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When the Master Peter Deunov (Beinsa Douno) began to speak publicly in Bulgaria in the
early
years of the twentieth century, his avid listeners took notes and some transcripts
in shorthand
were made, primarily by Petko Gumnerov. Only in 1914 was a more organized
and thorough
process begun . . .
The Word of the Master was first recorded by Todor Gulubov in 1914. He was a
professional
stenographer in the Bulgarian Parliament. In 1915 he had to move abroad
and was concerned
about who would continue this work. The Master said:
“Someone will come.” Soon — on
July 19, 1915, Pasha Teodorova appeared;
a little later, Savka Keremedchieva; and in 1920, Elena
Andreeva. These three
stenographers recorded simultaneously what the Master said in his
lectures. Then
they transcribed the shorthand notes into normal Bulgarian text. The
lectures
were prepared for publishing primarily by Pasha Teodorova.
This was a painstakin
g process, involving a great responsibility. That is why the Master
worked with the
stenographers for many years, guiding them and helping them to see how to work correctly.
Elena Andreeva said: “The Master spoke fluently, without hesitation. Rarely
did he pause
to seek the exact words for expressing his ideas. He always knew what
to say and always
chose pure images, pure words and avoided double meanings. The Master
used simple and pure
language. An invisible exchange and communion occurred between us,
his listeners, and his
Word. The Master spoke to people of many different intellectual
levels, especially on Sunday
and in the general class of disciples. He was trying to
speak in a way which permitted everyone
to understand what he was saying. At the same
time, while he was speaking, he answered some
questions and addressed some unsolved problems
being experienced by some of his listeners. That
is why there are some digressions in
his lectures. When he was speaking, this was normal, but
when the lectures were to be
presented in writing, some things needed to be changed or
omitted. There are different
rules or grammatical forms for written versus spoken
communication. In addition, the
vocal intonations, pauses, etc., convey meaning and
clarity. When oral speech is
recorded in writing, this meaning may need to be clarified
by certain additions or
changes. The Master wanted his thoughts to be presented in a
correct way, and Pasha
Teodorova always succeeded in this.” [REMINISCENCES OF ELENA ANDREEVA,
“The Image of
the Master Through My Eyes,” 2009] Pasha Teodorova’s excellence was later acknowledged
by
the Master when, at the conclusion of the class of Virtues held for the women, she was the
only
one honoured by a certificate.
Before the Master gave his Word, he made, for about ten years, phrenological investigations
of the Bulgarian people to assist him in discovering the most appropriate, effective way of
presenting his Word, so that it could be accepted and understood correctly. “It is
important for the Master’s ideas to be presented in a correct way.” [ibid, p. 11]
When the lectures were ready for publication, Pasha read them to the Master. She
wrote
in her reminiscences: “I was with the Master in the small room on the upper
level in order to
read to him a lecture being prepared for printing at that time.
When I was reading the
lecture, the Master interrupted me. I stopped and looked at
him because I was thinking
that he would correct the thought . . . .” [unpublished
reminiscences of Pasha Teodorova].
On February 8, 1914, the Master said: “It is necessary to have a look at the
lectures which
I have given, because they cannot live as they are.” [ibid, p.
11] He is referring
to the need for editing his unpublished lectures.
In her reminiscences, the disciple Bucha Bahar wrote: “All the lectures were typed
and Pasha
made the corrections. These lectures Pasha read to the Master and after his
approva
they were given to the printing house. After the first printing, Pasha again
read the
book to the Master for corrections and then the volume of lectures appeared in our
hands. In
‘the Ship’ (the name of the small house where the three stenographers lived
and worked, which
was shaped like a boat) hard work and life was brewing. The workers
dedicated themselves
to spiritual service. They turned their backs on their high
education and social position,
and sacrificed their pleasure and youth for the Word of the
Master. Whenever the brothers
and sisters visited this place to bring something by, to
ask for advice, to read and discuss
something which was not clear, to copy something, we
often saw the Master there working with
the disciples on what was said in the lectures.
There was a very pleasant and warm
atmosphere. A lot of hard work was required in order
for the unpublished lectures to
be printed.” [unpublished reminiscences of Bucha Bahar].
Thus it is clear that the lectures were published only after the Master had approved
them. This is the Word which was published while the Master was alive on earth and
during the period immediately after his passing (1945-49).
Indisputable is the fact that on all these volumes of lectures which the Master gave,
his name is inscribed as the author. Bearing in mind that he himself accepted and
approved these methods of work, should we question their validity and impose these doubts
on others? Moreover, do we have the right to publish alternatives to the approved
published lectures of the Master using manuscripts of unknown origin? This can open
the door to unclear and misleading interpretations. Consider, for example, what is
written at the end of the lecture “He Opened His Mouth and Spoke” in a version published
in 2002: “This is the New Teaching. Christ has been born in the world today.
Now,
when you go back to your homes, kill a hen and say ‘Let the new Christ live Who has made
us
free from everything!’ Drink a toast!” [HE SPOKE TO THEM, published by Janua-98,
2002, p.
30] In the book which was approved by the Master, the conclusion was recorded
in this
way: “This is the New Teaching. Today Christ has been born.
Say: ‘O let
the new Christ live who frees us from all old things.” [HE SPOKE
TO THEM, Sunday lecture,
January 7, 1923, published by GRAIN OF WHEAT, 1949, p.
22] This may be symbolic, but some
may take the reference to killing a hen in the
first version cited to mean that the Master
was condoning killing and eating animals.
This contradicts one of his main teachings,
that to be vegetarian is an important and
necessary requirement for the spiritual growth
and development of the disciple.
The Master himself was vegetarian, as were his
disciples. This is an example of why
the publishing of such questionable texts may
lead to misunderstandings and contradictions
of the basic principles of this teaching.
The Master declared: “My task is for me to transmit to you this Divine
Teaching. Your
task as disciples is to pass this teaching on to the Bulgarian
people. The task of the
Bulgarian people is to pass it on to all nations. I am
responsible before God if I do
not fulfil my task. You are responsible if you do not
pass this teaching on to the
Bulgarian people. And the Bulgarian people are responsible
before God if they do not
pass this teaching on to other nations.” [“About the
Slavic People,” CONVERSATIONS AT
THE SEVEN LAKES, 1948, p.171]
In the lecture, “The Essence of the Human Being,” the Master said: “Absolutely
no kind
of lie is permitted—neither white nor black.” [Congress lecture, August
24, 1941,
OPPORTUNITIES FOR HAPPINESS, Litopechard, 1941, p.41]
Once, after September
9, 1944 (the day communism came in Bulgaria), the Master wanted
to go to Borovitz.
During that time, special permission to use a car was required
from the Communists.
Boris Nicolov went to procure a car for the Master and he said
that he needed a car for an
old and ill person. Boris Nicolov was happy to obtain
the use of the car and gave the
official permission form to Boyan Boev, who then went to
give it to the Master. The
Master said in a severe tone: “I will not get into a car
which is procured by a
lie.”
Considering all this, can we assume that a great universal Master would permit his Word
to be presented in an untrue way, with his name as the author, for more than forty years?
We also are responsible before Heaven for giving accurate historical information about
the
recording and the passing on of the Word of the Master. We must bear witness to
what we
have seen with our eyes and heard directly from the Master’s disciples who were
personally
involved in this process. This includes their handwritten reminiscences. This
is
important so that manipulations, distortions and incorrect presentations, especially of
the
unpublished Word of the Master, do not occur as this Word is now being spread, mainly
by the
Bulgarian people.
The Master gave approximately four thousand lectures, and when he passed away in 1944,
about a third of them had not been published. Some five hundred lectures, according
to Elena Andreeva, remained in shorthand, not yet transcribed. When Communism came
in 1944, the process of preparing these unpublished lectures had to be done in secret,
and this was a great challenge. It slowed down the process immensely. In
addition,
the shorthand transcriptions were very delicate and easily damaged, because they
had to
be kept in secret, hidden places in very bad conditions. Thus it was difficult
sometimes to read them. There were some unclear passages and some missing words.
Because
of the Master’s special style of speaking (a Biblical style consisting of long,
complex
sentences), small omissions sometimes made the text difficult to read and
understand. The
most important requirement which the Master had was that his thoughts
and ideas be presented
clearly and correctly to the people, because this teaching, like
Christ’s teaching, is for
all souls who would like to be awakened spiritually.
As they prepared the remaining manuscripts for publication, having in mind the intentio
n
of the Master that his Word should be presented in a clear and understandable way, his
disciples determined to do their best to use methods as close as possible to those used
when the Master was alive. Some say that not all the disciples agreed with this
approach. The stenographers trained by the Master to do this work continued to
work
very hard to prepare the manuscripts in a clear, correct way, as they had done when
he had
worked with them. One of them, Savka Keremedchieva, passed away several months
after
the Master’s death. Then Pasha Teodorova, Elena Andreeva, Boyan Boev and Boris
Nicolov continued to do this work. We are very grateful to them for their efforts
in
transcribing the shorthand into normal Bulgarian text. Most of the Master’s
disciples
were clear that only the stenographers, who had dedicated their whole lives to
this work
under the Master’s direction, could do this in the best way. They had an
inner
connection and guidance from the Master, because they were among the most faithful
disciples.
For example, Stoika Angelova told this story: "Savka Keraemedchieva was standing
in
front of the Master’s room, having a question about how to transcribe a text which she
had recorded in shorthand. Many people were waiting also and the Master did not
invite her to enter. She decided to go away and do her best to resolve the question
herself. She later returned to show the Master her work. The Master opened the
door and said, 'Yes, it is exactly as you have written.'”
After November 10, 1989 (when democracy came in Bulgaria), conditions permitted these
unpublished lectures to be published. The manuscripts of the lectures published after
this date were of two types, from two different sources. Some were manuscripts kept
and protected by the Master’s disciples and handed down directly by them to the disciples
which followed. Others were manuscripts from the government archives, probably the
texts confiscated from disciple’s homes during communism.
Now, during this time, everyone can publish and work according to their emotional,
intellectual and spiritual level of development and understanding. All want to
give
their contribution. Pasha Teodorova said in her reminiscences: “Once the
Master
gave a lecture in the form of questions to which neither he nor we gave the
answers.
I wonder whether the Master did not do this experiment, so that he
could know who (and how
much and how) could understand his thoughts and what kind
of influence and effects they would
have on us. The thought of the Master is
powerful and mighty, and everyone who can
accept this thought will experience it in
a special way according to their inner state of
readiness.”
On whose work should we rely? On the work of those whom the Master
chose as
his disciples; those who passed on this Word, with whom he worked for many years;
those who listened to his lectures, studied his teaching and lived according to it;
those
who preserved the manuscripts at the risk of their lives and passed on the
manuscripts of
the unpublished lectures to the next generation of disciples, according
to one of the many
laws of the school of the Master, the law of the Chain — or, some
books published by using
the manuscripts which are found in the government archives,
which are probably working copies
of the unpublished lectures, for which we have no
proven information about their origin?
Most of these books have been edited or
not edited by people who are just beginning to study
this teaching and who never heard
the Word of the Master directly from him.
Now, in the beginning of the twenty-first century, almost the entire Word of the
Master
has been published. Let us thank those who did this with love and
selflessness.
We all would like to read the original Word of the Master, to
feel its vibrations, holiness,
purity and Power. We all want to apply this
teaching and to live according to it.
But what is the original Word of the Master? How may we discern it?
This requires a long process of researching the Word: applying the Master’s
methods;
developing spiritual qualities and virtues, awe and humility; praying and
serving God.
Christ said: “If you love me, you will keep my
commandments.” Whenever we entered
the small home of Boris Nicolov
(who was chosen to lead the Brotherhood after the Master’s
passing), he
greeted us with the following words: “The Word of Life we keep (i.e.,
guard
and protect and preserve).” This is not a formal act of keeping and
protecting
literal information, but a deep, inner process of transformation. When
we love the Word
and it becomes our life, then we truly “Keep the Word of Life.”
The fire is lit, the table is set, the bread (i.e., the Word) is ready. Let us taste
this bread and hear his sweet words. Let us experience this and apply the teaching
of
the Master — to become vegetarian, to have a pure life lived in harmony according to
the laws
of nature — in our thoughts, feelings and deeds. Let us learn the art of
communicating
as sisters and brothers. Then our minds will be enlightened, our hearts
will be filled
with Divine Love, our souls will awaken and we will be able to accept and
experience the ideas
of the Master in their original form.
— given by people who have followed and lived this teaching for many years, 2010, Bulgaria
[Published in the periodical GRAIN OF WHEAT, 2010, No 22, p. 22-24]
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