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Powers in Nature I shall make a summary of meekness, humility, electricity, magnetism, and torment. Meekness and humility show the path of the Spirit; electricity and magnetism – the path of the Soul; while torment – the path of the body or the physical world, i.e. life on the Earth. You should always relate meekness with the Spirit, humility with the soul, electricity – with the brain, magnetism – with the sympathetic nervous system, and torment – with all misfortunes in life. This is the right correlation. Esoteric disciples should speak a comprehensible language; they should speak to themselves in a comprehensible way. There is a legend with the Bulgarians that on Epiphany the Heavens open and the wishes of people at the moment they see the opening of Heavens, are granted. A Bulgarian watched the sky on Epiphany night for a number of years, hoping that he would at least once see the skies opening. One year on that very night, while watching from his window, he saw the skies open and he wanted to tell the Lord “Give me half a bushel of gold!” But being in a hurry, he actually said "Give me half a bushel of head!" and his head became as large as half a bushel and he could not get it back through the window. This law is effective in Esotericism too, i.e. what one wishes for or thinks of, happens. So, one esoteric law postulates: all the goods in the world are humility and meekness related; all the Powers are related with electricity and magnetism, i.e. with the brain and the sympathetic nervous system; all misfortunes – with torment. To be clear I will explain what generates torment: every disciple, who does not observe any of the eternal laws that exist, generates torment. However, such disciples consciously or unconsciously repudiate the fact that they have made a mistake, and walk in life from one reincarnation to a second and third reincarnation, while the law of torment is in effect continually. This law acts like a river making its way and taking a new direction, different from its previous bed. Hence, I call torment a method or way of rectifying human life. You, who have come here to listen to the Esoteric Teaching, are at different ages, are you not? I want all of you to discard the thought that you know certain things. I do not deny your knowledge, but esoteric knowledge is only valid when it has passed through the Divine Fire seven times and has been purified. Only such knowledge can be applied for the reorganisation of our life. We have Science at our disposal to re-create our existing life. In order to learn this great Divine Science, one should understand its forms and rules. I shall take recourse to a small explanation: if you plant a small wheat grain, an acorn or an apple seed, the splitting or polarising powers within them will first activate all the magnetic Powers working inside the earth, they will attract the plant to grow downwards. This means that each root seeks the magnetic currents that it feeds upon. These roots try to obtain not only stability, but seek such currents in the ground, which intersect like rivulets. Therefore, all roots branch in various directions and when they find the current they need, they complete their service. This is why certain roots sink deep into the ground, others – at a more shallow level, still others come out to the surface; therefore, different roots vary in length. If the soil is humus or alluvium, the roots always seek the currents, which run in the ground. In accordance with these currents the roots project themselves downwards, while the branches of the stem project themselves upwards in various directions. To each current down in the ground there is a corresponding current up in the air. You cannot comprehend these currents because you are not sensitive enough. If you have the time, we can make a short trip to Vitosha one evening and I will show you these magnetic currents that run in various directions. Each good thought coming out of your brain and projecting itself in space, moves upwards and downwards like these currents in the plants and seeks a corresponding living magnetism or electricity, which will serve for its shaping and development. Subsequently, the good thoughts of a person, who sends such thoughts more often, do not move away, but remain closely connected with that person. Contemporary scientists, who are partly familiar with Esotericism, believe that our thoughts are far away from us. No, each good or bad thought, sent by you, remains yours forever; nobody can take it away from you, it is your property, because you created it. You will have to keep this thought forever in your mind. Every plant, after taking roots in all directions, starts developing little by little: branches, leaves, blossoms, and fruit, which finally become ripe. This is also the way thoughts develop. No gossiping, no finding faults with other people – bad thoughts in general are not allowed in the Esoteric School. Do you know why? When you have bad thoughts about somebody, you direct your roots to this person, but there is no food for you there. These roots of yours start sucking in juices from this person, but these juices are a poison that poisons and spoils your life gradually. Many women are ruined not only because they have bad husbands, but also because of the thought that their husbands are bad and they start pining and withering by the day, until one day they say "Good-bye to this world" while their husbands watch and say to themselves "I do not know why my wife passed away." The same happens with the disciples of the Esoteric School. Therefore, disciples are told "Do not have evil thoughts" i.e. do not let the roots of your soul into a bad person, and keep away from bad people! This is the scientific approach to the issue. Please understand the following fact: torment shows the true path of deviation. When I say that we have to go down to the bottom of torment, I compare this going down to the following simple fact of our everyday life: someone is travelling across a mountain, but loses one’s way; in order for one to take another direction, the proper direction, one has to go back exactly to the place where he or she went astray and lost one’s way. When you are in torment and when you see that you are on the wrong path, having travelled for a long time, you will go back to the place where you have gone astray. This is what I mean by going down and returning to rectify your mistakes. In order to understand the Powers of Nature and to put them to use for the sake of good, you have to invariably develop corresponding senses or organs in your soul. Many of these organs are mutilated at the present stage of development of the contemporary civilisation. Many Christians who have taken this Path, have become more sensitive and they say, "It’s not worth being a very good person, i.e. it’s not worth being very sensitive, it’s not worth suffering." Human nobleness is exactly about being sensitive, receptive to other people’s grievances and joys. The brain is an organ of electricity. The back of the brain contains negative electricity, and the front side – positive; this is to say that there is a split. So, if the electricity from the front part of the brain dominates the electricity from the back part, one becomes exceptionally active in terms of thoughts, but one also becomes rough. If the negative electricity in the brain takes the upper hand, one becomes passive, but at the same time full of and eager for undoable secret desires, and as a result hatred, envy, and similar feelings are generated. When I talk about positive and negative electricity I mean the law of tides that take place in the brain. The high tide – this is the positive side of the brain and high tides occur in its front part, in the area of the forehead, while the low tides – in the back part of the brain. These tidal movements are even and well planned in Nature, because God acts there. In Nature, there are no mistakes, but on our earth and in our brains there are mistakes, because we do not know how to manage these high and low tidal movements, hence delays happen. When a misfortune befalls you – for example when your house burns down, when you lose your money, when you break your leg, when you have to go hungry for several days or whatever else happens to you, the equilibrium between the high and low tides in your brain is immediately upset. Keep in mind that the growth and the success of your life in the world depend on these planned tidal movements in your brain. Certain Schools see this regular change of high and low tides as a pre-condition for making human beings magnetic. But I also tell you that in order for human beings to be magnetic, the high and low tides in a person have to take place properly. Thus, the first thing that you are required to do is not to obstruct your high and low tides. The disturbance of the equilibrium between these high and low tides has brought about many upset minds and numerous abnormal situations. Remember this explanation, because it applies to your lives. You have to be aware of what actions take place in your soul during high tides and during low tides. Apply this method and you will see that it is absolutely natural in all of its particular aspects. When observing Nature you will notice that each thing has its timing. Birth, death, and every other thing are mentioned in parables as having its specific time of occurrence. Esotericism does not allow esoteric disciples to have preferences to the good or the evil. This thought seems sort of vague to you, does it not? I shall elaborate on it: if I have to perform an operation, I shall use a sharp knife, not a blunt one. The sharp knife stands for evil people, while the blunt knife stands for good people. Hence, I shall use an evil person in an operation; I will prefer the evil person to the good one. When the Lord wants to punish the world, the Lord prefers to use evil people, and when He wants to build something, He prefers to use good people. When He wants to eradicate something, He prefers evil people, and when he wants to plant – the good ones; when He wants to dig holes, He will go for evil people, and when he wants to plant something in them – good people. In Esotericism, we do not frown at people when they commit evil, but each action has to be done at a strictly determined time. I do not talk about the public moral here on the Earth, because it does not stand any criticism from an esoteric point of view. If I give away my wealth to the poor, this is bad for me and good for the people close to me. If I rob the people close to me, this is good for me and bad for the others. So, there are two measures for everything in the world: good for oneself and good for the others. So, there are two options before me: either to give away my money to other people or to take the money of other people. Thus, there are two methods according to which one can act, both are right. If ten people, carrying twenty kilogrammes of gold each, are drowning in the sea, and if I take the gold off their backs, is this bad for them? No, it isn’t, I am saving their lives. As long as I have saved them, I have a right to their gold. If I am loaded with twenty kilogrammes of gold and if I am drowning in the sea and other people come to help me and take the load off my back, they have the right to my gold. This is how I reconcile this moral. This is how esotericism looks upon good and evil. However, if you meet a person loaded with gold, if you stop this person, take the gold off his or her back and take it away with you, then I say that is an act not performed at its proper time, in other words the fruit was picked prematurely. Well, get your act together to apply this law, according to which you will rob and I will rob you, but at the right time. I use the word rob in a very good, in a very broad sense, similarly to picking fruit in an orchard1. Not the way thieves do: the masters of the orchard have hardly seen the fruit of their labour, and they hurry up to pick the pears and apples from their trees. In my first lecture I spoke about humility and meekness. These are inter-related; these are related to pure human thought. This means that a person, who is not humble and meek, cannot have a pure thought. Each human thought is cherished only on humility and meekness, while beyond these qualities your thought will be like the thought of animals. This is a strictly determined law. The same is true for every desire. Any desire that was nurtured on live electricity and live magnetism is a desire of the soul, while any desire that is not permeated with this live electricity and magnetism, is not a desire of the human soul. Therefore, all evil thoughts take their roots outside humility and meekness; all evil desires are nurtured beyond the scope of live electricity and live magnetism. And torment is nurtured by the unwise lifestyle of stupid people. Look upon the live electricity and magnetism as two great intelligent Powers in the world. Torment is the illegitimate physical child of Man, whom the father and mother should acknowledge as theirs. No miscarriage or killing of children is allowed in Esotericism, i.e. we are not allowed to kill any thoughts or desires, either ours or anybody else’s. You may or may not accept a thought or a desire, but you have no right to destroy them. Therefore, everyone should be left to do what he or she wants to. Nobody has the right to counteract or influence either good or evil people. I warn my disciples not to try to either counteract or influence me, because this is the way I behave and shall continue to behave in the future too – I shall neither counteract you nor shall I influence you. I lay before you great Divine laws, which you, if you wish, will implement, if you do not – you will bear the consequences. Keep in mind that these laws, these Powers that you get into contact with, will start affecting you as soon as your consciousness opens. You cannot evade this law. You are not allowed to wear any umbrellas or broad-brimmed hats to protect your heads from the Sun, from this living Light. Let your heads become accustomed to this living Light, go bear-headed! Mind you, there is serious work in front of you. By serious work I mean movement, I mean that one has to make progress, not to stay in the same place. You should not think that you are old or young, but you will think that you are disciples who have to learn. You should look upon Life the way any student looks upon a problem that he or she has to solve: one goes to bed in the evening with the thought that one will have to get up early in the morning to solve the problem; and one does so. Some of you have some more hours – say two or three hours to study and they will fall asleep afterwards. It’s all right. They will continue on the following day. If not in this life, they will continue in the following life, besides they will continue from the point where they have got to in this life. Students whose thought is not concentrated, will spend a whole day trying to recall what issue preoccupied them the previous day and will not be able to remember. One more point: you will investigate the moments of the day corresponding to humility, other corresponding to meekness, still others – to electricity, to magnetism, to grief, and to torment. These are all polarised. Torment is the strongest, while grief is the opposite of torment. Nowadays, contemporary teachers often note a contradiction at school: a Maths teacher enters the classroom and all the pupils are in good humour because this subject arouses electricity within them. After the Maths teacher, the Chemistry teacher comes in whose subject also arouses electricity in the pupils. Pupils already feel a little nervous as a result of the large amount of electricity gathered. If a third teacher, whose subject arouses electricity too, comes in, pupils become even more nervous and they will make a scene. No, subjects in the school timetable should be so arranged that one of the subjects should arouse electricity, and the following subject should arouse magnetism within the pupils; i.e. subjects should alternate. This can be noticed in Nature as well; the same law is at work. For example, a son was born – as a result of the electrical powers; this indicates that meekness, electricity, and torment have been implanted in him. A daughter was born – created by humility, magnetism, and grief. If somebody asks me, “What elements was my son created from?” I will answer: from meekness, electricity, and torment; “And my daughter?” – from humility, magnetism, and grief. This is why boys experience torment and girls grieve. We have to try and avoid monotony in our work. I do not want to make you pious, because this is a monotonous teaching. Today pious people are seen as harnessed horses having blinds over the eyes and looking only straightforward. Pious people, hardly out of bed, make their way straight to church, and in the evenings – they go again to church. Going to church in the morning, going to church in the evening – and everybody says, “These must be pious people.” The work facing you requires that you start developing gradually in various areas. You will first arouse the lower part of the brain – the low mind of human beings, the concepts of Nature, of all the forms, images, colours, numbers. You will then arouse the more superior forms of the mind – imagination, listening, reflection, music, and creative intelligence. And finally you will arouse Love to God, to people, and to animals. We shall also arouse the feeling of faith and hope, the feeling of amicability, sociability and friendliness, but not in the sense these are now understood. We shall also arouse the law of justice, the executive powers, which generate destruction, i.e. the executive side of Life. Of course, this is difficult, because if we now decide to arouse music, not all of you will be able to perceive it. Some of you have a well-developed musical ear, but poorly developed comprehension of humility and meekness. Why did Christ say, “I am humble and meek at heart”? Humble and meek people can easily cope with any difficulty in the world. There is a simple self-training method, namely to place yourself in the shoes of a hungry person. If this is the situation, you should no longer think about what you ate in the past. It is not important what meals you had over the years. You might have had the best of meals in the past, but what counts is how you will feed yourself today. If you do not eat well you will lose your life. The present moment is important in Esotericism. Now I will put you in contact with the Living Nature and do you know what will happen to you afterwards? I shall draw a picture for you: in Europe, a scoundrel went into the house of a very rich and highly educated physicist intending to rob him. The physicist had two balls in his laboratory for his experiments with electricity. Realising what the intention of the scoundrel was, the physicist put the two balls in the hands of the scoundrel and told him, “Keep these for a while until I finish my experiments, and then you may do what you wish!” The scoundrel took the balls, the physicist switched on the power and the scoundrel started bouncing. “Let them go,” said the physicist. “No, I can’t!” The physicist asked him, “Are you going to put educated people to the test again?” Now, if you come to rob me, you will be jumping up and down with these balls. Living Nature is so intelligent that no man so far has succeeded in cheating it in its methods. There will be no man in the future either who will be able to cheat it. This is why I call Living Nature the best of mothers. If you listen to it, it will provide you with a Teaching that you never had before. If, however, you violate its rule, you will find out how it raises its children. I shall give you one more formula: you will consider everything in the world as living. I shall elaborate on the word live. Tell me, when you look at a picture of a great artist, do you perceive it as a living picture. Yes, it is a living picture; this is what I am telling you. But you may object by saying that there is no movement in it. Let’s assume that there is one tree planted in the ground and the air around it is very still, not even the slightest puff of wind and this is why no movement can be noticed among its leaves. Now looking at this tree, seeing that there is no movement at all, what would you say about it? That it is not a living tree, is it? Precisely because of this, the picture is as live as the tree in this situation. Artists shall need no canvass in the future. I can project before you a living picture and I can keep it for an hour or two, or ten hours or for two days and then I can make it disappear. Is there any contradiction, any doubt that it existed? It does exist, but after some time I transfer it elsewhere. Therefore, an artist, who is going to paint a picture, can project it wherever he or she feels like. Have you observed how flowers acquire colour, how their colours develop gradually during their growth? It is worth noting that artificial paints made by people, fade and disintegrate in the Sun, while paints created by Nature – the longer they are exposed to the Sun, the more impressive they become, because they are living paints. The longer an artist reflects on the flower, he or she is creating, the livelier it is, but the moment the artist stops thinking about it, it disappears. The first requirement to any esoteric disciple is to possess a powerful imagination. No disciple can achieve anything without imagination; therefore, one has to develop it. I shall give you a method for you to practice, to learn to concentrate: if some of you are absent-minded and want to concentrate, let them take a needle and stick it half a centimetre into their hand. When they experience a strong pain, they will start thinking about their hand and their absent-mindedness will be gone. When you stick the needle in a dozen times, until blood gushes out, the subconscious person in you will say, “It’s not worth being absent-minded!” Misfortunes in contemporary society are just like needles, which Nature sticks into your minds, so that they think properly, and into your hearts so that they come into their proper places. When such a needle is piercing you, it makes you think about the essential things. Thus, many who went to the battlefield came back with minds and hearts properly adjusted. Your guest visit is already over, and I am now asking you whether you will take your leave or you will stay? To those who decide to leave I will recommend other places that they can visit, and those who decide to stay will be given work. You will now ask what serious stuff you will be asked to do. You will be asked to do a lot of pleasant work, however, two pieces will be pleasant and one piece will be unpleasant. Now I want all of you to be humble and meek. Humility and meekness, as well as aspiration to absolute Purity – this is the meaning of Life. You can make no step ahead without this purity. You will first have to take your deficiencies out in public and to take care to rectify them. Do not hide your deficiencies; do not make us look for them. So, if you want to benefit, you will have to be brave and decisive within, so that you can take your deficiencies out, without thinking so highly of yourselves, as you do now. You will go down by ten degrees! All of you disciples, who have deficiencies in your minds, hearts or bodies, should picture these clearly! And most difficult of all is to take your own deficiencies out in public. There was a famous professor in eloquence in America – Silva Neah2, who was contacted by people with university degrees in rhetoric and eloquence, confident that they could speak. On leaving the professor’s office, all of them had experienced a shock, because the professor spoke to them in an off-hand manner and his language cut them to the quick. The art of this person was actually in telling the truth straight to their face. Somebody comes in front of him, starts reciting, but the professor tells this person: Oh, come down, come down to me! - and they start explaining things to each other. Oh, I can now understand you, you may climb up again! And there the speaker starts anew. - Hang on, wait a little, I do not understand, climb down, climb down!... You should not recite either, tell me a simple truth without any embellishments. Set it in simple terms, so that it can stand out. I want all of you to be genuine and therefore, I say that Esotericism is such a School that people, who have entered it, leave the School very simple people. Those who come here say at first, “I have my considerations about this, this is how I see things, that is how I see things, this is my understanding of God etc.” Well, my friend, you may think this way or that way, but your affairs are not settled, you are not a healthy person, and you have deficiencies. This is a false teaching. The Lord does not want us to think and feel inadequately. This is our business, not God’s. Some say, “The Lord created me like this.” Not the Lord, but you created yourself like this. We have stuck so many layers of plaster upon what God has created, that it takes a long time to undo these until we find the Divine core. Many virtues cannot be noticed immediately in contemporary people, but there are external features, which give them away. For example, honesty is expressed, in some people, by two lines across the forehead, while justice is expressed by one line in the middle of the forehead. These features, as well as the features of Love are so smoothed in certain people, that such people are said to resemble the Moon. This is what I call “clattering”, i.e. rounded people and there is nothing more to it. So, we shall do our best to introduce simplicity and harmony in our behaviour. There should be the simplest, most natural behaviour between you and me. Each gesture of the hand and of the head should be aimed at the right forms. For example, a hand stretched forward, clenched in a fist, as if stabbing somebody, expresses an evil movement. It is a correct movement when the three fingers of the hand are bent and the thumb touches the forefinger forming a circle. Why should this movement be right? It stands for a snake holding its victim; this is a circle, a movement, which hides no danger. As soon as the circle opens, one can hear hissing and snakes warn others “Keep away, as I may bite you!” Therefore, when a student gets angry, you should show your hand in this position to the student. But what is it that you do? You show a slap at such a student. This is not an esoteric movement; this is a movement of the magi of Darkness. When a young man and a young woman walk arm in arm, this is a movement of the magi of Darkness. Someone gives money to a poor man and while passing by him, he shoves the money in a rather rough manner. No, give money to beggars but give it with respect. All these bad images and movements, gathered in our mind, provoke the respective powers too, which spoil the harmony of the respective centres, hence certain disharmony is generated. Our movements have to be plastic, this we can achieve by watching our movements in the mirror. We can restore the lost harmony with these plastic movements. You cannot raise your children if you do not act in harmony. You are very silly, aren’t you? Do not take offence when I tell you that you are silly. Today I showed you an appropriate movement, some other time you will make such a movement and you will give it a thought. Watch out not to imitate bad examples in your life. There was an evangelical bishop in a certain region in America, who was in the habit of wearing his head a little tilted, and one shoulder higher than the other. All the preachers in that region imitated him, wearing their heads tilted. So all of our bad habits today are the result of imitating the bad habits of a certain bishop. I use the word bishop, not in its direct sense, but figuratively, because the father is a bishop at home, and the mother - a female bishop. The first thing you need is to develop your imagination consistently, so that all objects can vividly stand out within you. As soon as you are told something, you should be able to immediately project it in your mind. Without imagination you can achieve nothing in esoteric Science. Consider that you live in a wide world and you are alone. If you start feeling sad, imagine that you are among people. When you are fed up with people, start thinking that you are alone. I do not want you to rely on me for everything, be aware of this illusion. I shall explain this Divine law to you in the following formula: when the wheat grain is placed in the ground, it has to manifest the energy, which is hidden in its soul. What are the conditions for a similar manifestation? These are light and warmth, coming from above; and also moisture and rain. As long as these conditions are available, it starts growing. I apply the laws of the esoteric Science to you too, because all the conditions required for your development are available in you. Light and warmth come from God, and moisture is Life, and we have to use these external conditions. Soil is our body where the wheat grain, i.e. our soul, is planted. Warmth is Love, Light is the Divine Truth, and Wisdom is seen in the growth process. This is the Path of the right movements in the body. You should not compare this Teaching that I dwell upon, to other teachings and you should not speak absolutely anything about it elsewhere. Why shouldn’t you speak about it? What is there for you to tell other people before you have tried what you study! Gather experience and see the results and then you will have the power to speak about it to other people. I will catch, according to all the esoteric rules, anyone of you, who are inclined to speak here and there and who cannot keep a secret. The Bulgarians say, “Those who talk a lot, accomplish little.” You also belong to this kind. In ancient times a king had bear’s ears. When a barber was asked to shave the king, his head was taken on leaving the palace, so that he would not tell anyone else that the king had bear’s ears. One day a barber was called to shave the king, but the barber having done his job and seeing what was going to happen to him, started begging them to spare his life, promising that he would tell nobody what he had seen in the palace. The king felt sorry for the barber and let him go. The barber, trying to make sure that he would not tell anyone, fled to a very distant part of the kingdom. He kept the secret for a long time, but it was such a burden to him that one day he went into the forest, dug out a hole and yelled loudly into the hole “The king has bear’s ears!” In time a tree grew on this very spot, and a shepherd made a wooden flute from this tree. When he started playing the flute he heard a voice, “The king has bear’s ears!” Similarly you will make a hole and you will shout into it, “The king has bear’s ears!” It’s all the same to me where and what you will say, but this is useless for you. What you need is to experiment! This Teaching has internal real experiences, which you have to verify for yourselves in practice. So, I do not want you saying that this is a delusion or that is a delusion. Those of you who do not want to be deluded let them enter the world; there are no delusions there. This is a warning, because you are now my guests, and the code of politeness does not allow people to beat their guests. When disciples of the Esoteric School make a mistake of any kind, the greatest punishment for them is that everybody around falls in silence and this is their unmasking. Another rule for disciples: to be sincere to one’s Spirit, sincere to one’s soul and sincere to oneself or put in your language, sincere to one’s father, sincere to one’s mother, sincere to one’s brothers and sisters. The two elements – the father and mother – you cannot see now, they are above, so it is only your brothers and sisters you can see here on the Earth. For the next time, I would like one of you to write something on the bone system, the skeleton; another – on the functions of the heart and blood circulation, while a third one – on the digestive system. Master’s lecture, delivered on 19 February 1920, at 19:00h ________________________________________ 1 The Bulgarian words for rob and pick (fruit) are homophones, i.e. the two words are spelt and pronounced in the same way, hence in the Bulgarian sentence there is a pun of words, which is lost in the English translation 2 The spelling of the name of the professor is a blind guess Source

Explanatory Notes on Esotericism, Spiritualism, Theosophy, Mysticism and Christianity If a certain Force, existing in Nature, does not correlate to our senses, it cannot interact with them. Let’s assume that you are with blind people and you light a match from a box of matches. Does the light of the match exist for them? No, it does not. Consequently, if we cannot perceive a Force active in our life, i.e. if we cannot perceive the Light of the Force, we cannot understand that Force. Blind people can touch the match and can assert that it is a match. Blind people may think they understand what a match means, but in fact, they have understood nothing. It is, indeed, a match; but there is something more substantial within it – Light. If your eyes can perceive Light, you open a book, read and understand what is written in the book. So now, when we come to esoteric Forces, each Force has to be utilised and made to work. Any disciple, who doubts and says, "Prove to me that this esoteric Force really exists," is not a proper disciple. There are no debates or disputes in the esoteric School. It is not a School to verify facts and truths. We do not deal with the dead truth, but with the living Truth in the world. Spiritualism shows the movements of the Spirit. This is the embryo of things, something not yet shaped. In order for you to understand Spiritualism, you have to create certain conditions for this embryo so that it can go through all the development and formative phases. Therefore, Spiritualism is not a well-developed form of teaching. Theosophy is a form of teaching about reconciling the contradictions in the world. It is a science about reconciling men and women, nothing more than this. By saying reconciling men and women, I mean reconciling human beings and God. Those who believe that they are theosophists should be aware of this law – how to reconcile themselves with the ones they hate. There is a contradiction between you and God – you have to reconcile it! If you fail to do it – you are no theosophist. We, contemporary people, with our critical minds, resemble a Bulgarian well-to-do merchant, who was very stingy. He asked a tailor to cut new clothes for him, but as he knew that tailors are in the habit of stealing a little from the cloth, he stayed all the time with the tailor and watched the tailor cutting the cloth, lest the tailor steals some material. The tailor, however, seeing such nice material, cut a large piece and said, "This is for St. Nicholas," and threw it outside. The merchant yelled at him, "What are you doing?" Then he ran outside to get the piece of material and during this time, the tailor cut another even larger piece of cloth and sat on it. So I was saying that we, who criticise and are always on guard not to be deceived, are always deceived. Somebody will throw away a piece of cloth for St. Nicholas and while we are going to fetch it, this very person will hide a bigger piece for himself or herself; and we believe that nobody deceived us! Mysticism is not a law on ascent, but a law on descent. Mystics do not ascend, but descend to God within them. The danger is that mystics do not know how to descend and while descending they may fall down and cripple themselves. Now on esotericism: I can compare it to contemporary natural sciences. Esotericism is a science studying the phenomena on Earth, studying the invisible, not the visible. It does not deal with the shapeless worlds. What has shaped itself within itself, what has a form, content, and meaning – this is the area of esotericism. Where then shall we place Christianity? Do you think it is a science? (A question from a Sister) I would like to ask whether you make any differentiation between Christianity and esotericism. Are the Gospel and esotericism the same teaching? Examine Nature as it is. There are no moral judgements in esotericism. It studies things the way they are, as pure facts. (Question): So, Christianity is something different? Esotericism is a science about knowing the natural Forces, the areas, ways of influence and application. Esoteric people are realists, they do not believe, they deal only with Nature, with material things. Mystics live constantly with their hearts; they experience the heart’s vibrations and all states through which it passes. In the Christian sense of understanding, mystics, theosophists, and spiritualists can be Christians. If we take, however, the area of the Spirit in its broad sense, with its deviations, this is already spiritualism. The danger with spiritualism lies in the fact that people have other embryos within themselves, which actually cause them trouble also. But for the time being we shall leave aside what critics say about it. Spiritualism is a movement; theosophy – reconciliation of contradictions; mysticism – descent, it may also be said to be the law of labour, of work; esotericism gives us all the forms in which we can live on the earth, it is the only science that teaches us how to live and that can save us from all misfortunes; Christianity is a science about liquidating karma, about payment of old debts. If we take the line from the Gospel reading that Christ bore the sins of the world, this means that He had paid its debts. What is Christianity? This is about knowing how to pay people’s debts. Well, who can pay debts? Only the rich. Consequently, rich people can be Christians, while poor people cannot. (Question): What about the promise that Christ will make us rich? It is a credit to Christians, to those whom Christ credits. These are traders on somebody else’s credit. Contemporary people are Christians, because Christ is a Christian. Theosophy is a science about reconciliation of the sexes, while Christianity is about bringing sexes together and uniting them. Christianity, by its intrinsic meaning, is a science about the unity of the Spirit with the soul. What is now being preached is not Christianity; it has to undergo certain transformation. If Christianity had been as we now perceive it the world would have been different. We shall leave this issue aside, as it does not fall within our scope. Now, I want to ask you if you have learnt what torment is. We shall start with it! We shall examine all the other sciences – theosophy, mysticism etc. - from the point of view and in the spirit of torment. I shall also provide you with another explanation of these sciences. Theosophy can be examined in seven different ways. Similarly, esotericism and mysticism have external and internal aspects. The theosophical society nowadays understands only the external aspects – the organisation. Theosophy prepares these forms, which can be called anatomy of theosophy. Christianity has passed through the first stage of development and after the two thousand years behind us, the anatomy of Christianity started developing. Whether the Son flows out of the Father or not, and many other disputes have been tackled at the Ecumenical Councils. Even today Christianity boils down to the question a Christian may put to you on meeting you, "Do you believe in the three faces of God?"’– I do. – Then you are a Christian! However, I would like to ask you, now that you believe in the three faces of God, what do you understand the three faces to mean? I shall explain this to you: the second face of God is the face of Love. Man and woman, all people have to seek this second face – Love. And when it is said that God is Trinity, people also say words they do not understand. The Great Masters, who wrote on this, had a very clear understanding of the issue, but their disciples have distorted the Teaching. Spiritualism is also a Teaching, which stemmed from the Brotherhood of Light, but it was also blemished by the disciples. Theosophy is another Teaching, again sent from above, which was also stained by the disciples. Esotericism is also a Teaching given by the Brotherhood of Light, but there are esoteric people of Light and others of Darkness in it, too. Mysticism – is also corrupted. Christianity is also corrupted. Let me express myself clearly: when a priest or a bishop puts on clothes, a stole and a tiara, marries a couple and says "You have to pay that much" I call this a magician of Darkness. Magicians of Light work for free. If a young woman puts on nice clothes intending to charm a certain young man, she is also a magician of Darkness. If a young man takes special care with his outer appearance in order to charm any young woman, he is also a magician of Darkness. If a lawyer or a judge uses the law to charge somebody, such a person is also a magician of Darkness. Anyway, esoteric people, theosophists, mystics, and Christians – all of them are divided into Light and Dark ones. Someone may say, "I’m theosophist." - "A Light or Dark theosophist?" – "A Light theosophist." – "OK, then we can understand each other." "A Dark theosophist." Well, I will retain my reservations. What does it matter if you are spiritualists, theosophists, mystics, or Christians if you belong to the Dark group, the world is full of such people! The twenty million people perishing in the present war show what has become of Christianity today. I do not say that Christianity is to blame; the Dark Christians are to blame. We need a correct understanding of esotericism: to get down to the bottom of torment, because in there, there is no disunity, there is unity. Sinful people are sinful because they have not experienced torment, while righteous people are righteous, because they have experienced torment. If you tell me that there is a contradiction in what I say to you, I will tell you that Christ says, at a certain place, that towards the end of the century He will send bad spirits and their sons to eternal torment, He will send them to the bottom of hell to experience torment. Why? Precisely because they have not undergone torment. Bad people do not experience torment; good people do so. You have worked and you have earned money, a bad person comes and robs you; the bad person does feel tormented. If you are not brave enough to undergo torment do you know to whom I shall consider you belong? To the Dark ones. It is written that those who do not experience torment will in the future go to the place of torment. You may ponder as much as you like, but you will be there in the future. The first rule, for a disciple willing to become an esoteric disciple, is not to think that others present an obstacle to her or his mind, but that the disciple himself or herself is the obstacle. Because the world is so large, there is a place for everybody. Then, such a disciple should not think that somebody might present an obstacle to his or her heart, because the world of feelings is so large, that there is a place for everybody. In other words, the first rule for the disciple in this situation is torment. The disciple has to accept that nobody can influence the disciple’s mind and distort it; that nobody can influence the disciple’s heart in one way or another, because the world is large. This thought is not very clear to you, is it? A thought can be clear and can have an influence on us only when we come to be at the same level with the one who expresses it. How does the law of expression act? In order for somebody, be it a good or bad person, to influence you, that person has to lower you to his or her level; only then can such a person influence you. This is to say, as long as you keep your mind in the Infinite world, where the Divine law acts, you are free and safe. As soon as it enters your mind that somebody might influence you, this means that you have descended lower than this world. When the servant thinks that the master restricts the servant, the servant has already restricted himself or herself with this very thought. Let’s say that you walk in the streets in tattered clothes, you meet a nobleman or a well-to-do person, whom you know, but he passes by without greeting you and you think that because you are poor nobody greets you. I would like to ask you if he greets you, would this give you anything? Nothing. It will only tickle you a little. If somebody looks at you and smiles at you, what do you gain from this smile? Nothing. These are the illusions of the magicians of Darkness. When one smiles, one should feel at the bottom of one’s soul that God is present at this moment! How should we understand the smile? When we smile, we should be pleased with our smile. Whether people will be glad at our smile is not of importance; we should personally be pleased with it. And when we frown the same law should be at work. Frowning, at esoteric schools, should also be done according to all the rules; you should also feel the presence of God in frowning. Do you think that I will smile when I see somebody being hanged? No, I won’t. I will frown, I will call God and the angels and I will say that what is going on is not right. Not that the fact is not true, but that these people have misunderstood God’s law. They sentenced a human being in compliance with whichever clause of whichever law; come on, where is the authority of this law and of all the other laws?! These have to be eternal, unchangeable. A person may be punished in esotericism, but only when one wants to be punished. The person should submit a petition, on one’s own free will, to be punished. This is what goes in esotericism. I will add a thought: some say that we should not torture animals, but do you know that many animals want to be tortured, so that they can be elevated? So, what is meant, when it is said not to torture animals, is not to torture these animals, which do not want to be tortured. But, if we do not torture those animals, which want to be tortured, we will slow down their evolution. Many hens, eaten by you, have progressed. But you do not make any progress. Consequently, we shall have to say to the hen, which wants to be tortured, in order to progress, "I’m sorry, I cannot slay you, because I don’t want to stay the progress of my evolution; but as you have set your mind on making progress, please, find somebody else to slay and eat you." No disciple, entering any Esoteric School has the right to cause torment to anybody. Disciples have the right to cause torment only to themselves. To go down to the bottom of torment, to experience it, and to come back to earth, to work in line with the law that disciples have learnt. Therefore, I say that you should not torture each other either. A friend was telling me an anecdote about himself: he was very sensitive and had nice aspirations in his soul, he wanted to live peacefully with the people around, but when he returned from a trip abroad and when he met some Bulgarians, they started ridiculing him. At one point, he started thinking of a means to help him retain his composure. For this purpose, he hired two porters to swear at him. He sat with them and succeeded in enduring all their curses in the hope that he would be able to tolerate the curses of the others as well. But after having done this for several days, he asked himself, "Why should I hire porters to curse me, when there are so many porters in society! I keep these on the pay-roll, while I won’t have to pay anything to the others." Any problems occurring among you, according to the Esoteric School, are blessings. When you have disagreements, try to smooth them over, but not artificially. I know about cases when two people get together, they kiss each other and they say, "Let’s reconcile!" But when they go out, they start slandering each other again. This is not a way to reconciliation. Reconciliation should take place within you. When you get down to the bottom of torment, are you ready to say, "The world is large for my mind and for my heart, I will accept torment in all its forms!" This is the most important psychological moment! I want all disciples, when they go back home, to create a favourable atmosphere. This is the last Thursday evening. (Comment): There is one more Thursday. Then next Thursday is the last Thursday. I do not receive guests any more. This is what Bedouins do: you may be their guest for three days, but on the fourth day they will give you work – they will either send you to the field, or will ask you to tend the cows. I find this an excellent rule. Those who stay at our School, will be given work to do – we shall either send such disciples to the vineyard, or shall give them the cows to tend, or shall ask them to do the clerk’s work, or shall ask them to be messengers; there will be such disciples. Then, another rule: I do not want you to spread around what we have been talking about here in the School! You may spread it, but I take no responsibility for the consequences. Do not spread a Teaching before you have tested it! Otherwise, it will be the silliest thing you can do. Test it, because as of yet you do not know whether it is true. There is an expert committee in England, which inspects goods produced at factories and sold by traders. Only after the experts have endorsed the goods with a stamp as being inspected, only then have factory people and traders the right to export or sell their goods in England or abroad. You are retailers of un-inspected goods, but I do not like such traders. Each item has to be inspected. The first task that I will assign to women along these lines shall be, for example, the following: let’s say that one of you has a daughter, whom she does not love; let her do something that she will start loving her! Or let’s say that the husband of one of you is not a believer. This is a task, which she has to resolve! Some of you are poor, others are sick; you will have to do what must be done! Someone has tumours in the stomach; if this person does not get rid of them, the tumour will destroy this person. Every disease is generated by creatures existing in us. Each disease is generated psychologically and organically by the excrement of these creatures. When such a creature comes into our organism, you have to apply the same law: it should be allowed to stay, visiting you for three days only, because if you leave the creature for longer, it will take roots, it will form tumours, it will gather blood and you will die, while the others will say, "May God rest his or her soul!" The Lord does not forgive such people. He forgives only when people do not steal and do not lie. Someone may come here to take something and use it against me. God take pity on such a poor person who will do this! Damned will be such a person and not to the fourth degree but to the thousandth degree! Such is the great law of God, the Divine Truth, "He, who sins against the Spirit," says Christ, "neither this century, nor in the future will his sins be forgiven." Everything that you will learn here is a Great truth, which you should apply in your life and you have to be sincere with yourselves when applying it. You have to be sincere not to me, but to your Lord, to your mind, and heart, to your Spirit and your soul in all of their aspirations. You have to stand on your feet! Not to say tomorrow that Deunov wants to hypnotise us and to influence us. I have no intention to influence you because the moment when I will want to do this, I will be a demon, with my head downwards. And you too, if you want to influence me, will be with your heads downwards. This is how the Divine Teaching reads. To make it clear: from now on you will live for thousands of years on the earth and whichever Esoteric School you may enter to study the Path of your development, you will always be given rules to apply. If you do not accept torment as a factor for your future existence, you will be wandering in the world without understanding the internal meaning of Life. Torment will make all of you heroes. I want you to be heroes; I do not want you to be scared! However, if you do not undergo torment, you will be afraid, you won’t be heroes. I do not want to use the expression "Do not fear!" I will rather use another one – "Be in torment!" Accept torment, because it is given to you by the Invisible world. Do not force yourselves ever! There are people among you, who even if they want to, are not meant to experience torment, not all of you who listen to me will be tormented; not all of you are heroes, torment will be given to the heroes only. It will bypass some of you and will say, "Let’s leave it for some other time." He who is tormented should consider his torment a privilege. And the first thing you will experience when you start descending to the bottom of torment, is silence. You will penetrate into the soul of every suffering creature, you will get to understand how much it suffers and you will tell yourself, "How wrong I have been so far!" A sort of pity for all creatures who are in torment will awaken in you, and you will wish to begin to elevate the other creatures, from the place you have fallen to and where you stand, to raise them above or at least to relieve their torment. He, who has not understood torment, places other people under his feet, steps over them and says, "Come down, I will go up!" The Teaching of Christ makes people aware that all creatures experience torment. This is what Great Christianity implies. When we get out of torment, we shall arrive at other methods, through which we shall learn how to cultivate and utilise the esoteric Forces. If you accept torment, Light will come to you from within, i.e. the Divine Spirit, which is in you, will awaken and will elevate the vibrations of your mind and of your heart. The cells of your mind and heart will transform organically, which will, in turn, transform the status of your mind and heart. The word cell has a double meaning. To be in a cell means to be unhappy, but it also means to be confined. However, the consciousness of a cell is also confined. There are many cells in our mind, which are dissatisfied with their situation. And when millions of such dissatisfied cells get together, we feel in low spirits. The first thing we have to do is to re-educate the cells of our brain, of our heart, and of our stomach. We can very easily re-educate these cells, but such a re-education takes place when we descend to the bottom of torment, which is the basis of Life. The Divine Spirit, starting from this point, will begin elevating us upwards, we shall climb on the wings of God’s Wisdom, and Divine Love, on entering our soul, will transfuse inspiration into it. Then the angels of Life will start elevating us in our evolution and we shall get out from the bottom of torment. Why was Christ resurrected? Because the One who was above, descended down and resurrected Him. God is simultaneously in Heaven and in hell. He, who goes above to God, is sent down by God, and he, who goes down, is sent above by God. All Christian preachers of the present day teach us that we have to go up in Heaven to God, while I say that you will go up to God, for God to send you down. All of you who are listening to me now, are of the kind that will prefer to take the easy path. There is no easy path in the world; there is a narrow Path. Another thing that disciples have to master is humility; which is not to be indifferent, but to go down to the bottom, to forget what other people think about them, and to feel only their own torment! These are a few practical rules, which you have to think over and which you will have to try to apply, without making any forced efforts. Sometimes, when I have the chance I will speak to you about the origin of sin – how evil entered the world. There was a time when we were not like what we are today. What are the reasons for our fall? Nowadays there are no good people in the world – those who cry, and those who laugh, and those who speak good words, and those who speak bad words – all of them are under the same denominator. When people see a wealthy merchant of sheep hides, they all envy him, without realising that his position rests upon the hides of the thousands of sheep, which he had skinned. The merchant says, "This is my stock, I gained it!" I object, I say that the merchant is a thief in the second degree and a liar, because he acquired his wealth at the expense of the animals, when he skinned them. Some may say, "This is my house, I made it with my own labour, and sweat on my forehead!" My response is that you made it at the expense of the people you have skinned. Someone may say, "This is my body." Excuse me - it is not yours. Because, do you know how many creatures suffer in order to maintain the human body, how many mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters have given their lives for it! This is why you have no right to think that what you have is yours. According to Christianity, the first thing that you have to keep in mind is to admit that whatever you have is not yours, but God’s. To those who slander me I say, "Listen, what I say is not mine, I am not defending my property! This God, whom I know, is very kind, but He is at the same time very bad. He is so kind that there is nobody kinder than Him, but only when we follow His Will, however, there is nobody worse than Him when we do not follow His Will and we commit evil." At the moment when we say that this body is ours, a curse will fall upon us, upon our children, upon everybody. You have to say, "Lord, thank You for placing me in this body of Yours!" This is how everybody should be looking upon things. On the other hand, we shout at each other like troopers and we say, "Get lost, get out of here!" There is no reason to get out of here. I often say that I am ready to step back if I am the cause of your sufferings. But to give you my body – no, I shall not do this! It is neither mine, nor yours; I shall give it to its Master. To Him I shall surrender my mind and my heart. You cannot be masters of them. Every disciple in esotericism, in theosophy, in spiritualism, in mysticism, and in Christianity should know this, because these denominations express one objective and present that Divine Life, which is manifested. The state of the Spirit is one thing, while the state of the soul is another. These are five states, which differ from one another. Will, heart, mind, soul, spirit are things known to us. What we know is that we suffer. We can feel only certain changes: sometimes our thoughts are clear, sometimes – dark; sometimes our mind is bright, sometimes – dark; sometimes our feelings are crystal clear, sometimes – dark; sometimes we are strong, sometimes – we are not. It is said that we have a soul. But what is the soul? What we can now feel is only a manifestation of the soul. The first thing I want is to make this rough sea, storming in you, to subside – quiet and peaceful I want you to be. In the present society and social order, we need workers who can rescue the ones pressed at the bottom. Because many buildings will collapse and many people, caught below in the stones in the ruins, shall have to be dug out. My desire is to rescue you from your ruined houses. Any of your psychological indispositions tells me that a girder of yours is rotten and has collapsed. Envy, hatred, and any other similar negative features – these are collapsing girders within your building – your body. Now that I am looking at you – do you know what you remind me of? Of children who are already hungry and can smell the food, but as the teacher goes on with the lesson, they tell themselves, "Hopefully he will soon finish, and we can go eat!" Or "Do not talk to us, teacher, but lay the table for us to eat!" You have a correct understanding – you have to eat. But if you listen to me, there will be a table for you, I will give you some food to eat, if you do not listen to me – there will be no table. When a guest comes to your house, you treat the guest only with some jam and water – don’t you, and afterwards – God be with you, see you soon! You lay the table and give food only for those who have worked in your field. When the beloved one or a trusted friend comes to visit you, you lay a rich table for the guest. Now what does this indicate? That he or she has been working for a long time in your field. I shall now have to think for how many of you I should lay a table. To those who have not worked for me I shall give only some jam and water, while to those who have worked – I will lay a table fit for a King and I shall do the serving myself. This evening also, there is one of you, who I know has understood the law of torment. Two people - for two Thursdays. I would like you to count how many of you there are in here, so that we can see how this law acts. Master’s lecture, delivered on the February 12, 1920 at 7 o’clock. Source

It is taken with Love 
 

(Sunday Lectures, March 22, 1919 Saturday, Sofia) 
The Kingdom of God should be taken with love, maintained with endearment and upheld with Spirit. This is the motto written on the door of the Divine Kingdom. Until now everyone wanted to take the Divine Kingdom with force but failed. From now on, everyone must get rid of this view, that is, free himself from the old shell of the law, from its bonds, and perspectives. The Kingdom of God is taken not with force but with Love. God loved the world, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish. When it is accepted that God loved the world then the read verse becomes clear. And so the first tone in Life is Love – Life begins with it. If you have this tone in yourselves you will have joy too. If you loose it, there is grief, which is a sign of this loss, as is with the singers who have lost the tone of their song - the harmony of their voices disappears and the song is not flowing. Love is a main tone and Force. A man who loves is omnipotent, he doesn’t know fear. The Love I am talking to you about is the same love that is acting in you but you often change its tone. Under the word ‚kingdom’ it is understood space, incarnation, manifestation of the human soul. In this Kingdom, all members ,i.e. the stones that it is built of are alive. God’s Kingdom is not something dead, it does not consist of rules and laws but of living beings who live in one continual relationship. Every home is one kingdom in a miniature - the father, mother and children form a small kingdom. When there is harmony and Love between all members of the family, this kingdom is manifested and its members taste its fruits. Now, God’s Kingdom should not only be taken with Love but should also be kept with endearment. Under the word ‚holding’ it is understood the internal holding, which is done by the Spirit. This is why, the Divine Kingdom is held with Spirit. Do not think that the words ‚Love’, ,Endearment’ and ‚Spirit’ are related to the Divine Kingdom only. They refer to our ordinary life too as no young girl and man can take their companion without Love. Besides, you cannot buy any object without Love while, beforehand, you need to desire it, to fall in love with it. If you go to a pub to eat or in a butcher’s shop to buy something you will still get this, which you love. Endearment is an inner force that holds everything in order, and the Spirit surrounds that, which we have. When we place Love in a relation towards our Spirit, Endearment to our soul and the Spirit to our body, we will uncover the mystery of the great Life that rules the Earth. The Spirit is the unity that manifests in all people. He is one whole indivisible in itself and all beings, and therefore we need to love it with the same Love. The Spirit cannot be divided, He is holding the whole Kingdom. You can cry, you can pour many tears but if you do not have Love, God’s Kingdom is far from you. You can fast the whole life and constantly repent but if you do not have Love, God’s Kingdom is far from you. By repenting , I understand to open your heart and accept Love inside it, I don’t understand another repenting. According to this great law, you have to equally love both the Good and Evil – there is the power of man. Love does not know evil. You may say this is hard work. Others will say that the children enter the Divine Kingdom. They enter but they cannot take it. These old perceptions about ‚it can’ or ‚it cannot’ are one misconception. If you wrap a rope round your legs, you will not be able to walk, but that does not indicate that you can not really do so - there is only one external obstacle that prevents you but which you can remove. Every person whom you call with Love to help you will come, because whenever you invoke the Spirit, he answers. Evil in the world occurs when we cease to love the Spirit, that is, evil is the absence of Love to the Spirit. Someone says he hates this person; it means that he hates himself and that is why he will always be unhappy. Now, in today's order of life, you can imagine a lot of hardships: today's culture is a rope wrapped around your feet; today's political science is the second rope wrapped around your house; today's religion is another rope wrapped around your children. The new religion that comes will be a religion without ropes, without symbols, without priests and preachers, without judges and teachers, without merchants and farmers, without men and women. The future culture will be the kingdom of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters. Probably you wonder how it will be possible without teachers. Then there will be one teacher, one judge, one man and one woman and not as many as there are now for the world is suffering from the many ones. If you ask me how to understand this, I will tell you to understand it as you please, I will not explain it to you. The Spirit that is descending to the Earth comes to elevate the human soul, which is alive and as I said is the most important and precious. The Spirit flows into the soul and brings Love. When the latter flows into the soul, she loves the Spirit. Then the spirit and the soul flow into the body, which is their child. Then the Spirit will support the Kingdom of God, which is the whole body. You are all the Kingdom of God on Earth and that’s why Christ Himself specifically says, " the Kingdom of God is in your midst." This is a fact that can be verified by everyone. Let any of you go into a desert, let him be isolated from all beings, stay alone and let him tell how happy he is. All living beings - from the greatest to the smallest - feel the need for communion. Everyone lives, sighs and says: "Conquer us by Love, keep us through Endearment, hold us with the Spirit." Everyone - whether children or adults - are looking for this. At a time when God created the world the sun rays decided to come dow to the Earth, they dressed in their most beautiful light clothes and descended to visit it. These beams were seven sisters. When they came down to the Earth what their astonishment was when they saw that their garments from light have turned into seven other colours - red, orange, green, yellow, light-blue dark-blue, and purple. Every sister could see the change that has happened to her and asked between themselves: What happened with us that our clothes got so dark? The difference between you is also due to these seven sisters who have come down to the Earth: one of you is red, other- orange, a third one- yellow, fourth one- green, etc. As soon as they found themselves in this miracle, the sisters wrote to their father: “ Dad, when we came down to the Earth, the clothes which you gave us changed so much that we hardly recognised ourselves, this initial light does not exist between us anymore’. The father then responded to his first daughter “My daughter, your red colour indicates that you bring Life on the Earth and to the people who tied themselves so much to these laws that they are dead today. Tell them that your light turned into Life and therefore you are red”. In this way, this first sun daughter gave Life to the children and this is why all went to plunge, began to fight and pluck their hair out about who should take more. The father wrote to his second daughter “My daughter, tell the people that you bring them breath ,Divine Life, tell them that they have to work and therefore your colour is orange”. People, however , did not understand what work was and started to work and struggle ...Today many of us are in this situation. If someone gets ill we quickly call for doctors or we start stuffing him with food as though the doctors and the lots of food will keep his life. This is a misconception. Do you know how the Angels eat? Do you know how the child feeds in her mum’s womb – does she eat on her own or is she fed by her mother?... The father wrote to his third daughter: “My daughter tell the people not to keep their eyes directed downwards, not to search for wealth but to look upwards and their souls to grow with the centuries, to be ever green like your colour ”. He wrote to his fourth daughter: “Tell the people that after each growth there is ripening, there is a harvest, and that the harvested fruit must be common to all. What grows, I give it to all in common and equally, and it must be divided into fraternal, that is, everyone should take only as much as he needs”. The father wrote to his fifth daughter: “Daughter your clothes are blue because your carry the Truth, you carry the way in which people will not catch colds , i.e. the way how to keep the Divine warmth in the soul of people”. Therefore, Truth means to have this inner method by which you can never catch a cold. Check in practice and you will see that the hatred is always a cold, the dissatisfaction is also a cold and all contradictions in the world are all colds. Conversely – every harmony is a Divine warmth and is one Truth. The Truth is a method, force for maintaining the Divine warmth in the human soul. I will skip over the sixth letter addressed to the sixth daughter, i will not unseal it and will leave it to you to puzzle it out. Because the fellow of the sixth daughter is not here, while I am not talking to one person but to two. I will turn to the amethyst colour. The father wrote to his seventh last daughter: “Daughter, tell the people that the Divine Kingdom is taken with Love, maintained with endearment and held with Spirit, hence your clothes are amethyst”... Today’s day is symbolically related to the future: the future culture will be a culture of love, culture of the Endearment and culture of the Spirit. Love is a force that heals all illnesses and defects, there is no better doctor than it in the world. Everyone who wishes to cure or acquire something has to have Love in herself. Do not aim to uncover what Love is, do not peck it, just try it. The unraveling is a mechanical act. Often do you ask the children how much they love you and they show with hands by opening them more or less widely according to the degree of love – they show half a finger for their brother, they indicate more for their bigger sister , they show even more for their mother – while when they show how much they love their father, they completely open their hands , i.e. they show they love him lots - as much as the whole world. The widely spread hands of the child show that their love is like the whole universe. Children love their father most for the father means God, i.e. ‚father’ and ‚God’ are synonymous words. If you see God and not the human in your fathers and mothers this law will immediately become clear to you. While now you say: “ This one to hang – that one to hang-this one is a thief - that one is a lier” and etc. The question is not solved with this. These seven sisters have initially come down to the Earth, afterwards have gone back to the Heavens but now they are coming to the world again but in a different form. “Wonderful Dawn is dawning”.The Dawn of what? “The Dawn of a new, light life”. If there is a dawn, there will be rays, which are already coming. They too should find you in the position of that young and beautiful ancient king who went hunting in a forest and somewhere after the tenth day a very beautiful bear-feet virgin, chased by villains stood in his way. When she saw the young man she asked him to save her without realising that he was a king. The king took her to his tent, he made a bed for her, set her to bed, then she turned to him and asked him: “Will you not do any harm to me , would you not misuse my trust, which i have for you?” He responded: “ Be calm, you are completely safe in my tent”. In this way, this girl didn’t wish to marry the king’s son and on the next day, he sent her with all honours. This is a mystery in the world. How many would have treated this young girl so nobly if she came in their tent? How many would have had the valour of not touching her? This is the question you need to resolve. The virgin is your soul, which you need to keep pure in yourselves. You who are studying the Christ’s Teaching and are listening to me, hear one thing but understand another. As soon as you see the virgin, you say: “"Can she not become a concubine, can she bring money from her father, does she have means?" No, this virgin only tested the king's son, but they both passed the exam. Therefore, Christ says, "The sons of the resurrection neither marry nor do they think of marriage." That means not raping the girl when she enters the tent. And if you ask me why you can not comprehend this teaching, I am answering you: because you have raped this virgin.Without blaming you, I am saying that there is no man who has not raped his soul. A porter in Varna was saying to his soul : ‚ you will either work or I will make you a shepherd and if you don’t want to do this too, i will put you to clean rubbish”. There are thousands and thousands of people who have sent their souls to do such dirty work. The soul is neither a porter nor a shepherd nor a servant who cleans rubbish. It is a soul that upholds the Divine Kingdom with Endearment. While the Kingdom of God are your sons who will come in the future, i.e. the Sons of immortality. Do not think that I wish to blame you. Today, I love evil as much as the Love; I love the thief as much as that one who doesn’t steal. For me, both are good- this one who lies and who doesn’t lie. What is a lie? It has its reasons and is a lie only under certain conditions. For example, if there is nothing a man can take from you would he lie or steal from you? However, if you have money, precious stones or something else, he will lie to you. Or if he was born in your home and you give him everything and if he has at his disposal all your fortune and you say to him: “My friend, all this is yours”, what necessity would he have to lie to you? Therefore, the lie stems from the inner restriction of the human soul,i.e. restrict the man and you will create the lie. For example, a mother says to her child not to touch somewhere, but he touches and in order to cover his deed, he lies. Do not restrict your child but tell him: “You have everything at your disposal”. I do not talk about your current children but about you ,i.e. about how you have to think today. You say you have to fix the world. There is nothing to fix, the world is you. “The Kingdom of God is taken with Love, kept with Endearment and held with Spirit. While the old translation said: “The Kingdom of God is taken with force”. And indeed, today, Bulgarians, and the English and Germans and the French- all want to take the Divine Kingdom with force. And the Bolsheviks likewise want to take it and say, "We have to hang and kill all the criminals to make the world right." Okay, but who will remain then? The world is full of thefts, of all kinds of sins, and full of gibbets. And the Bolsheviks will not put to right anything, they will only break down even more and destroy. I have nothing against them, but it must be understood that the future culture is only in the people who take the Kingdom of God with Love, who keep it with Endearment and hold it with Spirit. Here is the panacea of all your misfortunes. Under these conditions you will be able to recover your homes for one day and be able to resurrect every day. Today is the day of Resurrection. You will ask me whether you could resurrect. The sun says: “ You can”. There should be no cry, no grief! Crying is a remnant of the old culture – the old people cry, while in the New culture there should be no trace of crying. Do not allow any sorrow within yourself , feel it as the steamer feels the waves that hit its boards only externally, while be quiet and calm internally. Manage your ships with Love. Now, the women will ask what should they do with their men when they don’t leave them on peace. Who is your man and where is he? Your husband is in another ship, leave him to look after himself. While you are in a completely different ship. You ask yourselves what will happen to the ship of the other one, you are afraid it doesn’t sink. Some say: “ I will fix the other ship from my one”. And they start to fix each-other In what way? They fix each-other with grenades– they throw one, two, three and more grenades at the ship, until it turns down, until the Love and Fondness pour out of it and after that they say “is this why we got married?” This is the old culture of the marriage. God has nowhere written people should get married. The words‚ jena (woman)’ and ‚Jig’[1] stem from one and the same verb - ‚jigosvam’ (gibbering)’. People gibber at each-other but this is not a marriage. The Scripture says “This which God has united/married should not be spoiled for it is an inner marriage/unification. Often do you say about the young ones “To get them married”. You can get them married , there are various marriages – christian, muslim buddhist , i.e but in all of them people gibber. Then they start to search for the truth as to which peoples is the most noble. There is only one noble peoples in the world – the peoples of the Divine Love, Divine Endearment and Divine Spirit. You will probably ask me which people do the Bulgarians belong to. When you study the occultism trace back and see how the first races have formed and after that how the Bulgarian people have appeared. All races represent one humankind. One race is not the whole humankind but is a transitional stage like a ray of light. And every race, every ray carries within itself some germs, which it can develop. Therefore, every soul passes through seven stages and this which is contained in it is in the whole humankind and vice versa. In other words, when you study your life, you will also study the life of the whole humankind. You will say that this is a very easy job. It is not very easy but it is not a very difficult job either. You can and I trust you have understood it. And so, if you have understood all this, invest this Love in you. However, not the ordinary love but that one which under these big misfortunes in the world will bring new Joy to yourselves. As soon as this Divine Love arrives, it will cleanse everything. Now , you are asking what would they decide at the conference[2]. Don’t worry about that, I will tell you what: This, which they will decide there will be an old culture. However, today God makes a decision too and says: “The Kingdom of God can be taken with Love, kept with Endearment and held with Spirit on the Earth. And that people who have My Love, My Endearment and My Spirit will be the great people in the world. That person who has My Love, My Fondness and My Spirit will be the greatest person in the world. Thus saith the Lord, with all the angels, saints and great spirits. Therefore, if we become fond of God, we will be the greatest and most noble people in the world. Great in Love, Endearment, strength and power. The Kingdom of God comes for you. Today, I would like to break all chains, which you are enchained in and throw them away. I would like to turn all prisons in temples, into which the Divine Spirit – God of all completeness descends. All the Power comes from Him, the Word manifested in the world through Him and the world became a man. You will say, ‚here is one anarchist’. Yes, anarchist who wants through the Divine Love, Endearment and Spirit to destroy the old world and build a new one. What exactly? I will destroy every hatred and lie in all of you. When I meet someone who knows to lie, I say: “My friend, I love you because you are capable of lying”. If a person doesn’t tell me the Truth , this shows that I do not love the Truth so much. Every messenger should speak the Truth for God does not tolerate lies and will free the people from them. The Lord has written on his banner "Freedom, equality and fraternity for all - from the smallest to the greatest beings." Today, all the barns will be dissolved, everything will be distributed equally and everyone will be able to develop. And he who does not obey the Divine law will be cast out of the boundaries of the Earth. Remember this and tell it to everyone - all this will come true. All of you who are listening to me today will witness this great Divine work.The Lord has said this and His words are unchangeable. The Lord, who created the world, who spoke through Christ and all the prophets, will bring down falsehood and deception. (They say: Amen!) "Amen" is for the one who has Love, Endearment and Spirit. This, interpreted in your language, means a person who has a man, a woman and a child. In your language, women and men have become laughable: The man complains from his wife, the woman- from her husband, the children - from their parents, etc. Then I ask what is this love, endearment and spirit? In order to resurrect, put/invest the Divine Spirit in yourselves. Now, I require at least three things from you: Some to stand up, others to become alive, while third ones to resurrect. Only in this way, will you forget your old culture according to which you start well and finish badly or start badly and finish badly. Now you need to comprehend the following to start bad and finish well or to start well and finish well. In contemporary Christian language, this means that there are four categories of people: first, that believe in God, but do not live by God; second category that do not believe in God and do not live by God , third ones who do not believe in God but live in God and fourth, ones who believe and live by God. I am leaving aside the first two categories which are the people of the old culture for in the future I need the last two categories ,i.e. these ones that believe in and live by God and these ones that do not believe in God but live by Him. We need proselytes who do not believe, start bad but finish well and people who start and finish well. I would like that you are in one of the last two categories. I would like you to cast out from your souls, hearts, minds and heads all old beliefs that have been making you distant away from the God of Love until now. And then my words will become clear to you. And then you will experience a moment of Divine Love, which costs much more than all the knowledge you have, though having been acquired for thousands of years. This experienced moment contains the wholeheartedness of the universe, while the knowledge you have is nothing but little benefits. From now on, i don’t want you to disturb me with your sorrows, tell me about what has happened with you, what quarrels you have had and what misfortunes have come to you. If someone is thirsty, hungry or sorrowful, I will give him water, feed and comfort him but to listen to what receivables-donations he has had is not my job; leave this for the servants of the old culture. Money, shirts, socks and shoes, please do not bring me anything and get rid of the thought of bribing me with these things of yours. I can work like each of you, do you see these hands – I can acquire my bread with labour. If you can do this with Love, I don’t mind at all – I will accept with all my heart, I will meet you, I will kiss you and will say to you: “Welcome to God’s Kingdom”. Otherwise, I will tell you: “ My Friend , you haven’t entered through the door of Love”. If you can fulfil everything in the name of the Divine Love and Fondness ok but I do not exist out of them. This is the Divine Teaching in an allegorical meaning. I would like to present you this, which once upon a time, the Great God has said to the first man in the Paradise and then has spoken through all prophets and Christ. Some of the prophets have understood God but others have not understood Him and have distorted His words and today, they are not transmitted in the way they have been given the first time. For many prophets have lied but we thank them for their lies. They have had reasons to lie. For example, the prophet is afraid that he will be imprisoned or hanged and hence he exaggerates things in order to be followed: “God says that Bulgaria will become great and will conquer the whole world”. No, my friend, this prophet is lying. I will prophesy to you like that: If the Bulgarian people can take the Kingdom of God through Love, if they can keep It with Endearment and hold It with Spirit, then they will be the greatest people and their king, regardless of who he is will also be the greatest. The last Bulgarian, a shepherd or a cattleman may be positioned as a King but I will have the greatest respect for him if he can apply this. This is how the following question should be looked into: everyone who was born and inspired by Love, Endearment and Spirit, royal blood flows in his veins. I would like that such blood flows in all of you. I would like you to forget yesterday, I am not there anymore. It is 9th March today, I am out of the grave, the shroud is not on my head anymore and I am ready for everything. Do you understand well? When the Bulgarian wants to say that he is ready for everything he says that he has already loosened his belt. While this in Divine language means that instead of people lying to me, I am starting to work. If there is still evil in the world, this means that I have not yet done my job, i.e. I have not given as much as is needed from my Love and Spirit. The world would not have fallen had I given these to it. Someone is complaining from a misfortune while I am telling to myself: “Dunov, did you understand what you have done? This man needed to be given more”. And therefore, from today, I start rectifying all my mistakes of thousands of years. You will say: “How good Mr Dunov is!” Do not talk about goodness but only about Love, Endearment and keeping of the Spirit. Do not think that I am different from you – no, there is no difference between you and me. If there is such, it is only external, while in essence, by inner contents and origin of the Divine Spirit, we are all the same. Your sorrows are mine too but because I do not anymore recognise sorrows and hatred in the world (apart from that they exist as shadows), then you too have to give up on them. What is a sorrow and hatred , i don’t know, I only have a feel for them. For example: Someone suffers from a toothache and says he will never forget this pain but his tooth heals, he forgets everything, only a memory of the pain that is an illusion of our mind remains. Today, God is talking to you in simple language, it is only necessary for you to wish to understand and listen to Him. It is possible that when you go home you ask yourselves: “What can I do?” Do not think what you can do. When you go to the railway station, do you ask what you need to do about the locomotive, whether it needs water, coal or oil? No, you are only asked whether you will travel. Enter the wagon and do not think either about coal or water or the oil of the wheels. When the train stops at the next station, come down and then think what you need to do next for the Kingdom of God. I say this in your language. Open your souls. Instead of opening them you break them like someone who cannot open a bottle and breaks it down. Everything has a special way for opening. Open your mind and heart and this which you have not understood for thousands of years, you will understand now. You are all very rich, you don’t see how much you have in your safes - you are covered in wealth but are watching how rich the others are. I will send a commission, which will inspect the condition of your safes and see what flour, oil, olives, sugar and other things you have in your stores! Therefore, I say: make friends from the wealth of injustice. Translated in your language this means to wash the clothing you are wearing and is already unpleasant to you in order to become pleasant for you. In today’s hard times, people took out their thrown clothes from their storerooms and renewed them. This is what to make friends from the wealth of the injustice means. And so, the Kingdom of God is taken with Love, kept with Endearment and held with Spirit. Now, calm down for I notice a hypnotic state in you. I, however, do not want to hypnotise you. Calm down and do not hurry, I would like you to think seriously. The Kingdom of God, Love, Endearment, the Spirit never hurry. We anyway have to manifest this which God wants. We are even late with its manifestation – we have used a big part of our life for unimportant things, which God doesn’t want, therefore, the suffering and misfortunes have come. However, today, I am turning a new page and I will write on it about the woman in the following way: if you find your husband under the weather, tell him that you will become fond of him for you haven’t been fond of him until now. Your God is in your husband: love Him and then tell Him : “God, I will love your Spirit, I will become fond of Your soul and body”. If your daughter is under the weather, tell her the same. Turn to God and say: “ God , I would like you to help me break all old chains”. I would like from all of you to give a hand to each-other and to start working everyone as they know. Create as many societies as you wish, preach where you wish- in churches, Stugdi[3] (squares), schools and other places, work in whatever way you wish, i do not impose on you any restrictions, discipline or law. If you do not have the three things , which I spoke to you about – Love, Endearment and Spirit, the old law is in you, but if you have them, you will do miracles. Today, the whole Bulgarian nation can say to Europe: “This slavery is enough!” The Lord who we worship says that the Kingdom of God can be taken with Love, kept with Fondness and held with Spirit, and we have decided from now on to take It with Love. Until now, you have wanted to be only spiritual people. No, be public, political, cultural and spiritual people. I recommend this rule equally to men, women and children. This is the great law of the Freedom. Do not ask whether time has already come. You have slept a lot - pull the curtains, open the windows and you will see that the Sun has risen long ago. The shutters are closed in some of you and you say: “it is not dawn yet”. Until you wake up, the Sun will set while you will continue thinking that it hasn’t risen yet, you will lie down and will miss the new sunrise too. The Divine Sun has already risen. Hold on to the Divine rules, work reasonably and you will never fall down. Tell your brother: “I love you my brother, I will hold you with my spirit and you will be safe on my bed- no hair will fall from your head”. And so, yesterday’s bills do not count anymore, the Divine law does not recognise any bills or charges. You often ask whether the Covenant will impose a contribution on Bulgaria. If you follow the old law, you will be imposed big contributions, which you will not be able to pay back for tens and hundreds of years. If you follow the new law, if you apply the impulse of taking the Kingdom of God with Love, keeping it with Endearment and holding it with Spirit, there will be no contribution. They can tell you : “Despite everything, we will impose a contribution on you”. It doesn’t matter, we love you. Always keep this verse in your mind and the future will be good for both you and the whole Bulgarian nation. If the Bulgarians accept this verse if they follow and believe in it, this is good but if they do not accept it , it is still good because one or two nations will always accept it. This is the motto of the doors of the Kingdom of God. This is what Christ has taught and all His followers have studied once upon a time. This is why they were took for anarchists and suffered. Today, everyone is saying that the Earth is a rueful Ydol[4]. No, a rueful ydol is the human life. The Earth is our blessed mother that gives us all goods. Why do we cry against it? The Earth gives us colours, fruits, all sorts of foods, it cuddles and comforts us. It is not the Earth that is sinful but us who do not understand this great law, we have tarnished it and have tarnished our mother. If you ask me what your future will be, I will predict that if each of you accepts the Divine Love, Endearment and Spirit, s/he will become a king or a queen in the future. So, if you are all listening to me , I will make you kings, queens or princes. If you comprehend what i recommend to you, you will not be stupid people. Do not say as David : “My mother conceived me in sin”. Today, you will be conceived by the Divine Love, you will be elevated by the Divine Endearment and will be resurrected through the Divine Spirit. I would like that each of you calls God. It is said in the Scripture: “Call upon me in the day of trouble”. I say: Call upon God in the day of His Love, Endearment and Spirit and He will give you everything you want. Then, there will be no more sorrow and every tear will be wiped from your eyes. Now, you will ask me why you are sorrowful. Because you live in the Old Testament. Everyone who has grief in himself, he is in the past and not the present day. In the present day, there is no sorrow because God reigns in it. And so, today, some of you will be conceived in order to wake up, others will be conceived in order to live and third ones will be conceived to be resurrected. Each of you will fall in one of these categories. Open your mind for the development of your soul and you will understand the greatest secrets; you will have a communion with the Angels and saints, you will understand what is above, you will pass from glory to glory, from one sun to another from one planetary system to another. I do not allow any doubt! When you go back home, don’t ask yourselves whether all this is true. Doubt is yesterday’s old man - do not believe him. There are two types of faith: to believe in the lie or in the Truth. The worst birds that have made the nest on the tree dirty have been gathered in the contemporary faith. If you believe that there is death, illnesses, that there is nothing good in the world, this is Lucifer’s faith. Believe in the Love, Fondness, and Spirit, in everything good, which God has created. I don’t want the old to be young and the young- old, but would like all of you to be clever and wise. The young man presupposes a strong man while the old one - a wise man. That is why, the old will tell the young one: “I have knowledge while you-strength: come brother to work”. And now the young people say: “When I become older, i will work then”. You don’t have to become old, you are anyway such. The mother on the other hand says to her child :“If you become better, I will love you”. Do not lie to your children – love them even if they are bad. If they are good, they will not need your Love. It will be funny for a doctor to arrive in order to heal me when I am healthy but when I am ill ,I will accept him. You say: “In order to love someone, he needs to be pure”. No, now you love him in this state because he needs you today. As I see, today you need massages and I make them – I rub off hands and legs. You will say: “How you rub off with a masterhood!” You will excuse me but today, I am a doctor in a hospital and am making surgeries. Some say that Dunov is against the surgeries. The Purulence must be cut and the health needs to remain. As soon as you come out of the hospital, I will come to your home but will not bring my cures or measure your pulse, I will not look into your eyes, but will kiss you in a Divine way. There should be Divine kisses on the Heavens only but not on the Earth because there are viruses here. Here men and women start in a divine way but finish in an earthy way. While they are young, they give each-other many kisses but when they get old there are no kisses. It should be acted in the opposite: to first start with one kiss per year, then one kiss per month, a kiss per week, a kiss per day, a kiss per hour and to increase it gradually like this. This is how the law of Love should be followed. It is said in the Scripture: “Kiss each-other with a holly kissing”. When the women listen to me, they will ask themselves whether a stranger man can kiss them. Pay attention that I do not recognise men and women, virgins and boys but recognise only humans. And every person is your brother, sister and friend and etc. And if your brother meets you in the Kingdom of God and does not kiss you, he commits a crime as it is a crime today if a stranger man kisses someone’s wife. Today, such men are cast out while in the Kingdom of God is the opposite – when you enter without a kiss, you are cast out and ask you to go down to the Earth. You say it is nice to be on the Earth. It is nice but only when the mortal is dressed in the immortal, while the impure - in purity. Therefore, I tell you to undress the old garments, beliefs and habits. And do not think what Dunov has said, what someone or another have written. Look at whether this which someone says is true or not. And if it is true, accept this person and kiss him. If it is not true, tell him that he is trying to kiss you in a bad way and show him the way. When you read a novel and a bad thought comes to you, the author has kissed you in a false way. Then tell him :“Out!” If you can resurrect someone, if you can feed a hungry one or give water to a thirsty one , kiss him, give an excellent kiss to his soul and spirit. Do not diminish the meaning, I do not talk about chastity and I do not want a false chastity from you. Today’s chastity of mine is false but so is your one because we are not yet pure, we are not in the Kingdom of God. However, we can become pure in a moment. According to the law of reincarnation, the purification can take place for a thousand of years but can also happen for a moment. There are cases when a man falls immediately but there are also cases when a man immediately elevates himself - both are true. Now, I would not wish any blessing to you because a blessing without Love is a lie. Go back to your sorrowful brothers, sisters, friends, servants and tell them: “ The Kingdom of God is taken with Love , kept with Endearment and held with Spirit ”. I would like you all to scatter around Sofia and give talks – this way you will put the whole city in an alarm. As I didn’t call you at this assembly by force or with special invitations, so do you meet someone and lecture him. In this way, you will create a great Assembly. Love him and find out what a great thing the human soul is. I say to the women: “Become fond of each-other!”, I say to the men: “Love each-other!”, I say to your children: Hold each-other with Spirit!” I say to the grannies: “Become fond of each-other!”, I say to the grandfathers: “Love each-other!”, I say to their great-grandchildren: “Hold each-other with Spirit!” Every young woman to take an old grandfather, every young man to take an old grandma because the king’s daughter is hidden in these old grandfather and grandmother. When the old grandmother undresses from her old rags, she will come out like a beautiful butterfly and will say: “I am not a grandma but I am the royal daughter you are searching for”. When the grandfather takes off his old garments, he will say: “I am not an old grandfather, I am a levent boy, I am the royal son who was only hidden in this shell”. Search for and you will find your Love, your Endearment and your Spirit. The Love you will find in the grandfather, the Endearment in the grandmother, while the Spirit in the grandchildren. Or you will find Love in the men, Endearment in the women and the Spirit - in the children. In every virgin and young man, you will find the Love, Endearment and Spirit. And now I set the motto of your future life on the Earth to be virgin, i.e. to have Love, Endearment and Spirit, to stay above every faith, religious societies and perceptions, to unite with God and say: “God, we will serve you with Love, we will keep your Kingdom with Endearment and will hold it with the Spirit.”. Sunday Lectures 22.03.1919 Saturday, Sofia [1] Jig (arch.)- scar made with hot iron on the skin of the cattle (red line) [2] This word is used for the peace conference, convened in January 1919 and culminating the signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty between Germany and the Covenant on 28 June 1919 [3] Stugdi, (arch.)- Square [4] Yudol (arch.)- the valley of suffering

My Yoke „Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.“ (Matthew 11:29, 30) „Take My Yoke." This is a positive command. "Why should we take Christ's yoke?" - Because it's good and light. What will be gained from this? - We will learn to be meek and humble. You will say that these are prosaic words. The yoke is a symbol of slavery - a negative side of life. All living creatures, from the smallest to the biggest, carry one yoke. There is no being in the world, which is absolutely free from yoke. Therefore, when Christ offers people His yoke, He compares it to the yoke they alone impose on themselves. He says: „Take my yoke because it is good and light’. Indeed, every human yoke is heavy and bitter. What does the word ‚yoke’ mean? In Turkish, ‚Yok’ means ‚there is none’, in English ‚yok’ means yoke; in Hindu, ‚Yog’ means a Teacher. Therefore, Christ speaks about His Yoke in the sense of a teacher. He says: ‚Take my yoke’, i.e. accept Him as a teacher in yourselves and learn from Him. In the broad sense of the word, ‚under Yoke’ the Turk understands absence of freedom; the Englishman advises the man to put a yoke and go forward; the Hindu sees in the yoke a teacher that teaches a man to good; The Bulgarian considers the yoke as slavery. He knows this by himself. When he gets up in the morning, he puts his oxbow on his buffalo, goes after them with his groin and says, Dee! The buffalo turns back and asks their master: Why are they beating us? "Because there is no freedom in this world. Is the yoke necessary in life? In the nowadays circumstances of life, the yoke is necessary. It leads the man to suffering, labour and work. As the contemporary man has sunk deep into the matter and has connected with it, he suffers until he breaks these bonds. After that he starts to work, and his life becomes meaningful. If he realises his life, a man works. So does the chicken struggle while in the eggshell. As soon as the time for hatching approaches, it starts knocking on the shell until it breaks through and goes out into freedom. There is yoke in the free life too, however the chicken is already working to secure its livelihood. All people are enclosed in a shell, which they need to come out from. While he doesn’t feel it, a man stays in his shell quietly and calmly. As soon as he gets fed up, he suffers, makes attempts to break through and come out of it. It is important he acts in accordance with the moment of its (the shell) being broken through. If he breaks it through prematurely he will either die or he will come out but weakly and incapable of living independently. Be careful to break your shell in time. This moment in life we call the acquisition of freedom, entering into the new life. The alchemists call it the acquisition of the philosophical stone, and the Gospel speaks of it as the entry of man into the Kingdom of God. Whoever has acquired the Kingdom of God, he does not speak of it. If you hear someone constantly speaking of the Kingdom of God, you will know that he is far from it. The more a man speaks of righteousness, truth, love, morality, and wealth, the further he stands from them. As a whole, people talk about things they don’t have. The hungry man talks about the bread until he has eaten. As soon as he has eaten, he doesn’t think about the bread anymore. When he gets hungry, he starts again thinking about the bread, his imagination is working, he imagines an oven full of warm and redden breads. „For I am meek and humble of heart “. With this verse, Christ opens a new epoch for the humankind. What is the impressive in this epoch? — "The axe disappears, the servants become one with the masters, the woman and the man go together in life. Whoever has entered this age, says: I am now throwing the axe away, I release my oxen into freedom, I associate my servant with friendship, and finally I go into the kitchen and start cooking together with my wife, I go shoulder to shoulder with her in my life. Christ says: „Take my yoke upon you. “You will immediately ask yourselves: Can this yoke be taken? Is it already time? What will the results be? For two thousand years, people have been asking each other the same questions but no one asks them anymore whether they are ready or not. When they meet a man with a heavy bag, they do not ask him whether he is ready to be relieved but they take his bag and say: We have the right to take your bag. Another is the question if you can carry it; If you cannot, we come to help. If they meet a man who has harnessed oxen in his car and walks after them with a goad, they will stop the car and will tell him: My friend, unload your car and release your oxen. I will harness myself and will work instead of them. It is time that the strong, big ones start to work and replace the small and weak ones. Modern people need to get free of the double yoke - physical and spiritual, which they have encountered. In the early days of Christianity, one holly man met a big rich man, who searched for a slave to serve him. The holly man offered to the rich one to become his slave. The rich man agreed but first asked him: How much do you want me to pay you? — I am selling myself for 1000 ducats. — I agree, from today, you will be my slave and servant. The holly man performed well his work and remained two years in the rich man’s home. During this time, he managed to turn his master’s two daughters to God. In this way, he freed them from the chains of the human misconceptions. When he finished his work he told his master that he needed to leave his home. The master agreed and offered him 1000 ducats, which he owed him. However, the saint, refused to take any sum and added: Master, everything has been paid to me. I have been paid 500 ducats for each of your daughters who I turned to God. This is an allegory, which people need to learn from. The saint has not received any sum for the daughters of the rich man, but he knows that the happiness in the Heavens is great when one soul turns to God. Many talk about the Christ’s blood, the sacrifice Christ made for the humankind, about the love, the justice but when they enter their homes, their relationships with their close ones are different. The wife of one such a Christian has said: I don’t want to enter this paradise you are talking to me about. So have been saying the Chinese about the Catholics whom they have been listening talking in one way but acting in another. They often asked: Are there Catholics in the other world? — There are. — Then we don’t want to enter this paradise, which they are talking about. Therefore, there shouldn’t be a contradiction between the deeds and words of a man. Besides, when we promise something, we need to use the present tense of the verbs and not the future one. God talks always in present tense and not in future. The present belongs to God, while the future to the man. Say: I am taking the Christ’s yoke upon myself. If you say: ‚I will take the Christ’s yoke’, you lie at yourself and your neighbour. Whoever takes the Christ’s yoke, he acquires the requisite freedom. Free is this one who has learnt the laws of the meekness and humility. The salt is meek and humble. If you put it in water, it dissolves without making a noise, murmur or protest. Therefore, if you get angry with your wife that she hasn’t cooked well you are not meek and humble. — I am a good man but I am a little bit nervous.- Which man is not nervous? Whose nerves are not active? — I am neurasthenic.— There is nothing bad in the neurasthenia. The neurasthenic is this one who has winded round in the labyrinth of his thoughts and feelings, has lost his Path and cannot go out in freedom. This is the situation of a man who has to pay two - three bills in one day but doesn’t have enough money and wonders how to come out of this situation.— What is the cure of this neurasthenia? — To go to your creditor and ask him to continue the term of your bill. — My ambitiousness does not allow me to ask this and that one.— How does your ambitiousness allow you to sign so many bills? If you have signed a few bills without being in a position to pay them you have already violated your ambitiousness. Now you have nothing left apart from praying for and recovering your ambition and dignity. One Turkish cadia considered the case of a rich Turk. Before he pronounced and issued the sentence, the Turk visited the cadia and made the following request: Mr. Cadia, I will give you a hundred pounds and a pot of pure, good oil if you judge the case properly. The cadia issued the verdict in favour of the Turk. To express his gratitude, the Turk brought him the promised hundred pounds and a pot of oil. The cadia thanked, and after his farewell to the Turk, he decided to try the oil, whether it was good. As he reached forward with his hand in the pot, he was utterly surprised. Only the upper layer was butter, and in the middle of the pot there were bovine impurities. Being very angry, he sent the servant to call the Turk. The latter stood calmly before the cadia and asked him: What do you want from me? — How didn’t you have any shame to fill the pot with impurities? When I put my hands inside, I made them dirty. You made them dirty long time ago. While you were announcing your judgment, you put your hands in the pot and made your fingers dirty. So, remember that the devil's pot, which you often reach forward to is full of impurities. "Are there devils among people?" -"There are, they are spirits embodied in a human form. They are well dressed, they occupy different services in society. " — How can you recognise the devil? — Very easy. It's enough to get into his pot to find out who you're dealing with. On top, there's something sweet in the pot, but it's full of dirt. This is the diagnosis, by which you recognise the presence of the devil. One of the greatest sciences in life is about the proper nutrition. Both in the past and today, the man has eaten and eats impure food. — Is this possible? — It is possible. Every cell has a stomach and intestines like the whole animal. If so, it emits impurities. As the man eats plants and animals, therefore he receives the impurities of the very cells too. The thoughts, feelings and deeds of people are also pure and impure. In order to get convinced in that it is enough to reach forward with only two fingers in their pots. As soon as we take our fingers outside, we will find out what they bring for the whole humankind.— Can a man get rid of the impurities of the physical and spiritual world? — He can but he needs to transform himself, to become meek and humble. Christ says: „Take my yoke upon you to learn how to become meek and humble“. Christ is meek and humble; he does not ferment, complain or get angry. The meekness is a necessary condition for the life of the great man. Noone can force the meek neither can they do any wrong to him. According to some the meek is recognised by that he is peaceful, stays still and does not move much. This is not meekness. Meekness is the inner state of the soul whereby the thoughts and feelings of a man are directed to one centre with the sole purpose of building. And the water is meek. It penetrates everywhere, waters the plants and animals, it satisfies the thirst of the passengers, it does useful job. Sometimes, it becomes turbulent, causes lots of damages but this is because of the people who change its nature. They want to harness its meekness, to use it for their personal benefits. The water has the characteristic of purifying various substances. If unclean salt dissolves in it, sludge falls to the bottom. After evaporation of the water, the salt is again separated, but already clean and in the form of crystals. So, for the purification of the salt, the sludge remains, i. e. the meekness separates from its sludge. He who presents himself as meek without being such carries only the sludge of meekness. — Which person is meek? — He who carries the Christ’s yoke upon himself. — Who is not meek? — Whoever does not carry Christ’s yoke. The Christ’s yoke is related to the law of meekness. Whoever carries this yoke, he studies this law. Now, when it is talked about meekness, people will be separated into categories: The first category will accept the idea of meekness from fear; the second category will accept it from a material interest in order to gain something; the third one — from love towards the science to learn something, to try the power of meekness; The forth one – from love towards God, to apply His Word and be useful to their neighbour. It is not bad that so many categories of people exist; It is important at the end all to accept the yoke of Christ, to become meek and humble. This is not achieved all of a sudden but gradually. We cannot teach the caterpillars to fly neither the butterflies to crawl. What do some people do? They meet caterpillars and start preaching them how to fly. It is dangerous for the caterpillar to fly. It has to creep and feed with leaves. Its time to fly and feed with the sweet nectar of the flowers has not come yet. The only thing that can be done for the caterpillar is when you see it on the ground, to place it on a leaf to gnaw calmly, undisturbed by anyone. It is dangerous to teach the butterfly to crawl. It has to move in a garden with lots of flowers, to suck their sweet nectar and rejoice in the Divine world. Everyone talks about the self-knowledge but when he comes across a certain test, he sees that he doesn’t know himself. Therefore, often does the man ask himself whether he is a butterfly or a caterpillar. In order to know yourself observe yourself to see whether you fly or crawl; whether your pot is full with pure oil or there are impurities in it. If you are angry, reach forward with your hand in the pot and see whether your finger is clean or not. If it is clean, continue your work; if it is unclean get rid of the poison of anger and then work. If an idea comes to your mind before you realise it, check whether you are flying or crawling. When flying, you will realise it in one way; when crawling you will realise it in another way. Someone deals with a lot of things but when he cannot do them by himself he reaches out to outsider’s help. This person is crawling. Whoever does not search for others’ help, he is flying.— Why? — Because he trusts in God and when he flies, he finds the requisite nectars everywhere. Whoever does not trust in God and is not connected with Him and suffers regardless of whether he is a butterfly or a caterpillar, whether he is flying or crawling. Some people are in a caterpillar state, while others - in a butterfly one, despite that both types suffer.— Why? — Because often does the caterpillar fall between flowers without leaves. From here and there it goes around, there are no food and conditions for its development. While the butterfly falls between the leaves of trees and plants without flowers. It also deprives itself of food and conditions for development. Therefore, if the caterpillar is complaining that it suffers, I say it is placed between flowers without leaves. If the butterfly also complains that it is suffering it is located between leaves. „Take my yoke upon you for I am meek and humble.“ To be meek and humble means entering into good conditions for your development, not fermenting and being quiet and calm and waiting for the time for studying the secrets of life. Someone wants to know what does the other world present, what the astral and mental worlds are. These are worlds, which can be defined with one word. For example, the astral world is the world of the desires, the mental one – of the thought while the causal one - of the causes and consequences of things. What knowledge is this one that can be defined with only one word? If you compare the matter of the three worlds – physical, astral and mental you will see that the matter of the physical world is the densest, while that of the astral world is thinner and the one of the mental world - the thinnest. It is up to a man to change the properties of the physical matter, i.e. to make it more versatile, more elastic and finer. Do you have to allow negative thoughts in your mind, which thicken the atmosphere around it? You have heard how someone is blatant to an acquaintance of theirs because the latter one has told them an offensive word. He will answer with ten offensive words and does not think that with that he has already reached into the unclean pot and has made himself dirty. In this way, he exposes himself much more than the insulting word is exposing him. Keep in your mind high and pure thoughts, which connect you with the mental world where saints and reasonable beings have lived in. If an impure thought comes to your mind, immediately put it in the fire of the Divine love to burn and turn into an ash. Now, I don’t talk to you but to the cadia and his accused - the Turk. Should the cadia be crossed with the Turk, that he has told him the truth? Be grateful to everyone who tells you the truth; Who from you all has fulfilled the Divine will as they should? Let everyone answer themselves what they have done for God.— Am I the biggest sinner? – it is not a question whether you are a sinner or not; It is important everyone to fulfil the will of That One who has sent him here on the Earth. The good of the human soul as well as the good of the whole humankind is hidden in the fulfilment of this great will. You will say that it is easy to talk but the world is not corrected with words only. I do not think that I can rectify the world but re - do my affairs. This is how every artist does. When he draws a painting he leaves it aside for some time, he doesn’t deal with it. After a while, he looks at it again to find a shortcoming. As soon as he sees such one he immediately rectifies it. When he watches it for a long time he doesn’t see anything bad – he puts it aside again. This is how he rectifies his mistakes until one day he doesn’t see anything bad in it and considers the painting as finished. When I meet one person I consider him as one of my unfinished paintings and immediately take my brush to rectify one of his imperfections. Do you know what paints I use? Usually, I use all colours of the spectrum. However, I never use a black paint. The black colour means a rest, absence of life. It is a negative colour. „Because I am meek and humble of heart.“ The meekness and humility are as necessary in life as the salt. These are internal qualities that give an opportunity to a man to develop correctly. In this way, he comes not only to the external but also to the inner knowledge. The meek one manifests himself only then when he enters into communication with people. He brings peace among the people with his presence. The meekness harmonises people because of which they unite and form big societies. This is how God acts too with His presence. — Is it possible different people with different characters to unite in one whole? Look what the musicians do in one orchestra. Every musician plays their part and at the end the tones of the different instruments merge in chords and form something harmonious and pleasant for listening. Here acts the law of merging. Therefore, every musical piece, which is founded on this law is meek and harmonious. If you want to create beautiful and supernal music put the meekness into an action; if you want to create a new religion, which rests upon love, lay meekness as a foundation; if you want to transform your life on Earth, to clean your relationships, put meekness as a foundation of your actions. Meekness increases the vibrations of a man and leads him to pure and Divine life. Every thought, feeling and action that are deprived of the meekness are a manifestation of lack of love. Purity and Genuineness are required from a man. How the pure man is recognised? — When you reach out with your two fingers in his pot and your fingers remain clean, he is pure. In this way, your purity will be recognised. A woman, digs into the ground with her two fingers in order to plant something. The human religion, consciousness, will and righteousness are hidden in these fingers. This is why when you say that a man needs to know himself this means he needs to reach out with his two fingers in his pot and see whether his fingers are clean or dirty. Meekness and humility are qualities, which go together. The humble one never talks about himself. He performs his obligations quietly and in good faith and thus he manifests himself. Christ came on the Earth exactly because of this to show people how to live. There is no peace without meekness and humility. The sea is turbulent , i.e. the human heart but one is the way for its quietening — the path to the meekness and humility. Why should your heart be worried? The writer is worried about his work, whether the critics will pronounce very harshly about it. The scientist is worried about his invention. If your composition rests upon the truth there is no reason to be worried. There are strict critics but if they are genuine they are not dangerous. It is important for a man to be genuine towards himself and his neighbours and not to fall into hypocrisy. Someone’s face has been distorted from suffering while he represents himself for being calm. The face of the calm one is a reflection of his soul. Even if he suffers he endures everything with consciousness and love, he knows that he is himself guilty of his suffering and does not cast his responsibility on other people.— The burden is not easy to carry. — It depends on the man. And the pregnant woman carries a yoke but she is happy that a man would be born to the world. The pregnant woman should carry her child with meekness and humility in order to pass these qualities to it too. Only in this way can the future generation improve. Therefore, no matter where you carry your yoke – on your neck, back, in your womb, mind, heart – carry it with joy, meekness and humility. „Take my yoke upon you, for I am meek and humble of heart.“ Here is a verse that deserves to be applied in life; everyone has to write it in his mind and heart. The pregnant woman should repeat this verse throughout her whole pregnancy. Does she do so? Sometimes she remembers this verse but after she births the child and then it is already late. Christ’s yoke is necessary for the mental and spiritual life of a man. Without it, he exaggerates his thoughts, desires and deeds. What does a man to live with exaggerated thoughts and desires mean? — This presupposes a tree with bad, rotten fruits. The thoughts are the fruits of the mind, while the feelings- of the heart. Two elements are needed in order to create one thought: а) — the higher manas and в) — the lower manas. Both elements form c) together the very thought. And in the spiritual world, the feelings are formed from two elements: a request and desire. And so the letter a) is the mind, b) - the heart, c)- the will. Therefore, а+в=с. The will is a child of the mind and heart. Therefore, when you say about someone that his will is not being disciplined, this means that his mind and heart are not disciplined. If they are uneducated, so will the child born from them be. Someone wants to educate their mind and heart with the will. This is also possible but your son will play the role of your will. He will get married and together with his wife will educate you. The son will be a), while his wife - b), and you - c), i. e. his children. What will a-b be equal to? I leave this question open for you to resolve it. Meekness and humility — two great qualities of the astral world, which create the true desires and aims of the heart. Whoever wants to come into a communication with the higher inhabitants of the astral world has to be meek and humble. Without these qualities you will again go to the astral world and will come back without having acquired anything. The meekness and humility prepare the man for his conscious entering into the astral world. They soothe the soul, which strengthens the body and makes it healthy and cheerful. The healing of a man is impossible without meekness and humility. No idea can be applied without meekness and humility. The meek one behaves well with both the people and animals. He knows the strength of the rough relationships, bad words and associates them with poisonous and bad drinks. Therefore, I say: Do not give each other bad words and rough relationships. Every word is precious when it is used in its place. Today, all people are given conditions to be meek and humble of heart. „Take my yoke.“ The yoke, these are the man’s both eyes. Whoever does not apply the law of meekness and humility carries yoke on their back. The human spirit is harnessed to work. Its seat is the eyes, which it sees everything through and goes forward. Simultaneously, the eyes are also the yoke of a man. Whatever he sees through them he wishes it for. If he cannot achieve it, he comes back home unhappy and disappointed. He sees fields, houses, cattle - he wants everything. You hear him say at last: I want wine, a pig, to drink and eat and to understand the meaning of life. And if he cannot satisfy his wishes, he says he is carrying a yoke. The yoke is not in this that he hasn’t achieved his temporary desires but in that he hasn’t used his eyes in place - he has wished for things, which are unnecessary. Whoever is not happy with his life, will carry the yoke on his neck; if he is still unhappy, the yoke will move onto his back. And at last, the yoke will enter his womb and will give birth to a child. In this way, the yoke will shift until the man realises the meaning of life and becomes perfect, i. e. meek and humble. Therefore, the yoke is first on the eyes, then on the neck, back and at the end on the abdomen. To deal with this yoke presupposes studying alchemy. Therefore, do not talk about your desires and do not suffer for this which you have not achieved; use the knowledge that comes through your eyes and think what you need to do every day. Say to yourselves: Today, I need to be meek and humble because of That One Who has given me life. If you are not ready to be meek and humble because of God and you disturb Him, your angel will abandon you. If the mother and father worry about anything and nothing, their close ones will leave the Earth one after another. It is frightening for a man to remain on his own on the Earth, without relatives and friends like a dry tree without leaves, branches and blossoms. The more he worries, the lower he descends and loses everything, which has been given to him. In order for this not happen, accept Christ’s yoke, which leads to meekness and humility. Only in this way, will you raise and enrich yourselves. To take Christ’s yoke, means to accept the knowledge of your Teacher in yourselves. Whoever is not meek and humble cannot acquire love. The most difficult art is to love. Where love is, there is the Spirit. Learn to love not only the people but the small flies and bugs too. Conditions for their future development are also hidden in them. When they become meek and humble, people will deal well with the animals and plants and will not cut the forests chaotically. I see a wonderful palace on the tree for the creatures that live in it. In the crystal, I also see a palace for the creature that lives in it. Therefore, you have no right to take the life of a tree without a permission. For everything we need to ask the master of the house. What do the modern people do? They have the life of the lower creatures as their property but at the end of the day they also pay. Whether they confess this is not important. You will oppose by saying that God has created everything for the man. What does the man represent? Part of the whole humankind. Therefore, as a part, he is obliged to ask for a permission for everything he needs from That One Who is a Master of the whole. The Christ Teaching requires this. This is required by the new religion— the religion of the work, life and love. Today, I meet young girls, boys, children and adults who pick the flowers relentlessly and then throw them as useless. This is not allowed. We have a bad opinion for a man who picks flowers and throws them. The way he picks up the heads of the flowers so he could do with the head of a man. Someone picks the flowers and gives them to his close ones. This is not allowed too. For such cases the Bulgarians say: „With a stranger’s bread, a memorial cannot be made“. How many flowers I have been given but I have paid for all of them. As soon as I receive a flower I turn to its Master and say: Please forgive this child. It does not understand the law. When it grows up, it will understand its mistake and will rectify it. The new education requires respect for the flowers and trees as well as for the people. I am laying a new law: „Love every tree, flower, animal as you love yourself“. You will say: Who are you, what right do you have to lay a new law? — I translate the old laws into a new language in order to be understood and realised by all. Every life being – a grass, a tree, an animal is an expression of an idea that is hidden in it. And the man is an expression of a Divine idea. When he comes to the Earth, God will first search for the man to see to what extent he has realised the idea, which has been invested in him. He will be surprised when He sees how much the man has distorted himself, how much he has distorted the Divine idea, placed in his soul. God will tell the man: You don’t have the right to bet your body and soul. They are not your ownership. Your body is a Divine temple and you don’t have the right to stain it. How many men and women are thrown out today to the garbage, like the remains of lambs and piglets, and on top of them they put a cross and write: God forgive them! To repent them in His Kingdom! God will pardon the deceased, but he will also pardon the one who has caused the destruction of his house, his body. I will say, Lord, repent in your Kingdom all men and women, elders and children, preachers, teachers and disciples, merchants and craftsmen, and teach them to live properly, not to destroy the houses of their neighbours, not to take away the life of all living things on the face of the Earth. That is to take the Christ’s yoke upon you and become meek and humble. * 7. Lecture from the Master, held on 9 Mach, 1919 Sofia.

The Book - The Salt. Beinsa Douno The Day of Good "Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days."1 The Sabbath is a disputable or a Sacred Day. The disputable things are the precious things in life. All disputes in the world are due to the valuable, beautiful things. There will be many disputes about beautiful young women; many hearts will be broken because of them. Why? Because they are beautiful, slender and well-built; however, no question is even raised about the ugly young women. The Sabbath is a beautiful maiden, I call it a day of Love. And actually this day, which should have been a blessing to humanity, has now become a hindrance to us. Those who do not recognize the Sabbath as a holiday, have their own Sabbath. Every person has a Sabbath in their life: it is a day of rest, of eating and drinking, a day when one puts on one’s best clothes. What did Christ mean by the words, "Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days?" For whom is it lawful? For the person who is better than a sheep, for the prudent person. People cannot understand the sense of the Sabbath. This is the day when you should know how to change the disposition of your mind and heart, the disposition of your soul and spirit. Present-day Eastern Orthodox believers, Catholics and Protestants have Sunday as a day of rest, but the Shabbetaians and Jews observe strictly the Sabbath. The Evangelists do not work on Sunday; for the Shabbetaians and Jews, it is Saturday. A Jew considers it a sin even to polish his shoes, light the fire, or do any kind of work; but when it comes to take interest of 10, 15, or 20% from someone, he does not consider it a crime. This is an understanding of the letter of the Sabbath, i.e. there is a Sabbath of the letter. It says in the Scriptures, "The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." By the word letter we always understand limitation. For instance, when a man marries, he says to his fiancee, "I shall allow you to celebrate the Sabbath, i.e. you will be free in my home. I shall love you and be fond of you." But as soon as he marries, he turns to the other Sabbath and says, "Here it is not as at your place." The woman starts working in the kitchen and cannot go anywhere, no Sabbath is allowed to her. The present religious concepts affect the human minds with the same ideas. These limit them, so the people are arguing today which day to observe - Saturday or Sunday. They do not argue if they should love one another, but which day to observe. The Turks celebrate Friday, but the Bulgarian have three days: Tuesday, Friday and Sunday and sometimes observe half of Saturday. Why do the Bulgarians observe Tuesday and Friday as days in which one should not work and then Sunday as well? Because, this is in their traditional law. Christ speaks of the Sabbath as a day in which one is allowed to do good. How is it possible for a person to do good on the other weekdays when they are engaged with other affairs? Since the seventh day belongs to God, it is said that one is allowed to do good on that day. Do not think that the observation of the Sabbath is done in a mechanical way by which you will become better. I call the Sabbath a day for knowledge in which one should work and build. During the six days a person should toil and labor, but on the seventh day they should work. The first day we toil, the second we should labor, but on the seventh we should work. It is the greatest science of the future. That is why it is allowed to do good on the Sabbath. "It is not only allowed, but is it lawful," says Christ. But in the original it means that a person should spend the Sabbath only in good. Now let me explain what good means. The word good determines the qualities of all our actions. It is the fruit and Christ says, "By their fruit you will know them. There can be no good in human life if there is no fruit." Therefore, virtue is not something abstract but it is real, it is the essence of human life. The meaning of human life is Goodness. Righteousness, Truth, Wisdom and Love are forces which work for the realization of good in human life. The fruit determines the qualities of the tree, the same way the good determines the quality of a person. In order to love the fruit trees, we are directed by the quality of their fruit. An apple tree giving the best quality of apples is most carefully tended and liked by people. Why? Because its fruit are fine and delicious. If that apple stops bearing fruit, there is no sense in its cultivation. In the spiritual world a person is a tree. Fruit trees are useful to us, the same way the human virtues are necessary to the Angels for they are nourished by them. If I am asked, "Why are the Angels interested in us?" I will answer, because they need the fruit of our virtues. To understand the deeper meaning of this Good, your mind, soul and heart must be in full accord. If you waver about doing good, you are of a low culture. There is no wavering about the good in Heaven. There is no question in the spiritual world as to whether one should do good or not. Good is the meaning of life. When you stop doing good, you are a dead person. Every thought and every noble feeling proceeds from the good we do. The good desires and the good thoughts proceed from the Good; they are a process of growth in us. When we sow a seed we have the first process: the sprouting of the plant; the second is the growth of the plant; the third: its blossoming and the fourth process is its bearing of fruit. Therefore, Good - the fruit in a person - can appear only in their Soul. In the occult science it is called the causal body of a person. Every seed is a cause. Contemporary culture - the development of person - is due to those seeds of the good from the past; but in the future these seeds will bring about the new culture. I call all other pedagogical views on upbringing and education nothing other than taming, i.e. fruitless trees - for instance the cultivated indoor India rubber plant (Ficus elastica). Does it have any fruit? No, it does not. Many people today are like this plant. Such plants can grow on the earth, but not in Heaven. If you want to be a heavenly Indian rubber plant, you must bear fruit. What paralyzes the human virtues? They are paralyzed by the inferior human mind and passions because people today are slaves of their passions which destroy, but do not construct anything. A person spends thousands for a single pleasure which sacrifices their life and that of others. But there is no fruit in this pleasure. We are like that American woman tourist who in order to test the love of her beloved made him climb the face of a precipitous rock in the Alps to pick one of the rare alpine roses for her from that height. He climbed the rock, picked and gave her the rose which she stuck on her bosom smiling; but after that he said to her, "Good-bye." She made him risk his life for a single pleasure. The same way we tempt God. We say, "God, give us money, pleasure, houses, etc," but after He has given us all this, He says, "Good-bye!" Then we are rich people and have everything, but God is not with us. I am amazed at the state of contemporary religious people, for I have never seen more hard-headed, tenacious and self-willed people than the religious ones. I use the word "religious people" in its broad sense. I consider religion today as a suit or a perfume by which we cover up all our bad actions and mistakes. Religion is a modern contrivance. Nowhere in the New Testament is the word religious used. When people lost the sense of the Sabbath and the doing of good, they put in its place the word religion. And now they are constantly arguing if one is religious or not. There was not a more religious century than the present one. Take for example a person who belongs to some party and believes in it. They are ready to sacrifice their life for it. How many times they have exposed their own life and the life of their family to danger for this party! Such people say, "Our party, too, will come to power some day." They await the time of their party’s turn, but until that time comes how many times will they be whipped and how many times will they return home with a broken head! All people live with this religion, they rise and fall, expecting some change by it. No party will bring any change or benefit to life, because it only takes and does not give. It may cut the rate of taxation by 5 or 10%, but it will make this up with even more money from another item. Then you will ask, "But what shall we do?" You should plow the earth and pray to God to give you more wheat than you have had before so that you may give to others. Salvation lies in this abundance. When people say they want to be cultured, I say that all must turn to the earth to plough and sow. Now we have all crowded the cities where different branches of production and crafts exist; but some people work, while others rely on them, doing nothing themselves. That is why there are so many evils. I have nothing against such an order of things, it is so natural; but the way we make use of it causes poverty and suffocates us. If you visit London, you will see how dug-up and smoky it is, unlike other cities. Seven million people live there expecting some future. Those people have got together there waiting for a chance to deceive and exploit each other. This is a culture of deceit! London has such a dark side as no other city in the world. All cultures from all distant times and epochs have been transferred there. Christ has in mind the New Culture when He says, "It is lawful for those people who will come in the future to do Good on the Sabbath." In what sense is it lawful? It is lawful for an experienced surgeon to make operations; but it is not lawful for an ignorant and inexperienced one to do that. For instance, you are a religious person and go to comfort someone. It is lawful for you to do that if you know how; but if you disturb their peace of mind, your foot should not cross their threshold. Do not think it is an easy thing to do Good - this is a Great Art! If I come to your home to teach you a new teaching with the purpose of making you my followers and then I rob you, I am impelled by material benefits and this would not be a good deed, but a commercial transaction. The same way a travelling commercial agent will visit you and display most politely his samples, talk pleasantly with you or give you a treat until your head is dazed and he makes his transaction. And that person is a religious person! I do not understand such a religion. The invisible world says, "The dispute of all religious sects is a religious dispute." These are the people of the past culture. The people of the future culture, whose slogan will be to do Good out of Love on the Sabbath Day, are the new people. They have a special mark on their forehead and a peculiar little stone under their tongue. The tongue and the eyes of these people are different. Their look is deep and there is no distraction in it. There is only one thought in their eyes and it is Love and Selflessness. Empty words are love and selflessness, aren’t they? Do you understand what Selflessness really is? Have you experienced it at least once in your life? Have you experienced at least once in your life what Love is? An Evangelical minister once told me an experience he had. For a long time he had prayed to God to give him a chance to taste Divine Love. One day the Spirit visited him and he felt his whole body bulging; so he lay flat on his stomach afraid he would burst, such a big and voluminous thing had taken possession of him. He started praying to God to free him from this broad Love for which he was not ready. He lay flat on his stomach and started to kick. Why did he kick? Because, he did not want to give it up. When a child takes an apple and their mother wants to take it away they kick. Why? Because they do not want to give it up. The horse kicks, too. Why? Because, it does not want to share. People speak badly with their tongues. Why? Because, they do not want to give. That is why it is lawful for the new people to do Good on the Sabbath that they may uplift humanity. The Sabbath is a Divine Day which will raise and thoroughly transform us; and by this we shall transform the world. I do not say that when the Sabbath comes, we should all leave our crafts - no, not at all. The crafts will be sanctified and will be good for us, for they will be based on the doing of good on the Sabbath day. Do not think I want to destroy your views. Not at all, I only want to clean the dust off your eyes. When I come to you, first of all I shall teach you how to wash your eyes. I shall give you water first and we shall speak after that. Have you studied the art of washing your eyes? I would recommend you the following experiment. If you are indisposed, or cannot understand some subject, or some person is unpleasant to you, take a pan full of pure spring water, raise your eyes to God, put your face in the water, open your eyes and blink several times in the water. Then say, "I want my mind to be pure like this water," and see if your indisposition has not changed. If it has not changed, dip your face a second time in the water. Do this several times and see what the result will be. Water is the Emblem of Life. We must put in our mind the thought of doing Good. Each one of you must say to yourself, "I will do Good." But his should not be done mechanically. This shows that we should plant in us all the fruit trees of the Garden of Paradise. When the new people come, all these sublime thoughts and feelings should be able to thrive in their hearts, souls and minds. We cannot come to terms with each other with our present conceptions. When you listen to me, you will say, "Is this an Eastern Orthodox believer? If he is not, do not listen to him as he cannot speak the Truth." A patriot will say, "If he is a patriot, he is speaking the truth, otherwise what he says is not true." Some people ask, "Has he got higher education? If he is a learned man, we believe in him." If a teacher is listening to me, he will say, "If he is a teacher, we believe in him." All begin to speak, but this is not the Divine Standard by which we can measure our acts. I may be an Eastern Orthodox, a Protestant, a patriot, a learned man or anything else, but that does not prove that I am telling the Truth. I may be studying the Bible only out of self-interest to see if I may support myself by it and so on. The Protestants will say, "The Eastern Orthodox priests extort the people." But do not others do the same? Yes, the Eastern Orthodox extort people with the act of sprinkling holy water on them for pay. They do this openly, but the Protestants extort people in a different way. Is this the way to act? A Turk bought a he-goat for the Ramadan bayram2 and put it on his back to take it to his Hodja3 to read to it. On the way the he-goat kicked him on the back and the Turk angrily called it different names: swine, giaour, etc. When he reached the Hodja, he said to him, "I am bringing you a he-goat to bless which I shall kill for the sacred feast; but I used profane language on the way because it kicked me on the back. Is he fit for the kurban4?" The Hodja replied that the he-goat was not fit and he had to buy another. The Turk bought a second he-goat to take it to the Hodja. On the way the goat again kicked him, but the Turk kept silent, thinking, "You are just like the first one, you are kicking me the same way, but I shall not say anything, because I shall have to buy a third goat." I say, if you kick, you are one of them. "Therefore, it is lawful for a man to do Good on the Sabbath Day." People must leave their egotism, open their Soul to the Divine Sun and come out of the framework of their present views. Humanity today abounds in hypocrites. I see a husband and wife walking quietly in the street like two virtuous people; but at the same time they monitor each other, watching one another that neither should cast glances at this or that person. "Religion!" When the husband is away, the wife can look anywhere she wants to; but when he comes home, the wife becomes "virtuous." The same applies to the husband. And this is called religion! Why should the husband and wife not be free to look at anything or anybody they want to when they are together? What evil is there in that? This limitation comes from the fact that in our Soul there is no Sabbath. Some ask me, "When will humanity become noble. When shall we come to know the new ideas?" I say, the new ideas cannot come until the Sabbath Day comes; until we learn to do Good on the Sabbath. For instance, take the present writers of any calibre and show me one of them, no matter how famous, who can point out a right way to live. They all have the same tactics: you read the introduction and then the whole book, but the essential remains without any solution. This author writes that you can find the solution to this problem in the book of such and such an author. You read that author who does not solve the main problem, but refers you to a third one. You read the book of this third one too, but it does not satisfy you either. You go from one author to another and find that all are merchants. One says, "I do not have such goods as you want, go to another." "The second explains, "I have run out of the stock you want: go to the other one!" You go to a third one who says the same thing. At last they tell you, "We’ll include you in the order list so when our goods come and we can conclude our deals, we will do this for you." This is how things stand so you go from shop to shop. But in the future culture we must have at least two or three guiding principles to apply in our life: First: Can I do this for the sake of God’s Love? Second: Can I do this for the sake of my Soul? Third: Can I do this for the sake of my neighbor? I have come to tell you the great Truth that God, Whom I know very well, is speaking. Anyone to whom I have told this Truth and who has tested it, has always had good results. Everything I say I put to a strict scientific experiment. Anyone who wants to make an experiment together with me cannot easily get away. Many have come to me to be cured. I ask them, "You have visited all the doctors in the vicinity, are you ready to serve God and devote your life to Him? If you are ready, I shall help you." Someone wants knowledge. "Are you ready to devote your life to God? If you are ready I shall reveal to you some great Mystery, but if you are not I shall speak to you about apples, pears, leaves, branches and the like; but I shall not reveal any Mystery to you." I, too, have certain guiding rules which I never violate. You will ask me why I act this way. I answer – “Are you ready to do good on the Sabbath? Are you ready to serve God Whom I know, and from Whom all the good and blessings proceed; Who has created everything in the world and given life to people? Are you ready to serve Him?” Then I am ready to serve you. But if you are not ready, I shall speak to you only about onions. This is a strict Teaching and all great Masters have acted this way. Now the new culture requires that Good should be done on the Sabbath. If you apply the new rules, you will have impressive results. For so many years I have been wasting my breath in Sofia; but the result is rather small, because the Sabbath is lacking. I notice this even among my closest people. As soon as they get together, a heavy atmosphere is felt for they are not in accord. I say: “You are celebrating the Sabbath in yourselves, but I shall talk to you about the onions.” Do you know that if you would go to Heaven, you would be expelled from it for 10,000 years for a single bad glance like the ones you are casting at each other here on earth? If an Angel should cast a bad glance, He would be expelled from Heaven for 10,000 years. The rule is that strict! Some of you want to go to Heaven. Be thankful you are not there in your present state. Now they may forgive you because you are on the earth in an experimental school. Everything is permitted on earth, but that Pure Place you are preparing yourselves for requires a perfect person. There are no experiments there. There is no grief and weeping in that world. The Scriptures say, "I shall wipe all tears from their eyes and there will be no sorrow there, but all shall be glad and joyful." Do you know what joy and gladness is? What great self-sacrifice an Angel makes who is engaged in the solving of great questions. When He sees a suffering soul and leaves his work to go and help them by comforting them. Who of you would do this? Of course, we would do many things for people who stir sympathy. One would help a sympathetic person. A gentleman is ready to do any service to a beautiful young woman; but no one pays attention to an ugly, awkward and cross-eyed one. I ask you what your convictions are since you act in this way? If Christ should come in, Whom you expect to set the world right, do you think He would speak everywhere? It is high time you cast out of yourselves this devil who has obsessed all of you and whom you have served for 8,000 years! Enough slavery to him! Say this to this devil, "Out with you!" He should go out in the yard; but in your soul there should not remain even a trace of him. Say to him, "If you do not go out, we shall leave!" When after many times the devil does not agree to go out; you start making a contract with him, reconciling yourself with him. Do not do that! Finish with him once and for all! Do you think the verse in the chapter I read is divided by coincidence? "How much better is a man than a sheep." It means: how much better is the good than the sabbath! I take the Sabbath as an Emblem of Love. If you do good on the Sabbath, all misfortunes and illness will leave you. You should know this as something positive. If your child falls ill, see on which Sabbath you have not done good. Correct your mistake and your business will succeed. You have written a book, but it does not sell well; correct your mistake and things will go well. The Sabbath interferes in all your affairs. Get right with it and all will be well. This question is very clear to me. Someone asks me, "Why should we do good?" We cannot take a step forward if we do not do good: this is a mathematical axiom. If you start on a journey without bread how far can you go? Make an experiment how many kilometers you can walk without bread. You may walk 50-60, 100 kilometers at the most and then you will stop. Therefore, the good is the force, the food, by which the human soul can move and evolve in this world. Every knowledge, every wisdom will be based on the fruits of this virtue. That is why you should do good if you want to become rich and develop in the broadest sense of the word. Every day is destined for specific purposes. But, unaware of this fact, people do not consider the real meaning of the days in human life. For instance, on the first day God said, "Let there be Light;" and there was Light. And God saw that the Light was good. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. This day is Sunday - the day of Light On the second day God divided the waters from the waters, i.e. He separated the higher life from the lower life, since water as I said, is an Emblem of Life. He created the firmament as a boundary between these two kinds of life and since the evolution of this day is not completed, God did not pronounce His opinion about it. There was evening and there was morning, a second day. On the third day God said, "Let the waters under the heaven (i.e. the lower life) be gathered together unto one place and let the dry land (an emblem of the human brain and human mind) appear." And God called the dry land earth and the gathering of waters He called seas. And God saw that it was good. That is why He said that the earth should put forth all kinds of plants, by which He meant that all good thoughts should appear in the world. There was evening and there was morning, a third day. On the fourth day God made the two great lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night. By the first, the big light He meant the mind and by the second, the small one, the heart by which a person should distinguish good from evil, i.e. should distinguish one state from another. Therefore, the fourth day is the day in which the conditions for the development of the human mind and human heart must be created. God created all the stars - which mean all the forces in human life - and set them in the firmament of heaven - which means the human soul - to give light upon the earth and together with the greater light (the mind) and the lesser light (the heart) to rule over the day and over the night and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good and there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. And on the fifth day God said, "Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven," which signify all the human aspirations and cravings. And since all these gave a direction and meaning to human development on earth, God saw that it was good and blessed them to be fruitful and to multiply. That is why our desires are constantly and daily multiplying and fruitful. There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. And on the sixth day God said, "Let Us make man (the rational) after Our own image, after Our likeness; and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea (over his earthly desires) and over the birds of the heavens (over his thoughts) and over the cattle and over all the earth (i.e. over his passions which creep in his brain)." Finally God breathed into man His own breath. He gave man a rational soul to know Him in all his ways and to work and act as God has worked. Therefore, when you want to visit someone, to lighten their life, go to them only on Sunday because it is the day of Light. You will take Light to them.. When you want to visit a sick person, do it on Monday, because this day bearsLlife, and so on. On the seventh day God rested, which means that the seventh day is the day of the Good in which God began to manifest His love to man. That is why He has invited him to participate in this great Divine Cause of the Divine Life. Therefore, apply the Sabbath in your life the new way. Test what I am telling you. The Days of Good and Love must be festive days for a person. This we must do for the rest of our lives.. Sermon of the Master held on Decemer 21, 1919. ________________________________ 1 Matthew 12:12 2 Ramadan is the holy month of fasting, the ninth month of the Muslim year ending with the feast bayram. (ed. note) 3 Hoca/hodja - Mohammedan priest. (ed. note) 4 kurban - Turkish, ritual feast with a butchered animal. (ed. note)

The Book - The Salt. Beinsa Douno The Two Witnesses "It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true."[1] Every external testimony is an expression of an inner intelligent impulse in the soul. Why is it that the testimony of two persons is true, but not of a single person; and who are these two? If two people suing each other in a court today call two, three or ten witnesses who do not speak the truth, the jury will not take their testimony into consideration. I think the jury would agree with this statement. Keep in mind that I am speaking in principle and have no person in view, since the human personality is something relative in its manifestation. Some may think I speak about them in my sermons, but that is not the case - not in the least. I am asking you, which is the real thing in the world: the blossom or the fruit, the leaf or the branch, the fruit or the seed? They are all relative realities. If you play the role of a leaf, if you play the role of a blossom, of a branch, fruit or seed in the world: these are all different states which in mathematics are called variations, permutations and combinations. I understand what variations mean in mathematics. You may engage yourself with them some day. Variations mean ordering, permutations - rearrangement and combinations - fitting together. But if you are a variation or ordering in life, by what will you be distinguished? Certain quantities enter your life forming certain compounds and you are a group, or a compound of these qualities. The qualities are the elements of your manifested life. The mathematicians say that the variations are compounds in which not all elements enter and which have classes. Then they say that the permutations are transpositions in which all elements enter, therefore, they have no classes. The combinations, however, are compounds in which all the elements do not enter, they have classes but each class is distinguished from another by at least one new element. In which category can I classify you? Your life may move only by ordering, it may move only by transpositions, but it may move by a combination of things and quantities. These mathematical formulas contain deep truths which I cannot stop to explain now for they are dry bones and I must work many years on them to give them life. Such is the Law of Nature. There are seeds which grow in six months, like the squash, and give fruit; while there are other seeds - the trees - which blossom once in a century. We cannot change the order of things God has put in nature, for if we change it our destiny changes and the karma is born. Karma is nothing other than a deviation from the right path of human development, while the expiation of karma is the re-entering of the right path of human evolution. Therefore, it would be of use to those who like mathematics to spare some time for the study of these variations, permutations and combinations. You should not only think you know much, but test your knowledge; not only to formulate, but to handle and deal with these quantities and elements. Let us suppose a committee orders that each person be given a kilogram of sugar - that is a variation. You may have to wait a long time, but you may come back home with a broken rib so that you will say the variation turned out unsuccessful. The sooner you get the sugar without loosing time, the more successful the variation will prove. Of course, this variation has nothing in common with the mathematical one, it is only a reflection of the great spiritual law which is functioning in our soul. Let me return to my subject. Who are those two who are witnessing? When a Bulgarian wants to build a hut, he first drives two stakes into the ground - they are the two witnesses - and the Lord says to him, "Now you can build the hut." He places a triangle on top the two stakes and starts building. When you want to prepare the warp you also need two women to roll the yarn: one at one end, the other at the opposite. One will wind what is warped around her waist, while the other will start winding it on the yarn-beam and this will last 2 or 3 hours, until this permutation, this transposition of things takes place. It may seem funny to you that the two women are not in accord: one pulling backwards, while the other pulling forwards - like the crab and the pike - but this is the only way to make things work. At times, let us say, the husband is pulling the cloth, while the wife is winding it and people say, "Why is that man pulling the cloth and not obeying his wife?" He is pulling it because the cloth must be woven. He should not listen to his wife at that moment, until all is done. At times it is the other way around - the wife is pulling and the husband is winding. I just gave you a thought, simple in form, but deep in sense. The two witnesses in nature are light and warmth. Their testimony is always true for wherever they penetrate, life and growth take place; but where they are absent there is no motion, no spring, no plants, no life whatsoever. That is in nature. But in a person, these two witnesses are our mind and our heart. Where our mind and heart speak together, their testimony is true, as it says in your law that the testimony of two men is true. Christ gives this idea and says, "I bear witness of myself and the Father is Who bears testimony of me." In the spiritual world the two who bear testimony are the Father and the Son and their testimony is true. In the angelic world the two who bear testimony are the spirit and the soul. In the human world they are the mind and the heart. In nature they are the light and the warmth. We have an ascending ladder; therefore, when we want to change our life, we must have a deeper and more detailed understanding of things. If we have a downward movement, we should keep in mind the light and warmth - since they are a reflection of the divine world - so that our mind should always be in accord with light and our heart - with warmth. Where the light is absent, the mind does not think and where warmth is absent, the heart does not beat. These are not mere statements and suppositions, but a Great Law. When we are asked by what standard, or by which proof we can prove certain truths in human life, we shall refer to the mind and heart. If we prove truths in the spiritual world we shall refer to the spirit and soul. And finally, if we prove truths in the divine world, we shall refer to the Father and the Son. Do not disturb your minds with those philosophical theological conclusions which state that the Son in a manifestation of the Father, i.e. that He is a shadow. A manifestation is the external side of things, while the Son is much more than that. The heart cannot be a manifestation of the mind, neither can the mind be a manifestation of the heart. They can corroborate in their manifestations, but these are variations, permutations and combinations. This thought is not clear to you yet, for the cloth is just now being woven and you do not see anything yet. Christ says that your law also states that the testimony of two men is true. We must first of all cast every doubt out of our mind. Doubt in the real life does not bring any good. In life today, there are thousands of causes to make us doubt. How can we expect of other people what they cannot manifest at a given moment? Can you expect fruit from an apple-tree in winter? Would you get angry with it for not being sufficiently compassionate and regardful of you? You need not be angry for it will say, "You are not paying me a visit at the appropriate time." Some people live in spring, others are in their summer, still others are passing through their autumn and a fourth kind are in their winter. Some say that all people are alike. No, all people are not alike. Some form groups of variations, others of permutations and a third group of combinations. The same thing is stated in your external law which is similar to the inner law since the lower - the earthly - is similar to the heavenly. If your mind and your heart speak the same thing about an object, accept this truth without any reserve or wavering for every wavering will hinder your progress. Contemporary society is lacking in this - it has not enough faith in itself, a positive faith without wavering or doubt. In the past when the Lord created the world, Faith and Knowledge, which were two sister-goddesses up in the Divine World, decided to come down and help people. In heaven they knew and loved each other, but after coming down to earth one of the sisters entered the mind and was clad according to the law of the mind; but the other entered the heart and was clad according to the law of the heart. When people harnessed them to work, they washed dishes, chopped onions, cooked meat and their faces became so ugly that the sisters could not recognize one another. Someone says, "I have faith." Yes, faith which cooks onions, fries meat, washes dishes and fights with doubt. Thus, these two sisters, Faith and Knowledge, not recognizing one another, started to quarrel and to argue which one was first - Faith or Knowledge. Then the whole world was divided: one part of the people took the side of Faith and became religious, while the other took the side of Knowledge and became materialists. Then the bombardment started, "I am a learned person, but you are ignorant," "You have faith, but you are first-class ignoramus." Now we have thousands of volumes written on materialistic philosophy and faith, but these two sisters have not been reconciled yet. When the Lord saw them quarrelling, He sent His Son to reconcile them. Some ask, "How can they be reconciled?" By self-sacrifice. Some ask, "Who is the man and who is the woman?" Woman is Faith, while man is Knowledge. When a man and a woman quarrel, they do not know each other. The woman says, "I want to be a man." In heaven you were two sister-goddesses who came down from heaven to rectify the world. One of you became a woman cutting onions and the other became a man who opened a shop selling water-melons, pumpkins, onions and so on. Instead of rectifying the world, they spoiled it to such an extent that even the Lord Himself cannot recognize it. What is needed is deep, right and sincere thinking. When a man and a woman unite, their testimony will be true only if it is done with Wisdom and Love. Love is that great power which can bear the greatest sufferings without fainting in spirit. That is Faith. But Wisdom is that power with which the most difficult problems in life can be solved. All hardships today are problems which we must solve and not say, "Lord, do away with them, we don’t need them." The mother says, "My poor child is suffering so with the hard problems their teacher gave them, they have grown weak and do not get enough sleep." The Lord has not sent your child to earth to sleep. He has sent them to study. Sleep is naturally necessary as a rest, but one may rest for five or ten minutes, or for two hours, but for no more than seven hours - that is not permitted. Your law also states that the testimony of two persons is true. Often these two persons appear in court and start blaming one another. The man says, "I protest, Your Highness, these witnesses are biased. Order them away, I will summon others," and brings two new witnesses. Then the woman remonstrates, "Your Highness, these witnesses are far from disinterested." Finally the judge is at his wits’ end and puts off the case. That is why the highest art in law is to be able to postpone a case which you cannot win. You are lawyers, too, who put off the case which means that you leave your problems in life unsolved expecting more favorable times to come, saying like the judge, "Now, I am somewhat indisposed." Do not put the blame on your mind calling it weak. Never say that your heart is perverted. You may quote the Scriptures that the mind is perverted; these are only philosophical statements of the prophets, but you must understand the deep meaning of these words. If the heart was perverted and had no value, God would never have said, "My son, give me your heart." He does not say, "Give Me your life." You must give your heart to God so that He may teach you how sublime and noble your heart is and how the sources of your present and future life are hidden in it. No one can live if their heart is disturbed. The doctors today recommend calmness of the heart too. There might be slight disturbances on its surface, but it must be calm and quiet in its foundation. There may be drafts, but they should never disturb the heart. When your mind and heart turn to God, He hears your prayer and directs your destiny rightly. The heart and the mind are two quantities, two elements of the group which the occultists call astral-mental world, but I call it credo-philosophical - to coin a new word - a credo-philosophical world. Therefore, the testimony of these two, this credo-philosophical law is considered true in the divine world as the testimony of light and warmth in the physical world. Light is the quality of Wisdom while warmth is the quality of Love inherent in it. But it is not the warmth you feel. You often feel the unpleasant vibrations of heat. When you have the experience of a mystic to fall into an ecstatic state, only then can you feel this Inner Divine Warmth - the quality of Love. Such warmth can melt and purify everything. You must increase your warmth; however, not according to the Celsius thermometer, but by studying alchemy and the vibrations of this warmth. It is so intensive that all impurities disturbing your life will be immediately cleansed. You can attain this by casting out all doubt from your heart and mind. Or let me express this idea differently: put doubt outside, rent a room for it, pay the rent, but do not keep it in your home. Applying this Great Law, Christ says, "I bear witness of Myself and the Father bears witness of Me." Which is the important question for which we have gathered today? I am not treating the question whether you will be given a kilogram of sugar next week; I am not treating the question which committee may permit this; I am not treating the question what peace treaty can be concluded. Many similar questions may be raised which have no importance for us. The important ones are: Why has a person come to the earth? Do you have a soul or not? Do you have a heart and is your heart in concord with your mind? Often your heart is troubled and you start looking for a friend to rid you of your trouble, but suppose they are in the same state? A group of people get together and say, "We are pessimists" and start proving their cause by philosophical discussion. They have a peculiar view of the world, finding it a bad world, and start to prove scientifically their thesis that this is the worst of worlds. Here are their arguments: it is bad because hens and sows are slaughtered; because there are earthquakes, wars and the like. If it were a good world, things would be different," they say. But I say, "You pessimists are those men and women winding the warp-beam and both are pulling it backward; but as soon as the cloth is warped, the woman takes the cloth and the man takes the shuttle and they say, "We have finished the work" and there are no more contradictions in life. Their work is the testimony that they have worked together in accord. We often say that the man and woman have pulled like the crab and the pike, but those are people who face two directions: from the center to the periphery and vice versa. If the man goes one direction, the woman goes another. Who is right? Both are right for they are moving from the center to the periphery. When both come to the periphery and start moving, then they are on the Way. If you study astronomy, you will notice that the earth and the sun have two opposite directions: the sun moves in one direction and the earth in another. And the earth always crosses the path of the sun. But the path of the earth is longer than that of the sun. If 52 million years are necessary for our sun to make one revolution around the centre of its circle; the earth should revolve 25 million times around the sun, the two making a large circle. Who is doing the bigger work? Both are doing their work well. The sun spends more energy, but the earth - more time. There is a law in physics that to save energy one must spend more time. Therefore, if in one respect you want to save the energy of your mind, you should spend the energy of your heart - and conversely. If you want to save the energy of your heart, you should spend the energy of your mind. For time becomes evident by the direction of motion. I am not philosophizing about time in its essence, but I say time is a factor determining the motion, the direction of your life. Energy, on the other hand, is the impulse of this motion from within. If we spend the energy of the mind, we save the energy of the heart and vice versa, if we spend the energy of the heart we spend the energy of the mind. Every given moment you will refer to the two witnesses. In the court it is the same - two witnesses cannot speak at the same time. When one is speaking, the other one must keep quiet; when one is expending energy, the other one must sit quiet and calm. If both start talking at the same time, the judge will say: "Wait!" Therefore, one determines the time, while the other the energy. Consequently, when one witness in you starts speaking, if you are a judge, you will tell the other one to keep quiet so that you can give time to your mind to make its statements. Do not disturb them. Let them speak to the end; then your heart will take its turn to testify. Also, in the process of education we must put the mind and the heart in most normal relations and leave them alone not hindering them with things which are not real. I am speaking to you first; but by the word "you" I mean this great mass of people, for every person is a collective being made up of millions and millions of beings together. All these souls are rational and listen to this talk. Do you understand me? I even notice at times that your eyes understand me better than your brains. The eyes have the sharpest perceptivity in the world. When you look a person in the eyes, you will notice if s/he understands you or not. When people do not understand you, their eyes are blurred. "Ahmed buorada, akil disharda," as the Turks say, meaning "Ahmed is here, but his mind is outside." When a person understands you, their penetrating look is fixed and you are aware that they comprehend everything and have contact with the relation of things. Everyone of you knows this. Many say, "I feel it." That is good, but you must also grasp it with you mind. If you have heeded only the testimony of your heart and not of the mind, you are on the wrong path of development. If the light within you works more than the warmth, you are again on the wrong way. Sometimes your feelings are intensive. When children fall into a state of extreme joy, they start jumping; but after that they are overtaken by a transitory state and they start crying as this joy is not natural In the bringing up of children, we must create both work for the heart and for the mind. And I beg you, when a person is speaking never stop them with your thoughts. If you do not want to listen to them, move away. A daughter says to her mother, "I do not want to listen to you," or a mother says to her daughter, "I do not want to listen to you." I repeat: let those who do not want to listen to people move away from them. It often happens that a child, inspired by what the teacher has said, comes home and starts telling it to their mother. However, she suddenly shouts out at them, "Get away, I won’t listen to your nonsense." In this case the mother is committing a grave crime. She must listen to her child and hear until the end what the teacher had told them as the child is giving their testimony. After interrupting the child in such a rude way for ten or twenty times, the child will surely take the wrong path in life - that is in relation to the mind. Sometimes the heart of the daughter is inspired; but the mother, having become a philosopher after her marriage, will stop her by saying, "Do not follow the foolishness of your heart, do not listen to it! The desires of the heart are the illusions of youth while meat is necessary for your meals!" Today, the tender soul of the daughter is disturbed by advice like this which is of no use. And when she becomes a mother she starts saying, "This is nonsense, the real thing is this or that." However, what the young girl, the daughter, felt in her heart was real. There is nothing more real than that. How do you want to taste a thing: with your tongue or with your heart? I shall cite again an example I have given you at other times. A Turk was pounding coffee in a big stone mortar with a wooden mallet and every time he struck with the mallet, he cried out, "Ha!" A man passing by his shop said to him, "I am jobless and offer you my services wishing to help you with your work. You will pound with the mallet and I shall say, "Ha!" They started working together. The Turk raised and dropped the mallet and the helper cried, "Ha!" They pounded up the coffee and the Turk started making coffee for his clients and when he took the money, he dropped it in the safe, not giving anything to his helper. The latter felt robbed and sued the Turk for not fulfilling the clauses of their agreement. When the judge was informed of how things stood, he ordered that a tin-can be brought to the court and said to the coffee-maker, "When you take money, drop it in the tin-can: you will hear the sound "Tin!" That will be the salary of your collaborator for saying "Ha!" You, who are obeying the taste of the tongue are like the Turks say, "Nefes orta." So be sure that your law also says that the testimony of two persons is true. In order to be able to understand the philosophy of life, you must have a pure heart and a pure mind. Your mind and heart must be in such a state that the mind should perceive things at the right time and the heart should feel them at the right time. But a philosopher might say, "You cannot feel and think like the angels!" When you come to their state, you will feel like them. There are different stages of development in life; every minute, every second bears their qualities and powers. Do not try to be alike or uniform. When God created the world, all the souls springing from the center of creation took different directions, like the sunbeams, each one bearing something from the divine center: different talents, different feelings and so on. There are no two souls alike in the world and they cannot be alike, although the difference between them may be small. In studying astrology, you will see that you are at a certain degree in one of the four sectors of the circle and this arc of 90° is equal to a quarter of the so called Platonic or Polar year, i.e. it is a period of 6,300 years. Two persons may be separated by an arc of 90°, or a period of 6,300 years. Suppose the first person A is in the beginning of the circle while the other one B is 90° away from them, which is a period of 6,300 years. The soul B is 6,300 years older than the soul A; hence it has more knowledge and experience. The soul C, which is on the same diameter with A, but on the opposite pole is still older and more advanced. While A has to pass the lower sectors of the circle, C moves along its ascending half. They will pass equal distances, but the knowledge they will acquire will not be the same. One half of the circle implies a downward movement, while the other and upward one. On the upward way, one acquires one kind of knowledge; but on the downward, another. Therefore, when we descend to the heart from the height of the mind, the latter acquires one kind of knowledge; while the heart moving upward to the mind acquires different kinds of knowledge and feelings. Thus, the formula is the following: the mind descending acquires mind-feelings, while the heart ascending acquires heart-thinking. You may ask, "What difference does it make?" The difference lies in the fact that when the heart prevails there is greater warmth; but when the mind has prevalence, there is greater light. When fruit and wheat are ripening, there must be warmth by all means to help the ripening process. When growth must take place in us, by all means, the mind must have prevalence. The one who wants to grow rightly should give priority to the mind. Growth and knowledge are of the mind; but development and expansion are of the heart. These are two great processes in our development; therefore, their testimony is necessary and true. The Lord says, "You should work in accord with your heart and mind - then you will develop greatly in life." Now you are reading philosophical books as to what Kant or others have to say. What does this pear tree mean? It had blossomed and now bears fruit. What does a cat do? It mews. By mewing it may want to say that it wants meat, or that it is looking for its children. There are different kinds of mewing. Some people speak, but what do they say? Nonsense. What is nonsense? If I visit mentally deranged people, I shall be a fool in their point of view, although I am a philosopher. A religious person will be considered foolish by a society of materialists and a materialist will be considered stupid in a religious society. But I say that both are intelligent - the one who serves Faith and the other who serves Knowledge. Yet, we promptly label them, "This person is stupid; that one is infidel so do not listen to them." But neither one has a right idea about God. Please excuse me, but in my viewpoint, God is neither a concept, nor an idea. We have an idea of the things God has created, of His manifestations, but have no idea of Him whatsoever. We have an idea of God’s Love and His Wisdom, but He is more than the manifested love and wisdom. You may have an idea of them, but if you say you have acquired a deep knowledge of God, you are only deluding yourself and your ideas will be refuted. For thousands of years the river Iskar did damage to the nearby villages. How many houses and land it has inundated and destroyed! When the peasants were drowning, they would say, "This is our destiny." From time to time they would harness the river water to run a mill, but when a flood came, it carried the mill away. But people today are wiser. They harnessed the Iskar to produce electric power to light their homes and to run trams. You can see what great energy this dangerous Iskar possessed. It has always said to people: "Put me to work. I bring you much good; but if you do not, I shall cause you much damage." Your child is like the Iskar. You say, "I am tired of this child. Why did God give them to me? It causes so much mischief." Do as you did to the Iskar: drive a tunnel, place turbines and the water will produce electricity which will move cars and light houses. The learned pedagogues say, "We must educate our children in religion and in knowledge and respect of their parents." Do you understand this? Neither you, nor those pedagogues have understood this. For 8,000 years it has been repeated over and over again that people should be educated and believe in God. And those who do not believe should be considered infidels. But Christ says, "The testimony of these two is true." Only the testimony which our heart and mind give us simultaneously is true. Only those things in nature, which are unchangeable, speak the Truth. Whenever someone tells of their experience, or cites this or that philosopher or mathematician; according to my mathematics, I exclude 50% of what was said first; then 25% more; then I start thinking about the remaining 25% and the group it belongs to - variations, permutations or combinations, e.g. orderings, transpositions or combinations. What are our relations to God? Some say, "May God help us fix ourselves up nicely; marry our daughter well; then have nice children, full barns, oxen, good food and drink and so on." We daily fix ourselves up and finally we die. The priest comes and starts chanting, "Blessed be our God," ending with, "May their soul rest in peace." Whoever wants the Lord to fix them up must pass through all these variations, permutations and combinations and not remain only in the orderings. Bulgaria is issuing only orders and instructions at present; but this is only an overloading of the camel: placing goods and loads on its back until its back breaks. What God is testifying within us is the spirit speaking in us; and we, as children of God, should be able to give ear to His voice. Some days ago a young officer of the reserve visited me and told me he fell ill of an incurable disease. He was on his death bed when he chanced on a booklet about healing by hunger by a doctor Muller. He decided to fast for 22 days. He described his experience during the first, the second and third day and the result was that his illness disappeared. Then he went to Plovdiv to the doctor who had told him his illness was incurable and said to him, "Examine me." The doctor examined him and said, "You are in good health." That man applied fasting with his whole mind and heart whereby his mind was clarified and he turned from a materialistic man into a spiritual man. He understood that there is something else in the world besides what people know. He became a sort of clairvoyant and going to a believer, he confessed that the Spirit led him to that idea; however, the believer said to him that his mind was somewhat weak. For ordinary people, a believer is only a person who believes in chopped meat, drinking, money - their mind is sound, but for them the belief in spirits is a mental derangement. From their point of view some are wise, others are foolish, but from my point of view all are good. The newspapers write about different criminals and want punishment for them. They look one-sidedly at things, but they should have faith only in the positive things. All visible things must be cast out for they are not in the Divine World. We must penetrate deeply in our souls and hearts and avow to ourselves that we are S and ons of God who have come out of the Divine Center that is why we shall do the Will of God. Some say, "I want to be good." This is the wrong way to take for you can never be good; you must do the Will of God. You may be good; but if you do not do the Will of God, you are bad. Present-day people must decide to do the Will of God in the full sense of the word and not in the way they understand it, for what they are doing is not the Will of God, but rather a service to themselves. To do the Will of God is to feel Oneness with God, then we are filled with joy and we regard all people calmly for we know the causes and effects of their faults. But when each person serves only their self, there is no mutual understanding and this is the source of all evil in the world. If your heart should stop beating for half an hour, it will begin to stink. The same thing would happen to the mind, if it should stop working. People say that someone’s breathing has stopped; but that is not tru,e for when breathing and the beating of the heart stop on the physical plane, the soul begins to work. This is an experience of all who have been engaged in the spiritual sciences. You ask, "What will become of me when my heart stops beating?" Your soul will wake up. "What will become of me when my mind stops working?" The Divine Spirit will wake up. I have no intention of making you fast for 22 days like that young man I told you about. I do not recommend such a fast to you, either. You will not attain anything if you have no faith. I should say that young man got rid of doubt and awakened the Divine in himself. If you want to fulfill all your obligations and do away with all your misfortunes, fast for 5-10-15-20 days and then you will learn the causes of all things. But your heart and your mind together should prompt you to this act. Only then can you fast and have an excellent result. But if your heart says, "Fast," and your mind says, "Don’t!", then do not begin fasting. Some may say, "We can do without fasting." That cannot be. At a certain moment in your life when we must strengthen our will and unite it with the Will of God and see the testimony of these two witnesses, we must fast. Now, I will speak about the influence of the planets on people. Those who are under the influence of the earth will be avaricious of material gain. When you notice this quality of avarice in a person, know that they are under the influence of the earth. When you have a desire to act and complete or create something, Mercury has influence over you. When your heart begins to love, the planet Venus is influencing you. When Mars is influencing you, a desire to fight and show that you are strong and powerful takes possession of you. When the planet Jupiter influences you, you will become more temperate and self-controlled, rather quiet; but aspiring for freedom and brotherhood. Under the influence of Saturn, your sensitiveness will increase, as well as your sense of smell. Uranus will make your heart stronger; while Neptune will increase your sense of sight and make you a clairvoyant. All these planets of the solar system cause different manifestations in people. When all the planets (which are living and rational) act at the same time, then we are in harmony. When you say you do not like the world, then understand that you are under the influence of the Earth. If you want to have all the riches of this world, that would draw you away from God. You have not come to the earth to become rich, but to gain knowledge and understand these two witnesses I am speaking to you about. You must study your heart and mind for they are the two professors who are teaching you. The heart is an excellent professor. It is that Goddess I spoke to you about - it is Faith, it is Love, and linked with Knowledge it creates the religion on earth. Do you understand this professor who is within you? You say, "My mind is foolish." It means that your professor, who has taught you, is a foolish person who did not know his job. But I say to you that you do not understand or listen to your mind and heart. Someone may say of a person that the latter does not believe in God. But I shall say that they do not believe in their heart. "But s/he is not a wise person." I say, they not believe in their mind. Those who despair of this world and want to commit suicide do not love the Light. No one wants to commit suicide on a high place, on a mountain, but rather in some dark place or cellar. Those egotistic forces which want to hinder your development, cause a darkening of your mind so that a crime may be committed, and then throw the blame for this crime on the mind. The Goddess who has come down from heaven does not commit crimes. In the same way, your heart, your faith, (this Goddess who has come from above) does not commit crimes. Therefore, I say to all of you, "Believe in your heart, believe in your mind; then the second stage will come - you will believe in your soul and spirit; and after that - in God and in His Son. Only in this way will you acquire a true philosophy for understanding the Great Law of Nature." You ask what is your predestination. You, the citizens of Sofia, should go up the Vitosha mountain four or five times in the summer. Visit all the waterfalls; climb the highest peak in Bulgaria, Moussallah, and go up Belmeken. You will say, "We need boots, which are expensive now." You need excursions - excursions up the mountain. These excursions are a stimulus which will develop the mind and the heart of a person. By all means, you should climb to high places. By saying "climb high mountains", I am using a symbol. A person who wants to develop their mind must, by all means, climb high places. A person who wants to develop their heart, should go down low places. Climbing up and down require heroism. How many mountaineers have wanted to climb the Himalayas, but have not succeeded because the high peaks are inaccessible. Also in human development there are places that the human mind has not been able to climb. In Bulgaria some people do not even know Moussallah, and who knows how few people have climbed this peak. I think that one in ten thousand has gone up. And since Mont Blanc is the measure for gauging the European mind, I shall say that few people have climbed the peak of that mountain either. You will say, "These are abstract things which have no relation to our ‘food-providing committee’. Do you know our difficult condition today? There is no butter and cheese, no produce." Whoever needs butter, let them come to me and I shall give them a method of extracting butter from nature. You can have as much butter as you want, if these two witnesses within you are speaking the truth. Come, let us make an experiment. I put this Divine Science under a live experiment: we shall make the experiment with those of you in whom these two witnesses are speaking and do you know what your state will be then? In India a great Brahmin master had a cow which was so beautiful that the local prince wanted to take it. First he tried to buy it for money. "I do not want any money," answered the Brahmin. "But I shall give you as much money as the cow weighs." "Even if you gave me the whole world, I would not give you my cow." "Then I shall take it by force!" "Just try!" The prince sent ten policemen to take the cow by force, but the Brahmin waved his hand and they fell flat on the ground. The prince sent one thousand policemen; but the Brahmin waved his hand and they also fell flat on the ground. The prince finally sent 20,000 policemen - they all fell just like the others. The man would not give up his cow! The prince was convinced that the Brahmin was a strong person, so he went to him and became his disciple. He wanted to find out how the Brahmin had acquired this secret force. He started living like him. After a life of one thousand years he tried to take his cow with no success. After a life of two thousand years and one more unsuccessful attempt to take the cow, he found out that he had become stronger than the Brahmin; but now he thought, "Why should I need his cow? I have no need of it." Now I say, find this cow; it is within you and when you find it, you will have milk, butter and everything you need. In a word, as people say - honey and milk will start flowing. It said that in the distant past milk and honey were flowing in Palestine and it took two men two carry a bunch of grapes, but now, neither milk, not honey flow there. There are reasons for this. Make room in your heart and mind for everything you consider good in the world - this is the first rule. Say, "Everything is good." Even if it is not so, say it is and it will become so. Saying it is good, you will take another direction. Say, "I do not want his money. I have no need of this burden." It is a bad thing to desire something you cannot have or bear. At this moment, for instance, of what use will riches be to you when tomorrow a catastrophe may take place? We are, so to speak, preparing ourselves for the other world; but we do not believe in it. If anyone should start speaking about spirits now, the others will say they are out of their mind. There was a preacher in America who liked to exaggerate when speaking. He had a friend by the name of John whom he called and said to him, "Do me a favor, John, when you hear me exaggerate, turn your forefinger this way." One day the preacher talked about Samson who caught three hundred foxes and started explaining that the tails of the foxes were three meters long. "And this is a fact, because such and such an author says so," and he started quoting, but his friend turned his forefinger. "But, he continued, this looks to me improbable and I suppose the tails were two meters long," and he started quoting another author, but his friend turned his forefinger again. "However, this also seems to me improbable, but they must have been one meter long," and he started proving this by quoting, but his friend made again a sign with his forefinger. "Now, this looks to me unnatural, certainly the tails have been as long as those of our foxes - about 50 or 60 centimeters." John turned his finger again, but this time the preacher jumped and cried out, "John, I cannot shorten them anymore." The tails in Samson’s times were as long as in our times. What cause is there for argumentation that such and such an author said this or that? People read different philosophers until finally they are forced to see the truth in nature - how things really are in life; what the heart and the mind are saying. Be loyal to these two principles and you will have the support of the Invisible World which is around you and helps everyone who seeks the Truth. We are not alone on this earth so there is no need of our worry about sustenance, for everything is prepared for us. In the past when the Lord led the Hebrews out of Egypt across the desert, He gave them manna for food and ordered them to gather it only for the day it was given and not to store it up, except for the Sabbath. However, the Hebrews did not obey Him, and as they had practiced in Egypt (which represents the present-day culture, they) gathered manna for two days and it spoiled. We people today, in our effort to store up for the future, do not give our minds and hearts even some rest. That is why everything in our life is spoiled. Do you know what this means? It is just like a child who wants to take his mother’s time the whole day. We call such a child disobedient. There is time for the child, but there is time for the mother as well. Do not think that your time is exclusively for your children; neither theirs for you. Part of your time must be devoted to God and to your neighbors as well. All people must devote some time in order to know what is the Great Law. Some time should be consecrated to God. But what do you do? You look after your business or work. And what happens? You lose ten times more time. Someone may say, "Are there any statistics you can show us by which to determine what has happened to those merchants who have not fulfilled the Law, and to those farmers who have not acted according to this Law?" A poor person sometimes asks you for alms which means that the Lord sometimes wants you to consecrate a little time to Him. Let the merchant give the beggar something; let him tell them a kind word. He says instead, "Get out of here for I have work to do." Then the Lord notes down in His book that such and such a person has not consecrated the given time to Him. A merchant acts this way three or four times and then a crisis comes to him and he loses 100 or 200,000 leva. The Lord takes it because he has not fulfilled the Law. But what happens to a farmer who does not fulfill the Law? He sows his field two or three years, but the field gives no crop because he has refused to devote a short moment to God. The priests, on the other hand, will say that one must consecrate all their time to God. That is well said, but they do not do it themselves. Moses, who gave the Law of Rest, was much wiser, for he said: "Work for yourself, for your wife and children, for your friends, six days a week and consecrate the seventh to the Lord your God." This rest is necessary to you so that you may enter your Inner World and evaluate the experiences of the other days of the week. You should say to your wife and children, "Leave me alone today that I may serve the Lord.” But then, do not worry that the children will fight, that your wife may not be well-disposed. Leave them alone; do not pity them too much. If you pity your family and friends on that day, you will lose the Divine Harmony which is a great moment in your life. Some people come to me and complain that they have nothing to eat. I have tried all kinds of ways in which people can nourish themselves. I have eaten only an apple a day, or only beans and I have survived. In my opinion only bread is the best food. But you object to this and say it is not sufficiently nourishing; however, I say that meat, butter, olives, sausages, soup cooked with lamb’s liver are less nourishing. You call my way of nourishment a "monk’s way of eating." Our animal mind has deluded us and made us carnivorous; the instinct of the swine has deluded us and made us omnivorous for the swine eats everything. Once a priest visited me and as I was saying these things to him, he said, "But I have healthy stomach and can eat everything." "Let him eat everything he wants," I said. But after eating he was ill for two days. Of what? "Indisposed." My friends, your stomach tells you, you are not a sensible person. When we eat we should thank our soul for giving us everything that is necessary. We do not need any superfluities. What is necessary for us is to come to know our mind and our heart for they are Divine. Seek only what is necessary in life: seek it in your mind, in your heart, in your life. It will not leave any remnants in you out of which impurities may remain in the person. Only if you turn to your mind and heart, will you then be able to reform your life and society - you will solve both problems at the same time. Everyone will work with what is given them. You will not all do the same thing since there is a variety of things to be done. Everyone will work according to their own understanding. By entering this Great Divine Plan I talked to you about, the Bulgarians and Bulgaria will put their life in order. I recommend to Bulgaria to make an experiment - to give heed to her mind and heart and in ten years’ time, her life will be put in order. Let every Bulgarian make an experiment of obeying their mind and heart. Let no one compel another. If your friend is not walking in the right way, direct your thoughts to them and in this Divine Way send them your help; then see how thier life will change. When a flower is not watered a long time, it is crying "Water! Water!" When there is humidity we say it needs warmth and light. We need this humidity, this Inner Light and heat. Some may say, "This is hard to apply." Heroes are needed for this teaching, not cowards. What is important for us is what nature is teaching us, what we were created for – and not what philosophers have written in the past, nor what the people of learning are writing now. Have we been created to become victims of the battlefields, to torture and hang people? Not in the least. God has created us for great purposes. We call ourselves cultured people, feigning we serve God as Eastern Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants; but we all kill hens and lambs the same way. We are not cultured people yet. From now on, the future belongs to a real culture - the culture of our heart and of our mind. Let there be no two thoughts and two feelings in people about things. Let us always speak the Truth, always cherish the Good in our heart, and be ready to sacrifice ourselves for it. I am ready to sacrifice myself for what I believe, I have experienced this. I see what others do not see. It is preferable for a person to wear a dressing-gown but have a fresh mind and speak the truth than to wear a crown and have a high post in the world, but be the worst of liars. Brothers and sisters, do you know how deluded you are! Do you know what you told me one time when you were leaving heaven? What fine ideas, what wonderful programs, what high purposes you had at that time? You were beautiful and powerful as I know you, but as I am looking at you now, I pity you. If I could weep, I would. I would not weep for your sufferings, however, but for your delusions; for not knowing how to be happy on earth and where your happiness is. Life in its present condition is slavery - a big prison. Have no illusions, realize your condition and come out of it. You, being in this prison are thinking how to reform it so that the prisoners may live well. But I say unto you, "Come out of this prison!" Some will say: "The time has not come yet," and prefer to live thousands of years in the prison. No, five years have passed, the term is over. Has not the time come for you to leave the prison? Thousands of years have passed and you are still in it. Come out of it! You will call the policeman and say to him, "We were sentenced on the basis of such and such law to stay in prison for so many years. The term is over and we want you to set us free!" Raise your mind and your heart and appeal to God, call Him to set you free from this prison. All that you see now will be leveled with the ground in ten years; nothing will remain of these laws. Such will be the end of this world with its present perversion. A New Culture will come when people will listen to their hearts and minds and live like brothers according to a deep comprehension of that Law which says, as it is also written in our law, that the testimony of the two is true. I am not telling you to become pessimists, but to be heroes. Work among all people and tell everybody that the time has come for us to live a human life on earth. But you will say that people do not wish this. You will convince them, because the right is on our side. A common brotherhood will be created in the whole world. This slavery will be abolished; the rich and the poor will become equal; the learned and the ignorant will be put on the same footing; all people will become equal according to the Law of Wisdom and Love. This will be the New Culture. Arm yourselves with this idea. Be heroes and fear nothing. You have served the devil long enough. People believe in him more than in God. Say, "From now on we shall believe in the Living God Who moves the world and Who has decided to reform it." For that reason He has sent His servants. If you do not do this, the stones will come to life and reform the world. It is written that the trees and the animals will rise, but if you do not rise, you will be the last in the Kingdom of God. You will say that I am strict. Please excuse me, but this is not strictness. I am only saying that your relationship as brothers and sisters are not what God requires. I am telling you the very truth. Give up all squabbles among you for there is no reason for them. But you say, "I am an Eastern Orthodox," "I am a Catholic," "I am an Evangelist," "I am a Communist," "I am a Theosophist," "I am a Spiritualist," "a Frenchman," "a Bulgarian" and so on. When God created the world, we were not separated into different creeds and nationalities. Now we have become French, English, Italians and tutti quanti. Let us turn to the Great Truth which God is pointing out to us and which calls us to a great task. Put your minds and hearts to work so that we may create a great wave in the world which will lead us in the way of mutual accord and the Great Laws of Nature. Then you may be sure that the future will be yours. Sermon by the Master November 16, 1919. -------------------------------- [1] John 8:17

from The Blossoming of the Human Soul COSMIC LOVE When you hear the words “Cosmic Love,”1 they may sound strange to you at first and you may ask yourselves how it is possible for Love to be cosmic. And yet, it is possible. I am using the word “Love” in a very broad sense. I use the word “Love” for the energy coming from the Center of the Universe and flowing toward its periphery. And I say “Cosmic Love” for the energy moving in the opposite direction: from the periphery of the Universe to the Center of Origin. So I call the process of creation and generation - “Love”, while the constructive process going from the bottom upward I designate as “Cosmic Love.” Whenever we speak of the cultural, social, political, and spiritual life - the reference is to Cosmic Love revealed in its great work; in other words, Cosmic Love represents a conscious process carried out individually in the Universe. I will ask you to set your views aside for a moment, whatever they might be, and reason with me without criticizing. If you desire to benefit from this, you need to perceive things precisely as the camera photographs the landscape exactly as it appears and then you may criticize. If you place yourselves beforehand on a critical ground, you will perceive things incorrectly and as a result your critique will be unreasonable. I speak about Cosmic Love because it is an essential element for each one of you. Whoever desires to be healthy and fortunate needs to understand the intrinsic power of Cosmic Love. Many speak of Love and Cosmic Love, but they confuse them. Love is creating, while the Cosmic Love is manifesting. In some cases, however, Love can destroy as well. The cat eats the mouse out of love because this is how it understands and demonstrates the process of love. Moreover, you know that the cat eats the mouse without removing its fur and skin; it does not discard the impurities, but swallows it whole. It seems strange that cats though being a model of excellent neatness do not know how to eat. Many people have the same habits as cats: for example, they do not know how to eat. When people accept thoughts in their mind swallowing them with all their impurities like fur, skin, intestines, stomach, and so on - this shows a lack of culture in nourishment. Such people have the cat’s voracity and love. When we slaughter and eat animals, with this we also express our love for them. If animals ask us why we kill and eat them, we would need to answer that we are doing it out of our great love toward them and because we wish to have them inside us rather than look at them only from the outside. Love says, “I acknowledge no other existence than mine own and any being that is outside me needs to enter into me.” This is how Love has been understood by our elders; and this is how the new generation understands it as well. We believe that we will encounter a contradiction, if we understand it differently. In the social, political, and spiritual life of today, all people suffer from overabundance of love - every person has had more love than their fill is. Simply said, this is how things stand: if a woman has a lot of wool and leaves it unwoven, the wool will begin to smell. Yet in my opinion it is her love that has begun to smell. She needs to discover the process of Cosmic Love and begin to wash, comb, spin, and weave the wool. Like this woman, you might have a lot of wool; individually, you might be wealthy merchants, philosophers, scholars, ministers. All this is good. However, if you do not spin and weave with your knowledge, I tell you that you are ministers of wool, merchants, philosophers, scholars of wool. You have only wool that is not spun. The wool needs to be spun. It will be spun when that great process of Cosmic Love begins and the Cosmic Power is being awakened in us. According to the modern philosophers this will happen when the Higher Consciousness is awakened within us; when we understand that we need to work for the common good of the entire humankind and all living beings, visible and invisible. You might say that my idea is somewhat unusual. Indeed, it is unusual, but not all unusual things are untrue, just as not all things that are common and familiar to us are always true. To clarify my idea, I will make use of an image. In the past, in the Golden age of the human culture, in the so-called “First Race of gods” - there lived a great sage. One of his disciples came to him and said, “It is my desire to learn from you one of the greatest secrets of Life: how to take whatever form I wish so that to become enormous. I want to be as big as the Sun, filling all space around and thus to become visible to all.” The sage told the disciple, “Let it be according to your wish.” The disciple was very pleased and told himself, “Finally, I learned the great secret of being visible to all and now I will be the happiest of beings.” However, he forgot to ask his teacher how to diminish when he would like to become small again. Indeed, he became very large and all could see him, but he was incapable of communication. He was standing so high that he could not see the people neither could speak to them. For this reason, he went everywhere by himself and felt very lonely. All could see that he was unusually large and so, many scientists, philosophers, physicists, and astronomers began to study him, searching for the reason that Nature had made him like this. Thousands of theories and legends were created regarding his origin. The great sage, his Teacher, merely said, “The reason for his size is nothing else, but his wish to become large so as to be noticed by everyone; and I fulfilled his desire.” Another disciple came to this sage and said, “Master, I ask you to teach me the secret of diminishing myself to such an extent that no one in the world will be able to see me.” The sage fulfilled his desire as well and the disciple became first very small and then invisible. And yet, he, like the first disciple, forgot to ask how to return to his original form, so after he became invisible and descended to the greatest depths of creation, as he had desired, he was not able to return any more, when he wanted to. These two disciples represent the two polarities in creation: the great worlds and the small worlds. The microbes which afflict people, for example, conceal themselves everywhere, becoming invisible to all. After a while, a third disciple came to the sage and said, “Master, it is my wish to learn from you the properties of light and heat so that I might simultaneously be visible like light and invisible like heat: visible like light to be able to illuminate the great worlds and invisible like heat to be able to warm up even the smallest of the beings on Earth.” The Teacher answered him, “Let it be according to your wish.” Therefore, there are three processes in the world today running simultaneously. According to the first process, some people want to become wealthy, to be scholars, philosophers, statesmen, generals, nation builders. We call such people “great” because they have learned the art of expansion. They know the secret of expanding themselves so that to attract all people and societies to themselves, but have not learned the greatest secret - the art of organizing people and societies into conscious units. The magnet attracts iron filings, but it does not know how to organize them. To organize does not yet mean to educate: to educate does not yet mean to teach the Law of Cosmic Love. Therefore, when we speak of the Light, we imply that process in which the human mind expands and attains inner selfawareness. When we speak of heat or warmth, we consider the process of concentration through evaporation or the process of inner transformation. Light is a process that comes from the center and goes to the periphery; while Heat is a process that comes from the periphery and goes to the center. I call the “arterial blood” - Light and the “venous blood” - Heat. Therefore, when Cosmic Love passes through the human heart, it acts like the venous blood, absorbing and casting off all impurities. For this reason, we say that Cosmic Love heals. Light and Warmth - or in other terms, the arterial and venous blood - are constantly being exchanged within the human body; and the human body was created through these two processes. These two flows, these two processes can be found everywhere, including the mind, heart, and soul of every human being. Therefore, in order to research Life, we need to study it not as we see it today, but as Nature have initially created it. People of today may argue whether the soul exists or not; that is a matter of understanding. A person has consciousness and soul, thoughts and mind, feelings and heart as well. Can you see a melting object without associating it with heat? Can you see an illuminated object without associating it with light? Our delusions come as a result of the shadows cast upon us and that is why, we need to shed more light and warmth upon ourselves so that we can make our progress visible. To clarify this great idea, I will tell you an esoteric story. If I were to speak to you philosophically, the subject would not be interesting to you. I want to make the Truth accessible to your minds and for this reason, I am going to use the language available to us. In that kingdom, I have mentioned before, there was a king who had two daughters and one of them was very beautiful. One day, she went to a great Teacher of Wisdom and said, “Master, may I ask you to make me so beautiful as to enchant everyone passing by and so tender-hearted that whoever sees me not to want to part from me. Also, I wish for my sister to be deprived of these qualities and nobody to love her so that she would stay at home all the time not to hinder with me.” The sage answered her, “Let it be.” The princess mounted a horse, looked proudly around and said, “I am the king’s daughter!” People, horses, oxen, flies - all that she encountered in her way - was gathering around her. The many horses surrounding her started to kick each other striving to be closer to her and raising much dust in the air. The oxen were butting horns and also fighting to be closer to her. The bees started to sting each other, as did the wasps for the same reason. A terrible fight and noise arose and the animals, one after the other, started to fall dead on the ground. Observing all this, the king’s daughter realized how wrongly she had perceived Life in the Universe. Clutching her head, she went to her sister and said, “Help me, sister because I have committed a great offence!” I ask you: If a king’s daughter like the one above appears inciting much kicking and fighting among you, if all people begin to pull each other’s hair and fight because of her - has the king’s daughter brought the meaning of life to you? No. If you are of two minds and cannot find any meaning in life, you need to discover what caused you to be unjust to your soul. The king’s beautiful daughter is our body, for which we are ready to sacrifice everything in life. Philosophers, writers, politicians, clergymen, they all live only for their bodies. Often the most important thing for us in life is to indulge the body focusing mainly on what we eat and drink, how we prepare the meal and from what - meat or vegetables; whether to bake our food or boil it, and so on. We gather for banquets and say, “That is what life is about!” I say: That is what the stomach is about! You say, “Let’s put the social life in order.” Yes, but let’s put the social stomach in order: in fact that is what you imply. When your stomach is upset, the whole social and political life is upset as well. Ask any doctor if a person whose stomach is upset could philosophize and dabble in politics. Years ago, when I was returning from the village of Knyazhevo[2], I saw a banker on the streetcar and heard him complain to his friend that he had not been permitted to eat anything, only to drink milk for some time. His friend asked him, “Why so? Are you not your own master?” “Yes, but my stomach is upset.” “Well, if so, you need to bear the consequences.” Hearing of the banker’s stomach distress, his friend was ready to acquiesce to any other philosophy of life. It is the stomach that gives direction to the feelings and actions of many people. Cosmic Love represents a Great Law that allocates the actions of all forces in our consciousness so harmoniously as to supply everything created with the appropriate food it requires. Love provides appropriate thoughts for the mind; appropriate aspirations for the heart; and appropriate actions for the will. Yet, only mothers can teach Cosmic Love. When a mother forms her infant’s body, she supplies the child with Cosmic Love through her self-sacrifice. Only the one who sacrifices oneself will live because this person experiences the rejuvenating joy. Many wealthy Bulgarians of the past are no longer remembered, but Botev[3], Rakovski[4], and others who have sacrificed their lives continue to live in the national memory because they have learned the Law of Cosmic Love. Someone may object, “Yes, but Botev was not a believer.” It is not so important if someone is a believer like us. What really matters is whether that one has realized and applied the Law of Sacrifice for the others. That is what is really essential and enhancing for our further development. When I am told that some people are not believers and have eccentric views, I ask whether their views are uplifting for them and the society or not. If the answer is positive, it does not matter that they appear to be nonbelievers in the eyes of the public. I ask: If the candle I carry is lit, while the other person’s candle is not lit, then who is the true believer? True believers are those who carry lit candles. When you see someone carrying an unlit candle, tell him to light the candle; then he will become a true believer. I tell all priests, ministers, citizens, socialists, communists: Light your candles so that you may become true believers. Light your candle, every one of you, from the biggest to the smallest one, until there will be no unlit candles because the Light is needed in the world. When the Light begins to shine, Warmth will also pervade the human heart; and with this, all hatred, along with our desire to become great or small, will disappear. In respect with the cosmic consciousness we settle issues not from the perspective of one single nation, but as per the Great Law, which gives us striving and makes our life meaningful. All those who take care of children, both parents and teachers, need to apply the new methods for children’s upbringing and education so as to be of assistance to their charges. Mothers and fathers send their children to school not only to acquire knowledge, but also to learn how to put this knowledge into practice. To begin with, teachers should teach children: how to eat and what foods, presenting their properties and qualities, pointing out the healthy ones, and so on. After that, they should teach them how to breathe - to take in the pure air. By “air,” I mean all thoughts, whatever they might be, as long as they provide inspiration and give a noble impulse for the human soul. It does not mean that I want to make you true believers. You are free to think and act as you wish. I only want to give you new methods in Life so that you can avoid contradictions at certain times. I compare the situation in which the society finds itself today to that of a caterpillar feeding on leaves. Yet, the time has come for the transformation of this caterpillar into a butterfly. How will it feed then? It will no longer feed on leaves; instead, it will learn the craft of wing making, so it will create wings for itself, will begin to fly and extract nectar from the flowers. According to the Law of Evolution, the society of today is passing from one state into another. Do not think that you will be able to live in the old ways. No, God has already deprived you of leaves - as it is written in the Divine Law! God will no longer permit you to feed on leaves, when “the time of butterflies” has come. Now is the time for you to fly and gather nectar. And you should already use your proboscis! In other words, people need to learn to manifest Love. This Teaching is bringing the New Culture that will create the New Human Being. The people of today have not even a notion about it. The people who will come will be great in every aspect: Virtue, Justice, Love, Wisdom, and Truth. You are going to open your homes to them and will become fearless in their presence; there will be no need for police or army to protect you. They will not impose their views upon you because the present contradictions will no longer exist. It will be a New Culture then. Some of you will be honored to take up this Elevated Culture; while others, if they continue to maintain their old mindset, will remain in the state of caterpillars. I do not want to reproach you with this; but I am introducing this Great Law, which Nature applies mercilessly and she is being absolutely just in her actions. Placing a person in a certain phase of development, she wants to see some results. She will not wait for him; rather, he is going to wait for her. When I speak to you in this way, do not think that I do not want to make you adepts of this Teaching. Believe, rather, that I want to warn you of a big catastrophe that is coming to you: if you delude yourselves and remain in the state of caterpillars for another ten years, there will be no more leaves left for you to eat. So I advise you to transform yourselves into butterflies ten days earlier than usual and to begin a new way of eating. If you allow disease to advance too far and the blood in your body to become poisoned, what will the doctor tell you? “It is too late; you should have called me sooner.” Many politicians divert the Bulgarian nation engaging it with things that are not imperious today. You need to understand that every nation has a predetermined mission and if it is not accomplished properly, the nation will be lost; nothing could save it. Each individual has a predetermined mission as well. You may object, “Let us take back Macedonia, Thrace, Dobrudzha![5] We do not need anything else.” It is not so. We need people who will govern this nation as it should be governed! When I speak to you in this way, I do not mean that all of you should rush to join some political party. I view Life from a broader perspective. To me, the human social life represents one big tree. Does the tree have only one leaf or one blossom? No, it has thousands of branches, leaves, and blossoms, big and small ones; as well as thousands of fruits. If I had the time, I would speak to you in detail as to what each political party represents. Each party with its views and platform corresponds to a branch, leaf, and fruit of a big tree. How long can a leaf of this tree live without a branch? Fall comes and it withers; or the wind comes and it is blown away. Indeed, the fallen leaves are still living, but now they live under the power of the wind: when it blows upon them, they move. I ask you now how you want to live: high in the tree or down on the ground? It has been said about someone: that person truly lives. He lives, but down on the ground and subjected to the power of the wind. When people say that they are ill-disposed, this indicates that they have fallen down from the Tree of Life. Man has fallen to be renewed so that his essence would be drawn off by the roots of the tree and he would reincarnate once again as a new, young leaf. This is the meaning of reincarnation, but it is embarrassing and disputable for many people. Christ said, “If you are not born again, you will not see the Kingdom of God.” It means: If you are not re-born, you will not integrate into the New Culture neither will you become members of the Great New Humankind, which will bring all conditions for growth in life. The Kingdom of God abides in this New Culture. There will be no dead people - no funerals, graves, or monuments in this Kingdom - everyone without exception will be joyful there. The great persons like Paisiy[6], Botev, and others will be representatives of this New Culture. They will bring the new ideas and will be bearers of the New Teaching. People say, “Botev is not here, yet his spirit is.” Where is his spirit? How should one understand the meaning of “spirit”? The fundamental law of Lavoisier[7] is well known: Nothing in Nature is lost; therefore, everything that has ever been manifested continues to be. Some people are aware of such transformations while others are not. Yet, is it indicative that if I cannot see a thing, it does not exist? Many theologians and philosophers have contemplated on this one issue: the existence of God. For me, God exists as the Cosmic Love that I see everywhere and understand very well. It applies not only to me; every person who serves God sees Him and converses with Him every day. God lives in you. Not a single person can exist without God living in him. You should not speak ill of me, nor should I speak ill of you because God - against Whom not a bad word can be uttered - dwells both in me and you, in all of us. The fact that you have come to listen to me indicates that God has come with you too. What I speak to you is not new; you have had this knowledge stored in you for centuries. Someone may say, “Mr. Deunov preaches a new teaching.” It is only new for the time in which it is revealed. For instance, when I travel by train from Sofia to Tarnovo, things quickly fly by in front of my eyes. Some of them become past; others are present; and others are yet in the future. Do these things not exist simultaneously? Therefore, the past, present, and future exist simultaneously and represent one reality in the world. Those who have passed away, those who are living now, and those who will come in the future represent one reality too. I will leave this issue to you; you will have 350 thousand years to resolve it and I believe that you will succeed. After such a long period, I will come again to see how you have resolved it. We are not going to treat this issue today because it appears that it is not for now, but many thousands of years are required for its settling. The fact that people are currently deprived of bread, wood, salt, sugar, hygienic homes, and so on - these are the issues of today. Some speculate: those who are guilty should be hanged; women who create discord and other problems should be punished; we should declare war on our enemies in order to avenge ourselves. The purpose of all this is to satisfy the society and bring some people to their senses. Indeed, have women not been punished yet? Have the massacres, gallows, and wars not already existed? “Let us change the judges.” Will the new judges be any better? There is something wrong here. If I were to become drunk and as a result perceive the things around as being strange, this is because of my own world of a drunkard and not because everything in the world follows my lead. We resemble a Bulgarian named Ivan who went to pay a visit and was offered a drink. He drank as much as he could, but at a certain point, they began to push him to drink to the health of the mother, then to the health of the eldest son and of the eldest daughter. Thus, Ivan drank to the health of everyone in the household and became so drunk that he barely made it to the village fountain to water his horse. After the horse stopped drinking the water, Ivan insisted, “Drink to my health!” But the horse drew back and stepped aside. Ivan then said to the horse, “You have a better understanding of life than I. You were not compelled to drink more and more to the health of anyone.” We behave like Ivan as well: we gather somewhere and drink to the health of a certain party, to the health of some feminine organization, to the health of women, and so on. We make one concession after another, until we resemble the drunken Ivan, after which we say that we did not understand anything. People of today need to understand their duties toward the society, so that they might serve it as they should. When someone is asked, “Are you a Bulgarian?” he will answer, “Yes, because I speak the same language as all Bulgarians and profess one and the same faith as them.” This is not what distinguishes the Bulgarian as such. In my opinion, he should be honest and just, intelligent and good. If he possesses these four qualities, he is a Bulgarian. If he does not possess them, he is not a Bulgarian. Someone may say, “He is a priest.” I ask: Is he honest? Is he just? Is he intelligent? Is he good? If he possesses these qualities, he is a priest. Someone might be a lawyer, mother, father, teacher, or anything else; regardless, he needs to satisfy these four attributes, which are absolute essentials in social life. I would like that all Bulgarians possess these attributes and if they do, I will congratulate them. All should be dressed in Light, both inside and outside, and should be pure in flesh and spirit - just as Nature adorns the flowers with a wealth of colors and purity. As I said before: We need to be honest and just, intelligent and good in the full sense of these words - namely, in soul, mind, spirit, and willpower. We should possess a strong impulse to help one another as well. You can always have the Cosmic Love within yourselves. You are unhappy; your child has died, or you have lost your wealth. Why are you unhappy? It is because the Cosmic Love is not at work within you. One has lost some of one's senses; another has become discouraged. Why? It is because they have lost the Cosmic Love. When this Cosmic Love comes into us, we become powerful enough to accomplish everything. Those, whose Love is active, get never discouraged - they say that all failures and misfortunes are merely shadows of Life. Do not be afraid of these shadows! I compare misfortunes to the following: imagine a big tree with thousands of leaves that live together peacefully and quietly. A storm comes up and they begin to push one another and quarrel among themselves, asking, “Why are you so rough and pushy?” Then the storm passes and again they live together, quietly and peacefully. In this case, the cause for their argument is external. If this tree has understood the Great Law of Cosmic Love and in doing so, has avoided this quarreling, it would gradually be transformed into animal; the animal, if it would have understood Cosmic Love, will be transformed into human being; and the human being - into Angel. And when the human being attains this more sublime form, this person will be able to master the forces of Nature and overcome all trials and misfortunes. You may learn this Law from your little children. What do they do when they want something from their mother? They hug and kiss her tenderly, calling her, “Mom.” What is the meaning of this? Embracing their mother, children impart to her Cosmic Love with their left hand and Cosmic Wisdom-with their right hand. In this way, they impart their power to her so that she is really ready to do everything for them. That is why children are so lovable. The adults say, “If I kiss you, will I not catch some disease?” Children do not philosophize: If they need to kiss someone, they just do it and that is that. If my kiss can heal a person, I will readily kiss that person. If not, I will not do it. Every kiss should bear a blessing within itself. Visiting someone, you should not go with empty hands, but bring a present. When you go to visit a poor woman, for example, do not fill your wallet with money; but fill a bag with bread and fruits. The charitable organizations should do the same. At present, they collect money from here and there and use it to do good works. No, my friends, it is not good to give someone bread that is not baked by you. In the New Culture one cannot live by another one’s baking. The charitable organizations bring money around to the poor and after that, want to be paid for their labor. No, nothing should be paid them. When I serve, I should serve in Cosmic Love. When you come to my home, I shall receive you well: I shall feast you; I shall wash your hands and feet; I shall provide you with all resources needed for living; and I shall do any favor for you as I would for a friend. This is what is required by the New Culture. But today, when someone goes on a journey, he could stay somewhere as a guest for one day, but afterward, he should take a room in a hotel. Khan eri, baba eri,[8] say the Turks. The innkeepers are good people; they hold a higher position than common people. At first they are polite. However, when you leave, they immediately grab hold of you and say, “You must pay.” Are you aware of the situation in which we, the people of today, find ourselves? I will illustrate this for you with another example. A dervish went to a public bath, washed himself well, but upon leaving the bath, he discovered that he had not even a coin or two in his pocket to pay with. He then addressed the bath owner and told him, “Thank you,” on the way out. “Wait! What about paying?” asked the bath owner. “I have no money.” “Why did you come then?” The dervish was in a quandary what to do, so he directed his thoughts to God and said, “Lord, either give me money or bring this bath down.” In this moment, a great noise was heard. The bath came down and the bath owner came running to see what was happening. The dervish left unperturbed. Walking along, he saw an imam praying and said to him, “I know what you are praying for - money.” Modern society has always suffered from its too high want of money. In Bulgaria today, many treasury notes are issued, but where is the value? Value is what is needed. In contrast, what Nature provides does have value. If wheat, fruit, and potatoes exist, culture will exist; without them, there is no culture. Culture is determined by the Cosmic Love that is transmitted to us from Above. Do not think that the other planets and the Sun do not participate in our life. It is the Sun that is most interested in us and every year it sends a credit to Bulgaria worth of billions. If you go to the Sun, you will see that the solar citizens have many billions worth of energy for the sake of the Bulgarian culture, Cosmic Love, religious convictions, and spiritual advancement on the path of Truth. We focus our telescopes on the Sun and say, “The Sun is fire.” I contest this because fire is a weak force. A force does exist on the Sun, but it is not fire. It is something more powerful and it is beyond words to explain it. The Sun is not a body of fire, but a body of immense energy. I will not discuss the intrinsic aspect of this energy or explain how it has been developed, and so on. I wonder if you would believe me, if I were to tell you anything about the Sun as it is so far away from us. You do not believe in me or in my candor; you, yourselves, question if I have any hidden objectives or not - so how will you believe me when I am speaking about the Sun? The Sun is well-disposed to us - and this can be seen from its energies sent to the Earth and its bounties prepared for us daily - because without these forces coming from the Sun, life would be impossible. The solar forces are living and conscious. If we begin to think about the Sun in this way, we will be able to draw these forces into ourselves and they will generate a conscious regular process of growth within us. And so, Cosmic Love says, “Work with your heart and plant good wishes in it because each good wish will bear good fruit.” Plant good thoughts in your mind because each good thought will grow into a fruit tree. Do good actions using your willpower because each good action is a future fruit tree as well. Cosmic Love also says, “Never have doubts of yourself because every doubt is like leprosy.” Cosmic Love concludes, “Be courageous and decisive in life and in the struggles that befall you. Do not consider struggle to be a misfortune. Instead, consider it to be a process of work, which enables you to understand the inner meaning of Life. Discover the Laws that build the body as well as the stomach, lungs, and brain - so that you might be able to organize them properly.” We need to have the appropriate conditions for the manifestation of Cosmic Love within us. We do have these conditions in Life; they have been given to us. But if we do not make use of them, we cannot avoid the bad consequences. Suffering indicates that we are losing our life-force. We will continue to suffer until the lost balance has been restored. I will give you an example, which demonstrates that our beliefs and disbeliefs produce the opposite results. Once upon a time, there lived a great painter in Rome. He had the idea to paint the ideal image of Christ. He went through the town so as to find someone who would give an expression of his idea. He found a young man - 22–23 years old, and began to paint him. The work turned out to be quite successful. After some time the painter decided to paint Judas Iscariot as well. Again, he walked through the town in search of a suitable model. Finally, he found one and offered to paint him as Judas. The young man was astonished and turning to the painter, he said, “Sir, there is something very strange in your undertaking. Some years ago, you asked me to pose as a model of Christ and now you want me to serve as a model of Judas.” In the several past years, the young man had lived such a sinful life and his appearance distorted to such an extent that the painter was unable to recognize him. Yes, one can simultaneously be a Christ and a Judas, both in relation to himself and in relation to his fellowmen. We are creating our own character, so we need to be masters of our life, not expecting salvation from outside. Salvation is in us; it is nothing else but overcoming all the difficulties, which discourage us and hinder our progress. Mothers are those who recruit members for the different social strata and circles. As I have already said: While a mother is pregnant and the child is still in her womb, she can shape the kind of person she would like. Society depends on her for creating both its good and bad members. If a mother has conceived, but does not infuse her baby with Cosmic Love, she will not be able to form her child as she desires. If during her pregnancy, she attends frivolous balls and mindless concerts, spending her time seeking mainly entertainment, she will cause the creation of other individuals like Judas; and then she, herself, will wonder why her child did not turn out well. The mother is the cause. She has not created conditions for the building of something good. If children are gifted and with noble character, it is because their mothers have understood the Cosmic Law and at the appropriate time have given their children the possibility of using it. Character and strength are passed down to the child by the father; while the intellect is inherited from the mother. Honesty is passed down by the father; righteousness, by the mother. Only the father can make his son or daughter honest. Only the mother can make her son or daughter righteous. Sometimes, one will find children who are honest and intelligent, but they are not righteous and good. In such cases, I say that one of the parents has erred. If a child has all these four qualities, it indicates that both parents have worked in accordance with Cosmic Love and have imparted these qualities to their offspring. Cosmic Love is an excellent worker; whatever kind of wool you give it, Love will spin it. Showing us the spun wool, Love says, “This is what you gave me and this is what I created.” To clarify this concept, I will make a comparison with the following story. A young man by the name of Stoyan was a servant of a rich merchant. He worked honestly and gave all his earnings to the poor. Seeing this, his master constantly reminded him to make some savings for himself too because the old age is coming and he has no one to take care of him. Stoyan kept silent at these remarks or just said, “The Lord is good.” One day, his master fell into a deep sleep and had a very vivid dream. He was strolling through a beautiful countryside and there, amid the luxuriant landscape, he noticed a wonderful villa. He asked those present whose that villa was. “It belongs to your servant,” was the answer. “But he is only a poor man, where did he earn enough money to buy such a beautiful villa?” “He is poor indeed, but everything he earns on Earth, he is sending here; and with it, he has built this beautiful villa.” Walking further along, the master came to a more arid, desert-like place and noticed a small, meager cabin. He asked again, “Whose cabin is this?” “This is yours because you have never done anything for those in need,” was the answer. This story is true also in the sense that whatever a mother gives to her children in this world - and to the extent she gives it - that much she will receive back; and with it, she will build for herself either a beautiful villa or a small cabin in the World beyond. If she is generous in her Cosmic Love for her children, she will have a palace. By “palace,” I am implying the human character. If we introduce this New Law into the contemporary life, many of the big problems will disappear. I will conclude this lecture with one more example in order to emphasize what we truly need. In the time of the Ottoman rule, there lived a young Bulgarian who was an apprentice to a master potter. He studied pottery for many years and when he thought that he could work on his own, he told the master that he wanted to leave him. The master agreed and so he left. The young Bulgarian set to work. He formed pots, dried them in the Sun and set them finally in the kiln. But when removed from the kiln, the pots always cracked. He continued to work in this way for a while, but soon became discouraged as all his pots cracked. So he returned to the master and complained, “I do not know what is wrong with my work; my pots crack whenever I take them out of the kiln.” The master told him, “I am going to tell you the secret, if you work for me for three more years.” The young man agreed. He observed closely what the master was doing and noticed that whenever he removed a pot from the kiln, he would blow Hu! into each one of them. The apprentice then said to himself, “So, I needed to work an extra three whole years for this Hu!” You are all placed in the fire and if a master removes you from there, you will not be harmed; but if a novice does it, your pot will crack. The pot - this is you. The fire represents the difficulties in the world. The Master - this is your spirit. Stoyan in this case represents your soul that is learning how to create. Therefore, if you do not teach your soul how “to blow” and clench its fist, nothing will become of you. “To clench your fist” means to give your willpower the opportunity of acting in accordance with all precepts of the Law. Let each one of you stand in front of the kiln and say to the master, “Please, blow!” The blowing represents Cosmic Love. If Cosmic Love is implanted within you, your spirit will transform your body. You will become then worthy members of the New Culture and Humankind. I would like to greet all of you as members of this New Culture. I wish you to serve it with joy, to be bearers and workers of Cosmic Love. Only in this way will a nation be able to fulfill its mission well. Only in this way can Bulgaria raise as a nation and state. Be sure that if you receive Cosmic Love, everything will be resolved to your benefit. Nothing bad will happen to Bulgaria: the changes will come to pass without catastrophes or cataclysms. The New is coming, so there will be energy effusion from the unclean vessel into a clean one. As representatives of the New Culture, we are going to live without hatred, without malice. May Love and Cosmic Love be the two lodestars guiding our life on Earth. Lecture given by the Master at the gathering in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria on August 24, 1919. --------------------------------------- 1. There are two words in Bulgarian for love: lyubov and obich. Lyubov is translated into English as “Universal Love” or “Love” and obich is translated as “Cosmic Love” designating the human manifestation of Love as universal energy. 2. Knyazhevo: A former village in the outskirts of the Mount Vitosha, now a district of Sofia. 3. Hristo Botev (1847–1876): Bulgarian poet and revolutionary. 4. Georgi Sava Rakovski (1821–1867): Bulgarian publicist and a leader of the National Liberation Movement in opposition to the Ottoman rule. 5. Thrace and Dobrudzha are geographic districts on the Balkan Peninsula. 6. Paisiy Hilendarski (1772–1773): A monk who wrote the first history of the Bulgarian nation and became a leader of the Bulgarian National Revival. 7. Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1773–1794) is a French chemist. 8. Khan eri, baba eri - this is a Turkish proverb meaning: The innkeeper ’s land is like a native land.

from The Blossoming of the Human Soul THE UNIVERSAL LOVE The subject of my lecture is the Universal Love. I use this notion in a slightly broader meaning than it is usually understood. You may ask what we have in common with the Universal Love. My answer is that the Universal Love is the essence of Life. Love is what creates the conditions for Life to manifest. It is the primary incentive on Earth, that is to say, the ideal toward which we all strive. Yet Life, to be able to express itself fully, implies freedom of action. It evolves in four directions: social, political, cultural, and spiritual. These are different areas of the same reality. By “Love” I do not mean the common one that is extinguishable as a piece of charcoal thrown into the water. This is not the genuine Love. The genuine Love is a live coal that is aware of the meaning of the earthly existence. That is why the old sages and alchemists strived to study the properties of this living charcoal in fullness and came to comprehend its essence. Those who are not familiar with its properties say that Love burns people. True, there are things that can burn. There are also others that do not burn, in the same way as metals can be oxidized or not; in other words, when the later burn they are not consumed, that is why they are called “noble metals.” You may ask another question, “Why should we care about some high ideal when our living conditions are so bad?” But I will also ask you: Can you really prove you live in bad conditions? It is only a presumption. There are equally bad and good things in life, falls and risings, losses and gains, but they are finally balanced. What we call adverse living conditions is but our subjective attitude, human speculation, or theorizing. It is said that the humankind of today is seriously unhealthy. What I say is that illness is an anachronism. It is something temporary which depends on the person itself because one has the equal chance to be healthy or ill. Diseases are nothing else but direction signs as development begins only when there is a counter-action to one’s will. This can always be verified in life. All great people have suffered and suffering has been a stimulus for their spiritual growth. On the other hand, those who have had no hindrances and have lived comfortably have not marked any growth either. Today people want to be rich; but they should make a choice because there are two kinds of wealth: one that can make them sink to the bottom of the ocean and another one that can uplift them. If you travel on a transatlantic liner like the Titanic for example, with a backpack with forty kilograms of gold in it and if next to you is someone with no weight on his back, who has the chance to be saved in case of a shipwreck: you with the gold or the person who has no baggage? The answer is explicit itself. I take the word “gold” in a broader sense than it is normally understood. To me gold is an emblem of Knowledge or understanding of the Laws by which you can work in the world, mastering the natural forces and directing them to be useful both for you and others. This Knowledge does not oxidize and burn, so it is preserved and can be used for good. I am going to tell you an esoteric story. In a kingdom long ago, all citizens lived happily in fraternal love and their happiness was due to the fact that their king was not married yet. But at some time they started to wonder, “Why does our king stay single? Let’s find him a beautiful bride and have a wedding so in the future our kingdom will have an heir; otherwise it would be doomed.” So they chose the most beautiful maiden and the young king married her. She gave birth to two daughters: one, so beautiful that she attracted everyone with her beauty and the other, so ugly that everyone avoided her. Yet, the beautiful daughter brought a great misfortune to the kingdom because whomever she looks at would have problems with the eyes, whomever she touches would become lame, whomever she meets on her strolls would never reach home healthy as before. All citizens were affected by her negative energy. On the other hand, when the ugly daughter was on her stroll, she healed whoever she looked at and expelled the diseases from whomever she touched with her hand. You may say it is only a story, but you are not right. That is not just a story, but the reality itself or life as it is. For example, you have a son who is virtuous and honest. But in the presence of a beautiful girl, he changes: his mind darkens and his heart defiles, as beauty in its purely physical aspect stimulates only the external manifestation of human life. You have the desire to be beautiful, wealthy, strong, and so on. But I ask: Is there anyone who in spite of being beautiful, rich, and powerful has not experienced death? Someone may object, “But with your ideas people will die of hunger.” Are you not going to die because of your ideas too? I would be happy to see someone who is not dying in one way or another. Unfortunately people not only die, but they also perish. Someone else wishes to become good as to avoid suffering. No. The better you become, the more you are going to suffer. “What is then the solution to the problem?” It is only in the fact that the good person knows why to live, suffer, and die; while the bad one does not know. Here is the difference Do not think that death is natural and in the order of Nature itself. There was a time when the human being was immortal. We, too, could not die. But do you know in what sense I say this? In the sense that we could not do wrong, unhealthy things. A person who errs always dies. We die because our ancestors have erred. And we constantly err too because we suffer the effects of our past transgressions, which is called karma in the East or that is the Law of Cause and Effect. This Law refers not only to the individual, but also to the society and the humankind as a whole. I am telling you a Great Truth, which you can verify by yourselves. I do not have in mind theory but experience. The Teaching, which I preach, is based upon the living practice. People of today ask each other, “Are you a believer or not?” All people believe in whatsoever, I have not seen a single person who does not believe at all, but their faith is different. In that kingdom where people suffered from the beautiful princess, a great sage came and said to them, “I am bringing you a cure for all your ailments. It is an apple seed which will grow into a ten meter tree and will bear big fruits, half a kilogram each. Those who eat from these fruits will not be affected by the princess’s glance because this is the Tree of Life.” The people did not plant the seed and did not wait for the fruit. Instead they passed the seed from one to the other saying, “Did you hear that if you plant this seed, a big tree would grow with sweet fruits half a kilogram each having healing properties?” Everyone spoke about the seed and did believe in the curative powers of its fruits. But not being planted, finally the seed got lost; then the people began to speak that what was said about it was untrue and stupid. “Is it possible that such a big tree could exist and bear such fruit? It was a lie.” And so, they stopped believing. When someone is telling me today he does not believe, I say: Friend, you have lost the Seed. You can be a scientist, a very serious person, but if you do not have the Seed of Love within yourself, you are going to pass through thousands of tribulations. I will not stop right now to explain religion to you. You will resolve this for yourselves because now I am speaking about Love. I ask: Do we have this Seed? Who of the great scientists from the past or from this century has brought the Seed? Someone will answer that Christ has brought it. Where is it then? Let us see it. Jesus Christ suffered and was resurrected. But let us see the fruit of this suffering and resurrection. The Seed has been lost. I will continue with the story. This same sage came for the second time to that kingdom and said, “Because you lost the seed the first time I came, now I will not give it to you to pass it from hand to hand. But when I find the most honored citizen, I will tell him: Friend, you have a beautiful garden. I will plant the seed there, but you need to water it and watch over it; after five or ten years you will have fruits curative for everybody.” You all need to plant this Seed and benefit from its fruiting. The first fruit of this Seed is Love, which shall reign among all people, regardless of their creed or nationality. They shall then rise above any attachment as home, society, or nation. Love shall embrace the entire humankind as we are all members of it. It represents a common body and when the body is well, it benefits the nation, society and home of each individual, and vice versa. I do not mean to criticize your views. This is not my intention. I am speaking in principle. Therefore, I do not want to interfere with shortcomings, whether social, political, cultural, or spiritual. This is not my assignment and it will not solve the problem either. When I enter the home of hungry people, I will not preach about God to them, saying that if they have faith and trust Him, He will provide food for them, and then leave them with that thought but hungry. No, I adhere to this principle: I always carry on my back a bag full of bread for those who are hungry and arguing so that I can tell them: Set the table, let’s sit down and eat. Then peace and tranquility will return to such homes. Today people have a wrong understanding of life. They say, “Let’s improve the society, the world.” All this is great, but how will you educate the society, your sons and daughters, the politicians, teachers, priests, and preachers? I would suggest you all to go and study the life of bees - they will teach you how you should educate others. When they want to have a queen, they prepare some special food for her; the food for the workers and drones is different. The bees have managed to organize their life much better than do people, who only philosophize. This is not a reproach, but an indication that we should study the surrounding Nature much more thoroughly. All Laws and models for prosperity can be found in Nature. With the Universal Love, we will attain an uplift of our consciousness. Feeling the vibrations and being able to hear the voices of all suffering people and to help them - it is both self-help and support for our nation and for the entire humankind simultaneously. Whoever has this feeling awakened and activated, being free of all material attachments, that one is able to project oneself everywhere in space and help everyone. You may ask, “How is it possible to help someone without touching that person?” I will answer this question with another one: Does the Sun, which is 93 million miles away from us, touch us with its fingers? No. Even from such a great distance, when it looks down, everything in nature begins to vibrate, grow, and bear fruit. Some may say, “Let’s raise our hand for a blessing.” Alright. But by raising your hand, you should also give what the Sun gives us every day. The Sun sends forth energy and strength to both the healthy and the ill. Some may wonder why we should concern ourselves with the Sun. I do not say to be concerned, but to make use of it. If someone does not feel well, he may take a sunbath; if he has lost his energy, he may bask in the sun’s rays; if he is disappointed in his ideal, if he has no idea how to work, he may stand in the sunshine to get warmed. Someone may object, “God will help us.” When you mention God, I want to ask you: What is God for you? God acts from within. When we experience God and He speaks to us, we come to love all human beings equally and we are ready to sacrifice for them. Christ said, “There is no greater love than this that man lay down his life for the sake of his friends.”[1] He was implying that when we love our neighbor, we should not consider him to be a sinner and try to save him, but rather treat him as a brother, a friend, creating for him the conditions necessary for living and growing. Do not think that you are going to delineate a new path of life. No. The path of life is already drawn for everyone and it has been strictly mathematically determined. It is determined for everyone what they will become, how they will live, and how their life will unfold. This is according to the Law of the continuous Causes and Effects. In the Divine Law of Love disharmony cannot exist. When we begin to understand Love as such a power, it will come to abide in us. Then we will become strong enough to correct all social shortcomings - not mechanically but through Love. The love of society directed to some person will transform the mind and give a new course to this person’s life. Therefore, when we say that God is Almighty, we mean the totality of the whole creation - all beings whose thoughts are affecting us as a creative power. What bad we have is not Divine: it is human. We have ourselves created the present unfavorable existence and its structure. If you ask me why God has created the world in this way, my answer is: I know that the world was created in a different way, but from what I see now, I can conclude that it has been ruined by people. All of you here who are listening to me have different beliefs of life. Not only you have your own concepts, but also mammals, birds, ants, plants - they all live according to their understanding. However, this is not the meaning of life yet; life is much richer and broader. The abilities and powers, which are hidden in the human soul, can be awakened under special conditions. Each of you can make a small experiment. What kind of an experiment? First, affirm that all conditions to become true humans are given to you. If you cannot use these conditions, it does not mean that these possibilities are not available; it means only that you have not found and applied the appropriate methods. Modern scientists and philosophers have tried for thousands of years to find the methods for the revival of the humankind. We have never had a religion providing immortality for the humankind. I say that the true Orthodox religion has not been presented yet in the world. When I say that, someone may ask me to which religion I belong. I answer: I do not confess any of the today’s religions, which are as a whole void of content and hollow. I will tell you which one I belong to defining it in a very short way: religion is the connection between Wisdom and Love. There is no better definition of religion than this. Those who have found the connection between Love, acting in their souls and Wisdom, acting in their minds are believers indeed being aware of the Divine Law and immortality itself. This faith makes us be God-like. How can a human being be like God? Overcoming death because God is immortal. Christ said, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”[2] The human being cannot become immortal if not perfect. Someone will ask, “Why did the saints die?” It is because they burdened themselves with the others’ wrongdoings. When we free ourselves of our wrongdoings, we are not going to die, but will attain the state of living in Love and Wisdom, which is the essence of this Teaching. A person who does not have Love and Wisdom cannot be truly religious and immortal. Understand me correctly: according to this definition, “overcoming death” means to be master of all conditions in life: to be equally joyful whenever you suffer or rejoice; to be impassive whenever you lose or gain. Whom do we venerate these days? Is it not the heroes who have suffered and died? Whom do we build monuments and lay wreaths to? Do we do this for the thieves and robbers, the wealthy millionaires, or the philosophers who possessed much knowledge? No. We pay honor and tribute to those who have suffered and sacrificed themselves for humankind. People of today often like to outsmart one another with sophisms about the existence of God and to ask, “Is there a God?” I do not resolve this question philosophically, but simply say that God exists in the same way as the Sun shines. Imagine that you stay awake at night and sleep in daytime when the Sun shines, waking up always at sunset, so if you study the world at night, after twenty years, you will say that there is no Sun. I tell you: Change your way of living. Go to sleep at night and stay awake in daytime when the Sun is shining - then you will see the Sun. The same happens to the wealthy people who have sunk under the weight of their riches. I do not judge them, but point to the reason of their misfortune. They are at the very bottom of the ocean so the sunrays cannot reach them. When can they be saved? By leaving their gold at the bottom of the ocean and going up. Is there any life on the surface? Yes, and much more beautiful life. These setbacks could be your wishes to acquire wealth, to take a high position, or to conquer the world. Free yourselves of such thoughts. Tell me who of the political leaders has improved life in Bulgaria? Who has improved England? Where is Ancient Greece or Rome in their glory? I do not argue that one should not have goals in life, but I say that we move in the wrong direction. We have a distorted understanding of life and it is time to put an end to all these false beliefs. Two Greek sculptors wanted to show their mastery. The first one sculpted a bunch of grapes so real that even the birds were tricked. The other sculpted a beautiful goddess, tucking such a delicate veil around her that the first sculptor asked him, “Take off the veil so that I can see her better.” This story shows that the one who sculpted the goddess was more skillful. But I ask: Did these artists not die as well? They did. You may understand each law very well; you may be a philosopher, a statesman, and so on. The art of these two sculptors is only the shadow of things. It is not the essence of Life. The essence of Life lies in our attaining harmony with it. We have not yet attained this harmony. I do not agree with the people of today saying that they have a true life. In fact, they do not really live, but mainly suffer and torment themselves. In my opinion, there are three ways of manifestations: toil, labor, and work. Our existence so far is one of toil, yet true Life begins with work. Work is related to the state of conscious living and understanding how to become master of yourself - of your mind and heart so that no one could affect you. It means that you have the Great Love, which is not only inspiring, but also acting as a constant stimulus for you in the same way as heat and light act upon the plant kingdom. I compare modern people (if you will excuse me for this comparison) to a mentally deranged scientist. He was placed in the big hall of a mental institution with fifty other patients. He engaged himself to bring straws, of which he made small piles that he moved all day long from one side of the hall to the other. Next day, he did the same again. People resemble this man and ask themselves why they are unhappy. It is because they are gathering straws. What is needed is the benevolent wind that will blow away all these straws and together with them, all misfortunes. We should treat our neighbors like the saint who was on his way to talk with God. When he passed by a rich man, the latter said to him, “Tell God that I have had enough of this wealth. May He take it away, so that I might be living like all other people.” “Very well,” replied the saint, “I will tell God.” He continued on his way and there he met a poor man who said to him, “Please tell God that I am tired of this life. I have had enough of walking around naked and barefoot. May He give me some clothing and change my living conditions.” “I will advise God about your plea,” said the saint. Arriving to God, the saint told Him about these two men. God said, “Tell the rich man to express his discontent complaining against Me and I will take all his wealth away. As to the poor man, tell him to express satisfaction with his life and then I will give him everything he wishes.” On his return, the saint told the rich man what God had ordered for him. But he replied, “How can I do that?” “In this case, your wealth will remain with you.” He passed by the poor man and told him what God had ordered for him. But he answered, “How can I be content with these bad conditions?” The wise man told him, “You will continue then to go naked and naked will you be buried.” You say that those who have passed away are already with God, but you still go to the cemeteries to offer prayers and pour wine for their souls. Can they be with God and in the cemetery at the same time? That one who is above should tell those who are below, “You only think that you will be dead. If you become thankful, you will resurrect.” Do not take what I am saying as a reproach or intent to rebuke anyone for their beliefs. I only point out those false attitudes toward Life, which have been introduced to us pushing us in the wrong direction and causing us to be in disharmony with Life itself. We want to live, but at the same time we prepare ourselves for death. The one who is observing the Law of Universal Love and Cosmic Consciousness will no longer pass through death. That one will be able to survive even if you pound nails into his hands and feet; put him on the cross or in the grave - yet, he will be able to stay alive. Those who have not learned the Great Law of Love - never will their stones be rolled off their graves. People of today constantly say, “We are sinners.” I do not wish to hear this anymore! What I know is that people are good by nature, deep in their core, but they become bad because of misconceptions and misused willpower. They seek happiness and think they will find it on the path they follow. But they will not find it there, the same way as their fathers and forefathers who have searched happiness on the same path have not found it either. Christ said, “He who hears the Voice of the Son of Man will live.”[3] What does it imply “the Son of Man”? It implies the Son of Wisdom and Love. He who has connected Wisdom with Love will resurrect. You, too, when you hear this Voice, will resurrect. This is what Christ was teaching. If you plant the Seed, which I have mentioned to you, not just passing it from hand to hand, but planting it in your hearts, the resurrection and the desired Life will come. Life will then enter in its natural Divine Course. I can advise all mothers who are listening to me how to have the sons and daughters they wish. To those young women and men who are listening to me, I can tell you more about the meaning of life. You will marry - marriage is a sacred institution. However, there are three kinds of marriage. The first is called a contracted union. The second is a master-servant type of relationship; this is to say, man is a master and woman is a servant, or vice versa. The third is a union in which man and woman live in love and wisdom; or, in other words, they live for each other. The wife will never say a bitter word to her husband; moreover, she will never look at him with anger even in situations when he makes the biggest mistakes. This wife will always be loving to her spouse. Only such a marriage will produce good children, sages, and saints who will serve the whole of humankind. If a woman who has conceived is inspired by some great ideas about humankind, she will pass good qualities on to her child. She is like God to her child, so she is capable of creating out of this dust whatever she desires. Yet, as soon as the baby emerges from her womb, this begins the child’s independence in thoughts and feelings. If, during the nine-month period of pregnancy, she has instilled the qualities of Love and Wisdom into the child, he will have a good attitude toward her for the rest of his life and will be ready to sacrifice himself for her. When a son asks his mother why he was born, I naturally conclude that during the pregnancy she or the father had prevailing negative thinking. Sons and daughters usually bear the thoughts of their parents. Modern science has also come to this conclusion. Certainly, in such general talk, I cannot go into depth or into more detail concerning that issue so as to explain the principle of it. We need schools to educate young people in these Great Laws in order to become good mothers and fathers and, at the same time, builders of the future society. There is a book written by a Bulgarian author: “Builders of Contemporary Bulgaria.” I think, this title is very good. Moreover, to know how to build represents a great and sacred deed. You probably doubt what I am saying. If you do, you make a mistake. Cast any doubts aside of your souls - because my doubts in you are also doubts in myself and your doubts in me are in fact doubts in yourselves. I have no doubt in you; I have all faith that, in the future, you will become very good people. Now some of you are still in the early stage and some others are not yet in the fields. But after thousands of years when I meet you again, you will be very different from your present state. You may say, “Are you sure we can meet again after so many years?” Of course, we are going to meet again and we will have a much better understanding than at present. Now you look at these things critically and tell yourselves, “This man who has come here to speak to us is hiding something. He may want to cheat us. This is a dangerous matter. We must be watchful.” You are right. If I were in your place, I would think the same. While traveling from Sofia to Tarnovo,[4] I sat next to a man on the train. I saw that he was touching his valet from time to time looking suspiciously at me and the other passengers around. He probably asked himself if we were perhaps the kind of people who liked to take and not to give; if he would reach into our pockets, or we - into his. I am not one of those who reach into people’s pockets. I can let you put your hands into my pocket and take whatever you can. Only when we begin to think like this, will the world improve. Abundance should exist in the world: abundance in minds, abundance in hearts. And we need to open our hearts widely for one another. I do not regard modern society as you do. Anyhow, it is going to die - no one can prevent this with the present way of thinking. In fact, it could be done, but how? By changing the conditions. I will give you an example. The Spanish influenza rage killed six million people worldwide and I was asked how people could heal themselves. I told them that I am not a medical doctor, but according to the Laws with which I am familiar, people should drink boiled hot water and eat warm potatoes; and after about seven or ten days, the crisis will pass. Now some people may ask, “Do you think that we are so naive as to eat hot potatoes and drink boiled water?” It is not that you are naive, but I am telling you a method of healing. Make an experiment. May all those who have tried this cure share the results. As to doctors, what did they do? They gave shots, but most of the ill departed for the World beyond. Within only seventeen days, seventeen hundred people died in Sofia. The people’s explanation was, “Oh, there has been a crisis, a complication, and so on.” I say: Those people should have drunk hot water and should have eaten boiled potatoes. Drinking hot boiled water is also a kind of a shot, but from within, not external. The thing is to know where the shot should be given. Now, if you ask how Bulgaria could be healed, I say to you: Drink hot water and eat warm potatoes. When I say “boiled water,” you should know where to take the water from. Take water from where the donkey would drink because it knows how to choose good water. If you use hot water, it will bring you all necessary elements and in this way, ninety percent of the contemporary issues that make people sick will disappear. So, boiled hot water and warm potatoes - this is a sign of Life in Love and Wisdom. And so, Universal Love will put us in touch with Life itself so that we can understand the meaning of every single thing: every flower, every tree, wellspring, mountain, home, and human being. It will reveal to us the great secret of Life so that we might understand our relationships with one another. When Universal Love comes into us, it will empower us: vanquishing heroes. You will make not only one experiment, but ninety-nine at least. And at the 100th time, you will succeed; there is no exception of it. Therefore, you need to be persistent. All this is true with life as well. If someone is ill or goes through some misfortune, it is mathematically determined how long it will continue. This is due to the fact that all diseases are caused by well known living organisms or microbes which existence does not comply with the living functions of the ill person. Disease will exist as long as we allow these microbes to live and deposit their byproducts in us. If someone asks me about murder in the world, I will say: Murder will exist as long as murderers exist. What about theft? Theft will exist as long as thieves exist. People are not born as thieves, but they become such because of their distorted attitude to Life. Murderers are children of the old culture. The harmful ideas, when instilled in someone, could devastate this person. Modern science proves that hypnosis exists and can cause someone to commit a crime. You know that many experiments are made with young people and it was found out that when they are placed in unfavorable conditions, their moral values cannot pass the “test.” However, Universal Love creates those favorable conditions in which all toxins in the society are being eliminated. Every discomfort, every bad thought, feeling and action are due to the vibrations of certain kinds of matter existing in us and being manifested in our life. Therefore, one should accumulate pure ethereal matter and organize one’s forces in order to manifest good desires and thoughts, and be good. Matter that is not organized is like soil for the germination of malefactors. The words “Those who listen to the Voice of the Son of Man will resurrect,” imply that those who understand the Law of Wisdom and Love will not be subjected to unfavorable conditions. If you live in a dark basement without sunshine, the conditions in this environment will naturally expose you to diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculosis, depression, and so on. Go out into the Sun because the favorable conditions are above the ground level. Free yourselves of excess dampness and you will create new conditions in your life. What is “dampness” in the human being? The excess of desires creates dampness. On the other hand, the excess of extreme thoughts creates dryness. It means that both dampness and dryness in their extremes give bad results in life. Now, supporting points for the human development can be found in the Universal Love that elevates the human consciousness. I will give you an example. You have hands, which you raise quite often and you also bend your fingers. Why are some fingers bigger, others - smaller? And why is the thumb standing apart? When the hand is to act, all fingers come together and the thumb comes on top to help them. A person can then grab a plow or any other farming tool and work. In a society created in the same way as the hand is, some people are merchants. The little fingers represent merchants or the practical people. The well-shaped ring fingers represent people of culture and science; the middle fingers - people of justice and politics; the index fingers - people of religion and personal life. The thumb represents the Divine World or what is the consciousness in the human being. All these fingers need to unite and act together. As far as the society and its political, cultural, and spiritual representatives have been divided, they cannot produce the same effect of working together as the human hands putting all fingers in action. To bring the fingers together, one must activate one’s willpower. When you apply your willpower to realize your ideas into the areas, which I have just mentioned, saying, “Come and help me” - all will come and will do miracles together like the fingers of the human hand. Therefore, a great philosophy is imparted to the human hand. Each time you look at your fingers, think about your relationships and the connection between Love and Wisdom. The thumb represents the Divine Principle that should be applied for the benefit of all individuals and the entire humankind; the index finger corresponds to the religious and personal life; the middle finger imparts the law and politics used for the good of humankind, it understands the miseries of life and creates the laws; the ring finger imparts culture; the little finger - material goods. The thumb is always ready for self-sacrifice and says to the other fingers, “If all four of you unite, I will support you; and we can do good.” Some speakers raise and wave hands while speaking, including myself. I also raise and wave my hand toward you. Why? By doing this, I am telling all of you to find out the connection between Love and Wisdom, recognize your rights and duties toward those close to you, find and apply the Great Principles of this Divine Science for the benefit of the society and elevation of the young people. In this way, you are going to improve your economic conditions so that there will be enough butter, vegetables, wheat, fruit - everything in abundance. This is what fingers of the hand indicate. If all people knew how to bend their fingers, they would be in quite a different situation. However, the Bulgarians know how to raise a fist menacing, “I can break your head,” and like the English and American boxers, they hit each other in the face. I will tell that one who raises his fist against me. “Behold, we could accomplish something good with you because we will come to an agreement. Come to me.” I would like to work with that one whose hand is in a fist. A baby will clench fists when it comes into the world so that to indicate, “I will grow up and conquer this world.” But when passing away, a person will open hands, as if to say, “I am dying, but I have accomplished nothing. God, forgive me!” Do you know what God’s answer is? “You did not know how to bend your fingers.” Why do you suffer? It is because you do not know how to bend your fingers. You ask, “Why is this misfortune in our home? Why does Bulgaria suffer? Should reparation be paid?” If you hold your hand open, reparation should be paid. But if you fist it, there will not be need to pay any reparation. “But what will our situation be in the future?” If you know how to hold your hands in fists, you will be a free, great nation; but if you do not know, you will be slaves as you have been until now. You may say that you are free, but you are not. You cannot be free neither as individuals nor as a society, nation, and humankind while you do not agree among yourselves and continue to pay others back, while you do not have loving relationships being ready to make some allowances and sacrifices for one another. Today, I ask you to remember and apply this: All Bulgarians should begin to exercise and bend properly the fingers of their right hand first. When they bend their fingers, they should know the meaning of this and say concentrated on the hand, “I can do everything that is related to the fingers and I will do it.” I would like to give you this idea: All Bulgarians should begin to bend their fingers: first the fingers of the right hand - the hand of Wisdom, and then the fingers of the left hand - the hand of Love. Try this for one year. Project your thoughts and your willpower into the actions of your hands and you will see the results. You may say, “We are not so naive.” You have done many stupid things so far. Is the person who is sitting in the pub with a glass of beer in front of him or who is smoking a cigarette doing a smart thing? Is the person who is reading newspapers containing barely one percent true information doing a smart thing? Yet what I said about the hands is ninety-nine percent true. Even when you read the newspapers and drink beer, you can still bend your fingers. But doing this, say, “I will not drink. I will not smoke. I will not be angry. I will not take revenge upon my friend.” Make a fist and say to your friend, “I will speak to you kindly.” Is this not a great philosophy? I teach you a Great Law in Life: How to bend your fingers, so that everything will work out for good. Keep this great idea within. At least try it out. Do not think it is my intent to lie to you. Make one small experiment and after one year when we meet again, you will tell me what happened. It is the easiest practice. I can give you other experiments as well, but they will cost you a lot. I do not want you only to bend your fingers, but also to think while doing so. You are desperate. You want to commit a suicide or to kill somebody. Bend your fingers and say, “No!” You are faint-hearted. Do the same. The whole secret is in your hands. To have hands is to be in a possession of the greatest blessing in the physical world. What does not come forth from the human hand! What beautiful sounds come from the violinist’s hand taking up the bow and from the virtuoso pianist playing the piano! If you know this Law, you will bend your fingers correctly and through every finger, you will send forth the respective flow of thoughts. If you impart all your power into them, it will have such an effect that you cannot imagine. We write with three fingers, but if we impart to them all of the power of our thought, then something completely different will come out of our pens. These are great secrets people knew before the Fall, which are now forgotten. You need to bend your fingers, but also to open your hands. What does opening of the hand upward toward space indicate? It indicates receiving of energy. When you take this power, immediately close your fingers and project it to your thoughts and desires - thus you will give a powerful impulse to your life. Say, “I want to polarize my hands from the Great reservoir of Nature where Wisdom and Love are hidden; I want to receive Love and Wisdom, and also to receive Good - the connection of unity, which operates among all people on Earth.” The meaning of the hug is the same: to give something from yourself, from your love and wisdom. When you give fraternal hugs to someone projecting your love and good thoughts, you will impart life force to that person. When a young man embraces his beloved in this way, he will give her living inspiration. Yet, those whose embrace is like an octopus and who are spiritually dead, cannot give anything, as nothing is left in them. Our hugs, how we open and close our hands has its specific meaning. They have the meaning which God has given them from the very Beginning and this meaning exists in Nature too. Whenever I have the chance to speak on this subject again, I will continue my lecture. Now I am leaving you with this thought: You who listen to me should learn and also teach those close to you how to bend your fingers and how to embrace in Love and Wisdom. This is the only way in which people’s lives, homes, and societies can improve politically, culturally, and spiritually. You should release the past and begin that Great Life, which I mentioned and which is heralded now to come into the world. From now on those who do not live by this Great Law, will have no more conditions to stay on Earth. Nature shows to those who do not want to take this Law into consideration that they need to depart from this planet. If you do not believe now in my words, you can check it and tell me after ten years whether it was true or not. A Great Law is now imposed on humankind as a whole, a Great consciousness is now awakening in the world: and that has never happened before. It is the striving of all human souls longing for freedom. Not only few individuals, but humankind as a whole is searching for freedom: every home, every individual, every culture, and every religion. This is the Divine Impulse moving forward the entire humankind. Religious communities should not just try not to stand in the way of this movement; they should also give it the right of way or they will risk being run over. This movement will bring such blessings, which the world has not seen yet; but for those who try to stand in its way, it will bring such tribulations, which they have never seen before. The Earth will shake so much that people will come to realize something different is coming into the world, which they have not experienced so far. The Intelligent Nature, too, might come to the end of her patience. Do not think that the world will continue in the same way it has followed so far. Say goodbye to your past. Someone says, “I earned much money and will set aside two thousand leva[5] for my funeral.” I am sorry that you are setting aside money for your burial. Someone else is saying, “I am leaving money in my will to the society for charitable purposes.” I am sorry that you are leaving money in a testament without having done something good while still alive. Whatever you intend to do, do it while you are still alive. After your death, what you leave behind is no longer yours and you have no rights to it. When you pass away, those who remain after you will use your money and property as they wish. This is the kind of nonsensical thinking with which you live and die and furthermore, you ask yourselves: why are all these misfortunes? Leave a trace of Love and Wisdom in the minds and hearts of your beloved ones because only Love and Wisdom have a genuine value. Things of great value are hidden in your minds and hearts. Do you know how much they are worth? Billions. Do you know how many millions of years it took for their development? Do you know how many millions of Sublime Intelligent Beings worked on the development of the human mind? You do not understand the wealth hidden in the brain that continues to live even after death, when the body starts decomposing. This is my point of view. I see people who live in a different way. You may ask, “How is it possible for someone to live after death?” Let’s say, for example, that you live like divers and you ask yourselves: Is it possible to live in different conditions? However, when you emerge on the water’s surface and take your diving suits off, you get to live like other people. At present we live like divers, but when we emerge on the surface we will begin to live in a different way. There exist thousands of ways in which to live. The one who puts up barriers to Life has not understood the basic Laws of the human soul and spirit. If the human being is born and dies only once, if it has come for the first time now, it would have been pitiful being. The human being who you see in front of you has existed for millions of years. For millions of years God has worked upon his soul and spirit. The soul is God’s daughter; the spirit is God’s son. Therefore, we shall deeply honor and venerate them. This is the new Divine Teaching proclaimed to the world, which will bring new life to the modern society. Lecture given by the Master Beinsa Douno on August 19, 1919 in the town of Veliko Tarnovo at the gathering of the disciples of the Brotherhood of Light. -------------------------------------- 1. See John 15:13. 2. See Matthew 5:48. 3. See also John 5:25, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.” 4. Veliko Tarnovo was the capital of Bulgaria before Sofia 5. Lev, leva, BGN: Bulgarian currency.

The Book - The Salt. Beinsa Douno The Old Scribe "Then he said unto them, therefore every scribe, which is instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven, is like unto a man that is a householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old."[1] Christ defines the learned scribe by two of his qualities: he brings forth out of his treasure things new and old. In the same verse Christ adds the words, "which is instructed unto the Kingdom of Heaven." By the "Kingdom of Heaven" in a broad sense, Christ means all the great laws which direct human life, for everything in nature is closely bound to the person and the person is closely bound to nature. All phenomena or forces in the world which apparently have nothing in common with our life, we call physical or inorganic. However, all these forces have a relation, not to the individual, but to the collective person. In this sense the bringing out of the old and the new out of the treasure has certain significance. The old means the past and the new the future. The old implies the mistakes of a person, while the new implies the benefits given to them. The learned scribe who studies nature and the life of people finds old things, the mistakes of people, and brings something new into the world. Therefore, in this sense, we can determine positively both the good and evil that come as a consequence of the past. Thus everything which is in disharmony, i.e. worn out, useless for work, is old. Matter which has lost its strength is considered negative, in other words no force can be manifested in it. Everyone has experienced these two states in themselves, namely bringing out old and new things out of their treasure. When a person loses the inner balance between their heart and mind, they begin to take out the old things which causes discontentment in them. Such is the state of the sick people who are always discontented with those who serve them. The healthy person, who has strength, is contented with everything. The laws which regulate both states - contentment and discontentment - are in harmony, for at a given moment your negative state corresponds to the positive state of some healthy person. At a moment when you suffer most, a being having some connection with you, is in the highest of spirits. This is a law existing in nature. Heaven and hell exist as two poles. Heaven is the new thing, while hell is the old. So that each one of you will experience both states in your life; I am not speaking of heaven and hell as you know them, but I am revealing to you a positive truth which seems abstract to you. These two states are necessary to the human spirit. You ask, "Why is it necessary for person to grow old and to be rejuvenated?" This is a process taking place in nature itself as well. Do not ask why this process exists, but rather consider what benefit you can draw from it. How would you define youth and age? An ancient sage said once, "If you are looking for strength you will find it in the young, the new people, but you will find wisdom in the old." Wisdom and strength are not one and the same thing. Strength implies the human will, while wisdom, the human mind. Therefore, you have two opposite poles: the mind is up in heaven, while the will is down on earth. If you want to be old and wise, you must be up in heaven, but if you want to be young, you must be down on earth. That is why if we change the relation of things and place the old person on the physical plane, but the young up in heaven, we produce disharmony. In such a case you will draw a wrong conclusion and think that all people in heaven are old, while all people on earth are young. But such is not the case. By "youth" I do no have in mind only the external relations, but the inner growth of person. The same thing can be observed in nature. On March 9th, a growth begins which lessens toward June 20th or the beginning of July when the condition of rest in nature sets in. Whatever changes take place in nature, can be observed in our life as well. If we do not understand what takes place within us, as individuals, i.e. if we do not understand our mind and will; we often get stuck in contradictions in life which we call "fate", in which some people would be fortunate and others unfortunate. Some think that certain forces help them, while others think that the same forces work against them. Of course, if you go along the tide, it will aid you; but if you go against a current, it will oppose you since you are at odds with it. This current has nothing against you, but wants to say that if you go contrary to it, you will suffer, because the forces directing your life are in contradiction with your own self. When someone has no success in life, it shows that their thought is contrary to their will. This applies to both the individual and the social life of the person. I am speaking of the events taking place in Europe today which have been determined thousands of years ago. Contemporary humanity has been in contradiction with the current for millions of years and since contemporary European culture has come into contradiction with this natural trend, it is struggling today to find its way. As a consequence of this, a fierce struggle is taking place in which many victims will fall. Nature is indifferent to the number of victims - whether they be one, two or millions. I say it makes no difference to nature for it is not interested in our toys. When we build cities full of houses and temples, thinking this is culture, nature does not care about it and can destroy it in a moment. Nature has created moths and dust which destroy even our finest textures. Besides it has created various harmful elements which constantly destroy our organism. In the distant past before humanity deviated from the right direction of its culture, people had right ideas of the laws regulating the development of our life. This growth can be determined mathematically by the use of compasses. For instance, I measure the length of a person’s nose and see that it is 4 centimeters long; another person’s nose is 5 centimeters and so on. Then by the same compasses I measure the chin of several persons and the length is different in them. The same way I measure the forehead and find that someone’s forehead is 3 centimeters, another one’s is 4 or 5 centimeters and so on. You may ask, "What is the relation of all this?" The relation is important for if someone’s nose is short and wide, it shows that the energies in their organism are in a state of tension and the slightest touch may cause an explosion in them. If a person’s chin is very broad and long, it shows that the energy of this person is not only very tense, but also very active and wherever this person passes, they will cause destruction. The lower part of the chin - the one below the nose - characterizes the human will and the way it would be manifested in the physical world. Observe the chin of some great military commanders and generals. You can determine if a person is young or old by their chin. Only the young people fight and not the old. The ratio of an old person to a young one is 1:100. An army of young men can conquer an army of 100,000 old men. When I say that the future of the earth is in the hands on the young, I am right, for this world was created for people who like to fight. Heaven was created for old and wise people. In the higher world 1,000 old men are equal to 100,000 young men which shows that the relation there is reverse of that on earth. You may ask me, "What is the relation between the young and the old people?" In the spiritual world the old people are only the point of support around which, similar to the hand of a clock, the pendulum of the young person revolves. By the time a young person has walked a hundred miles, an old one has not passed even a kilometer. Therefore, the young people are the hands of the clock. In this world the old people do not move, therefore, do not expect any culture of them on earth. Mental and spiritual culture about which we speak, cannot exist here on earth. The greatest upsurge in culture can be effected only when people are caused to bleed. The more bleeding, the greater the culture attained. People of the twentieth century began to consider themselves very cultured and say, "We people of this age do not shed our blood, only the people of the past did this." However, the present war disproved this theory and showed that young people always shed their blood, and the younger they are, the more blood they shed. Since people today are very young, they cause the greatest destruction. People today can be likened to caterpillars that devour everything. And this scribe which is instructed unto the Kingdom of Heaven brings out of his treasure, things new and old and says, "Thus says Christ." Of what use are these new and old things to him? When you take your old clothes out of a wardrobe, you have something in mind, you want to see if they are still fit to wear. When you take out the new clothes, you intend to find out if moths have not eaten them, don’t you? When the scribe brings out the new and old things, he has some reasonable idea. He does not solve a silly problem as the story goes about a king of old. This king wanted to find a person who would tell him a story without an end. He started looking for some philosophers who might satisfy his wish. He promised a great prize for that purpose, but could not find such a person. Finally a wise man came to the king and said to him, "I shall tell you a story without end." "All right, here is the man I have been looking for," said the king. And the wise man began his tale. "There was a king in old times who disposed of thousands of acres of land. It was all sown with wheat and since the year was very fertile, his fields yielded a great amount of grain. The king gave orders that a great stone barn be constructed to store up the wheat. However, the builders left a small hole in this barn and a cricket managed to enter through that hole and carry out the wheat grain by grain. The cricket took a grain and carried it to his hole and returned for a second one. He took a second grain, carried it to his hole and returned for the fourth grain..." "Enough of that!" cried out the bored king, "Go on, is there no end to this carrying out of the grains and to the whole story?" "Wait until all the wheat is taken out of the barn, then the story will end too." People today want to know the end of things but I say, "Wait until all the wheat is carried away and then will come the end." The scribe engaged in the study of the Kingdom of Heaven does not spare time for such silly theories. The repetition of one and the same thing is not knowledge. We say that we must test things and learn from experience, but we have a sufficient amount of experience so that if we should take millions of grains out of the barn, we shall not learn anything new. You say to yourselves, "Let us see what new things the Master will tell us today" and you are right. The size of your nose will determine the volume of your feelings, the length of your chin will determine the strength of your will and the height of your forehead - the quality of your mind. Some say that a person with a small forehead can be intelligent just as well, but this is not true. In geometry what is the relation between the straight lines, the sharp angles and so on? If the sharp end of an angle is placed in your mouth, it will open, won’t it? Therefore, the opening of your mouth will determine the degree of your appetite. The wider you open your mouth, the hungrier you are. However, if the angle is turned outwards, it shows you are at rest. As we judge by the nose whether it is straight or curved upward or downward, by the same law we determine our feelings. If the nose is broad, the heart will have a certain disposition, but if it is flat, the state of the heart will be quite different. If your lips are thin or thick, your stomach will be in two different states. The condition of your stomach can also be determined by your cheeks - if they are hollow or bulging. Thus, the outer person is an expression of the inner one. Every one of your thoughts is stamped on your face. Your virtue can also be determined by your face - its place is above your upper lip. If you are cross-eyed it shows that you are of a double nature. If the angle of your sight points upward or downward, these are two different states. If your eyes are wide open, you are easily impressed, but if they are slightly open, you are less impressionable. Whether your eyes are closer or farther from your nose is of importance too. Every person’s eyes have been placed by God with geometrical accuracy. Every person is created after a model determined by the Higher Forces. Every person’s face bears in minutest details the marks which determine not only their present life, but their past and future lives as well. If people today could read the Divine Book on the human face, which every person possesses, thousands of misfortunes could be avoided. Christ warned all His followers to avoid the mistakes of their past. Someone says, "Let us test our life." You would better have your picture taken to see if you will like yourself. Present-day photographers try to represent people more handsome than they are by correcting their picture. Do not erase the Divine Script! You should not smooth out a person’s features for an old person cannot become young and vice versa. Christ says, "There are incompatible things." Only a learned person who observes things as they really are can understand the relations among different parts. In mathematics there are certain formulae by which certain quantities can be transformed into others. For instance, the heat which 100 tons of coal can produce can be turned into a dynamic force, but one should know the methods of doing this. This knowledge is concealed from people today for if they knew it, they would use it improperly and cause thousands of misfortunes to humanity. What do we need this knowledge for? If we understand people by their external appearance, we would know at once that a person is in a state of tension. Then we would avoid them without adding more coals to their fire, or let some of their steam off and lessen their energy. We should add fuel to people whose energy has decreased and give them an incentive. We know how to supply fuel on the physical plane, but how fuel should be supplied in the mental and spiritual worlds, is something we do not know, yet we can learn. There are people who have lost the meaning of life and wish to remain always young, since they find meaning in life only in being young. When you make a deep study of the occult sciences, you will find out that a person is not composed only of one kind of matter, but of different kinds of substances and states. Thus, in all atoms and ions in their composition, there is gradation. At present there are 49 states of the atoms on the physical plane. Every state can produce a certain result in the feelings and thoughts. And the more the coefficient of your state changes, the more active your feelings and thoughts become. People are very nervous today, but this is due to the increase in their energy. That is why this energy must be transformed and transmitted to a higher state of matter. You often speak of raising your children. In Bulgarian the word "breed, raise" means to "nourish." The same way bees take care of nourishing their queens. When they want to nourish a queen they choose special food for it; but when they want to nourish workers, they give them a different kind of food. They do the same for the drones. The drones are the players in a hive. A hive cannot go without drones, just as a society cannot exist without musicians. You say drones are not necessary. No, a hive cannot do without players. You say there are many drones in your life, but I call them players. Every hostile thought is a player, an unpleasant tune. You ask, "Why are these thoughts and sufferings which they bring us so unpleasant?" Because you are ill, but when you get well, you will come to like these players as these sufferings renew a person. I now shall revert to Christ’s thought. The scribe is that teacher who knows the laws. What do present-day teachers and clergy know about people? The teachers must make use of mathematics in order to come to know people by their foreheads, noses and so on. Those engaged in mathematics should study these formulae and use geometry to determine the meaning of the curved line and so on by studying the smallest angles as well as the biggest ones;. It is assumed that the curved line is formed by turning a line around its axis and when a curved line is turned, a sphere is formed. What does this sphere mean? The sphere is an expansion, a broadening of your thoughts and feelings. If you lived in a world moving in a single direction, you would not have any development. This is a world only of a single one-dimensional circle. If two beings meet, they cannot pass each other. This is so because even-diversion implies expansion. How would these two beings pass in such a case? One must pass over the back of the other. That is why the Bulgarians say of someone dragging along that they must be patient when others pass on their back. These are people who move in a single dimension. This, however, cannot show us the true way of life. Christ concealed something in every thought He spoke. He said, "I can tell you many things, but you cannot bear them now." These things will be revealed to people when they become cultured so that they can understand them. The Americans have progressed in their understanding of these laws. For instance, when a couple wants to marry they do not send matchmakers, but go to a phrenologist to study their heads to see if they are in harmony to live together. Then they visit a physiognomist and an astrologer and if all the data is favorable, they marry and lead a happy life. Therefore, when people marry there must be positive relations among their brain centers. If there is a wrong interchange of energies between the female and the male brains, a nervous state will ensue. The reason for that is the fact that in one or the other a quantity of energy remains as a surplus and causes evil. That is why a woman dissatisfied with her husband should try to find a man in whom she would deposit her surplus energy and an exchange of energies would take place, so that there should be no loss. But this should be done is a spiritual way between these two persons so that by finding an outlet for this surplus energy, harmony should be restored between the spouses. A husband who does not understand the state of his wife says, "You cannot have friendly relations with another man," and disputes and quarrels begin. The wife acts the same way with her husband who looks for a more elevated woman outside his family with whom he could form spiritual relations and thus have an outlet for his surplus energy. But the old disputes and quarrels begin. I say to such people, "You have started badly and will end badly, because like the scribe you did not see what you had in your bag." The man and the woman are two scribes who do not understand the laws, yet must act like the scribe. That is why when you are marrying, take out the old and the new that you have at your disposal. Before a young couple gets married, both of them say that everything in their bags is in order; but after marrying they open their bags and find out differently. All this concerns present-day life and if the Bulgarians want to correct their lives, they must consider these laws. Sometimes I ask myself, why do I open the sore spots of people and thus make enemies? But if your leg is sprained and you call an experienced person to massage it, no matter how carefully they may do this, they will cause you some pain. Is that person who is wishing to heal you to blame for causing you pain? When you are healed, you will thank the person who massaged your leg. When you are well, you send for the doctor who examines you and prescribes some bitter medicine that you dislike; but this makes you start considering the doctor as your enemy. That is why children who have taken bitter medicine do not wish ever to hear of a doctor. If a boil gathers, you go to a surgeon and he makes a section with his instruments and presses out the puss. By doing that he causes you pain, but he is not to blame. I wish you all were good massagers and surgeons who could do your work the best way you can by all the rules of this art. If a man has surplus energy, let him place it in another woman reasonably; the woman should do the same in such a case, but do it nobly and sensibly. It is necessary that there should always be a spiritual exchange of energies in order that there may be growth, peace and harmony. The Bulgarians know this way of exchanging energies that is why, at times, they have fairs. People from ten or twenty villages get together, thus exchanging their surplus energy and getting healed. Everyone goes home satisfied. Some say, "We do not want old things, we want new things." But in the new there will not be such a result. I have watched how the Bulgarians of old cook beans. They throw away the first water after boiling the beans for some time and finish boiling them in the second water. The first water is not good, but people today say that there is no sense in doing this - only a waste of fuel. A German or an English doctor would give the same advice - the first water is not good and should be thrown away. I wish Bulgarians would turn to the old folk traditions, which rest on very important psychological laws and give good results. Christ says that the learned scribe is like a housekeeper who takes out of his treasure the new and the old. Science today follows the same path. All new scientific discoveries are not well investigated yet to find in them those truths that were known to peoples of old. For instance, radium is a recent discovery, but the causes of its peculiarities are not known yet. The vital energy in nature and in all elements, called "prana" or vital "airs" by the Hindu, has not yet been discovered. Such energies are part of our body, of the elements of oxygen and hydrogen, yet they are not these elements. The oxygen and hydrogen are mere bearers of these energies. Not having proper notions of all phenomena and transformations happening in nature, we create a warped culture. We criticize incessantly this person or that for not living a right or proper life or for lacking good breeding. I ask, "Which are the rules of good life so that we can apply them?" There should be no criticism in Christianity, only knowledge and virtues. Criticism should rest upon such an inner understanding that it would be able to transform and rectify our life. Until then, the Europeans should make at least a hundred trial runs in implementing the new culture and the new forms of government. The relationship of servants and masters has derived from that of children to their parents. Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters give rise to all disharmony in the world. If the mother forces her daughter, the daughter will then treat the mother the same way. Later in life, the daughter will have the same attitude toward her servants as her mother had toward her. The servants and masters came into existence after this same hierarchy for they did not understand this great law. The father takes the place of that old man-sage, while the son takes the place of the strong man. The father says, "I shall take the place of that point of balance around which you will turn and move in thousands and millions of directions. You can do anything you want to, but do not separate yourself from this point of balance." If the son considers his father foolish and separates himself from him, everything is spoiled. In such a case the father is not strong and by that the son looses. However, the son is strong, yet he is not wise. Children are attracted to their parents because they have need of their wisdom and experience. That is why parents should begin to draw out the old and the new from their bags in order to see what they can give to their children. The parents must know what food to give their children on Monday, Tuesday and so on, for food helps the formation of people. Take a person of the highest culture and start feeding them the coarsest food and you will change their life. Feed a rude person on the finest food and in ten years they will change their way of life. I am glad that lately different new trends closer to nature have come into existence, such as vegetarianism. However, this is still not a correct idea of a diet, for nature has created all kinds of food and each person should eat the foods specially suited to their organism. Every person, every society and every nation should choose the most appropriate food that gives the best results. The inordinate extermination of mammals creates an anomaly in nature. Most illnesses are due to this extermination of animals and birds. Since this extermination bars their evolutions, all forces assigned to their benefit remain unused and this creates chaos that in its turn causes different illnesses. Do you know what takes place after the arbitrary flow of the animal blood? Its vapors form different serums and cultures harboring harmful viruses that cause all the evils in the organic world. For the balance in nature to be restored, 100,000,000 kilograms of human blood had to be spilled in order to compensate for the blood the animals have shed. But in the present war about 200,000,000 kilograms of human blood was shed. Some may ask me to prove this fact. I have a number of arguments about this and can see that the laws in nature are right concerning your life as well. If you beat and offend your father, see if after that you will have the same good disposition as before. Especially if you are a poet, try to write something worthy after that. Also if a playwright or a novelist who beats his wife should try to write something fine, let them see what will come out of it. A woman who has tried to poison her husband loses her beauty. If two young people should promise each other marriage but their promise proves foolish, they should not fulfil their vow. If I should promise to meet 100 people today and have an intelligent conversation with all of them, it would be impossible for me to fulfill my promise. The desire to fulfill one’s promise that cannot be fulfilled is dictated by the ambition of an honest person, but on the other hand, an honest person is one who thinks and acts right. Now you men and women are this learned scribe and the old and the new you take out of your bags are your sons and daughters. If a mother gives birth to an incapable, quick-tempered child - that is the old garment. If she understood the law, she would have born an intelligent child which is the new garment. But on the physical plane this intelligent child finds they are in an inappropriate environment. They want to work and have self-expression, but their mother does not permit the child to work, to meet other children and so on. Can you not give work to your small boy or girl? Give your little girl dolls to play with and learn something by that. Often the father says, "I have no time to bother with children, I must get my sermons ready and fulfil my duties." You may preach much, but you should learn a lesson from each sermon. When you feel a certain indisposition in your stomach, it shows there is disharmony among the people around you. When you feel your chest heavy, it shows you are in disharmony with the hearts of those around you. When there is pressure in your head, it shows you are not in harmony with the thoughts of others. When you feel indisposed in your room, go out and change your place and your condition will alter too. If you are in a society where you feel bored, leave it and visit a meeting or join a horo[2] and do not think people are bad. You say, "We are religious people and it is not proper for us to join a horo." But is it proper and right in the face of God to chop meat for meatballs, to have an injection or take quinine, or for a man and woman to quarrel? Which of our actions is right, in harmony with God? Are not all our actions ungodly, i.e. imprudent? And we consider ourselves idealists. You say, "Down with the materialists!" We speak about God and fill our purses; we read to the sick and insure ourselves. Priests, teachers, judges - all consider themselves in the right place, but like the scribe they have lost knowledge of the great law to recognize things. I call a good person the one who would be able when meeting me to change my bad disposition. For instance, I meet a woman and start talking with her; if she has surplus energy and this conversation transforms my bad disposition, she is a good woman. And if that woman has produced a good disposition in you, it means there has been a right interchange of your energies. If two negative persons meet, nothing will come out of that; they are not for each other. Make your observations and conclusions among religious people. I am testing this law now with mathematical precision. That is why Christ says, "This learned scribe - you must know what your mind, heart and stomach give birth to." Some religious people say that "the Lord must destroy the belly." Yes, the belly is something uncontrollable, but the stomach is a fine pony, which must be fed with very good food. But our stomach today is very unfortunate for we mistreat it. A Bulgarian man, John, visited a friend’s house. The peasant welcomed him and gave him some brandy to drink, but the guest refused to drink. The peasant insisted telling him to drink for his wife’s sake. John drank for the wife’s sake; then he was forced to drink for the children’s sake and so on, until he got so drunk that he could hardly stand on his feet. Then he went to a fountain to water his horse. The horse drank as much as he could and then stopped. His master insisted on his drinking more, but the horse would not. Then the man said to himself, "Dear me! The horse is wiser than me! It wouldn’t drink for anybody’s sake even a drop more - unlike me who drank so much!" We must eat, drink, think, feel and act as much as is necessary - this is the future science - to give freedom to the human mind, thought, feelings and will. You mothers, who have washed the ears of your children so many times, can you tell by them how long your children will live? When I look at your ear, I know by it how long you will live, what illnesses you will come down with and what you will die of. I can know the same things by your nails - all illnesses are shown on them. It is a written book. Sometimes when you see yourself in the mirror, you do not like your lips for they are pale - it shows you are anemic. Some have red lips and the doctors say they have an abundance of red corpuscles. The thin lips show you are bankrupt in feelings or you are a miser. Sometimes a young girl makes her lips thin intentionally by pressing them. The young man considers that a good sign as she would not lend her feelings to other men. Thin lips are an evil, but thick lips are another kind of evil. According to a person’s height there should be a correspondence between the breadth of the chest, of the lips and of the forehead. If we are bearers of divine ideas, our progeny will be created after all the rules of science and they will love us. That is why Christ says, "This scribe started taking the things out of the bag now." What does a thick neck signify? If a person is short and has a short, thick neck, it means that they will not live long. If they overeat some night, the next day the news of their sudden death will spread. If a person is 175 centimeters tall, but their neck is 34 centimeters they suffer from weak chest. Someone says, "My fiancee has a thin neck." It would be better if her neck was thicker. She should not marry, not being able to become a mother. You will ask me, "What do these things have to do with Christianity?" They are of great importance for the essence of Christianity is to know how to read in ourselves the good and the evil. "Old" implies all the mistakes deposited in us; but "new" implies all the good that is in us. When we know all these things, we shall be able to combine them in order to create a good life according to this knowledge. In the future, schools must be open to the study of the eyes, the ears, the upper and lower parts of the head, the foreheads, the noses, the chins, then the stomach, the tissues, the nervous system - whether it is responsive or not - and so on. When we have all this data, we shall be able to create good people. When we know all this, we shall be able to choose the right people to make our clothes, our shoes and so on. There are people whose energy is very oppressive and I would not have my clothes made by them. Such clothes will create bad disposition in the person wearing them. There are people who, building a house, leave the worst thoughts and feelings in it. That is why all who live in it die. I would not allow a teacher or a priest who has such evil thoughts to enter my house. I would not allow such a priest to say prayers either. These are not only statements but results of observations. Have your clothes made only by a person you like. When you enter a shop buy something only from the person you like. An old Bulgarian who has several daughters-in-law says, "I want my bread made by the youngest daughter-in-law." Why? He knows why he wants bread from the youngest woman. When she kneads the dough, she will impart her living energy to it and fill it with good thoughts. If the oldest daughter-in-law makes the bread, the stomach of the old man will suffer disorder. If the housewife is demagnetized, she will cause only disorder in the house, so her husband should hire a healthy woman to do all the housework and send his wife to some resort to restore her health. Never allow a nervous, dry person to cook for you; but rather find a plump, healthy, happy person for that work. This is the meaning of the scribe taking out the old and the new things from his bag, showing the causes of the sufferings in our life. When a young man marries a dry young girl, he should know that nothing will come out of it. The analogy is the same for the spiritual world. People who are very dry have no sublime spiritual understanding. They are not from the Divine World for the simple reason that they contain many acids which cause extreme activity. The plump people, however, are like alkali. The dry are active, the plump are passive. The world, however, is not created only by alkali and acid - there is something intermediate: the children. Begin to take out the new from the old, but before that measure your nose, your chin, the upper and lower lip. Examine your eyes and see why sometimes they are more widely open than at other times, or why at times they are clearer and at times darker and so on. There is an interrelation among these things. If you study things this way, you will come to a state to understand the inner meaning of life. The occultists say about someone’s feelings that their astral body is not in right relation to their physical body; or, that the mental body is not in right relation with the physical brain. I substitute the mental body by the brain, the astral by the lungs, the physical by the stomach, and say that the relation among the stomach, the lungs and the brain is not proper. Therefore, observe people’s ears and see if they have many folds and whether they are broad or narrow. Watch the eyes as well of those who are quite old and of those who are young. Now if these educative methods are applied correctly in the family life as well, husbands and wives will immediately attain mutual understanding. This is the teaching Christ has bestowed on present-day humanity. Men and women who want to marry should not have the same temperament or the same brain; their fingers and noses must not be alike. This is the new and old in the world. If a man has long fingers, his wife’s fingers should be shorter. When you chose a house-maid, see to it that the same applies to her and her mistress. Every person is born for a certain activity which corresponds to their preferences for a job. Some Americans are well aware of this and when they select a house-maid, they take her for an examination at a phrenologist and he tells them if she is suitable for the job or not. The same way all insects and animals have been created by God for some certain special work. When a person finds the place they have been assigned, they are happy; otherwise they feel unhappy. That is why in the future there should be schools for examining people with whom we wish to work, avoiding thus a great number of misfortunes. People who live according to these laws of nature suffer less. But those who do not live so are persecuted by fate. Think about this scribe and meditate on the old and new things. You cannot raise the whole world, but you can help yourself and your dear ones. If your lips are pale, pray that they may become red; if your nose is flat, start breathing deeply that it may be broadened; if your eyes are dim; pray that they may become clear. The negative side must become positive. If you have palpitation of the heart, it shows that there is a split in your feelings. Put more love in your heart, give free vent to your feelings and the palpitations will stop. The suppression of feelings causes changes in the brain; the brain causes changes in the blood circulation which in turn affects the stomach and so on. Palpitation is the result of the struggle between two feelings. Do away with the struggle and the palpitation will disappear. If you have a headache, chase away the thought that is ailing you, reconcile the contradictory ideas and it will vanish. A bankrupt merchant starts worrying and gets headache. Avoid the counteraction of thoughts and feelings and you will be healthy. To control ourselves and help others - this is science, will power, Christianity, culture, religion. When we meet nervous people, we try to avoid them but instead we should try to influence them in a certain way. When someone commits a crime, they are treated similarl, being immediately sent to prison. However, judgement should be passed according to the rules of this scribe who takes out the old and the new things. We should reform in this spirit the schools, courts and the present order that we may rejuvenate everything - including family life - and be all happy. This is what the Lord wants. In the past people thought that religious people should walk with heads bowed. Anyone who walks with a bent head looks like a question mark or comma because their head is very full and they ought to pay, ought to give, much. Those who raise their heads up have them empty, and nothing can be taken from such people. Scolding is a sign of old age. Today people are scolding and quarreling all the time. People quarrel daily in the tram about who should sit, where should they sit, and then they capture positions only to abandon them shortly afterwards. The new teaching states that we should not waste our energy arbitrarily but use it exactly in its place. Otherwise the doctor will visit such a house and call its people neurasthenics, hypertonics, maniacs, etc. Such people, in my opinion, suffer from lack of energy which has been wasted. This is anemia. Put your thoughts, your feelings and your will in concord and try to create your future life from the old and the new. Sermon delivered on June 29, 1919 in Sofia. -------------------------- [1] Matthew 13:52 [2] a Bulgarian country dance in a circle (transl. note) This is confusing: Page 7 middle of page: If two beings meet, they cannot pass each other. This is so because even-diversion implies expansion. Page 9 2nd paragraph: All new scientific discoveries are not well investigated yet to find in them those truths that were known to peoples of old. Near bottom of Page 15: To control ourselves and help others - this is science, will power, Christianity, culture, religion.

The Book - The Salt. Beinsa Douno The Least Commandment "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least Commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven."[1] There are great and small Commandments, great and small Laws. Christ says, "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments or laws, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that shall fulfill the Law, shall be called the greatest." Take into consideration the fact that the Laws Christ speaks about are not created, but exist eternally and every culture and cosmic manifestation is due to them. Our morals also depend on the way we comprehend these Laws. Philosophers of today say that people’s conceptions are relative, in accord with their outlook. This is partially true, but if our conceptions are vague that does not prove that there are no Absolute Laws in the world which regulate human relations. What is Right is right for all ages; the Good is good for all ages; Love is love for all ages and so on. We may have different concepts of good, right, love, etc. but this is so far as we are concerned and not in relation to the Great Universe which contains everything within Itself. Evil starts from the point where the small laws begin. We may think that all sufferings come as a result of the breaking of the small and great laws, however, I am not going to explain in detail the causes and effects of breaking a single law. This is a complex question about which many dissertations have been written. I shall talk only about two conditions of the great and the small requirements of the Great Law. In one of His talks Christ says that those who are not faithful in the least are not faithful in the great, while they that are faithful in the least, are faithful also in much. Someone says, "This is a small law, why should I fulfill it? I shall fulfill the great Laws." But a person who is not ready to fulfill the small laws, will not be in a state to fulfill the great Laws as well. The fulfillment of a law may often be effected in a purely material, physical way. The state has its laws by which all citizens are obliged to fulfill their duties. The Bulgarians are characterized by great bravery and often oppose the fulfillment of the laws, but when they see the rod, they give in at once. There is an anecdote about the Bulgarians during the Turkish yoke. They used to get together in the village around a dunghill and talk quietly in a friendly way. While talking some would whittle at a stick in large cuttings since they are brave and heroic. Someone would say, "Do you know, brothers, that the tax-gatherer has arrived in our village to collect the taxes?" "So what!" another one puts in still whittling at the stick in large cuttings, "We shall not pay him." "Yes, but those who opposed him were beaten and tortured by him." "Then we shall take care to collect the money some way or another and pay our tax," and they start whittling at the stick in small cuts. This is how we act also, while we are strong and healthy, we speak and whittle at the stick in large cuts; but as soon as we fall ill, we start whittling at the stick in small cuts. This is the mechanical fulfillment of this law: we must fear the rod in order to fulfill it. Such is the fulfillment of laws today everywhere: in our private, social, political or spiritual life. Thus the laws are fulfilled today not by our wish, not out of consciousness of our duty, but by force. That is why anyone who breaks the laws is punished by being deprived of their inheritance, or by being ostracized from society or some kind of association. Everywhere, compulsory measures are applied for the fulfillment of this law. You will say, "Doesn’t every nation have its own ideas and conceptions?" Yes, every individual, every family or society may have its own conceptions, but they do not change that Divine Law on which our growth depends. As long as we are in accord with this Law of which Christ speaks, there will be an upsurge in our thoughts and feelings and an expansion in our will; then we shall easily come to a mutual understanding. And this state will last as long as we are in accord with the small and great laws. However, the moment we violate consciously or unconsciously one of these laws, small or great, our balance will be shaken. We cannot understand the cause of our disturbance - things seem to go wrong and we are discontented so we seek the cause of all this in other people. Material things may also be a cause of our unbalanced state. For instance, you are a spiritual or a cultured person but while passing by a shepherd tending to his grazing sheep, you think, "What a nice meal one can make of these lambs!" You take a lamb and kill it. After a short while an unexplainable sadness comes upon you. Or a rich person notices a child and thinks, "Something may come out of this poor child," and sees the child through school. I take the lamb as a symbol of all our wrong actions, so I am not speaking of meat eating. We consider ourselves very cultured people, but in spite of that the whole world is suffering and the Jews have no end of suffering. Today all are asking what the causes of suffering are. Some think the rich people are to blame, others think the rulers are to blame and so on; but in reality the cause of our sufferings are the small lambs we have eaten. If you eat one of these lambs, all in your family will have troubles all your life. You have violated one of the least commandments and you will be the least in the Kingdom of God. You will ask me, "What are we to do having eaten so many lambs?" "You will be the least in the Kingdom of God." "Isn’t there one exception at least?" There is not. But those who have fulfilled the least commandments, who have not coveted one lamb, will be greatest in the Kingdom of God. I take the word covet in a bad sense. All sufferings in the world are the results of bad desires, because they evoke bad thoughts which have an ill effect on our brain and heart and are harmful to our organism in general. In such cases the doctors say that our blood is poisoned and so on. This is right, but it is the food we absorb that determines the quality of all our actions. Someone may object "Could a person live without desires?" I am not saying that one should not have any desires, but in their desires they must learn the Great Law by which they should act. They should know if what they desire is good for them, for their close ones, for their nation, for the whole humanity and then give vent to their desire. The living organism should not be created for a short term, which is of no importance. You give life to a child, but hardly a year or two have passed, and the Lord takes this child from you. You weep and wonder why your child died. The cause of this is your desires; the violation of the least laws which has made you the least in the Kingdom of God. By the word "least" is meant a weak person who yields to all kinds of temptations and influences. A weak person has no definite or stable morals and that is why they say: "We shall pass this life one way or another." Can the existence of a swine be called life - a swine in a pigsty fed by her master three or four times a day. The swine thinks there is no better life than hers and no better master than hers. I am asking you, "What is our present life in relation to our future one?" In order to become great in the Kingdom of God, a great desire must be born in us to raise ourselves as thinking beings and to fulfill the great Divine Law in all its fullness. All writers today state that in order to become great, one must have a strong will and fulfill the least law completely without violating it. We often assume the stance of that American whose duty was to open and close a draw-bridge when trains would cross it. He lived in a tower on the bridge, but once he did not close it so many trains were amassed waiting for a free passage. He said, "Today I am the master in complete control here and when I say that the trains should pass, that is the time for them to start." How was that man treated? They sent people to dismiss him and placed another one there who would close the bridge. This is how you act - you open the bridge and do not close it saying that you are in complete control and all depends on you. After some time, however, the Lord will send His delegation who will remove you from your place. Then you are the least in the Kingdom of God. Who is the least? Who does not fulfill the Will of God in their heart, in their mind, in their soul or in their spirit. Have you ever heard how a young couple in love converse when they are out in nature before marrying? They promise each other very fine things and say sweet words. I have a well developed sense of hearing and have often heard their whole conversation. If these young people fulfill everything they promise one another, the Kingdom of God will be restored in their life in all its fullness. But what happens as soon as they marry? They start with a new slate, forget all the promises given, begin to violate the least commandments and misfortunes follow them and their life is spoiled. Which is the cause of these misfortunes? You have not fulfilled what you promised in the garden. You better find the notebook where you have written your promises. The woman who has married says, "I was duped, I never thought he would turn out such a devil!" The man on his part says, "Oh, how good she was once - a real seraphim, but today she looks worse than the most evil spirit in hell. How am I to fulfill my promises?" I ask you how it is possible for marriage to turn people from angels into devils? If this is so, better that no one marries. Such a marriage was not contracted out of love such as God wants of us. I am speaking on principle and am not concerned with your personal life. This law concerns to the same degree for me, you and all the angels - it is the same for everybody. I uphold the idea that people are good only at the moment they act well; they are right at the moment they act rightly; loving only at the moment they manifest love and so on. If they stop doing this, they are neither good, nor righteous, not truth-loving. So long as you are considerate of these Laws, your thoughts will flow smoothly with exquisite plasticity. In such a case if you are an artist, a writer, or a housekeeper, all your affairs will take a right course and you will carry things off with vigor. But the moment you betray your thoughts, you will descend from a Higher to a lower plane. I envisage these planes in a limitless circle where the lower we descend, the narrower grows the circle, assuming the form of a cone. Some say these planes are seven, but I find they are seven million by seven million. You go lower and lower in this cone, saying, "Let us go down and see what is sown there." You will come to the lowest plane of this cone, to its center; there you will stop and turning into a microscopic being, you will say, "Lord, why did I become so small?" Because you are one of the great philosophers and have come here to learn how to fulfill the least law of life. The process of development is the reverse, i.e. in order to rise from the plane into which you have fallen, you will not pass any more along the same path. You will start now by passing through the narrow door of the cone into another one touching with its point the point of the former one and you will begin your evolution. This way you will pass from one plane to another until you come to the new world. When you have hardly entered this new world, a philosopher will meet you and say, "Why don’t we people live as we wish to? Why don’t we act by our will independent of all laws?" You will ask him, "Have you ever gone down the cone of life?" "No, I have not." "Go down and see how one lives there. I went down once, but I would not go down a second time for the world!" Many of you will go down this cone and when you are passing through the narrow door, you will remember my words. Everyone who has passed once through the narrow door of the cone, becomes great in the Kingdom of God; but they who have stopped in the first cone will be called least in the Kingdom of God. Those who have stopped in the first cone are in the state of an ant who has fallen into the cone on an ant-eater. The ant-eater gradually gets hold of one of its legs, then of another until all is finished with the ant. Therefore, "Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them the same, shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven." I am speaking to you on this verse because every soul has its own aspirations. I call you neither good nor bad because thousands of times a day you act both well and badly; thousands of times a day your wishes change. When you get up in the morning, you say, "Today I shall live well.’ But when you return home in the evening and give yourself an account of everything, you say, "Things did not turn out as I thought, because today life and the people around me are such that one cannot live honestly." The merchant says that today one cannot live without lying. The farmer says that cultivating the land it is impossible not to destroy the life of many worms. The politician says that under such conditions of life one cannot deal honestly in politics. The clergy say the same thing. Everybody says it is not a time to lead a good and pure life. But when will this time come? When the new culture comes, then life might be better. If you live in your thoughts, you are in your past. Therefore, if we live with our past life and want this or that to happen, we live in the first cone where the bad life is. The good life is in the second cone. I shall compare the first cone to a small child who has been an old man before, but now has become small. In the past this child has been a philosopher, some Brahman, priest, patriarch, or scientist, but today he needs your help. Now he is screaming, he wants you to pass him through the narrow point of the cone. You ask: “Why has this child come to this home?" The Lord has sent him that you may show him the door. The mother is the door. She holds him and says, "My child is very intelligent." Do you know the state of mothers today? It is only when their children become grown-ups that they understand what kind of people they are, for then they manifest themselves. To explain my thought, I shall tell you the following example. A hermit once lived a pure and pious life for 20 years in a forest. The devil thought out different ways of tempting him, but did not succeed. Finally, he decided to enter his water jar and stay there until the hermit drank him. However, the hermit shut him there, sealed the jar and left him in it. After ten years he said, "Let me wash the jar and use it." He went to the spring, poured out the old water and filled his jar with fresh water. After pouring out the water, the hermit noticed in the spring a beautiful small child. He took it and lovingly brought it up. The child grew up, amazing people with its bright mind and knowledge. One day the child said to its guardian, "I shall give you a large kingdom to rule and stop living in the forest. The world needs you, I shall teach you how to live and make you a king’s son-in-law." The father agreed and his son took him to another kingdom. The hermit got engaged to the king’s daughter and within a short time the son stole all the precious jewels of the king and told the king his son-in-law did it. The king issued an order for his son-in-law to be arrested as a thief and punished by hanging. The son went to the hermit and warned him to protect himself as there were grave personal charges against him. The hermit did not manage to escape and had to be hanged. When the rope was around his neck, his son approached him and said quietly to him, "Look away in the distance and see what will appear there. Do you see anything?" "Yes, I see three donkeys." "Don’t you see anything else?" "I see they are loaded." Then the son answered him, "Those are the sandals I wore out until I brought you to the scaffold." This is also true of you - a thought which seems perfect comes to you and you start working for its realization. But the moment you realize it, you go to the scaffold. That is why we must fulfil the Divine Laws which build our welfare as well as the welfare of those around us. Life is created so that every good deed, every thought or action on our part is concretely tied with all people, plants, with the whole organic world, the invisible world with its hierarchies and with God. Every thought and desire on our part is sometimes bound with the branches of this great tree of life and sometimes with its roots. I shall not explain the meaning of the roots, branches and blossoms of the tree. A Bulgarian proverb says, "The roots of knowledge are bitter, but its fruit are sweet." If you do a good deed, you will receive God’s blessing. Moses says, "The Lord revenges the crimes of the fathers upon their children to the fourth generation, but His blessing goes to thousands of generations." Therefore, a long period of years is required for the good things to be realized. The same applies to the realization of a bad thought. However, when the bad thoughts are stimulated the evil comes very quickly. This shows how strong we are in evil. Many saints and idealists, knowing that their good thoughts and wishes will be realized some day in the distant future, say "We are ready to die and sacrifice our lives for our country although it may take thousands of years for our ideals to be realized." If an atheist, an unbeliever, is sacrificed for the good of humanity, they stand very high in the sight of God, because they have done good without any knowledge of Him. There are many people who believe in God, read the creed of faith and understand the truths of Christ; but when a good thought comes to them, they are not in a state to fulfill it. That is why I shall reverse Christ’s teaching this way, "In the future the atheists and the unbelievers will inherit the Kingdom of God, but present-day believers will be cast out of the Kingdom of God." Christians of today may be likened to that servant whom the master ordered to go and plough the field. The servant said, "Master, wait a while for I will show you an easier way of ploughing." A week passed, a second week elapsed, but the field was still unploughed. The Christians think that by their prayers and faith in God they will pass life more easily, despite their meager diligence in work. People today are comical in their requirements of life. They loiter around the coffeehouses, buy lottery tickets and wait for the results to see it they have gained something. They read the papers to see if their number is full, but when it is not, they do not despair and try the next time hoping to gain. That is not right. The Lord has sent those servants to earth to earn their living by work, but they want to earn in another way, without labor. They try to give advice to God. Such servants say, "I shall multiply the talent God has given me by depositing it in the lottery." You will multiply it, but one day you will receive a red list for bankruptcy. You will say, "Such is the situation that is why they lost." This happened because in their past and present life they have not entertained good thoughts and wishes. There is a special committee in Heaven who inspect the accounts and the deeds of people. Those who wish to be instructed better may occupy themselves with the occult sciences. You may pray four or five times a day, but if you have not thought good thoughts and done good acts in your past life and if you do not work now and water your garden, help people and animals, when you go to the other world nobody will pay any attention to you. Whoever sees you will say, "Let me see if you have deposited something in me so that I can help you." "I have given you nothing. Give me of your surplus." Yes, but there is no surplus in nature. Such a person will find themselves in the state of the king’s son engaged to a very beautiful maiden. He got a disease and was going to die of it, so in his despair he prayed to God to lengthen his life by at least one hour so that he could see his beloved for the last time. Then the Lord sent an angel to other despaired people who had wanted to commit suicide to ask them if they would sacrifice one hour of their life so that the king’s son’s life might be lengthened by that hour. The angel remembered an old woman who used to pray to God to take her soul as soon as possible because she was tired of life’s misfortunes. The angel went to her and asked if she would give an hour of her life to the young man. She answered him, "Yes, in the past I wanted to die, but now have changed my mind." The angel then remembered another case. A rich man after having tasted everything in life had found no sense in living any longer and had prayed to God to take him up. The angel went to him and told him what he had said to the old woman. The rich man also refused to give an hour of his life. After his failure to obtain an hour’s life, the angel went to the young man and said to him, "Of all the thousands of people on earth, I could not find a single one who would give an hour of their life for you to see your beloved." Today people often talk about hell and heaven. The evil lies in the fact that we have brought both hell and heaven here on earth and taste them as we please. The verse I read to you are words which Christ addressed to those listeners who had a developed consciousness. He did not speak to those who could not understand. Christ said to them, "You, who have suffered for thousands of years, must know that your sufferings are due to the breaking of one of the least commandments." Some ask, "Why is the Lord so generous and lenient to me?" Because you have fulfilled the least law. Some say that I speak nice things: it is of no importance what I say, but of the utmost significance for you to apply this law, because your joy is in the application of this teaching, and your meaning in life - in your uplifting. When you are happy or sad, those around you have the same disposition. When you have a wound, the cells nearest it suffer most, while those farther away participate only by reflex action. When you suffer on earth, those organically bound to you will suffer also. Therefore, those beings who are beyond our spheres, being farther away, will just be sorry that we have violated a law and are suffering. Yet, they will show us ways by which we can avoid these sufferings in the future. Society should apply these two great laws in politics as well as in life. All believers should apply them because these small laws are common to all and the salvation of the whole of humanity depends on their application. They who can fulfill the small law can fulfill the great law as well. This is a rule. If you cannot express love to a small insect or a small fly, you cannot manifest your love to person either. If someone tells you they loves you, but a minute before they have plucked out the head of a small fly or cut the head of a lamb, they are not speaking rightly. The little fly which has been injured by you, or by anyone else, knows how much you can love. A woman or a man who tear off the heads of flies or cut off the heads of lambs cannot love or do not have good will. I do not believe in the unbelief of people or in their foolishness or lawlessness. To believe in the unbelief of people is to believe in a law which does not exist. Human unbelief is a contrivance of ours created by our own mind. Everybody is seeking the Kingdom of God, everybody wants to restore It and that is why anyone who wants to become a member of this Kingdom must serve it. A young man and a young woman want to restore the Kingdom of God and coo to each other like turtle-doves but only until they marry. After that their life takes the old course and they are not happy. With the pigeons it is different: I have observed them how well they begin and end. The female pigeon lays her eggs, then hatches them and there are not any disputes among the two mates. With people things start well and end badly. They have children and enjoy them, but when these grow up, the parents weep. The old human pigeons weep and say, "The young pigeons made us weep. Look what has come out of our children of whom we expected so much and whom we enjoyed!" The young birds never make their parents cry as the children do to people. The same thing happens in the schools. I have seen how well the relations between teachers and students begin. At first they chat sweetly, but after a short time they begin to complain of each other. The students say, "Our teachers are unjust." The teachers say, "Students have no respect today for their teachers and parents." Thus all people complain and say God does not exist and Truth, Goodness and Love are relative, as all things in life are relative. Children say that everything in school is relative and the teacher is something relative. The teachers weep, protest and despair, but I say that their tears are also something relative, because we think that the small and the Great Law amount to nothing. Yet, they are Great Truths. They are Absolute and always, at all times, they will produce one and the same result. I have often listened for hours how the nightingales and the turtle-doves sing. I have enjoyed their singing, thinking at the same time, "You sing very well and if people could understand your language and would be able to adopt your culture, there would not be so much suffering today." The nightingales and the turtle-doves answer me, "Yes, we were people, too, at a time in the past; but when human culture did not satisfy us, we left it and today we prefer the culture of the birds." If I were a preacher, I would beat about the bush and avoid telling you the truth to your face so as not to offend you. Well, the sun shines, but people have sick eyes so they get a smarting effect from it. Is the sun to blame for that? Is the sun to blame for illuminating the earth, the axis of which had turned prematurely? Then why am I to blame that this Light I am giving you is so strong that you cannot bear it? Tell the earth to stop turning, then the Light will be fainter; but since the wheel is turning, you will see by all means all the phases of good and evil. I shall not stop to explain now why in this turning there is a constant struggle between Light and darkness, between Good and evil, between the Reality and shadows of life. Many of you will ask me, "Can we fulfill the law of Christ?" Yes, you can fulfill it. If someone should burn up or sell my house which costs 200,000 leva, this evil will evoke a great struggle in me; but if I conquer myself and do not revenge that person, I shall be called great in the Kingdom of God. If I am a renowned statesman and they deprive me of my high position, although unjustly, and I do not take revenge on anyone for that; I shall be a good person in the future. In general anyone who does not take revenge even for the greatest evil done to them is a good person. On the earth we can make a person anything we want. For instance, we can make a person a minister, another a statesman, a third one a preacher and so on. In this respect we are like a Bulgarian woman who gave her husband a small metal pot and a bunch of sweet basil - ordaining him a priest of her own wish - to go around and sprinkle people with holy water. The posts we have here on earth are nothing but promotions of a similar kind by a higher world above us. All who have fulfilled the small law have become great in the world. If an artist fulfils the small law, they will begin to paint great pictures. We all can become great artists. You will ask me, "But how is this possible?" If some day we show the world our face perfected as a result of our achievements, would not that be the greatest picture of an artist? Do not forget that you have worked on your face for ages. Today in the world there are exhibits of the pictures of our faces, but not a single one has yet been accepted by God. Since the world began, only two pictures in the Old Testament have been accepted: that of Enoch and of Elijah; that is why they were taken up to heaven alive. Up till now how many people’s pictures have been accepted above? We paint and paint a whole life to hear finally once again that this picture cannot be accepted now. The priest comes to perform the burial service and the picture is buried. The funeral service means that the picture has not been made according to all the rules of art. The committee which examines the pictures sees that this picture is not made according to the Divine Law: the eyes, the ears, the mouth, the nose, the teeth are not in their proper place; the mind, the heart, the thoughts and feelings are not in the proper place either. You who are listening to me, do you think your thoughts and feelings are in their place? I see thousands of people whose thoughts and feelings are out of position. I do not blame you for that since you are not to blame, but I want to draw your attention to this so that you may start working with this Great Law. You must make a point to fulfil daily even the least good deed that comes to you as a wish, with no mistake or yielding to temptation. If I were offered the post of a minister in Bulgaria, I would rather give up the position and go to lend a hand to a poor widow who needs my help. You may be dressing up for a ball, a concert or a jourfixe, but at that time a poor person comes to you and you send them away saying you have no time for them. On the contrary, you must give up the ball and observe this Great Law created by God. If we would learn how to be loving and at peace with ourselves and to understand that we can live alone with ourselves, the world would be set right. Even if people do not love us, we can live without them. Now we are in the state of those harmful microbes which, on entering our organism, find material to live on and so they settle there. As soon as the material is exhausted, their life ends as well. That is why Christ says, "Whosoever shall do the least commandment shall be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven." What does this least commandment consist of? The work Providence has allotted to you should not be put off. There is a definite time for every thought and desire and once you miss it, there is no returning for it. Your youth cannot come back. The life you live now will never be repeated. Both the evil and the good you have experienced have left their mark on your life. A second time you will pass through an entirely different place, an entirely different life in which there will be only a reflection of the previous one. Some say, "But the earth follows the same path, revolving around the sun, therefore there is repetition in life." Yes, but the earth never passes through one and the same space; the path it followed the year before was different. The place the earth has passed through once is irrevocably lost. The life you have lived once is irrevocably lost. You will ask, "Can we not correct our mistakes?" Nobody can correct what is lost. The psalmist says, "Only One is able to erase our sins and lawless acts." Only the Lord has the prerogative to descend those depths where you have committed your crimes and to erase them with His brush. Until the Lord descends to these places to erase your sins, you will have to weep and shed tears long. The Lord needs your tears to fill a little bottle He keeps. When this bottle is full, the Lord will take it and come down to the place of sins and crimes to correct your life and water His mouth from time to time with your tears. Only this way can your life change. This is an allegory, but if you comprehend it deeply, you will see that it conveys a Great Truth about the character of God. You say, "Why does the Lord keep silent and does not answer our sufferings?" The Lord keeps silent because your bottle is not full yet; when it is filled to the top, He will come and set your life right, He will ask which year the crime was committed, what time and so on. After He has washed your sins away, He will say, "Now you are free, but do not sin a second time." Christ also wept until a bottle was full. He took it upon Himself to rectify the world by bearing people’s sins; but when He saw that His task was very heavy, He wept that God might come and help Him and that is why He succeeded. When His bottle was filled up, He said, "It is done, the bottle is full, the salvation of the world is at hand." Irrespective of your low or high position in the world, you will all have to pass through the tears to wash away your sins and those of your neighbor. You will say, "Why do you trouble us with these thoughts of yours; why don’t you tell us some words of comfort?" I am doing exactly this. If people have pains in their legs, should they not have a massage in spite of their pains? In certain cases they may not feel any pains; but if they should be attacked and chased by an enemy what would their state be? They would not be able to save themselves as they would not run because their pains would be more acute than ever. If I should be concerned about such people and begin to rub their legs so that they should get well, would they regret the pain I cause them by the rubbing? On the contrary, they will say, "Thank you God. I got well so that I can run with all the others in case of danger." This is a true philosophy. The life of society is like the life of its individuals. There is a certain correlation between a nation and its members; however, each being has their own individual feelings, thoughts and desires. The nation does not live as an individual. By saying "the Bulgarian nation" I mean the Bulgarians. Their future life - their political, spiritual, cultural and mental relation will be determined by their collective thoughts and feelings. Their present is determined by their past thoughts, but their present thoughts and desires will determine their future. These two Divine Laws in people are placed as follows: the first, the Great Law is situated in the mind, but the small is in the heart. Therefore, when you want to do the small things in the world, you must fulfill them with your heart. In other words, you cannot fulfill the small things without love for this Law. I pass by a pond and see an ant drowning there, but since I am engaged in some philosophical thought, I pass by it and pay no attention to it. But I should stop and help it. We should stop before the smallest creatures and help them. After helping them we should not require them to recompense us all their life because in that case we had only served them as Providence. If we wish to help the small, it will create conditions for us to help the greater ones also. If we do not help that small ant in the future that will be a condition for a bad life. You will say, "But how many ants drown!" It is true that many ants drown, but the one I saw and had the desire to help, I must save. It is a special ant. If I do not help it in a hundred years it can cause me the greatest misfortune. God will determine my future life according to my act at this moment when my consciousness germinated in me. This ant implies the idea of a lamb, a pigeon, a child, a girl, a boy, some poor widow, a sick person or any other type of person. The ant is a mathematical formula. If such a formula is ever presented to you, stop and think how to solve it. Someone who wants to commit suicide comes to you in despair. You must try to think how you can help them. If you say you cannot help them, in your future life this act of yours will bring you bad karmic consequences. The law is one and the same: you should stop in this small law and help. If you do not help one at such a moment, you will determine your bad fate. When you make a mistake of this kind try to find another better way of correcting your mistake. If all Bulgarians considered well their actions, would they be eating rationed bread today, sugar on coupons, would they fight? The Bulgarian statesmen do not care about the drowning ant, but about the large boundaries of Bulgaria; yet they do not know that the destiny of Bulgaria is determined by the fate of this ant. The Bulgarian statesmen are interested in Bulgaria in so far as their pockets are concerned. They are not patriots but rather traitors who play the role of Judas consciously or unconsciously, for or for no money. I am speaking to you about these two great laws, because if they are applied and fulfilled exactly, they will save and rectify humanity. Now the Bulgarians open different schools, but they do not think of bettering the ants’ life. They think of gain and say, "If we had money now, we would find good teachers and good workers. Show me a society which has worked for money and has made much progress. I do not want to say that all associations must stop their activity, but they should rather change their ways. I prefer to work a whole lifetime for a person who grasps what I say than to work for thousands who do not perceive and accept anything. When a person starts doing something, they must put their heart into it and not make people call ten times at their home to ask them to do one thing or another. A person who preaches a teaching must understand its laws and apply them. You say, "We must educate our young people." But how will you educate them? How will you control their actions? I do not believe in any training or taming but I believe that all people have within them the conditions to become good if they want to. I believe that all people determine their life in each moment; and after that moment, other conditions come. This is education. After that moment you will receive food - knowledge - which will be in accord with the plane on which you move. The farmer studies the conditions for his sowing and harvesting; everyone studies the conditions for their work. When I say I do not believe in any training, do not take it in the wrong sense. I do not believe in that wrong superficial education parents give their children; but I believe in the genuine education that the Great Laws in the world give. I do not believe in contemporary science either, but I believe in the Great Divine Science. I do not believe in the foolish love of today or the foolish wisdom and seeming truth here on earth, i.e. in deceit which people have clad in the form of truth. I say that all this is a lie, the Truth is within you. The Great Law is in your mind but the small law is in your heart. Every noble desire born in you, no matter how microscopic it may be will determine your happiness in the future. This desire will turn on the tap of your life, and from that day on, both earth and heaven will work for you. When the Wheel of Life turns one or another direction, it produces a corresponding effect. If you are ready to be true to those small desires deposited within you for thousands of years; if you are ready to hold out a straw to a drowning ant; you will start a motion from left to right, otherwise it will be from right to left, i.e. downward in the cone. Then if you are a Christian and descend these 7 by 7 million planes, and I should ask you where you are at present; you will answer that you are in the lower planes of the astral world. If you are an occultist, you will say, "I reached the bottom of this cone at last!" But what do you intend to do now? "My philosophy states that when I reach the bottom, I shall begin to advance upward." You have a wrong conception of this philosophy. "What shall I do then?" You will pass through the narrow opening of the other cone and from there you will begin an upward advance, since the energies in that cone have a contrary direction of the previous one. Now you will move along the energies of the second cone. After passing through the second cone, through all the seven million by seven million planes, you will study them and say, "I have a philosophy now and understand things deeply, seeing that these are not only seven planes". You will say great things about the spiritual world: worlds upon worlds, beings with no limit or number. The whole space in which we live and move is full of beings of different categories and cultures. The solar light moves 180,000 miles a second and to cross only the diameter of our universe 31,000 years are necessary. The whole space is full of worlds. When our earth moves in the space of this universe, we fall under the influence of those beings with whom we come in contact; and all this enormous space with all the beings in it find response in our hearts, minds and souls. Sometimes a thought comes to you and burdens you, but that thought is not yours. Since you are sensitive, you feel the sorrow of some small being somewhere in New York, which at a certain moment has not fulfilled its duty, has not done the will of God - this Great Divine Law. At another time you feel joy. Why? Because at another place in the world, in some Buddhist temple in China a small being has fulfilled its duty as it should. So I rejoice when I see how your thoughts change every day for I observe what is going on in the world and from all I observe, I conclude two things: some people fulfil the Law of God and some do not. Then I return to life seeing what takes place there and turning to the past, I see when these things which are realized today had their origin. Thousands of years pass in a minute and I see when these events were thought out and when they have taken this bad direction. I see that 2,000 years ago a Bulgarian high priest turned the tap of life in a wrong direction and these consequences today are due to him. That is why all preachers, priests and rulers in Bulgaria think like that priest and act like him. You will ask, "Who is that priest that we might hang him?" Do not look for him to hang him, but rather turn the tap the direction opposite to the one acting today. If you do not do it, you will not only miss becoming great, but will also lose much. This is why I am in Bulgaria - to turn the Wheel of Life in the opposite direction and I shall turn it according to all the rules of the Divine Law so that you may taste all the benefits of life. When I turn the wheel in the opposite direction, the Bulgarians will understand that they can fulfill this small law; and an excellent superior culture will be restored among them and they will become a great nation which will make its contribution in the world. Do not be proud, however, as the wheel has not yet been turned. Great efforts are required that it may be turned. All of you will take part in the turning of the great wheel, you will take hold of the small wheels and start turning; but not as you are doing now - from right to left - but you must turn it from left to right. This is the Teaching of Christ: to turn the wheel of the small law. You will ask me, "What will you leave us for keepsake?" I shall turn your wheel from left to right; then all angels, all good people will start working and you will be uplifted. Now put in your mind the thought, "We can fulfill the least Divine Law." And after 2,000 years you will test if what I tell you is true or not - you will test the results. After 2,000 years the inner conditions of life will be ten times better than the present ones. It is descending and ascending in life. Blessed are those of you who will wait till that time with faith. These 2,000 years are two Divine Days - days of a great blessing. The more advanced of you may test this in two years, but some will take ten years to do that. However, this requires a pure and sublime and noble life, which is the only heritage of people on earth. Sermon held on June 22, 1919. --------------------------------- [1] Matthew 5:19 ------------------------------------- Confusing parts: (This may make sense to you as it may be a Bulgarian story!): Page 7 Then the son answered him, "Those are the sandals I wore out until I brought you to the scaffold" Page 8: Whoever sees you will say, "Let me see if you have deposited something in me so that I can help you." "I have given you nothing. Give me of your surplus."

Jesus Was Called “And both Jesus was called, and His disciples, to the marriage.” John 2: 2 There is no doubt that the most pleasant, most solemn occasions on this earth are the wedding rituals as well as the wedding itself. I would like to dwell a little bit on the internal principle, the internal significance of weddings, because you have absolutely different associations with it in your mind. According to you, weddings signify a union, they stand for the marriage of two people – a man and a woman, whereas they are engaged in advance with the participation of a priest, who delivers some prayers, and afterwards the arrived guests sit at the table to eat and drink. This celebration goes on for a day or two, and then the guests go home, and the newly weds are left alone. This is the external side of the wedding, which you also understand best. However, the word wedding has a deeper meaning, which stands for the beginning of a new Life. This word is derived from an Old Sanskrit root signifying what takes place and manifests itself as conscious life. The wedding is a process, which takes human beings from one state to another, i.e. getting out of one life and entering another one, whereby old ideas are given up and new life begins with new ideas. Please note that Jesus and His disciples are invited to the wedding, so the wedding is attended by one of the Greatest Masters. This wedding has become a principle, which determines what weddings should be like in the future and how weddings should be conducted. Each wedding must be attended by Jesus and His disciples in the future; but not by Jesus as a human being, but by His Teaching. I shall not dwell here on what Christ’s Teaching consists in, because it can be summarised in brief in the two great principles: love the Lord, your God with all your soul, heart, mind, and will; love your neighbour the way you love yourself. I shall not explain what Love is. I shall summarise in brief what I have told you in the Thursday lectures. Bear in mind two things: when you listen to somebody talking to you, you have to turn your ear in such a direction, so that you can hear the words, not only listen to them. Secondly, you should tune your mind in such a way that not only can you understand the words, but be also able to grasp their meaning, because each word contains in itself a certain Force. This is why Christ also says that each Divine Force is the beginning of a new Life, i.e. the new Life begins with the Divine words, not with words only. Before I move on, I will explain to you how many methods contemporary medicine applies. It uses predominantly two methods: allopathic and homeopathic. The former method recommends strong doses of medicines, which should be bitter, if possible; while the second method recommends sweet medicines, if possible, and if in a particular case this is not possible, it is recommended that the pill should be at least coated in a thin cover of something sweet. The contemporary world is allopathic, but people nowadays are so clever, that they cover everything in life in a sweet coat. The Divine method for curing is the opposite: the pills are bitter externally and sweet inside. Thus, curing in Life is effected under two methods: sometimes a person is cured by bitter words, other times – by sweet. I mean things in social life and in Nature. However, to some people neither the sweet, nor the bitter pills are of any help, and this is because they have not understood the conditions under which the pills can have effect on them. Do not forget that things in the world are strictly mathematically determined. There is time for sowing; similarly, there is time fit for curing. This is a Divine principle, a Divine law, which is also true in respect of those who want to study Christ’s Teaching in order to improve their lives, because it is a Teaching of Life. Students go to school to acquire knowledge, which has to be applied after they leave school. On the same grounds, I would like you to apply Christ’s Teaching in your life. You may have many desires, either to acquire knowledge or wealth. This is for the future; right now, it is important how wisely you can use Christ’s Teaching. The line we read in the beginning reads that Jesus and His disciples were called to the wedding. This indicates that the newly wed couple realise that something important will be missing if they do not invite Jesus to their wedding. You should do the same as well: call Christ at the beginning of each job. You may say, "Can’t I call someone else?" Yes, you may, but this person has to contain in him or her the two principles: love to God and to one’s neighbour. The Love to God and to one’s neighbour is an extension rather than an ordinary feeling. To love God and your neighbour means to let them in one of your rooms. You will say, "Where shall I live then?" You will live in your will, God – in your heart, and your neighbour – in your mind. You cannot start loving your neighbour unless you start thinking of him or her, therefore you should keep your neighbour in your mind, while God you should keep in your heart. These two will be your guests and you will work for them, i.e. they will teach you; you will be their student. God, who is in your heart, is Jesus, your neighbours are His disciples, and you will be one of the wedding guests. Knowing this, you will be able to think properly with your mind. When studying the works of a great poet or writer, when listening to a musical piece, when looking at a picture of a prominent artist, your mind should grasp these things, because they are your teachers, your neighbours, and you will learn from them, and the Divine principle should be in your heart. The wedding is a beginning of a new Life. The bride and the bridegroom leave their fathers’ houses and start living a new life on their own. This analogy you can apply to everything in life. Teachers and students come to school and start a new life. This refers to the good teachers. Usually at weddings, there are three types of guests: some of them are simple onlookers, the others are invited guests, and the third - relatives of the bride and bridegroom. The simple onlookers in church are called observers, the invited guests – believers, and the relatives – disciples. You should similarly arrange your thoughts in several groups. You have to determine the place of each of your thoughts. There are three types of thoughts in the world: some stem from God – the Divine thoughts, others stem from our relatives and still others stem from within us. Some thoughts come from the world, others – from the angels, and the third ones – from the Divine world. Therefore, you should learn how to recognise where various thoughts stem from, not to go wrong in your actions. None of you is free from the environment and this is why you will receive thoughts from it. When you compare the three types of thoughts, you will see where each thought stems from, you will be able to fight them, and thus you will develop along the right path. Another important thing is that the wedding is a place for work. When you start some work, you have to be at a wedding. Outside of the wedding any commenced deed is labour or torture. Everyone at the wedding is cheerful. When you want to work in this world you have to imagine that you are at a Divine wedding or in the epoch of a new Life. This is the only salvation of any soul. Any culture, religion or anything else, is created according to the same law. But the most important thing, which you should be aware of when you are at a wedding, is not to give vent to your greediness. An angel was sent by God to a wedding as a representative, but the angel liked the princess very much, who was the bride of the wedding, and wanted to take her with him. When you attend a wedding do not ever covet the place of the bride, neither the bride herself, because this is the beginning of all discord and disgrace. I can see failures, discords, and disagreements among you, because you want to be in the place of the princess, in the place of the bride. You say, "We want to be in her shoes!" You may, but in a long time to come, for the time being you are wedding guests. Being wedding guests, means that you have to work. Christ attended this wedding in order to bless the bride and the bridegroom. When you pluck up the courage to enter a new Life, i.e. to get married, you have to join your mind, your mind being the bridegroom, with the heart, the heart being the bride. If you want your wedding to take place in line with all the Divine rules, with all the Divine matches, the Divine principle must be within you. What do you think - can you call it a wedding if the bride, on entering her new house, drives away her mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-laws, and the other in-laws? If you implement God’s Will, you will be elevated and you will give scope to your soul. Whether you go the wrong or the right way – this is all on your account. Everyone gets elevated through one’s deeds. If you observe the Divine principle – that your mind and heart be joined, you will have Christ and His disciples in yourselves. Then, applying Christ’s Teaching, you will understand the Divine Life, which is manifested in Nature and you will know how to bring up your folks at home. Remember that your sons and daughters, to be born, will pass through this wedding. This is how I explain why good sons and daughters are born. If the wedding is not a wedding, but a discord, bad sons and daughters will be born. When a certain thought or desire comes to your mind, these will be completely dependent upon your mind and heart. The correlation between them will determine your thought. If your mind is corrupted, so will be your thought. If your heart is corrupted, so will be your desire. Do not believe that thoughts and desires are items from fantasy-land. They have their own images and bodies and have independent lives of their own. Out of these particular thoughts and desires your future brain, lungs, stomach and so on will be created. Some ask, "Why should we think good?" To be able to weave a new garment for yourselves in the future. This is to say that we prepare a new garment that will be put on our spiritual body in the future. So, Christ’s Teaching is not a teaching of forms, through which to stick to a particular church or through which to invest our money in a bank, it is actually a Teaching about being pro-active. Nobody can think, feel, or act instead of you. You will do the thinking, the acting, and the feeling for your sake. If you think, act, and feel good, you will have God’s blessing. When you match your life to this Divine principle, you will be able to remedy many hardships, which you come across. We have to find a way through which to elevate our life and everybody is looking for such a way. If you are an apple seed, you will pray to God to provide you with all the conditions so that you can first grow and then you can develop. If you are in the situation of a human soul, you will require favourable conditions for your development. What suffers and sighs within us is the soul that is closed. We often want to abolish suffering. Suffering should not be abolished but converted into Joy. Conversions can take place everywhere in Nature. For example, charcoal, under special conditions, can be converted into diamonds, diamonds can then be converted into seeds, then into trees and then again into charcoal. Jesus came to the wedding to show the young people how they should live. All of you have had your weddings; you know how nice the time preceding the wedding is, what dreams, what fantasies of the mind and thought there are! Everybody, after getting married, says, "All the charming things were up to the engagement." The young man and the young woman are ideal, but as soon as they get married, everything fades away and this is why people say, "It’s not worth getting married." Indeed, it is not worth getting married, because this is not a wedding, but a discord. In my opinion the mind, which marries the heart, should be healthy and should not be infected by any disease. The heart, which marries the mind, should be healthy and pure. If this is so, then our thoughts and desires, according to the same law, should also be healthy and pure. I know that you, who are listening to me now, have disturbed hearts and minds. Why? Because this primary law has been violated. When Christianity preaches that we have to return to God, this means to return to Heaven, to return to this primary environment, which creates conditions for a peaceful and wise Life. These conditions do not take centuries – you can become good at a certain moment, and you can become bad at the next moment. People say that somebody was born good or bad, but it is not true. We might be born in the good or in the bad, but we are good or bad only at the moment when we act. You may be very bad, but once you give up doing bad things, you become good and vice versa. Consequently, God determines what we are by the moment when we act. The particular moment determines what we were in the past and what we will be in the future. This moment, when you do something evil, shows that you were evil in the past too, but it is a reflection of the past. Some may say, "I am bad now, but I will become good in the future." No, you have to change your behaviour right now! You have to stop being bad, and this means that you have to induce the good from your past. This is the first principle, which Christ instructed the young couple into. He told them to love each other. Love is nothing else but acceptance of the good, planting and enlivening of the good in our life. I speak about weddings, because many are those who promise what cannot be. Promises for the future – this is lip service. There is nothing to foresee in the Divine economy. God has foreseen everything good for those who act well. For those who do not act well, there are misfortunes. However, both shall bear the consequences of this great law. Not because God wants to punish them, but the implications result from our deeds themselves, and therefore we cannot evade them. We must first create a moral life in culture and science, i.e. the heart must be prepared, so that the mind can receive its desires and can process them into thoughts. This is a fact. For example, it was found in America that if the wives of certain men are good, they were promoted to the rank of preachers; men, whose wives were bad, had fallen to a very low position. If you have a gifted mind, but the heart is no match of it, it will degrade the mind to a low level. This is why God should live in your heart, to change and prepare it. Do not allow anybody else to convert your heart. We often say that somebody converted his wife’s heart. There are only conversions in the world and this is what the sufferings of all people today are due to. Conversions are wheel motions. General principles were given at this wedding, according to which one may elevate and ennoble oneself. Often people cry over their previous mistakes, because they were very sinful, because they treated their mothers badly. Today they are already given good conditions for life, for work, but they give these up and say, "We are sinful and we will commit sins again." You are human beings and you can change the effect of the law, because these effects are similar to the movements of the wheel, the movement is mechanical and at that only in two directions – from right to left and from left to right. Similarly our life, the way it is arranged, can move in the same two directions. So, if you are not moving in one of the directions you will be moving in the other one. The same is true for water-mills: there are two wheels there, one moving in one direction, while the other one – in the opposite, but the result nonetheless is the same. Your wheel now is moving from right to left, or in the opposite direction, and you ask, "Can I be good?" Ask the miller; he will tell you. These wheels can be set to move in both ways and they can trample people. When you go to a wedding, you have to mind your language. It is a profound science to understand the character, the habits and customs of the language and its effect. No person has a stronger will than the one who can curb one’s language. Sometimes, you want to tell somebody something, in order to show that you understand certain things. But what comes out of it? Not only do you not fix the problem, you actually make it even worse. Remember that all bad words are spoken outside weddings, because at a place where there is no wedding, there is discord. As soon as you find yourself thinking of something bad, you must be sure that you are not at a wedding, and that Christ is not with you. If you are thinking of something good, then you are at the wedding together with Christ and His disciples. You can attend a wedding together with Christ and His disciples, everyday. I take this as a general principle. I do not apply these dogmatic concepts that the church has. I mean the energy, which runs through Life. The Earth is constantly approaching the Sun, but so slowly, that only in millions of years will it reach it and then it will see what the Sun is like. However, nowadays everybody can have the elements of the Sun in oneself – light and warmth. Someone may ask you, "Have you seen the Sun? Do you know what it is?" No, I haven’t; but I know its elements. Someone asks you: “Have you seen Christ and His disciples?” No, I haven’t, but two things I do know, two Divine principles, namely – Divine Love and Wisdom, which penetrate both my mind and everybody’s mind in the same way, in this way we all receive the Sun’s light and warmth. Any good desire and any good thought are Christ and His disciples. If you do not have good thoughts and desires, Christ is not with you. If you understand the issue on principle, God will be a wise Force for you. You may experiment in this regard. There will come a day when you will achieve the ability not only to receive Light, but to hear a certain song coming from it and later on you will be able to distinguish individual words. You may think this is an illusion. No, it isn’t, this is a fact, because there are people who receive the warmth and Light not only externally, but they can also hear their songs and understand their words. To have your minds and hearts pure means to be clairvoyants. Being thus purified, you will be able to understand who sent you a particular thought, and who sent a particular wish to you. But today we sense a certain thought without understanding its internal meaning. When I tell you, for example, that you have to love each other, you already understand Love in a special way. You understand that to love means to have a friend, who should belong to you only and the day when she becomes close with somebody else, you break your friendship. Imagine that you are familiar with my finger and you talk to my finger, you tell it that you love it. Later on there comes my other finger, but you start frowning and you say, "What right do you have to talk with my first finger, whom I love?" Well, this depends on me, not on the finger. A lady visited me recently, who provoked a good thought in me and showed me how correctly she understood Christ’s Teaching. She told me that her husband no longer loved her and had left her. She suffered a lot, kept crying all the time, but one night she had a very vivid dream. In her dream, she saw certain people coming to visit her who told her, "There is nothing to cry for, woman; you have to know that your husband’s heart does not belong to you, and therefore you have no right to want to convert his heart. Imagine the situation of your husband if a woman comes tomorrow and wants to convert his heart to her. What will come out of this heart?" Similarly, we want everyone to have hearts like ours and we do our best to convert them. This is the worst evil. Let each heart be the way the Lord created it. Each heart is good by essence, but it takes its guiding lines from the mind. When I smile at somebody and say some kind words, you are also immediately pleased with me, you find me a good person. But the moment I frown, you say that I have changed my character. These things in the world are sham; these are mere jugglery. Sometimes the father appears to be more serious than he is in fact. He does not have to become more serious, but he has to say, "My son, what you are doing, is not good for you, it is taking you down the road to death, because you do not do God’s Will!" Do not say that somebody is bad, because his or her parents were bad, his or her ancestors etc. Teachers may love you, but when you make mistakes, they will reprimand you. In such cases, students appeal to love, "Dear Master, we love each other, don’t we?" Yes, we do, but you made mistakes on several occasions and you have to correct these. The correct solution of this task is the key to the lives of many, while the wrong solution compromises me as well. Two days ago, I spoke about picking flowers and I said that every ten flowers picked brought about somebody’s death. If you say ten bad words to somebody, someone’s house will burn down. If you plant ten flowers somewhere, this will bring a good person to earth. Keep observing things of this nature to see that these are not merely words. Observe fruit trees in the garden: as long as their branches are green, the people in this house have a good life, but when the branches start withering, life in this house goes wrong due to the bad thoughts, which take the upper hand. After this, someone from this house will die. A gentleman was telling me the following story: he had a large garden in Sofia and a gardener took care of it. One day, the trees had to be pruned and one of them had to be cut down. However, the gardener loved this tree very much and insisted on not cutting it down, however, at the will of the master it was cut down. Before three months were up the gardener died. As soon as the tree you love is cut down, you will also follow suit. You, who are listening to me now, have taken out knives and go fencing up and down with them. You are very educated, you know a lot. However, I would want people like you not only to tell me how to spin wool, how to weave and warp, but they themselves to sit at the loom and to practically demonstrate how things are done. I have seen what such educated people do when they sit at the loom: they start warping, spinning, but they see that it does not come out right, and then they take the scissors and start cutting. They start weaving again and again it does not come out right. A second one comes, a third one – they keep cutting, but it does not come out right. When the master comes – things take the right course. Christ came to the wedding to teach the young couple to weave, because the wedding provides new conditions of life. When you want to elevate your spirits, imagine that you are at a wedding, because there is always eating and drinking, and also music at a wedding. Your teeth are your instruments, and your tongue is the baton striking the harp and producing music, which has a favourable impact upon you. I would like it if everybody could play an instrument and sing. Eating refers also to the spiritual life, because as soon as you accept a certain thought or a desire, it turns into food, which then enters your blood – your life and you manifest yourself. This shows that we have understood the Divine Life. So, in view of this, please make sure that your mind is always in a normal state. You will ask me, which is the normal state. The normal state can always be found between two extremes, i.e. it is in the middle. How can you find the middle? Imagine that you are given a segment and you have to find the middle of the segment. You can find the middle by drawing catenaries with the compasses from the two ends of the segment. You draw a perpendicular line from the crossing points of the catenaries to the segment and it is exactly this end of the perpendicular, which represents the middle. You can have a similar approach to your thoughts too. Bad thoughts exist in the world with the purpose to strengthen your will, so that we can neutralise such a thought right on the spot. After each delight, after each pleasant thought, comes an unpleasant one. Keep track how long each good or bad thought stays with you. This is a new psychology. You have to examine yourself, because if you do not know how you manifest yourself, how can you get to know about the external things? All things in Nature are a reflection of the Divine Life, which is inside us. The reflection shows an image, which comes from outside. This image was not created by you, it is an external image. If you experience a certain joy, it is not yours - you have not created it. It, as a thought, travels, and stops for a while upon you. Good thoughts travel and stop at various stations, where they are assigned to. Each station has a name of its own. You are the stations. Thoughts dwell for as long as they are assigned to, for as long as the train stays. Sometimes they dwell for a minute or two or for longer – according to the significance of the station. There are travellers who want to take longer breaks at times and therefore they spend a month, two months or a longer period of time there. On the way, there are good thoughts-travellers, there are also bad thoughts-travellers, which come out of certain naughty children and in the same way they stop for some time at some stations. So, neither the good nor the bad thoughts belong to us. If you want a certain good thought to stay longer with you, you have to create the conditions for this. This is what Christ taught the newly wed couple: He was telling them that they were going to have many pleasant and unpleasant situations in life, many good and bad thoughts, but they should know that these do not belong to them, they merely visit them. You should know that neither the good is very good, nor the evil is very bad. The good and evil are such only for the moment they are being done. When the moment is over, they are no longer such. To make my point more clearly, I will give you the following example: you are at a ten-metre distance from a hot furnace. What do you feel? You find it very pleasant. What will you feel if you sit at a five-centimetre distance from this hot furnace? Your hands will burn and you will run away from the furnace. This is the aspect between things, which makes them good or evil. This is the aspect of a Divine thought that comes from various directions. Whether the thought will be good or evil depends on the state you are in. Therefore we need knowledge, not to be in the way along which the train will pass. The Royal train passes and because of this we shall not stand in its way. This is what Christ taught us: you shall not stay on the railroad; you shall not climb onto the roof. One who climbs onto the roof intends to escape. This is what thieves do, when they are being chased. The railroad is actually the old age. If you spread gossip about someone, if you are in low spirits, if you do not have faith – it is all the same - you are on the railroad. Coming to and going out of the world has a completely different meaning from what you understand. For example, we are making a house for us to live in. Why should we be making a house? Because the conditions of life are such that if we do not have a shelter, we will be damaged; this is why we are building a house. Similarly, we have to have a sheath, which is supposed to protect us from the various thoughts that attack us from the outside. This is why we have to live a pure and holy life, so that we can generate an aura around us, which can protect us from any bane and evil. This is why Christ and His disciples attended the wedding. I would like all of you to have a good start, and those of you, who do not work, will fall behind. Take out the general principle from all the lectures so far, contained in each one, and start examining it. I shall give you the following work and experiments for two or three months: Firstly, you will keep track in a notebook of each one of your good or evil thoughts that come to mind. You will keep track of the time, by the clock, when the good or evil thought or desire visited you and you will also note down the time when it disappeared. Secondly, when you are visited by evil thoughts or desires, you will try to convert them into good thoughts or desires. For this purpose, you will have to go back two thousand years, so that you can visualise the wedding attended by Christ and His disciples. You will try to imagine the house where the wedding took place, to imagine the wedding guests and the newly wed couple. Try to determine where Christ stood, where His disciples stood, but make sure you do not create illusions, try to be at least approximately accurate in your imagination. So, in your mind you can photograph the whole wedding by visualising the place of the bridegroom, your place etc. Christ you should place in your heart, His disciples – in your mind, the bridegroom - in your mind, the bride – in your heart. The bride and bridegroom will be separated, because no two people live in the same room in the Spiritual world. And here there are several people to a room and this is why they quarrel. The inhabitants of that world read each other’s minds freely. Therefore, when one of them is in low spirits, the others, as soon as they read the mind of the low-spirited person, pass him or her by, without any need for him or her to drive them away. This is why there are no circumstances pre-conditioning sin in the other world. While in this world somebody comes to visit you and keeps staying without realising that he or she had already annoyed you, and hence you have to lie to this person. Leave these old methods, because if you stick to them, you cannot be disciples. You will imagine that you have put on wedding clothes that you are cheerful and merry, and you will listen to what Christ was telling the wedding guests. If you can visualise such a picture, you will be immediately refreshed, you will be ready to fight your hardships in this world, you will understand many of the philosophies in this world and the vibrations of your mind will be higher. This visualisation of the picture has also a healthy impact. You must know that good can be learnt only at a wedding, while evil can be learnt at quarrels. Thirdly, ask yourselves why is it that good and evil thoughts and desires are generated within you; why are you predisposed better to some people, and less to others, why you love some, but others you do not love, why you find some people pleasant and others - unpleasant. You will say that this is karmic. Yes, it is, but karma does not explain anything, because there are quite a few reasons here. When you are in low spirits, think about the reason for this. Recall where you have been, in which house, how long you stayed there and after leaving which house you felt in low spirits. Find an explanation why you leave a certain house in low spirits. Explain to yourselves why at times when you come back home you feel in low spirits and whether it comes from the north, south, east or west. When you find the reason for your low spirits, do not fly at the person who created it, but change the direction of the low spirits. A friend of yours is asking you for a loan under the condition that he or she will return it in ten days, but nothing of the kind happens. Do not be angry about this. If someone is not predisposed towards you, this is because such a person has to take something from you. If this someone has nothing to take from you, then such a person has made a mistake and therefore he or she says, "Your father owes something to me, and please, now that you are able to pay, pay for him!" When you are in a good mood, you have to save the energy of this mood within you. It is a serious science to be able to save the energy of good thoughts and desires. Fourthly, every evening when you go to bed, you will spare ten to fifteen minutes to make a report before yourselves of your behaviour during the whole day. This you will do impartially. You will see what is evil so that you can avoid it on the following day. On the following day, you will pray, "Help me, God, to avoid evil deeds and to succeed in doing the good ones that I failed to do yesterday!" You will examine your life the way artists examine their paintings, without any self-judgements. If we are not a success in life this is due to the fact that we believe that we are stupid, sinful people etc. You are neither good nor evil, but you have to attend the wedding and you have to work. If your children make a noise at home, please imagine that they had also attended a wedding. Thus, to a certain extent – about fifty to seventy-five percent – you will be able to change the low spirits of your husband or of your children. These exercises will strengthen your good will. You will place the bridegroom in your mind and the bride – in your heart. Usually the guests of honour sit at the top places at a wedding. Christ is a guest at the wedding. The bride meets the guests and is the first to kiss hands, and then the bridegroom kisses hands. What does the kissing of hands stand for? When we kiss somebody’s hand, we promise that we shall implement God’s Will and law. Disciples who want to learn must have an iron will, nothing should despair disciples. I shall gradually explain to you all the forms according to which thoughts and desires act, according to which societies, homes, cultures are built up, and the reasons for which good and evil children are born. When you get old, your children will do this. The word youth is derived from the stem of mahatadi1, which means transformation of the Divine principle into a human form, i.e. renewal of aged life. When we get old, we do not listen to God, we become discontented, we frown and say that there is nothing in the world. I know that one has to act in the moment the Lord acts, to think in the moment when the Lord thinks and to feel in the moment the Lord feels. Some of the exercises you will do in the morning, and the others in the evening, because in the morning you are positive, and in the evening you are negative. This is why people are sad when the Sun goes down. So, when one wants to become humble, one has to pray in the evening. When one wants to pray for being merciful, one has to pray in the morning. The energy of the Earth is positive in the morning, and it is negative in the afternoon. The same is true of human beings. This explains why the psalm-singer says that Joy comes in the morning. Joy is positive energy, grief – negative. The good is positive energy, the evil – negative. If a certain disciple is weak, she will ask her friends to help her. When you say that the conditions are bad, I understand that you have no book. The one who wants to learn cannot say that there are no favourable conditions, that there is no time. You have at least five minutes at your disposal. When you do the experiments do not even think that you cannot do them. I do not want you to make a beautiful picture from the first attempt. You may make smudges around, but keep working. If you do not work, you will pay for the building you have hired. So, working or not working, we shall have to pay. I shall calculate one day how much your stay on the earth costs. It’s a shame, taking into account how much is spent on us, not to do any work. The exercises with the wedding you will do three times a week, in the morning - on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. The exercise with the report of your behaviour during the day you will do every evening before going to bed. In us, the mind precedes the heart, then in the third place comes the will, but initially it was the will acting, then the desire and finally the mind. God, through His Will urges us and at this point our thought is put in action, then our heart starts acting and finally comes the will. Master’s lecture, delivered on 19 June 1919 _________________________ 1 The Master here comments on the Bulgarian word for youth, which is “mladost” [‘mladost] Source

The Book - The Salt. Beinsa Douno Master and Lord "Ye call me Master and Lord: and you say well; for so I am."1 The words Master and Lord2 apparently contain nothing new, they are so ordinary. But in the world these two words - master and lord are two opposites. In Bulgarian the words gospodar, gospodin, gospodja or gospodjitza3 refer to people who are masters of their situation, to ruling people of high rank. However, in the original language these two words denoted two great principles which built human life. The situation of the master and the lord must be defined, the latter being used here in the sense of Lord. The word Gospod (Lord) was employed in a plural sense in the protolanguage in the meaning of lords. The first principle, Master, has relation to the human mind and will, while the second principle Gospod (Lord) has relation to the human heart and soul. Bear in mind that every word has a special sense in what I am going to speak about. When I use a word, I try to find what its vibrations are, for words are determined the same way the sunrays are. You cannot produce a certain color if you do not produce the corresponding vibrations. Therefore, if you speak about virtue, for instance, you should produce vibrations corresponding to virtue and then you will understand the corresponding sense of this word. Only this way can you have an objective, real truth expressed in life. There are unexpressed truths in the world as well. The earth is full of wealth hidden in its core, but that wealth does not interest you since it is concealed - you are interested in the riches the safes or the wealthy, the gold in the crowns of the kings and so on. There is knowledge hidden in the sun, but of what interest is it to you, since it is not revealed, but is only a supposition? The wealth in the written books satisfies you. I am speaking to you of knowledge revealed in the Master. When I speak about the Master, I mean a being who attunes the universe, i.e. He attunes His disciples, for the universe is a sum of thinking beings who are the atoms of this great rational word. When you ask what the spiritual beings are, you should know they are thinking beings. Some consider the spiritual man as an opposition to the worldly one. You will say that the worldly man is known by his fine clothes, cylinder, special ties, collars and gloves and his furniture is of a special kind. Is there anything bad in the worldly people? There are evils in the spiritual world as well. Where disharmony reigns, there are evils. Then I ask myself the question: if the spiritual world was free of sin, and if we come from God pure, how is it possible for us to commit sins? This question would remain unexplainable. So in the spiritual world there are also possibilities of making mistakes. A possibility for mistakes and such for sin are two different things. I shall explain this thought. Let us take two circles with different centers. The compass will draw one circle at a time, so that each circle will pass though the center of the other. If these two circles represent two rational worlds, or to put it in more scientific words, if one represents a positive and the other a negative electric current, when these two currents begin to function so that the power of the negative current passes from the periphery towards the center, and of the positive - from the center towards the periphery, at a certain stage the two circles will cross each other at two points and what will happen is exactly what is happening today on the earth. What is happening today is nothing other than the circle of the spiritual world passing through the center of the physical world and the opposite. You will say, "This is a great contradiction." Yes, this is a contradiction for those narrow minds who understand neither the past, the present, not the future. From the standpoint of a higher spirit, there are no contradictions in the world. People want a world without suffering. They are strange - this is no philosophy of life. There are always sufferings in contradictions, but in harmony there is a germ of suffering as well. Your happiness in the world rests on the sufferings of those small beings who serve you. You, who pass for very noble beings, ask what those little beings think of your nobility. All the sheep, oxen, lambs, hens, ducks, all small birds in relation with you have their own special opinion of people. All smaller beings say in one voice that person is a terribly cruel being. If you ask the trees, they also say, "How awful and merciless a person is!" Then you ask, "Why did God create such a world?" God created a very good world but we, as well as the people before us, spoiled it. This spoiled external world is reflected in us as well. The world is made in such a way that when the master suffers, the servants also suffer and the other way around. Christ says, "Ye call me Master and Lord: and so I am." In order to explain my idea - Master and Lord - I shall tell you the following example. Long time ago there lived a young king at the age of 33 - an age only of the wise and prudent people. He wrote a famous book about how life must be lived. Two royal daughters fell in love with him. You will say, "How happy he must have been!" When I see two young people in love, I say they are pleasantly amusing themselves. None other amusement is more pleasant than love. So when I see people loving each other, I say, "They are amusing themselves." You will object by saying love is something very serious. Do you think that when a great violin player performs a musical piece, he is doing something very serious? I consider serious situations such as when you own a debt to your creditor, or when a surgeon lays you on the table to operate on you. You often say, we must be serious. I call serious people those who have debts. You cannot understand the Word of God in its deep sense until you are freed of your debts. When you go to church and your creditor comes and reminds you of your debt to them, will your seriousness be of any help? The first royal daughter who fell in love with the king’s son expressed her love by carrying his picture everywhere, kissing it all day long, making a chapel for it so that people might light candles and censers to him and so on. The other royal daughter took "the book of life" written by the king’s son and started studying it and applying all its principles out of love for him. She started visiting the poor and the suffering thus testing all that was written in the book. By doing that she became more and more fond of the king’s son for she could see the good results of his teaching. These two royal daughters formed two different cults. You can see the cult of the first daughter displayed in all the temples of the world: all Buddhists, Brahmans, priests, the Turkish hodjas and all the Christian clergy. The other teaching is deep in the hearths of some people who only apply it, unconscious of serving any cult. The former are the-so-called orthodox people who think Christ will come in flesh and expect that image. What do you think: who of the two royal daughters has understood the royal son and has given him a better expression of her love of him? I call the first culture a culture of egotism when a person wishes only to possess and dominate someone. Today a young man and a young woman who are in love want only to possess and dominate one another. While they are young, they say such nice things to each other, but after marrying five years have hardly passed and all their love has evaporated, nothing remains of it. When I speak to you, I do not wish to be understood the first way: I would wish you to understand properly the second principle and to apply it to life. Therefore, the Master has a relation to the human mind and will. He bears in his soul those vibrations which can give an impulse to your mind and will. You send your daughter to school to study music with a teacher, but she falls in love with him and this prevents her from receiving the impulse the teacher can give to her mind and will. Music and poetry are dangerous engagements for some young men and women, especially if they have a weak character. When students fall in love with their teacher, they start taking flowers to the teacher and do not learn their lessons. This way your daughter will never graduate in music. If her teacher is not married and can marry her, that would be good. But if he is already married, what then? Polygamy will take place which can be seen everywhere in the world. By polygamy I mean a split in life. Splitting is always harmful to unity. A disciple who goes to his/her teacher must learn the essential principles, understand the qualities of the laws and powers, their mind, stomach, lungs. The stomach, the lungs and the brain have their own requirements. When you have stomach ache, you send for the doctor to inject you as soon as possible. But what does your rational stomach want to tell you by its disorder? It is a rational being. Sometimes you feel a tightening in your chest, or stomach, and you get worried. There is nothing dangerous in these tightenings, they are nothing but a change in energies. There are two opposite currents of energy in the world which produce two different results. One energy contracts the forms, the other expands them. Thereby life is manifested. This can be observed in nature too. Without dwelling on present day theories, I shall make an explanation: in order that rain may be produced, two opposite currents are necessary - warm and cold. For dew drops to be formed, the negative energy should raise them, heat expand them and render them gaseous. The positive energy keeps the water drops on the earth. Therefore, the negative energy of the earth and the positive energy of the sun are mutually attracted and where these two energies, these two circles, come in contact, a contrary process begins as a result of which rain is produced falling again on the earth. This is a philosophical consideration of the question. The evaporations which take place in nature are performed at the same time within us. In accord with nature your brain takes the place of the sun, your stomach that of the earth and your lungs are the connecting link between the earth and the sun. The two currents - arterial and venous - pass through the lungs. In nature there is also a venous current which ascends and an arterial one which descends. The venous current of an upward movement is directed toward the brain, i.e. toward the sun. First the venous blood must pass through the heart and lungs to be purified and then move upward. This is a necessity taking place in us, as well as in nature. The blood must be ozonized and its vibrations thus raised. All impurities in the venous blood must be purged away and thus the vibrations in the world will be raised. All illnesses in the world spring from a misunderstanding of this great Master who teaches us. At times you feel a pressure in your head. Your mind tells you, "You have impure blood, send it up to be purified." Sometimes your stomach aches. It says, "You have impure blood, send it up to be purified." But since you do not know this, you take some pills or medicine to stimulate your stomach and to stop the ache. The same thing happens in family life. When a man and a woman start life together, one must be a teacher and the other a disciple. But you start struggling for priority. If your husband has the necessary vibration for raising your mind, give him the place of teacher. The wife will say in such a case, "I do not like to submit." Do you know what the word submission means? To submit is to receive and cultivate the energy you need. That is culture. This is what it means to cultivate something. A violinist or an artist prepares his/her composition for hours that s/he may cultivate their theme in their mind. By the same law, I think that every teaching limits you or submits you. That is why you should not conceive the word religion in a limited, but in a broad sense so that you would have results in your personal life. Whoever carries a religion or a teaching as a portrait in themselves and only looks at it from time to time, will never benefit by it. I am not saying you should throw this portrait out of your mind and memory, but rather that you should look at it once a year or a month and apply more. Why does the Lord keep us at a distance? He has chosen such a high place, because He knows we are going to disturb Him. The Lord says, "I want you to do My will and live in the world the way I have ordered it so that you may be happy." Some ask, "When shall we go to heaven?" When you learn to live according to the book of this sage - the king’s son; when you come to the second culture and learn the laws. Thus, the word Lord implies the mother. The Master is the father. The Master, i.e. the father, is an interpretation of a great idea. God turns into a father and has a relation to us. The master is a number raised to the third degree, it is the cube of life. The master is a rational entity who regards things three-dimensionally: along a straight line, a plane and a height. You will say, "Of what importance is in what direction or line one moves in life?" This is of great importance. If you pass through the world only in straight line what would you understand of it? If you should take an excursion through the whole solar system by an express and move with the speed of light, you will need 31,000 years to pass along this straight line. After having moved at such a speed and return to earth, what knowledge will you have? None. You will say, "It is wonderful, magnificent," but you will give only general impressions. You have passed by the sun with lightning velocity and think you have crossed the whole universe and know many things, but in fact nothing has remained in you. I say to such a philosopher that he knows very little, because hey moves with great speed. In order to investigate this world, you need a number with ten zeros at the end - these are the necessary years for that work. You will say it is easy to put zeros to a number. Yes, but for me these zeros are of great importance. If we, for instance, would write one, two, three zeros after the number one, there will be a great difference between these numbers. I make a difference between the first, second and the third zero. The second zero shows that the number ten is in square; the third zero shows the cube of number ten. If there is a fourth zero, it shows the fourth degree on number ten; the fifth zero shows number 10 to the fifth degree and so on. I shall not go to the fifteenth degree for that is not for the human mind. The human mind can discover the secrets of nature only up to the fourth degree. Geometry may solve problems only as far as the tesseract is concerned. The tesseract is a small figure of which we study only the separate parts. The cube is a small segment of the tesseract. These lines, plains and cubes have a relation to our life. If we examine our face, we shall see that it is composed of many straight lines, plains and cubes. In geometry the definition of a straight line is that it is the shortest distance between two points. I define the straight line as the smallest segment of a circle. This is not a contradiction. You will say, "The diameter of a circle is also a straight line." Yes, but it is a small segment of another larger circle. The same way our present life is a small segment of a larger circle of our past. Therefore, your future life will also be a small segment of your present life. There is descending and ascending in your lives. By the law of descending you learn to decrease, but by the law of ascending, you learn to increase. Therefore, we should know simultaneously how to decrease and increase. People today suffer because they do not know how to increase and decrease. A merchant who cannot balance correctly suffers losses in his accounts. For instance, he has only 1,000 effective money in gold, but writes 100,000 and makes his business transactions on that effective money. Everyone must put down only the quantity of money they have in their safe. Nature does not tolerate false accounts. If you do not check what effective money you have at a given moment, you fall under the criticism of people. Knowing you have written more than you really have, you start thinking that others have done the same and you do not believe in them. We people today are like that, we recommend ourselves as having more effective money when in reality we have less. When you cross out a few zeros, you will come to the plain truth. Christ says, "Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am." He spoke very important things not registered in the New Testament. Christ came to teach you how to live. Some say, "What Christ spoke is sufficient for you." Yes, but it is sufficient for your salvation^ but not for the way you should live. And John says that Christ spoke so much that if everything were written down, all the books in the world could not contain it. I know that a very small fraction of what Christ said is written. I draw my principles from a very large book of which every pebble, leaf, branch, blossom form the alphabet. I constantly interpret this great book. When I take a leaf of a tree, I begin to examine it and read upon it under what conditions that leaf was formed; where that tree was growing; why it grew old; what kind of people had lived during its lifetime; what were their conditions of life; what the condition of the solar system was and so on. I read all this by the marks on every leaf and branch. But you stop by the trees, look at them and think they have no experience of their own, that they do not speak or see. How beautifully the flowers and the trees speak and see! Every leaf has its eyelet and reads all your thoughts when you sit under a tree to meditate, every one of your thoughts leaves its marks on the tree and the separate leaves. In the future you will be able to read your life and that of your predecessors on the trees. How many times, stopping under a tree, I have been told the story of different philosophers, priests and other people who had sat under that tree! We should know that everything is open before God, there is nothing hidden in this world. You say that trees are speechless beings in nature and only person speaks. I am against this idea for there are no speechless beings in nature, only their manner of speaking is different. Everything speaks to me. When I say "to me" I do not mean that son of the king whose picture is in the hands of the king’s daughter, but the other one who bears the divine truths for this world. Christ says, "Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am." But Christ is not a master like Moses who preached "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Today you serve Christ, but you serve many other masters including Moses. You say, "I am a Christian, an Eastern Orthodox believer," but if anyone should offend you, or hurt your feelings a little, you immediately sue them. This is the old teaching we apply in life, while we are speaking of the New teaching. When we speak of materialism I understand we are serving this world, we fall in love with the picture of the king’s son and say that only what we see is the real in life, but what is really actual, the truth in life, we cast away. All relations which are much more real and contain the sense of life can be tested. Speaking of meaningfulness, I do not mean what you can perceive. I can always test how you perceive things and often amuse myself by calculating what percent of you will understand me, how many will listen to me and how much you will apply. I have in view where you come from. You listen to me and say, "Now we understood you!" And I take down in my book, "I, too, understood you quite well." When people understand, I understand, too; but when they do not understand, neither do I understand. When you visit my restaurant and I nourish and receive you well and you pay and thank me, then you understand and I understand you. If you go out and do not pay me, I remain without money and do not understand you. Misunderstanding is an empty purse and an empty stomach. Every purse, every bag and your stomach are relations in the world which do not exist. You are exposed to suffering, torment and persecution, but why? Because your purse is empty. If no one receives you in their house, if all people forsake you, I draw a bad conclusion about you. This means you have not behaved according to the law of love and have set the whole world against you. It shows you have not heeded your Master and the Lord has left you to study by your own experiences. You will object to this, saying, "I have studied so much mathematics, know so many things, so many formulae and theorems." I ask you, "If you have learned so many formulae and theorems, can you apply them by building your body according to them, or according to the theorem of Pythagoras? You will say that there is no connection whatever between you and these things. There is a great correlation in all this because your life is a circle which can be calculated since it flows from two quantities - a larger and a smaller one. The larger quantity is that of the spirit which functions outside your life and cannot be calculated. We may say that this power is a fraction proceeding to infinity. But a day will come when you will be able to calculate it. Such is the law by which this power functions. Under the present conditions it is beyond your life and you can not calculate it. However, this does not prove that a day will not come when this fraction will be calculated. Christ says, "You call me Master but I am not a Master like Moses, for I teach you the law of expansion while Moses taught you the law of shrinking." When you unite these two laws into one, you will find a way for freedom. Christ says, "When they hit you on one side, turn the other also; if they take your outer garment, give the undergarment too." What did Christ mean by undergarment and outer garment? This applies to the physical and spiritual world. This means that if your outer garment is heavy in summer, you should throw it off and leave it somewhere. If your fur coat was necessary to you in the winter, throw it away in the summer. You will say, "But what shall we do in the winter without a fur coat, if we throw it away in the summer?" Are you sure you will still be alive next winter? Throw the fur coat away under these conditions. By casting away your outer garment Christ wants to say that you should not be in touch with people who want to become rich. Besides, there is no winter in the spiritual world. Someone wants to have two or three houses; another wants to study; still another wants to become beautiful and so on. Do not make contact and do not obstruct such people; who want to get rich - give them what you have, help them to build their house, to study, let them become beautiful, leave them do what they want to, encourage people in goodness. Originally all our aspirations had been good, but later they became perverted and became bad. For instance, you are in a forest and start reciting, singing and dancing freely. If you do the same thing in the city, people will consider you crazy. Here is an example of how your original impulse in the forest, expressed in the city becomes warped. If you sing and dance in the forest among the trees, they will not criticize you, but when you go among the cultured, talking people, they will not allow you to raise your voice. When you are in society, to speak you must raise your hand so as to form a curved line. Then people ask, "Is there any sense in this life?" Many times when I come to speak to you, I think: if I start speaking in a loud voice and wave my hands, people will come to me immediately and say, "What are you doing! Don’t you know that it is not proper to speak like this and wave your hands in society?" Then I start calculating how to speak and how to hold my hands so as not to offend anyone. Do you know how difficult it is for a person to determine the direction of their movements? These calculations are difficult to make until we come to a sensible speech. Many who are listening say, "If I should make a speech, it would be better." Then we are in the same state as the old and the young horse. An old horse was pulling a cart full of earthenware. Since he was walking on a downward slope, he walked very carefully. A young horse watching him said to himself, "If they gave me this load to pull, I would go down at once, but that old horse is barely moving." In a short time the young horse was harnessed to drive the cart of the earthenware. He had to pass the same way. However, he did not walk carefully like the old horse whom he considered silly, but ran swiftly down the slope breaking to pieces all the earthenware. Some say to me, "Tell us something more serious." Do you want me to act like the young horse? If I am going down a slope, I shall be serious and move slowly; if I am going up, I shall groan and walk with difficulty; if I am on a plain, I shall philosophize. Knowing this, try to calculate these two states in life - when you must move upward and when a chance is offered you to go down. I shall resume my previous thought. I said that there is much energy stored in your brain. The wife gets angry and says, "How long shall I be a slave to my husband? I want freedom. Did I marry only to cook for him?" The husband is also discontented and says, "You do not understand me." The servants are dissatisfied with their master and want to get rid of them. These are cases of the two positive energies in the world which repel one another and cause all the misunderstandings and fights in life. People warn such a couple not to act contrary to the evangelical rules. There is no need of such a warning, but you should rather turn one energy into negative and the other should stay positive. You will ask, "What will come out of that?" Rain will be formed. When a woman weeps, she should be thankful for her tears, for the moment is most favorable for her to turn her energy into negative. Let her say to her husband, "I see, dear, that you are right." But in life usually both are wrong. If one is right, the other will be wrong. That is why you should look for people whose energy is opposite to yours. That is how things stand in the world: half the world is right, good or positive, but the other half is wrong, bad of negative. The bad people are a blessing, they have a store of conserved energy and bear the conditions for the future culture. The good people will come in the future; they will become negative and start cultivating the energy they have. A good poet coming into the world will create new poetry out of the bad life of people; a scientist will create new science; a musician - new melodies. Thus, the foundations of the new culture will be laid. When you see a suffering person, if you are a poet, you could create such lovely poetry, which will inspire people’s minds and hearts for noble and sublime deeds. Christ says, "I came into the world to teach you to recognize the good in evil and the evil in good." The good has its bad side just as the evil has its good side. Until recently the sun was considered completely pure, but it is known today that there are black spots on it. The sun, too, is spotted. Do you know what alarm is raised at times on the sun? The alarm on the sun is always reflected on the earth. When it is quiet on the sun, it is quiet on the earth too. Therefore, half of our earth is turned to God, it is nearer God and the sun lightens it, but the other half is dark. That half facing God is collecting its energy. Each one of you can come to such a state. When you say you cannot do anything, you are in the positive energy of the earth. When your earth turns to the sun, you are in the negative energy of the earth and then culture comes. You may ask, "How is it that one and the same solar energy is sometimes good and sometimes bad?" In the morning the solar energy represents mother love, but in the afternoon, after crossing the meridian, the energy is perverted and becomes bad. In the evening this energy affects us still worse that is why murder and quarrels, etc. take place then. Why do these things happen with people? Because only positive energies get together. In order that such things may be avoided, the wife must require as a law of her husband to return home two hours before sunset. If he returns after sunset, he will have trouble by all means. The same thing happens in us as well. When we make up our mind to do something nice and noble, we are in the negative energy, in the light side of the earth, however, if we intend to do something bad, we are in the positive side of earth, in the positive energy. The Lord is positive. But when you turn to God, your energy is negative, conscious. If you start fighting with a stronger being, you will be smashed. The Lord opposes proud people. When you say you will oppose Him, the Lord will give orders that you should be tied up and taken to a hospital; you will say you went to fight for your country. You have not fought for the liberty of any country. Your country is to be liberated by other means. Pull out your sword, i.e. your will, and see if it is tempered well so that it could set people free. When you are offered two bags of gold, you are tempted and start saying there is no sense in fighting, it is not human and so on. Why? Because the bag of gold is behind your back. This is no ideal, however. The rich say, "There is no sense in fighting, we must live in peace." Why do they talk like that? Because they are rich and lack nothing. Many poor people say, "We want to fight," because they are in need. Christ says, "I came to solve the problem which troubles humanity. I am the Master and will show you how to recognize your master and your lord within yourself." If you listen to your Lord deep within you, you will be able to do something, but if you do not listen to your Master, you will be in contradiction. People must know both their Master and their Lord. There is a Lord in every person. You often interpret my words wrongly. You want to manifest yourselves by which you make many big mistakes. I am giving you a positive teaching which you can apply and I can make an experiment with anyone of you under the condition that you are sincere. This is the advantage of my philosophy - it can be applied to life. My greatest wish is that everywhere in all homes there should be relations like those among the teachers and the masters, that the children should be both good students and good servants. The students should listen to their teacher and the servants to their master. If you teach this to your children, if you imbed this idea in them, the daughter will listen to her mother and the son will listen to his father. The daughter cannot listen to her father and the son cannot listen to his mother. In order that the son might listen to his mother, he should become a woman in the next generation. The same thing applies to the daughter. In nature the energy must be converted. I may be positive in relation to your energies and negative in relation to other energies. This is a law. Energy is a great power which penetrates us and builds life. For 2,000 years it has been preached that Christ is a great Master who came to save us from sin so that we may repent and become good members of the church. In fact, you have members now - sons and daughters who becoming 21 years old tell their parents the latter have become foolish. What kind of students are your sons and daughters? You think that you know much. Often the Lord gives you headache saying, "Give this problem to humanity to solve. Why do they have a headache?" You answer, "We have overeaten." No, that is not the real reason - your head aches from knowing too much. Sometimes you have stomachache. It shows that the Lord gives you this problem to solve. They who do hot know what headaches and stomachaches are due to, as well as all other illnesses, do not know anything. A stomachache shows that the energy in your stomach which is positive must be turned from positive to negative. A headache shows that the energy in your head which is positive must be turned into negative in relation to the other energies. Your mind must be engaged with sublime thoughts. When you have a headache, go to a poor woman to help her. Whenever your head or stomach aches, begin to work. Thus says the lord. You say, "When my head aches, I cannot work." Your head aches exactly for the reason that you do not work. Therefore, a headache is a stimulus forcing you to think and to work. If the doctors hear this, they will say, "This is a dangerous theory - to work when you have headache." The doctors explain only the effects of illnesses, but they do not know what precedes illnesses. Doctors of more modern times say that uric acid is the cause of headaches when it settles in the organism, in the brain. The blood thickens, the organism begins to act with greater effort and so on. But the doctors cannot explain what caused this uric acid. They cannot explain a number of causes which preceded the appearance of the uric acid. Therefore, the cause of each illness must be explored very far back. If we lived the divine way, a day would come when our body would be cleansed immediately of any sediments which cause illnesses. Some physicists say that if the human organism is placed under 10-20 or 100,000 volts of electricity, it would be rejuvenated in a very short period of time and acquire its childlike state of youthfulness. Then we would say, "Thank you, God, the kingdom of God has come to earth." The Lord sends death and says, "Call this aged child and put it on the disc of death in order to be rejuvenated and start a different new life." Then the wheel of life rotates at 100,000 volts and in less than 50 or 100 years the same person returns rejuvenated already with new energy and a new name. This is the law o£ reincarnation - a change of energies. The soul can assume thousands of forms. You have not studied the human soul. If I would say all I know about it, that would be the ninth wonder in the world - there are so many things to be said about it. Christ says, "Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am." As you read the chapter further, you will see why He calls Himself that. I want the two words Lord and Master to remain in you. The master is a positive energy. Every disorder or disharmony in thoughts and desires is a positive energy which must be transformed into negative, since only the negative energies in the world can create. This is true of electricity as well. If you are a clairvoyant you will see that light appears only on the negative pole. If people consider someone attractive, it shows s/he has negative energy in him/herself - that is magnetism. Such a person can both give to people and take from them. One should not only be nice to people, but every word they say must be full of meaning. Never utter empty words. Some ask, "Why don’t you tell us you love us?" Since I have invited you to my table to nourish you, it means I love you. If I tell you many words but I do not nourish you, do I love you then? If I invite you to beer and sweets that is not love. We should live only on bread, wheat and all kinds of fruit. And Christ says, "Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am." When this Master comes there will be harmony, music, poetry in your home, everyone will be in his/her proper place, there will be no discord between the man and woman, between the servants and the masters, between the daughters and sons, between the teachers and students. Christ is not in the world now. Some will say that Christ has come. No, He does not come, because He already has an experience with people. If He comes today among humanity, He will be crucified again. He who has hung on a cross knows what those nails, which nailed Him there, mean. Christ is asking His followers now, "Are there any more nails?" "Yes, there are." "Then the time has not come for me to visit you." The priests preach "brotherhood and love." Christ is not fooled by these words and asks again, "Are there any nails on the earth?" "Yes, there are." "It is not time for me yet." Some say, "Manifest yourself to us, Master, we shall recognize and prize you!" Yes, you have prepared your nails and want the Master to come in order to nail him. This is what I see every day. You take everything you can from people: I see two young people talking in the garden and a few lambs are near them who say to themselves, "These people are cultured, but nothing will stop them from stripping off our skin at any moment." They know very well the intentions of their masters. Now you will say I am speaking very well. Yes, I speak well and you listen well. But I wish there would be teachers in Bulgaria to teach kindness and patience. I have not met patient people in Bulgaria yet. I have met people who bear their hardships, but I have not met patient people. Patience implies will power and a good mind or knowing the causes and effects of things. But impatience gives rise to suspicion of everything and everybody. I have not met people whom I could convince that there is nothing suspicious in our cause. The Bulgarians have no patience that is why suspicion never leaves them. The second thing to do is to get rid of prejudice. Everyday we struggle with unclean thoughts which attack us like wasps. Consciously or unconsciously, everywhere I see an atmosphere of suspicion and, after all that, people want to be considered cultured. We must fence off these thoughts - they are a harmful remnant from the past and we must get rid of them. Suspicion has penetrated your mind, heart and soul and you must dispense with it and purify yourselves. What is there to suspect? Someone comes to me and tries to deceive me somewhat, but I say to him/her, "My friend, if you did not try to deceive me, I would have done more for you, but now I shall do less. Yet, I ought to do something for you at any rate." By this I do not want to say that I am good, but that I am obliged to do something for everybody. Why should you represent things as they are not? That is why sometimes I do not receive visitors. "Why don’t you receive visitors today?" "Because I have not arrived at anything and can give you nothing." The same law applies to you: If you are not in good disposition today, do not receive visitors. Say, "I have to solve a problem the Master has given me." Now keep two things in mind: patience and doing away with your suspicion. I see suspicion inscribed on the eyebrows of the Bulgarians and some have it at such a great extent that a whole lifetime is necessary for them to get rid of it. This sign is in its place - the Lord has put it there. Suspicion is the absence of selfless love and gives rise to all illnesses. When you meet people, you say, "This person is bad, that person is bad," there are no good people for you. Think that all people are good, but they have only positive energy, which you cannot use, that is why you should stay away from them and let others use it. Two men who have positive energy repel each other. Today there are magnetizers who can transform the energies. I visit a home where the husband and wife are fighting and raise my hands then drop them again and the man becomes positive, but the woman negative. After a while they begin to excuse themselves to me for having made a mistake. They have not been conscious of the law by which one becomes positive and the other negative. And actually after their energies have changed properly into positive and negative, they stop quarrelling. I say, "Friends, one must be up, but the other down." When a magnetizer starts healing someone, they pass their hands from the head down which means: the woman must be down and the man up, or in other words: the man should break the stones and the woman should build them. This is what Christ also taught people. Christ says, "Ye call me Master and Lord." The Master is up in the mountain, while the lord is down and he is building there. Therefore, if you want to build, you must come down. If you understand this rightly, there will be no contradictions for you. While listening to me, you think I want you to deny the world. I am not teaching you to deny the world, but rather to turn your energy into negative and to start building. When you are troubled, raise your hands up them put them down. Then tell your stomach, "Listen, my friend, let the brain be up, but you be down sending it material to work with." In general, where there is headache, the stomach suffers too and conversely. This shows that always - this law is right - there is a close connection between the stomach and the head. You can test this. Those of you who have a strong will can heal yourselves the following way: turn to the Lord and pray to Him as a Master and Lord to teach you how to control your head and your stomach. You will say, "I do not need a stomach and head, I want to have the body of an angel with a guitar in hand and to play and sing in heaven." This is a wrong conception of Christ’s teaching. You must understand it right. This is a form, but you must have a certain result. I do not want to create antagonism between those who understand rightly the teaching of Christ and those who have no right understanding of it. And I shall not say that the former are on the right and the latter on the wrong side, but I say that those who do not think right are of positive energy. So long as suspicion takes hold in you, nobody can set the world right. Before we depart we must fulfil the will of God. The Bulgarians have a future as a nation, that is why they must become patient and do away with suspicion. The Bulgarians are not so good, but they have in themselves the conditions for a good life and where there is a condition for life, God is there. Something will come out of the Bulgarians, but not of Bulgaria which is the retort in which experiments are made and as such it will fulfil its role. The content of the retort - the Bulgarian nation - is the creative power as well. When the Bulgarians go to live among Americans or other nations, they are polite and pleasant, but as soon as they return to Bulgaria, they become rude and discontented with everything. This discontentment is due to the small land they possess. The Bulgarians have a creative spirit that is why they feel confined here. Give the Bulgarians wide opportunities, much work and they will work. One day as I was walking by the seminary, I met a colonel riding a horse. All of a sudden his horse stopped and refused to go on. When the colonel got off the horse, it started to walk. By this the horse wanted to say, "I shall walk without a colonel, but if he is on my back, I shall stop." Every Bulgarian has this feature. Christ says, "I came to teach people how to give wide space to every soul and to encourage every good impulse in every single thing." If everyone should give freedom to their neighbor as they have need of the same, there will be wide scope to all actions and thoughts. If you would apply the laws hidden in my words, you would understand many things. I take everything in nature and interpret it. All the laws of nature I have tested are 75% true and only some 25% remain for me to test. Deposit this faith in yourselves and know that everybody bears something great. Someone wants to become an angel, but even as an angel s/he would see only the beginning, not the end of things. You will see only your head, but you will not see your tail; you become an atom whirling only around a circle, in order to acquire balance. But circling round a center shows that a person has lost his/her balance. Since we have become free from the periphery, we should study these two worlds - between the Master who is up and the mother who is down. What is true of the Sun and the Earth, is true of the brain and the stomach, of the spirit and the soul. Apply patience, i.e. develop the mind and the will, get rid of suspicion and substitute it by creative love. Be so strong that no matter what insult may be cast upon you, it should not touch you and you will become free of it in a short time. There is no greater art than the ability to rise above all insults and to substitute them by good thoughts. All of you can do a great deal of work and perform great deeds of goodness. What the teacher is playing at a given moment can be learned by the student too. Those who want to be something more than the others, must unite with the living Lord - with that great bond of harmony and study the law of silence. All the occultists say we should be listeners to the Great Master who is speaking. There is nothing better than silence. I would wish to be in your place - you should speak and I would listen, for I shall understand everything you say. Now when people hear something, they not only refuse to pay, but also criticize what they hear by saying it is not good. Christ says, "I am the restaurant keeper and came to feed people." Christ’s teaching shows us that we have conditions to become saints, angels and geniuses. But what are we now? We are the beloved children of God Who loves us not because we are so good, but because He is merciful to us. And this is the greatest thing in the world we can be christened by. We must justify this love, become worthy of it and never pull each other’s hair before His face. As soon as we hear that the Master, the Father, the Lord is coming we should immediately stand still. By today’s sermon I want all who have positive energy to turn it into negative and all who are up the mountain to come down and start building, while those who are masters should become servants. There is no need of masters. The Lord says, "I am tired of masters, I want servants who should put order in the world." Christ says, "Now the world will be set right by the students, the sons and daughters, not by the mothers and the masters. The students, the sons and daughters are the future of this world." The mother is engaged in fashionable clothes, the father drinks, but the sons and daughters see that their parents do not follow the right path that is why they set about serious work. Now take the position of sons and daughters, of students and servants, but do not say you are teachers, priests, mothers, fathers, kings, princes and the like. May the Lord keep you from such sins! May the Lord keep me from this sin, too! And may He make us students and servants of this Great Master and servants of this Great Lord in the world. For He is a Living Lord! Sermon held on June 15, 1919. _____________________________________________ 1 John 13:13 2 Lord - "Gospod" in Bulgarian (transl. note) 3 Gospodar - Bulg. Master; Gospodin - Bulg. Mister; Gospodja - Bulg. Missis, Gospodjitza - Miss (transl. note)

The Book - The Salt. Beinsa Douno The Humpbacked Woman "And he laid his hands upon her and immediately she was made straight and glorified God."1 The primary requirement in life is that the truth should be presented in its real form. There are real and abstract, or positive and negative truths. If you observe a Centigrade thermometer tube from the bottom upwards as the temperature rises, you will have a positive truth, but if you observe it from the top downwards, you will have a negative truth. In the first case, the heat will increase, but in the second - it will decrease. You will say, "What does it matter if the heat increases or decreases?" This is of great significance. In nature only warmth causes the growth of all plants and fruit trees. This law refers to the human mind and heart as well. I interpret the word warmth as noble feelings. The most noble thoughts, feelings and acts are produced by warmth. You will ask me, "What has this to do with Christ’s laying His hands upon this woman?" Woman is the foundation of the world. The world cannot exist without women. If this were possible, God would not have created them. Some may object to this saying that God created Adam first. Yes, but which Adam? God created the male and female sex together. The male and female sex constitute a contrast in the world, but this contrariety is a great science as well. Christ wished to raise that woman to her high position. She was humpbacked. What does that hump mean? The woman was humpbacked in thoughts, feelings and acts. Christ laid His hands on that woman. The hands signify the sublime and the great in the world. Present day people suffer from lack of will, but a person lacking will is not a person. You will probably all say you have will. I would give you a small task so that you can test your will. I may give you a kilogram to lift from the earth. You will say, "Now, can we not lift a kilogram!" Yes, you can lift it, but not under any conditions. How could you lift this kilogram, if it were heated up to 1,000 degrees? Not only you, but no other person could lift it, you would even stay ten meters away from it. Therefore, there is a great difference between a kilogram that even children can lift and a kilogram the whole world cannot lift. If anyone could lift you, it shows you have no will, no power. We read that Christ laid his hands on that humpbacked woman and she was made straight. I ask you: can you lay your hands on your humpbacked mind, your humpbacked heart and make them straight? You will answer me that your hearts and minds are straight. No, your hearts and minds are not straight. The hearts and minds of all clergy, ministers and teachers as well as those of many other people are humpbacked. You will say, "Why do you offend us?" I do not offend you, but I am speaking the positive truth so as the illusions that we are something which we are not, should be avoided. In this verse, however, there is another psychological moment. Christ laid His hands on that woman in order that she might be made straight and glorify God. Tell me how many times a mother must lay her hands on her small child when she bathes him/her so that s/he might be made straight and start walking? If the mothers did not do that, would their children ever start walking? Your children are humpbacked women which is why you should lay your hands on them daily and bathe them. Do you know what bathing means? What a simple truth bathing is, but no one of the present day people of learning can give it an interpretation. Contemporary people are like that Greek philosopher who wanted to study the world by looking only upward. While walking along the street he fell in a hole. Getting out of it, the philosopher got angry and started scolding people for putting such an obstacle on his path. After restoring his calm state he continued on his way, but to his great surprise he fell into another hole. He became furious and started chiding people even more fiercely for placing obstacles on his way so that he could not discover the truth. No, sir, when you are seeking the truth you must look forward, not upward. All dandies, all ladies today look upward. Go out to the fields and notice which way the empty wheat-ears look. All empty wheat-ears look up. If a farmer should see all the wheat-ears looking up, he would be driven to despair. But if he should see all wheat-ears with bent heads, he would say, "Thank God! I wish all of you were bent!" Christ saw the humpbacked woman and by the same law laid His hands upon her and she was made straight and glorified God. Some may ask, "Why should we glorify God?" I am mot asking you to glorify that Lord in whose name all dissentions take place today and whom the churches have served for 2,000 years; I am not speaking to you about the Lord whom the governments serve - the god of war. I do not deny they are gods, but they are gods for themselves not for humanity. I am speaking to you about a Lord you can find anywhere, Who is within you, in whom you live and move and have your being, or feel. This Lord does not belong to states and parties. Him I call the God of suffering, of the humpbacked people in the world. Those of you who have studied the theorem of Pythagoras know what it states: the square constructed on the hypotenuse of a triangle equals the sum of the squares constructed on the two legs of the same triangle, i.e. the space comprising the square constructed on the hypotenuse equals the space comprising the other two squares. Thus the woman upon whom Christ laid His hands, represents the hypotenuse upon which the square was constructed, i.e. the neutral zone which divides the square into two triangles. Considering geometry and mathematics this way, a correlation can be found between them and life itself. If a person’s mind, heart and will would be healed, there must be at least three conditions. A person whose lungs, brain and stomach are spoilt cannot be healed. You may ask, "But how did Christ heal so many people of different illnesses?" Christ healed only those people whose lungs, stomachs and brains were in their right place. I take the stomach as an emblem of the physical life, the lungs as an emblem of the mental life and the brain - of the spiritual life of person. Therefore, if you are not connected with the forces of these three worlds, your hump cannot be made straight. In order that the child on whom the mother lays her hands may stand up, s/he must wish that him/herself, or have a certain thought about it. This analogy applies to the separate nations. Every nation is similar to a child. Some nations are considered young, others - old. If a nation is young, its mother must bathe it in the tub for a long time and lay her hands on it until it Starts walking. Moreover, it is known that a child who is just starting to walk passes through many phases - many falls and risings, but that does not mean anything. You will ask me, "What relation does this verse have to life today?" The sun directs its rays daily to us - they are the divine hands. What do they contain? Christ lays His hands daily on us by means of these rays. If your brain, stomach and lungs are healthy, your hump will be made straight by all means. You will say that this idea is not in accord with the present day church. Which church? The one formed by people, or the one created by God? If it is the church of God, it is nature itself. I believe in its symbol. But those who wish to take exams for priests and bishops must pass them in such a way that when they lay their hands on the humpbacked woman, her hump should be made straight. How many priests and bishops of this kind are there is Bulgaria? Two thousand years have already passed after Christ in the course of which all kinds of learned bishops and preachers came into the world, but the hump of the whole humanity as well as of the Bulgarian people, still exists. Why? Because no one believes in what Christ taught. I have talked with many worldly people and have noticed that they are more open to the great truths than some spiritual people. By saying this I neither judge nor blame anyone. If a teacher gives you a problem to solve that you cannot solve correctly, the teacher says that the problem has not been solved. "But, teacher, I struggled much until I solved it. Besides that, my father and grandpa are rich and good people, is it possible for me not to solve it?" All that may be so, but the problem is not solved. When students do not succeed in that, they start taking flowers, money, etc. to the teacher, but the problem still remains unsolved. You should know that the schools, grammar schools and universities have been founded for knowledge and not for bribery. I see all people today take candles to the church, light them but the problem still remains unsolved. You may be a king, but your soul, heart and will remain humped. I say to such a person: you will not achieve anything in the world and will always be a slave to the conditions in which you live. People today justify themselves by the difficult, unfavorable conditions. If I put a person in a nice building and give them all the favorable conditions for work, but should they bring in all their garbage from outside, what will become of the favorable conditions they were given? Such a person will complain of the bad conditions of life, but who created them? They themselves. What must they do? They must change them, but not tear down the house, only clean it up. If you do not maintain the good conditions given to you, you will be like those baby crows which, after dirtying their nest, begged their mother to be removed to another nest, since the one they were in was dirty. The mother asked them, "Will you also go to the new nest?" "Of course, we will." "Then you will dirty the new nest as well." I shall give you a similar example about a wolf. A wolf once went to complain to a fox of people who were so bad that they always persecuted him. "I shall go to some other good and noble people," he said. The fox asked him, "But will you take your teeth along?" "Yes, indeed." "Then these other people will persecute you as well." One must understand the basic law according to which everything should be put in its own place. If you have teeth, you must know how to use them. By healing the woman, Christ wanted to point out the fact that all people who believe in Him should have the will to correct their life. Jena2 coming from the Sanskrit word zeo means life in Bulgarian. The life of this woman had become humpbacked, but in order that it should be made straight, the divine will should direct it so that it would manifest itself sensibly. How would the Divine life manifest itself? It is a great mistake to think that you now much. I have nothing against your knowledge but I ask you, since you have studied algebra and geometry, what use have you made of these formulae? When I look through algebra and geometry textbooks, I see what great truths are hidden in these formulae, but their deep meaning remains concealed for the teachers and students. These seeds have not been sown in science yet. There is apathy in us to the deep truth. There is only a mechanical belief, we expect God to come and set all things right, teach us everything without our sitting down to work and investigating all things ourselves. This way we shall be like a rich man’s son who inherited great wealth from his father. He started going to balls and concerts, visiting one city after another and all famous places in the world and after returning home said, "There is no meaning in life." Such a person who visits cities like a tourist or gathers knowledge at school without applying it, I consider as a beggar going with their bag from house to house to hoard in one place what people give them. At some places s/he is welcomed, while at others upbraided until s/he loses all sense of self-esteem. Such a person degenerates. In fact all people who lead parasitic lives degenerate. It says in the Scripture, "Believe, hope and love," which means - have will. To manifest your will means to stand against the whole world if it is against the convictions you have tested and wish to apply. People may tell you it is senseless to withstand this, but if you have will power you will never give up. You will say, "I believe and that is all." You will say it is silly for one to believe. Perhaps it is so, but I have not met a person who does not have faith, only some think they do not believe, i.e. have only a reflection of faith in themselves, moving downwards and losing their warmth. Some believe that they will lose their life, or that that their life is bad, or that nothing will come out of them and so on. This is no knowledge, but only beliefs. If you say you have knowledge, I will ask you, "Why do I speak to you about this verse?" You will answer, "We suppose, we believe." You will be like those peasants whom a priest once preaching asked, "Brothers, do you know what I am going to speak about?" "No, we don’t." "Well, then, if you do not know, there is no need of my speaking to you." "Yes, we know, we know!" "Well, if you know there is no need of my speaking about it." I do not put the question this way, but classify the Christians into such as have a common center and such as have not, or Christians who move in regular circles and such who move in curved, hyperbolic lines. A comet sometimes appears in space, approaches the sun and then disappears. Why has this comet appeared in the world? If a person wishes to greet you from a distance, cast a long-range missile at you, they have a purpose for doing that. I think that comets leave their places in order to greet the sun, pass by the world, sometimes burst and then they pass away into space again. Every comet has a definite mission and its appearance can be examined from a physical, astronomical or spiritual standpoint. First its movements must be examined, why it has come and so on. In the same way many of you are comets who in the course of thousands of years will be lost in space. You appear and do not move in a circle, but in a hyperbola; you move in a circle, but in a hyperbola; you move out of space changing your place until another planet comes to change your center and put you in a circle. Christ came to change this hyperbola into a circle and place you in the center - thus changing your course. In this way Christ changed the orbit of this woman. When she stood straight, she found herself in a wise world and started glorifying God, i.e. started to study and understand her life. Her state can be compared to that of a person taken out of prison and placed among beautiful nature to enjoy the pure springs and taste its fine fruit - drinking in all its inexpressible beauties. In order to correct our life we need a positive, divine science. Many of you while listening to me get inspired and say, "We can do everything in order to correct our life." However, by the end of the week this inspiration is over and you say to yourselves, "No we cannot do this. But you have hardly considered this question deeply enough." There is no question that I have not considered from a spiritual standpoint. I understand it in form, in substance and in meaning as well as in its functioning under the impulse of the Divine Will or the divine Spirit. I comprehend in will and spirit that Divine body which does not change in the world, i.e. those ideas which are changeless and exist eternally and those acts which build the world. By spirit I mean the Divine human soul. What we call life flows from this divine soul. The spirit bears love because love is the fruit of this spirit. In Bulgarian the word douh3 comes from the word blowing of the wind, so it has almost lost all sense. The spirit is that Supreme Intelligent Principle by coming-into contact with which you will by all means understand the sense of life and start living according to all its rules. Contemporary science explains the causes of all anomalies in ordinary life. The first cause is due to the unnatural food you eat. God has made person to feed on fruit, but you eat meat. Meat has filled your organisms with such poisons that it is now a sum of uncleanliness. Science proves this. If your sense of smell were normal, you would avoid being close to one another - such an awful odor is emitted by those who eat meat. When someone complains of illness, the first condition for them is to change their diet. You will ask, "But what should we eat?" Fruit. "They are expensive." In the first place you must change the conditions of your life. Do you accept the idea that there is one God who has created everything in the world and are you ready to sacrifice everything for Him? This Great Doctor within you of whom all doctors today are simply assistants says, "Live naturally!" I consider this question in a very broad sense. A fruit diet and a meat diet contain different elements owing to which two different states are produced in our organism. By the same law every thought and every feeling can produce two different states which in the distant future of our life will produce two different results. Notice that Christ placed both His hands upon this woman which means that He placed His ten fingers upon her. Do you know what it means to place both your hands on a person? There is no greater blessing than placing your hands over someone’s head. It says in the Scripture, "Christ raised His hands, blessed His disciples and breathed at them." Today you suffer from the fact that you do not raise your hands. That is praying. But you say, "I do not pray." To pray is to raise your hands and where there is proper movement it is a movement of the spirit. Prayer is movement in all directions. As the legs move the right way, the heart, the will and everything must move on its way. What would you feel in such a case? At such a moment you will feel that you are master of your world, that you have everything and have no need of anyone. They may put you in prison and still you will feel happy, but you may be in a king’s palace and still be unhappy as the humpbacked woman. A Bulgarian learned man told me he wanted money, which means that he wanted to be like the humpbacked woman. I do not deny money, because it is admitted by God, but we must not regard it of God, because we have everything. I regret the fact that all Bulgarians want to be humpbacked women since they all want houses and money. We must make sensible use of everything we have. I am not asking you to abandon this life, or leave your husbands, because you are not heroes. What do I mean by telling you to leave your husbands? I compare woman to the director of a prison who is always spying on her husband to know where he goes, what he does, how he applies her teaching and for every small mistake she beats him. When I say, "Woman, leave your husband" I mean that you should leave him free and give him freedom to cure his wounds. Today all people stick to one another like ticks and only some force can separate them. Present day religion has turned into parasitism. If I befriend a person to sponge on them for my sustenance, that is fraud. A bishop has not taken this post only to earn his living by it and look after fields and houses. When I speak about the priests, it is not that I wish you should despise them, but that you should cast out of the church everything that is impure. The idea is the essential thing. I call such priests and bishops humpbacked. When Christ comes He should place His hands on all the priests so that their humps should be straightened. The priests preach the word of God, but when they leave the church, they say, "We preach and speak this way, because this is our profession, however, we think differently. Things will go like this now, but we shall get straight in the next life." If I had spoken like this 500 years ago, I would have been burned on the stake. But I am not one of those who can be burned. You, too, who do not want to die, come to the place where I live, become its citizens; it is so spacious, there is much light there and I shall give you the best houses and the best food. Do not think that when you enter this world I am speaking to you about, you will be childless. How strange people are when they think that on entering the other life and becoming saintly, they will not bear children any more! They will bear children but they will be righteous sons and daughters, not sinful as they have been till now. To be saintly and pure means not to be humpbacked. According to this law anyone entering this kingdom and marrying, will have only two children - a boy and a girl. And when these children grow up and marry, they also will have only two children, not a Jacob, who had twelve. Christ laid his hands on the head of the humpbacked woman and said, "May the blessing of your son and daughter rest upon you, they saved you." If I tell you the past of this humpbacked woman you will see that it makes great history. All the prophets have spoken of this humpbacked woman. Read the Old Testament and you will find everywhere a description of all her forms. The Revelation also speaks about her. In her first phase she is described as a woman sitting on seven hills and in the second phase she is a pregnant woman who is bearing a child. Her child is taken and carried up to heaven, while she flees to the wilderness. That means that when the humpbacked woman is freed of her hump, she will bear a man-child, that is - your mind will awake and start thinking and your heart will start feeling. Then you will say, "From now on, I shall live for my son, i.e. for the mind and sacrifice everything for him." I take the mind as a divine essence, not as an organ. I do not take the human mind in its degenerate form, for today it has become a laughing stock. Since you say you know much, tell me what will become of you in a year’s time; will you be on the physical plane or somewhere else; will there be peace in a year and what will be the situation of Bulgaria - will it be paying taxes or not? All these things have certain correlation; they are interrelated in a certain way. If we are paying a tax today, it is what we have been owing for thousands of years. It is strange when people are afraid of the indemnity Bulgaria is to pay. But do you know what great contributions people have been paying up till now without even giving it a thought? How many lives have been ruined and why and to whom have they been paying these contributions? Because of them nothing has come out of your life yet. There is something in you, indeed, but your way is crooked. And when Christ comes to lay His hands on you, you will begin to glorify God and realize you are moving in a center. Then all that is happening to you will have another meaning. In order to raise the Bulgarian nation, God has sent His children to this small land as to a boarding-house. All nations are boarding-houses where the good divine children live. The reputation of every boarding-house rests on its food, good conditions, hygiene and order. Also in every nation there will be born people of talent, of genius, writers and poets, after them saints will be born and finally the Son of God will come who will return in order to bless this nation. The greatest reward of a boarding-house will be the fact that such and such royal son has lived in it. You will say, "Christ performed so many miracles among the Jews who did not get wiser for that, how could saints and great men bring them to sense then!" But the Bulgarians are no more sensible than the Jews. If Christ should come today among the French, the English, the German or the Bulgarian people, they would act the same way with Him as the Jews. The present wars show what the Christian nations are like. Christ must lay His hands on these humpbacked peoples so that they could become straight. I do not consider anyone cultured today, all are humpbacked. We need another, higher culture. The conditions of the present culture must change in order to prepare the appearance of the Divine culture for which we all have been called. Our future will be, determined by our thoughts, not by our external appearance. Could your thought, perceiving something from the invisible world at a given moment, avoid perverting it? Which rays of light come straight from the sun and which are refracted? Only the light and the heat coming directly from the sun can make us healthy. And when Christ laid His hands on the humpbacked woman, she was made straight and glorified God. In the ten fingers of the hand lies all the power. The number 10 means that you live with God and do His will. The number one is God - the condition under which person can develop. You must have these conditions in your descending and ascending to God and carry your blessings to suffering humanity - and to all who have gone astray from the right path. We should know the meaning of all the fingers of the hands, if we are to know what Christ meant by laying His hands on the humpbacked woman. By that he wanted to say, "Woman, you need will power." The thumb means that you must abide by the divine world and not despite the will and mind of God. The forefinger tells, be pure and keep the right which God has given you. The middle finger - decide everything according to the divine measure so that you may be always just and merciful to everybody in all your actions, do as you would be done by. The ring finger - love the divine science, the truth, the beautiful in nature, do not deceive people in trading. The little finger is related to commerce and wants to say, "Spin well your yearn and weave well." Such is the meaning of the fingers of the one hand, but I shall talk to you about the meaning of the fingers of the other some other time. And after Christ laid His hands on the humpbacked woman, she immediately stood up and said to Christ, "I understand the meaning of all You said to me which is deeply hidden in my soul." Can you also, by looking at your fingers, say that you will fulfill all that is deeply concealed in them in meaning and content? A priest blesses with two fingers and says, "In the name of the divine world, in the name of your religion and justice, on the basis of science and material life, I bless you - now give your money." You act the same way - after you do the smallest good deed, you say, "Give me your money now!" Christ did not ask the humpbacked woman to follow Him, but He said to her, "Woman, go and bring up your children according to all the rules of the divine science." And all who glorify God today descend from the humpbacked woman. They are the sons and daughters of that humpbacked woman on whom Christ laid His hands. Thousands of mothers have laid their hands on their sons who turned out to be vagabonds and scoundrels, because their mothers had not known which moment to lay their hands on them. If a farmer would stretch his hands and sow his seed on the field at an inappropriate time, there would not be any result of his sowing. This shows that there is a definite time for everything in the world at which the hands should be laid. Mothers usually bathe their babies in the morning or in the evening and that way they massage and rub them, thus laying their hands on them, but they have something in mind by doing that. It is the greatest divine art for a mother to know how to massage her baby. If she knew how to do it, the child would turn out to be a genius or a saint. It is necessary that there should be schools for the young women to learn how to bathe and massage their children. The mothers today do this in a haphazard way, in order to have more free time. I shall give you a method how to bathe your children in the future. I connect this verse with many other verses, this is how I interpret it and sign my name below it, for by signing it, its words have power. You may ask me what signing means. When you sow a field, reap the wheat and put it in the barn - this is signing. When someone writes something and puts his name below, it means they must stand by their words. But today we easily sign our name and fulfill little. Christ laid His hands only once on the humpbacked woman and she was made straight. Christ is coming now and He will lay His hands on the whole white race, then you shall have a straight woman, a new life in Europe - a re-generation will take place. The unrest and changes taking place in the world today can be compared to the process taking place in the human body. I can tell you exactly what inner process each part produces on the organism of different people. Therefore in the organism of every different nation in which the divine spirit lives, certain thoughts have been stored up for ages which we must fight against. When a people acquires good qualities, it is a blessing for that nation, but if it were to acquire bad qualities, it is a horror and terror for the good people. The good qualities are like a river carrying only good blessings, but the bad qualities are like a river which tears down and destroys everything on its way. I am speaking to you not as Bulgarians, but as thinking human beings who possess a germ of the Divine spirit, soul and will so that these elements should be joined in you and render you free citizens in the world. You will say, "If I had power, I would do this and that." No, do not desire power for you have enough of it to do anything you wish. The mother who has bathed well her child has already applied her power. If all mothers would lay their hands wisely on their children, as Christ did, this war would not have taken place today. You will ask, "But what will happen in the future?" Christ, this rational principle, stretches His hands from the sun and if you accept His thoughts, wishes and will, if all this produces a change in you so that you would realize that you are all brothers and that the happiness of one person is the happiness of another as well, your life would immediately change into a straight line moving around a center. All people today - rich, learned and so on, have different centers and they wish to form a society with such a variety of centers. This is no science, it is mere disharmony. I have come to this conclusion too. Ten or fifteen years ago I was travelling round Bulgaria investigating the heads of this people. I have measured them with different circular instruments and compasses making calculations and have arrived at certain conclusions. Many people have asked me on observing my calculations, "What are you doing?" "I am learning how to make calculations."4 I already know what problems are of interest to the Bulgarians. On my trips people ask me, "Where do you come from and where are you going to, what is the purpose of your trip and so on?" Once I said, "I come from the sun to make observations in Bulgaria." "Would you impart some of your investigations’ results to us?" "This I cannot do." "What else are you doing?" "I give lectures." "Do they pay you for that?" "No, I do it free of charge." "How is that? Are you not married and how many children do you have; are your father and brothers still living; are you Bulgarian?" "I am Bulgarian for the time being." Then I hear them say, "He is paid by someone that is why he is a learned man. I, too, would become learned if I were paid." You too should measure your heads daily with your compasses. I have measured and observed many eyes, ears, eyebrows, noses and have come to a conclusion as to what a long nose means, a broad nose, thick eyebrows, a high or a low forehead and so on. With these conclusions I have come to the theorem of Pythagoras and see people whose hypotenuse is turned upward, but such people are not promising, you cannot expect anything of them. You will say, "What shall we do with such people?" turn the hypotenuse downward, not upward, i.e. the apex of the triangle should point up which means that the brain of person should be constructed on a square, not on a hypotenuse. Otherwise the front part of the head - the part of the mental abilities - will be very poorly developed and egoism, the animalistic nature, will prevail. Such a person will be capable of any criminal act unconscious of what the future would hold for them. Sometimes a young couple comes to me asking me if they should marry, whether they are suitable for each other and will get along well. I say, "The hypotenuse of your beloved is turned upward, you should not marry or if you do, you will be beaten, since you will be taking a half that is not yours." And when Christ laid His hands on the woman, her hypotenuse was turned downwards. The stretched hands should be horizontal. All distances from the top of the forehead to the ear should be equal. Place a person whose distances are not equal in any kind of society and they would not profit by the benefits of life, but if the relations change, all the manifestations of a person will change also. You can test this by any animal. Place a cruel wild animal under the most favorable conditions and it will not change. Many people have human form, but their head must be built according to the rules of the rational numbers in mathematics and geometry, not on the irrational ones. Have you studied rational equations? There are rational roots in the world. They are the divine foundations deeply inserted in our genesis. As you begin to understand these mathematical relations, when you see a regular geometrical figure, you will grasp at once the divine conditions within it. When you see a flower with five, six, seven or more petals, do you know whether these numbers are rational or irrational? Do you know what problems are hidden in these numbers of the flowers? I am trying to find a suitable language to explain this mathematics to the Bulgarians which can express the relation of these numbers in the petals and blossoms of the flowers. These lines and forms must become alive in you. Mathematics must become alive and a teacher must know on what numbers each head is built. You must have a deep understanding of these things so that when you see a person, you can immediately tell what kind of a person they are by observing their eyebrows, eyes, nose, ears, hair - whether it is thick or fine and so on. Nothing is by chance in the world. If the hairs of a woman are thick, she spins a thick yarn, but you may expect much of a woman with fine hairs. You will ask me, "Can all this be possible concealed in the humpbacked woman?" Yes, everything is concealed in her. If you learn all this you will understand the whole individual and the whole contemporary social, political and spiritual life. We shall come to know one another by external features, just as a doctor can tell what a person’s illness is by its external symptoms. The doctor comes, looks at your tongue and knows there is some kind of poisoning in your organism; then he examines your eyes and if they look yellow, s/he knows that the liver is not functioning normally. Doctors usually prescribe to sick people highly nutritious rich food, but the condition of the patient becomes worse by such food. I recommend to the sick hunger for two or three days after which they can eat prune compote (stewed prunes) and two or three hours later - the same compote with a little bread. After the patient recuperates a little, I shall give them a nice apple which they should chew well without peeling it so that they should absorb all its juice and after all that I will offer them the ordinary food they eat. When a poor person falls ill and has no means to call for a doctor, they either get well by themselves or visit the other world. This shows that the person’s hour for leaving this world has come and therefore, they should prepare themselves for that. Once I wrote to a friend of mine who was getting ready to depart, the following thing, "Your house is already in a dilapidated state, it is composed of many irrational numbers so you must abandon it and go to prepare good materials for your new house." The humpbacked woman on whom Christ laid His hands immediately sloughed off her old body as a snake sloughs off it skin or a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. You must pass through the same law. If a fundamental transformation, which can change you, does not take place, you cannot profit by the food nature gives you. During the greatest misfortunes there is a most abundant food. Do you know how much food is stored in the Vitosha mountain? If it could be utilized today, all Bulgarians would be nourished. But you are sinful and you will misuse it. But in the future people will be trained not to misuse the benefits of nature. The program for the future culture is provided for and the work for men, women and children is determined. In the future people will know each other from a distance, they will walk without hats and work only for two hours daily. The socialists want in their program eight working hours a day physical work. You may object, "But if people get a sun stroke? Besides, Apostle Paul said that women should not walk with uncovered heads." What does being bare-headed mean? It is to receive a blessing, but Apostle Paul has said that they should cover their heads only when they are with their husbands, while outside they should take their cover off, in order to hear bare-headed what Christ will say. When you are out under the open sky, you should take everything off your head so that you would be able to receive the Divine grace and hear what Christ says. But today people are wearing such big hats under which there is such a loud buzzing that they can hear nothing of what Christ is speaking. People are wearing such big hats that they become ministers, millionaires and what not - how can they understand the will of God then? We are all so rich that there is nothing more we could wish for, but we should give freedom to all our brothers to develop their wealth and not to put any obstacles on their way. I make a special recommendation to the Bulgarians not to spoil things. I have been observing them since more than twenty years and I see that they spoil what another has built and then they say, "Why do things go wrong with us!" Do not destroy, but build on what another has already built. That is what is happening to me too. I have been working for so many years on one and the same thing, but the priests are trying to tear down what I am teaching you. If what I am speaking to you is my own, I would tear it down too, but since it is divine and no one will speak the same way after me, the Bulgarians should build their life upon this teaching. I do not wish to destroy the churches or to change the social order, but I am telling you to throw out of the church and different parties only that which is unfit. After that let all preachers, teachers, guerillas join hands and begin to build together, help one another and continue the work of living nature. As to destruction, I can be a master of this too. Do not think that a good person cannot destroy as well. Eve said a single word to the snake and humanity has been suffering for as much as 8,000 years because of that word. Eve said to the snake, "After I eat the fruit you are offering me, if I actually become like God, I promise that all my sons and daughters shall serve you." That is why the woman Christ saved was humpbacked. Christ laid His hands on her and said to her, "Woman, be careful not to make such promises a second time. Now go and give birth." Outside of God there is no life, outside the divine science there is no science. Now, thanks to the humpbacked woman who began to glorify God, today we have a new culture. Shall I also lay my hands on you, or still keep them folded together? I shall not lay my hands on a person whose mind, heart and stomach are disturbed. Now I am speaking if the name of God. When I turn on the divine tap, all the blessings will come upon you, but if I do not turn it on, you will dig wells. When I turn on this tap, you will have such an abundance of water that you will not need to pay for it. That is why Christ said, "If you knew who is speaking to you, you would want and He would give you living water." And that humpbacked woman understood Him. I wish the Bulgarians would not be humpbacked. I shall wait for a few more years and see if the clergy and the teachers will get awake. If they do not come to consciousness, we shall put in a bag all their irrational numbers and make them calculate these. This is God’s decision: knowledge will be given only to those who will not misuse it. Today we see how in Russia the most sacred and religious ideas of humanity are misused. In the future such things will not be tolerated. When Christ laid His hands on the woman, He said to her, "Woman, understand and keep God’s law. When you turn to God, your hands must be always clean." When you turn to God, He will see the construction of your fingers, whether they are rational or irrational numbers, and say if you should be accepted or sent back. This is one great science which, once learnt, will transform all parties and separate individuals who will begin to glorify God. Then all parties will be based on the rational numbers. The number 10 is rational, but 5 is irrational. Man is number 5, that is why all does not go well with him. He must be joined to woman so that together they should become the number 10, which is a rational number. Hence, the law has it that two irrational numbers added give a rational one. The combination of the living numbers will affect the future life. What I am speaking is not clear to you, but that does not matter. Thank God for what you do not understand as well as for what you understand. What you understand will throw light on what you have not understood. Now, when you go back home, examine both sides of your hands and a bright idea may come to you. When you rise in the morning hold your hand for five minutes against the sun as you warm it by a stove. If you are well disposed, you will learn many more things than you would understand in a whole senseless life. If you understood well these things, you would see that all the energy and will are hidden in the hands and it is through them that we become ill or healthy. When a person starts hiding their thumb among the other fingers, that is a bad sign - they will not have luck. When one holds their hand in a fist, it means - you will be beaten." Some people keep together the four fingers of the hand, but the little finger stays open. That means: "My interests differ from those of other people." People must learn how to hold their hands. Many orators do not know how to hold their hands, they are embarrassed. This shows that their heart, mind and will are not in accord. Drop your hands calmly down and say, "God will help me," then raise them up and an idea will be born in you. Someone says they are honest people, but they shut their eyes and look down. Open your eyes and say you are an honest person. Today we say things opposite to the good life. A child says they will obey, but they look down. A child who picks his/her nose or ears, is not a good child. When someone asks you for help, but scratches behind their ear, it shows they have no definite idea. When Christ laid His ten fingers, He expressed the science the results of which are mathematically calculated. Prayer is a science and you must study a long time how to hold your hands correctly and how to move your tongue. Someone has a frightening look. Why? Because the world in such a person is unorganized. Another person has a cruel look or glances askew. Why? Because the angle of the theorem of Pythagoras is crooked. You must always have a soft look in your eyes which should be open in a restful state, always ready to receive a Divine Truth. This is what Christ spoke to the humpbacked woman, this is what I also tell you, so that your humps may be made straight. Everything in you - your eyes, ears, nose, foreheads, fingers must be rational numbers that your humps may be made straight. Then you will understand whether there is Truth, Wisdom and Love in the world. I say: there are virtues, there is absolute righteousness, wisdom, love and truth. You are living in a Divine world which you must accept within you. And when will the new children of the new generation come? Many beings have prepared this world for you, set the table and are waiting for you. But you may find some reason to refuse and answer, "I have bought a field I am going to see; I have bought five pairs of oxen, I am going to examine them; I have married and wish to have a good time with my wife, so I cannot come." This is how the learned men answered in the time of Christ, but you should not give such an answer. You may work in your field, you may test your five pairs of oxen, or get married and yet serve God. Now I wish all of your humps to get straight. My words concern those who have humps. If anyone’s hump is straight, let them excuse me. If someone has no hump but becomes offended, it shows that they do have a hump. When you go back home, read and meditate on this verse and on what has been said that you may create your own philosophy which will be the basis for a better understanding of Christ’s teaching. Sermon held on June 8, 1919. _______________________________________________________ 1 Luke 13:13 2 Bulg. For "woman" (transl. note) 3 douh- Bulg. For spirit (trans, note); douham- Bulg. Blow (for wind) (ed. note) 4 The Master is referring to the phrenological research he made between 1901-1913 when he travelled around the country delivering lectures. (ed. note)

The Book - The Salt. Beinsa Douno The Rejected Stone "The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner."1 Is there anything of interest in a rejected stone? You will ask me, "What content or philosophy is there in a rejected stone?" There are millions of such neglected stones in Bulgaria. In the building of a house many stones remain unused. The trouble of it is that they turn into obstacles in life. After reading the whole chapter of Mark you will see the relation of this verse to the other verses and understand why these words were spoken. If there were no builders, this stone would not be mentioned, therefore, the builders are to blame. When a house is being built, the builders pile up stones and break them, that is why many stones are left over. Therefore by the word "stone" the process of building is implied. People who pursue the positive sciences say that all things must be visible, tangible and real. However, not all tangible things are true or real. Thousands of things in the world are not proved, yet they are true. There are thousands of philosophers in the world we know nothing of, but what they have said is right. There are many eminent philosophers as well, but their philosophy is not right. When I read a book of philosophy, I renounce 50% of its truthfulness, then I subtract 25% more and consider only the last 25%. The number 25 is meaningful to me - it is a law by which I measure all things. You may object, saying that days and nights are measured by a 24 hour cycle, but the earth does not turn around its axis in 24 hours exactly, but rather in a period of about 25 hours. The number 25 has a relation to the human life as well as to the earth. Number 25 is composed of two numbers 2 and 5 which added give the number of 7. You will say that you have known the meaning of the number 22 since your schooldays. All students weep when they get a 2 at a subject, in fact the whole world is weeping because all suffering, all sins, the destruction and creation of worlds begin with the number 2. You may have a noble son, pure as virgin, for whose education and upbringing you have not spared any money. One day a young woman sets her eyes on him and wants to marry him because the number 2 without 1 is only a reflection of the number 1. Every number has its reflection. When you study astronomy, you will see that there are certain reflections also. In physics, too, there are reflections. For instance the light on the earth is a reflection. It is the shadow of light which consists of billions of vibrations. Now you are studying only things in which there are vibrations, e.g. you are studying only the shadows of the reflections. Where there is motion, there is the place of shadows. I do not say that shadows are not real things, but they are transitory. A shadow may serve us temporarily, but you cannot make it a foundation of your life. But why is it that the numbers 2 and 5 have an equal relation to us? The number 5 is the sum of 2 by 2 plus 1. Therefore, the human mind is nothing but 2 women married to the same man. The human mind converses with two women, agreeing with the one and disagreeing with the other. This state is similar to a country of two parties - a conservative and a democratic one. The occultists call one the higher mind, or higher manas, and the other - the inferior mind, or manas inferior. But I call such mind a mind of two women and according to the present laws of the church such a mind is subject, to excommunication. For this reason it must learn to live with a single woman. What will remain then? When we subtract 2 from 5 3 remains - the number with which we can start our life. A man and a woman may quarrel, but when two women start quarrelling the house gets all "smoke and dust". To verify this, read the story of Jacob who married the younger and older daughters of Laban. See what their relations were. Jacob had 12 sons the eleventh of whom was Joseph. Why did his brothers sell Joseph, who was the eleventh, and not some other? You will say this is a "chance coincidence". Coincidence is a karmic law, it is a measured law of action. I shall not stop to explain why Joseph had to be sold. The stone among Jacob’s sons was the one which should have made the corner stone but the builders rejected it. Joseph was sold by his brothers, but later he became the head of the corner. During the great famine, as an eminent man in Egypt, Joseph saved from hunger many people, including his brothers. This story does not refer only to the Jews, but to all people as well. The misfortunes of every home are due to the rejection of this stone. It is the number 11. Which of the two women remains in the home? The most intelligent and practical one, but in my opinion, not the best. A good woman is always ready to give her place to others. Contemporary society and contemporary homes suffer an inner division, because two women are competing for the same man - who should possess him. You know how Jacob’s two wives bribed him. One day one of Jacob’s sons was sent by his mother to bring her some mushrooms. Then his mother said to Jacob, "I bought you tonight with mushrooms, that is why you will come to me." You will say, "Can a person be bribed this way?" All people can be bribed. Tell me whether during this war there remained a single unbribed person!" All of you, men and women listening to me, can you honestly say you have not been bribed? I do not judge you by saying this, but I am stating a truth. In one of his poems Slaveikov3 says with irony, "Coin, coin, almighty queen, with one’s in paradise; without you, he’s nowhere." All the spiritual people today talk about the Lord all the time and recite, "Lord, Lord, You are our coin and when we worship You, we are in paradise, but if we forsake You, we are nowhere." Money is a woman corrupting contemporary society - it is a house of debauchery. And actually all crimes today are committed only for the sake of money. A woman marries a man for his money and because his hands are strong and can earn a living. When someone says they love ideally, they deceive themselves. The cat catches the mouse in the same ideal way and the wolf seizes the sheep similarly. In the past when God created the wolf, He sent him to guard the sheep as their shepherd. At first the wolf started making use of their wool, then he tasted their milk and finally - their flesh. God chased the wolf away into the forest for his last act and put in his place the dog, which faithfully fulfills its mission to this very day. Basically, what is this stone which the builders rejected and which became the head of the corner? How can this be geometrically understood - the head of the corner? Why should it not be the head of the line? You, who have studied geometry, what can you say about the direction this head must be turned to: must it point upward, downward or sideways? If we turn this angle downward, we have one direction of movement, if we turn it upward, there is another direction of movement. Your body without the arms represents this stone, while your two arms form the angle. I want you to study the living geometry. A person is built upon geometric principles. You may ask me, "Can there be an angle without lines?" No, that cannot be, it is a law. The angle shows two opposite forces acting in the same direction and having the same center. Since these forces are heterogeneous, there will always be certain space between them forming a plane called an angle in geometry. If the forces are homogeneous, they will move along a straight line. You will say you know these things. No, you do not understand them yet. "The stone that the builders rejected became the head of the corner." Where did they reject it from? There is a legend about the great Egyptian pyramid in Ghizah which tells the story of the top stone of the pyramid. When they started building it, the top stone was the first to be cut out, but since the pyramid was built for ages, the stone being laid aside remained unused since no one knew what it was for. When the pyramid was completed, the chief master came and placed the rejected stone on the top as the head of the pyramid. Thus that stone became the head of the corner. The pyramid shows human evolution. The stone which must be placed on the top so that the evolution of man should be completed, lies kicked around. Today all philosophers kick that stone around. Do you know the size of this pyramid? There were about 6 million tons of stone in it. Archeologists say that for the transportation of the material of this pyramid, 60,000 machines each containing 100 tons are needed. You can imagine what human efforts this pyramid had cost! You will say, "What is the meaning of this pyramid?" It has great meaning for it is the emblem of the present person and its dimensions and measurements contain encoded all the events which took place in the past and will take place in the future. It also contains all the astronomical lore in all detail. One might read the past and the present history of humanity on this pyramid, though few can really do it for the language is very difficult to understand. Some scientists today read a few books and think they know much. Do not deceive yourselves thinking that way. In my opinion only the person who can lay hold on death and control it has real knowledge. Therefore, you may be a philosopher, a theologist, a mystic, or anything else, but if death crushes you, your science is not positive and your stone is rejected. The Scriptures say that the rejected stone became the head of the corner. Of which corner? Of love and wisdom in the invisible world. A great secret is concealed in the creation of the world and of the whole cosmos. You think that only present-day people are fighting and experiencing such enmities. What is happening today is the reflection of the past. All this hatred and wrong-headedness among people is not a product of the present, but of the past. I can prove this by a number of facts. For instance, a person falls ill in some part of their body, but this illness has its cause 100, 200 or 1,000 years ago. The doctors say this illness has appeared about 20 years ago at the most. The illnesses are caused by a large quantity of sediments in the body causing an anarchy and a reaction in the organism as a result of which the temperature rises up to 39°, 40° or 41° C4 and we are horrified of the coming end of life. But there is nothing horrible about this temperature. A person may remain alive not only at 41°, but at 100°, 200°, 2,000° degrees Celsius. "Can a person survive at such high temperature in his present physical state?" People today are a laughing stock of humanity in their present physical state. If you had a chance of studying a person under a special microscope, you would see how beautiful s/he is. We may mix up two ideas in our mind - that of the spiritual and of the material. We live with spiritual ideas in our mind, but when we have had a good meal, we say, "Today we are well." But when we get hungry on the next day, we begin to worry again and think of the material. After a woman has eaten, she says, "Thank you, God, I am pleased today, there is no deficit." I ask you: what science is there in a life full only of deficits? Today men, women and children enter the kitchen and say, "How good it smells!" This is the way bishops and teachers act and then they say, "We are cultured people, ideal people." Yes, you are cultured people of the frying pan and the butter. Some ask why I do not teach you something more philosophical. Give me some of your philosophy so that I can see what it is like. I draw a circle and ask you what it means. It signifies a great idea which has given rise to genesis. This circle shows the way the world began. Originally the world began with a circle without a center which later was formed of itself, or this Original Cause moved circularly and then stopped. After that from the surface of this first movement, the original condition was lost and an inactive state, or as the Hindus say "darkness", was formed - the period of Kaliyoga. In time a small point appeared in the center of this circle as you place a compass on a piece of paper and clraw a circle. Thus, this power after defining the limits within which it would work, entered the center and worked out its circle, in order to form the universe. I call this a state of pregnancy of the cosmos with a great idea. This small point is the important thing. You say, "How can this small point be important!" Yes, these small points do everything in the world. For instance, a sickness attacks you, but at the same time a small pimple forms puss somewhere on your body and attracts your attention. So, all your worries concentrate on the small pimple. When a certain harmony is to be attained within you, a small point must appear - you see your ideals in the center and say that now life makes sense. But I say - now your life is pregnant with an idea. You ask, "Do people live only with ideas?" Yes, people vegetate with food, but live with ideas. You should not mistake vegetating with living - these are two different states. You ask, "Shall we exist?" Has there been a time when you have not existed? Can a part say it has not existed in the whole? Every part has existed in the whole. When a part is individualized within the whole, it starts its individual existence. Existing5 means manifesting, coming from the Sanskrit word sat meaning to manifest. When you begin to think, to move and to do good and evil, you exist. In this respect good and evil are the two acting forces in the world. Evil lies in the fact that the builders rejected this stone. When a person rejects a great idea in his/her mind or a good desire in his/her heart, and when a nation rejects its ideals and is bribed for money, they lose. If the statesmen paid heed to the ideals of the people, they would not make mistakes. When the statesperson and the spiritual person become individualized, they begin to think that their prosperity lies outside this stone. You can build a whole human body, it has no value whatever. You may be a millionaire, but without this stone you will be a person without a head, or a positive soul, or a positive spirit. The mind, the soul and the spirit are three different ideas. What is positive? What undergoes alterations, but does not change. The positive is master of its fate and does not try to dominate the world. In the positive there is always an aspiration to be in accord with the great harmony which has existed since times immemorial. There must be harmony everywhere among men, women and children, there must be harmony in all homes. Some say, "I can get along well with my husband even if there is no harmony between us." No, you cannot live that way. How many men have I seen running away from such a life! Do you know what these men can be compared to? One day Nastradin Hodja6 was leading home ten donkeys quite loaded with wood, but when they got tired, they did not want to walk anymore. Nastradin Hodja wondered what to do to make them walk. A traveller passed by and said there was a cure against the stubbornness of the donkeys. He gave a hot pepper and told Nastradin Hodja to rub their bottoms below the tail. This being done, the donkey quickly got home. Do not take this example in a bad sense, however. The same thing applies to you as well. When you have a sore throat, they give you some hot medicine. In order to be cured, you are given something bitter or hot. A husband, after his wife has rubbed him with her thoughts, either takes to the tavern or runs away to some foreign country. This refers to women as well. I do not want to blame you by telling you all this. I take the number two as a form. This number exists within you as a state of contradiction. We shall get rid of the contradictions in life when we place this stone as the head of the corner. It alone can unite love and wisdom so that they can work in the great harmony; it alone can make the body, lungs and all organs function properly so that the whole person can be manifested. I hear people talking today that the Lord will set the world right. I also believe that the Lord will set the world right, but the question is whether we shall be able to set our inner world right. When spring comes the flowers begin to bloom, the healthy people welcome it by joy and smile, but the sick people meet the sun and spring quite differently. Spring is pleasant to the healthy people, but it means cleansing up of the organism of the sick, so that the months of April and May are months of crisis for them. The Bulgarians say that the months of March, April and May put paid to the accounts of the sick and give energy and impulse to the healthy. We are linked with all forces of nature, since they function in our body as well. We are the builders rejecting this stone - this conscious understanding - and saying, "General bettering of the world is necessary." This bettering, however, is like spring. What is important is whether I shall be in a state to profit by it. You say, "Humanity must be bettered first." Humanity has been set right since the distant past, but its individual members, regardless of sex and title, have not been set right. I say that everyone lacks something. So long as we die, we have no head; so long as we suffer, we have no knowledge. Thus, when the center of the circle came into being, the universe became pregnant, then the point moved and divided the circle in two. By that the universe determined itself and first bore the woman who divided the world originally. That is why half of the world is light and half of it dark. Man became angry with the woman who divided the world that is why today he illuminates only half of the world - the half he likes. These two women chase one another, but he always gives light to the one he likes. The woman who rejoices is called day, but the angry one is called night. Or in other words, the rejoicing woman is manas superior, or the day, while the angry woman is manas inferior or night. These two angles are the two women. Why does a person have two hands, two legs, the brain and the lungs double, the heart double too and so on? Everything is divided because there are two women. You will say, "Then let us do away with the number two." We need not do away with it, but rather understand its essence. In my opinion, matter is a reflection of the spirit. Matter is also a woman. This woman does not bear children all the time. We have fallen into the arms of the dark mother who is constantly kneading us saying, "Will you still hold on to that father who was disloyal to me? Leave him and come to me for I shall give you happiness." Those people who believe in the reality of the world, we call materialists. Tomorrow when your eyes, arms, stomach, brain and so on decay, all reality is lost. The nerves decay too. Where is reality? Where is the positive in the world? You will say, "We are believers, we believe in one God." I am glad for that, but have you been with your light mother, have you seen the light side of the earth? In order to come to know the earth, you must go 10,000 kilometers in space and see from that height what it is like. From the point of view of the cultural people living higher than you, you are like fish living on the bottom of the ocean. The cultured people living above you say, "Shall we leave this person here, or shall we send him/her to reincarnate?" And death is nothing but bait on a fishing rod for catching the fish. The Lord says, "This divine net will be cast to the end of the world; some will be taken out of the sea on the shore, while others will be cast again into the sea." In all manifestations of nature we must see positive unchangeable things. What does the unchangeable consist in? In our desire to be in brotherly relations with all people and understand that all people suffer the same way in this world, regardless of the fact whether we are rich or poor, educated or simple, parents or children. When we realize the fact that we have the same suffering and the same fate, that the salvation of one is a salvation of another as well, we shall come to a right philosophy of life. But not to an understanding as the world and the church have today. Why? Because if the solution of a small problem is right for a student, it does not mean that the whole of mathematics is exhausted. In geometry, too, there are many geometrical formulae which are not proved. The theorem that the sum of the three angles in a triangle is equal to two right angles does not contain the whole of geometry. Therefore, we should take a more serious attitude to all problems and consider what kind of people we should be at the present moment. If we say we are bad now, but shall be good in the future, this is not a right solution to the problem. Your present bad experiences are your past, but your present good deeds are your future. Our goodness can be tested. It can be tested the same way as the change occurring in a hungry person can be tested after s/he has eaten. Such a person becomes more cheerful and gay. To think idealistically is to haye for the present time such essential food which can give strength and an impulse to our mind. We can take this strength and food from anywhere. In my opinion, all writers of all calibers are flowers so that as the bees you can take honey from whichever flower you wish. Do not ask why so many kinds of flowers were created: they all have a definite purpose. Everything good or bad, every thought, every angel or demon also have their role in the cosmos. What are the angels and demons? They represent motion in two opposite directions. The former are full pails going upward and the latter are empty pails coming down. We want only full pails - well, but when they are emptied from where and how will they be filled? Therefore, when righteous people go above, they become sinners, but the sinners will become righteous. This way the wheel along which runs the progress of humanity is in motion. People must be conscious of the fact that they can be sinners and righteous people, but they must do the will of God. A person who builds will soil him/herself. Do not think that you will not be disturbed by the laws of the state. We must have in ourselves other laws which determine our existence, for when Bulgaria and all countries vanish, the earth and the solar system are transformed, we shall still exist. The earth will change, it will not be what it is today, that is why Bulgaria does not determine your existence, but you determine the existence of Bulgaria. Thus I say, on the earth the whole depends on its parts whereas in the spiritual world the parts depend on their whole. I shall explain this thought to you. Twenty million people on the earth can become united by a common idea and common feelings and form a nation. However, one day their ideas and feelings may change just as a caterpillar changes when it is transformed into a butterfly. A nation is placed in a given form only for 40 days during which time it must fulfill all its duties toward itself and after that it must start living with other ideas and feelings. Then we can exchange the words Bulgarian, French, German for quite different notions. When we say hand, leg, brain, lungs, we have a certain idea. Thus everything makes sense in its organism. What does the word Bulgarian mean in the general organism? I place the Bulgarians in the liver, but you must know that the particles in the liver, like all beings, constantly undergo and evolution and change. The same way after a time the Bulgarians will pass into another form of development. You will look for the Bulgarian then higher in the organism. It is great wisdom to understand the meaning of the rejected stone. A stone represents what is changeless, constant and permanent. We belong to a certain church but we reject the principles of nature. We should know that our philosophers will vanish, but the principles of nature will remain invariable. What \ mother-nature has created survives. Think now why you were born men or women; why in a family a girl is born first or the opposite - a boy comes first; why a certain philosophic system appeals to you; why you have become Christians and so on. You will answer me, "Because Christianity saves people." I agree 50% with you. Then I say, "You were ill but have already left the hospital." In such case what has a hospital have to do with you since you have become healthy and have started to plow and sow? Or will you start returning to the hospital every day to thank the doctor for having healed you? One day the doctor will say to you, "Enough with your thanks for I have other ill patients." You will say, "We must pray to God." Of course we must pray, but not as ill people, rather as healthy persons. As ill people you should drink your medicines, lie on your back, turn over in your bed, kneel out of pain, while as healthy people you will take your plough and go straight to your field or vineyard and make bows there. Every sick person is a Christian. But you will say, "I belong to another party." No matter what party you are from, or what creed you uphold - a Buddhist, a Mohammedan, a theosophist, an occultist, if you are sick, you are "Christian"7. Some people ask me, "Why has not Christianity set the world right?" I answer thus, "Christianity is a doctrine for sick people who it has helped so far as it had been able to, but in the world there is no doctrine for the healthy people yet." Someone says, "I want to deal with great ideas." I ask you, "Are you through with all medicines, with all sick people, did you bid goodbye to all the nurses and did you leave the hospital?" If you have done with all this, you may enter the world to learn the law of Christianity and then you can find your light mother. You, present-day people, are Christians, but you are not sons of God yet. Woe now to them who call themselves sons of God for they will be hanged, called heretics or crazy fellows. The Son of God is a person sound physically, morally, mentally who does not die. This is how I define him. We must understand Christ’s teaching well. Christ says, "I have come not to do my own will, but the will of Him Who has sent me." Who is He? You do not know Him yet. Everyone is groping about looking for Him, lighting candles for Him, burning incense for Him; people look up, eat and drink and read, yet no one knows Him yet. This is the bitter truth. "This is life eternal to know the only true God." What does God mean? God means a movement in the right direction of your life. God is what stimulates your right movement. I translate or interpret the word movement by the word Love, because only Love causes movement. When two young people fall in love, they move towards each other. When people begin to love a teaching, they begin to love everybody. Thus, the sick people whom I call "Christians" have rejected this corner stone, because they do not need it. Like sick people, we lie on our backs and expect to be served. A doctor comes to the sick person, the latter groans, "Oh, Doctor!" but when they are served meat balls, they eat. They eat but they groan as well. Your cuisines are for sick people. A man comes home from work and starts shouting, "Why have you not cooked anything, don’t you know I am a sick man, a Christian?" You call the name Christian a noble name. Yes, as long as you are in the hospital, but once you leave it you are no more a Christian. Do not understand me wrong, I am reasoning ideally. There are no contradictions in the world for me, everything is clear. If you could understand the problems the way I do, the world would be set right in a single day. I consider people today tied to one another to be more sure in life. But I say: stop tying yourselves for tying shows a sickly consciousness, since only sick people become insured. Old people say, "We must be insured." That means: we must humble ourselves and become Christians living for God in our old age. These are all people who reject the living stone. Every person who does not fulfill the will of God grows old. I shall tell you a story by Shakespeare taken from the Danish life. A very wise king wanted to make an experiment with a famous man in his land called for his sanctity and purity "Anthony the righteous". The king called Anthony one day and said to him, "I want you to rule instead of me for sometime, but my people must now know about my absence." At first Anthony the Righteous did not agree to the proposal, but later accepted it. He sat in the king’s throne and since there was much debauchery in the land at that time, he issued a severe decree: "Anyone caught in debauchery should be executed." The son of an eminent Danish courtier was convicted of this crime. Anthony the Righteous called him and said to him, "You have committed a crime and according to the decree you should be executed." The youth was frightened and decided to send his sister, who was a great beauty preparing herself to enter a convent, to plead for his life. When Anthony saw the beautiful woman, he said to her, "I shall forgive your brother only under the condition that you become my lover without anyone knowing about it." Anthony the Righteous was married and divorced and had become righteous later in life. The sister was disgusted by that condition and told her brother he had to suffer his penalty. The brother asked her, "Is there anything wrong in this, if you agree, you will at least make a sacrifice for me." The wise king learned secretly this fact and sent for Anthony’s divorced wife, telling her to disguise herself as the beautiful young maiden and visit Anthony on the set day. After satisfying his desire, Anthony issued a verdict for the execution of the young man, thus showing his cunning. The wise king heard about this and ordered the director of the prison not to kill the young man. After that he called Anthony for an explanation. Anthony the Righteous made his confession saying, "I was able to overcome everything in the world, but could not resist the beauty of the young woman and fell. The fall of all people today is like this. People who join a society or a brotherhood without faith in it, commit the same debauchery. People who pass from one brotherhood to another, who marry twice or three times are like Anthony the Righteous in my eyes and they will not acquire any wisdom. Wisdom is within nature itself, within us that is why we must heed its inner impulse and go in the direction of that stone which will show us whom or what we must join. If a person acquires wisdom and intends to misuse it, they commit debauchery. Those who acquire love and misuse it also commit adultery. Every noble thought or feeling which becomes perverted is adultery. Therefore, the whole world is ill. All sick people today are "Christians". The greatest disgrace for Christ to bear in the world today is the "Christianity" with which people deck themselves. If you place this disgrace on your back only for 24 hours, you will feel the greatest repulsion in the world when you see how everything today is done in the name of Christ. All the worst things today are done in the name of religion, civilization and sacred feelings. And how degraded are the incentives for all this! That is why we must all endeavor to become sons of God. Now I shall interpret the word Christianity in a reverse sense. Christ is the man who is always in sound health and has put order in His thoughts and desires, has conquered His passions and deserves to be called the Son of God. Only when we learn the Divine wisdom shall we be able to understand the truth and become masters of the conditions of our life. Only then can we change the world and be called sons of God. But today the sick people rule the world that is why it is full of knives, medicines, hospital beds, needles for injections and so on. This present science will be only for the sick people, but they will be only tormented by it. Today we meet people of different classes who cannot come to terms with each other. A person today is a cross without a circle, i.e. a person in the hospital who says to others, "We must bear our cross." An Englishman once told me "to put Christ on" and I answered him "to put Christ in," i.e. he told me "to be clothed in Christ" and I answered him "to receive Christ within ourselves." Some songs have the words, "Let us be clothed in Christ." But I say: we should not be clothed in Christ because dressing is a temporary process, it is a transition, but we should accept Christ inwardly, become sons of God and restore our health. If contemporary society thinks this way, it will learn this law correctly. People will learn what is good by suffering. A new element has entered the earth which will set the world right - the pure air. Take a sick person up the mountain in the pure air and s/he will get well in spite of his/her will. A moment is coming when we shall be healed without being aware of it. Sufferings are stimuli which take us up a high place. When someone commits a sin, s/he gets ill and says, "I shall not do this anymore." That is, they put paid to their account. When we put paid to our sins, we must receive love, the wisdom of health and immortality; then we shall be near the door of the great temple in which we shall learn the great truth of life. We are aspiring for a kind of life which you can have only after you have left these hospitals. From today on stop saying that Christ saves you, but say, "We shall live for Christ and help the sick to leave the hospitals; then we shall lead them out of the city life, because it is unsanitary." We must go out in the fields and start digging and ploughing there. The Bulgarian who ploughs says that Bulgaria is in order, but they who do not plough worry which lands will be given to Bulgaria, which parts of Macedonia, which part of Dobrudja8, etc. This is not fit for a Bulgarian, such a person does not live even in the liver of the general organism but lower than that. Take your plough and goad, plough and sow without weeds and say, "We are healthy people of the new culture, thank God we got rid of the hospitals!" One more example: there were two paralyzed men in a hospital who were considered hopeless cases, so they were isolated. Fortunately for them one day the hospital took fire and in the hurry all the sick were carried out of the hospital but the two paralyzed men. Lying in their beds they felt the heat and the approaching fire. At this crucial moment of their life, they forgot their illness and ran out of the hospital. Finding themselves healthy again they thanked God the hospital burned so they should get free from this great slavery. You say now, "Let the hospital be set on fire so that we paralytics may go out and say, "Thank God we can think now as God wishes, not as people want us to think." Sermon held on June 1, 1919 Sofia. ________________________________________________ 1 Mark 12:10 2 On the 5/6 scale grading system 2 is the failing grade. (ed. note) 3 A Bulgarian poet of the 19th century. 4 0°C= 32°F 39°C= 102,2°F, 41°C= 105.8°F (ed. note) 5 In Bulgarian- sashtestvuvane (ed. note) 6 A Turkish trickster man in Bulgarian folklore. (ed. note) 7 The Master makes distinction between Christianity as a religious institution and Christianity as a spiritual teaching. Used metaphorically, it implies all religions. (ed. note) 8 Reference to the anxieties surrounding the end of WWI. (ed. note)

The Book - The Salt. Beinsa Douno The Table of the New Testament "And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meal in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples."1 Here is an ordinary verse without substance or sense similar to an ordinary little stone keeping its wealth inside, not outside itself. I shall use the word "publican" in the sense of simple people. The poor person and the sinner are two brothers. The poor person is dispirited of money and gold, therefore they lack means, but the rich person always uses the poor person for work. The sinner is a person deprived of wisdom and knowledge that is why s/he sins. I call the simple people "bankers". But I call the present day bankers "tax collectors". They collect the taxes or take 5% or 10% interest, as much as they can. The tax collectors today also collect their percentage. And those publicans and sinners came and sat at the table with Christ. You may ask, "How is it possible for such a Master to admit such people to sit at the table with Him?" By the word table I understand school not the old school, the Old Testament of Moses, but the new school of Christ. Christ’s disciples are the first disciples of the new school, of the New Testament. The publicans and sinners represent the old culture, the old school - the Law of Moses. Are all children who enter school learned? Most of them are simple and ignorant. How many children at school have patched clothes, but they are much more diligent in their studies than the sons of the rich? Therefore, those publicans and sinners are disciples who have come to study the new teaching. Contemporary Christians, not comprehending the deep sense of this teaching, have divided the church into sinners and righteous people, or to actual members of the church and listeners. There are listeners in all churches who are tested for a number of years before becoming actual members of the church. After spending 10 or 15 years in a church as a listener such a person is asked what they have learnt about Christianity, and they answer, "When Christ comes, He will explain it all." I wish Christians today would pass a test to find out if they are leaving a class or if it is time for them to graduate from school. Then we shall find ourselves in a contradiction which we can see in the following story: A great wise king in ancient times wanted to test the tendencies of his most enlightened subjects and that is why he put them to a test. He placed ten fine objects in a very beautiful building and called ten of his subjects each of who was a representative of the then existing social classes. Such classes exist here as well. These classes bore very different names given to them by their founders, just as every newborn child is christened with a name. The name is sanctified by a person and it is not the name that makes the person: it is not the firm that makes a merchant honest, but the honest merchant makes his firm honest; it is not the censer that makes the priest saintly, but the priest himself makes his censor give light; it is not the book that makes a person intelligent, but the person makes the book of good content. So that wise king called to this exhibit ten men to choose one of the ten objects he had exposed. The ten objects were: a precious crown which cost millions; an ancient large jar full of gold; a golden sword, a golden pen, a telescope, a bottle full of the nectar of life which, according to the alchemists of old, rejuvenated people; a pair of compasses; a grain of wheat; a book by a great wise man and an egg. Then he called the representatives of the nation, i.e. these classes, to choose whichever object they liked. The first one chose the golden crown and put it on his head; the second one took the jar of gold; the third one took the golden sword and at once girded himself with it; the fourth took the golden pen; the fifth - the telescope; the sixth the bottle with the elixir of life; the seventh the compasses; the eighth the grain of wheat; the ninth the book of the wise man and the last the egg. Which of them won? You are intelligent, how would you solve this riddle? The first one, who took the crown, became a king; the second - a banker; the third - the most eminent general of the country; the fourth - a judge, the greatest jurist and a writer, because he was engaged with the divine right of the world (the present law is human); the fifth, who took the telescope, became an astronomer to study the stars (astronomy was founded then); the sixth, who took the life elixir, became a doctor; the seventh, who took the pair of compasses, became an engineer; the eighth, who took the grain of wheat, became a farmer; the ninth, who took the book of the wise man, became a teacher and the last one, who took the egg, did not gain anything. All these people gained something, but the one who took the egg did not gain as the others, because the nine persons acquired a profession. So he wondered what to do with the egg and tried to sell it, but no one would buy it. Apparently the egg had no value. So he decided to put it under a brood-hen and see if it could be hatched. And really the most beautiful cock came out of it, but it was very greedy so that hens and cocks shunned its company. The man started feeding him, but he had to sacrifice much for him and started to beg. The master of the cock was forced to visit the other nine people, who had gained something by their objects, and ask them for help for his cock. And, actually, today all are talking about this cock. Charity societies are founded whose purpose is to better the condition of this cock, i.e. the condition of the nation they had got together to work for. A new party is organized which says, "The bettering of the condition of our nation is in our program." Today we all have good aspirations and good intentions, but which is the most essential? Have the nine objects taken by the nine people fulfilled their real purpose? Every object in the hand of a good or bad person can fulfill one or another purpose. For instance, a sword or knife can be used to make an operation and better the condition of someone, but someone’s head can be cut off with it at the battlefield. One can write a nice book with the pen, but also such a poisonous book that its poison may be felt for ages, but a death sentence may be signed as well. By the telescope you can discover something new which would help people, but you can also discover a slave who has run away from his master and tell the authorities on him - become a traitor. You can save and prolong the life of people with the lite elixir, but you can also become rich by it. Very often when a rich person falls ill, all famous European doctors are called to help, because they will be well rewarded. But no such care is taken of poor people, as they leave them in the hands of God. When the Russian king Alexander III was dying all European doctors went to Russia. I shall explain the aspiration of humanity today. When Christ was on the earth many publicans and sinners sat with Him. Those are two categories of people from the Old Testament. These Old Testament people still hold a foremost place in contemporary society although they bear different names now. A nation in which people are killed and hanged, in which there are prisons is an Old Testament state. In the kingdom of God there are no scaffolds, prisons and executions. This is Christ’s teaching. But you will say, "What shall we do with the sinners and criminals so many on earth?" Allow each one to take what they need. If you give them a sword, a pen, a telescope, or a pair of compasses and so on, any of the ten objects, you will give work to their mind that will satisfy them. These are incentives, do not judge the person, let him/her try. I do not judge the man who took the crown and put it on their head so as to rule. Let them experience these aspirations also. If God has permitted the existence of wolves, bears and all kinds of harmful bugs, why should we not allow every person to express him/herself in life as their incentives urge them to? If God sends to the harmful animals His Light and food, what could we have against that? That is why we must be patient and tolerant with all and not be repulsed by anyone. The wolves and the foxes are not out in nature, but among people. You have all these kinds of creatures: wolves, foxes, bears, bugs and so on. You aim a bullet at a wolf for having devoured a sheep, but in society there are people - wolves - who eat up ten persons and more. You do not say anything to them. Where is your justice then? A poor person steals a loaf of bread to feed his poor, sick family and is sentenced to a few months imprisonment. But some rich man steals thousands and thousands of leva and people say he has earned that money as a commission. A magpie eats the egg of one of your hens and you kill it - I estimate the life of a magpie to 1,000 eggs, so that you have the right to kill it only when it has eaten 1,000 eggs. The same law applies to a wolf. You can kill him after it has devoured 1,000 sheep. Such is the Divine rule in the world. The publicans and sinners who sat at the table with Christ were there to hear the new teaching He preached. Many say, "How nice it would have been, if we also had sat at the table of Christ!" But table was very simple not like a royal table: there was no roasted lamb, hens, stuffed tomatoes or meatballs, roast sausages and so on. Since these delicious foods were lacking what was that table worth? I would not go to a table lacking all these dishes. It is said, "These publicans and sinners sat down with Christ and His disciples." The new teaching is a great process, it is a great table with most exquisite dishes. But first you must learn to be present at the ordinary table of the stomach. Contemporary humanity is passing the state of sitting at this table. I shall not describe the table of the stomach, since you are specialists in that. The second table at which a person should be present is the table of the respiratory system and after passing the state of purification, s/he will be present at a wonderful banquet - such as the world does not know yet. There are 10,000,000 present at the table of the stomach. Each of the guests raises their glass and fork and says, "What a pleasant work this is!" we also participate in the joy of these 10,000,000 persons, or cells; this is not allegory but fact. In your stomach there are 10,000,000 cells which eat, drink and work. In the lungs there are still more guests, a greater number of cells doing their specific work. When we climb a mountain peak and breathe the pure air, the cells of the lungs raise their glasses and say, "Long live our master! How pleasant it is that our master has taken us to this high place!" When you go up to the brain, where the publicans and sinners were invited, the table is still more imposing. There are three billion and 600 million cells there - such a number of guests are invited to be present with Christ and His disciples. That is why if you send a great thought by you mind, such an enormous banquet takes place in you - in your mind - as cannot be experienced either by the stomach, or by the lungs. Therefore, the mental experiences are the highest. This is not an illusion. Is what you experience with the stomach and the lungs an illusion? But you say, "We have houses, fields and so on." This is an illusion. What can be lost is illusion, but illusion is no other than a law of movement. These things are real, but they are transitory. It means that one time they pass through us and another time we pass through them. In the one case our thoughts and desires will pass like a film before us, but in another case we shall pass before them as travellers and look at these photographs. Therefore, in society today both processes alternate, only those travellers that go around the world are very few. There is a story characterizing the English, the Germans, the French and the Russians. Four of these nationalities were somewhere in Europe at a resort where they ate and drank together. One time they all noticed that high above them two big birds were circling. The Englishman who first noticed them turned his attention to the direction from which they came and seeing they came from the east, took his bag and went away on the first ship to investigate them. The Frenchman took his hat and went to find out what the evening papers would write about them. The German went to the library to check up the scientific data if there was anything written about these birds. But the Russian man lay on his back and, looking up, said, "So, those are eagles." And that was all. Here is how easily the Slavs solve all questions. When a Bulgarian drinks half a kilo of wine, he, too, says, "Those are eagles, what is there to think about, I need not much philosophy, they are eagles and that’s all!" It is a question of acquiring knowledge. When you acquire knowledge you say, "I know this question, so I need no papers or libraries, I see those are eagles." I do not give the preference to anyone of those four, because everyone acts according to their own temperament. All people express their character according to their temperament. When I study the life of the nations, I study it objectively, gauge it by a positive science and know what it contains. In the light of this science nothing remains secret. Then we say about a person that s/he is honest and respectable. Who then is not honest and respectable? Is not the wolf who devours the lambs of people’s flocks honest? Or a tigress playing with her cubs - is she not honest? That the wolf acts dishonestly is another’s opinion. The wolf says, "I do not care about the opinion of people." You say that the lamb and sheep are noble animals, but ask what the grass thinks of them - when they tread on it, it is crushed and all eaten up, so it cannot grow. We say the sheep are the emblem of nobility. Which sheep? You are wrong thinking these sheep are noble. There are other sheep in the world: the ones that our shepherds graze are the shadows of the real sheep. Christ says, "I have other which are not of this house. And must gather them." What does Christ signify by the word "lamb"? You will say, "We know what a lamb is - it is born of a sheep, it is a pretty, playful thing; when its head is cut, it makes a tasteful meal." The lamb signifies the fire that purifies life. And when they call Christ a lamb, it means He is the divine fire that purifies humanity. Every person who can find this divine fire will have found the elixir of life right here on earth. Now the question of the sheep remains for you so that you can think about this word. I shall speak to you about the sheep some other time. I speak with them daily, you only meet them, and I find them the most underprivileged in the world, but the most noble and the happiest. A wolf cannot eat them, worms do not enter their stomach, they do not die of illness or hunger, neither are they afraid of the shepherd’s knife; they do not cast their wool on the earth, do not give their milk, neither can you churn it for cheese and butter. But you must know that the beauty of their wool brings life and blessing to the whole world. They speak little, for they are not very eloquent as orators and speak only during the pause when the orator raises the toast. During that time they manage to say just one word. And everything is due to these sheep. All great statements in the most distant past that have not lost their sense yet were spoken by them. The authors of these great statements are not yet known, but thanks to them the world exists and the present authors become eminent. When someone writes a book today, s/he says, "I have written this book and no one has the right of reprinting it without my permission." When you listen to me talk like this, you think I have a special purpose in mind, but I simply wish to converse a while with you and give you a treat. I do not busy myself with philosophic matters, neither do I deprive those authors who can busy themselves with philosophy of their right to do so. I do not want to touch king’s crowns, neither do I take the jar of gold, the telescope, the compasses, the pen nor the grain of wheat. I do not touch the egg, either. I have chosen the number 11: it is the unfortunate number in the world. There was no more unfortunate number for the Jews than the number 11. The number 13 is unfortunate today for the cultured Europeans, you can hardly make anyone engage a hotel room N13. Why is the number 11 unfortunate? This number has no father and mother, it is a number of contradictions in life. Why do contradictions exist in life? There is a definite cause for their existence. The number 4 is a law of contradictions for the cause of righteousness. There are causes in the world for every activity, you should not look for beautiful flowers in winter because winter is the number 4, but you should look for them during a definite time and season of the year, you should look at them in the numbers 1 and 2. If you want to find different kinds of fruit, you will find them during a definite time of the year, in the number 3. There is a definite time for all manifestations in life. The Bulgarians are right when they say there are unlucky days. It is not a superstition. For instance, you start on a trip to the North Pole, but you start on a hot summer day. If you do not take into consideration that you will need warm clothes for that place, you will be sure to get a cold. Therefore, the cold winter days are unlucky days in life. I have heard some Bulgarians say, "I do not start any work on Tuesday and Friday, or go out." They are right for there are really unlucky days in life. I would like to see someone who is not superstitious start on a journey on an unlucky day and see how far s/he will get. If the person is educated, s/he will say, "I could not reach my destination at the definite time and place because it was foggy, there was a big storm and so on." If the person is simple, they will attribute their failure to the fact that they have started on Tuesday or Friday, as these are unlucky days. The educated person says that thunder is due to the joining of two opposite forces, while the simple say that saint Elijah is driving a two-horse carriage in heaven. The simple person knows electricity is the cause of cloud formation, but they admit there is another higher power too. The legend has it that saint Elijah rides a two-horse carriage in heaven so that besides the positive and negative electricity, there are also two horses and a man, i.e. an intelligent force directing these two forces. As educated people then try to explain how the following is done. I am at a distance of 50 kilometers. When the shell from my cannon reaches you, you will hear the shot but you will experience the result of the shot as well. I ask you: which is the reason that made the shell reach you? You will say that the cause of this is the effect the explosive causes. This is true, but it explains only one third of the truth, because there is also another cause which makes these explosives cohere and as a result of these several causes, the explosion takes place. This way you will come to the very mind of the inventor. For every phenomenon in life there are simultaneously three causes. That is why we cannot say we are very educated, because we do not know all the three causes of certain acts. We say that we know how a certain political event has taken place and that the persons who took part were bribed and so on. However, the reason why these people were bribed is much farther than we see it. It is not an explanation of that psychological moment. How is it possible for a person who loves his/her country to sell him/herself for money, be it millions? The cause may be quite different. They say that Judas betrayed Christ for 33 silver pounds, but this is not all. The important thing is to know what reason made him betray Him. The reason of this betrayal is much deeper. When we know the real reason, we must not judge anyone - thank this Judas who fulfilled the undesirable role of betrayal. If Christ had not been crucified, salvation would not have come for humanity. You will say, "Here is a man who does not talk logically." I shall explain to you why I think so. If I sow a grain of wheat in the earth, would I not be a Judas for it? I am a betrayer for that grain of wheat temporarily, but at the same time I am its savior. How would a grain develop and multiply if it is not sown? Therefore, things must be considered wisely and seriously and there should be no judging. In the papers today there are only attacks and criticisms. This is no science. The real motives of things and events should be studied before we pronounce the verdict. And when we want to correct humanity, we should understand the laws governing the human soul. Some ask me, "Do you think that by speaking so much, you can set the world right?" I tell them I have no such purpose, but only give a banquet to my guests. If anyone of you is hungry or thirsty, they will come to me, I shall give them a banquet and when they are satiated, they will go wherever they wish to. When they leave nay house, I shall not write down their names for I do not wish them to remember they are indebted to me. Moreover, if they have dust on their clothes and shoes, I shall give them a brush to brush it and leave their dust in my home so that they may go out clean. How will you reconcile these two contradictions in life? Christ says, "If you enter a city and they do not receive you, when you depart that city shake off the dust of your feet." Where? In the street. But I say, "When you depart from my home after I have nourished you shake off the dust of your feet not in the street, but in my yard." If you understand this great law, when a visitor comes to you they will better shake off the dust in your house so that you can become rich. This is a law you can test. But what do you usually do? When some guest comes, you make them shake off their dust in the street and enter your house clean. You cast out your blessing and psychologically the law of destruction takes form in you. In the Divine world destruction is not admitted. Everything in the world must create. For evil and sin are only puzzles for people. Someone is called a great sinner. This shows that the person is a master of the great sins that is why I would wish to have some of their puzzles. Such people are very inventive. Some people take a stand against the devil, but people today do not know how much they owe him. You must thank the devil. If he would disappear for a single day in the world, a great confusion would set in: money would lose its value; the priest would have no one to preach to; the mothers would not bear children; there would be no food; the stomach, lungs and brain would refuse to work; all would be free and so on. But today all people are talking about the devil - how bad he is. When you have a truck to carry your garbage out, you all say, "Pooh, how awfully this garbage smells!" But you should thank the truck carrying away your garbage, or you would get ill, if it remained in your house. That is- why today you must thank the great spirit bearing the sins of all people. Whoever sins today - the priest, the bishop, the king, or the mother and father - the devil is to blame. But I say to you that this devil is an excellent teacher. Sometimes I meet him and, greeting him, ask, "Where have you been?" "I live among these cultured people who only fight and kill each other. I teach them one thing, but they do the opposite and then complain to their Father that I am to blame for their mistakes." Christ said, "I saw Satan falling headlong down as lightning." I shall say that I saw how the rays of the sun fell from above downwards. What does falling mean? If the sunbeams did not fall, what would become of the earth? Contemporary Christian world is full of contradictions and delusions, but there are no teachers to explain things rightly as they are in nature. For instance, some say that you should be very wise and intelligent in order to become a king, but others say that to be able to rule, you must be very rich, or that you must be a general, if you would govern your nation. But the meaning of life is not in all these things. I know two kinds of kings, bankers and generals. I know generals who wage war without killing people and our society today has a greater need of them. Some say that we do not need generals - on the contrary, we do, but we need such as fulfill their duty rightly. But those who are jealous of the rich and want to take their place, are not solving the problem. Two or three persons cannot, in my opinion, carry one sword, so that he who was born for a general will fulfill his service. In the occult science it is said that several beings can sit in a chair without disturbing each other. You will ask, "How is this possible?" I shall explain it to you. Let us suppose we have a tin container with a volume of ten kilograms. First we put in large bullets until it is full. We say the container is full, but in the inter-spaces we can put several kilograms of small pellets. Again we say that the container is full, but we can put in well-ground sand until the small inter-spaces are filled. Finally we can pour in a kilogram of water and 100 grams of the best spirits. So that these contradictory elements find room in this container which at first seemed filled only with the large bullets. Therefore, the idea that many persons cannot sit on my chair is incorrect. The ten persons who took an object from the king can sit on my chair and I, the eleventh, can sit in the very same chair. Therefore, there will be no contradiction. I have chosen the number 11 because it makes people think. But this is done after one has passes through the greatest sufferings. All great nations of character have passed through the greatest trials, through fire and water. People should imitate the heroes of the world and not feel sorry for them. Such people choose their destiny themselves and they carry their burdens lightly. The heroes do not need to be saved for they save themselves. Now there are heroes among you, Bulgarians, as well. There is a story of a very clever thief in England. At one time the English police caught him and imprisoned him after tying his hands and feet with a rope so that he could not run away. The policeman who took food to him forgot a lit candle in his cell one evening. The thief at once thought he could save himself by this candle and burned the rope of his hands and feet. Once freed from the rope, he jumped out of the window and escaped from prison. He found his way to freedom. When you find yourselves locked up like this thief, you begin to wail and complain that your fate is heavy, unfortunate. Know that when the devil catches you and ties you up, he always leaves a lighted candle by which you can be saved and he says, "Let us see now if you are a hero!" But you sit reasoning, "How can this be! I prefer to sit tied up than burn myself." Be a hero! Burn the rope and go out! You all have such a candle - it is the human mind. Even if the devil did some evil to you, God would order him to leave you a candle by which you can be saved. Then the devil says, "We shall see now if you are a hero, i.e. a person for heaven, or will remain my slave. Are you worthy of untying yourself and starting on your upward way, on the narrow path, or you will remain here to plow for me?" Why do Bulgarians plow today? They have not been able to free themselves on time and the devil has yoked them to plow for him, saying, "Come on, come on!" This is an allegory for you to think about. Many say today, "This is what Pythagoras said one time, this is what Trismegistos2 has written on his golden slab; this is what Kant has said" and so on. My respect to these thinkers, but do you know where these learned men have taken their teaching from? Everybody admires their teachings and interprets them. Their interpretations are like those some theologians today make on the messages of the Apostle Paul, etc about the definite and indefinite article, saying, "The Apostle Paul has not put this article or that on its place." Their criticism and interpretation consists in this. When you write anything, do not think where to put this or that article, but see that your thought should be right and have good substance. Apostle Paul could have expressed the same thought without articles and commas. When you cut out a dress one part of it will be the front and another - the back. Thinking of the definite article shows that a certain person is a definite member3 of a church, but speaking of the indefinite article shows that they are only candidate members. There is no philosophy in this. The deep philosophy lies in what nature has created. There is a much deeper content in a flower than in the scientific thesis of Pythagoras, or Critique of Pure Reason of Kant, or the ten rules of Trismegistos written on the golden slab. You walk across a meadow and tread on a flower, which is of more value than the books of these people, and go on philosophizing, "This is what Kant has said." Yes, my friend, you trampled the flower before reading what was written in it, in its book. You say, "I believe in God." No, my friend, you are most ignorant, you are a person of the Old Testament, a publican and a sinner; you have raised a whole scandal about the Sabbath and so on. The world was not created for any Sabbaths and there is no definite Sabbath for rest. In the world there is only one Sabbath - it is the Sabbath of love and the baptism by fire. They who are heroes of their virtues have the law of love. Those who are baptized by the divine love and wisdom, will be Sons of God. Therefore, love without wisdom does not mean anything, neither does wisdom without love. These two great powers - love and wisdom - must penetrate deeply in you and you must understand them in all their breadth and depth, i.e. as they are manifesting in this wide divine world. Only this way the present teaching will acquire meaning. If I begin to talk to you about the present day algebra and geometry, they will become alive; if drawing and poetry are studied rightly, the result will be quite different. Poetry today emphasizes rhymes. The world is full of trite poetry - verses only rhyming without making sense. But one can find some sense even in such rhymes. Wise and unwise are relative things. From the story I told you about choosing one of the ten objects, the one who chose the egg made the best choice, as a cock came out of the egg. What is the Cock? It is the law of self-sacrifice, i.e. of constant giving on your part and taking on the part of the others. Thanks to this great law of self-sacrifice the world is moving on and all these ten objects - the crown, the pen, the telescope and so on - owe their progress to the cock. There is something much higher than the cock and it is to find the meaning of life even in all your failures. You put the crown on your head, but this condition does not satisfy you, the cock crows, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" This means not crowing on time - you took the crown but you did not find the meaning of life. You are a merchant who comes home discouraged and displeased, the cock crows, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" You have read some book of wisdom, but have not comprehended anything in it, the cock crows, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" You have sown wheat and other grain, but the year was not fruitful and you are disappointed in your hopes, the cock crows, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" The cock today tells people many things about their affairs, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" This crowing means much. I shall leave you thinking about the word "Cock-a-doodle-doo" until the next sermon. Sermon held on May 25, 1919. ___________________________________________________________ 1 Matthew 9:10 2 Hermes Trismegistos (Emerald Tablet-about the Is1 century AD), the author of various alchemical occultic, and theological works much respected by Arabs, (see encyclopaedia Britannica, Arabic alchemy) (ed. note) 3 This is a pun— in Bulgarian "article" is the same word for "member". (transl. note)

The Book - The Salt. Beinsa Douno The Beam "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye."1 In my last sermon I spoke to you about the words, "If your Eye be single, your whole body shall be full of Light." In this eye there is a beam which obstructs its purity. Christ says, "Cast out the beam out of your own eye that you may see clearly and cast out the mote out of your brother’s eye." How can this beam be cast out? By the words "beam" and "mote" Christ signifies two opposing principles - principles of negation in human life. A person whose eye is concentrated on the physical world, completely involved in matter, has a beam in their eye. The beam is a Law of Contradictions. By the word "mote" is meant a Law of Constant Changes. Christ uses two images - a beam and a mote. The beam is cut out of wood. Do you know which trees make good beams? The best beams are cut of oak trees that are used for the construction of houses as well. If you study the oak, you will find it grows in the lowest places of the earth. It is the oldest material, that is why its thick bark is chapped. There is a certain relation between the buffalo and the oak. When the buffalo gets hot in the sun, it wallows in the muddy puddles to cool off and keep the flies off. What is heat? It is the symbol of love. Therefore, people who are disposed to love, enter the puddles to get muddy so that the flies will not sting them. They are alert people. When a hornet approaches an ox, the ox raises its tail and runs away. The buffalo does not do that. When a hornet whistles by its ear, the buffalo leaves the field and runs to a pond where it hides. You may say to me, "We know what you will tell us about this beam." But you do not know what I may tell you. I have turned over the pages of many books treating questions of the New Testament, but very little has been written on this very important question; when whole volumes have been written on the least important questions. Everything in the world today is like that. Nothing is written about essential things and whole volumes are devoted to inessential problems. These unimportant questions on which so much has been written comprise shadows as regards the important questions. The shadows are necessary only when the important thing is definite, then they make sense. When a great artist paints a portrait, they use shade on it so as to make it stand out well. It is not the same thing, however, on which side the shadow is placed - on the right or on the left (unclear). If the dark side on the face is the left, it shows that painting the portrait, the artist was facing the west, i.e. the sun was setting. By this I shall judge that the life of that artist had been setting; or in other words, they was coming down to the material world. If the shadow was on the right side, it shows that the artist painted their picture when the sun had just risen. Therefore, it is of no meaning for the dull people on which side the shadow is cast; but for the wise, it is not so. It is important on which side the shadow is cast on your face. Why does Christ say that the beam must be taken out of your eye? Because this beam casts its shadow inwardly, whereas the person who wants to study life should have their shadow outwardly. You may ask me, "Why should this be so?" If the shadow is inside your life, you will not understand its meaning. And this is very natural. For instance, if your house is dark, but the streets are well-lighted, you will know what is going on in the streets - who is passing, how are they clad and so on - but you will not know what is going on in your room. Therefore, if this beam is in your eye, it follows that the meaning of your inner life will remain unknown. You may become a reformer or a moralist and moralize people to reform their houses and cities; but you will not be able to change their inner life. Christ says, "Take this beam out!" How was it formed? It was formed by the habit of the human mind acquired for many ages. And each one of you can verify for yourself whether your shadow is cast inwardly or outwardly. Christ says, "Cast out." He does not say "Add." Adding and subtracting are two initial processes. The first process is addition and the second subtraction. Till now you have been adding, forming this beam which is the result of the past. Therefore a+b = c where c is the beam. In order to free ourselves from this general result, Christ tells us to subtract a and b from c and our eye will be pure. How shall we subtract them? You cannot get rid of c, if you do not subtract first a and b. You cannot get rid of the nits if you do not take the male and female louse out of your head first. a and b = c which is the beam. In this case a is your mind, b is your heart; not on ascending scale in their actions, but on the descending scale of their manifestations. That is why Christ says, "You must stop these two processes." You will ask me how to stop them. In order that peoples’ minds start working, they should be placed under conditions to labor at a total deadlock. You must think of being in the shoes of one of Napoleon’s engineers who was forced by his commander to build a bridge in 25 minutes, or be shot. The engineer used all his abilities and succeeded in building the bridge. Notice how a cat tries to pass a dangerous place without trouble, if it is clever. If it finds itself on a wall five or six meters high and has no way out, it will be forced to jump down the wall; although earlier that had looked like an impossibility. This same way you say you cannot do this or that. Christ says, "Cast out the beam from your eye and place it in another place: not in your eye, but in your house." The eye has no need of beams. The teacher, who first advised people to place the beam in the eye and not in the house, had not known the Divine Laws. There may be a beam in the body, but by no means in the eye. By the word "mote",2 I understand those people who live in the sensual world. The straw is taken from the wheat. These people have acquired mistakes by their constant pleasures in the world. The beam is the acquirement of an avaricious, self-seeking life. You cannot rely on such people. Since this beam is very heavy, the eye of the person who has it is always tired and constantly looking downwards. I can make everyone of you look downwards. How? By placing a load of 100 kg on your back, I shall make you start reasoning and looking downwards. Some people would say that such a person is a great philosopher. Yes, there are philosophers who look down, but there are also such who look up. When the beam is in your eye, your mind and heart will always be heavy and you will be ill disposed. Some people with a beam in the eye manage to conceal this fact, but when you offend such a person they will begin to look down. A woman angry with her husband looks down. Why? Because, the beam has started to exert its influence. This is the feature of a general law. By the same law the young men and women have beams. So do the married people. Marriage, however, is a temporary thing. In the world there are no married but harnessed people. That is why I am not talking about the married, but about the harnessed people. I believe you are not harnessed. But you who think you are of the married people are of the blessed people. Christ says, "Cast the beam out of your eye that it may be pure so that you can cast the mote out of your brother’s eye." I make a general examination of the spiritual principles upon which our life rests. For instance, if my house is built upon the Divine Law, this is not only my own achievement, but also an achievement of the engineer I have called to make its plan and build it. Also, all the discomforts of the house cannot be attributed only to me. That is why if a person who has technical knowledge comes and tells me the sink or something else is not in its place, I must listen to them. If an intelligent person tells me to reconstruct my house because its walls are too thin, I must obey them and agree with their opinion, because a catastrophe might surprise me. When Christ talks about the beam, He conceals His great idea in this single word. The Bulgarians often hide their money under a heavy beam. In the past people had to hide things; that is why they needed beams. We often shade our windows with heavy curtains so that light may not enter in. In the same way we are unhappy today because of this beam which prevents the light from entering and reviving the matter of our body. We today have one and the same idea of light and of certain periods when light is not the same. If you warm yourselves on heat produced by wood, or on heat produced by coal, the effect on you in the two cases will be different. If you are sensitive when you burn coal you will pass through all the stages it has passed; when you burn wood, you will experience the stages the oaks have passed through and feel them like Living Beings. The black color of the coal will produce quite a different effect on you from that which burning wood will. Contemporary culture must rid itself of the use of coal. That is why the future scientists must harness solar energy. We must provide for ourselves heat from the sun. When we reach the stage of utilizing solar heat and energy, we shall be the cultured people humanity is expecting. At the present stage we cannot be called cultured people. Christ says, "Cast these beams out, there is no need of them any more." In the past this beam was necessary, it served some purpose; but today it is of no use. The buffalo entering the mud puddle to hide from the hornet has its economic considerations. He reasons thus: "Instead of running away 4 or so miles from a hornet, I shall cover myself with mud so that no hornets should trouble me." People today say the same thing, "We must ensure ourselves materially so no one should disturb us, so that the hornets should not trouble us." When you want to ensure your wife and children, those are the hornets troubling you every day and hour. The Christians are like the oxen - they run away. The worldly people, on the other hand, are like the buffaloes who wallow in a puddle so they would not be caught. Years ago in Russia they tried to put through a law against Jews which was discussed for some time. One of the members of the ministerial council was very much against the Jews and insisted on the passing of this law. The Jews tried to oppose this act in different ways, but did not succeed. One of the Jews decided to visit himself the minister who opposed them and went to his house. At the gate he asked the policeman to allow him in for he wished to tell the minister a word or two. The policemen let him in. He went straight to the minister and offered him a bag of gold saying, "Take this and keep silent." The council gathered under the chairmanship of the king to discuss the Jewish problem. All ministers opposed the law and expected the opinion of the great opponent of the Jews who kept silent. The king was surprised and asked him why he did not speak. The minister raised the bag of gold and said, "As long as I have this bag of gold, I cannot speak." This bag of gold is the beam. A day will come when the Lord will ask you, "Why do you keep silent?" You were passing some law for which you were obliged to keep silent. Today all rich and famous people keep silent. Those who keep silent are diplomats. In diplomacy silence is recommended. Christ says, "Cast the beam out of your eye so you can speak." "Cast the beam out of your eye so you can see." There is a relation between seeing and speaking. You cannot speak before you have seen. The straw in some people’s eyes is of quite a different material from that of the beam - it is out of wheat. We know that wheat wishes only to multiply and cover wide areas. It says, "Give me only 7 or 8 months to multiply, I shall finish my work and leave my place after that." It is not the same with the beam for the oak wants ten, one hundred, five hundred, a thousand years to grow and develop. It affirms ownership. The teaching of the beam is a teaching of possession. If your son is unworthy, cast the beam out of your eye and deprive him of all possessions so that your property should not be handed down the generations and be the cause of crime. But you will say, "Nerde, Sham, Nerde Bagdat."3 If anything hinders your life, it is the teaching of private ownership. We come to earth and become engaged in houses, fields; quarrel with our father, mother, sisters or brothers and go to court until one day they lift us from this place. The son says, "My father passed away and could not solve this question, but I shall solve it and see how the inheritance should be distributed." For eight thousand years humanity has been solving the question of property and this question has not been solved yet. Christ says, "Cast this property out of your eye so the world can be set right." Then the small obstacles, the small motes will disappear. Now in society there are moral, charity organizations. The priests preach in church; the teachers instruct at school; the judges administer justice in court, but all have beams in their eye. The Lord I know and whom I am speaking to you about, is not a Lord of beams and property and is not for people who argue about property. Property has no Lord whatever. And people who are split into Catholics, Protestants, Mohammedans and so on, have no Lord whatever. Your Lord is a Lord of beams, but my Lord has no beams. Christ says, "Thou hypocrite, cast the beam out your eye!" If you ask me when things will be set right, I shall answer, "When this beam is cast out of your eye." "But when will this beam be cast out?" When Love comes to reign in the world. Then the beam can be cast out very easily. All women, who are the bearers of culture can cast their own beam out, as well as that of their daughters and sons while they are still in the womb. If I preached the Law of Moses, first I would have punished women who deserve the greatest punishment. But since I am not preaching the Law of Moses, but that of Christ, I say to the women, "Since you are the doctors, you have served long enough your old lovers in paradise. Give them up and serve the Lord." For 8,000 years women have been serving this handsome scamp from the Garden of Eden and have not done anything laudable; that is why they have to give him up. You will object, "Do not blame us, we are pure." Yes, there was a time when you were pure, but today you are not such as I knew you. This beam - property - entered your eye, you started to live with the law of property; your friend came to you in the Garden of Eden, and said to you, "Come out of this garden of Eden, you need not stay here any longer as gardeners; possess the earth, it is for you. Why are you so foolish to stay in this garden, you will become equal to God?" And the woman left the paradise. Moses has described in a long and interesting legend the exit of women from paradise. When you read the whole Old Testament you will see how the Lord constantly addresses the virgin of Israel calling her different names, constantly admonishing her to return to the right path, to her Father. You have been to so many places after leaving paradise. You have been to Egypt - the material world; in Babylon - the old world, the old culture: culture of property. Now you are in Europe, which is in the same chaos as the Egyptians and Babylonians. Christ is saying to contemporary people who represent the chosen nation, "Cast this beam out of your eye," i.e. do away with this property in your land, because it is the cause for all disputes and wars. The only property a person has is their body. If a person could daily alter the parts of their body, control their desires, and the functions of their organs, as well as those of the brain with all its centers, they would be an excellent person. Say to yourself, "Now I do not need any houses or fields; this is for the future culture." The future culture, as a projection of the past, is for the sinners, the present is for the righteous. When someone says that they will correct their life in the future, I understand that this person is a sinner. When someone says that they will correct their life now, I understand that this person is a righteous one who has cast the beam out of their eye. Thus, the future in this sense is for the sinners who do not change their desires; it is their property. The present, however, is for the righteous, because it takes no space whatever. It is their property, it is a mathematical line. Every righteous person will pass through this straight line. I say, everyone who controls the present will enter the Kingdom of God. The future belongs to sinners. The past - i.e. everything which has happened - is in the hands of God, while the present is ours. Therefore, we have exchanged our roles. God is engaged in correcting our sins. We are dealing with the justice of God which will come in the future, while the people of the present say: "We shall work for God to realize His desires." From today on I want all of you to cast all your beams out and I am ready to help you. However, if you leave this for tomorrow, you will not find me. I have the say for the present; the Lord for the past. My word is founded on a very thin thread called the Thread of Love. Christ addresses those who have studied this teaching and who are awakened. This is why I do not have to teach you either - you must apply the Divine Principles which you have already studied. For the application of a Divine Principle there are certain methods. A person who wants to make use of a teaching must first of all pay all their debts. In my opinion the Law of Self-sacrifice is nothing but a payment of ones debts. But the debts have been incurred because of property. You will say, "Well, then it is possible." What is possible? It is possible for instance to become rich, learned and so on. No, by that you cannot do anything. Many people have applied this teaching. Many have wanted to be learned, rich, healthy, but they have not preserved this state a long time. The teaching can have a result only when one applies the Law of Self-sacrifice for the whole humanity. Only then will you sacrifice yourself for the good of humanity; only then will you be sacrificed for your self. If you sacrifice yourself for the good of humanity and raise it only one centimeter in its state, the next time you come to earth you will have favorable life conditions for which, you yourself, have been the cause. All suicides in the world are the result of the Law of Property. A wife wants to dominate her husband and if she does not succeed in that, she despairs and commits suicide. The wife instructs her husband how to look or not to look at all the other women and so on. Now people make these mistakes because they are born by women. Women are responsible for the mistakes of men for they taught men this law. You will say I judge you. No, I am not judging you; I am not judging anybody, but I am telling you the truth. Christ says, "Cast the beam out of your eye." Jealousy, suspicion, hatred, evil, avarice, envy and so on are the beam in your eye. The beam, the beam must be cast out! It is everywhere: in all societies, churches, religions. I see it everywhere. People today are like those two Germans in America who were good friends and promised one another to give each other a kiss. However, their stomachs were so big that they could not get close together and kiss. These two friends could not get close together and parted with deep grief. Today all people have such big stomachs that they cannot get close together. Why? The beam is the whole cause. While such big beams exist, there can be no kiss for the Soul. A young girl meets a young man and wants to kiss him, but she cannot do it so she groans. A young man wants to kiss a girl, but he also cannot do it, so he groans. All people are groaning - they cannot kiss each other. We shall be far from one another until the beam is cast out of our eye. Today, morals are perverted - a consequence of which, people do not understand one another. A stranger looks at someone else’s wife and the husband gets angry at once, thinking, "I shall wait and see what you are going to do. I shall watch you." Men and women are jealous of each other everywhere and yet they want to learn some new philosophy, some new teaching. The most difficult thing for a person is to merit the name human/e, to know nature so that nature will serve them. So do you know this Mother called Nature? Have you talked with Her? She is Virgin. Do you know Her habits, looks, receptions, laws and society? When I speak to people that they must enter into harmony with nature, the present servants of religion call this idolatry. The present existing order is idolatry, but this order will be swept away and only the ex-person will remain. Only the empty head will remain of the contemporary person and will be presented in the museums as a remnant of a past culture. When the future people visit the museums, they will look at the heads of the present eminent bishops, patriarchs, and high clergy, see their beams with which they had lived so many years and say, "Illustrious and pious people, such piety that only the head remains of it!" In the future all teachers, priests, ministers and judges must be without beams. I would render good service to Bulgaria if I should point out the person who should be employed as a teacher, who is to be a priest, who is to be a judge and so on. If this were observed, Bulgaria’s affairs would get on well. But what is happening now? Someone prepares to be priest, but their character is that of an actor. When such a person becomes a priest, it would be better to call them a servant of the church, not of God. I wish all priests and teachers to learn the Language of Nature and to see what She is writing. I study all stones, streams, and flowers and by them I can conclude what nature had been 2,000 years ago. So nature changes its garment every day and you should study what it is like today. The present is for the righteous. Christ said to the Jews, "Cast the beam out of your eyes, or you will not become a nation." But the clergy of that time who were Occultists and Cabalists said, "Is that so! Instead of casting our beams out, we prefer to put you on these beams." These beams of yours crucified Christ. He was crucified on two beams - one was a male, the other was a female beam. You say, "How pleasant it is to pass under these beams!" Christ says, "If you do away with private property among brothers and sisters, your mind and spirit will be free so that you can become good people." If all women of the contemporary race would become imbued with this idea, in 100 years they would push humanity four or five thousand years forward. But mind is necessary for this, for when there is no mind, this consciousness is lacking in people so they hang each other and cut off each others’ heads. Now they are cutting the heads of the priests as well. I want you to understand of what I am speaking. I am speaking in principal, not for the sake of this or that person, treating the question in broad terms. The world can no longer be set right by killing. I am not of those who can kill and hang. All must know this. From now on I shall not be crucified. You will crucify one another until you are enlightened. Christ says, "You hypocrite, cast the beam out of your eye." From all I have said, do not consider anything offensive: this is a Law for Heaven. When we pass the bounds of the spiritual life, we shall leave the beam here on earth. They say of someone, "They departed for the other world." No, they have not yet departed; they are still here on earth and that is why we should give them a little wheat now and then.4 The prison is the astral world. They went there with their beam. But the motes in our eyes are all our small defects. Some are criticized for talking too much, for not dressing properly, for not getting up early, or for not working sufficiently and so on. These are all very small defects, insignificant flaws - motes - in the eyes of people. Are present day people really working? This is not work but torment and labor. Work is always performed out of love. Labor serves duty; but torment exists where there is violence. The cause of all this is property ownership. Woman who has introduced this habit in the world is to blame for this evil. All women teach their children, saying, "See that you become richer by a greater income; ask everything of your husbands, all you need; do not tell them everything, be reserved and so on." That is why a wife wants things of her husband regardless of his position and income and he wonders how to satisfy her needs. What happens then? A Greek in Bourgas5 married a very rich Greek woman who brought him 4,000 pounds. When they were married, she started asking him to buy her this and that, spending money indiscriminately. In less than two years all the money she brought was spent. Her husband kept an account of everything and when the account reached 4,000 pounds, he said to her, "The money you brought is gone so you go and ask your father for more and if he gives you any money, buy what you need." When a man leaves his wife, he has spent everything she brought from her father and since he has no more, he wants a divorce. Why can they not live together? Because the wife has a big beam in her eye, wants to dominate him quoting verses from the Bible which are in her favor so that he should not think of any other woman. She says, "The first condition, says the Scripture, is that a man should leave his father and mother and stick to his wife." Yes, but which father and mother? Christ says, "A man who marries should leave the father, mother, brothers and sisters who have sinned in paradise and thus hold on to his wife." Woe to him who, when marrying, does not give up his mother and father who have sinned in paradise! Therefore, as Christians, you must give up private property. Private property is an evil for every person who wants to develop, as well as for every occultist; mystic especially, if they would study the secrets of nature. Private property is a great evil. I do not imply the state regime, but they who understand human life must give up private property. This does not mean we must be indolent, but we must learn how to work. A wife should not rely on her father, or husband, but should stand on her own feet. Man has not married to support a household. This is not marriage. Real marriage is the getting together of two young people to work together for an idea. If a woman had such a concept of marriage, she would try to ease her husband. But what is happening today? The wife does not fulfill her duties and when her husband returns from work, disputes and disagreements begin. The Law of Private Property is for those who marry today. You say, "These young people love each other very much." Why? Because the young man is rich and has a nice position so he will supply all that is necessary to his wife; or she is rich and so her husband will be able to advance. If the man is poor, the woman does not love him. Because of these wrong conceptions of life all misfortunes in life spring up. The Divine Law will assimilate all old materials and reorganize them. The piece of coal can become a diamond by reorganizing its particles in such a way as to condense them through crystallization and assume a new form. Therefore our life must pass through fire and be reorganized - crystallize again and pass into a new form. Then we shall have better houses as well. A day will come when, after living for ten years in a house, we shall tear it down and build a new one. The old house where we have lived for ten years is full of bad thoughts. When men and women quarrel they must burn their house down and make a new one; when teachers and students quarrel in a school, it must be burnt down and built anew. The same thing applies to the churches. The teaching of Christ is a new school, a new church. To cast the beam out - that is the new teaching. This is why the Lord writes, "If you want to better your life, you should tear down everything and build upon new rules without keeping the beam in your eye." Then your ideas of nature will be better, your homes and social life will be better. When you go back home say, "From today on I shall be casting the beam out of my eye." But the beam cannot be cast out by a single attempt; it requires a multiple process, a chain process of casting out. When you learn this Law of Subtraction, you will come to the process of multiplication. Then you will understand the law: "Live and multiply." The first process of addition came into the world by Adam, but the second - of subtraction - came in to the world by Eve, that is why God created woman by taking out one of Adam’s ribs. Which woman? - the woman in paradise who enjoyed her relation with "that one"6. Therefore, men will learn to take out their wives, while women will learn to take out their sons and daughters. That is why they bear children. Birth is the law of taking out and subtraction. By this Law of Taking Out, the Lord teaches women, asking them, "Do you still wish to have property?" When you listen to me, you will think, "Here is a man who violates the Law of Property Ownership, a teaching which has existed for 8,000 years." No, this law came later, but it has no basis in nature whatever. The earth is ours and we can dispose of it. If we love our brothers and sisters, we can dispose also of what they have. If we do not love them, the Law of Private Property comes into play. Private property has come into existence when love stopped functioning. In times of quarrel the woman says, "I shall divorce him, but make him pay me." People who do not require anything special of life can live with this idea of private property, but for those who want to discover the secrets of nature, study their existence and sense of life. Private property is a great obstacle, a great evil. You must stop ensuring yourself, but should rather work. One can think up some work, which can satisfy them. But you will object, "God helps them who help themselves."7 This proverb was thought out after the fall of Eve. Private property is the sheep-fold. Eve has hidden this proverb. It implies that if you want to have private property, you must lead your sheep into the sheepfold yourself. The Lord always gives wealth, but He does not believe in private property. Today people admire this proverb. I find it a human contrivance. Christ says, "Cast this beam out of your eye, you do not need any sheepfolds." Christ is taking you out of the sheepfold and will lead you to the pasture. This shows that He does not believe in private property. All Christians who believe in private property have churches, sects, etc. As far as religion is concerned they think they must be separated into Buddhists, Brahmans and so on which shows they believe in private property. I believe only in one great Divine Principle and in no forms whatever. The Lord has created the Principles, but we must create the forms. I make my own pot, but do not believe in any pots. Today people pray to their pots. When they built a house, they begin to become bold and to believe, saying, "I believe in God already and can cross myself." Or they cross themselves with the idea that God should protect their house so that another person should not take it. Such a person does not believe in God, but in their house. I do not cross myself in this way but say to the Lord, "Lord, you need not protect my private property for I refuse to acknowledge it and do not believe in it. Forgive me for having crossed myself so many times and have compelled you. I want to go along with You at liberty to those clear, rushing streams, to the green, dewy pastures, to the leafy thick forests, to think things over and be a free citizen of the whole earth." Only this way can you understand Christ and be near Him. When I look at you, I do not like your eyes. All of you must cast the beam out of them! And as soon as you cast the beam out of your eyes, Christ, Who is your shepherd, will come to lead you out of your private property. More favorable conditions for life will be given you. New bodies, new brothers and sisters, new societies and nations will be created for you so that you could live and work among them. You have served your old master long enough. Some lose their house, or their child dies and they despair and commit suicide. Why do they act like that? Because, they believe in private property. The Lord has taken your son or daughter, because He sees they cannot live in this house. When your son or daughter falls ill, do not be afraid for them; know that illness is a great blessing for a person under the present conditions of life. You cannot be heroes with these beams. From now on you must become heroes, but for this reason you must give up your beams. When you go back, make a long list of all the things you must give up in the future. Write down everything you give up this way: "I give up compelling my husband to bring me anything, leaving him free to do what his love prompts him to do; I give up compelling my husband to borrow money, to build me a house, to buy costly clothes for me for Easter and to satisfy my whims as before; I give up asking him to take me abroad to summer resorts, baths, balls, theaters and so on; I give up compelling my husband to love me, leaving him free to follow the dictates of his soul." You will say, "This teaching is very dangerous!" On the contrary, it has been dangerous up till now. How many tears have been shed that some woman’s husband, her private property, has not loved her! Do you know to what extent your husband is your property? There are many tenants in a house so that your husband is one of those tenants over whom you have no right. The Turks say, "Ahmet burada, akil dişarda," i.e. Ahmed is here but his mind is outside. Your husband - that is his shadow - but his soul, his thought is outside. Then how can you require him to love you when you too are not in your house - your house is full of tenants. Today we have set out in private property to conquer the world thereby losing the highest in life. That is why Christ says, "They who find private property will lose themselves, their life; but they who lose private property will find their life." Those who abandon the teaching of private property, draw away from God. Now you must bravely start on this way and solve this question as heroes. When the Lord sees that you are opening the book in which you will note down all the items you will give up, He will say, " With my servants, I shall help this Bulgarian woman who sets about casting the beam out of her eye." Let us see who will be the first Bulgarian woman who will set about this work. I know many who believe in the new teaching and are ready to give up their private property, but at the same time they are insured in many banks. We must be loyal to a principle not only in form, but also in substance and meaning as well. But what do people do today? Argue if there is a God or not, if there is a future life or not and so on. Yes, there is both future and past life, moreover, there is a present one. The Present Life is the Divine Life whereas the future and the past are the human life. To live like a person with all your heart, mind and soul, this is the Divine inside you - this is the Present. This is what Christ meant by saying you should cast out the beam from your eye, because only this way you can understand life. Only in this way shall we take the right path of human evolution - the path of Love. And then we shall be able to come to a mutual understanding. Sermon held on May 18, 1919. ____________________________________________________ 1 Matthew 7:5 2 the Bulgarian version is "straw" (transl. note) 3 Turkish proverb, meaning "Where is Damascus, where is Baghdad." (ed. note) 4 The custom in Bulgaria is to commemorate the dead with offerings of boiled wheat. (ed. note) 5 A Bulgarian city on the Black Sea coast. (ed. note) 6 The devil in the guise of serpent. (ed. note) 7 The Bulgarian version of this proverb is, "God gives, but does not put in the sheepfold." (trans. note)

The Book - The Salt. Beinsa Douno The Light of the Body "The Light of the body is the Eye: if therefore thine Eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of Light."1 What did Christ mean by the words, "the Light of the body is the Eye"? According to present day conceptions the eye cannot be the light of the body. Christ expresses a deep idea by this thought. People who have not studied the structure of the eye have a vague idea of its nature. I also say that even l/1000th part of the structure of the eye has not been investigated. If I would try to describe the eye, I would come into conflict with all scientists. The first function of the eye is to absorb arid spread the rays of light. It absorbs them from the outside and spreads them inwards. When this process in life is reversed, disharmony takes place in the human mind. You have two eyes that is why you will ask me, "Which eye is Christ talking about: the right or the left one?" And in fact Christ does not say, if your eyes are pure, but he says, "If your Eye is pure." By this we can see that Christ speaks about one Eye which is inside the center of the brain. This Eye is called the pineal gland, but I call it "the Eye of the Soul." Christ takes the word "Eye" in a single sense as a collective principle which includes everything in it. When we speak of God, we think of a unit including everything in it. When we speak of this unit divided and multiplied by itself, we understand all its manifestations in the world. People give different interpretations to this division: the scientists call it laws, cause and effect, evolution, thoughts, feelings and so on. Christ says that the Inner Eye is, at the same time, the Sun of a person. When a person loses their Sun, they die. In other words: when a person becomes spiritually blind, they die, but when they begin to see spiritually, that they come to life. The truth of this thought can be seen in the words of Christ, "Those who hear the voice of the Son of Man shall rise." It may seem strange that it is not said that those who hear the voice of God shall rise. The Son of Man is the Voice of Wisdom. This resurrection is not what the church means by it; it is a resurrection by which knowledge is attained for the comprehension of the laws governing the world and developing life. The thought of contemporary humanity is single and collective. Life has begun with the formation of the Eye. When God made man, He first created the Eye and then the rest of him. Some may object to this, but I shall prove it to you. Before a mother gives birth to a baby, people set the house in order, warm the room if it is winter, and so on. Therefore, those who say that a person may live without an Eye maintain that there is no intelligence in nature. Christ says that the human heart corresponds to this Eye. There is a close bond between the Spiritual Eye and the human heart. This is not merely theory, but statements which can be verified every day experimentally. Those who are not on the right path lead a life of sufferings and misfortunes. If anyone wants to know why we suffer, I would answer that the sufferings are the result of our being in contradiction with the spiritual eye. Christ says, "If your Eye is pure, your whole body will be full of Light." And actually, if your Eye is pure, you shall see all objects. Often our eyes are spoiled by the food we eat: if the food is not sanitary, it pollutes the blood and the polluted blood spoils the eyes so that it is necessary to have operations. Why? Because our life is not in conformity with the divine laws. If in the physical eye there appear dispositions, according to the same law similar dispositions appear in the Spiritual Eye, causing misfortunes not only to the individual, but also to the family, society, the nation and all of humanity. Someone will say, "God will save us." All people speak of salvation. God need not save us for He has created us saved. It is the silliest thing to say - that God will save us. When we say we want to be saved, it shows we are running away from the divine salvation in which we find ourselves. What is salvation? It is the luminous life of order and decency, but as soon as we abandon it, we shall not be saved anymore by God, but by the people. Then we shall not be born of God; and when we continue to sin, we shall be forced to reincarnate in flesh and blood. You will then follow then some woman or man and beg them to save you - create a new body for you, but that will be only a preface to salvation. After living a few years on the earth, you will go again into space where you will stay for a certain period of time and come to earth again. The Son of Man will speak to you and say, "I created an Eye for you again, see that you do not corrupt it." I want you to make an analogy out of this for the present life and see what will remain of you when you cast off all your shells. Some say, "We shall die." You will die but then come to life again. When a walnut is on the tree it has many garments, but after it is sown, it casts off all its outer garments in order to be able to sprout again and live. The casting off of these garments does not mean death, but rather shows that you are closer to life. Then I define life in two ways: the physical life constantly undergoes modifications and changes, while the spiritual life undergoes modifications without changing. Everyone who undergoes modifications and changes is within the bounds of the flesh, of the transitory, however they who are only modified without changing, are in the bounds of the spirit. You will say, "How is it possible for a person to undergo modifications and not change?" Imagine that I am a nobleman who is supposed to meet different people several times a day. That will require from me to change my clothes several times a day in accordance with the kind of people I am supposed to meet. In the morning I put on a black suit, black hat and black gloves - official clothes. After coming home from that interview, I have to meet some ordinary person in the afternoon so I put on a white suit and hat and go out that way. Whoever meets me that day will ask, "Who is that gentleman with the many suits of clothes who is constantly altering his appearance, but not changing?" It is the ability of the human spirit to alter, but not to change. However, when we come to that inner state to change inwardly, we lose our individuality, we lose what we have gained. I call this a law of fall. Projected as certain energy and falling on the earth, the rays remain on it for many years until a day comes for them to return to their Father from Whom they came forth. Why do these rays come out of God? Because they, too, have sinned. If they were not sinful, you would not feel this heat and burning, but they would produce only a delicate light and pleasant warmth. Thus, fallen once on the earth, however bright they may be, the rays have their eye somewhat blurred. These rays are alive and you will wonder how it is possible for the light to be alive. I shall leave that question for you to resolve. People themselves are Divine Rays. Contemporary biology describes the phases people have passed through before attaining their present state. They have undergone many changes and their cells have been multiplied, divided and changed before this present form was reached. All this has been done under the incentive of this Living Light. If you would study human development closely, you would see how costly our structure is and the materials out of which our body is made and you would never sin or admit an evil thought or feeling to enter your mind and heart. There is no greater delusion than to think that when a person sins, they do not harm their salvation. What does sin consist of? Sin consists of our thinking that the things we have attained can give us greater happiness. However, thinking this way we limit ourselves and envy becomes our companion. All Christians of the different schools want freedom and money, but then live at the expense of others. At the beginning of the 19th century the French Revolution gave freedom to the nations, but what freedom do they have today? Can this be called freedom? We speak of freedom, of the upliftment of women intellectually and in society; however, what is this uplifting of humanity during these 2,000 years equal to? It is equal to 1/50 millionth part of the millimeter. Such is the result of the strenuous effort of all humanity. Knowing this, calculate what your active input in this general development is. Raise this number to the 10th power and thereby find the factor of your consciousness, of your culture and of development. This is the only way in which we can examine divine entities. This sun, i.e. the divine stomach of the solar logos (this is the theosophical term), shines and provides all our heat. By the same law, every person has their own Sun within them which rises and sets. It happens sometimes that it is winter outside, very cold, while inside your own Sun is in its spring time; sometimes it is warm in the physical world, but your Sun does not correspond to it and you feel a certain iciness. This can be explained in different ways. Sometimes you are in low spirits; then I say that your Sun is not in its place. At times there are spots in your Sun just like in the physical sun. How do you explain these spots? Scientists of today maintain that at one time in the past a dark belt was formed on the sun. It lost all its heat and the result was the beginning of the ice period on the earth. I do not support this; this is only a scientific theory. According to this theory a certain change took place in the sun: its crust cracked and the sun started its present activity, great floods were caused and the present world was formed. The flood was caused by the melting of the ice layers. In the future you will verify this. Christ says that the Light of the body is the Eye and if your Eye is pure, your whole body will be full of Light. When Christ says that your body will be full of Light according to the purity of your Eye, He is saying that Divine Life will surge forth in you, creating all the conditions for your development so that you will not be petty-minded. People today are like small bugs, thinking they are very learned and strong. When one’s purse is full, they solve important questions; but when they lose their money, they also lose their power. Some criticize, with their own small brain, everything God has created saying things are not well made; while at the same time considering as good, what their own small patch of earth (their head) has made. Do you know how long and wide is the patch of earth (the head) of a Bulgarian person? Its length is at the most 21 cm and its width is 16 centimeters. Now then, with this size of mind the Bulgarian person wants to reconstruct the whole social order and to speak of all great mysteries! This is true of all other people as well. Why do people die? They die of little mind, of scanty food, of scanty air and scanty blood. By the word blood I mean the divine life. To have blood is to have this pure and unspotted divine life which must be neither bitter, nor sweet. If a person is bitter in one incarnation, they will be sweet in the next one and if in this life they are sweet, in the next they will be bitter. In a spiritual sense I compare heat to affection, light to the truth and air to human thought. As air enters the lungs to purify and oxidize the blood; by the same law, thoughts enter the mind and purify human desires which correspond to the human blood. When we begin to understand this science, we shall be able to apply it correctly to the structure of society and by so doing, eliminate all evils in life. People say that everything has its causes and consequences. I ask you: "Which are the incentives for certain causes?" Some say, "So and so killed someone out of great hatred." Perhaps, but why did they hate him so much? Others say that it is caused by loving someone so much. Why do they love so much? If the cause of hating or loving someone is one and the same, then it comes from God. If it is not one and the same, it does not spring from God; but is the consequence of some other life. People speak about laws in nature and society and say that this is a world of laws. Among the laws there is a certain correlation, but they show that the beings ruled by laws do not live in peace. Not only we, but higher beings than us in the solar system, do not live in peace either. That is why God has put certain limitations, certain distances among them so that there should not be disputes. Between the system of Alpha Centoris and our system there is a distance of 25 billion miles. This space is so enormous that 3,000 more systems like ours can go into it. In this way they cannot quarrel. When God wants to make people good, He places them at such great distances. If anyone should ask me, "What should be the distance between a man and a woman?", I shall answer, 25 billion miles. The number 25 is composed of 2 and 5 whose sum is 7. The number 7 is perfect, implying the Law of Harmony; but people today, with their doctrines, have to a certain extent torn down all barriers which God has placed between the beings. Why? The woman wants to appropriate and dominate man; however, how would she be able to dominate him, if he were 25 billion miles away from her? Today people are trying to find ways of influencing one another. Yes, you can influence, but you can never dominate. Everyone who tries to do this can dominate only themselves. The desire for domination can be seen in some religious societies as well. A new movement strives to dominate and assimilate another movement. A nation wants to dominate another nation. People die because of this very greed - the desire to have much. Those who want much do not understand the Divine Laws. We must not want much, because we have more than we need. Although people have such a small brain - 16 cm wide and 21 cm long - they have not cultivated it sufficiently. A person’s patch of earth has not been cultivated. In the Bulgarians for instance, only a space of 6 to 7 cm in the front part of the brain is cultivated and they think they are bearers of a great culture. I ask you, what can you build on such a small space of 6 cm height and 12 cm width? Therefore, we all live in the Law of Illusions, thinking we know everything. You say, "We do not need any philosophy." That is not right, for there is one philosophy - the Philosophy of your Eye, of your Soul, and you must all remember this. What does the understanding of this Law imply? When a person projects a thought in a divine way, it already creates in them. Accept a divine thought without any self-seeking purpose; give ear to its instructions, and you will acquire all you wish. By saying you will acquire all you wish, I mean that which undergoes alterations, but does not change its nature. You will then live with in constant contact with Love. When I speak of Love, I do not mean your human love. Your love is like that between the cocks and hens. When some wheat or corn is given to them, they all get together to peck it, but when one or two grains remain, the cock chases the hens away at once and pecks the last grains himself. Their love lasted until the last grain - no more. All societies, be they religious or worldly, live like cocks and hens, in peace and love, but when it comes to the last grain, they say, "Now off with you!" The cock crows and says, "Hens, away from me! You must know how to sing like me!" What is singing? To sing is to be able to think. So long as we believe in the false promises of people, our condition will be to be driven away from the place where we had been formerly invited. This way young men and women deceive each other. A young man starts deceiving a girl that he will buy her this and that and that they will live well and so on. The girl believes him. In another place the girl deceives the young man. In contemporary society we do not speak a real language. When we return home we say, "That one must not be very sincere, and we should not believe them." You must be a person who lives as God taught you to live, not expecting any benefit from anybody; relying on God, on your Soul, then, finally on your neighbor. When Christ says that if you Eye is pure, your whole body will be full of Light, He means that if your Eye is pure, you will first see God, then your Soul and lastly - your neighbor. If your Eye is not pure, you will start the opposite way - first you will see your neighbor, then yourself and lastly God; and because of that you will turn the whole world upside down. I ask those of you who have gathered here, "Who gave you life? Your father or your mother? Have you inscribed their name with gold letters? Shall I find anything of them if I visit you, or will you have only some clothes and a portrait?" In this respect we are like the Jews of old. They tortured and killed their prophets, cut their heads with a saw, but after their death they raised monuments to them and glorified them. They did the same with Christ also, but today they build monuments to Him and sing songs to Him. In the churches also they are always singing songs about Christ, but outside the church nothing is heard of Him. We also sing about God, but when it comes to considering our neighbor, we at once prefer ourselves. when the master treats his servant badly he creates relations between bourgeois and proletarian who do not understand each other. God has not created any bourgeois or proletarians, but people. By speaking I do not wish to moralize you, for moralizing is not a good thing; it is simply a training of a person. I am talking to you about a Divine Law so that you should know how to bear your children. When you call them here on earth, you must tell them everything truthfully. Do you know how people were born before the fall? The man and the woman led a pure virgin life at that time. The man knew only one woman and the woman only one man; they did not marry several times as people today. Some will ask me, "If that is so, how many children must we give birth to?" Only one. Why? Because God has only one, unique Son. God says to people, "If you want to live well, your son must be ready to leave the world and to help his brothers and sisters just as Christ sacrificed Himself for humanity." As sons and daughters of your mothers, you are not ready to serve humanity. You will say, "You, who are preaching, are not ready either." You are right, I am preparing myself now. A work is not ready until it is thoroughly completed. For the work I am doing now, I need at least 10 million years to bring it to some end. I need that many years, but you need as many too so then the work will be completed. You will say, "What a long period of time is necessary!" It is a short period. This time is only a pleasant walk for the human spirit, because time and space are related only to this limited life. A saint who lived once in a monastery thought a long time about the other world and said to himself, "What will people do in heaven? They will spend a year or two pleasantly, but after that what?" One day a very beautiful bird flew to the monastery and the saint wished to catch it. He started chasing it, running after it, but then remembered his duties. When he returned to the monastery, he found great changes - the people had changed and no one recognized him. This saint lost four or five hundred years in chasing a bird, but how many years will be necessary for the accomplishment of some great thought? Therefore, when life has meaning, one never gets tired of it. When you are waiting for your loved one, time moves slowly, but when you are awaiting the set time for your hanging, it flows very quickly. We experience things according to our inner state. Christ says that if your Eye is pure, you will not notice how time passes. You will be happy. In what is your joy today? When you roast a pig, a hen or a turkey, set a jar of wine on the table, the merry clinking of table silver begins and toasts are drunk to your health and to the world’s well-being. Yes, but those hens and lambs are displeased with your happiness, they do not share it. Your joy is their sorrow. Some day the relationship will change. Out of your feasts, grass will grow which the sheep will graze upon peacefully. This will be their reward for their meat you have eaten for numbers of years. Such is the great Karmic Law. Christ says, "When we begin to understand life this way, misfortunes will vanish and life will be light." You do not know why sheep eat grass. This is a temporary method; for in the future, food will be absorbed by the pores of the whole body and not chewed. "What must we do?" Always keep open, bright and pure the Eye that God has put in your Soul so that you can always be warmed by His Heat and Light. Do you know why worldly love exists? When someone marries, the Bulgarians say that they were caught by the "Blind Sunday." Why do people speak that way about love and marriage? This shows that this love does not proceed from the Spiritual Eye, so it is blind. That is why I call worldly love "a love of blind people." Often a young girl and a young man walk arm-in-arm. What does that mean? This shows that one of them is without an Eye and that is why they need someone to lead them by the arm; but if both of them have this Eye, they are not permitted to walk arm-in-arm. If your wife is blind, you will lead her by the arm, but if she has an Eye, you will say to her, "Woman, there must be a distance of one meter between you and me," this is the safe moment in life. Therefore, if our Eye would shine well, we would never allow anyone to come close to us. If we should ever come close together, we would be turning our Eye coming close to darkness. Thus we shall have to form a nation. The nation, in my opinion, is a great condition for the Soul. we shall take advantage of the conditions in which we live and never criticize a whole nation, or a whole society. Society, the nation, humanity are conditions created by God, and we must take advantage of them. We can criticize separate individuals, but not a whole society. We must utilize all conditions which this Eye offers us, but it is in close contact with the human mind, heart and will. Christ says, "If your whole body is full of Light", which means if you use sensibly all your endowments, you will become Son of Man and be in complete harmony with the Son of God. There can be no culture, there can be no noble world until people today develop in themselves this Inner Eye. I can prove this to you using examples from nature. All plants owe their life to the sun. In the same way, for our thoughts and desires to grow and develop, this eye must send them its heat and light. This Eye is inside our brain. If we find this Eye, we shall find our Sun as well. Do not think the heart is an organ performing a definite function. The heart is a society of most intelligent cells that fulfill the highest function - they do the work of the Soul. I recommend to you to develop this Eye of Light so that you do not make mistakes in life. I compare sin to the nucleus of the egg hidden inside within its shell. The egg contains all the conditions out of which the future life can develop. In order that this life should develop, it is necessary to put the egg under the hen where after staying for 21 days the mother hen will begin to cluck, saying to the chick, "When the time comes for you to come out, crack the shell." The chick makes a hole from inside and the moment of its salvation arrives. This process is effected from inside out. We are waiting for others to save us. Do not allow others to crack a hole in your egg. By this Eye, Christ means the Eye in motion, i.e. the Soul of every person containing within itself all the prerequisites for regular development. If your Eye is pure, you will be able to solve correctly all problems thanks to the Light you have. Our life is connected with the past and the future. What I am telling you will not work to save you if you yourselves do not work. My sermon is only the clucking of a brood-hen. Therefore, I say: those who are close to being hatched should use their small beaks to pierce the egg-shell and should make the last efforts to put their heads out. When all the chicks are out, the brood-hen says, "Cluck, cluck," and starts leading them around and teaching them how to peck grains. This is the Divine Natural Law. We want the Lord to come with us, but He is only preaching. Every preacher is a brood-hen. There are brood-hens that preach, but nothing comes of that, because they have no eggs. If you are a brood-hen without eggs, pray God to set you somewhere. Every mother and father are brood-hens. Christ says, "If your Eye is not corrupted, it will fill your body with light, you will understand the sense of life and be in contact with the past, present and future as well as have an incessant bond with Love." But the love dominating the world today is something to beware of! The worldly love is like a muddy stream watering the peppers, the cabbage and other vegetables; however, in time this muddy stream becomes filtered and purified. Nothing unclean, however, should have a place in your egg. Make no compromises if you are to have a shining future. For at least one year, retain the following thought, "I want my Eye to be bright and pure, so that my whole body should be the same". In such a state you will profit much more than if you would listen to all preachers in the world. That sunbeam coming from above produces much better results than all the stoves in the world. Such is the Divine Law. Now direct your mind, your thought, your will and heart to this Eye and ask yourself, “in which day of the hatching am I at the moment?” If only ten days have passed, you will say, "Mother, the time has not come yet." When the 21 day comes, you will say, "Mother, it is time." Thus I say to you: “Cluck, Cluck,” but in this respect I am ignorant; not knowing in which day of the hatching each one of you are. You will know this by your impulses, desires and thoughts. If from today on, all preachers, priests, teachers and judges in Bulgaria and in all Europe should start thinking about this Eye, you would see what a good result there would be. If the Bulgarians first make this experiment, they will see that in a year’s time there would be betterment both intellectually and spiritually. Think of the Eye Christ spoke about, for it is in all of you and by thinking of It, you will obtain Divine Thought, Love and Goodness. When you find this Eye, you will all be immortal – as it brings you to life. This is what Christ was saying. Everyone who wants to be immortal should find this Eye. This is the thought Christ was revealing by this verse. Sermon held on May 11, 1919. ___________________________________ 1 Mathew 6:22

The Book - The Salt. Beinsa Douno The Rising Sun "I am come a Light into the world that whosoever believeth in Me should not abide in darkness."1 The word "I" in this verse stands for the present word "Spirit". When the ideas of the old and the young people differ in form, these ideas do not differ in substance; but when they differ in substance, they do not differ in meaning and finally when they differ in meaning, they do not differ in essence. This difference between the young and the old is natural. The young and the old watching the two phases - the rising and the setting of the sun - have two different perspectives in life. Light increases for the former and decreases for the latter, therefore they cannot have the same view of the world. When people tell me they differ, I make the following comparison: from sunrise till noon people have one kind of ideas, but in the afternoon till sunset, they have another kind of ideas. So when people tell me they differ, I ask them, "What ideas do you have, ideas of the rising or the setting sun, morning or evening conceptions?" There is yet another category of people whose ideas differ: as the night differs from sunset till midnight, and from midnight till the rising of the sun. There are four kinds of people differing in ideas. Two categories belong to the light and two to the darkness. Speaking of light and darkness I mean the movement of the earth in its relation to conscious life. Since there is movement, there will be light and darkness. It is clear that the earth is moving toward the center - the Sun. It is striving for it. Movement means Love. Love moves all beings. When certain matter has kinetic energy, i.e. such that produces movement, this means manifestation of Love in all its forms. Light is one of the forms of Love. Christ says, "I," i.e. the "Spirit," but not what you see, for you see the shadow of things, simply the reflection of light on the surface of all bodies. You say, "I saw a person in the street." What did you see? Nothing, but their shadow. The reflection of their body enters the optic nerve, causes vibration, makes an impression, projects a shadow outwardly and then you say you have met such and such a person. Actually their shadow has met you. I ask you, "When the sun rises, is it you who meet it, or it meets you? Who meets - the one who attracts or the one who is attracted?" this is a philosophy. When someone says they are moving, I want to know whether they are attracted, or whether they attract. When you move you may be attracted or you may attract at the same time. It is one thing to attract and another thing to be attracted - they are two different things. When you are attracted in your movement, you are limited; but when you attract, you are free. When you say you have come to Earth, it is because the Earth attracts you. You are attracted by it for it has pinned you down and is holding you. Is it you who walk or is it walking? I think the Earth is walking within you. These are only a few philosophic thoughts. The Earth is walking and moving. It is a Fine Lady. I have never seen such an elegant way of walking, so gracefully and nimbly. When it moves in space, it does not make any noise, or raise any dust, as ladies do today. The Earth is so polite that it does not want to awake anyone when it passes, that is why no one is conscious of it. It has turned its gaze to the Sun - its Lover. But ladies today do just the opposite. All who grumble in this world have not turned their eyes intently anywhere, or in other words - they are people lacking an idea. When I say they have no idea, I do not mean they do not have some ideas; but their gaze, their movement, their aspiration is not fixed in a definite direction as that of the Earth. When Christ says, "I came," He does not mean the coming of a man but of a great idea; and we are deceived by thinking that a person comes or has come. A preacher comes and we say that he will set the world right. Christ came 2,000 years ago and people said at that time that He would set the world right. Many others came after Him but again the world is not set right, in our opinion. Why? Because the world is not set right here but in another place (unclear). I shall ask you when an artist paints a great picture, where is their mind directed? To the canvas, of course, where they make their corrections. The idea in their mind is perfect, but when they project it on the canvas, it is not as perfect as it is in their mind. Therefore, the life which is within us is perfect. They say that the life of some people is worldly and of others, spiritual. Life in itself can be neither worldly nor spiritual; but when the animal principle lives in a person, they become worldly and when the human one is manifested in a person, they become spiritual. If you put some bitter or sweet element in perfectly clear water, it will acquire its taste, but does that mean the water itself is bitter or sweet? It is neither bitter nor sweet, this is a wrong conception; but you make it such. It is the same with people: some put in pure Divine Life some element that corrupts it and makes it worldly; while others apply the good to life and render it spiritual. For this reason some people are very spiritual. But today people have so defiled their life that I do not see any difference between the spiritual and the worldly people. When it comes to defending their ideas, both kinds hold on to their houses and collect the rents. The one kind pass for sweet, the other for bitter; but the bitter are such for other people, not for themselves. These are conceptions of the people. Therefore, light and darkness are two processes for the explanation and conception of all existing relations. Light is a clear conception, while darkness is a vague, confused conception of things. Now, many of you pass for worldly people. I would like to be a worldly man in certain respects and a spiritual man in other respects. If I want to rest and sit in the shade of a tree by a spring, I shall be spiritual. But if I am with a hoe in hand, I shall be a worldly man, because I shall cut the heads of many worms. That is why the spiritual people do not take a hoe and bear the name of sluggards, while the worldly are considered industrious. The worldly people solve their problems by the blade of their sword, while the people of an idea - by their pen. The worldly people are the manual workers - the proletariat, while the spiritual people are the bourgeoisie. It is not bad to be a bourgeois. After one has worked for a long time in the field as a proletarian, they will start resting and become bourgeoisie setting the world right from their point of view. To have order in the world, one should not rest longer than necessary; but they should not work more than their strength allows them either. Light and darkness are two phases in nature which alternate - we work in light and rest in darkness; when we work, light is outside, darkness inside; but when we rest, light is inside and darkness is outside. Only if the worldly and spiritual people think and understand life this way will they find the touching points of mutual agreement in clarifying the Law of Labor. Christ says, "I came," i.e. the Spirit has come. When the Spirit comes to you, He will give you a clear idea of life. Christ has come to you so that everyone who believes in Him should not walk in darkness. I do not consider faith in the ordinary sense that many people maintain. Only the pure, sinless person can have faith as they can believe in everything and doubt no one. This is faith, not "beliefs". Faith is a quality of the Angels. Some say, "I have faith." No, you have beliefs. Your faith is like a cobweb changing 100 times a day - you believe one minute and do not believe the next minute. One day I met a young student who had studied some occult sciences and who told me that he believed in God. But later, after studying socialism, he confessed that he trod on his idea of God and now he became a man. By the words "trod on his God" I understand that he has trod on his egoism. When someone says that they believe in God, they mean that they believe in themselves and consider themselves a divinity. All people today are "divinities" so that those who say that they believe show they are valorous to confess that they believe in themselves as divinities; while those who say they do not believe in God hide this fact. The world is full today of Christs, St Virgins, St Johns, St Nicolases and so on. The world is suffering from them. The real Lord in not here yet! Where is He? See where He is: when you come to love all people in your soul, this Lord has sent you a ray; when all contradictions vanish in your mind, when you realize your duty and are ready to sacrifice yourself, the real Lord has spoken in you and you and He are one and the same thing at the moment. Christ says: "I came with this Lord who lives in me, I came with Him and through Him I should give light to all that may believe". Who? Those small, pure souls. What a great thing that is for a person to be pure in the world! Upon purity rest all ideas, all happiness, all health and blessedness of humanity. If a person is pure, they will not walk in darkness, but will have a clear idea of life and order it as it should be ordered. I know two brothers in Varna, one of whom graduated from the military academy and became an officer gradually rising to higher positions until he attained the state of colonel. His brother did not attend any higher school and served his time as an ordinary soldier. One day the soldier met his brother in the street and did not salute him. The colonel stopped and asked him why he did not salute him. The soldier answered, "You are my brother and I need not salute you." "I am an officer in the first place and then your brother - that is why you should have saluted me," answered his colonel brother. "I arrest you for two days." And today the world is full of colonels outside and ordinary soldiers inside, of bourgeoisie and proletarians - an emblem of light and darkness. When did you become a bourgeoisie or a proletarian? You were not born a bourgeois or a proletarian, but a person who must think and understand the Law of Light and Darkness. Light implies wealth, while darkness - poverty, but there are different degrees of light. For instance, there is light at sunrise, there is a broad day noon light and light at sunset. That bourgeois whose sun has risen will look at things one way; but the person whose sun has set will look at things another way. Today Christ is solving a great social problem - the problem of the so called class struggle. This is not an ideological struggle. It is the same which has existed for 8,000 years, expressed in the same way: "You come down so that I can go up." So far the minorities have ruled, but in the future the majority will rule. The minorities have worked till now, but the bolsheviks will work in the future. This can happen. You will say, "How is it possible for a gentleman to work for the simple men, for the proletariat?" But I shall ask you: how is it possible for a mother and father who are bourgeois to work for their children - the proletarians of the world - to get up early in the morning to feed them and supply all their needs, to sacrifice so many sleepless nights for them and so on? The parents know that in this way they must fulfill their duties to their children, because some day this proletariat will take revenge themselves on their parents. The mother, who is love, works; so does the father - these bourgeois must put on their aprons and work for the proletarians, because these proletarians will cast them out of the house some day, take their money by force and make them work. This has been so and will be so. How long? Until this class struggle comes to an end for it is solely materialistic. This is a transitory state in the life of humanity. After thousands of years another epoch will come when people will live in a different way and this struggle will be substituted by a life of order and decency. Today we consider people in their relations to their kind according to the sentence: dog eat dog2. However, I say that a person is a brother to the others. If we consider Darwin’s theory of the origin of species and make a study of the origin and conditions under which the wolf lived, we shall see that originally it did not possess these same qualities in the character which were developed later because of the conditions under which it lived. The wolf is a representative of an ancient culture and today it manifests itself in human society and in life. Why? Because people do not understand the Great Laws, which govern life. I shall demonstrate to you figuratively the relations of people in contemporary life. Let us admit that the roots of a tree have a deep consciousness in themselves and all of a sudden a small root starts on its own away from the tree and meets great obstacles. This small root cannot find a way out and it returns to its father and crosses him. The father does not know that this is his son and begins to struggle with it. The same way all people are struggling with themselves, with their children, trying to cut them off and get rid of them. It is the same roots which have met obstacle in life, or otherwise there would not be any disharmony. Christ says, "I came to show the true way to all who believe and have the purity of the Angels." People are still reasoning whether they will live after their death or not and whether life has meaning or not. This is no life, but only sediments of the darkness in which they live. Life is unique and it can neither die or be born. If I pour out the water in my pitcher, does it die? The pitcher has neither been alive, nor can it die. Therefore, in their physical state people are pitchers into which life is poured. The pitcher is only a condition, but life is everything. When the pitcher is filled up, it comes to life, but when it is emptied, it dies. Life in the body is heterogeneous, but in death - homogeneous. Scientists today say that matter is homogeneous. This is 50% true. Diversity cannot be born from homogeneity. If there was no heterogeneity in colors, nothing could be born of their uniformity. What is heterogeneity? It is all the necessary forms through which creation, life, must be manifested. Life cannot be manifested only through a single form, but through a limitless number of forms. When these forms combine and give expression to a greater form, we say that life is uniform, i.e. all the forms have the same aspiration to give expression to a higher form. But this higher form is not alone; there are more similar forms which combine and form other worlds. When we study nature, we observe the existence of this Law of Uniformity and Diversity. This, however, should not hinder us. A person who is in the dark is resting and instructing the young. They may be writers, poets, princes who will sit in the shade; but if they are proletarians, they will work only when there is light. Therefore, God created the world for the proletarians, i.e. for the workers who progress and not for the bourgeoisie. We shall liken the rich people to wealth collected in the past; the poor - to wealth which is being collected now. Thus, the rich people are of the past and the poor people - of the future. If you are a rich person, you are of the past; if you are poor, you are of the future. In the Jewish language there are only two tenses: past and future. There is no present tense. They say that everything happening now is past and what is going to happen is future. The present is only a transitory moment; it is a point which takes no place whatever (unclear). Be people of the future then! Christ says, "I came to give Light to the people - to the poor, to the people of the future - that they may not walk in darkness, the way of the rich, i.e. of the past." All sins are sins of the past. We bear our sin as a shade and every person who wants to get rid of it must become a person of the future; otherwise they will bear their sin as the snake bears is skin. When someone says they want to live in the future, I understand they want to live without sin. Therefore, the poor are people of the Good and the Light, while the rich are people of sin and darkness. These words may seem bitter to you, but let someone come and prove this is not the truth. I do not consider a rich person only a person of money, but also the person of knowledge and power who does not employ their wealth for the good of their kind, but rather for their stumbling in evil. I call them bourgeois. People who do the will of God, I call proletarians, or people of the future. I also call the proletarians "bees", workers for the new culture. The word "proletarian" is a class word; it is not an exact expression and so we must say ‘Workers of the New Culture, of the New Science’. What is the New Science? That we all should live in the Light; that we all should be happy and spoil neither our happiness, nor that of others. Only by two words I can spoil your happiness so that for 100 years you will not find it. Imagine that I call you and place before you a bomb with a fuse. If the bomb explodes what will become of you? In the same way, in every thought of yours there is explosive matter which, when exploding, creates all those conditions we call evil. I explain evil as matter we cannot control, because it is not submitted to our will. The matter under our will, which we can control, I call good. The external world is controlled by another will, but the inner world is under our control. If God, Who controls matter outside, loses His contact, all existence would vanish. That is why we must hold the reigns of our horse, for once they get out of control, the horse runs away and overturns everything, so misfortunes come thereby. These are general ideas. Every day your horse - your mind - walks with his tail up, ears pricked, brave, undaunted; but someone passes by and tells him something and he is immediately startled. A rich Jew walks bravely on his way, but someone meets him and tells him he will live only two more days. The horse is startled - the mind of this Jew - and he immediately closes his shop and says, "From now on you will have a holiday." All people get startled this way. Ever since the war I have been hearing people wonder what will become of Bulgaria. Many are more fearful than necessary. Bulgaria is not the only entity, there are others as well. Tell me, were there Bulgarians, Serbs, French, Germans, Englishmen when God was creating the world? There were not. They came later of themselves. You may object, but I ask you: does a mother bear her children as professors, teachers, priests, judges and so on? She bears children who become learned people, generals, doctors, engineers and so on, later in life. Our positions in life are the different roles we play on the stage. While we are on the stage, we are clothed in different costumes like actors, but as soon as we come off the stage, we are already brothers. When we go to heaven, we shall laugh a little at this struggle when we remember the different events of our life on earth. I shall explain your position by an example. An Indian God, being satiated with the nice life in heaven, wished to be allowed to come down to earth to live for a while. He was given permission and so he chose the form of a swine and got incarnated in a small pig. He started to live like all pigs - poking his snout in dirt and mud, lying in the shades and growing fat. At one time he married and had about fifteen piglets. He lived peacefully and happily. They waited for him to return to heaven for a year, two, three, ten years, but he did not return. They called him from there, but he did not want to go back. He said, "I feel very well here." They decided to take away his piglets and force him to return, but in spite of this misfortune, he did not want to return. They took his wife away, but he started looking for another wife and they did not succeed in persuading him. Finally, they decided to send him a fatal illness, which caused him to return back to heaven. When he awoke in heaven, he started to laugh at the life he had spent on earth. Many people today have the experience of this bourgeois, digging and solving different problems on earth. Different misfortunes come to bring people to their senses, but when they leave the form of the swine, they will understand what their state had been. What does the form of a swine mean? It is the extreme materialism existing today. What does it consist of? Namely, that the people get together and start talking about this and that, about the other world, the good in life; but at the same time they keep their geese, hens and wine, living luxuriously. When the poor listen to their talk, they say to themselves: these people talk all the time about the other world and live for God, but they know how to live in this world. And so the life of the rich with their materialism appeals to the poor who make it an ideal they aspire to attain. This ideal becomes the aim in the life of the poor and thereby the teaching of materialism is given rise to. The poor say, "We want to live like you." Since the rich people became the cause of the deviation of the poor from the right course, God will place them in the position of the poor so that they may correct their mistakes. Such is the Law. That is why Christ says, "I came, a Light in the world to explain and make things clear." There are no contradictions in nature; only those we ourselves create them. How? We cannot control and direct part of the matter God has given us and that is why we create evil. All sins have their origin in matter. Every sin has a form. Show me a sin that has no form. Some person is considered an egoist. What does their egoism consist in? They want to have houses, money, to dominate their wife/husband and so on. People say about some that these are greedy, misanthropic, etc. All sins have their material motives. When we smooth out all bad forms, all sin will vanish away. Therefore, bad forms create evil and that is why people are advised to create beautiful forms. When two scientists get together, they offer different theories about the sun, its conditions and so on. Other scientists begin to argue whose opinion is more truthful and divide as followers of the one or the other. Today all scientists argue about which of the science authorities have more following. Two priests argue which of them has more parishioners and so on. Christ and Moses cannot agree or come to terms in the world. Christ and Mohammed can come to no agreement on the earth either. There is no such a Moses, such a Mohammed or such a Christ. That Christ, Moses or Mohammed who cause division among the people, are not Servants of God. When a person is sent to bring some great Divine Idea, they have no right to enslave people, or look for their own benefits. Christ says, "I, the Spirit, bring this Light to the people who believe, i.e. who have purity." For instance, do you believe in what I am telling you? You will say that you have not verified it yet. But do you believe in Christ? For two thousand years on end people have been verifying Christ. As much as you believe in me, you believe in Christ. Did the Jews believe in Moses? Up till now I have not yet met a person in the world who believes in their Master completely. Those who say they believe in Christ, or in whoever it maybe, do not speak the real Truth. To believe in Christ does not mean to stand reverently in a church. It means to have the disposition Christ had in His Soul. I am not talking to you about religion, we have had enough of religions. We must live in a Divine Love, in the Divine Affection, in the Divine Spirit. Let the present religions remain for the bourgeoisie, for the people of the past; the Divine Life is necessary for the people of the future. Some think we are trying to lead people into new kind of delusions. Such a thought is far from me, there is Love in me which is a movement from up high downwards. I understand what affection is - a movement of the human soul from below upwards. I understand what the Divine Spirit - a Power which keeps everything in harmony. So long as you keep your present religious conceptions, we shall never be able to come to an agreement. Can you say like Christ, "I came, a Light into the world"? Can you be Light to yourself and your brothers? This is required of all of you, because you can all become in this sense saviours of the world. If you expect a single person to save the world, it will never be set right and order restored in it. We must all set about righting and ordering it; which can be achieved only when we maintain the Divine Order of things and strive not to break it. When someone asks me if I believe in Christ, I find this the most banal question for it is the same as if someone should ask me if I believe in the Light, in Love. I walk in the Light; what is the use of believing in it? Everyday I speak with God, how should I not believe in Him? Asking me such questions means that they want to take me down from my position and make me a demon, an antichrist, a bourgeois. I do not want to be a bourgeois or a proletarian as people understand them today. I am not speaking to you about the historic Christ, but about this Living Christ Who is in you and among you. Drive this wedge out of your mind - this thought that Christ is outside you. This Christ is the Spirit; and when you understand Him, you will see Him in every person. So long as you seek Christ only in a single person, you will never find Him. I have already asked you: if someone wants to make a study of you, will they be able to understand you only by a single hair of yours? If someone loves a person and takes only a hair from his head, can we say that all their love lies in that fact? This would be a whole idyll! I see how the religious people take a hair from Christ and look and look at it; then put it back in its place, not understanding anything. People do not take only hair, but also pieces of His cross and still the world is not set right. Why? Because people are occupied only with the physical aspect of Christ. Christ has said, "Whoever does the Will of my Father will live in Light." By this I do not have in view the personal life of people, but I want to clean the streams. I have decided to clean up the muddy water not because I hate it, but to give way to the pure water and to water the gardens where pepper, cabbages, carrots and other vegetables are planted. Muddy water is necessary for the gardens, while pure water is needed by the Pilgrims of Life returning to God. What an idea this is! When God created the world - without any nationalities - the world was happy; but today, ever since the old Egyptians, Assyrians, Romans, Greeks, Philistians came, happiness vanished from the earth. I am interested in modern science and life and in spite of all the contradictions I come across, I can still find many useful things. I stand in greater admiration before a barefoot child than before a rich, well-dressed one. This poor child is excellent, because you can talk with them. They are modest, while the well-dressed children have external forms, and are insincere, by which they want to show that they are not simple. I meet a drunkard who has drunk much and who excuses himself saying, "Excuse me, sir, I am an ass, I have taken a drop too much." I say to him, "You are not an ass, because the ass doesn’t drink; but you are a frank person for which I respect you." At times when a person drinks, they can become a bourgeois, because an industrious person never gets drunk. All drunkards are bourgeois. Now let us return to God and live without the religion of hatred, envy and avarice. By this, I do not want to say that religion must be cast out. Let the class struggle exist, because it is just as useful as those worms which cultivate the soil. The farmer says, "I plowed the field." No, it is not you who have ploughed it, but those worms that live deep in the earth. Thus, in the class struggle the proletarians and the bourgeoisie are the worms that have been working for a number of years and have oxidized the soil. After that, the Angels will come with their ploughs to sow this soil and say, "You have worked enough; we thank you, because you will have to eat and drink for thousands of years and you will all be brothers." The Christians say that in those blessed times they will be in Paradise; the Turks say they will have whole mountains of pilaf3 without coupons! However, Christ says, "I came, a Light of the world," and Light is the meaning of life: it is food for the mind, the soul and the heart. That is to be content in yourselves, nourished in life and have energy and desire for work in life. Now when you go back home, you will begin to philosophize, "Can a person live without religion?" When God created the world there was no religion. Religion appeared in the world when the devil came. Before that people lived in Love and every teaching which was not directed by Love was not recognized as Divine. In my opinion, religion is a sanatorium - a hospital for sick people. When a maiden is disappointed in life and when a lad looses his loved one, they become religious. Therefore all religious people are bankrupt bourgeois, while those who serve God out of Love are people without religion. Those who are in the hospital should better not leave it prematurely. Yet, if they nevertheless want to leave it, they must consult a doctor whether it is time for that, if their organism is functioning rightly. If the doctor allows them that; let them enter the broad path of Light where one can live without religion. "You are free," he must say, and sign a certificate for their freedom. The church at present is a hospital and the priests and ministers are the nurses and doctors there. Now the time has come for some of you to leave the hospital and I am at its door. Although I am a minister acknowledged by no one, a prophet without portfolio, I shall ask you, "Was your life in the hospital pleasant and did you learn your lesson there?" You will say, "Oh, those injections ruined us!" The doctor says, "A person who does not live in God will test our needles and live in the hospital." I say, "I do not carry any packing such as needles or knives and do not have any pharmacy or bag on me. You should breathe pure air, look up, not walk in darkness and let the sun shine on you that you may not go back to the hospital again. If you enter it a second time, your condition is dangerous and more complex. The doctor will appear again, use all scientific means, watch how your temperature is rising constantly and soon the sick person will go bankrupt and be carried out of the hospital. There is no life at such a high temperature so they will take the person to the autopsy room, open up their brain, stomach, bowels and find out the reason for their dismissal. Christ says that people can live without thermometers. Do not be troubled by the idea what is useful and what is not useful in life. Everything is useful, but we should stop thinking that life exists only at the hospital. The hospital, the church, the concert hall, the school are transitory things, but life implies something much more serious in itself. In real life there should not be any confusion, but constant work. In only three words I shall make a definition of what Christ talks about: torment, labor and work. Some student says, "I was tormented much until I entered high-school and labored much until I graduated." After passing through torment and labor one comes to work. This is the Teaching I am preaching to you now. I say to those who have been tormented to stop that and begin to labor; and to those who have been tormented and have labored, I say, "You need not be tormented and labor anymore. Come to me and I shall teach you how to work." These are the words of Christ in the quoted verse, "I, My Spirit, will come and teach you what to do." Now is the moment for those who have graduated from school to stop and show their certificate or diploma, because they were ignorant before that. Today all over the world people want a diploma, if you do not have one, you cannot become a teacher, a minister, a judge and so on. The future life will not be the life of the past. Christ says, "In the future there will be no need of certificates," and the present life will serve as a basis of the future one. New forms will be worked out and we know what these forms will be: Brotherhood with Love. Now, those who have not entered school and do not know the Light will be tormented and labor. Few are those who work - they are only some poets, artists and musicians. The main thing in work is not to have any confusion in your mind. Christ says, "I bring you the Divine Love. Enter it; manifest your affection and then the Spirit will come and enter you and you will understand the Inner Meaning of life". Talk of the Master held on May 4, 1919. _________________________________________________________________ 1 John 12:46 2 In Bulgarian the saying is: A person is wolf for the person. (ed. note) 3 23 pi.laf or pi.laff - n (Turk & Pers) a dish made of seasoned rice and often meat (ed. note)

This Teaching Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed. 2 John – 9,10 The above lines constitute the core of the appeal, the word transgresses1 has a double meaning. For example, the child starts walking and what a joy it is for the mother. She will go out to let the neighbours know that the child has made the first step. Do you understand why the mother is thrilled? Her child, so far moving on all fours like the animals, is already upright, i.e. walks, and this is joy for the mother. The Apostle says, "Whosoever transgresses, and abides not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abides in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son." I believe that many dare transgress, but there is a double transgression. When a person loses one’s temper, hatred comes into one’s soul and the person transgresses. Having transgressed like this, a person can no longer abide in the Teaching of Christ. The Teaching of Christ is Divine; it is a Teaching of the eternal Life, not of the human temporary life. Life can be divided into three categories: animal life, human life, and Divine life. Animal life is a life of continual suffering; human life – of continual labour, and Divine life is a life of continual Love or of Blessing. The human and the Divine principles keep changing in everybody’s soul. For example, you love somebody – a friend of yours, you give her gifts, you invite her home, you receive her well, but one day you say, "I already hate her." How can Love be transformed into hatred? This love is human, a love of consideration. And nowadays, all homes and all societies suffer from such love all the time. If you are rich or educated everybody receives you well when you join a society. Once they have taken what you have, they show you the door through which you came in. Although you have entered through this door so many times, you still haven’t learnt your lesson. When this Teaching is being talked about, you say, "It’s not relevant to me." Both the good and the bad sides of this teaching are relevant to you, because if you suffer, you suffer for your sake, and if you rejoice, you again do it for your own sake. Nobody can suffer or rejoice for you. In this respect everybody bears his or her cross. Many of you wish that somebody else would bear your suffering for you, therefore, you keep telling one person, another person, and then many people about it and you say that people do not understand you. Let’s assume that your ankle is sprained and you go to a neighbour of yours to put it into joint, but she, not knowing anything about this art twists it and she keeps twisting it and causes you much more suffering. So, you go to another neighbour of yours, but she can’t put it into place either and your pain gets even worse. Who is to blame for this – you or the woman who does not know how to set it? You are to blame, because you allow a person, who does not know anything, to play with your ankle. You have to place yourself into experienced hands. The Scripture reads, "Confess your sins to each other." I now give you another order, "Hide your sins from each other." If you confess your sins to each other, the way you allow your neighbours, who understand nothing, to deal with your ankle, they will twist them and nothing will come out of it. Therefore, confess your sins to the one who understands. Christ’s Teaching restores the Divine harmony or the lost virtues of the human soul. First of all, it has to make you pure in the heart. You will say, "Can a person live in this world and have a pure heart?" Yes, it is possible. When one stays in water, one can always be clean. The second thing, which Christ’s teaching can do for you, is that your soul will be a virgin soul. What does this virginity mean? Farmers call virgin soil such soil that is rich in juices, while soil poor in juices is not virgin soil. Hence, if your soul can deliver something good, something supreme, it is virgin soul. If it cannot deliver such things, it is not virgin soul. John says, "Let’s try this teaching." Abiding is similar to a human being staying in fresh air, living in it, and breathing it in. When we enter Christ’s teaching, when it settles in our souls, it will inevitably produce a certain relief in our souls; we will feel a special Purity within. So, purification will come with the very Teaching itself. Contemporary advanced physicists have big disks to clean themselves. When some of them make experiments and cannot clean themselves easily, they get into those disks, switch on the electricity and in five minutes they are clean. Christ’s Teaching is this Divine electricity and by letting it into your souls, it will generate this Purity. It reads, "He that abides…" If many of you fail to succeed or progress, they transgress something, but the way little children do. When we transgress a certain Divine order, we immediately lose our temper and equilibrium. This Teaching has to exist in this world so that we can live peacefully, because it is food for the soul. Just like we have to receive food everyday and to transform it into strength, in the same way Christ’s Teaching has to be transformed into a constant strength. I notice that many of you rather than becoming peaceful and humble become nervous and touchy. This is a painful situation. There is another mistake with you as well: you think that you have learnt a lot and because of this each one of you judges the others at large. Many of you wait for some strength, some revelation, to come to them out of the blue so that they can show the world that God is with them. God has been with you for thousands of years, so you do not have to show the world that God is with you. The world needs the Sun, just like our Sun, to deliver food to the world. You think that by lighting a candle you will enlighten the world. No, other people will light a bigger candle and yours will be left in the background. You have to apply Christ’s Teaching for your souls’ sake. When I tell you a certain truth, I see you – you turn your heads to the others and think that these words refer to them. I exclude nobody; I speak to everybody. Evil is evil, even if clad in golden garments. Nobody can love a person who has leprosy. The soul is the one that tunes the body. When your soul is pure, when Christ’s Teaching is in it, your body will be healthy and you will forbear everything with ease, you will gladly endure even the greatest sufferings. Do not forget that our earthly life is not a bed of roses. Pay attention to how little children fish in the river; they take a small fishing rod, place a small worm onto it and swing it into the waters, and the fish eats the worm and gets hooked. It often happens that you too get hooked and the devil takes you out; swallowing the bait, you believe you walk along the Path. The first thing that you face is to cut the line and then call the doctor to take the hook out of your throat. I can see many such hooks in you, left from the past. How many bullets are left in soldiers? Doctors say that these will come out little by little, but when the weather deteriorates, pain is sure to show up. Christ’s Teaching is a Teaching of the Divine and eternal Love. So, if a person can love you ten times a day and can hate you ten times a day, do not trust that person’s teaching and do not let such a person into your home. Love is the one that has the Eternal Life. If you have this Life within you, you will understand the Divine secrets. I want you to lay these two principles in your life, because they are identical: the one who transgresses does not deliver. A woman, who cannot weave, should not be allowed to sit at your loom – she will spoil the cloth. A servant, who cannot cook, should not be let into the kitchen. A person who has not studied should not be allowed to teach your children. Do not let leprous people in, because leprosy will penetrate your souls. Nothing impure should enter Heaven, as Heaven is your soul. Now you are ruled by this principle: you are like idle students and you want your teacher to be lenient. This cannot happen. Consider architects, who have completed their studies; the teachers, who taught them, were always lenient to them. What is the use of this? You meet such an architect and you ask the architect to make a plan for you. It will be a plan like the plan of that person, who ten years ago constructed a building in Varna, and one of the walls collapsed shortly thereafter. What would have happened to the clerks if they were in? Hence, everybody, who graduates thanks to leniency, will create a false teaching and one’s thoughts and desires will be buried underneath. I am not saying that you are not on the Path, or that you haven't started seeking the Truth. However, when students do mathematical problems they know whether the problem is properly set or not. Many times the correct answer is marked to check against. Students, who do not understand their job, want their answers to be by the book, but gifted students say, "The answer, given in the book, to this problem, is not correct." Therefore, you have to correct the answers in the books and to do your mathematical problems in consistency with all the rules. The process you will pass through will be useful to you. Christ’s Teaching is alive and Apostle Paul says, ‘Christ is come in the flesh is of God.’2 How do you imagine Christ? Apostle Paul says, ‘yet now henceforth know we Christ no more’3. How then do we know Him? So, there are ways to know, to feel Christ. When we say that we can recognise Christ, I understand that Light can be recognised only by seeing, but not by touching, nor by smelling, nor by hearing. How do we recognize Wisdom? By hearing. So, listening is thinking. How can we recognise Love? By the tongue. Taste it and you will recognise it. The tongue contains two elements in itself: it imparts the greatest blessing in the world and wise speech comes out of it. Sweet nice words are the fruit of Love. Therefore, if you have understood Love, your souls will be the fruit. Each spoken word in Love is powerful. Sometimes your words are weak. Why? Because you have no Love within. Sometimes you say, "Let’s love each other!" This is as if we say that it’s time to eat and we talk about chicken and lamb but there is nothing on the table. These are words in vain. Let’s assume that I have served at your table chicken and turkey, either painted or made of gypsum, but poured with delicious sauce. Will they [dishes - chicken and turkey] be of any good to you? Is this what you call teaching? No, it isn’t. And you, who listen to me, have been and are still walking along this path. You say, "Let’s love each other!" So far, I have not noticed Love among you. I have been working with you for so many years, but I could not make a single rope out of your love, so that I can pull someone out. And God says, ‘I attracted you with the threads of my Love.’ What we call attraction or gravitation is a very thin thread. The whole Earth is sustained by such a thin thread; each soul is sustained by such a thin thread. If this thread breaks you will fall away from God. If you adhere to God, you will be joined by this thread and shall be in a centre, around which you can move. This is what the Teaching of Divine Love implies. I can check how many of you have this Love. Some say, "I am utterly offended." Why? "Because I was not welcomed properly." I ask you whether you welcomed God, Christ, as you should. This is not meant as a reproach, just a question about human development. Because, if we want the food we receive, to create our new body, it should run uninterrupted and continual. Divine Love is also continual and as soon as it runs dry the whole river within us will run dry. Divine Love never runs dry, while the human one runs dry every six months. As soon as love runs dry, the river-bed also runs dry, but at times there are great floods and waters get turbulent. When your soul is churned, your guiding spirit shows you that you reside in human love, not in Divine Love. If you do not love anybody, this indicates that the devil lives in you. The devil also has its love. When Love in you alternates with hatred, this is a sheer imitation of love and such love is called love of death, due to which everybody dies nowadays. I shall give you an example of such love: in Varna, a young gentleman, a rich shopkeeper, decided to get married. He found one young woman he liked and married her. Soon after the marriage, he fell seriously ill. Ill of what? Ill of his wife. He left for Europe to get treatment and after four-five years, he was saved. Therefore, if a certain teaching, with which you may come in touch, generates such a condition within you, you have to reject it. Place Christ or the visible God in you and say, "God’s Love does not change!" If you keep thinking like this, you will not say that you are sinful, because there is no creature that has been denied access to Divine Love. You cannot enter Divine Love and enjoy it, without knowing it. When you enter Divine Love, you will swim and everyone who cannot swim will drown. Some say, "When I enter Divine Love, I will drink only half a litre of water, so that I won't drown." All right, but there are millions, upon millions of litres of water there. This is why everybody will clutch at Divine Love, so that everybody can swim. What does swimming mean? When you walk on the earth you argue that you want to be in touch with God, but are you? You are lagging behind. When you are in the water, you will be immersed in it. Such is the law of swimming. The same law rules Divine Love too, but in it you will be on the surface. A person struck by lightning, places his face to the ground, so that the earth can draw out the electricity, which has entered the person. Similarly, when you are struck by spite you have to quickly fall down on your face! This is what it means to be immersed in this Divine Love, so that it can enter into you, so that it can touch the matter and penetrate inside you. John says, "Father and Son." Father is the one we came from, while the Son is the visible Love. The Love I talk about, is not something ephemeral, is not just a pleasant mood, but constant warmth. This you can check and verify. If, in half an hour, you experience a change to the opposite, this is human love. Sometimes your face becomes light and you say, "I’m close to Christ!" On the following day, however, you are in a different mood. These are phases of human love, which warm on one side and cool on the other. As soon as you enter animal love, you will feel a thirst for revenge. Subsequently the love of the devil is in this - the devil takes delight in revenge. Divine Love harmonises the two conditions of animal and human love, takes out their juices and places these into agreement. This Teaching is necessary for your personal life. You believe in Christ, you go to church, you light candles, you meet various people, and all the time you seek Christ. You tell yourselves, "When we die, we shall see Christ." Well, you can die now and still carry on living. Death is when we are dead for spite, not freeing ourselves from our physical body. Some say that death is prison. No, our shortcomings are prison. If you have big debts, your house will be sold, but you will still be liable and deductions will be made from your salary. So even if you leave your body, your creditors will get hold of you at your second or third salary, until complete repayment. What do you have to do? The only salvation is Christ’s Teaching – to enter Divine Love and everybody who loves God will help you. Problems are assigned to be solved at each school; God also assigns problems to solve – to every home. The problem may be your husband or wife, your children, your friends etc. I also often solve problems; you are my problem to solve. Many times, I have thought about why you quarrel among each other. By quarrelling you destroy what I build, you pick the flowers I plant. How will the advanced souls receive you when you go to them in Heaven? Imagine you are among students who can play an instrument, but you cannot. How will these students receive you? They will treat you as a listener. If you can play, they will receive you as one of them. The same principle is valid in Christian life. Some want me to make them perfect, to give them digested knowledge, to make them wise. No, there is no such teaching. The Teaching I preach is a Teaching of Love, of perseverance, of self-denial, and so on. You will study all the subjects on your own; you will study Bulgarian literature and other subjects. You say that Bulgarian writers are stupid. If I explain to you what, for example, Pencho Slaveikov4 wrote, you will see that he stands much higher than us, but if he comes here, you will leave him outside. You do not read and you believe that if you take and read one of my lectures, you will remember every thought and you will be able to repeat it later on. No, this is not yours; this is a reproduction – just like a gramophone playing. You have to sing and play, i.e. what I give you has to enter your minds, to be transformed into thoughts and feelings, to enter the Divine world and to bear fruit. This is the Teaching that Christ preached. He now helps us at this school. Sometimes you struggle, you suffer, but all of a sudden a bright thought comes to mind and you resolve the issue. This shows that you are being helped. Some days ago a man came to visit me who told me, "Somebody offended me, but since I started on the Path I did not want to treat him in the same way and I tried to find two such words which are smooth externally, but so loaded with meaning, that he would never forget them. So I decided to tell him nothing, not to give him the bitter pill…" You all administer such pills in Sofia society, but I would like you to take this gentleman as an example. This is the way to apply Christ’s Teaching. Love is actually what endures the offences. Two offences do not make one virtue. When God forgives us, he wants us to admit that we have offended Him. But when we reach a situation where we are aware of all this and when we start crying and grieving, God does send angels to help us. As Easter is approaching, give up these two words which are smooth externally, but bring no peace internally, but instead place the following words in you, "Father and Son". If you want to do something bad, ask yourself, "What will Father, who is up there in Heaven, say, when he sees me like this?" Or "What will my older brother say – the Son?" The bad desire will immediately be paralysed and the opposite action will come. This is the way to renew ourselves. Now big suffering is coming to the world, to purify it. You will say, "What does God think of us? What does Christ think?" Knowing what God thinks of us, we shall learn what Christ thinks of us. Because if we do not understand what God thinks of us, we shall not understand what other people think. Love will enter us only after having gone hungry for three or four days. You come back tired, exhausted from work, and I start preaching to you that God is Love. What will you make out of this Love, when you are hungry? After I wash and feed you, you will feel Love. This is Christ’s Teaching. Someone offends you – there is a chance for you to appear before God and to say, "Pray, God, transform this offence, this insult, into Love!" Sometimes you feel Peace in your soul after someone offended you and you say, "I was offended, but I have forgiven." Unexpectedly, however, in a year or two you remember the same offence. If three years after the offence, you are not concerned, then the fever is gone. You may be sure that when the Divine Teaching comes, there will be no offences in the world. This is why old Christians were cheerful when they were chased and prosecuted. A human being that walks in Divine Love accepts insults as a wreath. Make sure you do not restrict your Father and pay no attention to what I think of you, but to what God thinks of you. He says that your windows are closed, there is not enough light and although he sends so much food to you, you are still hungry and sick. Now, try to learn to transgress as little children, not to transgress Christ’s Teaching. If there is a hard issue to tackle, call to your Father and say, "Father, as you sent Christ to the Earth, let it be the way you said!" You have to set for yourselves the following motto, "We shall fulfil your will the way you want us to!" You will say, "We make a promise, because it is difficult to fulfil God’s Will." Once you allow such a doubt to enter your mind remember that it is from the devil. God’s Will has to be fulfilled for God’s sake, not for the world’s sake. What does God want? He wants you to fulfil what you have promised. This is what Christ wants. Christ, who is the world, is in the flesh, which does not die. What dies is human. You can know your friends in two ways. A friend, who only praises you or only shows your mistakes to you, is not a true friend. A friend, who at the same time shows your mistakes to you and praises you, is a true friend. The latter on seeing that you have a stain, takes the brush and cleans you, and you, in turn, thank him or her. Such a friend shows you the mistakes with this brush. You only clean the dust with the brush. The brush will be out of place if you apply it to your face. You have such toilet brushes to powder your face. Not that I am against powdering, neither am I against repairing your houses, but I say that you should never run the brush across your face, even if the powder is of superior quality. There is no better powder than Christ’s Teaching; I have never come across a better brush than this Teaching. This is why I recommend it to you! I tell you that when you apply Christ’s powder and Christ’s brush, you will look absolutely different. Living like this, Christ’s Teaching will bring you in harmony with Nature and you will be able to draw on its energy. Every morning, when you pronounce "Father and Son" you will be charged with a lot of energy. If you go out with doubts, you will hardly be able to cover your expenses. So, if we understand these two words, we shall be at one with the entirety of Nature and shall be in harmony with it. There is the question: which one comes first – teaching or birth? Birth. Consider if someone was not born of Divine Spirit, then what could this person learn. Some say, "I can’t understand this stuff. I have no impulse." How can you understand it; keeping in mind that first you have to be born, then the Divine must come into you and only then you will start understanding the simple things. The most basic principle of all is to be able to change your condition. If you are able to change your condition within five to ten minutes after somebody has offended you, then you have mastered this science. For example, a dog has bitten you: it’s an art to anoint the wound with such a cure that no scar remains. Christ’s Teaching cures any infirmities. I shall now tell you something concerning the hours. Someone asked if the time to get up is at five sharp. When you feel a great impulse to pray, you should know that it is five sharp, i.e. the hour of your mind. When you feel great grief, it is four o’clock. When you have messed up all your things, it is six o’clock. When you are hard hit by great misfortunes, it is seven o’clock. Some ask when to pray Do it when you have the impulse. Some say, "This impulse will visit me some other time." No, once you miss it, it won’t come again. Sometimes the Spirit tells you, "Get up and pray!" You say, "It’s not five o’clock yet." No, you should get up because the Spirit tells you it’s five o’clock! So, if you take two hours out of your time, you will be left with five hours. You may say that it is too early. Why? Because you went to bed late. Go to bed early – like the birds. You say, "I can’t go out early in the morning because I have not organised my work." Go out without having organised your work! If there is an earthquake while you are doing your morning toilet, are you going to finish your toilet before running away? When God calls you, you are not supposed to finish your toilet; it will be finished elsewhere. Nowadays, all of our external toilets will be pulled down and a real internal toilet will come instead, suited to your soul. God says, "I shall give you new garments." These new garments will be hygienic, warm, and pleasant and you will be delighted and fit for any work. Esotericism calls these garments magnetic. All diseases today are nothing but holes in these Divine garments. Your ear aches – there is a hole in the garment. You have pains in your leg – there is a hole in the garment etc. These garments cannot be mended with patches, you will turn to God and He will send to you masters to renew the garments, because they are skilled at this art. I now notice a sort of embarrassment among you. You should not be embarrassed; you should take an impartial viewpoint. You have solved a certain problem in the wrong way – you will have to start solving it again from the beginning. But you will say that you make no mistakes. You do, everybody can make a mistake, and even educated people also make mistakes. When you go back to do the problem again you will understand what you have missed. Your overall life is not bad, but you have made mistakes. Small mistakes are worse than big ones, as they are difficult to see. You need to harmonise your temperaments and I have decided to split you in groups according to your temperaments. Two nervous people when placed together cannot get along well, therefore, the one has to be hotter and the other one colder, so that they can pour into each other. Two busy-bodies cannot live together as they would kick each other, just like horses. All those who bite, who gossip, all of them are busy-bodies. Therefore, when you meet, ask each other "Are you a busy-body?" –If the answer is "Yes, I am," then you need to look for somebody else. A person of no mercy has a head like a shelter. In the future, education at school should be consistent with the principles of phrenology. Now when I talk to you, you kick each other, because you are not properly placed. Your currents are not identical. You have to be at a metre’s distance from one another, but now out of necessity, you stay as if in prison and you think, "I need trouble, because a trouble-less life is more trouble." If somebody grips your hand tight, when shaking hands with you, you will be displeased, but if you love this person, you do not mind. This shows that your thoughts are different. I do not mind shaking hands, but too much shaking hands is no good. But if you decide not to shake hands, this is even worse. Poor people must have somebody to work for so that they can become rich. Someone may say one is stupid, but such a person does not tell the truth, because if somebody else says so about the first person, the first person will be angry. You have no right to say that God made you stupid. God made us all smart, but later on, when we studied at the devil’s school, we became stupid. I would like you to follow good examples. Some of you have very good features, and I do not mean the artificial ones, but the ones given to you by God. Some style their hair as a big bun, some make their faces paler, but all of this is artificial, and this is taken away. The artificial additions are useful, but not substantial. So, virtues cannot be artificial, therefore, try to see only the good aspects in each sister. Christ’s law is as follows: never think that your sister is hypocritical or bad. Go to the mineral kingdom, take a crystal and examine it; then go to the plant kingdom and examine one wheat grain; then move on to the animal kingdom and finally you come to the human beings, you will see that human beings have virtues that are not to be found in the minerals, plants, or animals. This indicates that God lives in human beings. This is the reason why some of you stumble. If you think that one or another of you is still callow, you won’t be able to develop. If you allow a mistake within you, you will impede yourselves just like a small particle of dust in the eye impedes your sight. Now if I ask one of you to come in front and talk to you for about five to six minutes, you will not be able to put up with her. You will say, "Is she the only one experienced? We are also experienced!" Remember that there are no two people who have the same experience. Some exaggerate their experience a little. For example, a woman saw an old man in white clothes and a white hat, and she says, "I saw God!" Did this old man tell you that he was God? "No, he did not, but I presume that this was Him." You see a young man, you like him and you say, "This is the one for me." The young man, however, passes by and does not come back. This is what understanding the Truth means, the Truth, which is preached to us, to learn to speak the Truth without going too far. Some people, in order to show that they are very modest, take on sins they have never committed; while others deny sins they have committed. Both methods are wrong. Everything must be accurately rendered in Christ’s Teaching. The closer you are to the essence of the issue, the closer you are to this Teaching. I talk about the way in which you can correct your hearts, minds, and souls. I tell you that you, being servants, do not perform your services on time, you are a little late, and afterwards you offer false excuses. Speak the Truth as it is! This is the only way God can teach you and other people can support you in your thoughts and endeavours. Every book you read will be of significance to you. Some say, "Let’s only read the Bible." All right, let’s assume that you have investigated the Bible and you feel like reading another book; read it, do not think it is from the devil. Read every book from which you can learn a lesson. This is what abiding in Divine Love means, which is eternal and which brings all goods. It brings juices for the nose, and for the mouth, and for the eyes, and for the heart. If you have these juices, you will be immortal. Immortality is required to find eternal happiness. We can be happy on Earth too. You think you are unhappy. Why? Because God did not love you. If you say so, then these are your karmic sins. Therefore, come out of your cellars and take the words of Father and Son to heart. People with ideas need to struggle, but we Christians are pusillanimous people. Now if you are chased for a while you will start doubting whether this Teaching is righteous or not. Well, which teaching is righteous? You will ask yourselves whether this food is real or not. Eating or not eating from this food you will die all the same; the only difference is that those who have eaten more shall have more experience and knowledge. What is important is not to think evil of others. This is what I want from you. Your bad thoughts affect me very much. Do not make me throw up, because it will splash all of you. Speaking about Christ’s Teaching and saying that it will save you, I mean all of your hardships, I do not want you to become saints. To one of you I give the simplest of tasks – to add one plus two; to another one – to add three plus four. By adding one plus two you will receive three. The number three shows that you, being one, will die, and your children will remain to live off you. Mothers die, children grow younger, i.e. the juices of the number three will penetrate into your children. You say, "We will die then." Yes, but when you come back for a second time, the children will die and you will live. Death implies self-sacrifice. You should all look upon each other the way mothers look upon their children. Christ’s Teaching is a method of how not to get soiled. I shall recommend something else to you: when a sister of yours is in grief, in trouble, let five or six sisters go and visit her at her home and let them pray that things get better. If someone is sick, you will get together at his or her home and you will pray, even if that person may be at odds with some of you. You will say, "God, we decided to work the way you want us to, this is why we gathered together, to learn how to live!" This is how I want you to see Easter. Your hearts should be wide, don’t be narrow-minded. Divine Love is infinite. When you say that somebody is bad, you should understand that this person is the door through which evil and all impurities will pass. When you see that your husband is in low spirits, you should be aware that he throws rubbish out. On the following day, when you throw your rubbish out, your husband should thank God. Today you are happy, when it is not you throwing rubbish out and your hands are clean, but your houses are not. I speak to you today so that every evil, every malice, every doubt can die. Apply these practical rules and do not disclose the results, only keep getting stronger until you see the fruit. However, the Christians of nowadays only show off… You will now dwell on line nine and ten of this chapter and upon the words Father and Son. Master’s lecture, delivered on 17 April 1919 (Good Thursday). ___________________________________________________________________ 1 In English the double meaning can be found in the origin of the word - From Latin - from gradi to step i.e. trans+gredi = to step beyond or across 2 1 John 4:2 3 2 Corinthians 5:16 4 Pencho Slaveikov is a poet – two years older than the Master Petеr Deunov, who died 7 years before this lecture was delivered

If I Had Not Come "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin." (John 15:22) „They would have no sin “. We look upon sin from a particular opinion and not in the way the modern people understand it. They consider for sin this which is not and what the true sin represents, they don't know. –Why?- Because they divide things into good and bad according to how they affect them, how they feel about them. A man considers every pleasant thing for good and every unpleasant thing for bad. He who lends him money passes for a good person; the one who doesn’t- passes for a bad one. This is a wrong conclusion. Someone may lend you money but he is a bad person; someone else does not lend you money but he is in fact a good man. Therefore, we consider the sin in principle regardless of the human personality and perceptions. Today, all people talk about the sin without being able to solve it. Whichever newspaper you open, every page contains description of the sins and crimes of people. If an apache steals from someone, they immediately starts chasing him because they consider the lie and theft as big crimes. If someone takes your money you sue him, a whole Eastern question is raised until they return it (the money). Everyone considers money as a great good. Money is only a condition, which people have exaggerated so much that they consider it as a goal in life. They say: It is impossible without money as well as without a sin. It is not like this. It could be lived without money and without a sin. Christ says: If I had not come and spoken to them, they wouldn’t have a sin. He connects the responsibility for the sin with His coming. - When does a man sin?- When he doesn’t listen to the words and advice of love. When a man sins, he first shows disobedience, then failure to do what he is told. It is said in the Scripture: "The payment of sin is death." This means: sin deprives man of the greatest good - life. If anyone asks why he should not sin, he will know that sin will deprive him of the greatest good he is given. "Why does God deprive me of life? The answer is in the verse: "If I had not come and had not spoken to them, they would not have a sin." In the first chapter of the Genesis. God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the fruits of the tree for knowing good and bad. As they did not obey HIM and did not fulfill His command, they did wrong. In this way, they brought the sin in the human life, which people cannot get free of even today.– What were these fruits?– This is not important. One thing needs to be known: As the rust corrodes the iron so does sin undermines the foundations of human life. The sin is fire that corrodes, stains and corrupts the human soul by depriving it from its body.–Can the soul not manifest without a body? – It cannot. As the salt cannot manifest without an acid and foundation, so cannot the human soul manifest without a body. Such is the law of the physical world. Therefore, in order for a chemical reaction to be carried out, two bodies that interact with one another are needed and a third body is formed. Fire is needed for this aim. It melts and oxidizes the bodies. Precious substances are melted by the fire, for example, gold, platinum, silver while the non precious ones are oxidized and decomposed. From the perspective of the Divine law, i.e. from the perspective of the alchemical law, which are the two bodies that interact? These are the Heaven and the Earth, comprised of the four main elements: air, water, fire and earth, i.e. from solid, liquid, airy and light or radiant matter. As a result of this interaction, man appeared, the fifth element called the "Little World". If the Earth and Heaven in man do not come together, how will the real, inner man be born? From the point of view of alchemy, the Earth is a foundation, the Heaven is an acid, and the man is salt. That is why, Christ says, "You are the salt of the Earth." Under "Acid", a Divine power that penetrates everywhere and makes, creates new worlds is understood. Under "foundation’, a set of forces that help the Divine power to gather the necessary elements for the creation of the man - the small world is understood. When it is talked about the Heaven, I do not envisage the paradise because this is a state and not a place of bliss. By talking to His disciples of bliss, Christ again understands states that a man goes through. He says: ‚Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.“ Under ‚poor in spirit’, a man who is easily melted and decomposed is understood. These are qualities of the salt. The good man must melt like the salt. As soon as you put a salt in the water it immediately decomposes without a protest, therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is its. The water is a foundation, a bearer of life, while life - one of the conditions for acquiring the Kingdom of God. So once he melts like the salt, a man is already entering the Kingdom of God. As it falls on the ground, the snow melts and in this way, it brings its blessing to life. As long as people smoulder and suffer and do not melt, the evil will spread and rule the world. Why do people suffer?– Because they are hard, they do not melt. It is said in the Scripture: „The heart of this people hardened’. ‚Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted’. When the cooking salt stays in the air, it absorbs the water and becomes moisturized, i.e. it starts dewing. In this way, it salts the bodies. Therefore, the one who mourns attracts the moisture, i.e. the life and in this way, he salts the environment, which he lives in. If you do not do the same you cannot get comforted. „Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the Earth. And the salt in the broad sense of the word is quiet and meek. When it dissolves in the water, it does not ferment, it does not make noise around itself. And in a dissolved state, the salt calmly awaits its time for the warmth to come from outside, to evaporate the water and re-appear again in its initial form - like a pure , crystalline salt. It knows that now it ill be purer than it was before. Therefore, the meek people are salt that moisturizes the air and starts dewing, it dissolves in the water and this state spreads all over the Earth, until it crystallizes again in beautiful, pure crystals. „Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled’. – When does a man feel thirst?- When he has eaten salty food. Then he needs more water. Only a man experiences thirst in different directions: thirst for water, knowledge, light, freedom, and others. It is however said: „they who have thirst and hunger for righteousness will be filled’. ‚ The meek one who resembles the salt needs to feel hunger for righteousness. Christ says to his disciples, "You are the salt of the Earth." He says about Himself, "I AM the light of the world." Salt plays an important role on Earth. Even the light cannot appear without salt. Indeed, the disciples of Christ were an environment through, which He was manifested. Salts consist of two things: metal and metalloid, or metal and a residue of acids. But the salts are not found either in the acids or in the bases. To explain how salt is formed, sow a wheat grain and watch how it grows and develops. Planting is a process of spirit and not due to either the Earth or the sun only. The Earth and the Heaven, united in one, provide conditions for the Spirit to manifest Itself. In the evangelical language, under "spirit" we mean salt. Where the spirit is, i.e. the salt, there is a consonant; where the spirit is absent, there exist contradictions. That is how the old people understood the spirit and so did they work with it. Old scientists have recognized the existence of four elements in nature: earth, water, air and fire. Modern scientists have considered this Teaching for wrong but the newest scientists agree with it and from this perspective, they maintain the existence of four states of the matter that correspond to the four great worlds. The Earth contains a lot of forces some of which people will study about in the future. The Earth is studied more from the outside and less from the inside. However, the outside view of the Earth and its inner contents are two different things. The occultists call the acid (which chemistry talks about) Heaven, while the base - Earth. The Earth in man constantly creates, acts, desires. This is the reason for a man to be constantly unsatisfied, always wanting something new. The Earth called a base, flesh - feeds the desires, shapes them and forms the human body from them. Therefore, there is a Heaven and Earth outside and inside man. He needs to know their service and to assist them. The desires and ideas come from the Heaven, and are realized on the Earth. She is the mother of the manifested man , while the Heaven – his father; the Earth is the soul, while the Heaven - the spirit of a man. They have worked in order to create him, they are still working in order to perfect him. Christ says: If I had not come and had not spoken to them, they wouldn’t have a sin." If there is no sin, there will be no death too. . If the acid and base did not interact, they would have manifested as destructive forces. Because they interact and form the salt - the bearer of life, the destructive forces do not manifest themselves. Life also exists in the acid and the base, but it differs radically from the life of the salt. Today's people understand the life of salt more than the life of the acid and the base. „If I had not come.“ Christ came to the Earth to deliver the people from sin, and thereby to free the human soul from the matter, with which it was entangled. "How will He release it?" - Through the acid He carries in the world. Only the acid is able to tear the bonds of matter. Only a man is able to release the closed bird from the cage. However, if it returns back to the cage, the bird dies. So, freedom is its life. Many of today's people are sentenced to live in a cage, that is, sentenced to premature death. When they do not realize this, they say: Here is the real life. As much as they are offered to leave the cage, they refuse under the premise that freedom is an empty work. When they come out of the cage, they already understand the meaning of life and freedom. A beautiful, black-haired, pink-faced and cheerful girl, marries a Don Juan who immediately closes her in a cage and deceives her with a little millet. She jumps in the cage up and down, rotates but stops singing. When he is satisfied, he throws her away and replaces her with another bird. Many women today are thrown out of the cages and are suffering. and mourning their days. "Why are they thrown out?" "For God has told them not to enter the cage, but they have not listened to Him. Today they bear the consequences of their disobedience. Whether you believe or not in my words is not important - you will try them. A day will come when your beloved will throw you out of the cage and you will believe my words. People divide themselves into men and women but are not true men and women. They play the role of such ones. The woman symbolizes love, while the man - Wisdom. Which of the modern women manifests love? Which of the modern men expresses the Wisdom? The woman will say that her heart has been burning from love. The burning of the heart is not love. The wood also burns but does not love. There is a huge difference between the burning of the heart and love. The love of modern people is transient, like that of the brood, who breeds songbirds in a cage. As the bird grows, he sells it and starts to breed another. One of David’s sons tried this love. He fell in love with his sister and pretended to be sick in order for his father to send her to look after him. When he experienced the human love, he despised his sister and drove her away. Today this love dominates the world. Today you love, the next day you hate. This is not love. A young man is burning from love towards a girl but when he cooks his meal on her fire, eats and then he says: I don’t need this pot. Sometimes, the girl cooks on her fire, sometimes the young man. This is how all people act. When they cook a meal on their fire, they throw the pot and say: Our life is nomadic.Why should we carry pots with us to weigh us. There are many pots in the world, both male and female. Where we stop, there we will look for a pot. However, this love leads to death. Knowing this, do not ask why people die. Quite simple. A man dies because his master has cooked a meal in his pot, has eaten well and has thrown the pot. When the pot is broken, his relatives gather around him, weep, read prayers for the comfort of his soul. Why are these memorial services? You say God so ordained. In response to their understanding, Christ says, "If I had not come and talked to them, they would not have had a sin; now, however, they have no excuse for their sins. " When the truth is being spoken, people say they are tempted. What temptation can a pot that is full of dirt talk about? It is another question, if it is righteous, i.e.pure. However, righteous people do not exist on the Earth. Every pot is covered with dirt either externally or internally, it carries dirt. One pot will say it is righteous and holly. I am not mistaken, I can smell the odor of dirt from a far. You cannot mislead neither Christ nor God in this way. In order to acquire purity and holiness, the pot has to be washed from outside and within. People wash the pot only from the outside and pass for devout. When the boy falls in love with a girl, he represents as gentle, kind, ready for all sacrifices. He says to the girl that he is ready to die for her. How would he die when he is not yet alive? Many of the nowadays people are more dead than alive. How is it then possible for the dead to die? It makes sense for the alive one to self-sacrifice for his beloved but in no way could the dead one self-sacrifice and die for other people. Therefore, do not trust a person who has long since died. It makes sense for a man to self-sacrifice, but not to die. Death is the work of sin. God says, "My soul is not delighted in the death of the sinner." Should someone say he dies of love, he does not speak the truth. He will not die, but he will eat his victim. He does not love the soul of man, but his wealth. You go to a beehive with bees, you burn incense on them in order to take their honey, and say you love the hive. You do not love the hive, but its honey. So does the devil do. When he comes to you he says, "How much do I love you! As you turn around, he cuts the fruit out of your tree and says, "Good bye! Next Year when you have fruit, I will visit you again. When someone dies, his relatives gather around him, weep and say, "He was a good man. - Why are they crying? - That the pot has left for somewhere. They say the pot broke, and we say it has got alive and has got free of the bonds of death. All people talk about love but no-one has seen it. If someone says they have seen love, this is the love of the ashes. Human love can only be seen in the fireplace, where it burns, incinerates and turns into ashes. Which woman and man are satisfied with their life as married? Everyone dreams of marrying but in the end they say it is not worth for a man to get married. Few people have married right and are happy with their life. Whoever is unhappy with love, he has come to the magnetic, unstable and transient love. It is the result of excitation of the small brain in man. Thanks to this, the young ones fall in love, attract each-other and when they separate one from another they fall out of love. Attraction, which is a result of the magnetism is not love. In order to magnetize, the young ones hold hands and kiss each-other. The true love does not manifest neither by holding hands nor through kissing. The magnetic love is the beginning of love, a condition for the manifestation of the acids and bases. That is the reason that the ones that have fallen in love become sour, nervous and unrestful. When she falls in love, the girl, gets annoyed, crossed, she cannot put up with anyone. Her mother thinks that she is ill and calls for a doctor to check on her. The girl is not ill but has a fire burning in her fireplace, the pot of food is cooking on the fire. As the girl is not accustomed to this fire, she is excruciated and suffering. When she cannot withstand the fire, she gets in despair and wants to commit a suicide. The same happens with the boy. They say that someone has committed a suicide from love. This is not true. Love resurrects, enlivens, rejuvenates man. What makes him commit a suicide is the result of unsustainable human feelings. In order not to fall under their influence, one has to listen to the voice of his Divine Soul, which protects him from the unclean pot. "I want to cook in it. "The pot is unclean, you do not need such a meal. Many modern people are nervous and ill and all is from love. You do not need love that shakes the basics of health, exhausts the nerves and leads to despair and suicide. And so, the first manifestation of love is this of the attraction, i.e. the magnetic love. The second manifestation of love is the friendship. It is a higher degree of love than the magnetic one. Every man wants to have a friend whom to share his thoughts and feelings with. However, the friendship is unsustainable too, it can easily be destroyed.- When does the friendship between two people not resist. – when it does not rest on a good foundation - in order to resist, it has to have three tangible points: to the physical, spiritual and Divine worlds. Two people become friends and start common work. Their relationship is mainly on the physical world. They become allies but it does not pass long, their friendship is spoiled, it cannot resist to only one connection. The third manifestation of love rests on the similarity between souls. When two people have similar thoughts, feelings and deeds they do not attract each-other, neither do they become friends but they connect in the name of the Divine in them. Their connection is inseparable. Nothing is capable of separating them. Only soulmates can connect in this way. „If i had not come and had not talked to them.“ – What has Christ talked to them about?– About the third manifestation of love. If people had accepted the Christ teaching, they wouldn’t have had a sin and would have become immortal. Now, because they live more in the magnetic love, they have sins and death watches them. People do not yet know the similarity as a manifestation of love, hence they are ill, suffer and die. Similarity between souls implies oneness in their manifestations, oneness in their views and understanding of the great virtues : love, wisdom, truth, righteousness and good. This does not mean that they are the same in the letter. They understand each-other in spirit, and not just in external manifestations. It is a great thing to be connected with a soul of inner kinship. What we mean by "truth" is fundamentally different from the common man's understanding. His truth means "cooling". Truth is the leaven of Divine life. This truth has been sought by the alchemists; this truth is looked for by the modern scientists too. Everybody is looking for the truth, but they do not find it, because they are looking for it in a wrong way, there where it is not. Instead of the truth, they come across a bird-man who puts them in his cage, with other birds. When he is satisfied with them, he throws them out. When people are talked about the magnetic love, they are scared not to loose the preciousness in themselves. What happens with the iron sawdust when it gets magnetized? It temporarily gets magnetized and soon it looses the quality of attracting light small bodies. However, the properties of the iron do not get lost. For the same reason, a man who lends himself to the magnetic love is temporarily attracted by it and changes only externally. However, he retains his inner qualities. As soon as he gets free from the influence of this love he remains externally and internally in the same way nature has created him. No force in the world is able to change the inner qualities of a man. In other words: no force in the world is able to change the Divine in man. What should your beloved ones be? – They have to be nude in spirit, to be able to melt; they have to be mournful in order to be comforted; they have to be meek in order to inherit the Earth; they have to be hungry and thirsty for righteousness in order to be satisfied. Hunger and thirst imply self-sacrifice.- Who does a man self-sacrifice for?– for his neighbour with an aim to elevate him. Christ says: „I came to the world to lay my soul down for my neighbour. I have a power to lay it down, I have a power to also take it away.“ You will say that everything you are talked about is good but you cannot agree with the thought that your love leads to death. It is not necessary to agree with my words. It is important to study your love and see what results it produces. We are not interested in the pots that are cooking in your fireplaces and God is not interested in them either. Look at how many of your pots have remained healthy, after they have cooked on your fire. Look at how many people have remained healthy after having eaten the food that has been cooked in your pots. Who from nowadays people have not died of love? Follow the love of your close ones and you will see that whoever has died, the reason for his death is either the magnetic love or the friendly love, which he has succumbed to. Modern people need cleaning but not in the way they clean themsleves in the bathroom. Someone goes in the bathroom and asks for a man to rub him until the dirt comes out of his body. This is not cleaning. In this way, you do not acquire purity and holiness, which you can enter God’s Kingdom with. Whoever seeks purity and holiness, has to alone get melted and enter the bathroom of the Divine life. In this way exactly will he become more white and cleaner than he has been earlier. „Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted’. The word ‚mournful’ implies growth in the virtues. You cannot grow in virtues if you do not mourn. If you are mournful for your mother, either you have to go to her or she needs to come to you. If you mourn for the light, you need to go to it. Only in this way, will you grow in the virtues. Therefore, if you want to grow and develop in virtues, first you need to go to God. This means, to give up all temporary connections on the Earth that impede your development. „Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the Earth’. The meek one is the salt on the Earth.- How does salt occur in nature? – In dissolved condition, in the sea water and as a mineral - rock salt. It needs to separate from the sea water and rock salt in order to get purified. If it is in a pure state, it represents the Divine life, which everyone aspires to. This life is a combination of the love and wisdom: love acts on the Earth while wisdom - in the Heaven. In order to understand what love and wisdom are, a man has to above all know whether he can get dissolved or not. – How would we guess? – Very simply, you will find a secret door to God’s Kingdom and there you will find out whether you can melt. In this way, you will understand the verse: „Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the Earth.“ Work and effort are needed for this, to sweat 99 times a day and everything in you to get dissolved for the Divine life. Only in this way will you understand the meaning of labour and work, of joys and sufferings. When you melt, you will rise up into the Divine world and everything earthy will remain on the Earth. When it is talked about the high world, some say they have seen it in their dream. The dream is not a real vision. To only see the outer form of things this is not yet knowing and understanding. This is like saying that a person is pure only because he is clean from the outside. Do you know what purity is? When a pure person enters your home, if you are ready for the Divine life, he will bring you the biggest blessing. If you are not ready, you will go through big suffering. He does not want you to suffer but your misunderstanding brings you darkness and obscurity. And Christ came among the Hebrews, he brought light to them through which he was showing the right path, but they did not accept Him and crucified Him. They gave up His light and accepted the darkness. While darkness and death are synonymous. This is what happens to everyone who gives up life. As soon as you give up life, death comes. Christ is the Path, Truth and Life. Therefore, whoever renounces Christ, enters hell, the place of darkness, the decomposition, the interruption of ties with all living beings. This means helping to destroy your own life as well as that of your neighbour. If you realise this, will you not suffer? Many are afraid of suffering. Fear is in place if it precedes sin. However, if you are afraid after sinning, your situation is bad. Therefore it is said: ‚The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’. If you mourn before you sin, it is good; if you mourn after sinning, it is bad. He who mourns before he has sinned can improve his life; he who grieves after the sin, comes across unbearable suffering. It is said that the anger of God is poured out on the children of disobedience. It is so for the present epoch but the future one brings a blessing to the righteous ones. It will be extremely demanding to the sinners.- Who am I from? – If you want to know who you are from, ask and answer yourself whether you melt, i.e.are you meek, do you starve and strive for the righteousness? – Do you get dissolved like the salt? I don’t dissolve.– You lose the first dice. Do you mourn? No. – You lose the second dice.– Do you have hunger and thirst for the righteousness?– No. – You lose the third dice. After that whatever the priests talk about, regardless of how the people calm you down. you will know that you are not saved. One of the qualities of Christ’s blood is the dissolution and melting. Therefore, he who drinks from Christ’s blood he will be saved. Therefore, Christ saves the man. Despite that the young girl thinks she is saving the young man, while the young man thinks that he is saving the girl. Both are on a wrong path. What salvation is this which makes them nervous, in despair and unsatisfied? The boy places his tentacles on the girl, like an octopus, and sucks her. And the girl does the same. This is the devil of the sea who manifests through them. In the new upbringing, the mother needs to tell the truth to her daughter, while the father - to his son. If the daughter has fallen in love and suffers, her mother needs to tell her: daughter, this is not love. Your pot and the pot of your beloved are not yet clean, you cannot cook in them. Assign your hope to God and He will show you, where your beloved is and how you will find him. I believe in only one God, Who has the power to teach us the great law of love. Everyone who has come with the thought of matchmaking, he necessarily hides a bad thought of some sort in himself The matchmakers want to gather two young people so that they can help each-other. In fact, it turns out differently. Instead of helping each-other, they start to fight who should take the first place. Here you are, the Bulgarians also fought for Bulgaria to become a great country. Did it become great? Not only that it didn’t but today they are also scared of the decision of the Alliance. What do the people from the Alliance think. What God thinks for Bulgaria. God has decided to take Bulgaria through fire in order to clean its pot. He says: I do not need Bulgarians who do not melt , who are not meek and mournful, who do not have hunger and thirst for the righteousness and truth. The same is valid for all peoples. „If I had not come and talked to them, they wouldn’t have a sin.’ Today, in all churches they pray for Bulgaria, let there be no sufferings on it, that is, its pot not to go through fire. The Bulgarians are afraid of the neighbouring countries taking more land and becoming more powerful. To take more land means to cook more bones in their pots. What would these bones bring to them? You will know: a man or nation that does not melt will be thrown out. This is valid for all people and nations without an exception. All people and nations can get melted but they don’t want because they are in the arms of their beloved who gives them different promises. He tells them that he will decorate them with diamonds, to shine from afar. Diamonds are not given for the octopuses. Everyone can work such diamonds out and carry them in himself. Only in this way can a man be brave, strong and ready for all sacrifices. If anyone asks what future they are expected to have, I will answer them: Your future is enviable if you melt, if you are meek and mournful, if you have hunger and thirst for the righteousness.– This is hardly achieved. Yet, it can be achieved. „If I had not come.“Because the truth has come, a man would either love or die - one or the other. When it dissolves, the salt does not disappear, but it becomes cleaner. Regardless of how many times you dissolve it in water, it does not get tired. However, if you put the tree only once in the fire, it disappears and turns into ash. If you resemble the salt, after your dissolution, you will crystalise again, i. e you will resurrect; if you resemble the tree, you will burn and will turn into an ash and will be thrown away on the heap. It is said in the Scripture that if the salt desalts it will be thrown out. And so, the blessings Christ talks about to his disciples are related to the salt. If a friend comes to you, ask him whether he wants to dissolve and melt like the salt: whether he wants to be meek and mournful, to have hunger and thirst for the righteousness. If he answers in the affirmative to all questions, he is a good man: if he answers in the affirmative to only one question without providing an answer to the other questions , keep away from him. This is what Christ has spoken to the people at that time. This is how it should be spoken to the current scholars, preachers, public figures and others. This is how the Christ teaching should be understood so that you don’t say one day: We splashed in water and were thirsty. It is a pleasant and easy job for a man to get melted. When bathing, he can check whether he dissolves or not. Children love bathing but so do the adults. Attention is required from them to test each-other whether they can dissolve and melt. This will lead them to self-knowledge. – How can I know whether I melt?– If someone steals a big sum from you and you do not get upset, you are able to melt. If you get upset, you cannot melt. If you go in the shoes of someone who suffers you are capable of melting. It is pleasant to meet such a person. He is good and has beneficial influence on the surrounding people. It is worth going down to the bottom of hell for one good person. The Heaven opens to him and your soul becomes joyful and light. It is pleasant to listen to musicians who do not only play but also feel and live in that which they perform. Many talk about love without feeling, penetrating and applying it. This means one thing is spoken while another is fulfilled. When you see a lambkin you say you love it. It responds bee-e. This means: isn’t there a person who actually loves me? You love the lambkin but think when it is killed you will have some meat from it. This is not love. Most people love each-other in this way: this is how many young men and women love each-other – In the end, one of them will always become a victim as the lambkin of his master’s butcher’s knife. The modern life is full of butchers. How many lambkins go as a sacrifice! I am astonished by the greatness of God, His mercy and love, His patience. He sees all people’s crimes and is patient. You feel doubt and suspicion everywhere. While someone is feeding you, you are with him. As soon as the abundance stops everyone leaves him. This is not Christianity, not a moral. I do not blame you but am pointing your weak sides, to look into yourselves and learn how to melt right. The world is overwhelmed by explanations in love. If you sacrifice, sacrifice for God, not for man. I do not want you to sacrifice or die for me. This is the greatest misfortune for a man. It is wanted from everyone to give up sin, transgression and disobedience. Get rid of the jealousy that ruins your souls. Clean your houses and then anticipate Christ to visit you. Put more love into your life. When making bread, when cooking, apply your love. And then whoever eats from your bread will be blessed. Bread, made without love, brings poison to man. Do not poison yourself, neither your relatives. No one has the right to cause the suffering and death of his neighbour. A pure and holy life is required of all. Everyone has to melt, become meek and mournful, to have hunger and thirst for righteousness. Christ says, "I am the light of the world." Therefore, whoever seeks this light will enlighten; whoever does not seek it, will walk in gloominess and darkness. You will say that the light is manifested through each lamp. Every light, whatever it may be, reflects the Divine Light, but the reflection disappears if it is not connected with the main source. The true light is in the human brain, not out of it. The light comes only from above. Whoever perceives the Divine life within himself, he begins to shine like the sun. And then the verse "You are the light of the world" is meaningful. So, while you are in the world, among people, work consciously, do not go into despair in order not to obstruct each-other. As you pass for cultural people, show your culture. Do not cause a reason for expelling the good people among you. They have come to help you. If you do not open your hearts for them, they will leave you. If they are to try the sting of a man, they can go among the beetles and bugs. They will be stung there too but at least they will protect themselves. The bug carries its sting in front, on its proboscis so that it can be seen. While the man carries his sting at the back. The human tongue is a sting hat breaks bones too. Whoever can take the poison out of his tongue he passes for a scientific and great person. „If I had not come and had not spoken to them “. Christ came among the people in order to show them how to live, how to fulfill the Divine Will, to work for the arrival of the Divine Kingdom on the Earth and for installing God’s glory. This is the positive side of the verse: If I had not come and had not spoken to them, they would not have a sin’. Sunday Lectures 02.03.1919 10:00 Sunday, Sofia Translated by Proletina Dragoeva-Jones

Conflict in Consonance "If the right eye seduces you, take it out." "If your right hand seduces you, cut it off." (Matthew 5:29, 30) The chapter that was read is related to the consonance and contradiction. “If the right eye seduces you, take it out; if your right hand seduces you, cut it off, if you are hit on one side, turn the other. “ For the contemporary people this language is misunderstood. If Christ talks to them in this way today, few will understand Him. Today, there are many churches that serve in the name of Christ and sing songs to Him but if He comes and starts talking among his followers as he did 2000 years ago, they will take Him for an unbalanced man. Whoever wants to listen to Him will come across great contradictions. What are the internal contradictions in a man owned to? All people maintain that they have come out of God but when they are spoken in the language of love they do not understand what they have to do. They ask themselves: How is it possible for a sheep to give birth to a wolf or for the wolf to turn into a sheep? All talk about brotherhood, equality, self denial but when it comes to applying these ideas, they get confused and do not understand anything. — Why do they not understand? — Because some self gain is hidden in the foundation of their life; they serve God but there is a self-interest in their serving: They want to gain food through their serving. Others become traders with the only aim to become rich — again self-interest is guiding them. Indeed, when a man is living, he needs to have food but it is important that he works with love. Otherwise, he will always apologise that his surrounding or external circumstances make him behave in a way that he doesn’t want. The wolf justifies himself too for eating the sheep because this is his skill. When he is in a difficulty, he says: If a man takes the skin of thousands of wolves and foxes, don’t I have the right to take the skin of at least one sheep? When the wolf attacks the sheep they immediately shoot him; when a man kills his neighbour in a time of war, he is not only uncondemned, but he receives a reward, cross for bravery. You will say that this is meant to be — in time of war, people to kill each other. Who has allowed the war? Which Divine law is this written in? It is talked about the war in the Moses’ teaching but in the Christ one, the war is not accepted. There is such a difference between Moses and Christ as there is a difference between the Earth and the Heavens. Therefore, when the Christians fight, they need to confess before themselves too and before the whole world that they act under the Moses’ law and not under the law of Christ, which presupposes an absolute application of love. Give the respective name to each of your deeds. Moses says: ‚eye for eye, tooth for tooth.“ Christ says: If they hit you on one side, turn the other“. Modern people live according to Moses’ teaching — the old culture. Moses says himself: “ God will advance another prophet — higher than me. Whoever does not serve this prophet signs himself his own death sentence“. Moses has talked about Christ and has himself confessed his teaching is imperfect. After all this, people ask themselves why if they have come out of God they don’t live well. Very naturally, people who do not live well have not come out of God. A mother calls on her enemies with the words: Let me give birth, then you will see! ’ She expects to give birth to a son who will revenge for her. Can this son be born of God? By inheritance, he will follow his mother or father’s line. The law of heredity is not understood by all. The Egyptians have believed in the resettlement of souls, Hindus in reincarnation while the contemporary scientists — in the heredity. These are three teachings with opposite meanings. The heredity is a law of the physical world, reincarnation is a law of the soul, while the resettlement of a soul is a law of the spirit. In other words, the Egyptians studied about the descending of the Spirit, the Hindus — the evolution of the soul, while the contemporary scientists — of heredity. They talk about land, houses, vineyards, property, inheritance of gifts and abilities. “ If the right eye seduces you, take it out and throw it“. In Genesis, it is talked about the serpent that seduced Eve to eat from the forbidden fruit in order for her eyes to get opened. Indeed, Eve ate from this fruit, she gave Adam to eat and from this moment their eyes opened. They looked upon the world, i.e. the temptations in life with their right eye. It is said that Adam and Eve were naked in the paradise; in fact, it is not so. Another thing is hidden in the nudity it is talked about, it is not an external nudity that is being understood. And for the development of the humankind, scientists give different explanations but the truth is far from them. In its development, the humankind has passed through the path of evolution but what it is expressed in, only few know. It is not enough to say that the evolution is evolution. Children know this too. And the most stupid Bulgarian girl knows to unwind the canvas but this is not yet an evolution. Some will say that the evolution has created everything. If the evolution was capable of creating, it will be a powerful force that changes, re-creates and transforms everything. In fact, the evolution is a process of the human spirit. Therefore, when it is talked about evolution, we need to understand it in its essence without attributing qualities to it, which it doesn’t possess. If we say that the evolution is a law of development, this is enough and there is no need of further explanations. What does a law mean? When are laws created and where exactly? Laws exist in both life and nature. The law exists there were the beings are not very cultural. Laws are created against thefts, crimes, the iniquities of people. Laws exist in nature too; there all beings from small to big ones live in fight and extermination amongst themselves. Such fight exists between people too. Despite that, everywhere it is talked about culture. A culture exists between people but this is a culture of the money and capital. This culture is related to Moses’ teaching. Therefore, there is something in common between capital and the Old Testament. They are synonymous. That’s why Christ says: “It is easier for a camel to pass through needle ears than a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God. ’ Under the ‚Divine Kingdom“ people understand something completely different from what Christ understands. On the whole, the Christ teaching is even today interpreted somehow. If Christ comes today among people, he will be astonished by this interpretation and by this which they call love. What love really is can hardly be defined but it is easy to understand. The child also understands love but it cannot define it. Love is the only force that can do everything a man wishes for. It gives impetus, impulse, aspiration. Without love, the will cannot do anything. Everything that a man loves can be realised. The ancient Hermetic school provides an exact definition of love. Hermes, in his philosophy explained all contradictions in life through seven principles. The contemporary science accepts only two of these principles: the principle of mentalism, according to the theosophists — the principle of manas, according to the occultists — the field of the mental world; that is a principle that defines the forms of things. The second principle is the field of the cardiac world, i.e.. the world of feelings, the vibrations through which the notion of light is explained. The other five principles stand out of the modern science. It does not deal with them but it still gives them the necessary names. For example, it calls the third principle ’a principle of the similarities of things’. The fourth principle is seen as a principle of polarity of the forces in nature. It is the reason for the existence of positive and negative forces. The fifth principle is the one of the tides. It maintains that everything that takes place in nature is exactly defined as the tides are and that a rhythm exists everywhere. There is an precisely defined rhythm, a tact in the music too. Music and tact do not exist without it. The sixth principle is the one of the causality and consequence of things. The seventh principle is the one of gender, i.e. male and female sex. The evil in the world came about with the revelation of this principle. Therefore, evil exists as a consequence of the men and women. When it is spoken about men and women, we do not understand their forms but the principles of a man and a woman as opposite forces in nature. Under a woman’, the creative principle is being understood. In order to build something one needs to collect building material: bricks, lime, sand, beams, tiles etc. When a house is built, some enjoy, others suffer. A man enjoys his new house while the trees, the stones and the plants are grieving. The workers do not enjoy much either. It happens some of the workers to fall out of a house and get maimed. The same happens with the creation of a human life. The parents are happy that a child was born to the world but many creatures around them are mourning. Therefore, the good of some is not good for all. This is the reason for the hatred between people. The disagreements between brothers and sisters, between religious and secular people are due to the same reason. Two shepherds are quarrelling because one of them has taken one of the sheep of the other. Two men are quarrelling because one of them has taken the beloved woman of the other. Therefore, Christ says: ‚If the right eye seduces you, take it out’. Which is the right eye in the man? — It represents the physical world. In order not to get misled by the appearance of things and to understand them, a man needs to know the laws of the physical world. Whoever does not understand these laws always fails. An acquaintance meets him and tells him that he will provide for him and will put his things in order. He believes but in the end he remains cheated. An unknown person enters the home of a good man and falls in love with his wife. In order to conceal his feelings, he plays the role of a noble person who wants to help the whole family. Eventually, the good man sees that the unknown person has had a solitary purpose to use his wife. This man has had bad intentions, which he has concealed with the word virtue’. To conceal bad intentions with something good speaks for bad traits of the character of a man, which are manifested even today by atavism. In America, in the distant past, a famous doctor lived who suffered from the mania to cut people. He helped a lot of ill people but many of them suffered from his knife. When he fell under the influence of his weakness, he took out his knife and cut the patient into pieces. The first victim of his abnormality was his secretary. At one point, he decided to cut in pieces the members of a family in whose home he was a home doctor, but here he was caught and handed over to the authorities. It turned out that he killed 25 people through cutting them into pieces. The judges asked themselves what the anomaly of the doctor was due to. They turned to special scientists who have told them that his weakness is hidden in his ancestors and predecessors. By inheritance, he has received this anomaly from them and today by atavism, he manifests it. This is why Christ says: If the right eye seduces you and you have the desire to kill your brother, you better take it out. If your right hand seduces you to commit a crime, you better cut it off. “ To take your eye out and cut your hand off are words that should not be interpreted literally. A man can take his eye out and still be seduced and commit crimes. What do the right eye and hand represent? — The eye represents the human mind, while the hand — the human will. Therefore, if the mind seduces you and you desire to commit a crime and direct your will in this direction, stop them and exert influence upon yourself in order to protect yourself from the evil. You will say that the wolf always remains a wolf, while the sheep — a sheep. This is not a positive philosophy. The wolf is a wolf, he strangles the sheep, but he can live like a sheep. The qualities of all animals are concentrated on a man. It depends on the man whether he will give priority to some or other qualities. When he works on himself, a man can cultivate his weaknesses and passions and ennobles them. Hardly can one cultivate and ennoble the animal outside the man but it can be easily cultivated in the man. This requires consciousness and sincerity in the work. Animals present stages of development, which a person has passed and still passes through. That is why, modern culture is divided into a "wolf culture" and "sheep culture". Modern people have to study the animals as symbols and benefit from them. When you study the horse, you notice that his hind legs resemble the human hands. In order for this feature to be re-cultivated, the Creator turned the hind legs of the horse into the hands of a man with which he can work and go forward. Indeed, a man is deprived of the art of kicking. Instead of kicking he has put his hands into work: he is lifting and putting the hoe down all day long, pulling the plow and handling the land. While he realise the service of his hands and works with them, one helps his neighbour to elevate. Once he forgets what the service of his hands is, he immediately applies his old craft — kicking, and pulls his neighbour down. This is atavistic, a remnant of the "horse culture". That is why, Christ says, "Cut off your right hand, which applies the old art — kicking. Stop kicking and start working. Raise your neighbour upward, while you alone go forward! "" If the right eye seduces you, pull it out and stay only with the left — the eye of love. "The left eye relates to the Divine Love, which drives people up and forward. Many ask me what religion I preach. I do not preach any religion but talk to people about a good life. My science is about the life, which people have lost. All people- scientists and stupid ones, young and old want to live well. The mother wants to have good children- children to have good parents etc. This wish is natural. However, noone can be good if they do not have life in themselves. Therefore, Christ says: I am the Path, Truth and Life. And Christ has not preached any religion but has talked about the path, truth and life, which a man needs to strive for. When they asked Christ which God to worship, He responded: "A day is coming and now is, when neither in Jerusalem will they worship nor in this forest, but will worship God in spirit and truth." This is not a religion but service to the true God in spirit and truth. You will say that this view destroys old ideas. The old is ruined by itself. Every new culture demolishes the old one. Every man needs to give up the old in order to build something new — more beautiful and strong. And the old religion will be destroyed; a new religion will come — the religion of work. The future is its. The new is distinguished from the old in that it gradually gets rid of the lie and wrong perceptions. Today all preachers pray to God to bless the weapons of their people. They have the right to pray for their weapons but as nationalists and patriots not as Christians. Christ has not supported the war, therefore, noone has the right in His name to pray for a blessing of the weapons and success in the war. Many hides behind Christ, justify their deeds in His name and say that in some verses it is said about the war as an inevitable process. This is not true. Christ has nowhere spoken about the benefit of the war. To the contrary, Christ says: ’Love your enemy. Do not object the evil’. “If the right eye seduces you, take it out.“ This means give up your perverted mind that has put your thoughts, feelings and deeds in a wrong direction. This mind has worn out your heart and the strength of your body. To give up your perverted mind is in the order of things. "If your right hand seduces you, cut it off." You say about someone: He is my right hand, I can not give him up. If this person has your interests and your own good into consideration like his ones, you should not give up on him. However, once he / she commits crimes, when he / she is harming you, you have to give up on him / her. If your right hand does crimes, you necessarily must give it up. And society does not tolerate such people. If it meets a man with a perverted mind and distorted will, it (the society) expels him. To throw the person out of yourselves, that is to say, not to succumb to his influences. If you have to succumb to something, it is love. Only love has the right to influence people. Whoever lives according to love’s laws, he is a good man. "Whoever lends himself to unloving is a bad man. Who is a good man? "Whoever remembers the good and forgets the evil. If you tell 100 good words to such a person and one bad word, he will remember the bad word and will forget the good ones. After all that, he thinks that when he departs to the other world, he will be accepted with honours. No, the higher world does not accept people with perverted minds, and hearts, with a right eye and hand that get seduced. Time reveals a man best and defines him either in the category of the good or the bad. In the future, the scientists will have labs in which they will define whether a man is good or bad according to his sweat. They will make such analyses that the nowadays scientists do not suspect. A science called: ‚bovarysme’, through which they also recognise who is a good and bad person exists. This science studies the beam that comes out of the human eye. This beam never lies. The beam that comes out of the eyes of the people whose thoughts and wishes are elevated is above the plane and in the upward direction. In bad people, this beam is below the plane and in the downward direction, to the ground. Watch this beam and do not be fooled by man's beliefs. Whatever his beliefs may be, when the beam of his eye is above the plane, he is good. If the beam is below the plane and down, he is a bad person. Even if he passes for a saint before the people, he is bad and cannot be relied on. When you study the ‚bovarysme’, you come to the conclusion that three categories of people exist: The first category live for God and for everything He has created; They are a 100% good people. The second category live for their neighbour and for everything around them. They are 50 % good people. The third category live only for themselves; they are 25% good people. If the parents do not treat their children well, they are not in their place. If the children do not respect their parents, they are also not in their place. If the man and the woman do not have a good relationship, they cannot be called ideal people. It is said for such people that their right eye and right hand seduce them. Their mind is distorted and resembles a snake which can surprise them any time. A snakesmith in Europe had been making different attempts, which he became famous with. It sufficed he said a few words to the snakes in order to make them wrap around him and upon his order to unwrap and go to their places. Among the snakes there had been one big and dangerous snake, which had also obeyed his orders. However, one day when she wrapped around him and had to unwrap, she didn’t listen. Instead of unwrapping herself, she pressed him more. When the snake smith’s bones cracked, the snake unwrapped herself and went to her place. Therefore, Christ says: 'Take out the head and tail of the snake from yourself, i.e. from your life and cast them’ The head of the snake is the right eye, while the tail is the right hand. Study your life and you will yourselves come to terms with this comparison. Many cite the verse, which i am talking about today, but they understand it as much as they understand the light. Everyone talks about the light but as a reflection of something. You see a glass and say that it is a glass but you don’t think how many refractions the light has gone through until you receive the image of the glass in your eyes. The photographer as the light too goes from one object to another, makes photos and then sells them to the people as real images so that they can study them. These are not real images but shadows of the objects. Every object needs to be in a natural position as are the leaves, branches, blossoms and fruits of the trees. Only in this way will you have a clear idea about it. One thing is required from the modern people: conscious attitude to things. Someone enjoys the flowers, their colours and scents and says: All this is created because of me.- It is not so. The colours and scents of the flowers are created for the attraction of the insects through which their pollination and fertilising takes place. If in this case, you can also use the colours and scents of the flowers, you are free to use them but you have no right to think that they are created for you only. Some theologians support the idea that the world is created for the man. It is not so. It has to be known which world it is talked about. If you are talking about the world created by man, with his own understanding, indeed, this world is for him. If you are talking about the vast, infinite and great world in which millions of beings are moving, it is not created for the man. Do you think, that the many planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Neptune, Uranus are interested in the man? Do you think the creatures living on these planets are interested in the work of Bulgaria and what is happening now in Europe? The higher world is interested in the works of Europe insofar as it sees in them the fulfilment of God's will. Thus, each person is interested in a prominent singer or musician as long as the song or music satisfies his soul's longings. If the deaf and ignorant come to the concert, they will not stay there. He will look here and there and will leave the concert. What interest does the madhouse represent for the healthy man? When he goes in it, he will experience fear and horror and will immediately come out. There are people in the madhouse each of whom live with their own idea. Some of them collect straws, put them in stacks, transfer them from one place to another until they get tired and go to sleep. They start the same job on the next day. Many of the modern people do similar kind of work, they transfer the straws from one place to another and when the end of their life comes they say: Thank God, we fulfilled our mission on the Earth in a due way. Now, we calmly leave this world and are going to God. Whoever was meant to go straight to God was not going to be sent to the Earth in order to study. A man comes to the Earth many times until he is ready to become an inhabitant of the Heaven. The Heaven is a place for love, wisdom and truth and not for gathering of straws and money. The inhabitants of the Heaven represent a big family, which members aim at applying the love and self sacrifice. To deny yourself, that is, to give up your excess load. That is why Christ says, "If you have two shirts, give one to your neighbour who has not one." It is terrible when the whole world is starving, while you think of your prosperity. Whoever thinks of himself looks like Nastradin Hodja, who says, "When my wife dies, half the world is lost to me; when I die, the whole world is lost. ’ It is time for people to deal with their contradictions and cease to deceive each other. Both the simple and the intellectual people need to get close to each other, to become brothers to each other. The people represent the men, while the bishops, priests and teachers — the women. Who spoils the people? Its servants. The woman has spoiled the man, while the man — the woman. You will say that the woman is a scary thing. Whatever is the woman such is the man too. May all men and women, priests and teachers, rulers and ruled unite and work together to set their people right. The new time excludes the lie. No lie is allowed. Whoever lies, whoever transgresses God's law, defines his own place, separates himself from the society of good and honourable people. The world needs healthy people, with bright minds and noble hearts. If you see people with their eyes taken out and their hands cut off, whether they are teachers, clergy, fathers and mothers, public figures, you cannot rely on them. Stay away from someone whose right eye is taken out and right-hand cut off. Future culture will include people with a healthy left eye and a healthy left hand. Their right eye and right hand will be replaced by new, healthy ones, but they will work under the impulse of the left eye and left hand. Once they asked the heart why it has gone to the left side of the chest. It responded: I chose the left side in order to show that i have nothing to do with the right hand and right eye of the man. When people are told about their deficiencies they say that they don’t want to listen to the words of this or the other one. If you don’t listen to the words of your friend, you will listen to the words of nature. Its language is strict and merciless. When it judges someone it stretches him on the ground and starts to gradually take off his fast, muscles and when she sends him off to the other world, it asks him: where did your philosophy go? When he cannot answer, his relatives say’God forgive him. — This is not a solution to the question. God forgives a man when the man alone undertakes to rectify his mistakes. This man has taken the house and field of his neighbour and after that he wants to be forgiven. Give back the house and field to your neighbour and you will be forgiven. While you do not rectify your mistakes, noone will forgive or excuse you. For thousands of years, people are all the time sorry for their mistakes without rectifying them. You will say that God is omnipotent and merciful. It is true, everyone has tried the Divine mercy and goodness but he requires from people to rectify their mistakes, i.e. to pay their debts. And today everyone asks themselves why death exists. Very simple, death is a tax collector that makes the debtors pay their debts. It is just and does not make any exception for anyone. When death arrives, everyone gets scared. Death comes to liquidate with people’s sins and crimes, i.e. with their debts. This is why, it is better for a man to be scared from the sin and not to sin and not to be afraid after he has sinned. I consider for good and honest those people who are afraid before they have committed a crime. A true hero is this one who does not run away from his debts but recognises and starts paying them. He turns to his neighbour and says: Brother, I committed a crime against you. I realise my mistake and am ready to accept the punishment, which i deserve. — What will the society say for this man? — To say and think whatever it wants. It is important what God thinks and says. Therefore, it is said in the Scripture: ’ The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.’ Many ask themselves why Christ has talked more with parables and symbols.- Christ’s aim has been to tell people the truth, to show them the right path without insulting them. However, despite that, they could not bear Him and crucified Him. He was saying to the priests: “You are holding the keys from the Heaven and neither you enter it yourselves nor do you let the others in. So are the modern Christians preparing for the Heaven, without responding to the name true Christians’. In order to bear this name, you need to penetrate the great teaching of Christ with a deep understanding about everything that happens in the world and preparedness to rectify every mistake of yours. The nobility of the human soul is hidden in this. Many are people’s delusions due to another delusion that the man is the crown of the beings, that he is created in the image and likeness of God. True men, created in the image and likeness of God are in Heaven, and Adam and Eve made of mud are still on the Earth. Some maintain the idea that the soul is made of blood, which after death is being spilled over the ground. Indeed, the flesh rots, the blood is spilled, but the living breath neither rots, nor does it spill and get lost, but remains for ever and ever. It is the Divine beginning in man that is immortal. It is subjected to the law of evolution. Therefore, the animal beginning in the man dies while the Divine lives forever. The Divine is important and not the animal. If your friend visits you with a horse, what is more important for you — his presence or the horse he has arrived with? The essence is your friend and not his horse. What meaning does the red or white horse, which your friend has arrived with have? The horse is important to the extent to be able to hear the arrival of your friend from afar. If the horse is white, you will also see your friend who is fast approaching you. When it is talked about the mortal and immortal beginning in man, the question of how a man will resurrect appears. According to some, a man will resurrect with the same body he has lived with on the Earth. This means that if a wrestler has weighed 100-120 kg, after his resurrection he will appear again as a strong, big and heavy man. This is the childish understanding and not the true resurrection of the soul. Resurrection implies a new, Divine life. In this sense, one can rise several times a day. Suffice it to give up one of his own delusions to raise something in him. Resurrection implies release. It has nothing to do with the grave of a man. Who has come out of the grave alive and resurrected? This has not been and will not be. However, a man is subject to constant changes. Therefore, Paul says, "We will not die, but we will change." It was and will always be. The present human is not what was in the past, nor will he remain such one in the future. Man changes in mind, heart and will; he also changes his understanding, his way of life. Modern people speak of dignity, will, strong thought, and so on. In my view, only he has a strong will who could give up the evil he has planned to do and replace it with good. You will say that this was known by your ancestors and great ancestors. They have known it, but they have not understood how the evil could be transformed in good. One angel was guilty before God in relation to something and as a punishment, he was sent to the Earth amongst the horses in order to study their language. When the horses were happy, they pronounced the sounds i-hu-hu. The angel learnt the language of the horses, he talked to them but when he had to be joyful and say i-hu-hu, he could not pronounce these sounds, which everyone laughed at him for. It wasn’t easy to pronounce these sounds.- Why? — Because he did not understand their meaning. Indeed, a man hardly says words, which meaning he doesn’t understand. What do the sounds i-hu-hu mean? When weddings are made in the villages, the Bulgarians have fun, dance and shout –i-hu-hu. In this way, they show their satisfaction that they have acquired something precious. First of all, the boy’s parents like a girl and send someone to request for her. An old, clever woman who starts the work diplomatically, usually performs this. First of all, she learns about the material situation of the girl, she wants to learn whether her parents have land, orchards and cattle. When she is convinced that the girl is wealthy, she starts to praise the young man, to talk that he is very hardworking, good-natured and that he is not deprived either. The girl’s parents listen but do not give an answer yet. The grandmother goes twice-three times and talks about the young man all the time until the parents of the young girl agree. They bring the young girl so that she can also say whether she agrees or not. As soon as the two sides agree, preparations for the wedding start taking place. The day of the wedding is defined and the enjoyment commences: the bride and the groom go forward, and afterwards the godmother and the godfather. She carries a sieve full of walnuts, dried fruit and money. All relatives, friends and acquaintances follow them. Everyone is joyful, smiling, music is being played. The godmother throws several walnuts or dried fruit and money from time to the kids who are eagerly waiting for that moment. When all rituals are performed, the music starts being played, the traditional dance Bulgarian Horo’ starts swinging lively, and one of the players shouts: "i-hu-hu." — What does the sieve, the fruits and the money mean? — The sieve is the human mind that brings wealth — walnuts, hazelnuts, fruit, money. Give the riches of your mind generously to all who need it. The children who collect the wealth represent the human thoughts and desires. The mind must give them an impulse to grow and develop. If the godmother is asked why she carries a sieve full of fruit that she hands over, she will say that this is a custom, but what lies in it she does not know. Modern people have a lot of customs, they perform a lot of rituals without knowing their inner meaning. Originally, the customs and rituals were in the person himself, but then he lost them and only the outer forms did remain. Originally, the temple was inside the man, but after he lost it, he began to build external temples, and to worship and pray there. With the loss of his purity, man lost all that was written in his heart and soul. What greater temple shall he seek out of Him Who is in him, and He that seeth in all nature? It is enough to go out, in nature, to see the sky, to get exposed to the sun, to breathe in the fresh air, and thank Him Who created the whole universe. Go out in the evening when the sky is dotted with countless stars to feel the influence of the Creator. Everything that goes around us is able to elevate our thoughts and feelings, to connect us with God. Here is where the church is, that is, the temple of the human soul. This is the Divine Church that feeds the souls. It is in and outside the man, among flowers and trees, rivers and seas, birds, and animals. Where life is manifested properly, there is the temple of God, there are the candles and light nights. When people unite and live in love and brotherhood among themselves, they enter the Divine Temple. All people are not at the same level, but all of them can be brothers and enjoy equally the benefits of life. For those who are tempted by other people’s good deeds and wealth, Christ says their right eye should be removed and their right-hand cut off. Time has come when the christian nations should become brothers and prepare for the future religion that is coming. After the 45th year, it will come, it will be imposed on the humankind and it will transform it. This is the religion of labour. After it, the new teaching will come — a teaching about life. While people live in the religion of labour, they will still quarrel, fight but should they enter the teaching of life, all this will disappear. — Why? -Because love gives birth to life. Therefore, everyone should give account to themselves in which religion they live — in the religion of labour or in the religion of love. There are two categories of people in the religion of labour: some of them live in a Divine way, while manifest in a human way; the others live in a human way while act in a Divine way. These are inevitable contradictions. However, live, work and anticipate the new religion, i.e. the new teaching of life, work and love. It is said that the animal in the human being is struggling, a man labours while God works. Give way to God in yourself. He will manifest and start working through you. What is the Earth? — Great School. Because many of the modern people are greedy, they seek exclusively to acquire material goods. Providence teaches them in the most rational way. As it cultivates the serpent’s greed so does it teach the greedy people. It gives the opportunity to the most unsatisfied snake to gulp so much that it feels satisfied for at least five-six days. So does it give a lot of material goods to today’s greedy people so that they don’t think about them for years. Providence gives some people wealth abundantly in order that they get satisfied and glutted. According to the law of surfeit, a man stops thinking about things he has dreamt about once upon a time. In this way, however, the unreasonable man is being taught. It is right to give up the transient things in life before you have reached surfeiting them. Should the drunken give up the drinking after he has got fed up with the wine? It is better to give up before that because after the surfeit, his body may get ill. Should the soldier from the battlefield give up a murder after he has got fed up with murdering. It is good that he gives up the killing on time before he has got fed up with it. Someone wants to live, to experience all pleasures of life but is immediately exposed to people’s criticism. The modern morality is wonderful! When people kill each other in the battlefield, they consider this is in the right order of things. When someone has pleasures, they criticise him. If one thing is allowed the other thing should also be allowed. If one thing is criticised and condemned, the other thing should also be criticised and condemned. Give people something better than this, which they aspire to and do not condemn them. When you hear you are talked in this way, you say: It is easy to talk, it is difficult to rectify the mistakes: it is easy to preach, it is hard to achieve the great things. This is true but a man should deal with his weaknesses and bad habits. It is not a question of restricting the man, but he should know what he needs for drinking and eating. Whoever is thirsty, let him drink but what? — Pure, fresh water. Whoever is hungry, let him eat but pure, healthy food. Whoever wants to think let him think but his mind should be busy with high and light thoughts. Therefore, eat, drink, think but do not destroy your future, do not oppose the aspirations of your soul. You will say that someone has fallen in love with a dancer. If she can save him, there is nothing bad in this. There are dancers who have saved dozens of men from degradation. The ideal side of things is important. In this sense, it is preferable to have dancers in the world who will save the people rather than not having them and people to live in idleness and crimes. You will say that this is not moral. Is the war moral? As soon as you allow the war, you will also allow the dancers. This is in the life of controversy. However, when the war ceases, the dancers will disappear too. Where there is evil, there are its consequences. Remove the evil as a reason in order to deal with its consequences. The lives of today’s people are full of contradictions. Hundreds and thousands of people die in the factories and mines. These sacrifices are justified only if the whole humanity is elevated with them. If this does not happen then they are not in place. — What is the ultimate goal of the modern culture? — To raise all peoples as well as all mankind. If a state has hundreds of steamers available, they only matter if they help the well-being of all subjects. Otherwise, it is preferable to get rid of them. All nations are fighting for more land; after all, apart from not earning anything their life becomes so much more expensive that they barely breathe under its weight. And Bulgaria fought for Macedonia without winning it. The profit from the war is the appreciation of life. Today, everyone is wondering how to pay their debts. This is in the order of the historical events, in the order of the human culture but is not in the order of the Divine teaching, neither in the order of the culture before Adam’s sinning. The culture of Moses differs radically from that of Christ. Prior to Adam, noble, pure and smart people lived. This is known by few. If this fact has to be proved to the present people, special tools and time are needed that we do not have today. You will say that this is only for justification. And even if I have time and tools, I can not prove the truth of my words. Truth does not need proof. Whatever I say is not subject to criticism and doubt. Why do you doubt the pure gold? Today’s people doubt because they believed in human promises and not in the Divine ones. Many men and women give big promises to one another with ought honouring them. In this way, they lose their faith and become disappointed. When you promise something, you will talk in consonance with the Divine grammar and logic where all symbols and each word are in their place. What does the comma mean in the promises which one person makes to another? The comma shows that his speech is not yet completed and that he needs to prepare his pen and finish it. Until the speech is finished, you can put a comma, semicolon, colon, etc. After the colon, a series of qualities of the subject or person that is talked about are being exhibited. Finally, when the speech is over, a full stop is being placed. Now, all that you are listening to me came out of paradise and started with a comma, then with a semicolon, with a colon, until you finally finished with a point. What does the point mean? — It means death — the end of old life and the beginning of the new. A new thought, a new situation come after the point. Someone says to himself: I, — put the comma, the rich once merchant, I went bankrupt today; I lived improperly and unreasonably. I want to live my life, but that's why I have to be credited. I want to live wisely, to rectify my mistakes. The one who credits uses a questioning and exclamation mark. He asks: Are you ready to pay your debts? If you answer positively, he puts an exclamation mark by which he wants to say that by paying your debts you have to stay around him and serve him. You will serve your creditor, but he will treat you with love. It's nice to serve love. A girl and a young man who love each other, send air kisses to each other. When talking about the kiss, people are ashamed of it, they consider it as something unclean, corrupt. Some people ask how the kiss has appeared. It has existed before the creation of man. The plants and the birds have kissed each other. The first light has taught them. Strive for the kiss of the light. So all people have to kiss. A girl whose kiss is pure as the light says to his beloved: I want your kiss to be as pure and bright, to have a light mind, a noble heart and a healthy body. Only air kisses are allowed so far. Every other kiss carries disease. Many modern people are sick. Therefore, their kiss also brings something painful. One thing is required from modern humans: studying and applying of the Christ’s teaching. You will say that there are people who do this and therefore it is not needed that everyone applies it. It is not like that. All people, all nations, form part of the great, Divine tree. Therefore, everyone should perform their service as a sheet, branch, colour or fruit of the tree. Only in this way does a man retain his individuality and go from the private to the general, from the personal to the universal. The life of the individual and of the whole changes in the way in which the embryo in the womb of the mother does. It passes through 500,000 forms until it accepts the image of a person. In the spiritual sense, the different people take different forms: one looks like a point, another is a comma, a third person is a semicolon, a fourth — a question mark, a leaf, a branch, a colour, etc. From the perspective of comparative physiognomy, a man bears a human form from the outside only; internally, however, he has the form of a plant or an animal. So some people compare the nose of the man with the nails of the eagle. As the eagle grasps his victim with his nails, one can also hurt his neighbour with his nose. The nose symbolises the mind. This shows that the present person has not changed internally yet. When talking to people of good life, of self-sacrifice, of love for one another, this will not be attained suddenly, but it must be known that the good and right life comes as a consequence of the application of the Christ's teaching. When mothers and fathers change their thoughts and feelings, a new, healthy generation with a right thought will be born. Everyone carries within themselves material for future development. That is why it is said that it depends on a man to live well or poorly. Whoever lives according to the Divine principle, will be in peace and love with himself and his fellowmen, even with his enemies. Christ's teaching is a teaching of principles and not forms. Principles expand and formulas restrict. Man's life is meaningless outside Christ’s principles. The Bulgarian proverb "Empty Mara beats a Drum" clearly expresses the life of the average man. The drum must be beaten in time and place. So should the drum of the mother and the children, the priests and the teachers, the rulers and the ruled be beaten. That means a sincere person. His words and his speech are pure, sincere. Whoever listens to such a person does not come across any contradictions. He sees the pure consonance, with no falsity and no rudeness. So, to bring out the right eye and cut off the right hand, which bring temptation into life. And then love our enemies. Whoever loves his enemy is a man of the future culture. And if those who are sitting at the conference in Paris now love their enemies, there will be genuine peace among the peoples. If they do not love their enemies, even if peace is achieved, it will be temporary. True peace is the one that brings the future culture of work, life and love. If the peace that the present peoples expect is based on Moses' law, ‚an eye for an eye and a tooth for the tooth’, time will show what that peace will be and what culture it will bring. I wish you the future culture to come, and that you become the bearers of love. Sunday Talks 06.02.1919 Thursday, Sofia Translated by Proletina Dragoeva-Jones

Like yourself “ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with thy neighbour as thyself." (Matthew 22:37, 38, 39) Everyone knows the truth that people do not like the old stuff. When the mother and father get old, their son and daughter are dissatisfied with them; they want to be left free as soon as possible. They look upon the old people as an obstacle in their lives. In fact, the old people are in their place. One Bulgarian proverb says: ‚From an old Goat goatling’. At all, the old people carry within themselves all conditions under which a child can be born and brought up. In the original language the word ‚old’ has had quite a different meaning than this, which nowadays is given to it. In order to develop properly, the young person has to serve two great laws: love for God and love for the neighbour. Nothing is born without love. Love drives the human soul to movement and creation. To talk about love does not mean that we envisage the human love that leads to disappointments. We talk about the love of which Apostle Paul says „we know partly, we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, what is partly will cease.’ The perfect is love. The Absolute, Divine truth manifests through perfect knowledge, through love. Christ says that love is manifested by two great laws: To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with your entire mind, with all your soul, with all your strength, while your neighbour like yourself.’ When it is talked about love to God, some think that He is out of them, invisible. Therefore, it is said that no one has seen Him. Whoever wants to find God needs to search for Him in his brother, i.e. his neighbour? How would you love God if you do not love your neighbour who you see? Whoever loves, he sees God. That is why, it is said: ‚God is Love ‘This verse expresses the external and internal meaning of the concept God. Love cannot be seen but can be felt, this is why God is accessible for all minds, hearts and souls. It is enough for a man to open himself for love in order to know it. Life without love does not exist. There is no heart, mind and soul that have not experienced love. Where love penetrates there is warmth. Therefore, all beings carry it within themselves to a little or great extent, as a low and high manifestation. It is said, "To love the Lord with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul and with all you might." Where the heart manifests, there are feelings and desires.i.e. a material through which love works. Whoever gives expression of his feelings and desires, without working with them, he soon gets replete with love and says that it doesn’t make sense to love. It makes sense to always love but rightly. The body temperature of a man is between 36-37 degrees. If it increases above 37 he starts to get sick. The higher the temperature is the bigger the complications that take place in the body are. If it reaches 40, 41 degrees, the ill one departs for the other world. Therefore, in the physical world, love can reach the highest temperature up to 41 degrees. The same law is also relevant to the public life. While the public man has a temperature between 36-37 degrees, everyone considers him as a normal person. If his temperature is raised, he starts to ramble, talk unconnected things and is immediately taken to the madhouse.-Why?-Because he has had such manifestations that are out of the physical world. In fact, it is difficult to draw a line as to where the normal and abnormal life reach. When you feed the pig you consider this as normal. You say that the pig needs to be fed in order to have more fat. Let the same pig free in the forest in natural conditions, and see what will happen with its fat. It will melt and the pig will come to its normal self. Therefore, the terms normal and abnormal are relative. What was the man of the past, what is he today and what should he be in the future are three different things, three realities. True Real life is this one that includes the past, present and future. Whoever carries within himself the three lives together, we call a man of love. He is guided by three great laws: the law of necessity, the law of freedom, and the law of nature. The law of necessity solves 25 percent of human misery, the law of freedom resolves also 25 percent of the difficulties, while the law of nature - 50 percent. The three laws together solve 100 percent the life difficulties. If the sick one applies the three laws 100 percent he will get better soon. According to the first law he is his own doctor, therefore he will help himself 25 percent; according to the second law he will recourse to a doctor who will help him another 25 percent. At last, when he leaves himself to nature, it will cure him 50/100.In this way, he will completely heal. If the ill one leaves it to himself or only to the doctor, he will heal in part. However, both the ill one and the doctor need to also call nature for help; then the healing is 100 % rational. The same law is relevant to the family, social and general human life. When the two young people get married, the young man needs to participate for a good life with 25% from his strength and abilities, the girl also 25 percent. After that, they both need to turn to God, to ask for His participation in their life. He will help them with 50 percent from His power and their life will be a 100 percent normal. The contemporary families do not rest on a solid foundation because one of the young ones gives 25 percent from himself, while he expects 75 percent from the other. Every human being can give 25 percent from themselves. The rest to one hundred they need to expect from their neighbour and God. If neither the family nor the social life is based on this principle, there will always be a lack of something because of which people will get disappointed with one another. Apply the three laws in order to try their power. If you only use either the one or only both, you will always be dissatisfied. The cause of mortality in homes, sickness, and childlessness is due to the application of the law of necessity and freedom, but to the denial of the participation of the Divine principle in life or of the reasonable nature. „Love God with all your soul“. Under „soul “Christ understands a path, condition for the movement of love. There is a movement in the whole nature. All lakes, rivers, sees move. Where there is a growth everything is moving. It is a condition for the development of the soul. Therefore, we say that the movement is necessary in the human, angelic and in the Divine love. If the movement stops, then life stops to exist and from there love too. Because there is a movement in love, a man should love all life beings that cross his path. Only in this way does he provide the opportunity to God in himself to manifest. This means to feel the pulse of life. This means to feel the greatness and beauty of nature as well as the greatness of the Creator. Only in this way, can a man understand and apply the verse in which Christ says how we should love God. Without an aim for the beauty, love cannot manifest. „Love the Lord with all your might.“ The might presupposes intensity. This means to love the Lord in this way so that to be ready to overcome all difficulties and obstacles. Love, which gives way to the obstacles is not a true love; the self-interest driven love is not true. Love requires great sacrifices. All great people have given a sacrifice first for love. Many doubt whether, indeed, there existed or there still exist people ready for full self-sacrifice for love. They can be in doubt but doubt does not answer the questions. One thing you will deny, another your will maintain and prove. How would you deny light? How would you deny life? Life is proved through death; while death - with life. If there is a life, there is a death; if there is a death, there is a life. It is said in the Scripture that we live and move in God. Therefore, while you are connected with God, you will always live regardless you are in this or the other world. The departure of the human soul for the other world is called death; however in the absolute sense of the word, death does not exist. That a man dies and disappears, this is a wrong view that has remained from predecessors and pre-predecessors - In fact, death is a shadow of life. In the hot summer days, a man hides in the shade of the trees. Has he died? No, he has only hidden in a shade. It is said in the holy books that death is a rest. Therefore, whoever has worked and is still working has the right to sit down under the shade of a tree and rest. If it is said that someone has died this implies that he has hidden in the shade in order to rest. According to many, death is a convulsion, writhe, agony, torture, etc. These are fictitious things. The physical garment of a man is separated from the spiritual one but this is not death. You can suggest to a man that he is dying and he will experience all manifestations of agonisation without dying in reality. When he frees himself from the others’ thought, he will alone convince himself that he is alive and healthy. After that, can it be thought that he has ascended? This shows that death is a process of the human thought. When he came to Earth and realised that everything that surrounded him is a Divine creature, the man desired to do something and in conclusion, he worked for the creation of death that is of the rest. The contemporary man fears death without thinking about it as his invention. How can a man fear his own invention? He says that suffering, fire and eternal torture come after death. Who has gone to the other world and come back from there in order to describe what is there and what one is expected. Let the scientists and philosophers who talk about the other world come in order to understand between each other and see what language they write in and explain the truth. In the distant past, in India somewhere, a prominent philosopher who lived in the house of the then shah studied the secrets of nature. Through the great philosophical knowledge, he learned the art of talking with hand movements. The Shah was interested in this art and in order to see how people could only understand each other with the movements of the hands, had told the philosopher to find a connoisseur of this art to talk to. The philosopher did not know such a person, so the shah commissioned this task to one of his Brahmin scientists, by telling him: "I want you to find a man who can talk with a handshake as the philosopher. If you do not, you will leave my palace.’ The Brahmin was startled by the command of the shah. He sought such a man, but he did not find him. Thoughtful and sad, he left the palace and fell into himself. One day he met his barber who asked him: Why are you so conceited? I cannot tell you. You cannot help me. "Tell me, what's the trouble, I'll find some solution to your sorrow. – The shah gave me the task to find a man who can talk through hand movements but I could not find anywhere such a person. As I could not satisfy his desire, I left his castle. Don’t worry, I know this art. I will talk to the philosopher in the presence of the shah in order to also demonstrate my art. The shah fixed the date of the session and the conversation began. The philosopher raised one of his hands and fingers, while the barber both hands and two fingers; the philosopher lowered one hand from above, with his fingers open, while the barber held out his hand, with his fingers open pointing upwards. The shah asked the philosopher what conversation he had with the barber, and he replied: With the raising of my hand and one finger, I said that only one being rules the world - God. The barber raised two hands and two fingers, telling me that two beings were ruling the world - God and King. By taking my hand down, with my fingers open, I wanted to say that it would rain soon. The barber opposed my hand with his hand in the same way, which meant that after this rain would come a great fertility. Afterwards, the shah asked the barber what he had learned from his conversation with the philosopher. The barber replied: When the philosopher lifted one finger up, he wanted to say he would take one of my eyes out. I lifted my two fingers to prove to him that I was stronger; I would pull out both his eyes. When he stretched his hand in the air, he wanted to say that he would come up against me with five people to punish me. And I stretched out my hand in the air to prove that he would be opposed by five people stronger than his. The Shah smiled and said, "That is called understanding!" This is how many modern religious and secular people understand eachother. That is how people in families and societies understand each other due to which the misfortunes and sufferings come. Christ talked about the eternal life. By this, He excludes death. The eternal life implies knowledge of God and Christ. The knowledge is founded upon a true, inner understanding. Whoever loves God with all his heart, mind, soul and might, while his neighbour as himself, he has acquired the eternal life and is not afraid of death. For many, the term‚ eternal life’ is abducted. Many things, many terms are abducted. The word ‚abducted’ has a double meaning: external and internal. It is said that something is abducted, i.e. lifted. Young people often complain that their love has been abducted, taken away. The lad weeps, suffers that someone has kidnapped, i.e. taken away his beloved. While she was with him, he was happy. As soon as they take her away, he becomes unhappy. This is a misunderstanding. No one can take the love of a man apart from him alone. As soon as he doubts his love, it leaves him. Therefore, the doubt, suspicion in man becomes the reason for his beautiful and higher ideas, his love to be taken away. He loses his inner peace and searches for the reason of his unhappiness outside him. The reason for everything is him alone. A man determines his life as well as the life of the family and society. Whatever the state of the individual is so is the state of the whole society. Individuals form societies; societies form nations, and nations - all mankind. The humankind on the other hand, has a connection with the angelic world. Therefore, everything depends on the individual. He builds the humankind and not vice versa. By ‚an individual’ I understand the Divine beginning in a man - his soul. For many, it is a contradiction to talk about an individual and a soul as identical terms. It is a contradiction to say that 10 equal 1. However, you buy one kilogramme of apples, you count them and you establish that they are 10 in total. In this case, 1 equals 10, or 10 equals 1. In this sense, the individual, whom the soul lives in is one- all conditions and opportunities for the creation of the whole humankind are hidden in it. The wheat grain hides in itself the conditions for the creation of one hundred wheat grains. This is a philosophical understanding of things. This is how people should understand each other and not like the philosopher and the barber. The thought of the one who considers himself as nothing, as a sinner and who searches for the reason in his mother and father is not right. The master who has built your house may not have known the laws of construction and instead of a big and healthy house, he has built you a small one but you need to know that the little house and you are two different things. Your contemporary house may be small, unhygienic but despite that you can manifest yourself; you can let the light shine in your small house and manifest your love. My love is small. Though little, manifest it, do not close your heart for God and your neighbour. Pave way to your love in order to expand. Do not be afraid of the changes in life. Life and death are two states, which a man goes through inevitably. They are changes that lead to the reality. You will live and build, and will expand your house in order to express the love of This One who has created you. You will die and carry with you that which doesn’t rot and die. In this way, you will grow and develop until you reach to the perfection, which Christ says for: ‚I and my Father are one’. „Love your neighbour as yourself." That is, to love every soul outside of yourself. Your neighbour was in you, and has come out of you. If in this case, you can love him as yourself, then you have fulfilled the second great law of love. You will argue that you do not remember your neighbour being in you and coming out. That does not mean anything. And the wheat grain does not know that all grains of the class have come out of it. Therefore, you must love your neighbour like a child of yours that has lived and is still living in you. As God lives in a man so does his (the man’s) neighbour live in him (the man). The neighbour who lives like a soul in every man has not manifested yet because he hasn’t been given any conditions. Give him conditions and he will manifest. No matter how small, something beautiful will come out of him. Everyone strives for the beautiful and perfect. This is a natural law. The people of today cannot yet show off with that beauty and freedom that they strive for. The free man endures all trials. It is talked about freedom, about love but if you are subject to hunger for a few days you will immediately give up the idea you are following. With such love and freedom, immortality cannot be achieved. Only he can talk about freedom that has broken the chains of death. Until he is her slave, neither his freedom is freedom nor is his love-love. The contemporary, religious and secular people talk about love but apply hatred and envy more. How can the hatred between a mother and a daughter, father and a son, between friends can be explained? It is not enough to provide a scientific explanation to the question. Every doctor knows how to treat the different illnesses but cannot cure all people. Therefore, the true explanation of the hatred is that which can turn it into love. Hatred is the leprosy of the human heart. If today you can cure this leprosy at least 25 percent, you have achieved a lot. That is, to bring peace and joy to the homes. However, work is expected by a man - an inner, conscious work. So we say: Do not wait for the help to come from the outside! Harness all work! All people, families, societies and nations expect outside help from above to help them. Power and prosperity is in the individual. If the parts of a whole are in good working order, and the whole will work fine. The parts have to rely on those goods that nature provides, and not on transient, temporary things. What culture will come if it is not raining and the sun is not shining? – What is common between the rain, sun and the human culture? – There is something in common, which the inhabitants of the sun know about. It is enough for you to reach the sun for a moment and go to the sun inhabitants to see how much they are interested in the Earth. It will be opposed that the Earth is dead. Earth is live. It loves people - its children and is constantly looking after them. The Earth sends its love to the people every moment but the love of the sun is even bigger. If the sun takes its love away from the people only for a moment, they will immediately understand where life, development and culture come from. Christ talks about the two great laws of love as something real. The love manifests in the smallest particles too as energy or an impulse. The scientists call this energy ‘attraction, magnetism, draws’. Regardless of how they call it, it is one and the same - love of the particles and love of the whole. There is no atom, ion, molecule that do not comprise the energy of love. The atom is small but it conceals the whole universe in a miniature. Whoever knows the qualities and composition of the atom, he knows the whole universe. It is therefore said in the spiritual mathematics that the part is equal to the whole. This is the law of evolution according to which the little one aspires to the great. However, according to the Divine law, the great one strives for the little one. Therefore, two laws act in nature: The law of expansion and the law of diminishment. In the diminishment, the human soul penetrates into the deepest secrets of nature. The humbled and meek and not the proud one diminish. Therefore, Christ says: ‘It is easy for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’ This verse is related to the sacrifice. Only that one can enter the Divine Kingdom who is ready to deny himself and self-sacrifice himself. To love God that is to humble yourself; to love your neighbour that is to expand. It follows that a man needs to simultaneously diminish and expand himself, that is to become small like the atom and big like the universe. Whoever loves, he becomes great; whoever does not love he suffers. When you know this does not ask why you are ill. The illnesses are signs of lack of love or of small love in the human heart. If you want to be healthy, put love into your mind, heart, soul and in the whole body. Where there is love there are no misunderstandings, hatred, jealousy, diseases and suffering. Without love in your heart, you will resemble a man who walks in water, is thirsty; carries bread but is hungry. Love wants deeds and not words. Too much talking leads to suffering. In general, strive for the small quantities, but well understood and applied. Today, a lot is being talked about love but despite that, the results are still weak. –Why? - Because it is not spoken in a corresponding language. You will talk to people in three ways: either in the language of air, or in the language of water or in the language of the sun. The language of the air is related to the breathing, i.e. the purification of blood. You will talk in this language and will be thinking of the pure air, the oxygen, of the whole respiratory system. When one talks in the language of the air, he should think right, to reconcile his thought with the Divine one. If he doesn’t synchronise his thought with the Divine one he will imminently suffer. When he thinks right a man transforms his mental energy into an electric and magnetic one and in this way he creates conditions within himself for a healthy, normal life. To talk in the language of water means to manifest its qualities, i.e. to be agile, energetic, and pure like it - whichever place you go through, to water and irrigate everything, while at the same time, to dissolve and forward the hard substances as food juices for all life beings. The language of water is correlated to the digestive system. To talk in the language of the sunrise. The language of the light means to transform the lower energy into a higher one and to send it straight to the brain like a dynamic, creative energy. The more light penetrates the human mind, the cleaner and lighter the life of a man is and the purer and higher his deeds are. The language of the light is related to the arterial blood, which is spread through man’s whole body and feeds him. The love towards God is related to the venous blood, while the love to the neighbour - to the arterial one. Therefore, if you get bored of your life and your blood becomes impure, search for your neighbour. As soon as you love him, you expand and your blood becomes purified. The stronger your faith is the stronger your love and hope are. What are love, faith and hope? Love is God, faith - the angels, while hope - the whole humankind. Dress in the garments of love, faith and hope. Only in this way will you put your lives to right. How would society be better? – By not infringing the Divine plan. If you would like to heal the wound of your hand, clean it, bandage it and do not touch it anymore. The more you are picking it up the slower it will heal. Do not interfere with the Divine affairs. As all conditions of healing are hidden in the body, so are all conditions for putting the whole humankind to right envisaged in the Divine plan. Everything that takes place in life is envisaged, there is nothing accidental. Steps have been taken to remedy the messy things. After 1945, the affairs of whole Europe will get better but until then, the passengers will be vomiting like those ones that cross the Atlantic Ocean by a steamer. Have you seen how the passengers who will cruise on sea embark on travelling and how they descend from the ports? Their close ones send them off and give them bouquets, all are happy. Once they board the ship and enter the sea, their location is lost. They become pale and start vomiting and one after another lie down on the beds. On the secod day, their condition deteriorates; they don’t feel like eating or talking. On the thrid day, their situation is even worse, but their hope for improvement is amplified as they approach a port. As soon as they are on land, all smile, become cheerful and in good mood and start talking as though they have not gone through anything. Everyone asks them how they have passed through sea and they respond about their sea sickness with cheerful faces. . And so, whatever the passengers go through in the sea so do people on Earth. While a man is young, he is cheerful and happy, he loves everyone. He boards the ship and his close ones send him off. The more he enters life, I. e. in the sea, the more serious and thoughtful he becomes. When he gets married, he becomes even more thoughtful - the ship goes deeper in the sea waters. Children are born that do not respect him and he gets completely confused, he cannot play his role anymore. His son and daughter are unsatisfied by him, they find him fallen behind, he cannot comprehend the new. When he sees himself in this situation, he comes down the stage and gives the way to the new actors. The audience gives him a bouquet and asks him whether he is happy with his situation. „To love God and your neighbour’. This means a man to pass safely through the ocean and sea. Whoever has love in himself, he will choose such time for travelling when the sea or ocean are quiet and calm. There is no success without love. You must love at least one person. Modern people suffer from love accompanied by jealousy. You meet a good, scientist girl but her face is disfigured. – Why? - Someone has loved her and has poured vitriol on her face from jealousy. This is not love. You will say that both the girl and the boy should not cheat on their love. This is another question. I blame neither the young nor the old people, but the people need to go back, to rectify their mistakes and to rejuvenate. The contemporary people have become prematurely old. They talk about old age without understanding what the old age represents. Only God is old. Old age without wisdom is not an old age. Millions of years will still go by until the old man appears on the Earth. In the Revelation, it is talked about 24 old men that are sitting around God’s throne. The Theosophists provide different explanations about these old men. In fact, they symbolise the time, i.e. the epochs, which the humankind has gone through. Time is within God who carries the beginning and end of things. When Christ says that you need to become like the children, He means that the old one cannot enter the Divine Kingdom. It is time for a man to give up the wrong idea about old age and to rejuvenate. Otherwise, he will always excuse himself that he is old, he cannot work, study, love, etc. In Sanskrit language, under the word ‚old’ it is understood a being that has manifested itself, has studied the laws of nature and immortality. Only now do the modern people study these laws. You will say that the old one can be recognised by his white hair. – This is not a sign for an old age. See how the actors disguise on the stage. There the young one becomes old, while the old one - young without being so in reality. It is enough for you to turn to the pages of your past life in order to see how many times you have got on and off the stage and what roles you have played. You have been in a situation of a king and slave, a stupid man and scientist, a poor and rich. When you complete your role you get off the stage, you remain with the unchangeable in yourselves. Everything in life changes, but for the Divine in the human being that remains unchangeable and eternal. Whoever doesn’t know the law of reincarnation he wonders why someone hates him. Very simple - you have caused some harm to him in the past. Turn one of the pages of your past life and you will see that you have taken unfairly the house of this person. Now you will rectify your mistake. In order for him to love and forgive you, you must not only return his house to him but you should even furnish it. This means to live according to the law of love. The modern people live in two ways: some of them talk about God but act in a human way, while others do not talk about God but act in a divine way. It is preferable that a man lives in the second way. To live like that means to constantly be joyful and cheerful. Love rejuvenates, refreshes the man and gives him strength to put up with the misfortunes and contradictions in life. Love rectifies all misunderstandings. Love sees in all human beings its neighbour whom it has something in common with, in eating, breathing and living. Exactly here all people resemble. All live, breathe and eat. The difference is in that how they live, what air they breathe and what food they satisfy themselves with. One thing is important: All people need to live reasonably, to breathe clear air and to eat clean and healthy food. Only in this way will a person complete the job he has come to the Earth for. Every living creature moves and works. There are ten million cells in the human stomach that work for the purification of the blood. There is a certain harmony between all cells and therefore they do their job so well. What would happen to the man if the cells refuse to do their job? A man ceases to exist. The disharmony leads to destruction and death. Many do not succeed in their lives because they live with their past greatness. Instead of looking realistically upon the present they say: Do you know what I was in the past? - The past is not important; it is important what you are now. The past and future are only conditions, while the reality is in the present. When he passes through the past and present, a man comes to the law of necessity and freedom that lead to love. It (love) is a path to good and reasonableness. Where there is love there is right thought and reasoning. Not loving leads to pervert views and reasoning. One day the fox was talking to herself. People chase me unfairly. They blame me that I attack the chickens and hence they kill me. There is something right in this but they forget that I deal with the chickens better than a cat with mice. At least, I undress the garment of the chicken while the cat eats the mouse with its garment together. Here is one pervert reasoning. It is pervert because it is devoid of love. The situation of the chicken and mouse is the same. As soon as they go in the mouth of the enemy, they do not care whether their garment is kept or not. It is important that in either case the life of the chicken and the mouse is taken. A day will come when the fox will realise its mistake and will rectify its life. There are many plucked chickens today whose life will be restored in the future. The plucked chickens are the poor people whose situation will improve. Remember: nature uses symbols that have to be studied. The rivers, flowers, trees, fish, mammals, people are symbols, which nature expresses its secrets with. Whoever understands the language of nature will read the past, present and future history of humankind in its book. And when the doctor puts his hand on the pulse of the ill one he immediately defines his condition. Therefore, the pulse of a man is the language by which the doctor identifies the health condition of the ill person. Then he opens the eyes and mouth of the ill person in order to see what condition his/ her stomach and liver are in. You see that someone is silent and you say he is thinking. Things from the outside determine the inner disposition of a man. What is the thinking expressed in? A man thinks while the ox ruminates. Therefore, the way the ox needs food in order to ruminate, so does a man need thoughts in order to think. What does a man think about? - How to preserve his wife’s love. And the woman thinks how to preserve her husband’s love. This is a difficult tusk but there is a solution. You will say that it can be solved in the Heavens. Where is the Heavens? The Heavens is on the Earth. It depends on you to live simultaneously on both the Heavens and the Earth. - Is this possible? It is possible. How do the caterpillar and butterfly live together on the Earth? The butterfly feeds with the nectar of the flowers, i. e. with good thoughts and desires, and the caterpillar - with leaves, i.e. with lower thoughts and desires. When is a man like a butterfly? - When he gives place to the Spirit, i.e. the Master in himself. He is called the "servant of love”. What is required from a man in order to serve love? – Complete self-denial. In the distant past, a big crime has been committed in a Russian village but the offender could not be found. They blamed a poor widow with four children instead of him. The Court decided to send her to Siberia in exile. The verdict had to be executed within 24 hours. A young man from the same village heard of the widow’s verdict and got horrified by the thought of whom the four little children would be left with. He told himself: I have no mother and father, I pass for a waster and noone needs me. I will go to the court and say that I have committed the crime.’ The same day, he appeared before the court and told the prosecutor and judge that the crime was his deed and not the widow’s. In this way, he released the unfortunate mother from prison and took her destiny on himself. Ten years later, a priest gave confession to a dying man. The latter revealed the secret that he had carried on his consciousness for ten years: he confessed that he was the real offender of the crime he had committed before ten years. Immediately, the authorities ordered that the young man was released from prison but it appeared that he had already died. So, this young man has lived in a human way but acted in Divine way. From the outside, this young man carried the garment of a waster, of apache but internally he worked on himself, ennobled his soul. It is worthwhile to admire such heroes who are willing to sacrifice. They are bold, determined, with the pursuit of great and sublime. with the pursuit of great and sublime. To love God and your neighbour, these are two great laws through applying which a man can free himself from the difficulties and contradictions in life. You will say that when Christ comes to the Earth for a second time, life on Earth would improve all of a sudden- There is no need for you to wait for this time. Christ may come after 2000 years. Don’t you have to work during that time? Even if Christ comes on the Earth, he cannot go around all towns and villages to hold a lecture everywhere. Therefore, only those ones, who hear it, will benefit from His lectures. What would the rest do? You expect impossible things and waste your time. Know that Christ is in the light that you receive; in the air that you breathe; in the food you eat. Christ is also in your thoughts, feelings and deeds - you will meet Him everywhere. Use these gifts in a considerate way and do not delay things. Be good payees. As soon as the time for paying your debt approaches, pay immediately. If you postpone, the interests increase. The meaning of life is in love - to do everything with love. While he is young, a man lives with faith and love, ready for all sacrifices. As soon as he loses his faith and love, he says: ‚The good time has passed’. Today most people suffer for their lost love. They are right. Love is a force that elevates a man. As a crime can vitiates the life of a man, so can love purify and elevate him in a given moment. As death at one point can mow thousands of heads, so life at one point can restore the fallen heads. Life is stronger than death, and love is stronger than hate. Knowing this, keep the side of life and love. Only he has the right to sometimes lie under the shadow of death and hatred who is strong. Outwardly, hate is ugly, terrible like a wolf, and inside there is something noble, soft. Whoever hates, he can also love. Whoever does not hate he cannot love. Hatred is still love dressed in a foreign garment with an aim to test what is hidden in the human heart. The beggar knocks on people’s doors in order to test their mercy. Outwardly, he is torn, dusty but inside he is dressed with a clean and beautiful garment. If you see a very well dressed and well-groomed person you will know that he is not the One your soul is searching for. The true man you will find in the torn, poor and suffering man. The truth and love dress in old, torn clothes. Whoever genuinely searches for them will learn to distinguish the good from evil and will not be deceived by the external things, i.e. by their packaging. Apply the Christ teaching in order to understand why you have to love and why to hate. If you want to love, you have to know to hate. You cannot love if you have never hated. Love and hatred are two forces that work simultaneously in nature. Love is magnetism, while hatred-electricity. Nowadays’ hatred is future love, while the nowadays love is future hatred. This is a law of polarisation. In order to avoid this law, one has to deny himself. As soon as you feel that the hatred penetrates your heart, deny yourself. That’s why Christ says: „"He who does not deny himself cannot be my disciple." Apply self-denial, to see what your life will be. One father died and left a huge inheritance to be distributed between his four sons. They started to quarrel about who should take more. The youngest son realised the situation and in order to avoid the dispute he disclaimed his share and said to his brother: Take my share and divide it among yourselves. I prefer to have your love than fight.’ Not much time had gone by when the other brothers reconciled and the division took place in a loved and peaceful manner. It is established that when the love between two people is active, they both become positive and retreat. If they are a man and a woman they remain without children. This is a law in the physical world. When the man and woman become negative, they have children but cannot live for long. Therefore, in the love between two people one needs to be positive, while the other-negative; one to create whiles the other to build. If they both create, they cannot give birth. This law is also related to the society and country. When two candidates come about for the same ministerial post, the state's affairs are not going well. If the state wants to succeed, half of its subjects must be positive and the other half - negative, i.e. some to create while others to build, some to serve, while the others to master. It is not good for a man to spoil. It's not a science. Whoever only destructs has not learned the law of creation and building. One of the greatest laws of Genesis requires man to build or create. This is the way one can pave the way to the Divine Beginning within himself and fulfil the purpose that nature has assigned to him. A person may have a lot of beliefs, but let him experience the Christianity teaching that transforms things. For many, Christ's teaching is old, out of date. It is not. Christ's teaching is as old as is new. If you think it is old, rejoice because the old mother gives birth to good, sensible children. If it is new, rejoice again. The young mother gives birth to children with loving hearts. Accept the doctrine of Christ with love, apply it and be joyful and happy. Christ says, "Love the Lord and your neighbour." This means: modern people need more light, more air, more moisture, and more food. This shows today's sun too. Take care of your brain, your lungs and your stomach. Listen to the voice of the wise nature, connect with God, and the bright future will be on your side. Sunday Talks 02.02.1919 Sunday, Sofia translated: Proletina Dragoeva-Jones

The Vine and the Branches „I am the vine; you are the branches.” (John 15:5) The 15th Chapter that was read from John represents an intimate conversation between Christ and His Disciples. The deep meaning of that conversation is only understood by the disciple who knows the Divine laws. If you come to the Christians, few of them understand this chapter. It is available only to the mystic. Outwardly, this Chapter looks simple, accessible to every human mind but in fact it is not so. During some nights, the sky is clear, dotted with multiple stars but the clarity is not yet a sign that all people understand the secrets that the sky hides. The clarity is only a condition that is necessary for the disciple to direct his thought to the Divine. Therefore, clarity does not imply yet that the human understands everything. You listen to an orator, you are happy with him and say that he speaks clearly. He speaks clearly but not understandingly. Not all minds are set to understand this which they are talked to. You see clearly one man but you do not understand him. This does not mean you are stupid. Even the stupid one should not be judged. One thing is asked from the man: to develop the package of the idea that he is carrying within himself. This will only make you aware that you have the knowledge you can use. Someone is told: Don’t be a fool! This means: be smart, do not get misled from the external side of life, from the package of things. Direct your attention to the internal side of life, where the true content and meaning of things are hidden. „I am the vine, you - the branches.“ Through this verse, Christ defines what the relationships between the disciple and his Teacher should be. The Teacher is the vine, the disciples - the branches. It is further said: "He that abideth in me, and I in him, carries much fruit.“ The stick remains on the hump of the vine but it still lacks something in order to live independently - it has no root. The vine however, has its own roots, it leads an independent life and transmits its life to the branches. Therefore, until the branch learns the great law of polarisation, i.e. until it develops its roots and goes deep in the matter in order to live independently, as the teacher, it has to remain on the hump of the vine - ‚It carries much fruit.’ Indeed, there is no life without fruit. The fruit brings life. The branch may grow high, get formed, give beautiful leaves but without blossoming without tangling fruit. In this state the branch presents an external manifestation of life that will develop in the future not only as an external, i.e material, but also as an inner, spiritual life. „If the branch does not carry fruit, it is cut off and thrown into the fire.’ – Why? – Because this life is needed by the other branches. The same can be said for every disciple who accepts the teaching of his teacher and holds it only for himself, without applying it. Such a disciple is driven out. Now everyone can ask themselves: Am I worthy of accepting the teaching of my teacher? It is not a question about the dignity or unworthiness of the man and disciple. It is important that the disciple is disciplined. He may be a son of a royalty or prince but if he does not study, the teacher cannot force his teaching into his head. He does not want to waste his time with him. The Great Teacher does not deal with unresponsive disciples. The Teacher must abide in his disciple and his disciple - in his teacher. If the branch remains in the vine its juices will rise upwards and will feed the branch. Therefore, the material life of the roots ascends upwards to the branches and turns into a spiritual life. When the branches give blossom and fruit, the spiritual life turns into a Divine one. This life implies the seed of the fruit, which gives again the branches and multiplies. The roots represent the foundation of life. Every plant, which roots are healthy, stays in one place where it works and rests. A plant that does not have healthy roots, is constantly moving where every wind takes it in space. The disciples are also like the plants: stable and unstable. The stable disciple has a belief, which he does not change. The unstable one changes his belief; he is ready at any moment to accept the other’s opinion, to give up his belief. He thinks that he can learn from everything but in fact, he never comes to knowing the truth. There are many such disciples in life. They resemble those people who expect to profit only from the lottery. Today they buy a lottery ticket, tomorrow - another one, in the hope to win something but they win nothing. However, the hope does not leave them. Some religious people act similarly. They say to themselves: Let’s learn a few occult laws so that people can see what we can do. A day after day, month after a month, a year after a year goes by but they neither learn nor achieve something. The Creator of the world who is wise and great knows the man’s good and bad traits because of which he does not allow either the people or the angels to abuse His blessing and power. Whoever has dared to infringe the Divine law has paid dearly. Whoever has defined himself as a Christ’s disciple has gone through great pain. It is not easy to go through the fire. You need to go through the fire seven times in order to some extent to understand the meaning of life in which there are different types of fire; It is important what type of fire you will go through in order to understand your life. There is a fire of minerals, plants, animals, people, and so on. Everyone has to ask, what kind of fire he is basking at and what light he is learning at. Many people nowadays bask at fire from woods and say: This warmth is pleasant! What does the ordinary man see in the fire and what the clairvoyant? There are few clairvoyants in the world. In my view, they are only three: two women and a man. Many think that they are clairvoyants but they themselves are mistaken. They are clairvoyants who with their clairvoyance come across big contradictions. To see and understand clearly - this is a great achievement. What sense does it make for a man to see clearly but not to understand this, which he sees? This means to make mistakes without knowing how to rectify them. What is the meaning of listening to the Divine Word without understanding and applying it? In order to rectify his relationships with God, a man has to listen, understand and apply the Word of This God Who is not painted ether on book or on board. He lives in the spirit and soul of man. He speaks to people from within, not from outside. Some imagine God as an old man, with a white beard, a stick in his hand, and so on. This is not God. Since the creation of the world so far no ordinary man has seen God or heard His voice. Even the most senior angels barely look at Him. As for the energy and life of God, this is another matter. It penetrates everywhere and in everything, as energy as life and light. „Whoever abides in me and I in him, he contributes much fruit”. Therefore, in order to contribute much fruit, man needs to know God. This can be achieved when he abides in Christ and Christ in him. If it does not remain on the vine, the stick will not benefit from the sun light and warmth, therefore, it will not bring any fruit. Only this stick brings forth fruit that remains on the vine. Surviving is an internal process and not an external one. The external processes are mechanical while we are talking about processes that have content and meaning. Many fix themselves only on the external side of life and think that everything is there. The external life is more mechanical; It has a meaning when it connects with the internal one as its layer. People’s external relations are filled with delusions and illusions. This is the reason why some think they are close to someone but after some time they get dispapointed. Externally, they may be close but internally they are far from each other. In this case, every physical closeness disappears. Internally people are at such a distance from one another as are the comets and planets; Despite that they still talk about closeness. What closeness is this? There are comets which tail is at kilometres distance from the Earth, what about its head? Can it be said that the comet is close to the Earth? Such closeness often exists between people. And the dog touches its tail to his Master, but it does not know him. The distance and closeness between the dog and its master are enormous. People do not know eachother but a man does not know himslef either. After all this he talks about the superhuman. What does the superhuman represent? He is distinguished with extraordinary power and abilities. He can do whatever he wishes. He understands the laws of life, knows the causes and consequences of things, understands the internal meaning of good and bad. The superhuman is meek, humbled and pure-hearted. It is said about him that he will inherit the Earth. He does not speak anything about himself, does not show off or reccomend himself and works quietly, noone sees him, everywhere he goes by is unnoticed. Whoever wants to enter the God’s Kingdom, he must humble. This means to become a superhuman. According to the modern people, the superhuman is expanding, occupying a big volume. From the spiritual point of view, the superhuman is diminishing. However, the meaning of the human life lies externally in material diminution, while internally – in spiritual expanding. There is a close connection between the diminution and expansion. You cannot expand something if it hasn’t been compressed beforehand. So, the superhuman is that one who knows the laws of the compression and expansion, i.e. the laws of the humility and ascension. When he wants to come close to God, the superhuman leaves all his luggage on Earth, gives up his material wealth and starts to gradually expand until he reaches the end goal of his life - the Merging with God. He can in this way say like Christ: ‚Lord and I are one.’ Christ has also talked to his disciples about the law of diminishing. A superhuman and Christ’s disciple are synonyms. When the disciple acquires the ability to diminish and expand at his will, he merges with his Teacher and becomes one with Him. He develops under particular laws and gets rid of the limiting conditions of life. The seed goes through these processes too: first it is planted in the earth – in the limiting cnditions of life, then it germinates, grows, develops, gives fruit and frees itself from the limitations. Whatever processes the seed passes through the human soul goes through the same too. Therefore, Paul says: ‚We live and move in God’. While the man lives and moves in God, he grows and develops right. As soon as he goes outside of God, he distorts his life. Therefore, Christ says: ‚Every branch that does not remain on the vine is cut off and thrown into the fire.’ The same verse is related also to the child who is in his mother’s womb. If he is not connected with his mother and does not eat from her, the mother will miscarry. She miscarried the child because he is not capable of using the life. If the mother wants to undergo abortion of her child,this indicates that she understands him, is aware of hi inability to live. Consequently, every conceived child whom the mother is disatisfied with cannot become a great man. The great man is conceived in a moment when the mother is filled with love, light thoughts and noble feelings. During the time of her pregnancy, she has kept her child as the pupil of her eye. During that time, the father has also been filled with love and light. Born in this way,the child can be compared to the vine branch that produces a lot of fruit. This is the question Christ has discussed with his disciples. Besides, here only the external side of the question is being considered. A man needs to study a lot until he reaches to the internal understanding of things. Whoever does not understand the external side, he asks himself what the relation between the teacher and disciple and the mother and child is. These are relations of magnitudes, of known forces that are intertwined in a human life. When people learn to transform their energies only then can it be talked about a harmonious and correct life. Only then will they understand each other, will they be able to transform their lower energies into higher ones. Many people get bored of their lives, the poverty; they want to become rich but they don’t know how and suffer. They want to acquire the art of compressing and expanding at their will but they cannot and become discouraged. Both the religious and secular people suffer without being able to help themselves. The religious ones want to descend from the height, which they are standing on, the secular ones want to climb high but both the ones and the others avoid each other. They don’t know that they can help each other. One thing is needed: to change their places and services. One of the great laws of nature is the law of exchange. This law is manifested in nature as well. Therefore, when one person falls, anther stands up, when one descends another ascends. Christ says that every stick that does not bear fruit is cut off and another one comes in its place. This shows that in nature there are no empty spaces. This explains the law of grafting: one branch is cut off and another is placed in its place. The fearful one will say like Paul: Whether I, the one who aspires to God would be rejected?“ God can reject man from himself only when the latter one has hurt the Spirit. Imagine that a girl gets married to a rich scientist, good, noble man who is attentive to her, creates every comfort for her, and satisfies her needs, while she is constantly dissatisfied with him. What should this man do? – He is left with nothing else but to give freedom to his wife, to let her go in the world, there she could find her happiness and learn her lesson. While she lives with her husband, while he satisfies all her needs and desires, she will not understand him. There are no tangent points between them, their aspirations are different because of which they do not interact properly. When she looses her husband and comes across the harsh conditions of life, she will start thinking and will understand him. Such is the position of the student who listens to his Teacher’s lessons but he doesn’t study and he doesn’t benefit from them. The Teacher is dissatisfied with his disciple and says: I will cut this disciple out of the vine, which he has fed from until now. After that the teacher will find another disciple who will substitute the first one. Similarly, the dissatisfied one should be dealt with. The first desire in all people is the same. Everyone is aiming at the sublime and noble but few resist their desire. This is due to the fact that the desires and understanding of people are not the same. Few people keep their relationship towards the Great One as well as their soul. Whoever is connected to God, he is satisfied with everything, and he resists his inner desires and understanding. „Whoever abides in me and I in him, he contributes much fruit“. The fruit is necessary for very stick. Therefore, under ‘fruit’ Christ understands the conditions in which a man lives and develops. Why does Christ compare the human life to a vine branch? A man is attached to the great tree of life like the vine branch to the vine. As the vine branch sucks the juices of the vine, grows up, develops and brings fruit, so does the man sucks the juices of the great tree of life, processes them and sends them to the heart for purification as blood. In this way, he passes to the spiritual life from the physical one and from there to the mental life. The purified blood enters the brain where it transforms into a mental energy, which we call the fruit of life. As the stomach, lungs, the heart and brain of a man work together and each of them brings their fruit, so do the three types of life-physical, heart and mental ones - manifest simultaneously, bring their fruit and feed the vine branch, attached to the vine that draws its juices from the Divine Life. If the least breach occurs in one of the three types of life, the vine stick begins to wither, for which the master of the vine cuts it and throws it into the fire. The modern people are in the first stage of life – in the physical life of the vine. This is why it is said that today, most of the people live in their stomachs. The new time is already coming, when a man enters his lungs, purifies his thoughts and feelings in order to send to his brain pure red blood through which to connect with the higher creatures and from there – with God. Only then will one understand the relationship between his thoughts, feelings and actions. This is how he will udnerstand the connection between the physical, spiritual and Divine life. You see a beautiful red apple and you enjoy its red colour and shape, but in a few days time, it rottens and goes off. What did the beautiful apple give to you? It connected you with its content. Therefore, the outer shape and beauty of things is an impetus to their inner content. You eat the apple, use its juice and send it to your brain as a processed and purified blood, which brings in energy for the work of thought. You begin to think about the relationship of things. Therefore, when it is talked about the life of the vine and the vine branch, we understand all the situations, which a human soul passes through. In this way, it (the soul) understands the Divine paths and laws. When it is talked about different matters, many say that instead of understanding things, they get more confused. It is talked about an evolution, for the transformation of the energies, for the compression and expansion of matter, but it is like throwing a stone into the water. As the thrown in the water stone forms bigger circles around itself so does the misunderstanding about them grow more. One is required from a man: Christ to abide in him - This means: Christ to live in the man and manifest as a light, warmth and strength. Just as animals are guided by the Divine mind by instinct, so every Christian must be led by Christ's light. Until he accepts God's thought within himself, one will always suffer. Everyone says that they have their own understanding and views about life, they don’t want to listen to anyone, but ultimately, people’s life loses its meaning and their affairs go behind every day. You will say that the animals guide themselves by their instincts. However, despite that the animal feels the forthcoming storm or earthquake and takes steps to protect it, while a man with his high mind and a particular opinion becomes a victim. The Divine Spirit that is hidden in the animals’ instinct guides them. Migratory birds grasp instinctively the time for migrating to and leaving the warm countries and never get mislead. The man, however, often gets mislead with his thinking. When he sees that the day is clear and warm, he rejoices, goes out for a walk without suspecting that a storm, wind and volley will come in two-three hours and he goes back home soaked all over. Sometimes, the stormy day is preferred to the clear one. Good weather comes after a storm, while often after a clear day; the weather gets spoiled and takes the man by surprise. The silent and quiet person is more dangerous than the one that shouts and talks a lot. The quiet waterfall is more dangerous than the noisy one. Therefore, it is said that the silent water causes big damages. The wetlands take the man by surprise. As he walks thoughtful he may come across a wetland and sink in it. When they don’t foresee the surprises in their lives, people are dissatisfied and search for the reason of their misfortunes outside of themselves. While he thinks that he is a vine while the ones that surround him´sticks', a man will always be surprised and will always suffer. Some religious ones think of themselves as vines while the secular people- as sticks. And vice versa: the secular people consider themselves as vines, while the religious ones as sticks. Both the ones and the others are on a wrong path. One is the vine, many are the sticks. Therefore, Christ is the vine, while people- the sticks. Whoever thinks that they are a vine; he either does not understand the truth or is misled. He is also a stick as all people. One is the Divine vine and Christ says about it that it has spread all over the world and is feeding him. To think that you are a vine means to think that you are a Master of the world. – I think on my feet, freely and independently. – You do not know yet what the thought and freedom represent. To think freely and rightly this is a great art. Few people understand and master this art. In some, the intuition is strong and they understand things correctly, in others, the thought is strong but sometimes, both the ones and the others are left mislead. You say about a man that he is good but you only see the external, festive clothing, you don’t know what his every day clothes are. Many cite the thought „to be or not to be“, said by Shakespeare without understanding its inner meaning. This thought implies: To stay on the vine or to leave, to study or leave the school, to work only for myself or for the others too. You will say that this is a free interpretation of the thought. This is an interpretation, which Shakespeare can give too. One Spanish writer has written a book which many read. One of the readers could not understand the meaning of some of the sentences and took off to the writer in order to explain them to him. He took a look at the reader, laughed and responded: I myself don’t know what I wanted to say with these thoughts. The right thought is understood by everyone. Besides, there should be a certain ratio, a given connection between the written and oral speech. You cannot write one thing and talk and understand another. It is not one and the same thing whether you love or be in love with someone. Love is a law for creation, while to be in love with - for destruction. The love builds the destructed, while to be in love with both destructs and builds. Love destroys first the old, the rotten and unfit, while after wards it builds something new, healthy, and useful for everyone. Rejoice when you are loved; rejoice when someone is in love with you. The misfortunes, suffering and unhappiness are the first degree of love. When a man suffers, he starts to think and build. He accepts Christ in himself and guides himself from His though. And so keep a connection with Christ in order not to destroy your relationships with people. Whoever has separated from the vine, he lives constantly in argument and problems with people. Whoever and whatever he is told he is ready to argue with them. If someone destroys the fence of his house he takes him immediately to court. This is also a solution to the problem but there is another, a righteous solution – to build your fence by yourself. Instead of having a court case for years, to create problems to yourself, it is best alone to help yourself. If you sue your close one, they will cut you off the vine and will throw you in the fire where you will evaporate. This means a man to lose the meaning of his life. You will realise your mistake after some years and will understand that no one has the right to sue their close one. Whoever applies the Divine law in their life, they win more than losing. Work with love without any self-interest. Why would you suffer in attracting the scientist man in your home if he does not want to visit you voluntarily? Whatever you do, nothing in this life is achieved by force. Through force neither the rich one opens his purse nor does the scientist open his mind and heart. It makes sense that a scientist comes to your home but to be ready to sketch a few from his stones with which you could build. This is love. This is how Christ acts. When He sees that the vine branch does not benefit from the juices of the vine and it does not give fruit, He cuts it off and throws in the fire. „Whoever abides in me and I in him, he contributes much fruit“. Every vine branch that does not bear fruit is cut off and thrown in the fire. “The language, which Christ uses, is symbolic. In this way, he presented the truth to people without insulting them. It is not easy to talk to people. The symbolic language is simultaneously scientific. The aim of the speaker is to elevate his listeners and not to insult or blame. The language of truth is powerful, but for those who understand it. Whoever does not understand this language says that the truth is bitter. The contemporary people need new understanding and perceptions, new moral. Only in this way will every nation get elevated, revived and strengthened. All peoples need to unite, to live between themselves as brothers. You will say that God has created both the good and the evil. One thing you must know: God has His own plan that has to be fulfilled. Every soul has her path defined on which she needs to move. Whoever deviates from his path, suffers. A man can move in a straight or curved line. Every movement has its results. From the results, it transpires whether the path a man moves on is straight or curved. People must unite and become one whole. The power is in the wholeness and not in the part. One great scientist has said that if people do not understand each other they will be confounded. The same law is valid for the animals. While they are in a flock, they are brave, decisive and are able to defend themselves. As soon as they separate, their strength diminishes and easily falls in the mouth of the enemy. Christ says to his disciples that their power is hidden in their unification. While they are sticks of a vine they are strong, develop well and bear a lot of fruit. Therefore, while the mind, the heart and the soul are united a man can always be well to develop rightly. You will say that a man has to first live for his motherland and then for his soul. It is correct that there is one motherland that it must be lived for. There is one Kingdom that is on the first place. A man has come to the Earth in order to become a citizen of the Divine Kingdom from which all kingdoms and countries are just little sticks. The separate countries are letters from the alphabet, while the World uses all letters. It unites them and creates the speech. Whatever the relations between the different countries are so are the relationships between people. This is the reason why sometimes, two people cannot understand each other. They connect with each other in the name of love but soon after that they get fed up with each other and wish to separate. They can separate if they know the actions of subtracting and dividing. A woman wants to leave her husband. This is possible only if she knows all rules of mathematics. The same is required from every Christian. If you want to take out a bad thought from your mind you need to know the total sum of your thoughts which you have beforehand distributed to good and bad and then your will take out the bad thought from the bad thoughts while you will leave the good thoughts aside. If you have deprived someone of 1000 leva, you will open your purse and will take 1000 leva, and will return it to him. Thus, the dispute will be settled. The Divine law does not allow any disharmony and skipping. There, the processes take place correctly and systematically. It is said in the Scripture: „Listen to the quiet voice of This One, Who is constantly talking to you in both joys and sorrows.’ And today when I am talking to you, I don’t do anything else except for watering the roots of life in you. In this tree is That One who is constantly talking to you. At the same time, I am opening the windows of your mind so that it can be penetrated by more light in order to understand things. Only in this way does the soul of a man fill with good feelings and wishes, while the mind with light and higher thoughts. Only in this way can people understand each other and become brothers. „Whoever abides in me and I in him he bears lots of fruit.’ Whoever abides on the vine, he can understand the deep meaning of love. When the vine is being talked about, some identify it with their people, motherland, or their home and are ready to self - sacrifice themselves. One is the true sacrifice –for love. It is said that God is Love. Therefore, if you self - sacrifice your will self - sacrifice for God. If you listen to God’s quiet voice from within, you are healthy, fresh, free, and ready for every reasonable sacrifice. Whoever loses their connection with the Divine, acquires dark red colour on their face, becomes unhappy, gloomy and rough. Turn to God with a prayer in order to recover your inner piece, to acquire your lost love. Keep your good relationships with your close ones in order to enjoy health and inner piece. The relationships between people should be like those of the mother and father towards their children, like those of the brothers towards their sisters and of the sisters towards their brothers. These relationships are a measure, which the right connections are defined with. Someone will say that he knows these things and that everything is clear to him. How has he learned them? Some think that their dreams are revelations but they mislead themselves. The revelation comes from a Higher world, while many of the dreams are a result of impressions and things that have happened. Only a few dreams come from a higher world, they similarly to the revelations cause a change in a man. One woman has seriously got ill almost reaching death, but luckily healed. When she started to improve she had had a revelation, which had caused a big change in her. From this day, she changed radically her life. From the invisible world, they had warned her that she would die in a month. She didn’t get scared but with acceptance had started to prepare for the other world. And indeed, she died in a month. The son had been very sad for his mother. Once, she appeared in his dream and told him: Stop crying. I am well. Your attachment to me is a particular sort of partisanship. It is not allowed any partisanship here. Today, Christ also says to the modern people to get rid of any partisanship and to understand that the knife is acting on the vine. Every stick that does not bear fruit is being cut and thrown in the fire. It is already time that the Christians define themselves and be either with Christ or outside Him. Whoever solves this question in a positive way, will elevate himself and will give sweet and abundant fruit. – What will happen with Bulgaria? Leave this question aside. There is one who will deal with Bulgaria. The great artist who knows how to draw does not need their child’s help. God is great, almighty and forbearing. He has thought for everyone. He takes into account all living creatures, all peoples without any distinction between nations. Therefore, Christ says to his disciples not to support any parties. Paul expresses the same idea through the verse: „ In Christ there are neither Greeks, nor Jews nor Scythians. Therefore, whoever believes in Christ, he will be blessed. In the Gospel, there is no mention about the individual countries. Every country is one firm. Whoever abuses this firm will be punished and deprived of the rights the firm gives to its members. If all members abuse, the firm ceases to exist. It is said, however, in the Scripture: „If a nation does not serve God, it will be erased from His book. “. This law is relevant not only to the peoples but also in relation to the separate individuals. Now, the whole humankind is entering a New Age. Today, Christ puts every man on the scales and weighs him to see how much he weighs. He judges according to his weight who has obedience and who has not got such one. Whoever listens and fulfils the Divine law, will benefit from His blessing. Whoever does not listen to Him will be put to great tests. The biggest service God can give to a man is to send him to the home of a poor and miserable widow, to console her and look after her orphans. To console a widow is a greater thing than leading the destiny of a whole people. – Why? – Because whoever cannot pay attention to a soul, i.e. God within himself he cannot do anything. The love of a man is defined by how much he respects his soul. If you do not respect Christ and God, how will you respect your close ones? You will say that the Jews crucified Christ. What will you say about the contemporary people who every day crucify That One who talks to them with His quiet, humble voice? Today, most people cry, suffer and say that God does not love them and has forgotten them. In fact, they do not love Him, they have forgotten about him. All go home and say: God, we want to connect with You. After that gather all stones, tiles and start building. The cry does not save. Many disciples receive poor marks and cry but the cry does not bring good marks. Even if they have good marks, if they don’t have knowledge they will still not get saved. Life is a great school, in which no cry is allowed. The teaching is necessary for everyone. It is said that the roots of knowledge are bitter while the fruits sweet. It is forbidden to the disciple to cry. Any partisanship is excluded for him. Put the crying and partisanship aside, go to Christ and say: We are already ready to learn and penetrate the greatest secrets of the Being where joy and happiness, piece and freedom reign. The work of the disciple is expressed in studying. In both as married or unmarried, he needs to equally study. Listen to the quiet voice in yourselves that will bring agreement and piece in yourselves, in all people, in the whole world. He will organise all societies and will bring the true religion in the world - The religion of the Spirit. Every other voice outside the quiet one, need to be checked. Only in that way can you correctly resolve the questions of life. Who will help us find a solution to our questions? – There is One who will help you. Behold, I am ready to help you. I will shine light on you while you will follow me. Today, I am with you and in the future I will meet you again. If you learn, if you are ready to rectify your lives, I will support you in front of God to appoint you again as disciples. Therefore, when you go back to your homes open a new page of your book. This means to become again a stick of the vine and the Divine juices to flow in you. Be brave, fresh, and joyful and listen to the quiet voice in yourselves. Do not cry for the dead. Do not be sad for the lost time. Put the past aside and work for the now and future. There is plenty of time before you. Work and rectify your mistakes. As you can make mistakes so can you rectify your mistakes and build. God builds while the Devil destructs. Make connection with this One who builds. The rich farmer takes workers and completes his job in a day. The poor farmer plows alone and uses lots of time until he finishes his work. The first one follows the law of love while the second one - the law of the evolution. Connect with Christ in order to become rich and soon to complete your work. There is no time for procrastination. The harvest is ready; workers are needed on the land in order for the job to be completed sooner. God has harnessed the plow and is plowing his field, the field is the world. Therefore, God mixes the world with His plow, turns the layers to expose them to the new light and warmth, to prepare for the planting of the new seeds. Also, become co-workers of God and say: God, bless our work too! Bring peace and harmony with each other and do not condemn one other. Listen to the quiet voice within yourselves, in order to blossom, tie and give fruit. As I meet you in the future, become happy and say: "No disciple is greater than his Teacher; it is enough that he is like his Teacher.” Be cheerful, fresh and joyful. Dress in the hope, fill with the faith and connect with the love. Sunday Lectures 26.01.1919 Sunday, Sofia Traducteur Proletina

The Great Faith “Your faith is great.” (Matthew 15:28) One of the important verses in the read chapter is about the faith. Christ turns to a woman who was a Canaanite and says: „Woman, great is your faith!“. The faith Christ is talking about represents a great, immeasurable world. For many, faith is as comprehended as are the words God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit. These words are so familiar to a man as he alone realises the situation, which he is in. Whoever knows what the beginning of things means, he understands the words God the Father. Whoever understands the two opposite beginnings in the world – the spirit and matter, he knows the meaning of the words God - Spirit. Whoever understands the son’s relationship to his father, he knows what the words God the Son mean. When talking about the son’s manifestations to people, we understand the meaning of the words Son of the Humankind. Finally, when we talk about the connection between the manifestations of the Son to the human mind, we understand the notion reasonabe light. „Woman, great is your faith!“ Therefore, there is also a little faith. The big and little faith represent the two poles of the human mind. Both the gtreat and little faith are needed in life-as the case may be. These are contrasts, which it is impossible without. They also exist in nature. You will see big and small mountains, big and small rivers, seas, lakes, big and small towns, countries, etc. everwhere. For Christ to say to the woman that her faith is great, it shows that He has put her to a test.– Why did he have to put her to a test?– In order to understand whether her daughter could be healed. If someone buys a lot of land and starts to cultivate it, the first question, which I will ask him is whether he has water at his disposal and what quantity. A lot of water is needed for a lot of land. If there is a small amount of water, it is better not to start cultivating the land. Faith presents a special kind of energies in the human life. The greater the man’s faith, the more energetic he is and the greater the work he can do. Christ asked the woman a few questions and after she answered wisely to all of them, He said: „It is not good for someone to take the bread out of the children and throw it to the dogs“. While she said: „ Hey, God, however, the dogs also eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters“. Then Christ told her: „Woman, great is your faith. Let it be according to your faith!“ Count on that woman or man who pays attention to the small things. Whoever does not pay attention to the small measures is a spender- nothing good can be expected from him. The small magnitudes lead to the big ones that can be used for the benefit of all people. It is right to go from the small to the big and not to the opposite. This shows that certain order exists in both life and nature. Therefore, it is said that this order exists in the application of the Divine laws. If you are curing someone in a divine way, you will apply such methods that correspond to his body, i.e. there should be certain consistency between the methods you apply and his energy. Besides, you will start from the weak methods and will gradually move towards the strong ones. The principle is one and the same but the methods are different when healing in a divine way. What method will be applied to a given person will depend on the degree of his development. Some treat themselves with medicines, water, powwowing, while others with faith. What is the reason for the illnesses?– the weakening of the life energy in a man, in the process of which it turns into a potential or passive energy. Therefore, the curing of the ill one envisages the transformation of the potential energy into a kinetic one. This is achieved through different medicines or actions that incite the passive energy. Sometimes, the Bulgarians heal the people with fever by pouring cold water over him. In this way they produce a strong reaction in the organism and if the passive energy turns into an active one, the ill person is cured. If this doesn’t happen, he cannot heal. Regardless of how the ill one is being cured, it is important that a certain connection between him and God exists. The Canaanite woman, who was asking Christ to help her ill daughter needed this connection. In Christ’s face she saw the man who made the connection between her saul and God and her daughter was cured at the same time. Sometimes, a man makes this connection himself and sometimes he needs someone’s help. As the surgeon bandages and adjusts the ill man’s broken leg so is Christ the connection between the human soul and God. Whoever cannot make this connection will long walk around the ill one without helping him. Why do people suffer? – Because their bones are dislocated. I am using the words ‚dislocated bones’ in the sense of misplaced thoughts and actions. You can be good, sincere but still to suffer from a misplacement of the thoughts and feelings. – Why?– Because you don’t start your work on time and with the requisite understanding. At the end of the day, when you find yourself in difficulty, you say: God is almighty, He can do everything. – He can do everything but according to His mind and understanding and not according to your one. People are wrong to think that God will teach them how to act, without themselves thinking on their actions. They turn to God only when they are in need without asking themselves whether God is available to answer them. Every thing must be done in its own time. The Canaanite woman understood this moment and used it. When Christ told her that she could not take the bread out of the children and gave to the dogs, it immediately occurred to her how to answer. – Who are the dogs? – The people who only think about eating and drinking. The Canaanite was a humble woman. She came to Christ in order to only take the surplus from the masters’ table without reaching out to their share. She was aware that she had the right to live and benefit from the wealth of life even though it fell from the masters’ table. Christ was astonished by this faith and answered: „Woman, great is your faith!“ From this moment , the life of the Canaanite changed and Christ said: „Let it be accoring to your faith!’ And her daughter was cured from this hour. This transformation in a human’s life is called‚ „acqusition of inner, Divine peace“. When the ill one is cured, his soul is filled with peace and calmity. You will say that you know this state .i.e you understand everything that you are told. This is possible too but there is a difference between the understanding of all living creatures. Evan the smallest animals have their understanding but their perceptions are radically differenet from the ones of the humans, while the human ones from the angels’,etc. To a certain extent one animal has more correct understanding than the human being but in most cases, the perceptions of the human beings are higher and more correct than the ones of the animals. Study the qualities and the manifestations of the animals and copy the good in them. Look how the sheep are obedient to their shepard. Shouldn’t people too have to be obedient to their Father? Look how the silkworm becomes gradually smaller until it wraps up in cacoons and spends some time in sleep until it turns into a butterfly and flies away in the broad world. Shouldn’t the human being also learn the art of diminishing and increasing when the conditions dictate to him the one or the other situation. By listening to this, many will object that they are a free and thinking creature independent from the conditions. Indeed, the human being is a thinking creature but he is a master of the conditions only when he thinks, feels and acts right. Otherwise, he is a slave and servant of the conditions. The right thought, the right feeling and the right action are related to the Divine beginning. So did the Canaanite woman do. She started with the small and acquired the big. Many of the people of today start with the big desires, they want to shine in the world, everyone to talk about them. You hear someone saying: I will make a feast for my close ones so that they can all remain astonished. Afterwards, I can fast for a whole week but show off at least once. This means to start well and finish badly. So have many people and peoples begun but after all, they all ended up badly and left alone, disappointed. Regardless of how you start well or badly, you will always learn something. Nature uses everything and ultimately turns the evil into good. As all people are not at the same level of development and their actions are different. The mistakes in man’ life come as a natural consequence of his freedom as he is free in his actions. However, one thing is asked from him: rectification of the mistakes. Who rectifies his mistakes? – the humbled one. One of the woman Canaanite’s qualities was the humility. Every human being must acquire humility. Nothing can be achieved without it. Both young and old, all have to humble. Some humble voluntarily, others – by force. The wise man foresees the evil and avoids it, while the stupid one cannot foresee it and encounters it. The wise man humbles voluntarily while the stupid one- not by his will. When he is forced to humble himself, he says: There is nothing that can be done, i have to obey. Isn’t it possible to live wthout humility? – No, it is impossible. You need to humble at least once in your life. The humble one looks for the reason of his failures and misfortunes in himself and not from outside. In this way, he increases his humbleness and becomes internally strong and rich. A real human being is the one who increases his gifts and abilities. He works consciously on himself and is not misled. He does not think that his faith is great. He does not think that his holliness is great. Some parents think that their children are genius and understand everything. A man can understand things without being genius. The genius is an advanced spirit who has completed his development on the Earth. While you live on the Earth, you cannot be genius. You will come close to the genius without being a true genius. This is why it is said in the Scripture that no disciple is superior to his Teacher. It is enough for the disciple to be like his tecaher. Until the disciple reaches his teacher, the latter has already surpassed him. A Christian thinks that he has a great faith, a lot of of knowledge, but as soon as his child gets ill, he goes in despair , cries, suffers - he cannot help her. Didn’t you have faith, knowledge, why do you fall in despair? The strength of the man is recognised in the trials.- My child will die while she has to live.- If she has to live she will live; if she dies prematurely , be glad that she has done some work on the Earth and after a while she will come back amongst you in order to continue her work. – Is this true? – If you are a believer your will check this for yourself; if you don't believe you will suffer without reaching out to the truth. Death does not presuppose the end of life. You are born, which means you are mobilised; you die - you are demobilised; You take off your military clothes and dress those ones which you came to the earth with. The mobilised man is a restricted one, while the demobilised one is free like a butterfly. What does the general represent when he gives orders to his regular soldiers and the mobilised ones?- Teacher. He gives them different lectures in the military art and discipline, while they listen and agree with everything they are told. The general talks while they confirm: That’s right Mr General! Whether their perceptions are always in accordance with the General’s ones is another matter. It is important that the military discipline requires order, orderliness, and a full consensus among the soldiers. This transmission is similar to punching nails in the board. The master beats the nail, and the last one says: That’s right Mr General! When he completes his job, the master says: I completed one good job. – It is good for you but it is not so for the nail and the board. Even the Jewish thought that they were doing a good job by punching nails in Christ’s hands and feet, but the consequences of this whole work did not go well for the Jewish people. In the mind of man, there are negative thoughts that crush the hands and feet of their God. There are thoughts and feelings of temptation and lack of faith that connect with God in the man until they crucify Him. All negative thoughts and feelings in the human life must be eliminated, because no one needs wooden or stone crosses. The world needs thinking creatures, alive crosses without any nails. The contemporary religions are full of crosses, punched with nails. The future religion will be differentiated with alive crosses without any nails. „Woman, great is your faith!“ What is the relation of this woman’s faith to you? It could be seen from this that the strong faith cures. Every man has three ill daughters in himself - the body, mind and heart. The three daughters have three mothers, but only one of them searched for God and found Him, that is why her daughter was cured. She trusted in God and her faith was great. Faith is a great thing. According to some, the faith is a result of good disposition. It is not so. Even animals have good disposition, they play joyfully, and jump but there is no way to speak of faith in them. The better and more reasonable life a human being leads the more his faith increases. The poor and unreasonable life leads to the cause of the weakening of faith. As faith is related to the mind so is the power of faith dependant on the light and purity of the human mind. If it dosen’t have these qualities, the mind becomes the reason for the misleadings of the heart. What is the reason of the Canaanite’s great faith? – Her knowledge of God and Christ. So she felt the inner power of Christ and trusted in it. Inwardly, she recognised Christ as a Son of God and bravely asked from Him this, which she will ask for from God. She has understood the verse where Christ says about himself: ‘My Father and I are one’. It is said in the Scripture: „ For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself. As the Father has the power to resurrect so does the Son have the same power.“ What is the reason for this? – Christ’s connection with God. He who loves his neighbour or himself more than God will always cheat his love. A man who loves a woman more than God can always cheat on her. Everyone is searching for something outside of themselves and when they find it, they are not content. Search for God in yourself, connect with Him in order to be always content and truthful to yourself and your neighbour. Therefore, everyone should say to themselves: „I know the alive God, Who is in me and I fulfil His will.“ God who lives in man, lives in all live creatures, in the whole nature. The manifestations of the God we call Son of God. The people of today cannot stand in their relationships; they separate and get disappointed with one another because they do not understand the laws of the inner life. As the external life has its laws and needs so does the internal one have. Ones dressed in flesh, a man cannot deny it. He can become its Master and not satisfy all its desires but does not have a right to destroy it. The flesh is a form in which the soul and spirit are placed to study life. The roots of life are in the flesh, while the branches - in the spirit. As the roots are directed downward, towards the centre of the earth, while the branches - upward, towards the sun, therefore the spirit and flesh move in two opposite directions and oppose one another. Thanks to the counteraction between the flesh and spirit, life is born. Thus, namely, the flesh and the spirit perform great work. Therefore, in order to have a balance in human life, the flesh must go down, and the spirit upwards. Many want to destroy the flesh in order to deny it. It is impossible. While on the Earth, the man needs flesh. He is neither an angel nor a saint, he does not have their knowledge. Only the angels and saints can live without flesh, but when they are in heaven. When they come down to the Earth they too dress in flesh. All animals, all people are dressed in forms that correspond to their development. In this sense, each form performs a certain service. And the smallest creature, who performs its service properly, goes upwards to the branches. Conversely, if a person does not fulfill the will of God, he is in the position of roots that plunge deep into the earth. Therefore, it is not important what service a man performs, but how he performs it. The contemporary people talk about Christ’s love but apply the old methods in their lives. They start well and finish bad. In this respect, they resemble the boys and girls that have fallen in love. While they are not married and their parents work for them, their relationships are fine. They are careful and gentle to one another, write love letters to one another but as soon as they get married everything gets destroyed. – Why? - Because the burdens of life fall upon them. The boy thinks he has misled himself – the girl - too, while after all, the fault is in both of them. They have only been thinking of pleasure and not about a conscious, reasonable work. Whoever wants to have pleasure, pays dearly. Christ has expressed this thought through the verse: „I cannot take the bread from the children and give it to the dogs.“ I translate Christ’s words in the following way: I have not come for people who want to only have pleasures. The Canaanite woman responded to Christ: „And I also want to enter the good path which you show to people.“ Christ said: „Woman, great is your faith! Let it be according to your faith.“ From this hour, the Canaanite’s daughter was healed and received God’s blessing. All people - scientists, philosophers, musicians, artists, writers, have certain aspirations and ideals, which everyone achieves according to the degree of their faith. Someone becomes rich, a scientist, philosopher or a musician because he believed he could become such. It is noted that the great people are believers. They believed in the achievement of their ideals and have become strong and great people. Whoever has a reasonable faith, overcomes all hardships and obstacles in his life. Christ shows people the way in which they can cope with the hardships. The first condition for this is a pure life, filled with love. The true Christian is distinguished with moral resilience. He is humble, loving and pure. Whoever hasn’t acquired these qualities, even if he becomes a Christian, he will manifest himself in the way he has been initially, if he was nervous, he will remain nervous; if he was generous, he will remain such one. A man needs to make big efforts on himself in order to transform the negative qualities into positive ones and to strengthen the positive qualities. The tussore cannot turn into a butterfly in a day. This requires about 40 days. If the tussore which lives for such a short time needs 40 days for its transformation into a butterfly how much more time and work are needed by a man in order to go from the status of a moth into a butterfly. Both animals and humans develop slowly, gradually, by following the laws of evolution. Any form presents a note from the Divine range of life. The note may be a whole, half, quarter, eighth, etc. It has its own tone and a certain amount. People think they know the alphabet of their language as well as the seven musical tones, but as they start to use them, neither their speech is a speech nor their song - a song. Few people speak and sing properly. Someone talks about love but his heart is empty. He talks about the truth without knowing it. He talks about love towards God but is not ready for any sacrifice. Whoever cannot self - sacrifice, he does not love God. After all that, he wonders why people do not understand him and his affairs do not work well. A man needs to understand that the Divine life works in him but to also know that every good is not only given to him but also to his neighbours. Everyone has the right to enjoy the goods of life for his development. The man, woman and children are conditions given to the human being in order to think, work for his development and not only to use one another. How to get rid of suffering? – Do not escape suffering but learn from it. Every suffering is a musical tone that has to be clean, clear and soft. It has to be in hramnoy with the tone of joy. Only in this way will life develop well. As the tones in music have to be in harmony in order to form a correct chord so does the tone of suffering have to gradually rise until it brings harmony in life and transforms into joy. Therefore, suffering is the lowering of the tones of human life while joy - the increasing of the same tones. Christ says: „Woman, great is your faith!“ This means: Woman, you sing correctly, in harmony with your daughter, because of which she will heal. The mother can cure her daughter, while the father - his son if they are in harmony with each other. If the mother sins, the daughter suffers; if the father sins, the son suffers. Parents need to live well in order for their children not to suffer. When the daughter gets ill, the mother needs to fight death like a female tiger in order to save her. Otherwise, both the mother and daughter stop their development. However, there are cases when the death of children brings some blessing to the parents but this is no longer death but migration instead. Terrible is the death that comes prematurely and deprives the man of the opportunity to realise his ideals.– How can a man be saved from death ?- When he lives in full harmony with God. This means to keep his connection with God that has been made from the beginning of his life. Therefore, it is said: Do not sever your connection with God. Do not sever the connection of your neighbour with God. If you cannot increase it then at the very least, do not sever it. When they do not understand the laws of life, people tear each other’s threads of life and then they suffer. They tear their threads because their faith and light are weak. They will many times be born and will reincarnate until they complete their work on the Earth, i.e. until they connect the threads they have severed. 

The contemporary people stumble eachother in life because they compete. Everyone wants to be first. The layman wants to take the first place in society while the religious one – wants to be near God. Neither the first nor the latter are possible. Whatever place you occupy in society there will always be a man who sits above you. As far as being close to God is concerened, this is a relevant concept. God is the sun of life, but it depends on the man as to whether he will be close or far from Him. If you break your connection, you alone go away from Him. There is no place, space and time in the spiritual world. These are values that relate to the material world. You can be close to God in spirit but not in matter. The physical world is limited while the spiritual is unlimited. Therefore, we say: Two people cannot sit in one chair simultaneously, they cannot stir in a pouch or wear one pair of shoes, etc. While he is on the Earth, a man needs to understand the physical laws and comply with them. Initially, people walked without shoes but after the fall, climatic conditions changed, it became colder and the need for shoes appeared. Today, the birds do not fight for shoes like the people do.- Why do people fight and quarrel between themselves? – Because their faith has weakened. Until the man is rich, the woman believes in him; as soon as he looses his fortune, the woman’s faith disappears too. While the man is healthy and occupies a high position, the woman believes in him; as soon as he looses his health and occupation, she becomes faithless. This is not a faith that Christ is talking about. This is why some prefer to devote their lives to exploring and studying of the butterflies and insects rather than dealing with their own kind to whom they often become exposed to disappointments and afflictions. Christ said to the Canaanite: „Woman, great is your faith!“ This woman humbled and wanted to rectify her mistakes which she received the Divine blessing for. Many do not see their mistakes, do not want to recognise them and if someone shows the mistakes to them they search for a way to apologise. This is not divine. One is the Divine law and everyone has to obey it. Not all people obey the law in a similar way because they are not at the same level of development. In some people, the heart takes precedence, in others - the mind, and in others - the will.– Why don’t all people organise themselves in order to develop similarly? – This is impossible. Isn’t it true that there are a number of social organisations ? Are all people at the same level of development? Therefore, the real organisation takes place from within - outwards and from outside- inwards, but from the Spirit. This means the strengthening of the faith. In such an organisation, no one can rape the other. There is mutual help in the human organisations but there is also blackmailing. There is mutual help in the Divine organisations and no blackmailing. Here, the surplus is given without anyone keeping it. Everyone has the right to benefit from the surplus of goods, i,e. from their interests but in no case do they have the right to infringe the main capital or the mother of the given good. The mother remains as a foundation for the future construction. Give from your surplus without the rest knowing about it. You who use your neighbour’s good, thank for the received and do not ask for more than you are given. If you go somewhere as a guest do not stay more than three days without any work. On the fourth day, take part in the common work in order to show that you are a close one in this home. Do not blackmail your close ones neither do you test their patience. Only God and Christ have the right to test people. Christ tests his disciples’ patience through the Canaanite. They wanted from Christ to either help her or make her go - they did not have the patience to wait for the end. „Great is your faith.“ Let everyone ask the question: Is my faith great in order to water my garden? – Which is this garden? – The human heart! Many think that they understand the human heart. They understand it as much as to cause suffering to themselves. The hens also understand each - other but give them food to see how they peck eachother. So do the oxen. When you feed them they poke and envy each other and are scared that lest one has more food than the others. When people expect from you, give food to everyone individually in order that there is no pecking or poking between them. Put food in everyone’s dish individually. If everyone individually fills their plates, define how many spoons they can take. If they take more than it is defined, the last ones will remain without food. In order to get to know a person observe how they eat and how they treat their close ones during eating. Whatever a man is when eating at the table, so he is in society. The Divine life we are called for is not a life of pecking, poking neither a life of tearing strands. Instead of pecking, poking, tearing of the strands, and thereby interrupting the noble impulses of your soul as well as the ones of your neighbour, send your good thoughts and help. Everyone has an excess of energy, which he has to harness to work. If you are ready to give from your surplus, you can help the people around. The excess of energy represents a bandage for the broken leg or hand of your neighbour. When someone wants to help him, this means giving from the surplus of energy. The doctor will put a bandage on the ill one, he will adjust the broken leg but his neighbour must be ready to give from his surplus of energy,i.e. from his materials for bandage. Whoever is ready to give from his surplus of energy he can do miracles. What is meant by the word ‘miracles’? The miracles are not random things. They are based on reasonable laws, which God manifests through. Therefore, when you turn to God for help, do not ask yourselves whether He will help you or not, but give Him only bandages and oil. He will adjust the leg, oil and bandage it. You will see the result in a few days and in this way you will experience God. If all man’s attempts in curing his close ones prove successful, should you be in doubt of Him? This is a science, art that everyone can apply in their lives. If you suffer or are ill apply your faith. The bigger your faith is the better your results will be. If your faith is great you will easily cope with the negative feelings in yourselves, for example – the hatred, jealousy, etc. Huge strength is required from a man in order to cope with the evil in him. I know one way to achieve this: The fulfilment of God’s will. I know one Teacher in the world: God. Whoever follows the Divine path he always fulfils His will. – Whom should we listen to?– You will listen to yourselves because God is there. Many do not succeed in their lives because they listen to many teachers. You will listen to only that teacher who fulfils the Divine will. He works well and his work has results. This is how every man who is connected with God works. And the shoemaker who works with love makes good shoes and satisfies his clients. He may not have taken a high degree but he has love inside. Cherish and respect everyone for the Divine that is hidden in them. It may be a small sparkle but it will increase and become a big fire with time: Everyone can help with the blowing of this sparkle. This means people to help and understand each - other. This is how the musicians understand each - other in an orchestra. The audience sits, listens and applauds. And you as my audience represent musicians of the great life orchestra. You play, the angels listen to you and give their opinion. In order that they don’t strictly judge you, I tell them that you have just now started to play. One day, you will become good musicians and will satisfy them. From the outside you are all good, pious but it is required from all inner piety and goodness. If someone has not yet become good, beautiful and pious let him enjoy these qualities in other people. Enjoy the good that lives in your neighbour in order that it can become the foundation of your life. Today, this is the teaching I am preaching to you about.: The good of one to be a common good and the good of all to be good for one. Where has this teaching been taken from? – From the sensible nature. Use the methods which she gives to you in order to improve your life. Everything is in its place. But you have to understand the ratio between things. When they do not understand these ratios , people are unsatisfied from one another and constantly grumble. In order not to be in this situation let them remember the Bulgarian proverb: ‚I am not a sun that shines upon everyone“. Indeed, only God is a sun that illuminates the entire universe. A day will come when the Divine light will penetrate people’s minds and they will become stronger than they are today. So that if you are strong know that God is working through you. Give way to God in yourselves in order to create a true culture, which everyone will be happy about. If you close the path for the Divine in yourselves, you alone expose yourselves to suffering. Therefore, go from light to light. This is how you will know God, yourselves and your neighbour. What is this teaching that frees you up from one type of chains and throws you to another one? The Divine teaching represents uninterrupted line of light which illuminates things gradually. This is exactly how the connection between the different phenomena can be seen. „ Great is your faith, woman.“ With the example of the Canaanite, Christ drew the attention of his disciples to the humility. This woman said that she is satisfied with the crumbs of the Lord’s table. Humility is a great thing. Few people today get satisfied with the crumbs. Most of them want to sit in the first place. It is said about Christ that he came to the Earth, dressed himself in a slavery image and humbled. If Christ had to humble how much more needed is this for the ordinary people. All have to humble, to come to a point when they are equally happy when executing a high or small service. Until the maiden is free she dresses well, washes herself several times a day; she doesn’t work a lot in order not to make her hands dirty so that she can keep her skin soft and white. When she gets married and becomes a mother, she washes the nappies of her child, washes him, works the whole day – studies the law of humility.– How does she study this law? – Through love. Remember: a man learns about humility through the law of love. Through the same law, he becomes satisfied with the crumbs of the master’s table. The people of today eat the crumbs that fall from the angels’ table. Their surplus is our abundance. The creatures that are below us eat from our surpus. Therefore, all live creatures on the Earth eat only crumbs. I wish you that in the future your faith increases and whoever from you meets Christ to tell Him: „Great is Your faith “. I wish you to learn the law of humility and apply it. I wish you to be satisfied with the crumbs and use them wisely. I wish your daughter to be healed too. These are not only wishes but things that you can achieve. Then you and your daughter will be healthy. 
Sunday Lectures 19.01.1919 Sunday, Sofia Translated by Proletina Dragoeva-Jones

Introduction to Love Ephesians: 4. I will give you the following example as an introduction to this lecture: imagine that there is a caravan of carts in the street and each one of you is driving a cart. Some carts travel smoothly, noiselessly, while others creak and make a lot of noise. What do you have to do for the carts not to make so much noise? You will take the tar-can, dip the feather in and lubricate the axle of the wheels, so it won't creak any longer. Creaking is the suffering in your life. In the same way, you should lubricate your heart, when it creaks, with tar. You should study Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians in relation with the proverbs. Each one of you should dwell on the most significant paragraphs of this epistle – the ones that constitute the core of it. This is a necessary introduction; therefore, keep this in mind all the time. Remember that every suffering is an introduction, a gateway to Love. Some ask, "Why do I suffer, why do I have difficulties?" This is my answer: because your book is being written, an introduction to Love is being composed. By this introduction, I want to make a point to you not to deceive yourselves by thinking you are very knowledgeable. Those who believe they know a lot, they grow old fast. The best thing to do, so that you do not grow old, is to think that you have a lot to learn. The same can be noticed with children: they are eager to learn a lot. You should never say that this becomes the young but not you – the old, because the thought that you are old will stay with you and you will actually become old. You won’t even notice how soon it will be before you are stooped over, you will look like a question mark and everybody will say that you are old. Bear in mind that youth is the gateway to God’s Kingdom. You need a new introduction in order to enter God’s Kingdom – to become young. I shall move on to explain Chapter four: “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all wise lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (4: 1-3) Prisoner means a person who is called to God’s School. Paul says, "I, who was called to God’s School, pray you to study as I did, namely – with all the wise lowliness, meekness and longstanding forbearance, forbearing the others with Love." When you are in class somebody might nip you, might give you a nudge, but you tell yourselves, "It’s all right. This is a small room, Love will forbear!" Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace means to endeavour to establish links between the lessons, so that you will have that internal connection, which the Spirit, i.e. the Master has planted. With these words Paul says, "I listened to this Master with great attention." The epistle reads further on: “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.” (4: 4) With this Paul says, "I subjected my body to the Spirit, by serving Him in hope." “One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in us all.” (4: 5, 6) In these lines Paul says, "I did this, because I listened to the Lord and performed the thoughts of This one Lord, Who spoke to me about one faith – faith in respect of the mind." One baptism means to perform, to forbear all grief and hardships in gratefulness. Dipping into the cauldron is no baptism; baptism is a test one has to pass. Paul says, "Every time when the Master tested me, I delivered Good, i.e. I gave good answers, because I studied my lessons well." One God is understood to be the place, the conditions given to Paul by God, because Paul says, "In one God we live and move." i.e. we study in the same school. “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” (4: 7) In this line Paul says, "I used the grace of God." Grace is when in time of need, more superior spirits, called angels, descend to elate you, to help you, to enlighten you on a particular issue. This enlightenment can take various forms. It can reach you through a dream – by suggesting a particular thought when you sleep, and when you get up in the morning, you will feel it absolutely distinctively. Help does not always come in the form of speech. There are three ways to speak: speaking from the outside, speaking from the inside, and speaking from above, i.e. speaking to the body, speaking to the heart, and speaking to the mind. Somebody says, "Let’s start eating, lunch is ready!" – This is speaking to the body. I say, "Let’s love one another."’ – This is speaking to the heart. This second mode of speaking is not understood so directly as the invitation to eat, because you have certain experience in the latter. Consider how you will understand love. When I tell you, "Let’s get to know Christ!" – This is already speaking to the mind. How can we get to know Christ? Think about love and knowing Christ. Please, explain to me, being Bulgarians, how you love and how you know Christ. I know how we do it at home, but I want to know how you do it in Bulgaria. “Wherefore He saith, When He ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.” (4: 8-10) Christ, when He was on the Earth, filled everything and said, "I conquered the world." The other victory – over the flesh – He left for you. There are three things, which impede Life, namely: flesh, the world, and the devil. The most dangerous enemy of all is the flesh. It is the bond between human beings and the world, and the world is the bond between the flesh and the devil. Christ, when he conquered the world, broke the connecting link between the flesh and the devil. You have a daughter, who is in correspondence with her lover, but, as her mother, you break this telegraph and the correspondence is over. Thus Christ severed the bond between the flesh and the devil and it has no place within you any longer, except if you invite the devil. Paul says, "I walked this path and there our struggle was big." All Heavens is understood as the manifestation of God in the complete human life. “And He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (4: 11, 12) Please note that all these are given in order for the saints to reach perfection. Who are the Apostles? These are the ones to whom Christ speaks. Prophets are those to whom the Spirit speaks. Evangelists come after the prophets, and after them – the pastors and the teachers. Find what corresponds, within you, to apostleship. Consider this line, what apostleship, prophecy, evangelism, pastorship, and teaching can be compared to? The word prophet was in use even before Christ. Find the relation between prophets, evangelist etc. One has to develop one’s gift for apostleship. Apostle is such a person who is spoken to from outside. Prophet is such a person who is spoken to from within. Evangelist is such a person who has tried things. When you eat an apple, you will do as the evangelists and you will say, "It is sweet." Who is a pastor? The mother, who breast-feeds the child, is the pastor, the shepherd who grazes the sheep, the teacher who imparts knowledge. “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (4: 13) The Apostles went with Christ, listened to Him, and interpreted His Teaching. The Spirit worked with them. They were twelve in number. The prophets continued the work of the Apostles and out-numbered them. Evangelists were even more in number, while pastors and teachers – were the biggest in number. Find out how many prophets there were. There must be at least one prophet in every church. There must be at least one prophet in the smallest community. There must be at least ten evangelists to each prophet. This is the order of increasing, so gifts increase in the same manner. The gifts in human beings correspond to the prophets, apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers and all of them should be developed. Each one can be a prophet for oneself. Any perspicacious person, who can foresee things from far off, is a prophet. Such a person has been to school, has graduated, and starts applying the acquired knowledge, to make calculations and finally to predict that a certain comet in that many years will come back. When this prediction comes true, he is said to be a prophet. All these gifts are given to us in order to get to know the Son of God, until we reach the state of the perfect human being into the measure of age, of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Another line reads that we have the mind of Christ. By this Paul means the bond between the Divine soul and body. Saying that the Spirit will teach you, Christ places the Spirit higher than the soul. In certain aspects, the soul is placed between the Spirit and the body. Paul says, "In order to have the Spirit of Christ, you have to have this bond between the Spirit and the body." “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” (4; 14) One can see from this paragraph that we should not be children in the world. Can your child go to Vitosha on a stormy night? It takes an adult to cross the mountains on a night like this. This is why Paul says, "I was not a child." I know that Bulgarians have a strong sense of inquisitiveness. Fifty years ago, a gypsy appeared in the region of Varna1 with a big snail, and she read the future by this snail. She became very famous for fortune telling and people from the whole region started visiting her. She made lots of money, became rich, and was subsequently assaulted and robbed by vagabonds one night. She could tell everybody else’s future but could not foresee that she would be robbed. Everybody likes to hear his or her fortune being told, but this is just for leisure. The future is usually read in a coffee cup, by cards, by the way a rooster crows and which direction it faces, by the donkey’s bray etc. One, starting on the road, also has one’s own divinations; for example, if one encounters an empty cart or a priest, one finds this disconcerting. These things have been implanted within you for thousands of years, only you have lost the key how to read them and therefore you are disconcerted. Why should you be concerned that you have encountered an empty cart or that a cat crossed your path?2 What do you have to do? You have to know the time when the cat will not cross your path, when the cat is not out. “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, Who is the head, Christ.” (4; 15) Paul means the purely spiritual Love, which does not change, which has no love-hatred poles. In the Spiritual world Love is manifested only by attraction. While you know the love, which contains attraction and repulsion: you meet somebody, you attract him, but soon you have had enough and you repel him. This happens to young and old alike. A lad first loves a girl, and then he repels her. This is the law of the Earth. When two creatures unite on the Earth, they will invariably kick each other. Kicking is inevitable. Let’s assume that you are lying in a single bed. Let’s assume that due to lack of space, your beloved will be on top of you. You will endure him for half an hour, but not longer, he will feel heavy and you will start kicking. There are no conditions for love on the Earth. When you love someone you have to keep that person at half a metre distance. In love usually the one carries or the other is on one’s back. The saying is, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’3 and it means to keep your neighbours at half a metre distance. If you love them more than you love yourselves, you will carry them on your back. A story from “Halima”: a gentleman was crossing the river and saw an old man at the river bank who could not cross the river. The gentleman picked the old man up and put him on his back and thus they crossed the river. When the old man had to get off the gentleman’s back, he did not want to and the other man had to carry him for one, two, three, and more days on his back. At one point, it dawned on him to take out his bottle of wine and have a drink, intending to get the old man drunk. He was sipping from the wine while the old man clutched at his throat – he also wanted some wine. The gentleman kept giving wine to the old man until at last the old man got drunk. He then climbed down from the young man’s back and the two of them started dancing. So, when the beloved one does not let go of you, give him a little drink and then both of you will dance together. Today you suffer all the time because of love. I call people on the Earth unhappy people because of love. All people suffer from love, and then they complain that nobody loves them. My recommendation on how to reduce the suffering in the world is to have less love. “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind.” (4: 17) You think you are very learned. The learned person is healthy, has no abscesses, experiences no pains, and is rich. Pagans spoke many languages and did not understand one another. People, who do not understand one another, speak many languages. Some speak the language of the stomach, others – of the heart, still others – of the mind. If I tell you to get to know Christ in His fullness, you will tell me, "Do you have vouchers? Do you have sugar?" This is different from knowing Christ. Some say, "When we get to know Christ, there will be more food." If we get to know Christ in order that He gives us more food, this is a complete misunderstanding of the issue. Food is necessary only as long as you have a cart. Hence, if you have a cart, you will need a tar-can. If you dispose of the cart, you will no longer need any tar-cans. You will be left only with the horse; therefore, you will take food for you and the horse in the bag. When you reach a very steep place you will leave the horse, leave the bag with the horse’s food, and will take only your bag. Human beings need three tar-cans: for the cart, for the horse, and for oneself. You have a husband - so you will keep a tar-can for him. You may not want it, but those who are bonded should remain bonded. You have children – you will keep a tar-can for them. Think about the attitude of children to their parents, of the husband to the wife and vice versa. Why do men seek women and women seek men? You will write an essay on this topic to exercise yourselves. “Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart.” (4: 18) I interpret this thought back to front: when the heart is hardened, there is less work to do, and when there is less work to do, the mind is darkened. Hardened hearts bear no fruit. You will eat less, by eating less you will make your mind hardened. The word heart refers to the soil. The body has to invariably be healthy. The heart stands for the conditions, for life, i.e. what is produced by the heart, while understanding stands for the fruit of the internal process. “Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.” (4: 19) Paul says that Purity is necessary inside Life. When the heart and the stomach are hardened, there is a sort of decay, a sort of stinking, going on inside. This is why they should not be hardened. “But ye have not so learned Christ.” (4: 20) Christ’s Teaching is a Teaching of Life, it is about understanding the main principles, but not the way they are in Heaven, but the way they act on earth. If you know Christ, when you lose your temper, when you are dissatisfied with something, you should immediately polarize yourselves and get into the state of composure. If the surface of the sea is agitated, this does not mean the deep waters are also agitated. When we get to know Christ, we will have this Strength not to get agitated and will be able to command ourselves. You want to command Forces, which are in Nature. No, command the Forces within you. You cannot command things until you learn the language of each thing. You can’t understand an animal before you learn this animal’s language. When you say gee to the horse, the horse starts going. We have to learn the language of these live Forces within us, so that when we tell our heart to be quiet, it should keep quiet, and when we tell our mind to stay put, it should listen to you. “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” (4: 22-24) The old man means all the deceitful habits, thoughts, and desires, which were planted in us in the past and which now manifest themselves. These old habits represent the old clothes, which have holes and the wind penetrates through them. The old man is torn, while the new one is intact - having no holes. The Spirit is the connecting Force for the mind. To be renewed means that you should lubricate yourselves a little every day. The Spirit is a Force, which transforms work into fuel, and the mind uses it. And the new man should be created after God in Righteousness, Holiness, and Truth; in Righteousness – in respect of the body, in Holiness – in respect of the soul, in Truth – in respect of the mind. Therefore, repudiate the lies, which are a feature of the mind, a shortcoming of the mind; you should always tell only the truth to the people close to you. All disputes between people close to one another result from lies, because we deceive each other. “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.” (4: 25) Do not fool yourselves! Do not mislead your stomach either. Often in America when people are hungry, in order to suppress their hunger, they eat ice cream or drink coffee. Do not deceive your stomach with coffee, tea or anything else. This will not make your cart go. You have to send something substantial to your stomach. “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.” (4: 26, 27) Anger is another shortcoming; it is a feature of the heart. You heart should not burn, because this is dangerous. Do not make room for the devil that lives in your body. Do not allow the devil to take root. “Let him that stole, steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.” (4: 28) “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” (4: 30-32) Your work this month will be to find the main, fundamental ideas, which Paul imparted in this epistle. You will find the ideas that refer to the body, the soul, and the spirit. Try to find a method through which you can apply this Teaching in your lives. The subject is vast, therefore, it will be enough if you apply it partly at least. Do not think that I want you to become learned overnight. What is important is to understand the exercise at a certain moment. Find the link between the epistle to the Ephesians, and the proverbs. The second thing that you will observe is to curb your tongue, not to talk a lot. Consider in advance what you are going to say. You are excited – do not talk! Say only the most substantial things, let your tongue and speech be under control. So that there is no creaking of the cart, no horse tripping over its feet, and the master, driving the cart, should not feel dizzy. The third exercise, which you will do at least once a day, is as follows: you will sit comfortably in a chair, or you will be standing on your feet, you will open the window, you will leave, for the time being, your backpack, so that you can be in good humour, you will close your right nostril and you will inhale with your left nostril until you will count up to ten. Afterwards, you will close your left nostril too and with both nostrils closed you will keep the air in your lungs until you again count up to ten. Then you will open your right nostril and will let the air out again counting to ten. After this, you will close your left nostril, and you will inhale with your right nostril in the same way, as in the beginning. You have to do this exercise ten times in sequence or two series of five times, whereby you will inhale alternately with the left and with the right nostril. Before you start doing this exercise, you will open the Holy Scripture at the epistle to the Ephesians, you will read ten lines every day, starting with Chapter one. Be willing to understand the main ideas of the lines and the most important one to flow into you. Master’s lecture, delivered on 16 January 1919 _________________________________________________ 1 Varna – a big town on the Black Sea coast. 2 А cat crossed your path has a meaning of bad luck in Bulgarian. In most countries there is a saying connecting good or bad luck with cats. In England a black cat is lucky and a white cat unlucky. In America it is the opposite. Both sayings empty cart and a cat crossing your path are fairly well known. 3 Matthew 19:19 Source