WITH PRAYER AND SONG

[Ani]

WITH PRAYER AND SONG

 

Sometimes one thing is said in one sense and, at other times - in another. Everything must be reduced to one common notion of Love. After that from Love you must switch to the notions of knowledge, Devine Wisdom and Truth. These are three worlds, where you must enter every day, to acquire something of Love, being friends with it. Or, to say that in other words: to be friends in your souls with the sensate, loving beings. Because the loving being is a perfect human, who, in order to help, will give the best of his soul. And it's not sacrifice - the perfect human never sacrifices. There's no need for that, because the sacrifice is for the Earth. The perfect human always wants to help, and this is enough. Keep this in your minds: be friends with the perfect beings! But someone may say: "How do we find them?" Some of you are ashamed of praying. Praying is an art!

 

THE MASTER

 

During World War II, at the time of the great bombings of Sofia, brother D. was visiting the Master for a conversation, and when he was leaving, the Master ordered him: "I'll give you occult formulas, written on sheets of paper, which you must place at different places, in the houses of your friends". The Brother didn't poke his nose in these things, looking or reading the formulas, but remained with the impression that these were verses from the psalms. The Master also said: "You'll see that the houses, where you put these formulas, won't be affected, even if many bombs fall around them and if many more houses are destroyed". The Brother placed the sheets with the formulas in houses at various locations in the city and after the bombings he checked - none of them was damaged, although everything around them was destroyed. This was a proof of the great magical power against evil and destruction, possessed by the occult formulas, given by the Master.

 

A brother shared with the Master that during the bombing he was so afraid that he wasn't able to say psalm 91 (90) as it was, but he forgot it and said it shuffled. The Master said: "Don't worry, Psalm 91 is so powerful, that even you say just one word of it, it will have effect".

 

A childhood memory of a sister: "When my father was to leave for the front, he went to the Master to say goodbye and he told him to place a Gospel in his pocket, at his left side, by his heart. When at the front, a bullet found its way directly in my father's heart, but it hit the Gospel and didn't penetrate my father's body. This is how my father was saved from death."

 

Brother G. Ovcharov has written his War memories from 1917: "We were at the Southern Front, our positions were located near steep rocks. We were standing at the top, and the enemy was below. We had sentries to watch and observe the enemy. One evening I was one of these hidden sentries. Propped against the rock, I saw the camp of the foreign soldiers. Suddenly I thought I saw people coming from below. I thought that if I didn't wake my comrades up, the enemy would come and capture them. But if I woke them up and they made noise, the enemy might shoot and kill them. For a moment I remembered the Master and said to myself: "The entire regiment relies on me, and I don't know what to do?" At that moment in the air, through Moon's rays, I saw the Master and heard his voice: "It's OK!" Then he repeated: "It's OK, don't worry!" Then his image disappeared. I woke my comrades up and they started filling their shotguns. They were ready to shoot, but the commanders stopped them. I offered to go alone ahead to check and see what those movements were.I went down the steep slope to the place I thought I saw people. When I got nearer I saw that the longferns, shuffled by the wind, deceived me. A few months later I got a home leave and went to Sofia, to see the Master at 66, Opalchenska str. His first question was what was happening on the front. I wanted very much to ask him about his appearance before me when I was sentry, but I was afraid to do so. He started asking me about my home, the brothers in Yambol, about my father, and all the time I wanted to ask about his appearance on the front, but gave it up due to uneasiness. On my way out Igave him my hand and he said: "If you need me, you can call me again". Then I asked the Master ifwhat happened several months ago was true, and he replied: "Yes, it is true, and if you need me again, make sure to call me!"

 

During the Balkan war, sister Elena's husband - Kostadin, was on the front. She recalls: "One day the Master told me: "Elenka, you can live without Kostadin just as well". I looked at him surprised and scared and asked: "Why, Master, are you talking to me that way, is Kostadin killed!" "No - answered the Master - but Kostadin is in great danger." Then I started to cry: "I want Kostadin to come back well, how can I live alone in the world!?" The Master thought for several minutes and then he said: "Alright then!" At that moment Dragan Popov came in, called the Master to speak to him privately and told him that the Greeks had surrounded several of our regiments in the Pirin Mountain, as Kostadin was in one of those regiments. The Master thought for a while once again and then he said: "Not a single hair will fall from Kostadin's head and everybody will get out of that situation alright". When Kostadin came back after a while, he told us that they were in great trouble, and were only saved by miracle."

 

Brother Ilarionov was on the front in 1913. The Master was in Tarnovo and was living in his house. One day the Master got out of the room and told his sister that brother Ilarionov was not well. The sister started crying, and between her sobs she said to the Master that she wouldn't be able to live without her brother. The Master said: "So you really can't live without him?" At that time Ilarionov, who was then an officer, together with his soldiers were surrounded by the Greeks. The Master went to his room, stayed there for 10-15 minutes and, when he returned, he said to the sister: "Don't you worry, everything will be fine!" What happened on the front? During the night the ring, surrounding our army broke at one place and the soldiers got out through it, without being noticed by the Greeks. After that they assumed good positions in the Kresna gorge and switched places by surrounded the Greeks. No battle was fought, because a notice came that a truce had been signed and an order to stop all battles had been issued.

 

During the Balkan war brother Georgi Kurtev was on the front as a paramedic. Cholera started spreading among the soldiers and everybody was avoiding those who caught it. Then Georgi summoned all the willing soldiers in his outfit to go with him and help the sick. He guaranteed that none of them would get the cholera. Several soldiers went with him and helped the sick for 7-8 months, without ever catching the disease themselves. At that time the doctors were so afraid that they visited the hospitals by horse and from a distance gave instructions on the treatment. Then brother Kurtev received a letter from the Master, which read: "Don't be afraid of anything, I see everything. Help the sick and we will support you."

 

As an officer brother Nikola Grablev served in Tarnovo. One day he was riding a horse somewhere over the bridge over the Yantra river. The horse was running fast and raving he headed not towards the bridge, but towards a place to its side, where there was a deep abyss. The Brother saw the danger, he had no time to act, but just addressed the Master in his thoughts: "Master, please help me!" At that very moment he felt a force pulling at the reins of the horse and he headed towards the bridge. At that time a woman was passing on it, and the horse went straight at her. But miraculously she bent down, the horse jumped over her and the woman was saved. Later Kolyo Grablev heard that during that time the Master was visiting someone at the Izgrev and they were drinking tea. Suddenly he closed his eyes and stood like that for a minute or two. Then he opened them again and said: "Kolyo Grablev was in danger, I saved him". Those who were there checked the time and recorded the date. When Kolyo Grablev came to Sofia, they asked him what had happened on that date and at that time, and he told them this story.

 

Brother Nikola Grablev tells about his experiences: "In 1922-1923 as a border officer, I was serving in the Deliorman (North Bulgaria). During the winter I was sent to Sofia on some errands and I was telling the Master that the Danube had frozen, because the weather was severe, and a lot of wolves, big as donkeys, were coming to Bulgaria from Romania and the Carpathians. Then the Master told me: "Here's an opportunity to check your bravery! You'll go out at night, about midnight, without any weapon, and you'll go where you know there are wolves. In this way you'll test your bravery and faith." I replied: "Master, there are so many wolves that they will definitely eat me!" He replied calmly: "They won't eat you. If I am sending you, they won't eat you, as long as you are brave enough not to get scared, you'll go through the wolves and they will do you nothing." I finally agreed: "I accept the task, you assigned to me, Master". But the mere thought of its performance, made my heart beat wildly. Here's what happened next in the Deliorman.

 

During one stormy night I was visiting my commander, who was seated several villages away from my station. I decided to return, so that I fulfill the task, assigned to me by the Master. The commander and his wife tried to persuade me to spend the night with them, because I was risking to be torn apart by wolves, but I insisted on my decision, mounted my horse to go in the darkness. The commander grabbed my reins to stop me and persuade me to go back. But in a moment, when he wasn't holding the reins, I nudged the horse and rushed off. At about midnight, a fierce storm with blizzard was raging around me, and I was approaching a village near my station. I knew that there were a lot of wolves there. The snow blizzard was so strong that instead of the regular one hour, I had already traveled several hours. Near the village from quite a distance I spotted a pack of 10-15 wolves, which were coming straight at me. Even before I started, I had said a ling prayer, and repeated all the occult formulas I knew, and since then I had lost any fear. When I saw the wolves, running towards me, I didn't feel scared, but the horse neighed and pulled back. I spurred him forward. At that moment the wolves approached us and attacked the horse and me. But - amazingly - their mouths were like tied and they just kept nudging the horse's stomach and neck with their muzzles. They jumped on me as well, but could do me nothing. The horse galloped and the pack fell behind. I entered the village and already there I hesitate whether to continue or stay and spend the night there, in the rooms of mayor's offices. I pulled at horse's reins to direct it towards the mayor's office, but he pulled his head so hard towards the road to my station, that I let it go that way, thinking: "You are more clever, you lead the way!"

 

The horse started on the road towards my station and at dawn we were in the village alive and unharmed. Later I found out that during that night, a lone mounted soldier with a shotgun and a saber was traveling on the same road as I did. He was attacked by wolves, and despite his resistance he was torn to pieces. A week later, one night I had to go from my station to the border, to check the sentries. On my way out of the village, the soldiers showed their concerns for me: "Mr. Captain, don't go - there are a lot of wolves around and they will tear you to pieces". But I ordered them: "Get back in the station and don't think about me!" I started on foot through the snow. I had hardly walked a hundred feet when I saw a pack of wolves coming towards me. At that moment I felt as if I met close friends and I wanted to hug and kiss them. I passed unharmed through the pack, without even a single wolf ever turning his head to me to look at me. I reached the border without any problems. There were other occasions, when I met wolves, but these are enough to show how the Divine works through the Master."

 

Brother Hristo recalls that when he was an officer, he went to the Master and told him that he wanted to resign, because he considered military service incompatible with the Teaching. The Master told him: "You will stay there, you will have to perform a very important task!" In September 1923, when the communists and agrarians started their insurrection, brother Hristo was sent to a village, to guide the repression of the insurrection. Men were waiting outside the village with axes, pitchforks and poles, to meet the army. Hristo stopped the soldiers at a distance, went to the villagers and talked to them: "What are you doing here with these axes and bludgeons? Go back home, no one in this village will be harmed, I won't interrogate you. Otherwise I will set the army on to you and we will kill you all." The villagers listened to him, they all got back home and no one was hurt. Then the brother realized that this was the task, the Master was talking about.

 

During one of the wars a friend, who was on the front, was back to Sofia on a leave and went to see the Master. He was a military musician. They were talking and at one moment the Master took out the words of "Before you, Lord, we collapse!", written by a brother and told him to compose a music for it, so it becomes a song. The leave was over and the brother got back to the front. There he started composing the music. While he was working in his tent, a battle began between the Bulgarians and the Serbs. Regiment's priest rushed inside the tent to him and cried: "The Serbs are coming and grenades are flying all over, let's run!" But the brother remained in the tent, continued his work and completed the song. When he got back to Sofia and went to the Master to give him the notes, the Master said: "If you weren't writing the music for that song, when all those grenades were falling around the tent, you were going to be injured as well. This music saved you." The Master said that, before the brother had had any chance to talk.