Reflection
Everyone asks: What is the right path for achieving our desires? The only right path is the path of Love.
Someone may want to become a painter. They can become one instantly, but only if they enter the realm of art, where the minds of all painters are united. If they do not enter this realm and do not connect with the consciousness of other artists, they will still paint, but will never create a single valuable painting.
If you want to become a musician, you must enter the realm of music; if you want to become a poet, you must enter the realm of poetry; if you want to become a philosopher, you must enter the realm of philosophy.
Until one enters an environment that corresponds to their aspirations, they may play music, write poetry, or philosophize, but they will not become a true musician, poet, or philosopher. Once a person steps into a harmonious environment, they achieve their goals easily and with little effort. Every harmonious environment leads to Love. That is why we say, the only true path for realizing human aspirations is the path of Love.
This path is neither new nor old; it is neither difficult nor easy. It is simply beautiful. Whether it is hard or easy depends on the person.
How do most people express their love? When they fall in love with someone, they put a bridle and saddle on them and say, “Giddy up!” This is the difficult path of love, because it enslaves.
But there are others who, when they love someone, set them free. They remove the bridle and saddle and release them. This is the easy path of Love.
Some love and enslave. Others love and liberate the enslaved.
What is the condition of modern people? They are constantly being set free. They are immersed in the world of Love, surrounded by intelligent beings who love them and continually help liberate them.
Every time you emerge from a hardship, it means someone has helped to free you.
Enslavement happens in two ways: Either we enslave ourselves or others enslave us.
It is enough simply to love someone and wish to possess them—to keep them only for yourself—and you have already enslaved yourself.
In this way, a person resembles that sea bird that dives into the water from afar to catch its prey—but instead of catching the fish, it drowns in the water. Why? Because the fish was too big, and the bird couldn’t carry it.
Until one attains the Love that liberates, they must pass through a great school.
A young, beautiful maiden once came before God with a plea—to receive something that would bring her glory in the world. God heard her request and turned her into a cornel-wood stick. A teacher found this stick and took it to discipline unruly students. As he lifted and brought it down upon the backs of the disobedient children, the beautiful maiden grew dissatisfied with the role she had been given and returned to God to complain.
God said to her: “Now I will make you a hazel wand.”
A talented conductor discovered the hazel wand and took it to serve as his baton. Soon, the conductor became renowned across the world, his achievements celebrated everywhere.
This brought joy to the maiden’s heart, and she thanked God for turning her into a hazel wand.
So long as people act as cornel sticks—used to strike the disobedient—they will always be dissatisfied with their lives. But when they become hazel wands, placed in the hands of noble conductors, they will be uplifted and find fulfillment in life.
At first, a person may be like the cornel-wood stick, placed in the teacher’s hand to correct and discipline. Later, they become the hazel wand, wielded by the gifted conductor, through whom they are glorified.
And those very students who were once disciplined with the cornel stick become obedient, refined, and join the orchestra of the good conductor, who now leads them with the hazel wand.
Thus, the path that is walked gains a great and noble meaning.
Intelligent Nature educates its children in many different ways—through various methods, according to the degree of their development—until it finally leads them to the path of Truth and Freedom, of Wisdom and Light. One day, when you have walked this path, you will rejoice and say to yourselves, “How unreasonable we were! To live amid such abundant conditions and yet to complain!”
When the soul enters the path of Love, it begins to rejoice in these abundant conditions and possibilities. Love is the path of constant renewal and rejuvenation—a path of eternal upliftment.
What would you say of the singer who receives ovations, flowers, and gifts from all sides? She is on the ascent. But then someone younger, more beautiful, and more talented arrives and takes her place. The first singer becomes dissatisfied with her situation because she is descending from the peak she once reached. This is the human way of seeing things. The path of rising and falling is inevitable, but in order to benefit from both, one must understand them.
Ascent brings joy and expansion. Descent brings suffering, but also depth—matching the height that was once reached. If there is no descent, a person will merely rejoice but remain stagnant in their development. They will not go lower, but neither can they rise higher.
The first singer should rejoice in the success of the younger one, so as not to dry up the wellsprings of her own talent. Only in this way does she prepare the conditions for a greater blossoming of her gifts and abilities. A person cannot be truly happy until they wish happiness for all others.
Modern humanity stands at the threshold of a new path—only now is it beginning to form a connection with Divine Love. What is needed today is prudence. Why? Because only the prudent, the kind, and the just can become bearers of Love. What does it mean to be a bearer of Love? It means to love and to be loved. To love and to be loved both require a measure of prudence.
Some say that Love doesn’t see people’s faults—as if Love were blind. But no, Love has many eyes. It sees everything, but it judges no one. How could it not see that one person is small and another large? But should it pretend that a small vessel holds as much water as a large one? If you pour a kilogram of water into a small bottle, it will fill up at once, and if you pour any more it will overflow. Each person must know themselves, how much spiritual wealth they can hold. What matters is to use well the wealth that is given to you, not to chase after great possessions. Love is the treasure the human soul longs for. So, it is not how much you acquire that matters, but how you use it, for your own good and for the good of your neighbor.
And what do some people do with Love, how do they treat it? As they would fruit from a tree. Someone picks and bites into an apple and if they don’t like it, they immediately spit it out. That’s not right: Before picking the apple, stop, look at it, see if you’ll enjoy it. If so, then you may take it.
Many people do the same with Love: they approach one person, then another, and take something from each person, and if they don’t like what they’ve received, they discard it. This is why so many people are disappointed in love. These are the ways of human love.
But a new path opens before humanity—the path of Divine Love. Whoever enters this path becomes healthy, wise, and good. The distinguishing quality of this Love is that it always brings the conditions for growth.
Sixth lecture from the Master held at the Seven Rila Lakes, on June 27th, 1942, 5 a.m.
6-та беседа от Учителя, държана при Седемте рилски езера на 27 юни 1942 г., 5:00 ч.
Translated by Nevenka Dimitrova,
Edited by Nancy Crompton
Source: Новият път
