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The Fakir and the Science of Miracles/Chapter Seven: About Love for People and God

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Chapter Seven:
About Love for People and God

Days went by. Mr. Lurie dismissed Franz after the tragedy with the fall of Katya. And Ram promised the director that Katya, when he taught her what he had in mind, would act in his part of the show.

And gradually Ram began to carry out his plans.

The preparation of this new program took several months.

In the meantime, there was also another training for Tom and Katya by Ram.

In these trainings, the questions for discussion would come from them. After all, Ram never began to explain something only because he knew it himself.

Tom found Ram to be a very interesting interlocutor. Even before the full recovery of Katya, they began to discuss many of the philosophical themes and problems of people’s lives that Tom had wanted to understand before, but did not have someone who could at least somehow answer his questions.

One of the first of such conversations happened late in the evening after the performance, when Ram and Tom were alone together. In this conversation, Tom asked:

“Who needs this work of mine, on which I spend the days and years of my life?

“I’m tired of seeing dull faces laughing at primitive jokes! I am sad about what makes my spectators laugh!

“Sometimes I look at the crowd and I try to find at least one meaningful face… — and, seeing none, I then want to give it all up!

“But I tried to live without the circus! Out there — it is even worse!…”

“Well, wouldn’t it be a dream to make a number in which laughter would ennoble people to overcome their weaknesses and vices, and teach them to help others and be compassionate?”

“I already tried this. But people are simply stupid and evil! Everything, which I was trying to do, was useless!

“Explain something to me: does human life make any sense?

“After all, there has to be a reason why we are all jostling here on the Earth, in this booth of suffering and deceit!

“What’s the point in the existence of all this? We are not here just to run around in circles and from time to time trip ourselves up, are we?! We just keep repeating the same things! We fall, hit our noses on the ground — bang! Then fall down again, stand up, shake ourselves off, run again, and then fall down… And then one day — we can no longer even get back up…

“Why does God allow all of this?”

… Tom then recalled one of his previous numbers. He absurdly ran around the entire arena to reach the gymnastic bridge and jump on it as the balancers acted before him. He started running, and then with one foot, he dexterously tripped himself — and fell crashing full force to the floor flatwise — to the laughter of the audience. He got up, glanced around, looking for something on the sand of the arena that could have caused such a fall. Seeing nothing, he then threatened someone in the audience, ran again, ran even harder — and then fell in an even funnier way…

… Waking from the memory, Tom continued the conversation:

“The majority of people are stupid and evil! For many years, I have seen how almost every evening they roll with laughter, when they see how a person has fallen, been hit, or deceived another… And they laugh in the same way outside the circus at those who have fallen into real trouble!

“But when trouble happens in real life with one of them, they do not laugh, but are angry and look for those who are guilty for their troubles, and then they take revenge on their offenders…”

“You do not love people, Tom! You made an exception only for Katya — and it saves you, giving you a reason to live!”

“Well, don’t you agree?”

“It seems to me that you complicate your life, thinking this way about people…”

“But why are people so stupid and evil? Can you explain this to me?”

“Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“You will see…”

They donned their walking-clothes and went out into the night…

After walking several blocks through empty city streets, Ram opened the door on which was the inscription: “Children’s Orphanage of St. Sophia”.

The sleeping watchman did not stop them.

They entered a large room, where an overweight woman in a dull gray dress and a white apron tried to cradle a baby who was yelling at full strength. The other children, who were lying in the other cots and cradles, heard the baby’s weeping, woke up, and also started to bawl.

“Tom, answer me: why are they ‘stupid and evil’ — these little people, who are selfish and screaming about their suffering?” — Ram asked, pointing to what was happening.

“But these are babies, children, and they do not even know who their parents are!”

… The woman with the screaming child in her arms, became frightened, thinking that these strangers were possible inspectors, and began to make excuses explaining that the children are hungry and therefore do not sleep well…

Ram took the baby from the hands of the woman, began to rock it — and it suddenly fell silent. And, in general, suddenly everything was quiet: the rest of the children also stopped crying and fell asleep. On some of the faces, there were even smiles.

Then Ram took money out of his wallet and handed it to the woman.

“Buy what you deem most necessary for the children! It is a gift to the Orphanage of St. Sophia from an Indian guest who is here on an unofficial visit.”

This explanation and the money rendered the poor woman speechless for a while.

And then Ram and Tom just as calmly walked past the sleeping guard.

Ram continued:

“The majority of the adults surrounding us are similar to these babies. Yes, they have adult bodies, but they — as souls — are still babies. They barely know how to think yet. They are full of selfish desires. They want to eat! They want to be loved! They want to be happy, but do not know how and where to seek happiness!

“And no one taught them that to fight, to take away from others for oneself, to hate, and to envy — is not just bad, but also generates a whole chain of misfortunes in their own lives! This is because they must then be born in the worst conditions and experience the pain that they had previously caused to others! In India, this is called the action of the ‘law of karma’.

These people do not know, do not feel their Divine Parent! They do not even look in the direction of God, Who alone can give true happiness!”

“God can give happiness? Why does He do not this?”

“We’ll talk about this some time later. For, as yet, you cannot even imagine the happiness that God can give a person! After all, you need to be at least a little ready to be able to perceive this happiness, and accept it!

“If you give a baby, who is screaming, a mountain of diamonds or make it the owner of a castle, it will not become happy and it will not stop bawling. It still needs only its mother’s milk and care… But the one who knows that true Happiness, which can be found in the Unity with God, will never exchange this happiness for mountains of diamonds or for factories or castles!

“But this is about happiness… And you asked me about the stupidity of people.

“The majority of the people around us are still young souls, who have not been brought up yet, and who do not wish to learn.

“They are still young and small souls. And so — they are stupid. They have not yet learned to love — and, therefore, they are evil.

“They are orphans, because they do not know their Divine Parent: the Mother and Father for all!

“Would many children want to learn if their wise parents have not taught them to joyfully learn about the world and to work for the good both of themselves and of other beings?”

“So, where is God? Why does He not teach His children? Why did He leave them to be orphans — here, in this cruel world?”

… Ram suddenly pointed a finger at Tom’s chest:

God — you will find Him here, in yourself!

“As for people — start teaching them! This is the meaning of your life, of which you asked me!”

“To teach? I?”

“Yes.

“You are no longer a baby! You are capable of thinking and drawing conclusions. You can watch how easy it is to control a crowd: how one can freeze it with delight by showing it beauty like, for example, that of Katya’s performance, or make it laugh at good jokes, or turn it into a frightened herd… And if at the head of such a crowd there is an evil man, then he or she can, by manipulating the thoughts and emotions of such people, turn them into a boiling hateful weapon to achieve his or her own selfish goals…

“Recall: people listened with enthusiasm to the preaching of Jesus — and then, those same people, demanded to crucify Him!…

But Jesus, nevertheless, taught people — both by His life, and death! And by those words, which are preserved in the Gospels, He teaches even now!”

“Ram, it is probably just in India that everyone can become a guru and teach people in their own way…”

“Everyone already, at least by one’s own example, inevitably teaches those people, who are with him or her, how to live and how to act. One teaches — either bad or good. So you: teach only what is good!

“We have a wonderful job for this! It allows us to directly address many people and give them the opportunity to begin feeling life and thinking more correctly!

“God will help people — through your deeds and words! You can begin to gradually awaken in people that which in them is truly good. You can start teaching them to think a little better, to look at the world and one’s own place in it…

“But it is only an individual who can significantly change himself or herself! This must be a fully conscious work on oneself-soul. Here, the two of us plus Katya can do it, if you want.

“As for other people… When will they get tired of enjoying information about wars, about the cruelty and atrocity done by one person to another, or about the tragedies and wrecks in someone’s life path? — I do not know the answer to this question…

“But do not take it too much to heart! The whole world around us does not have to correspond to our desires and the level of our own development!

“Just accept that if man has cognized the Light, then he or she can live in the Light, even if there is darkness around! It is so, because this Light is burning now in oneself!”

Tom asked:

“What can we change in this world?

“What can be changed in a world where lies, violence, hatred, envy, the desire to rule over those who are weaker, and the fear of those who are stronger abound? What can be changed in a world where people live only by the animal instincts of obtaining food and reproducing, and do not use the opportunities given to men by man’s nature — which is supposedly higher than that of animals?

“Often even animals are more intelligent and capable of love than so many people!”

“It’s all so, Tom, but…

“God sees everything that is happening here. And He takes into account everything that we are doing, when building our future destinies.

“And there is an amazing FREEDOM granted to every soul: the freedom to choose — among different possibilities — Light, Good, and Love. And to choose God as the Main Goal!

“Only then does the opportunity become open to learn to move oneself into the Divine World and to look, love, and understand — in the way that God does.

Then, one no longer feels despair, believing that it is impossible to change the whole world! One begins to change oneself — and then everything around also changes unexpectedly! This is one of the Divine Laws existing in the world order!

“Then, it will be possible to help others, showing them the way of liberation from suffering. However, only those, who understand this and want this, will travel this path.

“In this world, we can change very little. We can change mainly — only ourselves. It is the efforts aimed at changing oneself: the purification of the soul, and the approach to God — which change the world around us!

“Everything and everyone then begins to synchronize with the harmony that this soul carries. And, the stronger and stronger the soul, the more clearly its impact is felt by other people.

“Like the light of the sun, this effect can be unnoticed. But it exists and works!

“The light of the sun gives life the opportunity to grow and develop on our planet.

“Similarly, the soul, which has become the Light, helps others — even simply by radiating Love and Peace into the material world.

“Sometimes they say that a certain person is radiating joy and love. When such a person communicates with people, he or she has an influence on them. It’s as if he or she entered a dark room with a candle — and then it became evident, what in the room is the right thing, and what in it is trash.

“In the same way, the presence of a person, carrying the Light, illuminates in other souls the bad and the good, the important and the unimportant. And people then have the opportunity to ignite their own lamps from that spiritual Fire, by following the example of the one who has learned much.

“But this is the choice of each person.

“And there are some who try to ‘turn off the light’, so as not to see the vices in themselves…”

* * *

Soon, Tom created a number with screaming babies and a stupid tutor of an orphanage. Everything fell from his hands, he dropped his pacifiers and ridiculously got confused on how to use diapers. Then in one or another cradle a baby started screaming. And from backstage, swaddled folds, depicting abandoned babies, were brought and handed over to Tom… Tom fussed, rushed between the cradles, and fell. And, at the end of the number, unwound swaddling clothes appeared under the dome and depicted the inscription: ORPHANAGE OF ST. SOPHIA, THERE ARE 185 OF THEM!

At that moment, the audience, which had been laughing to tears up until then, suddenly calmed down… Tom had never before stood in such silence at the end of a number.

And then there was applause.

After the performance, one of the spectators after handed Tom money, saying:

“This is what people gathered for the orphanage. Please, pass it on to them!”