Every nation has its own unique contribution to make to the wholeness of the human civilization and each nation has its own special spiritual mission. In order to fulfil this mission the Nation has to develop fully its National Soul and allow the National Spirit Guide to lead it through the centuries and millennia in fulfilment of its task. This process builds the life of the Nation as a Divine Temple. In it the National Soul is a wonderful, overflowing treasury of spiritual virtues, developed and manifested by the Nation over the centuries. The National Spirit is the Guide for the fulfilment of the mission through many glorious spiritual deeds.  

Anyone who links deeply with the National Soul and the National Spirit Guide could become their personifications and experience the unique Divine essence of the nation in action within this Temple. When the National Soul and the National Spirit are in Divine Union and the people participate in this union, they realise that the Holy Spirit illuminates the whole Temple ─ from its formation to the fulfilment of its Divine Mission. Such a Temple remains in eternity among all other ‘Nation Temples’ upheld by the Divine Spirit.  

Without doubt the High Priest in the Temple of the Bulgarian Nation is St. Ivan of Rila (St. Ivan Rilski). For centuries he has been perceived as a personification of the Bulgarian National Soul and the Spirit-Guide of the Bulgarian People.  This is why his life and his Testament are written with golden letters in the Book of the Living of the Bulgarian nation.

For centuries Rila Monastery, which now keeps the relics of St. Ivan Rilski, has been a magnetic spiritual centre for thousands of people from Bulgaria and abroad. Often the pilgrimage to Rila Monastery is an event in human life and brings many spiritual fruits.

At Easter 2000 I visited Rila Monastery with a small spiritual group, including friends from Ireland and Switzerland. The atmosphere in the Monastery was celebrative and I felt a special spiritual presence.  When we entered into the Church, we were delighted to realise that our visit coincided with a great Monastery event – the exhibition of the relics of St. Ivan Rilski. They were presented in front of the Altar in a small box covered with a delicate white silk.

 

In great love, respect and devotion I spent more than one hour in prayer and meditation appreciating the Holiness and the Divine Cause of St. Ivan Rilski. Gradually my meditation developed into an emotional vision, linked with the Cosmic Christ and St. Ivan Rilski as His devoted disciple.

The Master Beinsa Douno said that Christ is like a Conductor of all living souls. When the Conductor raises his baton, the souls get ready to play their part in the Divine symphony of Cosmic Life. Then the music starts and everyone expresses his or her soul virtues and Divine vibrations. If the Bulgarian nation could be compared with an orchestra of souls from all generations, then St. Ivan Rilski is the First Violin of this orchestra.

My vision continued and at some stage I saw the Book of the Living of the Bulgarian People as a symphony score and I heard the inspiring tender music coming from the soul of St. Ivan Rilski. His devotion, his wonderful human virtues, his peace and Divine presence filled the whole space with the subtle and tender music of the soul. The Church, the Monastery and the whole area around became a source of spiritual life, light, love, faith and bouquet of human virtues.

Little by little the aura of St. Ivan Rilski extended in time and space and enfolded the whole history of the Bulgarian people, being the light, the guide and the inspiration for merging with the Living Christ.  As a National Spirit-Guide St. Ivan Rilski was playing the ‘First Violin’ in the destiny of the Bulgarian people. The power of his influence and the good deeds which were inspired by him formed a most wonderful symphony of life in which the Bulgarian people fulfil his Divine Mission. Thus the living presence of St. Ivan Rilski in time and space made Rila Monastery a spiritual Sanctuary of the Bulgarian people. Being a musician, I identified the music of the Soul and Spirit of St. Ivan Rilski with the cosmic-spiritual Mysteries of Music.

After immersing in the Musical Mysteries of the Soul and Spirit of St. Ivan Rilski, a flashing insight came to me: Oh Lord God! Rila is a great Sacred Mountain! In a short distance (between the areas of Maritza Lakes, Rila Monastery and the Seven Lakes) there are three Sanctuaries of three great Musical Mysteries in the history of humankind,  stretching over 3 000 of years - the Musical Mysteries of Orpheus, the Musical Mysteries of St. Ivan Rilski and the Musical Mysteries of the World Teacher Beinsa Douno!

 

In my mind the words of the Master Beinsa Douno started to sound again: In the near future musicians will come who will change the world. These words emphasised the importance of a deep penetration into the Musical Mysteries of Orpheus, of St. Ivan Rilski and of the World Teacher Beinsa Douno. They also emphasised the key planetary function of the Sacred Mountain Rila for gathering the spiritual fruits from the outgoing Indo-European Cycle and revealing the coming reality of the New Heaven and the New Earth in the life of humankind.