1914_03_16 Behold the Man

[Ани]

from The Blossoming of the Human Soul
 

 

 

BEHOLD THE MAN

 

“Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown

of thorns and the purple robe.

And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”^[1]

John 19:5

 
The Bulgarian word chovek or chelovek (old style), which is translated as “man” in English, refers to a being who can live for more than a century. However, in the ancient language in which this phrase was written, the word chovek refers to Jesus, the Man, who came to the Earth; the Brother of those who suffer. What is the meaning of this word? When we go into the world, would people say about us, “Behold the Man?” To deserve this name, one should possess four qualities: wealth, strength, knowledge, and virtue. Some may ask, “What has wealth to do with this?” Wealth represents the soil, in other words, the conditions under which humans can develop; it is the foundation necessary for attaining strength. Strength brings warmth and light that results in growth and development. Knowledge involves understanding and the regulation of our lives. Virtue, on the other hand, is the goal people need to strive for. Plant a grain of wheat and it will show you what you should do. “How?” you may ask. Water it and the sunrays will guide the grain of wheat toward the Sun, toward the source of life.
 
Similar to the grain of wheat, we need to grow, to strive for God. But someone may ask, “Can the grain of wheat reach the Sun while growing? Will I reach God?” You do not need to know where God is, you only need to strive toward Him. The grain of wheat knows what the Sun is and has received what it needs from it. The same Law is true for people and we need to produce the same result: we need to be sown. We are going inevitably to meet hardships in our lives, small but necessary obstacles, as in the case with the grain of wheat. Some pressure is needed so that the process of growth and true Knowledge can begin. When we bear fruit, we already have Virtue. Therefore, we need to be sown, covered with soil, and experience some pressure. After that, we should grow up and should attain Knowledge. And that Knowledge, after growing to a certain extent, should be immediately transformed into a grain of wheat. After we attain Knowledge, the Master will order the wheat to be harvested, separating the useful from the useless; the wheat from the chaff. While our birth is similar to wheat sprouting, our death is similar to the threshing of wheat. From the threshing floor, the Lord will take what He needs. This corresponds to the barn and the granary: the chaff is placed in the barn and the grain is placed in the granary.
 
I read the 19th chapter of the Gospel of John to remind you of the four things that Christ carried on the cross, the four things that we need to learn. Virtue was on His head, which was not nailed; on the left side was Knowledge; on the right side was Strength; and below, at His feet, was Wealth. These four together represent the crucified man. In other words, when we nail Wealth, Strength, and Knowledge; their essence rises up to the head, toward Virtue. Whenever God wants to do something good for someone, He nails this one to the cross; He nails one’s wealth, strength, and knowledge to create a virtuous person.
 
What does it mean “to nail”? It means that God is securing the person so that no one can take him away; no one can be that person’s master because God is his Master. God says, “Stay calm when I am working.” But since man does not want to stay calm, God says, “Nail him down so that he will be calm while I am working.” When we are being nailed to the cross, we should not cry because God is working for our improvement. Those who are not nailed to the cross are unhappy. Whoever wants God’s attention should pass through this process of development.
 
I am speaking allegorically. Before this process of development can take place, steadfast faith in the universal Divine Plan is required. We should not have doubt in God because He is perfect and almighty. Jesus said, “Things impossible to men are possible to God.”^[2] The ways of God are unfathomable. Do not think that God’s ways can be distorted and obstructed. When we are called upon to walk the Divine path, we should have the simple faith, which children have. We should avoid any shortcomings as the ones illustrated in the following story.
 
A great artist in England wanted to portray extreme poverty. For days and months, he roamed the streets of London to find a subject corresponding to his idea. Finally, he found a child dressed in rags who appealed to his heart and he thought, “This is going to be the model for my painting.” He approached the child, gave him a card with his address, and said to him, “Come to my place in four days, I have something to talk to you about.” The child, looking at the well-dressed gentleman, thought, “How can I go to this man in rags?” The boy decided to borrow clothes from his friends so he could look presentable. But when the child went to the painter, the man asked, “Who are you?” When the painter realized it was the poor boy, he said, “Go away! If I wanted someone dressed like this, there would have been thousands to choose from. I needed you dressed in rags like when I first saw you.”
 
When Heaven invites us to work, we, too, wish to dress well. However, our power is not in our clothes, hats, gloves, shoes, collars, ties, or watches. These are not of any importance. The power is in our minds, in our hearts, in our noble impulses and aspirations to do good. When we have these, all others will come in time. When we go to Heaven, do we need to take our clothes? God does not want our rags, so He says, “Bring him the way he is.” When a person dies, it is common for most people to turn away from him. Even loved ones say, “Take him away as soon as possible.” Where is their love then? Only God does not turn away from him, but says, “Bring him to Me just the way he is.” When we are placed in the grave and left there, what is God doing? He begins conversing with us; the soul is not immediately liberated as some people think. He asks us, “Have you understood the meaning of the life that I gave to you?” During this conversation, God is painting His masterpiece. The people who have said goodbye to the departed person begin weeping and reciting his good qualities. These people see the Divine painting in these qualities.
 
We need to endure the suffering we experience and learn from it. With His earthly suffering, Jesus wanted to provide us with an example of surrendering to this Divine process. He points out, “Do I not have the power to ask my Father to send thousands of Angels to rescue me? But if I do not fulfill that for which I have come, how will human beings be raised up?^[3] Jesus desired to ascend to the Heavens. You are on Earth and one day, you will experience turmoil as well and maybe even the same fate as Jesus. But when this moment comes, do not consider it as a misfortune, for without suffering, there can be no gain. Where there is sorrow, there is joy; where there is death, there is resurrection. Those who do not want to participate in the suffering of humankind will gain nothing. After all, what is suffering? It is a consequence of the errors made in the past due to our ignorance. These errors are corrected through the process of suffering. This process is a method of accepting and attaining the sublime elevating vibrations that awaits us in Heaven. One needs to endure a hundred sorrows in order to experience one Divine joy. Only then can a person properly appreciate and retain Divine joy. That is why God tempers us with sorrow, the same way as a blacksmith tempers the iron to make it fit for work, so that we can endure the joy that will come later.
 
Each of us is needed, very much needed by God. To the world, you may be valueless, but for God, you are an important part of the whole. Only God, Who has sent us to the Earth, values our suffering. Therefore, you should not be concerned with what the world thinks of you. The One who has sent you here thinks about you and values you. It is important for you to have God’s approval. If God is with you, you will be beautiful and the world loves the beautiful ones; if He is with you, you will be wealthy, strong, and good; goodness is always honored.
 
Now I would like to speak to you about God. I will not talk about an abstract Being scattered into space and difficult to reach, as presented by many philosophers, but about God Who thinks of us, Who observes our actions, corrects, punishes, dresses and undresses us; and Who allows us to be born and to die. What is dying? Dying occurs when God performs “surgery” and observing that you will lose a lot, shortens the process of your life. As if He says, “To prevent creating more debt, take away the capital that I gave to this person. Times are not favorable now, let him come at a different time, bring him to Me now.” During this process, it is possible to think that the world has forgotten us. But even when the world has forgotten us, God is still thinking of us. And the world shall forget us. A girl can never marry if she is in love with many young men; she needs to choose one of them claiming, “He is my world.” This fact is true for faith as well. There must be only one God. In this world there are many gods who would like to sway you, but you need to find your God who will help you to live, evolve, and grow.
 
It is said in the Scriptures, “God is not only in Heaven; He abides within the hearts of the meek.”^[4] Therefore, in order for God to live within you, the first quality you need to attain is humility. But this is not the humility of a sheepish person. When you are beaten or someone breaks your leg, it is not right to think, “There is nothing I can do.” It is not humility when all your wealth is taken away to say, “We became humble.” Humility is when you have all the wealth, power, knowledge, goodness; and being aware of your blessings to say, “God, everything I have is Yours.” Many people today show interest in preaching the Gospel and participate actively in organizing the affairs of the world, yet at the same time, they are unwilling to make any self-sacrifice. As soon as God touches their overfilled purses, these people cry out, “Ah, this is not permitted! We may give half of what we have but not everything.” When it comes to power, they say, “You cannot dispose me of all my power.” But whenever we find ourselves in need, we pray to God to lead and help us. This kind of human understanding of life has dominated philosophies for thousands of years. All our misfortunes come because of this understanding.
 
Through His life, Jesus wants to show us the path. Many people think that once they become Christians, they should leave the secular life. You may give up your houses, riches, wives, children and still think about them. You may go to some secluded monastery and still think, “What is happening to my wife, my children, my house?” And that means that you have not given them up, so you are not free. To give up things does not mean exactly forgetting about them. It means that you leave people to do what they wish: allow your wife to act as she wants; leave your son to act as he would like. To renounce the world means to abandon it, not to be in its way and allow life to follow its course. We cannot stop the flow of a river. We should let it follow its own way. We can only do one thing: make use of it. In the same way we cannot stop life, but we should make use of things. Jesus, clearly and positively told us, “If you love Me, keep My Commandments.”^[5] And we should love Him. He did not say, “Pity on you if you do not love Me!” The Lord never requires forced sacrifices from us.
 
People say, “Why does the almighty God not put the world in order?” How shall He put it in order? “Those who tell lies, let their tongue wither; those who steal, let their hand wither.” If that was the case, we would have a world of mute and crippled people. Would a world of handicapped people be pleasant? In fact, God gives a totally opposite ruling. He goes along with the opposite of this process, saying that whoever wants to be a master should become a servant. Strong people usually desire that all rivers flow into their river; but when goodness is present, the process is completely the opposite. God flows into small rivers and instead of directing them; He allows them to rule themselves. You can conduct a small experiment in your home. Remove the thought that you rule and instead strive to become a servant for God. And then you will come down to God’s Place. You seek God in Heaven, but He is not there; when you moan and suffer, He is within you. What people call growth and advancement indicates the fact that God is at work in this process. God is the best Worker.
 
Some complain, “Why does God not see our suffering?” Yet, He tells, “I am so busy with your affairs, I have no time. I am occupied with your important issues. When I have some free time, I am going to look into your trivial, petty disagreements.” This is not an allegory but a reality. There is a verse in the Scriptures where the Lord says, “I was in Israel as a loaded wagon into which people constantly place everything.”^[6]
 
The suffering we experience here is the Lord’s suffering. He suffers and weeps within us. We say, “I weep. My soul is full of grief.” However, when we say, “Lord, forgive me. With my impure thoughts and actions I have caused You much suffering,” we will come to that true path that will deliver us from everyday evil.
 
We should allow our Lord to become stronger within us. We have tied Him with ropes and nailed Him. We need to lay Him in the grave and leave Him there at peace. Only then will He resurrect us and set us free. Be sure of one thing: we are the ones who obstruct His path. It is the human beings and not the devil obstructing God’s way. Because God has established the Law of Freedom, He cannot and does not want to change this Law. Unless we come to this understanding, unless we voluntarily surrender, He will not deliver us. The striving to become like Him needs to penetrate us. We need to be engulfed by the striving to become God-like. Then, we are going to use our wealth, power, and virtues for uplifting our brethren, our fellow man. Each one of you needs to search and value the souls of your brethren, rather than their bodies.
 
I can tell you that Jesus, Who came down here, has not left the Earth even now. He is living and working among humans and it is time for Him to rise within us. We need to have true faith, not fearful faith as the Jews who said, “We have no other king but Caesar.” However, a few years later, when Caesar destroyed Jerusalem and demolished their temple, they renounced him. Even now a person may say, “Caesar is my king,” but the consequences will be the same.
 
Let me explain. We need to live first in this world in order to be prepared for the World beyond. We cannot live in Heaven because the heat and light there are very high. As a gardener transplants pine trees brought down from a higher elevation, he makes various grafts until the trees are acclimated. Similarly, our Heavenly Father cannot take us from here and transplant us in the Garden of Eden without first preparing us. Even our educational system is organized in a similar manner: first we must pass first grade, then second, then high school, college and university, and lastly we enter the world. These are methods of the New Culture and those who want to advance should follow these guidelines. In my opinion, we should not be foolish and say, “I do not need to do anything, God will provide all for me.” When you have ploughed your field, you sow the wheat because if you do not sow the wheat, what will God give you? He will give you weeds and thistles. Cultivate your vineyard and it will bear fruit. Whatever vine you plant, it will produce the appropriate fruit. If you plant low-quality vine twigs, it will produce sour grapes. God gave your child a good mind, but what did you plant in it? Were these the seeds that would bear good fruit? We desire to be virtuous, strong, and wealthy. We can have it all: virtue, strength, and wealth and it is necessary to have them. The conditions under which these can thrive and develop are: Divine seed, Divine Law, and Divine balance. Balance represents the Virtue, Law is the Knowledge, conditions represent the strength, and seed stays for the abundance.
 
But you will ask me how to find God. It is very easy. Someone wanted to make fun and to tease his companion who told him, “We are in an orchard in which there are many beautiful apples.” “But I see nothing,” he answered closing his eyes. His friend slapped the other person’s face, causing him to open his eyes and see. God sometimes slaps us in the face so that we can see. Those of you whose eyes are closed should desire to open them. People of today argue and say, “Where is God? God is in the trees, stones, and ground.” However, it is when adversities come that people look up and seeing Him there, they cry out, “Oh, Lord!” Adversities are the God’s slap in the face, telling us, “I created you to see, not to keep your eyes closed.” In order to advance, we need to become like children, to search and be receptive.
 
I will tell you something else now, related to the method we should use in our work. We should always be connected through our minds and hearts with all people on Earth because our salvation comes from our united prayers. There is power in unity. When minds and hearts of people become united, then the Kingdom of God will come to Earth. We should not look for faults in a friend whom we truly love, for we may have faults too. Shortcomings are the outer garment that a person wears. However, the human soul is pure, it cannot be spoiled, nor can it be destroyed. No one is able to defile your Divine soul. Externally, it may become soiled, but it will remain pure internally because God dwells within it. It is unthinkable that something that God protects could be destroyed.
 
We may submit to the world just as per the words of Christ when Pilate said to Him, “I have the authority to crucify you.” And He replied, “I submit to that One Who has given you this authority, but My soul is free.”^[7] We need to submit to transient suffering. We cannot understand it now, but after we die and resurrect, we are going to understand the reason for suffering. Until now, all people have suffered torments and fears in life, but this is not true Life. Life is when one is filled with noble feelings. A person who is able to do selfless acts is happy. If someone treats you badly, you may not want to take off your hat or shake hands with that person in greeting. Or you may shake hands, but not in a sincere way; you may also take off your hat, but without the genuine feeling of respect. Usually, we take off our hat to a person in a higher position, but with this gesture, somehow we say, “Can you give me a promotion?”
 
In the Black Sea, there is a devil fish which “greets” all it encounters. People, too, grasp someone by the hand. Why? The devilish fingers of the human hand speak a lot. For example, the little finger says, “Can you give me some money? I need to start a business. I have losses, I was robbed. Will you help me?” The ring finger says, “I would like the fame and knowledge of an artist.” The middle finger, “I want my rights and privileges.” The index finger, “I need to be respected and honored.” The thumb, “I want power and skills.” The greeted one, if the will and chance is there, will give these things to the other person. And so, the two of them, later taking a third one in their company, go into the society and form a group, but they cannot find what they are looking for. Finally, Jesus said, “Whatever you are searching for: wealth, strength, knowledge, and goodness—I can give you all this. There is no one among you who has left his father and mother for Me and who has not received a hundred fold in the future Life.”^[8] Behold the Man Who can shake hands with us and Who can give us everything: wealth, strength, knowledge, and goodness. Yet people shouted, “Take Him away, crucify Him!” And Pilate remarked to them, “You are losing Him!”[9] Jesus is before you today as well. I am telling you, behold the Man Who you are searching for. The only Man Who can bring tranquility to your hearts; Who can give you a bright mind, health, social position; Who can uplift you, show you the way and illuminate your thoughts. Yet, in your doubt, you say, “Show Him to us so that we can see Him.”
 
I will present to you a comparison. In the distance, a person appears at night carrying a small candle and I say to you, “Behold the man who brings you light.” However, you only see the candle and not the person. When will you see him? You will see him when the Sun rises. Search for this Light that the Man is carrying; it will help you find the path that you need to walk. This is how you should understand this concept.
 
Let me give you another, clearer comparison. Imagine that I lead you to a lavish but dark living room and tell you, “This is a room with beautiful decorations, with big riches. There, in that corner, is this; in the other corner, that and that.” You reply, “It could be possible, but who knows? I see nothing.” However, if I bring a small lit candle, then the nearest objects can be seen; if I bring a candle with a bigger light, the objects become even more visible. If I light more candles, gradually the room becomes brighter and brighter. When the electric light is on, the objects are clear and when the daylight comes, everything can be seen. The world is like this room and each of us needs to be a bearer of light, to carry a candle. When we all enter with our lit candles and place them together, we will increase the light and will be able to see more. Our brains are similar to candles. I do not like people who carry extinguished candles but people who carry lit candles as on the night of Good Friday. Everyone should be like a lit candle. A devoted, loving, and good person is a lit candle. It is a great mistake for a person to be an extinguished candle.
 
You ask what to do. You should pray for each other. You should send forth good thoughts to your friends, pray for them, and ask to be blessed; when God blesses them, He will bless you too. But why should we pray? In the summer of 1899, there was a great drought in the region of Novi Pazar.^[10] The Turks from the nearby thirty-nine villages gathered together and prayed for rain. And the rain came. The Bulgarians thought, “If God is sending rain to them, He will send it to us too.” But no rain fell over their villages and their stock became emaciated from hunger. When other people are praying, you should pray too; you should hand in also your humble prayers. God will not keep a special file about you if you do not pray. Prayer is a great power and people of today should be people of prayer. Through prayer we will prepare our minds and hearts. We should pray not only for ourselves because doing so is selfish.
 
I do not want to deal with the minds of people, but rather with their hearts because all malice is hidden there. The Lord Himself says, “My son, give Me your heart.”^[11] We need to begin now with a thorough cleaning as we do for Easter, to open the windows and clean the floor. We all groan when we are burdened. There is disharmony everywhere. Husband and wife cannot come to an agreement; they divide the house and money. The wife is displeased that her husband keeps the money. It does not matter whether the husband or the wife keeps the money. Reach an agreement on who will be in charge. People argue who will hold the first place at home: the hen or the rooster. What is this issue about the hen and the rooster? It is not important in life. Something else is more important.
 
Jesus has come and He is working. When Light comes, it comes gradually, silently, without noise. Jesus will not come like a thunder, as some expect. This may also happen, but Jesus will not be there. The prophet Elijah went to the desert and devoted himself to prayer and fast. When storm and fire came, Elijah covered his eyes, yet God was not in the storm and fire, but in the still Voice that spoke to the prophet. God is not in your suffering, your power, or your knowledge. Where is He? He is in Love. If you have Love, He is within you. If you do not have Love, He is absent. And you should love, that is the Law. Some people do not love, but expect others to love them. This is similar to sitting in front of a stove and waiting for someone else to bring wood so that we can get warm. We alone should collect this fuel, which others can use as well. We, the followers of Jesus, Who has given us abundant strength, should finally allow Him to come and reside within us.
 
Now I am leaving this Man with you. Are you going to welcome or crucify Him? Are you going to let Him in, or will you say, “We do not want Him?” This is the question that you need to answer. If you say, “Let Him in, He is our Lord,” you have properly answered the question and the blessings will come. Then the words in the Scriptures will be fulfilled, “I and My Father will come and We will make Our Home with you.”^[12] Then the Light will be in us and we will all reconcile.
 
Lecture by the Master Beinsa Douno, held on March 16 (Gregorian calendar of the 29th century), 1914, in Sofia.
 
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1. All quotes are from the Holy Bible, most being taken from the New King James, Version (NKJV).
2. See Luke 18:27.
3. See also Matthew 26:53–54, “Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of Angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?”
4. See also 1John 4:16, “And we have known and believed the Love that God has for us. God is Love and he who abides in Love abides in God and God in him.”
5. See also John 14:15.
6. See also Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
7. See also John 19:10–11.
8. See also Matthew 19:29, “And everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or
sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My name’s sake shall
receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal Life.”
9. See also John 19:13–16.
10. A town in Northern Bulgaria.
11. See also Proverbs 23:26, “My son, give Me your heart and let your eyes observe My ways.”
12. See also John 14:23, “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our Home with him. ”

[Ани]

BEHOLD THE MAN
 

 

So Jesus came out,

wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.

Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”

John 19:5

 

The word man (човек /tʃovek/, or человѣкъ /tʃelovek/ in which ‘век’ means century) in Bulgarian is understood as creature that lives an entire century. But in the original language, the language in which this phrase is written, man has another meaning – it means Jesus, the Man who comes to Earth, brother of those who are suffering. What should we understand by these words? Can the people, when we face the world, say about us: “Behold the man”? For a man to be honored with this name, he must have within him four things: to be rich, to be strong, to have knowledge, to have virtues. You will say: “What are riches doing here?” Riches are the soil, the circumstances in which man can develop; they are the soil in which Strength is developed, which in turn brings Warmth and Light, which affect the growth, the development. When we come to Knowledge, it is the method through which our life must be understood and regulated. Virtue is the goal to which we must aspire.
 
People often ask the question: “What must we do?” Plant one wheat seed and it will show you what you must do. You will say: “How?” Water it and the sunrays will show which way it is reaching – in one direction, toward the Sun – the spring of Life. As the wheat grows so must we – reaching toward God. Someone might ask: “When the grain grows, does it reach the Sun? But want to find God.” You need not know where God is, you must only reach for Him. The grain has understood what the Sun is and has accepted what it wants, the same law applies to us – we too must produce the same result. We must be planted, our life will definitely have hardships, which constitute these small but necessary obstacles, as it is with the wheat – some pressure is required, after which will come the process of growth – the Knowledge. And when it bears fruit, this is Virtue.
 
Therefore we must be planted, a little soil must be put on us, there must be a little pressure; after that we must grow upwards and gain knowledge, and when this knowledge grows to a certain point, it must immediately be turned into grains of wheat. After that, the Lord will send someone to harvest the wheat and He will separate the useful from the useless – the wheat from the corn-cockle. We are born – this means we sprout; we grow, we develop, we die and we are buried in our grave – this is trampling, threshing. And from the field, God will gather that which He needs. This corresponds to the barn and the granary: the chaff they gather in the barn, and the grains – in the granary.
 
I read to you chapter 19 of John’s Gospel so you can see the four things, which Christ wore on the cross – four things we must learn as well: when we put Virtue on the head, which was not nailed, on the left side – Knowledge, on the right side – Strength, and down on the feet – the riches, then we will have the crucified man also. In other words, when we nail riches, Strength and Knowledge, their fluids will rise to the head – to the Virtue. When God wants to make man good, He crucifies him – He nails his riches, strength, and knowledge. And what does nailing mean? They put him into the safe so no one can take him, so no one has him, because God will have him. He says: “When I am working, you will stay calm”; and because a man does not want to stay calm, God says: “Nail him so I can be calm, so I can work”*. And when they nail us to this cross, we should not cry because then God works for us. Miserable is the one not crucified. Whoever wants God to be concerned with him must go through this process of growth. I speak allegorically.
 
Before this process of growth, there necessarily has to be Faith, unwavering Faith in the collective Divine plan, which has into account all the creatures God has created. We must not doubt God because he is perfect, omnipotent. Jesus also says somewhere: “What is impossible with man is possible with God”*. The Divine paths are inexplicable, the thought that they could be distorted or severed should not be permitted – this is impossible. And when we are called upon and we leave for the Divine path, we must have that simple faith which children have, and avoid flaws like the ones pointed out in the following story.
 
In England, a great artist wanted to draw a painting, which represents extreme poverty. For days and months he walked around London to find a subject suitable for the idea, and finally he found a ragged child who fit his heart’s desire, and he said to himself: “Behold the face which will serve for the creation of the painting”. He approached the child, gave him his card with his address and said to him: “Come in four days, I must talk to you about something”. When this child saw that well-dressed man, he said to himself: “How can I go to him like this – nearly in shreds?” And he went to some people he knew to dress up and to present himself as they present themselves to the kings – he found cloths, he dressed and went to the painter.
 
“Who are you?” – The painter asked.
 
“I am whoever.”
 
“Go away! If I wanted someone dressed like this, there are thousands of them. I needed you like I saw you then.”
 
We too, when Heaven invites us to work, want to dress up, but the power is not in our cloths, hats, gloves and shoes, neither is it in the collars, ties and watches – they do not constitute anything important. The power is in our mind, in our heart, in the noble impulses and aspirations to do good; when we have those things, the others will come by themselves on their own time. Must we take our cloths when we go to Heaven? When God calls us to Heaven, he undresses us here, He does not want our rags, and He says: “Bring him as he is”*. When someone dies, every one of us turns our back on him, even those who loved him say: “Get him away as soon as possible!” Where is their love then? But God does not turn His back and says: “Bring him; I need him as he is”*. And when they lay us in our grave and leave us, what does God do? He starts speaking to us, it is not as some think, that the dead liberate themselves. He asks us: “So, did you understand life, did you understand the meaning of the life I sent you?”* Namely in this conversation, God draws His great painting, then that process is born: people, after they have said their goodbyes, start to cry and remember all his good qualities – they see the Divine painting which is represented in these qualities.
 
We have to endure the sufferings that come to us and learn a lesson from them. Jesus with His earthly sufferings wanted to set an example for us, that we must obey this Divine process. At one point He says: “Have I not the power to ask My Father to send thousands of Angels to save Me? But if I do not fulfill what I came for, how would man ascend?”* And He himself wanted to ascend. You are on Earth, one day storms, hardships and maybe the same fate will come for you too, but when this hour comes you should not take it as misfortune at all, because where there is no suffering, there is no enrichment either. Where there is sorrow, there is also joy; where there is death, there is also resurrection. And he who does not want to be a part of the suffering of the mankind will not gain anything. What is suffering? Consequences of mistakes, caused by our incompetence at some point, and namely these are the mistakes corrected through the process of suffering. This process is a method for us to adjust to, and reach those superior, ascending vibrations, which await us in Heaven. A hundred sorrows must be carried in order to endure one Divine joy; then we will appreciate that joy properly and we will hold onto it. And for that reason God begins with suffering – to temper us (as the blacksmith tempers the iron to make it suitable for work) to endure the joy that will come after.
 
Every one of us is necessary, greatly necessary to God. You might mean nothing to the world, just a zero, but to God you are an important individual. Only God, Who sent you to Earth, appreciates your suffering and therefore you must not worry what the world thinks of you; He Who sent you, thinks of you and appreciates you. For you it is important to have God’s approval. If God is with you, you will be beautiful, and the world loves that which is beautiful; if He is with you, you will be rich, strong, good, and the good is ever worshiped.
 
Now I will talk to you about God, not as a creature, as the philosophers say, vague, scattered through space, who does not know where he is, but about the God of Whom I preach, Who thinks about us, Who observes our actions, straightens, corrects, punishes, dresses, undresses, makes us be born and die. What is dying? God makes an operation – He sees that you will lose a lot, and shortens the process of your life: “In order not to make more debt, take the capital I gave him, times are not favorable now, leave it for another time, bring him to Me”*. And in this process we think that the world has forgotten us. But if the world has forgotten us, God thinks about us. And the world necessarily has to forget us. A young girl can never get married if she loves all boys; she must choose one and say: “This is my world”. And in life this fact is just as true – you must have only one God. There are many gods in the world, who will want to take you, but you must find your God, with Whom you can live, grow, enrich.
 
The Holy Scripture says: “God is not only in Heaven, He lives in the hearts of the humble”*. Therefore the first quality you have to acquire, so He can live in you, is humility. But this humility is not like that of a sheep – when they beat you or break your legs and you say: “There is nothing to be done about it”; it is not humility when they take all your riches and you say: “We are humbled”. Humility is, when you have all the riches, power, knowledge and good, to become aware and say: “God, You have at Your disposal everything I possess!”. Now, however, everyone does the following: everyone preaches the Gospel and always the world they fix, but when God gets to their overfilled bags, they shout: “No, not there! Look, we can give half, but not everything” When He gets to their power they say: “You cannot have all my power at your disposal”, but when we find ourselves in need, we want and we pray for Him to guide us and help us. This method of human understanding of life is in the majority of all philosophies since thousands of years and our misfortunes come exactly from this. But Jesus wants to show us the Path with His life.
 
Many Christians understand that when they become Christians they have to leave the world. You can give up your houses, riches, wives and children and still only think about them. You can go to some isolated monastery and still think: “Whatever happened with my wife, my children, my house?” – this means that you have not given them up, that you are not free. To give up things does not mean to forget about them, but to let people be free – to let the wife do as she knows, to let the son do as he knows. To give up the world means to leave it, to not get in its way – let it go its own way. Can we stop the flow of the river? We must let it go its own way; we can do only one thing – use it. In the same way, we cannot stop Life, we must only use things. And Jesus tells us loud and clear: “If you love Me”* – and we must love Him; He does not say in any way: “Woe unto you if you do not love Me!” No, God never wants a sacrifice from you if it is forced.
 
People say: “Why does God, if he is almighty, not fix the world?” How to fix it? – “He who lies to have his tongue dried up; he who steals to have his hand dried up.” Then we would have had a world only of dumbs and cripples. What do you think; would such a world filled with invalids be pleasant for us? But God gives diametrically opposed control, He goes through the opposite of this process and says that whoever wants to be a ruler, must be a servant. This process consists of the following: strong people usually want all rivers to flow into their river, but through Good the process is exactly the opposite – God overflows into small rivers and instead of controlling them, He lets them control themselves. You can make a small experiment in your home: the thought of you controlling to exit you; to put in your mind the idea of becoming a servant – to become a servant because of God, and then you will descend to the place of God. You look for God in Heaven but He is not there; when you moan and suffer, He is in you. And in what people call growing, advancing, in this process God works, He is the best worker.
 
Some complain: “Why does God not see our suffering?”, but He says: “I have no time, I am so busy with your things, I am busy with much more important things of yours; when there is time left, I will attend to your exterior, small misunderstandings”. This is not allegory, but reality. There is one verse in the Holy Scripture, in which God says: “I was to Israel like a loaded wooden cart, in which people always put everything”*. But the suffering we feel here is the suffering of God – He suffers and cries in you. We say: “I cry, my soul is sorrowful”, but when we say: “God, forgive me, I caused You so much suffering with impure thoughts and actions”, then we will come to that real path, which will save us from the contemporary evil. And at last we must let our God to grow stronger in us. We have tied Him up with ropes and we have nailed Him, when we have to lay Him down and leave Him undisturbed in His grave; then He will be resurrected and he will free us. And be certain about one thing: those who block His path are us, humans; the devils do not impede God’s path. As He has laid the law of Freedom, He cannot, He does not want to change this law; and until we come to this awareness – to willingly submit, He will not save us. The awareness of being like Him must reach deep into us, then our riches, strength, virtues we will use for ascension. Of whom? Of our brothers, of our neighbors. Every one of you must seek and cherish the souls of his brothers, and not to love their bodies.
 
And I can tell you that Jesus, when he came here, even now he has not left the Earth; He lives among men, works among them and He must now resurrect in us. We must have Faith, but not that faith and that fear which the Jews had – “We have no king but Caesar”*, and when this Caesar, after a few years, destroyed Jerusalem and demolished their temple, they gave up on him. And now a man can say: “Caesar is my king”, but the consequences will be the same.
 
Let me go back: we first have to live in this world, to get ready; we cannot live in Heaven because there the Warmth and Light are too bright. As the gardener, when he replants pine trees brought down from a high place, he does some grafts until he acclimatizes the trees, the same way the Heavenly Father cannot take us from here and plant us directly in Eden’s garden. Even our educational system is organized like that: first we must pass first grade, then the second, the rest of the grades, the university and finally to enter in the world. These are all cultural methods to which one has to adapt if he wants to advance. A Christian, by my understanding, must not be a stupid person and say: “As God gives”. When you have ploughed your field, you plant wheat because if you do not, what will God give – weeds and thorns. Cultivate the vineyard, plant it and it will give fruit; whatever kind of grape vine you plant, that is the kind of fruit it will give – if you plant low-quality sticks, it will give you crab apples. God gave to your child a good mind, but what did you plant in his mind – is it those seeds, which will give good fruit?
 
We want to be virtuous, strong, and rich; we can have Virtue, and Strength, and riches, and it is useful to have them. The conditions in which they flourish and can develop are: the Divine seed, the Divine law and the Divine balance. The balance – this is Virtue, the law – this is Knowledge, the conditions – this is Strength, the seed – these are the riches. You will ask me: “How will we find God?” Very easily.
 
Someone wanted to make a joke and tease someone else who told him: “We are in a garden in which there are very nice apples”. – “But I do not see anything” – answered the other, when he closed his eyes; his friend slapped him and this one looked and saw. The same way God sometimes slaps us and we begin to see. Those of you whose eyes are closed must want them to open. The contemporary world gives arguments and says: “Where is God? He is in the trees, and in the rocks, and in the earth”; but when misfortune comes, everyone looks up, sees that He is there and shouts: “God!” And for this there are misfortunes – they are the slap God gives us when He says to us: “I created you so you would look, not stay with your eyes closed”. And we, in order to ascend, must become like children – to search and be perceptive.
 
Now I will tell you something else. What is the method by which we must work? From now on, we must always be connected in mind and heart, with all people on Earth, because salvation is in our shared prayers – “Unity makes strength”. And when the minds and hearts of people are united, then will come God’s Kingdom on Earth. In a friend we truly love, we must not look for his shortcomings – he, like us, can have them; shortcomings are the outside clothing in which man is dressed, but the human soul is pure, it cannot be ruined, it cannot be destroyed. Your Divine soul no one is capable of corrupting; it may get dirty on the outside, but on the inside it cannot, because God resides in it, and it is unthinkable to destroy something which God is guarding. We can obey the world as Jesus said to Pilate, who told him: “I have the power to crucify you”*: “I submit to the one who gave you this power, but My soul is free”*. We must submit to the temporary suffering; we cannot understand them, but when we die and resurrect, we will understand why they were.
 
Until now, everyone has been tormented by anxiety and fears in their life, but this is no Life. Life is when a man is filled with noble feelings. Happy is he who is glad that he could do good selflessly. Someone offended you – you do not do not take off your hat for him, you do not shake his hand; you may shake his hand without it being a handshake; you can take off your hat for him without it being a sign of respect. And normally we take off our hat for one bigger, but with this we somehow tell him: “Can you raise me higher?” There is one devilish fish in the sea, which, whatever it sees on its way, it always greets it. And a man takes someone by the hand – why? These devilish fingers on the human hand tell a lot: for instance the little finger says: “Can you give me money, I have to start a business, I have losses from it, I am robbed, can you help me?”; the ring finger: “I desire artistic fame and knowledge!”; the middle finger: “I want rights and privileges!”; the index finger: “I need respect and admiration!”; the thumb: “I want power and capability!”. The greeted, if he can and wants, will give him. And then go two, then three into society and form a faction, but they do not find what they are seeking.
 
And finally Jesus came and said: “What you are seeking – riches, Strength, Knowledge, Goodness, I can give it to you. There is not one of you who has left his father and his mother for Me, and has not accepted a hundred times the future life”*. Behold the Man, Who can shake our hand, Who can give us riches, and Strength, and Knowledge, and Goodness. But the people said: “Take him away, crucify him”*, to what Pilate pointed out: “You are losing Him”*. Jesus stands before you even today and I tell you: “Behold the Man Who you are seeking, the Man Who alone can bring peace to your hearts, give you intellect, give you health, social status, uplift you, show you the way, so your mind con be cleared”. But you, in your doubt, say: “Show Him to us so we can see Him!”
 
I will give you one comparison. At night a man is approaching with a little candle and I tell you: “Behold the man who brings you light”, but you see the candle; you do not see the man. Him when will you see? When the Sun rises. Look on your own for this Light the Man carries – it will help you find the Path you must follow. This is how you must understand it.
 
Let me give you another, clearer comparison. Imagine that I lead you into a rich but dark reception hall, and I tell you: “This is a room with wondrous ornaments, with huge riches: there, in this corner, there is this, and in the other – that, etc.” “Maybe, but who knows, I do not see anything” – you object. If I bring in a little candle, then the closer objects start taking shape; if I bring in another one, they become clearer; with more candles the room slowly lights up; when the electric lamp is turned on, the objects become clear, and when the daylight comes, everything can be seen. The world is like this room and every one of us has to be a light bringer – to bring one candle. And when we all enter with our candles and we put them together amplifying the light, we will see a lot. Your brains are candles. I do not love people who bring a candle which is put out, only such who bring candles which are lit up, as on Good Friday. Each one of us has to be a lit candle. A loyal, loving, good man is a lit candle and a big mistake is for a man to be a put out candle.
 
You ask: “What do we do?” You must pray for one another, send good thoughts to your friends, pray for them, want them to be blessed, and God, when He blesses them, will bless you too. And why should we pray? During the summer of 1899 in Novi Pazar there was a major drought. The nearby Turks gather from thirty-nine villages and pray for rain – and it starts raining. The Bulgarians say to themselves: “If God sends rain to them, He will send to us too”, but it did not rain in their villages and their cattle became emaciated from starvation. When people pray, you pray too – you must give your request too; God will not have a big column for you if you do not pray. Prayer has great power and today’s people have to be those of prayer – with prayer we will prepare our mind and our heart. And we should not pray for ourselves, this is selfishness.
 
I do not want to deal with the minds of people; my desire is to deal with their hearts because everything evil is hiding in the heart. And God alone says: “My Son, give your heart”*. We must now start a purifying process, the same as for Easter – to open the windows and clean the floor. We all complain about the same burden, everywhere, there is common disharmony: man and woman cannot come to an agreement – they separate the house, separate the money, the woman is not pleased that the man keeps the money. Whether the man has it or the woman, this is irrelevant – agree on who will be the cashier. They argue about who should hold first place at home – whether the hen or the rooster should sing. What sort of hens and roosters? This has no importance in life; I said: something else is important.
 
Jesus came and He works. And when the Light is coming, it does so slowly, quietly, without a sound. He will not come as thunder, as some expect Him to. This may also happen, but Jesus is not there. When Prophet Elijah went to the desert and submitted himself to keeping the fast and to prayer, and when storms and fire came and Elijah closed his eyes, God was not in the storm and the fire, but in the quiet voice which spoke. God is not in your suffering, in your strength or in your knowledge. Where is He? In Love. If you love, He is in you; if you do not love, He is not there. And you must love – this is the Law. We do not love, rather we wait for people to love us – this means to stay in front of a fireplace and wait for someone else to bring us wood so we can warm ourselves. We, we alone must have that fuel which others can use.
 
We, who follow Christ, Who gave us enough strength, we must let Him in at last. Now I leave you this Man. Will you receive Him, or will you crucify Him; will you let Him in, or will you say: “We do not want Him” – this is the question you must answer. If you say: “Let Him in, He is our God”, you have answered the question and blessing will come. And then the words of the Holy Scripture will be fulfilled: “Me and My Father will come and make a home with you”*. Then the Light will be in us and we will all reconcile.
 
March 29, 1914, Sofia
 
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*Literal translations of quotes from Orthodox Bible published in 1885 in Vienna (note of translator)
 
Translation and editing: Milena Boyanova, Valentin Boyanov