1916_11_26 Zacchaeus

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Zacchaeus

 

“And Jesus said unto him, ‘This day is salvation come to this house,

forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.’”

Luke 19:9

Hebrews 1

 

By content, this verse is of the ordinary ones. We should not disregard flowers as they have their fragrance as well. Important are the words, “This day is the salvation come to this house.” When someone has been ill for a long time, the life of that one passes through an important crisis – to stay or to depart. The doctor puts the hand to pulse in order to find the heartbeat and says that the crisis has been over, that the drugs have worked, i.e. a crisis of salvation has come. This is how it stands as regards the physical body, but a similar crisis exists in the human life as well. Tolstoy has gone through such crisis, too, prior to passing from his old to his new life. Many times, he had wanted to kill himself not finding any sense in life and one day, a very small reason gave the cause to save himself. When he was in a forest, he said to himself, “The robber who was on the cross passed through a crisis but saying, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord’ he was saved. He was a dying robber and I am a living robber.”

 

Christ said to Zacchaeus, “Today, you caused your salvation.” What was the reason for his salvation? Although rich he was little of stature, i.e. he was physically unimposing. However, a desire to see Christ arose within him and he chose a mulberry tree along the road and climbed up into it. Every person seeking to achieve an ideal should hold a high position, to stay not in the crowd. When Christ came and looked up, He saw that there was an idea in the soul of this person and told him, “Come down; for today I must abide at your house.” In this man, there was not only a desire to climb high but also a spirit of justice and he said, “The half of my wealth I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.” Then Christ said, “This day is salvation come to this house.”

 

And you, too, should climb up into a high tree within your soul - you should climb up to the highest position. Until you go hand in hand with the people, until you share their views and act like them, you can never find the Kingdom of God. Saying that you cannot find it, there are reasons for that. The Kingdom of God is an elevated life with different laws. It is not for common mortals, it is a place for immortal people, for people wanting to serve God. Hence, one who seeks to pass from the life of death into the immortal Life should climb up into the mulberry tree and give the half of their wealth to the poor; and should restore the people accused by them fourfold. Only then, one would pass from death to Life. Until not individualizing oneself, one is a moth. What is individualizing? This is a state of sacrificing. One who seeks to rise to a more elevated life has to devise a means of doing it. The means that people use on the Earth is suitable for there only, but is not suitable for Heaven as what is useful for the Earth is not useful for Heaven too. What is useful for a worm is not useful for a tree as when the worm goes in the tree, it withers. What is useful for our personal life is not useful for the social life. One should be neither a worm, nor a moth or a parasite.

 

Mind that Zacchaeus was little of stature. When one seeks to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, the smaller that one is the better. Very true are the words of Christ saying that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to succeed to the Kingdom of God. In order to enter into the Kingdom of God, people should lay aside all their old desires and views. When a girl marries, she leaves not with her old cloths, with her broken shoes but she throws away everything and dresses pure new apparel. It is strange that people of today want to go to God in their rags. And when I preach the law of self-denial, you wonder how it is possible. It is possible for young – for girls and young men but it is impossible for old people, as they do not get married. Those of you who are old should not take offence. One should be young in the aspirations and as long as is alive should never say that there is anything impossible. The future is of the young, as they have ideals. Zacchaeus was such young person. Although rich, he climbed up into the mulberry tree. If you were in the place of Zacchaeus, you would start discussing what people would say; you would think that you occupy such and such position and would not succeed. Zacchaeus wanted not to know what people would say. And when passing, Christ saw him on the mulberry tree and told him, “Climb down, you are the one who will lead the way in the future. Climb down, in the future ages people will draw a lesson from your deed although you are a publican.” In order to justify this, Zacchaeus said, “I give the half of my property to the poor; and for the offences I will restore fourfold.” I am asking you who are listening to me, how many of you are ready to give the half of your property to poor men and to restore fourfold for the offences? Many of you want to enter the Kingdom of God very cheaply. One, who says that it is cheap to enter the Kingdom of God, says not the Truth. People should be young and there should be a spirit of self-denying, of self-sacrificing in them; they should be honest, should keep their word, should not deny what they have once said. If today people were keeping their word fairly, ninety per cent of contemporary evils would disappear. One should act fair, speak fair, sell fair, there should not be ambiguity in things! And what do we do? Once we make a mistake, we try to find a way to justify ourselves. No, do confess and say the following, “I have done it this way.” Right is right, wrong is wrong. And there is a deeper sense in all this. The little man Zacchaeus was not robust but was noble by mind and by soul. And Christ said, “This day salvation came to this house.”

 

An ancient Greek king, hating crimes very much, issued an order according to which everyone caught in adultery must have both eyes gouged out. Unfortunately, king’s son was caught in adultery and he was brought to his father. The king said, “You will gouge out one eye of mine and tone eye of my son…” This is a person keeping their word. One, who commits crimes, should pay them off. The same did Zacchaeus – he gave the half of his property, which is one eye. For contemporary people wealth is their life and to take their wealth means to take their life. Today money makes people – one, who is rich, is nice and good. Often, girls say about some young man, “Let him be foolish but rich.” The same says the young man about the girl, “Let her be foolish but rich.” And afterwards they ask why their life is not quite successful, why they have so many misfortunes. This is because both of them are rich but stupid. When you feel yourself discontented with the world, this means that you are stupid. You want money and wealth from God but you want not the essential. A preacher wishes that many people listen to him but no one wishes to be listened to by a single. Like Zacchaeus, one should be ready to give away half of one’s wealth and to restore fourfold for the offences. You ask how you can find Christ. Apply this law – climb up into the mulberry tree.

 

Many times, I have watched how all sheep were passing along a shepherd looking after a big flock but he was choosing only one to caress to, to talk to. This shows that it is his favourite sheep. And he names it a pet name; for example he calls it “Maro" and the sheep answers him. This shows that from all others, this sheep has individualized itself. Like Zacchaeus, it has climbed up into the mulberry tree and the shepherd knows it. By the same law, we should individualize ourselves as well. We should give up with all our old habits and aptitudes. This is the aim of contemporary culture. Every science aims at reorganizing the human mind. Science works in the mind and religion works in the heart. They are two methods of rectifying the human soul, of preparing for the way of the elevated Life. This is because pride appears in the mind and evil – in the heart. Sometimes you think you can reform the world or you feel sad for people having no respect for you. Pride appears when people start individualizing themselves.

 

Now, I advise you to keep the fast for five or six days so that you try how much your power is. Usually, when two or three days of the fast pass, you cannot stand it anymore. Christ tried his life – He has kept the fast for forty days so that He could know His soul. If you cannot go without food, that means you have no power and are unable to find Christ. Contemporary people have laid up this wealth as they consider they must eat and drink and have become slaves of the kitchen. Women are servants of the kitchen. Priests, too, order all day long what and how should be cooked. And how many servants have been given thrashing just for not having cooked the dish well and on time. The high-priest comes and asks at once whether the dish has been cooked. This is the ideal at which people aim. Do not get me wrong, I speak not against eating but making it a cult of life is wrong. For example, at present, people are given a quarter kilogram of bread per man (in the old days this did not happen but today, people live even with that). The day before yesterday I met a man who had been given three-quarter kilograms of bread in all at the baker’s shop. He was wondering how he would satisfy the whole family for this quantity would hardly last him only and was saying to himself, “What times have come!” I say, you should climb up into the mulberry tree.

 

Today, too, Christ is passing through the world; all are crowding around Him. This is a discontent and Christ wants to see how many people will be up in the mulberry tree. You should understand this image internally. Until your souls do not pass that great way of self-denial, you cannot enter the Kingdom of God. It is a place for strong people. It is said, “Who wins.” Winning means giving. Evil in the world results from that we want for ourselves only. God has sent us not to take possession of things, not to take possession of nature forces as everything belongs to Him. Taking possession means governing wisely. A day will come when the property you have will be taken from you. Where will your bodies be after twenty or thirty years? They will come, will expel you and will tell you, “Go out!” Why? If you had climbed up into the mulberry tree, Christ would tell you, “Today the salvation of this house came”. Zacchaeus will not be expelled by anybody. The one who expels people from the world is not God. When God sent man to the Earth, He gave him servants to serve him but man corrupted them and today they are expelling him. Microbes are the ones that spoil people and expel them. And people rightly say that as one eats the others so they eat that one as well. Within ourselves, we have created a variety of parasitic thoughts and desires able to kill us. Often, a single thought is able to kill someone. A bad thought is able to change our pulse and mood. Do you know how much a word costs? It is able to cause a whole fire in the world. That is why when we become masters, we should avoid evil, should avoid these base coins that spoil the world. They are vermin we feed within us. If we feed a small snake in our womb, growing up it would eat our stomach through and would go out. They say there are such small snakes eating through their mothers’ stomachs. If such bad thoughts and desires act within your soul, they will eat you through and you will die. Then the whole art of science will remain useless, the whole philosophy will be unable to be of use to you. Salvation happens only when Christ enters this house. This is because there was a spirit of self-denial in Zacchaeus.

 

And so, no salvation is possible in the world without Christ coming in. As a sick one is unable to recover if there is not light getting in their house, so there is no salvation if Christ enters not your minds. Salvation is prerogative of God only. In order to save yourself you should comprehend, should rule over these forces. You may say that you have aspiration, you know. Try to see how much you know. A French officer wanted to oppose a law but before that, he went to a friend of him and said, “Beat me as long as you wish!” When he was thrashed two robust sticks, he said, “That’s enough, I will see how much I will be able to endure in what I have planned to do…” If you are unable to overcome a bad thought or a bad desire, how will you be able to win the world? If you cannot rule over your tongue, you would not rule over the world either. Someone says, “My daughter has become very bad.” She has not become bad now; I know that she had been such even before she was born and you ought to have known what she was going to be. What we see now is within us, it is not external. Someone may ask why God allows these great trials. He is a Great master and He tries us. He uses the stick and says, “Prostrate this son on the ground, hit him twenty five sticks!” And, if this son picks himself up and embraces his father, this means that he knows the laws. God says, “I want not all your wishes, thoughts and actions, all your rags, here is not a rag-fair.” This thing can happen neither by prays nor by reading. People are very strange! A gentleman comes to me and says, “Please, do influence so that I win fifty thousand levs in a lottery, twenty five thousands of which I will give the church and for charity deeds.” No, the Kingdom of God is not a lottery. We should define flatly and clearly why Christ has divided goats from sheep. Now Christ is dividing people one from another as in chemistry a compound breaks down and one element divides from another. You have to take either the position of Zacchaeus who is the man of the future or the position of the crowd that does not belong to the future. Zacchaeus is a collective being – people able to renounce their beliefs and hold their hands to one another, this is Zacchaeus.

 

I have visited churches although I had been blamed for not visiting the church. I know all people and all priests as I know myself. I will liken contemporary religious people to that king who called his ten ministers prior to starting on a long journey and divided his kingdom in ten parts so that they rule over them until he comes back. Coming back, the king disguised himself as a beggar, went to his first minister and told him, “I am poor, don’t you have anything to give me?” The minister said, “Wife, give him my torn trousers so that I get rid of them.” – “Thank you” – the beggar said. – “Of course, you will thank me – the minister replied, - they are good for you.” After that, the king went to the second minister, “Sonny, don’t you have any garment to give me?” – “Wife, give him the torn garment!” He went to the third minister and was given a torn shirt as well. At the fourth minister, he was given a torn hat, at the fifth – worn shoes and so on. All gave him something. At the end, the king arrived officially to the palace and invited all his ministers to feast. They thought, “What presents has the king brought us?” Everybody put on their ceremonial dress, took their places around the table and waited. And the king began presenting them: he gave the first minister the torn trousers, the second – the coat, the third – the hat, the fourth – the shirt, etc… So Christ, having many torn trousers, shirts, shoes and hats, will gather you at a feast and will present everybody some of these torn things. You will now say, “Thank God, we aren’t as them.” I do not know, there is a verse saying, “And their thoughts walk after them.”

 

Thousands years ago a shepherd had much sheep and in the place they pastured, there was a wolf visiting the flock constantly. The shepherd used to chase and beat it, but it managed to steal a sheep from time to time. At a time, an epizootic appeared in that place taking away the life of all sheep. Hearing this, the wolf began crying, went to the shepherd and told him, “With what great disaster both of us met – your sheep died, so you lost wool, milk and meat and I lost the opportunity to take a sheep from time to time”. The shepherd said, “Why are you crying, it doesn’t matter that we suffered such a disaster, at one time we lived like enemies and now we live like friends.” And the wolf said, “I would prefer that you chase me always but your sheep were alive…” This is not a noble idea, this is a self-seeking idea – let others have so that we have as well. This is how contemporary dogs have appeared. This wolf was the first turned into a shepherd dog. This old-time wolf keeps its promise even to this day and is the one going with the shepherd. And the shepherd says to it, “Don’t be afraid, I will always give you from a sheep I stick, you only don’t steal!”

 

Christ, too, entered the home of Zacchaeus in order to raise him. If Christ enters you soul, He would raise you. If Christ enters and says, “Today, the salvation of this home will come”, you would become noble for all Angels, for all people. For the then people Zacchaeus did not do anything unusual but for us he is an ideal – he did a noble deed. I would like that this striving appears in you as well and Christ finds you in this mulberry tree. Some are asking what they will do when they die. See that Christ find you on the mulberry tree and tell you, “Come, Zacchaeus, today the salvation came to your house.” And when Christ comes, you should not hide but should say, “I give the half of my wealth to the poor and I will try to correct all my mistakes.” How many years must wait in order people become noble? If you have the courage of Zacchaeus, you can become noble for one day, i.e. within one life. If you have no this courage, many days, many lives will pass, but anyway you will have to climb up into the mulberry tree, i.e. into the Divine tree. The snake climbed up into a tree and lured Eve whereas Zacchaeus climbed up into the Tree of life and Christ called Him. Now you, too, have to climb up into the Tree of life. Which is this tree? It is the conscious Life that Tolstoy has described – to live for God and to break off all connections with the old. The old is an unnecessary and poisonous food for us. With what are you full now? If I dissect you, I will find envy, hatred, anger, pessimism, disbelief, unwisdom in your larders and eating-houses. You would say it is insulting. I would like that you look at my larder as well, to see what is there. Everyone should open his or her souls so that the world see what is there, as Nature opens Its soul every spring. Everyone should open their souls, their source and show what is there.

 

Now, they say about a girl, “Don’t smell her as your nose will fall off.” Or, they say about a young man, “When you smell him, your nose will fall off.” Yesterday in the Boris’s Gardens[1], I met a young man and a young girl talking but they were unhappy even there. The young man was staying from the left of the girl and she told him, “You have changed, you are not as before.” If now they have already changed, say nothing of later when they marry. The teaching of Christ is not such a science. As per this science, both man and woman should know each other very well. If you know your husband, only then you will find his love. If you know not each other, do not marry. If you know not your husband, do not marry; if you know not your wife, do not marry, if you know not your child, do not marry. If you want to marry, climb up into the mulberry tree. And when you are going to marry, see to find the young man or the girl up into the mulberry tree and they to say, “The half of my wealth I give you and if I have insulted you, I restore you fourfold.” Contemporary young men and girls marry so that they make provision for themselves. God has not sent you to the world to make provisions; He has sent you to study. If someone wants to become a judge, appoint him or her to this office if he or she has been on the mulberry tree. If someone wants to become a priest, appoint that one to this office if he or she has been on the mulberry tree, if he or she gives the half of their wealth to the poor. If someone wants to become a bishop, he has to have been into the mulberry tree. Then Christ will say, “Climb down, today I will be at your house.” In this case, ninety percent of your choice will be right.

 

Think of the Tree I am speaking about – it is marvelous, it is a Tree of salvation and each one who climbs up into it will be saved. One should study from a high what the Divine laws are, what results our actions will cause not now only but after thousands of years as well, what result my words will have in the future. For this reason, I will go on talking to you. I do not want that either of you reproach me for not have said what you should do. When I meet you some day, no matter where, I will tell you, “I had talked everything you ought to have done.” I will still meet you no matter as a sinner or as a good one. However, I do not wish that you were like that American about whom I am going to tell you. In 1895, a prominent man, American by birth called Shlatter, appeared in America. Seized by a Divine spirit, he secretly past to be Christ’s messenger and successfully used to cure many people. One day he set off for San Francisco and met a sick beggar on the road. Shlatter had only ten dollars with him but gave the half to the beggar. They passed together a river, stopped at the hotel of a town, but in the night, the beggar stole the money and the trousers of the American and ran away. Waking up Shlatter saw that his cloths were missing. However, one month later Shlatter met the beggar again and he was ill again…

 

How many times you had stolen the money and the trousers of Christ and later He has found you poor, sick and suffering again. You have to leave the old habit of stealing, the old habit of being self-seeking. It is a cause for miseries. When Christ comes and shares His money with you, do not steal His trousers. Robbing a poor man means taking his trousers; selling the house of a poor widow means taking her trousers. I see many selling the trousers of Christ. This is the old culture. The new culture requires something else. We should not take the trousers of Christ but even we should give Him ten new ones. Christ may appear in your home as your child, sister, friend or enemy while you are waiting Him to come from Heaven. As soon as He finds you as beggar, He will tell you, “Well, my friend, are you ill again?” If He finds you as minister at the king, He will tell you, “Here are your presents.” I say, Christ is coming. Some claim that it is no time for Him. I do not know whether it is time or not but when flowers are blooming, it is time for Him. There is no doubt for Christ having come into the world but it is another question whether you will see Him. Saying “the world”, I mean your world. When Christ comes with the Angels who are bearers of good thoughts and ideas, then we will have a new culture, we will have the good we are expecting. Many are waiting for Christ coming from outside but He will not come in this way. You may call me a heretic - this is your business. When Chris came as a son of a carpenter, they did not acknowledge Him but today they burn incense upon Him. Two thousand years later, they found that He was great and after four thousand years, He will be even greater. And you are meeting this Christ, you should be into the mulberry tree. Let Zacchaeus revive within yourselves; let everyone be Zacchaeus – little by stature but great by heart and mind. How pleasant it is to meet a person with enlightened mind and noble heart; what powerful influence such person has! What a blessing it is when harmony exists in this world and there is a salvation in such a house! Here is Christ.

 

The tree I am speaking about is so big that all of you cam climb up into it. All of you can bloom like the blossom of this tree and then the Divine bees will visit you; you will knit, will become fruit and then Christ will say, “Are you here, Zacchaeus?” – “I am here, God.” – “Come, today the salvation will come to this house.” What do you find in this fruit now? You find small seeds and do what you wish with them. Most often you give them to hens, you throw them; you do not value them. But when Christ comes, He will put this wealth in a small box and then you will feel its inner and deep sense.

 

Now, I try to speak indefinitely to you, because if I make my thought clear, you will become blind. As Paul lost his sight and could not see Christ. And much time had to pass before the peel from his eyes fall. You say, “Mr. Dounov is speaking but things aren’t just so.” You are right; you have peels on your eyes. Some say, “As soon as we go out from here, we will be as we have been.” Try, I do not want that you accept anything without checking it, without applying my words into practice. What I preach is a teaching of the Divine laws, a teaching of the Angels, of the saints, of the noble people – try it. You cannot give your wealth to anyone until this Love and this thought are not born within you. A girl does not give her heart until love is not born within herself. Old people often say, “You marry and love will come later.” This is a false teaching. Until you do not love, do not marry. Until you do not love a thought, a desire and an action, do not do it. Let every impulse in your life be an impulse of Love and then you will be in the Divine way and whatever you do, will be blessed. I want not that you accept unconditionally my teaching as true – try it and then accept it. Accept what is Divine and do not accept what is not Divine. My words are packed; throw the packing and go deep in their content. Today, when you are listening, you are not alone; your friends from Heaven – the Angels – are with you. They all are looking at you and are keeping an eye on you how you are going to apply this task. They say to themselves, “Let me see whether my acquaintance will climb up into the mulberry tree.” As, if you climb not up into the mulberry tree, you will be unable to find Christ. He will pass by, will go to other people who accept Him and will give them the name to be called God’s sons. This mulberry tree is within your soul. All your forbears will watch you to see whether you will go out of the fur cap. You would say this concerns men only. There are no men and women in this teaching; for me, there are only souls. They say for someone, “He or she is a preacher, a priest, an officer, etc.” We should not delude ourselves by our title; today you might be a mother, tomorrow you might be someone else. Each one should be a Zacchaeus and should say, “My God, I give half of my property to the poor.” Only when you do in this way, Peace will come. I know people. With the new teaching, they have new names as well but every name should have content. We should be rich in thoughts and feelings. When you go out of here, you all should think and start watching at this world as if it is a school. And you should think that this school is for you only, not for the others, as, if you become a Zacchaeus, this means that a better worker will appear in the world and the situation will be improved. Only one Zacchaeus was found at the Jews. When God visited Abraham before destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, he asked Him, “If you find ten like Zacchaeus, will you burn these towns?” However, God found no even so many because of which the towns were damaged. Zacchaeus was only one.

 

It would be good to have more than one Zacchaeus in Bulgaria. If you go to France, England, Germany or elsewhere, how many Zacchaeuses would you find? Today, Christ looks how many Zacchaeuses there are in the world. Today, a great drama is being play-acted, a drama of sufferings and tears. As, if there were ten Zacchaeuses at the Jews, they would not have met with these disasters. The Jews – these are all the people of today. People who know only to fight and kill one another are your brothers calling themselves cultured. These are all Christian people. Christ does not approve the action of the Jews and finds them all guilty. He will come to put order on Earth and to impose the Divine law. And then, you will come to know whether He can impose this Peace or not. Christ reserves two more things by which He will impose the Peace in the world if people solve not this matter by themselves. If Peace does not come, a very great famine will come that has never been in Europe and a great earthquake shaking the entire world will take place. Then Christ will come, will wipe the tears of daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters and will say, “What are you doing old Jews?” Then guns will be heard no more, this rumble will stop and people will start living as Christ wants. But I say: each of you has to be a Zacchaeuses. And when I say these words, this is the decision of Heaven. Earth and Heaven will be over but what God has said will not be over. Good in the world will triumph, Zacchaeuses of the White race will come to climb up into the mulberry tree and Christ will say, “The salvation will come to this house.” I would like that all priests speak this language and then the peoples will see whether God works or not. God has awakened, He allows the Entante and the Central Powers[2] one year more to settle this matter. It will be finally settled by 1921. This is the new Spirit. All Angels are coming to influence and the world will feel what no one has ever felt. The question is in what condition will they find us? One day we will leave this Earth. And with what will we meet Christ?

 

I am leaving you with the thought to be true brothers and sisters, to love each other, to know that you have one Father, one Brother loving you. You have one Zacchaeuses and you should follow him. Men, women, children, brothers, sisters – all of you should follow him. This is the New teaching – a teaching of revival creating Joy and rejoicing in the suffering soul.

 

Yes, I would like that Bulgaria has more than one Zacchaeuses on this Tree. Go and tell what I am saying! Tell yourselves! Christ is coming for you. He is coming and will come - you will hear His voice. He will say to some like Zacchaeuses, “Come with Me”; and He will leave the others. Those, to which Christ will come, are from above, and those who will leave are from below. Through those who are from below, He will pass and will leave them as spring waters pass through countryside and leave behind.

 

Let today be the salvation of your house!

 

7. Lecture held by the Master Beinsa Douno on 26^th November 1916, Sofia

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[1] Popular gardens in Sofia

[2] Interstate coalitions, participating in the First World War (1914-1918)