I wrote this for the Maidan demonstrations in Kyiv a few years back. This posting is from my book, The World Tree Upanishad (to be published). I am half Ukrainian and am a hawk politically (I do not believe in standing still against warmongers). This war is a turning point for humanity as a whole country is involved in fighting against a much larger aggressor, Putin the Mad who is definitely aligned with the Satanic Archetype. Allah was correct to establish that the greatest sin one can commit is aggression. I do not see how Ukraine can succeed in its opposition to evil without NATO joining the battle. Aggression must be met by counter-aggression. For Ukraine is like the little child who Jesus warned people not to hurt for they would be better off drowning in the sea with a weight about their necks. Europe and the rest of the world need to stop worrying about WWIII, which has started and is slumbering already. If humanity is to be eliminated, let us go defying Putin and China. Our last moment will be our greatest! Pray and become active in supporting Ukraine and world peace.

20^th Teaching: The Magic Kissing Box

[Setting] The family is preparing for another lesson down by the river in a shady meadow. Everyone is sitting around Mother, who begins to tell an ancient story.

[Mother] Today, I will tell you an ancient tale about a wondrous box given by a little girl to her mother. The girl loved her mother very much. Her love turned an ordinary wooden box into a conduit to the Highest Heavens to pour Our Love into the many worlds. Children listen carefully to the Magical Ukrainian Kissing Box.

Once, long ago, a widowed mother and her innocent, God-loving daughter lived in a wee Ukrainian village. This village stood in a beautiful, green, vibrant forest on the banks of the majestic Dnieper River. It was far away from all the cities.

The mother was so poor that it took her many months to save enough money to buy some special gold wrapping paper, which she would keep until her daughter’s wedding day, God Willing.

One day, the mother discovered the paper was missing, and she asked her daughter if she had taken it. When her young daughter said yes, her mother was furious, yelling, stamping her foot on the ground.

The daughter, who was very sweet, tender, and close to God, burst out in tears.

“Oh, Mother, please don’t be angry with me. I needed it so to wrap a special present for you.”

The mother’s rage drained from her heart, and she hugged and kissed her daughter and apologised.

The next day, her daughter gave her mother the gift-wrapped present. The mother carefully unwrapped the box, careful not to tear the paper. She hoped to use it again. Inside was a box, but it was empty of mundane things.

The mother again lost her temper and yelled at her daughter.

“Yulia, some days I do not know what you are thinking. When you give a box as a present, the box should contain something nice.”

Again, the daughter burst into tears.

“Can you not see the kisses and love that I had put inside for you, dear Mother?”

Upon hearing her daughter’s words, her mother’s heart filled with genuine remorse. At last, she saw she was in the presence of an actual angel given to her by God.

She realised the specialness of her daughter, reaching out to hug and kiss her.

She thought to herself, “Such an innocent and pure love has my daughter for me. Could I only learn to be worthy of receiving such love? Teach me, Lord, how to love as she does, please dear Lord.”

The following morning, the daughter played on the banks of the river. She dropped her ball, and it rolled toward the water. She tried to retrieve the ball, slipped on the wet grass, fell into the water, and drowned.

Mother was heartbroken and regretted all the times she had been harsh with her daughter. Then one night, an angel came to her and reminded her about her daughter’s wonderful gift. So now, Mother keeps the box by her bedside, and whenever she feels unhappy or has a problem, she opens it to take out a kiss. And with the kiss, she feels her daughter once again with her.

As time passed, her material life improved, and her little farm prospered. Soon, her farm did so well that she had sufficient food to share with those less fortunate in the village. The widow was happy helping her neighbours, for she had found that true happiness consisted only in loving and caring for all of God’s living creatures. The more she opened the kissing box, the more love she felt inside her. At last, she was coming to understand that her daughter’s heart now lived fully within her own.

The village prospered over the years, for Mother began to share the kissing box with her neighbours and their hearts filled with her daughter’s pure and innocent love. For whenever a need arose, the magic kissing box duplicated itself.

One day, a young Pope came to the village. He had heard from some travellers of a marvellous village in the deep forest by the Dnieper, where everyone possessed the radiance of God’s Holy Love. They told the Pope of magic kissing boxes filled with endless love and kisses. Each box was born from an original box given to an old lady by an angel God had sent to the village. They had felt its power, for each family possessed one.

Eventually, the Pope built a church, and Mother gave the original box to the priest to share with everyone. Finally, God’s greatest miracle manifested. A genuine gift of innocent and pure love passed into the entire world because of a magic kissing box and a God-loving Ukrainian village.

[Setting] All those present had tears of sadness and joy running down their cheeks as Mother had placed each heart into the story. Father was on a trip, and a fellow traveller asked him why he was in tears?

Father replied. Friend, a bit of genuine love has come into our world, so I celebrate it with my tears.

[Mother] Mother expands upon the lesson. Children, a world only becomes an actuality when it is full of Divine Love radiating from one heart to another without expecting a reward. To bring a world to such a state is why your father and I continue to return repeatedly, for we have felt the brilliance of such a world and want all worlds to come to such a state. It is infrequent to have success and so very painful when worlds fail. For an eternity, I have seen the tears streaming down your father’s cheeks as he absorbs all the suffering so to cleanse the universe for another attempt. Oh, Children, it breaks my heart to see Him grieve so.

[Setting] Radha and the Gopis went to comfort Mother.