A Book about Master Jesus/Chapter 8. Symbols and Images, the Silence of the Soul

Chapter 8.
Symbols and Images, the Silence of the Soul

In those times, we referred to the Sea of Galilee as the Tiberias Lake…

A fishing boat often became our most convenient means of transportation. Sometimes, standing on the boat, Jesus preached to the people gathered on the shore. It was mesmerizingly beautiful: the natural amphitheater of the bay, listeners scattered along the shore, and calm waters. The figure of the Teacher on the boat reflected in the water…

He was always easily heard, even when thousands of people gathered.

… I came to love the expanses of water during our wanderings with Jesus with a special love. The watery expanse to the horizon. External silence and the unique silence of the soul. The measured gentle lapping of waves always helps enter this silence.

The sea easily and naturally teaches a person many things: understanding the silence of the soul, realizing the insignificance of human bodies compared to the watery expanse to the horizon, and gaining knowledge of Divine States through the expansion of the refined soul in such vast spaces.

Jesus taught us many things on these shores. He often used symbols and images of water in rivers, seas, and oceans. He told us that we were just beginning to understand, and only later did we fully grasp the depth of what was said.

We experienced many sunrises and sunsets with Him by the sea. Sometimes this happened in complete silence, sometimes we listened to the Teacher's words about the Divine. His words, all those episodes of life with Him, were imprinted on the soul so brightly that they helped us immerse ourselves in the merging with Him and deeply understand what we heard but did not fully comprehend at the time.

Jesus spoke, explaining many things with living examples. Among other things, He showed us how easily and naturally nature demonstrates to us the Laws of the Supreme Divine Order.

For example, a river flows into the sea, and their waters become one. Or you can see the nature of waves, its unity with all the waters of the vastness of the sea. Sea water becomes a wave for a while, carrying the power of the sea. The wave does not detach from the sea but remains a part of it. And then calm comes again, and there are no waves — only calmness and the peace of the sea. Here's another example: a drop of water in the depth of the sea, a drop forever losing its boundaries and knowing the entirety of the power of the boundlessness of the sea…

Jesus explained to us that the soul learns to know Unity with God in the same way, dissolving itself like a drop in the depth of the water or flowing into the Divine Unity, like a great river, and finding Union in the Depths. He also spoke about how the Divine Soul can manifest Itself, appearing temporarily as a Great Wave, one with the entire Ocean, without detaching from the All-Oneness of the Divine, and then dissolve itself again in the Infinity of the Original Divine Consciousness.

Jesus also spoke about how important it is to understand that without the experience of living these states of Union with God, such images are only symbols in the mind, like parables whose meaning is yet to be deciphered…

And, of course, Jesus taught us spiritual practices to attain true Knowledge because no words, no matter how strongly believed, can replace the experience of a soul that has felt in this experience another Living Divine Reality.

Jesus Himself often remained immersed in the Union with the Heavenly Father. We saw that He was There where we were not yet allowed to enter…

And we dreamt that our time would come.

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Tranquility of the mind, the ability to dissolve – are crucial on the spiritual Path. Immersing consciousness in the silence of the spiritual heart is a paramount step. Jesus taught us such silence, which replaces the ordinary human mind with a perceptive, loving, seeing, and hearing state of the soul. This kind of silence allows one to experience the unquestionable reality of the Peace, Love, and Tenderness of the Heavenly Father. To have such an experience and then repeatedly enter this Divine silence is very significant.

For me, the experience of living and learning with John the Baptist was a great help at that time because I already knew the techniques and ways of entering inner silence, which allowed me to work on myself-soul more effectively. But many of us were just beginning to learn how to enter the silence of the soul at that time. We often asked Jesus how to easily stop the turmoil of thoughts and storms of emotions, how to learn to be in states of love constantly. Only when Jesus Himself immersed us in Divine Love and Peace with His Power did we easily experience it…

Once, Philip asked Jesus:

“How can we learn to always live in the inner silence of the soul? The moment You stop helping us, anxiety of the mind and the bustle of thoughts overcome us again.”

Jesus cast a gentle glance upon us, attentive to Him:

“Haven't you felt how simple it is by now? The Holy silence is present everywhere, always! Both inside you and beyond the body, everywhere, silence is universal and eternal. Regardless of the noise and commotion happening around, this motionless transparent silence is present—it doesn't disappear. Only when your attention is fully focused on what is moving, making noise inside you, or capturing attention from outside, you cease to feel the space of the eternal and beautiful silence in which we always exist!

“Close your eyes for a moment now… — and listen. My voice sounds inside you and outside of you. And that bird in the distance… do you hear it? And the gentle rustle of olive leaves, do you hear it? The entire space, transparent and quiet, is now filled by you — by your soul — to hear this. Don't make special efforts to hear the silence — it comes by itself, enters the souls. Here I will be silent for a while, and the transparent silence becomes audible, manifest. It is felt when calmly and attentively you simply observe the space of Divine Being. God is here in everything! Right now, He is here with all His Love. The transparent beauty of silence can be discovered, known right now. And it is now there all the time!

“In this very moment, you, as souls, have filled this small valley in all directions from the bodies. There, in the distance, the river murmurs, the wind sometimes carries sounds from a distant village… and beyond that — there is the sea, all its vastness… And there, the rhythmic sound of waves can be heard… Where are these sounds manifested? — They resonate in the silence of you as souls…

“We were astonished, overwhelmed by the silence. There were no more thoughts; there was no desire to move or do anything. The space of a different dimension of being unfolded: the space of silence, eternal and boundless peace, where God is evident!”

* * *

Certainly, we had to return ourselves to the Divine silence again and again. We learned to listen to the Voice of Jesus in this silence and to understand His words, perceiving the Knowledge with ourselves as souls. We learned to immerse ourselves in silence before sleep, contemplating the infinity of the starry sky or the fire of the bonfire. We learned internal silence amid the noise of human crowds… and gradually, God became more and more evident in this silence!

It is precisely this silence that allows one to hear the Voice of the Heavenly Father. It doesn't necessarily have to be audible like a human voice in ordinary life. There, other Laws and Understanding may come without words, all-encompassing… When we achieve inner silence and peace of mind, the Guidance of God becomes evident!