not live close to me, so go to the other end of the world” And which is the other end of the world? It is The Earth. Therefore God had send people on Earth. Inside all of you, who want to understand the law of similarity operates the law of contrasts and that is why you are unhappy. You have to do out form the law of opposites and to come into the law of similarity, and the law of similarity means renouncing. To renounce yourself do not mean to loose your life, not at all – only you will change one job to another. Let say that two applicants want to work as a director in a school, one of them who is acting accordingly to the law of similarity will say: “Take that place and I will work as a teacher.” But if they both want to become a directors at all cost, they will begin an intrigue in front of minister – each one will declare: “I am better one”. Who rule them in that situation[ira16] ? The law of contrasts does.

 

The teaching of Jesus belongs to the law of similarity. Jesus comes down on Earth to settle the law of similarity. He says: “I don’t want to govern you[ira17] , I just want to teach you how to be happy. And if you love me and execute My law you will be blessed.” You are not in a mood, you feel hate, you gossip about, you are unhappy [ira18] – so you are under the law of contrasts. You have to leave it or putted on scientific shape, you have to go out from the law of contrast and entrance the law of similarity - in other words to change conditions and surroundings. Start to love[ira19] ! – “How shall I love do?” Really it will be impossible to you to start loving if you do not take the place of Love. It is the same thing to be closed into dark room and to said to you: “Watch” What you will see – the dark room does not belong to similarity and you have to go out from there. If you have a light you may strike a match and to kindle it. And Jesus says; “We have to renounce from ourselves” he means that we have to leave out the dark room of our selfishness and to entrance the law of similarity, of Love. You see how reasonable that is.

 

Come out and go to that places where you can obtain elements necessary for your happiness, for your heart. You can not do that if you are under the law of contrasts. Then for one vacant chair, for one professorial department many will contest. Once in France concurs for one professorial department was organized, in that competition took part 15 000 applicants. So how many people can sit on that vacant chair? One applicant can use one chair. Into this world many wishes appears to be[ira20] . Why? Because you feel envy – you want that vacant place. You hate somebody and you are trying to eliminate him from your path; seems to I can give you an answer: I know why you hate him so – even he, or you desires that vacant place. The law of contrasts operates into life implacable, that law acts into our thoughts, into our hearts and into our bodies. The cells, these milliards cells of our body [ira21]  - into our bones, into our nervous system, into stomach, into lights, into heart, into brain – all cells of these organs in some periods fall under the rule of these two laws of similarity and contrasts, because into them happens afflux and reflux. A man become angry, or he is out of sort that means that he have a reflux[ira22] . By all means an afflux should have to come in[ira23] . How? He should have to concentrate himself to fix his mind up toward God[ira24] ; he has to go to talk with [ira25] Him, and when the reflux passes out, he will come back on Earth.

 

Saying afflux we do not understand only the tide but when also raise an afflux into plant life, when air is full of humidity.Each thing when grow to maturity begins to wither – we have the law of contrast who is preparing land for next year. So we see that the other law belongs to its place – the law of contrast should have to take off old clothes. You are undressing – this is the law of contrasts, you are dressing – that is the law of similarity. Your body gets dirty - you have a law of contrasts, you give yourselves a bath so you have the law of similarity. Every day we are waking up and washing out our face – why we are doing that? Out of habit? Today you have to face God; because of the reflux inside you, you wash out your face and said:” I will take down from my heart the burden; I will take down the sediments of my mind and after that I will go top to face God.” – That tells washing of a face with pulling of hands from above to down. But as you can not interpret that, you are washing out yourself and all day you thrust your hands into mud, work doesn’t goes well. How it will do when mud is inside you. At this time you should have to be at some high place.

 

We have to exercise that law, as Apostle Paul says, into fruits of The Spirit; and they are: Love, Joy, Peace, long-suffering, kindness/sweetness, compassion, faith, gentleness, forbearance. Love – is a father, Joy –that is the mother, Peace – is their child; so they are one triangle which belongs to Divine world. Who wants to be blissful have to posses these things - then he is on Heaven. After that follows the second category which belongs to the world of Angels: long- suffering – that is the father, kindness – that is the mother, compassion is their offspring. Acquire them and you will be among Angels. The third category: faith is the father, gentleness – mother, forbearance – their child.

 

So I am saying: according the low of similarity first thing you should have to do is to know your father[ira26] . Who is your father? Is he Faith? – “I don’t have any faith.” So my friend I have a low opinion of you; if you did not have a father you are borne from illegally parents – your mother did not gave a birth to you by Divine manner. That is the way I understand someone’s words “have no faith”[ira27]  But if you say “I have faith” – I congratulate you – you have father who is very noble, from a high extraction, from a royal family – “But I don’t believe that in father”. You are the latest heel.

 

Let’s talk about word gentleness. We said that gentleness is a mother she belongs to royal family too. If you do believe into gentleness that means that you have a mother. – “But I don’t want to be gentle.” – So you are without mother. Therefore one Christian should have to have a mother and a father and he should have to be forbearance himself. When we are saying forbearance we should have to understand ourselves as child of our father-faith and our mother-gentleness. Someone says: “ I want to go among Angels” You can go but first you should have to receive your birth from a father – long-suffering and to conceive you your mother- kindness she should have to carry you into her womb. And who you will be after you get born? Will you be Compassion – Angel, saint? If you are possessed of compassion – you are saint and above you belong to father-long-suffering and mother – kindness.

 

This is the Law who regulates the human life. It is the grounds of a philosophy, which could be traced every day; the law is not a supposition and could be checked by everyone. I do not lie and I do not like to be lied too[ira28] . To lie it means to be silly, as if somebody lie to me I will be silly too. I expel from myself the law of contrasts[ira29] . If I am into reflux I am going to God; if I am into afflux I came on Earth to do some work. If I am close to God, who will lie to me? For that reason I am talking about in one of my latest lectures: “There where God entrance devil could not.”[ira30]  Where God is missing, there is the devil[ira31] . When someone says “devil tread on me” I do understand what he means. If God is into your heart, devil could not tread on you. According the law of similarity we could not transform The Good into evil, even evil into The Good.

 

One saint has lived for 20 years into desert. A grey-bearded old man came to him and said:

 

- I am a very great sinner. Please ask God to forgive my sins.

 

When old man went away, saint begins to pray God for that old man. An Angel come to light and said to saint:

 

- God did not accept that prayer, because that old man is the devil. To testify him is he speaking the truth, tell him: “I will pray for you but you have to confess your sins, to come on the top of a rock and say: “God be merciful to me, such a sinner, abomination of desolation!” You have to repeat these words during the year.”

 

After some time old man has visited the saint again, but litter said what the Angel ask him.

 

- How can I do that – shout the devil – I can’t. I am ruling the world and I am giving orders to Him, I don’t want to pray, you do it!

 

Then he answered:

 

- The old spite can not be a present virtue.

 

These who are preaching the Gospel, should have to know that we are not able each time to transform the law of contrasts into law of similarity, that is to say that we can not turn to face God a man who is living permanently under the act of the law of contrasts, we can not make him happy as we are not able to turn a man into women. A woman wants his husband to make her happy, but how he can do that when she does not love him? He buys her a suit – she is dissatisfied, he brings meat – she don’t like it because it wasn’t good, hose has not been builded well, these and that has not been at its place. How can you make her satisfied when she is in the area of contrast on hers mind and when all things which her husband can do are not be able to transform her nature? Nor wife can not satisfy her husband if he has such temperament – she may cook well, to turn out house – but he always will be displeased with her, because he lives into the law of contrasts. And then someone came to visit me saying: “I don’t know what to do, my husband looks like a wasp”. I debate in my mind coolly and say: “Unfortunately he is into the law of contrast, he is into reflux.” Give him a ride, put a horse to the cart: “Lets today to go on a walk.”And when one woman wants to take the husband to the church she takes a cab and says: “We will visit God; into church a pastor named so-and-so will preach lets learn something new”

 

Today we are sitting and saying: “The world have to be put in order”. But how could that happens? If a pig for a millions years has grunted under the tree and after she eats up the pears from the tree, begins to roots for more into the ground asking: Where these pears have been covered?” how the pear tree can give more pears? She will destroy whole pear tree. You are acting the same manner, when you did not find any pear at tree you start to probe deep below saying:” Money which we are looking for are dig into the ground” – you became a treasure-hunter. I am saying to you that you are living into area of the law of contrasts. There is no pears, no treasure, you do not need to dig up earth on a same place, and you have slung your bag over your shoulder, to pick up your staff and to move on to another place. Because when Master came and sees you that you are dig up earth only in one place He will beat you well. Here it is what God is doing today on Earth: we are rooting for pears into the ground and God is saying: “Give them a good trashing, to everyone 25”

 

So I am saying: exercise that law. A woman do not probe deep over the root of her husband – when there is no peers do not expect any; husband do not have to probe deep over his wife, the priests – over roots of their flock, students – over roots of their teacher. Everybody have to put in practice that law to begin to understand Life, as God has been created it. That is the philosophy which we can exercise into life – it is so simple that everyone can understand it. If you say; “I can’t do that” you are into the swamp, into the slime of opposites. When you say “I can” you are into the law of similarity, you will make a step ahead and will step into the path of Redemption. Someone says:” I can’t do love”, sorry I can not help you, because you are in the area of contrasts where you are collecting slime and sediments. – “I can do love” – you are inside the law of similarity and God will be with you. You are waking up in the morning not feeling well, say to yourselves: “Today I have a reflux let put a horse to the cart, to take its yoke, I will travel.” Do not stay there; do not go around the tree searching pears out of its time – you will find them somewhere far away. Stand up, go and say a prayer, if you know how to do that. Inside the power of prayers you will get strengthen.[ira32] 

 

To pray, that is the most highest and noble preoccupation/pursuit which man can perform into that world. Only that way elevates and ennobles human heart. I am not talking about external side of a prayer where only the speech took its part, but I am talking about that prayer which express the consciously desire of a soul toward God – The Highest Love. But not everybody is thinking like that. Some people are saying: “I can’t do prayer”, others is laughing and saying: “It is a delusion to pray – I am a man of science, I had finish praying to God[ira33] ! But our scientists are inconsistence that is why they want a degree and make a petition: “Because of my father who was so-and-so and my mother – like that, because I am in need, I am begging you most politely, if you deign to hire me, as I promise to keep precisely and accurately my duties.” Is that a prayer, isn’t it? Yes it is – quite specific. Bit if it is a prayer about God, it is a shame. Until we have a people who prayers to beings of their sort, but not to God – general good, the world will be as it is today. They are living into the law of contrasts.

 

How can we be good when untruth is our companion? We cheat ourselves, our relatives and God. Unconsciously we gave untruth a citizenship. We are acting under fear. [ira34]  Let release ourselves from fear, let put a motto to speak the truth at least in front of God, to say;” Today I will not tell lie in front of God.” If we make a mistake, let’s say “I had sinned”, but not – “someone else did make a mistake, I am sitting higher than him (as a Pharisee), think more about me” Then we are into area of contrasts, of the darkness. Let’s say the truth “I have done that” Because when we confess our sins, we can fix them up. If you read confession of a Tolstoy you will find a good example about that: he became great when he confess his trespass. Only one or two examples of that kind are known by history. Can you do such a confession?

 

If you want to become a noble, an Angel, a saint, it is very easy. You can transform into angel or into devil ten times a day. Some ones do not believe into rebirth, but you can so that ten times a day. You are reborn devil –if you want to kill a man then you are into area of opposites and you are in positions to make any kind of evil. If you are into the law of similarity you are an angel; if you are ready to act selflessly to make something good you are saint. But you can not keep that position permanent. They say that man has been made by image of God; I will interpret how I understand that[ira35] . When some ones say: “Some one has been promoted into general” wasn’t he exist before? Yes he has existed; he was a common citizen. And when Jesus says: “Let’s make the man by image of God”, that means that He wants to promote man into general, to dress him into military coat of a general, to put on his shoulders epaulet. But man does not keep will of God, and God degrade him, putted down the epaulet and clothes – so the original sin is. “Take his full-dress off - he said – because he did not exercise his general’s duties as he had to”. You face toward God – He said: “Today you are by imagine of general, lead him into Heaven!” After 10-15 minutes if did not keep the law, he said: “Degrade him!” If you are angry, if you feel malaise – you are outside Heaven. After year or two you begin to repent your sins – God says: “Bring him to me, I will promote him to the rank of general again”. God many times – every day, every hour – can promote you in the rank of general or to degrade you. If you are good today, you are an Angel in Heaven; tomorrow you are bad – he sends you on Earth. If you do not prayer, if you do not keep the law, you will be a devil. These two laws of similarity and contrasts control the world.

 

These spirits which are living under the low of contrasts are not in a mood to come back to the law of similarity, that is why God can not carry away them from one area to another. First thing in Christianity is the border which exists between these two laws. When we reach the border we should have to leave whole luggage – thoughts and desires, which belongs to the law of contrast and to step into law of similarity being clean. Then God will dress us with His clothes – and will promote us in the rank of general again. Because of disobedience to God’s will – do not touch forbidden fruit - the man become bare, God took off his general’s clothes and man was forced to make himself a clothes from leaves. God said: “Make him soon clothes from skin” – that is why you are dressed into that skin which you have. If you want to throw away your skin when you will do that? You will, when you step into the law of similarity.That skin will fall down from you, and God will dress you up with generals full-dress with epaulettes, which will be very bright. So it is the Christian philosophy – you can exercise it into Life. It is not a philosophy from the past – it is philosophy which you can put in practice. Every day you reborn from angels to devils and contrariwise – so that is the rebirth. Now there is a dispute: “Who believes into rebirth will be expelled from church.” How you will do that to me, when I do believe into law of contrasts and similarity, and I live a life according them? When I live after the law of contrasts and similarity it does not matter for my soul [ira36] will you keep me into the church or will you expel me. When I live close to God, when I did not hate anybody over the Earth, and I am trying to love everybody candidly, can someone to expel me? Only God can do that. That is the study I am teaching you.[ira37]  And I am telling you that only in the day when you get sinned you will be expelled out from the Divine church – Heaven.

 

What represents the present churches? They are only distant remembrances of past glory. Do you know what kind of secrets has been hidden into these churches? If I had been there to interpret what is the meaning of the church, what is the meaning of a stones which lay the foundation of a church[ira38] , to tell you about priestly vestments, about a candle which has been lighten up – all that has its deepest philosophy? Upon priest vestments has been written whole Divine’s laws. They dress them up every day but forgot to read what has been written over them. Do you know what the symbolism of clothes which wears the bishop is: tiara, the crutch twirled round with something which look likes as two snakes and etc.? What about the censer and the incense? We had closed book and said: “Oh, this is a holly book, don’t touch it!” But God says: “Take cares do not to graze it outside, keep it clean, but open it carefully, every day read a little from it and take look at these valuable things which ii contains” These things – church, vestments, candles, books – all they are at their place.

 

You have carefully to keep containing of the Holly book – thanks to it you may understand the laws of similarity and contrasts. And when you realize them and when you took over your shoulder the cross of Christ, ready to be nailed, then God will say: “That one will be beside me in Heaven” – you will receive redemption. It happens immediately: at the moment I can be into the Hell, in one moment – when I hesitate in God I find myself on the bottom of Hell. But in the moment when I come to love with God inside my soul and say: “Forgive me God!” I am close to Him, He stretch out His right-hand and taken in me.

 

Now I will show an example and will finis with it: a long time ago a man died and went to Hell. He lived there for very long time, for ages, he suffered, he begged God for forgiveness. At least God said:” Open the Book of life and find out did he made something good during his whole life” When the book was opened they saw that once he gave one carrot to one poor man. Then God said: “Ok, let him out!” He gave order to an angel: “You will give him that carrot, the man will catch it and this way you will pull him out from Hell.” But along with him other sinners join hands around his legs and angel carried along them to Heaven. But first man which had the carrot said to others: “That carrot is mine”. As he said that chain has broken and all together fall down into Hell again.

 

Let you carrot be used for redemption of other people, to lift they toward Heaven. Because, otherwise, if you said: “That carrot is mine” you will fall down again. Perhaps day will catch your clothes or your legs – stay quiet, without saying anything. That day, when you say: “The carrot is mine” you are far away from God. Unselfishness always lives according the law of similarity. Sacrifice and selfless for others – that is the Christianity.

 

The 15^th of November, 1914 – Sofia.

 

 

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 [ira1]Rest on / has been grounded

 [ira2]And all your beginnings will be successful.

 [ira3]Without exception they have faith

 [ira4]But of what kind is their faith? /what is kind of their faith/

 [ira5]Tic-tac

 [ira6]and for some time it stop at all

 [ira7]their effluvium spread microbes and that is the reason of many diseases.

 [ira8]Take their turns

 [ira9]Influence of the…

 [ira10]That is the way of operating of these two great laws

 [ira11]What will be the object of his preach? /What he will preach them?

 [ira12]You are good, you are bad people.

 [ira13]I gave to you a judicial mind to understand the arrangement of the world

 [ira14]the same is too.

 [ira15]People such him

 [ira16]Who operates with them in that situation? / Who does govern them in that situation?

 [ira17]To rule over you

 [ira18]If you are seedy, full of hate, gossip about, you are unhappy – so you are under act of the law of contrasts.

 [ira19]Start to express love! Begin with love!

 [ira20]Many wishes/desires/ appears to be into this world. / Many desires got borne often into this world.

 [ira21]From which we has been assembled / these milliard cells which piece together our body

 [ira22]He is in time of reflux.

 [ira23]At any costs must come inside him an afflux.

 [ira24]He should have intently to fix up his mind toward God;

 [ira25]To make a conversation with Him

 [ira26]First thing is to have a father / first of all you should have to recognize your father.

 [ira27]That is how I am understanding when someone says “have no faith”

 [ira28]Do not like somebody to lie me too.

 [ira29]I expel the law of contrast.

 [ira30]Where God entrance in the devil could not.

 [ira31]Devil took its place.

 [ira32]From the power of prayers you will receive your strength.

 [ira33]Me a science who had finished to pray to God!/ am I finished to pray to God?

 

 [ira34]We are acting under fear. /… because of fear.

 [ira35]The way I am understanding that.

 [ira36]That hardly touches my soul

 [ira37]That is the doctrine I am presenting to you.

 [ira38]From which has been constructed church