A Parable of Two Brothers

"There were two brothers, and once they quarreled about something unspoken, about what is sometimes kept silent for the sake of society. Many considered it indecent."

"What happened next?"

"The subject of their dispute exceeded the understanding of mankind; people were not ready, so they rejected it, and no one could settle their quarrel. Finding a judge who understands and knows the matter is sometimes not easy.

They began to reject one another, as a brother rejects a brother. Their bond had been unbreakable. But the shadows of doubt sown by their argument bred enmity between them. They had no strength to cope with it. And they went their separate ways. And they preached differently.

Instilling in people hope and fear.
People are apt to fear. But fear, when it becomes obsession, will be an eternal master."

"What happened next? Tell me, Spirit."

"They saw that where they had sown enmity between themselves, the rift that formed between them made a deep crack, dividing people into two camps. Each follower of his teacher blamed the pupil of the other.

Where two could not agree and comprehend the value of life, the meaning and design of the Creator, wars were reborn, spilling the blood of the innocent—minds blinded, thirsting for knowledge, but blinded and numb with their own fears, fears born of their teacher."

"Why did they not reconcile?"

"Would that not have been wise, right? To save the lives of others?

But those who died had brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, families who remembered their loss."

"And what then?"

"Only by tearing out false convictions and showing true love can one cultivate faith in a person. And faith is acceptance, it is forgiveness, it is mercy and love.

It is the stronghold on which the best designs are nurtured and fed by faithful choice, resolute decision, and gentle remembrance."

"So what happened after that?"

"The brothers realized they had been wrong, that they had gone so far in their argument.

And when they were filled with true faith and knowledge was opened and made available to them, their pupils began to be filled by it, reviving faith within themselves.

If you are proud and ignorant, what can you give others? Any strife within you—anger, aggression—echoes onto those around you. They listen, they watch, they absorb. Even if you do not see it, those seeds sooner or later will sprout.

Begin with yourself. And every day, turning to your faith, seek there a reliable and firm support, able to withstand any storm, providing a secure rear, being that bastion of truth which you once came to know."