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WHERE DID THE MASTER BEINSA DUNO COME FROM? THE REVELATION IN 1898 The Master says: In the great household of nature, if we work for money for ourselves, we are servants, If we work for love, we are sons of God – we are conscious of the son relationship to HIM. Since ancient times Bulgaria has been a cradle of spiritual life. The Hellenes considered Thrace, which is now the southern part of Bulgaria, as the Land of Light because it was there that Orpheus founded a school where the sacred arts of life, poetry and music were taught. That was thousands of years before Christ. In the early Middle Ages Bulgaria again became the centre of enlightened culture. It was there that Bogomilism was born. Bogomilism was the bearer of new ideas that were of significance for the whole of mankind. These ideas were not only of a spiritual character, bearers of the pure teaching of Christ, but it also campaigned for just social reforms in the darkness of the Middle Ages and of feudalism. Bogomilism preceded all the social movements in Europe and lit the torch of the Renaissance in Europe, for which many people sacrificed their lives. Bulgaria has once again, in our times, become the source and centre of a spiritual movement of significance for the whole of mankind — the Teaching of Love which the Master Beinsa Duno brought to the world. It was indeed a great epoch when the Master came among us all. He lives among us and with us. He became a centre around which a new life began to be born. Men’s souls came to life and a miraculous phenomenon began the creation of a new world. Life and knowledge became one. It is a great privilege for a nation when the Master appears in the midst of it — for he is the emissary of the Great Worldwide White Brotherhood. But the ideas and the life he brings us belong to the whole of mankind. That is why our nation is duty-bound to pass on to other nations the sacred Doctrine of Love and the service of Love. They is how the Bulgarians feel now, as they did during the time of the Bogomils. In the Revelation to the Bulgarians and Slavs which was issued in 1898, in this mystic summons and precept the Master says: “.. The Heavens set for you a duty in the realm of peace, which will come to mark a great event in the life of this world. And if we from this moment prove ourselves to be true to that noble radiance, a glorious future awaits us, a future where we will not destroy life but resurrect it in its perfect fullness. All people, all nations who comprise the flower of the new generation of mankind, are summoned to take part in this new life of ours. I come from above on the exalted orders of God our heavenly father, who has entrusted me with the great mission ofsaving you from the paths of evil and of passing on to you the glad tidings of the truth of life which comes down to us from the heavenly mansion of the eternal daylight. Educate yourselves, awaken, become aware of life’s truth. He who gave birth to you is ever vigilant, you know His name, do not hesitate, do not be in two minds. The Path in which I have come to lead you so that you will enter the Kingdom of Heaven and be of service is an eternal path, a path full of the goodness of life. Make the necessary self-sacrifice, each of you, so that the Truth will reign supreme. You are confronted by a great peril which is getting ready to destroy everything that is sacred and which has been planted by the hand of our Heavenly Father. The time is drawing close, it is knocking at the door of this world. There is no time to waste on idle discussions about the past, this will be of no use to you if you do not learn from its mistakes to rectify the present. (Does not the Master’s message sound as if it refers to today?) He continues thus: “You should know that if you reject my Good advice and oppose my divine dictates (and this has happened), because you are close to my heart, I shall use other methods, much worse ones, which I am empowered to apply should you not listen to God’s radiant commandments. You are under my protection and I am bound to educate you in the Word of Truth. That is why I deigned to summon from afar, from the heavens, the two brothers Cyril and Methodius, light of the Slav peoples, and to entrust them with the Word of Truth and the Word of Life, that they will bring it to you and teach you the path by which you must ascend to the eternal daylight which I inhabit. The Light of life which I preach to you is for you to live in spiritually. I am unique. My soul is unchanging and I am true in all my paths. My word is beyond dispute. God is my leader.” Thus, he spoke from the seashore the mystic Truth before all the storms which racked the world. “Do not believe in the culture of today, do not think it can be your salvation,” says the Master Beinsa Duno. Why? Because it lacks Love. Love is the first condition necessary for consciousness to advance. The first step towards Love is to tell no lies. He who speaks the Truth achieves something every day. The first thing you must do is to absolutely exclude any kind of lie, white or black. It is in lies that all hindrances are hidden. They are the bearers of all the conditions necessary for your enslavement. Contemporary people are in search of their freedom without realising that it is determined by the Truth. In order to be free, a person must maintain his link with God, and with all higher beings. The Truth makes a person strong. A person’s strong will comes by way of the law of Truth. The Truth is the purest image of love. And who is free, we ask. He who can harness and unharness himself is free, replies the Master. Freedom which does not have love in it, which is just an extension of consciousness, with no limitation, is not freedom. Free your minds and hearts, you will, from slavery. What does freedom require? “Each person must manifest himself in the way that his exalted character prompts him to do from within. If you do something out of love, that is real freedom. If you do not do it out of love, you are not free.” Who uttered such pure and powerful words? Who brought such simple and exalted laws down to earth? Today mankind finds itself at the portals of the Temple of Love. Christ is the Portal of Love. One enters that kingdom through Him. He points to Love as the path for human souls. The Master propounded this great science of Love. He cast ample light on its laws and the methods for its mighty influence on all beings and worlds. He unites not only mankind but also the suns and universes because he is a creative force originating in God. “God is Love,” replies the Master when a small disciple asks him what God is. “All you see, the constellations of stars, the suns and planets, the universe in its entirety is Love!” The Master achieves the disciples’ sacred passage along his road to the doctrine of Love by means of a new, enlightened consciousness. The latter surpasses the purely personal, individual consciousness, or the collective or even the cosmic consciousness. This, the highest of all consciousnesses, is referred to by the Teacher as Divine Consciousness. On this, the highest summit, shines the radiant blue sky of Truth. It is there that love resides. However, before all this man must, in the same way, learn to love his soul. “Learn to love your soul and you will be of help to yourselves.” “Appraise the divine within yourselves — your mind, your heart, your soul and your spirit.” “The more you believe in your own internal forces and possibilities, the more rapidly you will develop.” The Master Beinsa Duno esteemed man more than anything else! He entrusted him with the path ofdiscipleship. Is that not the most perfect way to God? “What should the path of a disciple be like?” asks the Master in one of his lectures. “There are two main ideas in the world, two methods by which things can grow and develop. One method is purely human, the other is divine.” You should concentrate all your forces on one aim — to develop the divine in yourself and to give it precedence over the human. Each one of you is preparing to become a citizen of the Kingdom of God, for which you must have the correct attitude towards God, towards your own sould and towards your neighbours. But you cannot establish these correct attitudes until you have a main idea within yourself. And for the future, whatever work you may do, if you do not have a main idea inside of you, your life will disintegrate and you will gain absolutely nothing. In order to find this main idea, you must allot your time thus, so that you will leave certain hours during the day, certain hours during the night when you are awake in order to send a powerful stream of thoughts heavenwards. You will think about God, about the sun, about the saints, about all the great people of the past, all bearers of ideas, who are still alive today. Go inside for 1,2, 5 or 10 minutes at whatever time of the day to establish contact with them. This will be a process of growth within you. Thus your spirit, too, will grow stronger. You are only incarnated in matter but incarnation is not birth. Birth is both a divine and a natural process of the soul. Incarnation is an unnatural process. As one is embodied in matter, one must use one’s divine mind to extricate oneself. First and foremost you should know that you are thinking beings and for this reason must have one main idea in the world. You will wander the whole earth and you will find this main idea, whatever it may be. When you find it, put it in the holiest place inside yourself and place all your other ideas in relation to the former. When you work thus the knowledge you will acquire will be of great use to you. And then, as you grow and develop, you will not age but an expansion will take place within you. I hope that each and every one of you will have one main idea. As we work with this main idea, all good people living on earth, whether they are alive or have passed away, represent a whole with God. When we work with this main idea they are always ready to help us at any time, and in all things — in science, art and life. Contemporary people are in need of purity of thought, feelings and actions. Always eat clean, freshly-cooked food. Protect yourselves from contrasts in life — in food, in thoughts, feelings and actions. So that you will not suffer, do not associate good and bad thoughts and feelings. This association makes one displeased, brings disharmony into one’s life. Should a person be displeased when everything in the world is working for him? The minerals, the crystal, the precious stones are working for him. They absorb the external light, refract it in themselves and send part of this light outward so that many may make use of it. “Plants absorb light and, in the form of various colours — red, yellow, green, blue and pink, send it out again with their beautiful perfumes, again for man. He receives them in the form of radiant thoughts and feelings and grows stronger through them. They are indeed a fortress for him, for they make him invulnerable in life.” “No force in this world can defeat a person who is nourished by the light and heat of his thoughts and feelings.” “Be true to yourselves in order to distinguish between the Divine Order and thal of man. These orders are close lo each other, as the shadow is to the actual object.“ “The order of man is the shadow of existence but the Divine Order is the actual reality.” “Strive for the acquisition of Truth.” “Seek it in thinking Nature, not in temporary and transient forms. Raise your eyes to heaven to see the Truth manifested. The heavens exclude lies of any kind, as does light.” “Darkness does not carry the absolute truth in itself because it conceals things.” Light represents alert human consciousness. “When one’s consciousness is alert, one looks at one’s errors with wide open eyes and easily corrects them.” “Nature requires of us all constant, conscientious and sensible work (not labour, work!). She wants people to be satisfied with little.” “Associate with people who have positive thoughts, feelings and actions. To arrive at true, positive knowledge one must use all one’s senses. The eyes see beauty and appraise it. The ears receive harmony and understand it. Beauty and harmony are a wonderful thing. He who sees beauty and senses harmony will never be able to forget them and will never make mistakes. He who sees beauty never stumbles, his eyes are always open for the light ...” Thus spoke the prophet from Bulgaria and his disciples always followed him. When they climbed the mountain peaks with him, when a fire was lit under the stars, when a new dawn was breaking. Fifty years passed thus. None of the Divine Masters has ever stayed so long on earth. This testament has remained inscribed in the memory of centuries. “A disciple must have a heart as pure as crystal. A mind as light as the sun, A soul as vast as the Universe, A spirit as mighty as God and together with God.” This is new Man!

WHERE IS THIS BLESSED LAND? There exists, there lives, an ancient land, a remnant of paradise on this earth. There everything sings — the sky, the forests, the mountains and the people. They have been singing ever since the time of Orpheus, because it was in the wooded Rhodope mountains that Orpheus’ pipe could be heard and his school was founded. A river has its source in the highest mountain range of all — Rila. There to this day live invisible beings that keep the sacred White Brotherhood alive. In the same mountains there is a 3000m peak named Mount Moussalla — God’s Peak, which is surrounded by seven lakes. They are like a seven tone scale, their sparkling waters singing. They tell us that on their shores, a Universal Teacher spoke of Love, that he spoke unheard-of Words, that all people with alert minds, those in difficulty, the unfortunate, all came to him. He healed them with his words. They were not only gentle words about Love. They were laws which allowed no lies or limitations. He was saying something unheard of: if you tell somebody that you love him and thus limit him, you have lost all love. When you say, “I”, you must comprehend God within yourself. “You must study the music of the soft tones.” Thus, those who listened to him and became his disciples became little, everyday, shining miracles. They changed their old ideas, their old morals, their bodies and their minds as well. A new wave was at work, harbingers of the shining new race that will soon come to the earth. The Teacher referred to its representatives as Sons of the Resurrection. This Word was given in this Land, and we bear it with us everywhere like a lighted candlestick because the privilege is open to everybody. Where is this blessed Land? Look at the map of Europe, look to the south, before one reaches the shores of Asia Minor. There is a long mountain chain stretching as far as the Black Sea, which is referred to as the Balkan range. The name given to it by its ancient inhabitants was “Hernus”. The peninsula across which this mountain chain runs is called the Balkan Peninsula and this Land is the heart of the Balkan peninsula. Its name is Bulgaria! In 1981 the 1300th anniversary of the foundation of the Bulgarian state on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe was celebrated. Long before that, however, in the 5th and 6th centuries, the Bulgarians had a powerful state which stretched between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, the Kuban and Dnieper rivers. This state had gained international recognition and was referred to as “Velika Bulgariya” — Great Bulgaria. When they crossed the Danube, which forms the northern border of present-day Bulgaria, the Proto-Bulgars brought with them their ancient culture and civilisation. Here in the Balkans they also encountered the ancient culture of the Thracians. Nowhere in the world have so many gold treasure troves been found as those left behind by the Thracians in the lands of present-day Bulgaria. The Proto-Bulgars, too, had golden treasures that were truly magnificent and beautiful, for example, the gold treasure of Nagy Sent Milos in the Vienna museum. The Proto-Bulgars mingled with the Slavs who already occupied these lands, and a large, unified Slav state was formed which was named Bulgaria. The Proto-Bulgars made a special contribution to the formation of an original early Mediaeval culture which was one of the most interesting phenomena in European history at that period. The most significant cultural role played by Bulgaria, however, a role which found echoes in the whole of human civilisation, was its gift to Europe in the 9th and 10th centuries of a literature written in the living vernacular of that time. The Bulgarians undertook a historic mission with the work of Cyril and Methodius, creators of the Cyrillic alphabet, whose works were written in the old Bulgarian language spoken in the Salonika area at that time. Salonika was the birthplace of the two brothers, whose mother was Bulgarian. Their students, Kliment, Naoum and Anghelarii, also Bulgarians, brought the literature which had been whose mother was Bulgarian. Their students, Kliment, Naoum and Anghelarii, also Bulgarians, brought the literature which had been translated to Bulgaria, and this magnificent achievement found echoes in all the Slavic lands. Its source and beginning was Bulgaria! The Bulgarian combines the kind heart of the Slav with the developed mind of the Anglo-Saxon. There is nowhere in this land where the beautiful silhouette of mountain ranges cannot be seen. Proud, freedom-loving people live in those mountains. They are accustomed to grappling with the difficulties of life. The mountains elevate man, bring him into contact with eternal Truths. Human individuality and thought are born in the mountains. When he was once asked why he was born in Bulgaria the Teacher replied: “Because there are many mountains in “Bulgaria ...” Bulgaria lies between three continents. It is the ancient crossroads between East and West. It has played a major historic role that could be likened to that of the head of the Slavonic body, as it were. The Teacher was born in a Slav country, but his was a mission that embraced the whole of mankind. Bulgaria had to endure many sufferings, to tread a long, hard road in order to be prepared for its spiritual mission and create conditions for a universal teacher to be incarnated among its people. He chose Bulgaria to lay the foundations of the new culture, which will be directed by the cosmic forces — Love, Wisdom and Truth.

THIS BOOK IS FOR EVERYONE This book is not only for mystics or for people with spiritual interests, even though they will find in it abundant nourishment for their spiritual life and will find confirmation of that which their intuition tells them is true. This book is for everyone. Because we all need to be healthy, to know how to eat correctly, to breathe correctly, to think correctly and to be happy. The World has been given as a home to everyone, but goodness comes from the fact that there are good people in the world. The good, the strong, the humble will help the weak; they will send down to the earth the good which God has intended for all. The Teaching of the Master Beinsa Duno elevated only the most deprived, poor and sick. It accomplished miracles for them slowly and gradually as the sun gives growth to a small seed. His voice which was so soft could reach the very end of the salon, to the edge of the courtyard of his small house in the outskirts of Sofia where he first spoke. Now it is just as quiet and soft, and it will reach not only those who are ready who are seeking, but also all regions because it bears freedom. That freedom which bears divine harmony into our thoughts and desires, which will bring it about that everyone will find his place and that everyone will make use of the possibilities which are concealed in his brain and in his heart. It brings peace to humanity, because the Lord appears as peace. And peace is a sign of harmony, of unity of judgment, of an enlightened character, of love, of wisdom, of truth, “goodness and justice.” These are his Words. And who could not hear them or understand them? The breathing of the ONE, the GREAT ONE, will bring life to all. That breathing is Love. Love for all, love for everything. If one day people cease loving one another, life will end. The whole of humanity lives from love, which continuously comes to the earth. He began with the simplest things: food, breathing, the sun, the air, water the most important healers. Correct and deep breathing is the medicine for illness, and not injections. It is the key to health. Breathing is praise to God. He who cannot breathe correctly neither praises himself nor the Lord. If you breathe correctly, you are surrounded by God’s blessing. An unhappy, sick young man came to him. He stuttered so much that he could not say two words to the young girl he loved. What a shame! Not to be able to express one’s love. He was afraid that she would burst out laughing if he spoke to her. The Master laughed: “Deep breathing. That will help you!” He went into the pine forest. He breathed in a little, and there was no stuttering. He continued to do deep breathing for hours, months, years. The Master said: “One day he will become an apostle of deep breathing.” How beautifully and detailedly he later explained the possibilities of deep breathing! He cured dozens of people through deep breathing. His voice was smooth and beautiful, his speech was pleasant. He was one of the miracles of deep breathing, performed by the Master. A new element is now entering the atmosphere. It is so light, it enters everywhere, but it cannot remain anywhere. During the new breathing-lower, middle and upper (breathing) joined to thought, formula, and exercise — one needs to retain the air for a long time and to exhale for a long time ... A rich man, if he doesn’t breathe properly, is poor. Even nature begins first with the simplest things. “If they give me several dishes, I shall choose only one. Some perhaps would prefer to taste them all. Who is more correct? Is it better to eat all the dishes? If you try many dishes, you will expend more energy and you will receive less in return. You will expend less energy on one dish, and you will receive more in return.” “Good health is the result of a powerful and intelligent will. Not to be bribed and not to be seduced by anything- that is will; not to lie to oneself or to anyone else-that is will.” “Thought nourishes a person like bread. If a person’s thoughts are not healthy, even if he eats well, he will decline.” “The brain cannot function correctly, if the digestive and respiratory system are not in order.” “We will put external morality in second place. Morality should First relate to our life, to the building of our thoughts and feelings, to the beautiful and the great in the world.” And the sun! What culture the Master gives to our thoughts and comprehension of the Sun. Here are some of his thoughts about that: “The intelligent person, when he sees that his organism is lacking energy, gathers it from the sun. He knows that the sun can compensate for any deficiency in energy. Powerful forces are hidden in the sun’s rays. Only the solar energy can restore powers, health. “I GIVE YOU ALL THIS BLANK CHEQUE. “Go out each morning and turn your back first to the south, then to the north, and after a little while to the East, and stand like that for one hour from seven to eight. Direct your mind “upward and say: ‘Lord, enlighten my mind. Give health to everyone who needs it and to me as well. ‘ Try this experiment, and you will see that it will bring positive results. “When you get up in the morning, don’t be in a hurry to decide what you will do and what you will eat. First say: power, life, health. Power for your mind, life for your heart, and health for your will. In the morning you will say it once, at dinner, before you begin to eat, you will say the same thing. “FOOD NOT ONLY STRENGTHENS US PHYSICALLY, IT ALSO MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR ADVANCED BEINGS TO GIVE US THEIR IDEAS.” “Wheat and water, air and light, those are the foods which I recommend. For now there is no better food than wheat. In the distant future people will nourish themselves with light. Even now there are adepts who can do this. Everything is in light. If you can compress light, you will have food. When people begin to nourish themselves with light, then the son of man “will come to earth. “Health! Man’s health, in the physical, spiritual and mental respect, depends on the light which provides the impulse for growth. You cannot think because you do not have contact with the yellow rays which provide the impulse for thought. You do not have boldness or courage because you do not have a connection with the violet rays of the sun. If the soul of a man is full of divine intelligent love, he cannot lose the light of his mind. “The thought of a good man is powerful. It is equal to the thought often thousand average people. Correct thinking is the magic wand which brings order to all things. The brain is an apparatus of which only one small part operates. If you want to write, only one small place in the brain is activated. If you wish to sing, the same thing. That energy will come to your throat, and as you push out the air you begin singing. “I WANT YOU TO BE MUSICAL FROM HEAD TO TOE. Music is a method for improving life. No matter what Field you are in, you cannot think correctly if you are not musical. Likewise, you will not be able to feel or act correctly if you are not musical. “In every action there should participate the mind, sympathetic nervous system and will. Then you are in contact with the cosmic rhythm.” What artist could draw the splendid image of the new man whom the Master set forth as an idea toward which we should strive.! “Your eyes should neither twinkle or squint, they should be pure as the clear sky. Your skin should be soft, neither dry nor damp, but smooth and receptive. All sorrows, sufferings, negative feelings, wrath, envy, lies and jealousy make the skin coarse, and as a result it cannot receive the prana as it should. You can keep your skin soft and clean not with oils, but through the use of special foods which you must learn. Every person should be clean and beautiful, because the energy of a person should go out and come in in equal measure. “Only the spiritual life can renew the body. Every day you will seek healthy, beautiful, nimble people, and you will think about them and get in touch with them. By beautiful I mean having a pleasing appearance with noble character, with a beautiful expression on their faces.” Health, health! He sang one song which reminds us: “Health is wealth, health is wealth, for the life of the soul! Does not this mean that we should turn our attention away from those who are externally not beautiful? Today people see only the bad and not the good in souls. You meet a child but you do not pay attention to him. Why? It is dirty. You express yourself without looking into the beauty of his soul. That beauty can be seen, but you have to have love in your heart in order to see it.” He set new norms for relations between friends. According to the conventional morality we feel happy when we give. But is not that a bit of vanity? The Master expounded a new law: you should receive with the same love and readiness with which you give. Then there will be a true reciprocity between friends. “When your friend proposes that you eat with him or that you dress in clean clothes, do not refuse him. If you have need, and you refuse to receive what your friend offers you, you do damage to his good feelings.” Note that the Master speaks of food and clean clothes. In order for there to be reciprocity between the giving and receiving, the two friends must be open. The following brief illustration of Christ’s words: “Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” is unforgettable. One of the Teacher’s disciples tells how one night he arrived in the capital very late, having come a long distance. He hurried to be with the Master. He arrived at the doors of the small house with the hall — this was before the small settlement called Sunrise had been constructed. He stopped before the closed door. He got ready to knock. And several times he took back his hand. Should he disturb him at this late hour? But would not the Master know that he was there? Why did he not appear? He decided to knock, but he had barely knocked and had barely put his hand to the door, when the Master stood before him, dressed and ready to welcome him. “Master, did you not know that I was here? Why did you not open the door to me? “Because there exists the law of Love: knock, and it shall be opened unto you. We need to establish a connection between us, between our souls. So it was correct that you should first knock and then that I should open up to you.” Everyone who met the Master could see the gentle light that radiated from him. Truly the fatherly principle of God was manifested in him. One of his disciples said that once he went to the Master after having spent a night in which his pillow was soaked with tears, and he conversed with him. “When I got onto the streetcar, the conductor, a simple man, looked at me and said: “Do you know that you are shining?” He was able to convert the tears of people into diamonds. The Master goes up to the sun. He derives laws, scans space, makes a beautiful gesture. He talks of the responsibility of every movement, of every thought, because they are imprinted in space. “I know of two libraries: one on earth and one on the sun. I have not gone to the earthly one, but I have gone to the solar one. On the sun there are special transformers, which are tuned only for earth, because the earth has a special musical tone and a special colour in the solar system. These transformers are tuned according to the various organisms on earth. An energy comes from the sun which creates men’s brains, lungs and bodies. If people knew when there were streams of that energy, everyone would be intelligent and healthy. ... Man’s heart is tied to the sun and has the exact rhythm of the sun. The normal beat of the heart is tied to the sun. ... Every single cell has a heart. All these hearts are linked to the main heart of man, they pulse in accord with it. ... When it is linked to the heart of nature, the whole organism is healthy. ... When you have suffered something catastrophic, which you think you cannot bear, connect yourself with the heart of nature. The law is: keep contact with the heart of nature, with the mind of the sun and with the soul of the universe, in nature there is one heart, in the sun there is one mind. In the universe there is one soul, and in eternity there is one spirit. Above everything is one God.”

BEINSA DUNO Doctor Petur Dunov — Philosopher, Composer, Master, gave seven thousand talks on Love, Wisdom and Truth. The creator of Paneurhythmics, the highest Cosmic rhythm with music and harmonious movements. Portrate of the Master This is what he says: “I teach a positive Teaching that you can apply in the life and I can attempt this with anyone, so long as he is sincere. That is the privilege of my philosophy — that it can be applied in life. I am applying this divine science in practice.” “When you accept the Teaching I want you to remain true to it and not to distort it. You will learn to teach the god’s Teaching to the White Brotherhood. All nations are responsible to wise Nature. The only thing that wise Nature requires is for all beings to befree!” What did he say? Did he ask whether the Teaching of the Master Beinsa Duno was a cosmic Teaching? Yes, it was he who first spoke of man’s cosmic awareness. He wrote the following letter to one of his first students: “Consider yourself a world citizen. Be a citizen of the earth!” The cosmos and cosmic awareness, clearly expressed and so accessible to the minds of his disciples since the beginning of the century! What is surprising about that! Does he work miracles? Yes, he works many miracles but they are performed gently and quietly as if they are the most natural thing in the world. He works the greatest miracles with people. They are his daily miracle. They change and are imbued with a anew awareness. Did he ever say that he could be in any place at any time? No, he almost never spoke about that. However, people have this experience; they see him, his modest and humble disciples...

Contents Chapter 1 Portrate of the Master This book is for everyone Where is this Blessed land? Where did the Master Beinsa Duno come from? The Revelation in 1898 The Bogomils Chapter 2 Introduction to the first series of Talks by the Master Beinsa Duno "Power and Life" The Grain of Wheat "Behold the Man" The Importance of the Little Things The Talents The Love Chapter 3 The Good Prayer Prayer. The Master's prayer's are above all beautiful! The Formulae The Master on Prayer Chapter 4 The Path of the Disciple The song Maihar Benu Aba - The Prayer of the disciple Pearls of love - The Master about Happiness Chapter 5 A sinsible way of Life The Hygiene of Life To give them Life The salvation. Sunday Talks Chapter 6 Pearls of wisdom from the book of the great Life Chapter 7 The Sunrise (Izgreva) "Master, why do you take such pains to come down to our level?" Here there should not be hungry people! "Correct Breathing depends on Love" Chapter 8 Yes, he could halt a storm! Anger and fear - Lectures on 1923 Part of the 1924 lecture. What is the role of art? Some practical rules for the upbringing of children Which the best way of achieving spiritual. Union between the young and the old? Everyday Rules for living The Inspiration The song Vdahnovenie (Inspiration) Chapter 9 Paneyrhythmia - A higher cosmic Rhythm Paneyrhythmia - Solar Rays Chapter 10 "Music as an Art of the Angels" - the Master on the Music The tone "Do" Chapter 11 The Salt - Solta The Light - Videlinata To unify manking through the light that it may become the salt of the earth The Master on the soul, the spirit, the cosmic awareness Chapter 12 Whom God Hath Joined The Hymn the great Soul (Himn na velikata dusha) Afterword

http://en-petardanov.com/index.php?/files/file/1-%7B?%7D/ The Grain of Wheat THE WORD OF THE MASTER Beinsa Duno Izgrev 1990 The Grain of Wheat is the symbol of the human soul. B.D.. Today God’s Teaching is preached to the people. It is for all men, for the whole of mankind, for every situation, for all times and epochs. It is for those who have a deep understanding of life. He who strives after the inner meaning of that teaching, he will find in it strength to renew his life and to decide his tasks correctly. The Master

Some may ask, "How is it possible to work for nothing; how can we live without money?" I ask how many thousands are being paid to parents to rear and educate their four or five children? Is there a law by which mothers and fathers are obliged to get up five to six times a night to watch over their little children? There is no such law and constitution, yet in spite of this; the work of parenting goes on more smoothly and naturally than any other work subjected to the state law. Therefore, mothers and fathers show us the first Law that we must observe. I say: if you live as parents and children live in a household; if you live as brothers and sisters live together, you are on the right path. * * * Sentient Nature has ways by which a barren woman can become fruitful, but she keeps these ways secret. There are certain moments during the day when children cannot be born or conceived. These are the so-called "dead points." Remember: as there exist physical or material methods for the achievement of certain things, so too, there exist certain spiritual or psychic methods. Both have been applied since ancient times. For example, in the Bible are mentioned cases in which barren women have conceived and given birth. The childless woman has turned to God with a sincere and heartfelt prayer, with a promise in her soul. And her prayer has been answered. The prominent scientist recommends some medicinal salt, but the devout woman prays to God. Her sincere prayer to God is the salt which the scientist prescribes. The latter has found some medicinal salt with which a barren cow gives birth to bull calves, and the barren woman to boys. In the future, the scientist needs to find also the proper salt through which girls to be born. One may ask, "Why does barrenness exist in human life?" It is a result of some deviation from the Great Divine Law. By "barrenness," in the broad sense of the word, we understand the lack of virtue in human beings. * * * The mother and the father need to have applied Christ's Laws even before the birth of their children. They should have lived according to these Laws at least for one hundred years before they marry. If these Laws have become their flesh and blood, their children will live according to these Laws as well. Otherwise, they will give birth to sons and daughters who will not follow their way. For such children, it is said that they have nothing in common with their parents. This creates contradictions for the parents as well as for the children. The parents try to draw the children to themselves, but the children will go their separate ways. * * * The time has come for favorable conditions to be created for the birth of children. As a future mother, a woman has a great responsibility. If she realizes her responsibility, she will never direct negative thoughts toward her companion. * * * The only power that can bring the world into order is Love. This means: a man should never marry a woman he does not love, for whom he is not ready to sacrifice everything. The same is true for a woman. The child needs to be born as a result of the love of the mother and the father. A child born with love in the presence of God is a child of the new epoch. Only mothers and fathers who live in Love are able to improve the world. Only they can give birth to the new people. If you give birth to a son or a daughter whom you do not love, you will have great trials through them. Why do you need such children? * * * The child is the one who creates, who uplifts the mother. He creates conditions for her manifestation. For this reason a woman wants to become a mother. * * * If birth is an important process for which new favorable conditions are required, then no less important are the processes of conception and pregnancy. When a mother conceives, she should be like a priestess. Not only a mother, but a father as well: both should be like priests, priests of purity and sublime life. All should work for the creation of those great conditions which will give birth to great ideas in the world. * * * The shepherd knows the time when his sheep should conceive, yet people do not know the time when a child should be conceived. They say, "It is not important when a child is conceived, it is only important for this soul to come into physical existence. It does not matter at what time it is due: that is in God's Hands." God gives everything, but you should nevertheless observe the favorable conditions for the conception and birth of your child. The planets influence favorably or unfavorably not only the moment of an individual's birth but that of his conception as well. Mindful people are aware of these moments, and follow them during the conception of a child and at the beginning of every important work. When we say that people are masters of their destiny, we mean that they can create what they want. We imply that before things are manifested we can visualize them in their ideal form. Once they have been manifested, they cannot be changed in any way. * * * One of the sacred questions of life is: which are the times of day for boys to be conceived and born, and which for girls? It can be exactly determined whether boys or girls are conceived in the morning, noon, or evening. The exact hour and minute when boys or girls are likely to be conceived can be determined. * * * People born during the night carry the signs of the night; people born during the day carry the signs of the day. In addition to this, those who are born in the morning at sunrise differ completely from those who are born in the evening at sunset. In general, every person carries the signs of the hour, minute, and second of his birth. * * * A pregnant woman needs to carry her child with joy and tenderness, with beauty and humility in order to transmit these qualities to the child. Only in such a way can the future generation be improved. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29). This is a verse which is worthy of applying in life. Everyone should write it within their mind and heart. The pregnant woman should repeat this verse throughout the whole pregnancy. Sometimes she remembers this verse, but not until after she gives birth to the child—and then it is already too late. * * * During pregnancy, a woman should be surrounded only by beautiful things so that the disposition of her spirit may be good. The ancient Greeks were more advanced than modern educated people. When a woman was pregnant, they would place her in an environment in which she could look at beautiful paintings and sculptures. In order to develop the beautiful within oneself, one needs to look at beautiful things. * * * During this time, the husband should be an ideal man for his wife. She should see in him the best qualities, because if the slightest doubt enters her, it will reflect on the child. When she conceives, she should not be discontented with him if he has made her unhappy, because the child will be unhappy as well. * * * While the child is developing in the womb of its mother, he is in a passive condition, the baby in utero does not breath of eat on its own. During this time, the mother educates her child. She is telling him, "Now I am giving you instructions; I am teaching you music. You are not to sing or talk, only listen." After coming out of the mother's womb, the child's mouth opens and he begins to cry. In this way, the child expresses himself. * * * If, while pregnant, the mother addresses her child with the thoughts, "You will become a good child; you will grow up and acquire knowledge; you will love people and will help them," then the child will really become what the mother desires. The human spirit within the womb of the mother is learning as well. It does not stay in a dormant state. It helps the spirit of the mother in creating the body. * * * Even the worst criminal could be reformed, but only when in the womb of the mother. Therefore, it is advisable for a pregnant woman to consume certain "foods": pure and sublime thoughts, feelings, and actions. Only in such a way can she help her child, in the event that the infant carries some bad tendencies within. In the way that people now feed, raise, and educate their children, it cannot be expected a lot of them. * * * The food that the pregnant woman eats and the way in which she receives it have a great influence on the child to be born. Many experiments have been done which show that food is one of the major factors in the physical and spiritual well-being of the child. * * * The first influence on a child comes from a mother and a father. The mother influences the child in her womb through her thoughts, feelings, and actions. The food the woman consumes during pregnancy, as well as the food she gives her child after his birth is of great importance. What the child will become depends on the spiritual life of the mother. * * * Every mother who conceives a child should say, "Daughter, son, it is my wish that you would live in the future according to the Law of Love and represent it fully." If she says this, she will have daughters and sons who are heroes, who will live according to the Law of Love. Every mother should instill this within her children. When young people marry, they should say, "Our sons and daughters will live for Love, for the God of Love who unites all people." The new generation will be a bearer of the new ideas of Divine Love. The way it is now, if we are born in an improper way and want to reeducate people—we cannot do anything. A person can be re-educated in his mother's womb, in God's Love. He himself cannot do this. It is only mothers who can recreate human beings, re-educate them. A person himself is only 50 percent a factor of his re-education. He is like a ship without a rudder which can be pushed anywhere by the waves of the ocean. * * * Therefore, conditions for women need to be improved in the future. Women after conceiving should be placed under the best conditions. The conditions for children must be changed as well— not mechanically, but according to the Law of Living Nature. * * * Cosmic Love represents the Great Law that unifies and allocates all active forces into our consciousness, so that every living being created by Love itself is provided with the appropriate and essential food for its manifestation. Love provides appropriate thoughts for the mind, appropriate wishes for the heart, and appropriate actions for the will. Yet, only mothers can teach Cosmic Love. When a mother forms her child's body, she supplies that child with Cosmic Love through her self-sacrifice. * * * Mothers are those who recruit members for different social strata and circles. As I have already said: while a mother is still pregnant and the child is still in her womb, she can shape whatever kind of person she likes. Society depends on her for creating both its good and bad members. If a mother has conceived, but does not infuse her baby with Cosmic Love, she will not be able to form the child as she desires. If during the time of her pregnancy, she attends frivolous balls and mindless concerts, spending her time seeking mainly entertainment, she will cause the creation of other individuals like Judas; and then she, herself, will wonder why her child did not turn out well. The mother is the cause. She has not created conditions for the building of something good. If children are gifted and with noble character, it is because their mothers have understood the Cosmic Law and at the appropriate time have given their children the possibility of using it. Character and strength are passed down to the child by the father; while intellect is inherited from the mother. Honesty is passed down by the father; righteousness, by the mother. Only the father can make his son or daughter honest. Only the mother can make her son or daughter righteous. Sometimes, one will find children who are honest and intelligent, but they are not righteous and good. In such cases, I say that one of the parents has erred. If a child has all these four qualities, it indicates that both parents have worked in accordance with Cosmic Love and have imparted these qualities to their offspring. Cosmic Love is an excellent worker; whatever kind of wool you give it, Love will spin it. Showing us the spun wool, Love says, "This is what you gave me, and this is what I created." To clarify this concept, I will make a comparison with the following story. A young man by the name of Stoyan was a servant of a rich merchant. He worked honestly and gave all his earnings to the poor. Seeing this, his master constantly remarked to him that he should save something for himself too, because old age will come and there will be no one to take care of him. Stoyan kept silent at these remarks, or just said, "The Lord is good." One day, his master fell into a deep sleep and had a very vivid dream. He was strolling through a beautiful countryside and there, amid the luxuriant landscape, he noticed a wonderful villa. He asked those present, whose villa it was. "It belongs to your servant," was the answer. "But he is only a poor man, where did he earn enough money to buy such a beautiful villa?" "He is poor indeed, but everything he earns on Earth, he is sending here; and with it, he has built this beautiful villa." Walking further along, the master came to a more arid, desert-like place and noticed a small, meager cabin. He asked again, "Whose cabin is this?" "This is yours, because you have never done anything for those in need," was the answer. This story is true also in the sense that whatever a mother gives to her children in this world—and to the extent she gives it—that much she will receive back; and with it, she will build for herself either a beautiful villa or a small cabin in the World beyond. If she is generous in her Cosmic Love for her children, she will have a palace. By "palace," I am implying the human character. If we introduce this new Law into contemporary life, many of the big problems will disappear. * * * During pregnancy a woman should be under the most favorable conditions: she should eat right in a good and harmonious disposition of her spirit; she should not eat before sunrise or after sunset. The pregnant woman should breathe deeply, with right thinking and feeling. As the pregnant woman is very sensitive and receptive, which leads to increased imagination, she and her relatives should provide nice surroundings and pleasant, sublime occupations and enjoyments. Her morning walks should be occupied with observing the beautiful sunrise, then strolling in gardens full of fragrant blossoming flowers and fruit trees. One can find the meaning of Life in places where it unfolds, where there is growth. Both physical and spiritual purity are necessary conditions for a pregnant woman. Where can one find more purity than in nature? That is why the future mother should visit pure wellsprings and rivers so that they serve as a reflection of her life. Enjoying still, pleasant nights with a sky full of twinkling stars is also wonderful for a pregnant woman. I suggest that a mother should educate her child while still in her womb, not after birth. During the nine-month gestation period the child has the optimal conditions under which to learn; after birth the child will require accommodations to process the received information. Therefore, one should not ignore the mental life of the future mother. The best, the finest literature should be her mental nourishment. Lives of the saints and great people should motivate her way of thinking. Beautiful and sublime poetry, beautiful music and songs, should be part of her life. Calmness and quietude are necessary for her as well as for Nature, who is performing the great act of creating a human being. If you would like to get good fruit from a tree, create good conditions and leave the rest to nature. The same is true for the creation of a human being. The good, mindful person is conceived and evolves under special conditions. Three essentials are required for such an act: goals, conditions, and achievements— and all these are found in Sentient Nature. Nature is health, beauty, and purity. She excludes any disease, negativity, and impurity. No one is born by accident. For example, it is assumed that the first man was created on the day of the first Equinox, when the conditions were favorable. For this reason, all the artists, musicians, writers, poets, and all great scientists need to participate in the creation of the new human being. The world needs new people to work for its betterment and uplifting. And this depends upon woman. She is the internal factor which needs to correctly use all the favorable external conditions. In this sense one should think of woman—mother, sister, vir- gin—as a delicate, fragrant flower which no frost can destroy. * * * The education of a child is in the mother's hands. What the mothers bring to the children during pregnancy is important. After that—after the children are born—it is more difficult to educate them. Therefore, I say mothers will put the world in order. During pregnancy, a mother can inspire her child toward wisdom and intelligence; she can influence feelings and also strengthen the will of her child. After birth, the connection between mother and child continues, but in a different way. A child who is not held in the mother's arms loses something valuable. There is a connection between the physical bodies of mother and child. Therefore, the child should not live far away from the mother until at least age 14 or 15. What the mother can give her child in one year, relatives and the environment cannot provide in 20 years. Statistics show that children who have grown up until the age of 20 with the love of their parents possess a nobler character than those who have been deprived of their parents' love. The Law states: If the parents' love toward their child is weak, the child is more likely to become ill. In order for you to be healthy, the love of your mother needs to permeate your soul fully. If the father and the mother have thought of committing a crime, the son to whom they have given birth could think of this as well. Therefore, people need to be pure; that is to say, have pure thoughts and feelings. When an expectant parent has a negative thought, it can incarnate with the child. When you, as a mother, caress your child's head, say, "May Divine Thoughts enter you. May you carry Light to humankind. May you help your weaker brethren. May noble thoughts permeate you." He who treats plants and animals well will be kind to people as well. This is the morality of the New Culture. The mother needs to teach the child that Divine Life permeates the whole of Nature: the flowers, the trees, the little flies, and the birds—everything. As long as the child believes that the teacher does not lie, the teacher has authority. However, if he or she notices that the teacher is not telling the truth, the teacher no longer has any authority over the child. The same is true for parents. Never speak in a negative way, "Do not do this! Do not do harm!" But say instead, "Do good!" Instead of the words, "Do not lie!" say, "Speak the truth!" The less you speak about negative things the better. We should speak about the positive. * * * Mother's milk is of great importance for the child. While the baby is touching the mother's breast, there is a beneficial influence upon the child, not only through the received milk, but also from the magnetic energy which alternately flows from the left or right breast of the mother. If another woman feeds the infant, the effect will not be the same. A power flows from a mother which ennobles her child. When a mother breast-feeds her child, she needs to have the best disposition of the spirit and not be angry. Men generally do not pay attention to the disposition of mothers during this period. * * * While a mother is breast-feeding her child, for as long as three years, she needs to live a pure life and not allow any negative thought to enter her mind. If her house has burned down, if her husband has left her—this should not disturb her peace. During these three years, she needs to be still and calm. What do modern mothers do? They feed their children with different porridges prepared from oats, barley, millet, and so on. All of these porridges cannot supply the child with the elements that are provided by mother's milk. Within the milk of the mother are found conscious powers that no other food can supply. Goat's and cow's milk are good, but do not contain these conscious powers which are in woman's milk. And we wonder why people, with all the science and knowledge they have at their disposal, do not know how to eat and live right. * * * Any child with whom the mother is not content cannot become a great individual. The great individual is one who is conceived in the moment when the mother is filled with love, sublime thoughts, and noble feelings. During the time of her pregnancy, she has lived a pure and holy life. During this time, the father was also filled with light and love. If the child is a girl, the mother has invested more than than the father. The latter is using the interest of the mother's capital. The father rejoices that a girl has been born in that there will be someone to love him. The daughter loves her father; and the son his mother. If in a family a boy is born, the father has invested his capital and the mother is using it. The son loves his mother. * * * A home where man, in other words, the masculine positive forces predominate is based upon the number 12. The first child to be born in such a home will be a boy. If the creative forces predominate in a home, in other words, the feminine is dominant, this shows that this home is based upon the number 21. The first child to be born in such home will be a girl. Therefore, in order for a boy to be born in a family, the father needs to be very intelligent. In order for a girl to be born in a family, the mother needs to be loving. When Wisdom predominates in a home, a boy is born; and when Love predominates, a girl is born. This shows that children are not born by accident, but according to certain Laws. If these Laws are not understood and applied, many boys and girls will be born, yet they will be such only in form. In reality, they will not possess the qualities of a boy and a girl. * * * If children are capable and with sublime ideals, this is because the mother has understood the Cosmic Law well and has provided the opportunity for her offspring to use it. Character and vitality are transmitted by the father; and the intellect by the mother. Honesty is transmitted by the father, and judiciousness by the mother. Only the father can make his son or daughter just. If all these four qualities are met in a child, this shows that the father and the mother have worked according to Cosmic Love and have instilled these qualities in their child. * * * Many times a child comes home full of excitement after an interesting lesson and tries to retell it to his mother. Yet the mother reacts, "Leave me alone, I do not want to listen to your babbling." In this case the mother is totally wrong. She needs to listen to her child, to hear what the teacher has said in school—this is his testimony. If the mother interrupts him harshly 10 to 20 times, the child may deviate in his mind from the right path in life. * * * If a mother and a father do not introduce into the soul of a child the sacred image of God, they have not fulfilled their destiny as such. Children are to hold in their souls a sacred image of their mother and father as substitute representatives of God. The children of the new people will be distinguished by their purity and sublime ideals. When such a child is born into a home, it will bring blessings to his home, as well as to his neighbors. When a soul descends from the World of Love, it brings blessings for humankind. The more that a fruit has been sung to, the sweeter it becomes. The same Law is true for human beings as well. Someone who is nourished with music and song has a sublime mind and an open heart, and rejoices in everything. Whatever he encounters in his life, he always sees it from its good side. * * * To marry—this is to create the conditions for a soul to develop. It comes from God down to Earth and you should guide it. * * * The small creative ideas and impulses which one sustains within oneself give birth after a while to some great ideas. People need to work dozens of years on certain ideas before they can realize them. Nothing in the world exists by chance. In order for an intelligent, beautiful child to be born, the mother will have worked in this direction for dozens of years. In order for a child of genius to be born, the mother will have sustained this idea within her mind for centuries. * * * A mother is occupied with her children, but this is not her sole destiny. She should perform a higher service: she should work upon her soul. This is her higher service and destiny. She should instill in her soul such properties as will enable her to cope with all the trials of life. It is not merely a question of having people multiply; but rather, that into the world human beings are born: not daughters and sons who seek pleasures, but such people who are ready to fulfill God's Will and to work mindfully. * * * A mother is she who can inspire the respect and esteem of her children. When they hear that she is coming, they stand up and say, "Mother is coming." Do not think that a mother is a soft woman, lacking in character. * * * For the successful rearing of children, the mother should be absolutely pure. You cannot evolve morally if you do not purify yourselves. If you foster within yourself any malice, any weaknesses, or foolish ideas and beliefs, and think that you can manifest them through the help of the new Teaching, you can be assured that you will remain as you have been. Nature never pours new wine into old wineskins. The New can penetrate you only after you have purified your mind of any misconceptions and your heart of any vices. In every minute, you should strive toward purity. * * * The higher the awareness of the parents, the more talented are the children. Into a home in which the mother and father have been virtuous—in the full sense of the word—the best, most intelligent and talented children are born. We have this example with Christ. He was born of the purest Virgin. * * * Now I address all mothers with the question: what do you do when a child is born to you? I have observed how a mother enjoys her child. She bathes the baby, caresses and pats her infant on the cheeks, kisses and lulls him. She sings to the baby her own lullaby wishing for her son to become a rich person, a rich merchant, a strong man. What is it that the mother does not wish for her child to become? Yet, she forgets to wish for him the most important thing. The child grows up. He becomes a strong man, a successful merchant, but he begins to cheat in order to become even richer. He becomes a man of science, but begins to manufacture poisons for the destruction of people. He becomes strong and begins to oppress those weaker than himself. The mother knows only her lullaby and then wonders why the child turned out as he did. "Is this what I have hoped for?" she asks. What she sang to him, he has become. As long as a child is an infant, his mother sings to him. Later she swats his rear end. Do not slap your child's rear end, but instead touch his head and say, "Let sublime Divine Thoughts enter into your head so that you may become a bearer of Light for humankind and help your weaker brothers." Place your hand on the head of your child and say, "Let sublime and noble thoughts and Divine feelings enter into you, my child." Some hug their children, holding them fast in their arms; and, in this way, nourish egotism within them. Interpreted, this means: when you catch someone, you hold him tightly so that you squeeze out some of his powers. These actions are unconscious, but some day mothers will see the result of their selfish expectations. A mother is glad that her child is healthy, but she needs to penetrate deep into his or her soul and plant true seeds there. If she does not do this, everything that has been planted by her will fall on stones, wither, and become dry. * * * Upon leaving the womb of the mother, the child passes through all the joys and suffering the mother has been through during the time of her pregnancy. For example, if during the time of her pregnancy the mother has passed through unfavorable external conditions, they will influence the child. However, the child will possess internal capabilities and conditions by which he or she can overcome the external ones. * * * When do children not love their mother? When they have not been born with Love. What kind of child will be born by a mother if she is thinking at the same time about her husband and another man whom she loves? You will say that this is wrong. That is not the point. The important thing is that the house which the master carpenter builds must be strong. The master carpenter needs to build it, and do this on one and the same foundation and not on different foundations. In conclusion, I will say: the young woman should marry the man whom she loves; otherwise, it is better not to marry. The same is true for the young man. The mother and child need to be provided good living conditions. When the children are still little, they should live in the best conditions. What are these? You should nourish your children with fruit. If children are anemic, give them more pears to eat. If their character is a little rough, give them more apples. If they lack nobility in their feelings, give them cherries, which—at the same time—regulate the stomach. Other fruits which do this as well are watermelons, pumpkin, and squash. Should they be cooked or raw? Raw fruit, in general, develops noble feelings. When children eat plenty of fruit, they do not need a lot of other food. Fruits will give them the best education. But they should not overeat and burden their stomach. If I had a child, I would take a red apple, show it to the child and let him or her first look at it for a few minutes. Thus, the feeling of thankfulness and love will be generated within the child and the fruit will produce a positive effect. I need not tell the child anything about the fruit. After that, I would ask him or her to eat it. The same with prunes and cherries. If you ask me why God created fruit, I will answer you: so that He may educate His children. * * * All those who take care of children—both parents and teachers—need to apply the new methods for children's upbringing and education so as to be of assistance to their charges. Mothers and fathers send their children to school not only to acquire knowledge, but also to learn how to put this knowledge into practice. To begin with, teachers should teach children: how to eat and what foods, presenting their properties and qualities, pointing out to the healthy ones, and so on. After that, they should teach them how to breathe—to take in the pure air. By "air," I mean all thoughts—whatever they might be—as long as they provide inspiration and a noble impulse for the human soul. * * * If people understood the importance of how the food they eat is cooked, they would pay more attention to their self-education regarding nourishment. Each mother should bear this in mind in the upbringing of children. Until the child reaches the age of seven, she should prepare the child's meals herself. Until such an age, the child should only eat food that has been prepared by the mother. In this regard, birds are an example. Until the little ones grow up, the father and mother constantly bring them food. They raise them by themselves. When they grow up—when they fly out of the nest—the parents leave them alone to take care of themselves. The birds handle family life better than people. * * * To be a mother—this does not mean to be good to your children only, but also to others' children. The health of a mother's children is influenced by her attitude toward other people's children. * * * The longer that the mother holds her child in her arms, the wiser this child will become. * * * The mother is God's governess—she raises His children. * * * While children are being raised and educated, it is important for harmony to exist among mother and her children. If harmony reigns within the family, the mother will come into contact with Sentient Beings from higher realms who will help her in the upbringing of her children. If harmony does not reign, a mother will be in contact with beings from lower realms who will obstruct her. * * * There are two paths through which God's Teaching can be made manifest. The first path is through education in the schools; the other, through the mothers. Both of them need to understand the new conditions, just as gardeners and farmers study the conditions under which they will plant seeds. All negative qualities of a mother can become negative qualities in her child as well. We can also prove with statistics that positive qualities of a mother will become positive qualities in her child and that positive qualities of a father are also transmitted as positive qualities to his child. Therefore, we need to live positively. A mother needs to be religiously inclined in order to require this from her child. What is to be understood by "religious disposition"? Religious disposition means that within the soul of a mother such love flows forth that she is ready to embrace with this love not only her own child but the entire world; and that she is ready to sacrifice herself for others. This is a religious disposition: that love is gushing forth from you—not only that you may save yourself, but that you may sacrifice yourself for others. * * * Every morning when you arise from sleep, inscribe within your mind the two Laws of God: Love for God and love for your neighbor. The application of these two Laws in your lives is the solution to many difficult problems. Those who have applied these two Laws have performed many miracles. * * * I consider woman to be a polarity. Originally, when God created woman, she was completely different from what she is today. The woman who exists on Earth is neither as the one in Heaven nor as the one in paradise: she is only a resonance, a reflection of the enlightened and sublime woman. In this meaning, love is only an outward reflection of this woman. And yet, Love only manifests where the feminine is present. If the feminine in a person is missing, Love will be missing as well. If people knew what woman was and placed her in her proper position, the world would be immediately uplifted. * * * Today a woman is regarded as a being that needs a man to look after her. I say: this is not a woman; this is a disabled person in a hospital. According to me, a woman is one who saves the world; a woman is one who holds the keys to Life; a woman is one through whom the great and mighty power of that Love which bears Life is manifested. Therefore, the salvation of the world will come through women and not through men. * * * Now, I would like for all of you to become "women"! This thought expressed in other words means: I would like the souls of all people to be filled with Love; I would like all of you to become illuminated, to become lit candles, fulfilled and joyous, ready for every kind of service. This means that every human being should be like a mother. In this sense, I would like all of you to become "mothers." Today, one understands the word "mother" to mean a woman who gives birth. It is much more than that: a mother is only one whose children do not "die." If the children of a woman "die," she is not a true mother. Mother is only the pure woman, the virgin who even after giving birth remains a virgin. Mother is the virgin whose children do not "die." Therefore, all people need to become virgins—absolutely pure—if they want what is born of them not to "die." This is the intrinsic meaning of this philosophy of life. If you understand this philosophy, your life will become rewarding. And so, the first great commandment is to come to love God with your whole heart, mind, and will. The second commandment is to come to love your neighbor—in other words, your virgin, your heart, and to set to the great task of uplifting it. Be, therefore, workers for the uplifting of woman; and, from there, workers for the future of the whole of humankind. * * * Today I am addressing all women: you need to turn your men toward God. The salvation of the world is in your hands. You are a symbol of Love. You need to set straight the disordered minds of your men. How will this happen? By bringing Divine Love into your hearts. You need to love your men. You need to love your only man, but without becoming his slave. You need to love the One, in other words, you need to love God within him. * * * Women need to work to attain depth. They are to work intensely upon themselves, educate themselves so that they may give birth to good children, good citizens. As long as woman does not fulfill her mission appropriately, she will always be blamed for all the misfortunes of the world. The world needs kind, wise, and idealistic women. * * * How will peace be introduced into the world? Who can bring peace? Today no law is capable of ending war and bringing peace. If all the scientists were to unite and begin working to use science for the ending of war and the bringing about of peace, even they would not succeed. I say: there is only one power in the world which can end war and bring peace. What is this power? Woman! If all women were to unite and say, "From now on we will not give birth to criminals!"—then they would put an end to wars. And if each mother were to tell her son, "If you kill your brother, I will renounce you: you are not my son!"—then wars would come to an end. In order to achieve this, not only two or three women will need to become aware of their task, but all women together will need to uplift themselves and begin working for the salvation of the world. From now on, women will be held responsible for the non-fulfillment of their task. That is why, from thousands of years ago until now, women have been abused in general and have been reduced to the condition of slaves. They have unbearable suffering. The Law applied toward them is inexorable. Why? Because they possess the power to solve the issue of the salvation of humankind, but they do not want to use it. Women should direct their energy toward the entire world and say, "Down with wars! Down with all delusions! Down with all false teachings!" * * * Love and joy originate from the fruits of the spirit. These are the fruits woman should bear. I ask, "Have all women given birth to these fruits?" Women say, "We give birth." But to what? From now on give birth to Love, joy, long-suffering, compassion—this is the true service to God. Using an analogy, tell me which fruits you like the most? Your answer would be: the sweet fruits. Then, is there sweeter fruit than Love? For this reason, women, who are representative of the Spirit, need to give birth to Love in order to be loved. Woman is Love. All are in love with the child of such a woman, and the mother rejoices when she kisses him. People will say about such a mother, "Blessed is the mother who has given birth to such a child— Love." This is a fact that should be imprinted within your heart and your spirit. This fact shows that you possess something unchangeable within. When I said that we should give birth, I meant that we should become "women." To give birth and nurture means to take the place of a woman, regarding her as an emblem of spirit, joy, Love, long- suffering, and peace. * * * Young people, the future is yours! Men and women, live according to the Law of Love! Do not follow the path of those who have become old by wrongdoings. Renounce the many sweethearts you have. One sweetheart is enough: one girl, but wonderful, and one young man, but excellent. These are enough; you do not need two men or two women. Then, may you have inner freedom—do not bind yourselves into slavery. Think this way and apply this Law everywhere—in the social, political, and religious life—to follow the Divine Teaching. * * * The upbringing of a child should be considered in its totality. We have distorted the functions of nature; and through ignorance, we try to correct our mistakes. This will not work properly. Today only God can convert and educate us. Christ knew this and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3). This means: you cannot educate yourselves. Education implies that we are to be born anew by the Spirit. Only then can we educate others. * * * The words from the Scriptures, "To be born again" mean also that man should become as God has created him originally. He should regard woman as "the new Eve," the virgin, in other words the sublime, beautiful, powerful source of Life or the Primary Cause that has created everything. As long as man does not understand woman—his heart—he cannot understand himself; he cannot understand his mind either. Otherwise, he will come in conflict with the Creation. Why? Because woman is the last creation of God. Thus, from this last creation and its results one can have ideas about causes and effects. "To be born again" means that woman should return to the place where God has placed her originally. She should regard man as "the new Adam" as God has created him in the beginning. He should be like a mirror where she can see the image of the Divine Origin. As long as woman does not understand man—her mind—she cannot understand her heart either. And so, if the heart does not support the mind, and the mind does not follow the lead of the heart, they cannot have a correct interrelationship. Also if the will does not help the heart and the mind in the fulfillment of their goals, human beings cannot have any achievements and life becomes meaningless. The mind represents the goal in human life; the heart represents the conditions to achieve the goal; while the will represents the achievements and the fulfillment of the goal. The mind, the way it was created originally, is like a high mountain peak covered in ice and snow, yet always illuminated by the rising and never-setting beneficial Sun of Life. These rays are melting the ice and snow on the summit and countless springs and streams rush downward to provide water for life below. The heart in its primary life represents a vast beautiful valley that is abundantly watered by pure waters from the mountain peak. Fragrant flowers and delicious fruits grow there. The heart—this valley of life—is nothing else but paradise on Earth. Today all are searching for this lost paradise. Hence, the heart is the lost paradise. Some understand "heart" to be a woman; some, mother; and some others, virgin. These three terms represent the stages of the heart's development. The lowest position of the heart represents woman; the highest, virgin. Virgin is the goal, mother represents the conditions, and woman is the achievement. I say: if woman cannot understand man, if sister cannot understand brother, and if heart cannot understand mind, achievements are not possible. Vice versa: if man does not understand woman, if brother does not understand sister, and if mind cannot understand heart, no relationships, no closeness are possible among them. If they understand each other, they will unite and begin working successfully for uplifting humankind, for uplifting woman and man, for uplifting heart and mind. Only in this way will the image of the ideal Adam be resurrected as the New Adam, and the image of the ideal Eve become elevated to the place where God has placed her, where she will resurrect as the New Eve. Then the new epoch will greet both of them and their children as the ones chosen by God. * * * The mind, the heart, and the soul are conduits of the blessings, gifts, and capabilities coming from the Sublime World. The mind alone represents the masculine principle, while the heart, the feminine The mind and the heart together represent the human being as a whole. For a child to be properly developed, he or she should move from Love toward Wisdom. The child represents Truth. For this reason, Christ says, "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it" (Luke 18:17). Expressed in other words, it means that if you do not develop the feminine and masculine aspects, you cannot enter the Kingdom of God. What represents a man?—it is a being that enters the Kingdom of Love. What is a woman?—it is a being that enters the Kingdom of Wisdom. What is a child?—it is a being that enters the Kingdom of Truth. Man introduces woman to the Kingdom of Love; woman introduces man to the Kingdom of Wisdom; and the child introduces his mother and father to the Kingdom of Truth. This is the connection that exists among father, mother, and child. Rejoice in everything surrounding you! Rejoice in light and warmth, in air, in water, in bread. Rejoice that we live during times when we can come to know one another, to come to know man, woman, and child. That is a great task to be attained in the future.

Woman-the Source of Love and Life In order to have a clear idea regarding a woman, one needs to consider her not as an individual, but as an essence in its totality. The feminine principle in Nature is a mighty, great thing. If you were to take the feminine principle out of life, death would come in an instant. The feminine principle entered into life from the moment of its Creation. Do not separate woman from life; in other words, Love from life. A woman symbolizes Love. With the distortion of human existence, the feminine is distorted too. By the concept of "woman," one should understand a human being who can give birth to the most beautiful form, who can give rise to the greatest force, and who can manifest the greatest wisdom. * * * The major characteristic of woman is compassion. If woman is not compassionate toward people's suffering, she is not a woman. Modern woman neglects her most precious quality and strives to become a man. When she has something to say, she needs to think first and then speak out. In general, from both women and men, judiciousness and mindfulness are required. * * * "Woman" in the fullest meaning of the word means "a door which is opened by God's Key alone." Every other door that can be opened by the keys of ordinary people is not a woman. That the woman is beautiful, that she represents the gentle element—this is another issue. Beauty, lightness, richness, strength—all these are within the soul. * * * Woman is the last Creation of God. Each subsequent Creation is more elevated than the former. God created the plants and the animals before man, and so man is more elevated than the plants and the animals. For the same reason, Eve remains more elevated than man—Adam. God breathed into Adam a living soul; and into Eve—intelligence. When we say that woman is feminine only, but not intelligent, this is not correct. Woman is more intelligent than man. He is strong, he can fight, but there is little philosophy present within him. Some say that man is the genius, that he is learned. Remember: a genius, a great person, cannot be born from a coarse mother who lacks discernment. The father could be an ordinary person, but the mother needs to be discriminating and intelligent. The father passes on his intelligence to the children less readily than the mother does. When the intelligence of both parents is combined, something good will be created. * * * Martha and Mary represent the two principles of the human soul—the active and the passive. Through Martha and Mary, two kinds of women are presented: two opposite characters, two conditions of the human heart. One condition is still, calm, and silent, with the mind directed toward the eternal principle that is built upon an eternal foundation. The other condition is like the ocean waves, like the little branches of the trees: in continuous agitation, continuous motion. Christ, however, shows Martha what is essential by telling her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her" (Luke, 10:41-42). All who are like Mary are with noble and good character. They have a perfect body structure with a beautiful countenance, a gentle gaze, a symmetrical forehead, a straight nose. They are good in heart, gentle, and compassionate toward people's suffering, ready to help. "Mary" in Hebrew means "brine." Thanks to Mary, the world does not spoil, does not become rancid, does not decay. When you have Mary's qualities within you, your heart does not spoil. "Martha" derives from "Mara," which means "bitter, sour, hot-tempered." If someone is a "Martha," you will see that when she gets up in the morning all the servants will be up as well. Shouting, yelling, waving a broom—all are running at a half-kilometer distance from her. You will find Martha in the churches, in the schools, and in the courts—everywhere. She is as necessary as Mary. But you should not give predominance to either. Imagine that everything in the world is only Martha—waving brooms, making dust, and shouting. What kind of music would this make? I believe that homes would be well-organized, that everything would be ordered and structured. We would have wonderful forms, but there would be no true Life. But if Martha did not exist, then what would make Mary "salty"? The higher principle represented by Mary shows the path of how to personally serve God. In this service, we will find the meaning of our lives. The Divine Teaching does not require us to withdraw from our duties in life. Only that part which is assigned to Mary needs to be given to her. * * * Women do not know themselves yet. Therefore, the first requirement is for women to come to know themselves. Tell me what distinguishes one woman from another? All women have the same desires: to get married, to have nice meals, to be dressed well. Their desires are the same. There is no difference—a similar life exists in all homes. So, why do all women not unite? In this way, they could uplift their spirits. If all women unite, they can very easily uplift their spirits. Unfortunately, at the moment, each one says, "I want to be the first!" This weak side of yours resembles the story of a German prince who once visited Denmark. It was planned that he would be welcomed in a theater, and 12 of the most beautiful women in Denmark were selected for that purpose. Out of them, only one would be chosen to offer the prince a bouquet of flowers as a welcoming gesture. It was decided to put this to a vote, but 12 ballots with 12 different names were found in the box: each one voted for herself. And today, each one of you votes for herself in Christ's box; and, as a result, there is no one to offer the bouquet. When the box is opened, there are as many names inside as there are women in the world. Each person wants to be the first. But in the fulfillment of the Divine Will, only God is first. He is the Beginning, and so we cannot be the first. The One who creates things: He is the First. * * * I would like the women of the new Teaching to be women of high ideals. I would like that every woman be neatly dressed, be courageous, and be decisive in manifesting her virtues. I would like a woman to be intelligent, to be quick-witted, to grasp things well, and to not hesitate in front of any obstacle. It would befit the woman of the New Culture to distinguish herself in something: in her walk—that she has graceful movements and is high-spirited. Wherever she appears, everyone will say about her, "This is a woman with noble character—she has a heart." If a man who is on his way to get drunk or commit a crime meets her, he will say, "I give up my bad intents." * * * The Divine Spirit is now working on women. That is why they are more religious and spiritual than men. Notice: wherever a woman's foot steps, everything progresses—science, religion, music— everything goes well. The feminine is the soil in which all things grow. If the feminine principle was to disappear, everything would stop—science, religion, music, and art—the soil would be missing. The poet writes as long as he bears the feminine within his mind. If the feminine is taken away, he loses the meaning of his life and gives up. Within the minds of all people, the woman—the feminine is present. She is Love; she is their Ideal. * * * For eight thousand years, men and women have distanced themselves from their nature, and are so far away from it now that among women, no one is a true woman, and among men, no one is a true man. And if you could compare today's men with the original prototype—the same for women—do you know what a ridiculous caricature you would see? What needs to be present within the female form? All the virtues, all the sublime thoughts and emotions need to be present within her. Woman is the bearer of what is the most sublime in the world, of that tenderness which is preserved within her. * * * I have seen in my life only a few true women— some in Bulgaria, some abroad. The true woman can be recognized by her gentleness—not a single harsh word can come out of her mouth! Any woman who is able to express rudeness is not yet the embodiment of true womanhood—she has deviated. Likewise, what distinguishes true manhood is noble character. * * * Today, the Spirit of Truth needs to come, and through It, Salvation will occur. I do not ask you to start confronting your men when you go home. There is no reason to lash out at them. You need to look with a candle for the true man. You need to search for him until you find him. Have you read the "Song of Songs"? Many have read it and say, "This is how to enjoy life!" You need to understand the deep intrinsic meaning of life, not in a human way, but in the Divine way. Why am I not revealing secrets to you? Where is your man? When you come to me, I will tell you, "Let your man come with you as well!" But now, you come only as women without men. How can a woman be without a man? The Scripture says, "Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 11:11). The woman, when she comes, wants to experience love with her man. But it should be: you, your man, and one more—the third One. Love can exist only among three. Do you know that? Your man and you will come to me, and only then can we begin loving one another. This is how the Scriptures understand the meaning of things. As for the love between two, we know it very well. And so, do not be deceived to look for Love between two; search for it among three. Christ says, "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him" (John 14:7). When I speak about Love, three are necessary in order that you may begin loving one another. * * * Without woman, Love cannot be manifested. Love is the manifestation of primordial woman. We do not refer to things here in a sensual sense, but in their essential meaning. According to me, a woman is the one who saves the world; a woman holds the key for this—she holds a mighty power in the world. * * * And so, do not be deceived to look for Love between two; search for it among three. With human beings you will begin with a reversed law: with God you will begin by the Law of Love and with man, by the Law of Faith. A mother can come to know her child only after the baby's birth. When she finds all the talents and capabilities hidden in her child, she comes to love that child. When a young man falls in love with a young woman, she should know that it is God Who loves her through him. When a young woman falls in love with a young man, he should know that it is God Who loves him through her. Embrace and rejoice in God's Love, which is manifested through people. When you listen to music on the radio, is the music really coming from the radio? The radio only transmits the music without making it. In the same way, you should be conduits of Divine Love. As you become better able to transmit it, more of the Divine Blessing comes to you. * * * The human soul is divided into two sexes—male and female. The feminine aspect is the bearer of life, of emotions; the masculine aspect is the bearer of human thought, which is the foundation of the Divine World. The soul is an offshoot, turned upside-down and branched; and the sexes are the two branches from one and the same root. Therefore, you, the young people, should try to be a manifestation of Divine Love without deceit or flirting! The feelings in your hearts should be noble. When you are around young female disciples, you should protect them as you would your eyes. This I require from you young men: that you should be so delicate toward your sisters, so gentle in your address to them—in your thoughts, in your desires—as to be an example. You need to know that you are bearers of human intelligence. And as for the young sister-disciples, I would like them to be also delicate and gentle, to show respect and honor toward their young brother-disciples, thus transmitting noble impulses and strivings within their souls. * * * The external way of expressing Love is through light and knowledge; the internal is through warmth and a good reception. The external expression of Love represents the summer of life when the external light is plentiful. Then the days are long and the nights short. By this light, people study and acquire knowledge. The internal expression of Love is the winter of life when everything is covered by snow. Outside there are storms and winds. Days are short and nights long. Then people go into their homes, start the stoves, turn the lamps on, and by this nice warmth and light begin to read and contemplate. They go deep within because there is no external light to distract them. When someone comes for a visit, they invite him in and together they begin to read and converse warmly. People of today need to study both sides of Love: the external, or the masculine, which is connected with light; and the internal, or the feminine, which is connected with warmth. In this way, they will understand why contradictions in life exist. The one who wants to study Wisdom, to acquire light and knowledge, needs to seek favorable external conditions. Whoever desires to study Love, to acquire warmth and softness, needs to expose himself to unfavorable external conditions, to great storms and suffering. Whoever seeks Love needs to have a strong backbone in order to endure. Man is strong from without; woman, from within. When you know that, you can explain to yourself why people are searching for one another. Love bears warmth and Wisdom carries light. The one who has light within searches for a person who has warmth, and vice versa: the one who has warmth within searches for a person who has light. This is necessary, because light cannot be understood without warmth, or warmth without light. * * * If a young man loves a girl for a while and after that cools off and begins loving another one, the last one should tell him, "You should go back to your first love because in no way am I better than her. If you can abandon one girl, tomorrow you will abandon me too." * * * Two people can love each other and be in harmony only when they have developed their spiritual bodies. If their physical bodies are acting and the spiritual are not manifesting, they cannot love each other as they should. A person's faith and love depends upon the development of the spiritual body. * * * This is knowledge that you can apply in life, if you would like to make it meaningful. When I say that one needs to love all people, I have in mind the Unity in Nature. Within Nature, only one woman and one man exist. You see many men and women; but, in reality, they represent one woman and one man in many forms. When a person looks at things in this way, he cannot commit a single transgression. However, when a man grabs only one branch or one leaf of the Tree that is named "Unity in Nature," he begins to see himself surrounded by many women. In a similar way a woman will begin to see many men. As long as a man sees many women in the world, and a woman many men, transgressions will always exist. The delusion is in the fact that, when someone looks in the mirror, he sees an image and thinks that he sees another person. No: he sees himself. The many men and women are nothing but reflections of the one man and the one woman who alone exist in Nature as Reality. * * * Living Nature is so wise that no one has been able yet and will not be able in the future to deceive her in her methods. For this reason we call the Living Nature the best Mother. If you listen to her, she will give you such a great lesson as you never had. Yet if you disobey her Laws, you will experience how she educates her children. * * * Home is the only place where good can originate and grow. It is the first temple of humankind where mothers and fathers are the first priests at the altar of the human soul. Using the stones of the temple—home—Nature has begun to build the foundation for the total uplifting of all sentient beings. In this home people have the opportunity to attain all their gifts, powers, capabilities, and noble qualities. This has been the most direct and natural way for the human soul to reach that great goal given by the Spirit. For thousands of years humankind has been expecting all the virtues to emerge from this temple—home. * * * How should people live in order to come into such a unity? This is very simple! Whoever you meet, consider that person as your brother or sister. And whatever this brother or sister is doing—you will consider it to be good. As long as a woman thinks that her man can possess her, she is on the wrong path. And if a man thinks the same about his woman, he is on the wrong path as well. A woman needs to thank her man that he is bearing light. A man needs to thank his woman that she is bearing warmth. And yet, what are modern men and women doing? When a woman receives light from a man who is learned, she begins to see his shortcomings and judges him. When the man realizes this, he gradually turns off the switch for the light, and the woman remains in darkness. Then she begins searching for her man and cries for him. She is searching for him because she is in darkness. While she is in light, she is seeing his shortcomings and judging him. These are incorrect understandings of life. When you love your man and live together, make use of his light and do not make any remarks, such as how he dresses, where he directs his gaze, what he speaks—do not say a word about that. Leave him to express freely, as he knows and as he understands. Generally speaking, consider everything your brother or sister does as good. In order to behave like that, patience is necessary. * * * The Kingdom of God is not something dead. It does not consist of rules and Laws alone, but of sentient beings living in continual unity and harmony. Each and every home is a kingdom in miniature—fathers, mothers, and children form a small kingdom. When there is harmony and Love among the family members, this Kingdom of God manifests Itself and the family members experience Its blessings. * * * Man and woman represent two principles, two great sentient forces at work. One is called the active, the other is called passive; one is acting, the other is receptive. These are two interchanging processes in Nature. God does not always give; sometimes He takes. He gives in one respect, but takes in another. In the same way, the ocean sends moisture to the land, yet gets it back through the rivers. In this meaning, the masculine and the feminine are two principles at work: the masculine is creative and the feminine is receptive. Therefore, we should be aware of and true to these two principles in life. Only thus we can attain our heart's and mind's desires. Only God can fulfill your ideas and desires. The mother rears the child; the teacher educates the student. As the child cannot be without the mother, so the disciple cannot learn without the Teacher. * * * The masculine principle represents the central brain—the cerebrum which in the human being serves as a connection with the external world. The feminine principle represents the ventricular brain, which serves as a connection with the inner—the Divine World. The ventricular brain is related to the whole universe, and for this reason, woman is closer to the Divine World than man is. What one perceives through the ventricular brain or sympathetic nervous system is closer to the Truth than what one perceives through the cerebrum. * * * A human being needs to apply two great Laws in his life. The first Law—love toward God—represents man or the masculine principle. The second Law—love toward your neighbor—represents woman or the feminine principle. Man needs to occupy himself with the first Law; woman, with the second. A human being, however, needs to be occupied with both. One who has taken the form of a man will use the first Law and one who has taken the form of a woman will use the second. One who has awareness of a genuine human being and does not marry or is not looking for a relationship will apply both Laws at the same time. Yet, where is the application of these Laws today? Why does man, who works with the first Law and who thinks himself powerful and able to put the world in order, has still not set it right? So far man has used his powers to subdue woman and convince her that she is helpless and depends on him. I ask: did men succeed in convincing women? When I examine the history of human evolution, I observe non-observance of both Laws everywhere. An important Law exists that everyone needs to bear in mind. This Law is the following: when a woman loves a man, she is capable of uplifting him. However, if she begins to hate a man, she can bring him to a bad end. Many statistics show that in America all of the clergymen who have good wives are known to be outstanding preachers. Why? It is because their wives love them and share their beliefs. And the opposite is also true: all the wives of clergymen who did not love their husbands and did not share their ideas have contributed to their downfall. Therefore, women have the power over men to uplift or bring down. The second Law—love for one's neighbor, which is the woman's responsibility is what creates order in society. Therefore, present-day society and everything in it is a result of woman having been subjugated to man. And so then, what should be the goal of the societies and nations of today? The uplifting of womanhood. Uplift woman to that position which she held at one time! Place woman on the level at which she once was and you will see that the world will improve in 25 years. The salvation of the world lies in the uplifting of women. If you do not uplift woman and if she does not uplift herself, salvation cannot come: there is no other way. * * * When I speak about the uplifting of woman, I have in mind that this idea should permeate the whole of life. It needs to permeate not only people, but the animals, plants, and minerals as well. This great Law should also completely take in the human heart. If the human being abuses his heart, salvation cannot come either. The salvation of modern humankind lies in the uplifting of the heart. If you debase yourself, you debase your heart. If you uplift yourself, you uplift your heart. This is a principle to be applied in education. I am talking about Laws existing in Nature. The goal of the Sentient Nature is to awaken the sublime consciousness in human beings by applying her Laws. It is not enough to pray to the Saints, but the latter need to come down to Earth and work for the uplifting of woman. All the Angels, all the Saints, all the Advanced Beings strive for the uplifting of women. Many modern people are against this great idea and say, "Do you know what woman is? She is like a snake! Those who have burned their fingers already—only they can speak about her." When you say that a woman is bad, I ask: who has not been born of a woman? Your mother who has carried you in her womb, who has held you in her embrace, who has carried you in her mind and heart—has she not been, is she not, a woman? You do not focus on the fact that she has been debased. Whatever this woman is today, she is your mother. If you have a companion, regard her as your mother. Regard your mother as if God is within her. Humankind needs to fundamentally change its ideas toward women. If not, the salvation of the world will not come. * * * Man complains that woman is responsible for his sins, yet without her he would have been lost completely. Woman is the lesser "evil" in the world. Without her, the world would be much worse. * * * Now I repeat to women: bring more light into the minds of your men. Only a woman can do this. A man cannot save another man—only a woman will save him. A woman can never reconcile two men who are on bad terms. Instead, she will bring enmity between them. Only a mother is capable of bringing peace between two quarreling men, because there are forces within her which positively influence them; they have love toward her. For the same reason, a man cannot reconcile two women who are on bad terms. * * * What is the task of a woman? To uplift first herself and then man. A good and graceful woman represents the ideal for a man. She instills within him the impulse toward the sublime, motivates him to think and—at the same time—brings peace and tranquility to his soul. * * * You should multiply the gifts and talents you possess. A woman should see in her husband good qualities and strive to increase them. As a result, the man will begin to share his feelings and gratitude and to share his efforts; he will love and cherish his wife, and he will appreciate and help her. This is how man should behave. If a husband or wife sees negative traits in each other, they need not bring them up. Instead they should try to transform these traits into positive traits and then multiply them. It is said in the Bible that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that grows (Luke 13:18-19), which implies that when the elements of this Kingdom enter the human soul and spirit, they multiply. * * * Now a question about whether to get married or not has been raised. In the Invisible World, a soul cannot live alone; there souls live in pairs. You will have soulmates. Similarities exist there; you will live together as couples. Human beings do not live alone in general. This is how God has created the world: - on Earth, two bodies live in one place - in the astral world, two hearts exist together - in the mental world, two minds exist in one place - in the spiritual world, two souls live in one place - in the Divine World, two spirits live together And when you unite with God, you become One. Now when you ask if you should marry, you have in mind the physical body. Nowadays bodies are what lead people to marry. One body unites with another, and this is called marriage. * * * The question about marriage depends only upon the condition whether or not it has been decided for two people to unite and fulfill God's Will on Earth. If it has not been decided, these souls should continue to study alone. * * * Before you marry you must have Love. This is the meaning of marriage. Without Love there exists no true marriage. This is a great Truth. * * * When relationships are based upon Love, one cannot make any legal agreements. A man is glad that he has met the woman whom he loves and is grateful to God. The same is true for a woman. What a man will do for work and what a woman will do—this will be arranged by itself. A union which is inspired by Love is worth more than all the riches in the world. * * * A young woman would like to get married. First she needs to evaluate and observe her own heart and mind. She should be like a clairvoyant in order to enter his home, go through his rooms, his library, see how the books are arranged, see his kitchen, his garden, visit the garden of his love, of his charity, of his justice, and see what kind of flowers he has planted. She should go everywhere to see how everything is arranged; and if she finds that everything is in good order, she then can say, "I am ready to marry this man." This is true marriage. * * * The young woman should ask herself first, "If I do what I want and get married, can I achieve what I am searching for? If I can achieve it, let me get married." If not, then it would be better if she does not marry. If a woman wants to give birth to a child, let her ask herself if she will be able to uplift her child and herself. If she can achieve this, let her become a mother; but if not, then it would be better if she does not give birth. When fathers and mothers transform their feelings, a new, healthy generation with right thoughts will be born. * * * True Love is a model through which people help each other to learn. True Love requires a mindful exchange between souls. To love someone means to experience a proper exchange with him. When the interchange between two people who love each other is proper, then they are joyful, fulfilled, ready to sacrifice for each other and to be helpful to all people. If you find someone whom you love and who loves you, you have found your Teacher. On the one hand, he will teach you; and on the other, you will teach him. The boy and girl are youthful and beautiful, but as soon as they marry, bills start to follow one after the other. They wonder where these bills came from. This is so simple: they do not marry one person, but a whole company that has already gone bankrupt and is searching for someone to pay off its debt. Without ever questioning, they take these bills upon themselves and suffer their entire life without being able to get above the surface and pay them off. In such a case, only he who has paid off all of his debts, who has freed himself of all his creditors, has the right to get married. * * * If the young woman is ready for the rest of her life to serve the young man, to fulfill his desires with love and the right consciousness—let her marry him. If she thinks that through marriage she will have security and independence or that she will be a mistress—then she will be unhappy. Love acknowledges one Law: those who love must serve. Love is one thing, and marriage is something entirely different. A marriage binds, complicates, and obstructs the freedom of the human soul. Sometimes people marry in order to pay off some old debt, and such a marriage is appropriate. It is within the destiny of these souls as a way of freeing themselves. However, often people marry because of strong feelings, sometimes motivated by material gain or ambition. In such cases, both parents and the children suffer bearing the consequences. Love without entangling yourself, and one day you will be thankful. * * * From Love's point of view, it is unacceptable for a person to marry without love. It is unacceptable for a mother and a father to bear children without love. Follow the Law of Love in full and do not fear anything. God is Love. Therefore, when you marry, call upon God to be between both of you. If God is not between you, the marriage and the bearing of children is an act of commerce. That is why, if you let business rule in the most sacred of relationships between two people, you cannot expect to be happy or to achieve anything. Remember: what robs people of their happiness, what ruins their sublime thoughts, emotions, and actions is the lack of Love. * * * When you enter a heart, take off your shoes, raise your eyes, and pray to God to bless you. When you lift your mind toward God, He will send all Beings to work upon you and upon the one whose heart you have entered. A man should take off the yoke of his wife and say, "My wife, from now on you will be free to live in my home under these conditions: to work for God's Love; to be free to put on and take off your yoke by your choice; to work for the good of your neighbor and for the good of your soul. If you work in this way, you will be welcomed in my home. These are the terms on which I invite you." These are the new principles for people to apply should they want to marry. * * * There is a greater power than the power of man—this is the power of purity. Regardless how corrupt a man might be, he will yield to woman's purity. Love and willpower work together. If a woman has these virtues within herself, she can transform the condition of her man in a moment. Regardless of how bad a mood he is in, when he enters his home his bad mood will disappear. What kind of woman is it who cannot bring a man to hold her in high regard? What kind of woman is it who cannot paralyze the action of a man? I speak about this woman who has attained Love and Purity. A mighty power is Love—nothing can corrupt it. It is Love and Will alone that will cause a woman to be held in high regard. They will uplift her. The future belongs to women, to mothers, to sisters. They are a conduit of Love. Love can come only through a woman, not through a man. If a woman dreams of getting married only to have a husband, she does not understand anything. It is meaningful for a woman to get married if she can uplift her husband and direct him toward the right mindful life, toward the fulfillment of God's Will. If she does not open the heart of her husband toward the weak and the oppressed, she has done nothing. It is said in the Scriptures that the joy of the Angels in Heaven is great for every woman who has devoted her heart to the search for Divine Love. As for me, I would like that more of such women be on Earth so that the Angels may rejoice. * * * Where life develops in a regular pattern, the husband and wife represent one unit. * * * How can a woman improve the character of her husband? Through the qualities that she bears within herself. The woman represents the number two. The number two contains within itself a very special quality: reconciliation. This means that woman has the power to restore peace. She manifests her power when the number three—the child—comes. * * * When a girl marries and becomes a mother, she does this usually not because of a high sense of responsibility and esteem about motherhood, but because she hides a different desire within herself. The young man, too, marries in ignorance of the responsibility which he takes upon himself. * * * In the Old Testament, it is said that God scorns the prideful, but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34). By "God," I understand this to refer to the Mother—to Living Nature. And she is great! Great is your Mother Nature! * * * It is said in the Scriptures that when Christ found himself in human form, He became humble (Philippians 2:8). In order to have the Blessing of the Divine Mother, Christ was ready to endure all suffering. In esoteric science, Father is known as Mother. He is Love, but not in the way you understand this Mother-Love. Do not even think of comparing this Divine Mother with the love you know. There is no image with which we can compare. I call her "Divine Mother," but not with the meaning that she has given birth to God. Esoteric science comprehends the Divine Mother as the Essence of all living things in the world. * * * Seek the new Teaching that Christ is bringing today through the woman. It will wipe away the tears from the eyes of those who suffer. Of which woman do I speak? I speak of the woman that bears the character of Rachel. She will bloom, will bear fruit, and her fruit will ripen. Yet if one has the character of Leah, it will take a long time for her transformation. Women can save the world and they will do so. Only mothers can save the world. He who thinks that the world will be saved and improved without the mother is deceiving himself; he is on the wrong * * * The most sublime, the most powerful word in the world is "mother." God, Angels, and Saints have strong faith in woman. I have strong faith in women as well. And so, the world will improve when men become loving sons and brothers of women. * * * What is the assignment of woman? First, to elevate herself, and after that, to elevate man. The good and the beautiful woman is an ideal for a man. She inspires him toward what is sublime, she compels him to think, and at the same time, brings peace and calm to his soul. I would like for women to become mothers filled with God's Love, to be the bearers of the Idea of their mission: that women should blossom, carrying the fragrance within themselves, dispersing the noble qualities of Love. Let woman abide in Love and let man bear the authority for woman. As women, you should have the desire to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit which are Love, joy, long-suffering, peace, mercy, temperance, and generosity. In the bearing of these fruits lies true service to God. Is there no sweeter fruit than Love? Therefore, woman represents the Spirit: she is loved only when she bears Love. Woman is the symbol of Love. * * * Some woman says: I must become a mother! If this—that you must be a mother—is enough, then the bird, the cow, the wolf, and the lioness are mothers. But what have these mothers accomplished? The mother needs to address the problem regarding the development of virtues so that when a child is born, her virtues may be also transmitted to her offspring. It is not enough for the woman only to be a mother. She should deeply understand her position and make proper use of it. * * * To be a mother does not mean merely giving birth to children. When you give birth, you are to instill such life into your child that it will awaken the Divine within him or her. * * * The mother is like a wellspring and what gushes forth from her ends up in her child. The Divine that is within her, she gives to her son or daughter. The exchange between mother and child is not only external, but also internal. The mother plays an important role—not only in the material world, but also in the world of thoughts and emotions. She creates not only the form, but infuses it with content and meaning: an interchange between the soul of the mother and the soul of the child takes place. * * * I can advise all mothers who are listening to me how to have the sons and daughters they wish. To those young women and men who are listening to me, I can tell you more about the meaning of life. You will marry—marriage is a sacred institution. However, there are three kinds of marriage. The first is called a contracted union. The second is a master-servant type of relationship; this is to say, man is a master and woman is a servant, or vice versa. The third is a union in which man and woman live in love and wisdom; or, in other words, they live for each other. The wife will never say a bitter word to her husband; moreover, she will never look at him with anger even in situations when he makes the biggest mistakes. This wife will always be loving to her spouse. Only such marriage will produce good children, sages, and saints who will serve the whole of humankind. If a woman who has conceived is inspired by some great ideas about humankind, she will pass good qualities on to her child. She is like God to her child, so she is capable of creating out of this dust whatever she desires. Yet, as soon as the baby emerges from her womb, this begins the child's independence in thoughts and feelings. If, during the nine-month period of pregnancy, she has instilled the qualities of Love and Wisdom into the child, he will have a good attitude toward her for the rest of his life and will be ready to sacrifice himself for her. When a son asks his mother why he was born, I naturally conclude that during the pregnancy she or the father had prevailing negative thinking. Sons and daughters usually bear the thoughts of their parents. Modern science has also come to this conclusion. Certainly, in such a general talk, I cannot go into depth or into more detail concerning that issue so as to explain the principle of it. We need schools to educate young people in these great Laws in order to become good mothers and fathers and, at the same time, builders of the future society. * * * Today woman who will elevate man appears upon the scene. Traditionally, a woman has been brought up with the goal of developing tenderness and softness in her character. For this reason, Nature has given her the assignment of becoming a mother, to bear children, and to raise them. In this way, she passes through suffering and becomes ennobled. The future belongs to woman; she will educate man. She has created such a disorder in the world from which people cannot escape even today. Men fight, but all the time for a woman. Women need to be imbued by one fundamental idea—to apply Love. Do not bind yourself to an undeserving man. Do not deceive yourself that when you marry him he will improve. Marriage cannot improve a man. * * * When I say "mothers," I do not mean this in the ordinary sense of the word. We would like to be healthy, to be happy, to be intelligent, to have a religion—all this is very good. However, this religion needs to be the Religion of Love. We would like to have schools; let these schools be Schools of Wisdom. We would like to have a social system, to have laws, but let all these be based upon one Absolute Divine Justice! These problems will be solved by mothers. Which mothers? The future mothers, not those of today. * * * Many mothers are influenced by society, are ashamed to follow a spiritual path, to follow a spiritual life. They do not realize that society is not the true authority in these matters. This is something that refers to your own soul. The mother precedes society. The older always has the greater experience. * * * The mature mother gives birth to sensible, good children. The young mother gives birth to children with loving hearts. * * * We, the people of today, are solving the problem of how we should live. However, we should not be solving the problems of how we should live, but of how we should be born. We should solve the problem of what kind of mothers we should have, what kind of fathers. * * * If you would like to improve the condition of society, first the mothers and the fathers should be involved, then the priests and the teachers, and lastly, the judges. If the priests and the teachers begin first, nothing will come of it. Mothers and fathers need to set the fundamental tone in life. Some say that the church will save people. I say: salvation comes from mothers and fathers. That father who from the beginning gives the best thing to his children is like a priest, a patriarch, a bishop, and a king. That mother who instills sublime and enlightened thoughts and ideals into the souls of her children from an early age—she is like a queen. To be a mother or a father—these are sacred positions which God has assigned to human beings. Today people debase the position that the mother and the father hold and say, "Let the teacher come and instruct our children." Teachers can teach only to the extent that their own fathers and mothers have instilled within their souls sublime and enlightened ideals. In fertile soil, one can sow whatever one desires and expect a result. One cannot sow anything in sandy soil. * * * From the organic point of view one of the institutions that is Divine is the father and mother who represent the home. It is the first institution on Earth. There is no institution more noble and luminous than the home, and there is no title higher than that of mother and father. There are many fathers and mothers on Earth, but in reality, they are stepfathers and stepmothers. In relation to the organic world, a father and a mother play an important role: through their blood, they transmit the qualities of their souls to their children. The education of a child is determined by the qualities which a mother instills in a child at an early age. By the word "blood," I do not mean any ordinary blood, but that one which remains unchangeable under all circumstances of life. * * * The word "virgin" implies absolute purity and perfection. Fathers are too weak to give forth their genius to their sons. Mothers are able to give more to their sons than fathers. Genius is brought forth on the mother's side through the emotions. The spirit is the bearer of genius, and the soul nourishes it. The word "genius" comes from the Greek and means "the beginning, the origination of things." Learned people have given a different meaning to this word, which is "a person who creates, who makes epochs." People of genius work in the world of solid matter. Their lives are exposed to great disturbances, and for this reason, their death is untimely. In order for a person of genius to be able to live many years on Earth, he needs to become a saint. * * * Man needs to be benevolent; woman, virtuous. Magnanimous is he, in whose mind doubt never enters in respect to a woman. Pure and virtuous is that woman or virgin who never permits any impure thought or any doubt with respect to a man. If she permits anything bad in her mind, she is no longer a virgin. * * * I define "mother" in the following way: a mother is that woman who alone can instill a Divine Idea into the soul of her daughter. A mother who cannot instill a Divine Idea into the soul of her daughter is not a mother. Likewise, a father who cannot impart a Divine Idea to his son is not a true father. The time has come in which egotism will take its real place, when it will return where it has come from. Love for oneself must become a servant to love for one's neighbor. The right hand is I; the left, my neighbor. The Head is God. The right hand must serve the left hand; and both together—God. When a husband realizes that, he will not cheat his wife by promising her what he cannot accomplish. Instead, he should say, "I am like the right leg, and you the left. I step forward, then you step forward. I move forward, and you—backward. Then you move forward, and I backward." The father is the head of the family and the mother is the heart. One cannot function without the heart or without the head. * * * The parents create the body of the child, but the essence of the child is created by another Source. * * * In order to endure in life, we need to have three essential qualities: Wisdom, Truth, and Virtue. Why does a mother tolerate certain negative tendencies of her child and try to educate him? Because she can foresee that regardless of his faults he will become a great person—someone useful for his family and his nation. By foreseeing this, the mother tells herself, "For this child I will embrace all hardships and endure all his faults." And she is wise to do so. The patient person is wise and foresees the future. Let's consider a young unmarried woman. She keeps her hands very clean; she does not even use water but fragrant lotions. Yet, when she gets married and has a child, she is not afraid to get them dirty in the baby's "perfume" and even enjoys it. What does she find in this child? What is the reason for her attachment? This baby weighs only few kilograms. The child, however, has this Divine soul that attracts the mother's love to the point that she is ready to take care of him very patiently and indulge him in everything. * * * True happiness and wellbeing can exist only in a life full of love and guided by the Supreme Intelligence. To attain this, science recommends the following: each mother and father, as well as each educator must study human essence in its totality and investigate the conditions for awakening and developing certain positive or negative qualities. In this lies the foundation of a good education. We should know how the capabilities are situated within the brain, what is their relationship, as well as which of these capabilities have been developed in an individual. If we know that, then we can begin educating our sons and daughters with the help of scientific knowledge. If a mother would have even superficial knowledge about the condition of her child's brain, she would have helped him avoid many future misfortunes. It is said, "Strike while the iron is hot." The same is valid for human nature. Human nature can be transformed and educated until it has this original friendliness and openness of mind of youth, and is ready to take it in and accept all that is given. The brain is the central core of all our forces and capabilities. Each power and capability has its own organ to manifest its function. Overcoming one or another force or tendency within us produces an imprint on the person's character and his entire life. All other forces and capabilities are focused around this essential center, which determines the goal of our life and from there—our moral character. * * * In order to come to Earth, a soul needs to find a father and a mother who will sign a contract by which they agree to accept and raise it. After the contract has been signed, the mother and the father can say, "A child has been born to us." * * * For a child to be born, the father and the mother would have to had been working consciously upon themselves for generations upon generations in order to have amassed the material for the building of a strong, favorable house for the child. If they do not have such material, it is better not to get married and not to build a house that will collapse after a few years. You will say that in the Scriptures it is written that people should get married and multiply. From the Divine point of view, this means: reproduce and multiply according to the Law of Love, Wisdom, and Truth. * * *

Preface The words in this book are excerpts from various lectures and talks delivered by the great spiritual Teacher Beinsa Douno. He lived in Bulgaria under the secular name of Peter Deunov (July 11, 1864–December 27, 1944) bringing spiritual renaissance to the human soul. Through the Words he spoke, he gave instructions for applying the Divine Teaching for many generations. He touched upon many subjects, but he was very particular with regard to one subject: the role and the mission of women in establishing the New Culture on Earth. He held special classes open only to women to guide them toward the fulfillment of their mission for the benefit of humankind. The best way to describe the Teaching he brought is in his own words: “What I preach is not a Teaching for ordinary morality, but for sublime Love. Love can improve your health, enlighten your mind, expand your heart, and give impulse to your spirit. Use this Teaching, regardless of your political affiliation or your nationality—it is for everyone. It is a Teaching that brings peace and tranquility to the heart, light to the mind, rejuvenation to the soul, and strength to the spirit. This Teaching is capable of making the lame walk again, the blind see, and the deaf hear. Also from this Teaching the ill will become healthy and the dead will resurrect. It overcomes all obstacles and brings harmony everywhere. What God tells me, that is what I am speaking and doing. It is my wish to fulfill God’s Will as God has ordered. Blessed be His name! God has been so good to me that I would like to repay Him with all my gratitude. I would like all of you to follow my example. “I have come to manifest Love, to bring it to Earth— this is my mission. Each Enlightened Teacher is different; each carries a sacred Fire from the Invisible World. The difference is determined by what his fire is. “The task of the Great Teachers who descend to the Earth is, in its essence, to bring humankind to the right path, to help it in its evolution. “If you think that you can separate the Teacher from God and God from the Teacher, you do not understand the Laws. If the teacher thinks that he can do something apart from God, he is wrong. The only Teacher who teaches human beings is God. In order to teach them, He takes one form or another. Sometimes God is visible and sometimes He is invisible. “A Great Teacher represents the external relationship of God toward man. A Teacher gives part of his or her Light to those around as a candle gives part of its light to all who want to use it. A Teacher is a manifestation of Divine Light. The more this Light is accepted, the more one connects with one’s Teacher, not only in form, but also in content and meaning. The Word comes through the Teacher, but belongs to God. “Remember: only one Teacher exists. If you would like to have His blessing, keep His name sacred in your mind, heart, and soul. This needs to be the ideal of the human soul. “I am sent by God. If you would like to know who I am, this you will learn from God. When you go to Him, then you will find out who I am and why I have come. The Words I speak are not mine; they come from a Great Source. If you accept them, you will find them to be accurate and truthful. They are not mine—do not be deluded on this in your soul! The Ideas that I give in my lectures and talks are taken from the Divine Source. What Christ has spoken and what I speak are from one and the same Source. “Often I am asked what the Teaching that I bring is. I reply, ‘It is the Teaching of Living Nature and includes all living forces which are the subject of Science. This is a Science about human beings, a Science about the Sentient World. It is a Science about God, about Love.’ “It is not possible to work against the Teachers. We bring One Divine Teaching, and thus we do not argue. We cannot compare this Teaching with anything else. Only time will tell. “What I have spoken for 25 years has already filled the world, and it cannot be taken out. Invisible workers exist who take and distribute those ideas I speak about. They distribute them through the air. “Many truths are hidden within the lectures. I am hiding them for the Culture of the future. Read the lectures and the talks of the General and of the Youth Esoteric Classes. You need to read also the Scriptures. This work should be done before any other. “In each lecture one can find methods for the education and self-education of children, adults, philosophers, poets, and so on. The images which I am using in my lectures are taken from Nature. The newest in Nature—this is what I give. It was different 2,000 years ago. Some say: Christ once said this or that. But Christ said as well, ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all Truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come’ (John 16:12–13)1. And now there are new things, and there will be even more in another 2,000 years. “I am concerned about the welfare of not only humankind, but also of all animals and plants. It is my wish that all beings live in Love and acquire virtues. “Experience adversity, but move forward. The future is before you!” From the magazine The Grain of Wheat, No 2, 1999 -------------------------------------------------- 1. All quotes from the Holy Bible, which are used in this book, are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV).

http://en-petardanov.com/index.php?/files/file/9-%7B?%7D/ BEINSA DOUNO WOMAN— THE SOURCE OF LOVE AND LIFE The insights about the woman and the mother included in this book are excerpts from lectures and talks given by the Master Beinsa Douno during 1914–1944. Most of the content has been published in Bulgarian in The New Eve, Bialo Bratstvo, Sofi a, 1994, with additional excerpts compiled by Tsanka Ekimova. First published in English in 2001 by Bialo Bratstvo, Sofi a, Bulgaria. Compilation and translation by Ernestina Staleva and Antoaneta Krushevska Lotus design by Steve Eagle Front cover: Motherhood by Boris Georgiev Acknowledgements Special thanks to the many contributors for their help and support. Copyright © 2010 by Bialo Bratstvo Publishers Printed in Sofi a, Bulgaria All rights reserved. ISBN 978-954-744-139-2 For more information about Beinsa Douno and available materials: visit the following Web sites: http://www.beinsadouno.org http://www.everabooks.com

EPILOGUE In publishing this book - selected thoughts from the Master's lectures - we, his pupils, are convinced that we fulfill a loving, sacred responsibility toward all of our brothers over the earth, for whom they are intended. From the abundant spring of the Master's Word, we send forth some living streams, hoping that they will refresh and comfort the souls of others as they have refreshed and comforted our souls; that with their living creative moisture they will water and awaken to growth the divine seeds, implanted in the very beginning in their souls, as they have watered and awakened to growth the divine seeds in our souls. We wish that this book might be accepted as a token of our good will to be diligent pupils of the Master, good brothers to humanity, and true servers of God. We wish that it might be accepted as a brotherly gift, a selection of fruits, ripened in the Master's garden, in the garden of his Word. In serving these fruits, we hope that they will nourish and sweeten the souls of all who taste them, as they nourished and sweetened our souls. And we hope that those who will taste the good fruits will plant their seeds in the gardens of their own lives and in the gardens of their brothers.

XXI. CHRIST Today people divide Christ into aspects such as "historical," "cosmic," "mystical" and so on. But Christ in his essence is one and indivisible. There is only one Christ - the living Christ who is the manifestation of God, the manifestation of Love. Christ is God revealing Himself to the world. As a manifestation of God, Christ cannot be separated from Him, cannot be considered apart from Him. And when I speak of Christ, I do not mean an abstract principle, but rather an actual incarnation of Love. Love is the greatest reality and not an abstraction. It has form, content and meaning. Christ - whatever conception people have of him as "historical," as "cosmic," as "mystical," - gave to the earth the fullest expression of Love. This is because as an historic personality, as a cosmic essence, and as a mystical experience, Christ is and remains the most perfect expression of Love. Indeed, no other man on earth before Christ had greater love than His. There is neither in the cosmos without, nor in the mystic depths of the soul within, a fuller expression of Love than that which we personify in Christ. Therefore, how are the words "historical," "cosmic," and "mystical" to be understood? Manifested on the earth at a certain historical moment as the ideal man, as an example of the real man, Christ is "historical." And the times in which he lived record an bear witness to Him: "Behold, the man! Behold, the true man in whom Love, Wisdom, and Truth live, and who applies them." When he is experienced in the inward depths, he is "mystical," and when he is comprehended and known as God manifested in the world, he is "cosmic." The physical side of Christ is all of humanity united in one body. All human souls in which Christ lives, united into one - this is the physical aspect of Christ. All angels, gathered into the heart of Christ, represent his spiritual aspect. And all divine beings, united in the mind of Christ, are his divine aspect. This is the "cosmic" Christ, God manifested in the world. That is why the mystic sees Christ everywhere - as the great Brother of humanity, the archetype of man, the First-Born in the world, the beginning of the human race, the beginning of human evolution. The First-Born who developed and manifested all divine virtues, who applied all divine laws. The mystic sees Christ as the First-Born who passed every trial and sacrificed all for his brothers. Mountains, fields, springs, rivers, and seas, with all the natural wealth hidden therein - all this is an expression of this Great Brother. But this is a great mystery, for the understanding of which thousands of years of unremitting work are necessary. Thus does one need to conceive of Christ in his comprehensiveness. He is One, although people consider him sometimes as "historical," sometimes as ii • и и 1 и cosmic, or as mystical. All these words must come to life in the true understanding of Christ as the manifested and revealed Love of God; they must not remain dry concepts, prisons for human thought. Indeed, is not the "historical" Christ, who came to earth two thousand years ago, a prison for the minds of many Christians? Where in the Scripture did Christ two thousand years ago speak of himself as of an historical personality? He speaks of himself as Spirit, as one who will remain on earth "to the end of the ages," that is until the epoch of violence and evil, now in its last days, comes to an end. "Go and preach," he says to his disciples, "and I shall be with you to the end of the ages." One of the worst delusions is to think that Christ is in heaven, that he sits and waits for the Last Judgment, when he will begin to judge the living and the dead. The truth is that Christ has never left the earth. Remember his words: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Christ is he Who has inspired, is inspiring, and will inspire the "historical," "cosmic," and "mystical" life of the earth and humanity. Without Christ, there could be no history. Without Christ, there could be no "cosmos," no organized and established world. Without Christ, there could be no "mystical" life. He is the great inspirer of all revelations in all times. He is the unseen moving force behind the whole spiritual life of humanity. The Scripture, in which Christ is the central figure, is a witness to this. Christ himself hints at this with the words: "Moses and the prophets wrote about me." Moses, in a general sense, comprises all the spiritual leaders of humanity, all scientists, philosophers, writers, poets, artists and musicians who prepare the minds of men for the understanding of Christ, the divine Truth. However transitory their works seem, however changeable their theories, they are not arbitrary; they are created under the influence of a universal law of the Spirit, working in mankind in a special way. All those men, therefore, worked for the manifold upliftment of humanity; they prepared the way for the coming of Christ. It is not easy for a great Spirit such as Christ to come among men. Men had to work hard in the course of several thousand years in order that Christ might appear among them. It is not easy to come to the earth. But with his descent to the earth, Christ opened a new epoch in the evolution of humanity. He indicated the only way by which the human soul can ascend to God. This is why he said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." The Way: in the broadest sense of the word, this is the movement of the Spirit towards an intelligent application of the laws of Nature. The Life: this is the harmonious organization of the elements and the development of the forces in the Divine soul. The Truth: this is the manifestation of the One God, who creates the conditions for the development of all living beings. Coming from the Divine world of Truth and descending to the material world, Christ connects human souls to the world of Truth, where the great aims of every life are hidden. There must necessarily be a link to unite human souls sunken in matter, with God. Only Christ can form that link - only Christ can unite men with God. He came down from the Divine world, bringing life from the world of Truth, and ascended back to it, and in this way he indicated the path leading from temporal life to the eternal. "And this is life eternal," says Christ, "that they should know Thee the only true God, and him who Thou didst send Jesus Christ." To know God is to know the seeds of the Spirit - the conditions, the powers, and the laws which sustain it, and according to which this wonderful order of things is built. And Christ is the intelligent beginning who comes from the One God, bringing life to all beings, guiding them and sustaining them, and linking them to the initial center of all that is. Christ is the way of this intelligent movement of souls which leads them to life eternal in Truth. And when Christ is asked why he came to earth, he replies, "To this end was I born and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the Truth." These words, however, are a mathematical formula. The question of the coming of Christ is one of the deepest questions in human life. Many people think that it is very easy to reply to this question. They say that Christ came to the earth in order to suffer and to save humanity. The coming of Christ to the earth is not a matter of suffering. The suffering was a secondary occurrence in the life of Christ - it is far from determining this very important moment in the history of humanity. Salvation, in the way in which it is usually understood, is also a partial conception of this great event. But today, all the preachers say that Christ came to the earth to save humanity. If Christ had saved the world in such a mechanical way as people believe, and if they were truly saved, then they would not live in a way so contrary to the spirit of Christ's teaching. Clearly, the idea of salvation has an entirely different meaning. It is not where people look for it, nor does it come mechanically as they think. Christ brought to the earth the science of the soul. He pointed out the path by which human souls can know God and obtain eternal life. The gate of that path is Love. He who passes through this gate will find himself on that royal road where great deeds await him. Many great souls came to the earth before Christ, but they were unable to cope with the difficult task of uplifting humanity. Christ had to come to earth in order to solve this essential and very important problem, and to show to men a proven way by which they, too, might solve it. Before Christ, God sent into his field his servants - the prophets and the saints - but they were not able to accomplish the task in the way in which it should have been done. When Christ, "the Son of God," came to the earth, the workers of all of heaven united in his name in order to complete the work which had been begun. It is written in the Gospel that "God so loved the world that he gave his only- begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but should have eternal life." The Son is the Word, the Rational, the Divine, the only one who could restore harmony to the world and the connection of the human soul with God. Christ could restore that connection, he could influence humanity as a whole, because he himself was connected with the great, mighty One. When the Gospel speaks of the descent of the Spirit upon Jesus, it refers to the union of Jesus with the collective Spirit of the world of reason, whereby the realization of a Divine idea became possible on the earth. This is a law on the earth - in order to accomplish the work of God, a man on the earth must unite with a being in heaven. In this case, the being was the collective divine Spirit. From this point of view, Christ is a collective spirit. He exists as a unit and at the same time he is a collective spirit. He is the sum total of all Sons of God whose hearts and souls are fountains of life and love. All Sons of God, united in one, all intelligent souls who live in Divine communion - all this is Christ. The descent of Christ to the earth is the most important event in the history of humanity. It is a unique event in its content and meaning. The fundamental idea of human life is connected with it - the idea of immortality, the idea of eternal life. And the efforts of all human existence have as their ultimate goal the attaining of immortality and entering into eternal life. "And this is life eternal," says Christ, "that they should know Thee, the only true God, and him whom Thou didst send, Jesus Christ." Know God, and know Christ. Did people know Christ when he appeared two thousand years ago? Do they know him today? When truth comes into the world, it is not clothed in royal garments, but rather in modest apparel. Thus Christ appeared two thousand years ago in a simple form, in which men could not recognize him. But such are the laws of this world. In this modest apparel, seemingly a man like all other men, even his disciples did not know Him completely. Only three of them at the transfiguration saw Christ's "face," His inner self. In this inner light they saw Him and recognized Him as he was among the angels. For the Jews, Christ was "the son of Joseph, the son of the carpenter." For the scribes and the Pharisees, He was a blasphemer, a self-styled messiah who called himself "Son of God." He did not come from among them, He was not taught by them. Where, in fact, did Christ study? Everything that he did testified to his wide learning. Yet, even today there are people who think that Christ was a common, uneducated person. This is not true. Christ himself, addressing his listeners, said, "If I told you earthly things and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" When He spoke of "heavenly things," Christ referred to the great mysteries of the sun. However, He understood "earthly things" as well - He knew the Cabal, and the philosophies of the Eastern nations and of the Greeks, as well as the sciences of the time. Indeed, Christ had no need to study in human schools. His entire earthly life was in itself objective learning for Him. His life was a source of new experience, a field for the application of those sublime principles and great laws, whose functions He had known in the invisible world. Due to his awakened consciousness and his connection with the invisible world, Christ was always able to obtain knowledge directly therefrom. And when He prayed, prayer was a conversation with the world of reason. Through prayer, Christ communicated with the invisible world, with all the hierarchies there and with God. Through prayer the invisible world revealed to Christ that great lesson which He had to learn on earth, and disclosed to him the problem He had to solve in the environment of earthly life. After having solved his difficult problem, Christ understood through experience that the only way to save humanity is through Love. Only then did He fully comprehend the profound meaning of all of his suffering. However, to men, regardless of what they say, the sufferings of Christ, his crucifixion and his disgraceful death, still remain one of the deepest mysteries. Why did Christ, the greatest soul that ever came to the earth, the greatest character ever manifested, why did this good, intelligent, and strong man have to undergo such a tragic death? The Scripture says that it was thus "written" - and nothing more. Others maintain that it was necessary for this to happen so that the world might be saved. But Christ himself says that He came into the world to bear witness to the Truth. One thing can be said with certainty - Christ was crucified because Love did not outwardly participate in his life. And where Love does not participate, the most severe sufferings and the greatest tragedies occur. Love does not cause them, but the competition for love creates them. Love in itself always and everywhere brings light, peace and joy. In any case, we see that Christ's crucifixion was permitted. On the cross Christ underwent what might be called ideological-mystical suffering, the deepest and the most intense suffering which a human soul can undergo. He had to drink from the cup of suffering to the last drop - that cup into which were gathered all the bitter dregs of the past. But during this profound and intensified suffering, all of the secrets of the past were disclosed to him. And conscious of the great importance of the moment, after the inner struggle in the garden of Gethsemane, Christ said, "It was for this hour that I came." Through the great alchemy of Love, Christ converted the poisons gathered in that cup, and thus destroyed violence forever. And indeed could not Christ - a strong man of genius who knew his high origin, who foresaw everything, who knew what was about to happen - have averted the sufferings which awaited Him? He had the choice either to call forth the "legions of angels" and with their help to annihilate both the Jewish nation and the Roman Empire - that is, to use the method of the past, Moses and Elijah's method of violence and the sword, which was the method of the old magi and adepts - or to accept the cup and the cross and to overcome them through the power of Love. Christ chose the second, a unique experiment on earth. And indeed, if Christ had feared the suffering, if He had eared the cross on which later He was crucified, or the nails with which He was nailed to it, or the spear with which He was pierced, He would not have provided a new and essential solution to the difficult task of uplifting the human soul. He dissolved the insults, and the lashes of the whip, and the cross, and the nails, and the spear, with the fire of Love - the only fire that can melt the weapons of violence. The experiment proved successful. Thus Christ solved a problem upon which the future of all of humanity depended. Thus He opened the path of salvation to those suffering souls for whom He came. For those simple but noble souls who had the courage to put their faith in Him, and not for the learned, the powerful and the religious people of His age, did Christ lay down His life so that they might live in the Love which He gave them. Something very great is hidden in the sufferings of Christ. They constitute the hidden side of Christ's life, of which men know nothing. And when I speak of the sufferings of Christ, two great virtues of Christ come to mind - His unprecedented patience, and His humility. Through these, He endured all the abuses, insults and offenses which men inflicted upon Him. Christ endured all of these and remained silent, calm and unmoved, as though nothing were happening. Not a tear fell from His eyes. This is great patience, this is self-mastery, this is Love. This is a rock which nothing can shatter. Christ's crucifixion was a tragedy, but this tragedy had its solution in the resurrection. Christ rose from the dead, and through his resurrection He conquered death. And as in his sufferings the secrets of the past were revealed to Him so in the resurrection He received the revelation of the future. Christ is truly a strong man, a mighty spirit, a hero. He overcame everything - tortures, the cross and the grave. Christ did not carry the wooden cross to the end. He carried it only to a certain place and then He laid it on the ground. People think that He laid it down because He was exhausted beneath its weight. Christ was not a weakling. He could have carried the cross, but He laid it down in order to point out to humanity what was in store for them. He implied, "I can carry the cross of the sufferings of living men, but I do not wish to carry a wooden cross." But present-day Christians still carry and kiss the wooden cross, disdained by Christ himself. Having cast the wooden cross upon the ground, Christ stood up, and upright he made his way to Golgotha. They nailed him to the cross. But He did not remain there long. He alone unnailed himself. How? He left his body and went to Joseph of Arimathea. Christ was buried and His tomb was sealed. But He also left the tomb. He did not want to leave his body in the tomb, because it was alive. He himself resurrected it. The angel that caused his death took his soul to hell, but Christ did not remain there long. His entrance into hell caused a revolution - He activated all of hell's inhabitants and set them free. Do not think that after his resurrection Christ was alone - in hell He was the leader of a host of angels who emptied hell of all of its prisoners. Thus Christ proved that the strong man cannot remain nailed to a cross, nor can he be sealed in a grave. The strong man never dies - he is resurrected and he gives life to others. Christ was the heart of God, and that is why He resurrected. God's heart cannot die. It returned whence it came. But throughout all of this tragedy enacted on Golgotha, new blood was infused into the exhausted veins of humanity, and a new impulse was brought to the divine circulation of life. When He came to the earth two thousand years ago, Christ revealed to us only one side of his nature. We see Christ then in humiliation and grief, in sufferings and trials. We see him as a hero of redemption. People do not yet know Christ in his glory, in his divine might and power. Christ is strong and mighty now! In the past, the hands of Christ were nailed. Today no one can nail these hands - the nails would be melted at once! In the past they crucified Christ, but today there is not a tree large enough on which He could be crucified. Christ cannot be crucified a second time. This Christ is coming now to visit the minds and hearts of men. He will demolish all prisons; He will obliterate all false teachings - everything that destroys man's mind and heart, that brings confusion and anarchy, that paralyzes human life. He is the living Christ who brings life, light and freedom to all souls, who uplifts and awakens in them love toward all. When I say that Christ is coming now, some might think that He will come outwardly. Christ will not come outwardly, He will come neither in the form of a man, nor in any other form. When the rays of the sun enter into your homes, does that mean that the sun itself has visited you? Remember, Christ is e manifestation of divine Love. And He will come as an inner light in the minds and hearts of men. This light will draw all toward Christ as around a great center. The opening of men's minds and hearts, and the inner acceptance of Christ - this will be the second coming of Christ to the earth. If they do not accept Him in this way, people will continue to live without love, in suffering and misery, in outer beliefs, superstitions, and delusions. Captives of those outer beliefs, many religious people today err when they say, "Christ brought good tidings two thousand years ago. He said all that He had to say, and now He has gone to heaven, where He will remain until the Day of Judgment, when He will come again to judge the living and the dead." But I say to you: Christ did not preach the good tidings in time and space! We do not consider Christ and His teaching as something that is past. We do not consider Christ and His teaching as something that will come in the future. For us, Christ and His teaching are an everlasting present! Therefore, it was not only during his three years of reaching that Christ spoke to us; He has not ceased speaking during all of these two thousand years. And if it were possible to restore all that He said in those three years to the people of that time, and if it were possible also to restore what He said in the course of these two thousand years, men would have very valuable knowledge. But only very little of what Christ said during those three years of preaching has come down to us - only fragments. Many of the Epistles of Paul, as well as of the other apostles, remain hidden from the world. But some day they will come to light. Even now they are being disclosed, but only to advanced pupils. On the other hand, do you think that Christ divulged all of his teaching? In comparison with what He possessed, Christ gave very little to his contemporaries. The men of that time were not ready for science. Therefore, He spoke to them in parables. Christ did not want to put his weapon in the hands of the ignorant, so that they might turn it against Him. Do you think that if Christ came now He would speak as He spoke two thousand years ago? Christ will speak today in an entirely different manner. First of all, He will preach about the great science of Love, and the methods of its application. He will preach about the path of pupilage, brotherhood and service. The law of evolution requires it today. And now the Great Master addresses himself to all awakened souls, proclaiming to them the fundamentals of the new gospel: That all be diligent pupils, good brothers, true and loyal servers! Only those who are diligent pupils, good brothers, and true servers can create the new culture in which Christ will live in every man and among all people. Today, Christ has no need of ordinary believers, religious people who fight one another, nor of rulers and priests, but rather of real men, creators of the new - pupils, brothers, and servers. Today Christ does not want men who constantly crucify Him within themselves, but men who will welcome Him to live within them and among them, who will be one with Him. Today, Christ proclaims a culture without crucifixions, the culture of resurrection! We nave seen well the results of the present culture created by those who crucified Christ. It is time for the foundations of a new culture to be laid, a culture built not by people who worship the crucified Christ, but by men-brothers in whom lives the resurrected Christ, the living Christ of Love. The foundation of this culture will be Love. Love is the only power that can make of men diligent pupils, good brothers, true and loyal servers, builders of the new life. This is the "new" which Christ brings to humanity today. This is the Word of the Great White Brotherhood; this is what the Master speaks. And will not many believers, then, who call themselves Christians, be enticed by His word? And will they recognize Him? They will continue to argue about the "crucified," the "historical" and the "cosmic" Christ; about the Christ as He is considered by the various churches, and the spirit of his Living Word will remain strange to them. Therefore, I say to you: Leave aside these definitions and differentiations of Christ! Know that there is only one Christ, the Christ of great Love, who at present is active in the world and in the souls of men. I speak to you of that Christ, and not of the "historical" or the "crucified" Christ. Men know Him well as an historical personage, but they do not know Him as Living Love. I speak to you of the living Christ, of that Christ who has life within himself, who brings the living knowledge and light, who brings the truth and freedom; of that Christ who teaches all methods for the building of rational life. He is the great Christ, who is called the Head of the Great Universal Brotherhood. All great souls know Him, and they never argue about who and what He is, what He was, where He is now, what place He holds in the "hierarchy of masters," and so on. They never argue because they know very well what place Christ has in the Whole, just as they know the place of the other great men who have appeared and are appearing in the world. This is the Christ that men must come to know today! They must see Him - see and know Him! Many men wish to convince us that we may be true Christians without seeing and knowing Christ inwardly. But I maintain that if a man does not see Christ, nothing will come of him. In order to see Christ, one must have a mind, a heart, a soul, and a spirit like His. All those to whom Christ appeared before they reached that stage, fell down with faces toward the ground. And what can a fallen man see? Man must drink from the source itself and not from the river, which is muddy because many other additives entered into it. Follow the path that leads to this source - the path is difficult and long, but you will drink living water from the spring itself, and it will refresh your mind and heart forever. Spacious views, unseen until then, will be opened to your sight. On that mountain where the living water flows forth, you will hear the voice of God. Do not ask to remain there, but come down to your brothers. Come down and put into practice, like a pupil, like a brother, and like a server, the Living Word of your Heavenly Father who draws you to Him by the threads of His Love. These threads are in the hands of Christ, the manifested God of Love.

XX. THE BODY OF LOVE Present-day people see and are conscious of only their physical bodies. They study the body's anatomical structure, and its physiological functions, and they are amazed at its complex and wise organization. Because of this, they begin to think that not only physical life, but man's soul life as well, is nothing more than a manifestation of the body. If the body disappears, man as an individual being also disappears. It is true that the physical body is destroyed after death. But that which is destroyed and disappears cannot be the real abode of man, of his soul, of his spirit. Neither are the real vehicles of man those finer bodies - the etheric, the astral and mental bodies of which occults science speaks. Occult science maintains that man has seven bodies. Their various names and classifications you will find in occult literature. These bodies, through which the perfect man functions, actually exist. But not all seven might be called, in the real sense of the word, "bodies." In fact, only three of them are bodies, and the other four ere sheaths. I give a new interpretation to these three essential bodies, and call them the body of Love, the body of Wisdom and the body of Truth. The body of Love - the real body of man which never dies - is at present being built, but only its foundations are laid. The other two immortal bodies - the body of Wisdom and the body of Truth - exist only in germ. Special epochs will come for their development. The whole life of man, in the physical, the astral, the mental, and the archetypal worlds, has as its only aim to prepare the material for the building of the body of Love. Love permeates these four worlds, the four sheaths of man. These four sheaths are the laboratories in which the material necessary for the building of the body of Love is being formed. These sheaths are only some of the means by which Love reveals itself. Continuous changes take place within them - they themselves appear and disappear according to certain periodic laws. These sheaths are changeable, but a part of them never disappears, and remains as constant spirit-germs for the physical, astral and mental. The Higher Self is something like an atmosphere for these spirit-germs. It is connected with a world which contains the possibilities of the physical, the astral, and the mental worlds. Before man enters the world of Love, he must pass through the world of archetypes where total reconciliation of all contradictions takes place. The archetypal world is the world of reconciliations. The world of Love in its essence, is the permanent world in which everything is brought to realization. It is the great world in which life truly realizes itself. Therefore it is only in the world of Love that all of the wishes which man has in the physical, astral, and mental worlds are realized. They may be realized only when the body of Love is fully developed. When I speak of Love in man, I mean the development of this body. Only when it has been developed will man be resurrected and gain eternal life. Then he will be free from all of the restrictions and difficulties of temporal life. He will no longer be subject to the abrupt changes which are connected with periodic births and deaths. He will not continually be born and die, but will live eternally. He will continue to be among men, not according to the karmic law, but with the freedom of Love. He will appear among men as a Son of God, to help them. A man who has this body, who has attained resurrection, can be visible and invisible. The whole earth is open to him and no barriers, physical or spiritual, exist for him. All of Living Nature knows him and responds to him. He is known to the most evil of men and to the wildest of beasts, and they are obedient to him. He who lives in the body of Love has no enemies, for he brings life, peace, and the realization of every cherished wish. He brings gratification of all needs to all beings. To have the body of Love means to manifest Love, to live Love. And Love is eternal life and eternal rejuvenation, eternal knowledge of God and eternal increase of freedom.

XIX. THE SACRED FIRE There is a sacred fire in the world which burns with the flame of eternity. In this sacred fire the ancient prophets and wise men saw the supreme manifestation of God. "Our God is a consuming fire" is written in the Scripture. It is true, this fire consumes - but what does it consume? That which is mortal, physical and sinful. When that fire acts in the world, some of the people burn up, others are melted, and still others come to life and are resurrected. All great immortal souls coming forth from God carry this sacred fire within themselves. Wherever they may go in the boundless universe, they work with its help. And all those souls have one and the same conception of it: The sacred fire is the fire of Love. Love contains the sacred fire in which life is hidden. Therefore, where the sacred fire is burning, love is manifested, immortal life is manifested and the fruits of the Spirit grow and ripen. This fire fills all of space because it is that which sustains life. It burns within man, too. And while it is burning within him, man is healthy and cheerful. Everything within him is harmonious - metabolism, blood circulation, and breathing. Feelings are right, thinking is right, and deeds are right. The sacred fire creates a pleasant warmth in man. When that fire burns, man has a feeling of well-being; harmony and peace reign within him. If this peace disappears from man's soul, it indicates that he has lost the sacred fire and has entered into the ordinary fire. And the ordinary fire burns and scorches - it forms smoke, soot, and ashes. There is absolutely no smoke in the sacred fire. It creates a pleasant warmth from which life flows. Therefore, when the sacred fire burns in man, dissatisfaction, doubt and oppression flee from him. If the faintest dissatisfaction and indisposition appear in man, this is a sign that he is outside the sacred fire. Within the sacred fire, absolutely all thoughts, feelings, and desires are harmonions. Then man feels what is called heavenly bliss. And indeed, man can have no peace within himself without the sacred fire. Without it, it is inconceivable for man to have reasonableness. Without it, love, faith, hope, mercy and humility are inconceivable. In short, the manifestation of any virtue is impossible without the sacred fire. All virtues grow and develop within the sacred fire. Without it, nothing can grow. Therefore, man cannot live a good life in which virtues manifest themselves, if the sacred fire does not burn within him. There is no need for man to kindle the sacred fire. He must learn only to keep it burning within himself. By itself this fire never dies out. It is faith, it is love, it is hope, it is knowledge, it is wisdom, it is truth that cause the sacred fire to continue to burn in man. The invisible world now acts through this fire. It uses this fire as the most powerful means of purifying man and earth. The earth is already entering into a new sphere in which matter exists in a virgin state. Here all things will be purified and reorganized. The fire which begins to act on the earth will kindle this matter, and purify and transform it, so that it will be suited to respond to the more intense impulses of the new life. Everything that endures the mighty currents of the Divine Fire will remain to be used in life, but that which cannot endure the intensity of this fiery wave will be thrown out as unnecessary cinder. In space there are also channels through which the dirt and scrap of life are thrown out. Of course, no instrument could ever measure the temperature of this fire. It is much higher than the temperature of the sun. Only this fire is able to purify the hearts and the minds of men and to prepare the earth for the blossoming of a new culture. Only after the earth passes through this fire - and that will last for many ages - will it enter into a new epoch. That which is true for the earth and humanity as a collective whole, is true also for the individual man. The new life cannot begin for him until the sacred fire is kindled in his soul. But once the sacred fire flames up within him, he will become magnetically attractive for all, and people will be kind to him. Think about the sacred fire in which God manifest: Himself. Think about the sacred fire which all perfected soul: carry within themselves, and keep it burning. Keep that fire burning, because in this way you sustain your very life.

XVIII. THE PUPIL I divide people into four categories: Old Testament people, New Testament people, the righteous, end pupils. I use these terms for lack of other more fitting words and because they arouse in men familiar images and ideas. These words express four great epochs in the development of man, four kinds of culture, four general group trends in human consciousness. You will find in the Old Testament the kind of views held by the Old Testament people. You will find in the New Testament the views of the New Testament people. You may learn the conceptions of the righteous if you study our contemporary culture. The righteous are men of an established order of rights. But if you look for the path of the pupil, you will find it neither in the Old Testament nor in the New Testament, neither in the scientific nor the ethical systems of the present world. The path of the pupil - this is the new concept that is being introduced today into the life of humanity. In order to give a conception of the attitudes of these four categories in the world, I will give you the following explanation. First, you are an intelligent being whom the supersensible world sends to earth, giving you a body without asking you whether you want it or not. That is the attitude of the Old Testament man. Second, you are sent to earth, you are given a body, and you have the small amount of freedom to say where you want to go. This is the attitude of the New Testament man. Third, you are sent by the supersensible world to earth to study under the most favorable conditions, and you have, comparatively, greater freedom. This is the attitude of the righteous man. In the Old Testament life, you atone for your sins and suffer. In the New Testament life, you try to perfect yourself. In the life of the righteous, you help others, but when you come to the earth as a pupil, you begin to study the great science of Love. In the life of Love, a man is truly self-determining, and at the same time he determines his relations to other men, and to the perfected beings. All contradictions existing in the world derive from these four types of life, these four general streams that operate in the world. Applied to the human organism, they have the following correspondences: Old Testament life flows in the stomach and the intestines; New Testament life flows in the lungs and the sympathetic nervous system; the life of the righteous flows in the lower layers of the brain; and the life of the pupil flows in the upper layers of the brain. This last occupies the best place. Therefore, the life of the pupil represents the highest ideal in man. Many have tried to reconcile these streams of life, to eliminate the contradictions which arise as a natural consequence of them. But the results of these four types of life are in themselves not reconcilable. These streams cannot be isolated immediately. Their isolation or better, their full control, takes place gradually. It is attained only when the life of the pupil comes to its completion and attains its high goals. The life of the pupil includes the values of all the four types of life, because these types of life in themselves are phases through which man must necessarily pass. The Old Testament people prepare the way for the New Testament people, and these prepare the way for the righteous, and the righteous prepare the path of the pupil, and the pupils prepare for the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth - to them belongs that difficult task. And when a man passes from the Old Testament life into the life of the New Testament, he takes with him everything of value from the former into the latter. Later, when he passes from the New Testament life into the life of the righteous, he takes into this third life everything of value from the second. Finally, everything of value from the life of the righteous is taken to the life of the pupil. In this way an inner connection is established among all people, an inner unity above and beyond the contradictions which are inherent in these four types of life. The sources of these four types of life are various, and the conditions under which they develop differ. The pupil, after passing through all these four types of life as through a preparatory school, enters into entirely new conditions and draws life and strength from a new source. Christ spoke of this source when he said, "When the Spirit of Truth is come, he will teach you all things." Once man enters on the path of the pupil, he assumes a new outlook on life entirely different from the conceptions of the Old Testament and New Testament people, and from those of the righteous as well. All men from these three categories still live only in the sphere of personal life - they do not yet live for the Whole. Old Testament men seek wealth and property. They become embittered by the difficulties of life. New Testament men seek sympathy and tenderness. The difficulties and sufferings of life make them hesitant and discouraged, and lead them into temptations. The righteous seek honor and esteem. Contradictions hurt them and offend them. They have climbed to the highest peaks of personal life, and that is why they are so sensitive concerning their personal dignity. In everything they do, they seek acknowledgment, esteem, and honor. Only the pupil seeks neither external wealth, nor sympathy and support, nor honor and esteem. Only the pupil does not become embittered, offended, or tempted. He gladly accepts the contradictions he meets in life, because he knows that they are the inevitable results of the four group streams of life. He accepts every contradiction as a problem of importance which he must solve. He thinks and acts in this way, because he has passed through self-renunciations. He has set foot on the path of the pupil after he has rejected the life of the Old Testament man, the life of the New Testament man, and the life of the righteous. Therefore, I say to you: Only the pupil learns; others simply occupy themselves. Ordinary people fight one another, criticize one another, and moralize with one another. The pupil never criticizes anyone, nor does he moralize with anyone. He does not occupy himself with the mistakes of others. They do not exist for him. For him exists only the right way to live - the life of Love. For the pupil, God is not the Jehovah of the Old Testament who judges and punishes people. For him, God is the God of Love, of Light, of Peace, and of Joy. These are also the qualities of a pupil. And if you ask me what the ideal of a pupil is, I shall reply: Love, Light, Peace, and Joy for all souls! This is not an ideal to be attained in eternity. It can be attained even now. I speak not of Wisdom and Truth - another epoch will come for them. They are not for the present age. At this time, pupils need Love, but not without light; they need light, but not without peace; they need peace, but not without joy. They need Love with light, light with peace, and peace with joy. All these are connected with one another. Present-day people have within themselves neither peace nor joy For that reason, when men of religion or of science speak of their experiences, their deductions and conclusions are ordinary and temporary. When a pupil tells of a personal experience, it must be an experience of Love in which there is light; it must be an experience of light in which there is peace; it must be an experience of peace which brings joy to the soul. The Love, the Light, the Peace, and the Joy of which I speak are not manifested in modern life in the lives of ordinary people. They are attributes of the pupil. Pupils are the only channels of these powers, they are their only interpreters in life. Of course, I only touch upon those great realms into which the pupil enters. In truth, they constitute a great and vast science for the study of which ages of time are necessary. Love is a beautiful, boundless world. It is a great thing for man to experience love in its developing and unceasing manifestations, beginning with the physical world, passing on to the spiritual and reaching to the Divine world. A great thing it is for man to experience Light in all the forms which it creates. A great thing it is to experience Peace, to experience Joy. These are realms through which the pupil must pass, which he must experience and investigate on his path, until he reaches the completion of his life as a pupil and begins to study thoroughly the great path of a Master. Then at last he will attain that deep understanding of life, that deep understanding of the Love that operates in the world, the understanding of the reasons which cause the Great Masters to come down and work among men. Love, Light, Peace, and Joy are fruits of the Divine Spirit. The pupil must be nourished by those fruits. The first fruit which he tastes is Love. The pupil must, without fail, taste of this fruit, because it contains eternal life. And he who wishes to find eternal life - the life that flows from Love - must return to the tree of life. He must forsake the ways of the Old Testament man, of the New Testament man, and of the righteous, and follow the path of the pupil. You know the words of Christ: "Go, sell all you have, and give it to the poor, and come, follow me." And I say to you: "Go and give away the life of the Old Testament man, give away the life of the New Testament man, give away the life of the righteous, and then go to your Master! He will welcome you." A Master has four great pupils in the world whom he loves best. And if these four pupils recommend you to him, he will accept you in his school. If Love recommends you to your Master, if Light recommends you, if Peace and Joy recommend you, he will accept you. He will open wide for you the doors of the school, he will bless you and acquaint you with the other pupils, and thereafter you will be a pupil of your Master. But beware of going to your Master before you have given away your Old Testament and New Testament treasures, and your wealth of the righteous. If you go to him with all of the trifles and adornments belonging to those three types of life, if you go with all of your righteous dignity, the Great Master will only smile and close the door of the school to you. A pupil must have only one comprehension of life. He who wishes to be a pupil must have only one conception about things. A pupil may have only one Master in life. Remember this great truth: There is only one Master in the world and all masters have come from him. There is only one Pupil in the world, and all pupils come from him. The pupil must know that he can be loved only by him who teaches him - his Master. And the pupil can love only him who teaches him. Only the immortal is to be loved - only that which never loses its beauty, its intelligence, its kindness and goodness. You may ask what are the first steps on the path of the pupil? The rule is - the pupil must begin with love. Then he will proceed to light, and after that to peace and at last to joy. The pupil will bring joy to his life as a solution to his problems. I speak not of the joy that is changeable, but of the joy of the pupil upon which nothing can cast a shadow, and which is never exhausted. That joy is the highest peak in the material world. No cloud can cover that peak, and the divine sun always shines on it. Never are there any storms on this peak - there reigns love, there reigns light, there reigns peace. This is the natural path of a pupil: love, light, peace, and joy. A man might travel over all the world, he might knock on the doors of all schools, he might look for all the great Masters who bring the Divine Word, and they will all indicate to him this path. They all have the same divine idea about the path of the pupil which cannot be changed. Everywhere he will be told that the first step in the life of the pupil is Love. When he begins to apply Love, the gates of his mind will be opened and the knowledge of past ages, as well as the knowledge of the present and the future, will begin to stream into him naturally. Indeed, there is a greater path than that of the pupil, but only after a man reaches the end of the path of the pupil, will the great path of the Masters be opened before him. It is the path of Wisdom, which is the most difficult of all. Love, light, peace, and joy - these are the stages on the path of the pupil. When I speak of the pupil, I have in mind the ideal pupil. This pupil studies in this world and in the world of the unseen as well. He never leaves school - during the day he studies in the laboratory of the earth, and during the night he goes to his Master who teaches him theories. The next morning he returns to the earth in order to continue his practical work in the laboratory. The ideal pupil knows that he is always a pupil - that he has been, is, and always will be one. And in the future, when the earth and the whole solar system finish their evolution, he will become a pupil in another, a greater school. Then he will have another name. The word "pupil" is too weak to express the profound idea hidden in this conception. In a more narrow sense, the word "pupil" implies one who studies here on the earth, in this restricted circle of life. He studies here, and will learn as much as the conditions of earthly life permit. He does not yet have a conscious connection with the supersensible world - when he goes to sleep in the evening, his conscious pupilage stops. Therefore, the "pupil", in the true sense of the word, is one who has already had real experience in the spiritual world, who has conscious connection with it. The life of the pupil, after his consciousness is awakened, becomes a life of creation and of work - not a life of grace. Through grace he became a pupil, but now labor, effort, and work are required from him. A pupil will be tested and weighed for a long time before he is accepted into the kingdom of God. If he is found the least bit wanting, he will immediately be sent back. Entrance into the kingdom of God depends on the knowledge and the wisdom of the pupil, and not on his love. One cannot enter the kingdom of God through grace. Christ tells us what is required of the pupil in order to enter the kingdom of God and to obtain eternal life: "And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent." The knowledge of God and of Christ is the condition for attaining eternal life. Only through this knowledge is eternal life attained. If knowledge does not bring eternal life, then it is of no use. But in order to attain this, the pupil must learn to create as God creates. How? In the first chapter of Genesis a symbolic picture is given of that process of creation which begins within the pupil after his consciousness is awakened. Before that, however, the pupil will enter into the great silence, in which there is neither sound nor light. Then, from the depths of his soul he will call to the Unseen, Unknown God of Eternity, the Creator of all. He will call to Him with all his soul, with all his spirit, with all his mind and with all his heart, and he will say, "Lord, I wish to know You. You are the one Creator of all, and beside You there is no other God!" And if the pupil calls on God with that fullness, from somewhere in space, a small, microscopic light will shine forth and give him such joy that at once he will forget all of his suffering and sorrow. And from afar he will hear the voice of God, his Master, saying to him, "You wish to know me and to test me - be prepared, then, for work. This is the first day of your life. Your earth is unorganized and barren; darkness is over the deep. Separate the light from the darkness and begin to organize your earth. Say, 'bet there be light!'" And if the pupil is one of the chosen, he will say, "Let there be light !" and within him there will be light. "Let there be light!" - this is the great aspiration to learn which is in the soul of the pupil. Then the great days of creation will succeed one another in the life of the pupil, and he will begin to construct his universe under the skillful guidance of his Master. "Let there be light!"

XVII. THE MASTER There is one Master in the world. There is only one Master who brings real knowledge. He has many manifestations in life, but in essence he is one and the same. If man finds one of the moments of His manifestation, at the same time he will find himself. It is a law - when you find the only Master, when you find God, you will find yourself as well. When you see God, you will see yourself. To see God and to see yourself - that is the most sacred moment in life. Man lives for that very moment. Only God can be Master in the world. And when Christ tells His disciples: "One is your Father", he means the Great, the Only Master. The Master - this is the Father. God becomes a Father and enters into a certain relationship with us according to the law of Wisdom. Therefore, by Master, in the universal sense of the word we mean the Great Divine Wisdom which brings true knowledge to the world, which introduces all new ideas, all new forms, all new feelings and impulses in life. Therefore, only one is the Great Master in the world although His manifestations are many. I have said to you and I say again: there is only one knowledge and only one light. But knowledge does not come from one place only and the light does not pass through only one window. The paths of knowledge are countless, and the windows of light are innumerable. Everyone who has the mission to make Truth known to men, does not speak of himself. He speaks in the name of the One Master. That is why Christ says: "I came into the world not to do my will, but the will of Him who sent me." Every real Master, every person Divinely Annointed, is sent on a special mission to earth. According to human laws, which, after all, are a reflection of the laws of the spiritual world, a certain qualification is required of a person who wishes to become a teacher, and it is the same in the spiritual world. Only he who is enlightened and annointed by the Divine Spirit can be a Master. He who is not enlightened by the Divine Spirit does not have the right to teach others, because he will violate the Divine law. Do not think that the Masters have not learned. They have studied in the schools of the physical, the spiritual and the divine worlds, and have received the revelations of the whole cosmos. They know the inmost laws of Nature, they understand the structure of the world, of man, of his path of evolution and of his great destiny. They understand the strictly defined relationship between man's spirit and his soul, between his mind and his heart. And for this reason, they alone can direct man on his path of evolution. You might ask: "How can we recognize a Master?" The recognition of a Master is purely a spiritual process. The Master cannot appear in the physical world as a complete act. Neither can he come as an outer appearance in life. The Master appears as an inner, intelligent manifestation within the man. Therefore, recognition of the Master comes from within the soul of the pupil. Many people perceive certain thoughts through suggestion, and think that this is their Master speaking to them from within. However, there is a great difference between the inner voice of the Master and the suggestion. Suggestion is an act of coercion. The speech of the Master is an act of freedom. And therefore, when the Master speaks from within, the pupil is inspired. But when the Master speaks from without, through the words of a certain language, his speech has certain definite qualities. The Master uses each word in its right place. He knows why he uses a certain word, and he knows exactly what influence will be derived from its sound. The concept of a Master is strictly defined in Living Nature. The Master is he in whom there is no coercion. He is strong, but he uses no coercion. The Master is he in whom there is no falsehood. His exalted wisdom excludes any lie. The Master is he in whom there is no evil. His goodness eliminates every evil. If there is coercion, falsehood and evil in a man, he is not a Master, he is a pupil. This is the simplest characterization of Master and pupil. The presence of the Master is known by the fact that he gives life, light and freedom. A Master is only he who lives and works by the laws of Love, Wisdom and Truth. He who does not fully observe these laws is not a Master, he is still a pupil. The love of the Master is proven; there is no need to test it. The knowledge of the Master is proven; there is no need to test it. The purity of the Master it proven; there is no need to test it. A Master, in the fullest sense of the word, is a perfect men. In him there not a shadow of hesitation, wavering or doubt. Only a Master can rightly be called a great and powerful man, because his life is reflected in the whole cosmos. And if the life and thought of a man are reflected in the whole cosmos, they are Divine. Mastership implies a state of higher selfconsciousness. A purely spiritual process must take place between the Master and the pupil. Full consciousness is necessary of the task which they must fulfill. In this case there must be as complete an interchange between Master and pupil as there is between a mother and the child in her womb. As the human spirit works in the mother's womb in order to construct the body of the child, as it learns during this process, taking part in the work done by the spirit of the mother, thus must Master and pupil work together and with the help of the Divine Spirit construct the pupil's spiritual body, his eternal dwelling. Therefore, to be a Master means to give birth spiritually. This is what is meant in the Bible when it is written that a man begot another man. The man must give birth, that is to say, he must be a good Master. And the first thing that a Master must do is unveil for the pupil the spiritual world, which he has not yet seen, as the mother, after bearing the child nine months in her womb, reveals to it the world that is new to it. Therefore, it becomes plain what a delicate and responsible task it is to be a Master. That is why Christ turned to his disciples with the words: "Do not call yourselves masters." If someone dares, of his own accord, to act as a master and spiritually maims some souls, he will be responsible before the Great Law. The Great Law is kind but also just. All those who impersonate masters are put into jail, and after they endure their punishment, then at last they will take the right path of their evolution. And do you know how many thousands of years are necessary for that? The Great Law is kind but it is also just! Shall I remind you of the case of Moses? He studied under the best masters in Egypt. He studied long and completed a certain school. And indeed, the miracles he performed before the Pharaoh reveal that he had some knowledge. But because of one offense - the killing of the Egyptian, something absolutely forbidden to a pupil of the White Brotherhood - he had to go into exile in the desert for forty years in order to atone for his sin. For one murder he had to study and atone for forty years. And only after that did he receive a new initiation. Reminding you of the grave responsibility that an initiate has for even one mistake, I wish to turn your attention to the very grave responsibility taken by those who impersonate masters and maim the souls of men. Herein lies the reason for Christ's grave warning to his disciples: "Do not call yourselves masters!" You may ask me how you might distinguish a real master from an imposter, a master of the White Brotherhood from one of the Black. The master of the Black Brotherhood does not know the Truth and because of this he pays more attention to outward appearance. He dresses himself in the best of clothes, wears expensive jewelry and rings with diamonds. He says to his pupils, "You will listen only to me; only in me will you find the truth." The Master of the White Brotherhood dresses modestly but always cleanly and neatly. He does not wear rings and jewelry. He tells his pupils, "Do not expect great things of me!" In order that the pupil may not be misled, he wants the pupil himself to test the purity of his Master, discover for himself the Master's inner treasures, and see his inner and not his outer, brilliance. Moreover, the Master of the White Brotherhood never restricts his pupils - he gives them full freedom. The Master of the White Brotherhood, the Master of Truth, conveys three things: freedom to the soul, light to the mind and purity to the heart. The false master brings slavery to the soul, darkness to the mind and corruption to the heart. In order that you may have a full conception of the Masters, I will tell you that there is still another category of Masters - The Great Masters of the Universal Brotherhood - who know the methods of both the white and the black brotherhoods, and regulate their activity. The coming of a Master to the earth is a wise action of the whole of Living Nature. In order that a Great Master may manifest himself, all intelligent souls must gather in one place. Furthermore on the earth also the necessary conditions for his coming must be prepared. In order to outline briefly the way in which these conditions are prepared, I will mention this: Two men of genius must be born in order that a saint may be born - these words are used in the sense given to them by Living Nature. In order that a Great Master may appear - ten saints must be born. It is plain, then, why the Master, who is a collective unit, reflects the life of the whole cosmos, and why his life is reflected in the whole cosmos. The Master draws his knowledge and principles out of the great book of Life in which every little stone, every branch and flower, every plant and animal, every human being in short, every living form - represents written words. When he takes a leaf from a tree and looks at it, he reads where and when and under what conditions that type of plant developed, what kind of men lived then, and what was then the condition of the solar system. He reads also many contemporary events to which that leaf was a witness. Everything leaves a trace, a mark, on the leaf. The leaves of a tree chronicle everything that happens in its vicinity. They tell what kind of persons passed by, and what their thoughts, wishes, and deeds were. For a Master there is no inarticulate being in Nature - everything speaks to him in its own language. Two thousand years ago a rich young man put to Christ the following question: "Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" "Good Master!" There are no two words in the Bulgarian language that are more full of content, no word more melodious and harmonious than these two words. Much is required from a pupil that he may come to understand their deep meaning. The word "master" in Bulgarian is flawless in all respects - mathematical, cabalistic and musical. "Good Master!" These words contain within themselves all Divine blessings. They bring conditions for the realization of Divine Love, Wisdom and Truth. They carry within themselves the conditions for realizing all virtues. These words are the key with which to open doors, closed for ages past. They are a magic formula, the strength of which can be tested and proven. Faith is necessary for this! Two thousand years ago a wealthy young man asked the Great Master, "Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" But the reply caused him to go away sorrowful, with head bowed. Lift your heads up now, turn to the Great Master and say, "Good Master, I wish to observe Your Law!" This is the only way in which you can become pupils of the Great Master and servants of the Living God.

XVI. THE FOUR FUNDAMENTALS There are four things which man must always keep in mind: God created the earth so that men might be good. God created water so that men might be pure. God created air so that men might think rightly. God created light that men might walk on the right path. Man attains true life in four ways: by way of earth, by way of water, by way of air and by way of light. Man cannot attain true life if he is not good. You may ask: "How can man be good? How can man do good?" Good is not done. Man must walk on the path of the good. He must always walk. Man cannot attain true life if he is not pure. Water will make him pure. Water is a good bearer of life. If man breathes air, he will learn to think rightly. Walking on the path of light, man will learn to read the great book of God. But it is not enough for man only to walk on that path he must learn to read, in order to know what light brings to him. Light - this is a letter sent by God. Men look at the world and understand nothing. Light is a letters!There is something to be read every day. And if man does not read, he remains ignorant. The advanced soul is the soul that is good. It knows why the earth was created. The advanced soul is the soul that is pure - it knows why water was created. The advanced soul is the soul that thinks rightly - it knows why air was created. The advanced soul is the soul that walks on the right path. It knows why light was created. And if men are evil, it is because they do not know why the earth was created. They are evil because they do not know why the water was created. They are evil because they do not know why the air was created. They are evil because they do not know why the light was created. They live on the earth but they are not good. They drink water but they are not pure. They breathe air but they do not think rightly. They have light but they do not walk on the right path. And then men ask: "Why did God create the world?" or "What shall we do?" If anyone should ask you this, you may answer him: "Be good!" And then? "Be pure!" And after this? "Think rightly!" And last? "Walk on the right path and learn to read!" If you are good, the earth is yours. If you are pure, the water is yours. If you think rightly, the air is yours. If you walk on the right path, the light is yours. I ask then: Can a man who has all these things be poor? Only the good people will inherit the earth The evil people will fall behind and will be exhausted. They will not benefit from the earth, nor from the water, nor from the air, nor from the light. Indeed, can a sick, weak man work? Only the good man, the pure man, the man who thinks rightly and walks on the right path can work. At present, evil still governs the earth, but that is temporary. There was a time when animals possessed and governed the earth. Now it is governed by the animal-man. But the time is coming and has come when "the meek shall inherit the earth" and shall govern it. The true man is the good man. And the good man, the pure man, the man who thinks rightly and walks on the right path, is the strong men. He is the man born of God. Can the man born of God and living in Him be weak? Man must be born of God, not simply believe in God. Faith is only a path towards love. And Love is an inner tie with Him who has begotten you. If you wish to be strong, serve God! Through serving God, man acquires strength in life. This is the only way in which you can become a truly strong man in life. Men ask: "Is there a God or not ?" As long as you eat bread, there is God. God is in the bread. As long as you drink water, there is God. God is in the water. As long as you breathe air, there is God. God is in the air. As long as you perceive light, there is God. God is in the light. If you do not believe in the Divine which is hidden within the things with which you are connected, how will you find God elsewhere? Remember: If you seek God outside, you will find the earth. If you seek God outside, you will find the water, the air, the light. And if you do not eat the bread that the earth gives you, death awaits you! If you do not drink the water, you will die of thirst. If you do not breathe the air, you will suffocate. If you do not perceive the light, you will become blind and stumble through life. Some people complain that their brothers do not accept them. Remember that there are brothers in the world who represent the good. If you are not good, they will not accept you. There are brothers who represent purity. If you are not pure, they will not accept you. There are brothers of right thought. If you do not think rightly, they will not accept you. There are brothers of light. If you do not understand the light, if you are not learning, they will not accept you. Therefore, I say: "Become good and they will accept you. Become pure and they will accept you. Begin to think rightly and they will accept you. Begin to learn and they will accept you. Who will not accept a rich man whose purse is full? But whoever goes around begging will be given a piece of bread and will then be chased away." Do not ask if men are good. The important thing is that you be good. The important thing is whether God's deeds are good, whether that which He has created is good. And it is good. Do not ask whether men are pure. The important thing is that you be pure. The important thing is that which God created - the water - is pure! I speak of the living earth and the living water - not of ordinary earth and water. Do not ask whether men think rightly. The important thing is that the air you breathe manifests the Divine thought. Do not ask whether men walk on the right path. The important thing is that you walk in the light and on the right path. Because we live and move in God, He is constantly observing us. He secretly observes how good we are, how pure we are, whether we think rightly and whether we walk in the right path. Nothing is hidden from His eye, but He is always silent. And when God is silent, He is sending us suffering. When God speaks, He is giving us joy. If you suffer, God is silent. If you rejoice, God speaks. Whoever wishes to serve God, to see Him on earth, should know that he is standing before Him when he takes bread. A sacred feeling should pass through him because the bread is upon his table. Only the good man has the right to eat. Only the pure man has the right to drink water. Only he who thinks has the right to breathe the air. And only he who walks on the right path, has the right to perceive light. When he recognizes all these things, he will see that everything created by God is good and his soul will be full of joy. And when the soul of man is full of joy, he already understands God, he is in communion with Him. The awakened souls must work and rely on God, so that He may bless their good upon the earth where they live. They must believe that God will give them the purity that is hidden within the living water. The ordinary water is simply the garment of the living water. We have come to earth to reveal the knowledge that God is always kind and good and that we must be like Him. He is pure end holy and we must be like Him. He always thinks rightly and we must think as He does. He constantly reveals Himself through the Light so that we may walk on the right path. Be good, be pure, think rightly, walk on the right path, learn the paths of God and you will receive God's blessing.

XV. THE GREAT UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD There is on earth a lodge of learned men who meet once a year to discuss various scientific questions. These initiates know about the earth - its past and its present - much more than contemporary scientists, who represent the official sciences. But concerning the future of the earth even these men of the lodge know nothing positive and they make assumptions about it. Besides this lodge of initiates on earth, there is on the sun another lodge of great Initiates who know positively not only the past and present of our planet but also its future. Both lodges are only organs of that great universal organism of perfected, highly advanced beings who form the Great Universal Brotherhood. These perfected beings are much more advanced than even the greatest men of genius on earth, because they emerged much earlier from the Primal Source. They all have followed a particular path of development, under the guidance of the Divine Spirit, to that degree of advancement which they have attained at present. When we speak of the Great Universal Brotherhood, we mean that hierarchy of intelligent beings who have completed their evolution millions and billions of years ago and who now direct the entire cosmos. They direct it because they themselves have participated in its creation under the guidance of the Divine Spirit. When we consider how wisely the entire universe is constructed, with all its galaxies, and with all its innumerable suns and planets, or if we look only at the mechanical and technical perfection with which the earth is constructed, we might comprehend the power of mind and spirit those creative geniuses had who realized the Divine plan of the universe. These beings range in a hierarchical order according to the extent of their knowledge and development and according to the service they perform. They are known by the following names: seraphim - brothers of love; cherubim - brothers of harmony; thrones - brothers of will; dominions - brothers of wisdom and joy; mights - brothers of movement and growth; powers - brothers of external form and art; principalities - brothers of time, condition and measure; archangels - brothers of fire and warmth; angels - bearers of life and vegetation. The last, the tenth rank, will be occupied by the advanced human souls. All of these together represent the great Cosmic Man. The activity of all those beings is so harmoniously distributed that each one knows when, how and what to do. They direct the functions of the great universal organism which includes within itself all solar systems. Our understanding is that there are three types of solar systems. The first - the organs of the starry universes - forms the material, the physical world, made from the densest matter, though it has various degrees of density. The second is made from finer substance, the substance of the spiritual world, and is part of the angelic world.The third type of solar systems, in its totality, forms the divine world and is made out of the finest and most superior substance. Heaven, spoken of in the Sacred Scriptures, is not that blue vault over our heads behind which universal space disappears and in which, during the night, stars shine brightly. Heaven is organized by higher beings, by great souls, and therefore it is great in its activity. The angels who inhabit heaven are great souls who constantly send their light to the whole world. The energy of their mighty thought is distributed throughout the entire cosmos and as a collective power moves everything in the world. Do not think that the angels are immaterial beings, something like spectral phantoms. They are beings whose bodies are highly organized, formed from pure radiant substance. An angel can control his body in such a way that it can become visible and invisible. He can freely travel through boundless space with a speed greater than that of light; he can roam through solar systems and starry universes. The angels also are at different stages of development but generally they are divided into two great Kingdoms. Those of the higher kingdom rarely descend to the earth, but those of the lower one come often to help in the spiritual upliftment of mankind. These great brothers of man came forth from the human race, but followed their path of evolution billions of years before man, under more favourable conditions which they used wisely. And if the life of humanity advances according to plan, if cultures flourish on earth with their sciences, religions, and arts, if men have an eternal aspiration toward development and perfection, it is because these intelligent beings, who are closely connected with mankind, constantly work and care for them. Love, joy and life flow from the angels' hearts. And thanks to their inspiration, men live and strive. The angels wish for humanity to attain the light which they have, the freedom which they enjoy. They desire to teach men to live according to the great laws by which they live. They apply the most intelligent laws in the world. They live the purest and the most sublime life, a life of absolute unselfishness. In their great self-abnegation, these loving servants of God come down to earth in human form to help people. In one form or another they constantly send their ambassadors to the earth. All men of genius, all great people, saints, adepts, all men of science, writers, statesmen who promote the advancement of humanity in one or another direction - all of these are servants of the Great Universal Brotherhood. It chooses the most advanced souls from among humanity and prepares them for spiritual work among their brothers. Among contemporary humanity there are persons who have finer spiritual powers, who have finer constitution. They are distinguished by their highly organized and pliant bodies because they live an absolutely pure and saintly life. It is their extraordinary development which makes them suitable to be spiritual helpers of humanity. The most highly advanced among them completed their evolution on the earth and possess immense knowledge. They have extensive knowledge of the positive, absolute, Divine science which has existed since the creation of the universe. Many of them live on earth for thousands of years. Having passed through the process of resurrection, neither death nor rebirth exists for them. These men, called "Sons of God", within whose spirits and souls God lives, and who are connected with the entire rational world, with all advanced beings in all solar systems, are those great souls, Masters of humanity, who have attained the highest manifestation of thought and deed, in every field. They are those mighty spirits who, openly or secretly, inspire humanity to advance. You will discover these brothers behind every spiritual activity on earth, behind every spiritual manifestation; they are behind every great man, every great poet, musician or painter. In order that a man of genius may appear on the earth, it is necessary that thousands of souls of genius be united to express themselves through him. In order that a Master may appear, it is necessary that all intelligent souls be united in him. What is Christ? Christ is a collective spirit. He is the totality of all Sons of God from whose souls and hearts flow love and life. All Sons of God united into one, all intelligent souls who live in divine oneness - that is Christ. In this sense He is the head of the Great Universal Brotherhood. And the star, mentioned in the Gospel and which appeared at Christ's birth, was something living: it was a unity of living beings descending from the heights to proclaim the coming of Christ. But only the three wise men from the East, great initiates, saw and knew the star. And these three wise men were also servants of the Great Universal Brotherhood. Therefore, remember: the only great Community which exists at present in the world, is the Great Universal Brotherhood. Those members of the Great Universal Brotherhood, who guide the development of humanity and lead it toward a bright future, do not form any society or organization visible to men. They constitute a living unity, a rational community, which exists beyond the corrupted conditions among which men live.And therefore it is ridiculous to say that the headquarters of that brotherhood is here or there, in this or that country. All those great Brothers who work in the spiritual spheres of earth belong to seven hierarchies, seven categories. Some of them belong to Love and are called the "Brothers of Love". Others belong to Wisdom and are called "Brothers of Wisdom". They inspire the sciences and arts and bring knowledge to humanity. Others are called "Brothers of Truth". They bring freedom to men's minds and hearts. They introduce that freedom which makes the human spirit, the human soul, the human mind and heart, free - free in the full sense of the word. Still others are called "Brothers of Justice" and they bring righteousness to humanity and have at their disposal those invisible blessings which contemporary men need. Some are called "Brothers of Virtue", and others, "Brothers of Beauty", and at last come those who have the name of "Jehovists". However, those are not the real names of these brothers. I dare not pronounce the real ones for they are sacred. These Brothers are not ordinary, as people might assume. Every one of them can take the earth in his hand and throw it like a ball in space! And they can do this because behind them is something that is still mightier, more sublime, which they serve. And if some men think that they can defy these Brothers, this reveals that they do not understand the profound meaning which inheres in the expression, "White Brother". If it is a question of force, these Brothers have at their disposal the mightiest force. They know the functions of the human brain so well that in one day they could cause all of humanity to fall asleep. What are the most powerful contemporary weapons before the power of these great Brothers? But they do not want to use force - they allow men to experience things for themselves, even at the price of thousands of sufferings because only suffering can ennoble and correct humanity. And one day men will come to know that in the world there is a great, just government, the citizens of which - the sons of God - are the wisest beings, who live according to God's laws and do His will. Not a nation will remain which has not experienced the power and the might of this just government. But if today men do not follow the right path, the reason is that, counterbalancing the Great White Brotherhood, another lodge of intelligent beings works, beings who do not understand the deep meaning of life and have a diametrically opposite comprehension of it. They constitute the so-called Black Brotherhood. The Black Brotherhood is a hierarchy of beings who have various ranks according to the degree of their intelligence. In order to give you a clearer concept of their functioning, I shall say that while the White Brotherhood works in the branches and the blossoms of life, with methods pertaining to them, the Black Brotherhood works in the roots of life. While the White Brotherhood works in the head and breast of the cosmic man, the Black Brotherhood works in the stomach, the liver and the intestines. Therefore, the White Brotherhood is connected with the positive forces, with the good, and the Black Brotherhood with the negative forces, with evil in the broadest sense of the word. But at present both forces are necessary for the manifestation of life. Their services are strictly defined. Besides these two schools, there is a third one - the school of the Great Masters who are from a higher hierarchy and direct the activities of the first two. They use the methods of both for their great aims but belong neither to the one nor to the other of the schools. They are those Great Masters of the Universal Brotherhood who guide the entire cosmos and who, after the completion of each evolution, create new waves of evolution according to another plan and another rhythm. Under the guidance of their mighty spirit, those advanced spirits who created the solar systems, including our own, at one time descended from the highest peaks of creation They also created and organized the primal "cosmic" earth - what was once "paradise". On that "cosmic earth" still live those perfected forefathers of men who completed their evolution. They are the great ancestors of humanity. Those creators of the past, those great ancestors still descend to our earth. And they will transform it into a paradise. Together with them will come those 144,000 souls spoken of in Revelation and among them there will be representatives of all past and present nations. All saints, adepts and Masters from time immemorial will come. Their mighty spirit will direct all awakened souls throughout the earth and all of these together will establish perfect order and harmony in the world. After they finish their task, they will withdraw and will leave humanity to live and work under the new conditions. Thus, the communication between the visible and the invisible worlds will be restored. This is the way in which the Great Universal Brotherhood has worked, works now, and will work in the world. And it will work until the one Love, the one Wisdom and the one Truth envelop all of creation. Then every living thing will praise God in sacred peace and harmony.

XIV. LIVING NATURE Living Nature in its totality is a manifestation of intelligent forces, of intelligent beings of various grades who live in complete harmony, communion and unity. All of them have a sublime aim which we call God, that is, that which has no limit, that which has no beginning, that within which everything exists, moves and develops. It is clear that by "Living Nature" we do not mean that which contemporary natural scientists imply. For us Nature is something great not only because of its organization but also because of the intelligence and supreme wisdom which it manifests. Living Nature is a totality of thinking beings which represent the "atoms" of the great immense world. The entire space within which we live and move is full of beings of different categories and cultures. Thus, when we speak of the universe, we mean the sum total of intelligent beings whose relationships among themselves are absolutely harmonious These beings give value to the entire cosmos. Therefore, from the viewpoint of those who have cosmic consciousness, the entire cosmos with its nature is a living being within which everything is united. This cosmos might be "limited" or "unlimited", great or small: a great attribute of the Eternal is that It can take any form It desires. To the spiritual sight of all the great initiates of all times and epochs the entire universe, called in ancient times the "macrocosm", appears in the form of a man - the great Heavenly Man. In contemplating this Cosmic Man they discovered the correspondences which exist between Him and the little man, the "microcosm". That is why I say unto you that a man, every cell of whose body is awake and conscious, can communicate with the whole of Living Nature. You see the stars like faraway bright points in heaven. But every star of the Milky Way or of any Galaxy has its receptive centers in the human brain. Man can receive instantly the impulses coming from the various stars. In this sense I say that man can communicate with the entire cosmos. If for men on earth the stars are nothing but bright points, for an angel they are worlds inhabited by millions of beings. Those beings have a culture far superior to that of man. Therefore, we call intelligent, Living Nature that which is revealed. And that which is not yet revealed we call the ideal soul of creation. The ideal, the eternal, the sacred, the unrevealed, is God, the beginning of life. It is linked with the manifested. That is the reason why some say that Nature is the body of God. This is only a figure of speech, but some are so captivated by this form that they maintain that Nature and God are one and the same thing. But if Nature and God are one and the same thing, then God would be a limited being. We know with certainty that Nature is the revealed and God the unrevealed, the infinite who reveals Himself eternally and still remains unrevealed. Ordinary people, who see just a small section of the world, think that Nature is something mechanical and unintelligent, within which chance reigns. Apparently, they project themselves into Nature. In fact there is nothing accidental, nothing arbitrary in Nature. Within it everything is constructed and organized according to the unchangeable laws of Divine mathematics. Thus, every one of Nature's acts is strictly and intelligently determined. The wisdom of Living Nature is apparent everywhere. If we examine any organism, studying deeply and discerningly its structure and functions, with all their regularity and utility, we shall be convinced as to the great wisdom of Nature which directs everything. A higher intelligence and a penetrating mind are required, of course, as well as highly developed capabilities and the gift of fine and keen observation, in order to comprehend all the subtlety of the intelligence that is revealed in Nature. Living Nature has its own language, and if man desires to understand nature, he must learn its language. Nature always uses images, and always speaks in pictures and symbols. This language is not like the language of contemporary people - the arid conception and destitute logical forms of the analytic intellect. Nature's language is alive, picturesque, and symbolic, it is the language of great and beautiful diversity. Nature tolerates no uniformity or repetition. She loves diversity in e progressive and ascending degree. Therefore, when people wish to reduce everything in life to a mechanical uniformity, they do evil. When they create according to the laws of diversity and harmony, as nature does, they do good. Living Nature loves diversity and abundance, but does not tolerate any superfluity. If her energies are not wisely used, if they are hindered in their unceasing progress and transmutation, if they are limited within the closed circle of uniformity, nature reacts immediately. Nature does not stand still. There is eternal movement within her, eternal creation directed by intelligent laws. We observe a rhythm and a periodicity in these laws, which are rooted deeply in the very essence of Creation, in the way it manifests. Upon that cosmic rhythm are based the two great processes of Living Nature - involution, in which there is a movement from the center towards the periphery, and evolution in which the movement of life is from the periphery towards the center. These two processes create the conditions in which universal life can manifest itself. There are two great streams - one from the infinite which gradually reduces itself and descends to the infinitely small, to the cell; the other, the constantly growing stream from the infinitely small, the cell, to the great, the limitless. And when these two cosmic streams meet in man, then the great abilities and virtues of the human soul are born. Living Nature envelops everything in its aura. This aura is bright, pure, rational and kind. It is Living Nature that has implanted everything in man and that helps him each minute of his life to develop the seeds planted in his soul. Like a tender mother she constantly keeps his consciousness awake, turning his attention, by various means and methods, towards all that happens around him. Contemporary men are greatly in error when they think that they can conquer Nature. If they could really succeed in doing that, the whole earth would be destroyed and not a living thing would remain on it. Living Nature, however, will not submit to domination. The only thing she permits is that her energies be put to work. But only the wise man, who adheres to Nature's laws, can with impunity put her forces to work. Everyone who does not adhere to her laws will be destroyed. Experience shows that all of those who have imagined that they would rule Nature have been buried under the dust of their own ruined fantasies. Men who have thought that they must fight Nature, as they near the end of their struggle and prepare to taste the fruits, always have been cruelly deceived in their hopes. At the last minute Nature deprives them of the fruits of their efforts and leaves them to start work again, laboring to correct their mistakes and delusion. Man must not fight Nature, because he will always be defeated. And do you know what his defeat is? Death! The reason for man's death is that he constantly fights living intelligent Nature, which he tries in vain to conquer. It must not be forgotten that Nature does not easily forgive. Man might repent his sins ten times and they would still remain unforgiven. Nature forgives man only when he begins to adhere to her laws, not in an external, mechanical way, but consciously. All who try to govern Nature, all who fight Nature, who resist it, from a deeper point of view are "outside" it. That is an allegory. Nature's door is locked to such people; for them she is a closed world. And do you know what beauties are in this world, what beings live there? All people who crawl upon the earth today can be called nature's "backward pupils", prisoners. In this sense, they are truly "outside" it. Nature has her reformatories for these men. And often she comes there with her punishing stick! But for wise people, Living Nature is a wonderfully organized world - a world of harmony, music and beauty. And one day, when the ears of men are opened, they will hear throughout the world the sublime music of Nature. Nature has her special music. But she does not always sing. Sometimes she is silent. At such a time, inexpressible silence reigns within Nature. There is deep meaning in this silence - deep inside her bosom, a great idea is being conceived, and until it is formed and born, Nature is silent. When the idea is born, Nature begins to sing a new song. And if you live a conscious life, if your soul is awake and lovingly disposed toward all living beings, you will hear the divine music of Nature which will pour like a living impulse throughout your body. The thoughts of all living beings will be transmitted to you in this music. The life of all rational beings in Living Nature will be transmitted to you with a speed greater than that of light and you will feel that you are a citizen of Nature's great kingdom.

XIII. THE ESSENCE OF THE DIVINE TEACHING You ask me: "What is the essence of the teaching?" I have said to you and I shall say again: "The essence of the divine teaching is Love, Wisdom and Truth." I know that you will ask: "And what are they?" Listen, you who have already made the irreparable error, you have broken the shell of life in order to taste of its kernel, the kernel which all of you eat and yet cannot consume. Continue in your error - eat of the kernel, but do not stumble over the shell. And I say to you: Eat of the kernel, taste truth but do not stumble over the shells - do not ask for "proofs". Therefore, hear the answer to your question! Love is that without which no life can exist. Wisdom is that without which no movement can exist. Truth is that without which no limit exists. Love is the beginning of life. Truth is the end of life. These are the two limits of the Great Reality in life. That which moves in between and gives form to things is Wisdom. Wisdom cannot act if there is no beginning and no end. Between these, Wisdom acts - in the space between the beginning and the end which fills all eternity without ever filling it fully. In this space Wisdom moves and reveals what Love and Truth are. Wisdom says: I that move between the beginning and the end, I say to you: Love is the beginning of all creation. Truth is the ultimate limit of creation, its highest goal. And beyond Truth? Beyond Truth there is nothing. It is not possible to go beyond Truth. Everything that has been created, after moving and moving, will finally stop at Truth. It might move for millions and billions of years, but when it arrives at Truth, there it will stop. You must choose - either you will adhere to the laws of Truth and live according to them, or you will turn into dust and ashes. You say: "Tell me the Truth!" Truth cannot be told; it must be lived. Truth is the fruit of the entire life. It includes that in which God reveals Himself. It includes that in which all perfect beings reveal themselves. It includes all eternities which is composed of thousands and millions of "eternities", for there are eternities which are limited and eternities which are limitless. Therefore, remember: If, with your love you cannot pass from the beginning to the end and enter into Truth; and if, with your truth, you cannot pass back from the end to the beginning, you will never comprehend what life is. You must unite the beginning and the end. If you cannot do this, you can do nothing and comprehend nothing. And what can unite the beginning and the end? Only Wisdom.

XII. THE LIGHT Light - this is a creative act of Divine Nature. It distinguishes the created from the uncreated, the temporary from the eternal, the transitory from the real. Light - this is the first act of awakening in Living Nature. And by "awakening" we mean the passing of Nature from the limitless condition into the limited one. If you ask contemporary physicists about light, they will define it as a succession of vibrations within which are included seven colors, from red to violet. These are the lower and uppers limits between which light is manifested in the physical world. More precisely, these are the boundaries within which man perceives light. But is light in its essence vibrations? Indeed, vibrations are a part of the light but light itself is not vibrations. The question of light is a subject befitting more advanced men, who are differently constituted than are contemporary men. A long time will be necessary for the bodies of men to be so developed that they can sense the living phenomena of nature in their true form. If you ask those advanced men about the origin of light which average men perceive, they will explain to you that some other type of light vibrations come to the earth from cosmic space and reaching it they are transformed to create ordinary light. However, behind ordinary light, which is only a reflection are other types of energies, and behind these energies is intelligence. For those who are able to see, everything in Living Nature is light. Everything on earth, all minerals, plants, animals, as well as the bodies of men, are nothing more than light, transformed into its most varied manifestations. For those who are able to see, light is not lifeless; it does not consist only of vibrations, as is asserted today. Light proceeds from life. When Love is manifested, life is born. And when life is manifested, light appears. Therefore, the great principle of life is the producer of light. And light itself produces all of the living forms in Nature. It is the most powerful factor in Nature's creative work. That is why it is written: God is Light. God in His essence is not light, but produces the light and is manifested in it. His Spirit is the bearer of complete light. The soul comprehends God as infinite light without shadows. It comprehends His Oneness in the manifested light. This light has many degrees of manifestation. The light we perceive in the physical world differs from the light that shines in the spiritual world, just as it differs from the light that illuminates the Divine world. A man must have spiritual vision in order to perceive and comprehend the spiritual light or illumination. Then a magnificent world will be opened to him, a world in which illumination reigns. This illumination is living and rational and all the great mystics who have this illumination within themselves are able to see a boundless world, pulsating with the softest, most delicate and beautiful colors which fill their souls with streams of life. Therefore, for those who are able to see, illumination is a thousand times more real than this world. The light we perceive in the physical world is only a reflection of this illumination. The living light is the great creative force in nature which creates the forms of man's thoughts, of man's desires and emotions. It envelopes man's spirit, man's mind. No one could think or feel without it. Illumination makes things clear. It causes the mind to think and reason logically.It is the light which the intuition perceives spontaneously. Therefore, no mental activity, no organic process can occur without the presence of light. The degree of development of all beings depends upon the quality and quantity of light which they possess. This standard applies also to man. One man differs from another according to the degree of his light. Man's character, his intelligence and his spiritual elevation are judged according to the quality and quantity of light which he perceives and manifests. Therefore, a man is known by the light of his life. When a man enters into the world of reason, it is known by his light whence he comes and what kind of life he lives. If a man has fulfilled the will of God, when he enters the world of reason, he will be enveloped with such light, such joy, such blessing, that he will feel as if he were the owner of the whole world. Wherever he looks, he will see only light, boundless light, and no other object. Within this unlimited light there are no shadows. It is an unceasing and infinite radiance. The manifestations of intelligent life are always distinguished by the presence of light. And the degree of intelligence is judged by the degree of light. The more the light emanating from an intelligent being is radiant, intense, soft and delicate, the more mightily it illumines and gives meaning to life, and the higher is the intelligence which it brings. From this point of view, the light which exists in space reveals that reason exists in nature. All the stars and planets which we see shining in space are living rational entities which send forth their light. The light of the sun is also produced by many rational entities which send forth their intelligence in the form of light. In his essence, man, too, is light. All good people are shining and all evil ones, who have lost the meaning of life, are dark. Dim, flickering light emanates from them. All good people have their "stars". This is not merely a figure of speech, but a reality. The entire present life of man and all of his future lives depend upon the light of his "star". This star is the treasure of his life. When Christ came to earth, His star came with Him. But it was seen only by the three wise men of the East. When Christ comes again to earth, His star will be ten times brighter than it was two thousand years ago. But it will be seen only by those who are ready to accept the divine light. This is because Christ will come as an inner light in the minds and hearts of men. This light will attract men to one another and will unite them inwardly. These men will be men of light, men with "stars". Such men with "stars" were at one time the apostles. When Christ rose from the dead, many "stars" appeared. They were those "fiery tongues" to which the scripture refers in a veiled manner. These stars emitted such great light that a union was made between the visible and invisible worlds, between the apostles and the intelligent, radiant beings, the inhabitants of heaven. When such a light envelops a soul, it does not waver, it does not doubt. This is one of the greatest moments in the life of a man. A noble, tender feeling is born at that moment and it quietly and continuously shines forth. This feeling is tender and delicate, yet intense. It possesses such an inner might that man becomes unconquerable. Thus, if you wish to comprehend light, walk where light walks. Does light enter only royal palaces? It enters into clean and unclean places. The hands of living light are soiled. And if light, which is so elevated, comes down and soils its hands with the sins of men, how much more ought men on earth do that! Light does not stop at anything - it penetrates into the most hidden places to enlighten and enliven them. This is great humility. Man should learn humility from light. If you do not possess the humility of light, nothing will become of you. Be as the light! Light goes everywhere, passes through everything but does not remain there. Not a particle of light remains where it has entered. Light constantly encircles the earth. How great is the heart of light! Follow the path of light! The path of light is a path on which there is no dust. Do not forget one more thing: if, on the path you follow, your star constantly rises, you are on the path of light. If, on the path you follow, your star constantly sets, you are on the path of darkness. When you lose the meaning of life, seek that which shines. And that which shines eternally and never diminishes is Wisdom! Be the friend of that which shines -Wisdom! It will give you knowledge. Knowledge will clothe you in the most beautiful of garments - light, for light is the garment of knowledge. If you wish to remain free, be like light. Light is free. If you wish to be strong, think of light. Light is strong and alive. Love light and be free!

XI. FREEDOM Truth brings freedom to the human soul. The human soul longs and aspires to be free. This is a great inner impulse, not of the ordinary man but of the man in whom Divine consciousness has been awakened. You have heard it said: "Know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free." Truth is the Light of the Divine world. Freedom is it boundlessness. Therefore, when we speak of the Divine freedom which proceeds from Truth, we mean limitlessness, or the aspiration of the human soul to live in the infinite. Freedom, in the fullest sense of the word, belongs to the Divine world. Only God is absolutely free. And the human soul which lives within Truth knows God as Freedom without limitation. When man comes to feel that freedom, all his burdens all the limitations which oppress him disappear. He experiences peace, liberty, expansion. There are no limits to his consciousness; he penetrates into things at a glance. All the ice under him and around him melts. The sun shines brightly and all the noble seeds planted deep in his soul and waiting for thousands of years to germinate, begin to develop and grow. Freedom is necessary for attaining that higher ideal toward which man aspires. Men today are not free. They aspire toward freedom, but seek for it in outward ways. Freedom cannot come from without. It cannot be enforced by laws. Every freedom, religious or political, which is enforced from without, is only a shadow of freedom. The ideal freedom, the freedom which proceeds from Truth, is not based upon force. It depends neither on human knowledge nor on human legal order. It is not defended by outward law and force. Indeed, is the freedom which must be defended with arms, really freedom? Today men are slaves, and in order to be set free, they must be born anew. The new birth is the release from those bonds which fetter us at present. This means escaping from the chains of destiny and necessity; this means the recovery of the primary link of man to God, existing since man's appearance in the world. This means the recovery of his freedom. In the beginning all beings were created free. And if freedom has disappeared from the world, man himself is to blame for it. He himself has severed his original link with the Primary Cause. And he has formed many other bonds which have restricted and deluded him. The divine source constantly sets him free from the limitations of the old way of life, but after a short time man sets out again on the old road. Therefore, if man desires to be free, he must have only one link - with God - and with all other beings he must have only relations. The only being who is free is God. And the only being who can fully set a man free is God. God desires that all beings be free, as He is free. And they must be free because they are parts of the divine organism. Therefore, only when the living God of Truth comes to live within man, only when the Divine Spirit end Power begin to act within him, only then will man be truly free, only then will man come to know God and be known by Him. Only then will he serve God freely in Spirit and Truth. Freedom requires that man be ready at any moment to do what God asks of him. And it is only the free man who can do this, because no other bond restricts him. Precisely therein lies his freedom. Today people dispute whether man has free will or not. Only the man who lives in that real, unchangeable world in which God lives, only the man who understands His laws and serves Him in Spirit and Truth - only he is free and only he has free will. Indeed, freedom lies in the will of man. And freedom always implies not self-will but rational will. Only the rational man can be free. Living Nature gives freedom only to the rational. Nature restricts the ignorant, who do not have will, but self-will. There are thousands and millions of beings in the kingdom of Living Nature who are imprisoned and awaiting their freedom. Why? It is because there lies within them the self-willed desire to move indiscriminately in any direction. Freedom implies movement in only one direction - Truth. It must not be forgotten that Truth is the direction in which all things in Creation move. Thus, man can always be free, but only in Truth. All our limitations and obstacles result from not being in touch with Truth. Our freedom depends on the extent to which we are in touch with Truth. There is no other measure. We might explain our limitations in one way or another - those are our own opinions. But the truth is that our limitations and obstacles and contradictions indicate that we are not in touch with Truth. In Truth, according to the experience of the free man, all contradictions cease. If any contradictions appear, however slight, we are outside the domain of Truth. Do not forget: freedom will not come from without. All freedom which is enforced from without is but a shadow of freedom. Do not run after shadows! True freedom is the freedom of spirit. It comes from within. When man has inner freedom, he evaluates himself, he judges himself. This is the law. Living in inner freedom, man restricts himself - he voluntarily restricts himself. When? Only when he does good, for on the path of freedom the nobility of the soul and the charity of the human heart are tested. When man does good, he is, in the beginning, limiting himself. And he limits himself because he gives. But when he accomplishes the good, he becomes free again. Therefore, everything which in the beginning restricts man and deprives him of freedom but in the end restores his freedom, is good. And everything which in the beginning gives freedom to man and later deprives him of it, is evil. Herein lies the deep connection between good and freedom, between evil and slavery. If you wish to have an accurate criterion, remember this: Everything by which man loses his freedom is evil. Everything by which man attains his freedom is good. Implant Truth in your soul and you will acquire the freedom you seek.

X. THE GOOD Love gives birth to the good. The good is the foundation of life. The good is the soil of life and at the same time its nourishment. Only the good can sustain life, only the good can nourish it. When God limits Himself, the good is born in the world. When man is confined, evil is born. And when he is freed from confinement, good appears. In other words, when the desire to serve God originates within the human soul, then the conditions for the good are created. Men wish to create good within themselves, but good is not created, it is born. It is implanted from the beginning in every man and he has only to become aware of it and reveal it. Man must be good because good is the foundation of life. Without good the life of man has no foundation. If man does not do good, evil is born. The evil that is now in the world is the unutilized good of the past. Evil results from an unstable order. It is a world of arbitrary rule. In the world of nature, it might be defined as reproduction without law. Evil is, however, inevitable in the relations between forces and beings. Evil and good in Living Nature are forces which it utilizes equally. Behind the good and the evil is the Great Intelligence which utilizes everything. Man must not fight evil. He must escape it. He must not fight evil but must rather set good against it. The man who fights evil most, errs most. The only being who can harness evil into work is God. You must know that there exists a collective consciousness of good and a collective consciousness of evil. They form the two great poles of Creation. Human life moves between those two great poles. When evil is within, predominating over good, and the good is without, then evil reigns on earth. In other words, "hell" reigns on earth. But when good is within, triumphant, and evil is without, then "heaven" governs and good reigns in the world. "Hell" is a place where evil is both inside and outside. "Heaven" is a place where good is inside and outside. And human life is "a place" where sometimes good is within and evil without, and sometimes the reverse. Each man, according to the life he leads, is either at the pole of good or the pole of evil. The man in whom evil is master lives in constant turmoil. Outwardly, he may have great wealth, he may be honored by men, but within himself he is not at peace. He is unceasingly troubled by evil misgivings and fears. Gradually he loses his health and his strength. But when goodness is in the heart of a man, he may have neither riches nor power, but he is at peace and full of joy. His outward conditions are bad but his inner conditions are good. Such a man has something powerful within him and because of it he is loved by all. The good people are the truly strong people in the world. People think that evil is powerful in the world. Evil is powerful only because people love it. The love given to evil gives it strength. Evil obtains strength from love. In spite of this, however, the striving for good can never cease. The process of good is eternal. It is the creative process of life. Therefore, the good might be called the path to life. It leads us to life. Evil is the path to death. It is condemned to barrenness. In order to distinguish between good and evil, remember the following: Good and evil are the high and the love in the world. Evil is the weakest possible vibration of good. Therefore, good is the price of rationality, and evil is the price of irrationality. Good increases the value of human consciousness. Evil lowers it. Through good, endowments are strengthened; through evil they are weakened and dimmed. Good begins with small insignificant things. But they constantly grow, increase, and multiply, and then organize and unite into one whole. In evil there is always disintegration, disconnection. The good might be compared to a spring that constantly flows. Evil on the other hand is like a dried-up spring that hardly trickles. Evil promises much and gives nothing. Good promises nothing but gives much. Is it necessary for the spring to promise that it will flow? It simply flows. So it is with a good man. In him, good is like a spring. He remains good under all conditions. It is delusion to think that conditions might change him. Good permeates his whole being, it is the foundation of his structure. The good man differs fundamentally in construction from the evil one. The nervous system of a good man is more intricate and more finely constructed. His brain has more cells and more folds; it is differently constructed. His circulatory system, also, forms a richer and thicker network. The skin of the good man has more cells, and it is finer than the skin of the evil man. The good man generally has a more perfect constitution. He is a highly advanced being. That is why every person who lags behind in his development becomes evil. In such a case we say that evil is good which is not utilized. Evil cannot be uprooted from the world. And when Christ says not to touch the weeds until the time of harvest - "the end of the world" - he means that in the future a new era will begin and all that is now evil in the world will pass into another phase of development. When we speak of good, of a good deed, we always relate it to a healthy man. The sick man can do no good. It is evident that we do not imply here the ordinary "good" as people understand it. The real good, from the point of view of divine science, is distinguished by three qualities: it brings life, light and freedom. If it does not have these three qualities, it is not good. Life comes through Love, light comes through Wisdom, and freedom comes through Truth. If anyone wishes to do good, he must be in connection with these three divine worlds. If a deed of ours is to be really good, it must be alive, it must walk after us. Good must accompany us. If good cannot follow after us, it is not good. My good deeds must follow after me. And in order that they do, they midst bring life, light and freedom for me as well as for those for whom they are being done. Because the divine law is a collective law, it applies at the same time to all. When you do good for someone, this good applies to all the world. It makes no difference to the divine world whether people know this or not. It is true, nevertheless, that all will profit from this good. Therefore, I say: to do good is a sacred act because in this way you cause God to manifest Himself through you in His Goodness, in His Love, in His Wisdom. There is no greater act than this - to do good. However minute this good might be, it is a noble act that all in heaven praise because God is hidden within goodness. Nature is very careful even with the smallest gain. When a man does a good deed in the world, when he performs an intelligent act, there is great rejoicing in the invisible world. And when Christ advises men to store up treasures in heaven, he refers to the good. The treasure is the good that man has done on earth. To do good means to call upon God to act through you. And when God acts, He does so not only for one person, but for all. That is why when good is being done, all heavenly beings participate. Thus, every act in which heaven does not participate is human, and every act in which heaven participates is divine. Good must be done at the proper time. It does not take much time to do good, but it is necessary that your mind, your heart, your will, your soul and your spirit be fully concentrated, during those moments, upon the good you do. There must be no delay in doing good. When you wish to do good, you must do it at once, without postponement. If you postpone it, the opportunity is lost. Do not think, however, that you must do good only when you are well disposed. Good may be done even when you are in the worst of dispositions. Indisposition is something that concerns the flesh. It does not concern the spirit of man. People think that good is something that is dead. This is not true. Within the sacred idea which has stimulated you to do good, acts a higher, secret spirit who will illuminate this deed and will reveal that the life of the man who serves God is always fulfilled. The good is the first link in life. The good is the first bond between people. It is the only material bond that truly unites people. Moreover, good is the first real bond between the souls of all people, on earth or in heaven. You can acquire no knowledge without goodness. Knowledge begins with acquaintance with good. A good deed is never forgotten. It is recorded in the Divine book because it is an act of love and as such it will be remembered in the Divine world for all time. Everyone who does good becomes an ideal for others. Do not think that when you do good, this will deprive you of something. On the contrary, good will elevate you. Therefore, never shrink from difficulties when you ought to do good. Be brave, be decisive, do the good and let that good bring life, light and freedom to your fellow men. All of you can do good, because there is good in the hearts of all of you. Every good you do is a bond that gradually increases in strength. You must continually form such bonds - not just once. However, do not forget that man must remain anonymous in doing good as he tries to remain anonymous in doing evil. Do not hasten to become good. Good is an indispensable condition for the perfection of man, but man does not become good in one day. If he aspires towards perfection, however, good will help him. To be perfect, you must be strong in the good. The only thing that distinguishes a man is the good that lives within him. Good is a way to find Divine Love.

IX. SPIRIT God, in His essence, is Spirit. Spirit is a manifestation of God. It has always existed and will exist eternally. The Spirit is the beginning of all things. It is written: "In the beginning was the Word." The Word - this is the first manifestation of Love in the material world. And Love - this is the first fruit of the Spirit. The head of the Word is Truth. And the head of Truth is the Spirit of God. It is the Beginning of the beginning of all things. Therefore, the Word is the first thing with which man must begin. That which speaks to man at times is not yet the Spirit of God, it is the Word. Later, man will arrive at Truth, and finally, at the Divine Spirit. He who does not understand the Word, cannot understand Truth, and he who does not understand Truth cannot understand the Spirit. Spirit descends into Truth, and Truth descends into the Word. And thus speaks the Word: "The Spirit is that which gives life." There is life because there is Spirit. The Spirit initiated Life. True life is only that which proceeds from the Spirit, because there is life that is not initiated by the Spirit. The life that proceeds from the Spirit is perfectly rational. In this life nothing dies. It excludes all suffering, all sickness, all contradictions, all want. The Spirit is the eternal, immortal foundation of this very life. Within it are hidden all the primary forms in which life manifests itself. Primary forms are all forms, which proceed directly from the Spirit. Every form of the Spirit is a page from the great book of life. The Spirit in its essence is one, but in its manifestations it is manifold. Unity and plurality - these are the attributes of the Spirit. As a manifestation, the Spirit is plural from one of its poles to the other. Therefore I say: The Spirit is One, the spirits are many. The spirits are breaths born out of the one Breath. In its plurality the Spirit reveals its inexhaustible variety. The greatness of the Divine Spirit is manifested in that variety. The Spirit contains all the inexhaustible treasures of the visible worlds, and reveals what God is. God comes down to us by sending His Spirit, as the sun sends its light. The Divine Spirit rises every day, and every day it sends us its blessings voluntarily, without our asking for them and without expecting any repayment from us. We owe to it everything that we have. Men have always realized this more or less. In various ways they have designated that intelligent power which comes from God and manifests itself in the world, and they have given it different names: the primal substance, the primal energy, the laws of nature, and so on. The laws are created by the Spirit. They relate to that great energy of the world which comes out of its primal state and differentiates itself in order to manifest itself in its inexhaustible variety. This manner of development is but the universal movement of the Spirit in carrying out the complete cosmic plan. The Spirit is the most sublime reality. From the point of view of the physical world it is invisible, but from the point of view of the Divine world, it is as objective as is the body in the physical world, and the soul in the spiritual world. Everything that is great, sublime and mighty in the world is due to the Spirit. Spirit has borne the most precious fruits in life. These fruits are: Love, Joy, Peace. Long-suffering, Gentleness, Goodness. Faith, Meekness, Temperance (or Self-control). These are three great triangles of the three worlds the divine, the angelic, and the human. Love, Joy, Peace - this is the Divine triangle. Love is the father, Joy - the mother, and Peace - their child. In the triangle of the angelic world, long-suffering is the father, gentleness the mother, and goodness the child. Acquire these qualities and you will be among the angels. In the third triangle, faith is the father; meekness the mother, and temperance the child. Acquire these qualities in their deep mystic meaning, and you will be ranked among the saints. In order to understand what the Spirit is, man's soul must be awakened. Only the soul has direct communion with the Spirit. Without the soul, we would have no conception of the Spirit. It may be said that what the relationship of the growing seed is to the sun, such is the relationship of the human soul to the Divine Spirit. The human soul experiences a holy awe in the presence of the Divine Spirit, because its growth and life depend upon it. The soul has not yet completed its development. It will pass through millions of forms. When it completes its development, it will unite with the Spirit, and then soul and spirit will no longer exist separately. Then eternal life will be manifested. The spirit can dwell only with the soul. It cannot dwell with our minds, because our thoughts are constantly changing. Remember: the primary essence of man is his spirit. The first manifestation of man is his manifestation as spirit. The spirit is that absolute point within which man appears in creation. The soul represents the potentialities of the spirit. The spirit of man is eternal. It continually descends, manifests itself and ascends again. Man's spirit awakens and manifests itself when the Divine Spirit descends into it. It descends and then ascends again to God. In this descending and ascending, the human spirit moves simultaneously in three directions, which bring about three strivings: The first striving of the spirit is the striving towards life. The second striving of the spirit is the striving towards knowledge. The third striving of the spirit is the striving towards freedom. The human spirit teaches man everything. It stimulates the human soul to grow and develop. The soul is the treasury of the human spirit. It contains within itself everything that the spirit has acquired from time immemorial to the present day. The human spirit is the author of all things on earth. All sciences, all arts, all religions, all the epochs and cultures through which the earth has passed are created by the human spirit, which has not yet fully unfolded. Even man's physical body, with all its organs and all its organization, is created by his spirit. And when the body of a man is being created in the womb of the mother, the spirit of the man participates in this creation together with the spirit of the mother. All energies, all forces active in the cosmos, are at the disposal of the human spirit. It works freely with matter - it can condense it, dilute it, mould it. For instance, when the spirit desires to reduce the vibrations of light, it condenses matter around itself. Matter constantly compels the spirit to mould new, more perfect forms. The spirit creates the forms, and matter individualizes the spirit. And that which we call the conflict between matter - which in itself is lifeless and inert - and the spirit, which is full of life, is the striving of the spirit to make matter more plastic and more pliable for its creative work. Man searches for happiness, knowledge and wealth in life. But these things may be acquired only from the Spirit. Only the Spirit bestows all these blessings. It bestows all endowments and all talents, all intelligence and all genius. With the coming of the Spirit, everything great is born. When the Spirit comes, it stimulates all that has accumulated within man for millions of years. All this awakens and begins to develop. When the Spirit comes, man begins to experience an expansion, his horizon clears, contradictions disappear, and he begins to see clearly. If man desires that Divine Love be revealed in him, the Spirit must necessarily be in him. But the Spirit is a very sensitive being. It is very responsive to all human weakness and is, by nature, able to enter into those who are on the Path. It does not knock strongly. It will knock very softly at your heart, and if you open to it, at once it will change your whole life. The Spirit will show you how to live, what to do, and how to do it consciously. The Divine Spirit comes to work within us only when our hearts and minds work rightly. First, it appears as intuition, but when man advances, it speaks out clearly. Its manifestations become more lucid and concrete. When the Spirit enters into a man, it will manifest itself without fail. There is no power in the world that can prevent the Spirit from revealing itself. But without purity the human spirit cannot appear in its full strength. Listen to your spirit! And remember that it is the great author of all that is on the earth. Science, which people sometimes worship, is a creation of the human spirit. The human spirit is above all science. Therefore, do not worship that which the human spirit has created, that you have created! Respect your spirit as a great creator, as a great interpreter and executor of the divine will. The human spirit always fulfills the will of God. It does that which it has learned from God. If you wish to follow the path of Truth, then let the Spirit within you be free. Let it guide and direct you. Inside you or outside you, the Spirit observes all that you do. Today the Spirit is leading humanity in new ways. The whole solar system has entered into a new realm. After a time men of science will prove that the earth itself has entered a new configuration with the sun. We are coming in contact with a virgin matter and those who are ready will enter into the new life that is hidden within it, and will be resurrected, and those who are not ready will have to wait and be taken up in the future, by a new wave. Prepare yourself for the coming of the Spirit! And do not forget that when the Spirit comes, the door of your heart must be opened. When the Spirit enters, the door of your heart must close. Do not open the door before the coming of the Spirit. Do not close the door before the entering of the Spirit. Work where the Spirit works.

VIII. MAN Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns end the purple garment. And Pilate said unto them: "Behold the man!" Can people, when you go out in the world, say of you: "Behold the man!" To be worthy of this name, one must possess four qualities: he must be rich, he must be strong, he must be wise, he must be good. The rich man is only he who has a rich soul, a rich mind, a rich heart and a strong will. Only a man who serves God is, in the full sense of the word, rich. The strong man is only the man of love, the man of truth. He who is strong is above all circumstances. I do not call strong the man who kills others. He is strong who turns his enemies into friends. For this reason he never defends himself. He does not fight for his rights. Only the weak man fights for his rights. And when the strong man, the hero, is nailed to the shameful cross because of Truth, he nobly endures the disgrace and the abuse, the malice and the accusation. Behold the man! Behold Jesus! In the original language in which that name was spoken, it means: the man who comes to earth, the brother of those who suffer. Therefore, in a broader sense, "Jesus" is everyone who suffers and who bears his suffering heroically. "Jesus" is every suffering human soul working out its salvation. "Jesus" is one base of support to man. "Christ," the man who conquered and triumphed over death, who rose from the dead, who serves God and is ready to lay down his life for others, is the other base of support to man. Man, like "Jesus",learns the profound meaning of suffering - the divine process by which he forms his character. Man's most precious possession is his character. Man must necessarily pass through the fire of trials and only when he passes through that fire and endures his trials can he acquire a character which is valuable, steadfast, unflinching. Only then will he have an everlasting home where he can live. Character, in the deepest sense of the word, is everything wise that the human spirit has inscribed and deeply engraved upon the human soul. Character is a combination of virtues. Remember one thing: the natural strength which can make man powerful is the strength of his virtues. Virtues are the great resources around which the powerful forces of Living Nature begin to circulate. Therefore, "man" is understood to be the sum total of all virtues. He who does not represent such a sum total of virtues cannot be called a real man. Man of today has not yet attained the position of being a real man. The animal nature predominates more or less within him. The real man will be manifested from now on. Man of today cannot, as yet, control himself. He still acts too brutally. All the crimes that man commits today are due to the animal nature within him. And he has to put forth much effort to free himself from the animal nature, to overcome it. Man, however, is a combination of virtues and not of crimes. Man, within himself, by his birth and by his nature, is something great. God, by limiting Himself within Himself, created man. But with the creation of man, suffering appeared in the world, because where there is limitation there is also suffering. Man is something great! If you understood man, if you believed in him, not in his appearance, which manifests itself externally, you would see how great man is. Because what may be seen on the outside is only an expression of certain thoughts, feelings and deeds. Man is not what he is thought to be today. He is not simply a material being, who disappears with death. That which dies is not the man. If man really did disappear with death, then what would be the use of so much philosophizing about him? In that case he would be only a thing, an object, an automaton which tomorrow would turn into dust. That man dies and disappears - this was the first lie introduced into the world. There is something within man which does not die - neither in this world nor in the one beyond. That which does not die, which does not decay, which does not disappear, that is man. It grows neither older nor younger. When we speak of man, we mean the soul. If there is something divine in man, it is the radiant soul which thinks. Take from man his intelligent, radiant soul, and he becomes an animal. He is not different from an animal - he eats, sleeps, and in short, has all the needs and weaknesses of an animal. Man is a living soul, who has every potentiality for eternal, immortal life. This soul contains all capabilities, all procedures for work within itself, and it imparts them to the brain and to the whole body through which it manifests itself. Therefore, we say: man possesses within himself every potentiality for an intelligent life. Man possesses within himself every potentiality for a life of Love. Man possesses within himself every potentiality for a life of Truth. When man begins to realize all these capabilities, gradually he transforms himself; gradually he progresses from one condition into another. He climbs up step by step: from an ordinary man to a man of talent, then genius, after that a saint and at last a Master. There are degrees of man. By the word "man" we mean not only the being who lives on earth. Man exists not only on earth, not only in the solar system. He inhabits the whole starry universe - all the suns and planets. The planets and suns are inhabited by beings of various degrees of intelligence. It is of no importance what type of bodies they have. They are intelligent beings and belong to the same human race. This race develops gradually. Many human beings in the other systems are far more advanced than men on earth, because they emerged earlier from the Great Primary Source of life. Their wisdom is so great that the culture of people on earth, compared to that of Sirius, for instance, is still in its swaddling clothes. People of today, compared with the beings of Sirius, are not even children yet. Man is an eternal wayfarer. Earth has never been and will never be his only abode. Earthly man, after completing his development on earth, will not go to "heaven". He will travel from system to system in the physical universe until he develops to his fullness. The next station in man's development will be Sirius. The human spirit came to earth about two hundred and fifty billion years ago. Then he was not at the stage in which he is now. During those two hundred and fifty billion years, he has passed through many forms and many phases of development. And the almost endless order of organic forms which Nature has created expresses the phases through which the human spirit has passed. They are a great school in which man has studied. All the knowledge man acquired during those two hundred and fifty billion years is inscribed in his small head, on his brain. From the point of view of more advanced beings - for instance, from the point of view of the angels - man is still a small child. Those two hundred and fifty billion years are, to them, only like two and a half years. From their viewpoint, man is a child two and a half years old. Man still has much to learn! Therefore, he has passed, and will continue to pass, through innumerable forms and stages of life. People who have a small conception of life think that once man is born, everything is finished. No, birth is an eternal, uninterrupted process. Man is born countless times, passing from one phase of development to another. Keep this in mind: the question of birth and rebirth is a subject for the enlightened human spirit, for the enlightened human soul, for the enlightened human mind - it is not a question for ordinary minds. Man studies simultaneously in three schools. The body is tutored on earth. All the cells of the body perform a particular service, and at the same time they learn. The soul is instructed in the spiritual world, and the spirit is instructed in the Divine world. Therefore, man's ideal is to understand himself, to understand the angels who manifest themselves within him as bright and pure thoughts and at last to understand God, who is Love. Because man is connected with the angels, who created thought, he is called a being of thought - "manas." The intellect is a gift to man from the angels. And that which distinguishes him from the animals, and which caused him to stand upright on two feet, is his intellect. But I say unto you, man is more than one who thinks. The sublime in the world cannot be completely defined. Remember: the first quality of the real man is love. Love is the divine in man. Without love man reverts to an animal. Without love he is subject only to sin and crime. He who has not come to love God is not as yet a true man. He does not yet have the image and likeness of God. Man today does not have the "image and likeness of God." And indeed he who can rob you, who can abuse you - is he a man? Is he a man who in the beginning is your friend and later slanders you? Hence, when we speak of man as an image and likeness of God, we mean man in his primal manifestation, the so called Cosmic Man. Each man, each human soul, is a primal element of the great Cosmic Man. As such he occupies a definite place in living Nature and plays his assigned role. Without him, the universe cannot manifest itself in the fullness of its harmony. Therefore, every man here on earth has a definite role to play. Life cannot go on without him. The appearance of so many millions of souls in the world is not accidental. Therefore, keep this thought constantly in mind: Man is the greatest creation on earth. Rejoice that you bear the name of man. Strive to be worthy of that name! Do not forget that as a spirit, as a soul, as a mind, as a heart - you are an important element in the universe: without you it cannot manifest itself in the fullness of its harmony. You are still ignorant of what you are. Within man are still dormant powers, and he must work to waken them and to use them correctly. When man unites himself with God, all of the dormant powers and capabilities within him are awakened. How can we know when a man is united with God? By his readiness to sacrifice everything for Him. He who wishes to be worthy of the name of man must be absolutely honest, absolutely good, absolutely intelligent and wise, absolutely noble. Only the man who can rejoice in the prosperity of others as in his own is honest and noble. The true man never fights outwardly to restore his honor. He knows that, according to the great moral order of the world, honor is not restored from without. No court, no society, no religion can restore the honor of man: only he himself can do this. What distinguishes the reasoning man? He does not occupy himself with the past, nor with the future. He works in the present. By present, I mean the eternal Divine. The reasoning man does not think about whatever occurs to his mind, but rather about what is right. Only the ignorant man thinks about whatever comes to his mind. The reasoning man has a special disposition of soul. He thinks evil of no one. He thinks good of all people, and he never seeks revenge. This is because he knows that man cannot be absolutely intelligent if he is not absolutely moral. He knows that morality is a foundation, the base of support from which reason is projected into the world. The reasoning man always relies on his own mind. He values it as a great gift given to him by the angels as a support for life. And he knows that only the true reasoning man can be free. Reason, in the deepest sense of the word, is a quality of the saint, of the man of genius. Therefore, remember: only the virtuous man can be wise. And all men of virtue are humble - in that sense in which Christ understands this word - and they are the greatest and strongest people. In my opinion the greatest quality that a man can possess is humility. It is not a weakness. The humble person is the most flexible, the most adaptable man in the world. He can endure everything - sickness and poverty and even death. In fact, none of these exist for the humble person - whatever happens, he is quiet and calm. He says: "God, who lives within me, does not die. God, who lives within me is not poor." The weak, faint-hearted man is not humble. Only the virtuous man is humble. And he is the truly strong man. The humble person, in the true sense of the word, is a man with a mighty spirit. You ask why you have come to earth. I reply: To manifest Divine Love. To manifest Divine Wisdom. To manifest Divine Truth. To manifest Divine Righteousness. To manifest Divine Virtue. You have come to manifest all these virtues, to manifest all that has been implanted in your souls from eternity. And remember: great is the destiny of man. Man is born to govern all beings, to regulate all elements, to organize the earth. He must become a good master. And he can become such a master only when he comprehends what God has implanted within him. He has to learn about his bodies, which are his garments. He has to learn about the primary matter in which his thought functions. He must master all elements. He must master the earth, the air, the water, the heat, the light. He must control all "evil spirits." And he can control them only when he masters their weaknesses. At the present time Christ needs the help of men who know how to build according to the rules of the divine science, men in whose minds the good of the "Kingdom of God"is uppermost. The life of greatness requires men who have been "born anew," who have seen the "Kingdom of God." Do not forget that he who wants to see the Kingdom of God must have pure eyes. Pure eyes imply a pure heart. A pure heart implies an enlightened mind. An enlightened mind implies a noble soul. A noble soul implies a loving spirit who has come forth from the Eternal God. He who has been "born anew" is connected with all the higher worlds, with all the beings of the higher hierarchies. He is as truthful as Truth itself, as wise as Wisdom itself, as loving as Love itself. Of this man, of the man "born of God," it is written in the Scripture that he "commits no sin". Indeed, he who is born of God has such love within his soul, such a great fountain of love pouring forth from him, that no contradictions exist for him. Have you ever been in the presence of such a man to see what peace, what quietness, what joy reign in him? The heart, the mind, the soul and the spirit of such a man are in full harmony with God. Viewed deeply, such a man is a totality of many intelligent souls of genius. The same applies to the great poets, musicians and painters. Thousands of intelligent souls of genius must be united so that a great poet, a great musician or a great painter may appear. In this way, from a "son of thought," man becomes the "beloved son of Love." Thus he becomes a Son of God. The highest position a man can have in relation to God is to be a Son of God. To be a Son of God, a servant to the Great Being who created all things means to feel the pulse of the whole universe, to see all of its beauty, to hear its magnificent harmony. You, who aspire to become a Son of God, hold as your ideal: A heart pure as crystal. A mind bright as the sun. A soul boundless as the universe. A spirit mighty as God and one with God.