The Benefits of Spiritual life Inspire a Teacher to Meet People
Teaching young people is not
an easy task; in fact it is a combined process of teachers imparting knowledge
gained during their studies along with what is written in school textbooks. Not
everybody is suited to fulfill this task. It takes great devotion and personal
effort on the part of the teacher to instruct each and every one of their
students alone, whereas this effort intentionally passes unnoticed by the
students themselves. That’s when the true skill of the teacher is confirmed. However,
in every teacher-student relationship, beyond any era or type of instruction,
an ethical law must be followed. Jesus talked about this law when he advised
the Jewish high priests to follow the laws and teachings of the time themselves
instead of merely boasting about their prominence in the law hierarchy. Only in
this way can a teaching become credible in the eyes of humans.
We met with a teacher, most caring and responsible towards both his
students and the fellow man in general. He works in a public school in Eleusis,
he has studied psychology in Paris and has written his fair share of books. Crossing
paths with a real man of God, Father Ambrosios, has filled him with inspiration,
which hasn’t in the least faded as he constantly tries to share it with anyone
he meets in life.
Our current conversation with
Michalis Leventis starts off with commenting on a specific view he has
repeatedly pointed out in our previous meeting, namely that, people can’t
achieve mental progress unless they take a brave turn to their own self in
order to find out who they really are.
Yes, I believe so. Unless people consistently try to
get to know themselves better, they cannot manage their emotions and are overwhelmed
by them. Eventually, emotions become an integral feature of an individual’s
personality and come to be a burden as much to others as to one’s own self who
is then unable to break the endless chain of his or her mistakes and gradually manage
to live and behave as a Human Being.
What is the meaning of “self-awareness”
and to what extent is it possible to find out who we really are? You see, by
taking a look around us, one can easily realize that both older and younger
people find it really hard to look deep inside themselves even regarding fundamental
issues of everyday life.
It is due to our flawed upbringing and education which
starts at home and carries on at school or in our relationships with others
that we are falsely led to believe we are “well-aware”. However, we are
actually aware of neither our personal one-sided realization of life and the
world we live in, nor our ego. Most of us are in lack of a “compass” and yet,
unlike the old people, without a clue as to how we can read the seas and the
weather, let alone those who have already set sail without a captain or even experienced
sailors.
I take it that you feel
disappointed by our current situation.
No, I’m not of those people who let themselves be
affected by the wrongs of our world. We are destined to serve and learn from
this world, not to fear or avoid it. On the contrary, I strongly wish to keep
ahead of those who, for some reason, do not notice the light, they get carried
away by the general current of opinion and they quit.
It would be nice, Mr Leventis,
if you elaborated a bit further on what you mentioned earlier, namely that “We
are destined to serve and learn from this world, not to fear or avoid it”.
We did not come to earth to reside permanently–we are just
visitors to the land we stand on; this is our greatest truth. Our ultimate goal
is not to look up to some deranged powerful people and blindly follow their
lead – there is no doubt that when we do so, we become very much like those
people. We did not come to succumb to bigotry and be divided into opposing groups
– in such a way we devalue humankind and we finally belong nowhere. We did not
come to manufacture and sell evermore advanced weapons in order to eliminate the
human race, animals and Mother Nature; this is our greatest madness. We did not
come to humiliate ourselves by victimizing women, children, people we do not personally
like or those who are weaker – because, in this way, we turn ourselves into
beasts. We did not come to ignore or destroy the beauty that is evident in
every corner of the earth, to fail to honor or even appreciate the creation of
art by those who seek “the infant Paradise and the ones preceding it” – how
much did I “not” say?
What do you think it is that
saves us from our catastrophic self?
Jesus saves us. Nothing but
Him. We need to
emphasize that. Fr. Ambrosios Lazaris (+2006), this great Elder of Mount
Parnassus, the Spiritual Father of the Holy Monastery of Dadiou “Panagia
Gavriotissa” always repeated that two things can grant us salvation; our good intentions towards others and God’s
mercy. Let me rephrase this last point; given that I wish to know who I am
and I try to do that honorably despite all the challenges that come in my way,
I am saved. For God will see me no matter what, like he saw Zacchaeus, and he will give
me mercy coming into my house – then God’s presence “is” within me and from inside me He reveals Himself. On the
contrary, should I not wish to do something like that and instead choose to pursue
my own selfish goals (accuse or exploit others to my own benefit, lie or
distort the facts and remain ill-informed because that is what suits me better
to do, deceive primarily myself carrying God’s presence in me and, on the whole,
allow myself to be overdependent on the earthly and transient pleasures in life),
I stay in my corner and sleep with my eyes open, waiting for death to come and ignoring
the forthcoming resurrection.
What would you suggest that we
do instead of all the above? How can we see things in a different light and not
be swayed by others? What is it we can rely on?
First of all, I suggest we should do what you just
said, namely, try to see things
differently. Even if thus far we have treated a situation or a person in
the same monotonous manner, for example, talking relentlessly without listening
to what the other person has to say or always putting the blame on other people,
it is about time we regained contact with the present and, whatever the level
of conscience we may have already achieved, we
should wonder how we can take the blame on ourselves and behave differently.
That, however, is something that takes a lot of guts. To back off in a
disagreement and try to understand the other person, let alone the “enemy”, is
not easy at all. Our ego is much too powerful to realize that the flag in its possession
is nothing more than a cheap cloth. Being
free, both internally and externally, is in itself a worthwhile goal for a life
of dignity.
Is there anything or anybody that
could help us in this hand-to-hand combat with our own self?
It will be really helpful if we read books which are
beneficial to our soul and not waste our limited free time watching, for
example, disorienting television shows. We should also seek guidance from experts
and instead of resting on our laurels, we should take a brave and honest look
at ourselves.
You have studied psychology
and worked in the field for years. How do you manage to overcome whatever
obstacles life has in store for you? Do you perhaps turn to a colleague of
yours whenever you face your own challenges? Do you consult friends you trust? Are books of help to you? By the way, you
have written a two-volume biography of late Elder Ambrosios.
I am open to others and
willing to ask for and accept their help when needed. I find writing really
helpful and I consult my friends and my spiritual father as regards my writing.
However, I should mention an example of spiritual assistance provided by one
human to another, one that inspires me a lot and has been recorded in the earlier
mentioned biography of Elder Ambrosios. Well, Fr. Ambrosios had a close
relationship with late Bishop Antonios of the Holy Metropolis of Sissanion and
Siatista, one of our great contemporary fathers, whom he distinguished among
clergymen in the hierarchy of the Church of Greece. The bishop frequently
visited elder Ambrosios in order to consult him on various matters regarding difficulties
in his diocese or his participation in the synod. Whoever saw them together would
be amazed at their mutual love and humility.
Prompted by the example you have shared with us, I kindly ask you to describe
Elder Ambrosios.
It’s not easy to talk about
a person like him – a saint in the hearts and minds of the many people who met
him. He helped me in building my relationship with Christ and Virgin Mary since
he accomplished the one thing he intended for everybody he met; he brought me closer to them. He has
been a great Father of our religion, to whom God had granted many spiritual gifts.
He was like St. Porphyrios, who was his friend, or St. Paisios or St. Iakovos.
I would very much like to urge your readers to learn more about him.
If you tried, in a few lines, to highlight something special from his life,
what would that be?
He was almost entirely illiterate
but that did not prevent him from being taught of God. Without underestimating
the value of physical body, he primarily cared about the soul and its constant feeding.
He was honest and simple, authentic and honorable, strong and fearless; the
words coming out of his mouth gave off a sweet smell and his body was also
sweet-smelling for as long as he lived. The miraculous wonders of his life were
and still are (thirteen years after his rest) many. That is exactly the sort of
role models we need today.
Having agreed with Mr Michalis Leventis, the words of St. Symeon the New Theologian came to mind, saying “we need to find a quiet place at quiet time
to find peace inside us and, in this way, learn more about ourselves”.
And so long as we become more conscious of who we are, maybe then we will
develop the sensitivity to perceive the sweet scent of humble people and saints.
_________
Sofia Chatzi
published in the weekly journal
ORTHODOX TRUTH, 07.08.2019
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου