Chapter Eleven:
Earthly Love and Divine Love
Everything in Alexey’s life could now be fine, overflowing with happiness… Except, here was the love for Rada…
His attitude towards her was so sublime!
At first, Alexey did not even understand that this love is real, deep!
Rada was so beautiful! Thick eyelashes, clear eyes!… They sometimes turned blue, like the sky! Or sometimes — they brought others into peace and immersed them in silence…
How radiant and enthusiastic was her gaze, with which — only being near — she could embrace with kindness and calm!
Never before did Alexey think that a person could be as she! In his view, the possibility of existence of such Beauty, Purity, and Holiness could be considered only in relation to the Heavenly, Divine, invisible and unknowable world!
She gave Alexey the opportunity to more brightly and more fully perceive the Divine World!
This was the most important thing now in his life!
But… he could not help noticing what was happening with them… The occasional touch of just their fingertips, the touch of a strand of hair, or a glance into each other’s eyes — were enough to make Alexey become flooded with the sea of tenderness! His love for her became immense — like the sea! It was the happiness of two souls merged in an amazing unity!
Alexey realized that a love can exist not only for God, but for Rada too. And this love cannot be extinguished, cannot be torn out of the heart!
Alexey did not know how he should behave now… He — a monk — how dare he break a vow?
Alexey decided to be taught further, but not to allow himself to think about “earthly love”. He began to avoid glances and touches… He tried to forbid himself from what could be so natural to man…
He did not tell Rada about all these experiences. But she always knew all his thoughts and emotions. And — she tried not to rush.
Rada also had fallen in love with Alexey from their first meeting. She saw and understood everything that was happening in the thoughts and emotions of her beloved. And — patiently waited.
She learned to sweep away those emotions of hers which could bring suffering from the incompleteness of their relationship.
She learned to be grateful for the happiness that fate had already given her. “I’ll see him again, I’ll embrace him with the soul, I’ll be near, I’ll help him!”
* * *
But internal prohibitions prevented Alexey. He did not know how to live with this…
So strong and beautiful was the fire of love for Rada that he was not free to extinguish this flame, this shining lamp in the soul!
He turned to Jesus and asked Him for help:
“My Lord, I can no longer resist what has overfilled me!
“I clearly feel that this love for Rada strengthens my Love for You! And so, why then should I try to give it up? But how can this be done? By never seeing her again? But then those Heavenly Heights will not be opened to me! I mean those Heights, which Rada teaches, and to which I aspire to rise by the soul — to draw near to You!
“Is this my weakness? Is it my sin? But… how can it be a sin — to see such radiance of souls in love?!”
… Jesus answered:
"In vain you torment both Rada and yourself! Why do you deprive her and yourself of the happiness that I am sending to you?”
“I have taken the vow of a monk, I swore an oath! How can I break it?”
“All such ‘rules’ and rites are invented by people, not by God! You know this already!”
“Yes… But I gave my vow on my own and that was my own choice! No one forced me!…”
“Love is a gift from God to man! Learning to love your neighbor, man learns to love God!
“In such intimate relations between a man and a woman, who love one another, — there is no sin! This closeness teaches the Great Tenderness and the ability to merge by souls! It is more difficult to learn the Love of God in its fullness and the Mergence with the Creator — not knowing the earthly love!
“Now I, before Whom you made the monastic vow, — free you from this vow! Call Rada! I Myself will bless your union!”
There was no need to call Rada. She approached — quietly, gently — and stood beside them…
Jesus called them husband and wife.
* * *
Ecstasy of merging bodies and souls… Happiness! This had not been in their lives yet!
Such happiness could not fit in their bodies and poured out, covering the breadth of space around! It was — as if drops of sun-spray flew! And in each such drop the radiance of Divine Love burned!
It was a world of joy and happiness — simple and beautiful, just like how everything was in the Divine Creation in its pristine Purity and Harmony!
The happiness was so great both in the sky above their bodies, in the Earth beneath their feet, and in all the beauty around!
… Nothing external had changed. The sun and the sky were the same as yesterday and the day before yesterday… The same could be said of both the lake, and the sandy shore, and the twitter of birds, and the fragrance of flowers. But all this seemed to have been transformed in an incredible way!
… They bathed, and then turned their naked bodies with droplets of water on them — to the rays of the sun.
Then, Rada started spinning around in an amazing dance! It was a dance of gratitude to God for the wonderful and amazing gift that was presented to them by the Creator-Father and Jesus!
God filled all the surrounding space with His Light and Love: sunbeams, reflections on the water surface, foliage on the trees, blades of grass, flowers… And the same Light streamed in the bodies of Rada and Alexey, hugging from all sides — both her, and Alexey, and everything that was around!…
He tried to put into words what he was feeling:
“How amazing it is! And people could live like this! For this, no special conditions are needed — so that, like this, with God, one can merge in love and harmony!
“Is this paradise?”
… Rada smiled tenderly:
“Probably…
“There is in the universe the power of love-attraction. Usually, people have their first contacts with this energy, when there arises between them a mutual attraction and a desire for unity, for creation of a family and birth of children.
“But, if this connection is reduced only to pleasures of the flesh, then such people impoverish themselves…
“Everything, which is inherent to the flesh, remains in the earthly world, when souls leave it. But the developed love — remains in the eternal life of souls!
“The love between a man and a woman — can be beautiful! It was conceived so by the Creator! It teaches to merge and dissolve — just like the natural beauty as well!
“All people, living on the Earth, are given the opportunity to experience the joy of being in such states — and to develop themselves through them!
“Jesus also had a beloved… Her name was Mary Magdalene. She was His disciple.
“And Jesus never said that the love between a man and a woman is a sin!
“Lust is a vice. Lust is the desire of a human self to possess what is desired at all costs…
“Love is a mutual giving of happiness, bliss, tenderness, and care! By giving and accepting — a person can master the most beautiful state of the soul! This is a model of the love of the soul for God! Through it — the ability grows to understand others, and to live in mutuality and in unity…”
Alexey then saw the face of Mary Magdalene in the play of Light. Thick brown hair, brown eyes, tender hands… Jesus was also present. But now Mary was speaking. She said:
“I’m now with Jesus. Through love to Him — everything was transformed in the soul! Through that — I approached the Heavenly Father!
“Such a love does not end with the death of bodies! In the Great Ocean of God — you can be forever with Those Whom you love!
“True love between a man and a woman is beautiful and pure! It must transform human lives and bring one closer to the Perfection.
“But people have turned this most beautiful emotion, arising between souls, — by their bad thoughts and “rules” — into the “forbidden” and “sinful”…
“How many people make sins, which are created as if in secret!… And which then — like worms — gnaw in the soul… This state of eternal guilt and sinfulness becomes more and more persistent…
“Only the purification of the soul from vices makes it possible to throw off those fetters, and start the new pure life — before God!
“It happens that, when one is not really clean, — this one thinks oneself honest and righteous…
“And it also happens that people’s opinions are false about sins…
“Living both in fear or melancholy, in the struggle against other people for possessing that which is desired — very many souls forget how to feel the subtle shades of love, bliss, tenderness, and endearment! They are as if blinded and deaf, they see only darkness around! It’s as if such souls are paralyzed and cannot move under the weight of their vices and cruelty! As if by an impenetrable wall, people fenced themselves off from God! This was, what I was, before I met Jesus…
“And Jesus returned to the blinded souls the ability to see, to the deaf — the ability to hear, to the paralyzed — the ability to heal themselves and move towards the Light!
“The main awakening of the soul is the ability to love unselfishly! And many of those who have been so awakened, will then want to cognize the Heavenly Love…
“Two mutually loving human beings are like two vessels, of which the water, which was in them, was combined into one! Before, there were two separate vessels — and now there is a new state of souls, which already cannot fit into the previous boundaries!
“So also, the perfect Soul flows into the Creator. It’s like a small vessel which pours its waters and — through it — becomes Part of the Ocean!
“In this way, many of His Devotees poured Themselves into this Divine Ocean — as Transformed, Perfect Souls — and through that the Heavenly Kingdom multiplied.
“In this way, Jesus also once had become One with the Heavenly Father. And after — He came to the Earth — as the Son, Who is One with God-the-Father, — to remind people that this is possible, and that just for this they live on the Earth!
“In this Unity — there is a higher Happiness, which can be cognized by souls!
“The world of the Creation was created by God so that people could cognize all of this and grow and develop through this — up to the Mergence with the Divine Love!
“How We would like — to return to them the ability to live in harmony with God and with His Creation! Then — with just a little more — one could immerse oneself in the Depths! There — the Endless World opens, the Infinite Ocean, where there is only the Creator — One in Multitude, Who represents by Himself the Great Love, Wisdom, Omnipresence, and Omnipotence!
“When a soul opens for itself the life in the heart love — then the Path of growth to the State of Divinity becomes revealed before it! This is the Path to the Unity with the Divine All-Creating Power!”
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