St. John Preaching (1501)

For the Glory of God

Translated by: Anonymous contribution, Revised by Christophorus, Published online: 30 Dec 2010
From: Sunday Lectures (SL), Series VIII, 14 Mar 1926 - 11 July 1926, Lecture 35
First published: Deunov, P. K., "Savaat-Amon-Ra", Sila i Jhivot VIII, Sofia, 1926
Reference: Deunov, P. K., "Savaat-Amon-Ra", Sila i Jhivot VIII, Vol.2, 2nd Edition, Sofia, 2009, Janua-98, ISBN 978-954-376-027-5
Available online in Bulgarian from ``Library "Beinsa Douno"''.

I shall briefly dwell on one fundamental thought, namely - life's essential manifestation. What can be understood by the words "Glory of God"? The Glory can only be explained according to the law of Wisdom or knowledge. Science points to the Glory of God, but people, once having acquired knowledge, do not use it for the Glory of God but for their own glory; as a consequence of this, a disharmony is born. I call people separate entities. For every separate entity there are two possibilities in life: to follow the right path and (or) to make a deviation from this path. This means that for every soul, as a separate entity, there is a possibility to expand and (or) to contract. This [fact] is explained in occult science in several ways. Western occultists explain it with the so called "warmth ether". "Ether" means that from which all things are born and brought up. The syllable "et" means the Primordial Beginning, from which things are born. [The syllable] "ther" means that which raises things up on the earth. The Ether is not a dense substance. The warmth ether, i.e. the Primordial Energy which has commenced its activity, has a connection with closeness [1], with Love. Therefore, in the first expression of life Love is manifested, during which time the warmth ether begins to act in matter. And so, life manifests itself in warmth. With the appearance of warmth, the current of life started to descend towards the earth to organize it.

In Genesis it is said: "In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth". This current is the Divine Spirit Which descends from above to organize things. In the current state of your development, you must understand the law of the warmth ether. It [2] is a movement from the outside inwards. When we say that we must love other people, we imply this warmth ether which comes from outside. People demand our love. Someone has the wish to love you and for you to love him. Why? This is an energy in Nature which wants to manifest itself. Because you do not understand the law, you distort things. When a wellspring wants to express itself what does it do? - it must start gushing out. When water begins to flow out of it, it manifests itself. The same happens with man. When an Angel loves some man, you will see that something flows out from this Angel. That which flows out of Him is liquid, while your love is dense. When you love someone, something flows out of you too, and if at this moment an Angel who is returning from a long journey happens to see you, he will say: "Let me have some rest next to this well-spring". He will scoop up a little bit of your water with his small cup and will correctly evaluate whether your well-spring is good or not. Therefore, when people love each other in the physical world, purely physical manifestations exist between them; but in the Invisible world it is not like that, there Love is a wellspring. For you these things are abstract terms; you just say: these people love each other. Yes, this is so, but you should know that life corresponds to the warmth ether and if you cannot accept this stimulus from the outside, then life cannot manifest itself within you. The life which comes out from within is a manifestation of this warmth ether. When life manifests itself, your life-giving ether will also be in the center of the Earth. The life-giving ether is that which creates, and, for that life to manifest itself, this wave must first come from outside.

Now, when I speak about the earth, you resemble it, and, because of this, the warmth ether must by all means come into you like an impulse from the outside, to urge your heart towards activity. Sometimes you desire to love. Thus, after you have accepted a stimulus from the outside inwards, another impulse from the center of your heart should express itself, so that life can manifest. Therefore, everyone who desires to live will come into discord with the solid matter. Everyone who desires to love will come into discord with the solid matter. A man who is not able to work with solid matter, cannot live. In this respect, from the point of view of life, all sufferings are stones which you will build your future with. Afterwards comes the light, which is also necessary for life; it is also a current which is called "Light Ether".

All these external manifestations of life have their [own] form. Warmth creates certain forms in man. Light also creates certain forms. Life has certain forms, too. Every current creates its own specific form. The warmth and light of the Sun render a great influence firstly on the religious state of man; also on science. You must strive to keep this warmth and light within yourselves. You must never lose that small warmth in your solar plexus! This warmth must always exist in you, you need it. If you have this little warmth, you are invulnerable, no one will be able to do anything against you, but if you lose this little warmth, then the greatest misfortunes can happen to you: storms, calamities. They can completely ruin you and nothing will remain of you. If you [succeed] in keeping this little warmth in yourselves, then the light will come as a result, and, when it comes, it brings knowledge in man. So, the light ether has an influence upon the brain; the warmth ether has an influence upon the heart. A number of chemical processes happen from the inside outwards in the heart of man. How a man will manifest, whether in one way or another, depends on them. Do not stumble upon the different manifestations of human life! The external world may stumble, but you should not stumble. You should know that in whatever direction a man may choose to manifest himself, all this is for the Glory of God! This is because your trespasses, your mistakes represent possibilities for the upliftment of other Beings, [much] more advanced than you. You make a certain mistake, but these Beings, which you do not see, use this mistake of yours, they take it for the construction of a mighty virtue. Everything in the world is created in such a way that these wise Beings make use of each one of your mistakes for the creation of a virtue. Now, you should not say: if this is so, that everything is for [the creation of some] good, then let us make mistakes! No, it is not like that! Only when you have made a mistake unconsciously, when you have transgressed unconsciously, only then I say to you, you should not feel sorry for that. This mistake of yours will be used by some other Being for [the creation of] good. Know that if you are on the earth, you will make mistakes, they are unavoidable, but the mistakes must not be done deliberately. The only danger which comes from the black brotherhood stands in the fact that they have the task to incorporate into man a critical spirit, that he does not lead a good life. We know, man is not able to become a saint in one day. To be saints, we have to know all the laws of Nature, we have to even know our future. Someone comes to me and says: "I am a saint". Alright, then tell me my future! If he is not able to tell me about the future, I say to him: you are not a saint at all. A saint must be able to predict the future to people. A man who is advanced should have this internal knowledge, he should have a premonition of how things will come about. For the time being you all have the chance to be influenced by the external world. You are reflectors of the external world, of its light, but you should know that the light of the other people is their own [light] and your light is yours. But if you reflect only their light, this is not light at all. If you have your own light, only this light is real. However, if you reflect their light, when it ceases, you will lose it too; if the light is within you, you will keep it always. And if another light comes from outside to your reflector, rejoice even more - it will increase your light. In the given case you must always keep your light and your warmth.

Now we have climbed up on Musala [3]. Here you are all in a very good frame of mind, but down there in Sofia, you are not like that. There you have bad, malicious feelings towards each other. A sister comes to visit you [and] you cannot bear her, you want her to go away. What are the reasons for these feelings? These are small, ordinary things, but they do not resolve the issues. You do not love some sister, you wish to get rid of her. Why? I do not want to resolve these things between you now, but I say that these situations also exist in the whole world. You do not love someone, but there is another one who does not love you. And then someone else is very much dear to you. It happens that there is someone you cannot bear, but he constantly comes to you. The opposite happens, too: you love somebody, you want him to come to you, but he avoids you. Why is this so? This is all due to those currents in space. The Law of Love states: when a feeling of love comes into being within me, because love descends from above, from Heaven, I must carry something, I must give something. If I give nothing, I would not be able to manifest love. God Who loves us, gives us something as He manifests Himself. Similarly, when we wish to love God we should also give something from ourselves, we should sacrifice something, should give some of our fruits. God wants something from us too. We read in the Holy Scriptures that the Jews offered sacrifices to God, but what will we bring [to Him]? We do not want sacrifices today. What should we do then? What should we give? Sweet fruits from our garden? No, we must bring fruits from the garden of our hearts, in a very special little tray made of gold, of diamond. Up there, where God is, we will be met by an Angel who will accept these fruits from us. You will say: this is all a fantasy. Yes, these things are lofty, difficult to understand.

Let us now come to the facts as they manifest themselves on earth. When you love someone, what do you do? At first the mother will give her child little socks, will make a little dress for it, a little hat, a little shirt; up to the time of the child's mature years, she will always wish to give the child something, all the time she manifests her love. When love appears in the son or in the daughter, the same law is at work. For this law to be put into effect in us also, we should always be connected in our consciousness with the Invisible world. But to be connected with the Invisible world, we should know someone who is from that world, we should know his name. And you, how do you have intercourse with the Invisible world? In a dream, through prayer, with your thought? Who are your mediators? As I go back to the distant past, I see how many times you have not used the possibilities which you have had for your upliftment. You have made such mistakes that you have put whole barricades in front of yourselves, you alone have put real mountains within your lives. And now you encounter these transgressions in your lives. You must now cope with what you have done to others in the past. That is why you are given favorable conditions today, so that you can better your ways. Your current path is an opportunity for you to liquidate with all the existing contradictions. And you can liquidate them [even] now; these contradictions are not too big.

Now, when considering this subject, each one of you has to be put in a circle. Each one of you has a distinguishable circle in which it is possible to act. Every thought has its own outlined periphery and outside of this periphery it can not manifest itself. For instance, would you be willing for the whole of Bulgaria to listen to you when you sing? A time will come when it will listen to you, this will be like listening to a radio. There will be a special instrument for everything. If you were to be heard through the air, there would be such a roar, such a yell! How strong should the sound be for it to be heard throughout the whole of Bulgaria? To transfer a sound to a far-away place in the current conditions, it must be produced very loudly because, as it passes through the air, it becomes diminished. After [many] years people will develop their inner faculties, so that when something is spoken or is sang somewhere, the sound will be transmitted through the ether over a great distance. and it will be perceived. The sound will pass through the air without any obstacles. For example, if you sing in Varna [in Eastern Bulgaria --note tr.], your voice will be heard everywhere.

So, you will have to occupy yourselves with the study of the warmth ether which has a connection with Love. You will have to occupy yourselves with the study of light, or the light ether which has a connection with Faith and Wisdom. You will have to occupy yourselves with [the study of] the chemical ether or with the volitional expressions of the human soul, with water. The alchemists or occultists of old times made the following divisions: earth - this is the life, water - these are the chemical processes, light - this is the air, and warmth - this is the fire. Man must rule over these elements: earth, water, air, fire, light and warmth. Man must produce fire himself. If your heart is cold you should be able to internally warm it and not wait for it to be warmed up from the outside. You will say: let the Lord do this! Truly, the Lord is the one who acts internally, He is able to do everything Himself alone, but He wishes to impel us to act upon ourselves by ourselves. He wants us to love. In this way you study a great art. If you have fire [and] if you can control it, you will even be able to descend into hell. A man who is not able to rule over the water, who is not able to rule over the air, a man who is not able to rule over the light and a man who is not able to rule over the warmth, such a man is good for nothing. With respect to man alone, these are just given possibilities. If he does not use these possibilities, he will do as much as the fish does; it lives in the water but does not rule over the water. Such man would do as much as the mole does; it lives in the earth but does not rule over the earth. And what have the birds accomplished? They live in the air, but do not rule over the air. They have done nothing up to now, they do not posses any [sort of] culture. And when we arrive at those who concern themselves with the fire, we can see that they also do not rule over the fire. They make big fires: set alight some house, blow up a bomb which produces a great earthquake, and afterwards they retreat. Our houses get destroyed, we suffer, but they make fun and revelry out of this. In this respect it is expected of you that you investigate these powers, although there is a danger that if some secrets are disclosed to you, you will not be able to use them sensibly.

So I say to you: when you see a man, you should not ponder over his weaknesses but rather upon his virtues. You say: I was thinking of you as being my friend but you have such-and-such a weakness. No! To understand a man we should ponder over his virtues, because the bad things in a good person are only a shadow in his life. Only a highly good man can have shadows in his life; [and] only such a man can manifest evil. Do wolves go to a shepherd who does not posses sheep? Where there are sheep, there are wolves and bears [also]. Do lice infest a dead man? So, if a man is infested by lice and fleas, you should know that he is alive. Where do the lice go? - [they go] to the living [people]. I say: in all of you there must be created such a noble character, your souls must be [so] widely opened, that whoever meets you would feel how life breathes from you and how freshness comes out of you; an inner fullness and goodness must exist in you without any effort; you should manifest yourselves naturally, in a Divine way. You must be good in essence, [even] without wishing to be good; even when you would sometimes wish to not be good, to still be good, regardless. And when you do not want to do good, again, to be unable to help yourself from doing it. These people I call good [people].

Now, the important thing for you is to retain something from this excursion to Musala. What will remain in you from this day? Will you remember something from it when one day you become 60-70 years old! You may say: Leave us alone, [all] this is not connected with our white hair! Well, what is left from your faith then? Not only should you not grow old, but rather, you should get younger and younger every day. Not only should not you die, but rather, you should be enlivened every day. You must constantly live in joy! And when you pass away to the other world, there you will go to Musala again, but there you will see Musala in a different form. The important thing is that we are doing this excursion because we have certain tasks on earth which we must solve. Every climb of Musala gives us an impulse. We are here on the highest position and there is no one who can stop us. Our determination forward is so great, that we are capable of taking this position from everywhere. We are at such a height at which the black lodge is powerless, it can do nothing to us, we shall break through a path for ourselves everywhere. But if we were to return without climbing up to Musala, than we would have retreated from this position like Kuropatkin [4], and also like the Germans at the siege of Verdun [5].

In all of us, in every man, there must be determination! The [main] mistake in all of you is that you do not have determination. You must have an ideal! If you stop in the face of the smallest difficulty, there is no determination in you. If you have determination, you will be like the birds, you will pass by and go away. If you have determination, if you have an ideal, there is no devil who can stop you.

And so, the Lofty Ideal - the striving towards God, brings warmth. Behold, you can see even here on Musala, at this height, we have a temperature of 22 degrees (71.6 F). What does this physical temperature of 22 degrees show? When we add 2 + 2 together we obtain the number 4, which is the strongest number, on the highest place. The fire of these energies, of these powers, acts in a square; whatever falls in there gets destroyed. So, here we have the Square of life. At a temperature of 22 degrees life is capable of destroying all hindrances which could be met on the way. Here Nature also shows the same; everything is destroyed [barren] on Musala. Thus this number corresponds to Musala. In the Hebrew language there are 22 letters. The Jews interpret all their philosophy according to Cabala (Kabbalah).

And so, all separate entities live for the whole Entity. The whole Entity, this is God with Whom we are connected. And all our ideas are corrected by this Whole Entity. We always think of God, although we are not conscious of this; and there is no need to become aware of this. But there is one sacred Idea within us; when we come to a certain place, we always correct our mistakes precisely according to this Idea. That which corrects our mistakes, this is God. He says: "Do not do this thing!" And you joyfully accept this [correction]. Afterwards He says to you: "Accept this!" And you accept it. There is not a single man in the world who the Lord does not correct. Sometimes you cry, until the Lord comes, casts a glance at you, takes you by the hand and you become free from all the difficulties in life.

Now, we are not going to talk about your difficulties; they are a blessing for you; you will carry them, you should know that. We shall not set you free from your difficulties. To set you free from your difficulties, that would mean to do the worst evil to you. We give you knowledge [and] opportunities to use these difficulties for [doing] good. All your treasure is hidden exactly in these difficulties. Somebody says: "I wish the Lord would take this difficulty off me". Do not say this, but rather say: "Lord, give me knowledge so that I can cope with all difficulties in my life!" You have very special difficulties in your life which you can share with no one. A doctor is needed! If you share your difficulty with someone who does not understand, than he will make your situation worse. If you are a bankrupt tradesman and you speak about your situation to some other tradesman who is your enemy, nothing will be left of you; but if you reveal this to a friend who loves you, who is able to put himself in your situation, he will give you advice through which you will become free of your trouble. The Scripture also says: "Cast your burden only upon the Lord!" You can cast your burden only upon one who loves you and upon one who you love. If you love him, when you connect with him he will take your burden from you. Then again, if he does not love you and if you do not love him as well, he will not accept your burden.

Now, the fog around us shows that this year the world will pass through great difficulties. The secular people will be enveloped in a very dense fog which they will have to overcome. It will be like this throughout the whole year, but on the highest place there will be warmth, lots of forces will be there. There are forces in the fogs. Whatever comes, fear not! You will be courageous and resolute. You carry [within yourselves] a sacred Idea. Even if you are put into a fire 10 times, do not be afraid, you shall not burn up. You shall be like Daniel, who was cast into a den of lions. Did the lions eat him? You shall be like the three lads in the fiery furnace. Did they burn up? You shall be like Christ on the cross. Did He die? Did He stay in the grave? How many saints were buried in the ground and afterwards their bodies were not found there. The earth cannot keep them, a prison cannot keep them [either]. An Englishman was acquainted with the Universal White Brotherhood, with the knowledge of the Hindu Yogas, but he was not well accepted by the English Government, and because of this, he was locked up in India with a guard to watch over him. When they went to the prison the next morning, they saw that he is not there. A second time they caught him, locked him up again and put 10 guards to watch over him, but again, he disappeared. Eventually, he wrote a letter to them: "You cannot imprison me. Leave me alone and go your own way! I am not against the laws, but I also have certain rights according to which you should let me be so that I can go on my way! Do not think that you can lock me up!". The strength of that man is in this faith. You can pass through the same experience, but faith is required. They can lock you up as many times as they please, but the Lord will always rescue you from prison. In this stands the beauty in the world! If some one of you were to have this experience [then even if you were] to be locked up, with 10 guards watching over you, again, you will get out and will feel free, a master of the situation. You, too, have faith, but how long it will take until this faith is strengthened! You have knowledge, but how much more has to be acquired! You possess virtues, but these virtues have to be developed much further. Your Wisdom, your Justice, your Mercy, all these virtues must be strengthened in you, and they can be strengthened. You all have the opportunity to strengthen these virtues.

And thus, to those of you who listen to me now, I shall not speak of [some kind of theoretical] philosophy, because no kind of [theoretical] philosophy can be considered on Musala - but I shall give you several practical points (suggestions) for application. Musala is only a place for experiments. Now, I should leave you here on the summit to lay down and have a rest for at least an hour, through which time you will learn three times as much as from me giving you a lecture! When you descend, the first thing which lies ahead of you is to do the following experiment: concentrate your mind upwards to God and say: "Lord, because we walk on this path and wish to serve You, let this small warmth come into us, let us feel it! I am prepared to carry my sufferings, but grant me this small warmth, allow me to feel it!" Do not ask the Lord for grand things! You always want grand things from the Lord, that is why you lose the small ones as well, but you should ask for the small thing[s]. When this little warmth comes, it will introduce the New Impulse into your lives. This is a law: if you ask for something from God, ask for this little warmth! This is the first experiment, the first condition. When you feel the little warmth, you will say: "Lord, grant me the little light, allow me to feel it." And when you say so, a small light will flash in your mind. You will notice this small whitish light in the center of your brain. This light will be [very] little, like a pin. Thus you will have two possibilities: the warmth and the light. Then you will begin with life. The warmth acts upon life, while the light - upon chemistry, upon religion. You will become fearless and decisive. So, when you get up in the morning, you should ask the Lord for two things.

Now, as you apply one method, then another, then a third, in the end when you find yourselves in some difficulty, you should say: "Lord, grant me the little warmth, grant me the small light!" When you feel it, you should say: "Lord, may everything be for Your Glory!" And when difficulties and sufferings come, you should say once again: "Lord, may it also be for Your Glory!" For everything which happens in your lives, you must say: "For the Glory of God!" This will be your benefit from Musala. And if you are asked, what have you been told on Musala, say: "May everything be for the Glory of God!" This is the [essential] summary of everything I spoke to you on Musala. "May everything be for the Glory of God!"

We are now learning about the smallest warmth which exists within us and about the smallest light which can manifest itself in us - Warmth and Light!

And now, you should know this for the whole year: everything happens for the Glory of God! Next year, when we come here I will say to you: show me your little warmth and your little light!

We will do an exercise now. You will spread out at a distance, with at least one meter between each of you. You will turn towards the South and pronounce the formula: "May Virtue reign and may all bad thoughts in the world disperse!". You will turn towards the East and pronounce the formula: "May Divine Justice reign in the world and may every injustice disappear from our life!" You will turn towards the North and pronounce the formula: "May Divine Truth reign in our life and may every bondage disappear from our soul!" You will turn towards the West and pronounce the formula: "May Divine Wisdom reign in all manifestations of our life and may evil disappear from our path!" You will turn again towards the East and pronounce the formula: "May the Lord reign and may the Lord be glorified in all His Love, Wisdom and Truth!". "May the Lord be enthroned in His Love, in His Wisdom, in His Truth!". "And let us accomplish everything for the Glory of God on earth!" - Amen!

Lecture 11 July 1926, Sunday 8.30 am, Peak Musala (9596 ft), Rila Mountains

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Notes:
[1] In Bulgarian, there are two words for Love, 'obich' which implies to have affection, ardor etc., and 'liubov', which is equivalent to love. This distinction is sometimes of importance in the Master's lectures.
[2] 'It' may refer here to either the law, or the ether.
[3] Musala is the highest peak in the Rila Mountains (2925 m / 9596 ft), in Bulgaria and the Balkan peninsula.
[4] Kuropatkin A.N. (1848-1925) was a Russian Imperial Minister of War (1898-1904), supreme commander of the Russian forces in the East Asia (1904-1905) and commander of the First Manchurian Army (1905-06). Military historians consider his indecisiveness and organizational deficiencies in directing large-scale military operations as a major element in the Russian defeat during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05).
[5] Verdun was the site of one of the major battles during the First World War on the Western Front. It exemplifies the 'war of attrition' strategy - it was the longest battle (10 months) and one of the most devastating in the First World War and in human history.
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