29. THE DARK SIDE OF NATURE
RELATIVE TO HUMAN LIFE 21 February 1877 IN My last (preceding) word I defended Myself against the criticism raised by some, or actually by many people, concerning the contradictions they believe to find My visible nature, when they compare them with My everywhere proclaimed words of love, of meekness and of the promised joys. As far as was possible, I have elucidated this dark side for you, explaining also that “it could be otherwise, but it must still be as it really is.” Now I still have to carry out an important scrutiny of your own life, where man-; a person says: “Just look at human life, from birth to grave it is nothing but conflict, suffering, disappointment, with very little love, joy and other promised things, unless man knows how to procure them himself. “What else is life on this earth but a vale of tears where one – not knowing any better – is referred to religious dogmas and other revelations always speaking of another life after death, of reward and recompense for sustained suffering while letting man battle here on earth with every misfortune. Why should I bother about another world beyond, of which I actually know nothing certain and in which I am expected to believe blindly! “Since I see this world surrounding me as so miserable, who guarantees that the future world is not just as contradictory as the real one here where, instead of joys, only physical or spiritual sufferings follow each other and even what is attained with effort does not afford the enjoyment some expected!” Thus, and in a thousand other forms, I am accused of having made promises to mankind, none of which I ever intended to keep! The man who only considers what is there, visible to him, not wanting to acknowledge any spiritual life apart from his rational life, has judged rightly. For he regards in advance only that as existing which he can grasp either with his hands or with his given senses. This is the very theory of all materialists, who say the entire visible world has originated through a chance mixing together of all elements, and who even consider the mental aspirations in their own brain merely as a product of such mixtures. It goes without saying that this theory easily finds many adherents, for it does not restrict man, who can then satisfy his passions as far as criminal laws allow it, for he thinks: “After this earthly life everything comes to an end anyway; so let us “live” (according to his concepts) as well as we can!” Thus he sees the dark side of human life only in so far as material losses, illnesses, discord and disappointment of every kind follow one another. This word shall serve to reduce these accusations to an orderly level and show man, whose fault it actually is, if human life is really thus. For also among you I have often heard such complaints and read even worse ones in your thoughts. There, like lost souls who prefer only a life of pleasure, you are prepared to dedicate only a short hour here and there to the Spiritual when you have nothing else to do. Now to the point.
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[4] Want, need and all kinds of misery I only let come among the people when they totally have left Me, and have become partly dark and foolish idol worshippers and partly totally selfish and ungodly worldly men. Because need and want will force men to think about the causes of their misery and make them inventive and clever, and in this manner there very soon will appear sensible and wise men among a people who will open the eyes of their fellowmen and will show them the source of the general misery. Then many will leave their paralyzing laziness in order to arm themselves for the battle against the loafers who became powerful, who rule as tyrants among the nations that they have made blind and who are the actual instigators of the general misery on this Earth. Often through hard battle they will be completely conquered and expelled or at least be forced to give the nations such laws that will allow them to live in a decent way. And so happiness and wealth will then always begin among men according to the measure that they have returned to their way to the only true God.
[5] If the people would never turn away from God, they also would never fall into need and misery. [6] So if also down the line of your descendants you will always stay in and with Me in faith and action according to My teaching, you also will never have to experience misery. Also, your souls will not be made fearful and faint-hearted by diseases of the body, because the diseases of the body are always only the bitter consequences of not keeping the commandments that I have always clearly announced to the people. 50. HOW TO SAFE MATERIALISTIC SOULS
[1] HOWEVER, if the soul, who received the pure teaching, who also understands the truth and thinks within himself: ‘Aha, now I know what I rightly should do for my salvation. But before I will completely work on it, I still want to enjoy for a while the charms and sweet things of this world, for they are offered to me, because now that I precisely know the ways to spiritual completion, it really will not matter as to when I earnestly will walk on it. And when I will go that way, I surely will also make progress.’ Look, friend, then the soul begins to taste of the charms and sweet things of the world, and also to fully enjoy it. By that, he will give a great overweight to the matter of his flesh that can hardly or not at all be completely conquered anymore with his clear understanding in the things of the spirit. [2] Since such a soul acted in the beginning against his better judgment, he slowly sinks ever deeper into matter. And also the original pure spiritual enlightenment becomes ever more opaque. The soul comes into all kinds of doubts, and in his material laziness it is for him really not that worthy anymore to stand up and to – at least for the short time of a few days or weeks – make a serious attempt, by denying himself, to convince himself whether there is still something true of the teaching that was revealed from the Heavens in order to receive the inner, true life. [3] Yes friend, once such a soul became lazy against his very own judgment, and sees people around him who have attained to the inner life’s completion because they did their best since the beginning, then this will still have no strong influence on him, and it will not bring about any activity in him. If he is in a good mood, he will let the wonders of the spiritual in man be told to him by the awakened fellowmen. And now and then, also the wish will be awakened in him to be like those completed men. But immediately after that, the enticements of this world, which he enjoyed and still wants to enjoy, act so mightily upon him that he cannot resist them, and he will think by that: ‘Well yes, I do not do anything wrong if I do not fully repent immediately. First I still want to see and try out this and that in the world, and then I still will have largely the time to walk in the footsteps of the completed ones.’ 29. THE DARK SIDE OF NATURE
RELATIVE TO HUMAN LIFE 21 February 1877 IN My last (preceding) word I defended Myself against the criticism raised by some, or actually by many people, concerning the contradictions they believe to find My visible nature, when they compare them with My everywhere proclaimed words of love, of meekness and of the promised joys. As far as was possible, I have elucidated this dark side for you, explaining also that “it could be otherwise, but it must still be as it really is.” Now I still have to carry out an important scrutiny of your own life, where man-; a person says: “Just look at human life, from birth to grave it is nothing but conflict, suffering, disappointment, with very little love, joy and other promised things, unless man knows how to procure them himself. “What else is life on this earth but a vale of tears where one – not knowing any better – is referred to religious dogmas and other revelations always speaking of another life after death, of reward and recompense for sustained suffering while letting man battle here on earth with every misfortune. Why should I bother about another world beyond, of which I actually know nothing certain and in which I am expected to believe blindly! “Since I see this world surrounding me as so miserable, who guarantees that the future world is not just as contradictory as the real one here where, instead of joys, only physical or spiritual sufferings follow each other and even what is attained with effort does not afford the enjoyment some expected!” Thus, and in a thousand other forms, I am accused of having made promises to mankind, none of which I ever intended to keep! The man who only considers what is there, visible to him, not wanting to acknowledge any spiritual life apart from his rational life, has judged rightly. For he regards in advance only that as existing which he can grasp either with his hands or with his given senses. This is the very theory of all materialists, who say the entire visible world has originated through a chance mixing together of all elements, and who even consider the mental aspirations in their own brain merely as a product of such mixtures. It goes without saying that this theory easily finds many adherents, for it does not restrict man, who can then satisfy his passions as far as criminal laws allow it, for he thinks: “After this earthly life everything comes to an end anyway; so let us “live” (according to his concepts) as well as we can!” Thus he sees the dark side of human life only in so far as material losses, illnesses, discord and disappointment of every kind follow one another. [7] Yes, he who is old and seeks very seriously what he easily could have found with much less effort when he was young if the world with all its sensual pleasure and frivolity would not have
hindered him, will still find it, but only after he has cleansed his soul of all material dross and spots. [8] Suppose man – also when he is very old – would always feel as youthful and in perfect health, being joyful and cheerful, then, what you began to search already 20 years ago, would be, and stay, as indifferent to him as it was to you when you were young. But the age that becomes more and more difficult, and the end of life that comes ever closer, forces the soul, who loves life, to worry about the further nature of life, and will ask now and then about the things concerning the blind faith of the people. [9] The dark and doubtful answers that he receives during his seeking purify him by the fear for the death of the body that has awakened in him, which is caused by the love for the world that keeps him imprisoned and that makes him blind and deaf. He starts to despise and to escape the goods of this world, which were once so tasteful to him, and purifies himself by that of what imprisoned him in the judgment and the death of matter. [10] But if the soul, also when he is old, would be able to make the perishable matter of his body young again by one or the other secret healing medicine1, then he once more would very pleasantly continue to rest in his walking grave and would not be concerned about his own life. But God, out of His eternal love, has arranged this earthly life – which serves for the trial of the free will – exactly in such a way that man has to become older, weaker and more tired, and especially him who in his youth was too much attached to the matter of this timely world, so that finally also his soul, who was kept imprisoned by death, can lift himself up to the sure, eternal life. [11] Once the soul, with the help of his hidden Creator and Lord, has detached himself from the judgment of matter and has found himself in his inner light of life through his active striving, then he also has become lord over his matter and its death, which he does not fear as much as before, and he is not that much concerned anymore about the age and weakness of his body, for he himself has become healthy, strong, and full of comfort in himself. [12] This is what you have sought, and what you have also found here. For he who will seriously seek, will also find that which was sought. To him who knocks at the door, will be opened at the right time, and to him who asks, will also be given that which was asked. [13] But to know how you have now finally found here what you scarily have sought for so long, will only later become clear and understandable to you. Now it is again your turn to say openly to us how you have understood what I have told you. Because a house that has to be reconstructed cannot be finished before the ground, which must support the house, has received its full strength. If you want, you can speak now.” (GGJ Book 22, chap. 22) 6. When Lamech had heard this from Brudal, he at once turned to Enoch and addressed the following words to him, saying: "Listen, mighty friend of the Lord! You are surely also seeing what makes me nearly expire with amazement; do tell me how this can be. For it is true that all things are possible to the Lord and great things to you through Him, - but turning my poor fruits into these fine ones, look, this is incomprehensible to me.
7. "It will be an easy thing for the Lord to create the most wonderful, finest fruits in the way of His eternal order; but is it not against His holy order to make the finest and very best out of the poorest? In short, this matter is to me too obscure and thus too incomprehensible; so enlighten me on it.” 8. And Enoch smiled at Lamech and said to him: „O dear brother, you are getting excited asking about a lock of sheep's wool; but you seem to miss the point. 9. "You now ask me in your heart saying: 'What is this important point, and where is it?' 10. "You said just now it seemed to you that the Lord owing to His eternal, holy order could not create precious and good things out of bad things. 11. "Did you not hear that the Lord when He created them called all things good? Where, then, are the bad supposed to be? 12. "I tell you: Nothing in the world is bad except man when he turns in his heart from the Lord; and if man is so wicked and bad, then the whole world is for him wicked and bad. 13. "If you are pure within your heart, everything will be pure for you, that is, you will behold everything in truth; but if your heart is impure, everything will be to you like your heart. [2] I said: “See, all unfaithful spirits regard it as a torture, if admonished to obedience towards God; since all haughtiness does not by itself knows any obedience, since it alone wants to rule and order. They however thought that they were still for a too short a time in the spirit world, that they should show obedience towards My divine will. See, they would have loved it most, if they could prevail in their evil and revengeful joys for a whole eternity, and every spirit who admonishes them to obedience and order or even forces them to it, is their enemy and torturer!
[3] Therefore I immediately threatened them and they had to submit and in fact submitted, although with the greatest resistance. However, this does not matter for such type of spirits which are stuck in judgment and death, because their willful freedom is not freedom, but only a jail and a severest judgment, from which they in time can only be freed, if a more powerful will than theirs seizes them and forces them to do a good deed. [4] They resemble those sleepers who sway in all kinds of sweet dreams as princes and kings, speak all kinds of foolish stuff in their dreams and often labor quite a lot. But now everyone knows that such dreams are not really conducive for the human natural health and that it is good to wake up such morning sweet dreamers. If such a sleeper is waked up by someone already awake, he is full of annoyance and rage! But if he fully wakes up, he is nevertheless quite glad that he has been waked up from his dazing sleep. By waking up he of course has lost all his beautiful kingdoms and has sunken from a king to a totally normal person; but as such he also came to the clear realization that his kingdom was nothing more than a vainly morbid fever dream. [5] And see, the same happens also to such spirits with the only difference, that they for a very long time live in such dreams and are very difficult to wake up! [6] All worldly and present day treasure hunters are also living in similar dreams, and are in exceeding abundance represented in all types of human spheres of existence. They are feeling quite cheerful about it and woe him, who would dare to wake them up for the seriousness of life through words and deeds! However, if one is able to wake one or the other from the many, the awakened will then be very glad, because only in the spiritual awakened state will he in time begin to recognize more and more the danger where he was in his blind sensory sleep. [7] Therefore you can try, if such sensory intoxicated person can still be made sober and awake! If it is possible, then wake him up, and it will be of great use to you because he then can more easily than I influence fruitfully his sensory relatives; but if he cannot be awakened then let the lazy and sluggish donkey sleep! For then other means of wakening need to be applied for such sleepers. Such means are then illnesses of all kinds and types, war, famine and pestilence. – Did you understand this?” [8] Said the innkeeper: “O yes, Lord and Master, it is precisely so and it has to be like this! But it is always a sad thing with these sleepers, because, if God at one stage is releasing all the great evils over the people, often the innocent must suffer together with the ill-behaved.” [9] I said: “But he also suffers as a wake among so many sleepers and thus he loses only a little or nothing. Or is it quite pleasing to be in a room full of sleeping people and to be silent all the time?!” (GGJ Book 14, chap. 42) 75. THE NECESSITY OF EARTHLY TRIALS
[1] I said: “Yes, yes, this is the very knot, which I after the explanation of the brain have discovered not only in you but in several of you, and therefore have asked you to ask. [2] It goes without saying, that God, as the highest and purest love from eternity always unchanged, can never be in any way loveless, and that He will apply in the most enlivened manner all services and means available to Him, to cure any no matter how ill soul. However, He cannot take away the soul’s own characteristic self, but must leave it untouched and place the soul in such conditions, which she, if everything else is to no avail, can better her through a kind of humiliation! [3] In the extreme case this road of course can become extremely cumbersome; however, nobody is guilty about this than the soul herself, who has become too obstinate and stubborn, and who of course became like that, because of her imperfectness of which I have told and explained to you before. [4] But this is the full-strong, very own will of the soul; she wants it like this and always does, what she thinks is best! Now, in this case an omnipotent and most powerful counteraction is of no use; because this would cause the soul the most unheard of tortures – for already the softest influence causes her the most inexpressible pain; just think what she has to endure with a too strong influence?! [5] God in Himself is the highest fire of all fires and the strongest light of all light! But who can endure a fire if he himself is not fire and endure the highest light if he himself is not light?! There, look at the left brain which is still here! Do you see any fire therein or any light, shining only as bright as a little glow-worm in the night? What does it take until this brain becomes completely fire and the brightest light? Natural disasters. Calamities
“Consider fire! What destructive power resides in this raging element when not kept in check during use! What destruction it wreaks! And there is no greater human benefactor than this fire, when used wisely. “Consider water, how dreadfully it rages when let loose over valleys and fields! Should I however annihilate it because in its unbound state it wreaks such havoc, bringing terrestrial man death and destruction? Say unto Me, could the Earth itself, together with everything it carries, exist without water? “Consider furthermore the natural weight of material bodies. What destruction an avalanche causes if dropping from the alps? And how a boulder grinds up everything it touches upon crashing. Would it not be better if I had given the Earth the weight of a feather? Then man could play with it like children with the ball. But who would then hold the Earth firmly together? And how could man, animal and plant maintain themselves upon the Earth without weight? From that you see how essential this evil attribute is to all bodies if they are to have an existence! “But just as the aforementioned is necessary for nature to be what it is – just so there have to be contrasts within the spiritual, so that the spirit through these hostile contradictions becomes that for which I have Myself destined it – namely the most perfect, eternal life-freedom! Because without compulsion there is no freedom, and without freedom there is no compulsion. All freedom therefore must go forth from compulsion, – which is eternal order under judgement – just like compulsion out of My arch-primordial freedom! “And hence you see here manifestations which in themselves are truly evil, but which for a certain period of time are as necessary for the winning and maintenance of spiritual freedom as are powerful lightning and hailstorm for the production and maintenance of life-air and the consequent destruction of all harmful and deadly vapours which, due to occasional overheating of the ground are driven from its entrails. I say unto you all this is essential, and one affects the other. “It is up to us to wisely lead back to their necessary order the diverse elements when they begin to predominate too much in their special characteristics. Once we have done this with the greatest care, everything shall again enter upon its regulated path, yielding the best fruits. “To extinguish a burning house is good work. One must likewise dam water and place proper foundations for weight, and replant the Earth after a powerful storm, whereupon everything re-enters its proper trails. But to solve everything with one stroke would mean the destruction of everything!” (From Hell to Heaven, chap. 91) |
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