hristo

The Cosmic Love What does human life represent? – In one respect, human life represents a collection of several lives, i.e., a collection of past existences, good or bad. This is the reason why a person carries within themselves strengths, abilities, desires, and talents – the result of the distant past. Some of them must be developed, while others must be corrected. People are born, grow up, marry, and die without knowing why this happens. Some think that all that happens in their lives is the result of the Divine order and arrangement. In fact, few processes are carried out by the power of the Divine laws. For example, marriage is a human process. It is in the human course of things to get married. When they get married, people ruin their relationships. When the fields are harvested, the grain is stored in the granary and the straw in the hay loft. Most of it goes to the hay loft, and less - in the granary. In this case, the hayloft symbolizes the human, and the granary symbolizes the Divine. In the Divine world, marriage is also mentioned, but it is radically different from this one on earth. That is why it is said in the Scripture: "He who is worthy of the future life neither marries nor is given in marriage. " What is the reason for broken relationships between people? – selfish love. They talk about love, about harmonious relationships, but they only think about themselves; they want everyone to love them. To love someone means to purify them. Love manifests itself in an absolutely pure environment. It does not manifest itself in an impure environment. When one comes to inner love, the first condition for its manifestation is purity. Without purity, one cannot receive any of the blessings of love. Everyone knows external love, but few know the innermost love. Who can write a love letter, cast a loving glance, or say a sweet word? Only the pure of heart can cast a loving glance. And only the pure can perceive a loving glance. The impure is blind to the loving glance and deaf for the loving word. The pure person is not afraid of anything—they are courageous and decisive. Many people want to know what sort of thing is love . Don't rush ; you can't understand it immediately. Sow it in the ground, as you would sow wheat, and as it grows, blossoms, and bears fruit, then you shall understand what it is. Explore the manifestations of love consciously and peacefully, so that you do not fall into a false belief. Someone loves you, and you enjoy their love. This love is not their own; it comes from some exalted being who visits the person periodically. While this being is present in them, they love you. Once it abandons them, their love ceases. As you do not grasp the manifestations of love, you suffer, you get distressed, you are dissatisfied with them. The loss of love is illusionary. After some time, the exalted being will visit them again, and they will once more show their love for you. Therefore, never think that love has ceased. It is continuous, passing from one person to another, aiming to give something to everyone, to uplift everyone. Rejoice when love visits you. Rejoice when you are loved. Some people regret that they were loved or that they have loved someone. Whoever you have loved or whoever loved you, do not regret it. More or less, love always gives something from within. If an ordinary person has loved you, you have become ordinary; if someone mentally gifted has loved you, you have become talented; if a genius has loved you, you have become a genius. Since all people have certain strengths, talents, and abilities, this proves that someone has loved them. Love transforms both the one who loves and the one who is loved. Love cures all disabilities: it does not tolerate the blind, the deaf, the mute, the lame, the stupid, or the ignorant. Whatever weaknesses and shortcomings it notices in a person, it corrects everything. Love requires one thing—a complete trust. If you doubt it, it closes itself off to you and gives nothing. It is said in the Scripture: "This is eternal life, to know You, the One True God." The key to immortality lies in knowing God. Knowing things implies experiencing them. When you experience and know a person, the exchange between you and them is proper. Knowing God implies knowing the Supreme cosmic Love. Once you know Him, you love Him, you see His presence everywhere and in everything. Nature comes alive for you, and you become one with it. Love is a collective, not an individual act. When a person loves, all people, all angels and archangels – the whole heaven, do love along with them. The person rejoices because he has become a conduit of love. Whatever benefit he receives from love, he passes it on to others. The light of love is great. Great is its fire and warmth. Whatever obstacles it encounters on its path, it burns and destroys them. Whoever is surrounded by the fire of love, nothing can affect them - they live in complete safety. Rejoice when the eye of love watches over you. There is no creature that the eye of love does not watch over and think about. Whoever wants to receive more than the rest - creates misfortune for themselves. Everything thrives and flows in love. What we call Providence is nothing but the watchful eye of love. Until the manifestations of Great Love come, one takes various forms in order to learn about even the smallest of its manifestations. Only that way, one will gain a complete and clear understanding of the Whole and its manifestations through love. How will you show your love for the poor? – By feeding them. – For the ignorant? – By teaching them. – For the sick? – By helping them get well. How will two exalted beings show their love for each other? They do not have the needs of the hungry, the ignorant, or the sick. As waters flow into each other, so the souls of exalted beings who love each other intertwine. The water from the rivers flows into the seas and oceans; part of the ocean and sea water evaporates, goes into the air, from where it descends again to the earth as water and again goes back to the oceans. Just as there is circulation between the waters, so there is a circular overflow between the souls of exalted beings. Love is a power that is given freely, without violence or compulsion. Those who receive it must understand and appreciate it. If a person cannot appreciate the love that is given to them, love leaves them without losing anything. It immediately goes to another place where it is appreciated, and there it is beneficial. In order to understand and appreciate Great Love, a person must come to the unity of life, to perceive all manifestations as a whole, indivisible Beginning. Then two people who love, will love a third; the three will love a fourth; the four will love a fifth, and so on. It is said in Scripture: "I will remove from you your heart of stone and will give you a new one." This verse refers to love. When love enters a person, it gradually replaces the old, coarse garment with a new one made of soft, fine fabric. The heart of stone is replaced by a heart of flesh that is responsive to human suffering and hardship. When it touches a stone, the person who loves, helps both the stone and everyone who comes into contact with it. Love spreads its benefit on everything. If someone in a state of despair touches this stone, their despair would immediately disappear. They perceive a trace of the love of the one who initially has touched the stone. The human race is only now advancing towards Cosmic Love. Only just now humankind is entering actual life—the life of Supreme, cosmic Love. 8. Lecture by the Master Beinsa Douno, held at the Seven Rila Lakes on June 28, 10 a.m., 1942. Преведена от Елеонора Петкова Редактирана от Роси Трайкова

The Pillars of Life Rila Lectures – June 21, 1942 (Sunday) Gospel of John, chapter 10 Reflection. Today, most people strive for great things. They know that in the mechanical world, great things shrink, while in the organic world, they grow; yet, they still strive for the great. The great must shrink to be accessible; the small must grow and enlarge to be known and studied. A person is born small and gradually grows, becomes large, in order to know oneself. The seed that is planted in the ground is small, but after some time it grows and a large tree comes out of it. In the summer, the heavy rains decrease, and the seeds grow, become large. When a person imagines himself to be larger than he actually is, he begins to shrink. This process is unnoticed. To make it painless, one must shrink consciously. Addressing the people of Israel, Christ says: "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom." He does not say "do not be afraid, large flock," but says "little flock." Knowing the law of diminution and magnification, one should not strive to become great. To strive for greatness means to constantly encounter contradictions. All disputes and misunderstandings in life occur between great people, over great things. When disputes and misunderstandings cease, then love will come. That is why it is said that love comes last. A life that is not illuminated by love remains forever in darkness. It is also known that nothing grows in the dark. Therefore, if you want to use the conditions of life - strive for love - which illuminates and uplifts everything. "He who does [ND1] not enter the sheep pen by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber." (– 1st verse). Now, what can the thief be associated with? – With the pride within a person. [ND2] It makes a person internally dissatisfied and forces them to steal. In man, there is a big ego that constantly grumbles and criticizes. No matter what it is given, it always remains dissatisfied. It sees mistakes everywhere and says: “This is not well done, it should not be so”. It dwells on the negative aspects in life and criticizes them. If it decides to speak about the world, it will say that God did not create it well, did not foresee everything. The big ego has some plan for the creation of the world, but if it is forced to apply its plan, it will find itself in a difficult position – it neither knows what its plan is, nor is it capable of carrying it out. The modern people deal with both - big and small things. They prefer the former and neglect the latter. Their eyes can see only the big things. If they have a meeting somewhere, they want to be more numerous. In this endeavour, they would say: "Too many cooks don't spoil the broth." Despite this, today few of us are on the mountain; most have remained in the lowlands. What is the reason for this? – The poor conditions of life: war, insufficient food, lack of transportation. Man is not a bird, to spread its wings and fly here, to hear what is being said, and to return back. For the physical world, physical conditions are needed. It is not enough to have only an impulse – material conditions are also needed. What is the strongest impulse in life? - The impulse of love. It brings light into the human mind, warmth into the human heart, and strength into the human soul. When the impulse of love acts in a person, then all great and beautiful things are built. If love enters you, give it first place. In front of love, every dispute gives in. Why argue with love, whether it is real or not? Which love is real? - The one that brings life and light. How long does this life last? - As long as love is present in the person. In order to prolong his life, the man must guard love as the apple of his eye. If he does not guard it, if he treats it carelessly, it leaves him. Terrible is the situation of the man whom love leaves. As soon as it leaves him, his life ends. This shows that there is a close connection between life and love. Keep love within you, so that you do not fall into the contradictions of life, so that you do not lose your inner peace and contentment. Where is love? - Everywhere. There is no place in the world where love is not present. There is no being in the world that love has not visited. Man's delusion lies in the fact that he seeks love in a specific place and under specific conditions. Love is everywhere and in everything. Many complain about their lives and say that love has not visited them. The reason for this lies within themselves. They expect love to visit them, for it to come to them as a guest. This is impossible. Love has already come into the world. Whoever seeks it must go to it themselves. If you think otherwise, you are creating contradictions for yourselves. Expecting love to come to you as a guest is like expecting the sun to visit you. Get up early and greet it. Open your windows, and it will illuminate you. Today you also went out to greet the sun, but you did not see it - a small cloud overshadowed it. This is not a contradiction, because the sun rose even behind the cloud. Clouds are not scary, it would be scary if the sun disappears from the horizon and stops rising. If you didn't see it today, you will see it tomorrow. Okay, I'll translate that for you: This morning, only seven people came to the Peak. The number seven represents the days of the week. God created the world in seven days. So, each of you represents one day of the week - from the days of the creation of the world. No matter how few you are now, love still manifests itself. It manifests itself in small things; it hides behind small things. A small stream is a manifestation of a large spring. Small streams and rivers flow from large springs. In the small manifestations of love lies such power as in the large ones. It is preferable for the water of the spring to flow little and constantly, rather than much and suddenly. If it flows all at once, the spring dries up. People want to see the great manifestations of love. This is impossible. Love manifests itself everywhere in small ways. He who has eyes to see will encompass all the small manifestations of love into one and will have the manifestations of great love in front of him. It manifests itself in all beings simultaneously. Gather all its manifestations in one place to form a clear idea of love. He who does not grasp the relations of all beings to himself as relations of one whole, denies the possibilities of love and asks himself: What can love do in me and what can I do in it? He does not suspect that the manifestations of love in the parts are manifestations of the Whole. Christ says, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am also there." Animals gather in one place, and so do people, and angels, and archangels, all in the name of love. As a result of these gatherings, something great is created, which will be seen in the future. While love works, large or small clouds would appear, which aim to hinder it. Behold, a small cloud covered the sun this morning, and we could not see it. What does the cloud represent? - The current war, in which Christian nations are fighting. You will say that war is a contradiction in life. As much as the cloud is a contradiction to the sun, so is war a contradiction to people. Nature allows war as a natural consequence of bad and distorted human life. Through it, the evil that has accumulated in human hearts for centuries will flow out. The evil will flow out, and the sun will rise above the clouds, shine again and send its light and warmth throughout the world. Then the contradictions will disappear, and people will understand that life is possible even without war. The life of lovelessness creates war. The life of harmony and love excludes war. Today people are fighting for material things, who should own more land, who should rule in the world. One day, when love manifests itself in its fullness, all beings - people, animals and plants - will benefit from its abundance. Those who are below the level of man will benefit from his love. Man, in turn, will benefit from the love of those who are above him. Love is an inexhaustible source of strength and blessings. Christ says, "I and my Father are one." So, I, the little one, and the Father, the Great One, are one. The world is the little beginning, and the Father is the Great and Eternal [ND3] Beginning. The little one must grow and keep in touch with the Great Beginning, the Father. Therein lies the strength of the human being. As the sun moves in a circle, so Love moves in a circle and surrounds us. As it describes a circle around us, it encircles us with its bonds and thus protects us from evil. As we are in the circle of the sun, so we are in the circle of Love. Therefore, as long as the sun is around you, and you are within it, you should fear nothing. Know that love surrounds and protects you as the earth protects the seeds you planted in it. He who is discouraged and thinks that he can achieve nothing, has gone out of the circle of the Sun and out of the circle of Love. This is impossible. One cannot go out of the orbit of the sun; it is even more impossible to step out of the orbit of love. A life with goodness as a pillar; a life with justice as a pillar; a life with prudence as a pilar, this is the life of love. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. A lecture by the Master, held at the seven lakes of Rila, June 21, 5am 1942 John 10 – The Good Shepherd and His Sheep 1 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. [Matthew 7:15; Ezekiel 34:2] 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. 7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. [John 3:16; 1 John 5:11] 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. [Psalm 23:1; Isaiah 40:11; Hebrews 13:20] 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. [Isaiah 56:8; Acts 10:34–35] 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” 19 The Jews who heard these words were again divided. 20 Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?” 21 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” [John 9:6-7] Further Conflict Over Jesus’ Claims 22 Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us clearly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. [Romans 8:38-39] 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one. [John 1:1; Colossians 2:9] 31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” 33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are "gods"’? [Psalm 82:6] 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp. 40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, 41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus. Преведена от - Елеонора Петковоа

The Ascending Path Rila Lectures by Beinsa Douno – June 23, 1942 (Tuesday) The Divine world is a world of light — a world of order and harmony, a world of eternal Divine harmony, which radiant souls carry throughout the universe, created by God as a manifestation of His glory and majesty. A world without light is a world of disorder and chaos — a world in need of the Divine hand. The realm of aridity and dryness is a world in need of God’s peace — of the life that brings joy. Recognize the hidden gifts in the small events of life — they are opportunities to do good. Let the quiet moments guide you to act justly toward your soul, which bears the burden of all souls. Find grace in the daily occurrences of life — through them you express your prudence. Only in this way does the soul grow strong in goodness, in justice, and in prudence. Even the smallest incident can spark a movement toward goodness, which comes from God; even the briefest moment can awaken justice; even a passing encounter can inspire prudence. Every neglect of goodness, of justice, and of prudence is a root cause of suffering in human life. You suffer because you are careless with goodness. You suffer because you are careless with justice. You suffer because you are careless with prudence. Leave the muddy path of life, where everything is lost in fog, and walk the ascending path of love. Do not scorn the little flowers you meet along the way. Do not disregard the dewdrops resting on the withering leaves. Do not dismiss the chirping of the small birds conversing with one another. Do not reject even the faintest song of light that gladdens your soul. Do not withhold your kindness from the little beetle that buzzes around you and gently pleads. And when it lands on your knee, stroke it and say: “Thank you for the small service and the little blessing you bring.” Give thanks — not for the biting flies that sting, but for the gentle beetles that bring tenderness. The biting flies are like harmful people; the gentle beetles — like the good ones. Speak clearly and distinctly; do not mumble. Anyone who tries to sit on two chairs at once mumbles. Anyone who does not know how to act is unfortunate. In the world of good and evil in which you live, choose good first — and then make evil serve the good. Do not befriend evil. It is the heaviest burden you can bear; the hardest task you can take on; the most difficult lesson you can endure; the most unexpected trials you can encounter. Evil has only one friend — Love. Get to know first the friend of evil — Love — and only then acquaint yourself with evil itself. Do not stir the fire with your finger, but with a fire iron. The world of good and evil is a Divine world. Do not enter this world prematurely — it is not yet your place. As long as you lack the knowledge and strength of the advanced and enlightened beings in the Divine world, you will always suffer. Suffering that cannot be put to use is an obstacle for the soul. Suffering that can be put to use is a triumph for the soul. Rejoice in the small blessings that God sends you each day, constantly and unceasingly, so that you may grow strong on the path that leads to Love. When you cross the threshold of Love, she will reveal to you the beauty of the Divine world. Without Love, the Divine blessings are unattainable. With Love, the Divine blessings are like threads from which the whole of life is woven. The Spirit is the One who, with His light, weaves the good life of the human being. Walk in the light of the Spirit, so that the Lord may bless you. Make use of the points of contact with the light. Make use of the opportunities of the light. Pay attention even to the slightest breath of light — it will unveil the unknown paths of life. Hidden in them are the joys of God, descending from heaven. Earth is the place of God’s treasures, from which you benefit daily. Even its dust is as precious as gold. The word “dust” carries meaning. In Bulgarian, it has two senses: as a noun (dust) and as a verb (to dust off, to clean). A person washes to remove the dust. Everything covered in dust must be cleansed. The word “dust” is related to the concept of purity, and purity — to the Divine world. Thus, dust leads to purity, and purity leads to the Divine world. In the intelligent world, dust is valued as much as gold, as precious stones, as sweet fruits, as pure flowing water. Dust is the pen with which earthly life is written. If you love it, it remains whole; if you do not, it scatters and causes you hardship. Do not despise your tormentor. Love him, for through him you will return to God. Work consciously and wisely upon yourself, so you may deal with the dust and free yourself from it. It is better to overcome dust than to hold the highest position in the world. To rule without having mastered the dust — that is the vanity of life. To reign after having mastered the dust — that is the joy of life. If you rejoice, there is much dust in your life. If you grieve, there is little dust. Dust sings its song of life — born of the very particles from which it came. Welcome joyfully the Word of God, as it enters your soul. The Word of God carries the Divine blessings. Whatever happens in your life — good or evil — rejoice. God will turn everything into good. Where God is, death and life are one. Abide in God, so that He may abide in you. Study the precious words of Love. Study the Word that comes from God. Lecture by the Master, given at the Seven Rila Lakes, June 23, 1942, 5:00 a.m. Преведена от Невенка Димитрова Редактирана от Елеонора Петкова и Ненси Кромптон https://petardanov.com/topic/4170-1942_06_23-%D0%B2%D1%8A%D0%B7%D1%85%D0%BE%D0%B4%D1%8F%D1%89%D0%B8%D1%8F%D1%82-%D0%BF%D1%8A%D1%82/#entry4180&gsc.tab=0

The One and Indivisible Reflection. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew, verse 4). Who are they comforting? Those who mourn. He who has never mourned, cannot be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (v. 5) Why will the meek inherit the earth? Because only to the meek can you give something that they will not appropriate, ruin, or corrupt. “Blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, for they will be satiated.” (– 6th st.) He who is not hungry and thirsty for righteousness cannot be healthy. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew, v. 7) If you want mercy, be merciful. He who is not merciful cannot be shown mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (v. 8) – In other words: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see love, in its glory and majesty. He who is not pure in heart, cannot see love. If he does not see love, he walks in darkness and always stumbles. Modern people stumble because they do not see love. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called Sons of God.” (v. 9) What should a peacemaker be like? Strong. The weak cannot be a peacemaker—he wants peace, but is afraid of being blackmailed. However, the strong brings peace, therefore he will be called the Son of God. “Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew, verse 10). Whatever kingdom you desire, you will be persecuted for it. To get the grain of wheat out of the ear, you must chase it with horses to the threshing floor. The horses that trample the grain represent the contradictions in the worlds of the mind and the heart. The grain must go through many contradictions in order for good grain to come out of it. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (v. 3). Who is the poor in spirit? He who does not put his spirit into earthly affairs. Do not harness your spirit to earthly affairs like the farmer who harnesses an ox to his cart and makes it plough. In this situation, just as the ox cannot be free, so the spirit cannot be the master of the kingdom of heaven. Be, therefore, poor in spirit, in order to be outside the limitations of the material world. The poor in spirit want nothing from the material world, and therefore are free from its bonds. Is it possible to live without material goods? While living on earth, a person needs material goods, but he should not become associated with them. Who has brought any material goods with him to the other world? No one has brought anything. You cannot take even a hair into the other world. A young man married a girl who was constantly adorned with gold coins. When he looked at the gold coins, he thought they were made of pure gold, and was glad that he had found wealth and comfort. What came of it in the end? The gold coins were fake. Earthly life is full of fake gold coins. Do not marry a girl who adorns herself with fake gold coins, no matter how beautiful she is. Keep in mind this thought: Only what follows you is real. If money follows you, it is alive, it is a real quantity; if it does not follow you, it is fake, unreal, and cannot be relied on. Not only the maiden should wear gold coins, but also the young man. And when he meets his beloved, he should hang three gold coins around her neck: one from love, the second from wisdom, and the third from truth. If he does not hang the three gold coins around her neck, their affairs will not go well. When you preach to someone, you should also hang the three gold coins around his neck. What do the three gold coins mean? The three virtues: love, wisdom, and truth. Thanks to them, intelligent beings created the eyes, ears, and the mouth of the man. Because they love us, love created our mouth, wisdom created our ears, and truth created our eyes. Who created our nose? God. He created it so that we could receive the fragrance of flowers. The sons of wisdom created our hands and feet. Those of you who have come to the mountain may think that they are alone, that there is no one around them. They are mistaken; there are many creatures around them: the sun, the air, the waters, the stones. You would say that they are not alive, they do not understand anything. Whoever thinks so, lives in the illusions of life. Everything that surrounds you is alive. But, to convince yourself of this, you must go through the illusions, to see that they do not have the content that you put into them. Before the child comes to the wisdom of life, to the true light, he must go through several schools. He first enters primary school, where teachers teach him the letters; then he is taught to spell, to form whole words and sentences. Having learned to read, write, and count, the child enters junior high school, then high school, and finally university. When the studies of the science of the earth are finished, only then does nature come to life for man, and he looks at it as something living and intelligent. Only now can he pass on his knowledge to other people. He who does not know the alphabet cannot write; he who does not know the words, cannot speak; he who does not understand the laws of life, does not have the right attitude towards things and cannot solve their problems. Not understanding the laws of life and not knowing what connections and relationships exist between souls, many complain that no one loves them. They do not suspect that all intelligent beings love them. There is no intelligent being in the world who does not love you. Every moment they bring you some gift, quietly place it before you ,and leave unnoticed. A person must be awake to accept the gifts of love in time. If he gets carried away somewhere, undeveloped beings will immediately come around him who will take the gifts for themselves. Knowing this, be awake, to free yourself from the unreasonable beings around you, to receive the gifts of love and to use them correctly. How will you free yourself from these undeveloped beings? By putting them to sleep. Once they fall asleep, you are free and will easily cope with the benefits that are given to you. When they wake up, you can give them whatever you want. What is the reason that a person sometimes feels his heart empty, as if there is nothing? There are ants that eat everything and mice that gnaw everything. They are interested in external things and attack them. If you want to know whether a person has such creatures in him, notice where he looks when you talk to him. If he looks to the right and left, he is looking for something to eat, as well as a way to more easily get to what tempts him. You will know that these creatures have attacked him. He speaks, but from time to time he interrupts his thought. However, whatever you see in your interlocutor, you must be silent, as the stones that are present with you are silent. And they listen, but they are silent. There are many listeners around you—the stones, the wind, the sun, etc. There are at least 12,000 listeners present here. To have so many listeners is to be in the largest gathering in the world. However, they can gather in one hazelnut tree, but they can also occupy the entire space. The same can be said about man. He is both small and large. As a spirit, he can occupy a large space; as a man who has come to earth in the flesh, he can shrink. When he is photographed, a man becomes small, barely visible. And so, a man lives in space as a spirit, and on earth as flesh. In both cases, he is immersed in the love of bright, intelligent beings. The ether, as well as the higher worlds, is inhabited by beings who have a certain relationship to us. Consider the relationship of air to water, in density; this is like the relationship of ether to air. There are also layers that are rarer than ether. In relation to them, the ether is a dense, dense mass. Light slides along its surface as if on a plane. What is the reason for the descent of light to the earth? Some tension or impulse. Just as compressed air tends to expand and occupy a large space, so does a bright angelic thought tend to expand, occupy a large space, and do a certain job. We perceive this thought as light and use it. The light that we receive is nothing but a gift from love. So, a person is sustained and lives thanks to the love of the intelligent world. He who does not understand the manifestations of love falls into great contradictions. He looks for a person to love him, and having found one, he begins to limit her, wants to keep her only for himself. Thus he gets tangled up and loses love. Do not think that if someone loves both you and others, that you will lose their love. The more people you love, the more your love expands. If two houses face east and have the same number of large windows, they will be equally warmed by the sun, that is, they will receive the same amount of light. The same applies to love. Remember: God’s love is the same for all beings, perfect or imperfect. God’s love is eternal and unchanging. One is loved more because he has opened himself to the light and love and receives more. Another has closed himself off, therefore he receives less— it is up to him to receive more. When he opens himself up, he will receive more light and warmth. In fact, God loves both equally. If they open themselves equally, they will receive equally. Free yourself from the delusion of thinking that God, by loving all beings, diminishes His love for you. The love of God, or of any being, is specific for you. Whoever He loves, along with you, no matter how much He loves them, no one can take away His love for you—it is yours and specific. The right thing to do, when you love and are loved, is to rejoice. Rejoice in the manifestations of love for one or for all. Love is one and indivisible. The only thing that is not divided is love. The love of every person, of every living being, is your love. Love has the same attitude towards one and all. He who loves an ox, loves a man too. When a young man falls in love, he becomes soft, gentle towards animals. If before that he used to goad the ox with a sharp stick, when he falls in love, he stops poking it. He knows that the ox is also a living being that needs love, just like his beloved. Why do humans become beaten up? For two reasons: either because of their lack of love or because of their love for other people. A father sent his wayward son to school and said to his teacher, “My son is very stubborn and wayward. When he does something wrong, do not beat him, but record how many mistakes he has made and how many rods he has earned, so that when I come to you, you will beat my back with the rod.” Then he turned to his son and said, “Son, be careful, so that fewer rods are loaded on my back.” Here the father endures beatings and sufferings out of love for his son. He does not want his son to be beaten. When his son is beaten, the father would suffer more, so he prefers to be beaten instead of his son. He voluntarily accepts the sufferings and punishments. There are cases when your love for someone causes you suffering . A young man fell in love with a beautiful girl who did not love him back. To test the power of his love, the girl said, “I will love you if you take out your mother's heart and bring it to me in a box.” The boy fulfilled her wish. He took out his mother's heart, put it in a box, and ran to his beloved with joy that he would now have her love. In his haste, he stumbled and hit his foot hard. Right away, the heart asked anxiously, “Son, did you hurt yourself?” “What is the cause of suffering in human life? The desire of people to share love. No matter how hard you try, love remains one and indivisible. Whoever tries to share it exposes himself to suffering and contradictions. Therefore, love causes suffering to those who want to divide it and do not understand that it is indivisible. Love brings joy to those who understand it and know that it is one and indivisible. Whoever does not understand love attributes to it qualities that are completely different from its nature. They play the role of sediments that Love puts to work and, in the end, builds something valuable from them. Love also carries lovelessness within itself and puts it to work as well. Speaking of misunderstanding love, we come to the prophets and see that they did not understand it completely either. They addressed the Jews, saying, “God will cast you out from His presence forever.” However, it did not turn out that way. It was enough for them to repent in order God to forgive them. This shows that the prophets did not always understand God's Love. Many ask themselves why they suffer if God loves them. It is very natural. As long as a person resists Love, resists God, he is exposed to suffering. Then, he attributes to Love qualities that it does not possess. Love has many qualities, but in all its manifestations it remains one and indivisible. The manifestations of Love are countless, the forms through which it manifests itself are diverse, but behind all this stands the one and indivisible Love of God. The farmer can plant the grain of wheat in different ways, but the result will be the same: The grain of wheat will grow and bear fruit. Whatever the manifestations of Love, they are equally valuable. Some of them bear fruit immediately, and others after a longer or shorter time. This is eternal life, to know You, the Only True God, and Christ, whom You have sent. Lecture by the Master, given at the seven Rila lakes on June 22, 5 p.m., 1942* Matthew, ch. 5 Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. The Beatitudes He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, for they will be satiated. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Salt and Light 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” The Fulfilment of the Law 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Murder 21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ [“worthless”] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23 Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. 25 Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” Adultery 27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Divorce 31“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” Oaths 33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfil to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Eye for Eye 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” Love for Enemies 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Преведена от Елеонора Петкова Редактирана от Ненси Кромптон 2. The One and Indivisible 22.06.1942 3639 words NC.docx

The healthy state "The good prayer'' "The spirit of God" ¨Alive strength¨ You have scared yourselves a lot from the weather. Now the two sweet words are said on the outside. How much the nature is generous! It has given so much flour! For the entire world. It says two sweet words. On the outside they are so strong, that a person cannot withstand the sweet words. The students from the departments say: “When will I finish the departments?” The students from the junior high school say: “When will I finish the first school?” The students from the secondary school say: “When will I finish high school?” The students from the university think of arranging their works. It is good for a person to finish, but there should not be a static state, to think that he does not need studying anymore. The musician looks to play, in order to give concerts. As he starts giving concerts, then he will see what do the people need. They do not need your exercises, which you had in school. But he will see that something new is required. So, now you in life have to study what is the life, which is required from you. Now you imagine life as a force. Those beings, who have credited you, they have sent you on the Earth. They are interested what have you learned. If they put you under a school-leaving examination, I do not know what test will you give. For example, if you take an examination for hope, or for faith, or for goodness, or for strength, what is the human strength and how to be applied – I do not know what kind of school-leaving examination you will pass. Now the past generations, which have worked, have left a lot of unfinished things. You say: “Why did not they finish?” The future generations will say to us why we did not finish. Every generation has a special work, which it has to finish. Now everyone of you what has to do? Everyone of you is obliged to harmonize his head. Do you know what is to harmonize your head, to harmonize your heart? Every one of you has to harmonize his body. Now they are asking how is the head harmonized. This is science. You can have the method of the musicians as they are harmonizing. You can have the method of the artists how are they harmonizing. Technically how the parts of a car are harmonized? As the car is going, not to make noise, to go lightly, no noise to be made. Now if you are outraged from life, it shows that you are not harmonized. Not that you do not have to be outraged. A person as he is outraged to be so delicate that to hears himself alone, the others not to hear him. Now you are saying: “It is cold outside.” What do you want to say under the word cold? This cold as it enters, says: “Stop, pay soon! Pay immediately a penalty.” If you go outside you will pay immediately a penalty from 10-15 leva. You have gone out without permission. How without permission? – You have not dressed up. The cold is very demanding, requires fashion. It wants you to be dressed with fur-coat, with nice woolen clothes, after that nice boots, as the soldier’s ones, with fur, with wool, after that your throat to be well covered, the ears, the nose. If you are in the north, it will take your nose. Here in Bulgaria it takes a small penalty, but in the north, if you go out with uncovered ears, they are gone. Until you come back, the ears will fall. So now, the good and the evil are distinguished by two qualities. The evil is known with the cold, the good is known with the warmth. That those evil people are very smart, they do not want to cool their body, they want to spend their life very easily. They say: “Why we are going to dig, to plough? Let the others go to work, we will rest.” Now, what do they understand by “the others to work”? Now to come to the thought. Evil is cold, and good is warmth. So now we have the influence of the evil from the outside. Let me give you an explanation. In the time of good from the big warmth the water decreases, evaporates, but also from the big cold the water decreases. Because there are no confluents, where to come from and the water decreases. By the cold the water decreases as well. When the cold weather goes into warm, where is the use of the evil? This evil, which gives materials, it brings one good. The evil is stingy, splits hair. The good is generous. Evil gives big wealth, but saves it. Leaves all of this and when the winter goes, it will leave the inheritance of the good. The good, as it starts to melt all of this snow, then the good will show itself that it is generous, gives to the people. If the evil did not gather at one place the snow, what would the good give? The evil in this sense prepares the path of the good, gives material to the good. This, the stingy evil, watches the fields to not be frozen to death. This evil puts the children to sleep, scares them, says: “Do not make so much noise, you will spent most economically, no extravagance! The qualification of the evil is very strict. Now you have 300 grams of bread, and the plants do not have anything for 3 months. They will be put at a strict internal test. I say: Sometimes you outrage from the current order of the things. You do not know that as soon as a person outrages from one order, he has to give a project for a new order. He has the right to outrage, but has to give the project. All of you, who outrage, you will give a project. If all of the people had given projects, until now the world would have been set right. They outrage without giving projects and the world stays unfixed. Now in your head how do you have to harmonize? Every thing to put it in place. While you are walking, to harmonize your legs. There are some people when they are walking are pushing their legs. So they have a defect, it is not possible their legs to walk parallelly. You see some person does mistakes or takes out of tune one tone – you do not have patience, you outrage. If he starts to sing, you outrage. Tell me how he should sing in this given case. Now I touch the singing. As I am talking about the singing, I do not understand the ordinary singing, but a person has to sing in his thought. The thoughts, in order to be harmonious, they have to go by the law of music. The musical world is almost the most arranged world. Every thing has its own place. To know to put every note on its place: a whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth, semiquaver, thirty secondth. Now you are asking the question how this question about the cold will be solved. How will we solve it? It cannot be solved like this in no way. We have to endure it. Whatever protests we give, I told you, the other day as I watched it: the weather will go bad on Sunday. I hold a talk and for a day it became warm. It says about love. “With love it does not work.” The weather knows its own. I preached, it says: “With love it is not possible here, you have to tighten these people, to think.” I do not want to quarrel with the weather, because it is very smart. It says: “It is not for the present-day people the weather of love. A lot of cold has to pass, in order love to come, by your teaching, to be able to value it. Now the other is born: can the cold talk? It is talking, of course. It makes you cry. As it comes at a different place, insert itself below the nails, starts to poke you. Says: ‘Where did you go without permission?” The mothers take the children, they beat with a stick. And he with a stick, at times on the one, at times on the other hand, beats. Whoever does not know, places the hands in a warm place, and the pain is even bigger. Some are smarter: when their hands start to feel pain, they wash them several times with snow. They are smarter, they have less pains. You came early in order to learn something, right? Do not be mad at the cold. As you watch it, to be pleasant to you. Firstly, do not go out from the room to talk to it. Firstly to be warm in the room, talk to it softly: “You are very beautiful.” Do not go outside, talk through the window. A sister came and says: “For my wind above I have a method. I stop up these, fans. I have a magical wax, I fill up the gaps. That’s because I can make my room to be warm. Sometimes it goes down to 3 degrees below zero, some time 7, 10-15, sometimes 20 till 25 goes above zero. As it becomes very hot, I unblock the blocked places. As it becomes cold to me, I stop up with the wax and I feel warm again. You want to know what is this wax. Everything is given for free, but this wax is not given free of charge. This love as you understand it, the people die from it. Dying, I understand under the word love, the love of changes. A person if he loves a lot you on the Earth, and you are not working. I have seen women, who say: “I love him very much”. She says: “I loved him, he was such a strapping young man, and as time passed, he stays at home like a pot, I cannot bear him.” He sits at home the whole day, as if he is guarding her like a policeman. This state annoys her, she is not free. Allegedly he is staying, as she does something, he notices, makes her a remark. She does another mistake – he makes again a remark to her. They quarrel with one another out of love. The mistake is there, that the man has to have a separate room and the woman has to have a separate room. The man has to have a separate fireplace, to be alone, to not watch his companion. Then they will be well. If the two of them are at one fireplace, they will quarrel. She stirs with the tongs, he will find a mistake that she does not know how to put off the fireplace. You have to know where the fire comes from. The fire is from Mars. All those, who are martians have fire as much as you want. Those, which the feeling is torturing them, they are Saturn types. Now Saturn has influence in the nature. He stood between Jupiter and Mars and says: ‘”This thing does not happen with warmth. Cold.” These people that’s what is going to teach them to think. As the feet start to frozen, they start to think. As the feet are warm, he settles down, does not want to work, does not want to eat. As soon as the cold comes, it makes him work. I say: The nature which has worked for a thousands of years, all of that, which it has arranged is necessary. Only, sometimes we become immensely sensitive. When you have a big cold, it shows that you have a little dampness. You have a little water – it shows that your magnetism is a little. When you have a big dryness, you have a lot of electricity. As soon as there is warmth in the body, you have water, you have dampness, you also have more magnetism. With warmth only it is not working. These are two forces in the world, magnetism and electricity. The electricity is what gives. Magnetism is the field, on which the energy is cultivated. The electricity, this is the capital, the magnetism is the place, where this capital will be cultivated. I say: By fear, as soon as a person gets scared, he loses from the warmth. If he fills with hope, the warmth increases. Hope raises the warmth, faith regulates the warmth. When a person is giving, every single dampness has to be regulated in the world. Warmth and burning are two different things. In the warmth there is no burning. In the burning there is excess warmth. This excess warmth violates the harmony, which exists between the cells. The burning stops the functions of the body. And in the cold burning happens, and by the big warmth again the cells burn. In the big cold a person can damage his organs. And in the big warmth he can again damage himself. Love is that power, which balances all Divine goods. It regulates everything in the person. Every deed, every feeling and every thought has to be regulated. Then we can have a healthy life. Under the word health I understand to have one pleasant thought, one pleasant feeling, pleasant frame of mind. Never hold in your mind a negative thought. You have a person that you do not love. Do not have him in your mind. You hold one person as bad: Ivan, Dragan, Stoyan. Do not hold him. Hold him like a saint. Says: “His action is not right, he does not act right.” It is his job. “It should not be acted in this way.” It is his job. Let him act as he knows. You do not act like him. Ivan, who acts, he is well. He co-operates his strength and will do the work. Always connect. You want to become educated people – connect with the educated people, who have love towards science. You want to be good – connect with people, who like to do good. Do not ever connect with a person, who does not have love towards the good, towards science, towards art. Avoid people, who do not love. You say: “We have to love all people.” To love everyone, it is a duty. Under the word to love everyone I understand that, which God has put. When God wants a person to do something, he loves him, helps him. Somewhere you will love a stone. Your love will not contribute anything to the stone. This stone is forsaken, he does not need love, leave him undisturbed. If you want to do a good to the stone, take a hammer, break it into a thousand pieces. The stone, as I break it feels well. When the little pieces are gathered in one place and make to big block, they suffer. You think that as they are broken into pieces, the little stones will want to get free. Now, these are abstract things. You now watch a stone. The philosophers say that these are sleeping beings. Do not wake them up. There is something in you, which has to sleep. Do not wake it up. If you wake up all of your desires, do you know what will happen? You will find yourself in the position of a young Turk: it was around Saint Peter’s day, from Varna he went to today’s Dobrich, filled in one car with nice cherries to sell them. He sat in the car and from Varna he started to eat and to Dobrich he was eating. As he goes in Dobrich, he could not get out of the cart. It was needed for his stomach to be opened and to take out 9 kilos of pits. He ate them with the pits. Often, I say we act in the same way. This eating is pointless. 10-15-20 cherries will bring such benefit as to eat 1000. It is not in the quantity. So, firstly we all have to be good. Leave this maxim “to be good”. Imagine we are good. We have to accept the good. We are good. The artist is gifted – he has to develop to draw. The musician is gifted – to play. If it is left to become good musicians, it is a lost job. He is born musician, he has to work. So, we are good. You say: “We have to be good.” If we are left to be good now, we are late. We are good. We have to display the good. Today you have not manifested it – do not be sorry. The next day you have all the opportunities to exhibit the good. Manifest the good, how you understand it. Do not say “How? I do not know.” As you know. You say: “They had to welcome me well.” Do you know how to be welcomed? You do it, give an example. Meet somebody in the way you want to be met. You are sitting and 3 years talk that you were not welcomed good. It is not bad to describe stories. It is also good. You can be accepted well and again to tell how you have been received. As you are telling a story that you were not received well, take the good side of the story. Now, that you have not been received well, what good story you are able to take? Somebody comes and says: “I do not have a place for you. We do not accept such travelers.” In the evening all travelers go. What’s wrong is there that they have not been accepted in the hotel? He would pay with his life. To know: you can be accepted somewhere, but you will go the same night. Some time when you are not accepted well, is good. Now in harmony with the thoughts you have to observe your objective mind. With the objective mind you observe what is happening. Some time you can observe how an ox is grazing and the insects are moving, you cannot connect this observation. I observed once two insects, they turned my attention: one climbed with the head up on the ball, the other with the feet up. Placed the back, watches downwards. One is driving ahead, one with the hands is driving, and the other with the feet. They are playing with this wheel. I sat and thought how have they learned this craft, in which school did they learn it. Now, as I watched, I say: “This experiment is because of me. They turned my attention, they say: “How do you want to drive the things: with your hands or with your legs”? The two insects have not both climbed, but one serves the Heaven, the other serves the Earth. There is politics in them. One of them – with the brotherhood of the Earth, and the other – with the Heavens. They arrange the things skilfully. Nobody can ruin the work. And they both pulled together. One can be in contradiction with the Earth, and the other – with the Heavens. They are very smart. In order not to make neither God angry, nor the Earth, the one placed the back legs up, pulling with the back legs, pushes the ball, and the other with the front legs pushes the ball; and both are walking. Then, what do you have to do now with your body? We have to be very careful with the bodies. We do not have to overstrain the legs, we should not be overstraining our hands, ears, eyes. To have a perfect relations. For now we still do not have it. All of these organs have to be healthy. Now we will feel pain. You are dissatisfied – you feel some pain. He is dissatisfied – feels pain in the kidneys. Now some time they are asking about some illness from the countryside. They are very interesting – somebody the back starts to hurt him, asks what he has to do. He, as he is writing, two days have already passed, until I give an advice, two, five days will pass. He is dying what will he do? Until I give an advice, he will go to the other world. I say: When your back hurts, grease it with olive oil. But how – not cold olive oil, but warm olive oil. Put to the olive oil also black pepper, a lot of black pepper, put also vinegar and if there is somebody to embrocate you, it will pass. Until I give the advice, 5 days will pass. Sometime if you do not have black pepper, it will pass without black pepper. What is the black pepper? You go somewhere, a person welcomes you good, kindly – it is the olive oil. Suddenly he is rude to you, he tells you something firmly – it is the black pepper. Somebody else is sour – this is vinegar. You will make cure for the back and when you rub down, your pain will pass. Now you have cough, cold, you have caught a cold. Take a bit 10 year wine (it can be also of 5 years), warm it up well, put black pepper, put 5-6 small lumps of sugar, warm it up well. As you drink it, you will warm up immediately, your cold passes. At least a quarter or a half a kilo as you drink, you will become joyous. These are banquets. You will do that once in the year. You will not do such banquets every day. Once twice per year by half a kilo with black pepper and you drink it, have a good effect. After that you will put it also olive oil. Then you will say that the wine is not sweet. The intoxicating wine, when it is sweet, its intoxication decreases. All these contradictions, which exist in our mind, we have to find an application. Nature likes to conform with us and we have to comply with it. I have found many sensitive people. Years ago, around 18 people from here, all young, they went in February, they will go to Moussala. Come on, Master, let’s go! But all unequipped, they do not have ski, they do not have also elevations on their feet, 18 people heroes went. I went with them. We barely climbed to the bridge. You sink to the waist. I said: “This is not working. If he says to go to the cabin, we will get into trouble. We went back to a rock, we found a hut. I say: “We will stay here.” We immediately got busy, we brought wood, build up a fire, they brought water. As one warm wind blew in the evening 5-10 degrees above zero. We went through very well thanks to the warm wind. If there was such a cold, I do not know what would have happened. In the morning I see: they are coming to save us. For the first time the king comes with his adjutant, says: “These people have gotten into trouble, they do not understand the laws”, a little bit condescendingly. Come on, we will forgive your mistake. Where from did this warm wind come? After we went back, the weather became cold again. So, I say: When you are fulfilling the will of God, nature has a particular way, it can always soften the circumstances. There is not a case, where to not have softened the circumstances. There is no case, where it has not softened. Always when a person turns to God, the bad circumstances soften. If it is not so, our life would not have a meaning. Then you will have an experience. You can pray, some time you alone do not believe, you will say: “God does not pay attention to my things.” If you want from God a million, he will not give you, he does not give you, but ask less: one lev – you will give you, 5 leva – he gives. If you want one lev, it is the easiest, the easiest is 5 stotinki. If you want big wealth, to secure yourself, the wealth you do not need it. The poverty and the wealth, these are conditions, by which the human soul can grow. We are rich people, we do not need wealth. We need a sober-minded job. Somebody is a poet – to write, to rhyme, his rhymes not to be empty words. There is one sentence: “”Everything that happens to those, who love God, will turn into good.” This sentence, as you say it, it is done. I say: Read some sentences from a poet, if this sentence cannot leave an impression, it is without content. In the given case, every thing, which does not leave an impression, it is without content. If the food does not leave its vital energy in the body, this food is useless. If the water does not leave vital force in the body, it is not from the good water. Every thought, which leave vital energy in you, is good, in whoever the thought is. I say: If you want to know which things are useful, I will tell you: this, which leaves the vital energy, gives an impulse to the mind, to the heart, to the body, you to work, it is good. It does not depend from whom it is. Everything which does not give you this impulse in the given case, this thing is not good, it is not because of us. So I say: What would you like? What is your desire? Your desire is the hall to be heated, right? The other desire is, that you all want to have coals. You will test your faith with coals. Three young girls go to the USA. The two young girls go to a banker to ask for help and he like an American gives them 10 cents each, sends them outside. Then he comes inside. One of the girls stands up and starts to sing. The banker stopped, as she sung and said: “I have never listened to such a girl to sing; I have been to concerts.” And immediately takes out 200 dollars and gives them. He says to her: “Come also a second time. Always, when you feel in good spirits, come to sing to me, it is a pleasure for me to listen to your voice. If you know to sing, why don’t you come to sing, but you will go to beg?” Sing. And it is better, if you know to draw, why would you go to beg? Go to draw. If you are a technician, why would you go to beg? Put the technique to work. We have to put that which we have and to which we can rely on, not this which is not in us. Now, to some of you the objective mind is developed a lot. This, what I am talking is dark as philosophy for some of you. The things have to connect. What is the relation between chemistry and physics? The chemistry tells about the internal relation of the elements, which they have and the union of the elements. Physics shows the active forces between the parts, which act mechanically. Astronomy has to be studied. It is a science. You have to study the bodies, which body what place does it take, what is its size. You say: “Psychology is a science for the soul.” You will study the laws of the soul, you will study the laws of the human soul. Logic studies the laws of the human thought. Or you will study the laws of the human feelings. The feelings does not work by one and the same law. The methods by which they work, are different. With thought more light is needed, and by the feelings – more warmth. If you do not have enough warmth, you cannot exhibit your feelings. Therefore if the heart is functioning correctly, you will manifest your feelings correctly. If the solar plexus functions correctly, you will manifest the thought correctly. If this stove is lighted, and every one of you as he comes and places his hands on top of it.. Why do you place them? Can’t you sit far away, but you come near and you place them nearby the stove? The hands, these are an area which takes in warmth. As you put the hands, this desire immediately draws in the warmth and goes into the organism. If you are waiting outside, a long time will pass. If you drink cold water, it will take up half an hour to go into the body, and if you drink warm water, in 5-10 minutes it goes into the body. That’s why the warm water is beneficial, it gives soon that, which is necessary. The cold water does not give away that quickly. If this room is lighted, and outside you have 30-40 degrees of warmth, will you come to warm up? No, you will stay far away. I talk about things, which are necessary. This room is necessary. When I am talking about the mind, we find ourselves in mindful climatic conditions, where you have to put your mind to work. Even you can make one such experiment (I do not know how long will it take you).You are cold, you are poor. Find in the world at least 10 people, do not seek them in the northern places, seek them in the warm places. If you connect through the air with these people (but these people will be healthy fellows, not to be nervous, dry people, but robust, full with vitality), as you connect through the air, the energy to go from above and there will not pass 10-15 minutes, you will feel that something is creeping on you, something is coming. Now as I am talking this, you say: ‘Prove this.” Until I prove it, you will freeze. Do this experiment and you will see, at the least you will feel one warming up. The energy is transferred through the air. The people, if they love one another, they will suffer less. The love in the world defines the goods. You when you love a person, the good that you have within you, you transfer it. This person if he loves you, and he transfers to you the beautiful, the good. The good, the beautiful which is transferred, it is the health in life. We are all transferring. If we transfer the Divine goods, we will have very little suffering in the world. Because everybody is deeply absorbed, thinks more about himself, life has become heavy. Make an experiment. Those of you, who are ready, you say: “What experiment will I make, what will I seek 10 people?” I am talking about the extraordinary conditions. You do not have 5 leva in your pocket, you do not have coals. How can you get coals? Do not make the experiment when you have coals, but when you do not have coals, make this experiment – the coals will come. Several kilograms will come. You will warm up your feet. You will warm up your heart. You will warm up your head. You will warm up your spine. In the given case you will have a big contradiction. You say: “Stupid things”. Where did the contradiction come from? You start to murmur in an old way: “What misfortune! My father, my mother…” They will make a noise like a robbed priest. If the priest gets robbed, what is there? The priest should not be robbed. You say: “I do not have anything.” They robbed the priest because he does not have the right to carry money. He has to say: “I am a divine servant.” The money are a burning fire. He has to carry in his heart fire, to show the people that he is a saint, that he is strong. I have given this example with a saint who stayed 20 years in the desert, he learned of pure life. He had a brother shoemaker and decided to go to him, to turn him towards God, so that when he goes to the other world, they to put him in hell. He took a snowball in his hands from the mountain, to show his brother that the snow is not melting. His brother was a good shoemaker. As he goes to his brother, meanwhile the king’s daughter came, to be measured for shoes. As he looked at the foot of the king’s daughter, his brother says to him: “Brother, the snow is melting.” The melting of the snow already has relation to the king’s daughter. His brother, who is a sinner, his snow is not melting, because he does not have snow. Always when you have money, you can be robbed. But when you do not have money, who will rob you? I say: You have to take into consideration. What will the foot of a king’s daughter entice you, what extraordinary there is in the leg of a king’s daughter? There is nothing, it is your imagination. What is there? In one glass there are 5 lumps of sugar, it can sweeten, but it depends on the tongue, because the tongue is dull, to you only at 5 lumps is making a nice impression. Your tongue is dull. It can the tongue to be so delicate for the sweetness, that one lump to be sweeter than 5. When the people put more sugar, it shows that the taste is dull. When they put less, it means that the taste is normal. We the present-day people we want all to be good. Very good. We are lacking something – we feel the evil more, than the good. There is everything. If someone gives you 10 leva, you think it is a humiliation, you want 1000 leva or 10000. If he gives you a little, to that one whom have given 10 leva, he is not satisfied. There are two types of dissatisfied people: those who are not satisfied from 10 leva, and this who gave 10000 leva, he is not satisfied. If he had given 10000 leva, he would be satisfied, but because he gave 10 leva, he regrets that he has given. Who is on the right side? Whoever is joyous or regrets? Number 1 is not satisfied, he is not satisfied from the 10 leva, from you. Number 2 is satisfied that he has given 10 leva, and he is dissatisfied that he has given 10000 leva. Who is on the right side? Number 1, if he is on the dry land, these money are little for him. If he is in the water, they are enough. If the steamship sinks, he does not need 10000 leva. If he is on the dry land, 10000 are . If he is in the sea, he has to be joyful that he has only 10 leva. These two people are not at their place, they do not understand. In a given case you have to be thankful – if you have given 10000 leva, you have freed yourself from a big evil. I enter one day in my room, I do not have any perfume, but the room smells of rose oil. I say: “”Who has played?” I see, one bottle with rose water has cracked. This bottle I had to lift it up. I left it in the room for several hours. At one time I heard, it broke, the bottle is gone. I smell it – it smells like rose oil. After that a little bottle, very beautiful, with rose oil, with a screw on the top and it cracked from the cold and spilled, the whole of it evaporated and the entire room smells like rose oil. The bottle says: “So much time I waited you to open, but you are so stingy. Now the cold came, I went out to free myself.” It says: “The rose oil they sent it to you, to thank.’’ Now as it cracked, I am sorry for the bottle, after that as I thought, I rejoiced, that the oil freed itself and it is free. I tell to you: Do not keep the rose oil outside, in the cold. Keep it in a warm place. You think something – do not postpone. This bottle if I had placed it next to the room, it would not crack. I thought that the rose oil endures, it will not crack. Now I see: and it also cracks. The other day I saved a bottle of sweet wine. I saw it frozen, I saved it: it would have gone in 2-3 hours. The sweet things freeze. Do not postpone the things. Every good thought, which comes to you, do not postpone it. Do not think that when you come a second time on the Earth, you will fix your things. The future life is based on the current one. On the present base it will lay, the whole future it will be built. The past is a base. Place now, this will also be your future. Now place the hope, dress well. After that as you have a bottle, I give it as a rule, I recommend you one thing: let the bottles be empty. In the faith everything has to be empty. In the cold these bottles crack. You have to empty them. I should have given away the rose oil. If the bottle was empty, it would have remained undamaged. Because I did not teach them of faith, they cracked. The hope bears complete things, the faith wants empty things. God does not like to go to Him with full vessels. With faith we will go to Him: to give us the new. The vessel will be with us, which we carry. The internal content will be from Him. According to the law of Love give away the goods, which God has given you. Or, make your mind to be calm, your heart to be calm and your body to be calm. Now you will say: “There’s just the thing.” Apply the virtues, do not go naked. The hope implies the hand, legs and the body, everything is dressed nice. Some time even it is necessary to go outside when it is cold, to have olive oil and to oil your face. Faith demands this. This is per the law of faith. Everything has to be empty. Politics for a new life. By love, all of this which is given to you from God, to give it away. And when you give it away, he will give you something new. This is what God gives you, everyday give it away to the others. Do not grasp the wealth. You will be a conduit. In so far as you are a conduit of the God’s goods, you are fulfilling the will of God. This means you to become a conduit of the God’s goods. You fulfill God’s will. This means you to become a conduit of God’s goods. One nice thought, transfer it. Wish to all the people, to the entire world to have this. I am saying now: Have free relations. I am not forcing you. We are good. Now we have to work like artists, to draw. I will not criticize. He knows to draw, he is a gifted artist, he understands on his own. When you criticize him, he sees how little do you understand from his art. In the music you say that the main tone has 32 oscillations. How many oscillations are there in today’s piano? Above 200 oscillations are there. This main tone almost nobody can strike it. A tone with 32 oscillations nobody can strike it. The main tone is called this, from which the music develops. Do not think that you strike the main tone. It is a big art and hardly are there singers which can strike a tone with 32 oscillations. Of the piano there are 260 oscillations. The Parisian order is around 300 oscillations, the main tone is Hope. From there, where we start, it is the credit. In faith the credit is the main tone. In Love is this, from which you obtain your strength. Do not want to know what kind is your love. Do not do calculations to know how big is your love. You will make a mistake – you think that love can be defined. How will you define the quantity? It is indefinable. Its oscillations are so strong and so weak, that we cannot define. So strong are the oscillations of love that it is present simultaneously in all of its parts. Love is present everywhere in the Universe. How will you understand “is present everywhere”? But love simultaneously in us has to be present. We feel this love sometimes in our heart. We have to participate in the three worlds: in the mind, in the heart and in the body. To feel one frame of mind in the mind, to feel one frame of mind in the feelings and in the body – only then means that love is acting. This is the healthy state of the body. When it is pleasant to the heart, namely the heart is healthy, when the mind is bright, it is the healthy state of the mind. I say: There is nothing better than the mind to be bright, the heart to be warm and the body to be strong. It is the healthy condition, in which love is acting. I say: Let love act in your strength, do not limit it. Let love to act in your feelings, do not limit it. Let love act in your mind, do not limit it. In the morning it is hard to be played. There is one raising. I do not know if there is someone to give a concert in the morning. If you cannot try your love, and you cannot try the love of the advanced beings. How will you try the love of the Sun? You can try the love of the Sun, of the first class stars, you can try the love of the light. Every object, as soon as we direct our mind towards it, we can try the love which functions. These things which have more love, are pleasant to us. These which have less love, we are repelled by them. Every thing which attracts us contains more love. Lord’s Prayer 18th Lecture from 21 year of the Common Occult class (1941-1942), given by the Master on 28.01.1942, Wednesday 5 o’clock in the morning, Sofia - Izgrev Translator - Teodora Kavroshilova

Note 5 Righteousness and Salvation “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” Romans: 10:10 I shall dwell upon the words righteousness and salvation. I would like you to apply these words and to try experimenting with them. Every woman strives to attain independence. While still single, she craves to get away from her father’s house, to break free from her mother and father, to become a mistress in a house of her own. This striving is natural and Divine. When she gets married and enters her new life, she brings her dowry into her house – shirts, pillows, bed clothes; she gives away some of these; she organises her house and feels thrilled with this new house so appropriately tidied by her. Indeed, unhappy are the homeless women. A person who has no home is a person who has no character. The body is the house of the human soul in spiritual life. According to the same principle, just like with women, the soul should enter the body and organise it. Some people want to get rid of their bodies and they say, ‘When will I break loose from my body?’ There are bodies out of which one can break loose. These are the unhealthy damp cellars without windows, where people get rheumatism. Getting out of them does not mean that we have to get out of the healthy houses. Paul says in the Scripture that there is a home made not by human hand. The concept righteousness derives from the expression to make things right. Which human being is righteous? The one that does not sin. But in order not to sin, one should have knowledge, should understand the meaning of things around oneself, and should make the right choice. You strive for freedom. Each woman should have this freedom, but provided that she is able to use it to build the happiness and health of her husband, of her children. No husband, to a woman who is not free, is happy. Do you think that ill women are free? Women, whose hearts and minds are constantly disturbed, are not free. I do not mean that your mind should not be excited. Disturbance and excitement are two different concepts. Minds and hearts may only be excited on the surface, but should not be disturbed at the bottom in order not to be troubled. The latter is an indication of their shallowness, of only 10 centimetres depth. I ask you what can you do at a depth of 10 centimetres? If we take a cloth of 10 centimetres length, what can we make out of it? First and foremost for women is to have a deep heart – of at least 10 kilometres depth. Anybody trying to disturb you at such a depth will surely get drowned. What do little children do when they come across a shallow puddle of about 10 centimetres depth? They get into the water, disturb it, and enjoy it. Men, when they come across such shallow women, disturb them and feel satisfied. Then women in their turn say, ‘We are very unhappy’. There is a good deal of turmoil in shallow waters – frogs croak there all summer long – a lot of commotion and noise, which abates only in winter. This is to say that your hearts should not be shallow; there should not be any commotion in there. I ask you what is the cure for such a puddle of stagnant water? You will pour a stream of fresh water into this puddle; you will dig a gutter so that the fresh water can wash the entire residue from the past away. Christ’s teaching is a fresh stream, which should enter your hearts and wash them; after cleaning them, it will leave the residue to fertilise your fields. You may ask how to dig such a spring. The spring of fresh water will find you on its own accord. Christ told the Samaritan, ‘The water I shall give you, will be the spring of life, running constantly within you.’ Hence this spring should be understood to mean salvation. When a person finds oneself in a desert, where there is no water, one’s mouth becomes dry, one feels irresistibly thirsty and water is the only salvation, otherwise one is doomed to drop dead. Just like the traveller in the desert, many women die of thirst with their camels – with their baggage. You have heard the word spring. When you go out for a walk outside Sofia, I would like you to try the water of such springs. But the high life ladies, and indeed most of the people, go for a walk not farther away than Boris’s Gardens1, at that they walk along the same alleys every time, where there is nothing else but dust. They inhale as much dust as possible and when they come back home they say, ‘What a nice walk we had!’ I say you just filled yourselves with dust. People, when they adopt Christ’s teaching, often use the same trite phrases and afterwards they say, ‘I got a headache from listening’. This is because you inhaled dust. This is not a place for righteousness and salvation. The words righteousness and salvation have seven meanings. I now talk about one of the meanings and if you understand it, I shall then move on to the other meanings. There comes a friend and says, ‘Let’s go for a walk, but not very far away, because I have a headache, I have palpitations, I am not used to it’. This shows that you are a person with short legs, while the Truth needs long legs to walk. Thus you will come, involuntarily, to a situation where you will commit a crime. As soon as one’s legs shorten, a person starts thinking of devilish things. Some say, ‘I can’t go to Vitosha2.’ Now, if you can’t go to Vitosha, how will you go to Christ? Christ’s Path is narrow and steep; it is a Path of the sensible human will. Tell yourselves in your mind, ‘I will go with my friends to Vitosha!’ If you can’t go in real life, at least follow them mentally; travel the whole way with them in your thoughts! This is Life’s philosophy. When you meet your beloved, before the marriage, they call you angles, they love you, they can die for you, they can’t live without you, they kneel before you, and what a weeping, sobbing and pretence there is. However, this is not because they can’t do without you; this is a way to impress you and they want to say, ‘Let them see what the Lord is like!’ When they get married, women start kneeling. This is your philosophy. Rather than the men kneeling, it is you who kneel. Why so? Because your minds and hearts are shallow. Do not get me wrong! If I take a measure and try to fathom the depth of your minds and hearts, I will merely ascertain one fact, as it is. The words I say to you, I interpret them, I use them figuratively, do not take them in their everyday meaning. Your hearts can be shallow and deep at the same time. If residue continuously enters your hearts, the bottom will be filled and they will become shallow. There are lakes, which have become shallow, but there are lakes, which have become deeper… Why should women feel a desire to see men kneeling before them? To kneel, this is the law of selflessness, of self-sacrifice. The angles, formed when kneeling, show that one is ready to go low down and sacrifice oneself. When you stop and sacrifice yourself for somebody else, it means that you kneel before that person. But when a lad kneels before a girl, he lies to her. Tell me how many Bulgarian girls there are who have an ideal relationship with their husbands and have never exchanged bad words? I shall leave you to think it over and to find the Truth on your own. The Truth must surface – nothing more and nothing less! I do not want to present this Truth to you so glamorously, as I do not want it to dazzle you. I put it through many clouds, to make it acceptable to your eyes, thus wanting to spare you the illusions, which cause everyday unhappiness, because these illusions take you away from God. When God sent one woman or one man to the Earth, He gave them a budget. It is unfair if somebody eats up your budget. No one has the right to take it from you, unless you give it voluntarily. You tell somebody, ‘You make no sacrifices for me.’ There is no need for anyone to make sacrifices for you, because if a person makes a sacrifice for you, in order to elevate you, such a person will go down. This is the Divine law – one is going up, while another one is going down. If the man is going down, the woman is going up; if the woman is going up, the man is going down. Well now, when you walk you cast an anchor, catch the man and keep him down, so that neither he nor you go up. You stop at one place and keep looking at each other. Such are contemporary women – they stop their men and do not let them go up. This accounts for why you sleep – since you cannot go to the other world, you cannot go up or go down. When you are asked why you sleep, you answer, ‘To go to the Lord’. When you say, ‘I slept fine’, this is so because you were up, but your impression from there is flattened, and there is only a shadow of something pleasant which stays with you. Sometimes you say, ‘I did not sleep well, I had bad dreams’. This indicates that you must have stopped your man from something. This unnatural situation is sometimes the result of utter self-interest, which is found with women. Self-interest generates self-interest, unhappiness generates unhappiness, and grief generates grief. When I talk about suffering and unhappiness, I mean grief as a wrapping of the Divine Truth. And contemporary people wrap grief in joy and, thus they sweeten it from the outside. There are such pills – coated in sugar, but bitter inside. The Lord, now, supports neither homeopathy nor alopathy. The former cures with small doses of bitter powders, so that these can be effective; while the latter – with big doses of bitter powders; and there is no more pain. When one is healthy, one needs no pills. I know many people, who, every now and then, take automatically a pill of aspirin or quinine, not to fall ill. Thus, they impress on themselves the thought that they may fall ill. Keep telling yourselves, one word every day, each of the words said should be positive. This will improve your situation. All of you who listen to me, please make the following small experiment, and I allow you one year for this, and afterwards you will be free: the first six months will be positive – you will plough, will sow, will reap, and the other six months will be passive – you will be gathering new energy. Don’t you doubt that everybody can do what I say! It’s ridiculous of you to say that you cannot do it. Some day I will gather small children and I will make an experiment with them and I will prove small children can do what you can’t; small children will do it, because they have greater faith. You may say, ‘We may deceive ourselves’. You may deceive yourselves the first year, but you won’t deceive yourselves in the second year. You should dispose of the thought that you may deceive yourselves. There are no deceits where the Lord works and you should know this line, ‘All that will happen to those who love the Lord, is for their good.’ You will adopt this motto: ‘Whatever happens to us, the Lord will convert it for the better.’ And then let all the bad thoughts, bad desires come, let all bad people take a stand against you; you should fear not! There should be no fear, keep fear away from you! I shall now dwell on the verb can. What experiment have you done so far? You used it only in the first person singular, ‘I can’. From now on you shall have to use it in all the forms: ‘I can, you can, he can, she can, we can, you can, they can’. When you come across any obstacle, you will say to yourself, inside your soul, ‘I can, we can, it can be done! It is me who can. It is you, Lord, inside me, within my soul, who can. Your Great Spirit, that guides me, can!’ You will then use the three forms in the plural too. Your faith and your Purity will help everybody who is up there to join efforts to implement the Divine idea in your life. In this Path it will take Divine patience and persistence until Light takes the upper hand within you. This experiment you shall have to do any time when you feel weak. You will do it between 4 and 7 o’clock in the morning. Let those of you who can, get up in the morning 4 o’clock sharp and willingly do this experiment. When the Sun rises in the morning you will say: (in the first person singular), ‘I can! – Let my Sun rise in my soul like this. (in the second person singular), ‘You can! – Let God’s Sun rise in my soul like this. (in the third person singular), ‘He/she can! – Let the Sun of my spirit rise like this. (in the first person plural), ‘We can! – Let the Sun of our Angels rise like this. (in the second person plural), ‘You can! – Let the Sun of the Great Lord of Peace rise in our souls like this. (in the third person plural), ‘They can! – Let the Sun of all Suns rise in our spirits like this. Six Suns should rise within you like this. You should dwell for four minutes on each Sun; altogether twenty-four minutes shall be spent on the rising of the six Suns. The rule that you will have to observe is as follows: you will get up quietly, calmly and after washing your face in the bathroom, you will be quiet not experiencing a single disturbance – you should fear nothing. You may not feel quite well while getting up; you may feel as if the world is wrong. But you should stand up and say the above words quietly – everybody to themselves. You will take a notebook, and each morning for six months running, you will write down at what time you got up and how many times you were late. Having uttered these words you will feel something pleasant in the pit of your stomach and your spirit will be elevated. You need six years to get to know how these Suns rise. Keep doing this experiment for six months and please share and recommend this experiment to some of your female friends. You will start on 6th of April. Some may ask whether it is possible to get up so early and so on. You should not entertain such thoughts! You will put down in your notebooks what the weather was like and there should be separate columns for: clear, cloudy, rainy or windy weather. All weather conditions are favourable. If it is rainy or cloudy, do not ever complain during these six months. If it is rainy, you will say, ‘The weather today is rainy – God purifies it and the fields will yield better crops.’ You will try to apply all of this. Moreover, you will require that your friends make a promise to do it. During the first month, when you say all the six points, you will emphasise the first one most; during the second month you will again say all the six points, but you will lay the emphasis on the second one and so on. I want you to be quiet, tranquil and the blessing that will come will be as much as you need. The rain, when falling, will give each plant as much moisture as it needs. I want you to generate a favourable wave and you will try to learn the lesson from everything that happens to you during these six months. You will try to see the good side of the unpleasant things and to find out the benefit. You will say, ‘It will be for the better for those who love the Lord!’ Then you will use the following sentences: I believe in You, Lord, who spoke in the past. I believe in You, Lord, who is speaking to me now. I believe in You, Lord, who will speak to me in the future. Let Your Light descend upon all of us. Let Your Name be glorified. Let Your Kingdom come. Let Your Will be done on the Earth, the way it is done up there in Heaven. In the daytime, if you are inspired to read a psalm or anything else, read, but only if you really feel an urge deep down in yourself. Having read the above mentioned sentences, think about things that can elevate you, think of everything that is most beautiful in the world and you will see that the nicest pictures will be given to you. This is the only way to rectify your past and to lay the pre-conditions for good circumstances in your future. This is the way along which you will be able to strengthen your will and to ennoble your mind and heart. The world, of course, will follow the same course but everything will turn out for the better. There will be moments during these six months when you will feel deficient in salt; you will then use the following sentence: ‘Lord, warm my heart with Your Love!’ If your mind goes dim at times, you will say, ‘Lord, enlighten my mind with Your Spirit!’ or ‘Lord, through Your Spirit, grant Light to my mind!’ Then keep staying quiet; perhaps one hour, two hours, three or four hours may pass, but anyway you will get the effect. After the six Suns rise one after another, results will come. During these six months you will try to be on good terms with your husbands, children and people surrounding you, and will speak only of useful things. If you make a mistake and say something bad about somebody, you will put it down in your notebooks – you have to be honest with yourselves. Another rule: if one of you cannot manage on her own, she will ask another sister to help her, if the two together cannot manage, they should ask a third one and they will say their prayer together. You should always try to get together in the mornings, up to 12 o’clock at the latest, because the influences are good then. This is how one can be righteous and saved. This is the first meaning of these words. Pass on this duty, this piece of advice to all of your beloved female friends. If you are deeply motivated, share these ideas with other people also; then you will be blessed and so will be they. This is the way your light will shine before the people close to you. Peace to everyone! Master’s lecture, delivered on 5 April 1917 1 Boris’s Gardens is the central park in Sofia 2 Vitosha is a mountain near the town of Sofia Source Edited October 14, 2016 by Ani

Ennoblement of the heart - Be always devoted, truthful, pure and kind! Reflection The topic today: “The role of the poetry, music and religion.” Now I would ask you a question and everyone finds the answer for himself: Why could some bodies be on fire and then burn out, but some – are on fire without being burnt out? Or why the long way isn’t easy to be walked by some people? Why some people are large and others – small? What speed the large bodies use and what the small ones? The larger the body, the shower moving. The small bodies move with great speed. Despite the Earth is large, it moves with great speed. The Earth spins around itself, rotates around its axis, and moves around and the Sun. What does the mill-wheel as it moves? – Mills flour. What does the lad as he goes around some house? – He looks for a beautiful maid. When the student goes around the university without entering inside, this shows he doesn’t like to study, doesn’t like to listen the lectures of his professors. To come back to the question, why are some bodies in fire and others – are in fire but not burnt? If there is gas for lighting in a lamp and you lit the wick, the gas would burn till it is over. As soon as the gas is over, the lamp would not produce light. However, if the lamp is made in such a style that it is possible to add up gas inside, it would produce light all the time. Consequently, bodies with a constant inflow of energy, they are in fire all the time. Bodies, where is present an outflow of their energy, they are in fire and burn out. If there is no flow or outflow, they are not capable to be in fire. On the base of the same law, we say: A man gets older because there is no inflow of energy in his organism. There is a constant energy inflow by the nature in the organism of the young one. Whoever is able to harmonize, to coordinate the energies of inflow and outflow inside of himself, he could get younger, could acquire the Eternal life. In this situation, the more inflow, the more outflow. Why does the lamp go out by blowing, but the fire kindles? Flame or light easily going out, it is temporal. Whenever there is a constant combustion, no blowing could help to put it out. There the combustion is eternal. The same could be applicable for the ideas: there are ideas which could be blown by the slightest blow. For instance, somebody believes in God. One day he takes a book by a prominent person, finishes reading it, but later on he fills his whole being with doubt. As soon as a certain time passes, the idea for God stops to be his driving force. This idea is not his inner light anymore. Each extinction of the planets and the suns, is a sign that they are weak as ideas. Bodies, where there is no inflow or outflow, they are dead. It is present only a process of decomposition of the material inside of the bodies mentioned above. Alive bodies are those where there is a constant inflow and outflow of energy. As pupils you have to work over yourselves, to overcome all inner and outer struggles and obstacles. For instance, the fear is a huge hindrance in pupil’s life and consequently he should overcome it. Imagine, you are on your field, you are working, but meantime a friend of yours has come in your home and he has to leave exactly at 9 p.m. You are going home on time, but a bear has come by the closest forest and it is in front of your door. What should you do with the bear? If you get scared, you would stay outside, but your friend is afraid to come out of the room. In this particular example the bear is a symbol of the fear in a man. If a man is scared of something, it is the same as if he has encountered a bear on his path. What should a man do when he gets scared? – To think. A young Bulgarian lad went to Thessaloniki in order to gain handicraft skills. On his way he caught up with few gypsies having a bear with them in order to make her dance. A deep forest came out on their way and the lad joined the gypsies in order to cross the it together. At one moment something began to rustle in the forest. The gypsies got scared and started running. One of them, that one carrying the drum, he dropped it and ran after hid fellows. The Bulgarian lad took the drum and continued his way alone. Close by somewhere he saw a mill and he dropped in to stay overnight there, but because he was afraid he went up on the beams, there he would spend the night. Barely had he dropped off to sleep, he woke up by noise of some heavy steps. This was a bear. In order to chase it away, he started to beat the drum left by the gypsies. It was s huge surprise when he saw the bear started dancing. He got calmer and thought: I would tie the bear and would go with it to make my living. It was already dawning when steps of caravan of camels were heard around the mill. When the bear heard the steps of the camels, it got scared and ran away. The camels got scared of the bear’s presence and rushed off to run, but broke many of the potteries, placed inside of the caravans. The cameleers got furious, entered inside the mill to find out whose this bear was and to ask for a compensation for the great losses. They found the young man on the beams above, put him down and took him on the way the town to put him on a trial. The judge questioned him is it true the accusation made against him. – It is true, Mr. Judge. My occupation which makes my living is to make a bear dance. When the caravan was passing by the mill, I was beating the drum, I was training my bear. She got scared of the camels and ran away in the forest. And the camels got scared by the bear and crashed many potteries. Indeed, the cameleers faced damages but I also faced damages. The bear which made my living ran away. If they could bring my bear back, I would be obligate to pay the broken potteries. Otherwise I also do not take any obligation. Thus, if a man gets scared, let’s beat with his drum. The drum represents the human mind. So, in the moment when a man thinks he is always able to deal with the fear. If he stops to think, the fear would conquer him. The inner fear in a man is one of the biggest hindrances in his life. For instance, someone starts a good deed, but immediately he comes upon the inner hidden fear, telling him he wouldn’t succeed and he postpones the deed. He has just planned to go somewhere, immediately he gives up. The fear brings discouragement, despair, doubt and etc. in a man. A hero is this one who is able to overcome these inner limitations. If he overcomes them, he becomes great. Even though in a state of despair, if a man is able to overcome himself, his state, he could lift up, become a great. If he is not able to cope with his fear, despair, even the most skillful one could fail. There are some cases in the human life when a man would fail again despite all the talents and abilities given by the nature. There are examples such as an ordinary man intensely makes every endeavor to cope with fear and struggles created by the life and then he becomes great. Oftentimes people make plans how to obtain one or another wish of theirs. If they do not succeed, they feel discouraged. People should not feel discouraged but they should know that there is a great, Divine law determining how things have to happen. Consequently a man is not obligated to anything else, except this, to obey to this law and connect with the Divine consciousness. The modern people have not come yet to that high consciousness and to understand and obey to the great Divine laws. We see rows of cultures in the evolution of the different forms of life. For instance, plants have strived for height during their evolution, in order to receive freely the sun light. This is why the plants have brought the idea for height in the world. The animals have strived to improve their strength, because the strong one has the supreme right in the animal world. The birds have strived for beauty. They have taken care for their clothing, believing the clothing would make them beautiful. When a man has come, he started to think of the beauty of his face. Consequently, the plants have brought the idea for height, the animals – the idea for the strength, the birds – the idea for the outer beauty, mainly for the good look of their clothing, and a man – the idea for the beautiful face. However, the modern man continues to expand himself over the idea for the beauty and he don’t cease only over his face, but also over the forehead. He has already divided the forehead out of the face and works over the improvement of all abilities, put in the front part of the brain. But a man does not stop even here. Having tried the high height, the strength of his muscles, the outer beauty, the beauty of his face and forehead, precisely his mind, and now he is ready to send his energies towards his heart, to cultivate a beautiful, noble heart inside of himself. Now, I am also saying to you as pupils: Send all energies of yours, all efforts towards your heart in order to work for its ennoblement. The conscious, noble heart hides new ways of living and work inside of itself. When the mind of a man is well developed, we say this man is intelligent. His intelligence is shown by the eyes, in his eyesight. His eyesight is bright, pure. And the gentle heart is expressed in the face of a man. The face of such man shines. Something bright, magnetic, pleasant comes of such face. It is pleasant to look at face of a man having a gentle heart. It is not possible not to love such man. Everyone loves the man having a streaming heart with nobility. A man is vitalized by the nobility. The vitality, streaming from a man is due to his gentle heart. Consequently, when you wake up every morning, remember that you have gone through the culture of the plants and you have developed certain height; gone through the culture of the animals and have developed strength; gone through the culture of the birds and have developed outer beauty; gone through the culture of the mankind and have developed your mind, which has given an expression and beauty of your eyes. Now, you are already going through another phase of the culture requiring of you to develop a gentle heart which would give you an expression and beauty of the whole face. The beauty face consists of the acquisitions of the past cultures. The man is represented by his face. The new culture is a culture of the heart leading the people into fraternization, into a fraternal life. The love would be expressed by the heart. In the old life, the love had started with joy, but ended with grief. However, in the new life, the love starts with grief, but ends with joy. Adam and Eve started with joy, but ended with grief, with tears. Hence the tears have originated by the Eden. Eve committed a sin because she ate a fruit of the forbidden tree where the snake had been wrapped up. This means Eve connected with the culture of the tree and wished to become taller, precisely noble. At the same time, she also connected with the snake and wished to become strong. She turned towards old cultures and made a mistake. After this Adam and Eve had been expelled from the Eden in order to try what they could do with the long ploughs and the strong oxen. God told them: Go out of the Eden because you wished the culture of the plants and animals and now be on their place. You have freely chosen the tree and the animal for an ideal in your life, now you would face the consequences of this ideal. A Bulgarian saying says:” The hoe and the plough feed the whole world.” This saying is only partly right, but not in an absolute meaning. The hoe buries people and the plough tears them apart, precisely disunite them. From the moment the plough and the hoe have been brought into use, people have started to kill and destroy. An exercise. During the whole week, observe the Moon as you write down the first thought of yours which comes in your mind. You would observe the Moon all week but every week day you would place your attention to that planet related to a relevant day. For instance, on Tuesday you would observe the Mars, on Wednesday – the Mercury, on Thursday – the Jupiter, on Friday – the Venus, on Saturday – the Saturn, on Sunday – the Sun when rising. When you observe these planets meanwhile you would jot down the first thought has come in your mind at this time. You would also register the weather, whether it has been windy, cloudy or clear. When you perform these observations, at least you would gain something new, would expand your knowledge. - Be always devoted, truthful, pure and kind! A lecture by the Master, taken on October 3rd 1926, in Sofia Преводач - Thea Teodora

A direction for growth - Be always loyal, truthful, pure and kind! Reflection Write over the themes: “The role of the poetry, music and religion in life. The most important work after the food. The minor impulse in life.” Now, I wish you to express more creativity this year at least in a specific field, but not to change the world. Imagine, a certain idea has come inside of you, to create something, but you face a lot hardship on your path. How would you handle that hardship? Take an example of the seed. How the wheat grain handles this hardship? As soon as you plant it in the soil after a certain period of time it grows and starts to develop. Throughout its way of growth, the wheat grain sets its direction of development higher, to the sun. It finds that this is the path of its salvation. When it finds itself in the middle of difficult conditions, the wheat grain says: I have already been in the soil, in the deep substance, I could shout as loud as I could nobody would hear me, the more I rebel the more it would be useless; the more I put doubts over myself, it would be pointless. Now, there is no other option than to choose one of the two directions: up or down. If I go down, I would go deeper. I would start to work; I would make efforts to break through the earth, to get on its surface, to see the sunshine, the source of life. Often the pupils come across discrepancies and then they say: We don’t know what to do, how to solve the difficult tasks in your lives. – Strange work! The plants have the knowledge, how to act, but a man don’t know how to act and what to do. If you ask the plants what you have to do, they would reply: There are two directions for work – up or down. The plants are not capable to do something different than this, because they move in two dimensions. Related to the stated above, a man is similar to a plant, planted in the soil. Where you came from and where you would go, you don’t know. What do you have to do under these conditions? As soon you have been planted in the soil, there is no other option than to work under the given conditions, to gain a way to the sun and get a direction up. Should wheat grain to abandon the place where it has been planted and to follow the offer of some beetle to hide in its hollow? What do the people nowadays do? When they are in the middle of some difficult situations, they start to search hollows to hide from the unpleasant conditions. – No, the place you have end up, there you should solve your problems. As pupils, you are planted in the soil, to study. The pupil’s growth is hidden in the conscious study. When the plant realizes it has been planted in the soil, it never asks the question who has planted it and why, but starts to work, to overcome the conditions, to come upon the surface of the earth, to see the sun, to use the sunlight and heat energy and starts to grow. In the process of growth, the seed examines the elements, present in the soil, uses them and absorbs those needed elements. The seed is set far away of the human philosophy, who has planted it and why it has been planted. Should a child which goes to school, question who has sent him, why has been sent and what he should do? Do not care of the answer of the question, what were your father’s intentions sending you to school. As soon as you are sent to school, you are obliged to study – nothing more. Many philosophers have discussions over the matter why a man has come to earth, but no one has solved it so far and shall not find the right answer. Thousands of years would pass but this matter would remain unanswerable. This matter would be solved when people finish their growth on the earth. When the fish is in the water, the fish doesn’t realize its situation. As soon as gets out of the water, it has already known, she was a fish. Consequently, while a man is in his physical form, a man goes through the state of an animal. One day when he leaves his physical form, he would admit his position as a human being. He would change his moral and habitual ways of acting and would go in a higher form of life. As pupils, you should come to a position of changing your unpleasant living conditions. They are situated mainly in your mind, in your consciousness. Many people put in their minds such thoughts driving them to maniacs. From early morning till dawn, they are on an alert; they think they are chased to be killed. In order to grow right, a man should throw all limited thoughts of his mind. Keep in mind this thought that nothing could be an obstacle. Could a rope be an obstacle of the tree? If you bind a tree with a rope, it wouldn’t take so long for the rope to rip off. The tree has strength to overcome all obstacles, all unpleasant conditions in its present situation. A man has much more strength to overcome the unpleasant conditions in his life. The tree, plants have knowledge over chemistry and they apply it in their lives. If you wrap a metal barbed wire around a tree, it would produce such juices of its own which would fret the metal and the tree would be free of the metal wire in a certain period of time. There are some given abilities in a man also, helping him to overcome the obstacles on his path. However, in order to precede this, certain knowledge is required. The same as plants recognize the elements of the soil, the law of light and heat and use them properly, the same way people could apply their knowledge, too. The plants also know the right direction to be followed and consequently they place their roots deeper down – to the centre of the earth, and the leaves higher up – to the centre of the sun. Applying their knowledge, the plants grow and develop. Apply your knowledge, too, to grow, to develop right. This doesn’t come immediately. A man would craw, would walk step by step, till he reaches the peak where he is heading for. This is the true meaning of heroism. Hardship, obstacles in the human life are nothing else than layers, stored in his consciousness, so he should clean them out. It is the same as the plants are covered with soil; there are so many layers from the past in a human consciousness which he should clear out. A strong man is this man who is capable to overcome his struggles. This one who is not capable to overcome his struggles, he is a weak man. He easy feels helpless and looks for a way to commit a suicide. A young student felt desperate by his failures and thought of drown himself. To do so, he went to a river, stopped on the shore and started to think how to jump in the water. He started to look on right side, and then on left, hoping someone might see him and make his mind not to jump, show him a some way to handle his situation. If such a man was present, the young lad would immediately have been ready to deny his intention to drown himself. He would find the meaning of his life; he would gain strength to handle his discrepancies. Now, you have to work consciously, to apply everything what you have learnt. Take a critical look to what you are reading, because every poet, novelist, philosopher, scientist implies in his works either the positive or the negative of what is hiding inside of him. For instance, the pessimistic theory of Schopenhauer is something ancient. To support the philosophy that life has no meaning, this is related to the old in life. The old the same as a dry tree, should be uprooted and a something new should be planted on its place. The modern young people read indiscriminately. They don’t make a right choice of the books they are reading, and consequently their feelings develop immensely. Related to this, some Romanists have a certain harmful effect over the young people. They bring certain confusion in youth’s feelings with their writings. Under the influence of this literature, the young people fall in a specific area of the feelings, called “the astral mixture”. First of all, the male and female characters created by the author, they are not real characters. Could we call a hero this one who kills a man in the name of love to his beloved? Heroism stimulated by jealousy, by envy towards somebody, is not heroism. Heroism is showing respect to a man, without killing him, without striking at him. A real hero is this one who crossing by a forest, full with bush – rangers, is able to put them to sleep, to take their weapons and go away. When the bush – rangers wake up, they realize they have no weapons any more, but they are pleased that at least their lives were spared. Now, you are obligated to work, to create something new in yourself. Many of you are studying astrology, foresee the destiny of the people, but they don’t foresee their own. Such fortune-tellers are many on the Earth. Even before the Liberation, in Varna area, there was a gypsy woman – fortune-teller; she was using a snail as a tool to predict many things to the people. Hundreds of people were visiting her to foresee. Once she had been invited somewhere, out of her native place, to foresee. The road lied across a forest. She was attacked by robbers; they committed a robbery. She foresaw many events of people, but she couldn’t foresee this event of her own future – she had no clue that she would be attacked and robbed. This is everywhere in life. We meet professors, having a nig mindset, but they don’t know only one thing, when the biggest thief – the death would come to them and steal of them. Could we call such a person a smart one? - When we go to the other world, then we would find out about everything which is unknown to us now. – How you know that you would have better conditions in the other world than these on the Earth now? Whoever is not able to use the conditions on the earth, he is also not able to use the conditions of the other world. While a man is still on the earth, he should study, gain knowledge, using it as a protection shield against the death. One of human tasks is achieving immortality. If the death swallows a man, he should oppose it in such manner in order to not be digested in death’s stomach. If the death is not capable to digest him properly, there is no other way than to throw the man out. Do you think, if I man prays diligently, he might stay in the grave? – No, the grave would crack, but the believer and also this one who loves God, wouldn’t stay deeper down in the earth. He would come out of the grave and would go to work. As pupils, all of you should work, not to wait to be pushed with a goad. It is required for all of you to create a plan for a beneficial work for this year. It is good to have at least minor achievements at the end of the year. As pupils, you should live in harmony. In order to keep the harmony in the nature, every one of you should find his place. When you come to class, every one of you should sit next to such a classmate which harmonizes him. This harmony is defined by the planets ‘combination. Some of you are under the influence of the Earth, some other – under the influence of the Sun; third one – under the influence of the Jupiter and so on. Related to these influences, certain talents and skills are given to each person and he is obligated to improve them. Not only in the occult school, but also in the normal school, the students should situate themselves in such a way to sit next to a classmate who harmonizes him. Many people are afraid of influences and thus they avoid being friends with some people. Nobody is able to influence anyone. If there is some influence, it is not dangerous; it couldn’t step over a man. People might be in counteraction to each one, but it isn’t possible to step over. In order not to be in counteraction, they should use of the good influence of the powers, inside of them. Someone says: This – that person influences my thoughts. – This means if he influences you, you are able to influence him also. All living people are able to influence each ones. If some person in this life influences you, be also present to influence him. If some person is an earth type, is he able to influence the Moon or The Sun? However, the Sun influences the Earth by sending light and heat. Although the influence of the Earth is insignificant, it also influences the other planets. The influence is a great law. This is the reason why, please be careful of counteraction but not of influence. The more you are careful of influence, the more you couldn’t avoid it. How would you avoid the influence of the Sun? How would you avoid the influence of the Earth, on the hard surface? In order to get stronger, the tree should place its roots deeper down in the soil, to connect with the soil, to be influenced by earth powers. How would a man develop his body, if there is no influence of the earth? The modern people should study the dynamics of the human body in connection with the planets’ influences. This way would reveal that certain cells of the human body are under the influence of the Earth, some other – under the influence of the Sirius, third ones – under the influence of the Jupiter and so on. As a rule, the more highly spiritual creatures a man is connected, the more subtle and improved is the sunstance of his body. The more improved is the substance of the human body, the more noble is a man’s life. The level of the human development is defined by the substance of his organism. The human life is expressed by the substance. The more the human consciousness is improving, the more he is connected with the stars and planets. As he uses the influence of all suns in the Universe, a man goes close to perfection. As you have come to the Earth, you should study about the planets and stars in the Solar system; to know what influence they make over you. For instance, some people notice that the Saturn places a bad influence over people. However, they haven’t been examined in what cases exactly the Saturn influences badly. When a man fights with the Saturn, precisely with his destiny, this one steps over the man. Till the man continuously thinking, that he is capable to build his destiny, a man would always feel its strikes. The counteraction of the Saturn would always be present. The Jupiter points that a man should be noble, open-hearted, courageous, generous, without using any violence. – Doesn’t matter what advice the Saturn would give to the man, this, the last one says: This is none of your business. I know how to create my life. – Good, you would try. But know, if you start a war, you would withstand. If you don’t do so, you would face the consequences of your unreasonable deeds. It is said so: “Never contradicts to the evil!” What is the evil? – The evil is a collection of the deeds of some creatures not following the God’s laws. “Never contradicts to the evil”, this means do not contradict, nor judge these creatures not following the laws. Whatever you do, these creatures are merciless in their deeds. They crash stones and rocks in the mountain with dynamite. If you see this, you should avoid them from a distance. Don’t walk by them. But if you have to walk by their stone-pit, pass by and go away without saying a world. Someone complains of his destiny. – No, if you have come to your destiny, distance yourself a bit and there you examine its laws. Even though you are young, you would examine many things of your destiny. While you are still young, you should find answers to many matters. – Is it possible to find answers to these matters in maturity age? – There are many matters supposed to be answered now, while a man is young. The young one should work, study but the old one whoever missed this time, should repent of not doing so. If the young one starts to repent, he has gotten older prematurely. When he makes mistakes, the young one should correct his mistakes. If he faces struggles, he should overcome it. It is not allowed to the young one to lose faith. As soon as he faces some struggle, the young one should say to himself: I would work; I would make efforts till I solve my problem. No obstacles would stop me on my way. I would have courage to cope with everything. As pupils, you should know theta you are endlessly influenced by the Jupiter, the Saturn, the Mars, the Venus; they represent a group of creatures which have already finished their development. They are familiar with the laws of human development thus they could give you good advices and directions all the time. If someone wishes to improve his nobility, the creatures of the Jupiter would show him a way to work over. The nobility in a man represents the gold in his blood. Generally, all planets and suns in the Universe are banks which a man could take out this fortune when in a certain case are needed. What fortune would be delivered and how would be used depends of the type of the human personality. As soon as you have come to the Earth, you have to study, to examine the planets and their influence over you. Don’t ask what your destiny would be; nor fret against it, but learn. What would be the destiny of that man crossing by the desert? If his pitcher is stout and fill with water, his destiny would be good. As soon as he gets thirsty, he would lift up the pitcher and quenched his thirst. In this situation, his throat would never be dry. If the pitcher has been broken somewhere, a man is supposed to suffer, to feel an enormous thirst. The broken pitcher is a sign of losing faith. When a man loses faith in God, his hair would become gray and he would become bald-headed by suffering, and at the end nothing would be left from this man. And so, as soon as a man has come to the Earth, he should believe in the Primary Cause, also in the Eternal Beginning of the life as a source of all goodness for growth and improvement. The faith represents the zenith of life, where growth, lifting-up and improvement are present. Losing faith is a sign of a dawn of life, where every culture disappears. If a man looses faith, he loses any aspiration for himself. He looks like as a barren wilderness where no flowers bloom, no birds sing, no rivers flow. However, the believer carries the God’s light in his mind and God’s warmth in his heart and he improved by their influence. This year you should improve the inner creativity. Let’s everyone starts to think about an area he wishes to create and how to do it. If you have thought of something good, do it. As you apply the things you would improve your creativity. Someone says: I would make something up, but others would launch it. – No, whatever you have thought of, you have to be the first one applying it. If your idea is good then many other people would apply it after you. If you wish people to honor your ideas, you have to honor them on the first place. Consequently whoever honors his own ideas; he honors the ideas of the other people. Whoever honors his own ideas, the other people would honor them also. All good, great ideas have one and the same origin. An exercise. Place the left hand on your left shoulder (only the fingertips touch the shoulder). The right hand is put over the head, without touching. Move your right hand aside, horizontally and the head is back. Do this three times. After this, place the right hand on the right shoulder and the left hand – over the head. The same movement is made with the left hand and also with the right. The two hands go first aside, then – in front of the chest, with the fingertips touching the fingers opposed to each one. We concentrate your thoughts in this position, and then place your hands in front of the chest. Movement of the hands aside and in front of the chest – three times. A light blowing – three times. People make different movements, without any clue over their meaning. Many movements are made subconsciously, due to a surplus energy in the body. As people make movements either with the left, or with the right, they move the energies inside of their organism and this is the way to balance them. Some movements are harmonious, but others – disharmonic. For instance, the violinist should play for a long time, till he learns how to move his fiddlestick harmonically. The artist should make endless trials with his brush till he learns how to move harmonically. When a man thinks, his brain makes many movements up and down. The more intensive is the human thought, the faster are the movements of the brain. Nature has put the brain in the cranium in order to keep the brain inside while thinking. Generally, there are movements everywhere in the nature. Wherever life there is is a movement. Not all movements are harmonious but this should not bother you. For instance, fear produces disharmonious movements. From the moment a man feels fear, a man should use his faith in order to transform the disharmonious movements to harmonious ones. Thankfully to harmonious and disharmonious movements of the muscles, the human face represents a field where are printed all cultures a man has been through. Fear, desperation, discouragement are problems which the modern people should cope with. A man should overcome even the death, to become immortal. Now, mix this, whatever you have understood altogether with the unclear stuff, pour over water and make dough and bake bread. This is the true meaning of creativity. A real creator is that one who is able to make something valuable by each mess in order to please his relatives and himself. The real creator knows what he is able to do with each mess. If there is a cement paste on his disposal, he would not put his feet inside of the paste in order to try it out; he would put in casts, to make different items later on. Do imprints only of dead people, but never of alive ones. Be always loyal, truthful, pure and kind! A lecture of the Master, taken on September 26th, 1926, in Sofia Преводач - Thea Teodora

New types “Be always loyal (devoted), truthful and pure!” Reflection I would like all of you to draw (conclude) the basic principles or states which have been discussed all year round. This is going to be your homework in the vocation – the basic thought of these principles discussed earlier and if there is something which is applicable. You are going to draw some conclusions. Now temporally we are going to postpone the lectures in order to start applying what has been discussed here. To clear out, let’s say there is a small river and a very small conscious (smart) fish, what would be its views? Let’s say there are hundred meters width between the parallel lines B and C, what knowledge (view) would this fish have about the external world? It would swim from the one riverbank to the other and then back. Now you are able to go into the occult science, everything what I has been talking, the same as this small fish between these two riverbanks. Somebody would say: “Let’s deny ourselves.” To deny oneself means one gets out of the water. As soon as it is out of the water, if it hasn’t learned the basic law of life, what is going to happen? Suffering. Suffering is an impulse provoking and waking up the consciousness. Suffering is the God’s goad waking up all the sleeping creatures. If you understand me right your conscious is full with such vast images (visions) making it tight. For example, you are sitting, scratch your head and then say: “Let’s graduate school, then graduate university”, then “May I be a minister”, then “Let’s have a car.” Well everything happens, you become a minister, you have a car, these are good things, but what is the conclusion here? You plant a seed, grows a plant, you see the plant – blooming but there is no fruit. The human life has a fruit. Which is the first fruit of the human life? (A virtue.) Which is the first virtue? (Novitiate!) Well novitiate comes later. Somebody of you would say: “I am not capable.” What he/she means? (What he/she wishes to point out?) Is the woof capable? I call the woof a scoundrel – it strangles a sheep. Well you say – the sheep is meek, the woof will press her violently. No sheep would come unwillingly and say – cut my wool or give my milk. It is all taken violently. What is the main virtue (goodness) of the sheep? Besides what is the most precious – the fleece, the wool of the sheep becomes a wire of the magnetic forces. What uses people is not the wool, is what comes out of the wool. A needed mighty force comes out of the wool. Consequently you have the might of the woof without being a woof and have the goodness (meek) of the sheep without being a sheep. In order to clarify, let’s suppose you have spermaceti candle. What this candle would give you by itself? Is it possible to build a house? Whom are you able to satisfy? What could you do with a beautiful white candle without lighting it? However if you light it, the light which comes out of the candle could use you. Where this light comes from? In this case spermaceti is just a condition of the light to come out. The light of the spermaceti is this important one which enables us to read in a dark night, might show us the road to take and save us by huge unfavorable situations and mischief. And I say your brain should be set on fire and burn. You must have the energy of your own brain. However you sometimes put out the fire. Fear blows the candle out. (Non- trusting God blows the candle out.) Now all these works should be taken objectively, they are not only yours. You have inherited common traits of the whole humanity and it is going to be a fight to examine yourself consciously. You are full with material of examination. You haven’t been studying still what is actually your heart. You haven’t been studying still your life, what a rich material – to bring you back – 5-10 thousand years in order to reveal how your life was and how you lived it. Now all this is covered by dust and darkness. Now you say: “I live”. As the same way a small fish lives between the two riverbanks. The first thing you would face in the future or whenever this would happen, are your rebirths. And after you examine your rebirths, you would notice these evolutional and in volitional laws, you would realize. You would realize how some of your rebirths had been connected; you would realize why some things (situations) had been constructed in one way or another. You would realize when and how some of your skills (talents) and feelings had been developing. Actually this is a science! Now you are sitting and saying: “I don’t know!” Wait! You have bought a lottery ticket and wait. You don’t want to touch the hoe. It would bring you a huge fortune. A lad (young man) comes to me and he wishes service to God. “I have been searching for money for twenty years, I digged a kilometer long ditch last year.” He has been working for twenty years, digging the land. I ask him: “How much money have you found!” “Two thousand rubles.” – “ Well, I reply, if you would have plant a vineyard in these twenty years time with the size of sixty decares, your fortune would be not less than 5 – 6000 golden leva. He says: “Tell me now where I could find it.” I say:” Even if I know you wouldn’t tell you.” He told me a dream of his. When he was thinking all the time for a fortune, he prayed, prayed and an imam came to him and said:” You have been praying for so long, I would show you a place where there is lot money, follow me. So pity when they arrived at the place and the imam would show him the money comes a neighbor of his whom had to pay a debt of 2000 leva and he insisted to get his money back and while they were arguing, he woke up. And it is the same in life. A great idea comes to lead you to a great direction – become a great person, then a small obstacle comes in the present, it tights you (holds you back). The small obstacles in life become the reason why you could lose your fortune. You could pray but this neighbor would come again to ask his money back. You have to pay the debt earlier – so the imam would show you the money, this is true. Why does his neighbor come out in this moment – it is a mystery. Then I ask could a man has a hardship without suffering? Could he feel happy without something happy? (He couldn’t.) So there is a hardship in life then why it isn’t possible to suffer? This is a modern education. The modern people have a false concept of life, of goodness. They suffer when the things happen not the way they have expected. It is a great law always: every suffering provokes the human conscious. And there is a small upbringing in the suffering. The upbringing and the progress of human conscious now is due to the suffering. It is a natural law. A path which a man walks. I don’t talk for occasional suffering but the ideological one. It is useless to suffer without purpose. A martyr, a scientist, a father, a mother, a friend could feel pain. Suffering without meaning is not a true suffering. When I point out we have to feel the pain I refer to this suffering with a meaning. And it is your responsibility for those without meaning. Somebody says: “I suffered a lot!” – Is it was about a value (virtue)? – “No, I acted foolish.” – You will pay to the pub owner. The same story as this with the imam. You will pay your debt. Firstly, all lectures – how may do you have this year? (thirty-two) – You are going to write down what everyone has learned. You have notes. Only the main conclusions of each lecture. Two or three conclusions of a lecture. They are important. I have recommended many methods, how many have you been implemented. For instance if you don’t feel good someday, it is good to put your back on a huge tree. How many of you have tried it – on some huge tree? Which trees interact in the best way? (Pine). The elm disposes the spirit in the best way. This light coming through its leaves is inevitable. When some of you is lacking a spiritual strength, falls down so much, let’s have a walk ten times on this alley (the elm one), the one would recover (feel better). The light of the elm is a good cure. And its leaves are fine-shaped, they are sharp, but those of the pine look like an awl. The only one thing coming out of the elm is its nectar. No grass grows around the elm. We have to be in awaken state when we are under the elm. It is a known vital energy coming out of the nectar, this is useful. It is essential to have the same disposition as the elm. To clarify, if you have uplifted divine concepts, the elm would help you. But you lack of uplifted divine concepts, the elm would not help you. The materialistic people don’t like to go higher to elm forest. I am asking, do the bears live in the elm forests? Haven’t you examined in what places do the bear make its habitation? (Around elm trees. Around dwarf-pine.) How could a person examine his states? First of all should sit in such a peaceful way. Have you seen how the scientists make their research? When some geology professor comes, how he starts its research? What methods he uses to come to those significant events of the earth, what points them? He finds some dead shells, edge-hogs, fossilized trees, but is this fossilized tree a solid base for the professor to conclude this was an era, there is no vital energy. However it is much better way to get further in the geology, through examination of the present plants rather than on fossilized ones. This is a futuristic method. For now the present one is fine. It is the same as if a geologist has thought for a long time and has come to certain conclusions about the past, the same way you would think, think, till a great though comes out. But it isn’t possible for a person to be focused only on a particular subject in order to reflect these thoughts. Let’s suppose, probably you have not tried this when you have a spare time, you wonder what to do and you probably waste your time. Sometimes when you feel bored, you don’t want to do anything, take you index finger with your right hand and observe what a little change would happen in your mind. It is a scientific method, then – middle one, then the fourth one….then switch to the right hand. Then let’s do this, take with the index finger and middle of the left hand – take, drop, take, and drop. (All fingers are counted.) When all the nails start to shrink (get smaller), this is a sign of a nervosity. A person becomes nervous, not patient. All people having short nails are irritable, when people having long, good-shaped nails it is a sign of intelligence. The wide nails reveal stability, bravery, courage. But the narrow nails show a person who refuses to face the outer challenges (obstacles). Human personality is revealed by the nails. You could find how brave and courageous a person is after you have seen his nails. I see a person, his nails are small, he says: “I will be patient.” – You would be patient but your nails reveal you don’t have patience. Somebody say: “I will go to Vitosha mountain.” But I see he is doubtful. His nails reveal, he wouldn’t go – when the skin around the nails is not so flat, the outline is not so clear. (The nails of the moral people are very good shaped.) But you always scratch them. This is not a way to improve the work. You should scratch inside not outside. You would change your personality from inside but the way your nails look like now reveals your thoughts are messy. The moral people have good- shaped nails. When a person becomes rough, his thumb gets smaller and rounder. But when human will is encouraged, the first phalanx develops right. Not only this, if a person lives a long time, this powerful life, even before he has come yet, the whole environment would be harmonic, compatible with his nature and he would not face a opposition. A person should have been working with thousands of years, the whole environment supports him. But you all have come, neither had you ploughed nor hoed, you say:”Our conditions are bad. I say you pull yourself together and work. Now If I share with you what you were doing in your past life, were you teachers, were you fanners, you would say: “I don’t know. So now what I should be?” Somebody was a teacher but wished to be a fanner. Who is higher, the teacher or the fanner? The agriculture is a hard work and takes the most of the vital energy of the body. His mind is not able to be so independent. But the teacher who is not working he collects so much energy, thus forms of myalgia come out, he gets pulmonary consumption. The teacher is afraid of the dust which the students make. Me, when I become a teacher, I would open all windows from end to end in order to have a good air flow and I would make a tea-urn(kettle); I would have twenty young kids, pupils in the class and give them a cup of warm water, there would be air flow but nobody would get cold. Moreover I would be free. This would not happen now, they are not able to imagine it, but it is quite possible. It would take a lot time to discuss to the inspectors the healthy reasons hidden behind this cup of warm water. Have you tried this to sleep on strong air current without getting cold? Now you would begin by the physical side, which is connected to the mindful life and you would have a certain measure. In some case your body could accumulate more energy than needed, in some case you spend more than you should – these are two opposites. You should take just how much you need and should not give than needed. Many of you open, bloom but don’t give fruit. Nature loves order and discipline. You should take just how much you need and should not give than needed. According to this law the most difficult challenge could a man perform in order to create his personality, is the following: somebody offended you, you might say: “He have to talk to me reasonably, he has to stop offending me. Somebody offend you and then he goes to America, you could not find him. What method would you choose? Punishment doesn’t work, then? You would find a person and you treat him the same way he would treat you. It would go away. You are offended. Go and treat others the same way you wish to be treated. You would ask him: “Are you pleased with me? My behavior, are you pleased with me?” But who of you could do it. And then you could bring the one in America back. The toughest lesson in the world (life) is to create an example when you are irritated (angry). When someone comes to you, don’t say: “Go away!”, but to reply: “Please I am at you disposition.” Somebody has offended you, you meet a person carrying a big basket, take his basket, help him. Say:”I am happy I can help you.” But you would say:” But no, he has offended me and to carry his basket!?” You would come back and say: “Suffering is always part of human life in the world and I have been suffering and I bear them even now, but it would change.” He would look at you, leave the basket to him and say:” Some other time I am at your disposition.” Immediately that moral principle would come inside in this person. You might never see him again, but you would receive a lesson no one else could teach you. But when you do it is. You would say, he, the Teacher says this, but he could not do it. If I act like this, I would be useful to myself, what gain would you have? If I eat it is because of me. But you also have to eat. That what you could apply in your life, it is for you, but not that fake (mechanical) application, but that ideological application. Sometimes try it. When you grief a lot, you don’t know what to do, do a favor to someone, but your mind has to be awaken. Do it as I said now, you could do it in the daytime or the nighttime not people to see, could be on lunchtime, whenever, whenever, do it. Imagine you are a student who has just graduated and your professor meets you while you are carrying a beggar’s basket. What would the professor say? “That one has gone crazy, carrying a gypsy’s basket. “ That’s why you would choose a dark night and you change clothes a bit, so none could recognize you. When you try this, let be unrecognizable by people. I wish all of you to develop those specific traits, which are hidden. Be active but become conscious, without strangling the sheep, but be also a sheep – but a conscious sheep which solely gives you the milk and solely milk it. Could a sheep solely milk itself in a literal meaning? No, it couldn’t do it, but it is possible in a metaphorical meaning. The occult knowledge should be only a plus to the worldwide knowledge. The next time you would have a silence meeting taking an half hour time, you could read a selected good book or something good, you would sit in silence here half hour, no worlds. You come in, sit on your place, silence half hour, whoever finishes, would go out, would leave, would not say anything, even a word, you might just greet each one and would not talk after you go out, would leave and then again no words. You could talk in the day how much you like but when it comes 7.30 – 8 on Sunday, no talks anymore. A person has solved everything in this world and sees that great existing harmony in the world. I sit around a sick person, he cries, saying: “Don’t you feel sorry for me?” I look at him. He says: “You don’t feel sorry for me.” I sit peacefully, reflect, as I blow 3 times, would come true, the sickness (illness) would be gone. When a beggar comes, I reflect, as I blow 3 times – somebody comes put it in his hands. But let it be invisible to others. I blow inside. May it be what I said? There, inside of the silence is that positive side, awaken consciousness, a person is satisfied. A good trial could be performed. Now you would do these trials because you would face hardship. Let’s say someone of you has a subscription to some newspaper – there are people who haven’t paid their subscription. You would stop; you blow one, two, three times, he takes, gives the money. He is a banker but he doesn’t give. This is an art, perform it. The beauty in life, these are the hardship, these are conscious obstacles to test your intelligence. The more obstacles on your path show more you are surrounded by a conscious environment. Suppose, years ago you pied on some field, there was no single obstacle. Now, after twenty years, everywhere – here you face, there you face to many obstacles. It means here are conscious creatures, you would go round, and there are some ways. The obstacles show we have come upon conscious environment, to conscious conditions. You should not stamp as a horse; you would act according to this environment. When you are in such conscious environment, there are some conditions of favor you to show yourself, there are some conditions to gain something. If you come in some inhabited village, would you die hungry? It is not possible, but in a desert – there are no conditions, you could go elsewhere but it is possible to die hungry. Thus no one could die when there is hardship. Now I talk about this, consciousness. I put on the spot the hardship made by God, they are a goodness. When God loves someone he puts obstacles on the path. Well this is so natural. Could you create a ship and don’t stock it? Could you make some carriage and don’t put something in it? Could have a bag and don’t put something in it? Having a purse and don’t put something in it? Could you have an instrument and don’t play? Do you know what a suffering is this, the rubbing of the fiddlestick over the strings? “What it wants from us?” This is the reason why you have to be conscious, you should work. If you, humans, sing and play, you would have less hardship. There are some creatures in higher spiritual state; you are a string of God’s instrument. The moment the angel above starts with the fiddlestick, you say: “My heart is shaking, it hurts me.” He plays and you would sing, that’s how you would be filled up with enthusiasm. The time the concert stops, it would come some peace. In the heaven only suffering people are discussed and those are joyful, no one even mention them. The Holy Scripture says: “Those one has already accepted their joy on the earth, but those, the grieving ones, those have accepted the hardship down, and they are thought above, to gain some goodness.” This is a positive philosophy. You could do small steps to harden your personality but not to be indifferent. I wish of you to become new types (people). This evening I met a miss, a student, I guess in the forth semester, with a red hat, the way she walks smartness fully, with a pride on the hat and a peak, stamping with feet, says: “I live for Bulgaria.” The red hat over her head energizes her. She just points a simple idea out. She got my admirations. She makes an impression, walks with an idea, so gracious, she has an idea. Now you probably put your cap. You would say: “I have an idea.” You would be ideological, so that when you are out, people recognize you having an idea. Whenever you meet an ideological person, you feel there is some fullness in him. But when you meet him without an idea, you just feel a snail shell. Do you want to be full? And every one of you could be full. But not only is to talk, everything possible. I wish to be new personalities. New personalities! Nothing else! These types (people) are possible to be created. “Be always loyal (devoted), truthful and pure!” Thirty – two lecture of Youth Occult class, June 27th, 1926, Sunday, 19.00, Sofia - Izgrev Note – the lecture on June 20th 1926 has not been read. Beginning: 19.00 Преводач - Теодора Милинкова

The True Passover and its Harbinger and Initiator - Beinsa Douno, The Universal Master and Herald of the New Epoch Emily Michael The LORD's Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. (Leviticus 23:5) The Passover of the Lord represents the departure of the Israelites from Egypt. And so far they are still celebrating their departure from Egypt, i.e. liberation from Egyptian slavery. What is new in the world today? What is new is the Light! What is new is Freedom! What is new is Eternal Life3, which is to come among [us], to show [us] that not only the Jews but all people came out of Egypt through the Passover of the Lord.4 Beinsa Douno, the Master Lit candles are an integral part of the traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy and other Christian denominations when celebrating the central festivals of Christendom. In one of his lectures in Berlin, in 1909, Rudolf Steiner inserted into the context of the lecture several words on the role of lit candles during holy festivities and then related the picture of the candle-fires burning and shimmering in the dark to an inner imagination: We allow the lights that burn here before us to manifest in us in all its fullness the impulse that comes to us from the spiritual world, to take the Gospel literally! And we understand these outwardly shining lights as sense images of the fires that are to be ignited in our souls, and that, if ignited by anthroposophical knowledge of Christ, will reignite in the Sixth Cultural Age of the post-Atlantean period.5 Steiner made an important distinction between the Fifth and Sixth cultural epochs and their direct connection to the two most significant macrocosmic Christian Feasts for humankind-Christmas and Passover. He views these from a microcosmic angle, outlining their meaning individually for each person: [A]nd if we celebrate the true Christmas in the Fifth Culture, thanks to this, in the Sixth Culture, we will celebrate the true Passover. Just as the wonderful Christmas song sounds to us on the night before Christmas: "Today is born our Saviour Christ the Lord!" so we, remembering Christ's birth in our soul, will perceive in ourselves the ------------------------------------------ 1 Generally known as the Master Peter Deunov. 2 This article translated by Emily from the Bulgarian in which she originally wrote it, and adapted by the Editor. 3 Eternal Life is knowing Christ. "Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only True God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent," (John 17:3) "that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:15,16) 4 Deunov, Peter, 1937. "The LORD'S Passover," in The Thief and the Shepherd. Sofia: White Brotherhood Publishing, p.288. Delivered on December 1, 1929 in Sofia (as part of his Sunday Lectures series). 5 Steiner, Rudolf. "The Christmas Mood," in Secrets of Human Development, GA 117. Dornach: Rudolf Steiner Nachsverwaltung, 1986, p.205. Delivered on December 26, 1909 in Berlin. See http://fvn-archiv.net/PDF/GA/GA117.pdf message of this true higher Self.6 We will remember this and this memory will be reborn in us as Passover; and then we will hear within us the majestic, wonderful sound of the Paschal organ: Christ Risen in us, igniting and enlightening our own Divine individuality!7 Thus, the Sixth cultural epoch, also referred to by Steiner as the Slavic epoch, can be called the "Epoch of the true Passover," during which the higher essence of the individuality of each human being will be immersed in the light of Christ's Self living in it. The World Master Beinsa Douno came among humankind to prepare for this Sixth Cultural Epoch-to prepare for the true Passover feast, from which the seed for the Sixth Root Race will emerge. He brought a broader explanation of Passover and the nature of self-sacrifice8 seen through the prism of Love.9 In one of his talks, he discusses the link between Passover and self-sacrifice: Now I will read you verse 18 on page 378 of the Bible: "No such Passover had been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present, and the people of Jerusalem." (2 Chronicles 35:18) The Passover is a remembrance of deliverance from the age of slavery. With the Passover, the Israelites commemorated their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. When a person loves, he/she must celebrate the Passover-it is a remembrance of deliverance from slavery. When a person wants to be freed from any kind of bondage, he/she must make the Passover [sacrifice].10 The Passover [sacrifice] can only be made under the Law of Love. If you do not love, you can never make the Passover [sacrifice]. Why? -Because in Love there is always a sacrifice. Who will you sacrifice? -Yourself. Whoever loves will sacrifice him/herself first. If you do not know how to make the Passover [sacrifice] within you, if you do not know how to sacrifice yourself, you have not understood the law of Love; so first, one must know how to celebrate one's own Passover … know how to sacrifice. We all speak about self- sacrifice, but we need to know how to make that self-sacrifice. Sacrifice is a common law for all ... One is sacrificed first, then the second, etc. The law of sacrifice is inevitable. There will be no one left in the world who does not sacrifice him/herself.11 ------------------------------------------ 6 The Higher Self, I, or "ICH" in German. 7 Steiner, "The Christmas Mood," see n.5. 8 Sacrifice here has the sense of sacrificing the lower nature to a higher one, sacrificing the merely human ego and letting it dwell in the higher one, the Christ Ego within. 9 Divine Love. 10 "And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and they made the Passover sacrifice on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho." (Joshua 5:10) 11 Deunov, 1930. "Binding and Loosing," in Youth Gathering of the Disciples of the Universal White Brotherhood. Sofia: White Brotherhood Publishing, p.24. Delivered on July 13, 1930. See https://bit.ly/2PAdVO8 These words testify that the Passover is synonymous with the Freedom of the human being, and that when one is released through Love, one sacrifices oneself. Returning to Steiner's words, the following interpretation can be formulated: in the Sixth Post-Christian culture, the Christ born in our I (our Higher Ego) will rise again in us as the Feast of Freedom-the true Passover. Then from Love will be born the self-sacrificing action of each human being, and the people of the New Culture will have a new philosophy and a new understanding of Love. Through Beinsa Douno the Master, the Divine Word was delivered to Humankind-the new Teaching of Love. This Teaching should be embraced and applied by all of Slavdom, which is assigned to ignite this Love in all peoples in order that the New Culture of Humanity may come. The Lord Himself, and the Spirit of the new LORD'S Covenant, was manifested through the Master, through an announcement: A Call to My People, delivered on October 8, 1898.12 To the Bulgarian people was given the task of Heaven-to transmit to Russia, to all of Slavdom,13 and to all peoples the New Divine Teaching of Love, the New Michaelic Sun14 Teaching-and to become thus a vehicle of the Sixth Culture on Earth. In the mystical text "Hyo-Eli-Mel(h)i-Messael"15, the title of which is in Aramaic-the language spoken by Christ-one can observe a clear distinction between the individual manifestations of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. This individual manifestation of the members of the Holy Trinity is a new event for humanity and in its essence is an experience intrinsic to the Universal Master, a collective Spirit that includes the Angels, Archangels and others from the Higher Spiritual Hierarchies.16 The brochure "Hyo-Eli-Mel(h)i-Messael" appeared in 1897, the year of the Sun Spirit's inception and interpenetration into Peter Deunov. Thus, the Master shed light on the future Sixth Race and said that people of different races did not have the same concept of love, that the five races have five different concepts of love, but that the Sixth Race, which will come in the future, will have a whole new unitary understanding of Love: When the Sixth Race comes to earth, the situation of Christians will improve. They [the Sixth Race] carry a large supply of energy to create new forms, and some of the people today are called upon to participate in this. These are the people who will create something great in the world. These are the people who will implement the ideas of ------------------------------------------ 12 See http://prizvanie.bg/English/ and http://petardanov.info/Knigi/Prizvanie.pdf (Translated by Harrie Salman and Mariana Radoulova). 13 Slavdom as a bearer of the Sixth Post-Atlantean Epoch. 14 The Spirit who penetrated and manifested through the Master Peter Deunov originates from the Sun, according to the Master's testimony. His origin is the Central (or Universal) Sun of Christ. This is one of the reasons why the Master Deunov bears the name of the Universal or World Master. [Ed. It is a matter in everything of a Being, or set of Beings, existing one inside the other.] 15 HYO=ELI=MEL(H)I=MESAEL has the meaning YEHOVAH=GOD=KING=GOD-SAVIOUR. I translate this "noun- equation," or appelation, perhaps spoken by Jesus Christ, from an ancient form of Aramaic language that no longer exists. There is an alternative translation: YEHOVAH=MY GOD=MY KING=GOD-SAVIOUR. I suggest that these Words might be the Words of Jesus on the Cross, which are not mentioned by the Bible, but are archived in the Akashic Records, which were an open book for the Universal Master. 16 It is "a collection of different souls that have come out of [the bosom] of God." - "The Holy Spirit will teach you everything." - "By the words Holy Spirit we mean all the luminous, lofty Spirits that make one Spirit with Christ. In this sense, Christ is a collective Being." (The Master) Brotherhood among humans. These are the people who will bring Truth and Freedom to the world. These are the people of Eternal Peace and Order in the world.17 Regarding the next Coming of Christ, the Master also prophesized: Christ will [fully] come to earth only when His wounds disappear/are completely healed. This will happen in the time of the Sixth Race. So until people change their sinful lives, Christ will not [fully] come to earth.18 As Christ [fully and finally] comes to earth, the earth will be set ablaze, illuminated and burned. Fire will come down to earth, to burn away all impurities. All the bad and impure thoughts and feelings of people will burn out and only the idea-full, the beautiful in them will remain. They will begin a new life of Love and Knowledge, and of true Freedom19. This applies to those who will be ready. They will understand Life20 and apply Love. Those who are not ready will wait for new conditions.21 At the fraternal gathering of the Chain22 of Divine Love in Turnovo in 1914, the Master presented a special figuration of the Pentagram23 and he established the motto for the selected present Chain members-future disciples of the White Brotherhood School: "In the fulfilment of the Will of God through Love is the power of the human soul." The same words are inlaid on the marble pentagram placed on the Master's Grave24 in Sofia. The Master underlined the importance of understanding God's Will: "The great question that sits on the agenda of all humanity today is the question of the Will of God."25 Love is the Key to the fulfilment of the Will of God, and this Key will be acquired by the people of the Sixth Race. The Master gave an assurance to all of us: "The Sixth Race, namely, will be able to fulfil the Will of God."26 To shed light as an imagination upon the human being of the Sixth race is to bring hope that one day we will be part of this new race: "To think of God and fulfil His Will means to be a spring that constantly gushes and carries its waters far; to be constantly moving air; to be the Sun that illuminates the whole Universe."27 At the Easter festivity, which is called in Bulgaria Bb3KpeceHue XpucmoBo (the Resurrection of Christ feast), from 1922 onwards, the disciples of the School of the White Brotherhood celebrated with songs, prayers, and talks by the Master, through whom the Spirit of Truth spoke.28 On the ------------------------------------------ 17 Deunov, 1940, "As the world gives," in The Works of God, (Power and Life), Volume 3, Thirteenth Series (1929-1930). Sofia: White Brotherhood, p.27. Delivered on March 2, 1930 in Sofia. See https://bit.ly/34A9bfY 18 Christ will not appear again in His physical body. 19 I.e., they will celebrate the True Passover. 20 They will understand Christ. See n.3. 21 Deunov, 2012, "Genesis and Revelation," in The Key of Life. Sofia: White Brotherhood Publishing, p.537. Delivered on May 22, 1929 in Sofia (as part of the General Occult Class). 22 The Chain was founded in 1899 in Varna. 23 See https://bit.ly/34xvB1s 24 The most popular of the modern Bulgarian clairvoyant women, Vanga (1911-1996) said that if the grave of the Master were to open now, it would be completely empty, without any remains of Peter Deunov's body. With this statement, she hinted that the Master resurrected in a way that is similar to Christ. 25 Deunov, "Lord's Passover," see n.4. 26 Delivered on August 27, 1929. See https://bit.ly/2EvB5ir 27 Deunov, "Lord's Passover," see n.4. 28 The traditional Easter Greeting in Bulgaria, Russia, and other countries is "Christ Resurrected!" Among other things, the disciples were advised by the Master to do the following exercise: "For, the [feast of the] Resurrection of Christ day after Easter the Master usually led the students on an excursion into Nature, for example, the mountains next to Sofia. At the end of the Easter talk, he would sometimes give them a painted coloured egg, with a Bible verse written on it-a desk verse for each disciple. The Gatherings of the Chain were sanctified by the Spirit of God Himself through a sacred ritual, a re-enactment of the Last Supper. This ritual was called the "LORD's Supper." The Master never spoke before the disciples the words "Holy Grail" or "the stream of the Holy Grail" because he himself directed that stream, and he carried the Love that is the New Grail for Humanity. Besides, upon coming to Earth, the Master was accompanied by a group of souls, a group of individualities who had participated in the Last Supper and witnessed the Mystery of Golgotha. These individualities quietly and humbly came on earth in the flesh as disciples of Beinsa Douno-the Universal Master-who resided in constant communion with Christ and the Holy Trinity. As instructed by the Master, Passover Vessels of pure silver were made. The Chalice, a symbol of the Holy Grail, was made with the image of Christ. In the box made for the Passover Vessels the Master placed a knife, engraved with symbols,29 below, and a Stick at the top, above the Passover Vessels.30 This Stick resembles a Sceptre31, a Royal insignia, i.e. Pastoral Authority. The arrangement of the Passover Vessels in the box is as follows. At the top, the Chalice with the image of Jesus Christ. Beneath it, symmetrically to the left and right, two more Vessels,32 with which the Chalice builds a triangle-symbolizing the Christian Holy Trinity. To the left and right of the Chalice are situated 6 other Vessels, or a total of 12 Vessels, with inlaid pentagrams,33 signs, and Hebrew letters. These 12 Vessels symbolize the cups of the 12 Apostles34 of Christ during the Passover celebrated by them. Under the Chalice is a paten,35 a small bread plate, with three engraved concentric equilateral triangles36 with the outermost triangle inscribed in a Zodiacal Circle (see image ------------------------------------------ that is coming, give up these two words ["Christ Resurrected"], which are smooth on the outside [but] do not carry Peace on the inside, but put the words 'Father' and 'Son' into you." This exercise was intended to facilitate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them. 29 The sharp part of the knife pointing to the left, a symbol of Power: "This knife is also an emblem representing the Sword of God and therefore we see it in a Cross shape." (B.D.) 30 This Stick was one of the emblems of the Chain. It was made from the juniper tree brought from the Rila Monastery-the place where in the 9th century the highly evolved individuality, known as the hermit from the St. John of Rila, was living. He was not born but rather appeared, penetrated by a lofty Spirit, and he was able to heal in a way similar to Christ. 31 It has a similarity with a flute. 32 Separately from the 12 Vessels. 33 The Pentagram and its symbols were seen by the Master in a vision in heaven on August 20, 1899. 34 Also the 12 Zodiacal Universal Beings, as the paten, the silver bread plate, indicates (see next paragraph). 35 See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paten 36 See https://etc.usf.edu/clipart/42900/42971/con3-3_42971.htm below). The triangle is a symbol of the Holy Trinity. The three triangles are the three worlds- Divine, Spiritual, and Physical.37 Under the base of the largest triangle is engraved the verse, Sanctify38 us39 by the Truth;Your Word is Truth. (John 17:17) Beneath the Bible verse the Master's Signature is engraved. During the LORD's Supper, the Passover Vessels were taken out and placed on a table40 towards the East in a U-shape, symbolizing the Chalice41 of the Lord-the Chalice of Salvation (see Image 1 above). The uppermost Vessels in the U-shape (probably) were the symbols for the Father- Jehovah Elohim, and the Holy Spirit-Adonai. Under them were the Vessels of the 12 Apostles. This was the U-shape. The Vessels, besides the Chalice, were 14 in number-representing the 14 days of the first month42-the Passover Time: 14+1=15. The total Vessels were 15, along with 15 envelopes for the Word of God.43 The Eucharist or the Last Supper, which was re-enacted by the Master and the chosen disciples as a priesthood, differs from many other similar rituals in that it has always been led by the Spirit of God. This LORD's Supper was blessed and sanctified by the presence of Christ Himself, indeed by the Holy Trinity. In the Vessels that were shared among the Master and his disciples, symbolically Christ, the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the 12 Apostles of Christ participated in this re-enacted LORD's Supper. Right from the very beginning of the establishment of the Chain,44 which was also called the Synarchy Chain,45 led by the Spirit of Christ, communal lunches and dinners began to be ------------------------------------------ 37 The Master later gave in his lectures also a deeper understanding of the three concentric equilateral triangles: In the innermost [triangle] you will write: Love, Wisdom, Truth; in the second: Soul, Spirit, [Physical] Body; and in the third: Heart, Mind, Will. (B.D.) 38 In the Bulgarian language the word "sanctify" also means "illuminate," i.e. is connected to the Light. 39 The Master changed "them" to "us" in this verse. 40 The table also plays a role in the LORD'S Supper. 41 The U-form symbolizing a cup, i.e. cUp, or Chalice. 42 The Chalice represents the First Month. 43 This explanation of the 14+1 Passover Vessels is my own. 44 In 1897/1899. This reference contains two years because of the name changes: 1897 marked the foundation of the "Society for the Uplifting of the Religious Spirit"; in 1899 the Master used the "Chain" for the Society. The Chain was also called the "Synarchy Chain." 45 Those of you who have understood my words have to form among each other a Divine Chain of Harmony and Unity: unity in thoughts, in feelings, in actions and aspirations in all directions. Some prominent occultists give it the name "Synarchy," and in served, thus repeating the tradition of the first Christians. An important and mysterious element in each Chain Gathering was the Eucharist, which restores and repeats the LORD's Supper from the time of the greatest event of humanity-the Mystery of Golgotha. During the Chain Gatherings, a new impulse came into the LORD's Supper-from the Invisible Presence of Christ, Who, inviting us to the LORD's Supper, blessed humankind with a Third Testament, the Testament of Divine Love, and the New Passover.46 The Master delicately used the word "Friends" to suggest the presence also of high-ranking and sublime Spirits. Another name, which he used on other occasions, is the "Big White Brothers of Humankind"-who include the highly advanced lofty Beings from the Spiritual Hierarchy. The modern human mind can hardly embrace the Cosmic Scale of God's Plan and the great historical and cosmic events that were being enacted during the Gatherings initiated by the Master Deunov. In the official Protocols of the Chain Gathering, the Third, on August 14, 1906 in Varna, in shorthand there is the following: Three Invisible Friends, patrons of the Slavs and in particular the Bulgarian people, were present. These Three Friends also carry the name "All".47 For these Three Heavenly Visitors, Three Chairs were arranged in front of the icons in the room where our meetings took place. As we entered the room, each of us bowed before them and then sat in our chair in a row. "All" means Immanuel, i.e. "The Lord is with us" and among us Who teaches us-He is the Great Master and Saviour.48 Another of the contemporary Mysteries, connected with the LORD's Supper of the Chain Gathering held on August 15th 1907, is the call and the presence of the Holy Trinity: There was a table set with Passover Vessels and next to it Three Chairs for the Invisible Visitors: Lord Jesus Christ; Jehovah Elohim; and Adonai, the Holy Spirit. The [participants] prayed to the Holy Spirit-Adonai to come and fill them all with Wisdom.49 They made three bows to the Three Invisible Visitors and read from the Bible. They stood before the table and [the Master] broke the bread, and passed the Vessel with the letter50 bearing the name of the one for whom the cup was intended. Master Deunov spoke to them. [...] The next day [August 16th] they formed the Chain in ------------------------------------------ the Gospel it is called the "Kingdom of God." By "Synarchy" [joint rule] we mean [an association of] the most intelligent people in the world who have touched the mysteries of life, who have passed a series of exams, have completed their evolution, and can really be called [the true]"people" [of God]. (B.D.) 46 After the Old and New Testaments a New one follows: "The New Covenant with God will be 'The Testament of God's Love.' This Love will unite all people into one common Brotherhood." (B.D) 47 "All" as in "Pan-"and "Eu-." 48 Peter Deunov, D.G.P.G., "Annual Gatherings," in The Chain of Divine Love. Sofia: White Brotherhood Publishing & Zahari Stoyanov Publishing, 2017. See https://petardanov.info/Knigi/Verigata.pdf 49 Cf. Rudolf Steiner: Love is the result of new-born Wisdom in the Self (I, Ego). What has been prepared as Wisdom through Saturn, the Sun and the Moon, works in the physical, etheric and astral bodies of man; it appears as the 'Cosmic (Universal) Wisdom'; however, in the Self (I, Ego), it becomes an inner essence. And when that is already a fact, the inner wisdom becomes the germ of Love. Wisdom is the prerequisite of Love; Love comes as a result of new-born Wisdom in the Self. 50 Hebrew letter. the Astral World.51 The Master's words were: "Today we will form the Chain in the Astral World."52 The following were the Master's words, and he again points to the presence of the Three Friends: "Look out to the Three Friends who have been appointed to you as Teachers." That same year the Master made an extremely important statement: This year we are going to proceed in this way: if anyone is in need, you should send a letter to [inform] me, then I will set a time for you to pray [for the one in need]. There will be a specific form53 of these letters, so that when you receive [this form], you will know who to pray for. In these cases, you should always call upon the Three Friends and pronounce their names. Call on the Friends with the words: "Lord Jesus Christ! Jehovah - Elohim! Comforter, Holy Spirit-Adonai!"54 Today we can hardly comprehend the scale of such a presence-the presence of the Holy Trinity! With open senses for the entire Universe and for everything visible and invisible, the Master announced at the end of the Gathering, on August 19th: The Friends have left. On their departure, the Friends told us: "May My Blessing be on you all year long."55 During the Gathering the following year, in 1908, the Master said that only one of the Friends-Christ, was present and would lead the meetings: Holy Trinity Icon by Andrey Rublev. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_(Andrei_Rublev) This year, only the Lord Christ, who is the Leader of the Chain, will be present. One of our Friends who attended last year is now present in Russia and England, the second in Turkey, and the third, Christ, Who is also the Leader of the Chain, is here.56 The Master Deunov reassured the brothers and sisters: This year, Christ, the Head of the Chain, will be with it all year and will not leave it.57 Not, of course, that Christ was bound only to the Chain. On the last Gathering day, the Master explained something more regarding the Three Friends: ------------------------------------------ 51 Krastev, V., 1999. I.02.16. "Master Peter Deunov and the Passover of the Third Testament," in Izgrev, vol.11, Sofia, p.66. 52 See n.51. 53 Template. 54 See n.48. 55 See n.48. 56 See n.48. 57 See n.48. By the time the Gathering is over and you leave and go, those three Spirits Who were [present] in the Chain will already be engaged to work and no longer be among you.58 The next year, in 1909, the LORD's Supper was held at the Chain Gathering in Varna, at which Christ was again invisibly present. There were fruits and bread on the table. Just as at the LORD's Supper, Jesus Christ broke bread and gave his disciples wine, commanding them to do so when they commemorated him, so the Master broke bread and gave a cup of wine to each of the called ones. Then three people stood before the Throne,59 taking the three ribbons in different colours and putting them on their heads, after which the Master placed his right hand on their heads, pronouncing "Peace be with you!" The town of Veliko Tarnovo hosted the next meeting of the Chain in 1910: At this Gathering were given the three laws of the Synarchy Chain, the Testimonies of the Chain, the Promise of God. At the LORD's Supper, the Lord manifested to those in attendance. [The Master said:] "Today, our Friends are present. They are here. And they are the ones who help the Chain." When breaking the bread, those present heard the words of Christ Himself, who spoke through the Master Deunov: "I am the One who led you in the past. I am the One who leads you in the future ... Be blessed by My Father. This bread is a symbol of My Love, and this is how I want your life to stand for our brethren."60 When passing the wine, the meeting attendees in the room heard the following words spoken through the Master: "This is the Chalice of Salvation, this Chalice is the Eternal Love and My Spirit61 Who works in you, and Who raises you; and Who enlightens your minds; and sanctifies your hearts. Drink from it, and be blessed!" And as he gave bread, there sounded out of the Master's mouth: "This is Divine Love for your Salvation. God bless all the suffering who need this bread!" Three days later, the Master encouraged the members of the Gathering: "Turn to the Lord called Immanuel!" The next day, participants were invited to remember something extremely important that will guide them in their spiritual journey: "And remember that what you read from the books will be understood in one way, and what is given to you by the [Holy] Spirit will be understood in another way." At the LORD's Supper in Veliko Tarnovo in 1911, the Master Deunov read Bible verses, which were prepared by the Holy Spirit, and he passed bread and wine to each one with the words: ------------------------------------------ 58 See n.48. 59 The description of The Throne is missing in the text of the protocols. Most probably the three chairs, prepared for the Three Friends constituted symbolically the Throne, i.e. the Throne of God. 60 See n.51. 61 The Holy Spirit. This is the body of Christ given to you and for your Salvation [when passing the bread]. This is the Chalice that is drunk for your Salvation [when passing the wine]. At the close of the Gathering, the Spirit of Christ spoke through the Master: "If you love me, you will keep the law, and I will ask the Father to give you the Comforter." This is Christ's Promise, to send upon us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who will descend on everyone who is able to love, just as Christ loves us. In 1912 the town of Veliko Tarnovo again welcomed the Chain. Wine, bread, and fruits were on the table for the LORD's Supper: Bread means the Life that the Lord sends-Christ had to come to establish the Living Bread. Wine, this is the Divine Spirit-it is receiving a gift from the Spirit, and when you receive it in your hearts, you will receive the Fruits of the Spirit.62 The Master again said: This is the Living Bread of Life, which came down from Heaven for the Salvation of your soul. This is the Chalice of the Lord, the [Holy] Spirit of the Lord, which is given for your Salvation. At the end of the Gathering, the Master Deunov conveyed the Words of the Lord-the Words of Christ: The Words of the Lord that I speak to you are these: "Believe in My Words! I will be with each of you. My Peace I give you! My Peace I leave to you. Work in the harvest in which you are placed63, and My Father will affirm you in every good work! Walk in the Path of Truth and Life in which I abide! My Father will do everything for your souls. He will give you according to the abundance of His generosity. The obstacles in your life I will smooth out and turn everything around into good. Believe in Me and you will be given everything!" In 1913, again in the town of Veliko Tarnovo, before the LORD's Supper, the Master washed the feet of 12 people in a basin. They read different Bible verses. Bread and wine were passed by the Master, and He gave an extremely important explanation regarding the Passover: This custom of the Supper is the custom of the White Brotherhood and has existed for 10,000 years. Bread represents Virtue, and wine represents Righteousness. Washing the feet is also an old custom. The left foot, as you know, represents also Virtue, and your right foot-Righteousness.64 The Master Deunov also gave advice: ------------------------------------------ 62 The Fruits of the Spirit are all of Christ's Virtues. 63 "Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest." (Matthew 9:38) 64 See the Pentagram explanation given by the Master. Therefore, stick to the Law of Love, because for whoever does not want to forgive people Moses and the Law of Karma come. The Lord is among us! He listens to us, has joy with us, and loves us. Christ this year will testify in your soul and give you as much evidence as you want, just open your eyes and ears. People who serve God, they are luminous, and people who do not serve are dark.65 According to the Brotherhood Archive, there is a statement that after the year 1912, after bringing forth The Testament of the Color Rays of Light under the instructions of Christ Himself, for a second time a mighty Being overlighted the Master66 and he became Universal (World) Master. In the language of spiritual science this Being mediates a Collective Spirit of All Hierarchies and the Holy Spirit of Christ. A majestic event in the Cosmos! Two years after that, in Veliko Tarnovo, the LORD's Supper was preceded by a night vigil, from 12 o'clock at night until 12 o'clock noon, and began at 7 p.m. The Master said: Bread means the Teaching of Christ, and wine is His Love, through which we rise and become one with Him. The grain of wheat, this is Christ. The grain of wheat is the emblem of Christ. The grain of wheat is His body. The Master broke the bread, and passed to each one the bread and the wine: May the Lord my God bless you, and your mind, your heart and your soul become luminous. For your obedience, may the Lord bless you! and the invisible presence of Christ in the Chain was again announced by him. 1914 is the year in which, during the Gathering, the Master also proclaimed the "New Age": I greet you and welcome you on behalf of all our Friends. I salute you on behalf of the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the first meeting of its kind in the New Age. You are in the New Testament, in the New Age. You should know that you make the first step, because this year is the first year of the coming New Age in the development of mankind. And if you are able to adapt to the Knowledge that Heaven gives you, then you will benefit [from this coming]. Inwardly, you need to unite with Christ, and your purpose is to find out how.67 The Master witnessed the turning point in the Spiritual World and heralded this new phase in which Humanity was entering a spiritual plane marked by the presence of Christ: The majority do not understand the importance of today, but for some it will remain memorable because today is the end of one epoch, and another begins-a new one. This is the Salvation that the Spirit of God accomplishes in the souls of all people-a Salvation leading to creative uplift and mindful exchange with the forces of Living ------------------------------------------ 65 See n.51. 66 The Individuality of the Bodhisattva, who had formerly penetrated Peter Deunov during his 33rd year. 67 Deunov, P. "Greetings to the New Year to all," in 1914 - Proclaiming the New Age. Sofia: White Brotherhood Publishing, 2014. Delivered January 6, 1914. See https://petardanov.com/PDF/1914-Novata-epoha-2013.pdf Nature, for it is today that a new era in the Spiritual World is beginning. The great sign of the New Epoch is Freedom.68 Also the Master clarified that Christ would not appear in a physical body: Christ's Coming has come, Christ has come. He has come, but He did not appear as the Church expects Him, but in a completely different way.69 When Christ was among the Israelites they did not recognize Him. We think sometimes that the karma of any particular country of the past or the future does not or will not affect us, but in reality we all are connected and interdependent. Paying for the Jewish Karma had a core importance for all of us. The Master hinted at the link: The Coming of Christ will date from 1914. In 1914 the Karma of the Jews was already at an end, and from then on a small revival will begin. The present [old] order must be dissipated and the forces that act must be decomposed. Christ's order must be regained for good people to come, for them to develop.70 Opening the hearts of humans and receiving Christ is what His Coming to Earth means. If they do not accept Him in this way, storms, earthquakes, cyclones, poverty, famine, disease, crises, etc. will come. How long will these continue?-Until people leave the old life-the life of external beliefs.71 The Gospel Angel72 is the One who bears the New Teaching. From 1914 the trial of the world began and will continue until 1999. Throughout the 20th century will be the judgment of the world. In the 21st century-[there will be] a return [of Humankind] to its Father, as in the [story of the] prodigal son.73 It is the age of establishing a new order in the world (according to the requirements of the LORD's Kingdom) and a strong spiritual uplift. In the 21st century, the Kingdom of Christ will be restored to Earth. All the occult movements of the East and the West74 will draw together. All occult movements today lack something-application. All previous teachings, such as Christianity, Buddhism, Mohammedanism, Theosophy, etc., in their form and external side, have already done their part. Now the New Teaching of Christ will come and will resurrect you. God, who will straighten the world, will emit such Light that within you not a single dark place will remain unlit.75 It is God Who manifested Himself in the past through the Light of the Holy Sepulchre, and He is the same God who will sanctify everything in us in the future. The core of the Master's Teaching was Christ: ------------------------------------------ 68 Deunov, P. "Talk about the Spring Festivity," in Seek strength - have faith. Sofia: White Brotherhood Publishing, 1994, p.9. See http://petardanov.info/Knigi/Iskayte_sila_imayte_vyara.pdf 69 Deunov, P. "Notes from a Notebook by D. Golov," in Walk in the Light. Sofia: White Brotherhood, 1994, p.23. 70 See n.67. 71 Deunov, P. "To give them Life," in The Royal Path of the Soul. Sofia: White Brotherhood, 2009. 72 The Angel of the Good News. 73 See Luke 15:11-32. 74 Spiritual Movements. 75 Association "The Higher Self of the Bulgarians - DAY," 2009. "Coming of Christ and regaining the Kingdom of God," in The Master - The Healer - The Prophet, Volume 3. Stara Zagora: s.n. See https://petardanov.com/PDF/ULP_t3.pdf Christ, but as a Spirit, will abide on Earth always, to the very end of this age-during the times of violence [and] the evil that we see in the world today, that is, until the end of the age. Then will come a New Epoch, a time of a New Earth and a New Heaven.76 Christ gave the Great Teaching 2000 years ago, but evolution is taking its course, and He has prepared a New Teaching whereby Humankind will have its New Passover in the future. This Teaching of Christ was brought from the Divine World through the Master Beinsa Douno: What was given two thousand years ago by Christ was a preface to the New. "Revelations," for example, talks about what will happen in thousands of years. There is one Revelation in which God reveals His Spirit. It sends great people into the world, bearers of the New, of the True Culture. You will witness these times: you will depart from the Earth, you will come again, but in the end you will be convinced of what I am saying today. The New Culture requires people with a deep, inner understanding. They must lay Love as the foundation of their lives.77 Becoming the Divine Conductor of the New that is coming to all Humankind, carrying the Divine Teaching of the Third LORD's Testament, setting His Love at the basis of every human's Life, the World Master Beinsa Douno came to prepare the New Passover and the Sixth Post- Atlantean Epoch. This is a Great Mystery and a grandiose Divine Act of Heaven, which will be explored and better understood in the future. For us all this is a spiritual task that will/must be thoroughly assumed. Are we ready for the New Passover, dear friends? May God's Kingdom of Love come, may the feelings in our souls unfold, and may the Truth shine!78 Amen. The Washing of the Feet Aquarelle by Leszek Forczek ------------------------------------------ 76 See n.75. 77 See n.4. 78 A verbal formula given by the Master Deunov to be pronounced by each person at the beginning of each of the 12 months of the year.

To Become One with Christ Within “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8, New King James Version, (NKJV). I will focus only on the last phrase: "… and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ." The word “gain” in the sense of acquiring something is familiar to all young and old people, to scholars and to simpletons, to good and bad folks, to the very intelligent and to the unwise beings – as a rule of a thumb, everyone is willing to acquire and gain something. There is no being that does not seek to acquire something, no matter how small and undeveloped this being may be. It is a completely different matter, though, whether such aspirations correspond to the actual evolutionary needs hidden in the essence of Life’s deep root causes. Truly important is the pursuit of such acquisitions, which provide for the real growth and development of human beings, but it is important to remember that the body, the heart, the mind and the Spirit have their own, different goals. When we talk about “gaining” Christ within, we need to understand what such a statement involves. I know that you may have different opinions and that all of you want to become one with Christ. You could buy an ox and place it in a barn, you can buy a horse and restrain it within a bridle, you may buy a hen and place it on a roost, you can get a nice dress and put it in the closet, you may acquire a new hat as well as many other things … You could become parent to a child, but you will not place the child in the hen-house or barn, or in the closet, but you will hold the child with your hands and keep it close to your chest. Therefore, a fundamental difference should be drawn among all things, which are of different value, capacity and meaning, as we need to possess the quality of discerning the true nature of all manifestations. Anyone who has set out on Life’s upright path, the so-called “true path of mankind”, or in the supreme sense - anyone who intends to undertake the true Divine Journey – any such person should distinguish between the essential polarities in Life and be able to differentiate between good and evil, truth and untruth, justice and injustice, love and hatred, wisdom and foolishness. Such a capacity is a must as it is the essence of Life. You believe that you understand well the essence of all things; you may think that some things are positive in their nature, but in fact they may turn out to be evil. When we talk about good or evil, we understand the perception of the divinely intelligent human soul towards all that is, has already been and will ever be. So what are the aspirations of the soul? Someone may say that they are hungry and may believe this is a personal need of great importance. Your soul, however, does not care about food, since it does not need any physical food substances. One may think that eating is everything life is all about, but that shows that such people do not understand things correctly. You may ask yourself for example: "Well, when I die, will I eat and drink in the outer world?" And if you cannot find an answer to this question, you could begin to think how the outer world may look like. Rest assured that in the Kingdom of God people do not eat and drink - these are things required by the body in the material world only. But the body and your true self are two completely different things and when the body acquires food and drink, please do not assume that your soul acquires or needs them as well - that is an illusion. Then, you may experience hate, jealousy, lust for revenge and other similar emotions and you may assume that such sentiments are part of the soul's pursuit for Divine Truth. These are but the aspirations of your heart, because anger and jealousy can be indulged in by the heart only and not by the soul. Occultists would say that such emotions are aspirations inherent to the astral body. For example, someone may have several houses and you would envy them; you may envy someone for their good looks or for their knowledge; you may also become disenchanted with somebody who hires and “steals” your servant away from you and then you become angry and so on … Afterwards you may say to yourself: "I was angry, I did experience all these negative emotions." – no, that is a lie, as all those perturbations are the desires of your heart. Next, someone may begin to think that they know much and then he becomes full of pride as a result. Such people think that they are very scientific, very powerful, that they know more than the others. Such people start to think they are the center of the Universe, that they are truly elevated beings, that they have acquired something of great value. Such people are so proud of themselves because they believe they have a lot of indispensable knowledge which allows them to teach others and to preach to them – such people believe they know it all. All such and similar dispositions are a manifestation of the mind - this is an expression of your thoughts, not of your true self and one should be able to separate the games of their own mind and behavior from their true self. So, where could we ultimately find the Christ? We shall find Him neither in the body, nor in the heart, nor within the mind. Where then shall we find Him? I will tell you. Some of you would understand me and some will not understand me. In the past, I have given some very clear examples in order to show you how to reason properly, but some of you have still not learnt how to think. Let’s take for example a traveler who, whilst tripping and falling into an abyss, caught himself on a tree branch and held onto it for 4,5 hours. After the traveler became exhausted and let go of the branch, what was then their astonishment to find out that the abyss beneath them was only fifteen centimeters deep! Some people may now ask me how to let go of such a similar “branch” in their lives. The answer is simple – if you have a desire that bothers you, just release yourself from it by setting it free and do not assume that the interests of your heart are your own true interests – let such artificial interests go their own way. Many of you are in the position of that Turkish tough guy who caught a robber and then both of them became so much embroiled into their struggle that they could not let go of each other. The tough guy said to his father: "Dad, I caught a robber." - "Let the robber go." - replied the father. In this example, it is a certain desire which wants to rob you and neither can you release it, nor is the desire able to leave you alone. You may ask how to possibly get rid of such a desire, but such a question only demonstrates the illusions of your mind, since as long as you really want to get rid of it, you'll inevitably learn how to leave such desires behind. If you go to a chemist and ask them to execute the simplest of trials, and namely, to break water down into hydrogen and oxygen, then do ask the chemist about the properties of both the element and ask him to also show you how to separate the elements from one another. Start thinking properly and you will learn how to conduct similar trials effectively. Inside yourself you also have a similar compound element which has been created by the merger of the body and the heart. Within yourselves, you may have a compound element consisting of three different substances – such are the acids for example – they also consist of three elements. Therefore, from the union of your body, heart and mind, you would have alchemically created an acid and all chemists say that acids are dangerous to life. Sometimes acids are used to cure, but should be given in a small dosage as otherwise when used in larger quantities, they may cause poisoning. Now, when I am giving such examples, I do not mean that you do not need a heart, a mind and a body, but I claim that your body has its own interests and it is in its full right to do so; your heart has its own aspirations and it is in its own full right to do so and finally, your mind has its own desires and it is also in its full right to do so. However, the human soul has its own striving as well, and in particular, that is to manifest Mercy, Faith, Hope, Higher Consciousness and Love of God. These are the most exalted feelings of the soul and we live in them and they live within us. The human soul itself is our true life and vehicle. Therefore, if we want to understand the way humans were created, if we want to find Christ and if we want to build upon a body of strength and vigor, we should then live within the sublime atmosphere of the human soul. If you serve your body only, you would merely be a servant and it will be your master. One day you would eventually grow tired of serving it the very same way young women become disappointed with young men, as they make the mistake of searching for young men with their hearts and not with their soul’s essence which is the only right way of doing so. In such circumstances, people tend to say about such young women that they had lost or had their hearts broken, but these young women would rediscover and mend their hearts because the heart could be “stolen” and then also rediscovered again in the very same way someone may steal money and that money can later be redeemed. Your mind and your thoughts can also be hijacked because the mind is not what matters most – such a “hijack” shows that one is not able to master and control their mind. When the heart is forsaken, then a person tends to become more crude and people say that such a person has become cruel. The body, the heart and the mind have been fully studied already - do not seek to elaborate more on how they function. Whoever wants to become One with Christ within, must go beyond these three worlds of the body, heart and mind and enter the fourth kingdom of the soul. I would describe it to you as a magnificent and grand world inhabited by enlightened and noble beings. Perhaps after some time, when people develop their consciousness and perception organs further, they would become able to see and speak about this world. Nonetheless, even now we can talk about it when we share our thoughts on righteousness, peace and Love. This world of the soul has two layers – the first one is called Universal Consciousness, while the second one is represented by the process of internally merging with God. “Eden’s paradise” is what Christians call this world of the soul. So, in order to find Christ, you should enter into your soul, raise yourself to a new level and acquire the first necessary quality - unselfishness. Talking about unselfishness, we do not mean the negative connotation of abstaining from all things and then subsequently pining away, but to understand what the essential things in life are and also what you need to acquire and what to avoid by all means. Self-centeredness, for example, can be witnessed when you wish to indulge in things that are despised by your Higher Self, such as pride for example – in this case when acting out of mere self-interest, you desire everyone to extol and love you. When you learn to think correctly, i.e. only when you find the Divine Door in yourself and arrive at it, would you be able to knock on it, so that Christ, who resides within, may open up the gates. How can one become One with the Christ within? The body wants to absorb food and it intakes the food by first placing it into the mouth. The mouth is the journey’s departure point, where the thirty-two “tooth-servants” are located, each of which is chewing on the substances and stripping them of their outer shell. At the entrance of the mouth stands the tongue as a chief inspector who monitors the inbound food, orders the teeth to work together with the saliva, to chew the food up and to then send it to the “reception room” represented by the stomach. The food then passes through the “corridor” of the intestines to where all other food substances have taken their place and after four hours have passed, then there would be no sign of the food that had entered before, as everything would be completely transformed by then. What’s left of the food would thereafter leave through the “back door” in a different form altogether and not in its original state. When the food then reappears in the open world, it would definitely be a leftover. Such is the desire of the body - it accepts food through the front parade entrance of the mouth, but then sends it out through the “back door”, i.e. it takes all the food in, bit gives nothing of any significant value back. Do not blame the body, such is the way it works. The actual trouble is that many of you are willing to accept Christ within themselves in the very same way, but in this way one would achieve absolutely nothing. When it comes to the heart, the same thing happens as with the food and the body - you may be attracted to someone and say: "I love you very much.", but when you start abhorring this person, you shove them out through the back door. And then the man or woman complains that they have had their hearts broken. I assure you that such men and women have never had a heart - they all had no heart, as they were not in true possession of it. The same is true for the mind as well - before the mind absorbs and consumes you fully, it may compliment you first, but one day it will also send you out through the back door. That is why we say that our relationships are unstable as our mental goals tend to fluctuate. These are, however, only various developmental stages. The body, the heart and the mind are forces given to the human soul which it must conquer in order to thrive through them. The body should never become your master, but must be only a servant instead; your heart should also never be allowed to become your master and the same applies to the mind as well. Someone may say: "I do love with my heart". Whoever loves with their heart only, will love you today and today only and tomorrow they will detest you. That's why people say that living without hatred is not possible. The world of the heart is polarized and I cannot be fooled by its behavior. All those, who want to create a noble and good home for their soul through the polarity of the heart in order to live in peace and harmony, have not grasped the real meaning of Life. If you live a physical, emotional or mental life, you cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Modern chemistry signifies the states of the bodies as solids, liquids and gases. The physical body resembles the solids, the heart is associated with the fluid and the mind represents the air. Therefore, you can choose to utilize and work with these three states of matter – those are three powers, three mighty elements. Saint Paul says: “Yet indeed I also count all things loss." The knowledge of Christ operates under completely different laws. To understand the laws of the body, you need to study anatomy and physiology. Modern people should not be ignorant, but should study the changes within their bodies, know how many times a minute their hearts beat in the morning, at lunch and in the evening and feel their heart’s disposition both during the day and at night. Then, they should also comprehend the state of their mind – at what times and when they think more clearly and when they are less prone to reason well. People need to have a clear picture on what goes on within themselves and to distinguish among these three separate areas of life – body, heart and mind. When you begin to distinguish your body's wishes (for example, it sometimes wants to walk and sometimes needs to rest), then you can jump on top of your “horse”, i.e. step in charge of your body and take care of it, but you would simultaneously with that know that a walk, for example, is not for your own true self, but for the sake of your body. And when you rest, always know that it is not your real you who is resting, but it is your body having a break instead. If you despise someone, on the other hand, do say that in this way you are exercising your heart. If you love someone, again, be aware that you would be still exercising your heart because it is the heart that thrives in the atmosphere of hatred and love. Know that you can use hatred and envy as a workout for your heart only, but not for your soul. For example, when you wish to acquire many houses or anything of that sort - take your heart out for a walk, show it quite a few houses, say to your heart that it will have them, say to it that it will have everything it wants. The next day, you shall place the “saddle” on your mind instead and you would take it out for a walk just like you did with your heart previously. - The mind would want to know the mystery of God, it may become agitated and you would tell your mind that you already know everything, that you have all the earthly glory and that you have written all the books which exist in the world – the mind would then certainly be glad to hear such news. And so, in this way you will know that your body, heart and mind are being active and are still being kept satisfied in a positive way. Next, you shall “take your soul for a walk” - for example, you may encounter an unhappy person and help them as much as you can by giving them more faith and hope. The natural inclination of the soul is to give and share with those around you. Then you will say to your body: "Please wait a little bit for me until I give this person something." Following, you would spread love, faith and hope and when you return to your home, you shall find Christ to have appeared within you. You would then say: "How easy it was; it was not hard work at all!" It's very easy to become One with Christ. All you have to do is to take your body, heart, mind and soul for a walk and you may then come back within yourself to find the miracle of finding Christ to have already happened. Through the expression "Yet indeed I also count all things loss“, Paul understands that the knowledge we can have about the body, the heart and the mind, cannot be compared to what Christ can give us in resonance with our soul when we learn to give and share with those around us. When the plants begin to bloom, note that each blossom turns its face to the Sun. Place a plant, such as an apple tree, into a dark, confined space and watch what happens to it - the plants live in open places where there is plenty of sunlight. Therefore, to find Christ, you must illuminate your heart, mind and soul. Your soul must not be disturbed by anything. For example, if you feel like eating a chicken or if you say: "How dare they criticize me!", or alternatively state that you wish to be intelligent and scholarly, you would then never be able to find Christ and you will not find Him because you have chosen to stay in the dark confined space and not in the realm of the Divine Light. Alternatively, you may go to a church to find Christ in there, but He is not to be found in there either. Someone may say: "I belong to this or that church." When it assumes that there are many churches, the modern Christianity is effectively advocating polygamy. How many churches are there in the world? I say there is only one Church as a symbol of the Feminine principle. About this Church, Christ says that it is a reasonable and wise principle. Initially, God created one man and one woman only and that is the accurate picture we should have in our mind. And if someone asks me who I am or what I stand for, that means that they are asking me, if I tend to associate myself with my body, my heart or my mind. The Church that I know has always been only One and throughout all ages there will be one such church only. Anyone who wants to find Christ should have the right understanding and the right concepts of these things. Some may preach to you for thousands of years, but they will not tell you the Truth. A priest who tells you that this or that church is the best one, does not tell you the Truth. If, by their own church, the priest understands the Divine Church, which acts as a spring which shares its water for free, thus pouring out its blessing into the world, then I would agree. But if a church takes advantage of people to just use and abuse them, then such church is not the real Church of God. Christ came among the Jews who were the chosen people, but their church was a church of robbery. If the Jews are scattered around the world nowadays, it is because they were greedy and the Lord cursed them and punished them. The Lord did not actually curse them in the literal sense of the word, but they have brought this suffering upon themselves completely on their own. Some people hate the Jews; the Jews should not be hated, but accepted as an example. I believe that if the Jews one day receive Christ within themselves properly and come into the realm of the soul, they would say: "In Jesus Christ, there are neither Greeks, nor Jews." Christ unites all beings in Himself! These things are not contradictory, but the trouble is that you are unable to differentiate between the interests of the body and the mind and that is why your inner peace and harmony tend to disappear. For example, you are born a woman and you are unhappy because of your gender. What is represented by the woman? The woman lives in the heart, i.e. the heart is a house, in which the human Spirit has entered in order to live in there. You rented this house and you should know that in this heart you are a “tenant” and this heart should be a good friend and companion of yours. The man, however, lives on the “third floor”[1], i.e. the woman lives on the “second floor” of the heart figuratively speaking, while the man lives on the third floor, but both the man and the woman are just “renting”. Someone may say that being a man or a woman is in accordance with the law the Lord has placed. The fact of matter is that the woman should reside on the second floor, while the man should inhabit the third floor. If the man falls down from the third floor, he would hurt himself more than if the woman falls down from the second floor. Therefore, in order to find Christ, you must cease to think of yourself in terms of being a man or a woman and you have to go out in the open, to go out into the realm of the soul. Then, when you turn yourselves to God and send your true and natural desires to Him, you will blossom. Only then would the Divine energy and Divine Light descend upon your blossom and the Divine in you shall be conceived. When you leave your heart, your mind and your body behind, only then could those blossoms of the soul be pollinated and you would then enjoy the real fruits of Life. Try doing so in order to rediscover your true selves in the next one year! Paul says that if you sacrifice your riches and your body, you will never find Christ and that in this case you are on the correct path, but are not yet walking on it yet. When you enter the realm of your soul and then arrive at the next realm of Love - to love Christ and to hold Him as everything for you, then you would have found Him. When you stop thinking about yourself, your body, your heart, your mind and your soul, when you stop thinking on how to save your own self only, then you will find Christ. When you have gone beyond these four areas of the body, heart, mind and soul, you will understand the great meaning of Love and you would understand it through a single experience only. Only when you are nailed down to the cross in this state of Divine Love, as Christ Himself was nailed, then you would say: "Forgive them because they know nothing." Now, I happen to know many men and women who say: "I will find Christ." The woman then starts praying and the man listens to her and says: "I will take four nails and I will crucify her.", but she starts crying and complaining becomes angry and the man says, "You are a true liar, don’t you know that I live on the third floor and you live one story lower?" Another time the man is praying and the woman listens to him, takes four nails and wants to crucify him, but he then gets angry, shouts and then she tells him: "Oh what a true liar you are!" In this way, the two of them try to find Christ every day. For eight thousand years there have been plenty of partially crucified people and I do see how they shout at each other. Now, people ask why Christianity had not advanced much over the centuries. Any person, who wants to evolve, should understand the deep inner meaning of progress itself and free themselves from their bodies. You can live without a body as it is a mere collection of many cells, which can manage on their own just fine without your help anyway - they are your servants and one day, when your earthly life comes to an end, they will leave you. The same will happen with your heart and with your mind one day and they will tell you: "Come out of your body, so that its true master may enter." To elaborate on the joint work of the body, the heart and the mind, I will share an analogy that somewhat explains these notions. Imagine that we have a horse-wagon which represents the human body and also a horse which represents the human heart and the true human being is to be found inside the horse-wagon. If the wagon breaks, you’d get on the horseback; if you go uphill, you will leave the horse behind and you shall walk on foot. Therefore, you should leave these three areas for good and reach out beyond them. And when Christ says: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself” (Matthew, 16:24, NKJV).” This phrase calls for the denying the domination of the body, the heart and the mind and accepting your soul as your best companion instead. Because the soul is an “righteous dame”, its interests are in common with the interests of the Spirit and it would give everything away for the sake of the Divine. That is why Christ says: "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul (Matthew, 16:26, NKJV)?” If you are a soulless person and do not seek the companionship of your soul, then your body, your heart and your mind will one day leave you and you will lose everything. So Paul says: “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." Now, I want this thought to become clear to you. I do not want to use empty words because the thought I am expressing is precisely defined in my mind. I do not want you to lie to me either. For example, I recognize the facts when some of you come here once, twice, three times and so on. This example is a scientific one indeed because I am able to find how exactly long it will take before someone comes back again. There is a fairy tale about a wolf which ate a donkey in springtime and after nine months the wolf thought: "Let me go back to the same place to see if there is another donkey in there." If it is spring- or summertime, the donkey might potentially be found in the same place, but if it is winter, the donkey would be somewhere safe and warm. So the third time the wolf would come back to the same place, it should be during spring or summer and may only then find another donkey in this very same place indeed ... This is a fairy tale that has a very great meaning and significance. Someone may say: "Something terrible happened to me" and I say to him: "In future, something good will happen to you." If someone is very happy and pleased, then I say to them: "When time passes, some misfortune will happen to you." Ask yourselves why is this so because these relationships need to be examined. Whoever wants to find Christ should understand these profound concepts. For me, these concepts have a dual meaning: for example, music has a purely instrumental and also a purely psychic side. If you want to play a musical instrument in order to acquire the necessary skills, you need to have a teacher. If you want to listen to quality music performed by a great musician, then you will have to pay ten leva for a ticket. During the second case scenario while just listening to the music, you’ll be benefiting from the music at a far lower cost. Now, if you want to listen to me playing the violin, I will tell you that my tickets cost ten Leva (for the poor it is free of charge), but if you want to learn how to play, then you will have to “pay” me more. For example, if you want to study a violin, you will have to pay your teacher every single time and every day you will use a few hours to exercise yourself. There are four strings in the violin and you will have to play the first one first, then the second one, then the third and finally the fourth one. Your mother may become tired of all your screeching, but when you finally learn how to play the last fourth string, you would say: "I have already completed my violin course." In order to find Christ, you should know very well how to play your violin - only then shall Christ become your Master. The modern educational system is very well-established: first you need to pass through pre-school, then through high school, then through college and university and only afterwards can a great master come into your life. Someone says: "I will come to Christ", but Christ has no time to deal with you. He can only offer you one concert to listen to, but if you want to learn the art of Life, you have to live as violin players do. The great violin player Paganini had been playing the violin twelve hours a day and what he has done in the past cannot be repeated by anyone today. Now you say: "I have gained Christ." When you become one with Christ, then you will understand the meaning of Life and there will be nothing impossible for you in this world. Then you would be like the Indian prince, who visited a Hindu saint, who had a very fine cow. The prince liked the cow very much and offered the saint a large sum of money, but the saint refused the deal. The prince threatened to take the cow by force, but the saint replied: "Just try it." The prince then sent a whole army of soldiers, but the saint laid the entire army on the ground by just throwing a glance at it. After this, the prince decided to examine the life of the saint and after studying the life of the saint for one thousand years, the prince gained some strength and knowledge and went back with his armed men to take the cow, but the same thing happened again. Then, for another one thousand years, the prince again studied the life of the saint, acquired more new powers and knowledge and reattempted to take the cow by force, but again he did not succeed. The prince nevertheless persisted in studying the life of the saint, gained extra new knowledge and became so strong and virtuous that even all the gods bowed to him. Finally, after all these three thousand years of learning, the prince went to the saint and told him: "I no longer need your cow." This means that when the prince went beyond his body, his heart and his mind, the cow was no longer of any value to him. How many times does the body complain because of the way the heart acts; thus causing the body some suffering. Sometimes the mind is acting poorly and then the heart suffers - such is the law. Be aware that all sins start from the mind. All diseases originate from within the mind, the heart or the body, so the diseases can be categorized as mental, emotional or somatic. Cast away all your negative thoughts and all somatic diseases shall disappear. Bring these new soul juices into your life and your body will thrive. This strategy is also practiced by the modern medicine - when someone's blood is very impure, doctors open one of their veins, transfuse blood from a healthy person into the patient's body and the patient then heals. The juices of the soul must pass through your mind, heart and body and then you will become the master of all three of them. In order to acquire Christ, His Spirit must unite with your spirit and once both of them unite, you will feel completeness, you will feel that the whole universe is in peace and that all things, whether good or evil, are in perfect harmony. Good and evil things only happen in relation to you because you perceive them this way, but God, who has been generous enough to place His Spirit in everything that surrounds us, has a reason to allow for Good and evil to exist. He knows, for example, why he sent the wolf to this world and you are not the one who could judge Him. God said: "I have made you a man; therefore don’t act as a wolf, as a bear or as a snake, but act as a rational being instead." So if you hate, you do live within your heart; if you enjoy eating, you identify yourself with your body; and when you are disproportionately proud of yourself, you are living within your mind then. In all those cases, you are not One with Christ yet. Humans need to learn what is essential for them and should realize that their true food is different to what they are used to in their normal everyday lives. Truth, Love, Wisdom, Righteousness and Virtuousness - this is the “food”, through which you will unite with Christ. When you indulge in this type of “food”, Christ shall join forces with you because there will be something of value that you can offer to Him. As soon as all of you begin to live with this food for the soul, you will be all fine and will look in a different way. You would be good-looking, will have a correct posture and your body will then say: "Thank God that my master became prudent, otherwise he would have dug himself even deeper into me, without setting himself free." The purpose of all humans is to free their minds, hearts and bodies from all evils and diseases. Now, you can say that I express myself as a professional public speaker just for the sake of producing a certain effect within my audience. I could possibly talk to you about these things in a lower voice, but when I raise my voice, I want to insert a “nail” deeper into you, so that you may grasp the ideas better. When you are hungry, say to yourself: "This is not me"; when you are afraid, say to yourself: "This is not me"; and when you are overflowing with pride, do say: "This is not me." Then you should ask yourself: "Then who am I?" and your soul will come down to you, so that you may show your mercy and maybe help someone with a little bit of money for example. Giving money to someone does not, of course, mean that you love someone because if you give away some money, the beneficiaries may be able to use them wisely, only if they are intelligent. The most serious crimes nowadays happen because of money. If you look back into history, you shall see that money has wrecked our world due to the heart’s desire to acquire more and more. Courts and galleys have been erected, but those who are being sentenced to death because of their transgressions, upon entering the outer world, become even more dangerous. That is why I believe that criminals should be placed in jail to be able re-educate and transform themselves. This has to be done in future, as those sentenced to death are far more dangerous to humanity than the ones who go to prison. To illustrate - if you pour a poison into ten liters of water, it will infect more people than if you infused it into a few milliliters of liquid only. And so, in order for you to get to know Christ, you need to acquire the essential knowledge that is necessary for our life as individuals. If you’re feeling afraid or hungry, just say: "I have not found Christ yet". If you love glory, say the same. If someone boasts that they are going to church – this means they enjoy their bodies more than what is necessary, but I do not criticize such people because I also eat. Eating, however, should not be one’s purpose in life. Sometimes they ask me what I would like to eat - I say: "Give my “horse[2]” whatever is there for the taking, give my “horse” some beans, some salt." Sometimes when people invite me to a meal and prepare many dishes, I do say to myself: “Well, what a great honor they bestow upon my ‘horse’!" All this means that they have not found the Christ yet and it is better to give food to the poor and those who suffer instead. Food is necessary for the body, for the mind and for the heart, but the soul should also eat its own correct type of food. Saying the word “food” I bring in a connotation, which includes, for example, feeding a person who has been traumatized or has decided to commit a suicide. And now you only think of how to save yourselves and say, "Let's go to Mr. Deunoff in order for him to tell us something; he knows a lot, he is a great scholar." Why do I preach? If the water spring does not flow down the slopes of the mountain, it will implode on itself because the water within it needs to make its way through. That is why I preach – in order for you to receive a blessing. Somebody may say: "I want to be loved", but who can possibly drink from a dry water fountain and possibly love it for its dryness? Let your living waters run freely and observe how everyone shall love you and kiss you afterwards. For people to kiss you, you have to give them something. Someone stops in front of a water fountain and says: "How beautiful is the stone of this water fountain!", but it is not the water fountain’s stone that is important, but the Living Water – the new Word, the new creed and the new teaching that comes into the world. One day when I see you all happy from within up above in the invisible world, I will rejoice and say: "I am glad they have found the Lord!" You have to be happy and to act joyfully because when the heart is joyful, you pray and when the mind thinks, you pray again. Rejoice in the body when it eats; rejoice in the heart when it feels; rejoice in the mind when it thinks – those are all devices that will guide you throughout your life’s journey. When you are traveling through the physical world, your body shall be both useful and necessary to you. The heart is required in the astral world and the mind is needed in the mental realm, while in the spiritual planes, the soul is the one which is indeed needed. That is why Paul says: “… that I may gain Christ.” Christ is a great master and in whatever form or shape He may appear in front of you, whether He is a woman, a man, a child or a servant, He can always show you the path leading to the Truth. Let the thought that God is One and Only remain in your mind. The Word can enter into you through various places, but its source is only one - there may be many rivers in the world, but the spring of the Fountain of Life remains irrevocably one. When Christ becomes one with you, He will teach you the right way of understanding things and you will learn which of your deeds are good and which are bad. You do not have to say: "I have now improved a little bit as a person; I’ve become a little bit wiser." That is not sufficient and you should complete fully all the tasks you’ve been given. When a teacher shows a student a particular object to paint, the student should paint the object well. The body is a teacher, the heart is a teacher too and the mind is also a teacher. And when you enter your soul, afterwards you will find the Christ and then your body, your heart and your mind will resurrect and you will become masters and no longer be servants of your bodies - all of you shall become an eternal Oneness and you will be strong in your manifestations in the world. In future, your children will not look like today’s children. Now you are surrounded by strangers who pretend to be your children. What is represented by the body? - it is a “house” that is inhabited by human beings. Someone says: "My child doesn’t know me". – In order to understand why, try to identify your child's most prominent character trait. In order for you to recognize and know your children, with whom you have come to Earth many times before, there must be a union between you and them - the mother should sacrifice for her child and vice versa. If a son or a daughter is unwilling to sacrifice for their parents, then they are not their true children. I would like all the sons to sacrifice for their fathers, the daughters for their mothers, the servants for their masters and the disciples for their spiritual teachers. When Christ comes to Earth, then true order will be implemented and this will be a completely different status quo. This is the teaching that can reform the world – the teaching of unity within the Christ. I told you in my last lecture that Christ is now descending from up above as Light upon us and all of you, who are willing to blossom, will eventually blossom. Those of you, who are unprepared to blossom, will fall behind until the next suitable era arrives, when you will again have the conditions to flourish. If you are not ready to sacrifice, do not worry because the world has never been as good as it is now. You may say that there is a Great War going on – don’t worry about it and fear not, as this war is cleansing the world and its people. It reminds me of a woman who gets up early in the morning and starts sweeping around. She thinks she had cleaned the house quite well already, but after four or five hours, the dust settles down again. I see that everyone who got killed in war has fallen off their “horse”, but such people are better off now, as they are no longer thinking on only how to fill their stomachs. Someone may ask what the soldiers’ fate in the invisible world is. The fallen soldiers are better off than you are right now and will most certainly live. You will live with them and with the Christ, Who is now coming and has come many times before on Earth. Somebody may say that Christ has come only once to Earth. Yes, but He is coming again – and is coming to see how His teaching is being applied, to see how the judges preside over courts, how men and women live together, to see how the soldiers live, to observe how things are done. Everyone has to be in the right place because the world has been created by God Himself. And if harmony comes to dwell in us, we shall know that we are already serving God. Do not envy the kings and don’t sympathize with the poor – you don’t help them out in this way. Love them and tell them: "Brother, you are doing well at learning your lesson, I am glad for you." – That is how I talk to those who suffer. And you say: "Poor fella, look how they are trembling!" - If anyone trembles, help them out, give them something to eat, offer them a warm shelter! Do love the beggar and don’t think about their past sins. Some people have become sinners because they have lived in such conditions. But whoever has not passed their exam and has had no chance to sin, should better keep silent, for not having sinned yet does not indicate that one is righteous. Be alert in your thinking and remember that you are not the physical body, that you are not the heart and that you are not the mind either. Only when you connect to your soul and rise up to a new level, only then you will become a powerful force in its own right. I would like all Bulgarians to understand things in this very same way and if we live in that way, we shall be great beings because God is our teacher and we are all His children. Sunday Talks, November 5, 1916, Sofia, Bulgaria. [1]The third floor represents the mind, while the lower second floor represents the heart. [2]“Horse” denotes the human body in this case. Translated by: Pavel Iordanov

The Cross And the disciples came and said to Him: “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them: “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given (Matthew 13:10-11, New King James Version (NKJV). Let me clarify the words "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven.“ Knowing the secret of the Kingdom of God is the principle object of the human contemplation, as this is what the human spirit seeks to achieve. When light is cast upon your minds regarding the inner content of this profound notion (hereby, upon this notion I mean the original Divine image of an unchanging Essence which everlastingly grows in its dimensions not as a dead object, but as a living and sensible entity), you will understand that the secret of the Kingdom of God contains all the conditions for human development on Earth. Christ says: "It has been given to you." - To whom has it been given? Now, you may draw a negative inference from this verse because it is said: "It has been given to you, but to them it has not been given." You may think that perhaps the apostles were granted the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but that those secrets remain unattainable for yourselves. On the contrary, no matter who you are, it is still everything, which is being offered to all people by the Lord. Never personally interpret such words in a negative sense because such conclusions defame God. Whether the mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven has been revealed to you or not, depends on yourself and yourself only. God sheds light on the matter, only when you have the correct disposition to understand Him; sometimes He does not allow you to grasp His secret because you are not in the right state of consciousness. Therefore, it is down to the individual comprehension of your hearing, your mind, your heart and your will whether you understand God or not. There is a significant similarity between our 20th century contemporaries and those who lived during the times when Christ descended upon Earth. In the above gospel verses, Christ states nothing else, but the fact that to you – to the people of the future, it is given to understand the Kingdom of God, but to the people of the past such a possibility remains inaccessible. In other words, to those of you, living with the thought of the realization of God’s plan in future, comprehension shall be granted, but to those of you, who are still living in the past, no understanding would be bestowed upon. You may of course choose to verify this statement in real life yourselves. To illustrate what it means to live in the past, let’s take for example a merchant, who has gone bankrupt and picks up their account books to single out their borrowers for debt collection purposes. As a result of the desire to recover what is owed to him, the merchant can no longer progress any further. Such a person would only worry that, for example, Ivan or Dragan, have borrowed a certain amount of money from them. The next day this merchant begins to revisit his account books again, the thought of the debtors becomes alive in his mind, and the merchant starts telling everyone: "Do you know Ivan and Dragan? – They owe me money!" To such merchants and lenders no access to the secrets of the Kingdom of God can be granted, as they are in a self-delusional state - Ivan and Dragan do not owe their lender anything - they are his brothers. Your Father has given in equal amounts to all of you, but you yourselves have brought your brothers into debт by creating the “I owe you” bills, pressuring your debtors and saying that they’ve robbed you. All those, who say that they need to take back from their brothers on Earth something which is owed to them, and treat their brothers as debtors, cannot understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. Those who seek nothing from their brethren, but on the contrary, do freely share with them and help them with their mental, spiritual and moral elevation, would indeed understand these much coveted secrets. What secrets? – The secrets of the Universe and of God's creation. To me these verses represent a grand and a spectacular picture, which is great in its conception and so beautifully crafted and decorated by the hand of God Himself! One day when your eyes open (of course, for the time being, in the first stage of your development, they are already partially open), and when you finally throw away your old account books and never look back at them again, you would see the magnificence of this picture for yourselves as well. For your own well-being, do utilize the true meaning and significance of the cross because it is the cross which saves the human soul. Crosses are placed on top of graves to signify the fact that noting more would be taken back from the person who passed away. When the lender hears that one of their debtors has died, he or she says: "God bless them", which means "I forgive them." That is the true meaning of the cross - that is its deep significance and intent. Nowadays, the cross is to be found everywhere within the churches, the priests wear it on top of their attire, the church goers cross themselves inside the houses of worship, those soldiers, who distinguished themselves on the battlefield do receive it as a medal of honor, everyone everywhere talks about it, but do you know what the elements of the True Cross are? - I will now speak about the True Cross, which saves and opens the door to the Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross. The vertical line of the cross, which descends from top to bottom, represents the plant kingdom delving its way down into the physical matter, or in other words, this line depicts all those beings who have descended from God, and upon their fall, have remained with their feet and not their face against Him – this stature represents the ultimate contradiction with God. Consequently, the horizontal line of the cross represents the animal kingdom, where the animals are turned not with their feet, but with their back against the Lord, and when He speaks to them, they do not listen to Him. Therefore, both the plant and animal kingdoms cannot understand the Kingdom of God. To illustrate, there are people who have committed their minds to digging into material endeavors only, and they have buried themselves face down inside the earth, just like the plants, and have for this reason turned their feet against God. As a result, such people do not think about God. They wish to find their riches inside the Earth’s layers - coal, gold, silver, precious stones - and believe that the more they have, the happier they would be. On the other side, there are the other human beings who are following the movement of the horizontal cross line just like the animals do and have turned their backs against the Lord by means of saying: "The Lord does not listen to us." How would He listen to them when such people have their backs turned against Him? When a child turns its back on its mother, showing clearly its anger in this way, would the mother take such a child back into her embrace? No, she would not, because such a child behaves for the time being as nothing else, but a four-legged animal. Such an animal cannot understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. Do you now comprehend the philosophy of the True Cross? Has this philosophy positively influenced our thoughts and our relationship with the Lord? To be able to be in touch with the Lord, you need to utilize this philosophy correctly. The third element of the cross is Jesus Christ - nailed onto the cross, but facing God with his head up. The Christ represents the real Man. Therefore, there are three types of crosses - a plant cross, an animal cross and a cross that saves. The true salvation is offered by the Cross of the Christ. His arms and legs were nailed, that is to say, they were pinned onto three different points. The feet were pinned onto the down-facing heads of the plants, by means of which Christ wished to turn the plants back towards Himself. In other words, He had descended and was stretching down to get hold of those who have sunk into the mud of matter, so that they can face God again. The nailing of the Christ’s feet at this precise place also symbolizes the hard soil, which indicates that the cross is placed on solid foundations. This means that Christ at first saves those who sink down into matter similarly to the plants, grabs them and says: “Enough with this earthly descent of yours, your salvation is not there." And to the animals that roam constantly and freely with their back against God, He says: "Your salvation is not in this direction either." Christ wants to grab them by the hand, to turn them face to face with God and to tell them: "Here is your salvation." These are the two categories certain people fall into: some of you have been like the plants with your feet up, while others have been like the animals with their backs up against God, while Christ is now turning your heads up, so that you could face God. And when Christ says: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" - do you know what these words mean? He wants to say: "Why have you let your children roam about? Please listen to my request - turn them around, so that they can face you, and draw them back to Yourself.” Many interpret the Christ words in the sense that God has forsaken Him, but they actually mean: "Why have you forgotten my brethren?" Christ brings his hands down, turns them with their palms facing up and says: "Here is your salvation." And each one of you needs to bring your hands down, that is figuratively speaking, to direct one’s desires and one’s heart towards God and towards the secrets of the Kingdom of God because within the direction opposite to God there are only darkness and suffering. I am therefore posing the following question: “Would you still keep the Christ hanging on your cross?” Today, I am asking you to give a serious answer to this question because Christ is coming. How would He find you? - Some would be continuing delving further down deeper into matter, while others would be still moving in horizontal direction with their backs against God. Many people ask me why they cannot evolve any further. It is simply because their minds and hearts do not assume the right direction in terms of understanding the secrets of the Kingdom of God. For example, if the eagle or the dove would place backpacks on their bodies with a few pounds of supplies, could they possibly fly? Birds serve as a good illustration because before setting off to fly, one should be free from all the unnecessary luggage. The wing feathers, the tail feathers and head feathers are the only luggage required by the birds before they fly out, and the same applies to humans. In any case, rest assured that God will provide all the necessary food for all the birds and people, no matter what flight direction they take. A few days ago, I went to a house and heard a conversation between two ladies. One of them had chosen the spiritual path, strives to live according to the Word of God and that is why she said to her own self: "It is high time for me to start serving the Lord from now on." Consequently, it happened that she sold the house for a certain amount of money. Expensively or cheaply, she had sold the house anyway, but the other lady, who is deemed to be more spiritual than the lady who sold her house, what do you think she said? - "You did not do well, you sold it way too cheap, you could have kept the house for a while, and you would have acquired more money for it." Here is, I said to myself, a woman who has not yet understood the way the world functions. The lady who sold the house answered though: "It is so much of a hassle, I'm glad I got rid of it." Our hearts and minds should be free from all unnecessary burdens and once and for all we need to acquire the belief that God's Providence works for our own benefit. If the 4-5-year-olds would start providing for their own food at such an early age, they would not grow up and would quickly age instead. Therefore, their fathers have to take care of them until they become 21 years old, so that the grown up children are strong enough to provide for their own sustenance. The digit 21 represents 2+1, which is the total sum of 3 – the Trinity itself or Completeness in other words. Before the face of God, we are not yet 21 years old, but 10-12 years of age only, and He and all His angels are still performing some work within us, so that we can become accomplished. The punishments we are given are because God invites us to go to school and instructs us to learn, but we nevertheless resist and run away from the classroom. He is now wielding his stick, thus punishing the world collectively, and is saying to us: "You shall go to school, so that you learn and gain experience." Every retreat and digression from His commandments has its own criminal consequences. Such omissions cannot be compensated for in any other way, but with suffering. As a result of the incurred suffering, the human feelings become more sensible and stronger. Now, let's go back to the original question about the cross. The cross that saves and which you have to wear should consist of two necessary elements. It should be neither made out of wood, nor should it be turned upside down the way the plain cross is. Further, it should not contain any imprudent elements and it should not be whimsical. As soon as you experience some suffering, you say: "Why is this suffering given to me, when there are other people who are more sinful than I am? The Lord should have given this suffering to them and He could have been more lenient with me!" Such a way of thinking is already a display of discontent and disobedience. In this particular case, people assume either the position of an animal turning its back to God or the position of a plant, which is turned upside down. The human race has been carrying the two animal and plant crosses for the last two thousand years and has not been saved yet. I have not seen a household without such crosses and when I walk on the streets, I prefer to avoid these two crosses, as I am tired of seeing their nonsense. The Christ was not nailed to such a mindless cross. You suffer and you do not understand why this is happening to you. The woman says: "I will have my revenge on this man", while the man likewise says: "I will have my revenge on this woman." The judge revenges against the defendant, the teacher against the student, the merchant against the buyer and everybody in general is always threatening to have their own revenge. Let me tell you that wearing such crosses does not save one’s soul. A cross that truly saves is made out of Wisdom and Love. Next, I shall stop by the cross, which is upside down, I would lay the Divine Love on it, then turn its head up, so that it follows the same direction as the head of the Christ, and eventually say: "Lord, whatever may happen on Earth, and even if the world turns upside down and is eventually destroyed, I will still fulfill Your will! There is no creature in the world to prevent me from doing so, and I will do it!" This is what the Law of Love demands and so does the Divine Wisdom, which similarly says: "Lord, through all the suffering you give me, I shall learn the deep meaning of my life on Earth and shall work for Your glory." When the Lord is punishing me, I would say: "The beating on my back is a blessing, thank you!" - This is how the salvation cross of Love and Wisdom thinks and acts. So, it turns out that you, who are now suffering, have these two outdated cross elements within yourselves. Therefore you need to add the third cross element of the Christ. Do not try to reject the former two cross elements because even Christ did not attempt to reject them. He had to be nailed on the cross, and through this courageous accomplishment, He did the greatest work in this world. Such is the magnitude of Christ’s sacrifice that mankind cannot even recollect from its existence so far any similar event of the same scale. Even after He was placed in the grave, He was still “crucified” because He descended into hell, opened its gates, brought out the sinners and said to them: "I have come down here because of you." You all want to go to Paradise. Should you not go down as Christ did in order to find and bring out your brothers and sisters from hell? To be able to return to His Father, Christ had to spend three days down in hell with his brothers and sisters and then release them from their enslaved state of consciousness. This is the exact interpretation of how Christ understood the words: "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given." And in your life, when people do not understand you, you should speak to them in parables like Christ did. Everyone needs to be nailed to the True Cross - this is a responsibility, which needs to be fulfilled. Christ saved you and you would have to save your brethren too. When I go to a sick person, cure them or prescribe them the correct treatment, this very same person, in turn, should willingly and freely help heal a different human being in need. The person I helped has no right to come back to me again and say: "Please come and help this other person, find a cure." This sort of personal transformation should enter into our lives, our thoughts and our deeds. Now, some people may think or, perhaps, affirm that for a person to save his or her soul, it is necessary to break away from this world. No, on the contrary, you have to enter the world and help organizing it, but before that you need to organize your own inner world. In this era, Christ is descending upon the Earth every two thousand years. In the past, he had been coming down every thirty-three thousand years. At present, sometimes He stays with us for a longer period of time, and sometimes - for a shorter time span, but from now on Christ shall live on Earth for longer periods, and in future you will have the opportunity to see Him and speak to Him. You may ask as to when this will happen, and the answer is that it will happen only when you have the three above-mentioned elements as parts of your own cross. It is said in the Scriptures that some shall see Christ under the clouds, others over the clouds, while to some others He would appear completely transformed. What use is it to those who are deaf if they enter a hall, where excellent concerts are being held? - None. What is the benefit to the ones whose stomachs are upset, if you serve them the most delicious meals? – None. Therefore, in order for people to understand things correctly, they should be in possession of the right elements. - In this respect, they should be on the very right track. Humans without steadfast belief systems are like a road which is trampled over by everyone – whatever is being said to them, they listen to and then agree to it without any thought whatsoever. If today someone tells them that the Lord exists, they would nod in agreement and if tomorrow they are told that God is fiction, they would acquiesce again. Such people have the fate of the furnace, which was made by the popular parable character Nasreddin Khoja. A friend came to him and said: "Because the wind blows in this specific direction, the door of the furnace should be on the other side." Nasreddin Khoja knocked down the furnace and rebuilt it the way his friend suggested. A second friend came over and recommended to place the furnace door elsewhere. Again, Nasreddin Kjoja knocked down the furnace and erected it according to his friend’s advice, but then a third friend joined in and put forward a new suggestion about the location of the furnace door. Finally, Nasreddin Khoja took the decision to build the furnace on top of a horse cart and was then turning it to whichever side his friends chose in order to satisfy them. In the physical world, this solution may have been clever indeed, but with regards to the spiritual world, we need to move in a single direction only – forward and upward towards God. That's the right direction. You may now ask if those are the only two directions towards God that we may take and the answer is that to reach out to God, it means to reach out in all directions. If you have no established belief-system in this respect, you would be, as I have already said, like a road, which is trampled over by everyone. Place a hedge as a barrier or just dig a large hole across the “road” of your own belief system and say: "From now on, none shall pass." In addition to the people at the lowest level of knowledge and understanding, there is a second category represented by the modern people with all their multiple theories. Throughout the 19th century, around one hundred geology theories regarding the Earth's structure were presented before the French Academy. All scholars of this kind argue, prove and disprove, and maintain a certain idea, but after five or ten years here comes another new notion, according to which the Earth is built otherwise, and this new hypothesis breaks its way through to discredit the previous theories to only lose its superiority to another newer theory, after eventually some time has elapsed. But how can we then trust them when such theories do not rest on solid ground? The scientists and the rich people, who are in a constant search of worldly glory, pleasures and happiness, do live surrounded by thorns it turns out, as indeed there are no conditions for happiness on Earth. Happiness is an inner process in the spiritual world represented by the rational attitude, which is adopted by the human souls in regards to each other. If you love, you will be loved. If you are acting with virtue, others would treat you virtuously as well. If you are righteous, justice shall come your way. If you love the truth, so others will treat you truthfully. The Lord answers the same way we treat Him. He speaks softly and gently to those who are wise, but to those who are stubborn, He sends suffering. Next, there is another cross element that I need to explain. There were two outlaws on either side of the Christ. He was nailed, while they were both only tied to their crosses. Why did the soldiers break the robbers’ tibias, but did not do the same with Christ and pierced His heart instead? Since Christ is now descending upon us, I will clarify this question. The two robbers were the first human beings created by God and those were the humans who sinned first - Adam and Eve. Do not take my words literally; I only mean this figuratively. The two of them ate from the forbidden tree and that is why their shins were broken for it is said: "Cursed is the one that walketh to do evil with his feet." The act of breaking of the robbers’ legs denotes all people who have lost their virtues. But then again, why did the soldiers pierce Christ into his heart and did not break his legs instead? It is because one should be free from the desire to taste the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden. Christ said: "Since I am willing to take you back to Paradise, my heart has to be impaled and your legs would have to be broken because you have taken from the forbidden fruit.“ Now ponder over the following thought: “Whoever is willing to go back to Eden, will have his heart “pierced”, and whoever has committed a crime shall have their legs broken.” As I said, those crucified on either side of the Christ, were Adam and Eve. Both of them were saved in principle. The one on the left said to Christ: "You have saved so many thousands, save us, save us without any suffering." This robber on the left side of the Christ represents the female principle to which Christ replied: "I will save you." However, to the robber who was on His right side and represents the male principle, He said: "You will be in Paradise with me today." and the Christ fulfilled His word - He took the man on His right side all the way up into Heaven and kept the woman on His left side down onto Earth. Even now, Christ pierces the men's hearts on the battlefields and says to them: "Come with Me." And to the women He says: "I will save you in future, but for the time being I shall leave you on Earth to further do your work." Well then, dear women of today, how would you meet the Christ when the time comes? I pose this question to the Bulgarian, German, Russian, Austrian, French, English etc. women. I have presented to you the philosophical meaning of the cross and I am inviting you to apply it in your lives. I am glad because this meaning of the cross is in itself deep, great and Divine. I have interpreted for you the words of the great Master of Peace. I have heard His voice and now I am translating the meaning of His words. - You women shall be saved by the cross which has the three elements. The legs of those who do evil shall be broken and the hearts of those who desire evil shall be pierced. Only then will the evil be destroyed. I share to you what the Lord spoke centuries ago on the 9th of March when he introduced the Man to Heaven. Back then, this day fell on a Friday, but today it falls on a Thursday. Be aware that 9th of March applies to all the days of the week, so when we place you in Paradise again, would you again eat from the forbidden fruit? I am here teaching you about the meaning of Life, I speak to you about the Christ, Who is now coming and already performing His duties. Ahead in time wonderful and great things will happen in the world. Do not deceive yourselves; they would happen in an ordinary and natural way. Do not assume that the changes shall fall upon us as a sudden burst of flame. They would arrive very gradually. I can see that some of you are afraid. Don’t be afraid, as those who are cowardly will not enter the Kingdom of God. Act as heroes instead! Now, we will go further down the Earth and down below we shall study the small mysteries. In the depths of the Earth we would descend and learn how life functions in there. From that level there is a door leading to the Kingdom of God. Through this door we will find the Christ. When we descend, we shall meet Him and when we exit and go back up, we would see Him again. Christ says: „Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given." - You should study well the modern sciences to understand the secrets of the physical world and the secrets of the Kingdom of God. You should know about astronomy in order to understand the meaning of the secret world as well as you should learn physiology and anatomy. What do you know about the structure of your body, heart, blood, lungs, stomach, ear and eyes at present? For example, how does the light, which is coming from above, become an impression to your eyes and brain? What do you know about the relationship of the elements that make up your body, thoughts and desires? Imagine the kind of awe you would find yourself in when you begin to see the forms of your feelings and desires, imagine the greatness of the world which would be revealed before your eyes. And next, what do you know, for example, about the modern political movements? What is the reason behind the prevailing aggravation of the humankind nowadays and what is the reason behind the wars among nations? Can the mankind not develop in a different way? These are the type of questions that need to occupy your mind. Therefore, in order to be able to understand these events, you should recognize that the main reason why all this is happening is because your heart is filled with discontent. When you wake up and get up in the morning, you are not in a peaceful state of mind, as you think that all people all over the world are abnormal and bad. When we perceive people as abnormal, then we become abnormal as well, and vice versa - when we see the people around us as normal, then we also tune into normal mode. In general, those who are drunk tend to be happy during their temporary euphoria, while those who are sober are often suffering. When you go to a pub, you may see someone being drunk, laughing and cheering, but when this person comes back home, no one could even possibly talk to him. "I am happy," the drunken person says, but the next day when he sobers up, his head hurts and he begins to wonder whether he should have drunken the day before or not. Afterwards, such people go back to their normal state, where all the merrymaking has gone out of the window, and the suffering has arrived in order to replace it. Modern people say: "We suffer much" and I answer: "You are now sober." In the last 19th century, all people were more or less intoxicated and were saying: "God does not exist! Ha, ha – give us concerts, balls, merrymaking ..." Now, in this 20th century, people have sobered up and are asking: "What are we going to do now?” An officer on the battlefield told me once: "We all pray out there, our thoughts have changed", while a socialist was asking himself: "What is happening to me? So far I have been so dumb, but now I know that the Lord exists; now I know why I have come to Earth." It seems that all those people are recovering from their hangover. And if you face the English and the French troops on the battlefield and experience the intensity of the exploding shells and mortars, how would this turmoil affect your faith? I believe that people having that sort of experience are now holding their graduation exams on what we nowadays call “initiation”. For some, the first initiation exam has already been completed. The women, who are here, will suffer, their initiation will pass, and they will sober up. Being sober is the best - it means that one is able to function in a normal state of existence. There is a joyful state in us which can be reached, so that we can acquire balance. I would show you what it is, but for the time being I will leave this topic out, since I will talk about it this coming Sunday. Afterwards, you will then be able to communicate with all the good people all over the Earth. For example, if you have a friend in America, let’s say, you would direct your mind towards them, forward your thoughts to them, and your friend will reply back to you with their own thoughts. In this way one could travel the entire Earth, and you could go, if you wish, into the invisible world as well and talk to both all the good people on Earth and to those whose physical bodies have already left the material realm. Some people say that the dead should not be disturbed, but there is nothing to worry about in this particular case. Take, for example, someone who is locked up and restricted - you may reach out to them and ask how they feel and give them some useful advice. For instance, such are the departed souls which are still roaming the Earth - you can talk to them too, but deeds of this caliber are reserved for strong people only. Some may say: "The spirits are dangerous and whoever preaches about them is a heretic." Do not be afraid, the existence of spirits signifies the existence of real life. To illustrate the above statement, here is the following verse: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7, NKJV).” The first zodiac sign corresponds to the Spirit - the Spirit has descended and has chosen, as a result, its first “piece of clothing”. The original first month of March represents the idea of the human spirit. When March arrives, do ponder over the power of the humankind to be the master of еarth, master of water, master of air and master of fire. A person who is not a master of the earth, water, air and the fire elements has not acquired the human spirit within themselves yet. The most important thing is to be masters of your dark side and to say: "My spirit is the master within me." and if you are in a bad mood, do say to yourselves: "My spirit is the master within me" and you will see how your mood would change. Instead, however, you are saying: "I'm overwhelmed and I cannot fight on", but the Lord does not like soldiers who run away from the battlefield - you have witnessed how such soldiers are shot down by machine guns, so that in future they would abstain from fleeing the battlefield. Now, how would you meet the Christ? Would you show Him your back or would you face up to Him? Go and ask the priests, teachers, and judges how Christ would find them. Have they gracefully brought their hands down and turned their faces towards God by means of helping their compatriots and humanity? This is the path of obtaining Christ’s blessing if you wish Him to bless your children and your friends. Try this cross which is called the Power of Salvation. If someone else gives you a different cross, throw it away, this is not the True Cross. I will now ask what your desires are and what they are directed at – are they directed towards the earth, are you willing to indulge in the animal flesh? - For thousands of years humans have been eating animals and plants, but this is not the source of their salvation. What would be your situation if you have eaten a very well cooked lamb and someone turns you upside down, so you’d face the ground? In this case, what would cost you this excellent meal? Remember, this is the state of the devil. As soon as you say: "Let’s just eat, drink and enjoy life." the devil will turn you upside down, and anyone, who has their head facing down towards the ground and their back against the Lord, would not know how to think and feel correctly. Now, as soon as you return to your homes, try your hearts out. I would like, when I go into a house, to see the lady shining like a candle and I would like people to talk to me without speaking a single word. When I enter such a house, I know that its inhabitants love me without the need of saying anything, but visiting a different house, where people speak out to tell me that they love me, I know for certain that they are lying to me. Speak first with your heart, then with the mind and finally with your mouth. Never say a word with your mouth before your heart and mind have spoken first. When the famous Egyptian sage Hermes was once asked a great question he had not previously mulled over, he merely pursed his lips. This meant: "I have not thought about this question yet, so that is why I need to keep quiet", while on the other hand, his disciples were astonished by the fact that he did not answer the question. Many of you say: “Why don’t you tell us?" And how am I supposed to tell you?!? - I have told you a great secret already, but you would say that everyone knows the secret about the wooden cross with the Christ and the two robbers besides Him with their legs broken. I am telling you, this is not the True Cross. When the True Cross enters your being, light will illuminate your mind, while simultaneously your heart and your spirit will begin to work with vigor, and then you would become lords of the whole world. Some people say that a certain person has a mighty Spirit. Only the True Cross has a mighty spirit. The One Who is calmly carrying this True Cross is now looking upon us ... The legend tells us that the Roman legions of up to six thousand men had administered eighty thousand blows to Christ whilst torturing Him, but He nevertheless remained silent. How did Christ manage to withstand all the suffering? He simply said: "Hit me, those blows are a blessing - let the others be blessed through the suffering of my back. I am doing this for my disciples for whom I am ready to endure everything.” This is what I call magnetization. Where were you then? Of course, you were not within the Roman legions, but you stood somewhere among the street crowd and your thoughts were that the Christ was dying without attaining the real purpose in life, despite being a young and a clever man. You thought that His deeds at the time were foolish. Such was your philosophy then and such was the philosophy of all the priests, pharisees and sadducees – just eat, drink, lie, steal more money from your fellow human beings - that is how the meaning of life was interpreted back then. Nonetheless, there is nothing more virtuous than Faith, Hope and Love. When people ask me what I eat, I say: "I feast on Faith, Hope and Love." These are the fruits of the Spirit – this is what I eat. Now, let us abstain from criticizing anyone any further. When someone eats more than I do, I am glad that their stomach is strong and healthy. I'm happy when those around me are happy and I share the sorrow of those who grieve and I say to them: "You were full of joy before and can become full of joy again." A few years ago, sometime between May and June, both I and a former teacher were passing near a tavern in the city of Varna. The tavern was inside a hotel with a garden, the tables were laid out, deliciously smelling steaks were being served and wine was also being handed out among the guests. As we passed by, this former teacher groaned and I asked him why he groaned. He then said that in the past he used to be one of those lucky people who indulged in all those fine meals and that he is now suffering, as it is no longer possible for him to join such occasions. Consequently, I shared with him that for me it would be a great misfortune to enter this tavern and that he should be grateful to God for teaching him how to live modestly, as a little bit of bread and salt is enough for one’s sustenance. I also told him that he has already sampled all this type of feasting, and that even the devouring of one thousand more steaks would not improve his life anyway. The Lord says: "Because now you are not living a better life, I am excluding you from life, so that you can learn the true meaning of the Cross of the Christ, which is really the meaning of Life itself." Yes, these are the great mysteries of the Christ, Who is now coming. Be faithful to this great master. He is now arriving with all the angels and the saints, with all your forefathers and ancestors, but not the way the church and the Sabbaths envision His descent. You will see how much confused the modern day people are with regards to Christ’s arrival and you will subsequently admit how great the Lord is and you would show gratitude that you have gone through all these tribulations and suffering. Nowadays, Christ is handing over His wreath of thorns to all women. We all know that when the wedding ceremony is conducted, a wreath is placed on the bride’s head. In the tradition of mysticism and the occult science, this wreath is shaped as a circle with a cross on the inside. Whoever has come to Earth has to acquire the Divine Wisdom. Whoever is in Heaven and wants to become very wise, obtains a ticket for the Earth because it is a school intended for gathering wisdom. Christ will come down to inspect this school and He would not scold you, but may ask you different algebra questions. He may ask how much is one plus two, and you may say that this is a very simple question. Others would be asked how much is two minus one. Some could be asked about the triple rule, others may have a chemistry test, while the rest would have a physiology test - for example, to elaborate on digestion or on the topic of blood circulation. Some would be questioned on magnetism and electricity and some would be asked to explain how the human thought is formed, while others could state what they know about marriage. Women, for example, would have to develop the subject on how they understand marriage. Because in future there would be fewer men on Earth, women will have more exams on the education of their children. Next, the Lord shall ask the judges how they have judged and applied the Divine Righteousness, then ask the lawyers how they have defended their clients, the teachers - how they have taught their students, the doctors - how they have treated their patients, the priests - how they have preached the Word of God. The Lord will revise everyone’s deeds. He will remove the crowns from the bishops’ heads and tell them: "I did not wear a crown, but a wreath of thorns. A bishop, who has not worn a crown of thorns, is not allowed to wear a golden crown." - Be aware that all of you are blessed to have been born on Earth at this particular point in time. And now, let this essential thought of the cross remain sealed within you. - Turn your head and face towards God and when you ask God why you’ve been forsaken, He shall reply by saying: "Here I am, I have not forsaken you, I will explain to you the deep inner meaning of this cross." To all of you I wish: “May the Lord grant you the blessing to go hand in hand with Him” (people from the audience said “Amen”). Do not be discouraged, do not moan, but do rejoice even when you are weeping. Offer each other a helping hand. From now on, all churches and faiths should be reconciled - our Father is alive and He is the only God for all the existing religions. He will attract you towards Himself, just like the magnet attracts metallic shards. One day, you'll find yourselves magnetized and suddenly changed. Afterwards, just carry the True Cross and Christ will begin His work within you. From now on there is no force whatsoever to stop the Christ from doing his work. He will enlighten you and give you every wisdom, but you need to be true to your Father. We all already live in Heaven anyway, so do say: "Father, from now on, we shall walk Your path, we will cultivate this Paradise, we’ll eat only from the allowed fruits and we shall act in harmony with Your eternal law." Then God would reply: "Come all of you who are blessed. - For you is My Kingdom". Then he shall send you back to Earth again to work and the Earth will become part of the Kingdom of God. Some of you will be governors; others will be judges, lawyers, teachers – everyone shall do something according to their best talents. There are so many different job vacancies that there are hardly enough people to occupy all of them. There are enough jobs for both men and women, but with regards to women, these jobs are for real women only. Socrates said: "There are women and women." - That is to say there are two types of women. When you meet a woman, this woman needs to positively change you, and not pervert your mind. When you visit a real woman with a foul thought in your mind, she should help you transform your state of mind, and then you would say: "I will not do such a bad thing." This is what I call a real woman. If, however, one’s mind is perverted in a bad direction, then this is not done by a real woman, and you should know that her head is turned upside down just as it is with the kingdom of plants. We need real women to turn around the minds of these obstinate Bulgarians. You, women, have the key to do this. Do not be offended, as I am here telling you to help your stubborn children change their minds, and to transform your own hearts and your own entire spirituality. This change, of course, will not happen within one, five or ten years, it is a matter of centuries. Our contemporary times, our day today … is a day for work. The Lord is coming to offer work and service to all women and to also offer them equal rights with men. When the man and the woman are not yet married, they are very fond of each other from a distance, but when they get together under one roof, they start to hurt each other. At present, the Lord has placed the men up in the area of the mind and the women down in the area of the heart. Sometimes, women may lament that their honorable husbands have passed away, but instead these wives should thank their husbands for helping them change their own minds. On the other hand, the man, when he looks at his wife, would say how good she is and how well she talks. Some women say: "The Lord took away my husband." No, the Lord did not take your husband away; He just placed him further away, so that you both can contemplate one another in order to again become fond of each other. In the evening, the woman will let the man into her well cultivated garden of the heart, while the next day the man will invite his wife to his own well cultivated garden of the mind. So, please consider if it is possible for you to live without a well cultivated garden? To you women, I recommend to plant your gardens well, so that men would come down and walk in them. And to you men I suggest to work on your gardens well, so that women could stroll in them with joy. This is the meaning of the words: "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven …“ Such are indeed some of those secrets. Sunday Talks, 22 March 1917, Thursday, Sofia Translated by: Pavel Iordanov

Those Who are Called Upon “But they all with one accord began to make excuses” (Luke 14:18-20, New King James Version – NKJV)”. As you read the 14th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, there you would only find parts from a very long lecture, in which Christ had elaborated on common principles that are applicable to the whole of humanity. The parable underlines the fact that a person arranged for a grand dinner and invited many people and the ones who were invited to the dinner are also being described in those verses. The words “invitation” and “culture” have something in common. On one hand, the word “culture” represents the material and spiritual achievements of a nation. On the other hand, every newly-introduced idea or manifestation is also a representation of a new type of a culture. Moreover, every transformation from one state of mind to another state of mind represents a brand new type of a culture as well. The word “invitation” implies a personal journey from one state of common understanding and interpretation of life to a new, advanced state of consciousness. And indeed, in order to be invited to the grand dinner, we have to leave our everyday life behind and enter a new festive disposition. One may ask what is the relationship between the three people who refused to join the dinner. The first one refused under the pretext that they needed to take care of their land; the second one refused under the pretext that the five pairs of oxen they bought need their attention while the third one mentioned their spouse as an excuse. Those three archetypes of people, who rejected the dinner invitation, are three categories of human beings who are unwilling to accept the New Culture. The first category of people gives up because they need to take care of their land; the second category refuses because they wish to work with their oxen, while the third category rejects the invitation because they have already married. Those three categories of people who have denied the Christ culture can be likened to the seed that has fallen onto barren ground. The first category of people are the seed that fell on the road; the second category depicts the seed, which fell between the thorns and the third - the seed that fell on a stone. Christ offered a new path and a new culture to many people, thereby inviting them to a new way of life, but they all refused to join forces with Him. They preferred to work on their land, to conquer more land and to expand their borders. The Jews were that first category of people who refused the invitation under the pretense of the need to cultivate their fields. They said to Christ: "We disagree with your heretical doctrine." Next, they crucified Him. Christ demonstrated the new approach to life to the Latin race as well, but it nevertheless chose to deal with “the five pairs of oxen” instead and also declined to join the new culture. After all, the Latin race created the so-called Holy Inquisition, supposedly in the name of Christ! History bears witness to the fact that around fifty million people have been tortured by the very same inquisition. The third category of people are the modern day ones, who marry and completely give up on the acceptance of the new culture and the new way of life. They reason as follows: "Why do we need a new culture, a new life? As long as there is something for us to eat and drink, we shall eat, drink and rejoice with our spouses and our children", but this is by no means a sound philosophy. That is what king Solomon, who had three hundred women and six hundred concubines, was affirming as well. Having tried all the earthly pleasures, Solomon concluded: "… and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 1:14, NKJV). Today both the believers and the non-believers quote the thought once expressed by king Solomon, thus having in mind both the physical and spiritual life, but this assumption is a misconception. Solomon drew his conclusions after he had tried all the transient earthly pleasures. If you draw the same conclusions, could you possibly confirm that you have also, just like Solomon, personally experienced the vanity of all earthly pleasures? If you have not experienced them, you then have no right to speak like Solomon did and if you draw your own life’s conclusions from your personal life’s misdemeanors, then your understanding of the ubiquitous Life is without any solid grounds. What is symbolized by the “fields” and “land” that are being cultivated by the first category of people? The answer is - the human body. The young woman marvels at her own beauty in the mirror several times a day and being happy with her own self, she doesn’t want to marry. Why? She does not desire to become a mother, to give birth to children – she prefers to marvel at her own beauty instead. The young man, on the other hand, roams freely in the streets with his fashionable walking stick and also doesn’t want to marry and become a father, because that would limit his freedom. That is the type of choice, which is made by those who choose to “cultivate their own fields” only, regardless of whether they are young or old, but then again, the old grandma nevertheless says that the young people are just acting foolishly. It's not foolish what young people do - not all young people are reckless and not all elderly people are wise. Are the small streams murky when they have just left the spring? Initially, all the small streams are clean, but as they move ahead and pass through the earthly layers, they collect sludge that makes them impure. Therefore, all young people, just like the rivers, are clear and clean at the beginning of their lives. As people move on with their lives, they gather different impurities and get old. Old age is not a bad thing – it implies a progressive forward movement. However, what could be possibly expected from those young people who dress and undress themselves several times a day and put their shoes on to only take them off immediately in order to try on any newer and more modern shoes? – The answer is that nothing can be expected from such people. They are standing in front of a mirror, just looking at themselves and if they are to be invited to Christ’s dinner, they would certainly refuse. Why would they refuse? – because they are working on their own “land”; they are “cultivating their own fields”. Then, these people would pass themselves for nationalists, patriots and servants to their respective countries. Do not trust such people, as they only think about their own new clothes and shoes, houses and properties. Such fake patriots are to be seen today in all countries all over the world. They speak about the splendor of their homeland, but, in fact, they work to their own personal benefit only. The second category of people are those who refused the dinner in order to enjoy “the five pairs of oxen”. The five pairs of oxen symbolize the five human senses. This second category of people represents those who enjoy the earthly pleasures. Life is a give and take for them and they would inevitably choose money as their highest priority. Their main life goal is money. And they say, as the Bulgarian writer Slaveykov put it in one of his poems: "Oh money, money, my all-powerful queen; Without you I’m in hell and with you in my pocket I reside in paradise." This second category of people acts as they please and wherever you may go - in a tavern, in a theater or to a concert, such people are invariably in the very first row. Where there are bountiful pleasures and fun, they are always prominently seated. The desire to fully utilize those “five pairs of oxen” – that is all they can perceive through their five senses. If you tell them something about Christ's doctrine, about the new, upcoming culture, they will answer: "This is unimportant now – in today’s world the “five pairs of oxen” are important." In their opinion, the one who goes beyond the five senses and appreciates life in a different way, is a stupid, loony and uncultured man. You see this type of people in all the cafes and beer gardens, with full glasses in front of them, their legs crossed and telling each other stories about the meaning of life. Where is the meaning of life to be found - in “the cultivation of the fields” or in the work with “the five pairs of oxen”? You can try these belief-systems - I do not mind those who work on “the land” or trade with their “five pairs of oxen”, but I say that whoever sacrifices their higher consciousness for the sake of their lower instincts, does not understand the meaning of real life. Everyone needs to ask themselves what their life purpose is. As the child grows, it becomes interested in its own physical growth. It constantly measures its height, compares it to that of other children in order to see how much it has developed. The little girl, for example, wants to be as mature as her mother, to have her mother’s black, long hair and her mother’s eyebrows, which are black and curved like a rainbow and also to have her mother’s red and slightly plump lips. All those desires are achievable and the young girl would eventually become a beautiful slender lady, who would enjoy her own beauty and the others around her would enjoy her good looks as well. Typically, the young boy would want to become like his father, to have the same mustache and beard and to become strong and powerful. As the boy grows up, he eventually becomes a handsome young man who starts paying attention to the young ladies around him. However, the day comes when both the young man and the young woman lose their youth, their hairs turn grey until finally the old age settles in and then their backs become hunched and so they say to the young people: "Dear children, our life is over. Vanity… everything is vanity." These are the people who have tried their “five pairs of oxen”. They are the ones who revolve around their five senses only. And then I ask these people: “Did you try to plow the soil with the five pairs of oxen?” – and they answer: "Yes, we tried, we plowed along with them", to which I respond: "As long as you've done it already, you should know that there is a life’s purpose higher than just plowing along and you should strive to attain it. Next, I am now moving on to the third category of people, to those who think only of themselves and want to be in possession of a high social standing. If you tell them about the doctrine of Christ, they would immediately ask you what this doctrine has to do with their social status. They are already “married” to their social and professional ranks and would just say: “What do the teachings of the Christ have in common with our family? Just leave us alone!" For two thousand years, Christ has been inviting all people and all nations to the grand dinner in order to explain to them the principles of the Great Divine Life, but they still keep on rejecting His invitation. What could they expect from their own refusal? What happened with the Jews? Where did the great Roman Empire go? Likewise, the modern society of nowadays is going through a major crisis as well. As of recently, has it become evident that the salvation of humanity lies in the unification of all people who need to live as brothers among themselves. Only now, does it begin to dawn upon people that the humankind does not live on the Earth only and humans start to perceive their lives in the same way they perceive plant life for example – there is the life of the roots, which is the low, material life and there is also the life of the branches, which has a higher spiritual purpose. Earthly life gravitates towards the center of the Earth, while the spiritual life aims towards the center of the Sun. The Earth inhabitants, who live in the “roots of life”, have one type of life interpretation, while the inhabitants of the spiritual world, who live in “the branches” of the Tree of Life, have totally different notions. However, life in itself is not limited to the roots or branches only. There is more types of life – the life of the blossoms and the life of the fruits, for example. When you come to understand and live the life of the fruits, then the process of maturing would have already started for you. Christ spoke to his disciples in parables to explain to them the reasons why people could not yet enter the Kingdom of God. The reasons lie in the fact that people's attention is attracted to “their fields”, “their oxen” and to the high-flying positions they occupy in society. Let the “fields”, the “oxen” and the societal positions all exist and thrive, but the human beings still fail to envisage how they may enter the Kingdom of God, while they are willing to do so only in the presence of their “land”, their “oxen” and their occupations. How would one visit a friend who lives a few miles away? One would harness the horse-wagon and would make their way. Then, when they get to their friend's house, they'll stop the horse-wagon and will be greeted by their friends. Next, the visitors would bring the car into the yard, send the horses into the barn, then they would enter the house, shall remove their coats and only afterwards would they enter the guest room. The traveler’s horse, wagon and luggage in this example represent both the “land” and the “oxen” that prevent one from entering into the Kingdom of God. The coat worn by the visitor represents the temporary professional and social responsibilities one has momentarily assumed during their life on Earth. One should leave their social and professional occupations behind and would only then enter the “guest room”, i.e. enter the Kingdom of God. Don’t the court judges also do the same? When the judges preside over the court, they put on an official robe. After reading the verdict, the judges take off their official robes and remain with their ordinary garments to live and interact as any other ordinary people. For example, while on the battlefield, soldiers instill fear into their enemies, but once they lay down their rifles and bayonets, they become ordinary people. Do you think that this way of living could be described as a culture of a higher rank and purpose? When people pass away, they leave their “fields”, “oxen”, wives and children behind and go on to live in the invisible world on their own only. What happens to their earthly culture? - Everything that has made them cultured, civilized and extraordinary on Earth remains buried in the ground and one leaves the Earth the very same way they entered it. What remained of the Jewish culture when they lost their land and became Egyptian slaves? One may say that the Egyptians were cruel and were killing the Jewish babies. Don’t people do the same today? Doesn’t everyone do the same thing? One kills the noble and Divine within oneself and then pretends to be a cultured, civilized person. To kill the Divine within oneself means to be killing the children of God. How about those who refuse Christ’s invitation? Are they ready for the new culture? - No, they are not. “Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind” (Luke 14:21, NKJV). These newly-summoned people did actually accept the invitation and therefore they have become the bearers of the future, new culture. What are the character traits of those represented by the so-called “maimed” guests - those are the ones who do not steal and do not abuse that which belongs to others. Which are the ones who are “halt”? – those who do not commit crimes. Who are “blind”? – those who have no greed. Every greedy person eagerly strives for money and considers them a necessary unit of exchange, but fails to appreciate the Kingdom of God, which brings the only true wealth. Money and coal, for example, have exactly the same value and meaning in the Kingdom of God. Indeed, money are only of value in the Kingdom of God when they serve a noble cause. On the other hand, the one whose hands are tied against committing any evil crime, has a heart, which is free and open to Love. Such a person is denoted by the term “mailmed” in the above verses. Furthermore, whoever has no envy and does no evil, is depicted as the “halt”. “Then the master told his servant: ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet” (Luke 14:23-24, NKJV). Who are the ones who were called upon – those are the poor and the maimed, the halt and the blind. They are the ones who accepted the invitation. Outwardly, they may look ugly and unrefined, but a day will come when they too will show their beauty and strength in terms of good deeds and great feats. People would love them for their deeds the way they nowadays love the rich for their money. It is better to be loved for one’s deeds rather than only for one’s money and outer beauty. Which is better? - to be outwardly beautiful as the sunlight, which illuminates everything during the day and disappears at night or to be inwardly beautiful and illuminated by the Divine Light? The first type of beauty is what we call physical beauty and the second type of beauty we call beauty of the human soul. The first type of beauty is manifested during the day, when even without it, it is anyway bright everywhere around us; the second type of beauty shows its face in the evening and illuminates the path of those who suffer and are tormented; it shows the path to the oppressed and those who have lost their way. So that is why it is said that the beautiful things grow in darkness. The biblical king David said: "Hide me under your wings (Psalm 91 Prayer)." The Bulgarians who believe in witchcraft do not allow the young and beautiful girls to go out during the day in order to protect them against any possible evil spells being cast upon them. What are those evil spells? – those are the unsavory human thoughts and desires. Such thoughts and desires contain an evil force of great magnitude. In some cases, such thoughts and desires are more terrifying than the weapons of war, as, for example, a book of a writer, full of distorted thoughts and feelings brings poison into the minds and hearts of many generations, since the war cannons are temporarily dangerous only, while the war is still ongoing. Christianity comes to save mankind from the bad and distorted thoughts and desires that have been in the minds of men for thousands of years. One may say that Christianity is a new teaching, which is only two thousand years old. This is definitely not a new teaching. It has been around through three different eras: the first era dates back to the creation of the First Man in the image and likeness of God. This Man is still living in paradise today. The second epoch stretches from the time of the second man, who was made of earth and was cast away from Paradise for his disobedience. The third era is the time of the present humankind, when man left paradise at one’s own accord and was dressed in leather. This is the modern day man who affirms to believe in Christianity. The contemporary people have a very limited understanding of Christianity. The attitude of some believers to Christianity is the same as the attitude of the illiterate towards an expensive, well-bound book. The illiterate examines the book and its binding, checks what kind of cover it has, where it is made, what the name of the publisher is and so on. After doing the research, the illiterate tells their acquaintances that this is a good and well-bound book. Such observations are important, but above all, one should be able to read and understand the book’s content and make use of it. Christianity is a valuable and useful book that a person may benefit from, only when it is opened and read. In this “book of Christianity” everyone would find the methods and laws to live by for the sake of harmony and peace. If this book remains closed though, then it does not make any sense. It is the same as if the doctor has a valuable medicine that gives life to people without dispensing it to those who need it. Another example would be to examine the bottle containing the medicine from outside only, to turn it up and down, but not to open it. Alternatively, if the bottle is broken, then the medicine would be lost. What is the benefit of the book and the bottle when they cannot be utilized? No matter how good they might be looking on the outside, they would not contribute anything whatsoever to one’s improvement. There is another book more valuable than the ones that a person could visually inspect and this “book” is the human soul, as it contains all the secrets concerning the Divine Life, from the moment this world was created to the moment humans shall reunite with God. When something is mentioned about the human soul, many people are asking themselves, if the soul really exists or not, while very few people tend to open and read the "book“ of the soul. A famous Greek philosopher once said: "Know thyself." This thought reflects the doctrine of the soul and for human beings to be able to recognize their own Divinity, they need to open the books of their souls and read from them in order to discover Life’s secrets. The Holy Bible contains less mysteries than what God has imprinted within the human soul. One needs to examine the contents of the soul to find out how all living beings and all angels have lived before us. That is the only way all the existential questions would be given a satisfactory and truthful answer. Is it possible for the humans to get in touch with the angelic hierarchies? It is possible indeed, since I do it everyday. You may say it's impossible, but if you try it yourself, you will discover that it is all quite achievable and possible. Quite many angels are knocking on the door of our hearts at present, but people prefer not to let them in and say: “Leave me alone!”. Some people refuse to accept the angels’ bliss under the pretense of “cultivating their fields”, others are trying their “five pairs of oxen” and the third group are the ones who are going to “marry” to society’s norms. King Solomon, for example, had offered shelter and convenient life to around 900 hundred women in his palace, but this fact, despite the sheer numbers, cannot represent a true marriage in the name of the Holy Spirit. The modern day man leaves his wife and then marries a divorced woman and the same is what women tend to do as well. And after all this, such people are categorized as civilized and cultured?!? What is the culture in the lives of the divorced men and women? - to divorce yourself from the spouse with whom God has united you and to connect oneself with a complete stranger speaks of no true culture. When people encounter difficulties, they say life is a struggle, so they need to fight on in order to survive. It makes sense for the lamb to resist the wolf, but what is the point of two sisters or two brothers fighting each other in the home of their Father? The fighting among people who are serving different deities may make sense, but should they fight when they serve the one and only God? The master of the house, about whom the Christ speaks, invited many people to a dinner, but they all rejected the invitation. This means that these people are not yet ready for the arrival of the new culture. They deal with transient things that divert their attention from the real purpose of Life. To illustrate, the larva is allowed to deal with its body for forty days only. It then gives up such activities and assumes the shape and form of a cocoon. Next, it gives up the cocoon’s way of life and ultimately turns into a butterfly. The body to which people pay such great deal of superficial attention is not the most essential or the most sublime thing in life and the body should be transformed and perfected instead. Saint Paul said: “It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44, NKJV)". The natural body is what does not withstand the diseases and it is called a physical body and the Spanish flu clearly showed how strong the physical body can be. When the Spanish flue enters the body, the body either makes it through or not when it is medically treated, but in such cases it is best to be consciously aware and to succumb to the microbes, only as far as they are permitted to eat only what’s unnecessary inside the body and to afterwards stop their actions with the power of one’s thought and will. There is, however, something far more dangerous than the disease-causing microbes and it is the human malice. Christ is inviting all people today to a stately dinner. This is the New Life you are called upon to embrace. Try it and see what good it brings to the human soul. Whoever accepts the invitation and acts righteously, would have their eyes open and shall see the Truth. Then, one would see the angels descending and ascending, would be able to communicate with them and shall begin to obtain the Word of the Living Water. In that case, whatever a person may learn, shall be passed onto their younger brothers and sisters. This is what true knowledge stands for. Whoever acquires such knowledge, would be helpful and useful to both oneself and one’s brethren. Such a person shall retain their knowledge always and forever under all conditions of life and such knowledge would become their true flesh and blood. What knowledge may a donkey or a horse possibly have, if they have their backs loaded with the sacred books of the entire mankind? Would such a donkey or a horse have any real knowledge? The donkey may bray back and forth, but still it wouldn’t know anything about the valuable books it carries on its back. Therefore, people should seek the knowledge that can be taken along into the spiritual world by their soul when one leaves the earth and not the artificial knowledge, which may break one’s back. The third category of people who refused to attend Christ’s dinner are those who prefer to get “married”. They are similar to the patriots who love their homeland, but seek to take an advantage at any given moment in order to progress their own agenda. On the contrary, real patriots are those who sacrifice everything for the sake of their country. Such people should be role models and worthy examples to their countrymen. Whoever sacrifices for their brethren, country and for a noble idea, shall not pass away into oblivion. In the souls of such patriots, all people and nations are resurrected and reborn and such heroes act as the souls of nations. One day all nations would be resurrected and along with them and the white race will rise up as well. Then Christ shall come. Therefore, the Christ’s descent upon Earth would be signified by all nations gaining their freedom. Every nation which is trying to dominate other nations by taking away their freedom, shall be deprived of God's blessing. Do not assume that you are something, which is separate from the Whole. If you deny Christ’s invitation and say that you are going to work on your “land”, try your “oxen” or get “married”, then that would not excuse you. Such beliefs would not relieve you of the obligation to serve the Whole. Each person's life should contribute to the Life of the Whole and so together build a better new world. I wish that all Bulgarians were from the “blind”, who were invited to Christ’s dinner. What virtue is represented by the so-called „blind“ person? – it is the virtue of having one’s eyes closed for all evil, but open for all good and noble instead. Bulgarians typically love their corn fields, but every person has as much land as necessary, neither more nor less and taking more than what has been already bestowed upon us by the Lord, shall be easily lost. Everyone has the right to cultivate the land, but not to occupy it; that is what God requires from us and that is what Love requires from us as well. What is Love? Some use the word “affection” instead of the word Love and vice versa, but those two words differ in their meanings. Love is a creative force that gives life, while affection builds on what Love gives away freely and happily. In general, true Love gives, while affection always takes. Once, a disciple went to a Hindu teacher and asked him what Love is. The master kept silent and answered nothing. The student visited the master for five days in a row, continuously asking him the very same question, but the guru was still remaining completely silent. On the sixth day, the disciple insisted on the teacher revealing some wisdom on what Love really is, but instead of giving an answer, the teacher grabbed the disciple by the hand and the student was led away into the Ganges River. The master then sank the disciple into the water and held the poor soul under water for five minutes. The student kicked about and resisted in order to escape the teacher's strong hold, but could not manage to escape. Finally, the teacher drew the disciple out of the water and asked: "What did you feel when you were in the water?" - “Great inner tension and desperate need for air.” The master then replied: "When you feel such an inner need for Love, then you will understand what it is. The same way you breath when you open your mouth is equivalent to the way you will truly experience Love, once you open your soul to it.” The real, living Christian culture, just like the above-mentioned Hindu teacher, has now constrained the European nations and keeps them under water. “Five minutes on”, since these nations have been trying to set themselves free, while Christ is asking them at the same time: "What do you feel and how do you feel?" - "We need freedom" is what they answer. All nations shall be free when they return to God and when they begin to love each other. Love makes you free. Refrain from selfishness, from the thought of fretting for your own personal survival. Do the will of God who lives inside of you. Christ says: “I do not receive honor from men” (John 5:41, NKJV). Instead, Christ seeks the glory of God. Man is part of the Divine Oneness. If the whole Divine Oneness is in a healthy state, then all its parts shall be safe and sound as well. One may ask: “And what will happen with Bulgaria?” - it all depends on your behavior, whether is virtuous or not. When all Bulgarians live in harmony with the Whole, then their lives will be peaceful. Ever since the creation of the world, God has set the Bulgarian territorial boundaries and established the correct form of government that needs to be applied. One day that plan shall be fulfilled one way or the other. Everything has been envisaged and foreseen not only for Bulgaria, but for all other nations and for all individual people as well. Now when you return to your homes after this lecture, each of you should enter their own personal private spiritual abode, open the pages of the book of their soul and make note of what is written in there about you and what your life’s purpose is. What’s bad is already left behind. Now the blessed days of resurrection and rejuvenation are already knocking the door. You would all be young and at the age of “thirty-three”. You shall live on Earth as long as you wish and would leave it when you finish the job you have come here for. You would be able to gather your relatives and friends before you start off your return journey into the spiritual world and tell them you are going back to the Source. You would be able to say goodbye to them and let them know you are departing for your true homeland. As you are leaving, they shall not cry because they would know and understand where exactly you will be going. In order for you to be able to come to the Earth freely and leave it freely, you have to give up hatred, jealousy, envy and all other useless dispositions. The fact that somebody may have hurt you, should not disturb you. What’s truly yours, remains always yours and nobody could possibly take it away from you, but if still something truly yours is somehow taken away from you, then it will be soon or late inevitably returned to you. I wish to all of you to become personally acquainted with the Christ. How Christ will descend upon Earth and where you may meet Him is not important. – think of it as you may please. Expect His arrival the way your understanding permits you to do so. If you are a Christian orthodox, you may expect Him to descend from Heaven, accompanied by angels, who shall make known to the whole world that the Christ is returning. If you are a Theosophy follower, you would probably wait for Christ to be born somewhere and then grow and mature, as He walks among the different nations to preach to them. If you are an occultist, you might believe that Christ would appear at different times and in places among all people. Christ’s arrival shall be known by the great perturbations that will occur all over the world. Christ is now knocking on every door and is inviting people to unite forces with Him. Whose door is Christ knocking on? He is knocking on the door of the ones who have the will and yearning to accept His invitation. Rejoice yourself, all of you who are called upon! Do not doubt the Truth. Wherever it may be coming from, it is always the same and does not vary. In order to perceive it, you need to get rid of your materialistic approach and perceptions. The material world relates to the form of things, while the Spiritual and Divine worlds respectively relate to the content and the meaning of those forms. Therefore, do not just ponder over the physical forms, but move on to their content and meaning. What did the devil say to Christ whilst taking Him onto the mountain? - "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me” (Mathew 4:9, NKJV). Jesus answered: "Away with you, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only you shall serve” (Matthew 4:10, NKJV). Christ does not make deals with the devil, as He knows that all the devil’s contracts and promises would not last. Humans have come to the Earth not to become kings and queens, but to serve God with love. Every person should be pleased with their state of affairs and not seek wealth and glory that will inevitably fail them. If someone meets you and asks you, if are you are a Christian orthodox, evangelist or a catholic, then such questions should not concern you. In such cases, everyone should whisper to themselves: "I know one God, who loves all, heals all and gives life, food and water to all." God is everywhere - everywhere we do hear His voice. Some hear His voice and trust Him, while others hear Him and doubt Him. This is the difference between believers and agnostics. You may say that some people are claiming to be the real Christ. If such people abide by the laws of Love, Wisdom, Righteousness, Virtue and Truth, then they are the living Christ. Therefore, all humans could be just like the Christ Himself. Do you think this is impossible? Christ said to himself: "I and my Father are one (John, 10:30)." Whoever follows the God’s law, is one with God. In the very same way, it is possible for the Spirit of Christ to live in all people, since the Christ shall reside inside all humans and all people shall in their turn live within Christ. You may say there are hidden things that are kept as a secret with regards to the human existence. There are certain secrets in life, but that does not mean they are impure. Both life in Heaven and life below Heaven are full of secrets and Nature is also full of secrets. The human beings themselves and their bodies represent a great secret. Those who love God and their brethren, who learn and work, are gradually uncovering the secrets of Nature and the secrets of their bodies. In this context, one should know that the human body is a divine, holy creation. Treat it with reverence and devotion. The forces necessary for the development of any human being are hidden within the inner self and the conditions for their manifestation are to be found in the outer world. In water and moisture lives the Divine life, in heat – the divine Love and in light – the divine Truth. Use these conditions to grow and progress. You may say: "We want to be happy and full of joy" and that is indeed possible. How? - By opening your hearts to the light and warmth of God's Love. Once upon a time, an Indian fakir spent thirty years of his life in a state of motionlessness, being willing to discover the meaning of Life. For days he sat motionless like a tree and birds even made their nests on his head. One day an impoverished widow came close by and affixed a cradle on the nearby tree, where she left her child. The mother went to work thinking that she could rest assured for the safety of her child, since the child was under the watchful eye of the nearby-sitting fakir. After a while, a cobra approached the cradle and was about to attack the child. The fakir asked himself the question, whether to help the child or to leave it in God’s hands. He thought: "God created both the child and the cobra, He can foresee everything and I do not know what to do in order to fulfill God’s will." While he was reasoning, he did not move and instead let God alone solve the matter. The cobra bit the child and it died. The fakir then said: "Such was the Will of God". Ultimately, it turned out that he had spent in vain thirty years of his life in meditation, since he had not grasped the real meaning of Life. As he departed from Earth, God summoned him to inquire, as to why the fakir had not saved the widow's child. "I did not know what Your will is - to save the child by killing the cobra or to leave the cobra alive and to leave the child in Your hands”, said the fakir. God replied: "My will was to keep the child alive, so you should have made a move to kill the cobra. Why were you meditating so many years, if you could not resolve this dilemma successfully? For punishment, I will send you back to Earth to spend another one thousand years in tribulations in order to learn what My will is and how to fulfill it”. Many people nowadays are sitting still like this Indian fakir, motionless and meditating on the purpose and meaning of Life, but have not drawn the relevant conclusions. Their friends who are coming nearby being pursued by cobras and are asking for help, but the modern day fakirs tend not to make a move and do not want to raise their hands to kill the snakes. They say: "God has created the humans and the cobras and if He wishes, he would save my friends on His Own". The cobra represents the deceitful human life as the result of a distorted mind and a distorted heart. The cobra suffocates both the human mind and the human heart. One may say that the world has been created in such a way. This is not how the world was created. On the contrary, the world has been created according to rational principles and is based on order and intrinsic harmony. To see what in fact the world is, one should obtain a free ticket to tour it. Only then, would one have a clear idea on the way the world was pre-designed and created. But only those, who are willing to learn and work with Love, could deserve such a free ticket. The world needs great people, it needs heroes who are wounded not in the back whilst being in retreat, but heroes wounded in the chest whilst attacking and moving forward. The Spirit of God is descending upon this world to work and to encourage all people to work as well. The times of peaceful resignation have already ended. Today everyone needs to do their job and we see that all people are under pressure from the Divine world to do so. Thinking of sleep and rest only is sheer laziness, a result of an inner inertia. One person was very lazy and did not know how to cure himself. He visited an experienced American doctor and asked for help. The doctor took him to his lab, placed electrodes on his body and started the electric current. The sick man started shouting, stomping with his feet and waiving his hands. "There's nothing dangerous" - the doctor said calmly - "These are gymnastic exercises that will help you heal". Human life needs to re-embrace the sound foundation that God has originally set up. Apply the science of Truth and Love in your lives. If you see that your brothers and sisters are impure and unwell, do not criticize them, but help them recover; if they are hungry, offer them a meal; if they are sick, treat their disease. Why do you at all criticize the people who do not go to church? - Do not blame them for that. I find that some of you spend more time in church than they should. The term “church” symbolizes the self-centered human existence. Everyone has one such church within themselves. Exit your church of selfishness and enter the Divine Church of Love, Righteousness, Truth, Virtue and Wisdom. In other words, stop thinking about yourselves only and think of your brothers and sisters as well. Only in this way will the situation of families, societies and nations be improved. Only in this way will Bulgaria's political situation improve. All people - priests, teachers, judges, government officials, mothers and fathers - should pray for victory over the evil. "Which side should we support?" - Only the side of God and the side of Christ. I'm already at the battlefield. I have drawn my sword and I am fighting. If all men fight against evil, first within themselves and then in the outside world, the planet would easily be saved. Rest assured, great is the future of mankind. - "And what about Bulgaria?" – Don’t worry about Bulgaria. Bulgaria’s destiny is sealed, but your personal destinies remain undecided. I wish for all your work to be successfully accomplished by means of abiding by the Divine principles. I wish everyone to be healthy, cheerful, active and wherever you may meet each other, to treat each other like brothers and sisters. There is no greater feat than recognizing and treating each other like brothers and sisters - this is what is preached by the living Christ. I wish to all of you to be the “poor”, the “maimed”, the “halt” and the “blind”, so that you are called upon by the Christ Himself. Christ will send His servants to invite you to join forces with Him. God bless you and may the Lord be with you now and forever and throughout all ages! Sunday Talks; Sunday, 3 November, 1918; Sofia, Bulgaria Translated by: Pavel Iordanov