The lifeway of Yogins and Yoginis handed us down the highest yoga knowledge. Vadim Zaporozhtsev. Lecture. Pt.6. 05.10.2008

About the Purpose and the Means in life of Yogins and Yoginis handed us down the highest yoga knowledge

Now we continue our lecture series on rather interesting theme: the way of living of Yogins and Yoginis handed us down yoga as well as its exotic aspects such as Amorousness Yoga, Tantra Yoga, Sexual Yoga, some aspects of Jnana Yoga. In general everything being little known in the West is also little known here in Russia and even in India as well. It’s only our idea that every second person in India is a yogin, that every second person is a sage, that every second person knows great truths. No, everything is far from this.

I will briefly remind you at what we stopped at previous lecture. We have considered the PURPOSE and the MEANS. I will remind you that an aspiration for the Higher showing through the entire Universe and being an essence of our I was implied by the purpose. I.e. it happens so that we cognize the Higher in two directions at the same time. We cognize the surrounding Universe through which the Higher begins to show for us. And we cognize organization of ourselves as well. We get to those depths where our true I begins: not the ideas about ourselves, not any instincts, reflexes, habits but exactly our true I. And the Higher begins to show there. There was the purpose. After all is the MEANS. We considered that the most fundamental MEANS is renunciation of ignorance which in clearer sense means the principle of renunciation of sufferings. I will remind you that Yogin or Yogini chose the road of the higher yogas accepted a principle sounded like this: “Nobody and nothing is entitled to cause me sufferings. If they need my help then it’s one question. But if sufferings are only for the sake of suffering then this is the vicious mechanism that we have to get rid of”. The principle of renunciation of suffering fully coincides with the principle of renunciation of ignorance. I.e. they are the same things but saying in the other words. At previous lecture we considered that this principle leads to that we begin to look for the like-minded people, for the friends on our road. More precisely put it was so in ancient times and it defined relationships between yogins and yoginis handed us down this yoga. We can understand certain practices from their arsenal in many respects only due to this. Otherwise we would have got nothing.

Who are sannyasi?

Before going further I will make little remark to the previous lecture. Many people must hear about such a notion “vows”. Vows are certain obligations that a person undertakes to him. We meet this notion in very different religions and traditions. You must meet with such a notion as renunciation of the secular world. Sometimes examining any philosophical system you will meet the most obvious requirement – renunciation of the secular world. Numerous monks in different sects, currencies, doctrines also make a vow of dissociation from this secular world. They go away and renounce everything worldly, creature comforts towards something spiritual, higher, other-worldly.

After all there are more strange vows blending with certain philosophical notions as “sannyasi’ vow” for example. People making this vow become “sannyasi” in Sanskrit. The most famous representatives of those who made sannyasi’ vow are yogins whose names end with “ananda” (Brahmananda, Shivananda, Satjananda, Rudrananda, etc.). Sannyasi’ vow is considering as a vow of renunciation of something. So many confusions are connected with this. And poor man is unable to understand: what do these people renounce? for the sake of what? what do they aspire for?

We, common people, usually don’t understand what is at issue is. We encounter this phenomenon when something in somebody’s life remained unsettled. And he says: “I will go away to a cloister. I will make myself a monk”. As a rule this has a negative tinge. For example, nothing came out of a bloke’s life and he decided to spit upon everything and leave the secular world. That’s because nothing came out, i.e. he does this on a wave of an extreme pessimism and terrible failures in his life. That’s why when we meet such notions as certain vows (renunciation vow, etc.) immediately associations are engendered with the people who didn’t manage in something in their lives. They run away either in cloister or somewhere else or lead closed life. Everything is like this and not like this indeed.

The second principle in our ladder (the means) just explains what they mean by “renunciation of the secular world”. In every responsible philosophical system renunciation of the secular world is exactly renunciation of sufferings and it boils down to renunciation of ignorance. That’s why when somebody said that he rejected the secular world this was only play upon words in its initial sense. He didn’t reject the secular world he only rejected his delusions which leaded him to sufferings. And to realize this somehow he went away somewhere to a cloister where he could practice in “hothouse conditions”. This is gentler variant of renunciation of the secular world.

Strange as it may seem stern variant was in the environment of Yogins and Yoginis handed us down this ancient knowledge. They implied other things by “renunciation of the secular world”, “assumption of sannyasa” and “change of a course to the spirituality”. It doesn’t matter whether you stay living: among people or go away to a cloister. It absolutely doesn’t matter whether you go on work after this or spend your hours and days in meditation. It absolutely doesn’t matter whether you have family, children and friends or you don’t have them.

In the true sense the vow of renunciation of the secular world is completely identical with the vow of renunciation of suffering or the vow of renunciation of ignorance. This notion was transformed consequently of the historical cataclysms. As a result we have numerous monks and nuns in different philosophical systems. But in its initial spiritual sense it was a vow of renunciation of sufferings. And if you rejected sufferings this is renunciation principle. If you didn’t reject suffering it means that you live your everyday life and you are carried along with the wind toward where it carries you. Such a parallel it is. Sometimes they ask me: “These Yogins and Yoginis, did they have a vow of taking any monastic name as all these numerous Anandas?” And that’s why I always replied: “Yes, of course, they had it. But it was in its initial sense and not into simplified- auxiliary sense”.

The method in the way of living of Yogins and Yoginis handed us down the highest yoga knowledge

The next principle after the means was THE METHOD. So, the purpose is aspiration for the Higher, the means is renunciation of suffering; the third step goes further and this is the method. It’s clear that we can reject suffering and aspire for the Higher in very different ways. But among Yogins and Yoginis the first strict principles or guides for action were those on which we meditated before this lecture. This were principle of non-injuring any live being without emergency and the second one – non-squandering your gifts on trifles but directing your time and forces at your chose, defined goal. Once again: renunciation of suffering may be anyhow represented. It may become even a shield for all kinds of selfish people who pass themselves off as some spiritual seekers, as some forward-minded yogins. But in truth they are only self-loving egoists living only for their sake and caring no button about whether they do harm to somebody or don’t do it. In this situation yoga gives two instruments, two rather strict statements.

Principle of non-injuring any live being without emergency.

The first principle taking a part in these methods says: you have to avoid injuring all the live being without emergency. At the same time you should remember that in principle you can’t live even a second without somebody would paid for it with his life. Every second of our life is paid with the deaths of other live being and we even don’t surmise about them: beginning with microbes that we pitilessly exterminate inside of us and finishing with some indirect deaths. We eat food, use transport, and watch TV. To provide us all these amenities of life they plough up fields, they kill hundreds of thousand of animals innocent of any crime, they pollute the environment and ecological system takes a turn for the worse. I.e. thousands of live being pay with the greatest price – with their lives, their suffering for every day of our holiday.

Yoga is a doctrine of rather sound mind. It perfectly understands that until we live in field of karma action with cause and effect law we aren’t able not to make harm in principle, we aren’t given this. But we have to understand that if there is any opportunity to reduce somebody’s sufferings then we have to do it. This is an embodiment of the higher sense of yoga.

That’s why yoga doesn’t call you upon to be afraid manically to injure somebody as it was in numerous rather extreme currents even in India. Yoga calls you upon to live normal, calm and natural life. And only at the moment of choice (a situation where doing or non-doing harm depends on you) you have to choose not to do harm. And if you crush a worm going the street then it’s not your karma. You can’t still fly in the air so this doesn’t depend on you. I.e. even wishing it you won’t be able to avoid it.

So you should understand it perfectly well to avoid misunderstanding of yogic practices, certain Tantric practices if somebody of you is interesting in them. They all are written with allegorical language that is rather unobvious and shocked sometimes. I hear all the time that some followers of Tantra begin to make obscenities injuring live beings. For all that they pass this for any highly forward-minded and spiritual doctrine. Just believe me, no one responsible follower of yoga or Tantra ever injured any live being without emergency. I.e. if there is any possibility not to do harm he won’t do it. That’s why coming upon such mismatchings with crazy followers (they make an impression of silly maniacs sometimes) you have to know very clearly that no one yogin or yogini, no one follower of Tantra will ever, under every circumstances injure any live being. But on the other hand there is the reverse of the coin: you remember that we aren’t able not to do harm to live beings at all but we can reduce their sufferings and only in the limits that depend on us. That’s why this principle of non-injuring any live being continues with an addition: at first, without emergency and secondly, if there is no possibility not to do harm we have act so as our duty tells us.

For example, yesterday there was the Victory Day (May 9^th). Our veterans protected their country; somebody from them killed not a one hundred of Germans. And natural question appears here: “And well, if our veterans protected our country and killed a lot of fascists then did they burden their karma thus?” No, they didn’t burden their karma but on the contrary they acquired positive karma because they discharged their duty. They didn’t unleash the war, they didn’t cause all these horrors. They just did their duty and they neutralized still greater evil or didn’t allow it to happen. Thus they got positive karma. We shouldn’t injure any live being but if something requires doing our duty and we don’t do it then we have negative consequences. Imagine that these veterans would escape (you know life in the war wasn’t merry, nobody could warrant that you should live till the next day) – and what would this escape bring to?

In general if a person does his duty this doesn’t lead him to his karma additional burden whatever he does. Honestly doing his duty he walks up the evolutionary stairs. But there is a very tricky bound there. As soon as you overstepped the limits of your duty your negative karma is all too evident. And one question is to kill Germans during a battle and quite another question is to shoot captive and unarmed people. This falls under another category – war crimes.

Yoga tradition is hardly tracked

They ask sometimes: “And how did ancient Yogins and Yoginis live? Did they fly in the air? Did they work anywhere? Did they meet anybody?” No, they perfectly lived in the social environment that was in those times. It was rather long period. Someone from these highest followers of yoga was very serious high-rank officer; someone was Brahman, philosopher, etc. In general they were as many as many there were kinds of activities. And this wasn’t at variance with yoga tradition, with yogic proposition by itself. It is practically impossible to track yoga followers over a period of thousands years because there is no criteria to go by.

If somebody wears the same clothes and leads certain life then it’s easy to catch him, name him and say that these are some guys and those are the others. But outwardly every yogin was very responsible for his epoch; every yogin was very honest and upright person that was engaged in his doings. It was ever incomprehensible from the outside that indeed it was the highest practitioner or adept of the highest yogas. That’s why yoga tradition is hardly tracked and even by this reason.

We should remember that in ancient times shrinking into a cave all together estranged from the entire world and trying to do something there didn’t take a part in Yogins and Yoginis’ way of living. There is no difference in this sense whether you are sitting in a cave or you communicating with people in a street. The question of renunciation isn’t a question of where you are and what clothes you wear. The question is only one: whether you rejected suffering or didn’t (whether you rejected ignorance or didn’t). And then you may work and do every duties you like if they rigorously fall under the principle of non-injuring any live being. But at once an addition goes: if there is no such possibility you have to do as your duty tells you.

That’s why I want to concentrate your attention: if in your life appear some crazy yoga followers who directly or indirectly don’t correspond to this principle (principle of non-injuring) then be aware that there isn’t a trace of yoga and especially of Tantra. Why do I speak about this? Some hazy rumours reach me all the time that adepts of secret sciences nearly begin to sacrifice some animals under the aegis of Tantra. And they explain this with ancient treatises telling this. My friends, these treatises were written for people who lived one thousand years ago. They simply lived in this way. They slaughtered rams as it was; they killed someone for food this way and that. In certain Tantric treatises it was said so to minimize harm from a thing that you couldn’t not to do. We remember that yoga maintains: we can’t not do harm in principle, we aren’t given this. For example, a man was a butcher and he killed animals. A kind yoga teacher turned up and said: “Well, if you are a butcher and kill animals as you are then let’s sing mantras on them. An animal soul must take on a new life on any higher plan”. Do you understand that it was kindness towards animals?

It’s a pity but every thing even the highest will be perverted on 180 degrees if it falls into the hands of foolish people. That’s why this principle will be as compass in our life. If there is possibility not to do harm then of course we have not to do it. If there is possibility not to kill somebody, not to strike somebody, not to say angry words to somebody then we don’t naturally have to do harm. I tell you once again that our life is very complex and it happens so that sometimes we should tell somebody to get lost or we should bring someone down a peg or two. But we do this only in one case – if this is our duty. And if it isn’t our duty then this principle is unambiguous.

So again and again: practices and techniques may be very subtle and veiled; they may call you upon different superabilities. Sometimes you will read quite scandalized statements. But remember that Tantras are written with veiled language to scare away the profanes. Also you must have the keys to understand what was meant. But in any case no one yoga teacher, no one follower of Tantra ever do harm without emergency. Never!

Further we will consider Yogins and Yoginis lifestyle concerning relationships between a man and a woman or what is found conceivable in sex and what isn’t. Everything falls under the single principle. Nobody will interest in what you do in your bed if there is no party suffering with your sexual experiments. For example you decided to practice Tantra yoga with your girlfriend or boyfriend but for all that there will be a suffering party in the person of your husband or wife. Think where that border is: where it’s possible to practice certain practices and where it isn’t possible; whether there will be the third suffering party. If there is no this third suffering party then nobody interests in anything, at least from the yoga point of view. But if there is this suffering party then it is quite another matter.

About selfishness

The third point (the method) of our quinary narration is rather important. I.e. we can reject sufferings selfishly: “Let me be good! Let me be lively and happy and everything else can go to hell”. No, my friends, it’s not reasonable and without much foresight. More over it leads to a failure. There are even more subtle moments, I won’t speak here about them; we consider these questions at greater length with future instructors of yoga.

Principle of non-doing sufferings has more technical character as it may seem at first sight. There is one difficulty as you will succeed in yoga you will get more and more energy. But all the unproven, uncontrollable reactions that you carry since you lived in animal bodies remain. It happens sometimes that we begin to do harm. We have too little energy and nothing worried us. And now we get this energy and something begins to disturb us. We begin to respond to this and rather actively, sometimes we pass the forbidden line and give much trouble to other creatures through our force. During the mankind history there were a lot of people which followed the road of spiritual development, the road of accumulation of omnipotence at the expense of self- cognition, at the expense of the Universe cognition. They followed this road throughout many years, many lives but unfortunately they didn’t learn this fundamental principle.

One of the most evident leaders who took part in this list was Hitler. He was a person of undoubtedly extraordinary abilities who set Germany back on its feet to its peak, to the technological high level within a period of twelve years. By the way Hitler didn’t drink, didn’t smoke, he didn’t eat meat, he was a vegetarian, he had quite magic aptitudes for people infusion. And really he gathered a lot of henchman around him. Many fascism followers say that the defeat of fascism was accidental because of cold russian winter or absence of roads. They tell different examples why the fascism was crash down. No my friends, it’s not real reason of the fascism defeat. It was crushed down because a mistake was initially put into this system. It was only a question of time when it would come out. This mistake consists in a fact that the principle of non-injuring any live being without emergency wasn’t observed in Nazi Germany. More over even right contrary things were propagandized. And you know that monstrous results which it led to. Pay your attention here Hitler told a word: “Well, I don’t like them”, his assistant heightened: “Yes, they don’t please him, drive them together into a prison camp”. Another assistant in a camp said: “Annihilate them”. Then this order came down up to the lower strata where some butcher practically annihilated people were found. They were faced with slippage of this mechanism because even the most inveterate fascist couldn’t kill thousands of people. He simply became to go off his head mentally even if these were prisoners hated by him. He was off his rocker after a second or third thousand. Though he was the most faithful impregnated with hate. But when he saw how people were tormented, suffered and died he could not bear this.

Well, look: one of the higher authority only have to name one wrong word for everything to be manyfold gathered momentum and it turns into rivers of blood in the lower stratum. And just imagine now that this most important principle wasn’t implemented. Fascism defeat was predefined by a fact that initially this principle wasn’t put there and it destroyed everything. Hitler occupied half Europe absolutely freely; his generals more hindered then helped him. Try and remember how we escaped up to Moscow in 1941 though our army was better armed. A myth that we were badly armed is current but our tanks excelled German ones at the moment of war and weapon excelled German one too. Though we didn’t know how to be at war… And imagine Hitler had these superabilities and intuition. But without the principle of non-doing harm it’s only a question of time when they crush you. You may call you five times yogin if you like or fly in the air, read karma, drive Kundalini and look with the third eye if you like. But this won’t save you if you don’t adhere to this principle, i.e. principle of non-injuring any live being. Sometimes this principle is called “ahimsa principle” but it may be formulated in different ways in different yoga schools. Some schools lay stress on one thing, some schools – on another, some schools simply say: “Don’t do harm and that’s all”. Well, a person beginning yoga practice says: “That’s enough, I won’t do harm”. But at the same time he realizes that he can’t eat even a peace of bread because somebody will suffer from it.

Secret knowledge is forbidden for you until you don’t reject causing sufferings to you and to other people

In the tradition of Yogins and Yoginis kept us yoga practices they took more realistic view of things. They understood that if the principle of non-injuring any live being hasn’t still taken roots in a person and we should full him with some techniques, practices, etc. then a) it will be dangerous to be side by side with him in general because something might strap at him; you teach him, teach but something may strap in his had and he will knock you off; b) even if he doesn’t kill you he may play all sorts of pranks and you will be ashamed because you know him and you are together with him. Just because of this reason a question of non-injuring any live being is more technical question than ethical one. Theme of relationships between teacher and his pupil is very often found in numerous yogic works of literature, etc. The most typical situation is described there. A yogin finished his studies at some yoga school, then he was obsessed with a certain object and he began to attain to his wishes. But he was unscrupulous in these principles. It is described there how he attained his goal without observance of the principle of doing no harm (somebody aspired for power, they seized power and became petty monarchs), this usually followed by downfall and then there was hard renaissance after correction of all mistakes. Here is the same situation: you won’t be allowed into any fine Yogins and Yoginis’ community within shooting range if you are evil, if you do harm where you can not do it. They simply won’t speak with you.

Now a lot of people travel to India. They think that as soon as they come there they will take their tight-filled purses and fork out the always green dollars. They think that after this gurus will queue up for teach them to fly in the air, open the third eye and so on. But no one responsible teacher will approach to such person: “And what for?” He doesn’t need money; there is no sense for him to teach such a person. You will now teach him and where he will go then?

So if we aspire for understanding how Yogins and Yoginis leaved, if we aspire to heritage these practices and techniques from them and reach the same high levels as them we have to understand this thing very well. If we occasionally know something and pump ourselves full with energy then it will happens as with Hitler. We just think that we are so inoffensive and never do harm to anybody. But it only seems so. Life is a very intricate thing. There may be such concurrence of circumstances that you will run away unconsciously. And you will be unaware as you will start to hut somebody’s heads, organize jihads or crusades or do anything else. Or on the contrary you will plunge into the militant atheism. Energy devoid of moral aspects is very dangerous. And as yoga gives us rather serious energy source the danger increases. Do you understand what a paradox consists in? Ex facte yoga is such a system that saves us from all the problems. But on the other hand it creates extremely great danger for us because if we have little energy then we can engender too little negative karma. Well, how many people one person can kill? Even if he tries every day to cut heads then it will be limited number of people all the same. But if he will think up any mechanism, guillotine for example, then this number will grow several hundreds times. And if he goes further and use gas chamber as fascists did then it will grow much more. The same thing happens in yoga. If you had never practiced yoga you were weak person in life. You suffered, you felt bad but there was little harm from you. Started practice yoga you straightened your back, you began to succeed and dominated and everything in your life turned to better. But the danger that your negative karma will wake up and you begin to make obscenities also increased. As a result you may get negative karma and be no better off than before. But this negative karma will be hundred times bigger than before. And this principle is prescribed to do to avoid this. But it’s always very difficult to examine where is that verge, where is that moment where the principle of nonintervention finishes and our duty begins. This is extremely delicate, severe and serious subject.

We have to be imbued with this idea of non-doing harm, it should become our conditioned reflex. Because running away you won’t be able to reason. You know as your hand instinctively is jerked away from something hot you have to instinctively jerk away from injuring anybody. This is acquired by all yoga practices. Practicing yoga you become more clean, more clever and kind. Why? Well, you have practiced yoga and all “stones” fell down from you. You become so soft and pleasing and you look at the world with pleasure. Somebody runs and jumps around you, he invites you to the next band to kill somebody but you look at him: “Good heavens! Whom should I kill? I feel so good”.

We have to work on ourselves, we have to clean ourselves to create “unaffected field”, a field unconnected from external world. Only them whatever will happen and you will dart there, relax and realize the situation: “Why should I go to kill anybody? I won’t go”. But if you don’t have such a place where you can “dart and relax” then we are on edge and it’s very easy to direct us with skillful hands where they like. As a matter of fact all these “Hitlers” acted just like this. They didn’t give people time to gather their wits, they made public ecstatic, they substitute notions and sent people into the next slaughterhouse. So people went there gladly and only after they understood to their great surprise that they lose the war… To avoid this we should have an unaffected field inside of us. In case of need we can jump there and be aware of situation: “Is this my duty or not? If it is mine then there is nothing to be done, I have to do it. But if it isn’t my duty then why shall I pry and burden my karma?”

Figure 1. Non-doing sufferings to any live being without emergency

Figure 2. The First 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)

Meditation: “Let all the live beings be happy”

And now I will give you one more method which is purely practical. This is a meditation: “Let all the live beings be happy”. Keep meditating it, permanently practice it. We have tracks and karma imprints into our subconsciousness from the times we were animals. And always practicing this meditation even if slowly but faithfully it will clean your subconscious from all the dirt little by little. And then you won’t have such responses as animals have or even cowboys when at first they shoot and only after they sort out what happened there. I.e. they apply brute physical force and only after they find out why they did it. This moment is very important for acknowledgement of Yogins and Yoginis way of living.

Figure 3. The second method:
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!)

Principle of non-wasting time and forces on trifles

Having defined the goal carry it out

The second method is non-wasting time and forces in vain. There are many different techniques, there are many different schools, everything is in plenty, you may go here and there. But the Universe doesn’t like when somebody seats on two chairs. You may spend all your lifetime as if you allegedly do something but this is an illusion indeed and you spend your time in vain. The second principle calls us for non-wasting our lifetime in vain but spend it only for attaining your own goal.

For all that yoga doesn’t tell us what this goal exactly is. Certain people think that this principle tells about achievement of goals in yoga. No, yoga doesn’t go so far. It simply says: having defined the goal carry it out. If you make a mistake – define wrong goals, attain them but do all this consciously then you will consciously correct all your wrong views and attitudes. But if you make a decision higgledy-piggledy every time and you are drove here and there without realizing this then you will be able to lose your positive result by chance even if you attain it in the same way. Even if we define not quite clever goals but adhere to their carrying out then this is more honestly from the point of view of our spiritual evolution than win the right move in a lottery.

Mistake having been made unconsciously without understanding that this was a mistake brings us to it future correction more quick and accurate. But mistake having been made unconsciously isn’t a guarantee that you won’t chaotically spring hither and thither, hither and thither the next time. That’s why this principle supposes that you have a goal of your life. It is not necessary for it to be the one; you may have numerous very different goals. For example someone wants to become rich and someone aspire for something else. And yoga says that if we defined a goal then we have to attain it. Or go to such a moment when you will understand why it isn’t worth its attaining.

Such a variant may be: a man aspires for a goal but as he approaches to it he realizes that this goal wasn’t for him at all. And then he has to tell himself absolutely consciously: “Aha, I change my direction”. But there is absolutely no guarantee when we are flung chaotically somewhere. This is necessary no to be lost from one life to another.

Do you remember that the greatest happiness is to be born in Yogin’s and Yoginis’ family when the majority of problems in your life disappear. But you may not be so lucky. You may be born somewhere in absolutely unfavorable circumstances according to your karma or dharma. If in your previous life you cultivated an ability to define a goal and carry it out you will quickly return on the right road. But without cultivating of this habit you will keep roam; sometimes you will be in two steps from the solution of all your problems but you will continue your movement in a circle near this solution. Certain people have such situation in yoga and in their everyday life. For example you come to a person: “Hi, have you solved your problems?” – “Well, not at all…” You come to him in two years: “Have you solved them?” – “No, not at all…” And he tells such general words that his unwillingness to solve his problems is seen through them, simply his unwillingness.

There is such a statement in yoga: “If a person is being really got at something, i.e. if something brings really discomfort state to him then he begins to stir his legs”. And when somebody tells you: “Oh, I feel so unwell, everything depresses me so much…” but he doesn’t stir his legs then it means that this situation hasn’t really stirred him, the time hasn’t come yet. A yogin never waits something to seriously stir him, to be just the lash that whips him on. He has a habit to always analyze everything.

A person differs from animals by his intellectual abilities

Our mind needs rounding out

Evolution brought us up to get a human body some time or other afterwards animal ones. The most typical difference between human and animal bodies consists in our intellectual abilities that are much more developed; and we use them. We dominate consequently to our intellectual abilities, to our mind, to our logic.

From the yoga stand a notion of logic comes to a notion of karma. Well, we can perfectly operate at the level of logic, at the level of mind that’s why we have to try our best to round out our mind. All problems that may be solved by using of mind have to be solved with the help of mind. But the world is much more complicated. Our mind or logic surface is only a small part of more universal laws of being. There a superlogic or supermind works and this seems to become illogical from the logical point of view. Many people practicing yoga works out certain feeling that actually brought them into yoga. They feel it in some way. This feeling comes to them from the level of superlogic, supermind, go down on the surface of logic and mind and is shaped into some feelings. Just in the same way all our instincts come from the subconsciousness where isn’t a trace of mind and logic. Just in the same way they come up in a form of feelings on the surface of logic and they come to us in senses form as well. If we are only beginners in yoga practice we can’t determine whether it was a revelation from above or just an instinct that came from below. From the times we lived in animal bodies both instincts and revelations come to us in form of feelings; mind doesn’t work here, it only states. For example, something inside you attracts you to yoga but your mind will tell you there is no need to practice yoga. But another situation may be as well when some instinct comes up and guides us in the same way. Mind will tell that it’s illogical too. That’s why until we won’t fully round out our mind we aren’t able to analyze where there is logic and where there is hallucination. The most pity is that all these come to us in medley form, i.e. superlogical flashes mix with some obscurantism, superstition, etc. Sometimes a person is opened up from above: “You should do this and that to succeed in career”. He does so and really makes progress in his career. But he also read a dream book or a black cat stole a march on him and he interprets everything in the same way from the mind stand: whether it was a voice from above or a voice from below, whether it was obscurantism or revelations from God.

Not to lose you in this incomprehensible state yoga calls us upon to use our mind, our logic 100 percent in the first place, i.e. we should estimate everything as if use mathematical calculator. But you have to make your decisions by yourself not because they are logical or not. I.e. the logic tells you one thing but the superlogic may tell you quite another thing. And we have to learn to recognize where the superlogic is. Your mind will always cut off all the obscurantism. The second principle “not to squander your gifts on trifles” is very important to round out your mind. If you always aspire for your goal then you will have such a scheme every time: “Here I aspired for any goal, I did this and that and I have attained it or haven’t”. And you will immediately see where your mind was mistaken: “Right here my mind took me aside because I didn’t round it out enough; and here it helped me”.

Following this principle “don’t waste your life time on trifles” you will develop your mind to unknown peaks (it simply will be as algorithm). On the other hand you will begin to cut off all the feelings coming from your subconsciousness that were accumulated as long ago as we lived in animal bodies. I.e. you will cut off your animal karma. And when you cut off your animal karma and round out your mind, at a moment when your mind attain its highest degree it will fall off by itself. And then intuition will show you directly. There will be no stuff and nonsense but you will be clearly aware. That’s why the second yoga principle is extremely important too.

What conclusion concerning way of living of Yogins and Yoginis handed us down this ancient knowledge is drawn from this? Conclusion is the following: Yogins and Yoginis rounded out their minds as much as possible, worked at themselves, went in for self-education not only in yoga but in all other respects.

It is a pity that today they have sometimes an impression that the follower of yoga is a person of diminished responsibility a little bit. He tells about some beautiful things, he smiles, he wears clothes with flowers and so on. But when you touch logic he begins to talk nonsense. Unfortunately this is a Hindu heritage, this is a negative streak came to us from India. They are very bad with logic. It is incomprehensible there where some religious beliefs, chaff and obscurantism end and where knowledge begins. It’s virtually impossible to track this borderline there.

So western person begins to eat everything. He comes to India somewhere in a small village and there he is fed something like caste system and so on under the aegis and at the same time with the high lectures of “any Advaita-Vedanta”. And western person eats this all but he has a sheer confusion in his had. There were flashes of something Higher and so he begins to cast doubt on his mind, on his logic because “this is India, a great country”. This is one more disbalance.

All Yogins handed us down ancient yoga knowledge had intellectual abilities not in the least as our professors of philosophy, mathematics, physics, etc. have. They were quite responsible people; they rounded out their mind to perfection. So when somebody tell to you: “Well, we don’t need to round out our mind. What to round it out for? Here you are foolish and then be foolish”. This is only half of step until you fall into this dark world of obscurantism and you will live there amidst these bats and ghosts. Unfortunately in this respect India is a country of the third world. And we should feel no illusions for this. May be we should help our brothers-Hindus to get over this somehow but we haven’t copy this.

Higher laws don’t contradict to our laws

Among Yogins and Yoginis handed us down higher yoga knowledge they rounded out their mind with an extreme rigidity. There are very severe statements: “Suppose the higher knowledge is revealed to you. If this higher knowledge contradicts your logic knowledge (i.e. lowest knowledge or ordinary knowledge) then it means something not right was revealed to you from above”. The higher laws are more universal, they include laws of logic as particular cases. They are higher than logic. That’s why from the stand of these higher laws we can always pass a thing called “logic” over but they never contradict to logic.

Once again: our world, our living profile, our karma surface are only particular cases of the higher laws. The higher laws still seem quite illogical to us, rather hazy and intricate but the higher laws will never contradict to our laws. That’s why use your logic when they will try to create any perpetual motion machine the next time according to any yoga treatise. It’s an unpromising undertaking to make a perpetual motion machine. They tried to create it during several centuries this way, that way and every way but it contradicts to logic, it contradicts to our general laws such as the law of the conservation of energy. Higher laws are of course higher than our laws but they aren’t violated on our surface. A Yogin may show superabilities, he may fly in padmasana (lotus pose) but we remember that we are in the gravitation field of the Earth. There is gravitation law: everything falls on the ground and we can through something half a life but it will fall on the ground all the same. Because this is the law. But he jumped up and hung poised in midair. It looks like he broke the law? No, he didn’t break the law; he just used more general law. I.e. the law of gravity is a particular case of more universal law. So using more universal laws he passes over the limitations of our laws but he doesn’t break our laws.

Why it’s prohibited in all yogas to demonstrate superabilities?

As a rule demonstrating his superabilities a yogin engenders negative karma for him. That’s because showing any superability to any person with a mind not strong enough who can’t understand it this yogin creates such a jumble in a had of this undeveloped person. And this jumble slows down his evolutionary development. This person has to round out his mind at first, understand laws of logic and only after it go further. But here he hardly understands something as it is, he hardly makes both ends meet and suddenly – flop! – everything crashes down. This puts him quite aside from his road, this applies him the brake.

That is different in different yoga schools. There is such a vow: “If you have any superability but you don’t use it for the good of all the life beings you may engender negative karma for you”. I.e. if you can do something magical from our point of view and natural from your stand and you don’t do it then that is bad if it is your duty to do it. But starting demonstrating your superabilities and leading people astray are also bad.

For example a person finished secondary school, and then studied somewhere else, read intelligent books and he has his picture of the world. And any wizard or magician or person with extrasensory perception or sorcerer comes and begins to demonstrate things that are absolutely hard to believe with the world outlook of this person. And so he has the next choice: if I believe in this then I should believe in all the rest (in vampires, obscurantists, ghosts of the other world, in all the omens and superstition, etc.), i.e. “Having gorged this you have to gorge all the rest”. This throws a person off far away in his evolutionary development.

Just because of this reason having any superability don’t haste to show it at every occasion, it is not nice. More over this may do harm and you may not even track to whom. You show to someone as a secret but he is off his rocker. And he begins to look for means for evil curse, hex, saving from astral killers in the newspaper “From hand to hand”. This is very subtle matter. And who engenders this? Those who really have it, they stimulate it. And after it all kinds of charlatans come: they more adapt to this system then they are able to show something by themselves. They simply roll in money. But who has engendered this? This apology for a yogin, this failure yogin: he had barely flied up in the air when he begins to show it to everybody. He should be more modest. So everything contradicting to mind, everything breaking human evolution does harm. And a person slowing down evolution of mankind gets negative karma for him. That’s why one cannot neglect his mind.

– And what should we do if we are faced with all these wonders when the next magician begins to be up to some tampering?

You should remember another principle following from renunciation of ignorance: nobody and noting is entitled to impose sufferings on me, nobody and noting is entitled to make you weaker. All the things that make you weaker have to be rejected.

It’s not important whether this is a magician flying in the air or these are astral killers wandering around. If you don’t understand it, if you don’t look into it, if you feel that you become weaker with it (formerly you were hard-hearted person and now the ground is slipping from under your feet) than reject it, forget about it. Everything that makes you weaker should be forgotten about even if it is five times superabilities. This is vanity. This won’t give you happiness from the yoga point of view but they may muddle you up.

I remember nice 1990s. As soon as the Iron Curtain fell to the ground many magicians and persons with extrasensory perception spread from every corner. There was a small percentage of really good people: they haven’t really ever worked with this, they were astonished by themselves, they hardly understood by themselves how it worked but they have just read too much sensible books and showed something. And look what all this led to? Until year 2000 all this “family” slowly and peacefully quitted the stage and now you won’t find them. More precisely put those people which you will find they give themselves away. This is not because they were charlatans; some people from them were quite respectable. It is pardonable for them: because you know there was the Iron Curtain, communist ideology, it was prohibited to think in a different way. And then – bang! – all restrictions have been dropped. People went a little beat over the limits but responsible people made a conclusion very quickly and crazy ones set up “labor union of clairvoyants” until now. But now they are not dangerous, with the rare exception it doesn’t work now, now this is commercialism that ruins sooner that anything else. And responsible people don’t let themselves be noticed.

At one time I examined this question, I was interested in it. We have communist ideology saying that there are no superabilities but in yogic books they write that there are. And I have only one question: “If they are than show them to me”. Well, I see a lot of them and do you know which result I receive? – it’s not interesting, it’s boring. More over people involved in it (they aren’t yogins but they have superabilities) are very unhappy for some reason. Their life doesn’t differ a lot from life of typical burgher. Unless they have more subtle sufferings. Their psychic is more subtle that’s why they feel more pain. The second principle “Having defined the goal than carry it out” indirectly develops our mind, indirectly makes us to be strong. At first you should finish your work at logic surface and only after it you may pry into higher subjects and only if these higher subjects don’t contradict to logical level.

I prepare yoga instructors for a long time. And here one person from the village of Viper hardly made his way in the world but something guided him, he felt: “Yoga. Yes, it’s mine”. Where else he hasn’t been? What kind of books he didn’t read? Something was even memorized in him: “What is the color of this chakra? Tell me please in secret”. Well, It is a meaningless question “What is the color of chakra?” this question doesn’t have any sense. This is the same thing as asking about the color of atom. Atom is smaller by its size than light wave which is red, green or blue. These are the things from different fields. But such person comes, he has an inclination, he has a flair, this is the thing that came to him from above. He believes more to his superintuition and less to his mind.

He comes to me and at first I tell him: “You made it! Your superability worked, the Higher worked, you came to here. And now, my darling, take your mind in hand. Here’s your quantum physics textbook, here are your mathematics and computers textbooks, study English, round out your mind”. But he tells me: “What for? I just fly”. “No-no, everybody flies. You have to work on the surface of mind. Let’s talk with you about any part of mathematics. You will tell me that twice two makes four. You will tell me what is an integral and differential calculus. And we will further speak with you about chakras and so on. But if you won’t tell me all this than it means you are dull. And why to teach a dunce? It’s only wasting of time”. This is already from my stand. I don’t have to spend my life in vain too. I have to spend my time only on those people who will really carry yoga further and not on those people who feel Kundalini energy itching behind their ears. That’s why all this is the second principle.

I will remind you once again. The purpose is the Higher. The means is renunciation of ignorance. The methods are: non-injuring any live being without emergency; if there is no such possibility you have to act as your duty tells you; and at last – don’t waste your forces in vain but spend your lifetime, energy and power only on attaining goals defined by yourself. Everyone defines his own goals. Once defined a goal – go towards it to avoid going hither and thither, hither and thither.

And at last the first principle comes sometimes to a notion “ahimsa”, i.e. non-injuring. The second principle of non-wasting of forces on trifles is called “brahmachari” sometimes.

“We would remain animals until now without our wishes”

In books of different kinds (and here our friends Hindus spoiled our life slightly as well) brahmachari is turned into sexual abstention exclusively. Sex should be not in the very least, sex is used only for children birth but not too often. This is one of those moments when we unfortunately ate the higher knowledge from India with a huge heap of husks in which this knowledge came to us.

“Brahmachari” has deeper philosophical sense. Do you remember that everything begins from the purpose? The purpose is the Higher. At previous lectures we spoke about the Higher: the Higher is thereto the Higher that we can’t catch it. The Higher may open to us through different channels. A thing through which the Higher opens to you is your purpose. If you aspire for something, if you have any wish then you have to know that the Higher is showing for you through this wish whether consciously or unconsciously.

Whishing money you don’t wish money, you want power springing from money. And whom this power belongs to? This is the power of the Higher. And what you won’t only go over you aspire for the Higher indeed. But the Higher is too high, abstract and inconceivable category for our mind. And so it comes to us through form of concrete things out of its charity. Imagine that you have to entice an animal somehow. Do you remember as it was in animated cartoons: one date, second date, third..? It eats them and goes further. The same thing happens with the Higher: it is very kind to us, it lays out such dates on our road. The first thing – you have to finish school and you will be clever – this is a spice cake you eat. Then you have to study somewhere to earn much money – and again you eat this spice cake. And the Higher always gives us these spice cakes but in more and more subtle forms. Otherwise without having our wishes we would still stayed at animal level. That’s why there is nothing bad in our wishes. We would remain animals until now without our wishes. But another thing is that we have to make such ability: if we have any wish, any goal then we have to attain it very quickly, effectively and reasonably on the surface of logic. Our evolutionary development stage consists in this now.

Subject of sex is very narrow aspect of brahmachari. Brahmachari is more general notion. Sex takes up considerable part there but not all field. If you have your partner in Tantra yoga, our husband or wife, your lover or someone else you like then no third person has to suffer from you. As you understand taking the road of Tantra yoga abortions without medical prescriptions are out of the question for you. Concerning sex: if you started practicing and there was no suffering party then it’s wonderful. If you communicate with the Higher, aspire for the Higher through your partner then channel in yoga really opens, very mysterious processes really go; very quick, very sacred, very pure processes go for the good of all the live beings. These are the most wonderful practices but only in one case: if there is an aspiration for the Higher then even making sex turns into brahmachari. But practicing sex for no particular reason whether with this person or that means spreading you too thinly. It would be better to accumulate at first your sexual potential until you find a partner with whom you will be able to fly in the air. Why you waste your energy right and left? – It would be better if you accumulate it. Waste means non-observance of the second principle. But once again – this concerns sex. Yoga is very delicate in this respect. Theme concerning sex is very dangerous and later you have to lead life that you led until now. There should be no brusque movements. This theme is very dangerous because very powerful energies are used. If you suddenly block the river then it will fill and then it will breach your dam. You don’t have to allow this. Everything should be conscious. Notion “brahmachari” is wider than only sex. Meaning of “brahmachari” is not to spread yourself too thinly whether it would be sex, communication or your friends. “I will go to this party, I like it. But I won’t go to that party because people gathering there are wicked”.

Do you remember they called up for communication with like-minded people on the second stage? An old russian anecdote: “It’s good to guzzle even a bottle of vodka with a good person. But with a bad one whether you drink or not everything is bad all the same”. That’s why speaking about the way of living what wouldn’t we do, where wouldn’t we go (to the party, to the discotheque, etc.) it may raise us very high if it happens in a needed vein. But if it happens in needless vein it pulls us down. The question isn’t in a party or a discotheque. The question is whether they are “those date” on our road or not.

Method of conscious and method of energy

There is one more moment in this method “don’t waste your life on trifles” wrongly understand. Sometimes I see a disbalance. A person doesn’t give even a moment of peace to himself; his entire day is planned minutely. He has his English courses at this time, his computer courses at that time, etc. He mapped out all his day and he lived in this way one day, two days, three days… At the third week he feels himself like a person of diminished responsibility. So my friends, this principle includes the rest as well. This will be another item named “what to do” because we will examine it from a little bit another side. Sometimes working when we need rest means move away from goal, the same thing as don’t work at all. Here we speak about more fundamental principle: where we have to compel ourselves and where we have to allow ourselves.

My karma brought me together with Americans. They are nice people and work well, though I won’t tell that they work more then Russians. They work the same time as we do but they get a result ten times greater than we get because everything is smoothly running with them. I don’t know what a secret there is here. They work very well and they have an even good time after work when they relax at evening parties. And do you know how good is relaxing with people who work well? Those who know how to work well enjoy themselves also well. But those who don’t know how to work can’t relax too. You know this is like in yoga: wanting to relax then strain yourself and then on the relaxing wave you will relax so deeply that you have never even dreamed of that. That’s why this principle doesn’t assume that you have only to work from morning till night, only not to waste your time. Sometimes people tell me: “No, I won’t lose a second, I go to the Enlightenment”. No, sometimes you lie down to have a rest and a huge number of processes that you can’t control happen in this time. That’s because there is one more nuance here. We have to do things that depend on us, to do them honestly and fully. But everything that doesn’t depend on us we should set free and give the Universe time to complete its part of work. But if you do everything by yourself and don’t allow the Universe to do its part of work then the work won’t be done. That’s because there are things that don’t depend on us what wouldn’t you do.

I.e. there are two sides: you and the Universe. There are two workers: one does one thing and the second does another thing. A result turns out only when they unite with each other. If one did everything and the second did nothing then there is no result. Sometimes we should allow things to happen. The lesson is where we have to compel ourselves and where we may allow ourselves.