Father, wither my hand
if it be raised for an unjust deed!
Father, turn to ashes my brain
if it recoil in treacherous thought!
Father, demolish my being
if it be turned to evil!
My child, I shall not strike thy hand.
My child, I shall not harm thy brain
if thou art on the way to podvig.
But amidst attainment devote time to silence
of the spirit.
Then shall I approach thy inner being.
The seed of the Great Silence
leads to knowledge of the Great Service.
Father, henceforth I will shorten my psalms,
And I will limit the length of my hymns.
And podvig will be my prayer,
And I will start it with silence.
Brothers, in all thy beginnings, remember the time of
silence.
Then are you approached by the Messenger of
the Teaching.
And thus, understanding prayer and podvig,
Glorified by beauty, strongly embracing power as
sacrifice,
You will reach the Temple.
End of the trilogy.
361. I will teach you to apply your sensitivity to life;
Therefore, observe all happenings around you.
One must know how to distinguish between accidental
signs and Our Indications.
New possibilities will grow in understanding
what has been sent to you.
Thus is the building erected—without losing
the given stones.
Not hope but work directs the builders.
The purity of the tuning fork will overcome the
disharmonious coarseness produced
by human weakness.
362. At dawn We shall unfurl Our Banners.
The Shields of the East We illumine
with the light of the Sacred Union.
We shall display the Banners protected by Our Shield.
And the Voice will speak louder than the clamor of
the everyday.
We wish to speak of matters of great import.
Do not lose yourselves in a cloud of everyday dust.
363. Your pure spirit begins its hour of worship,
And brings together its scattered spiritual particles.
The eye senses Our Help; the ear hears It;
the mind comprehends It.
Not quickly does the fallen spirit raise itself from the dust.
Extend your hand to all who are sinking;
The flame of the smile cannot be extinguished,
because it is fed by the Divine Flame.
364. Yes, yes, yes!
I summon you.
I proclaim you My own.
And on your girdle rattle the keys to the doors of
trust.
How many have approached these doors,
And even tried to turn the key,
But did not know how to unlock the door.
And an opportunity lost will not return.
When you approach the lock, do not invite the old
who pass by.
Do not invite again those who have shown their
ignorance before.
At every crossroad new ones await you,
And every stone for the building carries My Sign.
And when you enter and start to build the tower,
Measure for the foundation by encircling the rock
on which it will rest;
For from the tower shall you, builders, behold
the distances!
I address you briefly,
For you must learn and remember.
Remember, remember, remember,
what I tell you.
I said it.
365. The Secret must be revealed in safety.
Do not destroy people by entrusting them
with too much.
Often the burden of the load allows a view of only
the back.
366. Approaching the mountain, one beholds a chaos
of stones and jagged peaks.
Beyond are the rocky chasms.
Then begin the mountain meadows, watered by snow.
But behind the snowy summits you will see into the
great, glimmering distances.
You are passing through a corridor of life,
And are raising dust with your every step.
How great is the burden, how many the renunciations,
how vast the fear!
Where was left the Treasure of the World?
But if you carry with you a precious stone
or rarest pearl—would you forget it?
No, you would guard it carefully.
You would search your pockets and fasten the clasps,
because you carry a true treasure of earth.
What care!