The lifeway of Yogins and Yoginis handed us down the highest yoga knowledge. Vadim Zaporozhtsev. Lecture. Pt.1. 04.05.2008

The first lecture from a series “A way of life of Yogins and Yoginis handed us down the highest yoga knowledge”. What was a lifestyle of Yogins and Yoginis preserved the highest yogas such as Amorousness Yoga, Tantra Yoga, Sexual Yoga which give not simply fast methods, but superfast methods? Subconscious, conscious (logical) and superconscious (superlogical) levels of being. Principles of Yogins and Yoginis way of life: purpose (to see the displays of the Absolute in everything), means (non-ignorance, non-suffering; communication with like-minded persons), method (non-injuring of any live being without an extreme necessity and non-wasting of forces and energy on trifles; a method of consciousness and a method of energy or a method of asceticism and a method of pleasure), to pay a sacred debt (continuation of a family; obligation to look for a father or a mother of future children; men’s and women’s living together for the sake of children is equal to asceticism), what to do?(daily yoga practice without losing seconds; there are as many yogas as human displays are; and there is a certain yoga for every human display). The reference point for Yogin is his own “I”. To refuse suffering it is necessary to refuse ignorance and to refuse ignorance it is necessary to stop clutching at form, at illusive things; to see the higher in the transitory. Answering the questions on a lecture theme and other questions.

Five main principles of a way of life of Yogins and Yoginis handed us down the highest yoga knowledge (Introduction)

Today we will examine the subject: “A way of life of Yogins and Yoginis handed us down yoga knowledge”. In due time I was extremely interesting in these subject, it was hard for me to take in a thing. By all appearance, that knowledge, those echnologies, those spiritual and mental breakthroughs at all levels reached us from yoga in any way did not fit the wretched civilizations remained this knowledge up to date.

And really, considering the east countries for the last five hundred years they have been behind the western countries in terms of technology, standard of living, etc. And at the same time they carried grains of something the Western world won’t probably reach for a very long time.

And I had two questions. The first one is where this knowledge has come from? And the second is how it has been remained in the environment non-contributing to yoga preservation? And certainly I began to be interested in these questions; I learned much, talked with many people, so I found the answers in a rough approximation. Let’s discuss it now.

It was found out that the higher yogas giving the superfast methods have remained among people with the special lifestyle. So there was a small social stratum lead a life totally different from a population majority life. And just this stratum was the bearer of yoga knowledge. Moreover just due to this social stratum yoga knowledge has been remained, and it was remained till the modern civilization coming. It so strange happened that the Occidentals first had faced with remained yoga knowledge. There are still some authorities on Yoga, Tantra, etc. who open Hindus eyes to their yoga heritage.

I put forward an unbelievable hypothesis that it could be some people of a previous civilization. They were lost in our incipient civilization only to pass the yoga knowledge on a chain. But more deep and detailed study has shown that it wasn’t quite so. It has shown there was and there is in our days a group of people bearing this knowledge by all appearance. We use it and sometimes we don’t even absolutely understand it. They pass on this knowledge torch. And from time to time we take this torch from them to give this knowledge to all the people as they become capable to take it. It is no secret that several centuries ago Yoga would hardly spread even in Europe because there was another way of life. Even if this knowledge has come to us 500 years ago we would not apprehend it. Remember the times “Ivan Groznyj kills the son …” – what a yoga may really be there? Though sometimes they say that the present is not for yoga too. But nevertheless yoga penetrates and spreads.

As the yoga knowledge was passed on from one generation to another it’s interesting to know how it was passed on and who were people handed it down to us. These people were extremely not public (as it is said nowadays). They remained in the shadow for the thousand-year history, so it’s difficult to tell something about them. There are few facts represented Yogins and Yoginis way of life.

To begin with the first: how these people lived?

How we live? We are born, go to kindergarten, to school, we study, and then we work somewhere or sponge. Though everyone has his own life there are some common things united us. In the same way there are some moments uniting those who handed us down yoga knowledge. They ask me sometimes about the Yoga Higher Triad. This triad has remained only among people adhered to a specified lifestyle. They lived in the environment with certain laws but they formed some kind of an independent state. On the one hand they lived inside this environment, and on the other hand they practiced the highest yoga knowledge. It’s a strange situation. So we will begin with their way of life; I’ll try to be short.

Scheme 1. Factors defining a lifestyle of Yogins and Yoginis preserved the higher yogas, including Amorousness Yoga

We have our life as the saying goes; and we make a decision to live it somehow. And naturally enough that what we name logic enters into our life. What is logic? Let us supposemum and daddy say: «It is necessary to study well, to leave school, institute or something else – it is good». Why it’s good? Because it is logical – knowledge possessing makes your life easier, you feel yourself more confident.

So first level of explanation is LOGIC or the CONSCIOUS LEVEL, i.e. the common sense. For example: “I practice yoga” – “Why?” – “My health to build up” – it falls under common sense. But again, our life is determined by other factors we knew only a little about – it’s SUPERLOGIC, other-wordly logic, or the SUPERCONSCIOUS LEVEL. These are such moments, as for example: once I lived, didn’t grieve, and suddenly being in two minds fell to me: “To be or not to be?”, the issues of life and death, “Where I’ve come from?”, “Where I was till my birth?”, “Where I will leave afterwards?”. The logic answers nothing to these serious questions, it keep silent here. And a person becomes interesting in spiritual matters. Then that is called Amorousness comes from this level. Amorousness is an absolutely illogical thing, it falls to the ground all plans of logic, and it comes somewhere from above. But it’s also the factor determining our life, our lifestyle. So one of the factors determining our life is Logic (consciousness), other factor is Superlogic (superconsciousness).

At last, there is the third factor influencing greatly our life, it is SUBCONSCIOUSNESS or the SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL. More specifically animals have this level much developed. Subconsciousness for people means that they live at a level of animal body. These are our animal fears such as fear of hunger, etc. What does disturb an animal? An animal worries about food, dwelling, kind preservation, and that’s all. So being in two minds doesn’t torment cats and dogs or mice all the more. I hardly imagine a mouse struggling with unsolvable being problems over a cheese slice. Or a mouse taking it’s own life as it decided everything was pointless. They say “Mouse committed suicide with hunger in a fridge”. So even a mouse must be brought to such condition; but it can be so rather by means of hunger than by thoughts or emotions. So this is the subconscious or animal level. Our life, our lifestyle is determined by these three levels.

Something from above comes sometimes to our life. For example why all of us have gathered in this hall (Cultural Center “Enlightenment” in Moscow city near m. Novoslobodskaya)? Because the third superlogical level of everyone worked. We all strive for the Higher. Another part is quite reasonable. Why we have come to the Cultural Center “Enlightenment”? Because it is situated close in Moscow, it’s convenient to get here, i.e. everything that falls purely under logic. At last there is the lowest level. Those who present here have just overcome it but we use it in everyday life. For example if they don’t pay me a salary I have an animal fear of death from starvation. Though it is still very far to death, it forces me to run swiftly in a social team. As soon as I stand out against a background of total mass, my herd instinct wakes up: “Aha… You are in danger, you are out of collective, it will be difficult for you to earn living and you will die”. Also these moments surface sometimes. Once again these are our herd feelings in a bad sense of this word, our uncontrolled behavior, i.e. everything that has remained with us since our life in animal bodies. Pay attention to our actual lifestyle greatly different from the same of our grandmothers and grandfathers. And it quite differs from the same of 300 years ago.

Let’s return to the main theme. What information about the way of life of Yogins and Yoginis handed us down the yoga knowledge reached us?

Strangely enough these Yogins and Yoginis had the equality of sexes. We do not see it in medieval societies and even in our western democracies (take an interest when women were granted the right for to vote on the elections). But they initially had the equality of sexes. Probably this equality was the heritage of any ancient times when everything has been balanced, but later a disbalance with masculine dominance appeared. Their women enjoyed total equality along with the men in vital questions. Even now it is not always achieved. To tell the truth considering medieval specificity this equality was a revelation for me when I faced it.

And that is what we managed to define…

First these groups had the PURPOSE. All of us are born, live and have absolutely different purposes worthy of respect – someone lives from force of habit, someone lives for to succeed in a business, a science, etc. But these Yogins and Yoginis understood very clear what they lived for on the Earth. Sometimes we require the whole life to come to this realization; and they began with it. The self-realization was their purpose. Self-realization is a very abstract concept. One may understand it as cognition of himself or the Universe cognition, disclosing of abilities put in him or his superabilities disclosing. In general this is realization of everything we came to this world for and everything this world was created for. So it was such a grandiose purpose. This purpose determined directly one essential aspect in their lifestyle. These Yogins and Yoginis considered that the purpose of each individual is the Universe cognition in a whole without breaking a part. This is a state called “Me and the Universe”. How many? Two: Me and the Universe. It wasn’t how we saw it: here am I, here is my neighbor Vasja, there is 300 million of people somewhere, somewhere there is Alpha Centaura with its own laws. But according to Yogins and Yoginis point of view there was Me and there was the Absolute, and nothing more. Well, I was born, I live on this planet the Earth, by the highest standards I perceive this reality here and now. In my previous birth I might be born in some other place, in a following birth – even on the Alpha Centaura with absolutely different living conditions. And the only thing that remains is the Dvaita, duality, Me and the Universe.

These are rather important philosophical issues. Why do I now speak about them? Because methods will be then clear, not only methods but specifics of their lifestyle will be more precise. As consequence these lifestyle specifics were following: these Yogins and Yoginis perceived the environment as a whole not in fragments, not separately as we do. We see separate people in all our friends, relatives, and intimate people. They saw that there was a person and there was the Higher Reality or the Absolute on the other hand. They considered all the people as windows which the same sun shines through. This attitude is very interesting; it is reflected in many yogic treatises. It means if we see the Absolute in person, object, subject or phenomenon this person, object, subject or phenomenon becomes interesting for us. But if we don’t see it person, object, subject or phenomenon is not interesting for us. In two words: we reach not for object or phenomenon but for what is skulking behind this object or phenomenon. And this is the Higher Reality, the Absolute somehow name what skulks behind it.

Therefore here is the loneliness position on the one hand. Here am I and here is The Absoluteand it’s not clear at all whether there are other people or not. Whether they are people, whether they are displays of the entity, of the any second one? But in any case their attitude towards the relatives, to the intimate people was not as towards a concrete people. It was like the Higher Reality, the Absolute communicating with us through forms of these people. This attitude concerned their children, husbands, wives, etc. Thereby the situation from variety is reduced to this 1:1, i.e. here am I and here is the Absolute. The Absolute is shown for me this way and while it’s shown I’m interesting in it; if it’s not shown not am I. It has led to the perception of everything like of the Absolute display.

It was the purpose. Then the means. That’s the way they aspired to this purpose. And here appears that is called as means, i.e. “How do they realized all that?”.

Figure 1. Purpose: perception of everything as the Absolute
displays

And the second is the MEANS. Means there was meant as renunciation of ignorance. We need to reject ignorance to cognize, to realize. At first how to do it? Strangely enough everything is hampered only by ignorance in purpose achievement. There are no more obstacles really existing. They didn’t exist in the world as it was found later among Yogins and Yoginis. There is only one thing preventing us to realize our purpose, it’s our ignorance. This motto “renunciation of ignorance” was the means for this purpose achievement. But this renunciation should be done in logic way (we are considering the logical level right now).

It passes into the following – renunciation of suffering. Here again I’d like to pay your attention on the vow making by Yogins and Yoginis preserved Amorousness Yoga and others. What is the vow? It is some obligations incurred by a person if this person wishes to reach something. This vow is renunciation of suffering. Ex facte it’s a good vow, everyone should make it. But it isn’t so easy. Having analyzed all sufferings falling to a share of a person in consideration of his karma and many other factors, you’ll find out the one thing – a person suffers only because he wishes it. And why does he wish to suffer?

There are two points: freedom of the will and ignorance. It’s like in that funny story: “On the one hand he doesn’t even know non-suffering is possible, and on the other hand even knowing not particularly wants”. Yogins and Yoginis vow of non-suffering is equal to non-ignorance principle. It is also the main means of their purpose achievement. How strange it is: the purpose is so other-worldly but the means turns to a very clear thing – we should refuse suffering. Here are many questions: whether a person would do this or that?

I mean everything going on with a person is conditioned by his karma – you must reap what you have sown. But when all karma knots are fulfilled and untangled more or less only one thing there leaves – it’s your wish or unwillingness to suffer. And before an adherent didn’t make a vow of renunciation of suffering, he was briefed in no yogas. He was never allowed either near to Amorousness Yoga or near to other Higher Yogas.

You must have heard that mysterious sages of the East admit only devoted people to the secret knowledge. Only after undergoing many severe trials they admit you to the holy of holies means to any closed ashram. You’ll study there and after finishing you will be happy and satisfied. But everything is much prosier. Until the person didn’t accept a vow of renunciation of suffering he wasn’t admitted to such organizations. Why? For one simple reason: each person is like a sleeping God or like an elephant not realizing his force; but his force exists all the same. Well, just imagine this person received the highest knowledge of Yoga and has decided to suffer a little bit then, such a masochist he is. And he begins to suffer full of strength getting from yoga practice. Everything is bad around him. It’s a direct road to a hell for himself. But he may also touch other people whose karma is related to him. Therefore the second moment – the means – is the renunciation of ignorance; the same is the renunciation of suffering.

And once again: if you mean go to India, find guru there and receive ancient knowledge firsthand you should remember he won’t teach you until you make a vow of non-suffering. So sometimes it makes sense to ask ourselves whether we wish to suffer and to live such as now.

This means turned into another life principle for Yogins and Yoginis handed us down the higher yoga knowledge. It means to communicate only with like-minded persons. Why? Well because, communicating with “the wrong” people you copy their behavior, their mentality before one could bat an eye.They suffer you’ll also begin suffering to keep them company. They worry about something you will also do it. This is transmitted through the lowest subconscious level, through the channels residuary since our life in animals bodies.You will even be unaware of it.

Do you remember folk Russian saying: “He who lies down with dogs, gets up with fleas”? So trying to comply with this principle you should communicate with like-minded persons.

There only few things we can do in this world. We only can communicate with those people communication with whom is necessary, pleasantly, useful and remarkable for us. But also we can do everything in our power to avoid harmful communication. We have no right to change people. They show their will to live how they wish. And so they will live. If they wish suffering let them suffer. They are entitled to live how they want but it does not mean we have to pick up their bad habits. It’s the second moment differentiated Yogins and Yoginis groups from the great mass of people.

Figure 2. Means: renunciation of ignorance (renunciation of
suffering) – (“How can I find like-minded persons? Nobody
wants associating with me. I don’t have friends, a-a-a…”
“I just said: “Stop moan!!! Stop moan!!!””)

The third is the METHOD. It means two things. First is non-injuring any live being without emergency. And second is non-wasting of forces and energy on trifles.

We can wend our way through life differently. We may not pay special attention to those we crushed at the next turn. You know sometimes we can be so goody-goody but only sometimes. I formerly witnessed the next situation. A person practices yoga, so a spiritual man he is. Then the question appears at his work: whom to advance and increase salary. And this person starts using completely not gentlemen’s methods though before he was such a soft and pleasing man.

All such things come from our deep animal levels. Because being in animals’ bodies we had to survive and dominate at any cost, such were the game rules. At the level of human body the rules have changed. And from force of bad habit we continue to apply those brutish rules that are misplaced today. Nothing very bad is here but good is not enough also. Having already reached the human bodies we have to refuse the animal heritage brought us to a human life. Not to throw words out of the song: we had perfect years in the bodies of mice, cats and dogs.

So the Method is: do not injure any live being and do not waste forces and energy on trifles. It turns to another methodology including into all responsible yoga manuals. These are two methods so-called a method of consciousness and a method of energy, or a method of asceticism and a method of pleasure. We should restrain and keep ourselves in check when it is necessary and we should show all we can create when it is necessary too. If the disbalance appears while using these methods everything becomes very bad.

Figure 3. Method
1. Non-injuring any live being
1.1. You should not do so:

(Ah! Here is an ant. I’ll tread it upon now then!)

1.2. It is desirable to do so:

(Ah! Here is an ant! Certainly I will step it over as I noticed it

2. Non-wasting of forces and time in vain
2.1. Planning (goal-setting)

(07/26/2008 8pm – My daily plan: 10am – earning 1 million euro

2.2. You shouldn’t digress from assigned tasks

(07/27/2008 10am. What if I watch the series “Deads don’t sweat”)

2.3. Realization of assigned task (object)

(07/27/2008 10am Patties! Patties! Vegan patties!)

The fourth thing remained since an ancient time in these Yogins and Yoginis groups is to paying the SACRED DEBT. My friends, all of us are debtors because we live on this planet in human bodies. Weren’t given the possibility to be born in human bodies on this planet we would never get our hands near the Earth and opportunity to reach the highest level in yoga.

You know they say: “Yoga is above everything” – “Why?” – “Because everything is really very bad without it”. No, my friends, your life is above everything. Without your life any yoga was not even mentioned here. That’s why we have a very sacred debt to our mum, daddy, grandfathers, grandmothers and so on. Since we entered this world we should pay this debt at first. And only after we may think about rebirth (as the Brahmins say) or reaching our purposes. Therefore in these groups of Yogins and Yoginis handed us down yogas, including Amorousness Yoga, this point is one of the most essential and important – continuation of a family.

How to realize this continuation of a family? You can do it actively by yourself; it means you have many children. Or you can also help those having children. It doesn’t matter whether you have first or second situation. Here are some karma aspects: someone may have many children in one life and someone not. The very different lays of the land may be. But in any way your debt is the most respectful, the most reverent care of children, of continuation of a family, and an active participation also. I often hear such statements from the secret sciences adherents: “No-no-no, I won’t acquire a family, it prevents my personal spiritual practice … A-a-a, what the children? What do you speak about? I’m going to Kailas on air to fly, and here something incomprehensible happens”. But believe it or not even if you go to Kailas to look for this knowledge you’ll find out it would remain only among people considering children as their sacred obligation.

Therefore you don’t need such form of self-deception and egoism. In any case children issue is sacred among Yogins and Yoginis preserved this yoga knowledge. First you have to pay all debts to your parents, grandfathers, grandmothers, etc. for the opportunity to live on the Earth. And after you can practice any yogas even if you’ll fracture your skull. Having paid your debts you are free, if not – more’s the pity for you. It was perfectly understandable in Yogins and Yoginis groups.

And here appears one very interesting thing. It distinguishes considerably our lifestyle from the western one. The last one now changes into the same direction but analyse it is not my task now. To pay sacred debt Yogin or Yogini is obliged to look for a mother or a father for his (or her) children. Pay your attention: not a wife or a husband, but a mother or a father for children. This sharp emphasis displacement is strange enough now. Though I have a suspicion that later people who didn’t even see each other entered a marriage they didn’t meet with resistance from spiritual schools and doctrines. Why? Because by the highest standards this is the matter of a family continuation and only afterwards of your personal happiness. For the western person it sounds unusually and grates upon the ears. But nevertheless it’s such a reality of life.

To pay sacred debt it’s an obligation to look for a mother or a father for your children. But again where to search? Only among self-minded persons. Why? That’s because children are such a uniting factor for husband and wife. And now imagine that husband and wife move into different directions.

But it’s not so simple. There is a ruining factor in yogic tradition: when the superconsciousness intrudes upon logic level. The history is full of facts when Yogins or Yoginis fall in love and acquire children with ordinary people sharing no views with them. Why? It is the higher display of superlogicality, it comes as infatuation. It ruins us even if we planned our process of enlightenment from today to Samadhi.

The most logic variant (without considering superlogic) is to look for mother or farther of your children among the self-minded people and not people off the street. And this is your karma if she or he would be someone off the street. You should untie your karma so that everyone would be happy.

One more stress appears here. Living together of a man and a woman for the sake of the children is equal to asceticism. That’s why I’d like you to reassure if you don’t get on in your family. Everything goes as planned, nothing exceptional happens. It’s asceticism indeed to pay your debt. You should respect your parents brought us up, given you an opportunity to live in this world.

I’m told a lot of stories: “I’m such an advanced Yogin and she understands nothing. She wants only money or belongings; she knows nothing about any matters…” But darling, you have chosen her by yourself, you haven’t got her from the Moon, and it’s not like Indian marriages between two people who even haven’t seen each other. Or an opposite situation: “Ah, my husband, he is nothing; he doesn’t take care of me such a scum, and so on…” And again: who dragged him?

But you were under the maya influence in truth, it’s your karma. Everything taking place in your life is for the better, i.e. the Universe is not simply humane it’s ultra humane. And your half is the best among all you merit with your karma. And it’s not only “the best” but with advance to you. So try to imagine what a karma you have in truth if you don’t even like what you have.

That’s why living together of a man and a woman in the name of children is very serious issue, it’s asceticism. The states of things may be very different and yoga doesn’t indicate how you should live. But you should understand the general logic.

So I mean that having children is wonderful. They don’t hinder you in yoga practice. It’s nonsense when someone says: “I can’t meditate, I have a lot of things to do because of children”. If you don’t have own children don’t dispute other people having them. Your task is to help everyone having children.

Figure 4. To pay a sacred debt (Having done your work practice
with every reason!)

And at last the fifth – WHAT TO DO? As at Chernyshevsky.

Pay attention that we live in human bodies, and these are fine bodies even if unpleasant for us. Having human body is a great chance to reach enlightenment and we should bring it into play without losing a day. We have to use all yoga wealth at full scale, everything suits for everyday practice: Hatha Yoga, Krija Yoga etc. Occidental civilization hardly accepted such state of affairs 100-150 years ago, and a little bit easier today.

But we have not only physical component. You should remember there are kinds of yoga as many as person displays. There is a special yoga for each person display. You can see – so there is Jantra Yoga, you can hear – there is Nada Yoga, you can have sex – there is Sexual Yoga, you show interest to a woman like a man – wonderful, there is Tantra Yoga, somehow you fall in love – congratulations! you are a few steps away enlightenment, and again for this situation there is Amorousness Yoga.

So the fifth point is a permanent practice among other Yogins and Yoginis. They never come into the spotlight. They are very busy; they have no time to attract heightened interest to themselves. More precisely some Yogins or Yoginis do it, but only to tell knowledge particularly yoga knowledge that we use now. But if we can’t understand it, they will explain us nothing; do you remember such a saying: “Ready is a pupil, the teacher is ready also”?

The point is an everyday yoga practice. I remind you these Yogins and Yoginis didn’t serve such purposes like family continuation, becoming either billionaire or Nobel winner, or sportsman, or artist, etc. They had the highest goal, they ventured for “All at once” as Ostap Bender said. So “What to do?” is to practice yoga for this purpose achievement. And here appears the matter of sex. Particularly this theme becomes very interesting for western followers because of sexual aspect.

It was enjoined to practice a lot and to remain in loneliness from time to time, face to face with The Absolute. Staying alone for serious time was considering very important. Single practices were realized in different forms. Sometimes it was such roguish Yogins and Yoginis never lingered on one place. In outward appearance it sometimes looked like a pilgrimage to any sacred place. Sometimes they just stay alone in any place.

You also should practice with your wife or husband at all levels. But first of all you need a husband or a wife to bring up children. All sexual, infatuation issues were practicing outside marriage, family. It was enjoined to do sexual practices with any partner except wife or husband. This point attracts a greatcuriosity among western marginal persons. “Something interesting is here… oh, sex…. It’s something spiritual also…” Consequently Tantra doctrine (also kept in yogins groups) was greatly discredited.

In general everything is rather bad. These marginal persons have neither purpose nor method, nor means, nothing from the list we are talking about; but sex interested them. May be such marginal persons are also very important factor in the Universe. Sometimes we have the impression that Yogins and Yoginis led a dissipated life; had intimacy with different people without any purpose.

No, my friends, these Yogins and Yoginis were inclined to have intimacy with nobody because they knew about asceticism. It was considered it was possible to practice and to co-operate only face to face with the Universe. Your husband – it was your husband, your yoga partner – was your partner in yoga; in any case you were face to face with the Universe. There was never any orgy or revelry. Everything was done exclusively for yoga, for the comprehension of yourself.

Why there was no orgy or revelry? Because while practicing Tantra you should serve the Absolute, you should be true to the Absolute. Even a little thirst for something causes a chain of associative relations. It leads you astray. Everything concerning sexual practices is considered as faithfulness observance. You are faithful not to a person but to the Absolute showing through this person.

Because of his ignorance (think of the second principle) person usually catches at the form. He receives it but maintenance often escapes. This is the reason of numerous family tragedies. And then a person gets carried away, very often he looks for sexual adventures. You should understand that lifestyle problems, problems of satisfaction or dissatisfaction, problems of cooperation between people – all these problems existed over a human civilization period, they didn’t just appear. And here we are faced with the previous civilization know-how settlescompletely these matters.

It is very dangerous when the person is dissatisfied, he will never get his hand near Enlightenment. Usually people think so: “I’m not satisfied now but I will practice yoga to reach Samadhi and to meet all my wishes”. It’s an extremely incorrect approach. Having any dissatisfaction there is no question of Samadhi. Dissatisfaction becomes an inhibitive factor. The famous “four and five” law is followed right from this point. But do not misunderstand it. Sometimes people don’t understand it at all and they begin to do another marginal thing.

Everything we are now talking about is the way of life of Yogins and Yoginis handed us down the higher yoga knowledge. But in any moment the superlogic may meddle and changes all the life plans.

There is another tough point – these are no instructions as you should live either in any book, or in any yoga philosophy, or in any yoga doctrine. There are some recommendations, councils, factors helping you to solve your karmic problems, but there absolutely no any concrete instructions.

How did the commandments appear then? Every commandment was given to concrete people. For example to a group of people inclined to kill or to steal were given the commandments “Thou shalt not kill” and “Neither shall you steal”. There are no absolute nature laws how each person should live. Otherwise we would be robots, and this code of laws would be our program. And we are made in something Higher image and likeness. Everyone has free will and so everyone has his own unique life.

Therefore do not consider this lecture as a guide for an action. But it’s a very useful point for reflection. Nobody knows what a life he will have, life keeps change, new things are coming, and old things are going away. But there are some basic life principles; there’s no getting away from them. So we should reflect well about them. That’s why I deliver this lecture today for the Open Yoga University.

Figure 5. What to do? (Practiced ancient Yogin,
February 1981 B.C., cave somewhere high up in the Himalayas.
Victoria Begunova, chief teacher of the Cultural Center
“Enlightenment” in “Hatha Yoga. Manual for self-tuition” film)

Question: “Concerning the first aspect. Here am “I” and here is the Universe. They are considered separately or “I” is the Universe display, i.e. the Universe cognizes itself? So “I” and the Universe are cognized separately from each other or not?”

Vadim Zaporozhtsev: “Here is not such a philosophical approach. Each of us can now draw himself up, close his eyes and ask: “I am “I” or I am the Universe?”. And throughout this theme: “Well, here am I and what about a man on Red Square? Whether his is me or not?”. But we know nothing about this man, we don’t even feel him. At logic or usual consciousness level we separate ourselves from the whole under the influence of ignorance (it’s called “ahamkara” on Sanskrit). Though this border was rather illusory we have got accustomed to consider ourselves separate from the visual environment. So there are two: both I and purpose, the Absolute. At more advanced levels “I” is identical to the Absolute. But it will happen only afterwards. And now at a level of our usual everyday mentality we think habitually: «Here am I and all the rest is the Absolute».

You put a really good question. I didn’t finish a bit this lecture.

We examined purposes and its realization, lifestyle of Yogins and Yoginis handed us down the Higher Yogas including Amorousness Yoga. Amorousness Yoga as well as Samadhi it’s the Higher state when person reach the superlogical level. It is considered that after working out all the logic aspects we clean our subconsciousness from some animal imprints. If sort it out the vast majority of problems results from the imprints pulled from our life in animal bodies. Hatha yoga has a good reason to compare every pose with this or that animal whose karma imperfections we took with us to a human life. So when the subconsciousness is cleared, logic level is finished Yogin or Yogini comes to the higher existence. It is that level where the yoga knowledge came from.

These five points (purpose, means, etc.) are not a pledge of reaching this level. It’s a requirement not a sufficient condition. Do you understand the difference? Sufficient condition implementing leads to a necessary result. And requirement it’s not a pledge of getting a result but on the other hand without it you’ll never get this result. So compliance with Yogins and Yoginis way of life didn’t guarantee everyone Samadhi reaching. It only helps them to eliminate their karma defects passing from one generation to another. There were some people reaching Samadhi during one life. And so there was a continuous knowledge transfer chain. Why? Even because of a single break of this chain we wouldn’t receive this knowledge. There must be people reaching the higher; taking this knowledge from one generation and giving it to another.

So after finishing one level you get an opportunity (not a guarantee!) to get to the next higher level.

Answering the question. We are accustomed to logic. Sometimes superlogic seems us unreasonable. Our Universe is more grandiose than space, time, cause and effect, karma, logic and illogicality. And at the superlogical level our “I” widens to the size of the Universe, merges with it. I.e. we become everything; and the question “Where am I and where is the Universe?” disappears.

Question: “Could you give a detailed account of superlogic?”

Vadim Zaporozhtsev: “If I say “Twice two makes four” you’ll think it’s logical. But hearing “It’s five, six, seven, eight, something like this” you think it’s not usual at least. If I tell you a story you’ll think “It seems the truth, it is logical”. But if I tell you “Many hears are now running on the Red Square; they are eating carrot and swearing” you’ll think it is stuff and nonsense.

There is such a mechanism helping us to make out logic from illogicality intuitively. Our mind doesn’t even consider anything apparent illogical. It only consider logical things such as science, common sense, etc. But the Universe is higher than the logic. Consistency law is a particular case of the Universe creation law.

I always cite Lewis Carroll. He was mathematician but he wrote “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There”. Read them once more; there are many funny illogical things happening with Alice: to remain in place you have to run, and you have to run two times faster to move somewhere. Read about Hatter quarreled with the time and permanently having five o’clock tea with March Hare; it’s interesting.

Well, it seems us nonsense but the Universe is more compound than we suppose. There is something beyond the notion of logic; it’s in the superlogic scope. Also there is another part neither in logic scope nor in superlogic. Thus all the spiritual knowledge, all the other-wordly yoga knowledge including Amorousness Yoga – they are the superlogic knowledge, our usual logic doesn’t work here.

A real-world example: why a young youth falls in love with a girl? If it is a really love, a gift, we can’t answer this question in principle. Another example concerns fundamental Universe organization principles: what is our “I”? How it was formed? Plumbing the yoga axiomatics we can see everything comes from the single source; but what about the “four and five” law then? It is one of the most incomprehensible things: how did single become numerous and endlessness become finite?

Such things (amorousness, Universe organization, etc.) we can’t analyze with logic. Logic here gives two incompatible results. In everyday life it’s a question whether God exists? I’m exaggerating now; it’s clear that notion of Higher is larger than notion of God. On the one hand naming something we limit it. But on the other hand there are things we can’t name; there is no words to express them. They correspond to superlogic.

So the superlogic never comes before the logical level is completed. Therefore the higher, other-wordly knowledge never contradicts mundane knowledge. If any revelation contradicts logic it’s not a revelation but rubbish or hallucinations. And a man propagating such views turns out a swindler who arrays himself as a saint or a sage. But how can we identify whether it is superlogic or swindle? There is no such a criterion; in any case we can’t do this by means of logic.

Therefore yoga recommends us to improve ourselves, sharpen mind, always study, coach, widen our knowledge, i.e. bring our brains to perfection; only afterwards the superlogic will be on. You know it’s like a rocket: a next stage won’t start until previous is used up. Because starting prematurely it would make a mess in mechanism. In the same way the nature created us; more precisely it was the higher spiritual laws.

But even living in logic nobody cancels superlogic. That’s why things we called “miracles” aren’t really miracles but displays of the general Universe law seeming us incomprehensible for the present.”

Question: “Which yoga teach how to meditate?”

Vadim Zaporozhtsev: “Strictly speaking all yogas bring you closer to the state of meditation. Practicing Hatha Yoga, Krija Yoga, etc. seriously and hard you make a good basis on physical level. Being all right your physical body it generates powerful energy in necessary direction. That makes your mind reach a meditation state without any efforts from you. So I’m an extreme proponent of physical exercises; only a meditation practice is not quite reasonable.

Sometimes our mind can’t concentrate because of untrained body; so every yoga will bring you to meditation but by its own way. As regards meditation by itself I refer you to our sites. They contain archives of previous seminars, lectures; there you can find some practical moments, specific approaches, etc.”

Question: “I’ve heard it was necessary to use beads from an appointed material for each mantra; for one mantra it should be wooden beads, for another – glass beads. What beads are necessary to use for the Ohm mantra?”

Vadim Zaporozhtsev: “My friends, for mantra practicing the most important is this mantra practice and not beads or even beads material. Regulary repeating mantra you’ll get a result; no matter whether you use beads or not.

Sometimes beads have other meanings: they help you to count mantras; they are accumulators for some positive vibrations; also they are the keepers of these positive vibrations. Beads material is an important thing but don’t be very punctilious; because sometimes we spend more time for seach a material than for mantra practice itself. So every material suits for such a universal mantra as Ohm; or you can practice it without beads at all.

For more concret mantras there are some directions helping you to get a result quicker. Beads material is difficultly defined with Associative Yoga. We used to misunderstand it; and we get such lists: “For this mantra make a rudraksha beads”. And we make it of glass or gold, silver, crystal, less often – of diamond. The lists are very big and sometimes conflicting. What should you do in case of contradictory datas? In ancient text it is said you should do as your guru theaches you. There are some unobvious moments in every tradition. But don’t toy with such paranoidal ideas as “I’m looking for twenty-faced rudrakshas for tree years; I can’t practice with it”. Because while searching you just could do something in your practice. And on the other hand there is some commercial component in these beads material talks: it furthers a keen demand for exotic materials what furthers India economic growth and developpment in turn.”

Question: “What are the beads?”

Vadim Zaporozhtsev: “There is a notion “Mantra”. Mantra is the words of power; repeating them leads specific results and effects. To count mantras beads are usually used; these are a string with small ball of any material and a small tail at the end. In Yoga tradition they usually use 108 balls on a string, and the 109^th ball is separating; it’s bigger than other and is called “Meru”. Every day I repeat mantra 108 times and every time I move a bead to count. Sometimes beads are called “Mala”, it’s Sanskrit; and there are twenty five thousand of other names.”

Question: “In “108 Tantra Yoga Aphorisms” treatise there is a notion of woman energy disclosure. Are there any signs enable woman and her partner to see this disclosure?”

Vadim Zaporozhtsev: “Woman is conscious of her energy disclosure; she goes through and feels it very clear; she has no doubts whether it happens or not. This question stands no longer for her. And for the detached onlookers there are only indirect factors: a woman becomes more beautiful, more attractive and self-confident, more spiritual, more joyful and happy. A person himself may realize what happens to him; but for a detached onlooker it’s another universe.

It’s a tragedy sometimes (referring to the “four and five” law): we think we know a person but indeed we know nothing about him; we can’t even imagine what’s happenning inside him, in his inner world; so we can’t speak about his feelings. Sometimes people are married for a long time; but their difference clarifies only after many years. The very strange states of things happen.

As return to our subject yoga postulates attitude to the life as to the secret. So a woman is another, secret half of the universe and we can’t understand her inner processes. Only indirect factors are left over. External factors may show in women’s happiness and blooming, in her creativity or composure or anyhow else, inwardly for example. Her character may change; thus the utmost bitchiness turns into its opposite and so on.

We don’t know what happens with another person; it’s another universe. In this situation yoga dissociates from science. Science is logical (logic is its power and feebleness). Concerning a common reference point when something equally behaves we can consider all such objects (all of us) as a separate component of this big system. This reference point is considered “an objective reality given us in feelings” (as one classic said) or in delusions. And yoga says we can’t use a reference point from the outside. In general we don’t know whether there is the space; and if it is they say it is curved; and even the time passes differently. So there is only one reference point for every yogin; it’s his own “I”. Here I’m sitting and I only know I exist. I don’t know whether all the people around me exist or whether these are my hallucinations even tactile and paranoia fit. May be I’m sitting in this hall and lecturing alone, I can’t prove anything.

All these moments were covered in German philosophy; but yoga is more practical. It says that well, we know nothing but we may always get our “I” as a reference point in our researches. Why? Because it’s “I” receiving an experience: now I live, then I will die, then I will be born again. The only thing passing invariably from one life to another is our own “I”. And it’s no matter I don’t remember my previous lifes.

You know I can’t say whether Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are the spouses or four absolutely unfamiliar with each other people? Just so I can’t say whether you are all the same creature or each taken separately. What may serve as a criterion for this determination? May be you are all the fingers of one hand; as it is said: the fingers are different but have the same puppeteer? We can’t refute such a schizophrenic approach to the Universe analysis. But using yoga philosophy and practice it turns out that we all come from the same source. That’s why I suppose myself separately from other people; and I consider other people as the displays of an entity.

There is a question: is there a point for me to communicate with the displays instead of the Absolute? It would seem an abstract idea but it’s a serious philosophic conception indeed: to communicate with a display or with its source.

Today I won’t give you a detailed account of the second point – the means. But pay attention to the Buddha’s teaching. Buddha said pessimistically: “Everyone born will die, everything created will go to ruin”. I.e. being happy today you are not guaranteed against tomorrow’s misfortune; having got something you are not guaranteed against that tomorrow you would lose it. Reflecting upon it we give way to despair: “I have a good wife but she may abandon our family” or “I have children but they will grow up and tell me to get lost” and so on. And we are no better off than before because we clutch at a form without understanding the puppeteer is somewhere far away.

This philosophy of an extreme honesty is the Dvaita philosophy: me and the Universe. At the superlogical level a person understands his unity with the Universe; and here the Dvaita philosophy turns into the Advaita philosophy.

For example: somebody had a wife, he loved her very much and believed they would die in one day together. After fifteen years they have parted with each other. Now he has another wife; just as earlier he loves his new wife and wants her to live with him up to the death. But may be after some years he will get a new wife again… and where is the constancy? Stroke of misfortune protection consists in clutching at something eternal if you can’t clutch at all. Clutching at something illusive you risk to be bilked.

So Buddha wasn’t a pessimist; he just showed all the states of things: both positive and negative. But attaching your priorities in your life you’ll suffer; when? – it is only a question of time

Once again a man meets a woman and hoping to live together all the life he clutches at her. So he ceases to sea a goodness inside her but only a usual female person. That’s why he is bored with her very quickly and the other-worldly sacrament becomes out of the question, he simply doesn’t know how to get rid of her.

Why it happens so? Because he ceased to see something other-worldly, something interesting to him in his woman and clutched at form; but the form doesn’t bring you happiness. To refuse suffering you should refuse ignorance, it means you shouldn’t clutch at the ephemeral things such as your job, study, and place in the sun. These are the very transient things, at every moment they may take a turn in positive as well as in negative directions.

Does it make sense to become a hostage of anything transient? No. It was said among people preserved Amorousness Yoga: “You shouldn’t be upset about the things you don’t have. Aspire to the things that won’t abandon, won’t go away from you”. There is certain logic in this statement.”