Knjiga Urantije
DIO IV. Isusov život i učenja
POGLAVLJE 133 : POVRATAK IZ RIMA
Paper 133
The Return from Rome
The Return from Rome
KADA se spremao napustiti Rim, Isus se nije pozdravio ni s jednim od svojih prijatelja. Pisar iz Damaska pojavio se u Rimu bez najave i nestao na isti način. Prošla je puna godina prije nego što su oni koji su ga poznavali i voljeli izgubili nadu da će ga ponovno vidjeti. Pred kraj druge godine male skupine onih koji su ga poznavali počele su se okupljati, privučene zajedničkim zanimanjem za njegova učenja i međusobnim sjećanjem na lijepe trenutke koje su s njim proveli. Te male skupine stoika, cinika i pripadnika misterijskih kultova nastavile su održavati svoje neredovite i neformalne sastanke sve do pojave prvih propovjednika kršćanske religije u Rimu.
133:0.1 (1468.1)
WHEN preparing to leave Rome, Jesus said good-bye to none of his friends. The scribe of Damascus appeared in Rome without announcement and disappeared in like manner. It was a full year before those who knew and loved him gave up hope of seeing him again. Before the end of the second year small groups of those who had known him found themselves drawn together by their common interest in his teachings and through mutual memory of their good times with him. And these small groups of Stoics, Cynics, and mystery cultists continued to hold these irregular and informal meetings right up to the time of the appearance in Rome of the first preachers of the Christian religion.
Gonod i Ganid kupili su toliko robe u Aleksandriji i Rimu da su sav svoj prtljag poslali unaprijed teretnom povorkom do Tarenta, dok su trojica putnika ležerno putovala kroz Italiju velikim Apijevim putem. Na tom su putovanju susreli svakojake ljude. Uz cestu su živjeli mnogi plemeniti rimski građani i grčki kolonisti, ali već su se počeli pojavljivati potomci velikog broja inferiornih robova.
133:0.2 (1468.2)
Gonod and Ganid had purchased so many things in Alexandria and Rome that they sent all their belongings on ahead by pack train to Tarentum, while the three travelers walked leisurely across Italy over the great Appian Way. On this journey they encountered all sorts of human beings. Many noble Roman citizens and Greek colonists lived along this road, but already the progeny of great numbers of inferior slaves were beginning to make their appearance.
Jednom prilikom, dok su zastali na ručku otprilike na pola puta do Tarenta, Ganid je izravno upitao Isusa što misli o indijskom kastinskom sustavu. Isus je rekao: „Iako se ljudska bića međusobno razlikuju na mnogo načina, pred Bogom i u duhovnom svijetu svi smrtnici stoje na istoj razini. U Božjim očima postoje samo dvije skupine smrtnika: oni koji žele vršiti njegovu volju i oni koji to ne žele. Kada svemir promatra naseljeni svijet, on također razaznaje samo dvije velike klase: one koji poznaju Boga i one koji ga ne poznaju. Oni koji nisu sposobni poznavati Boga ubrajaju se među životinje bilo kojeg svijeta. Čovječanstvo se s pravom može podijeliti u mnoge klase prema različitim sposobnostima, kako ih se može promatrati s fizičkog, umnog, društvenog, stručnog ili moralnog gledišta, ali kada se te različite klase smrtnika pojave pred Božjim sudom, one stoje na istoj razini; Bog doista nije pristran prema osobama. Iako ne možete izbjeći priznavanje različitih ljudskih sposobnosti i darova u intelektualnim, društvenim i moralnim pitanjima, ne smijete praviti takve razlike u duhovnom bratstvu ljudi kada se okupljaju radi štovanja u Božjoj nazočnosti.“
133:0.3 (1468.3)
One day while resting at lunch, about halfway to Tarentum, Ganid asked Jesus a direct question as to what he thought of India’s caste system. Said Jesus: “Though human beings differ in many ways, the one from another, before God and in the spiritual world all mortals stand on an equal footing. There are only two groups of mortals in the eyes of God: those who desire to do his will and those who do not. As the universe looks upon an inhabited world, it likewise discerns two great classes: those who know God and those who do not. Those who cannot know God are reckoned among the animals of any given realm. Mankind can appropriately be divided into many classes in accordance with differing qualifications, as they may be viewed physically, mentally, socially, vocationally, or morally, but as these different classes of mortals appear before the judgment bar of God, they stand on an equal footing; God is truly no respecter of persons. Although you cannot escape the recognition of differential human abilities and endowments in matters intellectual, social, and moral, you should make no such distinctions in the spiritual brotherhood of men when assembled for worship in the presence of God.”
Vrlo zanimljiv događaj odigrao se jednog poslijepodneva uz cestu dok su se približavali Tarentu. Primijetili su grubog i nasilnog mladića kako okrutno napada slabijeg dječaka. Isus je požurio pomoći napadnutom dječaku i, nakon što ga je spasio, čvrsto je zadržao nasilnika sve dok dječak nije uspio pobjeći. Čim je Isus pustio mladog nasilnika, Ganid je skočio na njega i počeo ga žestoko tući, a na Ganidovo zaprepaštenje Isus se odmah umiješao. Nakon što je zaustavio Ganida i dopustio prestrašenom dječaku da pobjegne, mladić je, čim je došao do daha, uzbuđeno uzviknuo: „Ne mogu te razumjeti, Učitelju. Ako milosrđe zahtijeva da spasiš slabijeg dječaka, zar pravda ne zahtijeva kažnjavanje većeg i krivog mladića?“ Isus je odgovorio:
133:1.1 (1468.4)
A very interesting incident occurred one afternoon by the roadside as they neared Tarentum. They observed a rough and bullying youth brutally attacking a smaller lad. Jesus hastened to the assistance of the assaulted youth, and when he had rescued him, he tightly held on to the offender until the smaller lad had made his escape. The moment Jesus released the little bully, Ganid pounced upon the boy and began soundly to thrash him, and to Ganid’s astonishment Jesus promptly interfered. After he had restrained Ganid and permitted the frightened boy to escape, the young man, as soon as he got his breath, excitedly exclaimed: “I cannot understand you, Teacher. If mercy requires that you rescue the smaller lad, does not justice demand the punishment of the larger and offending youth?” In answering, Jesus said:
„ Ganide, doista ne razumiješ. Služba milosrđa uvijek je djelo pojedinca, dok je kažnjavanje pravdom funkcija društvenih, državnih ili svemirskih upravnih skupina. Kao pojedinac dužan sam pokazati milosrđe; moram priskočiti u pomoć napadnutom dječaku i, dosljedno tome, mogu upotrijebiti dovoljnu silu da obuzdam agresora. Upravo sam to i učinio. Omogućio sam oslobođenje napadnutog dječaka; time je završila služba milosrđa. Zatim sam prisilno zadržao agresora dovoljno dugo da slabija strana u sukobu uspije pobjeći, nakon čega sam se povukao iz tog događaja. Nisam nastavio suditi agresoru i tako prosuđivati njegov motiv — nisam odlučivao o svemu što je dovelo do njegova napada na bližnjega — niti sam potom pokušao izvršiti kaznu koju bi moj um mogao smatrati pravednom naknadom za njegovo nedjelo. Ganide, milosrđe može biti obilno, ali pravda je precizna. Zar ne možeš shvatiti da se dvije osobe teško mogu složiti oko kazne koja bi zadovoljila zahtjeve pravde? Jedna bi odredila četrdeset udaraca bičem, druga dvadeset, dok bi još jedna smatrala samicu pravednom kaznom. Zar ne vidiš da je na ovom svijetu bolje da takve odgovornosti pripadnu skupini ili da ih obavljaju izabrani predstavnici skupine? U svemiru je sud povjeren onima koji u potpunosti poznaju prethodne okolnosti svakog nedjela kao i njegove pobude. U civiliziranom društvu i organiziranom svemiru provođenje pravde pretpostavlja donošenje pravedne presude nakon pravičnog suđenja, a takve su povlastice povjerene pravosudnim skupinama svjetova i sveznajućim upraviteljima viših svemira cijele tvorevine.“
133:1.2 (1469.1)
“Ganid, it is true, you do not understand. Mercy ministry is always the work of the individual, but justice punishment is the function of the social, governmental, or universe administrative groups. As an individual I am beholden to show mercy; I must go to the rescue of the assaulted lad, and in all consistency I may employ sufficient force to restrain the aggressor. And that is just what I did. I achieved the deliverance of the assaulted lad; that was the end of mercy ministry. Then I forcibly detained the aggressor a sufficient length of time to enable the weaker party to the dispute to make his escape, after which I withdrew from the affair. I did not proceed to sit in judgment on the aggressor, thus to pass upon his motive—to adjudicate all that entered into his attack upon his fellow—and then undertake to execute the punishment which my mind might dictate as just recompense for his wrongdoing. Ganid, mercy may be lavish, but justice is precise. Cannot you discern that no two persons are likely to agree as to the punishment which would satisfy the demands of justice? One would impose forty lashes, another twenty, while still another would advise solitary confinement as a just punishment. Can you not see that on this world such responsibilities had better rest upon the group or be administered by chosen representatives of the group? In the universe, judgment is vested in those who fully know the antecedents of all wrongdoing as well as its motivation. In civilized society and in an organized universe the administration of justice presupposes the passing of just sentence consequent upon fair judgment, and such prerogatives are vested in the juridical groups of the worlds and in the all-knowing administrators of the higher universes of all creation.”
Danima su razgovarali o ovom pitanju iskazivanja milosti i provođenja pravde. Ganid je, barem u određenoj mjeri, razumio zašto se Isus nije želio upuštati u osobnu borbu. Ali Ganid je postavio još jedno pitanje, na koje nikada nije dobio potpuno zadovoljavajući odgovor; to je pitanje glasilo: ‘Ali, Učitelju, ako bi te neko snažnije biće nagle naravi napalo i zaprijetilo da će te uništiti, što bi učinio? Zar se uopće ne bi pokušao obraniti?’ Iako Isus nije mogao potpuno i zadovoljavajuće odgovoriti na mladićevo pitanje, budući da mu nije bio spreman otkriti da je on (Isus) živio na zemlji kao očitovanje ljubavi Rajskog Oca pred svemirom koji ga je promatrao, ipak mu je rekao ovo:
133:1.3 (1469.2)
For days they talked about this problem of manifesting mercy and administering justice. And Ganid, at least to some extent, understood why Jesus would not engage in personal combat. But Ganid asked one last question, to which he never received a fully satisfactory answer; and that question was: “But, Teacher, if a stronger and ill-tempered creature should attack you and threaten to destroy you, what would you do? Would you make no effort to defend yourself?” Although Jesus could not fully and satisfactorily answer the lad’s question, inasmuch as he was not willing to disclose to him that he (Jesus) was living on earth as the exemplification of the Paradise Father’s love to an onlooking universe, he did say this much:
„Ganide, dobro razumijem kako te neka od ovih pitanja zbunjuju i nastojat ću odgovoriti na tvoje pitanje. Prije svega, u svim napadima koji bi mogli biti usmjereni protiv mene, utvrdio bih je li napadač sin Božji — moj brat u tijelu — i ako bih smatrao da takvo biće nema moralni sud ni duhovni razum, bez oklijevanja bih se branio do pune mjere svojih obrambenih sposobnosti, bez obzira na posljedice za napadača. Ali ne bih tako napao svoga bližnjega koji ima status Božjeg sinovstva, čak ni u samoobrani. To jest, ne bih ga unaprijed kažnjavao i bez presude za njegov napad na mene. Svakim mogućim sredstvom nastojao bih ga spriječiti i odvratiti od takvog napada te ga ublažiti ako ga ne bih uspio spriječiti. Ganide, imam potpuno povjerenje u skrb moga nebeskog Oca; posvećen sam vršenju volje svoga Oca na nebu. Ne vjerujem da me može zadesiti stvarna šteta; ne vjerujem da moje životno djelo može biti doista ugroženo bilo čime što bi mi moji neprijatelji mogli nanijeti, a zasigurno se nemamo čega bojati od nasilja naših prijatelja. Potpuno sam uvjeren da je cijeli svemir prijateljski naklonjen prema meni — ovu moćnu istinu ustrajno vjerujem sa svesrdnim povjerenjem unatoč svim prividima koji joj proturječe.”
133:1.4 (1469.3)
“Ganid, I can well understand how some of these problems perplex you, and I will endeavor to answer your question. First, in all attacks which might be made upon my person, I would determine whether or not the aggressor was a son of God—my brother in the flesh—and if I thought such a creature did not possess moral judgment and spiritual reason, I would unhesitatingly defend myself to the full capacity of my powers of resistance, regardless of consequences to the attacker. But I would not thus assault a fellow man of sonship status, even in self-defense. That is, I would not punish him in advance and without judgment for his assault upon me. I would by every possible artifice seek to prevent and dissuade him from making such an attack and to mitigate it in case of my failure to abort it. Ganid, I have absolute confidence in my heavenly Father’s overcare; I am consecrated to doing the will of my Father in heaven. I do not believe that real harm can befall me; I do not believe that my lifework can really be jeopardized by anything my enemies might wish to visit upon me, and surely we have no violence to fear from our friends. I am absolutely assured that the entire universe is friendly to me—this all-powerful truth I insist on believing with a wholehearted trust in spite of all appearances to the contrary.”
Ali Ganid ipak nije bio potpuno zadovoljan. Mnogo su puta razgovarali o tim pitanjima, a Isus mu je ispričao neka svoja iskustva iz dječačke dobi, kao i o Jakovu, klesarevu sinu. Kad je doznao kako je Jakov sam preuzeo ulogu Isusova branitelja, Ganid je rekao: „Oh, sada počinjem shvaćati! Prije svega, normalno ljudsko biće vrlo rijetko bi poželjelo napasti tako dobrodušnu osobu kao što si ti, a čak i kad bi netko bio toliko nepromišljen da to učini, gotovo je sigurno da će u blizini biti neki drugi smrtnik koji će ti priskočiti u pomoć, baš kao što ti uvijek priskačeš u pomoć svakome koga vidiš u nevolji. U svom srcu, Učitelju, slažem se s tobom, ali u svojoj glavi još uvijek mislim da bih, da sam bio Jakov, uživao kazniti one drske momke koji su se usudili napasti te samo zato što su mislili da se nećeš braniti. Pretpostavljam da si prilično siguran na svom životnom putu, budući da toliko vremena posvećuješ pomaganju drugima i služenju svojim bližnjima u nevolji — pa, vjerojatno će uvijek biti netko tko će ti priskočiti u pomoć.“ Isus je odgovorio: „Ta kušnja još nije došla, Ganide, a kad dođe, morat ćemo se povesti prema Očevoj volji.“ I to je bilo gotovo sve što je mladić mogao izvući od svog učitelja o ovoj teškoj temi samoobrane i neodupiranja. Jednom drugom prilikom ipak je od Isusa dobio mišljenje da organizirano društvo ima puno pravo primjenjivati silu pri izvršavanju svojih pravednih odredbi.
133:1.5 (1470.1)
But Ganid was not fully satisfied. Many times they talked over these matters, and Jesus told him some of his boyhood experiences and also about Jacob the stone mason’s son. On learning how Jacob appointed himself to defend Jesus, Ganid said: “Oh, I begin to see! In the first place very seldom would any normal human being want to attack such a kindly person as you, and even if anyone should be so unthinking as to do such a thing, there is pretty sure to be near at hand some other mortal who will fly to your assistance, even as you always go to the rescue of any person you observe to be in distress. In my heart, Teacher, I agree with you, but in my head I still think that if I had been Jacob, I would have enjoyed punishing those rude fellows who presumed to attack you just because they thought you would not defend yourself. I presume you are fairly safe in your journey through life since you spend much of your time helping others and ministering to your fellows in distress—well, most likely there’ll always be someone on hand to defend you.” And Jesus replied: “That test has not yet come, Ganid, and when it does, we will have to abide by the Father’s will.” And that was about all the lad could get his teacher to say on this difficult subject of self-defense and nonresistance. On another occasion he did draw from Jesus the opinion that organized society had every right to employ force in the execution of its just mandates.
Dok su čekali da se na pristaništu istovari teret s broda, putnici su opazili čovjeka kako zlostavlja svoju ženu. Isus je, kao što je običavao, intervenirao u korist osobe koja je bila izložena napadu. Prišao je razjarenom mužu s leđa, lagano mu dotaknuo rame i rekao: „Moj prijatelju, mogu li nakratko razgovarati s tobom nasamo?“ Razjareni čovjek bio je zbunjen takvim pristupom i nakon trenutka neugodnog oklijevanja promucao je: „Er — zašto — da, što želiš sa mnom?“ Kad ga je Isus poveo u stranu, rekao je: „Moj prijatelju, vidim da ti se moralo dogoditi nešto strašno; veoma bih volio da mi kažeš što se moglo dogoditi tako snažnom čovjeku da ga navede da napadne svoju ženu, majku svoje djece, i to ovdje pred svima. Siguran sam da smatraš kako imaš dobar razlog za ovaj napad. Što je ta žena učinila da zasluži takvo postupanje od svoga muža? Dok te gledam, čini mi se da na tvom licu vidim ljubav prema pravdi, ako ne i želju za iskazivanjem milosti. Usuđujem se reći da bi, kad bi me na putu napali razbojnici, bez oklijevanja pohitao da mi pomogneš. Rekao bih da si tijekom života već učinio mnoga takva hrabra djela. Sada mi, prijatelju, reci u čemu je stvar. Je li žena učinila nešto pogrešno, ili si ti nerazborito izgubio kontrolu nad sobom i nepromišljeno je napao?“ Nije toliko ono što je Isus rekao dirnulo srce ovog čovjeka, koliko ljubazan pogled i suosjećajni osmijeh kojim je popratio svoje riječi. Čovjek je rekao: „Vidim da si svećenik cinika i zahvalan sam ti što si me zaustavio. Moja žena nije učinila ništa ozbiljno pogrešno; ona je dobra žena, ali me razdražuje načinom na koji me javno kori, pa izgubim živce. Žao mi je zbog nedostatka samokontrole i obećavam da ću nastojati živjeti u skladu s obećanjem koje sam prije mnogo godina dao jednom od tvoje braće, koji me poučio boljem putu. To ti obećavam.“
133:2.1 (1470.2)
While tarrying at the ship landing, waiting for the boat to unload cargo, the travelers observed a man mistreating his wife. As was his custom, Jesus intervened in behalf of the person subjected to attack. He stepped up behind the irate husband and, tapping him gently on the shoulder, said: “My friend, may I speak with you in private for a moment?” The angry man was nonplused by such an approach and, after a moment of embarrassing hesitation, stammered out—“er—why—yes, what do you want with me?” When Jesus had led him to one side, he said: “My friend, I perceive that something terrible must have happened to you; I very much desire that you tell me what could happen to such a strong man to lead him to attack his wife, the mother of his children, and that right out here before all eyes. I am sure you must feel that you have some good reason for this assault. What did the woman do to deserve such treatment from her husband? As I look upon you, I think I discern in your face the love of justice if not the desire to show mercy. I venture to say that, if you found me out by the wayside, attacked by robbers, you would unhesitatingly rush to my rescue. I dare say you have done many such brave things in the course of your life. Now, my friend, tell me what is the matter? Did the woman do something wrong, or did you foolishly lose your head and thoughtlessly assault her?” It was not so much what he said that touched this man’s heart as the kindly look and the sympathetic smile which Jesus bestowed upon him at the conclusion of his remarks. Said the man: “I perceive you are a priest of the Cynics, and I am thankful you restrained me. My wife has done no great wrong; she is a good woman, but she irritates me by the manner in which she picks on me in public, and I lose my temper. I am sorry for my lack of self-control, and I promise to try to live up to my former pledge to one of your brothers who taught me the better way many years ago. I promise you.”
A zatim, dok se opraštao od njega, Isus je rekao: „Moj brate, uvijek imaj na umu da čovjek nema nikakvu opravdanu vlast nad ženom, osim ako mu žena svojevoljno i dobrovoljno ne povjeri takvu vlast. Tvoja je supruga pristala ići s tobom kroz život, pomoći ti u njegovim bitkama i preuzeti daleko veći dio tereta rađanja i odgoja tvoje djece; a u zamjenu za tu posebnu službu jedino je pravedno da od tebe primi onu posebnu zaštitu koju muškarac može pružiti ženi kao partnerici koja mora nositi, rađati i njegovati djecu. Ljubav koja se ispoljava kao briga i obzirnost što si ih spreman iskazivati svojoj ženi i djeci mjera su tvoga postignuća viših razina kreativne i duhovne samosvijesti. Zar ne znaš da su muškarci i žene Božji partneri u tome što surađuju u stvaranju bića koja odrastanjem stječu potencijal besmrtne duše? Otac na nebu tretira Duh-Majku djece svemira kao sebi ravnopravnu. Božansko je dijeliti svoj život i sve što mu pripada pod jednakim uvjetima s majkom-partnericom koja s tobom u potpunosti dijeli to božansko iskustvo reproduciranja samih sebe u životima svoje djece. Kad bi samo mogao voljeti svoju djecu onako kako Bog voli tebe, tada bi volio i njegovao svoju ženu onako kako Otac na nebu časti i uzvisuje Beskonačni Duh, majku sve djece duha prostranog svemira.“
133:2.2 (1471.1)
And then, in bidding him farewell, Jesus said: “My brother, always remember that man has no rightful authority over woman unless the woman has willingly and voluntarily given him such authority. Your wife has engaged to go through life with you, to help you fight its battles, and to assume the far greater share of the burden of bearing and rearing your children; and in return for this special service it is only fair that she receive from you that special protection which man can give to woman as the partner who must carry, bear, and nurture the children. The loving care and consideration which a man is willing to bestow upon his wife and their children are the measure of that man’s attainment of the higher levels of creative and spiritual self-consciousness. Do you not know that men and women are partners with God in that they co-operate to create beings who grow up to possess themselves of the potential of immortal souls? The Father in heaven treats the Spirit Mother of the children of the universe as one equal to himself. It is Godlike to share your life and all that relates thereto on equal terms with the mother partner who so fully shares with you that divine experience of reproducing yourselves in the lives of your children. If you can only love your children as God loves you, you will love and cherish your wife as the Father in heaven honors and exalts the Infinite Spirit, the mother of all the spirit children of a vast universe.”
133:2.3 (1471.2)
As they went on board the boat, they looked back upon the scene of the teary-eyed couple standing in silent embrace. Having heard the latter half of Jesus’ message to the man, Gonod was all day occupied with meditations thereon, and he resolved to reorganize his home when he returned to India.
Putovanje do Nikopola bilo je ugodno, ali sporo jer vjetar nije bio povoljan. Trojica su putnika provela mnoge sate prepričavajući svoja iskustva iz Rima i prisjećajući se svega što im se dogodilo otkako su se prvi put susreli u Jeruzalemu. Ganid je sve više bio prožet duhom osobne službe. Počeo je služiti upravitelju broda, ali je drugog dana, nakon što je zagazio u duboke vjerske vode, pozvao Jošuu da mu pomogne.
133:2.4 (1471.3)
The journey to Nicopolis was pleasant but slow as the wind was not favorable. The three spent many hours recounting their experiences in Rome and reminiscing about all that had happened to them since they first met in Jerusalem. Ganid was becoming imbued with the spirit of personal ministry. He began work on the steward of the ship, but on the second day, when he got into deep religious water, he called on Joshua to help him out.
Proveli su nekoliko dana u Nikopolu, gradu koji je August osnovao prije nekih pedeset godina kao „grad pobjede” u spomen na bitku kod Akcija; to je bilo mjesto gdje se utaborio sa svojom vojskom prije bitke. Boravili su u kući nekog Jeremije, grčkog obraćenika na židovsku vjeru, kojeg su upoznali na brodu. Apostol Pavao proveo je cijelu zimu sa sinom Jeremijinim u istoj toj kući tijekom svog trećeg misionarskog putovanja. Iz Nikopola su plovili istim brodom u Korint, glavni grad rimske provincije Ahaje.
133:2.5 (1471.4)
They spent several days at Nicopolis, the city which Augustus had founded some fifty years before as the “city of victory” in commemoration of the battle of Actium, this site being the land whereon he camped with his army before the battle. They lodged in the home of one Jeramy, a Greek proselyte of the Jewish faith, whom they had met on shipboard. The Apostle Paul spent all winter with the son of Jeramy in the same house in the course of his third missionary journey. From Nicopolis they sailed on the same boat for Corinth, the capital of the Roman province of Achaia.
U vrijeme kad su stigli u Korint, Ganid je postajao sve više zainteresiran za židovsku religiju, pa nije bilo čudno što je jednoga dana, dok su prolazili pokraj sinagoge i vidjeli ljude kako ulaze, zamolio Isusa da ga povede na službu. Tog su dana čuli izlaganje jednog učenog rabina o „Sudbini Izraela”, a nakon službe upoznali su Krispa, nadstojnika te sinagoge. Mnogo su se puta vraćali na službe u sinagogi, ali uglavnom zato da bi se susreli s Krispom. Ganidu su veoma prirasli srcu Krisp, njegova žena i njihova obitelj s petero djece. Posebno je uživao promatrajući kako ovaj Židov vodi svoj obiteljski život.
133:3.1 (1471.5)
By the time they reached Corinth, Ganid was becoming very much interested in the Jewish religion, and so it was not strange that, one day as they passed the synagogue and saw the people going in, he requested Jesus to take him to the service. That day they heard a learned rabbi discourse on the “Destiny of Israel,” and after the service they met one Crispus, the chief ruler of this synagogue. Many times they went back to the synagogue services, but chiefly to meet Crispus. Ganid grew to be very fond of Crispus, his wife, and their family of five children. He much enjoyed observing how a Jew conducted his family life.
Dok je Ganid proučavao obiteljski život, Isus je poučavao Krispa boljim načinima religioznog života. Isus je održao više od dvadeset susreta s tim Židovom otvorena uma; i nije čudo što je, godinama poslije, kada je Pavao propovijedao upravo u toj sinagogi, kada su Židovi odbacili njegovu poruku i izglasali da mu zabrane daljnje propovijedanje u sinagogi, te kada se on tada okrenuo poganima, Krisp sa cijelom svojom obitelji prihvatio novu religiju i postao jedan od glavnih oslonaca kršćanske crkve koju je Pavao kasnije organizirao u Korintu.
133:3.2 (1472.1)
While Ganid studied family life, Jesus was teaching Crispus the better ways of religious living. Jesus held more than twenty sessions with this forward-looking Jew; and it is not surprising, years afterward, when Paul was preaching in this very synagogue, and when the Jews had rejected his message and had voted to forbid his further preaching in the synagogue, and when he then went to the gentiles, that Crispus with his entire family embraced the new religion, and that he became one of the chief supports of the Christian church which Paul subsequently organized at Corinth.
U Korintu su upoznali ljude svih rasa koji su dolazili s triju kontinenata. Osim Aleksandrije i Rima, to je bio najkozmopolitskiji grad mediteranskog carstva. U ovom je gradu bilo mnogo toga što je privlačilo pažnju, a Ganidu nikada nije dosadilo posjećivati utvrdu koja je stajala gotovo dvije tisuće stopa iznad mora. Također je provodio mnogo svog slobodnog vremena u sinagogi i u domu Krispusa. Isprva je bio šokiran, a kasnije očaran položajem žene u židovskom domu; za ovog mladog Indijca to je bilo pravo otkriće.
133:3.4 (1472.3)
At Corinth they met people of every race hailing from three continents. Next to Alexandria and Rome, it was the most cosmopolitan city of the Mediterranean empire. There was much to attract one’s attention in this city, and Ganid never grew weary of visiting the citadel which stood almost two thousand feet above the sea. He also spent a great deal of his spare time about the synagogue and in the home of Crispus. He was at first shocked, and later on charmed, by the status of woman in the Jewish home; it was a revelation to this young Indian.
Isus i Ganid često su bili gosti u drugom židovskom domu, domu Justa, pobožnog trgovca koji je živio pokraj sinagoge. I mnogo je puta poslije, kada je apostol Pavao boravio u toj kući, slušao prepričavanja tih posjeta indijskom mladiću i njegovom židovskom učitelju, dok su se i Pavao i Just pitali što se dogodilo s tako mudrim i izvanrednim hebrejskim učiteljem.
133:3.5 (1472.4)
Jesus and Ganid were often guests in another Jewish home, that of Justus, a devout merchant, who lived alongside the synagogue. And many times, subsequently, when the Apostle Paul sojourned in this home, did he listen to the recounting of these visits with the Indian lad and his Jewish tutor, while both Paul and Justus wondered whatever became of such a wise and brilliant Hebrew teacher.
Dok su bili u Rimu, Ganid je primijetio da je Isus odbio pratiti ih u javna kupališta. Nekoliko puta poslije toga mladić je pokušao navesti Isusa da izrazi svoje mišljenje o odnosima među spolovima. Iako je odgovarao na mladićeva pitanja, nikada nije bio sklon opširnije raspravljati o tim temama. Jedne večeri, dok su šetali Korintom blizu mjesta gdje se zid utvrde spuštao prema moru, presrele su ih dvije javne žene. Ganid je usvojio ideju, i to s pravom, da je Isus bio čovjek visokih ideala i da se gnušao svega što je bilo nečisto ili što je imalo prizvuk zla; stoga im se oštro obratio i grubo im dao do znanja da odu. Kad je Isus to vidio, rekao je Ganidu: „Imaš dobru namjeru, ali nemoj se tako preuzetno obraćati djeci Božjoj, čak i ako su njegova zabludjela djeca. Tko smo mi da sudimo ovim ženama? Znaš li možda sve okolnosti koje su ih navele da pribjegnu takvim načinima stjecanja sredstava za život? Ostani ovdje sa mnom dok razgovaramo o tim stvarima.“ Kurtizane su bile zapanjene onim što je rekao čak i više nego Ganid.
133:3.6 (1472.5)
When in Rome, Ganid observed that Jesus refused to accompany them to the public baths. Several times afterward the young man sought to induce Jesus further to express himself in regard to the relations of the sexes. Though he would answer the lad’s questions, he never seemed disposed to discuss these subjects at great length. One evening as they strolled about Corinth out near where the wall of the citadel ran down to the sea, they were accosted by two public women. Ganid had imbibed the idea, and rightly, that Jesus was a man of high ideals, and that he abhorred everything which partook of uncleanness or savored of evil; accordingly he spoke sharply to these women and rudely motioned them away. When Jesus saw this, he said to Ganid: “You mean well, but you should not presume thus to speak to the children of God, even though they chance to be his erring children. Who are we that we should sit in judgment on these women? Do you happen to know all of the circumstances which led them to resort to such methods of obtaining a livelihood? Stop here with me while we talk about these matters.” The courtesans were astonished at what he said even more than was Ganid.
Dok su tako stajali na mjesečini, Isus je rekao: „U umu svakog ljudskog bića prebiva božanski duh, dar Oca na nebu. Ovaj dobri duh uvijek nastoji voditi nas Bogu, pomoći nam da pronađemo Boga i da ga upoznamo; ali u smrtnicima također postoje mnoge prirodne tjelesne sklonosti koje je Stvoritelj ondje stavio kako bi služile dobrobiti pojedinca i loze. Muškarci i žene često postanu zbunjeni u svojim nastojanjima da razumiju sami sebe i da se uhvate u koštac s mnogostrukim teškoćama zarađivanja za život u svijetu kojim u velikoj mjeri vladaju sebičnost i grijeh. Vidim, Ganide, da nijedna od ovih žena nije namjerno zla. Po njihovim licima mogu vidjeti da su iskusile mnogo tuge; mnogo su pretrpjele od strane naizgled okrutne sudbine; nisu namjerno izabrale ovakav način života; u malodušnosti koja je graničila s očajem predale su se pritisku trenutka i prihvatile ovaj neukusni način zarađivanja za život kao najbolji izlaz iz situacije koja im je djelovala beznadnom. Ganide, neki su ljudi uistinu zli u srcu; oni namjerno čine podla djela. No reci mi, kada pogledaš ova uplakana lica, vidiš li išta loše ili zlo?“ I kad je Isus zastao čekajući odgovor, Ganidov se glas prigušio i on je promucao: „Ne, Učitelju, ne vidim. Ispričavam se zbog svoje grubosti prema njima — molim njihov oprost.“ Isus je tada rekao: „A ja im u tvoje ime kažem da su ti oprostile, kao što u ime svojega Oca na nebu kažem da im je on oprostio. Sada svi pođite sa mnom u kuću jednog prijatelja, gdje ćemo se okrijepiti i planirati novi i bolji život koji je pred vama.“ Do tog trenutka začuđene žene nisu izgovorile ni riječ; pogledale su jedna drugu i šutke krenule za muškarcima.
133:3.7 (1472.6)
As they stood there in the moonlight, Jesus went on to say: “There lives within every human mind a divine spirit, the gift of the Father in heaven. This good spirit ever strives to lead us to God, to help us to find God and to know God; but also within mortals there are many natural physical tendencies which the Creator put there to serve the well-being of the individual and the race. Now, oftentimes, men and women become confused in their efforts to understand themselves and to grapple with the manifold difficulties of making a living in a world so largely dominated by selfishness and sin. I perceive, Ganid, that neither of these women is willfully wicked. I can tell by their faces that they have experienced much sorrow; they have suffered much at the hands of an apparently cruel fate; they have not intentionally chosen this sort of life; they have, in discouragement bordering on despair, surrendered to the pressure of the hour and accepted this distasteful means of obtaining a livelihood as the best way out of a situation that to them appeared hopeless. Ganid, some people are really wicked at heart; they deliberately choose to do mean things, but, tell me, as you look into these now tear-stained faces, do you see anything bad or wicked?” And as Jesus paused for his reply, Ganid’s voice choked up as he stammered out his answer: “No, Teacher, I do not. And I apologize for my rudeness to them—I crave their forgiveness.” Then said Jesus: “And I bespeak for them that they have forgiven you as I speak for my Father in heaven that he has forgiven them. Now all of you come with me to a friend’s house where we will seek refreshment and plan for the new and better life ahead.” Up to this time the amazed women had not uttered a word; they looked at each other and silently followed as the men led the way.
Zamislite iznenađenje Justusove žene kad se u ovaj kasni sat Isus pojavio s Ganidom i s ove dvije nepoznate žene, govoreći: „Oprostite što dolazimo u ovo doba, ali Ganid i ja želimo nešto prigristi i podijeliti s našim novim prijateljima, kojima je također potrebna okrjepa; a osim svega toga, dolazimo k vama s mišlju da ćete biti voljni posavjetovati se s nama o najboljem načinu da ovim ženama pomognemo započeti novi život. One vam mogu ispričati svoju priču, ali pretpostavljam da su mnogo propatile, a sama njihova prisutnost ovdje u vašoj kući svjedoči koliko iskreno čeznu upoznati dobre ljude i koliko će rado prihvatiti priliku da pokažu cijelom svijetu — pa čak i nebeskim anđelima — kakve hrabre i plemenite žene mogu postati.“
133:3.8 (1473.1)
Imagine the surprise of Justus’ wife when, at this late hour, Jesus appeared with Ganid and these two strangers, saying: “You will forgive us for coming at this hour, but Ganid and I desire a bite to eat, and we would share it with these our new-found friends, who are also in need of nourishment; and besides all this, we come to you with the thought that you will be interested in counseling with us as to the best way to help these women get a new start in life. They can tell you their story, but I surmise they have had much trouble, and their very presence here in your house testifies how earnestly they crave to know good people, and how willingly they will embrace the opportunity to show all the world—and even the angels of heaven—what brave and noble women they can become.”
Kad je Marta, Justusova žena, stavila hranu na stol, Isus se neočekivano oprostio od njih, govoreći: „Kako je već kasno i budući da nas mladićev otac čeka, molimo vas da nas ispričate dok vas ovdje ostavljamo zajedno — vas tri žene — ljubljenu djecu Svevišnjega. Molit ću se za vaše duhovno vodstvo dok pravite planove za novi i bolji život na zemlji i za vječni život u budućem svijetu.“
133:3.9 (1473.2)
When Martha, Justus’ wife, had spread the food on the table, Jesus, taking unexpected leave of them, said: “As it is getting late, and since the young man’s father will be awaiting us, we pray to be excused while we leave you here together—three women—the beloved children of the Most High. And I will pray for your spiritual guidance while you make plans for a new and better life on earth and eternal life in the great beyond.”
Tako su se Isus i Ganid oprostili od žena. Do tada dvije kurtizane nisu rekle ni riječi; isto tako ni Ganid nije progovorio. Nekoliko je trenutaka i Marta šutjela, ali se ubrzo uzdigla do prilike i učinila za ove strankinje sve čemu se Isus nadao. Starija od tih dviju žena umrla je nedugo zatim, puna nade u vječni život, dok je mlađa radila u Justusovoj poslovnici i kasnije postala doživotnom članicom prve kršćanske crkve u Korintu.
133:3.10 (1473.3)
Thus did Jesus and Ganid take leave of the women. So far the two courtesans had said nothing; likewise was Ganid speechless. And for a few moments so was Martha, but presently she rose to the occasion and did everything for these strangers that Jesus had hoped for. The elder of these two women died a short time thereafter, with bright hopes of eternal survival, and the younger woman worked at Justus’ place of business and later became a lifelong member of the first Christian church in Corinth.
Nekoliko puta u domu Krispusa, Isus i Ganid susreli su Gaja, koji je kasnije postao odani podupiratelj Pavla. Tijekom ta dva mjeseca u Korintu vodili su prisne razgovore s mnogim vrijednim pojedincima i kao rezultat svih tih naizgled slučajnih susreta, više od polovice tih ljudi na koje su tako djelovali postalo je članovima kasnije kršćanske zajednice.
133:3.11 (1473.4)
Several times in the home of Crispus, Jesus and Ganid met one Gaius, who subsequently became a loyal supporter of Paul. During these two months in Corinth they held intimate conversations with scores of worth-while individuals, and as a result of all these apparently casual contacts more than half of the individuals so affected became members of the subsequent Christian community.
Kada je Pavao prvi put došao u Korint, nije imao namjeru tamo dugo ostati. Ali nije znao da je židovski učitelj tako dobro pripremio put njegovom radu. Nadalje je otkrio da su Akvila i Priscila već pobudili veliko zanimanje, a Akvila je bio jedan od cinika s kojima je Isus došao u dodir dok je boravio u Rimu. Ovaj bračni par bio je među židovskim izbjeglicama iz Rima i brzo je prihvatio Pavlova učenja. Pavao je živio i radio s njima, jer su se i oni bavili izradom šatora. Zbog tih je okolnosti Pavao produžio svoj boravak u Korintu.
133:3.12 (1473.5)
When Paul first went to Corinth, he had not intended to make a prolonged visit. But he did not know how well the Jewish tutor had prepared the way for his labors. And further, he discovered that great interest had already been aroused by Aquila and Priscilla, Aquila being one of the Cynics with whom Jesus had come in contact when in Rome. This couple were Jewish refugees from Rome, and they quickly embraced Paul’s teachings. He lived with them and worked with them, for they were also tentmakers. It was because of these circumstances that Paul prolonged his stay in Corinth.
Mlinaru je govorio o mljevenju zrna istine u mlinu životnog iskustva kako bi teške stvari božanskog života postale lako prihvatljive čak i slabima i nemoćnima među smrtnicima. Isus je rekao: „Dajte mlijeko istine onima koji su još djeca u duhovnom shvaćanju. U svom životnom i ljubavlju nadahnutom služenju pružajte duhovnu hranu u privlačnom obliku, prilagođenu sposobnosti primanja svakog tragatelja.“
133:4.2 (1474.2)
The miller he taught about grinding up the grains of truth in the mill of living experience so as to render the difficult things of divine life readily receivable by even the weak and feeble among one’s fellow mortals. Said Jesus: “Give the milk of truth to those who are babes in spiritual perception. In your living and loving ministry serve spiritual food in attractive form and suited to the capacity of receptivity of each of your inquirers.”
Rimskom je satniku rekao: „Daj Cezaru ono što je Cezarovo, a Bogu ono što je Božje. Iskreno služenje Bogu i odano služenje Cezaru nisu u sukobu, osim ako se Cezar usudi prisvojiti za sebe ono štovanje koje jedino Božanstvo može tražiti. Odanost Bogu, kad ga upoznaš, učinit će te još odanijim i vjernijim u službi dostojnom caru.“
133:4.3 (1474.3)
To the Roman centurion he said: “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto God the things which are God’s. The sincere service of God and the loyal service of Caesar do not conflict unless Caesar should presume to arrogate to himself that homage which alone can be claimed by Deity. Loyalty to God, if you should come to know him, would render you all the more loyal and faithful in your devotion to a worthy emperor.”
Iskrenom je vođi mitraičkog kulta rekao: „Dobro činite što tražite religiju vječnog spasenja, ali griješite što za tako slavnom istinom tragate među ljudskim stvorenim misterijama i ljudskim filozofijama. Zar ne znate da misterij vječnog spasenja prebiva u vašoj vlastitoj duši? Zar ne znate da je Bog neba poslao svoj duh da prebiva u vama i da će ovaj duh povesti sve smrtnike koji ljube istinu i služe Bogu iz ovoga života, kroz vrata smrti, do vječnih visina svjetla gdje Bog čeka da primi svoju djecu? I nikada ne zaboravite: Vi koji poznajete Boga jeste sinovi Božji ako uistinu čeznete biti poput njega.“
133:4.4 (1474.4)
To the earnest leader of the Mithraic cult he said: “You do well to seek for a religion of eternal salvation, but you err to go in quest of such a glorious truth among man-made mysteries and human philosophies. Know you not that the mystery of eternal salvation dwells within your own soul? Do you not know that the God of heaven has sent his spirit to live within you, and that this spirit will lead all truth-loving and God-serving mortals out of this life and through the portals of death up to the eternal heights of light where God waits to receive his children? And never forget: You who know God are the sons of God if you truly yearn to be like him.”
Epikurejskom je učitelju rekao: „Dobro činite što birate ono najbolje i cijenite ono što je dobro, ali jeste li mudri ako ne razaznajete veće stvari smrtnog života koje su utjelovljene u područjima duha i koje proizlaze iz spoznaje prisutnosti Boga u ljudskom srcu? Velika stvar u cjelokupnom ljudskom iskustvu jest spoznaja Boga čiji duh prebiva u vama i nastoji vas voditi na tom dugom i gotovo beskrajnom putovanju prema postizanju osobne prisutnosti našeg zajedničkog Oca, Boga svekolike tvorevine, Gospodara svemira.“
133:4.5 (1474.5)
To the Epicurean teacher he said: “You do well to choose the best and esteem the good, but are you wise when you fail to discern the greater things of mortal life which are embodied in the spirit realms derived from the realization of the presence of God in the human heart? The great thing in all human experience is the realization of knowing the God whose spirit lives within you and seeks to lead you forth on that long and almost endless journey of attaining the personal presence of our common Father, the God of all creation, the Lord of universes.”
Grčkom je izvođaču radova i graditelju rekao: „Moj prijatelju, dok gradiš materijalne građevine ljudi, izgrađuj duhovni karakter po uzoru na božanski duh koji prebiva u tvojoj duši. Ne dopusti da tvoje dostignuće kao graditelja u vremenu nadmaši tvoje postignuće kao duhovnog sina nebeskog kraljevstva. Dok drugima gradiš prebivališta vremena, ne zanemari osigurati sebi pravo na prebivalište vječnosti. Uvijek imaj na umu da postoji grad čiji su temelji pravednost i istina, a čiji je graditelj i tvorac Bog.“
133:4.6 (1474.6)
To the Greek contractor and builder he said: “My friend, as you build the material structures of men, grow a spiritual character in the similitude of the divine spirit within your soul. Do not let your achievement as a temporal builder outrun your attainment as a spiritual son of the kingdom of heaven. While you build the mansions of time for another, neglect not to secure your title to the mansions of eternity for yourself. Ever remember, there is a city whose foundations are righteousness and truth, and whose builder and maker is God.”
Rimskom je sucu rekao: „Kad sudite ljudima, imajte na umu da ćete i sami jednoga dana doći pred sudsku stolicu Vladara svemira. Sudite pravedno, čak milosrdno, kao što ćete i sami jednoga dana tražiti milosrdnu obzirnost iz ruku Vrhovnog Suca. Sudite onako kako biste željeli da vam se sudi u sličnim okolnostima, vodeći se duhom zakona jednako kao i njegovim slovom. I kao što vi iskazujete pravdu prožetu pravičnošću, uzimajući u obzir potrebe onih koji dolaze pred vas, tako ćete i vi imati pravo očekivati pravdu ublaženu milosrđem kada jednom stanete pred Suca cijele zemlje.“
133:4.7 (1474.7)
To the Roman judge he said: “As you judge men, remember that you yourself will also some day come to judgment before the bar of the Rulers of a universe. Judge justly, even mercifully, even as you shall some day thus crave merciful consideration at the hands of the Supreme Arbiter. Judge as you would be judged under similar circumstances, thus being guided by the spirit of the law as well as by its letter. And even as you accord justice dominated by fairness in the light of the need of those who are brought before you, so shall you have the right to expect justice tempered by mercy when you sometime stand before the Judge of all the earth.”
Grčkoj je gostioničarki rekao: „Pružajte svoje gostoprimstvo kao ona koja prima djecu Svevišnjega. Uzvisite mukotrpnost svog svakodnevnog rada do visokih razina vrhunske umjetnosti kroz sve veću spoznaju da služite Bogu u osobama u kojima prebiva njegov duh, koji je sišao da živi u srcima ljudi i koji nastoji preobraziti njihove umove i povesti njihove duše prema spoznaji Rajskog Oca, darivatelja svih tih darova božanskog duha.“
133:4.8 (1475.1)
To the mistress of the Greek inn he said: “Minister your hospitality as one who entertains the children of the Most High. Elevate the drudgery of your daily toil to the high levels of a fine art through the increasing realization that you minister to God in the persons whom he indwells by his spirit which has descended to live within the hearts of men, thereby seeking to transform their minds and lead their souls to the knowledge of the Paradise Father of all these bestowed gifts of the divine spirit.”
Isus je imao mnogo susreta s jednim kineskim trgovcem. Prilikom rastanka ga je opomenuo: „Štuj jedino Boga, koji je tvoj pravi predak duha. Ne zaboravi da Očev duh uvijek prebiva u tebi i uvijek usmjerava tvoju dušu prema nebu. Ako slijediš nesvjesna vodstva ovog besmrtnog duha, sigurno ćeš nastaviti uzvišenim putem pronalaženja Boga. A kada dosegneš Oca na nebu, bit će to zato što si, tražeći ga, postao sve više i više nalik njemu. Zbogom, Čang, ali samo na neko vrijeme, jer ćemo se ponovno susresti u svjetovima svjetla, gdje je Otac duša duha pripremio mnoga ugodna počivališta za one koji putuju prema Raju.“
133:4.9 (1475.2)
Jesus had many visits with a Chinese merchant. In saying good-bye, he admonished him: “Worship only God, who is your true spirit ancestor. Remember that the Father’s spirit ever lives within you and always points your soul-direction heavenward. If you follow the unconscious leadings of this immortal spirit, you are certain to continue on in the uplifted way of finding God. And when you do attain the Father in heaven, it will be because by seeking him you have become more and more like him. And so farewell, Chang, but only for a season, for we shall meet again in the worlds of light where the Father of spirit souls has provided many delightful stopping-places for those who are Paradise-bound.”
„Brate moj, vidim da tražiš istinu i želim ti skrenuti pozornost na mogućnost da Duh Oca sve istine prebiva u tebi. Jesi li ikada iskreno pokušao razgovarati s duhom vlastite duše? To je doista teško i rijetko donosi svjesni osjećaj uspjeha, ali svaki pošten pokušaj materijalnog uma da komunicira sa svojim unutarnjim duhom postiže siguran uspjeh, premda većina tih veličanstvenih ljudskih iskustava mora još dugo ostati kao nadsvjesna registracija u dušama takvih smrtnika koji poznaju Boga.”
133:4.10 (1475.3)
To the traveler from Britain he said: “My brother, I perceive you are seeking for truth, and I suggest that the spirit of the Father of all truth may chance to dwell within you. Did you ever sincerely endeavor to talk with the spirit of your own soul? Such a thing is indeed difficult and seldom yields consciousness of success; but every honest attempt of the material mind to communicate with its indwelling spirit meets with certain success, notwithstanding that the majority of all such magnificent human experiences must long remain as superconscious registrations in the souls of such God-knowing mortals.”
Odbjeglom je mladiću Isus rekao: „Zapamti, postoje dvije stvari od kojih ne možeš pobjeći — Bog i ti sam. Kamo god pošao, sa sobom nosiš sebe i duh nebeskog Oca koji prebiva u tvome srcu. Sine moj, prestani pokušavati zavaravati samoga sebe. Smiri se i odvažno se posveti suočavanju s činjenicama života. Čvrsto se osloni na sigurnost svog sinovstva s Bogom i na izvjesnost vječnog života, kako sam te poučio. Od ovoga dana odluči biti istinski čovjek, čovjek koji je odlučan hrabro i razumno suočiti se sa životom.”
133:4.11 (1475.4)
To the runaway lad Jesus said: “Remember, there are two things you cannot run away from—God and yourself. Wherever you may go, you take with you yourself and the spirit of the heavenly Father which lives within your heart. My son, stop trying to deceive yourself; settle down to the courageous practice of facing the facts of life; lay firm hold on the assurances of sonship with God and the certainty of eternal life, as I have instructed you. From this day on purpose to be a real man, a man determined to face life bravely and intelligently.”
Osuđenom je zločincu u njegovu posljednjem času rekao: „Brate moj, zadesila su te zla vremena. Izgubio si svoj put; zapleo si se u mreže zločina. Iz razgovora s tobom dobro znam da nisi namjeravao učiniti ono što će te stajati tvoga zemaljskog života. Ali ipak si počinio to zlo i tvoji su te bližnji proglasili krivim; presudili su da moraš umrijeti. Ni ti ni ja ne možemo osporiti državi pravo na samoobranu na način koji sama odabere. Čini se da ljudskim putem nema izlaza od kazne za tvoje nedjelo. Tvoji će ti bližnji suditi prema onome što si učinio, ali postoji Sudac kojemu se možeš obratiti za oprost i koji će ti suditi prema tvojim istinskim pobudama i boljim nakanama. Ne trebaš se bojati suočiti se s Božjim sudom ako su tvoje pokajanje i vjera iskreni. Činjenica da tvoj prijestup za sobom povlači smrtnu kaznu koju su izrekli ljudi ne umanjuje priliku tvoje duše da zadobije pravdu i iskusi milosrđe pred nebeskim sudovima.”
133:4.12 (1475.5)
To the condemned criminal he said at the last hour: “My brother, you have fallen on evil times. You lost your way; you became entangled in the meshes of crime. From talking to you, I well know you did not plan to do the thing which is about to cost you your temporal life. But you did do this evil, and your fellows have adjudged you guilty; they have determined that you shall die. You or I may not deny the state this right of self-defense in the manner of its own choosing. There seems to be no way of humanly escaping the penalty of your wrongdoing. Your fellows must judge you by what you did, but there is a Judge to whom you may appeal for forgiveness, and who will judge you by your real motives and better intentions. You need not fear to meet the judgment of God if your repentance is genuine and your faith sincere. The fact that your error carries with it the death penalty imposed by man does not prejudice the chance of your soul to obtain justice and enjoy mercy before the heavenly courts.”
Isus je vodio mnoge prisne razgovore s velikim brojem gladnih duša, previše njih da bi svi našli mjesta u ovom zapisu. Trojica su putnika uživala u svom boravku u Korintu. Izuzev Atene, koja je bila poznatija kao obrazovno središte, Korint je u to doba rimske vladavine bio najvažniji grad u Grčkoj, a njihov dvomjesečni boravak u tom živahnom trgovačkom središtu pružio je svoj trojici priliku da steknu mnoga dragocjena iskustva. Njihov boravak u tome gradu bio je jedan od najzanimljivijih tijekom cijelog povratka iz Rima.
133:4.13 (1476.1)
Jesus enjoyed many intimate talks with a large number of hungry souls, too many to find a place in this record. The three travelers enjoyed their sojourn in Corinth. Excepting Athens, which was more renowned as an educational center, Corinth was the most important city in Greece during these Roman times, and their two months’ stay in this thriving commercial center afforded opportunity for all three of them to gain much valuable experience. Their sojourn in this city was one of the most interesting of all their stops on the way back from Rome.
Ubrzo su stigli u drevno središte grčke znanosti i učenosti, a Ganid je bio oduševljen mišlju da se nalazi u Ateni, u Grčkoj, kulturnom središtu nekoć moćnog Aleksandrova Carstva, koje je svoje granice protegnulo čak do njegove rodne Indije. Budući da su imali vrlo malo posla, Gonod je većinu vremena provodio s Isusom i Ganidom, obilazeći brojna znamenita mjesta i slušajući zanimljive rasprave između mladića i njegova svestranog učitelja.
133:5.1 (1476.3)
They shortly arrived at the olden center of Greek science and learning, and Ganid was thrilled with the thought of being in Athens, of being in Greece, the cultural center of the onetime Alexandrian empire, which had extended its borders even to his own land of India. There was little business to transact; so Gonod spent most of his time with Jesus and Ganid, visiting the many points of interest and listening to the interesting discussions of the lad and his versatile teacher.
Veliko je sveučilište još uvijek djelovalo u Ateni, i trojica su putnika često posjećivala njegove dvorane učenosti. Isus i Ganid temeljito su raspravili Platonova učenja dok su pohađali predavanja u muzeju u Aleksandriji. Svi su uživali u grčkoj umjetnosti, čiji su se primjeri još uvijek mogli naći tu i tamo po gradu.
133:5.2 (1476.4)
A great university still thrived in Athens, and the trio made frequent visits to its halls of learning. Jesus and Ganid had thoroughly discussed the teachings of Plato when they attended the lectures in the museum at Alexandria. They all enjoyed the art of Greece, examples of which were still to be found here and there about the city.
Znanstvenici će jednoga dana možda moći izmjeriti energiju ili očitovanja sile gravitacije, svjetlosti i elektriciteta, ali ti isti znanstvenici nikada neće (znanstveno) moći reći što su te svemirske pojave. Znanost se bavi djelovanjem fizičkih energija; religija se bavi vječnim vrijednostima. Istinska filozofija izrasta iz mudrosti koja nastoji povezati ta kvantitativna i kvalitativna opažanja. Uvijek postoji opasnost da čisto fizički znanstvenik postane zahvaćen matematičkom ohološću i statističkim egoizmom, a da i ne spominjemo duhovnu sljepoću.
133:5.4 (1476.6)
Scientists may some day measure the energy, or force manifestations, of gravitation, light, and electricity, but these same scientists can never (scientifically) tell you what these universe phenomena are. Science deals with physical-energy activities; religion deals with eternal values. True philosophy grows out of the wisdom which does its best to correlate these quantitative and qualitative observations. There always exists the danger that the purely physical scientist may become afflicted with mathematical pride and statistical egotism, not to mention spiritual blindness.
Logika vrijedi u materijalnom svijetu, a matematika je pouzdana kada je njezina primjena ograničena na fizičke stvari; ali ni jedno ni drugo ne treba smatrati potpuno pouzdanim ili nepogrešivim kada se primjenjuje na životne probleme. Život obuhvaća pojave koje nisu potpuno materijalne. Aritmetika kaže da bi, ako jedan čovjek može ostrići ovcu za deset minuta, deset ljudi moglo ostrići ovcu za jednu minutu. To je matematički ispravno, ali nije istinito, jer deset ljudi to ne bi moglo učiniti; toliko bi jedni drugima smetali da bi se posao znatno usporio.
133:5.5 (1476.7)
Logic is valid in the material world, and mathematics is reliable when limited in its application to physical things; but neither is to be regarded as wholly dependable or infallible when applied to life problems. Life embraces phenomena which are not wholly material. Arithmetic says that, if one man could shear a sheep in ten minutes, ten men could shear it in one minute. That is sound mathematics, but it is not true, for the ten men could not so do it; they would get in one another’s way so badly that the work would be greatly delayed.
Matematički gledano, ako jedna osoba ima određenu mjeru intelektualne i moralne vrijednosti, deset osoba imaju deset puta toliku vrijednost. No pri procjeni ljudske ličnosti bliže je istini reći da takva skupina ličnosti daje kvadrat broja ličnosti koje ulaze u jednadžbu, a ne njihov jednostavan aritmetički zbroj. Društvena skupina ljudskih bića koja djeluje u usklađenoj suradnji ostvaruje snagu koja je daleko veća od prostog zbroja svojih pojedinačnih članova.
133:5.6 (1477.1)
Mathematics asserts that, if one person stands for a certain unit of intellectual and moral value, ten persons would stand for ten times this value. But in dealing with human personality it would be nearer the truth to say that such a personality association is a sum equal to the square of the number of personalities concerned in the equation rather than the simple arithmetical sum. A social group of human beings in co-ordinated working harmony stands for a force far greater than the simple sum of its parts.
Količina može biti identificirana kao činjenica i tako postati znanstvena jednoobraznost. Kvaliteta, kao stvar tumačenja uma, predstavlja procjenu vrijednosti te stoga mora biti i ostati iskustvo pojedinca. Kada i znanost i religija postanu manje dogmatske i tolerantnije prema kritici, filozofija počinje postizati jedinstvo u inteligentnom poimanju svemira.
133:5.7 (1477.2)
Quantity may be identified as a fact, thus becoming a scientific uniformity. Quality, being a matter of mind interpretation, represents an estimate of values, and must, therefore, remain an experience of the individual. When both science and religion become less dogmatic and more tolerant of criticism, philosophy will then begin to achieve unity in the intelligent comprehension of the universe.
Postoji jedinstvo u kozmičkom svemiru, kada biste samo mogli razabrati njegovo djelovanje u stvarnosti. Stvarni je svemir prijateljski naklonjen svakom djetetu vječnoga Boga. Pravi je problem: kako konačni ljudski um može postići logično, istinito i odgovarajuće jedinstvo misli? Takvo stanje uma koje može spoznati svemir moguće je jedino ako shvati da kvantitativna činjenica i kvalitativna vrijednost imaju zajednički uzrok u Rajskom Ocu. Takvo poimanje stvarnosti pruža širi uvid u svrhovito jedinstvo svemirskih pojava; ono čak otkriva duhovni cilj progresivnog postignuća ličnosti. A to je pojam jedinstva koji može spoznati nepromjenjivu pozadinu živog svemira neprestano mijenjajućih neosobnih odnosa i evoluirajućih osobnih odnosa.
133:5.8 (1477.3)
There is unity in the cosmic universe if you could only discern its workings in actuality. The real universe is friendly to every child of the eternal God. The real problem is: How can the finite mind of man achieve a logical, true, and corresponding unity of thought? This universe-knowing state of mind can be had only by conceiving that the quantitative fact and the qualitative value have a common causation in the Paradise Father. Such a conception of reality yields a broader insight into the purposeful unity of universe phenomena; it even reveals a spiritual goal of progressive personality achievement. And this is a concept of unity which can sense the unchanging background of a living universe of continually changing impersonal relations and evolving personal relationships.
Stvarnost materijalne egzistencije jednako pripada neprepoznatoj energiji kao i vidljivoj materiji. Kada se energije svemira toliko uspore da dosegnu potreban stupanj gibanja, tada, pod povoljnim uvjetima, te iste energije postaju masa. I ne zaboravite da je um, koji jedini može spoznati prisutnost prividnih stvarnosti, i sam stvaran. A temeljni uzrok ovog svemira energije-mase, uma i duha vječan je — postoji i počiva u prirodi i delovanjima Oca Svih i njegovih apsolutnih suvladara.
133:5.10 (1477.5)
Reality of material existence attaches to unrecognized energy as well as to visible matter. When the energies of the universe are so slowed down that they acquire the requisite degree of motion, then, under favorable conditions, these same energies become mass. And forget not, the mind which can alone perceive the presence of apparent realities is itself also real. And the fundamental cause of this universe of energy-mass, mind, and spirit, is eternal—it exists and consists in the nature and reactions of the Universal Father and his absolute co-ordinates.
Boravak u Ateni bio je ugodan i unosan, ali nije bio naročito plodan u pogledu ljudskih odnosa. Velik broj Atenjana toga doba bio je ili intelektualno ohol zbog ugleda iz prošlih vremena ili umno tup i neuk, kao potomci inferiornih robova iz ranijih razdoblja kada je Grčka bila na vrhuncu svoje slave, a mudrost prebivala u umovima njezinih stanovnika. No čak se i tada među građanima Atene moglo naći mnogo oštrih umova.
133:5.12 (1477.7)
The sojourn in Athens was pleasant and profitable, but it was not particularly fruitful in its human contacts. Too many of the Athenians of that day were either intellectually proud of their reputation of another day or mentally stupid and ignorant, being the offspring of the inferior slaves of those earlier periods when there was glory in Greece and wisdom in the minds of its people. Even then, there were still many keen minds to be found among the citizens of Athens.
Po odlasku iz Atene, putnici su preko Troade stigli u Efez, glavni grad rimske provincije Azije. Više su puta posjetili znameniti hram Artemide Efeške, udaljen oko tri kilometra od grada. Artemida je bila najpoznatija božica cijele Male Azije i nastavak još starijeg kulta božice majke iz drevnih vremena Anadolije. Grubi idol izložen u golemom hramu posvećenom njezinu štovanju navodno je pao s neba. Ganid se još uvijek nije bio u potpunosti oslobodio poštovanja prema slikama kao simbolima božanstva te je smatrao prikladnim kupiti malo srebrno svetište u čast ovoj božici plodnosti Male Azije. Te su večeri dugo razgovarali o štovanju predmeta načinjenih ljudskim rukama.
133:6.1 (1477.8)
On leaving Athens, the travelers went by way of Troas to Ephesus, the capital of the Roman province of Asia. They made many trips out to the famous temple of Artemis of the Ephesians, about two miles from the city. Artemis was the most famous goddess of all Asia Minor and a perpetuation of the still earlier mother goddess of ancient Anatolian times. The crude idol exhibited in the enormous temple dedicated to her worship was reputed to have fallen from heaven. Not all of Ganid’s early training to respect images as symbols of divinity had been eradicated, and he thought it best to purchase a little silver shrine in honor of this fertility goddess of Asia Minor. That night they talked at great length about the worship of things made with human hands.
Trećega dana njihova boravka šetali su uz rijeku i promatrali radove na promatrali radove na produbljivanju ulaza u luku. O podne su razgovarali s mladim Feničaninom koji je čeznuo za domom i bio jako obeshrabren; ali više od svega zavidio je jednom drugom mladiću koji je bio unaprijeđen mimo njega. Isus mu je uputio riječi utjehe i citirao staru hebrejsku poslovicu: „Čovjekov dar otvara mu put i dovodi ga pred velike ljude.”
133:6.2 (1478.1)
On the third day of their stay they walked down by the river to observe the dredging of the harbor’s mouth. At noon they talked with a young Phoenician who was homesick and much discouraged; but most of all he was envious of a certain young man who had received promotion over his head. Jesus spoke comforting words to him and quoted the olden Hebrew proverb: “A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.”
Od svih velikih gradova koje su posjetili na ovom putovanju po Sredozemlju, u ovom su gradu najmanje pridonijeli kasnijem radu kršćanskih misionara. Kršćanstvo je u Efezu uglavnom započelo zahvaljujući Pavlovu radu, koji je tu živio više od dvije godine, zarađujući za život izradom šatora i svake večeri poučavajući o religiji i filozofiji u glavnoj dvorani Tiranske škole.
133:6.3 (1478.2)
Of all the large cities they visited on this tour of the Mediterranean, they here accomplished the least of value to the subsequent work of the Christian missionaries. Christianity secured its start in Ephesus largely through the efforts of Paul, who resided here more than two years, making tents for a living and conducting lectures on religion and philosophy each night in the main audience chamber of the school of Tyrannus.
„Duša je samopromišljajući dio čovjeka koji uočava istinu i spoznaje duh i koji zauvijek uzdiže ljudsko biće iznad razine životinjskog svijeta. Samosvijest sama po sebi nije duša. Moralna samosvijest istinska je ljudska samospoznaja i predstavlja temelj ljudske duše, a duša je onaj dio čovjeka koji predstavlja potencijalnu vrijednost preživljavanja ljudskog iskustva. Moralni izbor i duhovno postignuće, sposobnost spoznaje Boga i poriv da mu čovjek bude sličan, obilježja su duše. Čovjekova duša ne može postojati odvojeno od moralnog mišljenja i djelovanja duha. Stagnirajuća duša je umiruća duša. Ali čovjekova se duša razlikuje od božanskog duha koji prebiva u ljudskom umu. Božanski duh dolazi istodobno s prvom moralnom aktivnošću ljudskog uma, i to je trenutak rođenja duše.
133:6.5 (1478.4)
“The soul is the self-reflective, truth-discerning, and spirit-perceiving part of man which forever elevates the human being above the level of the animal world. Self-consciousness, in and of itself, is not the soul. Moral self-consciousness is true human self-realization and constitutes the foundation of the human soul, and the soul is that part of man which represents the potential survival value of human experience. Moral choice and spiritual attainment, the ability to know God and the urge to be like him, are the characteristics of the soul. The soul of man cannot exist apart from moral thinking and spiritual activity. A stagnant soul is a dying soul. But the soul of man is distinct from the divine spirit which dwells within the mind. The divine spirit arrives simultaneously with the first moral activity of the human mind, and that is the occasion of the birth of the soul.
„Spasenje ili gubitak čovjekove duše ovisi o tome postiže li moralna svijest status preživljavanja kroz vječni savez sa svojim povezanim darom besmrtnog duha. Spasenje je poduhovljenje samospoznaje moralne svijesti, koja time zadobiva vrijednost preživljavanja. Svi oblici sukoba duše sastoje se u nedostatku sklada između moralne — ili duhovne — samosvijesti i čisto intelektualne samosvijesti.
133:6.6 (1478.5)
“The saving or losing of a soul has to do with whether or not the moral consciousness attains survival status through eternal alliance with its associated immortal spirit endowment. Salvation is the spiritualization of the self-realization of the moral consciousness, which thereby becomes possessed of survival value. All forms of soul conflict consist in the lack of harmony between the moral, or spiritual, self-consciousness and the purely intellectual self-consciousness.
„Ljudska duša, kad je zrela, oplemenjena i produhovljena, približava se nebeskom statusu postupno postajući entitet koji je sposoban posredovati između materijalnog i duhovnog, između materijalnog sebstva i božanskog duha. Čovjekova duša koja se razvija teško se može opisati, a još ju je teže dokazati, jer se ne može otkriti ni metodama materijalnog istraživanja ni duhovnog dokazivanja. Ni materijalna znanost ni ispitivanje čistog duha ne mogu dokazati postojanje duše. Bez obzira na neuspjeh materijalne znanosti i duhovnih kriterija u otkrivanju postojanja ljudske duše, svaki moralno svjestan smrtnik zna za postojanje svoje duše kao stvarnog i aktualnog osobnog iskustva.“
133:6.7 (1478.6)
“The human soul, when matured, ennobled, and spiritualized, approaches the heavenly status in that it comes near to being an entity intervening between the material and the spiritual, the material self and the divine spirit. The evolving soul of a human being is difficult of description and more difficult of demonstration because it is not discoverable by the methods of either material investigation or spiritual proving. Material science cannot demonstrate the existence of a soul, neither can pure spirit-testing. Notwithstanding the failure of both material science and spiritual standards to discover the existence of the human soul, every morally conscious mortal knows of the existence of his soul as a real and actual personal experience.”
Planirali su tijekom ovog posjeta Cipru uživati u razdoblju potpunog odmora i razonode, jer se njihovo putovanje po Sredozemlju približavalo kraju. Stigli su u Pafos i odmah započeli prikupljati zalihe za svoj višenedjeljni boravak u obližnjim planinama. Trećega dana nakon dolaska uputili su se u brda sa svojim dobro opskrbljenim tovarnim životinjama.
133:7.2 (1479.2)
It was their plan to enjoy a period of real rest and play on this visit to Cyprus as their tour of the Mediterranean was drawing to a close. They landed at Paphos and at once began the assembly of supplies for their sojourn of several weeks in the near-by mountains. On the third day after their arrival they started for the hills with their well-loaded pack animals.
Dva tjedna trojica putnika uživala su u odmoru, a onda se, bez upozorenja, mladi Ganid iznenada teško razbolio. Dva je tjedna patio od žestoke groznice i često padao u bunilo; Isus i Gonod bili su zauzeti njegom bolesnog dječaka. Isus se vješto i nježno brinuo za dječaka, a otac je bio zadivljen kada je vidio i Isusovu blagost i umijeće kojim je služio bolesnom mladiću. Bili su daleko od ljudskih naselja, a dječak je bio previše bolestan da bi ga se moglo premjestiti; stoga su se najbolje što su mogli pripremili da se brinu za njega ondje gdje su se nalazili, u planinama.
133:7.3 (1479.3)
For two weeks the trio greatly enjoyed themselves, and then, without warning, young Ganid was suddenly taken grievously ill. For two weeks he suffered from a raging fever, oftentimes becoming delirious; both Jesus and Gonod were kept busy attending the sick boy. Jesus skillfully and tenderly cared for the lad, and the father was amazed by both the gentleness and adeptness manifested in all his ministry to the afflicted youth. They were far from human habitations, and the boy was too ill to be moved; so they prepared as best they could to nurse him back to health right there in the mountains.
Posljednjeg tjedna njihova boravka u planinama Isus i Ganid su nadugo razgovarali o funkcijama ljudskog uma. Nakon nekoliko sati rasprave dječak je upitao: „Ali, Učitelju, što mislite kada kažete da čovjek doživljava viši oblik samosvijesti nego što to čine više životinje?“ Preoblikovano u suvremeni jezik, Isus je odgovorio:
133:7.5 (1479.5)
The last week of their sojourn in the mountains Jesus and Ganid had a long talk on the functions of the human mind. After several hours of discussion the lad asked this question: “But, Teacher, what do you mean when you say that man experiences a higher form of self-consciousness than do the higher animals?” And as restated in modern phraseology, Jesus answered:
Moj sine, već sam ti opširnije govorio o umu čovjeka i božanskom duhu koji u njemu živi, a sada mi dopusti da naglasim da je samosvijest stvarnost. Kad bilo koja životinja postane samosvjesna, ona postaje primitivni čovjek. Takvo postignuće proizlazi iz koordinacije djelovanja neosobne energije i uma koji poima duh, i upravo je taj fenomen razlog darivanja apsolutnog žarišta za djelovanje ljudske ličnosti — duha Oca na nebu.
133:7.6 (1479.6)
My son, I have already told you much about the mind of man and the divine spirit that lives therein, but now let me emphasize that self-consciousness is a reality. When any animal becomes self-conscious, it becomes a primitive man. Such an attainment results from a co-ordination of function between impersonal energy and spirit-conceiving mind, and it is this phenomenon which warrants the bestowal of an absolute focal point for the human personality, the spirit of the Father in heaven.
Ideje nisu samo zapis osjeta; ideje su osjeti plus refleksivna tumačenja osobnog sebstva; a sebstvo je više od zbroja vlastitih osjeta. U razvijajućem sebstvu počinje se pojavljivati određeno približavanje jedinstvu, a to jedinstvo proizlazi iz prisutnosti dijela apsolutnog jedinstva koji duhovno aktivira takav samosvjesni um životinjskog porijekla.
133:7.7 (1479.7)
Ideas are not simply a record of sensations; ideas are sensations plus the reflective interpretations of the personal self; and the self is more than the sum of one’s sensations. There begins to be something of an approach to unity in an evolving selfhood, and that unity is derived from the indwelling presence of a part of absolute unity which spiritually activates such a self-conscious animal-origin mind.
Nijedno biće koje nije više od životinje ne može posjedovati vremensku samosvijest. Životinje posjeduju fiziološku koordinaciju povezanog prepoznavanja osjeta i sjećanja na njih, ali ne doživljavaju smisleno prepoznavanje osjeta niti ispoljavaju svrhovito povezivanje tih združenih fizičkih iskustava, kakvo se očituje u zaključcima inteligentnih i refleksivnih ljudskih tumačenja. A ta činjenica samosvjesnog postojanja, povezana sa stvarnošću njegova kasnijeg duhovnog iskustva, čini čovjeka potencijalnim sinom svemira i nagovješćuje njegovo konačno postizanje Vrhovnog Jedinstva svemira.
133:7.8 (1479.8)
No mere animal could possess a time self-consciousness. Animals possess a physiological co-ordination of associated sensation-recognition and memory thereof, but none experience a meaningful recognition of sensation or exhibit a purposeful association of these combined physical experiences such as is manifested in the conclusions of intelligent and reflective human interpretations. And this fact of self-conscious existence, associated with the reality of his subsequent spiritual experience, constitutes man a potential son of the universe and foreshadows his eventual attainment of the Supreme Unity of the universe.
Ljudsko sebstvo također nije samo zbroj uzastopnih stanja svijesti. Bez djelotvornog funkcioniranja onoga što razvrstava i povezuje svijest, ne bi postojalo dovoljno jedinstva koje bi opravdalo označavanje nečega kao sebstva. Takav neujedinjeni um teško bi mogao dosegnuti svjesne razine ljudskog statusa. Kada bi povezivanja svijesti bila samo stvar slučajnosti, umovi svih ljudi tada bi pokazivali nekontrolirana i nasumična povezivanja određenih faza mentalnog poremećaja.
133:7.9 (1480.1)
Neither is the human self merely the sum of the successive states of consciousness. Without the effective functioning of a consciousness sorter and associater there would not exist sufficient unity to warrant the designation of a selfhood. Such an ununified mind could hardly attain conscious levels of human status. If the associations of consciousness were just an accident, the minds of all men would then exhibit the uncontrolled and random associations of certain phases of mental madness.
Ljudski um, izgrađen isključivo od svijesti o fizičkim osjetima, nikada ne bi mogao dosegnuti duhovne razine; takvom bi materijalnom umu potpuno nedostajao osjećaj moralnih vrijednosti i usmjeravajući osjećaj duhovne nadmoći, koji je toliko bitan za postizanje skladnog jedinstva ličnosti u vremenu i koji je neodvojiv od preživljavanja ličnosti u vječnosti.
133:7.10 (1480.2)
A human mind, built up solely out of the consciousness of physical sensations, could never attain spiritual levels; this kind of material mind would be utterly lacking in a sense of moral values and would be without a guiding sense of spiritual dominance which is so essential to achieving harmonious personality unity in time, and which is inseparable from personality survival in eternity.
Ljudski um rano počinje pokazivati osobine koje su nadmaterijalne; istinski refleksivni ljudski intelekt nije u potpunosti sputan ograničenjima vremena. To što se pojedinci toliko razlikuju u svojim životnim ostvarenjima ukazuje ne samo na različita nasljedna obdarenja i različite utjecaje okoline, nego i na stupanj sjedinjenja čovjekova sebstva s duhom Oca koji prebiva u njemu, odnosno na mjeru poistovjećivanja jednoga s drugim.
133:7.11 (1480.3)
The human mind early begins to manifest qualities which are supermaterial; the truly reflective human intellect is not altogether bound by the limits of time. That individuals so differ in their life performances indicates, not only the varying endowments of heredity and the different influences of the environment, but also the degree of unification with the indwelling spirit of the Father which has been achieved by the self, the measure of the identification of the one with the other.
Ljudski um teško podnosi sukob dvostruke odanosti. Duša teško podnosi iskustvo nastojanja da služi i dobru i zlu. Izvanredno sretan i učinkovito ujedinjen um jest onaj koji je u potpunosti posvećen vršenju volje Oca na nebu. Neriješeni sukobi uništavaju jedinstvo i mogu završiti poremećajem uma. Ali preživljavajući karakter duše ne izgrađuje se nastojanjem da se osigura mir uma po svaku cijenu, odricanjem od plemenitih težnji i kompromitiranjem duhovnih ideala; takav se mir postiže nepokolebljivim potvrđivanjem pobjede onoga što je istinito, a ta se pobjeda postiže nadvladavanjem zla moćnom snagom dobra.
133:7.12 (1480.4)
The human mind does not well stand the conflict of double allegiance. It is a severe strain on the soul to undergo the experience of an effort to serve both good and evil. The supremely happy and efficiently unified mind is the one wholly dedicated to the doing of the will of the Father in heaven. Unresolved conflicts destroy unity and may terminate in mind disruption. But the survival character of a soul is not fostered by attempting to secure peace of mind at any price, by the surrender of noble aspirations, and by the compromise of spiritual ideals; rather is such peace attained by the stalwart assertion of the triumph of that which is true, and this victory is achieved in the overcoming of evil with the potent force of good.
Antiohija je bila glavni grad rimske provincije Sirije, a tu se nalazila rezidencija carskog namjesnika. Antiohija je imala pola milijuna stanovnika; bila je treći grad Carstva po veličini i prvi po pokvarenosti i otvorenoj nemoralnosti. Gonod je tu imao mnogo trgovačkih poslova za obaviti; stoga su Isus i Ganid često bili sami. Posjetili su sve znamenitosti ovog višejezičnog grada osim Dafnina gaja. Gonod i Ganid posjetili su ovo ozloglašeno svetište srama, ali Isus ih je odbio pratiti. Takvi prizori nisu bili toliko šokantni za Indijce, ali su bili odbojni idealističnom Hebreju.
133:8.1 (1480.6)
Antioch was the capital of the Roman province of Syria, and here the imperial governor had his residence. Antioch had half a million inhabitants; it was the third city of the empire in size and the first in wickedness and flagrant immorality. Gonod had considerable business to transact; so Jesus and Ganid were much by themselves. They visited everything about this polyglot city except the grove of Daphne. Gonod and Ganid visited this notorious shrine of shame, but Jesus declined to accompany them. Such scenes were not so shocking to Indians, but they were repellent to an idealistic Hebrew.
„Isus je postajao ozbiljniji i zamišljeniji kako se približavao Palestini i kraju njihova putovanja. U Antiohiji je razgovarao s malo ljudi; rijetko je odlazio u grad. Nakon mnogih pitanja o tome zašto njegov učitelj pokazuje tako malo zanimanja za Antiohiju, Ganid je napokon uspio potaknuti Isusa da kaže: „Ovaj grad nije daleko od Palestine; možda ću se jednoga dana vratiti ovamo.“
133:8.2 (1480.7)
Jesus became sober and reflective as he drew nearer Palestine and the end of their journey. He visited with few people in Antioch; he seldom went about in the city. After much questioning as to why his teacher manifested so little interest in Antioch, Ganid finally induced Jesus to say: “This city is not far from Palestine; maybe I shall come back here sometime.”
Ganid je imao vrlo zanimljivo iskustvo u Antiohiji. Ovaj se mladić pokazao vrijednim učenikom i već je počeo praktično primjenjivati neka od Isusovih učenja. Tu je bio neki Indijac povezan s poslovima njegova oca u Antiohiji, koji je postao toliko neugodan i nezadovoljan da se razmišljalo o njegovu otpuštanju. Kad je Ganid to čuo, smjesta se uputio u očevu poslovnu kuću i nadugo razgovarao sa svojim sunarodnjakom. Ovaj je čovjek osjećao da je raspoređen na pogrešan posao. Ganid mu je govorio o Ocu na nebu i na mnoge načine proširio njegove poglede na religiju. No od svega što je Ganid rekao najviše je dobra donio navod iz jedne hebrejske poslovice, a ta je riječ mudrosti glasila: „Što god ti dođe pod ruku da učiniš, učini to svom snagom svojom.“
133:8.3 (1481.1)
Ganid had a very interesting experience in Antioch. This young man had proved himself an apt pupil and already had begun to make practical use of some of Jesus’ teachings. There was a certain Indian connected with his father’s business in Antioch who had become so unpleasant and disgruntled that his dismissal had been considered. When Ganid heard this, he betook himself to his father’s place of business and held a long conference with his fellow countryman. This man felt he had been put at the wrong job. Ganid told him about the Father in heaven and in many ways expanded his views of religion. But of all that Ganid said, the quotation of a Hebrew proverb did the most good, and that word of wisdom was: “Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do that with all your might.”
Karavansko putovanje pustinjom nije bilo novo iskustvo za ove iskusne putnike. Nakon što je Ganid vidio kako njegov učitelj pomaže pri utovaru njihovih dvadeset deva i promatrao kako se dragovoljno ponudio da vodi njihovu vlastitu životinju, uzviknuo je: „Učitelju, postoji li išta što vi ne možete učiniti?“ Isus se samo nasmiješio i rekao: „Učitelj zasigurno nije bez časti u očima marljiva učenika.“ Tako su krenuli prema drevnom gradu Uru.
133:9.1 (1481.3)
The caravan trip across the desert was not a new experience for these much-traveled men. After Ganid had watched his teacher help with the loading of their twenty camels and observed him volunteer to drive their own animal, he exclaimed, “Teacher, is there anything that you cannot do?” Jesus only smiled, saying, “The teacher surely is not without honor in the eyes of a diligent pupil.” And so they set forth for the ancient city of Ur.
Isus je pokazivao veliko zanimanje za ranu povijest Ura, Abrahamova rodnog mjesta, a jednako su ga očaravale ruševine i predaje o Suzi, toliko da su Gonod i Ganid produžili svoj boravak u tim krajevima za tri tjedna kako bi Isusu omogućili više vremena za njegova istraživanja, a također i pružili bolju priliku da ga nagovore da se s njima vrati u Indiju.
133:9.2 (1481.4)
Jesus was much interested in the early history of Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, and he was equally fascinated with the ruins and traditions of Susa, so much so that Gonod and Ganid extended their stay in these parts three weeks in order to afford Jesus more time to conduct his investigations and also to provide the better opportunity to persuade him to go back to India with them.
U Uru je Ganid imao dug razgovor s Isusom o razlici između znanja, mudrosti i istine. Bio je silno očaran izrekom hebrejskog mudraca: „Mudrost je najvažnija; zato steci mudrost. Uz svu svoju težnju za znanjem, steci razumijevanje. Veličaj mudrost i ona će te uzvisiti. Ona će ti donijeti čast ako je samo prigrliš.“
133:9.3 (1481.5)
It was at Ur that Ganid had a long talk with Jesus regarding the difference between knowledge, wisdom, and truth. And he was greatly charmed with the saying of the Hebrew wise man: “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. With all your quest for knowledge, get understanding. Exalt wisdom and she will promote you. She will bring you to honor if you will but embrace her.”
„Napokon je došao dan rastanka. Svi su bili hrabri, osobito mladić, ali bilo je to teško iskušenje. Oči su im bile pune suza, ali srca hrabra. Opraštajući se od svog učitelja, Ganid je rekao: „Zbogom, učitelju, ali ne zauvijek. Kad se ponovno vratim u Damask, potražit ću vas. Volim vas, jer mislim da Otac na nebu mora biti nešto poput vas; barem znam da ste mnogo nalik onome što ste mi govorili o njemu. Pamtit ću vaše pouke, ali iznad svega, nikada neću zaboraviti vas.“ Otac je rekao: „Zbogom velikom učitelju, koji nas je učinio boljima nego što smo bili i pomogao nam upoznati Boga.“ A Isus je odgovorio: „Mir neka bude s vama i neka blagoslov Oca na nebu uvijek prebiva nad vama.“ Isus je stajao na obali i gledao kako ih mali čamac odnosi prema njihovu usidrenom brodu. Tako je Učitelj ostavio svoje prijatelje iz Indije u Haraksu, da ih više nikada ne vidi u ovom svijetu; niti su oni u ovom svijetu ikada saznali da je čovjek koji se kasnije pojavio kao Isus iz Nazareta bio upravo taj isti prijatelj od kojeg su se upravo oprostili — njihov učitelj Jošua.“
133:9.4 (1481.6)
At last the day came for the separation. They were all brave, especially the lad, but it was a trying ordeal. They were tearful of eye but courageous of heart. In bidding his teacher farewell, Ganid said: “Farewell, Teacher, but not forever. When I come again to Damascus, I will look for you. I love you, for I think the Father in heaven must be something like you; at least I know you are much like what you have told me about him. I will remember your teaching, but most of all, I will never forget you.” Said the father, “Farewell to a great teacher, one who has made us better and helped us to know God.” And Jesus replied, “Peace be upon you, and may the blessing of the Father in heaven ever abide with you.” And Jesus stood on the shore and watched as the small boat carried them out to their anchored ship. Thus the Master left his friends from India at Charax, never to see them again in this world; nor were they, in this world, ever to know that the man who later appeared as Jesus of Nazareth was this same friend they had just taken leave of—Joshua their teacher.
U Indiji je Ganid odrastao i postao utjecajan čovjek, dostojan nasljednik svoga uglednog oca, te je širio mnoge plemenite istine koje je naučio od Isusa, svog voljenog učitelja. Kasnije u životu, kada je Ganid čuo za neobičnog učitelja u Palestini koji je završio svoj život na križu, premda je prepoznao sličnost između evanđelja tog Sina Čovječjeg i učenja svog židovskog učitelja, nikada mu nije palo na um da je to zapravo ista osoba.
133:9.5 (1481.7)
In India, Ganid grew up to become an influential man, a worthy successor of his eminent father, and he spread abroad many of the noble truths which he had learned from Jesus, his beloved teacher. Later on in life, when Ganid heard of the strange teacher in Palestine who terminated his career on a cross, though he recognized the similarity between the gospel of this Son of Man and the teachings of his Jewish tutor, it never occurred to him that these two were actually the same person.