THE SPIRIT OF GOD AND THE-SPERIT OF THE WORLD
"The inner purity of true human beings will
beautify; even their external aspect."
CHAPTER ONE Secular Education and Knowledge
Is the Pure in
Heart Who Are Truly Intelligent
When a person does not sharpen the mind think-ing
about God, but instead spends his time plotting and sharpening various schemes,
he surrenders himself to the devil. It would have been better for him to have
lost his mind completely; at least then he would have some extenuating circumstances
on the Day of Judgment.
- Geronda,
does simplicity differ from cunningness?
- Yes, as
much as a jackal differs from a fox. If the jackal sees something and wants it,
it will go after it right away and get it; it has guts. But the fox will first
try its sly tricks and then go after its prey.
- Geronda,
is cunningness a form of intelligence? Should one see it this way?
- Well,
they seem similar, but if we examine ourselves, we will be able to tell the
nature of the one from the nature of the other. We may refer to our recognition
table. What are the graces of the Holy Spirit? Aren't they love,
joy, peace and so forth? Does what we call intelligence relate to
these qualities? If it does not, then it has some-thing satanic about it, it
has the marks of the devil.
It is the pure in heart, those who have been cleansed
of their passions, who are truly intelligent. True intelligence requires
holiness of mind. If the mind does not become sanctified, intelligence will be
good for nothing. Look at the journalists and politicians, for example. They
are very bright, but because their mind is not holy, they will often say a
great deal of nonsense with their clever remarks. And they do so out of their
great intelligence! If man does not make the best out of his mind, the devil
will. If man does not put his intelligence to good use, the devil will use it
for something evil.
- You mean
that if man does not make good use of his intelligence he grants the devil the
right to intervene?
- If man
does not make good use of his intelligence, rights are granted to the devil
automatically. When we do not work spiritually, we adulterate the good and then
evil is entirely of our making; the devil has nothing to do with it. If a smart
person, for example, will not use his mind, he will become la2y. If he will not
put his mind to work, what use is his intelligence?
- Can
someone who is intelligent but suffers from various passions, have correct
judgement?
- First of
all, he must be careful not to trust his mind, be-cause, if he is indeed a
spiritual man, he will be deceived; and if he is a worldly man he will go mad.
He should not trust his thoughts. He must ask around and seek advice so that he
may sanctify his mind. In general, we must seek to sanctify everything we have.
When our mind becomes holy, discernment follows. Without holiness, intelligence
cannot lead to spiritual discernment. On the other hand, a simpleton may
mistake a deceived man for a saint and an effeminate person for a pious soul.
But when a bright person is cleansed of his passions, he becomes especially
discerning.
- Geronda,
how does that happen?
- In order
to purify an intelligent mind, we must not accept any "telegrams"
from the devil, nor have crafty, wily thoughts; instead, our mind must work
with goodness and simplicity. This is how we come to think clearly, through
divine illumination, and when this happens, we can look into the hearts of
others and not come to conclusions using human criteria.
- Geronda,
is discernment related to knowledge?
- Discernment
comes from divine enlightenment. We may be spending most of our time reading
the Fathers of the Church, having correct knowledge of certain things, striving
spiritually and praying, and yet possess no discernment. Discernment comes from
divine enlightenment, and that is an entirely different matter.
- Was the
world better in the old days, Geronda?
-1 would not say that it was better, but that people
in the past had simplicity and good thoughts. Today people see everything with
guile, because they measure everything only with their mind. The so-called
European spirit has done a lot of damage; it has really ruined so many peo¬ple.
You see, with everybody being more or less educated today and able to
communicate better, it would have been easy for us to be in a very good
spiritual state. But instead, what people are being taught is atheism, and all
kinds of satanic ideas, and so all our education has become worth-less and it's
difficult to understand each other. In the old days, it was difficult to relate
to someone if he were not a pious person or lacked education. I remember once
how a monk became scandalized when he heard the name of Gregory, Pope of
Rome, mentioned at the Presanctified
Divine Liturgy. He thought they were commemorating the Pope of Rome! "I
never expected it," he said. "You have become papists!" And he
walked out of the Church. Do you see what ignorance can cause? Ignorance is a
dreadful thing. The greatest harm is done by people who have a sound piety but
lack a sound mind. Not being able to discern correctly, they create all kinds
of problems.
Without Divine Illumination Knowledge Ends in Disaster
If people would only put the brakes on their speeding
minds, not only would their mind find rest, but it would be more receptive to
divine Grace. Without divine illu-mination, knowledge ends in disaster. Those
who strive and labour for their spiritual life, have their mind illumined by
God; they receive divine illumination, divine experiences, and these give them
foresight, so that they don't see things only through their own understanding.
A short-sighted person sees clearly the things that are close, but not what is
far away. As for a person with normal vision, well, he may be able to see a bit
farther, but that too is not an accomplishment. We cannot have more than two
physical eyes; but we can have many spiritual eyes.
Those who distance themselves from Christ are deprived
of divine illumination, because they foolishly ex-change a sunny place for a
sunless one. This is why they suffer from spiritual colds and other such
ailments. If man is not purified, if divine illumination does not come to him,
no matter how sound his human knowledge might be, it will remain, as I see it,
nothing more than rationalism. If there is no divine illumination, whatever they
may write or say will not help others. Consider, for example, the Psalter,
written with divine inspiration, what profound meanings it contains! Gather
together, if you want, all the theologians and all the philologists of the
world, and you will see that they are not able to compose one Psalm with such
spiritual depth. David was illiterate, but you can see clearly how he was
guided by the spirit of God.
The Church is suffering today because divine illumination
is missing, and each person understands things as he wishes. The human element
gets involved, passions are aroused, and the devil comes in and roams all over.
This is why people who are governed by their passions should not seek to
govern.
- In other words, Geronda, should people constantly
seek guidance and illumination from God? - Yes, because otherwise, the
solutions that they will give to their problems, will be nothing else than the
work of their mind. And this will only end up in confusion. Conferences,
symposia ... take place all the time. And the sad thing is that most of these
people have no idea who they really are. You see, nothing can compare to our
knowledge of our true self; knowledge of all other kinds is useless when we do not know who we are. To recognize
our true self, and do so with humility, will bring recognition by others.
If
some people could realize who they really are, the sorry state of their soul,
they would have no words to speak to anyone, nothing to say.
Once, someone complained to me, "There isn't a
single Orthodox to represent Orthodoxy in conferences abroad." He went on
and on, as if it were the end of the world. I said to him, "When God asked
Prophet Elijah, 'What are you doing here in Horeb Elijah?' he answered, T am the only one left and they
seek my life...' And God replied, 'There are seven thousand people in Israel,
who have not bowed to worship Baal.' Do you see how the Prophet felt alone even
though there were seven thousand faithful there? You, likewise, are despairing
despite the existence of so many faithful. What do you think our own
Pantocrator* is?
Is He like the Pantocrator on a dome of a Church cracked by an
earthquake, a mere mosaic that we are trying to save from collapse with the aid
of the "Archaeological Service?" "In America," he replied,
"there is no one." "But I have gotten to know many faith¬ful
from America," I answered. "Yes," he told me, "but the
Catholics are always plotting against us." "What I know is that many
Catholics are disappointed with Pa¬pism and are returning to Orthodoxy," I
countered. "Isn't it true that when Patriarch Demetrios went to America many Catholics themselves
were saying, 'The Patriarch is a true Christian while the Pope is a
'merchant''? Were not these Catholics speaking out of indignation? Why, then, are
you saying that Catholics are always plotting to enter Orthodoxy to adulterate
it ...? What about God? Where is He in all this? Or, do you think the devil can
prosper unhindered?"
Unfortunately, western rationalism has had its influence
on certain Eastern Orthodox leaders, who are members of the Eastern Orthodox
Church only in body. In spirit, they really belong to the West, which they
consider to "reign" over the secular world. But if they were to view
the West spiritually, to see it in the light of the East, in the light of
Christ, then, they would be able to discern its spiritual twilight. For the
light of the intelligible Sun, the light of Christ Himself is disappearing from
the West and a deep darkness is slowly setting in.
All these gatherings and
conferences are the work of the evil
one; the leaders are engaging in endless discussions on issues that need no
discussion, issues that even the Holy Fathers never addressed in the past. All
these are meant to confuse and scandalize the faithful and drive some of them
to heresies and others to schisms, so that he can gain more ground. Ah! The
misery and confusion they bring to people!
And why is that? It all starts with neglecting one's spiritual
work; then comes the conviction that one is really a spiritual person and finally
he ends up saying all sorts of nonsense. A child does not know much, but with
the natural purity of its mind, it always finds the right thing to say to you.
By contrast, a highly educated person, whose mind is clouded by demonic
influence, can tell you the most blasphemous things.
The person, who constantly sharpens his mind with
knowledge, but lives a life apart from God, will eventually turn his mind into
a double-edged sword. With the one side of the sword, he will be slowly putting
himself to the slaughter, while with the other, he will be slicing people to
pieces with all kinds of absolute human views, sharpened by his unyielding
mind. When human knowledge becomes sanctified, it can help others. But if it
lacks holiness, then it's only a human construct; it is the work of a mind
ruled by secular reason.
When the mind is not holy, it resembles an iron rod
that has no magnetic power. Even though it strikes other metals to weld them
together, it can only bend them out of shape; it has no welding power
whatsoever.
This is the sad state of today's world. People see
everything through the prism of cold logic. This kind of logic is really
destructive. Doesn't the Apostle Paul write, Knowledge puffs up we lack divine illumination, all the knowledge
in the world will be useless to us, and will end in disaster.
Evil starts when the mind concentrates only on science
and is totally separated from God. This is why it is difficult for people who
think this way to find inner peace and balance. By contrast, when the mind
revolves around God, and is illumined and sanctified, science is used both for
our spiritual edification and for the benefit of the world.
- Do you mean to say, Geronda, that science does not
help people?
- Science can be of great help, but it can also muddle
the mind greatly. I have met souls who possessed great lucidity even though
their education was limited. If those who have muddled their mind with science
manage to clarify it with the Grace of God, then, naturally, they will have
more tools for their work. But if these tools are not sanctified, if their
knowledge lacks holiness, then it will be used only for secular work and not
for spiritual work. Our tools can be sanctified very quickly if we have the
right kind of concern. Scientists and educated people who give precedence to
their inner formation, to the edification of the soul, and bring their secular
education to the service of spiritual growth, they will experience a rapid
spiritual transformation. If they also lead spiritual lives, they will be able
to help many people positively, by removing from their hearts the anxiety of
hell and opening the way for heavenly joy. There are people of God who do not
have as many academic degrees as others, but they can help people more, because
they are full of divine Grace rather than diplomas. The world is so filled with
sin that what we need the most is people given to prayer and to living a
spiritual life. All these books and papers are paper money, valuable only if
there are gold reserves in our bank, if our lives are spiritual through and
through. And so we must drill into the "mine" of the soul, for
otherwise science and education will be worth nothing.
I remember an elderly monk at Esphigmenou Monastery on
Mount Athos, who was so simple, that he thought "Ascension" was the
name of a woman Saint. He prayed to her on his komboschoini, "Saint of
God, intercede for us!" Once, he had to feed a sick Brother in the infirmary
and had nothing to offer him. He immediately went down the stairs, opened a window
overlooking the sea, stretched his arms out and said, "Ascension, my
Saint, give me a little fish for the Brother." And right away, as if by
miracle, a big fish jumped out of the sea and into his hands. The others who
saw him were astonished, but he simply looked at them smiling, as if he were
saying, "What's so strange about what you've just seen?" And then
look at us. We may know everything about the life and martyrdom of the Saints,
or about when and how the Ascension took place and yet, we cannot even catch a
tiny little fish! These are the strange and paradoxical things of the spiritual
life, which the reasoning of those intellectuals that are centred on themselves
and not on God, cannot explain, because their knowledge is of this world and
sterile; their spirit is ill with secularism and their mind void of the Holy
Spirit.
The word of the mind does not transform the soul,
because it is of flesh. The word of God, bom of the Holy Spirit, has divine
energy and transforms the soul. The Holy Spirit does not need engines to
descend. This is why Theology has nothing to do with a sterile scientific
spirit. The Holy Spirit descends on His own volition, when He finds the right
spiritual preconditions in man. And these conditions exist when we remove the
rust from our spiritual cables, and become good conductors for the spiritual
current of divine illumination. It is then that we can become a spiritual
scientist, a theologian. By "theologian", I mean those theologians
who have theological reserves, whose degree has value, not those who only carry
a dip¬loma as worthless as the paper money we had during the German Occupation.
Many times the mind labours for years to learn one or
two foreign languages, and today most people will speak at least one foreign
language. Yet these languages bear no relationship to the languages of the Holy
Pentecost, and for this reason the society in which we live is the greatest
Babel ever. It is a great evil when we theologize with our mind alone, as if
our mind is the Holy Spirit. The name for this is "encephalology",
and its offspring is Babel. Whereas with true Theology, there are many
languages, many charismata, but they are all in agreement because their Leader
is the Holy Spirit of Pentecost, and they are really tongues of fire.
A Stichero Idiomelo for the Feast of Pentecost. The
Stichera Idiomela are chanted with verses from the Psalms and their own
particular melody.
- Geronda, the hymn says, All things are provided by
the Holy Spirit} - Yes, the Holy Spirit provides, but only where there is room
for Him to enter. Otherwise, He will not be able to provide. The words of a
humble soul with spiritual experiences, spoken with pain from the depths of his
heart, have much greater value than the fancy philological talk of a man who
speaks without the heart, firing the words the one after the other from his
trained tongue, but being incap-able of touching other souls. For such words
are spoken by a tongue of flesh and not a fiery tongue of Pentecost.
Let Us Sanctify Knowledge
Education and knowledge are good things, but if they
are not sanctified, they are a waste and lead to disaster. Some university
students arrived at my Kalyvi one day, loaded with books. They said, Geronda,
we are here to discuss the Old Testament with you. God permits know-ledge,
doesn't He?" "What kind of knowledge do you mean?" I asked them.
"Knowledge acquired with the mind?" "Yes," they answered.
"This kind of knowledge," I replied, "will take you up to the
moon, but will not lead you to God." It is good to have the intellectual
powers that take man to the moon costing billions of dollars in fuel expenses
and so on, but it is better to have the spiritual powers that raise man to God,
his ultimate destination, with only a bit of fuel, a mere dried piece of bread.
Once, I asked an American who visited me at the Kalyvi,
"What has this great nation of yours accomplished?" "We went to
the moon," he replied. "How far is that?" I continued.
"Let's say it's about half a million kilometres away," he responded.
"How many millions of dollars did you spend to get there?" I asked
next. "Since 1950," he told me, "we have spent rivers of
dollars." "Did you get to God? How far is He?" I added.
"God," he said, "is very, very far." "Well," I
replied, "it only takes us a dry piece of bread to get to Him!"
Natural knowledge helps us acquire spiritual
know-ledge. But when man remains at the level of natural know-ledge, he is
confined to nature and does not reach Heaven.
In other words, he remains on the earthly paradise,
which was watered by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, enjoying beautiful nature
with all its animals, but does not ascend to the heavenly Paradise to rejoice
with the Angels and the Saints. But in order to reach the heavenly Paradise, we
need to have faith in the Landlord of Paradise, to love Him, realize how sinful
we are, and be humbled. In this way, we will come to know Him, to converse with
Him in prayer, and praise Him for His help but also for the ways in which He is
testing us.
- Geronda,
does a person who finds peace in prostrations, fasting, asceticism, and so on,
still need to study the dogmatic writings of the Church Fathers, theology?
- A basic
education is actually a very helpful tool. But one should not seek knowledge in
order to help or impress others with clever remarks; he should get an education
in order to help himself. If we make the effort to sanctify whatever God may
have given us, the light of Grace will come and illuminate our minds. It's in
that light that we will find all the dogmatics and theology that we need; there
we will experience the mysteries of God. But we should also realize that other
people may have a simple disposition and do not wish to learn more, being
content with anything that God may give them.
- What
should we make of the fact that though we live in a Monastery, we still desire
the knowledge of the world?
- What
this means is that we lack true knowledge. And you shall know the truth and the
truth shall make you free. When man is
humbled and illumined, then his mind and its reasoning powers are rendered
holy, whereas, before, they worked only in a carnal way - their energy was of
the flesh. An unlettered man who, out of egoism, overlooks his ignorance and
tries to interpret the doctrines of the faith, to read the Apocalypse and the
writings of the Holy Fathers, will certainly become confused, and will end up
losing his faith. God's Grace will abandon him, because he acted out of egoism.
You see, humility helps in everything we do; it provides the strength we need.
The wisest thing I may think of, the wisest solution to a problem I may
discover, will be sheer nonsense, if it contains egoism; whereas humility will
always bring wisdom.
This is why we must struggle with philotimo and much
humility. Otherwise, instead of doing us good, our efforts will bring the
opposite result. When our mind becomes muddled and we end up saying blasphemous
things, it's because we acted with egoism. This is something that we cannot
control. Even an educated man runs the risk of being harmed, when attempting to
interpret the dogmas of the Church, let alone an uneducated person who tries to
penetrate into the patristic spirit without having reached a spiritual state!
For, if he had reached even a low level in the spiritual state, he would not
have tried in the first place. He would have thought, "If I should need
something, God will send His light. In the meantime, let me practice the many things
I already understand. That should keep me busy!"
- In other words, Geronda, lack of humility and piety
leads people to misinterpret the Gospel? — That's right; because, when humility
is missing, the interpretations we are likely to give are the product of logical
reasoning alone; they lack divine illumination.
- When we
do not understand something, should we leave it for later?
- Yes. We
must say, "It says something good here, but I do not understand it."
This is exactly what I did. When I was reading the Gospel, as a young man, and
did not understand something, I did not try to interpret it. I would say to
myself, "It says something good here, but I do not understand it."
Later, I would realize that, when an interpretation was needed, it would come
to me instantly. But then again I would say, "Let me ask someone else how
this should be interpreted." It would turn out to be exactly the way I had
understood it. It is great impudence for someone to try to interpret the
Gospel, especially if he does not understand it. This is why, when you study
the Gospel, you should not attempt to interpret it with your mind; instead,
cultivate good thoughts until divine illumination brings you discernment.
Things will then become clear on their own, with no effort from you.
- Can we
understand something at a deeper level When
we have a better spiritual state?
- Not at a
deeper level. One divine truth has many divine meanings. Some may be understood
now and some later. A person may study for years and learn a lot, and yet he may
not be able to grasp the meaning of the Gospel. By contrast, someone else who
does not study much, but has humility and an ascetic spirit, can come to a true
under-standing because his mind is illumined by God. Moreover, if we wish to
study more, our motive may be vainglory or pleasure, not unlike that of a
person who watches wrestling and is constantly checking his watch because he
wants to catch as many games as possible. You see, he is enjoying wrestling but
does not wish to learn anythingabout it. Not only will he never become a
wrestler but he will remain nothing more than a spectator.
- Geronda, people often call the educated person a
"cultivated person". Is this always true? - When we say that someone
is a "cultivated person" we mean that he is a person who is
cultivated spiritually, a spiritually mature person. I have noticed that among
uneducated people there are some who are very proud and others who are very
humble. It's the same among the educated; some are very proud and others are
very humble. In other words, what makes the difference is how cultivated one is
in spiritual terms. This is why Saint Basil the Great says, "The most
important thing is to hold a high position and have a humble disposition."
A person who has reached an important position in life may be justified to feel
a bit proud about it; but someone who has not, has no excuse. What really
matters is that we are cultivated within. If in addition to that, one is also
educated and has a humble disposition, then, this is the best of all worlds.
But to not be highly educated and yet to think highly of ourselves, well...
that's inexcusable.
"Knowledge Puffs Up"
When only the outer man is educated, education proves
to be harmful, because it gives rise to an inflated idea of self. This idea
then becomes a barrier that prevents the Grace of God from coming close to us.
But when we put away our false view of self-importance, then God, Who is a
Benevolent and Generous Father, will enrich us with
His divine and luminous ideas. Those, by contrast, who are not willing to
give up their sense of self-importance, certainly have a brain and a body but
they lack the Grace of God, the Holy Spirit. In other words, there is a danger
that too much knowledge may inflate the head and turn it into an air balloon
that may either explode in mid air (from
schizophrenia) or break up into pieces (from pride). This is the reason why
knowledge should proceed with fear of God and in alignment with action; it
should be balanced. When these elements are missing, knowledge will only cause
harm.
When egoism takes charge and I start talking so that
others will admire my reasoning skills, then spiritual laws go into effect that
help me come to. my senses. But when this happens constantly, the outcome is
not good. If a' small piece of hair falls into the eye, it will cause a minor
irritation. But if it happens all the time, the irritation will be serious.
This is what happens with spiritual irritation. When we are smart and do our
work with ease, we must fall apart before God, thanking Him day and night that
He has given us this ability, and we can work without getting tired. How could
we not do that?
- Geronda, what if a person believes that he is not
capable of achieving anything?
- Then that person is being tempted by the devil from
the opposite side. The camel was once asked, "Do you like going uphill
better than going downhill?" And the camel answered, "Why, can't I go
on the straight and level path?"
Those who happen to have a weak mind fare better. God
has given us brains so that we may have a better life. But look what we have
done with this gift. One day we will have to answer to Him. God's providence is
active everywhere! Those who are not very bright can be happy here and happier
in the next life, while those who are very bright have nothing but problems.
- Geronda,
will the mentally impaired be well in the next life? Will they have a normal
mind?
- No
matter how much mind one carries, lots of it or just a small amount, in the end
it will turn into pulp. When it reaches Heaven the mind will become
intellect.11 In Heaven, the theologian Saints and the mentally impaired will
not differ in their knowledge of God. God may even be more generous to the
latter, because they were de¬prived of so many things in this life.
We Must Put Our Mind to Good Use
- Why
then, Geronda, do you often say that education is an advantage in the monastic
life?
- Look, an
educated person may take a work of the Fathers and, with only a little effort
make great progress, because for him the text is easy to understand. An
uneducated person, by contrast, especially if he is not pious, will have a hard
time with it. He needs to have lived a spiritual life and have some experience
of divine things, so that through them, he can understand what he is reading.
Now take the educated person. All he needs to advance is a little effort,
provided that his mind does its job and does not get absorbed in theory. I am
not, however, suggesting that he should try to know the mysteries of God by his
mind.
- In other
words, Geronda, we should use our mind against the passions?
- Not only that, but more generally, we should take notice
of God's beneficence and of the universe all around us and give Him thanks and
praise. You see, it was Abraham that first sought God, not the other way
around.
- What do
you mean?
-Abraham's father was a pagan; he worshipped idols.
But Abraham saw the universe and was puzzled that his people were worshipping
inanimate idols. So he put his mind-to work: "It's not possible," he
thought "that these soulless things, these pieces of wood are divine, and
creators of this universe. Who made the sky, the stars and the sun? I must find
the true God and once I do, I will believe and worship only Him." Then God
came and revealed Himself to Abraham and said, Go from your country and your
kindred and your father s house to the land that I will show you.12 And He led
him to Hebron and made him a favourite son. You see an educated person will
advance even without piety; all that he needs is a little humility and to
engage in spiritual work. Take for instance, the time that I served in radio
communications in the army. When I got there, I realized that some codes were
written in English. Those who were educated and knew some English could
understand them right away, but the rest of us had difficulty. The same was
true of the theoretical subjects we were being taught. The educated among us
understood them readily, because they had the foundation, but the rest of us
again had a hard time following.
We must get to know the beneficence of God; we must
understand what has been given to us. Why did God give us a mind? So that we
may examine, study and observe ourselves and everything around us. God did not
give us a mind so that we may constantly spend our time figuring out how to
find the fastest means of transportation from one country to another. He gave
us a mind because He wants us to preoccupy ourselves with the most important
thing: how to reach our true destination, how to get close to God, to what is
our one true country, Paradise.
How much good has God done for the people of ancient
Israel! What signs!
What events! But when Moses was late in coming down from
Mount Sinai with the tablets and the Ten Commandments, the people gave their
golden jewellery to make a golden image of a calf and went on to worship
it. It's difficult to find people with a
calf's mind in our days. This is why an educated man who cannot tell right from
wrong cannot be justified. God gave us a mind so that we can search for our
Creator. The Europeans have bewildered the human mind; they are confused and
going downhill because they have taken God out of their lives.
Then there are those who, while they have all the
advantages to get ahead - a good and sharp mind and so on - fail to pay
attention to what you tell them.
The moment you try to give them a hint, they
interrupt you, "Yes, I understand," they say, and then rush to
complete your sentence. Among the young men who come to the Holy Mountain,
there are some who are very intelligent. They seem to understand everything you
tell them, but in reality they get nothing, because they are not paying
attention. Those who are not as bright actually fare better since they pay
attention, they wait prudently to hear what you have to say next, and this way
they retain what they hear. Then, there are those who understand a lot, collect
pieces of advice from here and there, but in the end, do nothing at all with
it. They scatter and waste the mind that God has given them. They are full of
pride, and they don't allow the Grace of God to come over them. By contrast,
others who are not as bright come and humble themselves. "I am not very
smart," they tell me, "do you mind repeating what you said?" And
once they understand, they try to put the advice you give them to practice.
That is why they are filled with Grace and they make progress in their
spiritual life. Ahumble person is usually well-learned; but an egoist finds it
so hard to humble himself by asking a question, that he never learns anything.
Saint Arsenios the Great was the most educated man in the Byzantine Empire. The
Emperor Theodosios the Great had him as a tutor to his children, Arkadios and
Honorios. But when he went to the desert to become a monk, he sat at the feet
of Abba Macarios, who was illiterate, and Arsenios used to say of him, "I
do not know even the alphabet of this man"!'
- Geronda, how can we avoid examining everything only
with our mind?
- Man has to make good use of his mind. He must put it
to work for the grandeur of God, to seek God. He must not make his mind a god.
Those who are bright should . be advanced spiritually. One quick look and they
understand. When we make good use of our mind, we can be of great help to
others; otherwise, we can cause them great pain. I have in mind some cases
among lay people.
I once knew a little boy who had three little
brothers. They lost their father, and their mother got married again. The
little orphans never had any love either from their mother or their step
father. So this little boy grew up and he opened a store and he started making
a living. One day he heard that someone died and left behind three orphans. He
felt compassion for the children and said to the widow, "Will you marry me
and live with me like a sister to protect .these children?" She accepted and
now they are living together a very spiritual life, reading the Lives of the
Saints, the Philokalia and visiting Monasteries. They also have a Spiritual
Father who guides them. This young man had the right thought and did the right
thing, and thus he received divine Grace. Otherwise, the devil would have told
him, "This is your chance to make these orphans suffer as you suffered
when you were a child." He did not look to take revenge with malice, but
"retaliated" with kindness. Some people will use their mind for good
and invent good things; others, prompted by the devil, put them to work in
order to destroy and harm.
We can see this in the case of Cain and Abel.15 Did
God create Abel one way and Cain another? No; but Abel took the mind that God
gave him and used it the right way. He thought, "God has given me an
entire flock; how can I deny Him a little lamb?" So he goes and kills the
best lamb he had and offered it as a sacrifice to God. Now, Cain took wheat
filled with straw and offered it to God. One of them offered to God the best
lamb, while the other offered useless straw. Fine! Let's say that you ido not
want to offer a lamb; offer at least some clean and pure wheat. Well, that's
not what he does, unfortunately. He takes wheat and straw and puts it on the
fire. Compare the two offerings! God was pleased with Abel's sacrifice. So Cain
became jealous and killed his brother. And then God took Abel with Him in
Paradise, while Cain was left wandering in the woods like a wild beast. Of
course, God gave both of them the same freedom, but only Abel used it the right
way.
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