| 1 |
Nakon što smo pokazali da čovjekov duh postoji152, moramo dokazati njegovu besmrtnost. |
Having shown that the spirit of man exists,152 we must prove its immortality. |
| 2 |
Besmrtnost duha spominje se u Svetim knjigama; on je temeljna osnova božanskih religija. Kaže se da postoje dvije vrste kazni i nagrada: prvo – nagrade i kazne ovoga života, te drugo – one drugoga svijeta. No, raj i pakao postojanja nalazimo u svim svjetovima Božjim, bilo na ovome svijetu ili u duhovnim nebeskim svjetovima. Dobiti te nagrade znači dobiti vječni život. Zato je Krist rekao: “Radite tako da biste mogli naći život vječni, i da biste se rodili od vode i duha i mogli ući u Kraljevstvo.”153 |
The immortality of the spirit is mentioned in the Holy Books; it is the fundamental basis of the divine religions. Now punishments and rewards are said to be of two kinds: first, the rewards and punishments of this life; second, those of the other world. But the paradise and hell of existence are found in all the worlds of God, whether in this world or in the spiritual heavenly worlds. Gaining these rewards is the gaining of eternal life. That is why Christ said, “Act in such a way that you may find eternal life, and that you may be born of water and the spirit, so that you may enter into the Kingdom.”153 |
| 3 |
Nagrade ovoga života su vrline i savršenosti koje rese suštinu čovjeka. Na primjer, on je bio mračan i postao je svijetao; bio je neznalica i postao mudar; bio je nemaran i postao pažljiv; usnuo i probudio se; bio je mrtav i oživio; bio je slijep i progledao; bio je gluh i pročuo; bio je zemaljski i postao nebeski; materijalan i postao duhovan. Tim nagradama on dobiva duhovno rođenje i postaje novo stvorenje. On postaje objava stiha iz Evanđelja u kojem se o učenicima kaže da su oni “rođeni, ne od krvi, ni voljom tijela, ni voljom čovjeka, već od Boga”154 – što znači, rodili su se sa životinjskim odlikama i kvalitetama koje su karakteristične za ljudsku prirodu, a postali su obdareni božanskim odlikama, koje su milost Božja. To je značenje drugog rođenja. Za takve ljude nema većeg mučenja nego biti velom odijeljen od Boga te nema okrutnije kazne od čulnih poroka, mračnih svojstava, niske prirode, obuzetosti tjelesnim žudnjama. Kad se iz tame tih poroka rode svjetlom vjere i kad ih prosvijetli sjaj sunca stvarnosti te se oplemene svim vrlinama, smatraju to najvećom nagradom i znaju da je to pravi raj. Jednako tako smatraju da je duhovna kazna – tj. mučenje i kazna postojanja – biti podređen svijetu prirode; biti koprenom odijeljen od Boga; biti divlji i neznalica; popustiti tjelesnim strastima; biti uronjen u životinjske slabosti; biti okarakteriziran tamnim svojstvima kao što su lažljivost, tiranija, okrutnost, vezanost uz svjetovne poslove te biti obuzet sotonskim idejama. |
The rewards of this life are the virtues and perfections which adorn the reality of man. For example, he was dark and becomes luminous; he was ignorant and becomes wise; he was neglectful and becomes vigilant; he was asleep and becomes awakened; he was dead and becomes living; he was blind and becomes a seer; he was deaf and becomes a hearer; he was earthly and becomes heavenly; he was material and becomes spiritual. Through these rewards he gains spiritual birth and becomes a new creature. He becomes the manifestation of the verse in the Gospel where it is said of the disciples that they “were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”154—that is to say, they were delivered from the animal characteristics and qualities which are the characteristics of human nature, and they became qualified with the divine characteristics, which are the bounty of God. This is the meaning of the second birth. For such people there is no greater torture than being veiled from God, and no more severe punishment than sensual vices, dark qualities, lowness of nature, engrossment in carnal desires. When they are delivered through the light of faith from the darkness of these vices, and become illuminated with the radiance of the sun of reality, and ennobled with all the virtues, they esteem this the greatest reward, and they know it to be the true paradise. In the same way they consider that the spiritual punishment—that is to say, the torture and punishment of existence—is to be subjected to the world of nature; to be veiled from God; to be brutal and ignorant; to fall into carnal lusts; to be absorbed in animal frailties; to be characterized with dark qualities, such as falsehood, tyranny, cruelty, attachment to the affairs of the world, and being immersed in satanic ideas. For them, these are the greatest punishments and tortures. |
| 4 |
Slično tome, nagrade drugoga svijeta su: vječni život o kojem se jasno govori u Svetim knjigama, božanske savršenosti, vječna milost te trajna sreća. Nagrade drugog svijeta su savršenosti i mir dobiven u duhovnim svjetovima nakon napuštanja ovoga svijeta, dok su nagrade ovoga života istinska blistava savršenstva koja su ostvarena na ovome svijetu i koja su uzrok vječnoga života, jer su ona sâm napredak postojanja. Poput čovjeka koji prelazi iz embrionskog svijeta u stanje zrelosti i postaje objavom ovih riječi: “Blagoslovljen, zato, bio Bog, najodličniji među Stvarateljima”155. Nagrade su drugog svijeta: mir, duhovne milosti, razni duhovni darovi u Kraljevstvu Božjem, ostvarenje želja srca i duše i susret s Bogom u svijetu vječnosti. Također se kazne drugog svijeta – tj., mučenja drugoga svijeta – sastoje u lišenosti posebnih božanskih blagoslova i apsolutne milosti te pada na najniže stupnjeve egzistencije. Onoga koji je lišen tih božanskih darova, premda nastavlja postojati nakon smrti, ljudi od istine smatraju mrtvim. |
Likewise, the rewards of the other world are the eternal life which is clearly mentioned in all the Holy Books, the divine perfections, the eternal bounties and everlasting felicity. The rewards of the other world are the perfections and the peace obtained in the spiritual worlds after leaving this world, while the rewards of this life are the real luminous perfections which are realized in this world, and which are the cause of eternal life, for they are the very progress of existence. It is like the man who passes from the embryonic world to the state of maturity and becomes the manifestation of these words: “Blessed, therefore, be God, the most excellent of Makers.”155 The rewards of the other world are peace, the spiritual graces, the various spiritual gifts in the Kingdom of God, the gaining of the desires of the heart and the soul, and the meeting of God in the world of eternity. In the same way the punishments of the other world—that is to say, the torments of the other world—consist in being deprived of the special divine blessings and the absolute bounties, and falling into the lowest degrees of existence. He who is deprived of these divine favors, although he continues after death, is considered as dead by the people of truth. |
| 5 |
Logičan dokaz besmrtnosti duha jest u tome što od nepostojeće stvari ne može biti nikakva znaka – jer znakovi su posljedica egzistencije, a posljedica ovisi o postojanju principa. Tako iz nepostojećeg sunca ne može sjati svjetlo; iz nepostojećeg mora ne mogu se pojaviti valovi; iz nepostojećeg oblaka ne pada kiša; nepostojeće drvo ne daje ploda; nepostojeći čovjek niti što objavljuje niti stvara. Stoga, sve dok se pojavljuju znaci postojanja, oni su dokaz da postoji onaj koji ih posjeduje. |
The logical proof of the immortality of the spirit is this, that no sign can come from a nonexisting thing—that is to say, it is impossible that from absolute nonexistence signs should appear—for the signs are the consequence of an existence, and the consequence depends upon the existence of the principle. So from a nonexisting sun no light can radiate; from a nonexisting sea no waves appear; from a nonexisting cloud no rain falls; a nonexisting tree yields no fruit; a nonexisting man neither manifests nor produces anything. Therefore, as long as signs of existence appear, they are a proof that the possessor of the sign is existent. |
| 6 |
Promislite o tome kako danas postoji Kristovo Kraljevstvo. Kako bi se od nepostojećeg Kralja objavilo tako veliko kraljevstvo? Kako se iz nepostojećeg mora mogu dići tako golemi valovi? Kako iz nepostojećeg vrta mogu zapuhati tako miomirisni lahori? Promislite o tome da nikakav rezultat, nikakav trag, nikakav utjecaj ne ostaje od bilo kojeg bića nakon što se njegovi dijelovi rasprše, a njegovi se elementi raspadnu, bio to mineral, biljka ili životinja. Postoje samo ljudska bit i duh čovjekov, koji nakon dezintegracije dijelova, raspršenja čestica i uništenja spoja, traju i nastavljaju djelovati i imati moć. |
Consider that today the Kingdom of Christ exists. From a nonexisting king how could such a great kingdom be manifested? How, from a nonexisting sea, can the waves mount so high? From a nonexisting garden, how can such fragrant breezes be wafted? Reflect that no effect, no trace, no influence remains of any being after its members are dispersed and its elements are decomposed, whether it be a mineral, a vegetable or an animal. There is only the human reality and the spirit of man which, after the disintegration of the members, dispersing of the particles, and the destruction of the composition, persists and continues to act and to have power. |
| 7 |
To je izuzetno delikatno pitanje: pažljivo ga razmotrite. Dokaz koji dajemo racionalan je – da bi ga mudri izvagali na vagi razuma i pravde. No, obraduje li se ljudski duh i bude privučen Kraljevstvu Božjem – ako se otvori unutarnji vid, pojača se duhovni sluh, te prevladaju duhovni osjećaji, vidjet će besmrtnost duha tako jasno kao što vidi sunce, a radosne vijesti i znaci Božji obujmit će ga. |
This question is extremely subtle: consider it attentively. This is a rational proof which we are giving, so that the wise may weigh it in the balance of reason and justice. But if the human spirit will rejoice and be attracted to the Kingdom of God, if the inner sight becomes opened, and the spiritual hearing strengthened, and the spiritual feelings predominant, he will see the immortality of the spirit as clearly as he sees the sun, and the glad tidings and signs of God will encompass him. |
| 8 |
Sutra ćemo pružiti još dokaza. |
Tomorrow we will give other proofs. |
