1942_08_02 - Self-improvement

[Nev]

Self-improvement

"The Good Prayer”

"I will rejoice"

I will read the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.*

 

I will speak on self-improvement. In chapter 2 from the Gospel of Matthew, the keyword "birth" is emphasized. Birth is a great act in nature that brings great consequences in its wake. When a person is born, when a thought is born, when a feeling is born, when a deed is born, then certain events can unfold. Outside of that context, it is an ordinary process and we will not deal with ordinary things, because they are worn out, they are like the dried-out husk of the wheat, the bran, which is thrown away. So, whether people would go to Heaven or to hell is not the important thing. It is irrelevant for me whether a man is rich or poor. It's important to be intelligent, fair, and good-hearted in any conditions and in any place. If an intelligent, fair, and good-hearted person goes to Heaven, then it is heavenly because of them. If the same person goes to hell, it will be experienced as a paradise. 

What is the purpose of self-improvement? It is a process by which one learns how to enter paradise. Let us create a paradise within ourselves. The word ‘hell’ is a human concept. Hell is not what people think it is. Many educated people live in hell—professors, scientists, doctors, you name it. And yet in hell, they get married and have children. According to the present-day concept, hell is only a place of fire. But fire is a great blessing in life. Fire plays an important role in the creation of the world. And in our times it still has a great significance. Evil comes when people do not know how to use the fire, and they cause suffering because of that. Evil comes when a person does not know how to use food properly or when a person does not know how to use the air and light which nature provides to them in abundance. 

 We can observe that all of nature is a result of self-improvement. When we consciously work on our self-improvement, we become able to correctly manage all the blessed resources that nature has given to us. We are currently entering the era of self-improvement. People talk about self-improvement, but they do not know what self-improvement is. The word “self-improvement” (Bulg. samovazpitaniye) comes from the root word pitaya (Eng. “to feed'”), meaning to nourish ourselves, or to nourish a thought or a feeling, or to support a deed regarding a concept in the world. The (Bulgarian) word pita (Eng. ”enquiry”) comes from pitam (Eng. “query, enquiry”). Sometimes several words with several meanings originate from the same root. You cannot feed (nourish yourself) properly if you do not love food. When a person feeds themselves, they should ponder on what kind of food is best for them and how much of it they need.

To love and to be devoted means to be connected with intelligent beings. Love and devotion can exist only in a rational world. Outside the rational world there are different, mechanical laws and Love cannot exist there. When people are not intelligent, this means that they are not in the rational world. 

It is not easy for a person to improve on their own. But since we live in three worlds at the same time—the physical world, where actions are born; the mental world, where thoughts are born; and the spiritual world, where feelings are born. Knowing this, people need to self-improve themselves in the three worlds. This is the reason that sometimes you find some “ordinary” things to be very strange. 

You would say that being a clairvoyant would help with self-improvement. What does it mean to be a clairvoyant? A person who sees far and sees clearly. How can we know who is a clairvoyant? When we test them and see how far and how clearly they can see.  There is no need to tell me that someone is a great musician. I am an authority when it comes to music, and by listening to them play, I can tell whether they are great. When I hear them, I am my own authority. How do I know whether they are a great musician? I don't know, but I listen to the musician and I have a perception. I can recognize that this person plays well, and I like it. No other evidence is needed.

So, I am saying that in the same way, the clairvoyant sees. The clairvoyant can see far away, they can see clearly. How does one see? There is more light. With little light, one can see little; with much light, one can see more. When the moon rises, you can see little. When the sun rises, you can see more. I am saying that these people who have more internal light can see farther. Those who have less light can only see what is closer. You may ask, “Can a clairvoyant be born that way?” If you have eyes, if you are not blind, you can turn into a clairvoyant. If you have ears, you can hear and be a clairaudient. If you have a sense of smell, you can smell the flowers. Some people have a much nicer aroma than the carnationsor roses. Some people have such a bad scent that it resembles a Scotch thistle. If you approach a materialistic person, you may notice a materialistic scent that emanates from them. If a person is spiritual, a spiritual scent emanates from them. If a person is intelligent, an intelligent scent emanates from them.

You may ask how these things happen. Develop your sense of smell, develop your hearing, develop your sight, and you will understand. I am talking to you about things that, when you witness them, you shall perceive them. Then they will become clear to you. Yet no matter how well I explain them to you, until you witness them, you cannot understand them. It is like explaining the light to a blind person; no matter how well I explain it to him, he would be unable to understand it and say, “This matter is very obscure.”

Nowadays, people often do not want to improve themselves. They instead count on inherited qualities. Yet, inherited qualities stem from self-improvement. Whatever the father and the mother have obtained through self-improvement, they pass on to their children. Whatever the children have attained through self-improvement, they also pass on to following generations. People constantly influence each other and pass qualities to others. Religious people pass their faith onto others too. If you come upon a religious person, a desire would arise in you to inherit the power that radiates from them. If you befriend scholars, they will inspire you to learn. So, whoever you befriend, you improve by learning about their qualities. Many people want to become saints while being merchants. That can never happen. Should you want the saint to become a merchant, that also won't be possible. These are two impossible things. The saint who wants to become a merchant is like a man who leaves true wealth behind and starts to graze grass. 

It is time to transform your entire life. This cannot happen in any other way except the process of self-improvement. Love cannot become accessible to one unless they develop a desire to change their entire life. How would you know if someone has transformed their life and has acquired love? You need to put them to the test. To find out what would come out of a grain of wheat, you must plant it in the ground. Otherwise, it will not reveal what it is. How would you find out what would come out of the seeds of pears, apples, and plums unless you plant them? Once you plant them, they will turn into trees and in time will bear fruit and through their fruits you will get to know them. To know the fruit, you need to love it. That is why love and devotion play an important role in the process of self-improvement and in raising others. Unless you have love and devotion, you cannot improve yourself. 

 Everyone has experienced love and devotion. But the quantity of love and devotion has decreased. Something has been lost along the way. Only traces of the thought of love remain, and only traces of the feeling of devotion can be found. The traces from love and devotion could be compared to the bones of dead people. You would put the bones of your close ones in a bag and say those are sacred bones. The bones of everyone who hasn’t been raised with love and devotion would rest in a bag. Such a person we would consider to be dead. Everyone who has been raised with love and devotion we consider to have transitioned from death to life, that is, they have entered the state of immortality. Since all people wish to be happy, and happiness cannot exist where death is present, we must avoid everything that causes dying. Sometimes a small desire in a person can trip them up and lead them to the field of death. 

One day I witnessed several children playing with a duck. They were jumping and playing on the lawn, and the duck was swirling among them. I wondered why the duck was not running away, but was staying close by. I approached them to see that the children had strung corn on a thin string. The bird had swallowed the corn greedily, but the end of the string had remained in the hands of one of the boys, and they were pulling it. 

I found this joke to be cruel and decided to set the duck free from the hands of the naughty boys. I asked them, “How much do you want for the duck? I want to buy it from you.” I wanted to help the duck, to correct their mistake. 

They said, “If you buy us sugar cubes, we'll let it go.”

“How much?” 

“Twenty coins for sugar.” 

Twenty coins was a lot of money back then. Still, I said, “That's cheap.” I bought sugar for them and cut the rope. The duck swallowed the rope and walked away. I whispered to the duck, “Don't eat corn on a string again.” The duck nodded its head slightly.

How can one distinguish between good and evil in the world? The actual good and the actual evil are invisible. That which is visible on earth are the shadows of good and the shadows of evil. It is interesting that the shadows of evil are positive, while the evil itself is negative. It casts positive shadows. Take a thief who wants to steal from a cash register. They would think, “If I take two or three hundred thousand Bulgarian levs, I could go abroad and become a learned man, provide for my family, and help the poor. Also, this money does not belong to the owner of the cash register, but to God.” Thinking that way, one could get overwhelmed by the positive shadows of evil. If the person commits the theft, they could get caught, convicted, and imprisoned for maybe ten to fifteen years in an austere dungeon. 

The shadow of the good is negative, but the good itself is positive. When one decides to steal from a cash register, the shadow of the good appears immediately, and starts to cause fear in the person. “Don't do it! You will go to prison, you will become ill, you will lose the favor of the Lord.” Whoever keeps this warning in mind, they will be saved and will enter the field of good where everything is positive.

Beware of those who make big promises. Wherever there are big promises, evil is there. Wherever there is a little promise, there is goodness. The goodness says, ‘Choose poverty, death, instead of wealth and a posh life, that is the only way to benefit from the grace of God.” Evil says: “Glory, greatness, everything in the world should be preferred before poverty and infamy. Why would you be poor and suffer all your life?”

In the last century the great American evangelist preacher D. L. Moody used to hold open space revival meetings in England. One day, a wealthy Englishnoblewoman was passing by in a carriage and decided to stop and hear what this “windbag” preacher was talking about. Moody interrupted his sermon and said to the congregation, “I am selling the soul of a certain lady to God. What does the world offer for this soul? Here is what Christ gives for it.” He explained what the world gives and what Christ gives for it. When he declared what Christ gives for a soul, the lady got out of her carriage and became a Christian. Today everyone is selling their soul and looking to find out what they can get.

Why do you walk with your heads down? Evil treads upon you. How does evil trample on you, with illnesses or poverty? What is so bad about sickness and poverty? Lift your heads up and rejoice in the illness or poverty. What are you deprived of when ill or poor? Everyone carries a valuable treasure within themselves. People have eyes, ears, a nose, a mouth, a heart, lungs, a stomach and so on. ll this is worth billions and yet people think they are poor. People have souls and a spirit which also are worth billions.  Should a person with this valuable treasure consider themselves poor? Should a person having all the methods to cure oneself be considered sick when they can heal themselves?

Years ago, a rich man from Sofia, who suffered from an incurable disease, came to me and said, “I have heard that you can heal. If you cure me, I will give you a lot of money.” I said, “How much do you think you can pay? Five, ten thousand is not enough.” When a person wants to cure himself or herself, they have to be ready to let go of all their possessions. Besides that, after they get well, they should devote their life to God, to serve Him. If one could promise that, I will agree to heal them. Why should a person not give everything to the One who has given them everything? 

The gentleman who wanted to be cured started thinking and he is still contemplating my offer. If he finds a doctor better than God, who can heal him physically, mentally, and emotionally, he can go to him. God can cure all the disabilities and illnesses in humans. In other words, love can cure all internal and external illnesses and disabilities in people. It can heal, uplift, and resurrect people. 

Some people, not knowing the power of Love, may ask why they should love or think of love. People should think of love and should love others because they cannot live without others. Love and devotion give an impulse, a stimulus in people. You are interested in a person only because you love them. We are interested in bread or infruit trees, because we love them. When love disappears, our interest in things fades away too and the conditions of self-development and improvement fade away with them.  

You may say that you do not have a relationship with plants. That is not true. Fruit trees represent the energies of higher beings with which you have special conditions. You cannot live without them. They awaken various impulses to do good. They awaken beautiful thoughts of higher nature in your mind and noble feelings and desires in your heart. 

When Eve ate the fruit of the tree in Eden, in which were hidden latent lower energies, they evoked lower impulses within her—vanity and pride. She believed she was able to transform life, same as God. As she ate the fruit, she wished to be glorified and wanted the whole world to know her, even the next generations. But that was not the case. Eve became the reason for the fall of humanity and for Christ's crucifixion.

When Christ was with his disciples, Eve was also on Earth and wept bitterly. She realized her mistake and regretted it. Eve realized that she deceived herself in her thoughts and desires. Her sin was in the lack of love. Eve ate the fruit without love. She loved two people with different love. Love is one and indivisible. When there is a two-sided love, it is not Love. If you think you love two people and the love for one is different from your love for the other, you are on the wrong path. There is no difference in real Love. When you love a person or an animal, it is the same love. The difference lies in the fact that a person appreciates the love towards them, while an animal does not value the love or values it less. You do not feed a person the same food as an animal. You have two different phenomena. When you feed a person good food, they can become a poet, an artist, a musician, a sculptor, a philosopher. An animal cannot become a doctor or a poet; it will remain an animal. It will thank you and say, “I cannot use this food.”

Do not assume that the plants and the animals are ignorant but instead be grateful that we can benefit from their energies. In the Divine world they are conscious beings, as humans are, but here on Earth they perform a duty of a lower nature. On Earth they live collectively. On Earth, the living beings are shadows of a reality that exists in another world. And the human being, too, is but a shadow of the true human—who has not yet fully manifested on Earth. Until the shadows of the humans become reality, they will keep transforming their forms. When the shadow becomes smaller and smaller, that means that the human is closer to reality. The bigger the shadow, the further from reality the person is. When suffering increases, then the blessings increase too. When the suffering and blessings increase, then the person gets closer to reality. Since you know that, take advantage of the sufferings and the blessings as soon as they come. 

What does the student do at school?  They study,  they work, and they solve mathematical tasks, They study for four to five hours, they work and their efforts, their labor and work, eventually bring success. It is not easy to become a scholar, a musician, an artist, or a sculptor. It requires many years to explore the libraries, to work with the bow on the strings of the violin, with the brush on the canvas, or with a hammer. The violinist must create an invisible violin that penetrates his own instrument. Only that way can the violinist can become a virtuoso. This invisible violin will have the property of attracting the fingers precisely to the places where they will form the notes that are needed. Sometimes I watch violinists play. The bow moves across the strings, but it takes twenty years to learn how to draw the bow properly, sometimes even thirty years. You know how delicate the nuances are; sometimes there is a slight adjustment that changes the tone. It takes a violinist twenty to thirty years to learn to play the right notes with his right hand and to take the right positions.

Therefore until you connect with the Divine within yourselves and allow the Divine to permeate the physical body, you cannot live well. Outside of the Divine, we cannot live well. By not being aware of that, we fear the Divine, we think of Him as a monster. 

One of the Jewish prophets complained, saying, “Lord, You are standing in my path like a bear before me.” It was his misconception. It is not possible for your creator to stand in your path and chase you. This is how the prophet Jeremiah used to think; he used to be a great patriot and love his people. He used to think that the Lord gave the Jewish people great suffering. They made so many mistakes that had to be redeemed. The Jewish people had to learn obedience. The conscious world wanted them to pay attention and be reasonable, to be fair and to be good. Like all other peole, the Jewish people also needed to learn how to be reasonable, fair, and good. 

One of the ancient teachers of Wisdom sent one of his disciples out into the world to study. The disciple wanted to become famous quickly, so he decided to cure sick people. He opened the eyes of the blind, the ears of the deaf, and cured the crippled so they walked again. Indeed, he soon became famous, but he also encountered great surprises. All those whom he had healed began to beat him and chase him away from their kingdom. They thought to themselves, "This man will want money for healing us. To get rid of him, we must chase him away." The disciple was forced to flee and returned to his teacher to complain that, instead of gratitude, everyone responded with sinister ingratitude. What was the reason for the contradiction he encountered? The teacher listened to him and then replied: “The mistake is yours. Before opening the eyes of the blind, you should have taught them to love the light; before opening the ears of the deaf, you should have taught them to love sound; before healing people's feet, you should have taught them to love movement and to know how to walk.”

Should you give light and knowledge to someone who hasn't given up their crimes? Should you educate someone who isn't ready for a high culture? What are modern people doing with their technical inventions? Today, all the airplanes, steamships, and submarines are used more for destruction than for bringing something good to culture. What culture is this? Nowadays, most people strive for great things, for great achievements. Everyone wants big houses, palaces and mansions. Why do you need big houses? A day will come when all houses will be small, simple, with walls as thin as a spider's web. If it is a question of big houses, here, the Earth is the biggest house of all, with a big roof – the vault of heaven. What else do you want? Isn't it better to take a seat and craft a magnetic house that weighs only a hundred grams? When you get up, you will pick up your home and take it with you. If you want two rooms, you will spread them out somewhere and immediately find shelter. One room will weigh a hundred grams, two rooms will weigh two hundred grams, and so on. It is important to master the art of making magnetic rooms. Once you master this art, you can rent them out.

When working on self-improvement, keep in mind the first and foremost task: to develop love for God within yourself. Until you develop this feeling, you will always be exposed to great suffering and trials. Why, when eating bread, does a person not think about the source from which it comes? By thinking about this, a person connects with that category of solar beings who send their energy to create bread. 

Different beings send different energies from the Sun to specific places. There are beings on the Sun who are particularly interested in Bulgaria. They allocate a special budget for Bulgaria: how much wheat, how much fruit to send. They determine exactly how many children should be born each year, how many people get married and how many die. At the same time, they are also interested in how the goods people receive have been used. You might say that the Sun is a fiery body and nothing more. But besides being a fiery body, the Sun is also a confederation of bright, intelligent beings.

How do humans know that the Sun is a fiery body? From scientists, whom they regard as authorities. Religious people consider Moses, Buddha, Mohammed, and Christ to be authorities. When talking about the creation of the world, they say that Moses wrote about this subject. According to him, God created the world in six days. Theologians argue about this question – how is it possible to create the world in six days? Some would say that these six days are six Divine days, and others would say that they are 24-hour-long days, like our days. In the future, when humans become masters of their own minds, hearts, and will-powers, then humans shall attain a clear idea of the creation of the world. Until then, humans shall accept things as hypotheses. One day, when humans learn to serve their mind, heart, and soul, then they will go to the Sun themselves and see how the world was created. Today, humans live on a relatively small planet— the Earth—and cannot take it in fully, so what would their situation be if they lived on the Sun, which is 1.5 million times larger than the Earth? 

One day the Sun will be inhabited like the Earth and would be illuminated by another sun, larger than that one. In the same way that ants cannot comprehend the idea of what the Earth, on which they live, is like, thus we cannot imagine what the Sun is like and how one can live on it. For ants, the Earth is the largest planet imaginable. For them, the Earth is something divine. 

It is said in Scripture, “I returned to the promised land; and I entered there with the sons of God.” The “promised land” refers to the Earth, in which there is no shortage of anything. Upon entering there, humans are freed from fear and all hardships.

The Promised Land represents the favorable conditions in life. What is a human terrified of? The darkness. There is a dark zone around the Earth where all negative human thoughts, desires, and actions hover. When a human gets close to them, he shudders. When exalted beings pass through this zone, they raise their staffs like Moses and part it, opening a free path for themselves. Those who have knowledge pass through this zone effortlessly; those who have no knowledge get lost in it. The bridge connecting the dark zone with the light zone is very narrow, like a thread. The righteous person passes over it easily. In this respect, they are like acrobats. 

The sinners, however, when they come to it, hesitate, their world turns upside down, and they fall into the abyss. That is why it is said that when a human being departs for the other world, they must renounce everything earthly, everything personal, and carry nothing with them. Only that way can one safely pass through the dark zone. 

Knowing human nature, God has placed the dark zone as a boundary between this world and the other, so that no theft can take place. On Earth, you can steal as much as you want, but in the promised land, no theft or crime is allowed. There, you can only take your bright thoughts and desires with you. There, everything is immortal. When it comes to your material and mortal thoughts and desires, you will leave them on Earth.

A man must be born again. This means to accept the idea of Christ, to allow the Divine in oneself. Christ is the Divine principle that connects all souls. He cannot come to Earth a second time. Why? Because He already has experience of human love. However, Christ manifests Himself everywhere in the world. You will meet Him in every pure heart, in every bright mind, and in every exalted soul. Is this possible? Just as the Sun is reflected in thousands of mirrors, so Christ manifests Himself in thousands of souls. He manifests Himself through a human's thoughts, feelings, and actions. Just as the sunlight enters through our eyes, in the same way the Divine light penetrates human souls.

Some religious people quote verses from Moses, from the prophets and apostles. It is true that we learn from them, but today we also learn from contemporary Christians. We learn what God has revealed to them, but they also learn from what God has revealed to us. Christ brought Love into the world, but despite this, He suffered. In this way, He learned what God's Love is. He realized that there is no betrayal in God's Love—it is eternal and boundless. Christ trusted God to the end, and that is why He was resurrected on the third day. If there was anything that made Him great, it was His Love for God. He did not doubt it for a moment. Therefore, whoever trusts in God's Love, will rise. Whoever does not trust in it will fall into the abyss.

 Live on Earth, enjoy the blessings of life, but do not set yourself the goal of taking these blessings to the other world. When the time comes for you to depart for the other world, you must have renounced everything earthly. In the other world, there are numerous and more valuable blessings than those on Earth. Do not take with you things that rot and decay, but take your good, bright, and noble thoughts, feelings, and deeds, and thank God for them. Give thanks for everything He has given you. Be grateful for the sufferings and joys you have experienced on Earth. Everything will turn out for the best.

Let us come back to the question of self-improvement. In order to improve oneself, one must absorb knowledge from everywhere. Whatever environment you enter, you will learn something. If you come among the poor and suffering ones, you will learn one thing; if you come among healthy and cheerful people, you will learn another thing; if you come among musicians, scientists, or philosophers, you will gain something from them. People learn from both experiences— from joys as well as sorrows. 

Suffering is a method for purifying the human heart. Just as water in nature is purified through filtering and evaporation, so suffering submits the human heart to the same ordeal until it is purified. So the heart is purified through both joy and suffering. When you rejoice, you shall share your joy with your close one. When you suffer, you shall keep your suffering to yourself. If you do so, you will gain in both cases. If you do the opposite —keeping your joy to yourself and sharing your suffering and sorrow with your close one—you would lose in both cases. Those who do not understand this law, seek ways to place their suffering on the shoulders of others. This is not right. You will give your suffering to God and your joy to your neighbor. That is why it is said in Scripture: “Cast your burden upon the Lord.” Only God is able to assess human suffering and give it its due. To share your sorrow with God and your joy with people means to improve yourself in a new way.

So, while you are on Earth, take advantage of the conditions it offers you. When you go to Heaven, you will enjoy the conditions there. If you do not use the earthly conditions wisely, you will not be able to use the heavenly ones either. Be content with what you have now. 

All humans suffer from abundance, not from scarcity. Give away the excess to relieve yourselves. You are travelers, visitors on the Earth. Everyone carries a heavier backpack than they can handle. Take the excess load off your back and leave only as much as you could carry with joy and ease.
 

2 August, 10 a.m., Sofia— Izgrev

*Gospel of Matthew, Ch. 2

The Magi Visit the Messiah

 

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt

13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

The Return to Nazareth

19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

[Ani]

SELF-IMPROVEMENT

"The Good Prayer”

"I will rejoice"

I will read the 2nd chapter of the Gospel of Matthew*

         I will speak on self-improvement. In chapter 2 from the Gospel of Matthew, the word "birth" is to be emphasized. The birth is a great act in nature that brings great consequences in its wake. When a man is born, when a thought is born, when a feeling is born, when a deed is born, it determines certain events. Outside of that context, it is an ordinary process and we would not deal with ordinary things, because they are worn out, they are the bran in life. So whether people would go to heaven, to paradise or would they be outside of paradise, would they go to hell - that is not the important thing. It is irrelevant for me whether a man would be rich or poor. It's important to be intelligent, fair and good-hearted. One can be intelligent, fair and good-hearted at any place. If one goes to heaven, heaven would be heaven because of them. If one goes to hell, they would transform it to a paradise.
What is the purpose of  self-improvement? It is a process - a process of how to enter paradise. Let us create a paradise within ourselves. The word ‘hell’ is a human concept. Hell is not what people think it is. Many educated people live in hell - professors, scientists, doctors, you name it. And yet in hell, they get married and have children. According to the modern people's concept - hell is only a place of fire. But the fire is a great blessing in life. Fire plays an important role in the creation of the world . And in our times it still has a great significance. Evil comes, when people do not know how to use the fire so they cause suffering to themselves because of that. Evil comes when a person does not know how to use the food. When a person does not know how to use the light, the air which nature provides to them in abundance.. 

          If we notice, the whole nature is a result of self-improvement. When we consciously work on our self-improvement, we become able to correctly manage  all the blessed resources that nature has given to us. . We are currently entering the era of self-improvement. People talk about self-improvement, but they do not know what self-improvement is. The word ‘self-improvement’ (Bulg. ‘samovazpitaniye’) comes from the (Bulgarian) word 'pitaya' (Eng. ‘to feed') meaning to nourish ourselves, or to nourish a thought or a feeling, a deed regarding a concept in the world . The (Bulgarian) word ‘pita’ (Eng. enquiery) comes from ‘pitam’ (Eng. 'quiry, enquiery') Sometimes several words with several meanings originate from the same root. You cannot feed (nourish yourself) properly if you do not love food. When a person feeds themselves, they should ponder on what kind of food and  how much of it they need.

         To love and to be devoted means to be connected. Love exists only in a rational world. And devotion exists only in a rational world. The love outside the rational world won't manifest itself. Other mechanical laws exist there. When people are not cultured, this means that they are not in the rational world. It is not easy for a person to self - improve oneself. But since we live in three worlds at the same time – we live in the physical world, where actions are born, we live in the mental world, where thoughts are born, we live in the spiritual world, where feelings are born. - Knowing that, people need to self-improve themselves in the three worlds. I will not explain that now and that is the reason that sometimes you find some things very strange. 

         You would say that being a clairvoyant would help with self-improvement . What does it mean to be a clairvoyant? A person who sees far and clear. How can we know who is a clairvoyant? When we test them and see how far and how clear they could see.  There is no need to tell me that someone is a great musician, that they can play. I am an authority by myself. Listening to  him, I would know whether they could play or not. I have to hear them. When I hear them, I am my own authority. Then I would have a clear idea. Now I say, I eat. I have to eat. I am not interested in how the others would eat. That's their own business. When I eat, I would know the nature of eating. One should eat to understand what eating is ! Now I am asking, how do you know it? I don't know, but I heard it and I have a perception. I can recognise that this person plays well, I like it. Nothing more. No other evidence is needed.

         So I am saying, in the same way the clairvoyant sees. The clairvoyant can see far away, they can see clearly. How does one see? There is more light. With little light, one can see little; with much light, one can see more. When the moon rises, you can see little. When the sun rises, you can see more. I am saying that those people who have more light - can see farther. Those who have less light - can see closer. Now you often say, ‘May a clairvoyant be born that way?’ If you have eyes, if you are not blind, you can turn into a clairvoyant. If you have ears, you can hear. If you have a sense of smell, you can smell the flowers. Every person has a sense of smell, they can smell. Some people have a much nicer aroma than the carnations, some have a much nicer aroma than the roses. Some people have such a bad scent that it resembles a Scotch thistle. If you approach a materialistic person, a materialistic scent would emanate from them. If a person is spiritual, a spiritual scent would emanate from them. If a person is intelligent, an intelligent scent would emanate from them.

         Now you may ask how these things happen. Develop your sense of smell, develop your hearing, develop your sight, and you shall understand. I am talking to you about things that, when you witness them, you shall perceive them. Then they will become clear to you. Now, no matter how I explain them to you, until you witness them, you cannot understand them. It is like explaining the light to a blind person; no matter how much I explain it to him, he is unable to understand it and would say, ‘This matter is very obscure.’

         Nowadays, people often do not want to self improve themselves. They would count on  inherited qualities. But the inherited qualities stem from self-improvement. Whatever the father and the mother has obtained through self-improvement, they would pass it on to their children. Whatever the children have attained through self-improvement, they would pass it on to the next generations. People constantly influence each other and pass things to others. The religious people would pass it on to others too. If you come upon a religious person, a desire would arise in you, he would pass on the power that has radiated from him. If you befriend scholars, they would inspire you to learn. So, whoever you befriend, that is what you become. Many people want to become saints while being merchants. That can never happen. Should you want the saint to become a merchant - that won't be possible. These are two impossible things. It’s like a saint leaving his wealth behind and starting to graze grass. When the saint wants to become a merchant, it is still like leaving good food behind and heading to graze grass.

         It is time to transform the entire life . This cannot happen in any other way except the process of self-improvement. Love cannot become accessible to one unless they develop a desire to change their entire life. How would you know if someone has transformed their life and has acquired love? - When you put them to the test.  To find out what would come out of a grain of wheat, you must plant it in the ground. Otherwise it will not reveal what it is. How would you find out what will come out of the seeds of the pears, apples, plums unless you plant them?  Once you plant them, they will turn into trees and will bear fruit after time and through their fruits you will get to know them. To know the fruit, you need to love it. That is why an important role in the process of raising others and self-improvement, play love and devotion. Unless you have love and devotion, you cannot improve yourself.

         Everyone has had love and devotion. But the quantity of love and devotion has decreased. Something has been lost on the way. From the love only traces of the thought of it has left and from the devotion - only traces from the feeling of it.  The traces from the love and devotion could be compared to the bones of the dead people. You would put the bones of your close ones in a bag and would say that those are sacred bones. The bones of everyone who hasn’t been raised with love and devotion, would rest in a bag. Such a person we consider to be dead. Everyone who has been raised with love and devotion, we consider to have transitioned from death to life i.e has entered the state of immortality. Since all people wish to be happy, and happiness cannot exist where death is present, we must avoid everything that causes dying. Sometimes a small desire in a person can trip them up  and lead one to the field of death. 

         One day I witnessed several children playing with a duck. They were jumping and playing around, and the duck was swirling among them.   I wondered how come the duck was not running away, but was staying still.  I approached them to see that they had strung corn on a thin string. The bird had swallowed the corn greedily, but the end of the string had remained in the hands of one of the boys, and they were pulling it. I found this joke cruel and decided to set the duck free from the hands of the naughty boys. I asked them, ‘How much do you want for the duck ? I want to buy it from you. ’ I wanted to help the duck, to correct their mistake. They said, ‘If you buy us sugar cubes, we'll let it go.’ ‘How much?’ ‘Twenty coins for sugar.’ Twenty coins was a lot of money back then. I said, ‘That's cheap.’ I bought sugar and cut the rope. The duck swallowed the rope and walked away. I said to the duck, ‘Don't eat corn on a string again.’ I whispered to it, ‘Don't eat corn on a string again.’ The duck nodded its head slightly.

         How can one distinguish between good and evil in the world? The actual good and the actual evil are invisible. That which is visible on earth are the shadows of good and the shadows of evil. It is interesting that the shadows of evil are positive, while the evil itself is negative. It casts positive shadows. Take a thief who wants to steal from a cash register, they would think, "If I take two or three hundred thousand Bulgarian levs, you could go abroad and become a learned man, provide for my family and would help the poor. Also, this money does not belong to the owner of the cash register, but  to God.’ Thinking that way, one gets overwhelmed by the positive shadows of evil. Once they commit the theft, they get caught, get convicted and imprisoned maybe for ten to fifteen years in an austere dungeon. The shadow of the good is negative, but the good itself is positive. When one decides to steal from a cash register, the shadows of the good appear immediately, they are negative and start causing fear in the person, ‘Don't do it! You will go to prison, you will become ill, you will lose the favour of the Lord.’ Whoever keeps this warning in mind, they will get saved, will enter the field of good where everything is positive.

          Beware of those who say big promises . Wherever there are big promises, evil is there. Wherever there is a little promise, there is goodness. The goodness says: ‘Choose poverty, death, instead of wealthy and posh life, that is the only way to benefit from the grace of God . Evil says: ‘The glory, greatness, everything in the world should be preferred in front of poverty and infamy. Why would you be poor and  suffer all your life?

         In the last century the great American preacher  Moody used to hold open space revival meetings in England. One day, a wealthy English woman, a noblewoman, was passing by on a phaeton and decided to stop and hear what this empty-head preacher was talking about. Moody interrupted his sermon and said to the congregation, ‘I am selling the soul of a certain lady to God. What does the world give for this soul? Here is what Christ gives for it.’ He explained what the world gives and what Christ gives for it. When he said what Christ gives for it, the lady got out of her carriage and became a Christian. Today everyone is selling their soul and looking to find out what each one gives.

         Why do you walk with heads down? The evil treads upon you. How does the evel tramples on you - with illnesses, poverty? What is bad about sickness and poverty? Lift your heads up and rejoice in the illness or poverty. What are you deprived of when ill or poor? Everyone carries a valuable treasure within themselves. People have eyes, ears, nose, mouth, heart, lungs, stomach and so on...What are you deprived of when ill or poor? Everyone carries a valuable treasure within themselves. People have eyes, ears, nose, mouth, heart, lungs, stomach and so on…All this costs billions and people think they are poor. People have souls and a spirit which also costs billions.  Should a person with this valuable treasure consider themselves poor? Should a person having all the methods to cure oneself, be considered sick when they can heal themselves?

         Years ago, a rich man from Sofia, who suffered from an incurable disease, came to me and said, ‘I have heard that you can cure.. If you cure me, I will give you a lot of money.’ I said, ‘How much do you think you can pay? Five, ten thousand is not enough.’ When one wants to cure themself, they have to be ready to let go of all of  their possessions.  Besides that, after they get well, they should devote their life to God, to serve Him. If one could promise that, I will agree to heal them. Why should a person not give everything to the One who has given them everything? But this gentleman  started thinking and he is still contemplating on my offer. If he finds a doctor better than God, who can heal him physically, mentally and emotionally, he can go to him. God can cure all the disabilities and illnesses in humans. In other words, love can cure all internal and external illnesses and disabilities in people. It can heal, uplift and resurrect  people. 

         Some people, since not knowing the power of Love, may ask why they should love or think of love. People should think of love and should love others, because they cannot live without others. Love and devotion give an impulse, a stimulus in people.  You are interested in a person only because you love them. We are interested in bread in the fruit trees, because you love them. When love disappears, our interest in things would fade away too and the conditions of self-development and improvement would go away with them.  

         You may say that you do not have a relationship with the plants. That is not true. The fruit trees represent the energies of higher beings with which you have special conditions. You cannot live without them. They awaken various impulses to do good. They awaken in your mind beautiful thoughts of higher nature and in your heart - noble feelings and desires. 

         When Eve ate the fruit of that tree in which were hidden latent lower energies, they invoked respective impulses in her- vanity and pride. She believed she was able to transform life, same as God. As she ate the fruit, she wished to be glorified and the whole world to know her, even the next generations. But that was not the case.   Eve became the reason for the fall of humanity and for Christ's crucifixion. At the time of Christ, Eve was on earth and wept bitterly. She realised her mistake and regretted it. Eve realised that she deceived herself in her thoughts and desires.  Her sin was in the lack of love. Eve ate without love. She loved two people with different love. Love is one and indivisible. Because when there is a two-sided love, it is not love. If you think you love two people and the love for one is different from your love for the other, you are on the wrong path. There is no difference in love. When you love a person or an animal, it is the same love. The difference lies in the fact that a person appreciates the love towards them, while an animal does not value the love or values it less. You do not feed a person the same food as an animal. You have two different phenomena. When you feed a person good food, they can become a poet, an artist, a musician, a sculptor, a philosopher. An animal will be an animal. It cannot become a doctor or a poet; it will remain an animal. It will thank you and say, ‘I cannot use this food.’

         Do not assume that the plants and the animals are ignorant but rather be grateful that we can benefit from their energies. In the Divine world they are conscious beings, as humans are, but on the Earth, they perform a duty of  a lower nature. On earth they live collectively. On the Earth, the living beings are shadows of a reality which exists in another world. Humans are also shadows of  the real person who has not manifested on the earth yet. Until the shadows of the humans become reality, they will keep transforming their forms. When the shadow becomes the smallest, that means that they are closest to reality.  The bigger the shadow, the further from the reality the person is. When the suffering increases, then the blessings increase too. When the suffering and blessings increase, then the person gets closer to the reality. Since you know that, take advantage of the sufferings and the blessings as soon as they come. What does the student do at the school?  They study,  they work, solve mathematical tasks,. They study for four to five hours, they work and their efforts, their labour and work eventually bring success.  It is not easy to become a scholar, a musician, an  artist, or a sculptor. It requires many years to explore the libraries, to work with the bow on the strings of the violin, with the brush on the canvas or with a hammer.  The violinist must create an invisible violin that penetrates his own one. Only that way the violinist can become a virtuoso. This invisible violin will have the property of attracting the fingers precisely to the notes where they are. Sometimes I watch violinists play. The bow moves across the strings, but it takes twenty years to learn how to draw the bow properly, sometimes even thirty years. You know how delicate the nuances are, sometimes there is a slight adjustment that changes the tone. It takes a violinist twenty to thirty years to learn to play the right notes with his right hand and to take the right positions.

         Therefore until you connect with the Divine within yourselves and allow the Divine to permeate the physical body, you cannot live well. Outside of the Divine, we cannot live well. By not being aware of that,  we fear the Divine, we think of Him as a monster. One of the Jewish prophets had complained. He said, ‘Lord, You are standing on my path like a bear before me.’ It is his misconception. It is not possible for your creator to stand on your path and chase you. This is how prophet Jeremiah used to think, he used to be a great patriot; he used to love his people. He used to think that the Lord put the Jewish people to great suffering. They made so many mistakes, which had to be redeemed. The Jewish people had to learn obedience. The conscious world  wanted them to pay attention and be reasonable, to be fair and to be good. As all others, the Jewish people also needed to learn how to be reasonable, fair and good. 

         One of the ancient teachers of Wisdom sent one of his disciples out into the world to study. The disciple wanted to become famous quickly, so he decided to cure the sick people. He opened the eyes of the blind, the ears of the deaf, and the crippled walked again. Indeed, he soon became famous, but he also encountered great surprises. All those he had healed, began to beat him and chase him away from their kingdom. They thought to themselves, "This man will want money for healing us." To get rid of him, we must chase him away." The disciple was forced to flee and returned to his teacher to complain that instead of gratitude, everyone responded with sinister ingratitude. What was the reason for the contradiction he encountered? The teacher listened to him and then replied: ‘The mistake is yours. Before opening the eyes of the blind, you should have taught them to love the light; before opening the ears of the deaf, you should have taught them to love sound; before healing people's feet, you should have taught them to love movement and to know how to walk’

         Should you give light and knowledge to someone who hasn't given up their crimes? Should you educate someone who isn't ready for a high culture? What are modern people doing with their technical inventions? Today, the aeroplanes, steamships, and submarines are used more for destruction rather than for bringing something good to culture. What culture is this? Nowadays, most people strive for great things, for great achievements. Everyone wants big houses, palaces and mansions. Why do you need big houses? A day will come when the houses will be small, simple, with walls as thin as a spider's web. If it is a question of big houses, here, the Earth is the biggest house, with a big roof – the vault of heaven. What else do you want? Isn't it better to take a seat and craft a magnetic house that weighs only a hundred grams? When you get up, you will pick your house and take it with you. If you want two rooms, you will spread them out somewhere and immediately find shelter. One room will weigh a hundred grams, two rooms – two hundred grams, and so on. It is important to master the art of making magnetic rooms. Once you master this art, you can rent them out .

         When working on self-improvement, keep in mind the first and foremost task – to develop love for God within yourself. Until you develop this feeling, you will always be exposed to great suffering and trials. Why, when eating bread, a person does not think about the source from which it comes? By thinking about this, a person connects with that category of solar beings who send their energy to create bread. Different beings send different energies from the Sun to specific places. There are beings on the Sun who are particularly interested in Bulgaria. They allocate a special budget for Bulgaria: how much wheat, how much fruit to send. They determine exactly how many children should be born each year, how many children to be born, how many people to get married and how many to die. At the same time, they are also interested in how the goods people receive have been used. You might say that the Sun is a fiery body and nothing more. But besides being a fiery body, the Sun is also a confederation of bright, intelligent beings.

         How do humans know that the Sun is a fiery body? From scientists, whom they regard as authorities. Religious people consider Moses, Buddha, Mohammed, and Christ to be authorities. When talking about the creation of the world, they say that Moses wrote about this subject. According to him, God created the world in six days. Theologians argue about this question – how is it possible to create the world in six days. Some would say that these six days are Divine six days, and others would say that they are 24 hours long days, like our days. In the future, when humans become  masters of one's own mind, of one's own heart and of one's own will, then humans shall attain a clear idea of the creation of the world. Until then, humans shall accept things as hypotheses. One day, when humans learn to serve their mind, heart and soul, then they will go to the Sun themselves and see for themselves how the world was created. Today, humans live on a relatively small planet – the Earth, and cannot take it in fully, so what would their situation be if they lived on the Sun, which is 1.5 million times larger than the Earth? One day the Sun would be inhabited like the Earth and would be illuminated by another sun, larger than that one. In the same way that the ants cannot comprehend the idea of what the Earth, on which they live, is, thus we cannot imagine what the Sun is and how one can live on it. For the ants, the Earth is the largest planet in the world. For them, the Earth is something divine. It is said in Scripture: ‘I returned to the promised land; and I entered there with the sons of God.’ The ‘promised land’ refers to the Earth, in which there is no shortage of anything. Upon entering there, humans are freed from fear and all hardships.

         The Promised Land represents the favourable conditions in life. What does a human be terrified of? The darkness. There is a dark zone around the Earth where all negative human thoughts, desires and actions hover. When a human gets close to them, he shudders. When exalted beings pass through this zone, they raise their staffs like Moses and part it, opening a free path for themselves. Those who have knowledge, pass through this zone effortlessly; those who have no knowledge, get lost in it. The bridge connecting the dark zone with the light zone is very narrow, like a thread. The righteous person passes over it easily. In this respect, they are like acrobats. The sinner, however, when they come to it, hesitate, their world turns upside down, and they fall into the abyss. That is why it is said that when a human being departs for the other world, they must renounce everything earthly, everything personal, and carry nothing with oneself. Only that way can one safely pass through the dark zone. Knowing human nature, God has placed the dark zone as a boundary between this world and the other, so that no theft can take place. On Earth, you can steal as much as you want, but in the promised land, no theft or crime is allowed. There, you can only take your bright thoughts and desires with you. There, everything is immortal. When you come to your mortal thoughts and desires, you will leave them on Earth.

         A man must be born again. This means to accept the idea of Christ, to allow the Divine in oneself. Christ is the Divine principle that connects all souls. He cannot come to Earth a second time. Why? Because He already has experience of human love. However, Christ manifests Himself everywhere in the world. You will meet Him in every pure heart, in every bright mind and in every exalted soul. Is this possible? Just as the Sun is reflected in thousands of mirrors, so Christ manifests Himself in thousands of souls. He manifests Himself through the human's thoughts, feelings and actions. Just as the sunlight enters through our eyes, in the same way the Divine light penetrates the human souls.

         Some religious people quote verses from what Moses once said, what the prophets and apostles said. It is true that we learn from them, but today they also learn from contemporary Christians. We learn from what God has revealed to them, but they also learn from what God has revealed to us. Christ brought Love into the world, but despite this, He suffered. In this way, He learned what God's Love is. He realised that there is no betrayal in God's Love – it is eternal and boundless. Christ trusted God to the end, and that is why He was resurrected on the third day. If there was anything that made Him great, it was His Love for God. He did not doubt it for a moment. Therefore, whoever trusts in God's Love, will rise. Whoever does not trust in it will fall into the abyss. Live on Earth, enjoy the blessings of life, but do not set yourself the goal of taking these blessings to the other world. When the time comes for you to depart for the other world, you must have renounced everything earthly. In the other world, there are numerous and more valuable blessings than those on Earth. Do not take with you things that rot and decay, but take your good, bright and noble thoughts, feelings and deeds, and thank God for them. Give thanks for everything He has given you. Be grateful for the sufferings and joys you have experienced on Earth. Everything will turn out for the best.

         Let us come back  to the question of self-improvement. In order to improve oneself, one must absorb knowledge from everywhere. Whatever environment you enter, you will learn something. If you come among the poor and suffering ones, you will learn one thing; if you come among the healthy and cheerful people, you will learn another thing; if you come among musicians, scientists, philosophers, you will gain something from them. People learn from both experiences - from joys as well as from sufferings. The suffering is a method for purifying the human heart. Just as water in nature is purified through filtering and evaporation, so suffering submits the human heart to the same ordeal until it is purified. So the heart is purified through both joy and suffering. When you rejoice, you shall share your joy with your close one. When you suffer, you shall keep your suffering to yourself. If you do so, you will gain in both cases. If you do the opposite – keeping your joy to yourself and sharing your suffering and sorrow with your close one – you would lose in both cases. Those who do not understand this law, seek ways to place their suffering on the shoulders of others. This is not right. You will give your suffering to God and your joy to your neighbour. That is why it is said in Scripture: ‘Cast your burden upon the Lord.’ Only God is able to assess human suffering and give it its due. To share your sorrow with God and your joy with people means to improve yourself in a new way.

         So, while you are on Earth, take advantage of the conditions it offers you. When you go to Heaven, you will enjoy the conditions there. If you do not use the earthly conditions wisely, you will not be able to use the heavenly ones either. Be content with what you have now. All humans suffer from abundance, not from scarcity. Give away the excess to relieve yourselves. You are travellers, visitors on the Earth. Everyone carries a heavier backpack than they could handle. Take the excess load off your back and leave only as much as you could carry with joy and ease.

         2 August, 10 a.m., Sofia – Izgrev

         ________________________

         *Gospel of Matthew, Ch. 2

         The Magi Visit the Messiah

         

         1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem

         2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

         3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

         4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.

         5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

         6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

         7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.

         8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

         9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.

         10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.

         11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

         12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

         The Escape to Egypt

         13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

         14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,

         15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

         16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

         17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

         18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

         The Return to Nazareth

         19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

         21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.

         22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,

         23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.