When a student enters the spiritual path and takes vows, he makes various commitments that he intends to uphold until the attainment of enlightenment. It is important to periodically recall what commitments a yogi makes and what qualities he must cultivate within himself.
For laypeople, I compiled a special text, bringing together various canonical requirements for spiritual practice. But these commitments differ little from the requirements for monks. The only difference is that some requirements regarding retreat practices and daily practice have been relaxed.
So, from the moment the vow of Refuge and the words of the oath are pronounced, a yogi must observe the main yogic principles.
The Yama Group
- vegetarianism, nonviolence, non-harming (ahimsa);
- renunciation of alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes;
- cessation of sexual contacts, renunciation of the loss of sexual energy (brahmacharya);
- sincerity, truthfulness (satya);
- having no material attachments to things (asteya, aparigraha);
- observance of the laws of society.
By raising the prestige of the sangha, we strive for the sangha to flourish, but in a personal sense there should be no material attachments—such is the principle of monasticism. When we dress the monks beautifully or decorate “Divya Loka,” it is an offering specifically to the Dharma, so that the Dharma will be respected. When the guru assumes an important, respectable appearance, it is so that people understand that the Dharma carries power, that it must be respected, and that those who practice it are people of great merit.
When I was not preaching but was myself a practicing yogi, I had the exact opposite attitude; that is, I received no offerings. Once, when I was about to conduct yoga classes, one of the students was horrified by how I had dressed and gave me something from his own wardrobe. Wherever I practiced, there were always only curtains, a portrait of the guru, a tape recorder with cassettes, books, and a meditation mat.
When we live in a monastery where the way of life is not only retreat-based, we are obliged to care in every possible way for its prosperity, to saturate it with material shakti, but not to become attached to it.
The Main Qualities of a Student
A student must also cultivate certain qualities within himself: trust, openness, understanding, diligence, attentiveness, and readiness to cooperate—this, one might say, is the alphabet of discipleship. To show diligence means to make an effort in everything, as far as possible, understanding that we must transform ourselves and that no one else will do it for us.
The Sixfold Group of Qualities — Shatsampat
Dama — self-control
The first quality is dama—self-control, control over the senses and emotions. People who live in a monastic community are those who control their emotions and possess self-mastery. Those who cannot control themselves do not get here at all; and if they do, they cannot practice here, so they do not stay long.
Control over the senses and emotions ideally means that a yogi must abide in serene contemplation, remaining attentive, and even if the sky begins to fall to the earth, nothing should shake him. This is not so simple; it is achieved through many long years of training. Nevertheless, if you are learning to contemplate, there is no other way than to master such self-control.
Uparati — renunciation of worldly activity
The next quality is uparati—renunciation of worldly activity. That is, any activity should contribute to evolution and spiritual development; therefore, we renounce non-spiritual goals and cease to see meaning in any actions outside the Dharma, outside service to the forces of enlightenment, outside spiritual practice.
If a person has not yet matured for this, it means that he has not yet set foot on the spiritual path. If he cherishes any goals apart from spiritual practice, he is simply wasting time. All our goals must in one way or another be connected with the principle of service, enlightenment, or helping others.
Shraddha — faith in the master’s instructions
The next quality is shraddha—faith in the master’s instructions, trust in the teaching and the methods of training. Faith (trust) means that you perceive the Dharma, the path, as something very profound. If a person has no trust, he does not perceive things very deeply; he does not absorb what the teacher tells him, what he reads in the texts.
When something is said in lectures, it does not come from the teacher’s desire to speak out or express himself, so the guru’s voice is not thunderous, and there are no rainbows in the sky either; everything is said in an ordinary tone, and such a student, lacking trust, perceives everything said as something completely ordinary. But in fact, every word of the teacher should sink deeply into the soul, become a motivating impulse for transformation. When there is faith, a single word is enough for the student to transform himself, to change or develop some quality within himself.
Titiksha – strength of spirit and steadfastness
The next quality is titiksha—strength of spirit, steadfastness, purposefulness, the will to win and to achieve the goal. Only a yogin with a winner’s mentality can be a vira yogin. Only a yogin who possesses great steadfastness and purposefulness is capable of moving toward liberation. If there is no such mentality, then it must be developed.
At the highest stages, of course, we renounce struggle altogether, as well as every kind of mentality, happily abiding in non-doing. That is, we fully trust existence, without being attached to any goal at all, because we understand that even spiritual victory itself is a certain trick of the ego that wants to win. But in order to reach such a level, we must already possess a certain vira mentality. That is, a vira mentality is the ability to set goals and achieve them, the ability to manifest will, perseverance, and strength of spirit.
For example, one lay practitioner came to “Divya Loka” to undergo a week-long retreat. Then it seemed to him that the conditions were cramped, that there was a lot of commotion before the retreat, as usually happens when laypeople arrive. The next day he quickly left, supposedly because of some very important and very urgent matters. And what was the point of that? This is an example of the absence of such qualities as faith, strength of spirit, and steadfastness.
In the past, teachers gave teachings while living in the mountains or mountain villages, and students overcame great difficulties in order to listen to their lectures and receive transmission. They climbed mountains, pitched tents, and endured many different hardships in order to practice near the teacher.
Samadhana – the ability to concentrate
The next quality is samadhana—the ability to concentrate. In the basic practices, you always perform concentration on a point, on Om, or on the flame of a candle. Without concentration, there is nothing to do in yoga. Concentration means that you are able to hold the mind on some object.
If you have strong concentration, this also manifests in service. When a person with strong concentration is given service, he is not distracted; he always acts one-pointedly. Having made a decision, he acts with very great speed. By the power of consciousness, one might say, he bends space, and then everything around him is directed toward the fulfillment of what he has conceived. His intention materializes; sankalpa manifests.
If a person has no concentration, he starts doing something, then tells a joke to a friend, then thinks that he lacks some materials, so he needs to wait, and then comes up with something else to be distracted by. As a result, such a smeared-out consciousness does not allow him to accomplish anything: it seems he intended to do something, but six hours have passed, and almost nothing has been done. That is, he cannot gather himself; there are too many distractions.
When the retreat comes, the same thing happens: he does kumbhaka, then blows his nose for 15 minutes, then his mind turns to a book, he reads a couple of pages, then daydreams, then remembers that he needs to do kumbhaka, but the senior monk is already ringing the bell, that is, the session is already over and it is time to meditate. And since the same thing is happening in his head, the two hours of meditation pass in roughly the same way. Then prasad; after prasad he needs to come to his senses a little, then he needs to reflect a bit, remember something, and in the evening he simply feels sleepy, so practice is completely out of the question. And this is called retreat practice. And then, with a sense of duty fulfilled, having spent seven days like this, he comes out of retreat.
But true yoga is actually something entirely different. You can truly have genuine experiences only when you possess colossal concentration, when your mind is very tenacious, when, having taken hold of one thing, you do not let it go, you hold it to the end, applying the maximum of will. And such an ability to concentrate without distractions brings about the awakening of kundalini, breakthroughs into dhyana, true presence in contemplation. It is the foundation of everything.
For example, thanks to the ability to concentrate, if you have once developed it and maintain it, you can achieve a great deal in a short time; your mind is very collected, you do not lose a single second. You may perform service for an hour and a half, but in terms of significance it will be equal to ten hours of service.
For example, I observed how laypeople built the “Singing Reed” in a month. They spoke little, worked from morning till evening, and took breaks only for meals. They had no tamas; there was wakefulness. None of them quarreled with one another; all were in harmony with themselves, no one entered a “devilish” state or had any problems. That is, in their worldly undertaking they achieved a high level of concentration. This is an example that even from laypeople one can learn something.
Concentration is precisely such a powerful, volitional consciousness in which everything is embodied. And at the same time there is no rajas in it. Your actions can be smooth, without rajas, and nevertheless you do everything quickly. For example, Vasudeva never has rajas, but when you assign him something to do, you come back after some time and everything is already done. How is that? This is the result of high concentration. He simply does not get distracted, and therefore even in a short time something serious is born through him, and of very high quality.
Shama – Calmness
The next quality is shama — calmness. Calmness means that you must learn to overcome any kinds of irritation, aversion, anger — anything that can take your mind out of the right state. Without this quality, a monk is not a monk, because a monk is one who always has command of his mind. Of course, this is possible only if you are always attentive and your attentiveness has penetrated very deeply.
One who possesses calmness never has conflicts with others, no sorting out of relationships, no turbulent emotions. It is as if he is present on another plane of being. One who does not possess calmness cannot yet follow spiritual practice, which is why it is often reminded that one must remember the vinaya and follow monastic etiquette. It can be said that monastic etiquette is the manifestation of calmness in behavior, of monastic truths and monastic qualities.
Qualities According to Shankara
We have listed the qualities related to shatsampat (the sixfold quality). Now let us consider the qualities listed by Shankara.
Discernment (viveka)
Discernment (viveka) is the ability to distinguish evolutionary goals, ideas, thoughts, and words from those that are obscuring and ordinary. That is, you know how to distinguish what contributes to awakening and what does not.
Dispassion (vairagya)
Dispassion, equanimity (vairagya) is, one might say, calmness raised to the third power. It is calmness and dispassion that you can maintain even under serious strain, problems, or situations.
How do you maintain dispassion? If you constrain yourself and think, “I am dispassionate,” then this is not it at all—at least in Laya Yoga it is certainly not it. You maintain dispassion through the ability to contemplate, through finding your inner center, the deep core, the heart space of the “I,” and trusting it. Instead of becoming frightened, confused, or panicked, you seek this inner refuge and surrender to it completely. Your task is not to generate any judgments about what is happening, but precisely to abide in the very nature of the “I.” This will be vairagya.
The mind of a person who does not possess vairagya often becomes confused or offended when he is told something he does not like. Song Chol Sunim said: “All who curse you are your best friends. After all, they free you from clinging to the ‘I’; why, then, are you not grateful to them?” But out of habit, we may experience various negative states when we strongly dislike something.
Mumukshutva – the aspiration for liberation
The next important quality Shankara spoke of is mumukshutva—a fervent aspiration for spiritual growth, liberation, and enlightenment. Mumukshutva must accompany a yogin always, from morning until evening, for years. Only then can he count on anything.
For example, I once told a nun that one could say the following to some of the less diligent lay students, in order to encourage them to practice: “Do not even think about liberation! With your approach, you will not succeed! Do not even dream of it! People like you are not suited for this. You do not have the necessary qualities, so accumulate merit.” In other words, mumukshutva means that we must have a great aspiration for spiritual practice. It is not that we get up in the morning and think: “Well, I really do not feel like doing anything today. And it is so cold outside.” Mumukshutva is when, no matter what, we simply continue our spiritual work day after day.
So, we have listed the qualities of the yama category, the shatsampat, and those to which Shankara drew attention.
The Niyama Group
Now let us consider the category of niyama qualities.
Shaucha – maintaining purity
The first quality is shaucha—maintaining bodily and spiritual purity. Bodily purity is understandable. Spiritual purity refers to the purity of the energy channels. A self-respecting yogin will not allow his channels to be polluted, nor his pranas to be disharmonious, such that merely standing next to him causes all your chakras, up to the anahata, to become blocked. He clearly understands his energetic state, can assess it, and cleanse the pranas in a timely manner. Spiritual purity also includes purity of thoughts, purity of relationships, and living on high vibrations.
It is precisely in monasticism that a person is capable of attaining such spiritual purity. You must always take care that your thinking is pure, and if it is not very pure, then take serious measures to purify it. Even if it generates something impure every day, you must not be lazy, but purify it every day. That is, act according to the principle: if a vessel has fallen seven times, you must pick it up seven times and cleanse it seven times.
For purification we use the disclosure of thoughts and repentance, prostrations, and pratipaksha-bhavana. It should not be the case that impure thoughts are generated in you for months while you think: “Nothing can be done about this anyway; perhaps someday I will solve everything through self-liberation.”
You must not tolerate a mind that wants to think impurely, project its impurity, or build some kind of impure relationships. Such a mind must be constantly purified. Of course, the best method of purification is self-liberation. If you are in the right state, in divine pride, in presence, then pure vision arises by itself. But if that is not the case, it is necessary to apply external methods: to perform prostrations, samskara-shuddhi, and repentance. Moreover, you should do this as many times as necessary, even ten times a day, because the world in which we will be reborn depends on it.
There is a story, I believe, about Maudgalyayana (one of the Buddha’s two chief disciples). He once came to preach in a community where a fairly high-level practitioner had once lived, who had already left his body. Maudgalyayana entered samadhi and saw that this person had been reborn in one of the lower worlds; when members of this community, other sannyasins and sadhus paid him honors and made offerings to him, he suffered. Maudgalyayana met him in the bardo and spoke with him. That yogin said to him: “I followed the wrong practice, I deceived myself, I had much impurity, and as a result I ended up in such a state. And although the other members of our community considered me an exalted practitioner, now I am in a miserable position. Please tell them not to perform these rituals, because when they perform them, it is like red-hot coals falling on my head.”
Maudgalyayana tried to explain to the members of this community what the situation was. But they became very angry with him and ended up killing him. It is said that Maudgalyayana, even though he possessed very powerful magical abilities, could not use them. At that moment some higher karmas were at work; for some reason his mystical powers failed him, so he was beaten and then died.
Spiritual purity is the protection of a monk. Spiritual purity means avoiding foul thoughts, foul wishes, foul judgments, impure visualizations, impure information, impure relationships, and practicing pure vision. This is not easy.
For example, some monk does something you do not like, and in your heart you are already showing him a clenched fist or twirling a finger at your temple. You do not do this outwardly, because you observe the rules of etiquette, but your inner little devil gets up to such things. Anything can happen, because the mind is not so easy to control; nevertheless, you must not identify with this little devil. You should say to him: “If you want to, twirl it, of course. But I am separate from you, I do not follow you.” Then this inner demon, this inner little devil, ceases to have any power over you. He does this and that, nevertheless you are separate from him, you preserve your purity. If, however, you and this little devil are one, then this is not a good state of affairs, and you need to work very seriously on your thoughts. Purity means that you unequivocally take the position of pure vision; you refuse to generate anything impure in relation to monks, laypeople, yourself, or in relation to anything whatsoever in principle.
Santosha – contentment
The next quality is santosha – contentment, the ability to accept the world and other people as they are, to be satisfied with what is. Contentment is a very deep quality that should arise from understanding, from presence; that is, it will truly develop when you have already made contemplation the main part of your life. It is the ability not to project the future, not to run ahead, not to cling, not to strive for any results outside contemplation itself, but always to abide in the present, to be satisfied with your own state here and now, in this very moment.
A Western monk visited a Thai monastery. Most of the monks there were from Thai and Vietnamese villages. One evening they were talking, and then they saw a small star in the sky. The Western monk said:
“Oh, that is a satellite flying by.”
The other monks asked:
“And what is that?”
The Western monk realized that, in terms of education, he was ahead of the Thai monks, and asked somewhat arrogantly:
“You do not know what a satellite is? The Earth is round, and satellites fly around it. And in general, there is NASA and an entire program for exploring the Moon and Mars.”
One old monk listened with great interest, and then said:
“Perhaps you know a great deal, but tell me—does this help you in your practice?”
Contentment means that even if you know little, what you know is the most valuable, the most important thing; it replaces everything for you. Even if you do not have much, you have something most precious—presence, which replaces everything for you. You greatly value this one thing, and you are satisfied with it. Instead of scattering yourself among some unnecessary aspirations, you grow ever more deeply into this contentment, and it increases in you with each passing day until it becomes a bright ecstasy. Discontent arises mainly because this pearl, this most important thing, this one thing, is somehow forgotten.
Tapas – self-discipline
The next quality is tapas – self-discipline, the capacity for ascetic practice, the conscious desire to practice intensively in order to burn away all desires and obscurations.
- Self-discipline of the body (kayika) means sexual abstinence, nonviolence, service without selfish motives, and the performance of yoga techniques
- Self-discipline of speech (vachika) means harmonious speech, glorification of the Dharma, uttering sincere words, refraining from criticizing others, from gossip, slander, and so on
- Self-discipline of the mind (manasika) means maintaining balance, calmness, and contemplation
All of this relates to tapas. Tapas literally translates as blazing, burning, scorching. When your legs have gone numb and your back hurts during mahashanti, but you concentrate without falling into vagueness or agitation, that is tapas. When you hold kumbhaka for 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, that is tapas. When you perform service and certain inner desires throw you off, but you concentrate, striving to benefit others; when you are very sleepy, yet you still do shambhavi mudra or chandali yoga, these too are varieties of tapas. That is, tapas is when, in some respect, you overcome yourself.
Svadhyaya – self-education
The next principle is svadhyaya – self-education, self-study; that is, the regular study of the sacred texts of the tradition, instructions, methods, and philosophy. In particular, our monks write scholarly religious-philosophical treatises. This is also an embodiment of the principle of svadhyaya. That is, one must know the texts of the tradition to which one belongs. One must possess some elementary clarity regarding what one practices.
These are the qualities required of disciples.
Consecration of food. Seven ways of offering food
Now I would also like to say briefly something about contemplation, offering, and the consecration of food.
When you take food together, you generally perform the first purification option with the Gayatri mantra. By reciting the Gayatri mantra, you attune yourself to the Absolute and to solar energy; then you mentally offer the food to the Absolute, imagining how it becomes filled with light and passes into pure vision, becoming nectar. The mantra itself is the establishment of a connection with the Absolute; the offering of food is also the establishment of a connection with the Absolute. What, in general, is an offering? In fact, the meaning of an offering is that it is unification, integration. In this case, the Absolute is the wide-open mind in our subjective experience. Food is an object. And when we offer, we reunite our contemplative mind with the object, that is, with the food, and imagine how the food becomes filled with light and passes into a pure dimension, turning into nectar. Then, through contemplation, we generate divine pride and make an offering of nectar to the deity in our own form, that is, we take food in a state of divine pride.
If you consecrate food correctly, its characteristics and its energetic-informational qualities change; they can even be detected by instruments. Such food becomes healing and auspicious; prana rises from it, obstacles are removed, and some kind of bliss or even enjoyment arises. For example, one lay practitioner says: “When you eat food in the monastery, the energy always rises, and joy arises. You eat it and cannot get enough.” Why does this happen? This food has a higher energetic potential because it is prepared in a pure place (in “Divya Loka”) and is consecrated.
This is the main method, but there are many other ways of offering food. You may practice any of the seven options, especially if you are taking food on your own or while traveling.
The second option is to offer food with the mantra Om. That is, you simply chant Om and unite the food with the vibration of the mantra, which enters the food. Then you imagine how the prasad passes into pure vision, turning into nectar, and that you are feeding the deity, that is, yourself, with nectar. Then this is no longer simply the process of eating food, but a ritual offering; therefore, instead of accumulating karmic traces, you practice and accumulate merit.
The third option is the practice of purification with Guru Yoga, which you perform as usual. When you chant the first Om, you visualize before you an Om in rays of rainbow light, the Refuge Tree, the parampara, the lineage of transmission, as it is depicted in the picture. That is, before you are all the rishis, saints, bindu, the five-colored bindu, the eight classes of gods, Dattatreya, Shankara, Jalandharinath, Charpatinath, Tirumular, Mahamurti Baba, etc. The entire lineage of transmission stands before you as if alive; it is vibrating, subtle, consisting of rays of light. You should have such a visualization during every Guru Yoga when you chant the first Om. And when you chant the first Om while offering prasad, you mentally offer this prasad and say: “Please accept this humble offering of mine.” When you chant the second Om, light emanates from the Refuge Tree, from the parampara, and consecrates your food, saturating it with energy. Finally, when you chant Om for the third time, the light completely dissolves your body and the food, and only the space of light remains. Then you again repeat the previous points: feeling yourself to be a deity in a state of divine pride, you make an offering of nectar to the deity, imagining how the food, having turned into nectar, has passed into pure vision.
The fourth option is to say the dictum from the “Mahanirvana Tantra”: “I dedicate this to Brahman,” and offer the food to Brahman. Mentally or physically, you make the prardhana mudra. If you are traveling by train, you should not make the prardhana mudra in front of other people, since this may cause misunderstanding and even criticism. For example, if some tantric practitioner practices in the world, he does not perform complex techniques of offering food when he comes to a cafeteria or restaurant, because this will bewilder laypeople and they will become very nervous. In the same way, you too should make the offering of food inconspicuously, since this is connected with your tantric samayas. In this option, you simply say mentally: “I dedicate this to Brahman.” Feeling how the blessing power descends upon the food, you imagine that it passes into the pure dimension, and, having generated divine pride, you make an offering of nectar to yourself as a deity. That is, in each method the entire ritual ends with you mentally offering nectar to the deity. The deity is you yourself, the food is nectar, the offering is the process of eating, the receiving of prasad (food) is a ritual action.
The fifth option is the practice of the Brahma mantra. This is a broader practice, when you need to saturate the food more strongly, to make it more effective. You perform the Brahma mantra in full, feeling how the blessing, descending power of Brahman descends upon the food. That is, this is a complete practice of offering food with the performance of the Brahma mantra ritual.
The sixth option is simply to remain in presence and generate divine pride. Without visualizing anything, without pronouncing anything, you offer the food, and by the power of presence alone you transform the food into pure vision, into nectar, and then offer it to yourself in the form of a deity.
The seventh option is even closer to anuttara tantra. It is suitable only for those who are in very deep contemplation, who have already realized the single “taste” and pure vision. You do not offer anything, visualize anything, or pronounce anything. You constantly recognize yourself as a deity, and instantly recognize the food as nectar. Abiding in the inseparability of the food, the one who partakes, and the process of partaking, dwelling in nonduality, you deepen divine pride and pure vision, meditating on the nonconceptual unity of the one who tastes and that which is tasted, making no distinctions. Eating is perceived as a sacred ritual, as play, entirely abiding in pure vision.
The sixth and seventh options are suitable for those who are rooted in very deep nondual presence, who are already originally abiding in pure vision.
If you take prasad daily in this way, without being distracted and making it a complete practice, you will receive blessings from the food you take, your mind will be purified, and contemplation will increase. You will have auspicious dreams, for example, visions of nectar in dreams, and so on. The food you take will bestow a good mood and a high level of energy. After it, there will never be tamas.
