Anastasia Novykh

A Story of Agapit Pechersky

An extract from the book “Sensei of Shambala”, Book II, by Anastasia Novykh

There was no other day in our lives so saturated with unforeseen events like this one. After grand water exercises we flaked out in deep sleep. It was not until the late evening sunset that we woke up. The heat finally receded. There reined silence. The sea was calm. Such a sheer bliss!
Those who had woken up earlier, gathered wood for evening campfire. Having cooked a friendly dinner and got over with all our living affairs, we made ourselves comfortable by the campfire, sipping lovely tea. The first stars came out in the blue overhead. We enjoyed our sitting in a close circle of friends, as always awaiting such an interesting and such a useful for our souls talk with Sensei. After speaking on everyday matters, Volodya was the first to change conversation to “eternal themes”.
“Sensei, you promised to tell us about a Russian bodhi,” he reminded.
“Well, since I did,” replied Sensei and, after keeping a short silence, enquired: “Did you happen to hear about the saint by the name of Agapit?!”
Some of us shook our heads.
“No,” replied Victor for all.
For some reason the name Agapit sounded familiar to me. I began to rummage my memory, trying to recollect where I could have possibly heard this name, by the way not long time ago.
“Agapit, Agapit,” uttered Nikolai Andreevich thoughtfully, evidently recalling something. “Wait a minute... Is it by chance somehow connected to ancient medicine?”
“Ancient Russian medicine,” qualified Sensei. “He was a distinguished monk of Kiev Pechersk monastery and a healer living in the 11th century. The fame of his gift of healing severe diseases spreaded well beyond Kiev. This is not the most essential point of his biography, though.”
Sensei became silent lighting a cigarette. Suddenly it dawned upon me, where I could have heard that name. My uncle’s acquaintance told me about Agapit. It was right the time when my mum and I visited uncle Victor in Moscow, where I went into hospital for a check-up.
“Oh, I know who he is, too!” enthusiastically uttered my person to a large amazement of my friends. “My uncle knows a scientist, who was a member of a scientific group that studied Pechersk relics. He told us that they had been conducting some sort of biochemical, roentgenological, bacteriological, and also... I don’t remember how it is called in science… Anyway, some kind of research that allows to reconstruct appearance and constitution of a person from his bones...”
“Morphological and anthropometric,” prompted Nikolai Andreevich.
“Exactly!” and already addressing myself directly to him for help, I murmured: “And those.., when they find out about illnesses...”
“Aetiological.”
“Right,” nodded I. “So, owing to these investigations they managed to reconstruct true appearance of some Pechersk saints from the Near Caves, including those of Agapit. By the way, his relics caused a whole commotion among the scientists. It all started with discovery that Agapit’s relics emit some kind of incomprehensible background or field, in general an unknown type of energy. Then various experiments were conducted. For instance, water placed near his relics changed its structure, and plants increased their growth, becoming even more robust and ‘healthy’ afterwards. Some protective properties against radiation were detected. Even in the premises, where the relics were located, they discovered something that has strong bacteriological effect for air. Plain water that was placed near Agapit’s relics changed its properties over time. Further investigations showed healing effect on animals and people. People’s wounds healed faster and diseases cleared up. Sick animals recovered quickly. And the most important, they discovered some strange cyclic recurrence of the relics’ ‘background’. Sometimes this ‘field’ became more intensive, rapidly and manifold. In general, it behaved like a living organism... Here, that's all!” Having delivered all the information known to me at the moment, I fell silent.
“Wow, cool!” Andrew gave a whistle.
“Well, what would you want,” said Sensei, ”Agapit was a Bodhisattva.”
“Wait,” uttered the psychotherapist, “but he belonged to the Christian religion. A Bodhisattva seems to be of the Buddhist East.”
“I explained the initial meaning of the word Bodhisattva to you once, do you remember? This word comes from Shambala. Similar to a human being, a Bodhisattva belongs to God. While religion and different teachings is simply a business run by people trading in God’s name.”
“Alright. Then I have another question. Suppose Agapit was a bodhi, then, considering his level of knowledge... I mean, why is the founder of Kiev Pechersk monastery, this first spiritual center of the early Rus, considered to be Antony, not Agapit, who lived at his time?”
Sensei grinned.
“Rather, it was Antony, who lived at time of Agapit... As to your question, you’ve left out a small detail. Bodhisattvas rarely act as leaders in a human society. Of course, if it is not connected to a certain mission, that is, such as the one bodhi Issa had. Usually it is their apprentices and disciples who become leaders. And Bodhisattva, as a rule, remains incognito to the broad masses.”
“Why so?” wondered Tatyana.
“It is because a Bodhisattva, considering his non-interference into human affairs, may only advise how to reorganize the society for a better, spiritual way. While the reorganization itself is a matter of will and doings of peoples themselves, that is, for instance, their apprentices and disciples.
“Do you want to say that Antony was Agapit’s disciple?” Nikolai Andreevich saw the light.
Sensei nodded. The doctor thought for a moment and then asked confused: “How is about the general opinion that Agapit was Antony’s disciple? It was based on something, wasn’t it?”
“Its ‘base,’ as you put it, is nothing more than a church version, which in turn had been built on the basis of such books as the ‘Father’s book’...”
“‘Father’s book?” asked Volodya.
“Yes. Or it is also called ‘Kiev Pechersk Paterikon’. This book, written in the 13th century, narrates about life and deeds of holy fathers of Pechersk. In turn it was based on the recordings of Pechersk monastery monk, Nestor the Chronicler, called ‘Hagiography...’ or for example his ‘Russian Primary Chronicle,’ which you should know from school.” Sensei made a pause and, looking at our young group, remarked good-naturedly: “Surely, in case you all did study at school and not just wasted time from beginning till end.”
“Why, yes, we do remember,” boasted Kostya. “I even memorized the date it was written.” And he declaimed, “1113rd to 1115th from the birth of Christ.”
The guys broke into smiles.
“Right!” remarked Sensei. “That is, it was written a certain time after real historical events had taken place and taking into consideration political situation of those days in the country as well as preferences and sympathies of the upper clergy.”
“Indeed!” said Victor mockingly. “It’s hard to find out who was right. Like we used to say among us, after hearing two witnesses on one and the same traffic accident you lose confidence in historians.”
We burst into laughter, and Kostya added some more fun, “That’s like when somebody asked Bernard Shaw after his speech: ‘What shall the history say about this?’ And he replied: ‘The history, sir, will lie as always.’”
“Well, don’t be so flat” responded Sensei to the guys’ laughter. “It is just when describing the past every person is guided first of all by his or her own personal considerations. These personal considerations depend on the person’s spirituality and personal interest, and that’s why it infringes objectivity. Give an assignment to describe the same event to ten people and you can bet that everyone shall communicate it in his own way. For example, a politician will describe it in such a way that seems favorable to him in the view of on-going events of that time. A physician will describe it from the medical standpoint. While an ordinary man will choose everyday point of view, specificating the elements he has personal interest in. That is how a different history is written. Though, in every story you can catch the essential meaning of the on-going events. You ought to get at the root, as they say.”
“As the matter of fact, you are right,” agreed Nikolai Andreevich. “In many cases our view of the present-day history is one-sided indeed. Not to mention distant and almost forgotten past...”
“And considering that people, unfortunately, do not change or, rather, do not want to change..." uttered Sensei with an inflexion of sadness in his voice.
“...the history, therefore, repeats itself,” concluded his thought Nikolai Andreevich.
“Sad to say.”
Sensei looked pensively at the campfire. There was a short silence. As for us, we did not dare to meddle with our enquiries into the dialogue of the two ‘sages’.
“So, what did really happen a thousand years ago?” Nikolai Andreevich inquired animatedly.
“This is certainly a long story...”
“Well, we are not in a hurry,” replied Volodya for everyone, settling himself comfortably at his place and getting ready to listen.
“Well, since you are not in a hurry,” responded Sensei in the same tone, “then listen... Perhaps, the narration about the times, when Bodhisattva Agapit stayed in Russian lands, should begin with the story about Antony. Later you shall understand why...”
It was a warm summer evening. There reigned perfect silence around. The sea waves were inaudibly lapping on the shore, leading us away with their monotonous melodious splashes into the time tunnel of the distant past, which, curiously enough, did not seem so distant as a matter of fact.
“... Before Antony was accepted to monkhood, he was called Antipa. He was born in Lyubech city of Chernigov in 983, five years prior to the baptism of Rus, in the times when Vladimir Svyatoslavich the Great ruled in the capital city of Kiev.”
“Is he, by chance, the one who was called the Fair Sun in Russian folk ballads?” Kostya asked.
“Yes, that is he, the grand-son of Grand Princess Olga and Grand Prince Igor,” specified Sensei and continued: “Antipa’s youth bechanced in chaotic times. It was right the time when the Old-Russian state was formed and Eastern-Slavic tribes united. Wars with neighboring countries were waged in the South and in the West. Besides, inner tensions, confrontation among various religions caused additional disturbance. At the same time, so-to-say by a decree from above, paganism has been replaced with Christian canons. Both parties even came to ‘fire and sword’ at that. In short, there was common chaos or, like it would be put nowadays, ‘disorders of the times of change’.”
“Well, as they say, one wouldn't wish it to the worst enemy to be born in the time of change,” said Volodya in a deep voice.
“Exactly. Though, Antipa somehow managed to...”
“Like all of us,” added Victor quietly.
“So, in general Antipa’s youth was quite a ‘lively’ one. What was happening around, to a large extent enabled him to make efforts in sorting everything out not only with the exterior, but in the first place in sorting his own self out. And not simply sorting out, but sorting out thoughtfully. Many people believed in God in those days. And he felt that there is God. But how come there was so much discord going on? Why God admitted such evil? There was some kind of confrontation, unnecessary bloodshed going on. People suffered, their children suffered; diseases, poverty, and death were rife and rampant. Antipa had chances to hear missionaries of various religions. All of them taught of believing in their own God, worshipping Him and praying to Him. The paradox, however, was that they themselves lacked that pure faith, they were speaking about, and they did not perform what they demanded of others. Neither had Antipa trust in those, who came with sword, preaching of God. On the other hand, he was bothered with thoughts, why, if there was loving God, there was so much grief, so much blood senselessly spilt around? Why does God allow such great suffering?
“There were many questions, but, as usual among the swarming thoughts, there was not a single sensible answer. It was not until once he was intrigued by a story he heard from a stranger, who stayed overnight at his place. That stranger told him about the life of Jesus Christ. Antipa was stricken. For it turned out that people killed even the Son of God Himself. Why hadn’t almighty God stopped those people? Why did not He intervene, while His own Son was suffering from the impious people, while His body was dying on a cross? But when Antipa understood that the point was in human choice, in the choice of each individual before the face of God, he realized that the reason of the ongoing chaos was not in God, but in peoples themselves, including him.
“This thought so radically changed his personal views, that he began to look differently not only at the bygone outdated millennial events, but at the present as well. He sincerely fell in love with Christ, for He was congenial to him in sufferings. Indeed, Antipa sincerely and really fell in love with God and came to thinking about who he was before His face.
“Antipa was also amazed with the fact that there were people, who truly devoted themselves to God. For the first time he heard from the stranger about a holy place on the Mount Athos located in Greek soil. He learnt that there are living different people, not like everyone. That they abandon this worldly life and seclude themselves for the sake of God, for the sake of praying to Him for their salvation. They wear black clothes and give three vows of obedience, celibacy, and poverty. And these people are called ‘monks’.
“So, Antipa felt an urge to become a ‘monk’ and to be in an incessant prayer unto God. He did not know, however, neither how to get to that mountain in the strange land of Greece, nor how to pray to God properly so that to be heard by Him. That is when Antipa began to appeal to God with his simple, sincere words asking Him to give him a wise mentor, who would teach him a veritable prayer, leading to salvation. Such a strong desire he had, so persistently he thought about it, and so faithfully he asked God for it for many months and even years, that ultimately it came to pass the following.
“It happened in winter, at dawn of February the 12th in the old style (the Julian calendar), or on the 25th of February in the new style (the Gregorian calendar, which is used nowadays). That night he could not sleep, once again reflecting about God. He became so absorbed into his deep thought, that he started addressing to Him as a loving son to his own Father, begging Him, as he could, for a soul salvation prayer. He felt by intuition that God can only be asked about spiritual matters, not about perishable earthly ones. And he asked sincerely, with pure faith in soul. When Antipa deepened in his mental appeal to Him once again, an unnatural heat suddenly blazed up in his chest. The heat seemed to intensify every second. Ultimately it became so intense, that it was almost unbearable. Antipa dressed up hurriedly and went outside.
“It was slightly better out in the cold. It was snowing. The wind was cold and piercing. Antipa decided to find cover in a nearby haystack. Watching the raging elements from his shelter, experiencing great heat within his chest, Antipa prayed to God more sincerily. He was so imbued with the prayer that he forgot about the weather as well as the place and the time he was in. An extraordinary feeling of God’s nearness rushed into him. It was nearness of the very akin and close-to-heart Being. That was why his soul was warmed and he felt relieved.
“It was a daybreak already. The wind suddenly died down. Snowfall was over. The first light came through the leaden clouds on the horizon, enlivening dazzling white space around in a scintillating play. And that was when Antipa saw an uncommon aged man not far from him, wearing black clothes. Grayish blond-brown hair and snow-white beard fringed his unusual face. A scarcely perceptible affable smile was upon his lips. And his extraordinary eyes, as if looking right into the man’s soul, radiated deep concern and immutable kindness.
“The aged man approached, his feet stepping imperceptibly and silently over the snow. It was strange that Antipa could hear his affable speech, his mellifluous tuneful voice, although the elder moved not his lips. He stopped very close, and Antipa was able to sense fragrant delicate aroma, emanating from him. All of a sudden a bright ball of bluish white gradually emerged out of the elder’s chest. It was of extraordinary purity and brightness. It did not blind or irritate eyes at that. Quite the opposite, it attracted his look with its soft glow and fascinating play of blue tints. Shining golden letters began to appear within this flow of pure light, transforming into one text. Antipa rather understood than saw what was written there, for at that instant the elder’s melodic voice sounded inside his head, speaking the words of the soul salvation prayer:
‘My True Father! I set all my hopes only upon You, and I ask You, my Lord, only for salvation of my soul. May Your Holy Will...’ That was the moment when Antipa felt so relieved and so tranquil as if through this prayer God Himself drew His attention to His child and stretched His helping hand to him.
“After proclaiming the prayer, the elder directed him to travel to Tsargrad...”
“Tsargrad?” Slava asked timidly, probably, not willing to interrupt Sensei on the one hand, but at the same time burning with curiosity. “Where’s that?”
“Well, it is nowadays Istanbul in Turkey, located on both sides of the Bosporus Strait between Europe and Asia – the one that connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara,” Sensei provided a full answer, perhaps, lest there should be any more geography enquiries.
“Looks like he sent him a long way,” Kostya put in. “Why did he need the Turks?”
“You are another one,” Andrew hushed at him displeased with Kostya’s meddling with his questions and disturbing such a fascinating story. “You were told that it was Tsargrad at that time.”
“A-a-ah, so were there Russians then?” Kostya didn’t stop questioning and tried to come to the root.
“No. It is just that in such a way those days the Russians called Constantinople, the capital of Byzantine Empire,” explained Sensei with patience.
“Constantinople?” exclaimed Kostya happily and seemingly in order to rehabilitate himself, chattered rapidly: “Was it by chance called after the emperor Constantine, who founded Christianity?”
“Exactly. After the Roman emperor Constantine.” But when Kostya was about to open his lips for another question, Sensei anticipated him: “After the Roman emperor, because this city became the capital of the Roman Empire since 330 A.D. and then of the Byzantine Empire from 395 up to 1453. And in general it was founded in 659 B.C. and was called Byzantium.”
Having received such an irrefragable answer, Kostya grew quiet, especially because Andrew gave him a slight nudge to his side, thus granting him a clear signal to be silent.
Meanwhile Sensei continued telling his story: “Now, then, the elder ordered him to travel to Tsargrad and from there – to the Holy Mountain, where God should vouchsafe him to meet the One, Whom the very Holy Spirit veritably stays in. And that One shall be like the Lamp upon his path to God. Having said that, the elder disappeared. The wind returned. The sky became clouded, and it started snowing heavily again. However, Antipa did not pay attention to the raging elements any more. He was happy and determined to fulfil the elder’s behest, whose affable face became imprinted in his memory for the rest of his life. This vision became the key to his whole further destiny. It can be said that starting from this moment, the moment of Antipa’s personal choice, his life changed dramatically.
“This gave Antipa an unusual lift, and he was above himself during the whole week, incessantly repeating the prayer given to him by the elder. It appeared as if God Himself was there beside him and ineffably filled Antipa’s soul with joy by His presence. It was during these days that a new peerless feeling towards God arouse within Antipa. That was the first time when Antipa actually realized what the true divine love is. This feeling was incomparable to anything of Antipa’s previous thoughts about God, naive comparison with human emotions, existing among people. This was something much higher, that cannot be described in human language. This was the Love, which thrilled his soul with delight, being unearthly raptured.
“But in exactly seven days from unforgettable vision, this extraordinary sensation of the Presence disappeared. And only pleasant memories of that truly divine feeling remained. Antipa did not hesitate to equip himself and start on his long journey, being not quite aware which way to go. But as the saying goes, you can get anywhere if you know how to use your tongue. Antipa’s one helped him reach Tsargrad. The path was not all sunshine and roses. However, incessantly repeating the soul salvation prayer he had heard from the elder, Antipa felt that God Himself was helping him. Being saved by a miracle from dangers of his adventure, at the same time Antipa was very lucky to meet good fellow travelers as well as kind people, who showed him the right way, gave him contribution and temporary lodging or shelter for the night.
“Having finally reached Tsargrad, that is, Constantinople, Antipa roamed around the capital for a long time. Although the city was nice, everything was foreign to him: foreign language, foreign people, foreign customs. He had to spend not a day there before he met a companion for the Athos.”
At that point Volodya give a polite cough and uttered: “I heard of the Athos. But, frankly, I have no idea where it is,” and stretching his lips into an awkward smile, he added: “Not a military ‘hot zone’ on this planet for sure.”
“It sure isn’t,” agreed Sensei with a smile and began explaining. “If you glance at the modern map, you will find that the Athos is located in Greece. It is a narrow mountainous peninsula, the easternmost leg of the larger Chalcidice peninsula in the Aegean Sea to be more precise. It ends with mount Athos, being a little more than 2 kilometers high. It is this mount that gave the name to the peninsula.”
“Well, looks like we all certainly have big knowledge gaps in geography,” smiled Victor.
“That’s all right. Let’s bridge them, since they are ‘big’,” Sensei said good-naturedly and continued narrating. “By the time Antipa reached the Athos, it had already been recognized as an independent monastic state, formally subordinating to Byzantine emperor in terms of administrative division. In fact, however, there was power of the Protos, a widely distinguished elder. Each year he was chosen to rule from the monasteries of that place. There already stood such monasteries as Great Lavra, Protaton, Moni-Iviron. But Antipa was not accepted in any of them.
“So, following the advice of an old monk, Antipa settled down in one of the caves, located in a retired spot of the South-Western part of the peninsula. It is noteworthy that those two years he spent in the cave, despite scarcity of food, were among his best years in the Athos. He was happy to have finally reached the Athos, as the elder had told him in his vision. He was happy to have an opportunity to pray to God by the prayer given to him in the vision, to live for it, and to be one on one with Him amid that magnificent nature. In the daytime he visited monastic temples, learned the new language as well as the monks’ way of living. While in the evenings he prayed diligently, often seeing off a sunset with the prayer and meeting an early sunrise. It was only two years later that Antipa was accepted a hegumen of one of the monasteries and was professed as a monk, being baptized Antony, in honor of Venerable Anthony the Great, in Egypt, who had led selfless life, solely living in caves for a long time.
“Antony mistook the hegumen of this monastery for the ‘Lamp,’ the elder had told him in his vision. In turn the hegumen, as ought to be done by the one being in holy orders, began teaching Antony of the monastic life. In a few years Antony managed to reach such a spiritual progress, so ‘devoted himself to acting in virtues’ that many people ‘made spiritual use of him’. Even the monks were amazed at such a rapid strengthening of his spirit and will. The hegumen had a vision that Antony would participate in the rise of Christianity in Rus and that Antony was destined to prepare the Abode for the very Holy Spirit. The hegumen considered it a sign and sent him hurriedly to Rus, to the city of Kiev.
“That time Antony was about thirty. After reaching Kiev Antony visited monasteries being built by Greek monks, who came along with Metropolitan Michael for Baptizing of Rus. However, Antony did not want to stay in any of those monasteries. So he walked around mountainous environs. Ultimately he found a small cave, dug by Varangians in the past, and he settled down in it. But he did not live for long there. As soon as Svyatopolk came into power after Vladimir’s death, bloodshed and persecution started again. Antony returned to the Athos, where in diligent prayers he reached a great age.
“Although Antony did live according to the monastery order, still he had a special holiday in his spiritual zeal. He noticed that each year on the day of that memorable vision of the distinctive elder, starting from the very early morning he felt an unusual fit of energy. The feeling of the very spiritual lift, he experienced after the vision, returned to him anew. It remained for a week and then passed away again. So, Antony began to perceive these days as a special feast for his soul. During this week he endeavored to secluding himself, fasting, and praying to God with even greater diligence. The result was astounding. This extraordinary feeling of inspiration increased manifold and grew stronger year after year.
“Comprehending ecclesiastical writings afterwards, Antony was more frequently coming to the conclusion that in the memorable vision he had seen Archangel Gabriel himself, the proclaimer of joy and salvation, harbinger and servant of God's omnipotence of miracles and God’s mysteries, – only in a bit unconventional to the ecclesiastical notion appearance.
“The main events in Antony’s spiritual life, however, began when he was past sixty. Once there was a rumor among the fraternity that their monastery was to be visited shortly by a certain mysterious persona. And considering the elders’ instructions, they were preparing for a visit of an important spiritual guest indeed. As Antony related afterwards to Agapit himself, he had thought then that arrival of some incredibly authoritative spiritual elder had been expected. Thus, it was such an amazement for him to see – instead of an elder – a good-looking fair-haired young man. Perhaps, the only unusual notion about him were his keen eyes, shining beyond his years with some profound wisdom and inspired glitter. However, Antony was even more astonished with the reverence and deep respect that some of the elders of the Athos showed to this young man. He could not realize why his sojourn at that place was covered with some sort of veil of impenetrable mystery. Who was he to have been paid so many compliments and so much attention? He did not seem to be a monk, although he had been leading such spiritual talks, to which even their wise leaders listened to with delight. What was more, that guy turned to be quite an enlightened man. He had a perfect command of several languages. Besides, Antony was pleasantly surprised that this respectable guest was a Russian by birth and, as it turned out later, he knew Kiev and its surroundings well. And that young man’s name was Agapit.
“Even when Antony was introduced to him personally, he was unable to get used to the fellow’s simple manner of speaking to him – such an ease despite all the importance of that person for the Athos and all the deep respect that the elders showed to the young man. But, perhaps, the most striking was the simplicity and lucidity with which Agapit explained wisdom of holy fathers. As for his interpreting of the Teachings of Jesus, Antony could listen to him for hours, for Agapit spoke so simply and clearly, using such examples and in such detail, as if he had been a witness to those events of millennial remoteness. And those stories urged Antony to read available ecclesiastical writings again and again.
“During the time that Agapit stayed at the Athos, Antony befriended with him. In spite of his youth, Agapit had quite a store of knowledge, including knowledge of medicine. And he imparted some of this knowledge to Antony. Agapit was also well up, speaking our language, in physics, chemistry, cognition of natural phenomena, as well as in human studies – philosophy, politics, religion. It was a pleasure to talk to him on various matters. And these conversations left some inexplicable pleasant feeling in one’s soul.
“Antony became friends with Agapit despite considerable disparity in age. And in this friendship Antony discovered entirely new outstanding Personality of Agapit when he began to initiate him into secrets of the great science of ‘the White Lotus Art’. It was by word of Agapit that Antony first learnt about the previous human race of Alt-Land, about the underground Temple of Lotus built during those times on the territory of Kiev soil, and about the burden that Jesus had given to Andrew the First-Called for that place. Many a secret and much a knowledge did Agapit impart to him.
“After a time they parted. Agapit was to go to the capital of Byzantium and to the East from there. But he promised Antony that he would see him again and ‘foretold’ their meeting on Kiev’s soil, in the place marked in the past times of Alt-Land.”
“Is there really a marked place there?” inquired Kostya, evidently willing to hear continuation.
“Of course,” replied Sensei. “This place is even mentioned in the Gospel of Andrew the First-Called...”
“Andrew the First-Called?!” Andrew roused himself, as if having heard this name only now.
“And who is he?” Ruslan asked lazily scratching his side.
Sensei smiled looking at him and pronounced: “Andrew is one of the closest disciples of Jesus. He was among the first ones, whom Jesus accepted as disciples, while preaching in Palestine.”
“Hmm.., is there a Gospel of Andrew the First-Called?” asked Nikolai Andreevich with surprise. “I’ve read the Bible and heard about Andrew. As for his gospel ... I don’t recollect. Maybe this book was not included in the Bible? There is now – how much – four, five Gospels, isn’t it?”
“Four,” answered Sensei and after a silence added: “Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Although they were all written by..,” but leaving it unsaid, he continued: “Indeed, there is no Gospel of Andrew the First-Called in the Bible. Not all gospels were included in the Bible, but only those that were selected by the emperor Constantine and his assistants to fulfil tasks posed before them. The remaining gospels were simply rejected because they interpreted matters by no means convenient and beneficial to them. And even the selected ones were fairly edited according to the situation of those times and to claiming Christianity as a state religion.
“Since 364, when the ‘New Testament’ was approved as such, and till the date when the Bible was first published, the text also had been edited numerous times. Plus inaccuracies in translation played their part. You know, the Bible had been written in Hebrew, with an insignificant part in Aramaic, while the ‘New Testament’ was in Greek. So, between the first printed book, published in 1455, and the one, which had been edited in 364, there lays a world of difference. Plus corrections that were made further. As a result we have now what we have. Nonetheless, much valuable and needed for people information has reached our times,” emphasized Sensei. “And again, speaking of gospels, besides those canonized by church, there are dozens of apocryphal gospels.”
Ruslan knitted his brows and asked in a businesslike tone: “What is apo... apo... well, that... critics?”
“Apocrypha are works of literature that were not accepted by church or by priesthood as holy books. In general the word ‘apocrypha’ originates from Greek ‘apokryhos,’ which means ‘mysterious,’ ‘secret’. And primarily it was attributed to works of a Christian group, who called themselves the Gnostics, and who tried to keep their teachings in secret.”
“Right,” nodded Nikolai Andreevich. “By the way, I’ve read that an entire library of Christian Gnostics’ writings was found in 1946 in the South of Egypt.”
“Absolutely correct,” confirmed Sensei. “Among other works of literature there were found Gospels of Thomas, of Philip, of Truth, the Apocryphal writing of John. And some time earlier there had been found on papyri in Egypt some abstracts of unknown gospels written in different versions...”
“Well, what an surprise for priests!” giggled Eugene. “These bookies ain’t gotten accepted, but they just keep finding them. Such a real trooble with all this ancient ‘pulp literature.”
Sensei and the guys smiled.
“The problem is the apocrypha are divided into ‘allowable’ and so-called ‘forbidden’. The ‘forbidden’ ones were surely sought to be eliminated. By the way, the first official list of ‘forbidden’ books was made in Eastern Roman empire in the 5th century A.D. Naturally, after such a ‘vandalism’ the descendants were left merely with some book titles and quotations, cited in works of Christian writers of the 2-4 centuries, who had been arguing with those books... Though, everything goes as always,” Sensei shrugged his shoulders.
“Yes, that’s sad,” murmured Nikolai Andreevich. “But it’s the history of mankind. Why was it necessary to destroy it? The book could lay for the time being. Let the descendants make unbiased judgment.”
“You see, the matter is,” Sensei began explaining: “some of these books were valuable indeed, because they reflected true Teaching of Jesus in the form, initially given by him. Therefore, they left indifferent not a single human soul, because the true Teaching of Jesus enabled people to become free from any and all fears of this world. They started to realize that body is perishable; soul is immortal. People ceased being hostages and slaves of material world illusions of being. They understood that only God is above them. They realized how short life is and how temporary the conditions are, which their present body is constrained in. They knew that this life, howsoever long it may seem – is but one instant, in which their soul remains. They became aware that any worldly power, whether those of politics or religious organizations, is limited to power over bodies only. These rulers worship their own ‘god,’ who was given power on the Earth, over its matter, but not over soul. For soul belongs only to the true One God. And the first followers of Jesus, who professed His Teaching, – not a religion, which it became later – they lost fear of this life. They began to feel and understand that God is very near to them, closer and dearer than anyone, and that He is eternal... Such a true freedom of people terribly frightened authorities. Therefore, the latter began collecting and painstakingly revising written sources of Jesus’ Teaching available at that time. Much was destroyed after selecting the information necessary for making of a new religion, propagated already by authorities, what they call it, ‘top-down’.
“Therefore, many written sources, containing true words of Jesus, did not fit in the collections of ‘new ideology for masses’. But in spite of all deliberate omissions, contrivances, and egoistic ambitions of people, being at power on the upper strata of religion at different times, these written sources have been existing, and they still exist!
“Now then, in the Gospel of the very Andrew the First-Called it is written that since Pontius Pilate’s people had saved Jesus after crucifixion, Jesus spoke to Pontius Pilate. It was owing to Pontius Pilate’s appeal that Jesus decided to leave for the East. Before the departure he distributed regions among the apostles, where they were to go and preach the Teaching.”
“Weren’t they drawing lots of some sort, who goes where,” remarked Nikolai Andreevich.
“No, there were no lots as such. That is a guesswork of people. Apostles... By the way, the word ‘apostols’ is translated as ‘messenger’ from Greek. So, disciples-messengers of Jesus were very different, and of course they varied one from another in terms of their spiritual progress. Jesus allocated various regions with corresponding peoples and tribes among the messengers on the basis of their spiritual maturity. Those, who were somewhat stronger, received more difficult regions or those of especial importance for further spiritual awakening of mankind. Those who were somewhat weaker received less difficult ‘areas’. In general everyone was assigned a burden within one’s power...”
Sensei stopped for a while and then pronounced: “Too significant it was for many human souls both at that time and in the future that the spreading of this Teaching should be trusted to a simple lot of human mind...
“He enjoined Andrew, as one of the strong apprentices, to visit with homily Thrace, Scythia, Sarmatia. But most importantly to reach the Borysthenes mountains and lay blessings upon those lands, where the Holy Spirit shall condescend in a thousand years’ time, establishing His Abode there. Jesus gave Andrew lotus seeds and enjoined him to lay this burden into that land as a gift for the Holy Spirit. His words became a rebus, set by Jesus, for Andrew as well as for those, who came across this description afterwards. Few realized why Jesus had given him exactly the lotus seeds, even if those seeds were merely a symbol.”
“And, really, why?” asked Andrew with surprise.
But Sensei only smiled enigmatically and evading direct answer, said: “Any seed is first of all... well, to make it more clear for you, let’s put it figuratively: it is a ‘microchip’ which has vast memory. It is able to carry not only the matrix of a future plant, but also a huge amount of other information. I’ll tell you more about it some time later. In addition to all that, those seeds happened to be in the hands of Jesus himself – the Son of God. Plus, those were the seeds of lotus, germinating ability of which lasts for millennia... Hence, draw your conclusions.”
Sensei became silent. And we just sat there, looking at him, and trying to latch, with those little wits of ours, on the ‘conclusions’ about what exactly was there so special about that event. Andrew, apparently trying to make ends meet in his mind full of confusing questions, enquired: “How was Andrew the First-Called able to find a place Jesus had told him about?”
“Easily,” said Sensei simply. “In the ‘good news,’ or, speaking Greek, in euangelion, Andrew described not only the true life of Jesus, but also his journey during the fulfilment of his mission. It is there that he mentions that after reaching the Borysthenes (the Dnieper river was called the Borysthenes at that time), Andrew recognized this place right away. For it turned out that Jesus had described it with high precision. It seemed that Jesus was well aware of those mountains, though He had never mentioned to have been there.”
“Did He really happen to be there?” inquired Yura.
“He is the Son of God, you know,” answered Sensei with a smile. “And God is everywhere.” After a pause he continued his narration: “After all, the Gospel of Andrew the First-Called was disallowed, because it by no means fit in making of the new religion. There were generally two reasons for that. Firstly, the Gospel was too freedom-loving and upright, for there were true words of Jesus in it, so to say, from his own lips. Besides, Jesus’ conveyance of his Teaching was too simple, wise, and easy to understand. Andrew also described many details of his Teacher’s real life such as that in his youth Jesus had been in the East, which, again, did not fit in churchly dogmas. In addition to that, mentioning of the lotus seed completely nonplussed ‘their majesties censors’. For it gave a scent of such religions as Buddhism and Hinduism. Nobody wanted to admix such a clear foreign symbolism to their religion. So it became another stumbling block, a reason for argues and discord among those, who decided in which ‘tones’ the religion’s ideology was to be sustained. That is why the Gospel of Andrew the First-Called was taken away, so to say ‘out of sight’.
“Of course, there were versions of Andrew’s the First-Called Gospel passing among various early Christian groups, but they were mostly written by followers of Andrew the First-Called about the Teaching of Jesus.”
“What happened to the Gospel of Andrew the First-Called? Was it destroyed?” asked Andrew.
“Well, they tried, of course,” Sensei chuckled seeming to recall some curious event. “But as it is said such things can neither be drawn in water nor burnt in fire, even if human foolishness desires it very much... But these are merely the petty details of life... Many years after Andrew the First-Called had accomplished his Teacher’s request, the words of Jesus came true. A city of Kiev sprang up in that place – the ‘mother of Russian cities’, the capital and cradle of Slavs unification in Kievan Rus. As for the place, where Andrew the First-Called ‘laid’ the lotus seeds, the Holy Spirit himself descended into a human body and established his Abode there.”
“What do you mean by ‘the Holy Spirit descended into a human body’?” asked Kostya.
“Well, simply speaking, the leader of Shambala came in a body of Agapit.”
“The leader of Shambala himself?” repeated Andrew with amazement.
Sensei smiled.
“Yes. He has to visit human world, so-to-say, duty-bound, at least once in twelve thousand years. While during significant events for mankind even more frequently, almost once in every thousand years, especially at the beginning and concluding stages of another civilization.”
Kostya only opened his mouth to ask something, when Sensei, looking at him, anticipated with an answer: “‘Civilization’ is meant here from the point of view of Shambala... But perhaps we deviated from the subject a little. Let us return to those events that took place one thousand years after Jesus... Several years after Agapit had left the Athos, the hegumen had another advice from God. In his vision there came Archangel Gabriel himself and enjoined him to send Antony to Rus. It was in 1051.
“Upon arriving that time, Antony did not visit Christian monasteries; although in any of them they would gladly offer shelter to a respectable elder from the Mount Athos. Antony purposefully came to the place, which he had accidentally stayed at, visiting Kiev the first time, and which had been indicated by Agapit before his departure. He settled down on a hill near Dnieper in the same cave. And began to lead a solitary life, waiting for Agapit and abiding in incessant prayers unto God, especially the one, which had been leading him from his youth up. Although he was often in need of food and worked physically every day, deepening the cave; yet he was really happy again. For he was one on one with God as earlier in his remote youth, when he had been living in the caves of the Athos.
“Local villagers soon got to know about him. Antony become famous among them for what Agapit had taught him at the Athos – his gift of sagacity, miracle-working, healing, and praying. People began coming to him: one for treatment, another for blessing, while the other with a will to stay with him, gaining in spiritual exploits. So, by the time Agapit arrived, besides Anthony there were several inhabitants living in the cave, who had been made monks at their instance by the elder. By that time they enlarged and deepened the cave in joint efforts and made monastic cells for themselves.
“Antony greeted his friend from way back with great joy. Seeing such respectable regard of the elder for Agapit, the rest of the fraternity treated him with the same distinction. Agapit kept surprising Antony by his mysterious and in many respects enigmatic personality. When Agapit came to Kiev Antony witnessed his secret meeting with Yaroslav the Wise himself. Agapit passed four valuable handwritten books and three manuscripts for his ‘library’. Three of those books were encrusted with precious stones. While the fourth one, though it looked modest, evidently was very ancient. Antony was astounded. Every book was a real masterpiece and was worth a whole fortune. As for the manuscripts... Even one manuscript in those days was valued at a fabulous price. To afford such a luxurious and truly royal gift, only a person of at least ‘blue royal blood’ could do that. Not only this astonished Antony then. Above all was the fact that Agapit and Yaroslav were freely conversing with each other! Yaroslav talked to him in such a way as if he had known Agapit well, like they were good old friends, and that was despite considerable difference in age and Yaroslav’s high grand-prince standing.
“Following that memorable meeting, amazed at what he had seen, Antony hastened to propose Agapit to become the head of the fraternity, the elder of which he was. However, Agapit was willing to leave everything the way it was and become a simple monk. He asked Antony to keep his meeting with Yaroslav a secret. And wished to take monastic rank, so that not to stand out among the rest of the fraternity.”
“Say!” an exclamation escaped Kostya. “But he was a Bodhisattva! And he chose to be a simple monk?!”
Sensei looked fixedly at him and distinctively pronounced: “Any power for a Bodhisattva is but an empty word. A Bodhisattva serves only God. Unlike humans he knows, what is being ‘here’ and what is being ‘there’.”
Kostya became a bit confused and apologetically murmured: “Well, I did not mean it in that way... I meant...” at that point he has evidently found an appropriate argument, “I mean, one ought to rest sometimes with all that work. As far as I know simple monks worked like beavers in those days.”
Sensei answered him: “For a Bodhisattva there is no rest as such from human point of view. He knows the meaning of time and is able to appreciate it. Agapit was an influential and strong personality, of course. However, he consciously escaped the power, rule over the fraternity, and devoted his full spare time to real aid to people. By the way, later on when the number of the fraternity grew, Antony passed governing to Barlaam and became a simple monk by the example of Agapit.”
“What kind of help did Agapit render to people? Healing?” inquired Volodya.
“Yes, besides his other merits, Agapit was a good practitioner of medicine. His heartfelt, caring attitude towards his patients produced unprecedented fame and respect among people, quite afar from Kiev too, although Agapit practically never quit the monastery territory. He became the most renowned physician of the 11th century. People called him ‘the Healer from God’. He cured such grave diseases, which nobody of then famous physicians agreed to treat. For instance, take such historically known fact, when Agapit cured dying Chernigov prince Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh. A physician surnamed the Armenian, who was considered the best physician of that time among noble people, could not help the prince in any way. While for Agapit it was enough to put Vladimir Monomakh on his legs in a few short days by passing a ‘miracle potion’ prepared with a prayer via the prince’s messenger. Later on the prince came to Pechersk monastery in order to return kindness to Agapit and brought many expensive gifts and much gold with him. But Agapit refused everything both from the prince himself as well as from the boyar he sent afterwards on his behalf. It was because Agapit cured both common people and noble ones with equal diligence and without return. That is why they called him Agapit the Unmercenary Healer. Naturally it caused conventional human envy, neighboring with malice, among such physicians as the Armenian. However, as to the Armenian personally, he ultimately realized, Who Agapit actually was. And it was owing to this that he became a monk of Pechersk monastery afterwards.”
“You don't say! He didn’t even take money for treatment?!” Kostya was surprised again. “But how did Agapit live?”
“Modestly. In spiritual exploit.” And smiling Sensei added: “His cell caused pity even among thieves. For the single whatsoever precious object there was Agapit himself, his experience, and his knowledge.”
“But what did he live on? What did he eat? Thin air?”
Sensei laughed.
“No. He did not eat himself for sure.”
“It’s not long to... you know, kick up one's heels.”
“Well, sooner or later each of us will kick up his heels,” either jokingly or seriously said Sensei. “But the point is not in that.”
“Ahem, I see that... But he did not steal that money, he earned it honestly. Besides, people brought it to him on their own will. Why didn’t he take it?”
“You see, the point is that Agapit taught the monks the true service to God. He said that ‘gold’ and ‘monk’ are incompatible entities. No man can serve two masters at once: he serves either God or earthly reaches, that is, a devil. No third option given. A monk truly expects a reward only from God in that world, not here from people. Gold indeed is litter for soul and temptation for thoughts. It is filth, which many thirst for, but which in truth is a shadowy delusion. The true value for a monk is in sincere prayer for his soul. It is not satiety of a belly and health of a body that one needs to be concerned about. For whatever food you eat, sooner or later you will be hungry. And whatever health you’ve got, sooner or later your flesh will die. While the soul is eternal. And only it is worthy of a true concern. As Agapit used to say, a monk prays for all people at his heartfelt will, but the whole point of monkhood is to serve God and by a prayer to obtain salvation of your own soul from Him.”
Sensei stopped, and there reigned silence. But soon it was interrupted by Victor’s thoughtful voice: “Not anyone is able to do that...”
But then his reasoning was interrupted by Kostya’s ‘inferences’: “So, Agapit was, in modern language, a folk healer?”
Sensei answered to that with ironical smile: “Well, if we take modern language, then Agapit was an academician, rather. As I’ve mentioned earlier, he mastered not only medicine, but also other disciplines. He knew several languages and easily read original treatises of antique Roman authors. He translated books into the Slavonic language. For the ‘library’ of Yaroslav the Wise he translated not only books from the East, but also ancient Egyptian manuscripts.
“Later on Agapit also helped... or, rather, consulted Svyatoslav, who was compiling ‘The Collection of the year 1073,’ where beside encyclopaedic articles there was medical data described in detail. Particularly, methods of illnesses recognition, various recommendations on preparation and usage of medicinal plants, as well as knowledge on human physiology and anatomy. This book was used as a learning textbook for a good while afterwards.
“Agapit, of course, trained monks to culture and thirst for knowledge as well. He imparted medical knowledge to some of them, while helped the others in coping with books in their free time. In passing, it was subsequently legitimated by a cloistral rule, and book-reading in spare time became obligatory for monks. It was on his initiative that a book-collection of Kiev Pechersk Monastery was created.”
“Book-collection?” Ruslan repeated the word, which sounded so antique.
“Yes. A library, the way we say.”
“A-ah...”
“So, Agapit helped some of the talented monks to master medical treatment,” Sensei continued his narration. “The learning was based on special prayers, uttered in a particular state of consciousness, as a rule over food or liquid. Owing to which, for instance, that liquid was filled with force, and used as a remedy afterwards, given to the sick for intake or for external use. Simply speaking, Agapit’ disciples learnt not only the ways of altering physical characteristics of liquids, but also their molecule structure, overlaying the necessary information. Naturally, they were not aware to such a nicety of the process, which took place in molecule microcosm of liquid structures, as well as of how it exactly influenced the macroobject. But they did not really need to know all that. The monks simply used general postulates of the knowledge, given to them by Agapit, – the same way, for example, as we use electricity nowadays. The electric power is exploited by people every day; however, thus far nobody really knows what it is in fact.
“For instance, monk Damian, who had received training from Agapit, could treat people well, especially children, by anointing oil.”
“By what?” asked Slavik, who seemed to have not caught what Sensei said.
“By anointing oil.”
“What is it?”
“It’s olive lamp-oil. Christians even have an entire ceremony, the so-called Anointing of the Sick – a sacrament administered by seven priests, or if there is no such possibility – by one priest, over a sick person. Otherwise it is also called the Unction of the Sick. The essence of it again is in reciting of certain prayers over the sick and anointing this person with consecrated oil. And that is done seven times.”
“Why exactly seven priests and seven times?” asked Andrew.
“That is accounted for by spiritual force, the forces of the seven Archangels, who are mediators between God and peoples. Simply speaking, of the seven Bodhisattvas... As for using anointing oil in such a way, actually it is a very ancient way of treating the sick. So far it is based on the knowledge I’ve mentioned to you – man’s capabilities of influencing environment through liquid. That is why you can find similar rites in various religions and ritual ceremonies of the peoples of the world.”
“Eh,” sighed Nikolai Andreevich. “People are gradually losing gist, leaving only its exterior form.”
“Unfortunately,” uttered Sensei. “There were times when people knew what they were doing. Now they only imitate exterior form of that knowledge. Take one of the seven sacraments of Christianity, the Baptism, which signifies communion of a man with this religion. Nowadays it is a solemn, decompound ceremony, the major action of which is the triple submerging of a person in consecrated water, reciting prayers, anointing with oil and chrism. However, even those, who administer this rite, don’t know what an great power stands behind this whole exterior action. Even the believers in fact underestimate and are not fully aware of the true effect of this water.” And after a short silence he added: “The rite of ablution of the newborn, by the way, appeared in Christianity not right away, but much later, along with the development and improvement of Christian ceremonies.
“The origins of Baptism throw an accent back onto pre-Christian cults. Such water rites were conducted in many religions of the ancient world, which in turn were based on popular believes of their ancestors about the ‘cleansing’ power of water. But the purport of the Baptism practice, which was given to people initially, lies deeper, beyond the bounds of water element, which people see in exterior.”
“Interesting! What is its purport, I wonder?” asked Nikolai Andreevich quickly, intrigued with the topic of conversation as much as we were.
“The purport of genuine Baptism practice is immersion of a man in the depths of his own consciousness down to the soul. The word ‘baptism’ in Greek sounds like ‘vaptisis,’ which means ‘immersion’. Do you remember, I’ve mentioned to you this morning immersion practice of yogis called ‘Pranayama’? To a modern view these two may seem absolutely different practices, between which people drew a chasm by their ambitions. But the fact is that Baptism and Pranayama as well as a number of other practices and rites, relating to water, are but a distant echo of the true knowledge and practices that had been adopted by people themselves to vast masses. Primordial knowledge was based on practices that altered person’s state of consciousness and led him onto a certain frequency, which enabled him to grow spiritually and come to God as a mature being. In other words, per se, owing to these practices this person got to know the true reality. He knew what he was doing and where he was going.
“Long time ago the practice of ‘immersion’ was given to people and was intended for those, who already achieved a certain level of spiritual development. Owing to this practice man entered into an altered state of consciousness and acquired ability to immerse in his most secret depths, where he was able to unite with God. Naturally, there was no place for any Animal nature, since it was all about the essence of the Soul. And this practice indeed gave secrets of knowledge, the very knowledge that cannot be put into words, for it was obtained from a particle of God – the omniscient Soul.”
“Yes, we’ve lost much valuable in time,” Nikolai Andreevich remarked sadly. “Often we do not understand at all what we do and why we do it. We attribute everything to traditions, soothing ourselves that this is the way it’s been done from old, that we are paying homage to our ancestors, allegedly.”
Sensei smiled ironically and uttered: “Well, when you get down to it, it is better than nothing at all and complete oblivion. Because sooner or later there will be those who shall get at the roots of things.”
“I did not pay attention to such matters previously,” Nikolai Andreevich said. “But now as you were speaking about Baptism, I recalled a conversation with one of my long-time former patients. He is a believer, a devotee so-to-say, taking every word of Church literally. Anyway, during one of our talks he related the ideology of the Office of Christian Baptism. I am christened myself, though in childhood. But that was the first time I heard such a thing. According to this ideology, only the one, who received baptism, and no one else, is cleansed from the original sin, connected with the very fact of human birth. That it is only after baptism, that man becomes a member of the church and communes to its blessings, which is Everlasting life. Before baptism, man allegedly bears a diabolical seal, that is, he is not detached from satanic nature. And after administration of such sacrament, Satan is banished from this man’s heart and remains in the external towards the person forever. And that owing to the Baptism a man is able to free himself from all the sins and abstain from backsliding to it in what follows. Can it really be so?”
“No, of course not. Undoubtedly, Baptism, has force. But for an ordinary person it is but an impetus towards his spiritual awakening. However, it does not rid him of his Animal nature, which is named ‘satan’ in Christianity. Man remains in Animal body. Mind of man – is Animal’s mind. And there is no way to throw that away into the exterior or to get rid of it completely. Assuming like that is equivalent to reasoning like a person, who is driving a car and tries to convince himself that he is just flying.
“Even Bodhisattvas, when being born in a human body, are liable to trials of Animal nature and all the human temptations. For instance, take Jesus, God’s Son, born in a human body. He did not escape this lot. For forty days did he have to struggle with ‘satan,’ that is, simply speaking, he underwent his personal Armageddon. He subdued Animal’s mind to his Spiritual Nature, ‘chaining up’ his Animal nature. And even despite that it had been ‘barking’ and ‘whining’ for the whole life, making itself felt. Because even though Jesus was the Great Soul, still he was in a human body. And there is no escaping it. Such is the Law. Such is the human nature.”
Kostya uttered to this, smiling: “I recall myself being baptized in the middle school. The priest asked us something, and we answered all together. Then he told us to turn to the West, blow and spit on satan with all might. This I remembered well, because I gathered all my saliva and did my best...”
We laughed, and Sensei explained: “This was one of the Baptism rituals – banning of evil spirits and renunciation of satan.”
“Well, I do understand that,” smiled Kostya, imitating Nikolai Andreevich’s reasoning. “But why did we need to spit?”
“By this spittle, as it is believed, a Christian shows that he is not afraid of satan and his crafty designs, because God gives this person the necessary protection,” explained Sensei. “In short, man shows his utter contempt for satan.”
“Why, such a queer culture – sheer Middle Ages,” chuckled Kostya.
“Culture has nothing to do with it. People do not change, you know. They remain the same like in the past.”
“And why did we turn to the West?”
“The thing is that the Orthodox Eastern Church has always associated the West with forces, opposing God. When a person turns to the West during this ritual, as churchmen believe, the baptized renounces satan directly, declaring it to him, so-to-say right in the ‘face’. After that the person turns to the altar on the East. This side is considered to be linking man to God.”
“Well, taking into account that Shambala is located somewhere there, they may be right,” remarked Volodya, and after a pause said in a bass: “And about the West, perhaps, as well.”
“The priest used to say prayers in Old Church Slavonic,” Kostya went into reminiscences. “Although half of what he said was obscure. Then he aspersed us with water, oiled us with something. Ah! He also sheared locks from our hair, and we wrapped them in wax cookies and dipped them in water. Why should it be so complicated, anyway?”
“You’ll understand when you grow up,” Victor put in.
Sensei smiled with a tinge of sadness and uttered: “You see, even such a rite is merely a show for some, and life rethinking for others.”
Kostya grew quiet after these words, and Nikolai Andreevich seized an opportunity to address Sensei with a story about his patient.
“So, during that conversation, he mentioned that only the baptized person will go to heaven, while the unbaptized one will never get there. That other sacraments have no effect on the unbaptized. Such person supposedly must neither be prayed for, nor commemorated during his life as well as after his death. He must not be even given a requiem service. And after baptism, allegedly, all these are allowed to be made. Looks like an unbaptized person does not exist for the Church at all?”
Sensei listened to Nikolai Andreevich attentively and then softly replied: “How shall I put it?.. For the church of this particular religion, perhaps, he does not exist. But for God – all people are His children! Starting from the eighth day, right after soul settles in a human body, he becomes His ‘child,’ a little human – with a small letter. But it is only up to the person himself – his will and his choice – that he can become a Human from the capital letter and come to God as a mature creation.”
“Does man’s soul settle in the body on the eighth day?” asked Ruslan.
“Yes.”
“And before that... What is that child before that?”
“Just a living organism, such as any other little animal,” replied Sensei. “And again, regarding this question we encounter that the knowledge was lost, and only mere traditions remain from times immemorial. By the way, echoes of the knowledge that soul comes on the eighth day from birth has been kept in Rus up till now. The child’s name was often given depending on the saint being honored on the eighth day of child’s life. And, by the way, earlier it was not the birth day that was celebrated, but the name day – the memory day of the saint, in honor of whom this person was named, – lest the person should glorify his pride, yet remember why people come to this world and whose name he bears... On the whole the tradition of giving a name to a child goes back to the Old Testament times...”
“It looks like nowadays we celebrate the birth of our Animal nature?!” Eugene made a discovery for himself. “So, now I get it why people stuff themselves and drink so much on their birthdays, like piglets. And they want presents – large and expensive too! So that’s where all our piggish essence reveals!”
Everyone laughed.
“No, we ought to abandon these scandalous practices,” continued the guy. “That’s it, Stas, next birthday I’ll come a week later and bring no gifts with me, except for a sole candle. For presents only harm thy soul, whilst feeding your Animal more and more, year by year awaking the appetite of a big swine...”
Stas did not hesitate to respond with a more constructive suggestion regarding Eugene’s birthday. His friend immediately replied him with a joke. And their clownery creased up laughing the whole party. Later, when everyone calmed down, Nikolai Andreevich continued his reflections aloud.
“Indeed, there’re mere formalities and no knowledge anywhere you look at. That’s it, our so called ‘progress’... Now, I do understand, for example, from psychological view-point that baptism – if it is an adult who is christened – helps him gain self-confidence, asserts himself in a sense, protects him at least in such a way from his own fears. It turns him to the good, obliges to live according to the universal moral criteria. That’s all understandable. But why do they separate the ones christened and ones not-christened so categorically? What if a person is born in a family where parents belong to different religions? They actually push a person into an inner conflict with their restrictions and categorical frames.”
“Well, what do you want? Religious leaders are people too... As the saying goes, one cannot get to heaven of one religion without getting to hell of the rest.”
“Oh, my,” drawled Nikolai Andreevich. “Everyone wants to eat, as they say.”
“Exactly,“ Volodya said in a bass. “Everybody wants to drive another’s sheep into his own flock.”
Everybody laughed. And Sensei uttered: “Well, but for jokes. Despite all the religious trumpery, the rites of sanctifying with water are rather important to an ordinary person, because they stimulate him to take the first step towards God. All those rites with their appearance, confusion, incomprehensibility, bring the person into a kind of trance. By the way, the person who administers the ceremony and the participants in fact equally enter this state. And if the thoughts of all those being there are really concentrated on prayers to God – not on deliberation of material problems – it will engender spiritual force that each of the participants will receive in the form of an inner surge of their agathodaemon. That’s splendid for ordinary people! At least that’ll turn their attention to the fact that material being is not the only one existing, and that in fact they are born not for the sake of becoming lifelong slaves of their own Ego.
“In other words, through the rite a person finds hope, which gives him an impulse towards faith. While the principal sacrament arises from his own faith. Do you see the difference? If power of faith and will is enough for a spiritual person to change his state of consciousness and work on spiritual practices, an ordinary man lacks elementary belief in his own power. He needs spectacular, mass involvement to draw him away from material being and persuade him just for five minutes that there are higher values.”
“Why five minutes?” asked Ruslan.
“Because after all those impressions and positive splashes he comes home, and there are all sorts of problems of material being. So his consciousness returns to its habitual flow. If only he were clever enough to change himself for the better spiritual side with his own willpower. But, alas, he shifts all his inner problems onto the external ones.”
“Does that mean pure knowledge doesn’t impress people?!” Nikolai Andreevich drew his unexpected conclusion.
“Absolutely right, howsoever paradoxical it may sound,” agreed Sensei. “Pure knowledge doesn’t impress people. It is too difficult for them to understand it due to its simplicity. There are no visual shows, bright impressions, emotional-stressing experiences, you know. And what do people strive for first of all? Bread and circuses, for it corresponds to most people’s estimation of the savor of life.
“People complicate their lives themselves. And that is true not only for ordinary people, living with their worldly concerns. There are some individuals who try to follow spiritual path, take first steps on finding initial knowledge. But instead of sincere self-cultivation and practicing of this knowledge in aspiration to learn the essence and move on, they spend years looking at the exterior form and attaching importance only to the fact of possessing it.”
“What do you mean?” Yura didn’t understand.
“Well, it is just the same as, for example, a man having a chocolate, instead of simply eating it up, goes to America to learn for five years how to unwrap the outer cover at first. Then he goes to Japan and studies unwrapping the foil as many years again. Then he travels to North, to the Chukchis, to learn how to bite the chocolate properly. After that he spends five years both in England and France, learning how to estimate the chocolate’s taste in his mouth appropriately. At last, he comes home, takes his chocolate and eats it up in two minutes. And then he realizes that it’s not quite what he has been expecting and preparing with such a pomposity for. Could it be like that – to eat the chocolate in two minutes, and that’s all? Could he have spent years of his life merely to come to such a simple thing? That kind of reaction is natural, because in truth he was just wasting time. But one doesn’t have to go far to acquire knowledge. Just look inside yourself and realize, who you are and what you want in this life.”
Sensei kept silence and raked a fallen ember up to the fire with a stick. A short pause arose again.
“I also wanted to ask you,” Nikolai Andreevich suddenly recollected, “about the Holy Spirit. As far as I understood from the story of my patient, everything in baptism ceremony is based on the Holy Spirit descending upon man’s soul. For example, when consecrating water, a priest asks that the water in a font be sanctified with the power, grace-giving action, and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He is also called upon, when anointing as well as when the person is christened. When anointing parts of body, the priest also pronounces: ‘The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit!’. Each part of a body symbolizes something. Face to sanctify thoughts, legs – for the christened person to walk the path of Christ, arms – for him to do work of mercy. Is it a mere tradition or does it have some sense?”
“You have answered your question in part yourself. A symbolism takes place, of course, but the sacrament of the very Holy Spirit is there too. For those who address with faith receive their merit. In general man is able to come to perceiving God only through the Holy Spirit, for He is the first helper and the mediator between God and human. He is numerous in His manifestation, but His Entity is one. There is no religion, no sacrament, awakening Love and Belief in God in man that can be done without inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Because for people He is God’s power, His Ear, and His Voice,” Sensei made a pause and then got back to the story about Agapit again.
“By the way, we have digressed from the story about the disciples of Agapit. Now then, Damian healed people by prayer, anointing the sick with chrism. Yet, for example, another disciple of Agapit, Alipy, used paints instead of chrism. He was an icon-painter. Already in his youth, he helped the Greeks to paint the Assumption Cathedral of Pechersk Monastery. Then he started painting icons on his own. Agapit taught him how to cure people’s skin diseases, for instance, ulcers and festering wounds, with the help of a prayer and paints.”
“How can they be cured with paints?” wondered Kostya.
“Well, how? Paints have liquid basis, you know. They are just the same oils that are mixed with dyes. Plus, dyes themselves have additional therapeutic features, which naturally increase general health-improving effect. Only natural dyes were used in those days, you know, not the modern chemical ones. Some dyes have good antibacterial properties, such as the indican, an indigo dye made of Indigofera plants. In addition, red and yellow dyes were also used in those times. Owing to their organic components, they had an antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, wound-healing effect.”
“So, you mean, Alipy was both a painter and a physician?” Nikolai Andreevich made a conclusion.
“Absolutely correct. He wanted to bring utmost good to people,” confirmed Sensei. “By the way, Agapit told Alipy a lot of secrets about his first ‘profession’. He told Alipy about combinations of color palettes, their influence on state of human mind, about the representation system of spatial and temporal relation...”
“Wait a minute!” Nikolai Andreevich was amazed. “Do you mean that Agapit told Alipy all these niceties of color-perception psychology and the representation system of spatial and temporal relation in the eleventh century?”
“I guess Alipy would be surprised too, if he knew that this simple truth would become a science only in thousand years,” Sensei grinned. “However, all that color-perception is, by and large, not essential. The main thing Agapit paid attention to was how to produce an invisible effect from the image. Agapit asserted that an icon shouldn’t idealize an image, so as not to create an idol for blind worship. But the icon should be spiritual. It doesn’t matter how the icon was made and what the material was, whether it was a piece of wood or a wall, but the spiritual state of a painter – that’s important. For when a person, being in a special state of consciousness, disengages himself from the Animal nature and manifests his Spiritual to the utmost, a special power is put into the icon. It is able to entrance a person looking at the icon, rouse a feeling of real divine presence and produce a spiritual surge in his soul. Speaking modern language, to do a ‘recharge’. Besides, the purer the painter’s thoughts and aspiration to God are, the more the effect is that, owing to its positive charge, can spiritually transform a person, to say nothing of normalizing his physical health. For physical health in the first place depends on the spiritual one. By the by, such surge of power, produced by the painter’s Faith, will stably remain for thousands of years.”
“For thousands of years? Why is it so?” wondered Tatyana.
“Because space and time do not exist for true spiritual power.”
“Does it apply only to icons?” Kostya asked curiously.
“It applies to any artwork. Because it is not a board covered with paints that matters, as Agapit was saying, nor it is a canvas, or a book, or a sculpture, but it is the very inner power that was put into the artwork.”
“Yes, an amazing effect,” Nikolai Andreevich said. “Once I was lucky to visit the Hermitage in Leningrad. There surely is a rich cultural heritage collection of ancient Middle East, Egyptian, Asian, Greek cultures and many other curious things. And there are also artifacts of Russian culture from 8th to 19th centuries. Such wonderful pictures there are!”
Sensei nodded his agreement.
“If you noticed, people can stand for hours near some paintings, admiring them, though the painting itself, perhaps, is nothing to look at. While at other paintings, even though their details may be portrayed much better, people don’t stay for too long. It’s because pictures also have memory. When a painter creates a picture, he puts his emotions, feelings, and thoughts into it. And a person, looking at such painting senses it by intuition.”
“What about a photo? Does it have the same effect?” asked Stas with interest.
“Undoubtedly. Moreover, a photo maintains a permanent connection with an object, that is, a person. That is why it is easy to know whether the object is alive, where he is at the moment as well as his emotional state. It is also possible to influence his psycho-emotional sphere through a photo, his physical health, and so on. Even if numerously duplicated, this photograph retains the connection with the object practically without a loss. As for the paintings, their effect is different. Even if a painting is photographed, the information put into it is preserved in its original form. It is almost impossible to alter or influence it, because that information in it is permanent.”
“As far as I’ve understood, people so-to-say charge their paintings exactly with their own faith,” remarked Nikolai Andreevich.
“You’re absolutely right. Inner faith means a lot. For example, back to our talk, take Agapit. He really worked wonders in healing. To a large extend it was related to Inner faith and positive aspiration of people, who came to him. He cured people who believed quickly, no matter how severe their illnesses were. But those who came embittered, without faith in their soul – fortunately, there were very few of those – Agapit simply did not admit them to healing, though their ailment was easy to treat. Faith is not an empty word. Even Jesus himself, when came to His motherland ‘...did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith’.”
“Was it suggestion?” Nikolai Andreevich asked thoughtfully. And shrugging his shoulders, he added: “But suggestion alone isn’t enough to treat a serious illness. That’s a fact.”
“Suggestion has nothing to do with it,” rejoined Sensei. “The reason, why Agapit and Jesus didn’t agree to heal such people, was not because they couldn’t manage to do it. The whole point lies in the phenomenon of faith. If a person is open to light, he receives light. If a person is closed, that is, there is no faith in him, – it is equivalent to him climbing down to a cellar, closing the lid tightly, and waiting in this absolute darkness for somebody to cure him with daylight. Such expectations are unavailing, of course. Human brain works similar to a computer, and faith is a certain program. If it is installed on the computer, it can be actively used and a corresponding result of this work can be achieved. If a person lacks faith, it’s equivalent to the absence of the appropriate program on the computer. Naturally, you cannot work adequately until the necessary program is installed on your computer.
“What is the phenomenon of Agapit’ successful healing? You know, he could heal not only with herbs or hands, which is called chiropractic nowadays, or with the help of words. He often used to give something eatable from his meal or some water for his patient to drink. But all that food certainly had a spell cast on it by his prayers. The patient felt much better afterwards and he actually did recover quickly. Why was it so? It was because Agapit treated his patients with true faith. And it is a great, real power indeed. True faith is by no means a fanaticism, running into absurd extreme. It’s not ‘striking in the chest’ in debates and demagogies. True faith is the extent of purity of your personal spiritual power. And Agapit did have great spiritual power. When blessing food or water for a patient, that seemed as casting a spell on it, in reality Agapit was putting in a certain program into the liquid by means of his personal spiritual power. Subsequently this liquid was incorporated into the patient’s organism, where it interacted with its liquids. In other words, a new program was installed, which could be launched with the help of the patient’s faith.
“By the way, Agapit always offered a prayer to bless food before him, and he taught the others to do the same. In general he used to eat only vegetable food. Even a bitter blade of grass, when Agapit cast a spell on it, turned into a sweet medicine for a patient.”
“Well, perhaps, if considered in a figurative sense,” uttered Kostya with a light tinge of scepticism, “then yes, one would swallow anything as a medicine to recover quickly, even if it’s bitter and tasteless.”
“Why in a figurative sense?” Sensei asked in sincere perplexity. “I meant literally.”
Kostya mistrustfully looked askance at Sensei, then put on a thoughtful air, trying to comprehend what Sensei had just said. During that ‘great-Caesar’s’ reflection, as he liked to speak of himself, he cast a look on dry twigs we had collected during the day for the campfire. They were lying on the ground just beside him. There was a sprig of wormwood among other blades of grass there. Upon seeing it, the guy livened up somewhat, apparently thinking about a ‘rule of contraries’ that had just occurred to him.
“What do you mean in the literal sense?” Kostya challenged with doubt. “And what if it’s a wormwood?” he pointed at the sprig. “It’s as bitter as nothing else! It’s always been a weed of reek. How can it be a sweet regale?”
Sensei glanced at Kostya, screwing his eyes merrily, and said:
“Let me have it.”
Kostya took the sprig with disgust, holding it only with his two fingers, gave it to Sensei, and carefully shook off his hands afterwards. Eugene, who was chewing a cracker, didn’t fail to gag about Kostya’s careful jests: “Hey, chap, there’s a question now, who a smelly weed here actually is.”
Everyone burst out laughing. Sensei took the plant carefully and shook off the dust. Then he put it on his palm and stroked it tenderly, as if it were alive.
“How can you call it a weed? It is an officinal herb. It has essential oils and alkaloids, you know. That is quite a valuable collection of substances for medicine. As for its taste...”
Sensei smiled mysteriously. Then he started to stroke the sprig again and whispered something very quietly. Everyone grew silent, and there was a moment of absolute stillness. Even Eugene stopped chewing his cracker, which he had been enthusiastically munching. Though I was sitting close to Sensei and tried to make out what Sensei was uttering, I could not hear a word of his whispering. Then Sensei fell into silence, glanced at Kostya, and offered the sprig to him.
“Here, taste it.”
At first Kostya stretched out his hand instinctively, but then, apparently thinking that it was a joke, jerked it back and declared, laughing: “What, am I crazy, to eat wormwood?”
Nikolai Andreevich stood up with interest and moved around the sitting guys towards Sensei. As he was passing Kostya, Nikolai Andreevich tapped him on the shoulder and remarked along with the laughter of other guys:
“Everybody is crazy, Kostya. No one is healthy. There are only under-examined ones...” The doctor reached for the sprig: “May I?”
“You’re most welcome,” replied Sensei smiling.
Nikolai Andreevich took the sprig from Sensei’s hands, and smelt it at first. Then carefully nipped off a small piece from its top and tasted it. We waited for his reaction with unconcealed curiosity, but our psychotherapist’s face kept its impenetrable look.
“I don’t get it,” merely uttered he and tasted again, nipping a bigger piece from the plant.
His mysterious ‘I don’t get it’ intrigued us even more and the most impatient of us, including myself, jumped up to our feet and crowded around Nikolai Andreevich.
“Well, well,” hastily finishing up another cracker, Eugene stretched his hand for the sprig. “Let’s try... My! It’s as sweet as treacle.”
After such an ‘advertisement’ we started hastily nipping small pieces off the sprig to taste them. I received a bit of the plant too. The taste was really unusual, more like tart-sweet. Kostya still hesitated to taste the ‘regale’ of Sensei. His pride didn’t allow him to do it, although his eyes revealed that he obviously wanted to.
Watching our stir he declared with his usual sarcasm: “You guys are wormwood maniacs, or something. Should I collect some toadstools for you?”
“Toadstools don’t grow nearby,” answered Andrew in comical manner, giving him the last ‘portion’. “Here, taste it. It’s really sweet.”
At first Kostya turned up demonstratively his nose from it. But when Andrew declared: ‘Well, as you wish’ intending to eat the last part of the stem, Kostya changed his mind quickly.
“Hey, hey, you, glutton, give it to me now!”
Kostya confiscated the remains of the plant from Andrew with laughter. After that, he hunched over it and began to examine it thoroughly. Then he sniffed it, and finally made up his mind to taste it.
“How is it?” Sensei asked merrily, looking at Kostya, who was like a duck in a thunderstorm.
Kostya produced a silly smile and made a helpless gesture: “What can I say...? As Goethe used to say in my performance: ‘What I do not understand I do not possess’.“
“But really, Sensei, how did you make it?” Victor asked with interest.
“It’s elementary. Have faith and you will make it. There is nothing to it. Faith and pureness of thoughts – that’s the principal cause. As for the influence on the plant’s liquid structure, this is, so to say, a technical matter.”
“Why exactly liquid?” Nikolai Andreevich caught at the word. “I’ve already heard it several times this evening.”
“That’s because any aqueous medium has peculiar cells in its molecular structure, a kind of mini-computers. Though they are microscale, they are able to store global memory. And they contain almost all the information about matter. If a liquid structure is influenced by mechanical, chemical, electromagnetic means or by...” Sensei stopped trying to pick appropriate words, “or, to put it simple, by the energy of thoughts, it is possible to reshape a water molecule into necessary combination. For water remembers all the substances ever been in contact with it, whether directly or through energy states.., for example, even such simple ones as electromagnetic oscillations. Take into account that water is the most widespread substance in nature, that it contacts in one form or another with every other substance of this material world, keeping the received information in its every molecule, as well as the interaction of water among itself – and you can imagine what memory capacity water has.”
“Do you mean this wormwood can not only be made sweet, but also transformed into sorts of something I want?” concluded Ruslan.
“Of course it can, if you know the molecular structure and energy composition of this ‘something’,” smiled Sensei.
“Even into a bug?!” marveled Ruslan.
“And why not? There is no living organism on the Earth that can move without water. On our planet water is an essential part of every living creature, its ratio varying from 45% to 98%, including human body, where water constitutes 80% of its mass. Water is a widespread component of nature. Its elements are present even in fire as oxygen and hydrogen molecules, owing to which burning occurs. Even stones contain water.”
“Stones?” Slavik was surprised.
“Yes, stones. Under high pressure any stone bleeds water, though in small amounts. Besides, howsoever paradoxical it may sound for you nowadays, even in the center of the Earth, inside the inner core, there is a nucleus of enormous density and mass, which contains water too.
“In fact, the Earth is a living organism also consisting mainly of water. I mean not only the surface where 70% are oceans and 30% are various matter modifications with inclusion of water, but I also mean the inner liquid. And we, humans, are also similar to it.”
“Does the Earth have a mind too?” Kostya couldn’t size up the question for himself.
“Undoubtedly. And a man is linked to it since that mind is located in the memory of liquid structure. This mind accumulates information about everything, including each one of us. As I’ve already mentioned, since the greater part of our body consists of water, all the data about us, including our thoughts, emotions, health, and DNA matrix, is stored in this memory.”
“For how long is it stored?”
“Rather long.”
“So, it turns out it is possible to learn about any person ever lived on this planet. Like, Napoleon, Genghis-khan...”
“Huh, what a choice to learn about,” Andrew teased him. “There definitely are more interesting personalities.”
“I’ve said incidentally,” Kostya hurried to justify himself and looked at Sensei.
“It’s more serious than you think,” answered Sensei. “Only a few people out of the entire humankind can do this.”
“Is there a higher mind than the one the Earth has?” Kostya couldn’t quiet down.
“Of course. There are higher informational structures up to a global one. But all of them are controlled by the One. The One we call God.”
“I wonder, who are those few people who can read information from water?” Eugene asked cunningly.
“Well, for example, verily saint people. How did they work ‘wonders’? With purity of their faith. It seems incredible for other people, but it was quite accessible for them. Pureness of thoughts and faith – that’s what is essential. In fact, there is nothing miraculous in ‘wonders’ as such. It’s the matter of elementary knowledge, including water science, which the current human civilization, fortunately, knows less than a hundredth part about.”
“Why fortunately?” Kostya asked pretentiously.
“Because had people had such knowledge, they would have turned even a water-melon into a nuclear bomb. You cannot possibly imagine the power water holds. A man, possessing knowledge about it, is able to destroy the entire planet with just a drop of water.”
“What do you mean ‘to destroy’?” Eugene didn’t understand. “Closing the circuit of a nuclear bomb button with a drop of water, or something?”
“Why, nuclear energy is really nothing in comparison to the true power of a human thought.”
Eugene took his mug with some tea remaining in it, looked at Sensei and declared ambitiously with a shining Hollywood smile of his: “I can understand everything, but with one drop?!”
He looked at Sensei with challenge, provoking him for a demonstration. Sensei replied to him:
“Alright, doubting Gagger. Go, bring me a cup of sea.”
The guy became alert at first, but soon asked with a humorous air: “A cup of sea? Do you mean the seawater?”
“Exactly,” Sensei smiled.
Eugene looked at the sea lazily.
“I don’t grudge snow in winter... There is plenty of it around... But it requires an exploit too great – to stand up, and walk over, and get into the water, and wet my feet.” He looked inside his mug and proposed: ”Can we manage with tea?”
“Come on, come on,” Sensei hurried him with a smile. “Such walks are good for your brains.”
Eugene stood up reluctantly, groaning like an old man, and directed himself towards the sea.
Nikolai Andreevich followed him with his eyes and uttered: “Courage, Eugene! Such a nice weather, there is no harm in going for a stroll.”
The evening was splendid indeed. The sea was calm, and the sky was studded with stars. The bright moon was shining. Silence and tranquility, true paradise.
Eugene scooped up some water and waddled back, trying not to spill it. But, obviously sensing our fixed looks, he cheered up. And, coming up to Sensei, Eugene offered him the mug with a bow as if he were a regular waiter.
“Here is your order, sir. It’s a present from ‘Neptune’ company. Every hundredth cup, with all bacteria, bacilli, microbes, and excrements of the nearby city, is absolutely free!!!”
“Kindly appreciate it,” answered Sensei in the same facetious tone.
While the guys laughed developing the theme, Sensei put the mug in front of him, covered it with his hands, and concentrated. Nobody actually paid attention to his actions because Eugene completely got used to the role of a comical waiter and started relating funny anecdotes to us, so everybody burst out laughing. I laughed too, but suddenly I felt bad. At first I felt strange discomfort in my body. Then this feeling began to increase wave-like. I couldn’t even understand what was happening. I felt sick and giddy. I felt weakness all over my body, my bones ached. The first thought that came to my mind was that I had indigestion caused by sunny and hot weather. But the symptoms were rather strange and it confused me. It was as if I had not only got indigestion, but also spent too much time riding on a seesaw. What was more, an unnatural fear was coming up from the depth of my consciousness. I was immediately seized by panic that made me want to run following my nose, though there was no any apparent reason for such fear, at least a visible one.
In an instant Sensei gave the mug back to Eugene who was still cheering up the company with his jokes.
“There, splash it back out to the sea.”
Eugene looked inside the mug, apparently expecting to see something unusual there, and asked: “Is that it?! Well, it’s like always! The most interesting thing went right past my only straight convolution.”
Ruslan, who was sitting nearby, craned his neck trying to see what was in the mug.
Eugene reacted immediately: “Why art thy stareth thine eyes, child? Water-plants are not growing in it, and bacteria are not floating paunches-up.” He pulled Ruslan’s cloth-cap over his eyes and added to common laugh of guys: “So, you may switch out the light, there will be no film.”
Our plentiful laugh accompanied all Eugene’s trip to the sea and his successful return with the empty mug. As for me, frankly speaking, I was in no laughing mood. The fear inside me was growing. My entrails were about to turn inside out. I was already barely holding out, afraid to move once again. It seemed I would even faint the next moment. But all of a sudden a fresh breeze blew from the sea, and it relieved me at least a little. So, I perked up and turned to the breeze, naively supposing I were to recover soon. But noway.
The wind gained strength. The sea became noisy. In the glow of the moonlight path, I was horrified with the view of sea waves driven by strong gale, every new wave getting bigger and bigger. The guys quieted down and started to look around.
A blast of wind fluttered our tents badly. In a moment light plastic bags flew up and whirled around the shore in their wild dance. The wind rose with every second. The tents were not just fluttering. It seemed someone was trying to tear them from the ground with all their iron pegs in one stroke. A new rush of hurricane wind scattered about the fire. The serviettes lying near caught fire in a second. The burning lumps were hurled to the cars. Meanwhile big fire, like a furious beast, pounced on dry reed, devouring the canes.
Horror-stricken we jumped to our feet. The senior boys together with Nikolai Andreevich dashed to put out scattered burning serviettes. Volodya, Stas, and Andrew got down to blow out the ‘double fire’. Tatyana and I, out of fright, began to grab somebody’s clothes, beddings, towels – anyway, whatever our eyes met near the fire – and started running with those belongings here and there, not knowing what to do. For the first time I experienced a real animal fear before the raging elements.
The wind became so strong that only its blood-creeping howling and growing noise of the sea were heard. Something inconceivable was happening. The water now swiftly rolled away, now collapsed against the shore with a great din, crushing down its bigger and bigger parts. In the cool moonlight the sea seemed to be boiling up. It was ready to swallow anybody standing on its way with its storming jaws. Giant water ‘tongues’, with terrible hiss, were approaching the place of our recent ‘gathering’.
Nikolai Andreevich, proving his nickname of our ‘Common sense’ ran to the car, tried to start up the engine and cried on the run:
“Leave that stuff! It’s gonna flood! We won’t get out of here then.”
Everybody started rushing about. As for me I was absolutely ‘stunned’. My legs almost gave way. And then, among that disorderly fuss, I saw Sensei. My person erroneously supposed him to be putting out the fire or being somewhere near the car. But he appeared to have been imperturbably sitting on his place, not even changing his pose, and watching our bustle as if an action film at the cinema. To say, I was shocked, is to say nothing.
Meanwhile Eugene ran up to Sensei and shouted, trying to outvoice the hurricane and the downright risen sea: “Sensei! The tents are about to be carried away! What should we do? It’s time to skiddoo! The water is coming...”
Sensei replied to my and, judging by Eugene’s face, not only to my great surprise: “Bring me a cup of sea!”
“Do what?!” Eugene didn’t understand, thinking he had misheard Sensei at first.
“I said bring me a cup of sea!” Sensei shouted again.
Eugene couldn’t believe his ears and was taken aback. He stared at Sensei.
“A cup of sea??? I’m gonna be washed away together with that cup... Together with you! Just look at the waves behind!”
The waves were indeed very high already, and each new wave came closer and closer to the place Sensei was sitting. They hit against the shore and splashed around with noise. Carried by wind, these big cold drops were beating us hard in the face like hail. But Sensei, being wet through, never turned to look at really horrifying black waves. He just smiled in reply to Eugene’s tirade like a master satisfied with his work. As for the guy, having understood the senseless of his attempts as well as uselessness of threatening and arguing, he just exclaimed in a fit of temper: “Oh my God!”
Apparently resisting his crying logic he began to search for his mug in that utter chaos. The others kept rushing about in panic, somebody was trying to save the tents, some were running about with belongings, somebody was fiddling about the car, cramming something into the boot. Eugene started asking if someone had seen the mug. It seemed the guys couldn’t understand what they were asked. When Eugene inquired Stas about the mug, instead of answering the latter gave him a good shake, shouting almost in the very ear:
“Eugene! Have you lost your mind or something?! What mug?! We’re are about to be washed away!” and not letting Eugene go, he turned to Nikolai Andreevich. “Doc, should I knock him cold and put in the boot? He seems to have gone mad!”
“Stop footling about!” ‘Common sense’ rumbled in response. “The spit is being flooded! Hurry up and get into the car, while it’s still possible to drive through...”
And Eugene, torn himself from his friend’s tenacious hands, yelled:
“You are crazy yourself...! I’m alright! It’s Sensei who’s gone mad!”
The word ‘Sensei’ was like a throw of cold water on Stas. Instead of running to the car as Nikolai Andreevich had called to, Stas, as if rooted to the ground, stared in astonishment at Sensei. At that moment I noticed that I was holding this unfortunate mug in my hands together with other belongings. I felt like I was struck with current.
“I have the mug, here it is!” I shouted at the top of my voice, dropped the other ‘trash’ aside and ran to Eugene with it.
The guy grasped the mug, as if I passed a baton to him, and rushed to the sea that was already not far from Sensei. The sea obviously didn’t like the idea of giving its water away. It splashed one wave, then another, knocking the uninvited guest off his feet. After falling, Eugene still stood up quickly and contrived to draw some water from the fleeing wave somehow, though with some sand and other dregs of the storm. But as soon as Eugene managed to do his task and take to his heels from the new billow, to my horror, far on the moonlight path I saw a huge wave, inexorably approaching us. I wanted to cry about it to others, but in an instant my throat became parched. Instead of a cry I was able only to produce some hoarse inarticulate sounds and make some feeble gestures pointing my hand at the sea. For the moment Eugene ran up to Sensei and stretched out the mug to him, trembling all over like an aspen leaf either with cold or with fear. Being in utter commotion, I looked at the big wave again. It was steadily approaching, with its destructive power of a famished predator, intending to swallow the entire shore prey at once. Apparently, the boys have also noticed its scaring blackness, because they started frantically shouting something to Sensei. Their heart-rending cry mixed with roar of the breakers in my ears. It was terrible to think what could be about to happen.
Meanwhile Sensei took the mug calmly. Paying no attention to the others, he covered it with his hands and concentrated for several seconds. Those seconds seemed an eternity to me. The wave was approaching headlong, and Sensei was still. The others, near the cars, kept crying out something. Suddenly I felt that my ailment began to vanish suspiciously swiftly. At the same time Nikolai Andreevich, Victor, and Volodya, apparently having realized that they were not heard, ran up to Sensei.
But then Sensei opened his eyes and gave the mug to Eugene in the same calm manner, saying: “Pour it into the sea.”
When Eugene took the mug, he didn’t need to run to the sea, because it was already near his feet. With indifference he poured the water into the wave rolling away, gazing spellbound at the approaching high billow.
“We need to run, Sensei,” Stas came running, his gaze also fixed on the dark large-tonnage mass of water.
Instead of Sensei we heard Eugene’s doomed voice:
“It’s too late now. It’ll run us down all the same.”
The others, who just ran up, hearing the words of Eugene stopped, understanding all the senselessness of their actions. Only then Sensei turned to the sea. However, in contrast to us, he didn’t just watch – he was admiring the formidable element.
At that instant I felt everything calming down and sorting out inside me. The sickness and giddiness were over. My organism came back to normal. Even fear disappeared. There came unusual clearness in my consciousness. I felt so good and inspired as if it were the best minutes of my life, though the real picture was rather telling differently. Even that high billow, instead of rousing horror and panic, actually started to impress me with its view of inimitable power of nature.
All of a sudden the wind quickly dropped. The waves became smaller and smaller as if a giant iron had pressed the black sheet of the sea along the moonlight path, smoothing out the creases. The big billow didn’t roll only several hundred yards to the shore and, breaking all laws of physics, started diminishing swiftly. Its waters came to the shore only as an echo of a light splash. The water reluctantly abandoned the conquered shore, returning to its usual borders. The wind died down; and there recommenced calm, already unwonted to the ear.
I shifted my gaze to Sensei. And it dawned upon me. I suddenly realized what caused that unexpected storm. It was by no means a natural anomaly as my mind had been theorizing while in panic. But undoubtedly it was performed by a human thought! And though my mind continued to resist such conjecture, something deep inside me, that knew much more about the world around me than my material brain could express, – exactly it – gave me the opportunity to understand the true reason of what was happening. I was astounded with the real will-power of a Human, possessing the knowledge, which even elements were submissive to! How great the capabilities are that God put into each one of us. But can we possibly appreciate His gift in full, if we choose for ourselves the life of a worm in the darkness of our own egocentrism? Can we comprehend His true Love for us, if we take no notice of anyone except ourselves? Sheer outward show, sheer delusion, and the whole life goes in it. A worm is a worm indeed. There it lived, and now it is no more. There is even no need for raging elements, the life itself will smash it with its heel just like that.
Nature calmed. Yet no one made a single move, evidently profoundly amazed with the experience. The moon illuminated the chaos left by element on the shore with its weird cold light.
In this silence that seemed to be unreal suddenly we heard the voice of Sensei: “It would be nice to make a fire and get warm a bit...”
Those simple everyday words took us out of stupor. We turned to Sensei in astonishment. Meanwhile Sensei took off his wet-through short and began to wring it out, pressing sea water out.
“I say it would be nice to make a fire and dry up a little,” repeated Sensei looking at our amazed faces.
This phrase brought us back to our senses, as it is called, for good. Senior guys silently took out flashlights from spared tents and roamed about the beach searching for dry firewood, as all our stock was either wet or burnt. The others crowded near Sensei as if it were the safest place on the shore.
“Maybe we shouldn’t make a fire?” Nikolai Andreevich cautiously advanced his opinion. “Maybe we’d be safer in the city? There certainly is a storm front somewhere near, and we’ve seen the first gusts. It is possible that it recurs.”
Sensei answered him in good-natured manner: “Relax, doctor. We’ll make some tea and dry up a little. Then we’ll see.”
“Well, you know better,” Nikolai Andreevich said with a tinge of incredulity in his voice.
Soon our wet clothes were hanging on the strings of our hurriedly picked up tents. We put on dry clothes and sat around new place, further from the sea, warming ourselves and waiting for the water in a kettle to boil. Curiously enough, despite the circumstances my spirits were high. It felt like I got my second wind. New inspiration came upon me, owing to which it was so good and calm that my soul was singing.
As soon as the water boiled, Tatyana and I made sweet-scented marjoram and balm tea. Our doctor insisted that we take white honey out of our survival stock as a means of cold preventive measures. And we made a small dinner with this refreshment, or it is better to say a ‘night-picnic’.
When the first drops of the beneficial tea spread about our organisms with warmness, relaxed Nikolai Andreevich said: “What a hurricane! What an element! There! My, the human psychology is so curious in extreme situations. Theory is one thing, but practice is quite another, especially your own one.”
“Oh, yes,” smiled Sensei. “Reasoning is not acting.”
“And how quickly the values change,” continued psychotherapist with excitement. “Just when you see the slightest chance to save yourself and others, life becomes the only value. But in the last minutes as soon as the threat became inevitable... it’s strange, but the value of life disappears as well as the value of this body! And inside... it’s amazing... you feel clearness and absolute calmness. Some kind of extraordinary, amazing feeling of your consciousness broadening...”
Sensei smiled cheerfully and interrupted the speech of Nikolai Andreevich at the most exciting point for me. I turned out that I was not the only person to experience such, incompatible with an extreme situation, sensations.
“Leave the introspection alone, doc. Let your soul saturate with this instant ‘here and now’.”
Nikolai Andreevich took a long look at him and nodded with a smile, seeming to understand something unvoiced.
We sat in silence, prolonging our pleasure of having hot tea. I still had that unexplainable feeling of joy at silence inside me. Indeed, appreciation of that fantastic feeling of ‘heavenly’ peace comes only after spending some time in the very ‘inferno’. The interrupted discussion, as our company was returning to its usual state of consciousness, renewed.
“My aunt! Such a storm! That’s awful!” Victor couldn’t calm down, too.
At that moment Sensei, sipping his tea, said, as if by the way: “That was just a drop of water.”
These words didn’t come home to people immediately. The first ones to ‘enlighten’ were Nikolai Andreevich and Volodya, who stared at Sensei in astonishment. A bit later their meaning reached us, too.
“What do you mean... a drop?” Victor asked with a puzzled look. “Do I get it right? You mean the drop in that mug Eugene was betting?”
Sensei nodded with contented air. Meanwhile Eugene nearly choked by his tea, goggled at Sensei, at the same time trying to figure out whether he was joking or not.
“It’s a provocation! Objection!” our doubting Gagger became indignant in jest, just in case, when a good half of our company gave him by no means an ambiguous gaze. “That was a mere coincidence. The hurricane was purely accidental...”
“Accidental?” wondered Sensei with a smile, slightly raising his eyebrows. “I can repeat.”
“No, no!” Stas anticipated Eugene’s answer. “Don’t take the trouble standing up, Sensei. I’ll kill him myself.”
And with those words, he charged Eugene with all his weight, jokingly catching him by the throat, and started to shake him. Eugene floundered about comically and, having caught a white serviette lying nearby, he started to wave it as a flag in request for truce.
“OK, Ok! I surrender! I believe!..”
“You dare!” ‘threatened’ Stas, letting him go.
The company laughed, while Eugene, rubbing his neck, asked Sensei timidly: “Did it really happen because of the mug of sea water?”
“My patience is over,” Stas stood up resolutely, but before he had time to pounce on his friend the latter disappeared into thin air. Eugene jumped aside and began explaining in a hurry, sawing the air with quieting gestures.
“No, no, it’s not what I meant! I wanted to say, ‘oh, my, what a power’!”
“You’d better‘ve said it right away,” Stas murmured, returning to his place at our laugh.
When numerous jokes stopped, Sensei elucidated: “It’s not the limit for a human thought. Both destruction and creation are within its power. People just don’t possess real knowledge about that power. And this knowledge won’t be given until they change for the better. Otherwise, people will remain dependent, like any other animal, on whims of the elements. The Earth is a living creature too, you know. And it won’t endure its oversaturation with mankind having Animal nature as dominant. A manifestation of mass human negative force, for the planet, is like a gaping wound on its body. Therefore, additional forces are gathering around it, like leucocytes in blood that are able to absorb bacteria and other foreign bodies. And then a cleansing process simply occurs, and that’s all... Humanity as a whole, alike every single individual, unconsciously makes changes in the memory of water with its own thoughts. And then, pardon, we get what we’ve deserved.”
“That means water can be programmed in a certain way,” Nikolai Andreevich summarized. “And with that program it’s possible not only to destroy but also to create.”
“Absolutely right. What you’ve seen is just a trifle, really. Now, imagine what power Agapit possessed, if the Holy Spirit Himself abode in him. Gabriel, Rigden, Jabrail, name this Creature as you like, he has many names. Imagine what strength his creating thought had, that even after his death people continue recovering physically and mentally near his relics, especially during the days of the so-called superactivity of the ‘background’” Sensei looked at me with a smile, using my not quite proficient vocabulary.
“During his lifetime Agapit was visited by many different peoples, irrespective of their communion to religion at that. Beside Christians there were Buddhists, Muslims, and people of other religions. They came to him not only because he was a healer, but also because he was a Wiseman, a man who knows the true way to God. Many religious leaders had no special liking for him because of such pilgrimage, for he didn’t call upon changing people’s religion, like they did for widening their rule. He related true words of Jesus to people, that God is one, and that there are many ways to Him. I’m not very surprised at the fact that all the records about the pilgrimage to Agapit were thoroughly removed from the annals. It was because Agapit told people about the true Teaching of Jesus, which had been transformed into religion by that time. He related about freedom of choice, about soul eternal.
“Though Agapit healed people delivering them from various corporal and spiritual ailments, he also edified them: ‘It doesn't befit to disturb God about anything except for salvation of your own soul. Ask not for your body or for your health; it is not the belly of yours you should concern yourself with – all this is empty decay, insatiable in desires. For there is no petition more deserving, than a petition for salvation of your own soul’. Many people actually came to believe in God owing to Agapit, because he had always been an example of true service of God in his spiritual pureness. So powerful was he in his inner spirit, that there was nothing impossible for him. Agapit had been proving it with word and deed time and again.
“Spiritual people longed for him, while those who hungered for gold feared him. Agapit taught people to keep their thoughts pure, because any bad thought engenders doubt. And there can be no pure faith in doubt. Doubt can ruin everything. Agapit often used to say: ‘Believe, and you shall be rendered according to your faith. It is simple, but it’s difficult to comprehend. The whole difficulty is in simplicity’.
“Let me give you an example of Agapit’ spiritual power from his life. Prince Izyaslav’s warrior Ratimir was once brought into the monastic cell of Agapit. He was badly wounded, both legs being fractured. Everyone considered him to be not long for this world. However, within an hour the warrior came out of the cell accompanied by Agapit. That incident astonished many people then.”
“You’ve said the warrior had fractures!?” Victor said amazed. “How could Agapit knit the bones so quickly, if the warrior was able to walk by himself?”
“Oh, it’s very simple. Agapit gave him some decoction to drink.”
“Decoction?!” Nikolai Andreevich was amazed even more than Victor. “I’d understand if it were for anaesthesia... But he knitted the bones, didn’t he?” the doctor asked with doubt. “Sensei, excuse me, please, but no matter how good the herbs were, bones cannot be knitted so quickly.”
“Why do you think herbs have something to do with it? Herbs are herbs, and bones are bones. By the way, doctor, they consist of water too,” Sensei emphasized with a smile.
“How can they be knitted so quickly?” Nikolai Andreevich asked distrustfully.
Sensei grinned for some reason and said: “With the help of such healing power as Agapit possessed, with his knowledge about true properties of water, any bone can be knitted much faster than you think.”
“Really? How’s that?” Victor wondered in his turn.
At that moment Slava, who seemed to have decided to settle himself in a more comfortable position, broke a reed burnt at edges with a crunch. He gave no heed to it. But Sensei, having noticed that, asked him: “Let me have that broken reed.”
At first Slava didn’t understand what was required of him, so he started twisting his head looking around. Finally his eyes found the broken reed. He picked it up hurriedly and gave to Sensei.
“For example, let’s take an ordinary reed stem. It’s possible not only to knit it solid, but also to make it firmer than steel...”
Apparently, Sensei was in a good mood and disposed to conversation as well as demonstration of unusual experiments. Perhaps we had never spent so many tremendous minutes with Sensei as we had that day.
Sensei handed the mug to Eugene and said smiling: “Would you be so kind to pour some sea water into the mug.”
Everybody took alarm exchanging glances, and Eugene even recoiled from it as if from fire.
“Oh, no, Sensei, noway. I have a luckless hand,” he said hiding his arms behind his back and added hastily with a nervous smile: “I mean, both hands! And moreover, I’ve got childhood disability for all parts of body.”
“Relax, it’s a joke,” Sensei calmed him laughing softly. “Mineral water will be enough.”
We heaved a sigh of relief. Eugene also feigned ease, though he kept an eagle eye on Sensei’s hands. Sensei poured some mineral water into the mug and covered it with his palms. These movements caused everybody to became involuntarily tense, fearing even to move once again, to say nothing of remonstration. After that ‘purifying’ hurricane – for our minds in the first place – all doubts about the abilities of Sensei were gone with the wind. So, our company watched his actions with bated breath.
Meanwhile Sensei concentrated for several seconds as usual. Then he completely broke the cane into two halves. He dipped one broken end into the water and did the same with the other half. After that he joined them together into a single cane. To our amazement the reed became absolutely solid. Finally Sensei took a handful of water and moistened the entire cane. Satisfied with the result, he offered it to us to test it for durability.
Oddly enough, for all the lightness of the cane it turned out to be as solid as steel. In the beginning the guys tried carefully to break it in two. But there was no way they could even bend it. That only agitated them even more. Everyone was already doing his best to break the reed. But all efforts were fruitless. What haven’t they tried to do with the cane! They made attempts to fold-break it with hands. They jumped on it. They hit it against a tree trunk lying nearby. By the way, the sound was similar to that of a super-durable plastic or some special metal. At last Stas and Volodya took the reed at ends as a horizontal bar and Eugene, of Herculean build, hung on it and started twitching with might and main, trying to break it with all his weight. But that was all in vain too. After wasting quite a bit of time with the cane, almost everyone lost hope to break it, calmed down and sat back wondering at yet another astonishing fact that fell upon their unfortunate logic. Only Eugene as a doubting Thomas was stubbornly persisting in his experiments. He sat near the fire exercising the reed.
“Damn it!” exclaimed Eugene in warm blood, glaring at the unyielding cane.
But as soon as he said it the reed broke up into two halves, no efforts being made. Everybody sat still. Eugene was taken aback himself, staring now at the stem, now at Sensei. But Sensei only smiled. Then Eugene grew bolder, took one of the halves and broke it in two.
“Oops!” he said guiltily bending down his neck.
“Well, there you go,” said Sensei not without irony. “A valid example of a fly capable of spoiling the ointment. That’s why Agapit taught purity of thoughts. For one bad thought can spoil everything.”
After those words, said with unconcealed smile, Sensei continued relating the story about the Russian Bodhisattva.
“In general Agapit worked a lot of wonders. And by the way, he had an excellent sense of humor. He used to chaff those who obviously had vices dominating in them. Once a noble Kievan merchant exhausted with ailment was brought to Agapit. So, the merchant started promising Agapit the best of his valuables, if only the healer delivered him of his illness. And he was shaking two money-bags with golden coins all around at that, as if implying that there was nothing he wouldn’t part with. Golden coins were items of great luxury at that time. They had Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich image on the one side and ancestral sign of Rurik Dynasty, shaped like a trident, with a lettering saying ‘Vladimir, and this is his gold’ on the other side. Those golden coins were a feather in his cap, an indication of his close links with those who stood at ‘control levers’ of the Old Russian State. Not everyone could boast such valuables. But everything loses its meaning, when a disease overcomes. The merchant was ready to part with this money to return his past health.
“Agapit healed the merchant. The latter had promised in public to repay Agapit’s kindness, but the greed seized him. So, the merchant decided to swindle the Saint. Nobody saw what was there in the bags, so the merchant put cheap silver coins into the bags instead of the promised money and added only one golden coin for his conscience’ sake. He was glad he could both recover and save so many valuables owing to his guile. He came to Agapit again with his retinue. Agapit only smiled glancing at his proudly held out bags with money and said: ‘I have not taken pay from anyone, and I won’t take any from you. But you shall keep your word. Come out and give away all this gold to beggars’. The merchant rejoiced even more and went off, his retinue attending him, to carry out the order of the Saint. But when he opened one of the bags to take the money out, all coins turned out to be golden except for one.
“So, the merchant became upset and thought he must have confused the money-bags. But he kept the promise given in front of his retinue. When he came home, however, he was terror-stricken, because all his gold and jewelery had turned into cheap silver coins. And among this pile of odd money he was able to find only one golden coin.”
“Huh, it appears that such swindlers existed even in those days,” Volodya uttered in a bass.
“There are enough of them at any time,” Sensei said with a sad smile. “Greed is the favorite vice of the human beasts. Not only among the laity, but, unfortunately, also among monks. Even during Agapit’ time many of the monastic community, where he lived, had more love for gold than for God, and they exploited their monastic rank to swindle money out of simpletons...
“During the lifetime of Agapit many were afraid of him, though Agapit never condemned anyone. After his death the hidden gold-cravers respired, for He who hadn’t let their Conscience have a minute’s peace was no more beside them. Afterwards, writing the life of the monastery, they concealed many of the true deeds of Agapit. In an effort to raise their self-importance, they ascribed his wonders to themselves. Likewise they concealed the Teaching that Agapit had related, speaking with true words of Jesus – for it contradicted their desires for money and power. As for the public renown of the monastery, which had been acquired due to Agapit and his disciples, those people used it for their own enrichment, inventing even more new styles of earning money and achieving their political goals.
“But there was, by and large, no more sanctity in those oddities who misappropriated other people’s achievements, than in a stingy huckster in a market.” Sensei sighed and added: “People remain people, whatsoever clothes they put on... Among those, whom the human mind attributed sanctity to, Agapit was the One verily Saint, for the Holy Spirit Himself abode in him.”
A short silence fell.
“When did Agapit die?” enquired Tatyana.
“In October of 1095.”
“And what about Antony?” asked Victor.
“In 1073. By the way, before Antony died, a rather curious conversation between moribund Antony and Agapit had taken place. It was witnessed by a young novice, who was taking care of Antony. It was the novice, who left the record about that event in his memoirs, after he had gone to the Athos. So, when Agapit came in, Antony was lying half in a delirium and was whispering one and the same prayer over and over. Only some of its words reached the novice’s ears. Agapit looked at Antony, smiled and added to his words: ‘...and I pray unto You for salvation of my soul. Let Your holy will...’. At those words Antony started and opened his eyes. His gaze met with that of Agapit’, and his face lit up. He began to repeat hoarsely: ‘Gabriel! Gabriel!’ and stretched his arms to Agapit. Tears streamed down his senile cheeks.
“Agapit came up to him and took his hands. Meanwhile Antony, being in raptures, uttered: ‘My Lord, Agapit, it is You! How could I have failed to recognize You? How blind I was in the radiance of Your beams!’ He started to mutter hurriedly as if afraid that there wasn’t enough time for him to say everything he felt in his soul. He spoke of his youth, and the elder, who had given him the prayer, and that he had been waiting for Him for all his life, while He turned out to be near. And now, before they had time to meet, they were to part. Agapit answered him: ‘Thou hast been by my side all thy life here. Canst thou really think I shall leave thou there? An thou hast been in unceasing Love for God, who will now bereave thee of the paradisiacal fruit created by thine own faith and heart? Thy faith hast ever thinned not during earthly moments, thy mind hast ever yielded not to the temptations of decay – with goodness being what thy conscience craved for. Heretofore thou hast asked Him not for anything save salvation of thy soul, uttering words of the prayer from thy soul. Thou hast opened thy soul wide towards God, and now God openeth His Gates afore thee. Thus delight in God’s grace. Verily I say unto thee, within this life thou hast achieved the eternal treasure – the Kingdom of God, where I shall guide thee to’.
“Agapit and Antony closed their eyes. While Agapit whispered a prayer soundlessly, Antony breathed his last with a blissful smile on his face. And his soul went to the Paradise Gardens, for Archangel Gabriel himself prayed for him at that moment.
Sensei became thoughtful and then said, shrugging his shoulders: “Though I don’t get it why they divided the whole into parts... Ah, no matter,” Sensei slightly waved his hand, “They are to live with that...”
After that, as if coming to his senses, Sensei continued the story: “Now then, when Antony died, his body was left in the cell at Agapit’ insistence. And while Agapit was alive, Antony’s body was lying as if alive, even an unusual fragrance emanated from it.
“Yet a more remarkable story happened after Agapit’ death. As I’ve said, there were a lot of people of that time who envied Agapit for his popularity among people. And when Agapit foretold the day of his death...”
“Foretold the day of his death?“ Ruslan repeated in amazement. “Is that really possible?”
“Of course it is, all the more so for Agapit... Agapit was a Bodhisattva. Death wasn’t a problem for him, unlike it is for an ordinary man, somersaulting in his reincarnations. As bodhi Agapit could abandon his body anytime. However, according to the rules of staying among people, a Bodhisattva must live his life in a human body to the full, irrespective of its length, short or long. And it surely was not that difficult for him to calculate the time when the Prana of the body was to expire...”
“A-ah..." drawled Ruslan.
“So, when Agapit foretold the date of his death, there were not only his disciples, harking to his last spiritual precepts, who started preparing for that day, but also his foes. They decided to take the Saint’s body after his death out of the monastery and bury it in an outlandish place so that nobody could ever find it. Nevertheless, they weren’t able to fulfill their plan right away, because the renown of Agapit did not wither with his death, as they’d expected. On the contrary it grew manifold. A mass pilgrimage to his body began. Four months had passed, but Agapit’ body was lying imperishable, as if he had died only a day before. The flow of people didn’t cease. So the foes, consumed with their own envy and enormous hatred for the Saint, decided to steal the body of Agapit.
“They prepared meticulously for that event and thought out a plan with devoted participants, two of them being monks. On the decisive day, the 24th of February new style, their people were burning fires all day long in spite of sharp frost and hollowed out a grave in a chosen nook not far from a deep ditch. On the night of February 25th, they finally managed to carry out what they had planned. But when the doers of that truly barbarous command completed their ‘black deed’ and returned to the monastery in the morning, they found a real stir there. However, the whole commotion was not caused by the loss of Agapit’ body, as they assumed. It appeared that one monk of the community found... Agapit’ body, and not lying at that, but sitting in his cell in an unusual pose. There was a sheet of parchment in front of the body, on which a strange inscription was accurately made with new ink in Agapit’ handwriting.
“Those, who had buried Agapit’ body not so long ago, were especially terrified. There were three of them. Two of which were the monks, who actually stole the body of Agapit on orders from the top ranks. They threw it down into the grave and earthed it, and masked the place. Now then, here’s what happened exactly to them at that moment. At the sight of sitting Agapit one of the monks went mad. The other one lost his sleep forever. He never slept a wink for the rest of his life, diligently atoning for his sin by prayers. That monk subsequently became the most ardent follower of Agapit and the most zealous keeper of his body. The third accomplice, who was of laymen, hurried to inform those who had engaged him for realization of that insidious plan. Together with the ‘customers’ he returned to the place where Agapit’ corpse was hidden. Opening the grave proved it to be empty indeed. There were no strange traces on the snow around it. The body simply disappeared from the grave and inconceivably reappeared in the cell. After that incident nobody dared to lay a finger on the body of Agapit.”
“And what was written there on that sheet of parchment?” Kostya asked with curiosity.
Sensei only smiled mysteriously and avoiding the answer he said: “By the way, this sheet of parchment had an extraordinary power, and before this relic was ‘requisitioned,’ it had been used in secret for a long time. When the parchment was put behind an icon, it started to shed holy ointment, and people miraculously healed from it. And when...”
“Why in secret?” Ruslan interrupted Sensei’s narration with his question.
“They wanted to conceal what had been written by Agapit on the parchment from people.”
“But who and why ‘requisitioned’ that sheet?” Stas asked in turn.
“That’s quite another story, and it is not related to this topic. I can only say that this temporary ‘requisition’ from human environment was connected with the threat of a complete loss of the parchment because of human envy and stupidity.”
“Still, what‘s there so special that was written on it I wonder?” Kostya obstinately continued making inquiries.
“The truth,” Sensei replied and continued telling about the unusual spiritual power of the parchment of Agapit.
At that moment I had an inspiration, a ‘stroke of genius’ as Kostya liked to say. How great it would be to paint a portrait of Agapit (all the more my uncle’s friend collaborated in restoration of the Saint’s actual appearance) and put the sheet of parchment behind the portrait. That is, of course, if we could find it. The portrait would acquire an extraordinary power then. Then give it to the Lavra. Let it be available for everybody in the world! How many people would then be able to get a healing, find hope, and strengthen their faith! Only recently have I passed this terrible period of an internal commotion myself. When your life hangs by a thread, and you can neither save yourself nor understand what you’ve been living for in this world. Don’t I understand those who suffer and search for true values for their spiritual salvation in this life. A disease makes people think about their death, and death – about God. And pursuits for God bring you together with unexpected people and circumstances, changing your life drastically and opening an entirely unknown side of reality for you.
Those thoughts inspired me so much that I began to think how great it would be to realize them. Though there were no problems with Agapit’ appearance (my uncle would help me), it was not the same with the sheet of parchment... Where to search for it if it were ‘requisitioned from human environment’? Suddenly Sensei, who continued telling the story during my exuberant reflection, fell silent and fixed his eyes at me. And then he uttered with a kindness in his voice: “...There is nothing impossible for a wishful soul.”
I didn’t understand what was that all about. Either Sensei answered to my thoughts, judging by his look; or he ended the story, which unfortunately I had missed because of my pondering. Anyway I didn’t dare to ask him about his words in public.
All the more, at the moment Nikolai Andreevich wondered: “They say the Pechersk Caves have a special microclimate, so the relics remain undecaying. Is it a peculiar feature of the surroundings?”
“Peculiar indeed,” Sensei emphasized with enigmatic intonation. “But the trick is that not all the relics of the Lavra caves were imperishable. There are a lot of remains that have decayed like ordinary corpses.”
“What does the ‘relics’ mean?” Ruslan suddenly gave his rather late question.
“Oh, you’ve woken up!” Eugene hemmed.
We laughed but Sensei answered seriously.
“The word ‘relics’ comes from the Old Russian language where it meant ‘bones’. But there were two concepts then: ‘body’ and ‘relics’. For example, people spoke of some Saints that they ‘lay in relics’ and some that they ‘lay in body’. Earlier in Old Rus by ‘imperishable relics’ they called simply undecayed bones. There were cases of natural mummification too. It is only in modern times that the Church has been calling both bones and mummified bodies of Saints as ‘relics’.”
“But why?” Ruslan couldn’t stop asking.
“Well, why... For instance, should an ecclesiastic, who held a high post in a religious structure, be proclaimed a Saint after his death. And suppose his body just rotted, though it had been buried, for example, in the Lavra Caves, which as you’ve said has a special microclimate,” Sensei drew Nikolai Andreevich’s attention. “But should they just take their words back, if the holiness was already proclaimed to the public? So, they extricated themselves from it as they could and smoothed over some moments in the history, lest a discord should appear among the flock. As it happened with Theodosius for example.”
“And who’s Theodosius?” Ruslan asked still more bravely.
“And what’d happened?” we also joined in.
“Theodosius? Oh, he’s the greatest joke in the history of glorification of the Russian Saints. Theodosius Pechersky is recognized as the Father of Russian monasticism,” uttered Sensei with a smile. “He is presented as an ideal example of monastic life, and all Russian monks are reckoned among his children. However, this false glorification is through no fault of nowadays pastors, because they are guided by unreliable in many respects ‘historical documents’ extant till their times. I mean not the fact of those documents existence, but the information they contain. The roots of such replacement go much deeper, precisely to the days of Agapit.
“The fame of Agapit’ wonders, deeds, healings spread rather quickly in those times. The hearsay always was: as Agapit taught, as Agapit said, as Agapit did. So, who among those high ranked ecclesiastics of the ‘flock’ would like an ordinary monk to be honored more than their highly spiritual selves? That’s why, some of the higher ecclesiastics harbored vile envy towards Agapit even during his lifetime. However, they feared to undertake anything against him, as I’ve already mentioned. For even their attempts of poisoning the Saint had failed. It harmed him in no way. So, his strong personality, wide renown, uncommon strength he possessed, and free-thinking inspired fear on the powers that be. Having failed to destroy Agapit neither physically nor morally, they began to act differently. They decided to put forward their own candidate for public worship and, if possible, perform his official canonization. The lot fell upon already deceased Father-Superior Theodosius, who, by the way, was not the first Father-Superior of the monastery and was far from being an ideal candidate to be canonized. However, his image was the most congenial one for those gold-lovers, whom Agapit hindered from earning money out of the name of God.
“In order to fulfil that design, there were urgently created ‘chronicle codes’ and ‘Hagiography’. Thus, already in 1077-1088 there appeared the texts of ‘Reverend Theodosius Pechersk’s Hagiography’, where, in fact, there was very little true information about the actual life of Theodosius, and a fat lot of fake additions. The same was with the appeared in 1077-1088 records of Nikon ‘the Great,’ as Illarion had been named in his monkhood, and who was deprived of a Metropolitan’s seat in the Saint Sophia Cathedral for his avarice. He also was irreconcilable with Agapit’ fame. Subsequently in 1093 those records were supplemented by Father-Superior John. And it was based on those records that the Paterikon and the ‘Primary Chronicle’ of 1113, were written. That is, 18 years after Agapit’ death. However, the ‘Chronicle’ itself was edited later on, and further alterations were made in it.
“Thus, in 1116 when Father-Superior Sylvester of the Vydubychi Monastery, so to say thoroughly ‘remade’ the text of the ‘Chronicle’. By the way, it was he who interpreted the record about Andrew the First-called. When remaking the material, where it was written how Andrew the First-called had come to lay the seed in those lands – the Christ’s burden; Sylvester interpreted the ‘burden’ as a cross and the ‘seed’ as faith. And since they were exactly the records of Sylvester that came to descendants, it turns out, according to them, that Andrew the First-called raised a cross on a hill in the Kiev lands, blessing those lands, and foretold that God’s grace would shine on it.”
“And those descendants got it like in a ‘Chinese whispers’ game,” Eugene sneered. “Instead of ‘seed’ they got ‘steed,’ instead of ‘burden’ – ‘bur man’.”
“You bet,” Sensei sighed. “Now then, in addition they decided to exhume Theodosius’ body in 1091 and expose it in the Uspensky Cathedral for worshipping. But when they opened Theodosius’ cell in the Far Caves, they discovered that his relics had already decayed. The date of ceremonial transference of Theodosius’ relics to the Cathedral had been already announced. In order to conceal the incident they hurriedly started to open other graves in the cave. And again, who participated in that shady enterprise? Mark, later named the Grave-digger for that, one assistant monk, and Nestor, further named the Chronicler, who as the matter of fact was appointed to head the ‘jolly crowd’. Luckily to them they had finally found a well preserved mummified body of a recluse, an early disciple of Agapit. As soon as the next day his remains were stately pretended for Theodosius’ ones. Those people didn’t know whose remains those were. And those remains were unusual indeed. The person they had once belonged to had left into Nirvana or, speaking the Christian language, he got to Heaven. For yet within his lifetime he had been able to defeat death and leave the cycle of reincarnations. The monk’s name was Dobroslav or, as Agapit and his disciples used to call him in a friendly manner, – Dobrynya.”
“Are those remains still being kept in the Cathedral?“
Sensei grinned.
“No, of course not. For all that, justice has triumphed. Dobrynya was delivered from scoffing in 1240. At the time of Batu Khan’s invasion his remains were withdrawn by Mezhane and carried to a more deserving place.”
“Mezhane? Who are they?” Kostya asked with curiosity.
“They are people who have access to Shambala and can communicate directly with Bodhisattvas of Shambala.”
“And what about ‘recluses’? What are they?” Andrei wondered in his turn.
“A recluse was a monk, who settled in a small cave-cell on his own free will and developed it in such a way that the cell communicated with the subterranean corridor only with a narrow window. This window served for the purpose of passing some frugal food though it later on. A recluse would often confine himself to some water and bread and even then not every day. And there he would live and pray until his death.”
“I should say!” escaped Kostya’s lips. “In complete darkness and solitude?”
“Certainly. In complete renunciation of everything earthly.”
“But what for?” the guy wondered sincerely.
“It’s one of the ways to reach Nirvana.”
“Oh, man, I wouldn’t endure such a thing,” our Philosopher shook his head negatively.
“I would try,” Andrew voiced.
“Do you think it’s so simple?” Sensei asked. “Before undertaking the technique of seclusion one should have learnt at least the basics – to control his thoughts... A person didn’t just seclude himself in a dark cave, praying to God. At first he learnt a special breathing technique, next he learnt controlling his thoughts, bringing them into a stable state of agathodaemon, a positive thought, that is. Only then could this person withdraw into seclusion, doing a consecutive series of meditations bringing him to a certain level, from the simple to the complex. Ultimately the person consciously passed to Nirvana, to God, that is he liberated himself from the chain of reincarnations. It’s not that simple. Though,” Sensei shrugged his shoulders and mused: ”from spiritual point of view this way is too easy and simple. Kind of a way for lazy ones. It’s very easy to retreat from human world and become a recluse-monk. However, to live in this world and come to God through doing good among people, that’s quite another story. That's what I call the right thing! It’s hard, but it’s really valuable.” Then he returned to the subject of his speech: “And the technique of seclusion is quite ancient. It had been practiced from time immemorial. Agapit imparted it to his disciples as a secret knowledge. Though, this technique was lost afterwards, because the last person, verily possessing it, simply found nobody deserving to entrust this knowledge to.
“Imitating the disciples of Agapit, many people tried to seclude themselves, knowing absolutely nothing of the practice itself. As a result, they either did not endure the seclusion or went mad. It’s natural. If a person cannot manage his fears, negative thoughts, has a constant domination of cacodaemon, it will only increase manyfold in seclusion. It’s almost impossible to endure a seclusion for an untrained person.”
A short silence fell.
“So, it means that Nestor was a bit insincere?” Victor asked.
“He just wrote what his dignitaries had charged him with writing. He was to prepare a book of Theodosius ‘Hagiography’ for canonization. In simple words, he was to create an image for worshiping. That meant that Theodosius was to be written about accordingly, up to the mark. So Nestor did. He took only some facts of Theodosius’ real life and copied the rest of his ‘holiness’ word for word from other sources. You see, the author wasn’t a witness of the actual events. When Theodosius came to Antony’s cave in 1056, Nestor was still singing in swaddling clothes, as they say. That’s why Nestor was charged with writing the work and that is why several followers of Theodosius from old monks, who had caught the period of his being a hegumen, were assigned to him, as helpers so-to-say, in order for the history to be more ‘veracious’.”
“Now, that’s a fine credible ‘history’!” Eugene sneered.
“What do you expect? There is more in it than meets the eye. At that time The Church needed an image of life of the first saint in Rus. So they chose Father-Superior Theodosius for his ‘outstanding service’. They couldn’t choose Agapit, could they?!” Sensei laughed. “Who was needed? A hegumen. So, Nestor did his best. He took a little from Theodosius’ real life, concerning his childhood and youth in the monastery, and cribbed the rest from various Greek and Palestinian Saints’ hagiographies, as his ‘fathers’ had incited him. In Rus there already were many translations of ancient patericons, ascetic and edifying treatises as well as ascetic hagiographies. The most readable and favorite ones were the hagiographies of Saint Antony, Theodore the Studite, Theodore of Edessa, John Chrysostom. There also existed less popular but in full versions ‘Hagiographies’ of Palestinian sixth century Saints, whom Cyril of Scythopolis had written about. Such were hagiographies of Euthymius the Great, Sabbas the Sanctified, Theodosius the Cenobiarch, John the Silent. In short, there was a lot to choose from for creating a new image.
“Nestor’s fancy, for example, was taken by hagiographies of Saint Euthymius and Sabbas. That’s why the new image of Theodosius turned out alike Sabbas’ in many respects. Sometimes even literal extracts were used in the text. Spiritual exploits he copied from the Oriental Asceticism, then added some elements from Saints’ hagiographies, and there you have the image of the great Theodosius, the father of Russian monasticism.
“In truth, however, Theodosius was far from being such as he was presented. It is true that he had a difficult childhood in a rich family. His father died when Theodosius turned 13. His mother used to beat him often. The chap’s state of mind was quite unbalanced. In short, he was a feeble fellow, always seeking to please those who were stronger. So, when he came to Antony in Kiev, having escaped from his mother again, out of kindness Antony accepted him, hoping to re-educate. At that time there was a small community living in the cave together with Antony. Agapit was among them. He warned Antony concerning that ‘meek’ fellow: ‘That’s a snake thou cherishest in thy bosom’. But Antony let the guy stay out of pity. By the way, Nestor described this episode of Theodosius coming to Antony and alleged refuse of Antony to accept him, in his own perspective, exactly duplicating it from the hagiography of Saint Sabbas, though it had nothing to do with what happened in reality.
“As for Theodosius, though shy when being around fraternity, inside him there was a ‘seething cauldron’ and far not of good thoughts. Theodosius felt that Agapit could see him through and that he knew his concealed thoughts. So, he did his best not to meet the Saint’s eye once again. And afterwards, throughout his entire life he experienced inner fear before Agapit, for Theodosius was performing deeds incompatible with spiritual life.
“What Agapit had foretold Antony about that guy, so it happened. Later when Varlaam, a son of John, who was the first boyar of Prince Izyaslav – joined the monkhood, there flared up a scandal with the high and mighty. From entire fraternity, Theodosius, due to his feeble spirit, became an informant of Izyaslav. He let Antony down more than once later on. And afterwards when Varlaam, being the first hegumen, came to Izyaslav asking for lands above the caves, Izyaslav agreed to give it, stipulating that a pleasing to him ecclesiastic would be heading the fraternity. Varlaam had no other choice but to agree. The same year Izyaslav transferred Varlaam (who was set in the head of the community by Antony in due course, when Antony himself became an ordinary monk) to the Dimitrievsky monastery; and his place was taken by the ‘insider’ – Theodosius. However, Nestor presented it in such a way that the fraternity itself had chosen Theodosius to become its Father-Superior for his ‘monastic exploits’.”
“‘Exploits,’ right,” Volodya sneered, “One would be certainly given a good dressing-down for such ‘exploits’ if it were with us.”
“An unspoken separation existed ever since that time in Pechersk monastery,” Sensei continued. “The followers of Agapit strived for spiritual life. While Theodosius and his followers, – including a prominent among them Nikon, who had made monk of Theodosius and whom Theodosius was smitten with a peculiar love for,” Sensei smiled, “exploited their position for their own enrichment. Having obtained what he wanted, Theodosius magnified and consolidated his power so much that life turned not so sweet even for Izyaslav.“
“Haw,” Nikolai Andreevich said pensively. “You shouldn’t expect anything good from a person like Theodosius, when he is given power. A stable depressive state in adolescence often leads to serious damages of mind and abnormal psychopathologies. Such adolescent poorly adapts to life among his peers, quite often loosing sense of reality in the world around. And this in turn may lead to sense of inferiority, self-deficiency, and understated self-appraisal, a whole complex of fears. As a rule such people are shy, timid, and tend to withdraw into themselves. But as soon as they get a chance to have real power over people, they show quite a number of mental illnesses...”
Eugene listened to the words of our psychotherapist and said: “Quite a Chikatilo portrait... He was all shy and modest in public too.”
“Well, where do you think maniacs come from?” the psychotherapist said seriously. “Megalomania has done even more sinister things to people.”
“Absolutely right,” Sensei agreed. “Theodosius was serving his own megalomania in the first place. As for the spiritual, he was awfully lazy at that. All his prayers were just an outward show. Looking at spiritual work of Agapit and his disciples, he taught the other monks to keep vigil and pray in the night. Meanwhile he slept and so well that he had to be waken up in the mornings. Later on it was presented as the secrecy of his asceticism. Jesus said once about those like Theodosius: ‘For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers’.
“Theodosius was painted in eulogies as a ‘bibliophile and enlightened person’. It’s a sheer anecdote taking into account his poor knowledge of grammar. But then he loved to edify others at every turn, to exalt himself so that others would bow low, and kiss on his hands, and call him the ‘holy father’. Showing himself as next door to God was an integral part of his nature. But, you know, Jesus said: ‘Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, He Who is in heaven’.
“Theodosius was fond of edifying not only his ‘flock’ but also ordinary laymen, showing himself as a fierce and irreconcilable stickler of Christianity, drumming them that ‘he who praises another faith, walks on the verge of heresy’. He used to repeat Agapit’ words ‘God is one and the faith in Him is one’. But while Agapit spoke about the one inner faith inherent to every human aspiring to God, which was the same as what Jesus had been teaching; Theodosius on the other hand twisted those words from religious point of view as well as that of his Animal nature, saying that ‘only my faith is true, and others are worthless’. He was especially fond of edifying wealthy people, regularly visiting their feasts. He had made believe his duty was to edify the princes while their duty was to listen to his precepts. That is, to call the tune over powers that be. Such ‘pharisees’ people were mentioned even in the Gospel, canons of which Theodosius was trying to proclaim: ‘But all their works they do to be seen of men. They make their phylacteries broad, and enlarge the fringes of their garments’; ‘And love the place of honor at feasts, and the best seats in the synagogues’; ‘the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called `Rabbi, Rabbi` by men.’; ‘But don't you be called `Rabbi` for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers.’; ‘Neither be called masters, for one is your Master, the Christ’...”
And then Tatyana, offended by the words about the single faith, said: “Somehow I don’t see the difference between words of Theodosius and those of Agapit about single faith. I think Theodosius was right. As my granny used to say, one should have faith only in Christianity because it is the only religion leading to God.”
“Well, you see, your grandmother considered it this way because she had been brought up in a Christian environment. And someone’s grandmother, living in the Middle East, would tell her granddaughter that Islam is the only true religion. A Chinese grandmother would say that the right religion is Buddhism, and so on. But all these are just exterior conventionalities, ultimately leading – provided that a person completely tunes himself to a positive wave, that is domination of his agathodaemon (and not to supporting aggressive fanaticism of the cacodaemon), it all leads to one and the same inner result. A person may often not even surmise what processes take place within him. He only begins to understand what the real faith in God is, feeling an unusual fit of spiritual energy. That is, everyone who sincerely believes in God – no matter how they address Him, ultimately comes to one and the same door and steps over one and the same threshold. It’s said that many a way lead to God, but narrow is the Gate.”
“Now, as for me, I seem to understand it all, I guess,” Kostya began reasoning. “But, to be honest, it’s by and large too hard to believe in all this... Well, take that Agapit, for example, that the Holy Spirit abode in him... How does this Holy Spirit look like, anyway? And was it really that important for Ancient Rus? And why up to now haven’t I ever heard or read about it before? Why only those, like you say, twisted stories came to us? Whom do we have to believe anyway? And if there is God, why he admitted that saints were taunted, Jesus was crucified, and the truth about Agapit was concealed?..”
Sensei sighed wearily and said: “Don’t try to understand the works of God, which are much concealed from people. It is equivalent to an attempt of an ant to swallow an elephant. A human brain is very limited. Man cannot perceive elementary things: how he hears, how he sees, how he thinks, how he lives, and who in truth he is. By and large he doesn’t even know what death is, to say nothing of his ability to understand, with his limited brain, what the infinity of the Universe is. The only thing man can do is either believe, or not believe.”
“Well, how’s that, believe or not believe?” Kostya retorted, having relished arguing. “But any belief needs evidences, even belief in God!“
“Evidences, huh, is that what you say?!” Sensei’s voice changed. “Go to a mirror and take a careful look at yourself. If you do believe you’re a random compound of amino acids that led to mutation of a monkey resulting in its becoming wise, then why do you need to search for God? Go to the market, buy a banana, and enjoy your life! But if you don’t agree with this, and if you believe you are a wonderful creature of God, how can you demand from God evidences of His existence?! Who are you, and who is God?”
Sensei spoke with such a power in his voice and his gaze that Kostya, involuntarily taken aback, shrank, and cast down his eyes. He seemed to wish the ground to swallow him up. A short silence fell.
“Haw,” Nikolai Andreevich broke silence. “It turns out that Theodosius served Caesar, and Agapit served God.”
“Absolutely right,” Sensei answered already in his usual voice. “Starting from that time a separation took place in the Lavra. While some monks performed true spiritual exploits, including living in seclusion; at the same time the others enjoyed self-will, dissoluteness, egoism, and love for gold, fleecing the laymen by showing them the places, where true monks, aspiring to God, were accomplishing their exploits... So, as ever among people: such a holy place they defiled by their avarice; twisted everything, and stirred up. But it could be quite different, you know. For the Holy Spirit Himself created His Abode there. Oh, people, people...”
Sensei became silent for some time and then uttered pensively: “All in all, Agapit influenced the Ancient Rus’ greatly and not only it... And though this influence was indirect, it changed the future world. Though, it wasn’t actually Agapit’ task as a Bodhisattva for that time. It was rather an own initiative of Agapit. Well, in short, a bodhi is a bodhi.
“Agapit founded a spiritual abode where throughout all time of its existence nobody has ever counted how many people could get a healing from lethal diseases and, thank God, are getting cured still. But this is not so essential. The most important fact is that many could get spiritual health there, which is more important than physical one. On a large scale the Pechersk Monastery’s name has resounded for ages owing to Agapit as well as his relics, in which there still remains the healing power of the Holy Spirit.
“Even nowadays many people from various countries and of various religions, even those who consider themselves ‘atheists’ spend more time near the relics of Agapit when attending the Pechersk Caves. Why? It’s because people intuitively feel true Holiness, for soul cannot be deceived, you know. But if only people could know that they can ask not only for healing of their bodies, but, what’s more important, for salvation of their souls – especially during the days when the Holy Spirit abides in the relics, beginning every 25th of February and lasting for the whole week, – now that would bring incomparably more good for their souls. For there is no holier place on Earth during those days other than that one, where any person, irrespective of his religion, can be so close to God’s Ear with his petition. And such a chance has each person, who can use it during the seven days of a year. Since the following year may not come for him. For brief are human days at the crossroads of times. For sorrowful are their deeds before the face of God. Every human instant is already on the scale. And there is no concern for souls more important than the craving for finding salvation. It is not in the outside faith, but in the inner faith that the key to the Gate is. Only a sightless man, blinded with dust, can fail to see it.
“All a human is able to give to God is his faith and his sincere prayer. There is nothing else he can give to God. For everything around a human is God’s creation. It doesn't befit to offer the Master His own property. You see, God needs nothing from human, except his Faith and Love! What can a small child give to his Parent to gladden His heart? Only Love and Respect.”
Sensei stopped, fixing his eyes at the fire. Then he pronounced pensively, seeming to speak to all and sundry: “While you’re alive, human, you have a chance to beg an eternity of God’s love for your soul. And while you have this CHANCE, go to Agapit on the holy week and pray unto the Holy Spirit only for your soul. For your body is perishable, it is dust. And all earthly concerns are empty. But remember, human, that everything you promise in your petition before God, do fulfil! For He, like every parent, brooks no lies; He forgives, but does not entrust after...”

Sensei took his eyes off the fire and looked at us attentively. His eyes were shining with some enormous power and purity. And then he voiced:
“Dare, human! Verily I say, as you are not to avoid death, so you are not to avoid the Judgment of God!”

A silence fell, and no one dared to disturb it. The dawn was breaking. A bird started singing its tuneful song. Looking above the sea, Sensei sighed and said in a tired voice: “Alright, guys, I guess I’ve fatigued you with my stories. It’s high time for you to rest...”
Everybody dispersed and went to sleep. Only Sensei stayed on the shore near the fire burning low. His meditative look was directed to the East, where the first rays of light were swiftly tearing the darkness of the night sky, clearing the way for the Sun.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 14.02.2011

Alle Rechte vorbehalten