These Parables were narrated so that everyone reading them may experience the presence of God and become open towards the true life in Him — in His Beauty, Harmony, Love!

Apostle Andrew:

Parable about

the Voice of the Heart

Jesus said: “Do not look with disdain at this man.
For it is a great feat to start transforming
evil into good in oneself!”

From memories of Apostle Andrew

There was a man. And he was neither rich nor poor. He did not differ specially from other people who lived around him. He was neither young nor old…

And this man was not strong-willed…

Although there were seeds of kindness in him, they did not sprout…

This man lived as everyone around him… He was ruled by whims and vices… And he was fettered by fears and weaknesses… And he did not feel good. His life went on as a dull procession of days. And there were neither joys nor achievements in it…

Every evening this man thought: “Well, tomorrow I will act better; I will not yield to my weaknesses and vices any more!”

But “tomorrow” came…, and again he was ruled by whims and vices, and was fettered by fears and weaknesses…

… Once the man thought: “Why I cannot live how I want to? Why I am acting not in a way I know I should act? Why my vices rule me and my fears fetter me?”

He began to think and found no reason not to live as he believes it is right to live, not to act as he considers appropriate.

And then the man started to ask God: “My Father and Creator! Why I cannot live how I want to live, cannot act as I think it is right to act? Why I became a slave to my vices and whims, to my fears and weaknesses? What is the reason?”

God answered him: “There is no any reason for this! You are free to act as you want to!”

Then the man said: “Please, advise me what I should do to stop my vices and weaknesses ruling my life?”

And God answered: “Each time before doing or saying something, listen to the voice of your spiritual heart and act as it tells you! Then you will be able to control your weaknesses and fears and get rid of vices and whims!”

And the man decided to fulfill God’s advice.

Next morning he got up imbued with determination to ask advice of the spiritual heart before doing or saying something…

Every morning his old father said him harsh words, grumbled and swore. The father told him that he was a useless person, and that the whole generation of human sons lived in a wrong way. The father enumerated all his offences and sorrows, and accused his son of everything in what he was and was not guilty…

This morning the father as always began to swear at his son, uttering offensive words.

And anger welled up in this man because of bitter, accusing words… And he was almost on the point of saying, as usual, poisonous words in response to his father, but remembered God’s advice.

And his heart had time to whisper: “Do not say offensive words, for your father loves you: he grieves over your troubles! You, too, love him! Hold back your angry words and ask his pardon!…”

And in reply to his father’s swearing the man bowed and said: “Forgive me, father!” And the anger went out. Then the man embraced his father and left to his work.

The father was very surprised… and stopped swearing from now on.

… In the evening, this man was coming back home after hard work. He bought a lot of food and was thinking how he would taste delicacies… He was quite inclined to gluttony…

On the way to home, he came to the house of a young widow who lived with small children. This woman had had to pay him a debt but could not save enough money…

For a long time he wanted to tell her that he would forgive her debt. And today, at last, he decided to do that. So he came to the house of the poor widow and told her that he would free her from her debt. The widow bowed low to him and thanked. The man was about to leave, but his heart whispered quietly: “Give to the children the food you bought for yourself! It will bring them joy!”

It was hard for him to fulfill this instruction of the heart. But when he gave the delicacies to the children and they started to dance joyfully, great joy rose in him as well! He was walking home easily, overfilled with happiness! And his heart was singing with joy!

Not every day that man could hear the voice of the heart, and not every time he could fulfill what the heart whispered to him. Yet day by day he tried more and more to live how his heart was telling him. And with every passing day his whims and vices ruled him less, his fears and weaknesses fettered him less. And the seeds of cordial love sprouted in the soul!

…Once this man was walking and saw a lot of strong and malicious men beating a young good lad. All people, who were passing by, just mended their pace, averted their faces and stepped aside in order to avoid being beaten themselves.

And this man was not really courageous. So he also wanted to pass by as if it was not his business… But his heart did not whisper that time, it screamed: “If you do not help, they will kill this good man! But you can save him!”

However the man was afraid and could not overcome his fear… He could neither leave nor help…

And the heart kept screaming: “Save him quickly!”

The man started to call God, because he could not overcome his fear. And he called Him not in a whisper or inwardly, but at the top of his voice: “God! Please, come here! God! Come here!”

People, who were passing by, stopped with surprise. And those who were far away came near too. So, from all around people ran to this place, stopped and looked: what had happened and where was God? And such a big crowd gathered that malicious people got frightened, left the young man and disappeared quickly.

And the young man stood up from the ground and thanked the man: “You are so brave! You saved my life!”

The man was going home, and the heart was shining like the sun in his chest, saying: “Love is stronger than all fears!”

… The time went by, and life of this man became more joyful and easier.

Once on Sunday the man went for a walk. He was walking and met the widow whose debt he had forgiven… She smiled at him tenderly and bowed low.

And the man was captivated by the sight of her beauty… He was often attracted to women, though he considered his lust as a great sin.

The man began to avert his eyes as not to look at her but remembered about the heart and asked its advice.

And heart said: “Look again and decide sincerely: do you like this woman or not?”

The man looked at her, and everything in him sparkled with love!

He answered to the heart: “For me there is no one better than her! I would give her everything!...”

“So, why are you grieving? If your desire is about giving to another rather than getting for yourself, it is not lust! It is love woke up in you! Go and tell this woman that you love her!”

And the man did. He came and said: “I love you! Be my wife!”

All friends and neighbors around him began to say: “How foolish this man is! His business has just taken off, so he could find a rich bride! But he took a widow with small children!... This widow would not refuse him even without marriage…”

And the man heard the song of the heart: “Happiness you give, happiness you get! You cannot buy happiness for money!”

His heart was shining brighter and stronger with love! And it transformed words and actions of this man!

And soon this man got married to this woman. Their mutual cordial love began to illuminate their whole life and warm their house! They started to raise their children together and to honor their parents.

And the man thanked God: “My Father and Creator! Your advice has transformed my whole life, has brought happiness to me! Now I have defeated my vices and whims, overcome my weaknesses and fears!”

And God answered him: “The one who learned to hear the voice of the spiritual heart will able to accomplish even more than that! For the voice of heart is the voice of Love! And all what is created and done with love comes from Me! For I am LOVE!”

Huang:

The Parable about

the Golden Flower,
the River of Love

and the Immortal Gardener

Many legends were composed about the mystery of the Flower of Heart. Some legends call it the Flower of Life; some speak about it as about the Golden Flower, others assert that it is the Flower of Immortality. All these names are not casual: they reflect the blissful aroma of this Flower and lift slightly a veil of the mystery which surrounds it…

… Once there was a man who lived in a small valley hidden in the mountains. He lived easily and lightly! Many people called him saint; others called him monk; the others called him the Enlightened.

Yet he neither spoke nor thought about himself in that way.

Sometimes he called himself a gardener, although he did not have a garden. He cultivated just one single flower: the Golden Flower of Spiritual Heart, the Flower which grants Immortality.

 This man lived simply. He lived and rejoiced at the existence that he contemplated! He was a friend with the mountains where he lived, with the winds which passed over his small valley, with the grasses and flowers which bloomed there in spring and beautified his abode during the summer. He was a friend with the stars which smiled at him at night, and with the sun which shone during the day. He was a friend even with the clouds and snows which covered his dwelling place in late autumn and in cold winter.

Sometimes animals or birds came to him; they were his friends. Sometimes people who needed help and healing visited him. And he helped them all; he never refused to help anybody.

He lived for a long, long time. But one day his Flower was grown and it was time for him to leave; he went to the other Immortals and became the Gardener Who sows seeds and cultivates shoots which produce new Golden Flowers.

And he left for people the memory of the Golden Flower which grants Immortality, and of the Source of the River of Love which flows and nourishes growing Flowers.

… The mystery of the Golden Flower attracted people. They climbed the mountains to find the Flower of Immortality. They found different flowers there, tore them off mercilessly and made powders and tinctures, decoctions and ointments… But those potions could not make them Immortal...

 Others believed that magical power was hidden in the roots. And they dug them out and killed in vain those gentle creatures…

Nobody succeeded in finding the Golden Flower. And its mystery remained unsolved…

… But once a young man came to that place. His beloved was seriously ill. He was told that she was dying. Yet one healer said him that she will recover from her illness if the man gives her the Flower of Life.

The young man went to the mountains and found there a beautiful flower. Its corolla was so gentle that the young man thought it was the Flower of Life! He knelt down before the flower… but could not tear it off. The mercy towards life did not allow him to ruin this beauty!... The young man lowered his hands and whispered: “Forgive me!” And it was not clear whether he said this to his beloved or to the flower…

At that moment a Voice sounded: “He who respects life deserves to be helped!…”

This Voice was the Voice of the Divine Gardener, Who could appear in any time and in any place as any of the Immortal Ones.

He Himself consisted entirely of Light and Peace. Bliss emanated from each His movement and word.

“I am glad that you had mercy on this flower!” He said.

“The girl that I love is dying…” the young man whispered.

“You were told to give her the Flower of Life. But it is impossible to tear it off and bring somewhere! It is only possible to grow it from your own cordial love, nourished by the River of Love!”

“But my beloved is dying right now… And I do not have enough time to help her…” answered the young man.

“Do not grieve, I will help you. Over there, there is the Source of the River of Love. And a tiny pure brook is also streaming over there. Fill your hands with its water and tell to this water from your spiritual heart: ‘I love you!’. Then pour out this water on the flower and say to it the same words: ‘I love you!’ After a while dewdrops will appear on the petals. Collect these dewdrops from the flower, and this will be enough to cure your beloved! And while you are waiting for the dewdrops to come, enter the River of Love and try to understand the Laws оf Love according to which a person can live happily on the Earth!”

The Gardener explained to the young man how to dive into the Flow of the Living Light of the River of Love and disappeared.

The young man stayed in that Flow for a very long time and listened to the Living River; singing streams of it were telling him about the mysteries of life, about the laws of Tao.

And he understood how love transforms a human life! And any person who does not have cordial love in the heart cannot enter the River of Love! Souls, in which the light of love does not shine, are not capable of touching the Flow of Living Love, and that is why they are deprived of happiness.

On the other hand, those who live, giving their love, live and grow in the Flow of the River of Love where Light, Joy, and Bliss are streaming! And only these people can be happy!

And when the young man realized all this, being filled with happiness, and transformed himself, he could see transparent droplets on the petals of the flower. He picked them up carefully and went to his beloved. She took the medicine of the Gardener and was cured.

… They lived in peace and happiness; for their life was passing in the River of Love!

… When their son grew up and became a young man, he decided to thank the Immortal Gardener for the wonderful healing of his mother, for the life He gave her, and in that way to him too.

So he took the road to find that small valley in the mountains.

He climbed higher and higher and admired the beauty which was opening to his sight. Majestic mountains greeted him with their peaks illumined with the sun. Gentle wind, which was flying over the open space, embraced him. Flowers, which beautified a valley, gave him their fragrance. He was walking, and stars smiled at him at night, and the sun lit up each day.

He found a small valley in the mountains, where the Immortal Gardener lived once, and the Source where the River of Love originated.

And he thought then: “I wish to cultivate the Flower of Life and then to tell people about the Way to the true happiness!”

 More parables will be added.

Written down by Anna Zubkova

Edited by Vladimir Antonov

Translated from Russian by Svetlana Eremina

http://parables.swami-center.org/

 Also see new spiritual films and slideshow:

http://www.spiritual-art.info/spiritual_films.html

http://www.spiritual-art.info/screensavers.html