Chapter Nine:
Training from Rada
Now the education from Rada has become the most important thing in the life of Alexey.
Everything has changed radically for him.
He had previously felt the wonderful moments of Divine Touch to the soul, but they were only brief. The desperate struggle for a new acquisition of these moments and the search for ways to approach God — have now given way to the direct sensation of His Existence! The miracle of the Presence of Living God has become the reality!
… Alexey took off his monastic vestments and left them in the hollow of a large tree, then put on the white shirt stored there, which had been embroidered by Rada. Then he walked for a long time in the forest, but the road did not seem long. It was as if wings grew behind his back!
Rada, too, filled with happiness and joy, came to their agreed place near the lake — the place where Blagoslav had once explained to Rada what it means to live in harmony with God.
Here now was their refuge — a shelter of branches, built from a huge fallen spruce. In the summer, such a structure was quite convenient, so as to shelter from the rain, relax, and spend the nights.
An intimacy such as the one between a husband and a wife, between Alexey and Rada was not, because Alexey even drove away such thoughts from himself, because he considered it as a sin, as a great violation of the monastic vow.
But the Love of God lit up everything in their lives and embraced those two souls, who rushed to the Creator to merge with Him in His boundless Love!
Alexey seemed to have disappeared from the world of matter and was born in another world — paradise. For him, the infinitely beautiful space of love, beauty, and the full understanding without the use of words was opening! The Great Presence of the Divine — pervaded everything! This previously hidden or only felt for a few brief moments Divine world, became every day more real and clear!
Their shelter of branches stood not on the shore by the water, where there was an open space on the sandy shallows and a grassy lawn, but a little further away, in the forest, in a place hidden from casual human views.
Every morning seemed special, new, and beautiful to them!
And every day brought them closer to the fullness of the perception of Divine Existence!
* * *
And on this day, in the morning, when the sun was just beginning to give the clouds a slightly golden color, they ran along the path to the lake to meet the dawn.
Rada ran so easily that she did not even run out of breath. It was as if she did not run, but flew, just slightly touching the ground with her feet.
But Alexey was out of breath after running.
It was uncustomary but always joyful for him to do whatever Rada planned.
She looked at him affectionately:
“Now — let’s bathe!”
They splashed like children in the cool, fresh water of the lake.
Then Rada lay on the surface of the water, arms spread out, with a blissful smile of happiness on her beautiful face.
Alexey was admiring her.
He was no longer embarrassed, did not look away, as had done on the first days. He no longer considered it shameful to see her naked beauty.
* * *
The very first conversation on this topic had been remembered by Alexey very brightly. It was as if the understanding of the moral foundations, which, since childhood had been habitual, and which had previously seemed to be unshakable, — had been turned upside down.
At that time, Rada asked:
“Will you let me not wet my shirt today, bathing?”
“Of course! I will turn my head away, and I will not look!”
… Rada thought for a few moments, as if deciding internally: was it time for an explanation? Then she took Alexey by the hand.
“Let’s sit here, we’ll talk…
“Why do you think that you or I should be ashamed to see the bodies which God gave us?
“Why don’t you feel ashamed to see flowers that have exposed their beauty? And — trees? And — birds and other animals in their natural appearance?
“Why did feelings of shame appear among people when being before a naked body? God created these bodies, as well as everything around! Who invented this nonsense? Even in your Bible, it is written that Adam and Eve did not know the shame of naked bodies!”
“But then there was the Fall…”
“Yes, people really did fall… But it was not as it is described in the biblical legends!
“This can happen at every moment of life of each soul! It is a choice between love and joy — and greed, violence, cunning, anger, fear, and despondency!
“To live in shame, fear, hatred, and in other vices — this, in fact, is the fall!
“But to contemplate the beautiful and natural — is not a sin at all!
“Why must we, the children of God, live in these vices and in sins, if the paradise, created by God, exists right here in us and around us? It is necessary — only to enter into it and learn to abide in it!
“Why should we follow the rules of sinful life, invented by people thoughtlessly; to be ashamed of what is not at all embarrassing, and, conversely, to consider as natural that which is vile and nasty?!
“Now, think for yourself: most people live, considering it their inalienable right to fight for some fictitious ideas! Or — to kill other people out of vengeance or ‘in the name of faith’! Or — for the sake of something else… People kill and deceive — for power or wealth, or to avenge offenders! And they call all this normal, and often even consider such actions as their ‘exploits’, and are proud of them!
“My grandfather, however, says that wars teach some souls to be stronger, braver, to sacrifice their own lives for others… I do not know, maybe he’s right…”
“My spiritual mentor, the elder Nicholas, also spoke about this: that, apparently, people need to suffer themselves, in order to understand the pain of others and the perniciousness of hatred — for its bearers. And — to want then, with all the heart, with all the strength of the soul, to strive for God’s Love!”
“Yes, that’s true. But the choice, of how to live, depends most often on the people themselves!
“There is a lot in life that is accepted by most people to be correct… although the ability to think and love, if these functions of souls are already developed, should point to the opposite…
“Such a life, held down by coarse emotions — turns the lives of these people into hell on the Earth!
“It is even considered that purity and sanctity for people… are impossible… And if it’s possible, then they exist in the mortification of the flesh and the prohibition of joy and bliss!
“Or, for example, it turns out that, by using this logic, all children are conceived and born in sin and vice! And ‘pure’ is only a conception, which miraculously does not involve uniting bodies!
“And almost all people now feed their bodies with dead bodies of animals — and do not see anything wrong in that! They do not see the terrible consequences of this diet, from which the souls of people more and more acquire the worst predatory qualities!
“Wild beasts-predators hunt to survive — in accordance with their nature. But people kill, first of all, from gluttony, even though there is no vital necessity for them in this.
“I will not continue this topic!…
“Think at your leisure about all this and about many other things like that: for example, what are your ‘beliefs’ about right and wrong, which are just human ‘inventions’, which are passed down from generations to generations? And what moral principles — in your understanding — can you call the truth, which pleases God?
“I understand, Alexey, that right now, right away, it’s not easy for you to throw off the burden, introduced into you, which consists of false thoughts and habits! Everything is so turned inside out in the minds of people that it turns out that being in suffering is righteousness, and living in bliss is a sin!
“Think also: there is a great difference between life in lust and other passions that strengthens the self in man through his or her own desires to possess what is desired, — and, on the other hand, a life of light and purity in joy and goodness!
“An example of this can be found in food: if gluttony is unreasonable for the pleasure of the flesh — then this, indeed, is a sin that causes both the body and soul harm!
“But one can eat — in moderation — tasty and healthy food, filled with vitality of plants, created by God for human nutrition!
“The same is true in everything else.
“You can enjoy the cleanliness and health of the bodies! You can admire the beauty of nature! All this bears bliss, which brings souls closer to the state of paradise.
“Moreover, if such states become habitual to the soul, then around such a person there is a space similar to that which is called paradisiacal.
“One, who experiences and carries such bliss within and around oneself, raises a heartfelt gratitude to God for everything, — then God’s reciprocal Love, with each such thanksgiving, multiplies one’s happiness!
“Thus people in Russia lived before: simply, cleanly, joyfully! But you can live the same way now! However, you should not irritate the crowds of unreasonable people!
“I must teach you such a purity of thoughts, emotions, and bodily energies!
“Through this, a soul approaches God! And then such a person can easily communicate with God: to see and hear God!
“I’m sorry: I probably, told you too much right now…”
… Suddenly Rada smiled calmly:
“If you’re still embarrassed — then you can turn your back!”
… She calmly took off her clothes and, without turning around, entered the lake’s water.
At that time Alexey was very embarrassed, seeing the beautiful slender body of Rada.
But she, on the contrary, — filled everything around her with peace and joy!
He made an effort to undress too…
It seemed to him that the heavy layers of false prohibitions and fears were removed — along with clothing — from the soul… And the soul — was exposed before God!
This state did not leave him, and when they were already dressed, Rada returned to Alexey’s training.
“Look: all the energies in the body can be made by a person — crystal clear, mobile and radiant: such as this water, sparkling in the sun’s rays!”
… Rada again went to the water, took in a handful of the lake water, raised it up — and let the sunlight turn the trickles, pouring from her palms, into lively bright and joyful gold!
“Right now, the only place in your body where purity and an open space for God have already been opened — is in that place where the spiritual heart is located. All other energies in the body are as if decayed and slowed down. And there are still a lot of congestions for God’s Light in your body! This can be changed by very simple actions, but not at once, of course.
“For example, let the body bathe in a stream of Divine Light that flows from above like a waterfall and can wash our bodies both outside and inside. Try it with me!”
Rada raised her hands, as if catching invisible streams with her palms.
“You, too, ask the Light of God to pour and fill our bodies! God is always nearby!
“You can — with prayer — send your message to the Holy Spirit if this is how you are accustomed to doing it.
“The main thing is that you must open yourself with love towards this Divine Light!
“Thus your own body can be healed. And then I’ll teach you how to help others!”
… Alexey tried.
He saw a radiant Stream of the Living Light in Which their bodies stood. The Light poured, filling with Purity and Bliss!
Washed by this Light, Alexey experienced an unprecedented joy and strength to live, to love, and to cognize the Divine world! Even the smallest parts of the body seemed to be smiling, shining from the Touches of the Divine Purity!
Rada’s voice sounded in this Light:
“And now — give that Bliss to all creatures around! Let — the river of Light, coming from your spiritual heart, as if flow more and more, farther and farther! The light of the Holy Spirit and you, as a soul, now are in the Unity! And this united Love can be given to the whole world!”
… It was amazing! Alexey stood in the Stream of Light and… flowed together with It! The Flow became wider! As if in a channel of a huge river of Light, there was a tiny body, but Alexey was not a body, he was One with the colossal Stream of Divine Love and Bliss!
The Flow of Love and Power from the Great Source was inexhaustible, endless, and gentle!
Alexey could not stay in this Unity for long…
But that unforgettable state was experienced by him, cognized, and imprinted!
“It’s clear that John-the-Baptist baptized people like that!” — Alexey thought, giving thanks to God!
Rada, as if answering his thoughts, said quietly:
“Yes, you were baptized now in the radiant Flow of the Holy Spirit… But this is only the very beginning… The cognized states do not become natural states by just doing them only one time! And for the energies of the body — even more time is needed for the transformation to take place… Many times this must be repeated so that both the soul and the body become like this Light forever!”
* * *
After the morning bathing and the repetition of previous exercises or the mastering of new ones — Rada and Alexey often talked.
For example:
“One’s life and food should be natural and harmonious! A long debilitating fast is not good for the body.”
“But when I fast for a long time, I feel that God becomes closer!”
“Yes, it is sometimes very good to cleanse the flesh with starvation. But the torture of the flesh is a sin!
“The energy that is received — with the help of the body — from food is needed for the life of the soul and its growth.
“Also — from both the light of the sun and the flame of a campfire, a person can receive energy. This is a matter of skill: to what extent one can retain this energy in oneself and use it.
“Plants, having transformed in themselves the energies received by them from the Sun and the Earth, make these energies suitable for human nutrition.
“One can transform in oneself those energies — into the heart love and the further growth of the soul.
“But for this, the body must be clean not only outside, but also inside.”
… Rada explained further about all the other energy centers in the human body, and also about the purpose they have and how they can be cleansed.
“There are seven centers in the human body and special channels that connect them. The spiritual heart is also such a center, the most important for the soul that is seeking the unity with God!
“But one can learn to purify the other centers as well — and direct the Divine Light, the Divine Power through them. Thus one can rid oneself of illnesses, and can help other people in this.”
“It would be wonderful to explain all this to all people! Many would understand, and they could live otherwise!…”
“But how to explain?… Almost no one wants to listen!
“My father tried to teach many…”
“Tell me about your father!…”
… Rada told Alexey a lot.
She taught him all the new techniques that allowed him to cleanse the soul and body, to see as a soul. These were not just words. But the Divine Bliss and Love filled both the soul and the body. The blissful Stream touched and filled up every cell of the body! In It — renewed by the Purity of the Flow, the bodily energies also changed. It was a new state of flesh, which, as it turned out, can be transformed and filled with the Divine Light!
Rada explained how both the soul and body can be connected with the Life of God.
She also taught how to merge with the beauty and dissolve in the silence of nature. She taught — how to cleanse the body’s energies by the images of the campfire’s flame, when in the evenings they made camp and sat for a long time in the radiance of the rising flames…
* * *
Once, when Alexey was engaged in a small repair of their shelter, damaged by strong gusts of wind at night, a huge bear came to them.
Alexey did not notice the beast until it was already very close.
According to the stories, he knew how dangerous it was.
Alexey grabbed one of the stakes supporting the branches of the shelter.
He shouted to Rada:
“Run away!”
But Rada, on the contrary, quickly but very calmly came up to Alexey, hugged him, obscuring him by her body. She very strongly wrapped one hand around his body, and with the other — she clasped the wrist of Alexey’s hand, in which there was the stake. She pressed her cheek to his face…
Everything in him seemed to be frozen.
It was not the embrace of a woman caressing a man… It was something completely different.
Rada as if “pushed” him beyond the ordinary world — into another reality, where there is no fear, death, or pain, but only Divine Light and Love.
It seemed to Alexey that time had stopped or very much slowed down. He was… stunned by the Silence… He saw the whole world otherwise…
The Silence was all-embracing. All the sounds, which sometimes reached the ears, were as if superimposed on the Total Silent Essence of the universe… Everything was happening… inside this Silence…
It was the first time that he saw the world around him — by the soul. Everything in that world lived according to the Perfect Laws…
He saw a kind of power-light rising up the tree trunks; he could look at a flower and notice the movement of light inside the petals and stamens… He felt at once birds, trees, grass… All this became… a part of himself. The Bliss enveloped him… Radiant streams of energy flowed in everything: in his body, in the body of Rada, in the trees, and in the grasses… The same force-light was slowly pouring in the body of the bear…
The huge beast once more looked with some suspicion in their direction, and then, as if not noticing the two people who stood embracing just a few steps away, calmly passed very near along its bear path.
Rada for some time restrained Alexey in that marvelous state. He no longer felt himself to be separate… He was — a part of the Divine Life.
“What was that?”
“The Life…
“This is the Life, what it should be, as it was originally conceived on the Earth by the Creator…”
“Did you make us invisible? Or do you know how to command animals?”
“No, not really…” — Rada tried to find the words: — “The bear did not feel danger from us or fear in us… We were a part of the Primordial Harmony, the World of the Harmony, which was created by the Creator.
“It’s more difficult with people. They forgot how to feel this Unity: the Unity of everything that is alive and embodied — and the Creator…
“And forest animals, which are kept by people in captivity, too, may not understand… Bears, which are held in chains, will no longer be stopped like this either…
“All worlds of the universe — with different states of souls in them — exist right here, now. This exists both here, where we stand, and everywhere.
“Both the dark worlds of sorrows, melancholy, hatred, fear, and also bright paradisiacal worlds of joy, and the world of the Holy Spirit, and the world of the Primordial Divine Consciousness — all of them are right here!
“When one is in this or that state of self-soul, then in front of this one, spaces of this or that layer of the universe are opened. You seem to swim into the world, which is consonant with the state of yourself-soul. As if by weight: the soul can be light — or heavy. It plunges into the worlds of heaviness and density, if its own state is such. Or — it enters the Light and the Bliss of the subtle worlds.
“Let me show it to you now in reality!”
Rada took Alexey by the hand.
He suddenly ceased to feel the world, visible with bodily eyes. And… a gray fog-like stuffy space enveloped from all sides.
“This is how the worlds of melancholy, sadness look. But they can be even worse…”
Then, quickly, as if washing off, clearing from that stuffy “fog”, they had found themselves in a space, as if flooded with sunlight.
So much joy and kindness were around!
“Let’s fill the body with this joy and purity!” — Rada proposed.
And then they plunged into the most subtle Blissful Light…
Rada let go of his hand:
“Now I have helped you to feel different worlds.
“But even before this, you had always been in them: you felt both bitter melancholy, and paradisiacal joy, and you sometimes felt the Divine Touches on those occasions when you aspired to God with all your strength and love.
“And now — you already know how to unite the soul also with the Stream of the Holy Spirit!
“You know all this! And on you always — consciously — the choice may depend: in what state you are in.
“But between such worlds of the universe, namely the soul moves, not the body.
“The states of the energies, which exist in the body, directly depend on the states of the soul, in which the person usually lives.
“There is also an inverse relationship. If the body is sick, filled with heavy, unharmonious energies, — then it is not easy, almost impossible, to tear away from it into the Divine Light.
“When the energies of the body are purified, the soul easily opens itself to the Divine Light and Love. You now know this from your own experience.
“To you now, very much in the Divine World is available, and it has become clear for you.
“All that exists comes from the world of God’s Light and Power. Here is the Source of all the Creation! Here is everything Primordially Pure! From here — everything gets the power to live, grow, and develop!
“And you can learn to feel the Oneness with Everything — as God does it from the Depths, permeating and supporting everything created by Him. We will study this!”
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