Blessed are they who have been persecuted for righteousness sake! For theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.

Let us note again that Beatitudes of Jesus are be-attitudes. They call us for inner transformation and for deeper alignment with the Reality of our being. When we begin this inside job, others might easily misunderstand us. Tensions in relationships with people around us often arise. And if we are not ready for this challenge, we might never see the personal progress.

A subconscious fear of rejection is the reason why some people fail in their search for better life. The plain fact is, it is impossible to change our life and to stay as we used to be at the same time. It is impossible to change our life at our own terms. It is impossible to change our life without paying the full price.

“Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist”, said Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is a noble trait of a spiritually mature individual to trust oneself. There is no reason to follow social customs, religious practices, and behaviour patterns which do not agree with our understanding of what is good and true.

But let us note that reaction of others to our inability to get along with them have nothing to do with “persecution for righteousness sake”. Genuine love and kindness toward others, no matter how different from us they might be, is the acid test of our spirituality. When we are enlightened, we recognize the divine nature of others – and relate ourselves to this core of their being. We do not judge by the appearances.

Yet there is a deeper aspect of this statement of Jesus regarding persecutions. Outer “persecutions” are but manifestations of inner struggles we experience in our progressive movement toward deeper understanding.

We’ve been thinking in certain ways for many years, and built crystallized thought forms. They surround our “ego” as defence walls. When new and fresh ideas enter into our conscious minds, “ego” often considers them as a threat – and plots to destroy them.  Divine thoughts meet resistance – and we need to realize that there is nothing strange about it. If we persistently look for the Truth, lies won’t stand for too long. Their authority is but temporary.

Let us not be afraid of our inner processes. Let us not be afraid to search for the Truth, because an honest doubt is much better than false security of commonly accepted doctrines. Let us get rid of attachments to prejudices and preconceived opinions. This freedom will lead us to mental clarity and better understanding.

Not so long ago I received a message from a lady who wrote that she is afraid of losing her faith. She did not want to become cynical, pessimistic, and disillusioned. But she mistakenly tried to keep her faith alive through fear. Nothing good could be maintained through fear – we will receive exactly what we’re afraid of. Such is the law of mind action.

Perhaps, the best solution for that lady would be not to suppress her doubts, but to use them constructively in building a better set of convictions and values. Our ideas about God should not be fixed graven images. They are not to be objects of our worship. Intellectual constructions could easily betray us, especially if we give them undue significance. But the great Reality will never betray us. It always exceeds our greatest thoughts – and it is always on our side. This Reality is God. This Reality is Love.

Jesus teaches us to maintain courage in the face of misunderstanding outside of us and doubts within us. Cowards are never happy, and they never enter the fullness of life.

Blessed are the peacemakers! For they shall be called the sons of God.

To begin with, we need to say that fight is not a blessing. When we demonstrate anger and hostility, when we are aggressive toward others, we are not happy. Later on we might say that our actions or reactions were justified. We could build complex rationalizations why we had to behave the way we did. We could say that we were provoked, and there were no other way to deal with those people under the circumstances. But the fact is, we weren’t happy. It is possible that we are unhappy now, as we remember that incident.

However, there is a way to maintain peace and happiness even in the midst of most challenging interactions with others.

When some people hear that, they immediately start asking, “Should I become a doormat? Should I allow others to abuse and to mistreat me?” The answer is no. But these questions are revealing. They speak of dualistic, “black-or-white” thinking which lacks both wisdom and spiritual perspective.

Wise persons of all ages warned against using violence against others. Even if we will win in a conflict, we will plant seeds of bitterness and hatred in hearts of the other party. It will think of retaliation – and fulfil this plan in a due time. But there is a deeper aspect we need to realize: the world is governed by the law of cause and effect. Even if revenge won’t happen, the universe will cause us to suffer violence in some other way. The law is unbreakable – if we sow violence, we will have to reap violence.

So, what should we do?

First, we need to settle it in our minds that our goal is peaceful and harmonious existence with others. All people are children of the same God, and therefore our sisters and brothers. The same divine Light which shines in us is within others. This Light might be obscured by heavy clouds of ignorance and prejudices, but it is still there. Our goal is to act on that awareness.

Second, we need to stay centered in God. This will cause us to act with confidence and assurance. It is true that violence is often displayed against those who think and act like victims, those who have an aura of weakness and inferiority. Of course, this cannot justify abusers and oppressors, but it explains why some people are being mistreated over and over, while others are treated with more respect – although they do not fight for their rights.

Third, we should not intrude into lives of others, physically or mentally. We should not judge or criticize people. We should not give them unwelcomed advises – it is almost the same as criticism. If we think that others might profit from our wisdom and experience, let us wait until they will ask for it. If we genuinely love people, we will allow them to learn their own lessons.

Having this attitude, our first reaction will be to look for alternatives of violence, for reconciliation and agreement. This is what peacemaking is about.

But if we are still attacked, can we fight back? I think that yes. But while doing that, let us make sure to maintain the spirit of peace – it is possible as we look up to God. But the truth is, when we are doing our inside job properly, situations where we actually have to fight will occur less and less often.

As we encounter people, let us say to them silently: “I bless you with a spirit of peace and love”.
As we observe difficult situations in our life or somewhere else, let us affirm: “Only love prevails. Only peace prevails. Divine harmony reigns supreme!”

Blessed are the merciful! For they shall obtain mercy.

This phrase expresses the spiritual law of cause and effect which Jesus stated more one once – to make sure his listeners will remember it. “As you sow, so you shall reap”. “Judge not, that you may not be judged”.

First of all, let us note that this beatitude is applied to our inner reality. It certainly has outer implications, but they are of secondary importance in our context. In truth, we will never love others and be merciful to them in sufficient measure until we learn sound self-love and self-acceptance. People who do not realize this experience difficulties with loving others, even if they attempt to love with all of their hearts.

One of the saddest mistakes of those who sincerely strive for perfection is a notion that improvements can be achieved through self-criticism and self-condemnation. Their greatest need is to learn that all so-called weaknesses are potential strengths, and there is nothing inherently evil about us.

Jesus instructs us to be compassionate and merciful to those aspects of our being which haven’t reached desired maturity yet. By doing that, we will integrate them in our soul structure and make sure there will be unrestricted energy exchange and consequential development of all aspects. Our whole being will be enriched.

But what if we maintain our unhealthy habit of judging ourselves? Judgment always creates inner tensions and divisions which restrict energy flow and impede our soul unfoldment. The other thing is that condemned feelings, desires, or traits seldom disappear. More often they remain hidden in our subconsciousness, away from our attention – yet always ready to surface when we don’t expect it.

There is a deep and profound statement in the Gospel of Thomas which also encourages us to become fully integrated persons:

Jesus said to them, “When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female… then you will enter the kingdom.”

From the human standpoint, we might consider some of our aspects “lower” – and even desire to get rid of them. But God knows better: all we have within ourselves is a meaningful and valuable possession. It is meant to serve our good, even if we don’t realize it. Extend mercy, and you will know how it could happen. We might fully identify ourselves with either “male” or “female” energies. Yet the Spirit reveals us that there is “female” within every “male”, and there is “male” within every “female”.  As long as we deny that, we don’t fully understand ourselves and cannot constructively interact with others.

Do we need mercy from God?  No, because God is pure and unconditional love which does not know anything but mercy. God cannot ever condemn us. But we do need mercy in our life experiences. People who judge themselves and others may not be aware of this, but they attract judgment. They create for themselves a reality where they will be blamed, condemned, and even punished for their real or illusory shortcomings. It will be unpleasant and even painful.

Some people think that love is a luxury or a special prise which they are willing give to some “chosen ones”. But true understanding reveals that love toward all is the necessity.  It is the foundation of all development and progress, all fulfilment, all happiness.