Беседа 10. О чине размышления 474 и о различных видах его; и чт о является главной составной частью его; и о просветленном служении разума; и как приблизиться человеку к превосходной степени любви к Богу; и каковы отличительные свойства этой главной составной части.

1. There are four different types of saving meditation, 475 with the help of which the mind works to irrigate its knowledge for the sake of growing life in the field of righteousness: – about knowledge of corporal service; 476 - about the knowledge of skillful and united 477 service; – about the knowledge of hidden struggles against; 478 - about the knowledge of enlightened service, which is in God: it happens in the only way with God. 2. The latter is also divided into three different parts: it is not immediately enlightened, but first it is dark, and then it is enlightened. Just as some types of trees exude sweet sap 479 under the sun, in the same way, when the Spirit shines in our hearts, the movements of our reflections approach the luminosity - what is called the “spiritual way of life”; 480 then, contrary to its will, our mind, through a certain thought, is drawn, as if in amazement, to God. 3. Prayer is not an independent part, separate from these “things,” but it is mixed with them, sometimes generating them, sometimes being born from them. 4. So, every person in the meditation into which he plunges himself becomes enlightened, and in the thought with which his mind is constantly occupied, he becomes wiser and becomes even more focused on it, if, thinking about the service of righteousness, he reflects on the deeds of righteousness, he becomes illuminated. 5. This is how he can please God with his deeds, and this is what harms his service, and this is how he succeeds and is enlightened in his thoughts. 6. If, again, he thinks about the service of virtue, how can he please God in the purity of his flesh, in the work of prayer, in the cleansing of his body through fasting, in the reading of psalms and in the struggle against everything that hinders him; and about how many types of virtue are divided and through which of its constituent parts he gains more light and succeeds, being especially zealous in this, and what is the opposite of each of them - then thanks to this he becomes wise and deep. 7. And if he thinks about passions, thoughts and their struggle - how thoughts follow one after another, and which passion is connected to which, and what is the beginning of the first and what is its end; and what strength each of the passions has, and from what it is weakened and how it is strengthened - he only focuses on the passions and exercises his mind. 8. But if he reflects on God and is amazed at His properties and examines God alone, he becomes enlightened, and this also includes the above-mentioned. 9 . They are, of course, good in themselves, but they are struggles; and it is not right for thought and knowledge of soul and body to reside entirely in them. Neither the beauty of service, nor the knowledge of competitions and struggles, 481 nor the mental opposition to passions constitutes the goal of the hope that is preached to us - the one about which the Apostle said: to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length, and depth and height, 482 and that we may surpass in all wisdom and in all spiritual understanding. 483 How can we manage and feel this if we are only in opposition and confrontation with passionate thoughts, arguing with them and constantly caring about them night and day? 10. But many people practice and become skilled in this - and their service is wonderful and difficult, but they do not think at all about the other aspect. 11. So, as for these others - be it bodily service or a skillful distinction between passions and virtue - then as long as a person is in constant reflection about them, thinks about them and mentally goes over them 484 night and day, he either wins or suffers defeat; now he falls, now he gets up; his thoughts are sometimes cleansed, sometimes desecrated; sometimes he is in the midst of falls, sometimes he is strengthened by repentance. In short, he is in competition. 12. But when his mind is involved in thinking about God, he rises above competition. It is not that he overcomes thoughts, movements and passions, but he reigns over them and they completely disappear. They are not defeated, and there is no victory here; however, neither passions, nor memories of them, nor their excitement arise, for such a one is taken away from the world; and all thoughts, actions, differences and knowledge about them - he leaves them all down where they belong, while the mind is taken from their midst. But if virtue consists of passions, virtues, and so on, then, without a doubt, reason wanders the earth. 13. When he reflects on God and on the riches of the waves of what relates to Him and belongs to Him, then he withdraws from the world, and the door to all memories closes, and the passions remain idle in their places, and he is raised above where they are. For there is no virtue that is not associated with constant struggle. 14. There is one kind of knowledge, the strength of which is that it is occupied with virtue; but there is another type of knowledge, which consists in the thought of the mind about God, as blessed Mark the Hermit said: “One is knowledge of actions, 485 and the other is knowledge of truth. Just as the sun is higher than the moon, so the second species is higher and more advantageous than the first.” 486 15. “Knowledge of actions” he calls that knowledge that is born from service and competition with passions, according to established commandments: a person becomes wise in what relates to the law when he reflects on them and uses them. 487 16. Knowledge of the truth is that knowledge in which the mind rises above all else and is illuminated by constant reflection on God; and by hope alone, through thought, he is elevated to God. It does not teach us the knowledge of passions or service and does not show us, but it immerses us in competitions and the thought of them, mixing us with God in its movements. 488 17. How can that knowledge rise to this type of thought, and what is the beginning of thinking about God? “How can I find a place to ascend to Him? 489 Where will I make the beginning of what is to Him? Who will show the mind the place of ascent to God and immersion in Him? From the experimental knowledge of divine realities 490 man rises in his thoughts to the contemplation of God, which is the true vision of Him - not of His nature, but of the clouds of His glory. 491 And from the above, first of all, reflection about Him is aroused in a person, and then reflection little by little covers his mind, leading him and placing him in the cloud of His glory and in that Source of life, from Which life flows at every moment without interruption for all minds - both higher and lower; both those whose work is strengthened in supercorporeal heights, and those whose work is earthly and dead; both those whose movements are blazing fire, 492 and those whose movements are limited by rudeness. 493 18. What is this Being like, which is invisible, without beginning in its nature, which is one in itself, which by its nature is beyond the knowledge, mind and feelings of creatures, which is beyond time and eras, which is the Creator of all this, about which from the beginning of time they learned through hints and which was known in the imprint, through the created fullness of creation, whose voice is heard through the work of His hands, through which the essence of His dominion was made known, the Source of countless natures. He is hidden, for although in His essence He lives in countless, unlimited and beginningless epochs, His grace was pleased to create the beginning of time and bring worlds and created beings into being. 19. Let us now think how rich in its abundance is the ocean of His creativity and how many creatures belong to God and how in His compassion He bears everything, visits everything, cares for everything and guides everything; and how He, with His immeasurable love, came to the order of the world and the beginning of creation; and how compassionate God is, and how patient His Spirit is, and how He loves this creation and how He endures it, condescendingly tolerating its vanity, sins and various atrocities, the incredible blasphemies of demons and evil people. And when in amazement a person and his mind are filled with the greatness of God, amazed at everything that God has accomplished, he is amazed and admires His mercy - how after all this He prepared another world for which there will be no end, the glory of which is not revealed even to the angels, although in their existence, as far as possible, they remain in the life of the spirit, 494 in accordance with the gift with which their nature is endowed. , how excellent is that glory, and how exalted is the way of existence in that; and how insignificant is the present life 495 in comparison with what is prepared for the creation in the new life; and how, in order not to be deprived of this blessedness because of the freedom they received from God, when they abused it, He, in His mercy, invented a second gift, which is repentance, so that through it they would receive renewal every day and be justified by it at every moment. Moreover, He established it beyond time and limitations; it does not cause fatigue beyond strength; on the contrary, it occurs in the mind, will and conscience, as well as in a suffering and contrite heart, so that it is easy for everyone to benefit from it - quickly and at any moment. 20. Not under any compulsion, and not against their will, and not without help will they inherit that future glory; but it pleased His wisdom that, by their free will, they should choose what is good and thus have access to Him. 21. - so that they think that they have rightfully received it, although it is entirely from grace, and that it belongs to them. 496 For even in this obstacle that is placed in the way, 497 there is a certain secret of His wisdom - so that they should be under His 498 power as far as possible. And although I say this humanly, it is still permissible to say such and such; however, it is not so that He does not know the end of the path of each of us. But the reason that it was placed in the way and why the gift of repentance was necessary if we would be raised to His thinking and His foreknowledge, 499 and what should be born from one or another of them - all this is hidden from the knowledge of all. 500 22. For I also cannot say that He borrowed some experience from them and that the final reward that He will make is on this: it is not His way of action - to borrow from the creature the beginning of His thoughts, which are without beginning, for all His thoughts are beings, just as He Himself is Being. 501 And with regard to the knowledge of the outcome of His actions, I affirm: this Nature is so exalted that it cannot be said that there are “thoughts” or “thoughts”, or that it is conceivable, intelligible or contemplated. As for the future age, He knows how to determine His will in relation to each in such a way that it corresponds to the creatures; and He does not need anything outside Himself for knowledge; however, the terms “outside” and “inside” are not applicable to Him. 23. And no agitation, movement or change 502 touches the nature of Him Who, by His natural and ineffable goodness, came to the creation of the world. And we were not the reason that He planned such a benefit for us; and the surface of the peaceful ocean of His nature was not disturbed by any opposition on our part. 503 This blessed Nature is high, exalted and glorious; it is perfect and complete in the knowledge of Him, complete in His love. There is no “when” in Him, and He is eternal in everything that belongs to Him and is characteristic of Him. 24. He is the One who lives in the light of His nature, the One who wanted to bring creation closer to the cloud of His eternal glory; Who gave the crown of His infinity to the creation He created; Who neglected the honor of His authority and, by His condescension, took care of what concerns us; Who has poured out the eternity of His kingdom upon the fullness of His creation—Being, the Lord, exalted above every incidental idea; Whose will is the primary source of natures; and from Him, as from a source, flow worlds, creatures and natures, countless and unlimited. And He suddenly created wonderful angelic natures, verbal and intelligent, out of nothing: countless higher worlds, unlimited powers, legions of light seraphim, terrible and fast, wondrous and strong, endowed with strength and fulfilling the will of the omnipotent Providence, simple spirits, luminous and incorporeal, speaking without lips, seeing without eyes, hearing without ears, flying without wings acting without arms, all the functions of members without members. They do not get tired or exhausted, they are quick in movement, immediate in action, terrifying to look at; Their service is wonderful, they are rich in revelations, sublime in contemplations; they peer into the place of the invisible Shekinah; 504 glorious and holy beings, arranged in ninefold orders by Wisdom, Who created everything; 505 the sound of their praises 506 cannot be endured by the ears of those clothed in flesh: And the tops of the gates of the Sanctuary 507 shook at the sound of their praises, says the prophet. 508 They are fiery in their movements, sharp in mind, delightful in knowledge, resembling God as much as possible. 25. These are the small crumbs of the beginning of active 509 reflection, mentally, about this divine Nature. We worship and are glorious in His nature, good in all of His, compassionate, loving and gentle, strong, powerful and wise; He is omniscient and omnipotent; He contains everything within the limits of His knowledge; He holds all creation; He is close to everyone and inexpressibly distant from everyone; He is everywhere and nowhere; He contains everything and remains within Himself in every place; creation, so great, so rich in everything and diverse, is subject to His beck. None of the created natures and nothing arises, moves, oscillates or acts without His command. 510 26. Why have we left this Source of life and the Ocean of knowledge, and wander the earth in our affairs and our cares, so that night and day we are thrown into fights, competitions and struggles with thoughts, passions, their memories and excitement, while we always have a means of drying it all up without a fight, turning 511 to the Lord? 27. The power of these struggles is unbearable for us: no matter how wise we are in recognizing the motives of our thoughts, we will be defeated and defeated by them. We will never escape these struggles, for the end of one struggle forces us to enter into another. And even if we succeed in this service, being cheerful and vigilant, from the rust of passions and impurity of thoughts, even if we win, we will never be cleansed. 28. Let us neglect this thought and wandering for a moment, my brothers, and admit that we are weak in the face of these thoughts and demons; let us resort to the Lord and ascend a little higher - to where thoughts dry up and movements disappear, where memories fade and passions die away, where our nature becomes clearer and changes, and finds itself in another age. 29. I will be surprised if there is a person in whom delight 512 does not flare up in relation to this Nature and who claims that he knows what the love of God is. If you desire to taste the love of God, my brother, about His properties, about His benefits 513 and about His holy nature, think, meditate and remember, and let your mind wander in this for every moment of yours, and from this you realize how all parts of your soul are inflamed with love, how a burning flame descends on your heart, and the desire for God increases in you, and from the love of God you come to perfect love to people. 30. With the help of these and similar conversations, my brother, man himself rises from the earthly and is captivated by the love of God: he is like one who forgets his own nature, for nothing worldly distracts him and does not come to his mind. But he feels another world and is confident and knows that there is still something beyond flesh and blood. 31. For every person cultivates virtue, but very few, as it turns out, acquire virtuous thoughts and glorious conversations with God thanks to the enlightenment of their thoughts and the grace of Christ. When in any person this thought becomes virtuous and he turns in his mind those glorious objects that are above the world and in God, and is captivated by them, if his mind is freed from this and in his memory finds himself in the world with these human beings, then he sees himself as a wanderer in relation to this world: to the vision of the world, to its chatter and to all the events that usually occur in it. 32. Many people consider such and similar things to be idle thoughts. They are like a man who is seized with a fever, and when reminded of sweet food and exquisitely prepared food, due to poor health, he resists 514 and becomes upset. It is not the food itself that causes this, but his state of health, which is painful, filled with suffering and anxiety, with bile; and he wants something sour or salty. 33. He who possesses silence and the conversation of knowledge will easily and quickly achieve the love of God, and through love for God he will come closer to perfect love for people. 34. A person who has not previously received the sweet and intoxicating love of God is never able to approach enlightened love for people. 35. To come from work and struggle with thoughts to enlightened love for people, and from here to rise to love for God - this is impossible to achieve in this life, before leaving the world, no matter how hard one struggles. Through the commandments and prudence, it is possible for a person to subjugate his thoughts and clear his conscience in relation to them, and he can even do good deeds for them. But that he cannot achieve enlightened love for people through struggle, of this I am convinced: there is no one who would achieve it in this way, and no one will achieve this goal in this way in this life. Without wine, a person does not get drunk, and his heart does not beat joyfully; and without intoxication in God 515 no one will naturally acquire a virtue that does not belong to him, so that it remains in him quietly and without compulsion. It also happens that by nature he is meek and merciful, he easily loves every person, having mercy on every nature - not only on people, but also on animals, birds, wild beasts, and so on: after all, there are such souls! But there are times when they are also confused if they have any cause for concern because of a person. 36. But whoever has been rewarded with tasting divine love usually forgets everything because of its sweetness - after all, this taste makes all visible objects despised; his soul joyfully approaches enlightened love for people, without distinction; he is not overcome by their weaknesses and is not embarrassed. He is like the blessed apostles, who, amid all the evils they suffered from, were completely incapable of hating them or being fed up with love for them. This was manifested in practice, because after everything else, they even accepted death for the sake of their redemption. 516 And these were the people who just recently begged Christ to send fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritans - simply because they did not accept them into their village! 517 But after they received the gift and tasted the love of God, they even became perfect in their love for evildoers: enduring all kinds of misfortunes for the sake of their redemption, 518 they could not possibly hate them. So, you see that through the commandments alone, perfect love for people is not achieved. 37. It’s not that we should leave struggles and service and not approach them - I’m not saying that. But, working in them according to the time and place, we must leave the open battlefield 519 and surrender to silence. And when we have learned even there some partial experimental knowledge with thoughts, 520 we must again leave it to the mental battlefield. 521 In these conversations and in the recollection of the miraculous, we must constantly remain in our minds thanks to constant prayerful remembrance. So we will prosper day by day, rejoicing in our souls and improving in God. 38. Enlightened contemplation of God is the completion of prayer; or rather, it is the primary source of prayers - because prayer itself also ends with the thought of God. 39. It happens that a person is transported from prayer into amazed contemplation of God; and sometimes prayer is born from thinking about God. 40. All these are various stages 522 on the path, in a divine way the mind is in the field 523 of the world, so that each person looks at his own crown. 524 The crown of a monk is the mental pleasure that is in Christ our Savior. Whoever found it received a guarantee of the future in this world. 41. O Christ, Source of life, 525 deign me to taste You and may my eyes be enlightened. O Mercy and Compassion sent to the world, O Hope of creation, taste the delight of Thy hope; may I be blind to the world, but enlightened in spirit; and through Thy love may my life be intoxicated, so that I may forget the world and its works. May we be captivated by You in our minds as we converse with Your great radiance. Do not leave us to be captivated by the world through harmful 526 interviews with it. But grant us, according to Thy will, to serve Thee vigilantly and glorify Thee without embarrassment, in great peace, at every hour. 527 Grant us, O Lord, lips full of Your praise, as well as a mind that can endure suffering. Enlighten our consciousness with purity, 528 purifying thoughts, 529 so that we may become a sacrifice pleasant and blameless for You 530 during the hours of our prayers. Let Your hidden power live in us, so that the feelings of our soul may be strengthened, so that our soul may mysteriously cry out a song full of amazement. And with the hallelujahs of 531 the highest angels, may we praise at every moment the power of Your Being. And, as if in heaven, let us bear the shrine of Your Divinity on our hidden members. And with all Your saints, let us give thanks to Your great name and serve Him without satiety, O glorious by nature Father, Son and Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen. Sire. herga – “reflection”, “meditation”. Sire. renya d-hayye – “thoughts about salvation” (lit. “thoughts about life”). Lit. "this corporal service." Sire. pulhana – “doing”, “service”, “working”. Or “single”, “single”, “integral”. Or “spiritual behavior” (Sir: dubbara ruhana). Sire. d-agona w-taktoa. The terms are synonymous. The first of them is a translation from the Greek agon (struggle). Sire. idáta d-súrane corresponds to the Greek gnosis pragmaton (knowledge of things, objects, actions). Wed. Rev. Mark the Ascetic. About those who think to be justified by works, 144. The syntax of this sentence is difficult to translate. Rev. Isaac seems to continue to reflect on the words of St. Mark of the Ascetic: “Knowledge of things (actions) is given in accordance with the fulfillment of the commandments, and knowledge of the truth - according to hope in Christ” (About those who think to be justified by works 145). In the original, this phrase is preceded by the word lam, corresponding to quotation marks in modern languages ​​and usually indicating a quotation. It is unclear who the Rev. is quoting. Isaac and where the quote ends. Var. "from the discovery in practice of the things that belong to Him." Rev. Isaac repeats the classic statement of patristic literature about the impossibility of seeing the nature (essence) of God, but the possibility of contemplating His “glory” (“revelations”, “energies”). The expression "cloud ('arpella) of glory" is based on Exodus 20 (Peshitta). Those. the roughness of material nature. Var. "though they are in His actions, as far as is possible in the life of the spirit." Lit. “spiritual life” (i.e., in contrast to the life of the spirit). Var. “that it is achievable for them.” Lit. "placed in the middle." Sire. mqaddmut idata corresponds to Greek. prognosis (foresight, knowledge in advance). The syntax of this paragraph is extremely complex. The meaning of the phrase is that God does not change His original intentions depending on the behavior and actions of people: the final reward is based on His foresight, not on human actions. The same thoughts were developed in more detail by Rev. Isaac in conversations 39 and 40. Rev. Isaac uses three terms that are synonymous and mean “movements.” Lit. “the surface of the ocean of the world of His nature.” Or "Shekinahs of Invisibility". See note. 22 to Conversation 5. The doctrine of the nine orders of angels was borrowed by St. Isaac from the Areopagite treatise “On the Heavenly Hierarchy.” Those. cries of “Holy, holy, holy!” Sire. súranaya corresponds to the Greek. praktikos (active, practical). Lit. “movements do not effervesce (zaw'e).” Lit. “about what is His and what is in Him.” Lit. “his sensibility resists.” The theme of intoxication with the love of God is one of the main ones in the Eastern Christian mystical tradition: we find it in Origen, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Rev. Ephraim the Syrian and many other authors. Var. "because of its discovery." Var. "as a result of his discovery." Var. "from the open fighting area." Lit. “knowledge of experiences (tests) with thoughts.” Var. "mental area of ​​struggle." Lit. "complete stumbling blocks." Var. “at all hours” (i.e. at the services of the hours). Sire. hullale is a term that also means sections of the Psalter that were read during worship. See note. 11 to Conversation 35. You might be interested in: