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Note 4 The Dreams Of Joseph „And Joseph saw a dream and told it to his brothers: and they despised him even deeper...” Genesis 37: 5-11, 39: 1-23 Often we ask ourselves the question why sometimes in life misfortune comes to us. In general, it is considered that people suffer and pay for sins from the present or the past and try to find out the reason for that. We can see that Joseph’s life happened so because of two night-dreams, which he told to his brothers. Of course, they interpreted these dreams in the wrong way, accusing him of having secret plots and ulterior purposes. And in order to prevent him from becoming their leader, the thought of eliminating him comes to their minds. Moreover, as you see, these are not strangers, but Joseph's own brothers. So at the first chance, they caught him and sold him to the Ishmaelites, whom on their turn re-sold him to an Egyptian. Thus started the period of trials for Joseph – God tried out his character. Human life is nothing but a series of trials – they are the touchstone used to test human character. The most valuable thing in the soul of a man is his character that must pass through the fire – the trials. And just after he has gone through the fire and resisted every test, only then can we say that the man’s character is valuable, firm, eternal – he has an eternal home to live in. Character – this is man’s home. As we see, scourges came to Joseph one after the other; after those that followed the two night-dreams, more and more came, which are narrated in Chapter 39, namely: since he was a handsome young man, the wife of his master fell in love with him; she wanted to make love to him, but he said, „No, my master has given everything into my hands, except you, you are his property, his right, and I cannot commit this sin before God.” We see that God reigns in the soul of this young man – everything he wants to do first he weighs it to that measure - whether it is right, whether it would comfort God, or not. Although he knew that troubles would follow for his refusal to fulfil the desire of a woman like that, he preferred to suffer rather than to commit a sin. After this test he really found himself in prison. But God helped him there, too – if you review the whole story in this Chapter, you will see that God never leaves him, but takes him out of prison by interpreting two other night-dreams of the king of Egypt. When we pass through different tests, we don’t know what God’s aim is. You want to go to Heaven, but if anyone asks you what the words Heaven or Paradise mean to you, you wouldn’t know what exactly to answer. You have a certain idea about Heaven, but it is so obscure to you, as were the two dreams in the mind of Joseph. And indeed how would the sheaves, the Sun, and the Moon relate to him? But they implied certain future events – his selling, the temptation by the woman, his imprisoning, his saving, and his exaltation. Now, which is that kingdom and who is the woman? Egypt is the kingdom where we live, and the wife of the courtier that tries to tempt us is the world. You are slaves that have been sold and chased away by your own brothers, you are in Egypt and the wife of the courtier is trying to seduce you – the world offers you some goods and is tempting you. It is not so bad for a man to have pleasures, but there are things that are forbidden. When Adam was in Paradise, God told him to taste everything, with the exception of one fruit that was forbidden and for his disobedience came all the suffering that followed. Also in this world, there are forbidden things and if you try to eat the forbidden fruit, suffering will surely come. There are people who would take the money of others – they need it to build houses, for pleasure, for trips abroad. However Joseph looked at this in a different way, he could have the goodwill of the courtier’s wife, but he thought, “I prefer to have the goodwill of God rather than the goodwill of a woman.” The world is a woman, who doesn’t belong to us; tomorrow, after she satisfies her lust for pleasure, she can discard you. It is your external beauty that attracts her. The present-day delusion is based on the following: when people hold us in esteem due to our outer appearance, we are wrong to think that it is because of our merits. There is a well-known, famous singer, but everyone respects only his talent to sing, his throat; if his larynx is ruined, he will be thrown out like a rag – all the respect he receives is only because of a little membrane in his throat. There is also a great fiddler: everybody respects him as long as he can use the bow; but if his arm is paralyzed, no one wants to hear of him. You can be a good preacher, but everyone will listen to you only as long as your voice is soft; but if your voice cracks and grows hoarse, you will hear the words, “We don’t want a preacher with no voice.” The woman has many suitors when she is beautiful, but if her beauty dims, they will say, “Let another woman take her place.” Joseph knew that self-delusion above all things and he practiced only things internal, stable, and eternal which can always give peace to the man and in that way he can have the goodwill of God. We should be careful of the little causes that bring the misfortunes. If Joseph had not told his brothers about the dream he had, this misfortune wouldn’t have come to him. Then the following question rises: wouldn’t it come in other cases too? There are tests that cannot be avoided. I will not talk about these internal laws, but I will say that there are things absolutely determined by God – if we try to avoid the little ones, bigger ones would come. In order to nullify suffering, we must learn a lesson from the behaviour of Joseph. We should not be under the delusion that if today our life is okay, the next day no misfortune will come, which we never expected. The Destiny or the Providence has determined the tests through which human life has to pass; and those tests are necessary. Why are they necessary? I will give you just one comparison: in order to cross a deep river you need a boat; to cross the ocean, you need a ship; so, to pass from one world into another you need the ship, called Faith. The tests and misfortunes are also necessary – they are the fuel, your ticket for the trip. Everyone, who wants to change the path of the needed law, is stupid. Everyone, who says, “Why has God sent me such sufferings?” and mutters, is a stupid man in the full sense of the word. However, those who say, “I want to learn the meaning,” and is grateful for that, is a clever person. Note: when misfortunes came upon Joseph he did not mutter, but faced them with joy in his soul and thanked God, and when in the court of his master he reached a position of having everything, he did not become conceited. When his master offered him greater goods, he was not tempted by what the woman offered, because he said to himself, “I must follow one law – I must not sin.” So in that sense pleasure is a sin. And what is sin? Anything that does not give birth, has no fruit or an embryo in itself, is a sin. A woman, who procures, fornicates, without giving birth to a child, commits a sin. The Conception redeems the sin. Any activity that does not bear Life in it is a maleficent waste of God’s power. When someone urges you to commit a sin, he wants you to waste God’s energy that is given to you. You drink a glass of wine – and on the next day, you have a headache; what have you achieved, have you become nobler – no, you haven’t. Why should we wish to do things that do not add anything to our character? We all have to restrict ourselves only to those pleasures that are allowed, rightful, and natural. Let’s take as an example a boy and a girl, who play with horses and dolls – on one side these things, bring them some pleasure, but on the other they have an educating role – they prepare them for other activities. In the same way for adults, there are certain pleasures in life, which can also be useful for them; however, there are pleasures that always bring destruction of human feelings, of human power, of human salvation. The unnatural life, the so-called hidden, illegal love, that some men and women practice, has a destructive effect on their hearts and on their minds. You love somebody; ask yourself if that is pleasing to God, is it useful for the one that you love, don’t deprave his soul, his mind. Joseph was young and pure; a lecherous woman wanted to desecrate him, but he resisted her temptation to stain his name, which would mean nothing if he had fallen to the temptation. Note that it was first the woman, Eve, who was put on trial, and she did not resist, then it was her man; now is the turn of the man to be put on trial. It was the same snake that tempted Eve in the garden, „Look, if you taste the fruit of that tree, what knowledge and power you will have – you will become like God!” Eve could not resist and said, „For glory I can do it,” – because it was a definite betrayal. The same snake appeared to Joseph in the shape of a woman and said, „Come with me,” but his reply was, „No!” And then the sufferings followed, but also the elevation. The man and the woman represent two principles, two great reasonable powers that are active: the first power we call active, and the other – passive; one is – active, and the other – perceiving; they are two processes in Nature that interchange. God does not always give, sometimes He takes – in one respect He gives, but in another, He takes. On one hand, the ocean sends moisture to the land, but on the other –this moisture goes back to the ocean again through the rivers. In that sense, the man and the woman are two principles that work: one of the principles is – creative, called man; God the other – passive, called woman or God – it is the same. Therefore, in both moments of Life we have to be faithful to these principles. If the world wants us to obtain goods, we will obtain them only if we follow this supreme principle of God's. If you are faithful to Him, all dreams and desires of your mind and your heart can be achieved. You will achieve them only in one way – by God, only He can satisfy your thoughts and desires. The mother brings up the child, the teacher educates the student, therefore, as the child cannot be brought up and cannot grow without the mother, so the student cannot learn without his teacher. Joseph listened to the voice of his Teacher, who was inside him – the voice of God, who taught him to follow the great law of the motion and movement of Life. All our striving in Life must be directed to the following – to develop our character. How? Character is constructed of thoughts and feelings, of positive power. We should not interpret Life in the way some people presently do – in the limited frames as it is interpreted by a scientist, a doctor, and a philosopher. No, we must understand Life in the way God has restricted it. All people see things partially: contemporary science shows only one side of things, the genius of a talented musician reveals just one little part of space, the mind of a philosopher – also, the strength of a healthy person is limited only to his muscles. But some people say, „Strong in the mind.” Strong in mind man can be, only when his power is in connection with all laws of God and when he is in harmony with all creatures around him – from the lowest to the highest. Then his strong, powerful character can do everything, because all creatures help him. When we are in contradiction with God’s laws, then this discrepancy comes to our mind as well as all misfortunes that we encounter in Life. Why don't we ever succeed? We hesitate, we want to do good, but we don’t realize that what we are doing is not good. We think that what we plan is clever and that it will be realized – we turn it on all sides, but it doesn’t happen. Sometimes we wonder why we do not progress and why our memory gets weak, why it is dull. We alone constantly disturb our life to its very depth. It is normal to roil the water when you fish, but to roil it constantly – when you have caught all the fish, this is not right. Often the woman gets angry with the man and roils his water. – What do you want? – A dress. – All right, there is a dress for you – says the man. And the lake clears up. On the next day the woman wants to catch another fish, she roils the water again – now she wants a silk dress, a watch, to go for a walk. – Here it is – replies the man. But one day this man fails, he has no money and what does he do? – He decides to run away. So the lake gets dry and there is no more fish, there is no more water. What will the woman roil then? To roil Life constantly, to upset ourselves, this does not mean that we understand Life. We will roil, we’ll roil again and finally we’ll die. Have you ever thought about what death is? It has been painted in pictures as a human being made of bones with a scythe in hand. Have you checked if it is so? – „No, my mother and my grandmother have told me it was so.” This may be true, but have you thought what the meaning of the bones is, why death is represented as a human without muscles? You have to be pure like the bones, which are white in colour – this means that you have to be virtuous. Anything that is not clean will be discarded; only Virtue will remain untouched. So you have a pattern not to be touched; if you violate God’s law, you will always be affected. Man should have fear of punishment before and not after committing a sin, crying will not save him. Salvation is based on organizing our mind, our heart and our body – this is our task on Earth. And for this there is an excellent example in the Old Testament – the greatest character in the person of Joseph. When reading these chapters from Genesis, we have to study Joseph’s character thoroughly. We should not think he is stupid; he was very clever and therefore, as you see, his father loved him – love is always due to wisdom. Joseph also had a noble heart. His father realized that but his brothers thought that he was loved by their father for external qualities and they sold him. Whatever circumstances he would have been placed in, his character would again have elevated him, as it elevated him before. Due to his valuable qualities, his master places him in a high position. Another test sent him to prison, but there he was also elevated. Finally, God takes him out of prison, where he has spent two years – the time determined for the test. And what is your prison? Your present body. One day you must leave that prison, dirty and unhealthy. Until now, you have received Holy Communion, but you don’t know what model the wine presents: the baker had to be beheaded, and the cupbearer – restored to his service. One of the principles in Life – the active one – always must be sacrificed, and the wine must come in to cool Life. The wine has enormous power, but since the contemporary people are not prepared in advance, they get excited from it – they have no organism to use it. When the wine goes into the bottle and starts to ferment the bottle cracks up. But let’s go back to Joseph’s character. We see that he had a sober, reasonable mind and understood the basic laws of Life. He had a noble heart and didn’t want in any way to be untrue to the promise he had given to God. – „I have promised upon my heart to my master and also to serve Him faithfully and I cannot betray Him.” So, he was not a young man who would float down the stream of bad intentions and desires, and in all cases he followed noble impulses and had a well-balanced heart and mind. If we want God to live in us, our minds and our hearts must be in harmony, and must be balanced. If dissension occurs between them, God would not live in us. There are places in a state of anarchy, as it is in Serbia now and all over the world, since the minds and hearts of the people are not in unison, because they want to take more, and nobody gives. Everyone aims to rob his fellow man and for that reason there are always conflicts between people – it is a common law for the small, as well as for the bigger creatures. Many people want to live: some are still with their fathers and tell what dreams they had; others are in the second category – sold by their brothers in Egypt, in the courtyard of this elevated courtier, where they are exposed to the temptations of his wife; a third group is in prison. The best position is to come out to the Pharaoh. But to meet the Pharaoh you have to pass through three stages – these are three schools, three courses: the first one – with the father, the second – with the woman, who examines how virtuous he is. And Joseph performed a very good test – he left his garment and ran away. What does it mean to leave your garment? It means to leave the cloak of your soul – the flesh. Like that woman, the world says to you, „Come with me, I am very pretty, or you will be sent to prison,” – she is testing you to see if you would be tempted, or you would follow God’s law. And what you have to do is to dispense with all goods that allure you, overcome the temptations and follow God’s law. Believe in God, have faith in Him and you will surely have a great future like Joseph. There are no two ways about it. Here I show you a young man who follows the road that God shows him, he rises from the position of an ordinary shepherd to the highest position in Egypt – not by means of theft, lies or murders, but by means of self-denial to sufferings and following God’s law. Therefore, the Wisdom and Knowledge, that you may have in your mind, the Goodness that you may have in your heart – only they can help you. Never delude yourself with external things, which can attract your sight, whatever they might be – black or blond. What your hands or face would be, depends on your heart – whatever your mind and heart are, the same will be the house you’ll create and the same will be the windows in it. By his mind and his heart, man can always change his external social position – from a poor man he can become rich, but he will change it only if he follows God’s Laws. If we proceed to review the second part of Joseph’s character – when the brothers came to him, we will see that he did not take revenge, but he cried together with them and poured all his love to them. Therefore, if someone has harmed us in our life, we should not answer back in the same way. To wish someone ill, to revenge, to gossip about people – this is not a character. Character is to forgive – only in that way can you rise to the level of nobility. This example we can also see in Christ, when he was crucified and He was mocked, He said, „Forgive them, God!” The time will come and you will be asked, „Did you forgive those who have offended you, who have sold you?” A father said to his son, „You’ll never make good.” The son went abroad to study, came back, rose in society, became a governor and what he did first was to send several guards to bring his father, to him and the son asked, „Well, what do you think, will I never make good?” Then his father replied, “Was what you did very clever? Was that the way to bring me here – by threatening me? You are an unwise man who doesn’t know what he is doing. You had to send a carriage to bring me here.” This is also the way we do things – we want to threaten people: „If God gives me power, I know how to rule – I’ll send all to the gallows,” for thousands of years people have used this method – everyone is fighting and every house is crying. And how much has the world improved? Not a bit. Only Love can bring noble elements into the human soul. And punishment is used as far as it is imposed by Love – to root out the bad things. The one, who in his operation cuts healthy flesh, is not a clever surgeon, but a stupid one. Therefore, when you come to Life, this is what you have to do: to follow the basic Law – there must be a balance between your mind and your heart. Many people doubt the existence of God. Some of you will say, „We believe He exists.” But if you were placed in Joseph’s boots, you would say, „If God existed, he wouldn’t put me in prison. He wouldn’t take me from my father, my mother, my brothers wouldn’t have sold me – is that God, I don’t believe!” You must accept all sufferings given by God’s hand, and when they come, you have to be happy – sufferings are the stones that you will use to build the stairs of your house, they will form your character. They are the connecting threads between man and God – only by means of which you can go from one world into another, a better one. And there is nothing better than the suffering in this world for your elevation. Indeed, you hate suffering, but in fact, it is the greatest blessing. When a soul has suffered for a long time, the suffering will give its fruits and the soul will be delighted. If the roots of the trees did not suck out the sap, would it be possible for us to taste the sweet fruits; if the mother did not suffer, if she did not carry a child in her womb, would she have a child to be happy with; if the father did not deny his individual life, would he be happy; can a teacher who does not make efforts have students that respect him? Who of those that have done nothing in life have been brought to Heaven and placed in a high position there? From one to the other end of the world Life is made only of sufferings – they are like the carvings of the sculptor, using them to create a statue. When we learn the deep sense of suffering, we will understand that this is a process that forms our character. And when we hammer down the last stroke for finishing our character, then the suffering will cease and the great statue of our Life will come out. We prepare to go to Heaven. What shall we bring there? – Our character – it is our wealth. You would like to be a man or a woman – beautiful, slender, with noble behaviour, but when you enter the world, what would people say if you were not noble in character? Would they say that in you they see a person possessing virtues? When a person is not good looking, but has a sound mind and good heart, people say, „This is a man of character.” And this is not the best praise that the world can give us. If we have such a mind and heart, the world will need us. In Egypt in the time of the Pharaoh, there were many noble Egyptians; why didn't Pharaoh put them in first place, but instead chose a foreigner? Was it for his good looks? No, it was for his mind and for his goodness. If we all are like him, the world will determine the same place for us, if we are stupid, the world will reject us. Contemporary people rely on the opposite – they say, „The man must not be virtuous, because virtue is nonsense.” They do not understand what they are saying. The external things, those we do not possess are taken from us even at Easter; however, character will always remain in us – namely it is the most valuable thing. Today you are in the same tests: you are worried as the Egyptians were in the time when Joseph lived – you do not know what could happen on the next day, the destiny, the future is not in your hands, you cannot predict how the events would turn. However, destiny could be in your hands, if you have faith and trust God in the way that Joseph did. Then you will surely change your destiny, wherever you are, whatever position you are placed in – like butter you will come to the surface of the water. The first condition to achieve this is not to be afraid and not to worry. You have to possess courage and determination, not to be cowardly – fear must give way to prudence. You should hesitate only if you have not decided whether a certain question is right or not; but after you decide that it is right, you must surely state it and stand up for it. Joseph put the problem to the woman frankly „I cannot do that with you.” The bad consequences really followed – he was caught and put in prison, but God was with him. When a character is formed it is necessary to have patience – it is the basis of things. And we definitely see great patience in Joseph’s character – in prison he did not worry at all, he worked, studied; he was ready to endure anything. Patience is a feature of the character that the human being does not have at his birth, but which he can acquire with efforts. All sufferings in the world only have the purpose to build patience in us – to learn to be patient, to be calm, to look towards the future with faith and whatever hardships and disappointments we have, never to lose heart. The young woman may say, „I dream to get married to a man according to my ideal,” and after she gets married, she says, „My life stops.” No, she is at the beginning of Life. Some people say, „I’ve lost my money.” What does it matter, you are at the beginning of your Life – you have lost nothing. – „I’ve lost my health,” – you are at the beginning of your Life; you will have new health. Whatever position we are placed in, we have to be patient and to set our faith in God even to the last minute. This Faith must be very deep in everything we do. Some people want to have a good society, to be surrounded by good people. Joseph, as a foreigner, lived among strangers, but he managed with his heart and with his mind to make these people good friends. – „But," some people say, "People are sinful.” You should make friends exactly with these sinners – they have noble souls in them. The contemporary Christian says, „He is not faithful, he is still green.” And can he become mature if he is not green? The things that grow out from the earth are first green, they do not mature immediately; the state of being green is a process, in which the saps are sucked out and when they are gathered, then it starts maturing. – „I feel insulted that I was called green.” It is very good that you are green; he does not insult you by calling you green – if you are a noble person, by hard work one day you will mature. The man who is not green cannot become mature; if he is not green, he will be dry, and in the dryness, there is no process of development. If you are green, I am happy about you – it is a noble feature to be green, and when you become mature, you will turn yellow like gold. Everyone loves money – maturing. There are some people, who have not matured. Do you know what money is? – To be mature. Life consists of a gradual development of greenness to maturing – this gradual process is called in science evolution, development. It is necessary until all people finish the process of development and acquire all Knowledge and all Goodness in their hearts. When they get all these saps, God will send His Blessing and the fruits in you will mature. Then God will appear. When you are still green, He watches you from a distance, when you become mature he will surely come and pick your mature fruits, because He needs them. When you begin to realize, to distinguish the essential things from the inessential, the temporary things - from the permanent, when your character is formed and becomes firm, when these fruits in the trees of your garden begin to mature, then you will be taken out of prison and presented to the Master of this world to tell the interpretation of the two dreams of Life. And you will bear the Truth not like prisoners, but as free people. Then the Truth will be a wreath on the head, and the sheaves in the field will bow to you and the Sun, the Moon, and the eleven stars in the Sky will greet you. And then you will understand the deep meaning of the earthly life. Then God will appear and the Kingdom of God will be established on Earth. 20 July (2 August) 1914, Sofia Source

From Dawning of a New Epoch, Beinsa Duno Love “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of Angels, but have not Love, I have become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.”[1] The word “love” has become very mundane in the world today. It has become so prosaic nowadays that it has lost its meaning. When a word loses its meaning, it becomes lifeless; and everything that becomes lifeless lacks inner power and so declines. In the organic world when a certain food enters the stomach, but cannot be properly digested, it creates a condition that doctors call “indigestion” and that produces an unpleasant feeling in the body. This law is true not only in the physical, but also in the mental world: When a thought comes to one’s mind, which cannot be digested with one’s mind because the mind cannot understand it, a similar condition occurs. The same happens with the human heart. When a desire enters, which it cannot connect with, a similar condition results. Human nature gets to know things around us in three stages. When you take a fruit, an apple for example—red, colorful, and beautiful—first its form appeals to your eyes, then you take it, turn it around, and through your eyes you will form an impression of the apple from its outer form and color. After your eyes have finished this process, you bring the apple closer to your nose to check its smell and determine the quality of its smell. When your sense of smell has done its job, then your tongue and teeth taste the apple and perform the last operation on the fruit, thereby destroying its beautiful garment until nothing is left of it; and the tongue says, “This apple is tasty.” Similarly, Love manifests in three stages in human lives, and because we do not understand this, we often have an inaccurate understanding of Love. Some say that Love is a feeling, others a power, still others an illusion, and so on. It is said that whatever condition your mind is in, you are in the same condition, so your understanding of Love will depend on the condition of your mind. In order to come to know someone’s opinion on a certain subject, observe how that person speaks and writes; to come to know a woman, visit her, see her home and how it looks; to come to know a cook, enter her kitchen and observe what and how she cooks; to come to know a soldier, see his action on the battlefield; to come to know a teacher, see him at school, and a preacher or a priest in his church; and so on. Everything should be tested in its own environment. When we come to discuss the meaning of Love in general, as not all of you may be ready to understand what I can share, I will present it in a simpler way. I may speak in a language incomprehensible to you, not because I do not want to be understood, but because there are some reasons why my talk might not be clear to you. When a child is born, the mother first gives the baby some milk and then some liquid food when it is a little older. Later she prepares soft food by first chewing it. The children enjoy the milk and the liquid food, but in order to be able to eat solid food, their teeth first need to grow; otherwise they will have stomach problems. During the teething process, the child may become ill. The mother worries, “My baby has a temperature. I need to call a doctor. Will my child survive?” Yet, when the teeth come through, all that is forgotten. A similar situation happens in human life as well: when people are given “solid food,” Love, they undergo suffering. Therefore, when we say, “Sufferings are necessary,” we imply that it is necessary to pass through them, “to undergo teething” in order to be able to eat solid food. I could explain later what these “teeth” are, but for the moment I can tell you that when sufferings come, this shows that you are “teething.” Once you have passed through this process, you will have a complete set of 32 teeth; and you will have reached the age of Christ, 32 years old. Let me offer you an explanation of how the Apostle Paul perceived Love. In order to understand Love, we need to compare it to its opposite, as when people try to describe an object, they need to find its distinctive features. For instance, to describe a horse, cow, sheep, wolf, and so on, we need to find those features that distinguish these animals from one another. In the description we make an analysis, usually based on the external characteristics, but we can do the same with the inner differences between them too. In the modern world many people desire to be eloquent speakers, as everyone knows that in this way they can influence an audience by the power of their words. However, the Apostle Paul says that, though he may have all the eloquence of human language and even that of the Angels, without love this would profit him nothing—this would be rather like trying to understand an apple by looking at it only from the outside. At present, many people would like to find out what their future is going to be and that of Bulgaria as well. If you were able to make such a prophecy, many would rush to you asking questions, and you would receive much honor, if your predictions came true. Yet, the Apostle Paul says, “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”2 He is saying that in the world today people are not concerned with the inner meaning of life: even if they were able to move mountains and cities, and be able to divide kingdoms, they would only be dealing with the outer aspects of life. The Apostle Paul goes on to say, “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not Love, it profits me nothing.”[2] This means that even if we have all the good qualities mentioned by the Apostle Paul, but we lack Love, we would be lacking in the most important one. It is not that all these gifts are without value, but they represent only the external side of a person’s life and fail to transform the inner side. The Apostle Paul goes on further to describe all the qualities of Love.[3] Its first quality is longsuffering. Do you know the meaning of longsuffering? It is the essential pillar of life. If you have endurance, you can achieve everything in life; if you do not have it, you will not. A person with endurance is like a ship with an anchor; a person without it is like a ship without an anchor. This is precisely the distinguishing quality of Love. It is because God is longsuffering that it is said in the Scriptures, “God is Love.”[4]. Longsuffering is a sign of the sublime Love of God toward us. If He did not have this Love, He would not have tolerated us all this time; He would not have tolerated our ignorance and wrongdoings; and would have rid the universe of us a long time ago. Therefore, whatever work we begin, whatever results we want to get in life, endurance is absolutely necessary. Many say, “Endurance means strong will-power.” No, endurance is a great quality and there is nothing more noble than this in the human character. However, endurance does not come at birth; it needs to be acquired. Love can come to us as a gift, but endurance we need to achieve by ourselves. Suffering is a process by which we can learn endurance; it is a method for acquiring endurance. To be able to endure, we need to have three essential qualities: Wisdom, Truth, and Virtue. Why does a mother tolerate certain faults in her child and try to bring him or her up well? She foresees that, in spite of its weaknesses, the child will become a great individual and bring benefit to many. Foreseeing this, the mother thinks, “I will face all difficulties and will endure my child’s faults,” and she is right. Those who bear all things in life are wise and foresee the future. When a young woman is not yet married, she keeps her hands very clean, avoids even water, and uses perfumes instead. Yet, when she gets married, she is eager to dirty them with the “perfumes” of her baby and even enjoys it. What does she find in this small child? If you weigh the child, it is only a few kilograms, but there is a Divine Spark within the baby that attracts the mother’s love to the point that with her longsuffering attitude she is ready to put up with the child by taking care of it in every way. If it were left to fathers, many of them would say, “This is not for me.” In the same way, to accomplish any work in life, we need to have Love, which is an essential quality in the hearts of those who possess it. I am talking about Love in its general sense, not about its essence. Some people consider Love as a feeling, as a pleasant feeling in the heart. This is not Love because one can experience a pleasant feeling after drinking some wine or finding a relief from body aches. However, this is not the feeling produced by Love. When someone loves you, that person may sometimes also cause you pain. Love can cause pain and joy at the same time. Love is like a two-edged sword: it caresses all, but also punishes all. How does it punish you? When Love is away from you, you become sorrowful and say, “I am unhappy.” Why are you unhappy? It is because Love is absent, because you are only happy when Love is present in you. Love also tells us something else: Longsuffering creates conditions for Love to manifest. Endurance is the way it enters the human heart. Without endurance Love cannot manifest in us. Endurance is a pre-requisite, the vanguard of its coming. When a degree of endurance has been acquired, you will understand that in brave, decisive people it is a mighty power that gives them a bright future. Let us consider now the word “benevolence.” This is the positive, active side of Love, while longsuffering is the passive, protective side, which one needs in order to endure certain burdens. Benevolence is Love that is ready to build, to help someone, no matter whom. When you encounter a beggar, who asks you for a favor, help him! When a friend of yours, who has a noble character, asks you for a favor, help him, even if his convictions and faith are different from yours. We desire that people love us and address us politely, yet we often violate this rule and not only do we not show patience, but often we do not even show the normally expected politeness. Some people may say that they love a person, yet they badmouth about him to others. The echo of this will be heard in time because whatever one sows, one will also reap. If you plant an apple, you will harvest apples; if you sow thorns, you will reap thorns. I am not talking about my relationships with you. I am always paying attention to what my relationships are with God, with Love, in other words, what my actions should be toward my brethren. It is less important how I judge my actions; it is more important for me to be ready to fulfill the fundamental Law required by Love: To be patient the way Love requires, and to be benevolent as it desires. This is necessary for everyone, for the entire world, for those who have a warm heart. I am not talking about those who do not understand these things. Some ask, “What will happen to the bad people?” The same as will happen to stones, to ants, to little insects. Probably you think that the ants’ situation is worse than yours? They are a thousand times happier than you, as they do not experience the sufferings that you do. It is toward those in whom Divine consciousness is awakened that we need to feel compassion, toward those who understand Love, God, and evil, who suffer and are in torment. Some people complain that they are unhappy and their life is a disaster. The answer is: they are unhappy because Love has not yet visited them. “Why has Love not come?” “It is because you are impatient.” “I am trying to become patient.” “It is good that you are already trying.” “Yes, but my life is still is disarray.” “This is because you are not yet benevolent.” Some people say that all this is very good and easy to achieve, but they fail to act on it. As a doctor I am telling you that none of you are healthy because I have not met a person who is healthy in the full meaning of the word. Only the saints and the Angels who are in Heaven are completely healthy. People, of course, are unhealthy, but not all in the same way. When a doctor enters your home, he may tell you, “Your room is not hygienic, as it is facing north. You need to leave this room and move to another one facing south; and you should keep your windows open as much as possible to allow fresh air and light to enter. You need to change all your bedding and begin paying attention to what you eat, and so on.” Love tells you the same, “Your room is facing north and it is not hygienic; you need to move to a southern one where the sun’s rays can enter.” In other words, Love wants to advise you to be patient and benevolent. Love also tells us that it constantly uses its hands for all work to be done. Do you know the immeasurable riches of these two hands? When you have these hands, you can do anything. I repeat: In order for your spiritual hands to appear, you need to possess endurance and benevolence. If you reject these two qualities, not only will your external organs fail to react, but neither can your internal ones develop properly in order to manifest the necessary virtues. Why do you need to have virtues? It is because virtues will bring you all the necessary elements for the building of your house and all the juices needed for your growth. Virtue is not something abstract, but real. It is always ready to build. Therefore, those of you who can understand need to grasp the full meaning of endurance. It is not only the endurance of bearing insults; this is not the fullness of endurance. The secret of endurance is, when someone insults you, to find the good side in it and use it. An insult is like a hard walnut, which someone has given you; you should break it, take its contents and eat it. If you can get nourishment in this way, you will become completely healthy. Those who speak badly about you and who blacken you are giving you food, and if you can use this food, you will be well satisfied. People may throw hard stones at you, but you need to break them because inside these stones treasures are hidden, which you can use to enrich yourselves. When you go home, contemplate and pray to God to understand endurance. Many people occupy themselves with mediocre things; many desire to become famous and learned. That is fine, knowledge will come in due course, but, if you are true human beings, you need to be able to receive and apply that knowledge. Knowledge is a power that can benefit you and your brethren, if used properly. However, knowledge can also be like a heavy load on your back. Love does not envy. In order to be sure that Love has visited you, you should ask yourselves if you are envious. If you are, it means that you do not have the fullness of Love. Love should exist eternally in our hearts; it is needed both in our present life and in the next life, and in yet further lives. The further we rise, the more profound will we find the meaning of Love to be. We need to follow this path from now on; there is no other way to Heaven. You may ask, “This path is difficult, is there no alternative?” No. We can enter everywhere else without following this path, but not into the Kingdom of God. Love does not envy, does not respond to injustice with injustice, to evil with evil, and bears everything. Of course, I am not saying that envy and pride will never visit your hearts. They will visit you, but we will not be judged for that, as long as we do not befriend them. However, sometimes we embrace envy and say, “This person is not good. Beware!” and we make someone’s life miserable. Envy is not something abstract, but is in reality a being with negative features; and even on Earth there are people who are personifications of envy. Only after we have learned these two qualities, endurance and benevolence, will we learn the history of our life, and learn why we came down to live on Earth. I will again give you the example of the grain of wheat. There is no better example among all existing fruits than the grain of wheat, and if you want to study the process of endurance, observe the endurance of the grain of wheat. Without endurance you will have disappointments. Many people will not believe you. Some may say, “People do not follow me.” Why should people follow you? They do not have to follow you. They will listen to your teaching; but to follow you? No, they have no obligation to do so. You often ask, “Whom should I follow?” You could follow people, of course, but at times you may be deceived. However, if you are followers of God alone, you will never be deceived. The Path is one. As Christ says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” If people do not follow you, this indicates that you are not on the Path. Some may say, “I do not believe,” and try to follo[5]w another path. However, at some point that person will find, without doubt, the true Path, thanks to life’s tests. You may insist, “Convince me then!” I am not trying to convince you. I simply say that the bread I am offering will feed you. You may ask, “Could you tell me its ingredients and what water is used?” but I would reply, “There is no point in answering such question. Just tell me if you are interested in taking and eating this bread?” You refuse, so I put the bread back in my bag and go away. You may ask further, “What is Love, what is it made of?” If you ask too many questions, again I will place Love in my bag and continue on my way, telling you that I do not have time for discussion on the subject. Love is something concrete, and you need to try it, take it, and find satisfaction from eating this bread. By doing so, you will realize that Love is the food of life. Without Love one cannot exist or accomplish anything in the world. Some people see very little connection between Love and commerce, or study, or war. We need to have Love everywhere, as it is a mighty power. The force I use to lift this glass is also Love. The same power can be placed in a cannon to throw a grenade and kill many people; it can manifest in an earthquake; it can even destroy the entire Earth or it can create an entire new world. There are rules about how to use certain powers. Love is a power that needs to be applied with consciousness. People are selfish and when Love visits them, they want to keep it for themselves. However, if Love is locked in us, it will destroy our walls and break out. It cannot remain in this dwelling, in which we want to trap Love, and so this results in death. Death is a process for destroying every selfish thought and desire; through Love God destroys all the places where evil spirits hide. Our heart and our mind need to have all the necessary conditions for receiving Love, for Love is silent and calm, but at the same time a frightening force in its effects. If we are in harmony with Love, the world around becomes a blessing; if we are not in harmony, there is no more dangerous force in Nature than Love. For this reason, people with experience say, “Those who love a lot, hate a lot as well.” As powerful as Love is on the positive side, it is equally powerful on the negative; therefore, we need to be very careful with it. When we have Love, we should not act negatively because then it acts destructively, and illnesses, sufferings, and destruction for the whole of society may result. Many say that God is Love and being Love He should not punish. The Lord, although merciful, is also very demanding. When He sees us discontented, He says, “Place one kilogram on their backs.” We may ask, “Why is this load placed on my back?” Without answering, God asks for another kilogram to be added. When you answer, “I cannot carry that,” God says to add one more kilogram. When we are pressed to the wall to the point that we cannot move, then we begin to plead, “God, forgive me!” The Lord answers by saying, “Remove a kilogram.” We repeat our plea, and He answers by removing another kilogram. The more we pray, the more weight is removed from our back. And when the entire weight is removed, the Lord asks us, “Have you learned your lesson?” “Yes,” we say, “I have learned it well.” “If you want Me not to burden you anymore, you need to be benevolent to all the world around you, to everyone around you, and they should be benevolent and bearing toward you as well. Your little brethren may make mistakes, but you need to show tolerance, just as I do; and in the day you violate My Law, I will start to put another load on you again.” “I cannot carry such load.” “You shall carry it.” I will tell you how we can release ourselves from burdens. We need to address God sincerely, “I am thankful with all my heart for everything You are giving me.” God has given every person thousands of blessings, but people do not know how to use them. The proverb says, “He is swimming in water, but is still feeling thirsty.” Many merchants are dissatisfied. Why? They have 10,000 leva, but this is not enough. You give them 20,000, but it is still not enough; you give them 50,000, then 100,000 leva, but they are still dissatisfied. Do you know what modern humankind resembles? Probably you have read about that fisherman who found a beautiful eye. He was asked, “How much do you want for this eye?” “As much as it weighs.” They placed 10 grams on the scales, but the eye was not satisfied; 20 grams were placed on the scales, but it was still unhappy; 100 grams, still unhappy; 1 kilogram, 100 kilograms, 1,000 kilograms, 10,000 kilograms… Finally all the gold they had was offered, but still the eye remained unsatisfied. “What we should do because we cannot pay it off?” they asked themselves. Finally they asked a wise old man what to do. “It is very easy,” he replied, “Take some dirt and cover the eye.” The people did as he advised and the eye closed. In the same way, when God sees us discontented, He will say, “Place dirt on the eyes,” and we become content. Just as we like to add salt and black pepper to our food, so God uses these spices to transform our discontent into contentment. The meaning of life is not in the abundance we have, but in what we can use at any given moment. You should be thankful to God for what He has given us, and then He will give us even more bounties. We need to apply the words of the Apostle Paul in everyday life, to begin to work and to be useful to our brethren. We are studying as in school and not as in a nursery. Church is like a big nursery and you can sow anything there. However, school is like a garden where you can sow only things that are useful. In the school we need to learn how to work the soil and sow beautiful and useful things. There is also something more to do in the school, as there is a connection between heart and mind. We should not only plant seedlings, but also cultivate them and thereby fulfill the fundamental Laws that should govern our life. You may ask, “Why has God not given us more talents, more power, and more money?” I can see many reasons for that. It is because whenever God sent you, your fathers and forefathers, to work in the field, instead of making efforts to cultivate your minds and hearts, you have been considering the taste of the forbidden fruit and again and again trying to taste it, and all these attempts have cost you all your capital. All the times you have come to this field, instead of working you have cut school and returned to Him, begging Him to give you yet more for free. You are like students whose fathers and mothers want to make them scholars, but who do not study. Many of you have cut classes in the Divine School. You say, “We cannot do this work, so let us throw all propriety to the wind.” You have talked like that and are doing this now, but this is not a wise attitude. Those who desire to learn the Divine Law and attain a higher realm such as that of the saints, from where they can get clear perspective on life and receive the blessings of God, need to graduate from the Divine School on Earth and pass its final exam. In this graduation lie blessings for everyone. If unprepared for this life, you shall lead horses and plow fields, and break stones to make roads, until you learn what horses, plowing, stones, and roads can teach you, and so prepare yourselves for the Kingdom of God. God sets disobedient children to cut stones and gives to the obedient ones noble occupations. You may complain, “This teaching is difficult.” Yes, for the lazy ones I agree that it is difficult, but for the humble and hardworking students it has hidden treasures. Do you know why the worm is in the earth, the frog in the water, the bird in the air, and the human being among all of them? These are the four great situations in life. You may say, “These are abstract things.” They are not abstract, but four great truths that will show you the “narrow path”—the Path of the Divine. It is true that the Divine Path is narrow, but there are profound reasons for that which I cannot explain at the moment, as they are beyond the limits of this world. I would like to return to the word “Love,” which people have diminished, blemished, and rendered lifeless. They have smashed its goodness and beauty and have destroyed the melodious harmony of its sounds to the point that its sounds have become hoarse and irritating. We often say, “Love is just an illusion of life, the empty dreams of young men and women who are chasing the elusive shadows of life.” Yes, it is a shadow, but there is a reality behind it, which produces the water of life. The soul constantly satisfies its thirst from this water, as a tired traveler will do at the crystal-pure and refreshing mountain wellspring. What valuable wealth, what knowledge is hidden in this one word! If people knew how to pronounce it correctly, the way it was originally pronounced by the Divine mouth, everything around them would smile at them and listen to this heavenly sound. They would have the magic wand of the wise men of old, through which everything turns to good. Many may say, “It would be a blessing to have such a wand!” Yes, this is the highest blessing one can achieve on Earth. Everyone can attain this as long as one strives constantly toward it. For now, I will just tell you this: If first you learn patience in life, meaning enduring everything all the time with humility and joy, then you will find Truth. With your impatience and negative thoughts, you create a heavy atmosphere in your home. The wife is unhappy because her husband brings home only 150 leva, and she wants this and that. All these desires, desires, desires, but who will work for you? Who will fulfill them, if not you yourself? For instance, if people desire to have full barns without working, where will it all come from? Riches are acquired not easily, but through hard work. Therefore, we should be content with what God in His Great Wisdom is kind enough to give us. I am not advising you never to listen to other people’s advice. You could draw some lessons from them, but each person needs to listen to the advice God has planted in his own consciousness. Listen to what people say, and if this is in tune with what God tells you from within, then follow their advice; if not, do not follow other people’s advice. If you want to be free of error, you must listen to God. Those who do not listen to God are not wise, but are slaves of their external impulses, of people, of everything. You are searching for God, but where? He is inside you, in your mind, and in your heart. He manifests in both of these. Listen well to your mind and your heart because God is speaking through them. Some may say that mind and heart are corrupt, but this is not true. If our mind and heart were bad, how would we come to know God? There are things in us that are corrupt, but not everything. I am telling you: If you do not trust your mind and heart, in what could you? If my mind and hear were corrupt, and yours also, why would I trust you? In whom do we need to trust? In God Who abides in us. If we can trust in ourselves, we will also trust our brethren. Those who do not trust in God abiding in them cannot trust other people either; and those who are not compassionate toward their brethren are not pleasing to God. Therefore, God asks us to love our neighbors. And your neighbor is wounded, crucified, and nailed to the cross. Your Lord is not in Heaven, you have nailed Him and you can find the truth about this in the Scriptures. Your salvation will not happen in any other way, but through this “nailing”: endurance and benevolence. Only then will your salvation come. You may say, “This is very difficult.” It is not difficult, so do not be afraid. It is not without purpose to be nailed to the cross. The Lord endures thousands of years of being nailed. “But will we suffer?” You will not suffer. People who are afraid of suffering are not welcome in our school. You need to thank God for these sufferings: they are sent by Him. The sufferings given to you now are deserved; you are worthy of them. If Christ had not worn the crown of thorns and had not been nailed to the cross, how could He have manifested this Love? Would you love him today, if He had wanted to live like a king? You love Him because He was nailed to the cross for your salvation. Therefore, from now on, be heroes! Do not be afraid of suffering, but show the world that you have courage and that you are ready to bear not one but ten crosses. One man complained that the cross he carried was very heavy. The Lord ordered his cross to be removed and brought him to a big hall, and told him, “In this hall there are many crosses: big and small, made of gold, iron, or stone. Choose one of them.” The man looked around, looked around, and finally found a small cross and said, “I want this cross.” God replied, “This is the same cross you were carrying so far, the cross I gave you.” As you see, we often exaggerate our sufferings, yet they are the way we can ascend toward God. When someone suffers, we should know that he is redeeming his errors and is on the path of salvation. I congratulate him and say “Brother, you are closer to Heaven; I wish I were in your place.” When someone says, “I have not experienced any suffering,” I tell that person, “You are still ‘green.’” Green is pleasant, but when it begins to ripen, suffering comes. Now, keep this thought in mind, I am giving it to you for contemplation as it comes from the Lord: When suffering befalls you, rejoice and thank God that He sends it to you because He loves you. Sufferings are a sign of Divine Love, so let us all carry this cross. For this reason God gave the Bulgarian nation as a whole, as a soul, these sufferings so that it may attain these two qualities: longsuffering and benevolence. You may say that the Serbian and the Greeks are such and such. It does not matter, do not pay attention; just try to learn the lessons for your salvation. What the others are, leave them alone. They have not gained anything and for them also the time will come to learn this lesson. This lesson was given earlier to you and for this you should give thanks and not protest. If you say, “We are being crucified,” God replies, “No problem! In this way you are closer to Me, while the others are further away, but they too will come into this state later on.” When you are crucified, only then shall you enter the Kingdom of God. Therefore, let us rejoice that we have more opportunities in this world. Let us be true Christians, devout followers of Christ. Let us not pay attention to what others may say. Let us be longsuffering and compassionate and fulfill our obligations toward God through our pure thoughts and desires. Let us not stumble on this sublime Path, but act with courage and decisiveness, encouraging everyone who stands together with us. This is the power that will help us to overcome the present difficulties.[6] Lecture delivered on July 6 (19), 1914, Sofia. _____________________________________________ [1] 1 Corinthians 13:1 [2] See 1 Corinthians 13:2–3 [3] See also 1 Corinthians 13:4–7, “Love suffers long and is kind; Love does not envy; Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” [4] See also 1 John 4:16, “And we have known and believed the Love that God has for us. God is Love, and he who abides in Love abides in God, and God in him.” [5] See John 14:6. [6] The Master refers to the second Balkan War in 1913, which brought about the defeat of Bulgaria through the combined attacks of her neighboring countries. Bulgaria was then left in despair after losing peoples and territories.