第143章

If the evil-doing of men moves you to indignation and overwhelming distress, even to a desire for vengeance on the evil-doers, shun above all things that feeling.Go at once and seek suffering for yourself, as though you were yourself guilty of that wrong.Accept that suffering and bear it and your heart will find comfort, and you will understand that you too are guilty, for you might have been a light to the evil-doers, even as the one man sinless, and you were not a light to them.If you had been a light, you would have lightened the path for others too, and the evil-doer might perhaps have been saved by your light from his sin.And even though your light was shining, yet you see men were not saved by it, hold firm and doubt not the power of the heavenly light.Believe that if they were not saved, they will be saved hereafter.And if they are not saved hereafter, then their sons will be saved, for your light will not die even when you are dead.The righteous man departs, but his light remains.Men are always saved after the death of the deliverer.Men reject their prophets and slay them, but they love their martyrs and honour those whom they have slain.You are working for the whole, are acting for the future.Seek no reward, for great is your reward on this earth:

the spiritual joy which is only vouchsafed to the righteous man.

Fear not the great nor the mighty, but be wise and ever serene.Know the measure, know the times, study that.When you are left alone, pray.Love to throw yourself on the earth and kiss it.Kiss the earth and love it with an unceasing, consuming love.Love all men, love everything.Seek that rapture and ecstasy.Water the earth with the tears of your joy and love those tears.Don't be ashamed of that ecstasy, prize it, for it is a gift of God and a great one; it is not given to many but only to the elect.

(i) Of Hell and Hell Fire, a Mystic Reflection.

Fathers and teachers, I ponder, "What is hell?" I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love.Once in infinite existence, immeasurable in time and space, a spiritual creature was given on his coming to earth the power of saying, "I am and I love."Once, only once, there was given him a moment of active lifting love, and for that was earthly life given him, and with it times and seasons.And that happy creature rejected the priceless gift, prized it and loved it not, scorned it and remained callous.Such a one, having left the earth, sees Abraham's bosom and talks with Abraham as we are told in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, and beholds heaven and can go up to the Lord.But that is just his torment, to rise up to the Lord without ever having loved, to be brought close to those who have loved when he has despised their love.For he sees clearly and says to himself, "Now I have understanding, and though Inow thirst to love, there will be nothing great, no sacrifice in my love, for my earthly life is over, and Abraham will not come even with a drop of living water (that is the gift of earthly active life) to cool the fiery thirst of spiritual love which burns in me now, though I despised it on earth; there is no more life for me and will be no more time! Even though I would gladly give my life for others, it can never be, for that life is passed which can be sacrificed for love, and now there is a gulf fixed between that life and this existence."They talk of hell fire in the material sense.I don't go into that mystery and I shun it.But I think if there were fire in material sense, they would be glad of it, for I imagine that in material agony, their still greater spiritual agony would be forgotten for a moment.