Great Quotes from Book "Two Lives"
"I was crying as bitterly as you are now many times. Believe me, it isn't easy for anybody to part from his childhood.
The illusion of beauty and love created by our own imagination is torturing us for as long as we gain a victory over it.
Only then our illusory desires to live in the dream of imaginary beauty clear away when the real beauty which is hiding within ourselves comes to life.
All blows of grief, losses and disappointment are teaching us to understand that there's no happiness in the conditional illusions.
Happiness exists only in a free and voluntary work which doesn't depend on any praise or reward that are being poured upon us for doing it –
in that work which we are carrying into our daily routine as an activity of love and joy by dedicating it to people's welfare and happiness."
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"Everything in life is changing, my boy. There may be not a single moment of respite in a man's life. All sorts of affairs and meetings are forcing the man to move, in this way he's growing and changing continuously. Everything what consciousness is presenting like a logical thought, everything is changing and broadening together with the coming wisdom. If the man fails to accept the changing circumstances wisely, fails to become the power that controls them – then they destroy him, like cold destroys the mushroom's life, like drought destroys the mould's life. And of course, the man who fails – by changing himself – to carry the life of new circumstances on his shoulders easily and simply, will become only like that mushroom or mould, and not the radiance of his thought which is growing in creativity and hardening itself in fight."
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"It is not worth talking about them now. Both of us who've suffered lots of pain in our lives have to reconsider every uttered word. There are no such words which man could let into the world without any effect. Man's entire life – that's the eternal movement; and that movement is created by man's thoughts. A word isn't a simple combination of letters. It always transfers the power of man's action. Even if man himself doesn't know anything about the powers hiding within himself and if he doesn't think what kind of volcanoes of passions and evil he can create and awaken with his incautiously slipped word – even then there are no sounds released to the world without any punishment. Beware of any slanders not only with your words, but even in your thoughts try to justify people and to pour peace onto them at least in that moment when you meet them. Let's rather think what our friends are doing right now. Perhaps Florentian is already boarding the Paris train, while Ananda is accompanying him."
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"I feel for you from the bottom of my heart," I. was talking to her, "but every man must remain energetic and fight instead of falling into a gloom or drowning in his own tears when the storm of life befalls on him, even if it is as horrible and unexpected as this storm of the sea. Think for a while, what would have happened to the people of this streamer if the captain and the ship's crew had been confused and if instead of fighting against the hurricane, they would have surrendered to the element and allowed themselves to be seized by fear? Your situation isn't helpless. It is true, you have lost your husband, love and welfare at once, but you still have your children, this goal in your life was left. Why do you go back to your past in your thoughts, which doesn't exist anymore? It is impossible to lose your past for the second time. Why do you think about your future with a horror, about which you don't know anything and which is impossible to lose as well. The future doesn't exist, too. Only the present can be lost, this hurrying now, and that depends only on man's possessed energy and cheerfulness. Remember your behaviour and think for a while how much unnecessary suffering only because of your fear about your future you've experienced. Did this fear help you by anything? And did at least one of those terrible scenes which your mind was creating come true? Arrange your inner world exactly as you have tried to arrange your exterior. Throw out of your head your thoughts about poverty and helplessness. Search for strength for your new life, activity and fight for your own and your children's lives and happiness in your faithful love to your dead husband. Don't cry so badly. Remember that you bemoan only yourself, your loss, your ruined egoistic happiness. You think that you bemoan your husband and his broken life, but what can we understand and know about the destinies of the people which are passing us by? Think from your hard lot that your life could also stop suddenly as it has happened to your husband. Live your life as if every moment you would give the last responsibility of your care for your children and all those people with whom destiny brings us together. Don't give up to sadness, be the master of yourself, forget yourself and think only about your children. Fill your day not with your gloomy thoughts about poverty and helplessness, but try not to cry with all your loyalty and selfless mother love, no matter how difficult that would be. Hide your tears and fear from your children, with your example teach them kindness and to meet every daybreak with joy. Don't be afraid of anything now. Even if your prediction proves correct that your uncle isn't living in Constantinople anymore, don't lose your courage, put all your hopes not on other people, but rely upon yourself..."
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"You see, my friend, what kind of contrasts are boiling in man's life. In the most terrible moment of the storm, when death was menacing the whole steamer, you were laughing merrily and by doing so, you surprised and raised the spirit of brave people. Now your great love and devotion to your friend made you laugh, and what's the result from all of it ‐ you are crying, you are thinking about the horror of solitude and you are distresses about the future that still doesn't exist. How one can lose that what doesn't exist? Did you know several minutes ago that you would be crying now? You lost your laughter, tranquillity and joy only because you lost your loyalty to your friend Florentian whom you would like to accompany you during your entire life. Where's your cheerfulness? Don't give in to any doubts. The more energy you will put for chasing away your sad thoughts, the faster and better you will educate yourself, while your inner discipline will become your habit, which will be easy and daily. Don't think that we, your new friends, are supernatural and happy keepers of some secrets. We are the same people like everybody else. One can divide people only to those who possess awareness, so they are free from passions and prejudices that are oppressing them ‐ therefore, they are kind and joyful, and those who don't possess awareness, so they are fettered in their passions and prejudices ‐ therefore, they are angry and dismal. Learn, my son. There's only one path in life ‐ that's the knowledge. The knowledge liberates man, and the freer he is, the more important for the universe he becomes, the more meaningful his activity for the universal welfare becomes, the more spacious the atmosphere of his tranquillity becomes, which he's radiating round him. Take this medallion, there's the portrait of your friend Florentian in it. It's great that you are so devoted to him. Now you can see yourself that you love your real brother as much as untrue one whom you met just recently. The freer you will become by throwing the commonly adopted, conditional understanding of love out of yourself, the more real, human love will awake within yourself."
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"Don't be sad so often for your ignorance and intemperance," sir Vomi continued. He seated me on the little bench between I. and himself. "I you want to save your brother's life, develop your heroic feelings not only for this goal, but live your every, ordinary day in such a way as though it was your last day. Don't leave any reserve of your strength and knowledge for tomorrow, but deliver the completeness of all your thoughts and feelings today, now. Don't try to develop the power of your will, but live your life in such a way that during every passing moment you would be simply kind and pure."
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"Be strong, your childhood is over already. Learn to live not only for your brother, but take a good look at everybody whom you meet. If you met a man and failed to find a word of comfort for him ‐ you lost a moment of happiness in your life. Don't think about yourself, while you are talking to people, but think only about them, then you will neither get tired nor irritated."
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"I tried to forget myself, I directed my thoughts to Florentian with all my strength, and suddenly the familiar face emerged next to me again and I heard my dear voice: "Be strong. Not always man receives that much as you do now. Don't miss the opportunity to learn; man receives a call for knowledge only once in his life and there's no another time. Learn to love people well, and for the real love neither separation nor time exists. Preserve peace and your place next to I. without any fear, any lie, but with joy. Always remember: joy is an unbeatable power."
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"Even if your daily routine is diluted with jealousy, you can poison both the life of yourself and your beloved ones, and even the whole long life may lose its meaning. You can possess a great talent, you can lead mankind to new distances of literature, music, arts and at the same time, you can make such an iron cage of passions in your personal life that the entire centuries will be needed until you are able to clean out those toadstools and mould from your spirit, which you have grown with your jealous family life. And on the contrary ‐ one man's day lived in peace and harmony flies over him like a purifying atmosphere through the entire centuries, like an invisible assistance and his protection."
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"She's a mother, a wife, a friend; but everything is without any personal choice, because she has already crossed the stages of her personal life. The highest man's happiness isn't his personal life, but his liberation from it," as though Ananda's voice thundered in my ears.
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"My dear boy, the further, the higher everyone of us is walking, the clearer it becomes that there are no limits for perfection. It isn't important what height, what limit you will reach today, it is important only that you would move forward with that eternal movement in which the whole life is moving forward. You can step into it only with love. If you didn't decorate someone's day with the eternal movement with which the whole universe was living during that day, you separated from people, consequently you were unable to rise to any perfection. There's only one way to it - that's love to man."
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"Lovushka, you still will see lots of people's pain in your life, you will suffer yourself quite a lot, too. And every time, whatever pain you see, you will make certain that the beginning of every pain is fear, doubts, jealousy and desire for money and ambition. All other passions that kill people are growing from these roots. Another part of man's pain is brought to him by his blindness and thinking that his life is only that short period between his birth and his death, squeezed into the frame of his personal life and separated from the rest of the world. This essential superstition is preventing him from seeing clearly the entire universe and understanding his place in it, in its activity, in its harmony."
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"Now keep walking without any tears and regrets. They are only melting the cement that is connecting that bridge of love which Ananda and his uncle have built from their hearts. With joy, only with joy you can start rebuilding that part of the bridge which you have destroyed yourself with your disobedience and lingering. The voice of compassion doesn't repeat two times. Your journey to India is out of the question now, but it depends only on you whether a year or a moment could bring you nearer to that dream. You were waiting for some special tests without necessity. Your most ordinary days were slipping by, and you didn't see the main task in them - love and its primary sign: living your daily routine easily. You could have lived your life with the simplest matters, you could have put the greatest generosity and honour, peace and unselfishness in them. One man's love to another isn't hidden in his dreams or vows, in ideals or fantasies; man who's walking along the path of love has to become the link of union with all people surrounding him in his most common daily matters. Leave your dreams about higher life. Work here, in your daily routine and... always remember the broken vow of your voluntary obedience."
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"Oh, Lolion, how could I feel some alienation for you just a moment ago? And I dared to think that you were indifferent to sir Vomi in your heart!"
"Lovushka, life is moving forward not with indifference, the fits of bitterness or sadness, but only with joy.
It is moving forward with that highest joy in which there's no more personal evaluation of the flying by moment,
but in which there's only the power-love of one's heart where neither time nor space is playing any part anymore. Love doesn't condemn anybody.
It is happy of being able to help one. If I was unable to forget about myself, if I only moaned and grieved that my loyal friend won't be next to me
when I part with sir Vomi - I wouldn't have any time to think about you, your brother, Joan, the duchess and about a thousand people more,
about whose existence you don't even suspect at the moment, at the same time."
The living example of my great friend sir Vomi when he didn't contradict any of his thoughts on himself for a single time during the entire time
since I knew him, when he was doing only that what he was talking about to others, was leading me to that circle of active love
where indifference, sadness, grief and fear didn't exist as the concepts at all.
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"My dear friend, my dashing sword-bearer Lovushka," – Florentian was writing to me. –
"Your life which seems to be tangled for you is simple and clear like your young, pure and loyal heart.
I'm always thinking about you, and no distance exists between us for me. In order for me to press you to my heart and
to send all my help and support of love to you every day, I only need to know that your loyalty to my loyalty is steadfast firm.
Now it seems to you that you are torn off from somebody, that you have lost somebody, but soon, very soon you will understand
what happiness you have met in your life and how rarely it happens to man.
It doesn't matter how shallow and weak people would seem to you, how little and unimportant their troubles and difficulties would seem to you –
never judge them and don't feel to be big among small ones when they are complaining to you.
Remember how terrible and insuperable the differences of knowledge and spiritual culture between us and you seemed for you!
In the meanwhile, you weren't oppressed by my imaginary grandeur. You were glad that you were living with me,
while I wasn't feeling anything else except joy within you; I was also glad that there was still one place where my love could shine for a man.
When you meet people, don't think that they are living wrongly or how they don't suffocate in the atmosphere of suffocating passions.
Think about me; think how you could bring in my living and restorative flow of my love and joy to them through yourself,
which I'm sending to you incessantly. When you are thinking in this way, you will be working with me everywhere.
You will be making the space around you bright with your pure thought. You will always find the strength within yourself
to pass by many dramas and tragedies, caused by the human passions. Not only you avoid making yourself dirty from them,
but you also will stop their development in others with the power of wisdom that you possess.
It might be so that you will have to live among people of low culture for some time, among people who are drowning in the darkness
without any knowledge and who cannot even imagine that they could live without any hypocrisy.
Don't think that you are suffering innocently when you get into the slavery of such sad circumstances. Discover your own circumstances in them, which you need and which you must go past without fail in order to find the firm, stable honour and generous nobility within yourself.
Walk next to I. bravely, live hand in hand, heart to heart with him, just like you are doing it with me.
I forward the letter from your brother to you, I embrace you, I bless you and I send the greeting of my loyalty to you.
Your eternal friend Florentian"
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"Distinguish that what is temporary and distorted from that what is eternal, immortal and bow to the man's suffering and that pain of his which will stay with him when his passions dry off, when they fall off him like shells and when he sees himself in the light of the truth. Then he will be terrified and he will start looking for the light which once was offered to him, but the path of the light – that's the man himself. Nobody can be taught anything here. You can show where the light is to him as much as you want, but only that one who possesses the light within himself is able to see it. There's no need to be sad. Not that one can help the suffering person who is crying by feeling for him, but that one who can give his smile of cheerfulness with joy to him, not by blaming him, but by understanding his situation."
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"You will see the real mother, and not only a single one of them, Lovushka. Now understand how deep the roots of people's misfortunes are, how you cannot judge them and how you cannot grieve because of their faults. You need to pour cheerfulness to them or to try to forestall the evil by putting them into the frame of strict behaviour where the people are weak in order to protect themselves first of all. Until you have matured yourself – don't try to help them. If you aren't prepared yet, if you cannot act with an absolute self-control, then you only will increase the evil and bring even greater irritation into the lives of those people whom you want to help."
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