The Rational Life.
Do not resist evil. The law of Love.
The rational life is manifested only in the most harmonious environment and under the least
resistance. This is one of the great fundamental laws of living nature: the whole cosmos is built upon it and
the security and development of all traditional beings: tribes, nations, societies and individuals rest upon it.
Those ancient nations and their leaders have known this law and have had durable cultures, social
development and welfare. And history has worked them as powerful nations and factors in the development
of humanity. Much argumentation about this fact is not necessary, but it is enough to say that the beautiful
roses do not grow on the North Pole, but in the warm places; the broad-tree also does not grow near the
Arctic ocean, but in the tropical zone: the oranges, lemons, bananas etc. all grow in the tropical countries
where the climatic conditions are most favorable and harmonious for their development. And it is due to
these conditions that these trees have the qualities they possess. In the same way, the prettiest butterflies are
not found on the North Pole, but in the warmest regions. Thus we see that the warm regions have given birth
to the richest and most varied flora and fauna which today serve to sustain our life. But what has the North
Pole created? - Ice, snow and ice crystals. This shows that organically this Pole is sterile, whereas the
tropical zone is fertile because it has the best and most harmonious conditions for the development of the
living organisms.
But on the Earth there is also a South Pole. The same as in the North Pole there exists a monotonous
uniformity in regard to its organic conditions as in both these poles the vital forces are in a latent state. But
nature, which does not like the state of rest in the forces, has put these poles to work by projecting their vital
sap, which can not mind an expression upon their surface, toward the Equator, where their activity is made
manifest. As a consequence of this fact, the vegetation and the life in general there, is richest in form and
content.
Then by analogy we conclude that in every organism in which the influences of the two poles are
predominant, the results will be the same. Therefore, in order to avoid these contradictions, life seeks the
Equator, i.e. the intelligent human equator. By reasoning thus, it is easy to understand that it is not cold
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egotism which can solve the great problems in the world, since the simple, ordinary, human conceptions help
the growth of humanity: the antique forms of the antedeluvian animals do not sustain the present life,
because the latter which has passed through all the past phases in its development has preserved only the
beautiful memories of the great laws of nature and still sacredly guards them. The gigantic antedeluvian
beings which have unreasonably built their organisms like large snow mountains have vanished a long time
ago and on the Earth only the humble but intelligent beings have remained which having foreseen their
future, have conformed to the laws of nature which does not tolerate prodigality or strong resistance.
Many antedeluvian races have disappeared for the sole reason that they have had continual inner
struggles. From all these numerous races today remain only five on the earth, and these have understood the
great law that the right is on the side of him who uses the least resistance. This, however, does not mean that
man must not sustain his rights, but that he must do that sensibly without an excessive expenditure of energy.
If two fighters on the athletic field mutually destroy one another, what do they gain from that fight? Nothing, of course. But if these two fighters become sensible and consecrate their forces to the good of their
brothers then every one will show wherein lies his superiority and power. Which is the greater art - to put a
house to flames, or to build it? To built a school and furnish it well inside and provide teachers and students
for it, or to destroy it and scatter the teachers and students? - There is no doubt that it is wise and
praiseworthy to build and educate, to give life to people: this is the truly great in which the divine is
manifested.
But some may perhaps object: "By our activity, no matter what it may be, we continually build." Let
us accept that this is true. I build the house of a man and fill his chest with money, but at the same time I
oblige him to kill someone or to abandon all moral and to serve only himself, his personal interest -would I
be doing a constructive work under these conditions? Or in other words, if you had wooden chests full of
gold and I should empty them, giving you iron ones in return, could there be a question of culture in such a
case? Or if a country is full of prisons and prisoners, could it speak of culture? Do a gallows of a country
speak of moral or religion? Of course not. A moral and a conscious life can not be planted in the world in
this way. And such facts would not have but one consequence: all will be turned into ice and snow and the
vital sap of such a nation will pass to other people who have more favorable conditions for development and
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progress. History proves this fact: so long as Egypt was a tropical country1 It enjoyed a high culture, but as
soon as it exchanged this state for the coldness of the North and South pole, it became a desert; as long as
Babylon and Assyria were tropical regions there florished civilization and letters, but when they accepted the
coldness of the North and South Pole, they became desolate lands. The same thing happened with Greece,
Palestine, Phoenicis, Rome and other countries; and those contemporary countries and nations which imitate
the example of the nations which disappeared will have the same fate.
There exists a law in nature, which is also stated in the New Testament, namely, that he who has the
least energy and does not employ it will be deprived of it, or: "He who has, will be given more, but he who is
on the North or South Pole will be deprived even of that which he had." For the present time the North and
South Poles are not places designed for the life of human beings - they are regions where only the gods have
admittance, that is why the latter have placed there many barriers, in order that no human being should
disturb them. From all this we may conclude that the feeble must not strive to take the form of the strong,
because he will become ridiculous. If the small child raise the big hammer of his father and barely carries it,
do you think he can do any work with it? Of course not, he will only lose his time. Let us leave the heavy
hammers for the strong people, and work with what is according to our strength. And what is according to
our strength? - That is the rational life within the reach of all people for it is a life of the least resistance and
places everyone in the most harmonious environment. The rational life requires strong mothers and fathers,
filled with ideals, with a good reserve of a spiritual energy by which they can inspire their children. In
conclusion, we shall say that if some contemporary nation decides to change its interior situation and set a
wise order in its life, it must, first of all, create the most favorable conditions for its mothers and fathers and
give them the best advantages. But is there any nation which has applied this law? Not even one nation has
done it yet. In the full sense of the word there does not exist such an ideal nation as yet. On the contrary, all
seek the rational life where it is impossible to find it. They seek life whence it does not come, their defense whence their ruin comes and their salvation - whence their death comes. What could one expect under these
circumstances? What can a person give us whose brain is perverted and whose whole organism is out of
1
We use the world tropical to mean the best external and internal conditions under which a certain culture
may flourish.
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order? Docs such a life rest upon a rational foundation? And still there are men of this kind at the head of
society as leaders of humanity, respected by a great number of people?
This is a life of degeneration. It has arisen for the sole reason that we have begun to develop our
rationality under the greatest resistance and the greatest disharmony. And actually contemporary people
speak about rationality without having attained it completely, they speak about culture before it has become
flesh and blood for them, before they have given it a full expression. All work on credit without any capital.
And if this is true from where will come this high culture which will produce not a mechanical cohesion like
that of the participles of the ice and the snow, or the stones and the iron, but the organization and harmony
which we notice in the beautiful fruits, in the grain of wheat, in the sunlight which bears life? And man is
considered as the most elevated being on the earth and that he is the image and likeness of God! But man can
show that he is the image of God only when he fulfills his law and obeys his will. In ordinary life when man
dies and leaves his inheritance to his heirs, the law obliges the latter to fulfill his sacred will. What
inheritance did Christ leave to humanity? - "Love one another", "Love your enemies", but above all: "Love
God and be always ready to sacrifice everything for Him." Then we ask: in view of such a perspective, if a
nation or a man would decide to fulfill the will of God, would this nation, this society or individual be worse
off than they are now? - No, they shall be thousands of times better off than they are today.
A comparison between the means used in the personal and social life will clarify our thought: when a
stone must be broken, a big hammer is used; when an enemy must be conquered that is done by using a
knife; but when a dead man must be raised from the grave, can that be done by a hammer or knife? - No, that
is done only by the power of the Word. When Christ went to the tomb of Lazarus, He did not use any
hammer or knife, but in order to take him out of the tomb, He used the Word when He said: "Lazarus, come
forth." If contemporary people would find their salvation by the hammer, let them use it; if the sword can
help save those nations at war with each other, let them use it, but if the hammer ruins instead of save and the
sword kills instead of resurrect, what good can be expected of them?
And actually, if contemporary people are stones, let the hammer be used on them, but if they are
spiritually dead like Lazarus, buried four days in the grave, how must we visit them? - Of course, with the
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living Word, with the law of least resistance, of the rational life. But the law of least resistance and of the
rational life creates conditions for the manifestation of the Divine Love.
From all the aforesaid we may draw the conelusion that the only greatest power which can perform
wonders: resurrect the nations, introduce order and organization in our society, call forth to work all the
intelligent fathers and mothers, gather together all loving brothers and sisters, unite and integrate all men and
distribute justice to all, thus creating the welfare of humanity - that is love which is in full accord with the
rational life manifested under the least resistance. Only this most supreme power can render man worthy of
bearing his name.
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