It is pointless to judge about the affairs of mystics for him who does not live Beyond. Moreover, even other mystics do not always understand the reasons for which this or that “colleague” of theirs acted. The mystery therefore remains a mystery, which cannot be guessed in any way; you can only accept its existence, and that’s it. Porfiry Ivanov was not a schizophrenic, but sometimes acted as though he were one. Transformation sometimes so changes a person that the boundaries of the possible become indistinct for him, but along with it is lost what is called sanity among ordinary people.
A mystic influences the world, but it is very hard to distinguishes his influence among the general flow of life, in which a mass of influences are intertwined, combined and either reinforce or weaken each other. The world, in turn, also affects a mystic, responding to the influence made by him with all forms of resistance. That is always the way, and there are no exceptions to this rule. Porfiry Ivanov was called by the Lord for certain reasons unknown to us, and did everything as he could and how he could. And no matter how the world resisted, no matter how much Porfiry was held in prisons and psychiatric hospitals, with his presence alone, the Teacher already changed it. This is also a mystery which cannot be revealed, and let it remain so.