Spiritual Practice. Philosophical Reflection

Reading Maria Nikolaeva’s book came actually as a quite pleasant surprise to me. The title of the book led me to expect just another book on meditation and the discovery of one’s self; and, truth be told, there are many of those in print! Fortunately, I was wrong! This book is an easy-to-understand guide to the exploration of one’s self in conjunction with space, time and the cosmic scene. It is a roadmap that imprints not only the paths of self-awareness but also describes the provisions one must carry on the way. I have read phrases such as “one road many ways,” “one way many roads,” etc. In the case however of this particular book, the Author proves both sentences true provided that the correct conditions concur.

The problems of self-awareness and the discovery of one’s true self and as a result, of one’s true volition, have been engaging the mind of man for many centuries and continue still to be a research subject of substance. Starting with Socrates’ exhortation “Know thyself,” the mantle is taken up by the Gnostics, who first pointed out in a systematic way and with a religious structure the fact of the fallacy of appearances when compared to the truth of being. The illusive world of the Creator (“Demiurge”) of the Gnostics differs very little from the Maya, the illusive reality of Hinduism. The Hindus in the authentic “Sanathana Dharma,” the Vedas and their books of knowledge, wherein they have concerned themselves with a multitude of issues, point out the inability of human beings to understand the nature of the Divine as well as their own limitations to perceive the natural reality which surrounds them. This inability to understand the nature of the Divine is also pointed out by Origen, who while walking on the beach with a student proceeded to ask him to count the grains of sand. The student by confessing his inability to do so, received the following answer: If you are incapable of investigating something as finite as a beach how dare you wish to perceive the nature of infinity? What one perceives is a dreamy state, Maya, which imposes an illusory perception of reality. This illusory perception of reality results in an equally illusory perception of oneself, of what one is, where one goes and what one really wants. Modern science confirms that man’s tools of perception of reality have their own limitations. Our senses collect but a fragment of the reality surrounding us and codify it in a way suitable for us to perceive it. From the moment we accept that the Universe is temporary and relative and that we perceive it with ineffective means, it is clear that on a level of consciousness we live in a micro-universe within another Universe. The attempt to break through the walls of the virtual universe we perceive, to break through the Matrix —if I may use the modern terminology for Maya— is clearly to be made using supersensory means, such as those possessed by one’s spirit, one’s higher self, which by its own nature participates in both realities, the Matrix as well as the cosmic truth. One such tool, which has been proven effective through the ages, is meditation.

This book presents a roadmap that guides us to meditation. This is achieved using the Hindu tradition as a point of reference, and yet in an non-dogmatic way, i.e. without imposing authority but with the provision of such means that shall assist the reader to discover his or her own way, without stumbling into obstacles. The references in the book make the analogy between the eastern meditation and the orthodox tradition of anchorites, and the correspondence of yogis to the Christian orthodox “holy fools.” For them the common ground is their distancing from the matrix of material perception. Anyone seriously interested in meditation and wanting to be informed in a correct, objective, impartial and nonsectarian way, has acquired the right book. For me it has been a pleasure to read the book and an honour to meet the author.

*Athanassios Theodorou is Bachelor of Arts in Law (National University of Athens), Master of Arts in Philosophy with a focus on the history of religions (University of Sorbonne, Paris), Practicing law in Athens, Greece.

Expert Feedback

In a very interesting way, through her personal experience and knowledge, Maria Nikolaeva describes the interaction and methodology of several practices to achieve self-realization into Reality- Samádhi, Nirvana or Satori. Personally, through my experience as a Yoga Instructor, I agree to interact multiple paths to attain Enlightment. What really matters is the goal; the way to attain it is a personal choice. As I often say to my students: “your mind is your guru, so follow your Inner Voice.”

Through this book, readers will find an intelligent and profound explanation to the development of their Inner Consciousness.

My sincere congratulations for this wonderful book that transmits the essence of rich experience and knowledge by Maria Nikolaeva (Atma Ananda).

Namaste.

* Lina Gonçalves is Yoga Samkhya Instructor, Reiki Master and Master of Magnified Healing in Lisbon, Portugal

It is a sort of philosophical banality that all our sensual experience is limited by two formal structures of perception – time and space. From the Eastern point of view we have a lot of time because of the theory of reincarnation: people can wait for many lives to do something good or to improve the present life. From the Western point of view, we always have lack of time for the spiritual experience, because we are so occupied by all forms of business, while our eternal consciousness, (since in the Christian tradition our soul is eternal) does not need to do anything for our self-realization, and keeps us in complete spiritual stagnation. While traveling many years in Asia doing my cultural research the notion of “timing’ was very useful. Timing is a complex notion that includes many perspectives: “a period’ (for a particular activity), “set’ (chosen chain of actions), “synchronism’ (harmonization of our actions with going on events or social programs), “success’ (sudden connection of personally reaching a goal with a common benefit for others), “fate’ (accident, mystical meeting etc.), “end’ (death as the final point of a biological life or of any form of physical process). So, timing is time as such in its flowing, conscious of time current, subjective feeling of changing. To be in proper time in proper place (space) – means to get everything in proper order. This is active intuition of actual chance, or just psychological ability to be “here and now’. Usually, you can find many cultural descriptions and parallels.

Among philosophical systems, “time’ as pure form of sensual experience was exposed very clearly and specific in “Criticism’ by Kant; and “time’ as an active form containing data of perception – in “Phenomenology’ by Husserl. However, spiritual practitioners are less interested in time structure in the world. They are intending to become aware of aggregates as all periods in historical time inclusive in one consciousness. This is the ideal of knowing about all cosmic events and human destinies (like in astrology and the low of karma), not only just the form but also the content of each process. Such goal changes the acceptance of time from the very start of their way in a spiritual practice. That is why the lives of saints are full of mystic happenings during their development even before achievement of self-realization. Their position according to timing is replaced by staying in “volume consciousness’ or eternity (as you can see in the “Volume Way’ chapter). While the volume is not all-embracive in the beginning, this is already principally another strategy of life. Conscious timing will be described in the following chapter about “tuning the rhythm’ when we will understand the role of the subject in the situation. Here we are dealing with objective characteristics of the world as time-space matrix: situation, dynamism, and periods.

Situation as it is

The notion of “timing’ is the most important for any present situation even if this is just routine work. Needless to say about spiritual practice, where time is hold under conscious control. I used the notion of “timing’ since I met one Western sannyasi (a type of monk) who was traveling in Asia for 16 years. We did not keep in touch by phone or e-mail but often “accidentally’ met in three different countries (Thailand, Laos, China), and everyone knows how many such a mystic meetings happens during traveling. Discussing next tracks he often reminded me about “timing’ to decide how long to stay in this or that country: waiting for spring or using visa-run. Once I was shocked in the street when a motorcyclist crushed and died just at my feet. He run to the cross-street, felt as in a movie, turned two-three times and fallen apart. His body tried to stand up while his broken head pulled him down. After some convulsions he died. In the evening I told the incident to my friend. He answered just with one word: “Timing!” But in a few minutes of silence he added: “Useful to observe’. Well, it is useful in any situation to see: how “time starts’ and how “time ends’. You are ready or not; win or lose – that is all. You can make one decision but you never know what will happen. It is only “timing’.

Timing is good to travel for some period since (slowly and surely) you can develop strong feeling of unity with the dimensions of time-space, where everything is inter-correlated and inter-connected. You do not need to worry about the future, but it makes sense to analyze incoming events and trace your own trajectory of movement. Mastering “timing’ gives a flexible strategy for your planning: you have an algorithm of actions, which can be immediately changed at any moment if you get new information about better chances or possible danger and obstacles. A similar strategy is needed in a spiritual practice: by choosing a particular practice, you arrange everything around its performing, and it will become a central part of your whole activity. But if you see signs of something wrong in the practice, meet a better instructor or find another experience – you must be ready to coordinate everything according to the new situation. Do not just leave your started practice behind, but complete a transfer from previous actions to the new ones. Transaction is a working zone because the whole of life as such is a transaction – from nothing to being, from darkness to light, from death to life. Any situation includes everything: timing, knowledge, and realization.

Static / Dynamic

Static and dynamic is the basic correlation in feeling your own path. Similar to balancing, timing is mastered in personal experience only. Everybody knows that even worldly business requires both skills in patience (waiting for months and years until success) using stability for improvement of your foundation and ability to do multiple parallel actions (while traveling coordinating the staff at a distance) without errors in every step. Spiritual practice concentrates timing in the eternal unity of the individual and god. Ideal timing is the being of Time itself in its evolving through destinies of people and ages. The person is a conscious axis for cosmic circling. For instance, some kriya-yoga teachers explain self-realization as becoming Time itself. That is why timing is more obvious in examples of great personalities. They are embodiments of whole ages in human evolution. They found the basis for new traditions giving “programs’ to people and nations for hundreds of years. Such epochal changes happen in a direct synchronized moment. Before they become able to guide the world’s destiny, their lives are full of fate when timing possesses their personal structure for alignment with common development. Literary, they do what they cannot escape – and nothing else!

Technically, when you master timing on the structural level, first of all, you need to develop an axis for centering. It would be a process of coordinating the center of your self-being with Supreme Self. The yogic ideal requires performing different rituals in many cultures. Slowly, the ritual became abstract as pure principles of development – movement and / or stability. If we take the version of spiral (circling around axis) we can call it as “movement in stability’. So, first strategically the connection in any personal algorithm is “timing – axis’. Punctuality depends on being centered, and vice versa; axis is developing together with punctuality. For example, Yogi Bhajan always prescribed meditation for a precise period 11 minutes and then – you have three, two… minutes left. Kundalini Yoga needs the centering of all practices around rising Kundalini up alone the spine. However, you can use for this goal both dynamic and static techniques, punctually changing your practice in the proper time. Eternity does not discriminate between movement and stability. Everything is moving in a total stillness in the holistic universe. This is the perfect orienteer for coordination between dynamic and static.

Periods

Obviously, every developed person demonstrates his mastering in “timing’. Each special practice (sadhana) or life period is directly separated in time. After that a sudden inexpectable change happens and one starts another period moving to a different field, changing ones style or manners etc. Such radical changes seem crazy and unreasonable for surrounding people while they always have an inner foundation being very punctual in timing. For instance, at the beginning Ramakrishna’s conduct caused laugh and he was treated as a mad man. You see, once he prayed to Jesus Christ, and then he performed Muslim prayes, next he jumped on trees like Hanuman (god monkey) calling Rama, etc. However, Ramakrishna himself finished each sadhana after a specific determined period in his self-realization; especially when he achieved the final goal as the Vision of God (Darshan). The very end of his efforts was adwaita (non-duality). We see similar periods in Ramana Maharshi’s life: leaving home, 17 years in the cave, staying in the house with his family, as a head of the ashram. The saint (recognized in India) was silent ten years, and suddenly he started to accept many visitors daily and answering to everyone. Why all changed? Inner work creates the intention to start a new period, and everything is converted according to new task.