We do not understand why something happens in one place and afterwards in another place. Perhaps I influence something by acting a certain way, and afterwards something suddenly happens to me. Are my actions connected by causation to the events that happen to me afterwards or to what happens generally in the world? All of this is a mystery to us. We cannot understand this because we still do not feel many things in the world around us. If we saw everything that surrounds us then no mystery would remain. We would know and understand all information, all cause-and-effect connections, all of our states beyond the body, our other reincarnations and lives. The only question we would have is: “How can we use this correctly?”
In our world is not even one altruistic movement or action, which is a genuinely altruistic attribute of bestowal. We are not capable of imagining this. This happens under the influence of Light. Therefore the only thing that we can do is evoke the influence of the Surrounding Light on us. This is the only means that can change us. Correctly studying in the correct group, under the correct direction by the correct books, at a specific time, and generally absolutely everything, when all of these conditions are collected in the correct form, this evokes the maximum Light that corrects a person.
We do not know what is this quality—the attribute of bestowal. The attribute of bestowal does not exist in our world. Only reception exists in our world. Even if we physically give something to someone, while doing this we naturally perform a calculation (whether unconsciously, consciously, it does not matter how), “What will I gain out of this?”
This happens on every level: I bestow a material thing and receive a physical, moral or emotional enjoyment that is more beneficial to me than what I give away. I am obligated to have a profit. If I lose from this, then this is a loss for me. This means that I made an incorrect calculation. But in advance I cannot make a calculation that will result in a loss. I will necessarily see a gain in some regard, as otherwise I will not have the energy to perform this action. I am obligated to imagine a profit.
All present sufferings of humanity put us into an initial position: “Well, what’s next?”
In the past, sufferings in of themselves were showing us how to get rid of them. A person felt that he was poor for example, so he wanted to become rich, or he was a slave and he wanted to become free, or maybe he felt that he lacked education in comparison with the others, so he tried to get it, and so on. In other words, sufferings themselves showed us the way to solve them.
Today the situation is quite the opposite. That’s why we’re seeing morals degrading: drugs, suicides, and terror all come from emptiness. A person doesn’t understand or sense why this takes place.This means that a person finds out that he is aspiring for something but it isn’t formed. He doesn’t know what it’s for, and that’s the major problem.
Correcting a human being and all humanity, reaching similarity with the altruistic nature does not happen all at once and not simultaneously by everyone. Rather, correction is possible to the extent that each person and the whole of humanity acknowledge the global crisis. Correction begins when a person realizes that his or her egoistic nature is the source of all evil. Subsequently, one searches for the means to change this nature. The search yields the conclusion that only the influence of society can help in this mission. This means that if society changes its values and elevates the value of altruism, only this will propel man’s correction.
Environment can influence a person and always does, but it depends on what kind of environment this is. The more seemingly closer the environment is to the spiritual, the more dangerous it is if it is the wrong environment. This means that if you find yourself in a certain group and encounter certain people who talk to you about the spiritual, you have to check, very accurately, whether these people are true or not. How can this be checked?
The first and foremost principle of determining whether this is a right teacher is that he only studies the original sources with you—only the original sources. On no account does a genuine teacher have a right to add something of his own: no psychologies, or technologies—he cannot mix this with anything. Meanwhile, today you know how widespread this is: people mix this with some exercises, some medicines, or some other theories. All of that is absolutely out of the question. This is already not spiritual. This is a surrogate that serves only to confuse yourself and the others. This is why the most important criterion is whether you study the original sources in the original language or, if worst comes to worst, in translation.
