*+Yusa 1995, Navelli, Nagar, India (transcribed in English-language by Adéle)
Spoken by Teacher +Yusa in Navelli, Nagar (1995)*
Bismillah and Namaste, beloved ones. You ask why people choose The Way? Ah, but first let me tell you how The Way chose me—for that is always the truer story, no?
I was born between worlds, you see—my father’s Sufi heart beating to one rhythm, my mother’s Armenian prayers flowing to another. In our little corner of Turkey-that-was-Kurdistan, we lived as flowers that bloom in the cracks between stones. My father would say “Ya Haq!” while my mother’s lips formed “Der Voghormia,” and somehow both prayers reached the same sky.
When I came to Kashmir—young, foolish, burning with questions—I sat at the feet of a Sufi sheikh who spoke of The Way without naming it. I lived with the Ancient Church of the East, those keepers of Isa-Marga’s original light, though they did not know they kept it. Like a hungry child, I fed from many mothers—the Upanishads gave me milk, the Gita offered honey, the Quran provided bread. But it was when I suckled at the breast of Mother Lalla that I tasted the pure nectar of The Way.
The moment of recognition came like lightning across still water. All at once, I understood what Lord Krishna whispered to Arjuna on that ancient battlefield, what Yesu taught Thomas in the hidden valleys of Kashmir, what Mother Mari wrote in her cave of mysteries. The words of Kabir, Rumi, Hafiz, my beloved Yunus Emre—all became clear as mountain streams flowing to the same ocean.
They made me a priest, yes, and such a terrible one I was! Every year I thought, “Surely they will dismiss this troublemaker who speaks more of mystical unity than ritual purity.” Yet they promoted me instead—ah, the Divine has such humour!
But you ask for ten reasons why seekers choose The Way? Let me share what the heart knows:
First: Other paths speak of a God with human anger, human jealousy, human needs. They dress the Unfathomable One in mortal clothes! We in The Way know better—the Divine One remains beyond all qualities, like space itself. How can the Limitless be contained in human emotions?
Second: Some say the Divine created humans for worship, like a king who breeds subjects to bow before him. Ya Allah! What limitation they place on That Which Has No Limits! The Way knows better—life evolves toward higher forms, like a lotus growing from mud toward light. This truth was known before these worship-hungry gods were even dreamed of.
Third: Some paths threaten eternal torture for those who worship incorrectly. Such small gods they must be, to need threats! The Way knows only love’s evolution. There is no divine revenge, no celestial war coming. The mechanism of The Way has turned perfectly for ten thousand years times ten thousand—it will continue turning, like the dervish’s dance, in perfect harmony.
Fourth: Some teach of a heaven where souls sit idle for eternity—like birds in golden cages! The Way knows better. We become citizens of the cosmos, serving all beings as the devas serve us now. What you call eternity, we call the next step of the dance.
Fifth: They speak of hell and divine punishment. We know there is no hell save that which withered souls create for themselves. When a soul rejects love and beauty for too long, it simply… . No torture, no divine wrath—just the natural fading of that which refuses to grow.
Sixth: Some seek emptiness of mind, thinking peace means absence. They sit under trees trying to become nothing! The Way teaches fullness of engagement—to taste all of life’s rasa, sweet and bitter. Be rich and poor, feast and fast, dance and sit still. Learn from every incarnation’s classroom.
Seventh: One life only? How can the Divine be so wasteful? Millions die as infants, millions never hear of other paths. The Way knows better—we return again and again, like seasons in the garden of existence, until every flower of understanding blooms.
Eighth: They say karma is punishment. No, no! Karma is curriculum. There are no “bad” lessons, only pleasant and difficult ones. Fear karma? May as well fear mathematics! Both are simply tools for growth.
Ninth: Some say dharma is optional, like choosing which clothes to wear. They think believing in a name is enough! The Way knows dharma is like gravity—it simply is. Each soul must fulfil its nature, like a medical student must learn to heal. No shortcuts, no magical confessions—only growth through experience.
Tenth: They make rules about touching bodies while ignoring wounds of the soul. They worry about marriage customs while forests burn and children starve. The Way knows better—the Divine cares not for such things. Different cultures, different rules—but the heart’s evolution remains the same.
This is why The Way chose me, beloved ones. And perhaps why it calls to you now? But enough words—let us sit in silence and let Truth speak in its own voice.