What is knowledge of God? How to know God if He is invisible? About teaching spiritual practices

« You will demand, - he saysLord, love for mankind; and the one offended (by you) seeks revenge. You call Me merciful, but he calls Me truthful. You ask for leniency, but he cries out that no help was provided to him. Calm him, who rightly cries out, and you will not be deprived of My favor; reconcile with the offended, and then beg for My reconciliation with you..."

Reverend Isidore Pelusiot

“Forgiveness of offenses is the shortest and most reliable path to salvation... In everyday life there are any number of clashes, reasons for offenses and disturbances of the peace of heart, and the Lord wants to turn this into our salvation... He who forgives according to the commandment of the Lord... is a different person, better world. One who has established the skill of not being embarrassed by insults acquires peace, and peace will be reborn into peace that surpasses all reason.”

Saint Theophan the Recluse

Touchiness is a sign of pride, the ability to forgive and complacency - Peace of mind - “Do not look for truth on earth” - Holy Scripture about forgiveness of offenses and peace of mind

Venerable Anthony the Great (251-356) He teaches about kindness and complacent tolerance of insults as follows: “ Thanks to the one who offends you, you will have God as a friend. Don't tell anyone about your enemy. Strive in love, in chastity, in patience, in abstinence and the like, for this is the knowledge of God, so that through humility and similar virtues you can follow God. But Such deeds are not characteristic of everyone, but only of the intelligent soul.

Do not repay evil for evil, reproach for reproach. It is written somewhere: “ If you do not humble yourself, then I will humble you, said the Lord» .

He who is not evil is perfect and godlike, it is filled with joy and is the resting place of the Spirit of God. Just as fire burns large forests when you neglect it, so anger, if you allow it into your heart, will destroy your soul, And your body will defile, and will bring you many wrong thoughts, arouse wars, strife, rumors, envy, hatred and similar passions, aggravating the body itself and causing it illnesses. Hurry to acquire the kindness and simple-heartedness of the saints, so that our Lord Jesus Christ will receive you to Himself and each of you can joyfully say: You accepted me for my kindness, and you established me before You forever(Ps. 40, 13).

Do not be surprised if anyone speaks ill of you, because this is one of the tricks worst enemies ours, by which they place obstacles for a person to know the truth.

He who gives another cheek to the one who hit him with one, rejoices in his reproach. Our Lord Jesus Christ will never leave him, for He is good and helps souls who suffer for His sake and seek Him, giving them strength and strength until they are established in peace (from passions). So, rejoice when sorrows and confusion occur, for sweet fruits follow them.

Do not be afraid of reproach from people."

Saint John Chrysostom (347-407) speaks: " Let us not demand that we not be offended, but, being offended, we will bear the offense generously, for this is what true honor consists of. Why is this so? But because In this you are master, and in that you are different.

Have you ever seen a damaged adamant strike on its own? This, you answer, is his nature. But it is also possible for you, by your own free will, to become what he is by nature. So what? Don’t you know that the youths were not burned in the cave, and Daniel did not suffer any harm in the den? And now this can happen. And we are surrounded by lions, anger and lust, having dangerous teeth and tearing to pieces everyone who is attacked (by their attack). Be like Daniel, and do not allow these passions to sink their teeth into your soul. But, you will say, grace helped Daniel in everything. True, but it helped because it was preceded by his own will.

Thus, if we also wish to become like him, then grace is now ready to help...”

Saint Basil the Great (330-379): “A Christian should not remember evil, but obliged to forgive from the heart those who have sinned against him.”

« Don't take the enemy as your teacher; Don't be jealous about what you hate. Do not be like a mirror for the angry, showing his image in yourself.”

Venerable John Climacus (649):“Some took upon themselves labors and exploits in order to receive forgiveness; But a man who does not remember evil got ahead of them. Give a little, and they will give you a lot(Luke 6:37). Forgiveness of malice is a sign of true repentance; and whoever holds the memory of malice in his heart and thinks that he is doing repentance is like a man who in a dream imagines that he is running” (Lestv. 9, 15-16).

Venerable Abba Dorotheos of Palestine (620):“Accepting insult, placing blame on ourselves and considering everything that comes upon us as our own is a matter of reason, because everyone who prays to God: “Lord, give me humility,” must know that he is asking God to send him someone "To offend him somehow."

Venerable Isidore Pelusiot:“You will seek,” says the Lord, “love for mankind; and the one offended (by you) seeks revenge. You call Me merciful, but he calls Me truthful. You ask for leniency, but he cries out that no help was provided to him. Calm him, who rightly cries out, and you will not be deprived of My favor; reconcile with the offended, and then beg for My reconciliation with you... I do not show favor to the offender while the offended person complains. Not a small, but a high and great gift I give you: I postpone the investigation of the matter, I do not pronounce an immediate verdict; I give you time to satisfy the offended.”

Elder George, Zadonsk recluse (1789-1836): « There is no need to waste time searching for where, through whom and how, whether we are justly or in vain offended; We need one thing - to gratefully accept and graciously endure insults for the sake of God, defeating evil with good, and so that whenever it happens, to the best of our ability, turn it for good and serve with all our feelings for the glory of God.

When your heart is very confused, force yourself to read one kathisma and thank the Lord. Make it a rule that when someone insults you, don’t say anything at that moment, and then, after thinking about it, you can conveniently act with a useful word. In one thing I cannot agree with you, that we need to demand respect and honor for ourselves, to love to be honored and respected: such passion deviates us from imitation of Christ and captivates the soul in the service of man-pleasing. Please agree with me do not look for human reward here; Whatever you do that is worthy of honor and respect, do not seek justification from man - and the Lord Himself will be your justification and reward you with great reward in heaven. When we begin to do this to ourselves, human glory and honor, which we disrespect, will follow us like a shadow, but let us count everything for our skills, so that we may gain one Christ...

The apostle urgently admonished those who wanted to be saved: let no rotten word come out of your mouth. It is always better to be insulted and be comforted by the Word of God, than to be insulted and be insulted yourself...

Leave your anger at the one who insults you, and instead of evil, repay him with a good deed; remember him for his health and ask him to celebrate mass, then you will receive not human protection, but from the just court of God! And today comfort the poor; The Holy Angel will console you with peace of mind.”

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk (1724-1783): “There is nothing safer than to forgive, and there is nothing more dangerous than not forgiving and take revenge on your neighbor for sins. Judgment without mercy for those who show no mercy(James 2:13). God, in His goodness, shows mercy to all of us, we feel it not only every day, but every hour. But when a person, having been awarded the mercy of God, does not want to show mercy to a person like himself, then God takes His mercy from him, as an ungrateful and crafty servant. Then, instead of mercy, a person is subject to the righteous Judgment of God and will be judged for all his sins, whatever he has committed in life... Therefore, when we receive forgiveness of our great debts from God, then for the sake of this mercy of God towards us, we ourselves must forgive small debts to our neighbors, so that the same thing does not happen to us as to this evil servant of the Gospel (Matthew 18:23-35).”

Venerable Ambrose of Optina (1812-1891): « When someone annoys you, never ask why or why.This is nowhere in Scripture. On the contrary, it says: if someone hits you on the right side of the cheek, give him the other one too. It is actually inconvenient to hit the gum cheek, but this should be understood this way: if someone slanders you or innocently annoys you with something, this will mean hitting the gum cheek. Don’t complain, but bear this blow patiently, substituting his left cheek at the same time, that is, remembering his wrong deeds. And if, perhaps, you are now innocent, then you have sinned a lot before and thus you will be convinced that you are worthy of punishment.”

Saint Theophan, recluse of Vyshensky (1815-1894) writes: " Touchiness from self-worth, by which they recognize and feel worth a lot; why, when someone dares not to give us our due, we get angry and plot revenge. You do a good thing that you don’t let these feelings go to waste, but it’s not a good thing that you sometimes let them linger for a long time in you. For several days the enemy unleashes a storm of revenge on you. Try to do this so that, without missing a minute, you can take charge of yourself and ruin your self-worth. Do not look at the offender and the insult, here you will find more support for resentment and revenge, but throw it out of your head and clothe yourself in the sackcloth of insignificance. The apostle says that he flatters himself who thinks that he is anything(Gal.6, 3)… This is something that needs to be ruined and thrown out the window. A feeling of insignificance will come, consider yourself worthy of all humiliation and insult, and then resentment and vengeance will evaporate by themselves.

Forgiveness of grievances is the shortest and most reliable path to salvation… In everyday life there are any number of clashes, reasons for resentment and disturbances of the peace of heart, and the Lord wants to turn this into our salvation. You are often insulted - forgive often and you will enter deeper into the realm of God's mercy. Forgiving according to the commandment of the Lord and Christian hope - there is a man of another, better world. The first condition for keeping yourself from indignation is keeping your lips silent. One who has established the skill of not being embarrassed by insults acquires peace, and peace will be reborn into peace that surpasses all reason. If you don’t begin to overcome irritation, you will reach such a readiness for anger that every little thing makes you angry. Frequently forgiving offenses will develop the desire to endure for the Lord's sake. He who begins to forgive easily, without much effort, rises to this height...

Nothing is stronger before the Lord than forgiveness of offenses, because it is an imitation of one of the actions of God’s mercy closest to us, and we are not tempted by anything so easily as by anger and the desire for revenge with a perky word, and often in deed.

Why is it so that we do not always forgive, but more often indulge in outbursts of anger, frustration and indignation? I think from inattention to the cost of forgiveness. We lose attention to what comes from forgiveness, while the damage from resentment seems too obvious. From a proud heart comes the thought: “Why forgive?” - we don’t forgive. And in moments of resentment, it would be necessary to restore in your mind and heart the promise of forgiveness, which is incomparably more valuable than the greatest losses that offense can cause to a person; then, no matter what offense is encountered, an encouraging voice will come out of the heart: “There is something to forgive for,” and we will forgive.

We forgive - and we will be forgiven, we forgive again - and we will be forgiven again, and so on endlessly. The one who forgives will himself walk under the forgiveness of God, in the arms of Divine mercy and love. Is there anything we can look for forgiveness from? Oh, there is, and how else it is!.. Let us hasten to forgive in order to be forgiven, and this is all the more convenient because what we forgive is insignificant, but what we will be forgiven for is so valuable that it cannot be compared can't. ...So remember the sins for which you are forgiven or are seeking forgiveness, and, if not out of gratitude for the mercy received, then in the undoubted hope of receiving it, forgive, forgive and forgive with a wide, open and “broad” (sincere) heart.

Of course, it is not suddenly possible to acquire such a deep and abundant peace that it absorbs every blow of insult. But start from the lowest and you will rise to the highest. The first degree of non-offensiveness and, therefore, forgiveness is silence. Start with this; when they offend you, remain silent, imitating the prophet David, who says about himself: confused and speechless(Ps. 76:5). Do this once, and the next time you will remain silent more easily, and the more often you remain silent, the less embarrassment you will face insults. Confusion that is established will not bring peace, but peace will be reborn into peace; then you will be faced with insults like a solid wall under the blows of grains of sand blown by the wind. If you don’t begin to overcome yourself, you will become more and more irritated and you will reach the point where every little thing will make you angry.

Frequent forgiveness of offenses not only imparts ease to forgiveness and the skill to do so, but even develops a thirst for offenses, for the Lord’s sake, in which the one struck on the cheek substitutes another and forced to go one race goes two. This is a height that seems unattainable to us, but to which, however, one who has begun to forgive properly, ascends easily, naturally, without much effort.

Forgiveness of insults is the most attractive virtue, immediately bringing reward for itself in the heart».

And here's what he writes about complacency: “Having undertaken to please God, one must, firstly, accept everything calmly and endure complacently, and secondly, be able to behave in this regard and act. The first is easy - grit your teeth and remain silent, but the second is very difficult, especially because a restless spirit immediately creeps out through word, and through deed, and through movement, and through a mine, this circumstance spoils everything, as you can see. But if you have experience, please study, science is simple, but difficult to learn. Namely: in unpleasant cases that give rise to unpleasant feelings against others, one should neither speak nor act. You need to calm down first and completely remove the trouble from your heart so that there is no trace of it. Then both speech and business will go well. You can then speak harshly and strictly, even scoldingly, and the speech will not produce a bad effect: for the spirit in it will not be irritable, but peaceful and loving.

Be grateful! And always ask the Lord for this gift. There will be no sorrow with him. Everything will be accepted as joyful and auspicious. Here is the power of God for the peaceful course of the path in this life, always almost obstinate” (crooked, winding).”

: “Why is it that we remember human grievances and are angry and angry at those who offended us, but we very quickly forget the devil’s grievances, the most evil, the most harmful and continuous, even though we were wronged by him a thousand times a day; Meanwhile, how do we hold one insult of a person in our hearts, sometimes for more than one day? This is the devil's charm! The devil cleverly knows how to deceive us: while offending us himself, he always hides behind our own pride, as if wanting to please us at first through the movement of a certain passion, although afterwards he always kills, and we get bitterly from him for our stupid, unreasonable pride. He always magnifies the insults inflicted on us by others a hundred times and presents them in a false form: and again here he hides behind our pride, as if jealous of our well-being, which others allegedly think to destroy with their insults.”

Athonite Elder Archimandrite Kirik:“If someone, due to an enemy’s obsession (and this always happens from him), argues with someone and this argument turns into anger, although such people forgive, they remember the anger, and their heart does not bow to mercy; at the first opportunity, especially during prayer, the enemy brings the memory of the offender - this sure sign that God does not accept our prayers. What should you do then to forget about the offense? We must pray for the offender or offender with the words: “Lord, I am to blame, if not in this case, then in another, about which no one knows, only You; Lord God, forgive and have mercy on Your servant (or Your handmaid) ( name) and with his (her) holy prayers have mercy on me.” And so pray several times. And when meeting an offender, you need to show her your face cheerful, and not gloomy or sad, and thereby lighten her spirit. And by the way, I should say: according to the commandment of Christ, first of all, it is not the one who is guilty, but the one who is right, who must ask for forgiveness. " Be the first to reconcile with those who have grieved you..."- this is what the prayer for Holy Communion says.”

Archimandrite Boris Kholchev (1895-1971) in the interpretation of the prayer “Our Father” he explains what this means: as we also leave our debtors?:“We live in a world subject to sin. Humanity is fallen, therefore each of us is filled with sin, each of us is a sinner not only before God, but also before each other.

We endure injustice, insults, slander, and all kinds of bitterness. But we not only endure this ourselves, but often we are also unfair towards others - we offend and insult. If we are in this state, if we experience resentment or injustice, then we can relate to it differently.

On the one hand, our heart can be gripped by great anger, hatred, the desire to take revenge, to destroy the one who insulted us. The fire of hatred, revenge, and malice may burn in our soul. But we can react differently to human offense. We may experience deep regret and grief for the person who causes us offense and insult. After all, if a person inflicts an offense unfairly, this means that he commits great sin, falls, morally decays. When we see him doing such things, we feel regret, sorrow for his fall, and a desire to help him arises.

How differently a person can react to insult and injustice! In the first case, his heart is filled with malice and hatred; in the other - mercy and mercy.

Christian charity and mercy are not indifference, sentimental non-resistance to evil, something passive.

If we look at the saints of God, we will see that in their souls there was no evil or hatred, but there was mercy, which was expressed in deep regret for fallen people and in an effort to help them.

So, when we suffer insults, sorrows or troubles, we can act in two ways: we can allow anger, desire revenge, or we can become like those who were imbued with deep regret for the fallen and sought to help them.

Here's what it means: just as we leave our debtors.

Debtors are those who cause us sorrow, and we leave sin to them if we do not allow anger, hatred and passion into our souls. If all these vices penetrate our soul, then this means: we do not leave to our debtors.

In order for sinful debts and sinful burdens to be removed from our soul, we need the help of the Grace of God, and if malice, hatred, and rancor live in our souls, then the Grace of God cannot enter our soul and remove the heavy sinful burden from us.

The Lord Jesus Christ says that when we pray: and leave it to us our debts, - then remission of sins is possible if there is no malice or hatred in the soul.

Elsewhere in the Gospel it says: if you forgive people their sins, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, and if you do not forgive people their sins, then your Father will not forgive you your sins.(Matthew 6:14-15).

This has a deep meaning: to leave sins means to blot out sin with Divine Grace. But Divine Grace cannot enter the soul if the soul is filled with evil and hatred. If we want the Heavenly Father to take away our sins, then we must not allow evil or rancor into the soul, because this is a barrier that does not allow the Grace of God into the soul.”

Elder in the world Alexey Mechev (1859-1923):“You need to take care of yourself. As you can see, it’s a good excuse to insult, to say a caustic thing, to drive him away right now, otherwise desire will follow, and action will follow.”

Elder Savva (1898-1980):“You need to speak with reasoning: what to say and how to say it, so as not to kill a person with your words. Let every word that is rotten come out of your mouth(Eph. 4:29), teaches the Apostle Paul. And if others insult you, look at it not as an insult, but as a medicine prepared for you from the Lord and an opportunity to receive a crown for patience, through which all impurity of the heart is cleansed.”

Elder Feofan (Sokolov) (1752-1832):“If we are offended by anyone, we must say: I have sinned, forgive for God’s sake; and in yourself, imagining your sins, think: I am worthy of punishment and more than this.

Christ the Son of God, we rebuke the enemy not to reproach, the suffering is not easier(1 Pet.2:23). If when from insult caused the heart is confused, then one should not express the confusion in words, but with all one’s strength one should refrain from them, according to the one who decided: confused and speechless(Ps.76:5); must remember the Apostolic word: Let not the sun go down on your anger: belowgive room to the devil(Eph.4:26-27). Otherwise, neither our prayers nor other virtues, no matter how great they may be, will be pleasing to the Lord God.

When someone offends you, you need to console yourself with the thought that God is merciful, and the grief will pass, and the sister who insulted you, pray for her: the Lord will correct everyone. We accept from the enemy what is harmful to our soul; Let us try for our souls to take useful medicine from the Savior, albeit bitter: he who endures to the end will be saved(Matthew 10:22).

...What if you are offended, you feel internal embarrassment, but you will not make excuses, If you don’t say any nasty words, if you keep silent, you won’t be left without retribution for this! Every business, every art, everything requires patience.”

Elder Parthenius of Kyiv (1792-1855):“God turns away from the memory of malice; to the one who prays and harbors anger against his neighbor, demons are present instead of angels, and his prayer turns into sin.”

Prot. Alexander Elchaninov (1881-1934):« The norm in relations with our loved ones is to forgive endlessly, since we ourselves endlessly need forgiveness.And. The main thing is not to forget that the good that we previously valued in our neighbor remains with him, but sin has always been there too, but we didn’t notice it.”

Peace of mind

"For He is our peace..."(Eph.2:14)

"Be at peace with each other"(1 Thess. 5:13)

Venerable Seraphim Sarovsky (1759-1833) he himself glowed with spiritual joy, and with this quiet, peaceful joy he abundantly filled the hearts of those around him, greeting them with the words: “My joy! Christ is risen! Every burden of life became light near the ascetic, and many mourners and seeking God people constantly crowded around his cell and hermitage, wanting to partake of the grace pouring out from the saint of God. Before everyone’s eyes, the truth expressed by the saint himself in the great angelic call was confirmed: “ Gain peace, and thousands around you will be saved" This commandment about the acquisition of peace leads to the doctrine of the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, but in itself is the most important step on the path spiritual growth. St. Seraphim, who experienced the entire ancient Orthodox science of ascetic feat, foresaw what the spiritual work of future generations would be like, and taught to seek spiritual peace and not to condemn anyone: “Whoever walks in a peaceful dispensation, draws up spiritual gifts as if with a spoon.” “To preserve spiritual peace... one must avoid judging others in every possible way... To get rid of condemnation, one must pay attention to oneself, not accept extraneous thoughts from anyone, and be dead to everything.”

Elder Moses, Archimandrite of the Bryansk White Coast Hermitage (1772-1848) said that you need to try by all means to maintain peace of mind and not be indignant at insults from others; If you can’t help but be indignant, then you should at least try to hold your tongue according to the psalmist: confused and speechless. The elder taught and instructed the brethren to have peace and spiritual love, never torn. It was Christ our Savior who commanded: This I command you, that you love one another(John 15, 17), and: I give you my peace(John 14:27), and: Everyone understands this, as my disciples are, if you have love among each other.(John 13:35).

Elder George, Zadonsk hermit (1789-1836) writes: “Peace be with you! Travel peacefully, praying unceasingly in your heart to the Lord. May the Lord hear those who humbly pray to him in truth and truth! Reconcile yourself in the Lord, and you will be at peace. Love spiritual peace more than all earthly treasures, and you will not want to ask for things that are subject to decay: these themselves are applied to your needs. Keep peace and truth with everyone and you will see God’s mercy soon.”

Venerable Moses of Optina (1782-1862): “If you want to always be peaceful, do not part with anyone in displeasure; but try in every possible way from the heart to forgive everyone and even, if possible, to pacify them in order to disperse in a peaceful spirit, then you yourself will enjoy peace of mind.”

Venerable Macarius of Optina (1788-1860) in one of his letters he writes what true peace is, which every Christian should strive for: “Do not rely on this peace of yours, there will also be a struggle to know your weaknesses and see your passions, however, do not be afraid of this. God sends according to the best of our strength, as much as we can endure, so that we learn warfare and come into humility, and true peace comes from true humility, to which you are still far away."

Saint righteous John Kronstadt (1829-1908): “The greatest gift of God, which we most need and which we receive very often from God as a result of our prayer, is peace of heart, as the Savior says: Come to Me, you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest(Matthew 11:28). And rejoice and consider yourself rich, having everything, when you have received the world.”

"Keep most of all peace of heart. Cast everything on the Lord, surrender yourself completely to Him - everything is with Him and everything is from Him.

Don’t look for a close friend - you won’t find it... be alone, having only the Lord before you - He will arrange everything and lead you as it should.

Be patient, humble yourself, lament and take care of your peace of mind above all else.

Don’t tell anyone about yourself, don’t share - they may not understand, but arguing and proving - there’s no point or need; just unnecessary word-bashing without any benefit.

Anything that disturbs the peace, cut it off, avoid it, move away - it’s necessary.”.

Venerable Silouan of Athos (1866-1938) He writes about spiritual peace: “Everyone wants to have peace, but they don’t know how to achieve it. And Paisius the Great became irritated and asked the Lord to deliver him from his irritability. The Lord appeared to him and said: “Paisius, if you want not to be irritated, then do not wish for anything, do not judge or hate anyone, and you will not be irritated”...

If any misfortune befalls you, then think: “The Lord sees my heart, and if He pleases, then it will be good for me and others,” and so your soul will always be in peace. And if someone grumbles: this is not so, and this is not good, then there will never be peace in the soul, even if he fasts and prays a lot.

The Lord loves us, and therefore we can fear nothing except sin, because because of sin grace is lost, and without grace God's enemy will drive the soul like the wind drives a dry leaf or smoke.

We must firmly remember that the enemies themselves fell with pride, and they always try to push us onto the same road, and they have deceived many. And the Lord said: “ Learn from Me meekness and humility, and you will find rest for your souls.”

A sinful soul, captivated by passions, cannot have peace and rejoice in the Lord, even if it owned all the riches of the earth, even if it reigned over the whole world. If such a king, cheerfully feasting with his princes and sitting on the throne in all his glory, were suddenly announced: “Tsar, you are about to die,” then his soul would be confused and tremble with fear, and he would see his weakness.

And how many poor people are there who are rich only in the love of God and who, if you told them: “You are going to die now,” would answer in peace: “The will of the Lord be done.” Glory to the Lord that He remembered me and wants to take me to where the robber first entered.”

You need to admonish your brother meekly, with love. The world is lost if the soul becomes vain, or exalts itself in front of a brother, or condemns someone, or he will admonish his brother, but not meekly and not with love; if we eat a lot, or pray sluggishly, the world is lost for all this. But if we get used to fervently praying for our enemies and loving them, then peace will always abide in our souls, and if we hate or condemn our brother, then our mind will be darkened, and we will lose peace and boldness towards God.

A soul cannot have peace if it does not study the law of God day and night, for This law was written by the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God passes from the Scriptures to the soul, and the soul feels pleasure and pleasantness in this, and no longer wants to love earthly things, because love for earthly things devastates the soul, and then it becomes sad and wild, and does not want to pray to God. The enemy, seeing that the soul is not in God, shakes it and freely puts into the mind what it wants, and drives the soul from one thought to another, and so the soul spends the whole day in this disorder and cannot purely contemplate the Lord.

He who carries within himself the peace of the Holy Spirit pours out peace on others; and who carries evil spirit, he pours out evil on others.

The Holy Spirit is in love. This is what Scripture says and experience shows.

It is impossible for the soul to have peace if we do not ask the Lord with all our might to love all people. The Lord knew that if we do not love our enemies, there will be no peace in our souls, and therefore he gave us the commandment: “Love your enemies.” If we do not love our enemies, then only at times the soul will be as if calm, but if we love our enemies, then peace will remain in the soul day and night.

Maintain in your soul the peace of the grace of the Holy Spirit; don't lose him for small things. If you give peace to your brother, then the Lord will give you incomparably more, and if you offend your brother, then sorrow will inevitably come to your soul...

When people keep the fear of God, then it is quiet and sweet to live on earth. But now the people have begun to live according to their own will and reason, and have abandoned the holy commandments, and without the Lord they think to find joy on earth, not knowing that the Lord alone is our joy, and only in the Lord does the human soul rejoice. It warms the soul, like the sun warms wildflowers, and like the wind, shaking them, gives them life. The Lord gave us everything so that we could glorify Him. But the world does not understand this. And how can anyone understand something that he has not seen or tasted? I, too, when I was in the world, thought that this is happiness on earth: I am healthy, handsome, rich and people love me. And I was proud of it. But when I came to know the Lord by the Holy Spirit, then I began to look at all the happiness in the world as if it were smoke that is carried away by the wind. And the grace of the Holy Spirit rejoices and cheers the soul, and it contemplates the Lord in deep peace, forgetting the earth.”

Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina (1845-1913):“Try, children, to live in peace with everyone, as much as it depends on you, of course. The Apostle says: Have peace and holiness with everyone(Heb. 12, 14). And if you strive for this, then the Lord Himself will not leave you with His help, will put you in such conditions of life under which it is easiest to be saved, and, finally, will fill your heart with true love, which is the height of perfection and is a source of indescribable joy, indescribable bliss.

...Reading a letter from a girl who was with him, he said the following: “This girl plays great, she loves classical music.

• Who is your favorite to play?
• Beethoven, Haydn,” she answers.
• And there is even better music.
• Which one? Mozart? – she asked.
• No, even better.
• Maybe Bach?
• No no.
• What kind, I don’t know,” she said.
• Music of the soul.
• Souls? Music of the soul, is there such a thing? – she asked.
• But what? Eat.
• It's the first time I've heard it. What kind of music is this?
• This is peace of mind. The same peace that is spoken of in the Gospel: “ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me that you are meek and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls, for My yoke is easy and My burden is easy." This is the same peace. Have you studied mathematics? Do you know what an equal sign is? Well: peace of soul = bliss = music, harmony of all spiritual forces.
• So this is what music is..."

That's how I liked her. One such person will come, and you will forget everything: both heaviness and sorrow. With others you have to keep saying “The Tale of the White Bull.” Do you know this fairy tale? Well, such a soul will immediately remove everything...”

"Do not look for truth on earth"

Elder Mikhail (Pitkevich) (1877-1962):“Don’t look for truth on earth... look for it in yourself... I’ll tell you a fairy tale... Truth lived on earth. She felt bad: wherever she appears, wherever she doesn’t come, they chase her everywhere, everywhere there is no place for her, she disturbs everyone... “I’ll go,” thinks Truth, “closer to the temple of God, I’ll go to the temple.” She came, stood up, but in the temple itself they began to push her: “Don’t stand here, this is my place”; “Don’t go there - it’s for the honorable, the rich”... Truth moved closer to the pulpit, but there was no place for her here either... She got up - entered the very altar, stood at the Throne... One says: “I am older,” the other says: “ I am of higher rank, I am honored; I am a scientist - here I should stand, and here - I..." And even there Truth did not find a place for itself...

Don’t seek the Truth... Queen of Heaven, Most Honest Cherub and the Most Glorious Seraphim, didn’t she see around Her Divine Son the untruth, slander, lies, injustice with which they paid the Savior for His countless benefits and miracles - but She was silent! She did not reproach anyone, did not condemn anyone. This is how She reacted to the Untruth of this world!..”

Elder Schema-Hegumen Savva (1898-1980): « There is no need to be surprised or upset that you notice untruths on earth. As the apostle says: “We are looking forward to new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” This means that truth does not live on our land, and therefore we must treat earthly untruth wisely and never be indignant at anything.”

Holy Scripture about forgiveness of offenses and peace of mind

“He who repays good with evil, evil will not depart from his house.”(Prov. 17, 13).

« The beginning of a quarrel is like a burst of water; leave the quarrel before it flares up» (Proverbs 17, 14).

« If you forgive people their sins, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you; and if you do not forgive people their sins, then your Father will not forgive you your sins"(Matthew 6:14-15).

"Forgive and you will be forgiven"(Luke 6:37).

« If you do not forgive, then your Heavenly Father will not forgive you your sins."(Mark 11:26).

“As Christ forgave you, so also do you”(Col. 3, 13).

“Judgment without mercy to those who show no mercy”(James 2:13).

“The fruit of righteousness in peace is sown to those who keep peace.”(James 3:18).

“They upset us, but we always rejoice...”(2 Cor. 6, 10).

“For I am afraid that when I come, I will not find you such as I do not want...: lest I find among you strife, envy, anger, quarrels, slander, gossip, pride, disorder.”(2 Cor. 12:20).

“Be of the same mind, be peaceful: and the God of love and peace will be with you.”(2 Cor. 13:11).

“Seek peace and strive for it”(1 Pet.3, 11).

“The Lord has called us to peace”(1 Cor. 7:15).

“Try to have peace with everyone and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.”(Heb. 12, 14).

“And let the peace of God, to which you have been called, rule in your hearts...”(Col. 3, 15).

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”(Phil.4, 6-7).

"Be at peace with each other. …admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, support the weak, be patient with everyone.”(1 Thess. 5, 13-14).

Compiled by L. Ochai

February 2014

Update 03/09/2019

In order to answer the question “how to know God?” First you need to figure out whether you sincerely believe in His existence. Due to the fact that the Lord does not reveal Himself clearly, many people doubt whether He really exists? And the Bible scriptures do not provide us with precise evidence of this.

But determining the existence of the Almighty is not a mathematical problem that requires proof and is not the result of the work of your mind. The path to knowing the Lord does not lie through the mind to the heart, but on the contrary, from your heart to your mind. "Blessed are you pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8).

We must take into account that the path to knowing the Lord looks completely different from knowing any other information. The Lord cannot be considered as any physical object and He cannot be measured qualitatively or quantitatively. Walking along the path of knowing God, we must completely and completely follow the rules and principles of the Bible Scripture, and completely surrender to God's revelation. History has already shown us sad events when, during the time of Jesus Christ, people did not see God’s revelation and betrayed to the cross the One who came to save them. The reason for this was not the heads of these people, but their “unclean”, locked hearts.

Unfortunately, the human mind is far from perfect, and so deep and difficult question“how to know God” a person will never fully comprehend. This is due to the fact that a person, by nature, already at birth has a tendency to fall into sin. In addition, it is also important that the Lord is by His nature incomprehensible and limitless. Our thinking is closed within certain limits, and even after studying the Bible, our ideas about the Almighty will be far from the truth.

When thinking about how to know God, we must understand that He has a number of qualities that are unique to Him. The Lord “has life in Himself” (John 5:26), which exists in Him and no one gave Him this life. The Lord is eternal. For Him there is no concept of time and everything connected with it. Our time is limited, but He existed and will always exist. In addition, God has the property of immutability. The Bible plainly says that with the Lord there is “no variableness or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). Sometimes this property is interpreted incorrectly. Many theologians say that since the Lord is unchangeable, then no feelings or experiences can be associated with Him. This judgment was influenced Greek philosophy. But that's not true. Throughout human history, the Lord has built relationships between himself and people. God not only gave people love, He Himself is love. “...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: this is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37, 38). This means that in order to understand how to know God, you must love yourself. “Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8).

But you can know God even in anger. “These are six things that the Lord hates, even seven, which are an abomination to His soul: proud eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that forges evil plans, feet that quickly run to evil, a false witness who speaks lies and sows discord among brothers. "(Prov.6:16-19). But this anger is in balance with His love, and is aimed only at the salvation of humanity. Despite all the wrongdoings of man, the Lord made it possible to atone for this guilt through His son Jesus Christ.

An inseparable part of God's essence is omniscience. God created the Universe, He knows everything about it. He is also the only one who has full knowledge about yourself. “...No one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:11). Therefore, no living thing on earth will be able to fully know God throughout the entire world. Just as it will not be able to change anything from the structure of reality created by God. Everything has already been planned and predetermined by the Lord. In other words, this is called the Divine plan for the salvation of humanity.

The Lord created the universe and therefore He is an integral part of it. He is not only in Heaven, but also here with us. Look what's around you! Any object or substance necessarily contains a piece of the Lord. This phenomenon in theology is called immanence.

We often hear that God is one. In the Divine Scriptures there are repeated indications that there is only one Lord. “...It is I: before Me there was no God, and after Me there will be no” (Is. 43:10). It is difficult for a person to imagine how one God can simultaneously be Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To understand how to know God, you must clearly understand this. Old Testament does not tell us anything about the Holy Trinity, but it also does not indicate the inner essence of God. Only the coming of Jesus Christ gives us clearer picture trinity of the Lord. Many researchers are of the opinion that God has a simple nature, i.e. it does not have any components. But theologians argue that the essence of the Lord is complex and multifaceted. IN scriptures We often come across stories about God as if not about multiple personalities. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness” (Gen. 1:26). Jesus says, “And now the Lord God and His Spirit have sent me” (Isa. 48:16). All these Divine personalities have their own properties, but at the same time there can be no division between them and they are endowed with equal power. Therefore, the existence of the persons of the Godhead does not disprove the unity of God as given in Scripture. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one Lord.

In the New Testament, the theory of the multifaceted nature of the Divine essence in the one God is further affirmed, but does not make further progress. Through the means of Jesus Christ the plurality of the Divine nature is only further revealed. Studying this central figure of the New Testament will help us understand how to know God. The Old Testament foreshadowed his blessed appearance. A New Testament tells us about His coming, giving us hope for His reappearance. He is the one who helps us to have a relationship with the Lord. His resurrection showed us the permanence of the Lord in history. For sinful man there is no way to understand what the death of Jesus cost God. The Almighty has a plan for man’s salvation and He is the One “Who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). God loves us so much that he sacrificed his only begotten son so that anyone who knows Him will have eternal life.

In the New Testament scriptures we can find several moments where Christ is given the properties of the Lord or He is called God. A rigid understanding of the theory of the oneness of God would embody his entire essence in the type of Jesus Christ. But studying the New Testament we see that although the Son of God reflected in Himself the unlimitedness of God, the fullness of His nature was not fully embodied.

The next thing that can cause difficulty in finding an answer to the question of how to know God is the relationship between the Lord and Jesus Christ. It is natural for a person to think that the son was conceived by the father. But the case of Jesus cannot be compared with the process of human birth, despite the fact that the Bible Scriptures do indicate something similar. As Arius said: God created the Son. Nowhere do we encounter either spiritual or physical conception. It follows that from a biblical point of view there is no reason to believe that the Father begat the Son.

As we study the Scriptures, we see that Jesus was completely dependent on the will of God. “...Jesus said: Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless He sees the Father doing: for whatever He does, these the Son does also” (John 5:19). He always did as the Lord told him, because God was greater than Him. “...I (Jesus) said: I am going to the Father; for My Father is greater than I…I (Jesus) love the Father, and as the Father commanded Me, so do I” (John 14:28, 31). Such arguments clearly tell us that there was a hierarchy between the Father and the Son. This hierarchy does not need to be taken literally. The Bible's treatment of submission does not show internal structure Divine reality, but indicates relationships that help realize the plan for the salvation of humanity.

When Jesus prayed, he turned only to his Father. We also turn to the Lord and call Him our Father, showing how important the Lord and our relationship with Him are to us. The Apostle Paul calls God the Father of “the Lord Jesus Christ” (Col. 1:3). From this we see that in the Bible the prototype of the father and son shows us the individual properties of a person, as well as characteristic features relationships between the many personalities of one God.

Thus, the answer to the question of how to know God lies within ourselves, in our heart. The Lord turns our gaze to the best that has been given to us, to the ability to love and to pass this gift through His son Jesus Christ. He asks us to follow His instructions and choose the only right path, the path that leads to our salvation, eternal life and union with the Lord.

From whatever point of view you look at it - the world is still in its first stage in understanding (knowing) about God. As for human nature in general, she is the same now, what it was like millions of years ago: prejudices based on selfishness, general reluctance to give up established order things for the sake of a new way of life and thoughts. Pride and stubborn resistance to the Truth if new evidence overthrows their previous concepts of things. This is a characteristic of your age, and especially of the middle and lower classes. Secrets have never been and never can be made accessible to ordinary crowds, at least until that longed-for day when our religious philosophy will not become common, global. At all times, a barely countable minority of people have possessed the secrets of God, although many witnessed the practical evidence of the possibility of this possession. We will once again try to convey to you this Truth about God."
Maybe the explanation about God should have started differently, starting from the end or from the middle, so that it would be easier for you to understand this vitally important question for us - I don’t know. I have already rewritten this topic several times. My dream is that you will have the patience to read the topic about God to the end. The thirst for knowledge of God is in man’s blood.
"The Universe can initially be represented as a space filled with an infinite, eternal and homogeneous mass of molecules, which are characterized by movement, their latent, unconscious life. This can be represented as Chaos, if only people were able to imagine that there is real chaos, which they cannot. Although it is, indeed, unity. It can be found in various aspects imagine how Space, relative to its limitless extension, coexisting with eternity, relative to its infinite duration; How Cosmic Matter, regarding its molecules, and how - Cosmic power , relative to its all-pervasive movement.
But these four elements (Chaos, Space, Cosmic Matter, Cosmic Power), making up the whole, rather indicate four qualities or properties of one single thing, just as on Earth one object can be hot, shiny, heavy and in motion. Since the Universe is one and indivisible in its passive, unmanifested form, this chaos is non-existent for us, but centers of activity or Evolution are scattered throughout it, and where this occurs, homogeneity ceases. Thus, differentiation occurs due to:
1. Greater or lesser proximity of molecules (central compaction).
2. Their greater or lesser exhaustion.
I don't think (written in one of the letters) that atoms are considered by you as something nihil (negation). Aren't molecules viewed as compound atoms in science? Your science knows only about such composite molecules, and the primary atom (meaning not a physical atom, but a permanent one) is and always remains for it as a hypothetical abstraction. Science cannot know anything about the nature of atoms outside the field of consequences on the globe, and even this atom it calls indivisible (this was written in 1850), but we do not, because we know about the existence and properties of the universal solvent - the essence of Panchamahabhutam - the five elements. Even the existence of the atoms composing the invisible medium through which the energy which instantaneously magnetizes a short rod of iron placed across the center of a ring two yards in diameter, around which is wound a wire tightly covered with rubber, even the existence of such atoms, I say, remains open question. Science remains puzzled and at a loss to decide whether this action occurs at a distance without or with some mysterious intermediary - or what? We simply call this core magnetization, without any explanation.
Movement, cosmic Matter, duration, space are present everywhere. They are passive, negative, unconscious, yet eternally moved by their inherent latent life or force. During the day of activity, this cyclic force, throwing out from the causal latent principle the cosmic Matter, just as a water-lifting wheel throws out many small drops of water around the rotating disk. And it puts it in contact with the same principles, but whose states, due to the fact that they found themselves outside the state of primary passivity of eternal immutability, have already changed. Thus, these same principles begin to acquire, so to speak, the germs of polarity. Then, entering the Universal Mind, they develop these embryos, imagine, and, giving an impulse, transfer it to Fohat (Cosmic Life Force), which, together with Akasha, selects Od (state of cosmic Matter, movement, energy, etc.), passes along the paths of Cosmic manifestations and builds everyone and everything; reckless - I agree , but just as accurately according to the prototypes provided in the Eternal Mind, How good mirror reflects your face.
Movement governs the laws of Nature, and it governs them like a mechanical impulse given flowing water, which will move it along a regular line or along hundreds of lateral furrows that it happens to encounter on its way, it makes no difference whether these furrows are natural depressions or channels artificially prepared by the hand of man. "...or channels artificially prepared by human hands." This means that a person can influence the course of events in the Universe by showing his power.
This differentiation in activity is manifestation, and everything differentiated in this way begins to exist or becomes representable to us. Each center of activity (and these centers are innumerable) marks one solar system, but they are still hanging in the all-pervading ocean of the unmanifested Universe, from which new manifestations develop and to whose oblivion others eternally return, whose cycle is completed.
Cosmic energy is something eternal and incessant; Matter is indestructible; and here we have scientific facts. Doubt them and you are ignoramus; reject them - a dangerous crazy fanatic; dare to improve their theories - a daring charlatan. And yet even these scientific facts have never given the experimental world any proof that Matter consciously prefers to be indestructible in organic rather than inorganic forms. And that She is slowly but incessantly working towards the realization of this goal - Evolution of conscious life from inert Material. Hence the ignorance of your scientists about the dissipation and solidification of cosmic energy in its metaphysical aspects, their differences about the theories of Darwin, their uncertainty about the degree of conscious life in the individual elements. And as inevitable - the contemptuous denial of any phenomenon outside their own established conditions and the very idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe world's semi-intelligent, if not endowed with intelligence, forces operating in the hidden corners of Nature (Matter).
Matter exists - at times objective, at times potential or subjective, sometimes organized, sometimes unorganized - it is eternal and indestructible, and there is movement eternal life(conscious or unconscious, depending on the circumstances) Matter.
Eternal, plastic, invisible, omnipresent, unconscious Force or Movement, eternally generating its electricity, which is Life.
The universe occurs and develops through and in accordance with blind law. Evolution means the opening of evolute from involute - a process of gradual growth. Each individual atom contains within itself the actual potentiality to develop billions of worlds, more perfect and more ethereal.
Matter and Spirit are one. Matter is only a differentiation of Spirit - Matter and is energy, for one does not exist without the other. Everything came from the One Element. And this Element is considered as the Divine Principle, threefold in its manifestation. Spirit, devoid of Matter, has no manifestation, in other words, does not exist. Truly, in actions and in thinking, we cannot separate from Matter. We turn to the highest layers or the grossest types of the same Matter.
To understand us, you must first consider the eternal substance, not as a composite element which you call "Spirit-Matter", but as one element for which the West has no name. It is passive and active, a purely spiritual substance in its absolute absolutism and rest, pure Matter in its final and conditional state, like a weightless gas or a great unknown, which science has deigned to call Force. There is no such thing as immutability. Immutability, say theists and Christians, is a property of God, and therefore they reward this God with every impermanent and changeable property and quality, knowable and unknowable, and think that they have solved the insoluble and turned the circle into a square. To this we answer: if what the theists call God, and science calls Power and “Potential Energy”, would only for a second become unchangeable even during the Maha-Pralaya (Great Cosmic Night), the period when even Brahma, the creative architect of the world , plunges into Nothingness, then there could be no Manavantara (Universal Day), and space alone would reign in the unconsciousness and grandeur of the eternity of time. Nevertheless, theism, speaking about the immutability of immutability, is no more absurd than materialistic science, talking about “hidden potential energy” and the indestructibility of matter and force. What should we assume as not being destroyed? Is it something invisible that moves Matter, or is it the energy of moving bodies? What does he know? modern science of innate force and forces, the cause or causes of motion? How can there be such a thing as potential energy, which has latent inactive power, since it is energy, energy only when it moves Matter, and if it ever stopped moving Matter, it would cease to exist, and with it it would disappear and Matter itself. Is "Strength" a better term?
Far from being “devoid of philosophical breadth,” our doctrines show only a single principle in nature - Spirit-Matter or Matter-Spirit, the third ultimatum Absolute or quintessence of both, if only I am allowed to use such a false term in the present application, which is lost before the spiritual insight of even the “Gods” or Planetary Spirits. This third principle, say the Vedanta philosophers, is the only reality, all else is only Maya (illusion), for not one of the Proteus-like manifestations of Spirit and Matter, or Purusha and Prakriti, has ever been considered in any other light than as a temporary delusion of the senses . Even in the barely outlined philosophy of Isis, this idea is clearly conveyed. In the book "Kiu-te" Spirit is called not the ultimate sublimation of Matter, but Matter is the crystallization of Spirit. No better illustration can be given than in the simplest phenomena of ice, water and steam and the final dissipation of the latter. This phenomenon, in reverse order of manifestation, is called Spirit falling into generation or Matter. This Trinity turns into Unity, a doctrine as ancient as the world of thought, was borrowed by some early Christians who heard about it in the schools of Alexandria and turned it into Father, or begetting Spirit, Son, or Matter - man, and the Holy Spirit, the immaterial essence or apex of an equilateral triangle - an idea found to this day in the pyramids of Egypt. So, it has been proven once again that you completely do not understand the meaning when, for the sake of abbreviation, I use phraseology common to Westerners. But in turn I must note that your idea that Matter is only a temporary allotropic form of the Spirit, different from it, like coal from a diamond, is as anti-philosophical as it is unscientific from the point of view of East and West. Coal is only a kind of residue of matter, while Matter per se is indestructible and, as I maintain, consubstantial with Spirit - that Spirit which we know and can imagine. Deprived of Matter, the Spirit cannot manifest itself, therefore, it ceases to exist and becomes nothing. Without Spirit and Power, even what science calls "inorganic matter" (the so-called mineral ingredients that nourish plants) could never be called into form. There is a moment in the existence of every molecule and atom of Matter. When, for one reason or another, the last spark of Spirit, or movement, or life (call it what you will), is withdrawn, and at the same moment, with a speed exceeding the lightning flash of thought, an atom, a molecule, or a collection of molecules is destroyed to return to the original purity intracosmic Matter. For example, like in a nuclear explosion. They are attracted to their source with the speed of a ball of mercury to its central mass with releasing a huge amount of energy. M matter, force and motion are a trinity of physical objective nature, just as the trinitarian unity of Spirit-Matter belongs to the spiritual and subjective nature. Movement is eternal, for the Spirit is eternal. But no movement can be represented outside of its relationship with Matter. Let us return to your amazing hypothesis that evil with its accompanying retinue of crimes and suffering is not a consequence of Matter, but is probably a wise scheme moral ruler of the world. Although such an idea is acceptable for you, brought up on the destructive misconception of Christianity “the ways of the Lord are mysterious,” for me it is completely unimaginable. Must I repeat again that the best Adepts have explored the World for thousands of years and nowhere have they found such a Machiavellian Inventor, but only everywhere the same unchanging, inexorable Law. Therefore, you must excuse me if I positively refuse to waste time on such childish reasoning. Not the ways of the Lord, but rather the ways of some people, very smart in everything, except for one weakness, are incomprehensible to me.
Exact Science teaches that physical forces such as gravity, inertia, cohesion, light, heat, electricity, magnetism, chemical affinity, can be converted into one another. If so, then the generating force must cease to exist as soon as the force generated by it manifests itself. “A flying cannonball moves only by its innate force of inertia.” When it strikes, it produces heat and other effects, but its force of inertia is not diminished in the least. It will take the same amount of energy to launch it again at the same speed as before. We can repeat the process a thousand times, and as long as the quantity of matter remains the same, the force of its inertia will remain quantitatively the same. The amount of inertial force did not decrease, but more heat appeared. The same is true for gravity. The force of universal gravity produces different actions, but at the same time this force does not change and does not lose its strength. Let's give a few more examples. For example, chemical affinity attracts and holds particles of matter together, and their collision generates heat. Has the former turned into the latter? Not at all, because we again see the mutual attraction of particles after a new separation, and this proves that the chemical affinity has not decreased (has not turned into heat), for it will hold them just as tightly as before. Heat, they say, generates and produces electricity, yet they do not notice the decrease in heat in this process (proved by experience). As a result, the heat did not decrease, but electricity appeared.
Science says that “during the life process, only transformation occurs, but never the birth of matter or force,” - for us this is only half the truth. This is not transformation or birth, but something for which science does not yet have a definition. Power doesn't turn into something else, but with each development of a new action, acting from within itself, multiplies to infinity, never losing a particle of his nature in the quantity and quality of his nature, only acquiring something more, progressing in its differentiation. This so-called “Power” is truly not destroyed, not diminished, but also not combined and not converted in the sense accepted by materialistic science. One might rather say it grows and unfolds into something else, while neither its own potentiality nor its very essence are in the least affected by this transformation. Maybe we'll be closer to the Truth by calling it endless Life and the source of all life, visible and invisible, the essence of the inexhaustible, eternal being. We can boldly call this God, but this will only be part of the Truth.