The ocean of truth stands right there; vast and generous. We, on the other hand, stand at its shore, trying to draw water with a small spoon. We suppose the water we draw is "much", and more often than not, we do not even realize the depth of our thirst. Yet, the matter is not the size of the ocean; it is the smallness of our vessel.

A human being is nourished by the ocean only as much as they can carry. For this reason, we need to enlarge our spoon to take more. But the real matter is to be able to go beyond enlarging the spoon a little more. True transformation begins with transforming the spoon into a vessel. For a vessel carries not only volume, but also intention, moral stance, and sincerity.

The wider our vessel is, the more the water we receive from the ocean multiplies. But this expansion is not related to number; it is related to depth. Moral consistency solidifies the vessel, sincerity repairs the cracks. An inconsistent vessel leaks water; a flamboyant but insincere vessel appears full but does not satiate.

Therefore, wisdom is hidden not in blaming the ocean, but in the courage to enlarge the vessel. Without confronting our own narrowness, we cannot understand vastness. Meaning is not something received from the outside; it is the filling of a space prepared within.

The ocean is always there. What changes is only what we receive, how much, and how.

Because in a general sense, the path leading to understanding the human being begins with morality before intellect. No matter how sharp the mind of someone whose heart is not pure may be, this sharpness serves most of the time not truth, but selfishness and self-interest. For a mind devoid of moral consistency produces thought but cannot construct meaning. The intellect deepens as much as the moral width of the heart; thought that is not nourished by sincerity falls into its own contradiction within a short time.

Sincerity is the most naked relationship that a human being establishes with themselves. Someone who is not honest in their own inner world cannot dare to understand another either. Such a mind takes refuge in taking a position instead of directing towards understanding. It categorizes life through opposites; because to separate is easier than to confront. At this point, cunningness transforms into the state of moral weakness masked with intellect. Insidiousness, on the other hand, becomes the silent form of defense of inconsistency.

Yet moral consistency closes the distance between the human being's words and their stance. The harmony between what is said and what is lived gains weight and trust for thought. When consistency is absent, the intellect convinces; but it cannot make one believe. If sincerity is absent, the word may be impressive but it cannot be transformative.

For this reason, not everyone can understand what they see or read. Understanding is a state of moral maturity rather than a mental competence. Everyone understands as much as their calibre, as much as their intention, as much as their knowledge, as much as their vessel. For the human being who does not intend to purify their heart, who does not confront with sincerity, and who does not confirm their word with their life, meaning always remains far away. For discernment approaches hearts that can truly carry it.

Therefore, the "Christ Conscious" blesses consistent discourse and action. In this consciousness, knowing alone is not sufficient; knowledge gains meaning when it transforms into action. If goodness remains only in thought, the soul is overshadowed. Evil is sometimes born from inaction; goodness, however, finds meaning through the movement of a compassionate awareness coming from the heart. As it is written: "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." (James 4:17)

Furthermore, while doing goodness, one must take care not to harm anyone, even inadvertently. Compassion that does not consider the selfish passions of the opposing party can create a heaviness in the soul. Compassion that exceeds boundaries causes harm; sacrifice whose dose is exceeded can fatigue. Good intention can disrupt peace if it serves bad impulses or exploitation. For a kindness done when the opposing party has not requested it may not always be perceived as kindness.

Because the sole purpose of kindness is simply kindness. Therefore, the way to contribute to the flow in a balanced manner passes through a high awareness capable of analysing phenomena. In the eyes of people who cannot silence their inner noise, kindness that respects self-dignity is far more precious. If boundaries are preserved, self-worth gains much more repute. It is then that kindness finds its meaning; it both grants peace and exalts the soul.

Nevertheless, in our geography, the spirit of humility and dedication capable of seeing another as oneself is most of the time open to being misunderstood. And service offered with this spirit, more often than not, is not evaluated properly. Having personally experienced this situation, Saint Mor Ephrem of Nisibis (306–373) dropped this note from the age he lived in to the present day: “ܐܶܢ ܐܶܬܡܰܟܟܬ ܚܰܫܒܘܼܟ ܕܠܳܐ ܚܰܘܪܳܐ”  "If you act with humility, they deem you uncouth."

Yet even if it be so, without humility closed to exploitation-abuse, it is not easy at all to see the big picture or to understand a human being. For minds left devoid of the knowledge of the big picture, the guidance of conscience, and the light of justice take refuge very quickly in the shadow of negative prejudices. When this happens, perception gets ahead of truths and events; the constructed is believed, not what is visible. For this reason, the evaluations put forward transform into negative interpretations nourished not by the clarity of reality, but by the attitudes of darkness.

In contrast, interpretation and evaluation nourished by the wisdom of the soul provide a positive contribution to life; they produce goodness. They pull the person and society upward, exalting them. On the other hand, evaluation nourished by the selfish attitudes of the ego leaves a negative effect on life; it produces harm. It pulls the person and society downward, fatiguing and debasing them.

Because there is a fine line between looking and seeing. This line is highly decisive in seeing the big picture and reading phenomena. Nevertheless, some who are devoid of depth of heart (meaning) and intellectual maturity, ignoring the effect of the heart, suppose that this fine line consists solely of the intellect. For this reason, everyone interprets according to the narrowness or width of their own inner world; they make sense of events with the criteria of that inner world.

The altruistic and virtuous person who cares about human dignity and labour, and possesses constructive impulses, sees everyone like themselves, reads everyone with good intention, looks clean, thinks clean, acts clean. Nevertheless, in selfish attitudes that do not care about human dignity and labour, acting with distorted impulses and thoughts, prejudices and delusions speak: they suppose everyone is preoccupied with whatever their own preoccupation is; they weigh everyone with whatever the criterion of comparison is. The arrogant supposes everyone is arrogant; the egotistical, everyone is egotistical. Someone devoid of virtue sees everyone as virtueless. A liar supposes everyone is a liar. A thief thinks everyone is watching for an opportunity. A dishonourable person knows everyone to be spineless like themselves. An impudent person deems everyone boundless. For a human being, more often than not, sees the person before them not as they are, but through the reflection of the mirror within themselves. Therefore, the saying "The person judges others by themselves" is very meaningful here. In psychology, this is called projection. Yet a jewel, too, is merely a piece of stone to an ordinary eye; yet it is priceless in the sight of a goldsmith.

Consequently, inner purity renders the beauty and virtues in another person clearer. If a person's inner world is dirty and noisy, the beauty in another person—morality, goodness, compassion, and virtues—becomes virtually invisible. Because beauty is not a quality found solely on the outside, in people; it is related to the inner world, the spiritual clarity, and the level of perception of the person seeing it. This situation is due to the looking eye—that is, the heart and mind—being closed to beauty. The word of Christ expresses this reality in a profound manner: "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness." (Matthew 6:22–23)

This shows that the eye is a centre that illuminates or darkens the entire inner realm of the human being, not merely the outer world. For beauty is not in the gaze; it is in the quality of the beholder. The eye that sees beauty actually reflects the beauty within itself. The beauty in the eye is born from the light of the soul. The eye that sees beauty points to a soul carrying beauty and to an awakening. Such an eye sees and appreciates the meaning and harmony present in the opposing person. The eye that cannot see looks through the veil of its own darkness. For "Whatever the essence of the human being is, their eye is that too. The eye is the gate of the heart; if the heart is dirtied, the light of the eye fades as well."

For this reason, the person whose mind is confused and whose heart is blurred, no matter how beautiful a landscape they look at, cannot touch the essence of beauty. Yet in subject–subject relationships, respect operates spontaneously. In the essence of this approach, there is equality, freedom, and integrity. A subjectified consciousness never objectifies anyone. Nevertheless, the blindest spot of human beings is most of the time precisely here: if a consciousness of "exploitation-abuse / being an object-making an object" is still operating somewhere inside, the person searches for similar passivities for themselves and does not even realize their own passivity.

Inner purity may escape the eye of the outer world; but the bond it establishes with truth renders it visible on the spiritual plane, transforming it into light. And that light, when the time comes, illuminates the path of the human being.

Yusuf Beğtaş