“It doesn’t make sense,” retorted Valentina with the spontaneity that was so characteristic of her. This was a long time ago, right when the nun joined the Order. We were attending a class by the Elder, the most senior monk of the monastery. The Esoteric Order of the Mountain Monks is a philosophical brotherhood whose purpose is to study sacred texts in order to equip oneself for good living. Everything that makes us better people is considered sacred. The Gospels, both canonical and apocryphal; from the poems of the Tao Te Ching to those of Rumi; from the epic poetry of the Bhagavad-Gita to the Kardecist Codification; from Plato’s dialogues to Stoic philosophy; from Spinoza’s Ethics to contemporary psychoanalytic reading, among many more, there is endless material to serve as a tool for the indispensable self-discovery and consequent personal transformations, the core mechanism of evolution. The Sermon on the Mount, a valuable text contained in the Book of Matthew, a synthesis of Christic teachings, is the guiding axis of the academic activities in the monastery. A roadmap for the spiritual journey. A true transmutational manual. In this same notebook, a few pages ahead, there is a passage where the author reproduces a saying of Jesus: Do not think that I came to bring peace to the world. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. I came to set sons against their fathers… A person’s worst enemies will be members of their own household. These words left Valentina shocked: “It is incoherent that Jesus would have said such words. Peace is one of the undeniable achievements of evolution. It makes no sense to believe that the legacy of this great master is war”. I sided with the nun. A sacred text could not incite conflict and discourage peace. Like her, I was taking my first steps in the Order. Agitated, some colleagues suggested that perhaps there had been a translation error or the original text had suffered some improper alteration. Those were the only hypotheses, the class agreed.
As usual, the Elder, as we affectionately called the monastery’s most senior monk, patiently waited for everyone to express their opinions. Then, he curled his lips into a slight smile and said: “There is nothing wrong with the text. Jesus used parables and figures of speech to expand the reach of his messages to different levels of consciousness. The many layers of interpretation are a natural characteristic of sacred books. Understanding changes according to the evolution of the reader. The same words gain different breadths and depths as we advance along the road of evolution. Perception and sensitivity sharpen. Yesterday’s understanding will never be the same as today’s, which in turn will be different tomorrow. The absence of change may signify a sad stagnation. Life requires movement”. He waited for the class to absorb the preamble and continued the reasoning: “Among several interpretations permitted by the text in question, all valid, there are three that I consider brilliant. The first concerns the possibility that the master was referring to the reincarnatory school, in which ancestral adversaries return to the planetary experience within the same family, so that coexistence and shared needs allow for the settlement of past consciousness debts. It isn’t easy. Without a doubt, there will be much disagreement and roughness until interest and willingness arise to understand the reason for the differences, to change one’s gaze and feelings, to combat the attacks of personal shadows with the weapons of light. Exhausted by so much effort and no results, perhaps they will understand the harm and the uselessness of hatred and resentment. Then, love will have a chance. From the ruins and the tragedy begins the reconstruction of the trajectory of two or more souls, now governed by love. No one achieves such victory without great inner transformations. Where hatred reigned, love will build an empire. It may happen that not all involved understand the beauty of the transformation offered by such experiences, and only one among them is willing to move toward the light. Nothing will stop them. Nor would it be fair. The kingdom of love will arise in the one who has clarity to win the battle within themselves. To the others will fall the consequences of their choices. The text explains the function of dysfunctional families as evolutionary workshops. An undeniable opportunity for improvement”.
He paused briefly before approaching the second interpretation he also admired. The good monk asked: “When you meditate, what are you seeking?” In unison, the class replied that it was an exercise used to find inner peace. The Elder surprised us: “You still haven’t understood meditation”. The students were in an uproar. He explained: “We meditate to know the chaos that pulls us out of the axis of light. Like a mirror, meditation serves to show imperfections, errors, what is broken and poorly built inside us. An important exercise capable of taking us to the origin of emotional pains, where bitter feelings are formed that diminish life by preventing the flow of thought. When the gaze shortens, misunderstandings grow. Suffering spreads. True meditation invites us to the intrinsic war provoked by existential knots produced by poorly processed experiences. Undoing the knots requires will, courage, and self-esteem to face oneself and rework lived situations with new elements. As in a mathematical equation, by replacing subtraction signs with addition signs, we change the result. Believe me, revisiting unpleasant characters and scenarios of the past that harmed us, not to absolve them, but to forgive them, is an extremely difficult war fought in one’s own core. Just as understanding and accepting that many times we felt harmed for no sensible reason; we simply did not know how to deal with the contrarieties typical of immaturity. There are battles of many kinds; each has their own, but we all have wars to fight. The silence of meditation leads us to them. They are extremely valuable for the liberation and peace they provide. However, no one will find peace before facing all internal confusions and conflicts so they can reinterpret and rebuild themselves. Peace is a construction, never a place of escape. The sword referred to in the sacred text is the good fight cited by Paul of Tarsus in one of his equally sacred letters: the internal, uninterrupted, and fierce struggle to transform one’s own shadows into light. The battle of good against evil, in truth, is fought within each of us. A daily and intense struggle. It is not easy at all. A battle of intrinsic refinement, where the one we want to become will have to kill who we are. There is no other victory nor any other way to achieve peace”. He paused again to observe whether everyone was following the philosophical arc he proposed: “The teachings of master Jesus invite us to this indispensable internal combat”. Then he concluded: “The worst enemies of a person are inside their own house, explains the sacred text. Now, regardless of the city or who one lives with, in essence, each one lives within themselves. One dwells and coexists with their feelings and ideas, joys and sorrows, frustrations and achievements. In me, as in you, there exists a deeply personal universe in evolution. The enemies that hinder, harm, and prevent one from prospering are the individual’s own misunderstandings. No one else. The inability to interpret situations, process experiences, react to events, and make different choices steals the wonders of life. It is never anything against anyone. It is each one with themselves. It will always be this way. Any other war is a diversion from the true purpose, denying the real battle. This is the meaning of the text when it speaks of setting parents, metaphors for old behavioural vices, against children, an allegory for innovation and personal regeneration. In the teachings of the great master there is not a single word about the need to defeat others, or that the sweetness of life or the Kingdom of God depends on what others do to us or allow us to do. In essence, victory does not consist in defeating anyone except oneself. The consecration of achievement resides in inner transformation. The effects of this refinement will reverberate in the way of being and living of the traveller along the road of time. A safe method of overcoming and advancement, mental and emotional autonomy, lightness and softness, balance and strength of movement. There is no other battleground for those who travel toward the light. Nor any greater victory”.
Finally, he concluded with the third interpretation of the sacred message: “In the context of this text, Master Jesus warned the apostles about the problems they would encounter in living with other people. We live on a planet of challenges and overcoming. Fundamental to evolution, relationships are inexhaustible sources for those who thirst to improve themselves. Becoming messengers of the light would not spare them from the world’s difficulties. There would be controversies, provocations, and aggressiveness. However, they should not be cowardly: Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. He explained the magnitude of the challenges, always equivalent to the value of the victories. That they should not bargain with the truth nor be naïve: be as cunning as serpents, yet gentle as doves, he advised at another moment in the message. In other words, that they should remain attentive to evil so as not to succumb to its traps, without ever using it as an instrument of life. The great trick of evil is to make the wickedness of the world serve as justification for our own bad actions and reactions, an efficient way to keep us far from the light. Finally, he clarified that peace is not in the world. It is an achievement of the soul”. We asked which of the interpretations he preferred. He shrugged and pointed out: “They do not cancel or exclude one another; rather, they complete each other”.
Time had passed. Sitting at a table in the monastery’s cafeteria, Valentina and I recalled that lesson. We commented on the victories achieved, as well as the difficulties in which we still succumbed. In some respects, we hadn’t managed to move forward. Knowing where to go is not enough to make one arrive. The confusions and discomforts of everyday life still denied us peace. The good fight was far from over. We tried to understand what prevented this important achievement. “Ignorance about faith,” the Elder murmured. Since we were sitting with our backs to the door, we did not see him enter. While arming himself with a mug of coffee, he heard part of the conversation. Enough to understand our doubts and difficulties. He sat at the table with us and commented: “Virtues are valuable weapons in the struggle for one’s own evolution. Among them all, faith is a sword quite different from the others. If you permit me a fictional image, it would be a sort of Excalibur in the battle waged by the light against the shadows, the core of the individual being the sacred battlefield itself”. I disagreed. Not that I doubted the power of faith, but the alleged ignorance regarding its meaning. The concept of faith was well known. And, to a greater or lesser degree, faith was inherent to all people. Even atheists, provided they possessed deep confidence in their capacity to accomplish things, were also endowed with faith. Valentina said she thought the same. The Elder looked at us tenderly and pondered: “Losing the real meaning of a concept weakens its strength and reach. The reason is simple. Just imagine how limited the work of a mechanic would be if he didn’t know how to use one of the most important tools at his disposal in the workshop”. Then he asked: “What do you understand faith to be?” I said it was the absolute belief in a greater and immeasurable power. From the moment we were aligned with the purposes of this centre of force, our movements would be propelled and aided. The nun added that faith served as a connection to the sacred, a bridge of interaction with the higher planes of existence. The good monk furrowed his brows and murmured: “It isn’t wrong, but it isn’t entirely right either”. He drank a sip of coffee and pointed out: “This misunderstanding causes much of the effort employed in the good fight to be wasted”.
After so many studies, lectures, and books, he now comes to tell us that we do not know the authentic meaning of faith? That the multitudes also ignore the best concept and, with that, waste the immeasurable power offered by this incredible virtue? Uneasy, we confessed that we struggled to believe that something so common and ordinary in everyone’s life could remain misunderstood. The Elder pondered: “When someone believes themselves capable and shows willingness to act, their personal energy field shifts in favour of accomplishment. Reaching the desired result will depend on unforeseeable factors, not always aligned with the individual’s will. Remember that in the Universe other movements are carried out simultaneously, not always in the same direction or with the same purpose. Many times, the gain lies in the failure of an objective, for it resides in the lessons and maturation offered. What is certain is that one will go much further than those who never believed or didn’t dedicate themselves fully to the task. Although undeniably valuable, believing is merely the initial step of faith”. He drank another sip of coffee and stressed: “The gross error regarding faith lies in the common belief in a certain result without performing any movement. Merely believing that something will happen because one holds a belief is the antithesis of evolution. It will not happen”. Valentina asked whether we could consider prayer as a movement. The Elder clarified: “Without a doubt. Prayer is a valuable channel of communication with the sublime spheres, serving as support and revitalization, whether for restoring energetic balance and moral strength, or when the solution lies beyond the individual’s capacity to accomplish. However, it will never replace the necessary mental, emotional, and physical movements that make the result possible. Prayer is a tool, never an escape”.
From those words, Valentina asked if faith was a kind of movement. Belief in accomplishment aroused the will, yet something more was needed to intensify the action of faith. The Elder smiled, nodded, and pointed out: “To move through faith is to bring forth the sacred that inhabits us. Thus, to achieve results previously unthinkable. In sum, faith also means action. Not just any action, but a differentiated movement and, above all, in full alignment with the light”. Valentina asked what a differentiated movement would be. The good monk explained: “To be entirely present in the action. If the individual is insecure, doubtful, or afraid, faith will be fragmented. Mind, heart, and body must move as if life depended on that result. Even if the result does not occur, the action will move the consciousness to a perspective never before reached. This is called lucidity, the ability to find doors where previously there were only insurmountable walls. This is one of the reasons why the Master said that faith moves mountains. The world and life change as the person understands themselves and all things in a different way. The result obtained will not always be the one initially desired, but it will inevitably offer an unexpected liberating solution”.
I commented that understanding faith as a real movement within oneself, manifesting in accomplishments in life, seemed strange to me. Valentina understood the Elder’s ideas better than I did. She corrected me: “There is nothing strange about it. In truth, it is revolutionary, for it completely changes how we deal with this powerful tool of transformation. It speaks of powers that no one has ever taught us to use with such clarity”. I asked them to explain better. The good monk was didactic: “In various sacred texts, such as the Book of Matthew, the Psalms, the Apocalypse of John, or the letters of Paul, we are taught that to each person shall be given according to their works. Now, at no moment does it say we will receive according to our beliefs. Works are the material and immaterial achievements of each person. Both the good and the evil practiced. Personal achievements translate through movements in the soul and actions in the world. Faith without action is an empty virtue. It has no power or reach”.
Valentina smiled when she saw me unsettled. It was as if my house, which I had always considered well-organized, suddenly revealed a disorder I had never noticed. I asked how to make the right movements to activate faith. The Elder nodded, approving the question, and clarified: “Priorities. Belief is the first step; movements are the second; and priorities are the third indispensable element to restoring the strength of faith, a power lost in the night of time”. He took another sip of coffee and explained: “Start by understanding priorities. They rise upon two pillars: ethics and baggage. Ethics, written in the letters of love and wisdom, teaches us to discern good from evil, to distinguish right from wrong. A task not always easy given the complexity of situations or the interests and feelings at play. Virtues are fundamental gears for the application of ethics. One does not live ethics outside of virtues. Humility, simplicity, compassion, sincerity, meekness, selflessness, gentleness, courage, among others, are attributes of genuine nobility and essential to the light”. He paused briefly before continuing: “The other pillar of priorities is baggage. Everything we carry with us for the next stretch of the journey. The content of the baggage defines the next destination of the trip, its delights and difficulties. Above all, priorities speak of the heritage needed by those who wish to access the High Lands. Sacred texts abound in warnings about the importance of priorities. Prioritizing the essential and leaving the superfluous in the background is part of the art of evolution. The essential connects us to the light and refines the content of the baggage. Pay attention to a few excerpts from the Sermon on the Mount: Do not accumulate the riches of the world, where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal. Rather, gather moral and loving riches, which neither moth nor rust can corrode, nor thieves can steal. Where your riches are, there your soul will be. Notice how the greatest of masters taught about the importance of the content of the baggage. In the same message, a bit further on, he again advises: enter through the narrow door of virtues; the wide door is the easy path to error, emptiness, and the waste of life. Priorities raise the level of choices. The content of the baggage establishes the light or darkness in which the soul dwells. It keeps us shallow or connects us to eternity. The degree of intensity of faith is not measured by the fervour of belief but by who you are, by the works accomplished, and by the light you are already able to radiate. Every paragraph reminds us of the importance of guiding choices by criteria that value the interests of the soul. In short, priorities direct and intensify the power of faith to its maximum. Then, like an authentic sword forged in the sacred foundry for the good fight, faith manifests in all its splendour and power. Priorities define the level of the individual’s commitment to the light, to evolution, and to the divine. With choices of such a nature, faith drives and magnifies in unimaginable ways. A frail person will show themselves stronger than another of greater stature and robustness. I do not refer to aggressiveness, but to the strength of movement to go beyond who they have always been and to accomplish what they have never done. Faith is the centre of force that transforms individual reality”.
We remained silent for a while. I needed to place those ideas on the shelves of reason. We resumed talking when the Elder said he needed to go. Some tasks at the monastery awaited him. I placed my hand on his arm as a way of asking him to wait a moment longer. Then I listed the three steps of faith: believing, acting, and prioritizing. I argued that priorities should come first as guides for the movements. The good monk nodded and added: “As in an organizational chart, priorities are on the highest step due to their guiding importance. However, there is a symbiotic relationship between them. Without belief, actions are weakened or do not occur at all. Without the proper movements, belief builds nothing. Without perfect understanding of the priorities, movements become erratic or superficial. Distant from priorities, beliefs lead movements toward the cliff of despair, fanaticism, and frustration. Thus, it will not be true faith, nor will there be any evolution”.
He excused himself, stood up, and left. I commented on why he had waited so long to teach us something as important as faith. Valentina smiled and pointed to the Elder with her chin. He was still heading toward the cafeteria door. She reflected: “Back then we weren’t ready to understand the full dimension and power of faith”. Without delay, she explained her reasoning: “Notice how he walks”. The good monk’s steps were slow, yet steady.
Translated by: Cazmilian Zórdic
