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War

Senior students of the Medical Academy, where Victor and Denis studied, were recommended to go to the front as military paramedics.

Denis submitted a corresponding petition and soon left for the active army, only half a year before graduation. Sergey and the other friends could not dissuade him. Denis was firm in his decision, explaining it as follows:

“Don’t think, my dears, that I feel unhappy and seek death there. Not at all! I only strive to bring the maximum benefit by my life! It is for the greater good that I will be there: it means that fewer people who have families and children will be in the war.

… News about events in the Far East came more and more often. This included information about the siege of Port Arthur and the death on the battleship “Petropavlovsk” of admiral Makarov, whom Sergey knew personally and highly respected…

Olga experienced all this very emotionally:

“There, along with Makarov, the artist Vereshchagin was also killed on that ship. His painting ‘The Apotheosis of War’ is what now needs to be exhibited and shown to people!”

She even tried to organize an exhibition, but her idea was not supported: it was considered unpatriotic.

Sergey was also acutely worried about the situation. He even said once to Zosia:

“It’s stupid, it’s pointless! And I, a military man, cannot do anything about it; I cannot influence or change it!…

“And I cannot help but feel a sense of guilt before Denis: I cannot forgive myself for letting him go to the front! He is an adult and has the right to make decisions. But still…”

… In the summer, after graduating from the Academy, Victor also went to the front. His father tried to persuade him to stay at the Academy to defend his dissertation and avoid being drafted. But Victor, of course, refused.

In winter, the Second Pacific Squadron was formed, and Sergey was one of the captains of the ships of this flotilla, which was to bypass the African continent and come to the aid of the troops and navy operating in the area of the besieged Port Arthur.

Sergey told Zosia:

“We are being sent to the war. In a few weeks, the ships go to sea…

“So, in a way, I will be getting that long-sought round-the-world voyage: we are going to Port Arthur from the Baltic Sea around Africa, India, and China! Like a mockery of fate! Did I dream of such a circumnavigation?!

“All the teams have been reformed. The ships have been given new captains… Again, the trust and understanding between seamen, which can be lifesaving in extreme situations, will have to be developed anew…

“Zosia, please: don’t let Olga do something stupid! She is expecting a baby… She already told me that if they send me there, then she will join the Red Cross and will go as a sister of mercy. Don’t let her, and don’t do anything similar yourself! You must learn! War — should not concern women, at least directly!…

“It’s enough that Denis and Victor left for the active army!…”

* * *

Zosia calmed and consoled all her friends as best as she could. She herself plunged into study and work as much as possible.

She could only tell about her worries in letters to fr. Alexander.

And only in complete union with God, was she able to watch and hear about everything that was happening without feeling pain. But such union was not always easy for her yet…

Fr. Alexander sent her new notes about the Elder Zosima.

Zosia began to look for opportunities to publish in full or at least partially those words of the elder that had already been collected by her for the book and were now replenished with statements about the war which were sent to her by fr. Alexander.

He wrote to Zosia:

“I have a strange feeling that trouble is just approaching… This war against Japan is just a reminder for people about how terrible, pernicious, and destructive wars can be!

“And now, we must shout not about ‘love for the Fatherland’, but about the need for peace and harmony between peoples and rulers!

“Is this correct, when only a few people with their decisions can plunge many other people into a bloody carnage?

“And the peoples themselves have no interest in those battles: neither from one belligerent side, nor from the other! And they kill and die — for ideas that are alien to them, which are instilled in them in order for one or another country to advance its borders or its ‘spheres of influence’.

“And people do not see the misfortune that comes to the souls when they receive ‘the right to kill by order’!…

“The elder Zosima spoke little about wars, so it is all the more important to understand what was once said by him to people. In connection with the recent events, I decided to collect together all his words that I remember about the reasons that give rise to wars and about how this madness of mankind might be stopped. Here, I am attaching this:”

“It only seems to people that there are winners and losers in war, and that war can benefit someone…

“But this is not so! Both opposing sides always lose!

“Victory brings only imaginary satisfaction to the winners! All those riches and territories that one country took away from another country are like the embryo of a new war in the future, which will fester for a long time and then explode with new bloodshed — both vengeful and destructive!

“It is important to understand that even those few people who, by their actions, unleashed a war, and those who were greatly enriched because of that war, and those who strengthened their power and authority in false ambitions to change the fate of the world, — they also actually suffered a devastating defeat! Their position became dire — for they were rooted in evil and their own delusions!

“Among the soldiers and their commanders in the troops, manifestations of heroism, self-sacrifice, and courage are still possible. But those who, by their own will, awakened the monster of war and sought to benefit from this, — they are the ones who really died in such a war: died as souls!

“How can this desire in people to seize what belongs to someone else and to command other people, which has been the reason for wars for millennia, be stopped? Even the history of mankind is written and concerned primarily about wars: how, when, and with whom a country fought, who won, or what was captured!… But is all this the most important thing that has happened in this world?! And is only this worth teaching to be remembered in schools?!

“Many other significant and beautiful things should be studied! And people need to know about bloody wars only in order not to repeat this in the future!

“If I thought of teaching, I would teach people to rejoice in God, in His gifts of grace, I would teach not to destroy, but to create good in life, to create an inner spiritual treasure and do good deeds for people! It’s so simple, but people don’t want to live like that! But a person can live with joy, with God in the soul — and then everything around such a person becomes illuminated with his or her inner happiness! How good it would be if many people began to live like this!

“Real joy for a person does not come from the outside! External pleasure is momentary and passes very quickly. But real joy is born from the contact of a loving soul — with the Love of God! This is what every person in this earthly life should learn!

“And then, this love and joy will live on in any human activity.

“If, for example, a person prepares food with this joy, then in the food, prepared this way, particles of that joy remain!

“Or, if he or she washes laundry, then in the cleanliness of those shirts or sheets that joy can be noticed when a person uses them!

“Or if a person builds a house with such joy, then even the builder’s joy can exist in the house for a long time and give itself to the owners and guests. It can be, of course, if the owners do not destroy this goodness, but support it!

“Any good deed should be done in a blissful state of the soul!

“And there are deeds that are sins if one does them! These are cases, in which violence against other people is carried out…

“It is not forbidden to stop a villain in order to protect other people. In such cases, even force may be used if no other means are possible. But if you can do it with the peace — then it is much better!

“If with love, one is able to stop evil, then it often happens that the person in whom one suppressed the evil, is transformed to good..

“But if evil is stopped by violence, then the villain usually is only strengthened in his or her hatred. But, on the other hand, it may be possible to protect other people from him or her.

“A war is always evil, even if it seems that this war is for the truth…

“There are ‘certain ideas’ for which some people are forced to go to murder other people — brothers and sisters, children of God…

“And when an ordinary warrior believes in those ideas, he sincerely believes that it is a feat to die or kill for those ideas…

“There have always been such ideas in history when ‘in the name of something’ people were sent to fight. This has even occurred in the church — the ‘crusades’, for example… After all, many people believed that they went to foreign lands to ‘kill infidels’ — for God!… And then those ‘infidels’ for many centuries remembered those atrocities and — in response — dreamed to destroy all those villains and all their descendants…

“Of course, there were also those who, not believing in anything, took the opportunity to rob and profit… But we are not now talking about them…

“It is terrible that in a person good and evil are often confused and replaced! And then hatred grows in people — instead of love! And this multiplies in the memory of the descendants of those who were killed, oppressed, and robbed!

“There are such ‘great motives’ for which they call upon others to fight, kill, and die. But all of them are vicious!

“Many will now think about the ‘defense of the Fatherland’ and will not agree with me. But sometimes even this ‘defense of the Fatherland’ takes place… in foreign lands: where colonies and ‘spheres of influence’ are divided between the powers that be…

“Of course, if war has come to your home, to your country, then you need to protect those who suffer innocently, from the attackers… But, it would be good for the rulers to think first of how not to take those actions that lead to war: so that they do not need to defend their own country from enemies…

“Yes, rulers rarely have an understanding of what is good for their peoples. More often they think about a certain ‘glory and power’ of the state, about their ambitions, and the authority of their power. So, blinded by pride, the rulers do not see the paths to peace — or, worse, they do not want to see…

“Is there anything one can do about it? I do not know. It would seem that it is so easy to understand what I am talking about now, but for thousands of years people have been fighting without thinking about why or for what they fight…

“How much does a person need in life? Shelter, food, clothes… Not much at all! And all people in the world would be wealthy of it if envy, thirst for profit, and power had not grown in souls!

“Earthly life is so short!… And a person may not even have time to think about why he or she was given life by God!

“Perhaps, this is why God allows terrible wars, so that people think — and come to their senses!

“It is foolish to spend your whole life in a race for the desires of the moment! Power and wealth — they do not bring happiness! And all this can be lost at any moment!

“The power and wealth of the earth carry with them unnecessary fears and worries!

“Only for the first brief moment of possession of something desired does contentment arise. And after — desires again grow and an emptiness comes in the soul, which cannot be filled with anything, because it cannot be filled from the outside!

“It is in these insatiable desires for what belongs to others — I see the reasons for all wars — both large and small, and even the tiniest, which occur between individuals in everyday life all the time, and no one considers them to be wars.

“Many people talk about politics, about world problems… But they are not ready to notice in themselves envy and hatred towards dissidents!

“This is what people come to me with: ‘my mother-in-law hates me!’, ‘my mother-in-law offends me!’, ‘my children are ungrateful!’, ‘my neighbor wants to seize my property!’, ‘a competitor plots against me!’…

“And where is the place — in the life of such a person — for God? What needs to be said to such a person in order for him or her to see clearly?

“How stupid it is when people waste their lives — on fear and hatred, on envy and aggression! And then they are outraged and surprised that those who have the power to rule countries — do not know how to make the life of the peoples peaceful and happy!

“For there to be peace in the world — each person should cultivate this peace and love in the soul, and suppress hatred!

“Then, perhaps, people would be able to prevent destructive and bloody wars…

“Maybe, we will understand this someday?”