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1925_10_11 The Great Law


Ani
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from The Blossoming of the Human Soul

 

THE GREAT LAW

 

“You shall love the Lord your God with

all your heart, with all your soul,

with all your strength and with all your mind;

and your neighbor as yourself.”

Luke 10:27

 

People of today are trying to handle most of the fundamental issues, but did not take time off to establish which of them are of higher priority to be resolved, which fundamental task is the most important to resolve. Therefore, this topic is quite controversial. The most important for them at present is the economic problem and nourishment in particular. It is alright, but I ask, if the problem of food shortage, existing for thousands of years, has ever been fully resolved. It has been resolved only temporarily and partially. In reality, it remains without solution. Others say that the most important problem for them is education and knowledge. Truly, for thousands of years, people have been learning and seeking knowledge, but have they ever really attained it? It also remains unsolved.

 

Still others are interested in the issue of security. They say that to be strong and mighty, the country should maintain a powerful army capable of withstanding the enemies. That is true. But which country, through its military forces, has answered the question of existence? Give me an example of a country, which has maintained its power for at least two or three thousand years. All big empires existing so far have reached their zenith and after that declined.

 

Therefore, there is one really essential issue in the world, which has remained unresolved so far. It is not national, social, or scholarly. Nations always have different imperious issues. Social activists face a number of problems requiring their attention. Likewise, learned people have a plenty of questions to deal with. However, the most important issue that humankind needs to consider is the human soul, or, if you prefer, the human spirit. It is not the human mind because a person is more than just a brain. The human mind is only an attendant to the human spirit; the same is true for the human heart and willpower.

 

The humankind is something great by its origin and nature. If you truly understand someone and believe in him, not in his outer manifestations, then you will know the greatness of the human being. Would you call the merchant who is selling you faulty clothes a good person? Would you call the professor at school who at times demeans you a good person? Would you call the mother who has deliberately neglected her child a true human being? Would you call the father who is taking advantage of his son a true human being? Would you call the statesman who issues senseless laws a true human being? It is necessary to define the notion of “human being.” It is said that the human being implies a thinking being. No, it is much more than that. The Great in the world is beyond any words.

 

The most important subject for the learned people all over the world is the Sublime Conscious Life. You may say that it is created through the supply of light, warmth, food, clothing, and so on. However, that life, which comes as a result of the sustenance of warmth, is not a true life; it is only a certain energy requiring maintenance. The True Life gives birth to everything by itself. When we embrace it, it brings light and warmth, food and clothing within itself. Life is something really mighty when properly understood.

 

You will ask, “Yes, but what do scholars say about Life?” Scholars should forgive me, but they have not yet discovered the true meaning of Life. I will tell them: Come to resurrect the deceased. Can they heal the ill? What do they know about them? Nothing. Today, the ill die with or without the physicians’ aid; so, what is the use of such doctors? With teachers, people die and without them, they die too; even those who are educated steal, just like the uneducated. With teachers, people slander and without teachers, they slander too. Even with the preaching of clergymen, people steal and without their preaching, they steal too. When they are ruled by statesmen, they steal and when they are not ruled by statesmen, they steal too.

 

What then has humankind contributed to the world? Someone will say that law and order are necessary, but what do law and order include? Even the most malevolent people institute their own laws and order whenever they form an association. In the animal world ants display law and order, bees have their own law and order as well. If you find yourself near a beehive, you will run as quickly as possible. Why? It is because of the law and order reigning there. Bees use their stingers as “machine guns.” You tell me, “The most important problem for us to solve is that of life.” You conclude, “A person dies and that ends all.” I agree with you that people die, but have you answered the question of death? In fact, death shows that people have not resolved the essential issue of Life. They have not yet attained true Life.

 

Let’s concentrate on the verse, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Why? It is because Love is the source and origin of the Great Life we have been discussing. Some may ask what Love is. Love is the source of that Life, which brings everything with it: Light and Warmth, food and clothes, life-force and all needed. This is how Life can be recognized through experience. For all those who have resolved the problem of Life in this way, it is written in the Scriptures, “And this is eternal Life, that they may know You, the only true God.”[1] We understand by “God” not an external being to whom people bow but rather the Source of Life, the Infinite that can manifest Itself within us, who are finite. It shows that the Infinite can manifest Itself in the finite. Therefore, we, the people of this world manifesting Infinity, represent a great issue even now: how it is that in the finite forms the Eternal life is revealed. For this to happen, we should have knowledge and wisdom to create harmonious relationships among all people.

 

All should know the purpose of their coming to Earth. If you are to answer, perhaps you will lift your chin and say, “It is not so important.” How strange you are! If you ask me why I have come to Earth, I will tell you. If you ask some little children in the first grade why they go to school, the answer will be, “To learn.” These children will take out their primer. “Who is your teacher?” They know. “Who is your father, your mother?” They know again. And when you ask them about their parents, you get an immediate reply. These children know everything. But if someone asks you the same questions, you will say, “I do not know.” You have come to Earth. What will you learn here now? “I do not know.” Once you complete your earthly life, where will you go? “I will go to the World beyond.”

 

It is not only you in this situation; it is the same with the philosophers. For thousands of years, their discourses have deliberated on those subjects: Is there God or not; is there soul or not? Finally, some of them conclude, “There is no God, no soul.” They answer all questions with ease. The drunkards too, when they are inebriated, get into fistfights with each other and, apparently, that is the end of the matter. No, nothing is finished this way. The next evening, they do the same: get drunk, fight, and that is all. The third evening - the same again. I say that they are done for this evening, but not for tomorrow. You say of someone who has died, “He is gone, he died.” Yes, he is gone, but only temporarily, not forever. Nothing in Nature has been lost forever. You ask, “Where has this person gone?” Yet I would ask whence he had come. For whence he came, there he returned. Such is the Law: Everything always returns to its source. All, no matter intelligent or not - always return to God. We refer to this Intelligent Source, which is endless and infinite, as the “Law of Love.”

 

Nowadays, all recognize that there is a dispute about the essence of Life. I say that there is no dispute. Why? It is because the attributes of Life are: Intelligence, Light, Warmth, and some others. Should there be any dispute about Life under these conditions? As long as disputes exist, life is not judicious. All people have the same notion and desire of Life. All people acknowledge Love and desire it, but when? When they are young, they acknowledge Love; when they become old, they deny it.

 

Love has this feature: when you grow to love something or someone, they become valuable to you. Why? It is because you can prize only those objects, which have Life in them. And everything that is life-bearing becomes precious. When you love it, you take care of it and protect it. You write letters and say only pleasantries to your beloved friend; but if somehow your love is transformed into dislike, you forget about this person. What, then, is Love? Love is a power that expands you and offers you incentive. Some say that when someone falls in love, that person has no desire to study anymore. That is not true. Love adds an incentive to the pursuit of knowledge. A person whose heart is inflamed learns and applies.

 

Some others say that Love makes people absent-minded. What makes people absent-minded is not Love, just as Love is not what makes the wolf eat a sheep. When a person is in love with someone’s money and wants to steal it, this is not Love. When a person falls in love with someone’s farm and wants to take it, that is not Love either. Love has this attribute: It makes you not only value things, but also gives expansion to your heart and thus you become generous. The purse of that one who truly loves is always open. That person is like an ever-flowing spring, and not like a barrel of wine, as to always count up the outlay and remainder. The person of Love resembles a fountain that continuously streams, but is never depleted. Therefore, if your goodwill unceasingly flows as a wellspring, Love has come to you. If you can see the good features in every person; if you can see the meaning of all things, in this case, when you raise your eyes to Heaven, you are on the threshold of that Great Divine Life and Love has come into you!

 

I am speaking to you of that Great Science, which foundations are within. You have experienced Life many times before; I believe that is true. Whether you admit it or not - it is a different question. You have come to this planet many times before, in many different forms; whether you remember it or not, whether you admit it or not; it is written in the records of Nature. What you believe is not important. The important thing is what is written by Nature. You may object, “We do not remember.” Neither does a person who has become intoxicated remember whatsoever. But the bartender remembers everything and has taken note of it in his book. He recorded that on a certain date, you drank a certain amount of wine and brandy with this and that person. You declare now that you do not remember. Nevertheless, he calls you before the court and the judge says, “You must pay.” “But I do not remember anything.” Remember it or not, you must pay! Similarly, Nature has a great Book in which everything is recorded. Why do you not admit your deeds, why do you not remember them? Because then you would need to pay the bartender. Those who remember are those creditors who have something to take and those who do not remember are the debtors who need to pay back.

 

God sent human beings many times to Earth and many times did they return to Him. So it is written in the Book of Nature. Your beliefs and convictions are your own business because all are free to have their own ideas.

 

It is not important whether we believe in something or not. What is essential for us is rather the question of Love. We consider it the most important question. We do not discuss who will come into power in Bulgaria, who is the richest person in the world, or who is the most learned scholar. Why? It is because these are questions that even children can answer. We seek to explain the most important issue: Life and its fundamental principles. If you want to live and make your life meaningful; if you want it to be better, we are going to show you the way. We tell you, “Embrace Love!” I ask: Which love, of the young or of old people? None of them. Why not? It is because both young and old are unfaithful. Young people desert their love by marrying someone else, while old people betray others by departing from the Earth without paying their debts.

 

We say about someone, “God rest his soul - he was old!” He had promised to get married, yet he died. He should not have died. That one who makes a promise should not die. He must fulfill his promise first and after that he can die. If he has promised something but dies before fulfilling it, it is an indication that he had some hidden motive. You can excuse him, but we cannot. In the Law of Love every good thought, every noble feeling or desire shall be fulfilled regardless of whom it may concern: mother, father, or child. The Law applies to all. We need to show the world that we are bearers of the Great Life of God and as He lives within ourselves, we should live like Him.

 

Why do people deny God? It is because they are His debtors. Why do people believe in God and accept Him? It is because they want to take from Him. I assert that both the people who believe in God and those who deny Him do this for their personal interest. We, however, have a different idea about God. We want to serve Him because we are aware that we have received everything from Him. We do not go to God to benefit from Him; we do not deny that we are His debtors either, but we recognize the Great Wisdom that exists in the Universe and awaits us in the future.

 

What is the scope of modern science? Many things are known. But knowledge of the great philosophers and scholars of today will be known even by children two thousand years from now. At that time, children will be more learned than our contemporary philosophers and scientists. I ask about the role of our science then. This is not a reproach; I only mean that the true human being has not yet revealed itself.

 

When I come to see you at home and you meet me with resentment, do you think that you reveal true humanity? You forthrightly ask me, “What do you want?” I respond, “Please, do you have bed for tonight?” You reply, “No, I do not.” Or you give another reason, “My wife and children are not at home.” You may also respond that there is no bed for me, but there is a hotel nearby, where I can go and so on. I ask: Is this the true human being? But if I tell you that I am ready to give you one hundred thousand leva in cash, you will certainly find a place for me. Your wife and children will immediately squeeze together somewhere in order to free a bed for me. More than that, you will even slaughter a lamb. Why? For one hundred thousand leva in cash. Where, then, is your compassion and nobleness?

 

You are looking at me now, asking yourself, “Does he say the truth?” I wonder who of you has acted observing God’s Will. This is the first question you should answer. You, who are listening to me, have you answered this question? When all people, in all towns and villages, come to live according to God’s Will, there will be no capital punishment and prisons, as everyone will reside in their appropriate place. Then all homes will stay open and when someone meets you, he will say, “Brother, it so nice to see you; come to my home, I have been expecting you for so long!” And you will begin talking. You will comment, “Well, where is this leading?” You surprise me! When I enter your home, I am not going to ruin it; I will rather bring my blessings.

 

One of the great ancient adepts, a Jewish prophet who lived somewhere in Palestine, embarked on a long journey. One evening, while looking for a place to stay during the night, he stopped at the house of a very poor man. He implored the man, “Man of God, can I spend the night with you?” “Oh, gladly,” replied the man, “my home and all I have is at your disposal, but I do not have even a crumb of bread to offer you.” The prophet begged, “Have a look, please; see if you could find even the smallest morsel.” The man searched thoroughly; at last he found a very small piece of bread. The prophet took it and blessed it: at once a large loaf of bread appeared on the table. “Wake up your children, let them come and eat with us as well.”

 

Those who live by God’s Will bring their blessings whenever they enter some home. You may disagree with me on this subject, but that is the Truth in the world. If this adept has entered the world, bringing a grain of wheat with him, he could say to you, “Take this grain of wheat. It will solve the economical problem of bread shortage.” You may ask, “How long will it take?” “Twelve years.” You will not eat it, but will sow it in a fertile soil. In twelve years you will get such an abundant harvest of crop that not only you, but also all your relatives and friends can eat from it. Do you know what the weight of this grain of wheat would be? As that of the whole Earth. Therefore, even the smallest particle of Life contains enormous energy. If we live in accordance with the Law of God, the Law of Love, this power can unfold and be manifested.

 

In modern society people who do not understand Life say that they need money. In fact, the amount of money has increased, but food has decreased. As a result of the human greed, the organism of humankind is diseased.

 

Currently, we have everything in abundance, but we are not able to use it. The richest billionaire in America, Rockefeller, who owns forests, estates, dwellings, and so on, suffers from an upset stomach. He cannot eat anything but oatmeal: the physicians have put him on a strict diet. He laments his fate, saying, “Although I possess such a big wealth, I am compelled to eat only oats, like a horse because of my sick stomach!”

 

I ask, “What is the meaning of Life for you now?” You answer, “A person should be wealthy.” That is fine. It is true that the meaning of Life can be found in the search of wealth, but you do it in the wrong way. Love comprises the Great Life. Love makes life meaningful. Love creates the wealth of the human soul. A true connection is formed only when we find God or, in other words, only when God comes to live in us, which gives an impulse to Life itself. Then people will not ask each other whether there is a God or not.

 

When someone asks me this, I tell him, “Come to see me tomorrow evening.” When he comes, I invite him to dine with me, converse with him pleasantly and accompany him to the door. I bid him goodnight. He says, “But you have not told me anything about God.” I answer, “Come to see me again tomorrow evening.” He comes. We again dine together, converse, and he leaves. I never answer the question about God in words.

 

It is strange that people ask me this question. Why is it the most important one? You could also ask me, “What is Love?” And I will reply in the same way, “Come to visit me tomorrow evening.” I do not answer the question of Love either. If I am a person of Love and live in accordance with God’s Law, then you will come to know me. If my opinion of you remains unchanged, I will receive you in my home and will invite you to test me. It is not what I think, but rather how I live that really matters.

 

To find solution to any important question, you should unite three great factors: your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions. Moreover, you should be consistent in every moment. You may doubt about the existence of God, but you will experience it in the following way: When you ask for a loan of one thousand leva and the reply is, “Certainly, with pleasure.” Afterward, when you ask for another two thousand leva, again, you receive the same answer. So, you find yourself as if before a fountain where you can come with a big bucket and fill it as much as you like, on the provision that you can carry it by yourself. People should have abundance, such abundance that they will themselves say, “That is enough.”

 

Christ was teaching, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” It means that one should be completely filled with God’s Love. Some claim that when they fall in love, they cannot work. That is not true; in reality, the genuine work in the world is often inspired by love. At present, there is mainly labor, but no work. Work will be the great task for the future generations, for those great souls that will not doubt the life after death and will answer the question of Life. If you ask such person whether he knows you, he will just say, “You are welcome to my home tomorrow evening.” You ask again, “Where are you from?” He repeats, “Welcome to my home tomorrow evening.” You go to his home and he gives you a good dinner, talks to you and finally, in parting, he kindly says, “If you are ever in need, come to me, please.” This is the example, which we should give to the world. Whatever we possess should be laid upon the common altar of sacrifice. People in modern society have a wrong concept of sacrifice. They think that what they sacrifice will be lost.

 

Let me explain to you the sacrifice of the grain of wheat. If it does not sacrifice itself, if it does not fall in the earth and “die,” what will the condition of the farmer be then? What dies gives its strength, which then increases. It is one of the qualities of sacrifice. Some scholars say, “It is not necessary to make a sacrifice. Nothing should be given to anyone.” Does it mean that no one should sow and plough? No, we should sow and plough, but we should do it wisely.

 

Therefore, we need solid foundations in life. You are of this or that nationality, you have good education and new ideas of life - all these facts do not provide a foundation. The true foundation of Life is Love and Love is Life. We have this Life in us, but have not yet made it manifest. I consider the present theories of Life as puddles of water formed by the rain; although there are frogs creaking in them, people drink from there because of the lack of something better. In my opinion, frogs symbolize the great materialism existing in the people of today and making them anxious for more and more of the luxuries in life.

 

Do you know how people understand materialism? I will give you an example. In the kingdom of the tenth dynasty of Egypt, during the reign of Pharaoh Zenobiy, a law was issued by which all criminals were condemned to death. Two Egyptians committed the crime of offending the sacred bull Apis and that is why they were punished by death sentence. Pharaoh, in this case, changed the sentence to life imprisonment. But the jury issued the following decision: One of the criminals was to carry on his back a sack of wheat weighing one hundred kilograms; the other was to carry one louse on his head. And they were to carry their respective punishments until someone volunteered to relieve them of their burdens.

 

It was left to them to decide who is going to carry the wheat and who - the louse. The more cunning criminal said to himself, “Who would be so stupid as to carry that sack of one hundred kilograms on his back? It is impossible to carry such a burden!” He chose the louse. No option was left to the other, but to take the sack of wheat. According to the decision of the court, they were to travel unceasingly. Neither of them was allowed to stop for a rest until someone would stop them asking for a part of what they carried. The two men started out on their journey.

 

The man who chose the louse asked the other one, “How is your load?” Of course, the louse was not heavy at all. The other criminal carrying one hundred kilograms of wheat on his back often turned to God in prayer, “Oh Lord, have mercy and lighten my burden just a little!” After some time, a traveler stopped them on the road and asked the first man, “What have you got in your sack?” “Wheat,” was the answer. “Can you give me some wheat?” “Oh, gladly,” the man replied and after giving him as much as he wanted, continued on the way. Then the traveler turned to the other man and asked, “What are you carrying?” “A louse,” was the answer. “Oh, I do not want any lice,” the traveler said and hurried away.

 

The trouble was that the louse began to reproduce and in one year there were 200–300 lice. The sack of wheat, on the other hand, had been reduced to half of its original weight during the year. As they were passing through the villages, when people heard of someone who was carrying a sack of wheat, they stopped him and asked for some of it. In this way, in two or three years, that criminal had only one grain of wheat left. The other one who chose the louse, was not welcomed anywhere. In every village he visited, when people saw that he was infested with lice, they did not want to receive him. Soon he began to realize his dreadful situation.

 

And we, the people of today, solve our problems in a similar way. Materialistic thinking - that is the louse, which can draw all life essence from the human being. When it infests someone, it increases continually until it crowds out every noble feeling. If we lose all that is sublime and noble in us; if we lose our highest ideas, feelings, and thoughts; if we lose our divinity, I ask, why are we living in this world?

 

Christ teaches, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”[2] Modern religion has misinterpreted this teaching by merely saying, “Believe in the Lord!” People should not be commanded to believe in Him; it is rather the Great Law that solves all problems that guides them to love God. However, people have taken this verse, “You shall love the Lord your God,” and interpreted it as, “Believe in the Lord!”

 

Certainly, without faith it is not possible to serve the Lord, but a different approach is required when we want to answer the most important question in Life and that is: to love the Lord your God. If someone asks me about my faith, I reply that I believe in nothing. “Why?” Nothing is nothing. They ask me, “Do you not believe in God?” Show me the God you trust. Show me the path you walk. “We trust the God of our mothers, fathers, and ancestors.” Very well; but did they fulfill the laws of their God? Let us examine your records and see what you have done for that God in whom you believe.

 

From someone’s records I will tell you an interesting incident, which happened somewhere in Bulgaria. A very rich merchant fell seriously ill and was in a coma for some time. When he recovered consciousness, he immediately called his sons and said to one of them, “My son, bring me the two books in which I keep my accounts.” The son brought the books. The merchant took and burned them in the fire. Then he gave his sons what each of them deserved and said, “Take what is yours so that you would not call me before the court after my death. When I was in the World beyond, I saw and understood what the most essential for us was. So I want to live according to the Will of God.”

 

I ask you, “Where are your account books?” You say, “We have none.” But I will bring out your inner accounts to see what is written in them. For instance, your neighbor said something to your discredit and you hurried up to write it down. This or that person insulted you and you also wrote it quickly in your account book. The merchant, in the same way, brings out his account book and enters who bought what (olives, sugar, and so on) and in what quantity. I ask, what is the difference between you and the merchant, if you all write in your account books?

 

The priest has an account book too. When the clergyman says, “This person does not believe in God,” he puts it down in his account. Yet when he is called to conduct a funeral service, he requires payment. They tell him they have no money and he replies, “Sorry, but I cannot perform the funeral without payment,” and makes a note in his account book.

 

May all be consistent in the Great Life, in the Great Love that most profoundly answers the fundamental questions of being and lays brotherhood as a foundation of Life. It is not the brotherhood lasting for a day or two only, but the brotherhood that withstands all trials.

 

A priest once said to me, “Your teaching is not right.” I answered him, “You may doubt, it is your right. However, I will give you a rule: When you have a funeral service, instead of taking money from the poor widow, it will be better to give her something from your pocket. Also, when you are called to the court to administer an oath, you should not do so. Instead, you should reach in your pocket and give the money to those who are on trial so as to clear off the enmity between them.” You will say, “What will be the end of all this? The end? Have faith that the Lord has sent you to Earth not to act in the human way, but rather to properly fulfill His Will. May lies disappear from the world! Those whom God assigned a certain service on Earth must act accordingly.

 

You quote the Scriptures that every authority is given by God.[3] No! Something is missing here. The verse should read, “Every fair and just power is given by God.” The Bolsheviks in Russia also have power. You say that your power is from God and theirs is not. The Law states: Every just and righteous power is given by God. And the Law of Love is applied to every righteous power. It is not absolutely necessary for the judge to condemn the criminal. The Turkish government issued a very good law by which the judge should ask the accused, “Do you acknowledge that you are this person’s debtor?” “I do.” “Then give back to him that which is due.” It is an excellent way to resolve arguments. Nowadays, the case will be postponed for one or two years until they finally say, “Where is the justice?” There is no justice but a waste of time. We have been sent to Earth to find the answer to the paramount issue of being.

 

Listening to me now, you may say that this teaching is difficult. It is difficult because your account books are heavy. You need to burn them. “Oh,” you will say, “we do not believe in such nonsense.” But eventually you will because tomorrow, when you will be buried in your grave, they will ask you, “Did you burn your account books?” There you are going to decompose hour after hour and the worms will devour your flesh. You will then say, “Return me, oh Lord, to Earth, so that I may burn my account books!” No, others are going to burn them for you. All of you - mothers, fathers, children - are walking on coals of fire. Why? It is because you have many accounts.

 

The Lord has two books preserving the records about everything - the Book of Life and the Book of Good and Bad - and that is all right. He has the right to keep record of everything in these books. God has every good intention in His relationship to us. He does not ask us why we commit injustice, but rather teaches us to pursue justice. The fact is that there is destiny; the Divine Judgment shows that through our experiences, we are taught to fulfill God’s Will. God erases all sins of that one who decides to live by His Will no matter how big they were. God says, “Behold that one, behold a child of Mine who has made up its mind to live by My Law!” God is full of abundance. He can delete all our debts. When someone is not willing to live godlike, God writes all that is needed for this person in the Book of Life.

 

At present, it is not only the Bulgarians, but people from all other nationalities are unhappy. All nations are unfortunate. Why? It is because the paramount question remains unanswered. The priests, bishops, and preachers, not only in Bulgaria but in the entire world, are obliged to answer this question. However, they have not found a solution. The statesmen have not found it either. There are two more factors that should have resolved the problem: these are the fathers and mothers, on the one side, and the teachers and instructors, on the other side, but neither they have found the answer.

 

Those young men and women who get married and who want to address this question should ask themselves about the reason for uniting in marriage. It is often said of a young woman, “Let her get married.” Why? The marriages that currently exist are like business transactions. After four or five years, the husband deserts his wife, obtains a divorce, and marries another woman. Time passes, he leaves his second wife as well and concludes, “These women have turned my hair grey, such horrible snakes they are!” If women are horrible snakes and men are dreadful dragons, where are the humans then? If all men and women are bad, where is the true humankind then? It is not a solution of the problem at all. The word “snake” denotes that men and women are cunning but not virtuous in their relationships. It is an important condition to apply goodness in your relationships. It is difficult to answer the paramount question. It is as difficult as understanding some pieces of music, for example some passages of Paganini for violin. For the piano playing, too, there are some pieces of music, which are considerably difficult to understand and perform. We know that people who practice constantly can perform something masterly only after ten years of practice. Do you think that you can answer the Great question of Life and Love without any effort? Great effort is needed, but do not get discouraged! This issue is the best one.

 

When you come to the question of receiving God, your heart will stir and become soft, your mind will be enlightened and such Light will enter it that you will see things you have never seen before in the world. You will ask, “If we live like that, how can we make our living?” If you live according to God’s Will, one of the Great Teachers will come to you and will give you a little wand of magical power. When you are in a difficult situation and feel hungry, you will tap gently with the little wand and right then a table loaded with food will appear before you. You will eat, after that you will tap with your wand again, everything will be taken away, and you will continue on your way. Is that not an easy solution to the problems? You will say, “These are just stories taken from the books and fairy tales.” But is our present life not like a fairy tale? Is there anything real in it? It is not important whether you believe in the World beyond. One day, when you find yourself there, you are going to laugh at your past life.

 

A man once told me one of his dreams. He had many debts and often prayed God to help him. One evening, he dreamed that someone came to him and brought him a bag of gold. Immediately, one of his neighbors came in and said, “This bag of gold is mine!” They started to quarrel and fight and in this fight, the sleeping man kicked, so the glass container by his bedside fell and broke and the water spilled out from it. When he awoke, he saw the pieces on the floor, including the tablecloth in his hands. The spilled water was there, but the bag of gold was not. You will find yourself in a similar condition after death. When you awake in the World beyond and look around, you will find out you have none of the money that you possessed on Earth. You will see the spilled water on the ground and the tablecloth in your hand and the situation will seem ridiculous to you.

 

The time is coming, when people of today will restore their spiritual senses. At the moment, their minds are greatly obscured. Their greatest desire is to insure themselves. It is okay, but their way of attaining insurance is not good. So their desires will never be realized in this manner. I agree that we should be wealthy and insured. I am not an advocate of poverty, but if we are wealthy, then we should be the wealthiest of the wealthy. In my opinion, Life and Light bearers are the wealthiest. Those who bring inner warmth, food, and garments are the richest. The wealthiest has Love within which is the biggest wealth. This is the core of our Teaching. If you gain this wealth on Earth, everything else can be easily attained. The person who has attained this inner Life will bring blessings not only to himself and his beloved but also to all around.

 

Therefore, you all need faith. You may ask, “Is all that you say true or not so true?” I will ask you in reply whether your beliefs are actually true or not. May we test our faith in practice. If you want to know my faith, then I will explain it: Come to my home tonight and not only tonight, but I invite you for the whole year. I solve difficult problems in this way and you should do the same. We should put everything on test. This question cannot be answered with money. If I give you a check for two, three, even twenty-five thousand leva, that will not provide the answer to the question. Money causes disputes. I can give you only an idea. I can give you only one little grain of wheat, but it will be a big blessing for you, if you know how to cultivate it.

 

I will tell you another story. It happened during the reign of Zenobiy, an Egyptian Pharaoh. In his time, the laws of Egypt were very severe: all criminals were punished by death. One of the notable assistants of the Brotherhood of Light, Eshuah Bentham, was sent to Egypt on a mission. He had to solve a certain task: to find out how to elevate the conditions of those people who were condemned to death for the slightest offence. After that, he had to return to the School and report the results. At one time, the Pharaoh’s daughter fell sick of an incurable disease. Eshuah Bentham went to the Pharaoh and said, “I can heal your daughter, if you grant me a certain favor.” Zenobiy answered, “I am ready to grant you any favor.” Bentham replied, “Give an order and bring before me all those criminals who were punished by your law to have their hands and feet cut off, their eyes - taken out, and so on. Bring them to me in these maimed conditions.”

 

Eshuah Bentham cured the daughter of the king. Then the Pharaoh gave this order, “Bring before Eshuah Bentham all those criminals who have received their sentence and the punishment was executed upon them.” They were brought into his room, one by one. Eshuah Bentham knew the Laws to make them wholesome again; so he began healing them, restoring their eyes, hands, and legs. After restoring them to full health, he changed their faces and set them free, advising them not to tell anyone how they were healed. All these criminals became his students and followed him.

 

When they were asked, “How has this man attracted you?” They answered, “Has your head ever been cut off from your shoulders?” The questioners replied, “No.” The disciples explained, “When your head will be removed from your shoulders, you are going to understand who Eshuah Bentham is.” They replied to another curious person, “Have your hands ever been cut off?” “No.” “When your hands will be cut off, you are going to understand who Eshuah Bentham is.” And then they answered another person, “Have you had your legs cut?” “No.” “When they will be cut off, you are going to understand who Eshuah Bentham is.” They asked another person too, “Have you ever been so unfortunate as to have your eyes and heart taken out?” “No.” “When your heart and eyes will be taken out, you are going to understand who Eshuah Bentham is.”

 

The person of Love shall restore people’s heads, recover their legs and hands and place their hearts and eyes in place. Our thoughts and feelings must be in their proper places; our minds and hearts need to take their own seats.

 

Therefore, all doubts existing in human minds today should disappear, so when people meet, they will fully trust one another. When you meet me in a year or two, you shall not find any conflict between my thoughts, feelings, and actions and you need to be ready to sacrifice everything for God. God is the best known and the most Sublime Being in the world. What makes us rejoice in the beauty of creation; what inspires us to strive for the Sublime and ideal - all that is God, all that is the Divine in us.

 

The stillness that speaks in us is God. The quiet soft Voice that whispers inside all of us is God. How many times did you regret that you had not listened to this inner Voice and therefore you had made a mistake? The Divine in us does not speak in the voice of a thunder but very softly and, sometimes, when we have made an error, it says, “Let it go, there is a way of correcting it.” When someone does not want to yield to another person in something, the quiet inner Voice says, “Give it to him, yield!” As a wise person, when I see an ant on my path, I yield; I do not step on it, but rather go around. The ant has no idea that a big being is approaching it, but I, who can see it, will give way. In a similar way, God Who supervises all our needs and weaknesses has taken it upon Himself to rectify the world. The world will be set right; it will not always remain as it is. But you need to apply this Teaching and embrace it. Rejoice and thus you will solve one of the biggest problems existing in your mind by loving the Lord with all your heart.

 

I ask you whether you have loved God so far. You say, “Yes, I have.” You have loved, but what? You have loved the ice. You have loved, but what? You have loved the pear. The ice melted; and there is nothing to love now. The pear decayed; and there is nothing to love now. When you come to love the Infinite God, you will never lose Him. God will always speak to you and your faces will be illuminated.

 

So, I say that all people will learn to love God. Only then will our life become meaningful. God will teach us how to love and you will come to love your neighbors as yourselves. This is the greatest art. God shall come to live in us so that we could learn how to love because it is not us but God is Love, it is not us but God is Life. God will teach us how to love and how to live. It is paramount for us to learn how to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our strength, and with all our minds. It is the easiest art and everyone can attain it.

 

You object, “I will wait for a while, I will rest, I will read what a certain philosopher has said, and then I am going to try.” You may read the works of thousands of philosophers, but they have not answered this question. Love God! This commandment is the answer to the issue of the entire existence. It implies loving everything and all in the world and understanding it as a manifestation of Supreme Intelligence. And when you go outside and look at the stars, your heart will stir. When you go out and look at the Sun, your heart and your whole being will be moved. How do you look at the Sun? Some claim that the Sun is a big celestial body of fire. Every morning I see how the Lord takes the Sun as a big burning candle and makes His rounds everywhere. He comes from the East. This is how I view the Sun. There is something else, something greater behind it. In the same way, something great is hidden behind our lives. Behind this ordinary manifestation of routine being, there is something sublime and every one of you is aware of it. It is the manifestation of Divinity within the human being.

 

Some ask me, “What God do you believe in?” We believe in God that is Love and Life, that gives Light and Warmth, that brings food, water, clothing, and all inner blessings to us. We believe in that God Who does not require of us to serve Him superficially, but needs us to manifest His Love to the world. He desires His Love to pass through us, just as water passes through the Earth’s layers being filtered and coming to the surface purified. God desires all of us to be conduits through which His Love may flow. If we allow this Love to pass through us, we are going to receive His Blessings and accumulate Divine Credits and thus we all will be called sons of God. Is there anything more wonderful than this - to be sons of God? Is there anything more beautiful than this - to live by God’s Will? This is one of the most important issues to be resolved. Every one of us can do it in a blink.

 

After you solve this, you will go to the world and begin to study. You will encounter a great, profound Science. But first, you should attain Eternal Love and Life so that you could become aware of God and Eternal Truth in its totality and fullness.

 

Lecture held by the Master in the town of Ruse on October 11, 1925.

 

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1. See also John 17:3.

2. See Luke 10:27.

3. See also Revelations 2:26, “And he who overcomes and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations.”

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