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The Legend of Peresvet/Chapter Three: Seeing and Listening with the Heart

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Chapter Three:
Seeing and Listening with the Heart

The “connecting thread”

between us-souls and God is invisible.

And it is important for us to feel this connection.

Then there is an end to idle worries!

There is the Infinity of God,

the Silence is in It…

And the life of the soul resounds in It

like an instrument string of love!

Ngomo

For several days, Peresvet and Yegor took part in cutting firewood in the forest together with the other monks.

At Peresvet’s suggestion, only dry trees that had already died on their own were felled. It was more difficult than simply felling all the trees in a row. However, in addition to protecting the lives of the living trees, this method provided dry wood, which burned better, and it also prevented the dead trees from later being blown over by a windstorm. This helped keep the forest floor clear of dead logs, and this, in turn, made it more comfortable for the monks when they would go on walks looking for mushrooms and berries.

They spent the nights here, in a shelter of branches.

One evening, after the prayer, when everyone had already gone to sleep, Peresvet still sat near the campfire.

Yegor came up to him:

“I can’t sleep, I’m cold! Can I warm myself here?”

“Yes, sit next to me, it’s warm here!”

… The spring nights were cold but clear.

The sky was covered with bright stars. Tall fir-trees stood around a small glade where the fire was burning.

There was no wind, it was quiet.

Night beauty is special, both mysterious and majestic!

The fire burned brightly. Yegor quickly warmed up, but did not go to sleep.

“Tell me more about that Elder”, — he asked Peresvet.

“All right, listen!

“The Elder started to teach Rodion and me as if in passing, little by little.

“One evening by a campfire, we had a conversation, much like you and I are having now. The Elder was more talkative that time than usual. So, we took the opportunity to ask questions. I asked:

‘Why do we need to be able to do everything with our left hands, if Rodion’s hand will soon recover and my right one isn’t even injured?’

‘And while Rodion’s right hand is recovering, are you going to spoon-feed him yourself, to raise his helplessness?

‘I’ll also ask you, why do you look with two eyes instead of one?

‘A person has many abilities — many God-given talents! But not many people know about this — and that is why they do not use them.

‘You may wonder, how can I see everything, even if I am standing with my back turned to what is going on or even when I’m in another place? Or how can I know many things about you that you have never told me about yourself?

‘A human being is a soul. And a soul can see without a body and hear without a body too! And it is even possible for a human soul to cognize the unknown, learning from God Himself!

‘You are only half-humans still, but you can become true Men! And for this, the first skill is to learn to look at the world with the spiritual heart.’

‘How can we do it?’ — we asked.

‘A soul can see with the eyes of the spiritual heart what is invisible for ordinary eyes. Also, it can hear that which cannot be heard by ordinary ears. It will always be clear to that soul what kind of person is in front of him or her, and whether that person is lying — or telling the truth. And there are many other things that can be understood if you learn to look with the soul, such as understanding how to act righteously, according to your conscience, or how to direct your life.’

‘And how do we learn to look with the soul?’

‘Start by looking at the fire from that place in your bodies where the inhalations and exhalations occur…

‘Then, for a better understanding, look from your head, then — from your belly, and then — again from the center where the soul can see from.

‘Now turn your backs to the fire and try to look the same way.’

“… We got curious and started trying to do this…

“The Elder said:

‘Take your time! Let the fire and its light be the most important things for you now.

‘Try to feel the space around you. First, do this by trying to feel this space with your body. It is like how we can feel the warm water around us when submerged in water. Or try to feel the space of the warm air. Then, in the place where your heart beats in your body, you will begin to feel a caressing warmth. This makes it easier to begin seeing with the soul.

‘The soul will look with love!’

“We became very curious. Not that we saw clearly the light of fire with our backs, but we had a special feeling that, with just a little more, we would start to see the light, the fire, the Elder, and the bear, who was lying some distance away and who was also looking at the fire and noisily sighing sometimes…

“Later, the Elder said:

‘And now — listen with the spiritual heart to the crackle of the fire, the hoots of the owl, and the bear’s breathing…

‘Everything that exists — exists and sounds in the Great Silence…’

“This is how the Elder taught us to understand what he himself called Life with God in everything. He wanted us to understand the quietness in the heart and the Oneness of all living beings…

“Yes, we were not very diligent students: for us it was just fun…”

‘Would it be a sin if I tried to do that too?’ — Yegor asked.

‘Why would it be a sin? Hegumen Sergius also explains to us the same thing about Hesychia — how to cognize the quietness of the heart. And he also tells us about the spiritual heart, which is where a monk’s love for God is kindled. And the Elder taught us the same thing…’

Yegor began to try to look and listen. But because he was trying far too hard, he ended up not being very good at it.

Peresvet comforted him:

“Not every skills comes at once. You look from your heart, but at the same time you think: ‘Did I succeed?’. Because of this, the fullness of the perception with the soul does not come; the fussy mind prevents this!”

“But how can I not think when all kinds of thoughts come by themselves?”

“Think about God with love! Right now, God is next to us! He is closer than this fire! God is always here! Only we don’t often feel it…”

… Peresvet and Yegor submerged into the silence filled with the Divine Presence, and for a long time they sat side by side in the circle of light of the dancing fire.

And God was filling their lives with His Great Love… And this Love of God flowed like a great river…