Leo Tolstoy
Circle of Reading
Translated by Dmitry Fadeyev

March 24

Only the one who is fulfilling God’s law can perceive God. And the more he fulfills God’s law, the clearer and better he perceives God.

1

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour comes, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father.

“But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

— John 4:21, 23–24

2

There is not a single believer who does not experience moments of doubt in the existence of God. And these doubts are not harmful, on the contrary, they lead to a higher understanding of God.

The God you had known has become familiar to you, and you no longer believe in him. You can fully believe in God only when he is revealed to you anew, and he is revealed to you from a new perspective when you search for him with all your heart. And the perspectives are countless.

3

Moses said to God: “O Lord, where will I find you?” God replied: “When you are searching for me, you have already found me.”

A sage was asked: how does he know that God exists? He replied: “Do you need a torch to see the sun?”

We have no words to describe what God is, but we know without words that he exists.

— Arabian wisdom

4

Two kinds of people know God: those with a humble heart, no matter whether they are intelligent or stupid, and those who are truly wise. Only those who are proud and of average intelligence do not know God.

— After Pascal

5

Just as you can only recognize something when you get near it, so will you recognize God when you move closer to him. And you can only get closer to him by doing good deeds: by fulfilling his law. And the more you perceive God, the more readily you will fulfill his law. And the better you fulfill his law, the more you will know God. The one helps the other.


The Jews consider it a sin to utter God’s name. And they are right—God is spirit. And every name is material, not spiritual.