—After BLAISE PASCAL
The more deeply you understand life, the less you grieve over the destruction caused by death.
Whatever name you give to the origin of man, this spiritual quality of humans to understand, feel, and exist, it is holy, it is divine, and, therefore, it should be eternal.
—MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO
February 13
Religion is a philosophy which can be understood by anyone.
A person can please God only with the godliness of his life. If an outwardly faithful person is not good, clear, and humble in his life, then he presents a big lie, he serves God falsely.
—After IMMANUEL KANT
Religion is simple wisdom which is directed to the heart and understood by the intellect.
Religion can enlighten philosophical meditations; philosophical meditations can strengthen religion. Therefore, try to communicate both with truly religious people and truly good philosophers, alive and dead.
February 14
A holy spirit lives within you.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
—JOHN 3:3
Intellect can be enlightened only in a kind person. A person can be kind only when he has an enlightened intellect. One helps the other.
—CHINESE WISDOM
A merchant married a princess, and he built a palace for her, bought luxurious dresses for her, and brought her hundreds of servants to make her happy. But the princess was bored. She was missing something, and she constantly thought about her royal origin. Thus it is with a human souclass="underline" you can surround it with all the pleasures on earth, but it will still be missing its home, the beginning which is called God, the place from which it has originated.
—After the TALMUD
Even if people do not know what real kindness is, they nevertheless have it within them.
—CONFUCIUS
God lives in every one of us. When a person remembers this, the thought of it can save him from evil, and help him to do good.
February 15
There is simplicity of nature, and there is simplicity of wisdom. Both of them evoke love and respect.
The greatest truth is the most simple one.
When people speak in a very elaborate and sophisticated way, they either want to tell a lie, or to admire themselves. You should not believe such people. Good speech is always clear, clever, and understood by all.
Simplicity is the consequence of refined emotions.
—JEAN D’ALEMBERT
Words can unite people. Therefore, try to speak very clearly, and tell only the truth, for nothing can unite people more than truth and simplicity.
February 16
The younger and the more primitive a person is, the more he or she believes that life is material and that it exists only in the body. The older and wiser a person becomes, the more he or she understands that all life originates from the spirit.
Look at the sky, and at the earth, and think that all things pass. All of the mountains and rivers you see, and all the forms of life, and all creations of nature, all pass. Then you will understand the truth; you will see what remains, what does not pass.
—BUDDHIST WISDOM
Remember that you are not mortal; only your body is mortal. What is alive is not your body but the spirit living in your body. An unseen force guides your body, just as an unseen force guides the world.
—After MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO
A person can understand his real destination in life only after he manages to liberate himself from the sensual, material world.
February 17
All people of the world have an equal right to the privileges of this world.
Equality cannot be reached, as some people think, only by civil measures. It can be reached only by love of God and people, and this love can be reached, not by civil measures, but only as the result of spiritual learning.
They say that equality is not possible, because some people will always be stronger or smarter than others. But it is exactly because of this, said Lichtenberg, precisely because some people are stronger and smarter than others, that the principle of equality is necessary. The advantages of the rich over the poor demonstrate not only inequality of force and intellect, but inequality of civil rights.
Christ revealed to humanity those things which their best selves already knew: that people are equal because the same spirit lives in all of them…. Learn from the small children, behave like children, and treat all people on an equal basis, with love and tenderness.
February 18
Personality is a mask which disguises the divine being which lives in every person. The more one rejects personality, the more this divine beginning is manifested.
You must love only God, and you must hate only yourself.
—BLAISE PASCAL
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
—JOHN 10:17-18
Only those people who deny their own personality can understand the religious teaching.
—The TALMUD
He who wants to save his soul, will lose it; and he who wants to lose his life for me and the new testament, will save it.
—MARK 8:35
Those who do not see the meaning of their life in temporary things, in their names and bodies, those people know the truth of life.
—DHAMMAPADA, a book of BUDDHIST WISDOM
Only when we forget about ourselves, when we get out of the thoughts of ourselves, can we fruitfully communicate with others, listen to them, and influence them.
February 19
It is a sin not to be engaged in work, even if it is not necessary for you to make your living with everyday work.
One of the best and purest joys is having a rest after labor.
—IMMANUEL KANT
Work all the time. Do not think that work is a disaster for you, and do not seek praise or reward for your work.
—MARCUS AURELIUS
The most outstanding gifts can be destroyed by idleness.
—MICHEL DE MONTAIGNE
Nothing can make a person feel more noble than work. Without work, a person cannot have human dignity. It is because of this that idle people are so much concerned by the superficial, outer expression of their importance; they know that without this, other people would despise them.
When we accept truth and repent our sins, we understand that nobody can have special rights, advantages, or privileges in this life. There is no end or limit to our duties and obligations. And the first and the most important obligation for us is to fight with nature for our life and for the lives of other people.
February 20
Humankind goes on without stopping. This movement forward is necessary for you as an individual as well. If you want to serve God, you should be a worker for the spiritual progress of humanity.
The way of life of any people depends on their faith. Faith, with time, becomes more simple, more clear, and closer to the real truth, and in accordance with the simplifying and clarifying of faith, people become more and more united.