MANASTIR LEPAVINA - SRPSKA PRAVOSLAVNA CRKVA

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- Excuse me Father, would you bless my recording of your words and we could refresh ourselves spiritually afterwards?

- Well, no, what's use, my words aren't... (words faint) no use of it, he replaid. - You are coming with problems, I have many problems, so Lord soothes us. I complain to you, you complain to me and all is well after... Lord soothes! Then he telling the two students and the others also present there perhaps the most beautiful words we ever heard about the current situation on the earth, about the situation of the Man on the globe, about his position in relation to time and eternity, in relation to God.

Surrounded by secrets

- People think they are something, but a man is nothing. Vladika Nikolaj says, "What is a man? A sack of stinky meat and nothing else". Nothing. Hot head. Has no idea he is nothing, a weapon in hands of evil spirits. Evil. God does what He wants to do with us. However, He gave us un area where we can think and decide whether we want to do good or not. Spirits had fallen before Man was created. Many centuries before. Not all spirits have preserved their positions. Man is the crown of creation. He was created to be the master of all material world, so that everything is submitted to him... Material world, space, was not as it is now. Upon the fall it obtained toughness and rotteness. Despite toughness and rotteness it has its beauty... Yes... Our ancient fathers were immortal. They did not depend on time and space the way we are. Look, they moved the way thoughts move... After the fall everything was disturbed. God, being entire love knew that not all created creatures would be able to keep their position, hence he gave them time from the Creation to Final Judgement. It is the time for all reasonable beings to come to their senses, to return to their Parent's embrace. To join the absolute good, absolute love... But people liked evil more than good. "Padishash" Nature! It is easier for them to think evil than good. But when a person think of evil thoughts they do not let him at peace after. How big our fall is! Tremendous. Awful. We cannot come to ourselves, nor do anything on our own. We have no idea how reflexive forces of reason are terrorizing us ("padishash" spirits). We think they are our thoughts. We are bothered by envy, menace, hatred. It is tiranny about tiranny. Sole does not want it but it cannot release itself. It has been accustomed to it from old times; therefore the root is so big and deep. It has to be thrown out. One has to transfer himself into love. To be absolutely calm, silent. It is not easy. You see how terrible the man's fall is. Man is not self-sufficient. He depends on God's help. Man thinks he knows something. Hot head. All is revealed to him from eternity. God's secret is everywhere. We are surrounded by secrets. We are tremendous secret to ourselves. We do not know what we are. Where did we come from? Where are we heading? What kind of a creature is the creature that reasons, moves and speaks what he knows. He heard something from someone, he reasons, it came to his mind. He creates something, does not know how. What kind of secret is inside him? How his internal organs work without his will and work perfectly? And he disturbs all with his thoughts.

- Do illnesses come from sin? - asks one of the students.

- From fall of thoughts. From thoughts. All usually think good and evil. What thoughts we have, such life we have. Spirit feeds itself with thoughts, body with food.

- Are there our own thoughts and the thoughts that are placed in outwardly?

- They are being placed in from all sides. Radiuses of thoughts are on all sides. If revealed, they would turn out into a tremendous net. And everyone has a radio station in his inner being. Man is a much more precise apparatus than a radio station, or a TV set, it's just that its function is disturbed. What a precise being a man is! How divine! But we do not know how to appreciate that. We do not know how to join the source of life and feel the joy of life. But we always let enemy impute to us... Lord revealed to St. Anthony the radius of thoughts surrounding us. When he saw them, he sighed: "O, Lord, who can pass through this?" And a voice he heard: "Only humble and gentle ones". They touch only such. They comprise merely of peace and silence. Divine radiuses, a sign of an absolute divine power. They do not join anything negative.

- How does the polluted environment influnce us?

- Just now they are saying - our poor Serbia, poor, poor Serbia. They say it is polluted with radioactive substances most of all. The strongest radiation is now in Serbia. Enormous, unbearable. We are not sick but we are not fresh. Cannot go on. A thought cannot be set up. It goes slowly. People helthy but don't know what's wrong with them. They take medicaments, feel even worse. As long as we have a bit of clean air we should use it but it's also polluted, all is. Particularly when we deal with intellectual work, we should take a deep breath often because heart and brain take up a big quantity of oxygen. Whenever there is lack of oxygen in brain we cannot "switch it on". Something is wrong and we wonder what is wrong. There's not enough fuel, no oxygen. You see, they eat poisoned food now. We have poisoned everything. There's nothing to by at the market. Its nice, but one does not dare buy it. By the end of the last century an old man said: "There shall comes times when people will be producing plenty of agricultural products but shall not dare eat them". And the time did come. They ask how come. Food is poisoned, that's how. Poisoned material food, poisoned spiritual food. Poisoned children, poisoned elderly too. People think they will live here forever. But life turns out to be short. What is life, man? Well, it is nothing. It's so short that one cannot grasp it. Young man does not notice it. I often think: how poor we on the earth are because we are not able to live not even four billion seconds. It would take us 120 years. One hundred years is three billion seconds. What is one hundred years? Nothing. One moment only... We live in eternity. Otherwise, the fact that the globe turns around its axis and around the sun gives us this time. If the sun stopped in the zenith we wouldn't be able to measure time. We live in eternity. Always daylight. We would have no where to begin with. When we don't measure time we see it does not exist. It does with us who are limited. Therefore Jovan Bogoslov with one leg on land and another one on the sea swore to God and said in "Revelation": "there shall be no time anymore!.." Eternity... meaning: God will start up speed and material world will disappear. We know that substance disappears when it reaches the speed of light, 300 thousand km per hour. It turns into invisible energy. How miserable we are! We knew about that speed but we didn't know that a higher speed exists. And since we now have precise appartuses that can measure moves, now God is revealing a much higher speed. A cell, a photon of energy, do they call it photon or something else? It appears in an instant on a screen and disappears right away. When on screen, it has already crossed our Galaxy. And diameter of our Galaxy is 50 million of years of light. Meaning, it's an incredible speed... Yes... well, spirit is faste than thoughts. A thought is slow. Medium speed and spirit is incredibly quick... We go into eternity. Yes. Thank God to everything. Much has been revealed to us but we have misused it all. We simply see that we have conditioned it impossible to continue living on the earth. Because of poison. We have poisoned ourselves. One of our experts, the author of the book "The Planet and Civilization in Danger", Branko Kitanovic says: "In the year of 2000 we shall not have drinkable water on the globe". Drinkable water makes only 2% of all the water mass, while 98% is not drinkable. He says that there will be no way to purify water, everything will be polluted. Whatever people would touch, will be polluted. What a tempo of throwing things away everywhere on earth, polluting everything around. He says, enemy no. 1 is engine gasses. Everything else comes after. Each factory releases enormous quantity of poisonous staff. Also in farming. Belgrade drinks polluted water. An engineer working in Makis there says: "We chloride water and pollute it further. It does not work. Bacteria and baccillus are easily removed but not poison". Filtrate it as long as you wish, cleanse, boil, do whatever you want - it's still poison, all around is poison. Without drinkable water life fades away. Human organism contains 70 percent of water. Land farming has made a significant progress but many sorts of trees have disappeared. Elm has vanished long ago. People in T... say that tops of coniferous forests are withering. Radiation is strong and mountain creeks are polluted. Poisonous rains are falling through soil. Soil is poisoned. We are poisoned... Glory to thee Lord. And people are never satisfied with what they have. Its always insufficient to them. This began right after the fall of our ancient parents. Bloodshed came immediatly after. Cain killed his younger brother Abel out of sheer envy. Because Abel's sacrifice was accepted and not his. This is where all began. And is still on. There is no peace. All are seeking something as if they were to live forever and there is nothing. Nothing... nothing... It seems the end is come. The speed of factory polluting is enormous; we won't be able to live with it much longer. Thank God, birds are still here... But many species have vanished. Destruction is bigger and bigger and life is duying away... This is not a secret. About ten years ago when snowfall was big, many rabbits would gather around in the moonlight, in big circles, there in the field where there are no trees, they would chase each other, turn around in the snow, playing. They would rejoice. Joy of living. Animals have joy of living. We disturb and stir them. They do not care, do not prepare storage for wheat, nothing, and yet God feeds them. They snap up something there, branches, find protection out there, sleep. I thank thee God. We don't do that. A bird always celebrates God. It starts before down at three and sings until nine, never stops. At nine birds silents down a bit, then they go for food and feed children. Then it sings again. No one forces it to sing. It sings. Whether someone listen or not. And we, we are frowned, noses up. We don't feel like singing, we don't feel like doing anything. We should try to be like birds. They are always cheerful. And what about us? Something is bothering us. And what is it? Nothing. Is that right? - That's right, replies the student. - We bother ourselves, says Father. - Father, I would like to know Gods will. How to make our choices, to find a job here or there, to marry or not to marry. - God is opening a path for us himself. He reveals in line with His sacred will. Through Parents His sacred will announces itself. If we obey parents everything will go well and will be blessed. If we oppose to them, there's nothing for us. It goes, goes, but more backward then forward. For instance, suppose you fell in love with a girl and want to have her at any cost. But father and mother say: "Listen son, she is not for you". In vain, devil tied up your mind, captured you, you stubbornly insist you want her, period. "Son, she is not for you", parents say again. "We shall find another girl for you". They refuse; they want it at any cost. They get married. They think all is ideal. They are in love. After some time their love fades and nothing remains. Best is when parents make preagreements, when difference in age is not too big and even if a young couple have never seen each other before, when get together it's perfect. When love blooms in marrage. Then marriage is not premeditated, a cuple has their parent's blessing and all goes well after... Marriage life, it is not so nice life, sweet... Oh, it is sour. Even then you see you are not free. You are tied up, firmly. Harnessed in a cart you must pull because you are beaten. Children demand. You have to pull whether you want it or not. And when you were free, you had some other thoughts... and now you must think not only of yourself but also about many others.

- Two ways are in life: cleric life or marriage, or is there some other way? How can I learn what is the right way for me?

- Not everyone can accept clergy life. Yes. Cleric life is not easy. Life on the earth is not at all regardless of circumstances. The one who lived the way he wanted and how his heart demanded was Solomon, King Solomon and the son of King David. He ruled for forty years, never fought against anyone. God blessed him with wisdom. He also built the Jerusalem temple. Many would come from all sides of the world to him to listen to him... And he says: "Whatever my heart wished I fulfilled. I wanted to have beatiful vineyards, so I planted them. Palaces I had too. I had the most modern standing army in Jerusalim. But I did not fight against anyone", Fr. says and continues: "I wanted to have plenty of gold and silver and God gave it to me. I tried various lifestyles to see if there is a permanent consolation here on the earth to go on living like that... But I see only vanity above vanity here on the earth and spirit is uneasy. No consolation. A permanent one..." You see, Solomon says this. A wise person. Meaning, have what you want , be what you want, nothing else matters to you. Short, as if you never have lived. You thought you've taken all wisdom of this world. Hot head. And if only you could take a look from aside, you would see yourself showing off like a turkey, there is nothing (laugh). Empty head... Yes. Who on this Globe was or will be a universally familiar with everything? Nobody. Everyone takes his own direction in learning, putting bits together and in this way we become one entity. People adore philosophers, various scientists, always quote their words. Nobody pays attention to God's promise to our ancient parents to send a savior of the world and bring us back to our original condition. No one knew it would be God himself. Only He who created us can bring us into our original status, who else? And He did come but they did not accept Him... You see, we are baptized in Christ, we are Christians formally and not the way God wants. There is nothing good in us. As soon as we become aware that we think evil and can be angry and humiliate our closest, nothing good can happen... But they read it and yet do not comprehend. Who out of all philosophers could have said for himself: "I am the Way, Truth and Life". No one could say that. And also: "I am the bread of life". Or: "Who believes in me has eternal life". But people are narow-minded. They understand little, comprehend little. Everything else but truth is closer to him. We believe we are of some significance... No significance whatsover. Yes. Ideal of Christian life, as sacred fathers says, is ultimate soothing. Ultimate soothing. Those awarded by God's kindness, he who is calm and gentle, he is not angry. Even if you curse him, you are getting angry and he feels sorry for you for bothering yourself.

- To conclude, tell us please if a remedy for us fallen and ill exists?

- It certainly does exist. To obey. To soothe and listen. For someone calm and gentle and who obeys our people say: "Who obeys much gets". He who obeys is soothed. And as soon as we oppose, you notice at once your enemy is destroying your life. It simply does not work any more...

- Father, my parents are divorced. My Mum has brought me into faith... Father is against God. Who to obey? - asks a girl.

- Well, it is not up to you if your parents are getting on well or not, if they quarrel, if they are good or not good. They have to be something sacred for you. So that you can get God's blessing and be well off. Yes. We must not insult parents, not even in thoughts. And it's up to them how they behave toward us. It's their business. There are some parents who were extremly drastic, who torture their children. Two brothers for instance had a good mother who tells them to obey father although he... to get God's blessing. Today they work in the "Litas" in Pozarevac and do not allow any comment about their father be uttered. No one is allowed to make offences. The two brothers say: "Our father is sacred for us". They had years of hardship with their father who was merciless to them. But you see, God blessed them and they are full of life energy. Thankful to God. For, God's blessing had it that we come to this world through our parents. For what they are, they will answer before God, they will answer for us too. And we do not answer for them. We shall answer for how we, or if we respected them or not. The state of spirit on the earth is that bad because even little children, five-year-olds, oppose their parents. This is the reason why we are in such a bad situation, we do not obey our parents. The same situation is everywhere in this world.

Translated by Ruzica Vidakovic Vukovar,
October, 2000 "Svetigora", Cetinje, No. 97-98

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ARCHIMANDRITE GAVRILO

Dear visitors of our web-site of the monastery Lepavina! Due to a high number of visits of our website, I am honoured to take the responsibility to describe you in English different events from Serbian Orthodox Church and monastery Lepavina. We would like to inform you that we will be also putting on our web-site some texts in English on different subjects from other Orthodox websites. I deeply hope and believe that our Lord will help me in that!

With God’s blessing, from monastery Lepavina Archimandrite Gavrilo.

Biography Archimandrite Gabriel (Vuckovic)