Chapter LXIII
Why It Is That People Who Are In The Psychic State Of Knowledge Consider Spiritual Things In Accordance With [Their] Bodily Grossness And How It Is Possible That The Mind Be Elevated Above This And What Is The Cause Why We Are Not Freed From It And When And How It Is Possible For The Mind To Remain Without Images At The Time Of Prayer
He whose majesty is blessed, will open the gate before us, so that we have no single wish than desire of Him. When 4 38 we so abandon everything, and our mind goes out to seek Him alone, there will be no thought in it of anything which screens its face from the aspect of the Lord of the Universe. The more the mind abandons the thought of visible things, o my beloved, and the more it thinks of the future hope, in accordance with the degree of elevation above bodily thoughts and · intercourse with them, to the same extent it will be subtilised and become clear during prayer. To the same extent as the body, the mind is made free from the bonds of [worldly] things; and to the same extent as it is made free from the ties of thoughts, does it become cerene; and to the same extent as it becomes serene, is it also subtilized; and to the same extent as it is subtilized, is it lifted up above the emotions of this world which bears the stamp of grossness. And it knows that it shall look on God as He is, not as we are.
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If a man has not been deemed worthy of revelation before, it is not possible that he should know this. And if he does not attain purity, his emotions are not made clear so as to look at the hidden things. And until through his [spiritual] riches he be freed from all that is seen, he is not freed from emotions for those things, and he does not become devoid of deliberations that cause darkness. And even as darkness and enchaining thoughts, so the affections are there. If a man is not made free from all those things which I have mentioned and from their causes, he cannot consider the hidden things of the mind. Therefore our Lord has ordered us to practise renunciation before any other thing, and flight from the troubles of the world, and freedom from common human thought. Who does not forsake his whole human state and all that he possesses, and deny even himself, he cannot be a disciple to Me 1); lest the mind be injured by anything: 439 by sight, by hearing, by care of [worldly] things, their loss or their increase, or by man. And thereby that He has bound our mind by hope of Himself alone, He has caused the whole care of our deliberations to look towards Himself. And in Himself He has bound the whole care of our mind, after having freed it from all other things, that thence we · may long after intercourse with Himself, because of our care being continually directed towards Himself. Prayer further requires also training, that through long practice the mind may become wise. For after renunciation which frees our impulses from bonds, prayer requires constancy that through constancy and time the mind may acquire training so as to know how to restrain its deliberations and to learn through experience many things which it cannot receive from others. Any [state of] discipline is prepared 2) by the preceding one; and the preceding one is necessary for the existence of the following. Prayer is preceded by reclusion; reclusion [is practised] with a view to prayer; prayer in order to acquire love of God; for in prayer are found causes for loving God. Also this we must know, my beloved ones, that any hidden intercourse, or any meditation upon spiritual things, is to be denoted by prayer or comprehended under the name of prayer
1) Cf. Luke 14, 33 2) literally: educated
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or included within this denomination: be it recitation with dis-440 crimination, or songs in praise of God, or painstaking thought of our Lord, or prostration of the body, or psalms of glorification, and soon. For from them is received instruction concerning veracious prayer; and from the latter love of God is born. And love is through prayer; and prayer through dwelling alone. And loneliness serves the purpose, that we should have a place where we can converse with God in solitude. Loneliness is preceded by abandonment of the world. If a man forsake not the world first and renunciate all that he possesses, he cannot attain to loneliness. So abandonment of,the world in its turn is preceded by patience, and patience by hatred of the world; hatred of the world by fear and love. For if the mind is not terrified by the fear of Hell and incited by the love of [future] good, the hatred of this world will not arise in him. And if the mind does not hate the world, it cannot forego its intercourse and comfort. And if the mind has not acquired patience before, it cannot choose dwelling in solitude without companions. And if it does not choose a lonely life, it cannot abide in prayer. And if it is not constantly in intercourse with God and cling to those impulses which are interwoven with prayer and to those kinds of instruction which are in prayer, as we have said, it cannot perceive love. So the love of God proceeds from intercourse with Him; the intercourse of prayer from solitude; solitude from renunciation; renunciation in its turn from patience; patience from 4 4 r hatred of desires; hatred of desires from fear of Hell and the expectation of the [future] good. Desires are hated by him that knows the fruits thereof, namely what they prepare for him and from what good he is deprived for their sake. So every discipline is connected with that which precedes it, takes increase from it and proceeds unto others which are higher. And if one of the middle links should fail, the following could not maintain itself and it would appear that all were loosened and lost.
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