Meditation and Work, Faith and Knowledge, Spirit and Science.

The young acolyte went to his master feeling despondent and anxious.

He said, 'How must I meditate when my mind is taken by the work that has to be done in the world, and how can I work, when my heart longs to be one with the spirit through meditation. These opposites tear me apart, so that I am never happy. When I meditate I am thinking of the world, during work I am thinking about meditation.

'It is simple,' said the master, with that smile which always denoted his wisdom:

'If you make it so that your meditation becomes as practical as life you will learn what is best for your work.'

'How is that possible?'

'Only if, when you meditate inwardly, you observe how the spirit of the world enters into you. Listen to what it is telling and you shall be directed to the best way to perform your tasks in the world.

'Conversely, if you allow your practical life to become like a meditation you will find yourself.'

'How is that possible!'

'It is possible if when you work in the world you seek how every movement you make creates an imprint not only in the physical world but also in the spiritual world.  If you seek to find yourself in your deeds and how they are either in harmony or out of harmony with the spirit in the world. This is self knowledge. You will learn to see how well you have listened to what the spirit has told you about your tasks in the world.'

'So I am to make no distinction between the contemplative life and the practical life?'

'By making Meditation  as practical as life, and practical life as spiritual as meditation you are uniting all polarities, life and death, right and wrong, inner and outer, above and below. This is the cause of all the wars and strife both in the world of men and the world of spirit. You have the power to bring harmony into both worlds. Then you shall find happiness in everything you do, for true happiness is being in harmony with the spirit.'

The acolyte was amazed. 'What is the power in me that you speak of that can unite all things?'

'It is the power that long ago divided all things inside you.'

The acolyte left his master then, and practised his advice and in time became a great and wise master.

He died and was born again a Dominican Monk. He was together again with his reborn master and he now asked him the same question only differently.

He said to him, 'Master, how must I reconcile  Knowledge and Faith? I am never happy for when I am learning about the world through your teachings I cannot find myself, and when I pray before the cross I feel like I am a blind man believing something I can't see!'

His master a man known for his angelic nature said, smiled for he knew this dilemma. 'This is what you do:

'When you are working with knowledge observe how everything you know is gained from the world of nature around you, from what you see with your eyes. But you cannot find yourself in nature, can you? If you were to rely only on nature, you would always set limits to your knowledge, because you would only see half a truth, you would never see the spirit that is in yourself in the things you see.  Train your will to enter the world through the power of devotion, and your will shall become a light that perceives itself and finds its likeness in the spirit of the world - you will see your spirit because it enlightens the spirit in the world. The difference between the two: your spirit and the spirit in the world, this is true self knowledge. Sending out the light of your spirit of the self into the world brings you knowledge of yourself.'

 'In your prayers unite lovingly with what your knowledge of the world in the self, use thinking honed by this knowledge to understand that all you see has its counterpart inside you, and you will understand how this counterpart is the spirit in the world. In this way thinking becomes the power of a Faith that is not blind but which enlightens the spirit of the world in the self through knowledge - this spirit in the world can only be seen because you have a spirit in the self which attracts it.  This is what it means to be faithful - attracting the light of the spirit into the self to give you knowledge of the world.'

'By making  knowledge a power that leads to faith and Faith a power that leads to knowledge you will reconcile all divisions, for in our time heresy and orthodoxy is merely knowledge and faith seen from different sides - one must see holistically - then there is no quarrel only understanding.'

Many lives later that young Dominican Monk was born a Teacher. One day a young pupil came to one of his lectures. He felt he knew this boy, something drew him to the boy. Afterwards when the boy came up to him and asked him:

'How do I bring Science and Spirit together?'

The teacher, now remembering his old teacher, fell at his feet, 

'You need only remember all that you have taught me, my dear teacher!' he said, 'My task shall be merely to remind you of what you already know.'

That young pupil became a great teacher himself. He united the practical life with mediation, knowledge and faith, science and spirit. He taught many how to find a scientific way to spiritual experiences, and how to bring knowledge of the spirit to explain the world around us. He said, 'Look inside yourself to find the world, look into the world to find yourself!'

Many lives later they met again, this time as peers. They both remembered one another and were filled with joy.

The one who had been an acolyte twice an only once a teacher said, 'How can we bring together the Sophia in our souls with the Christ?'

The one who had been twice a teacher and only once an acolyte said, 'We must awaken knowledge and faith in one another!'