As you know, throughout January the monks will be taking the remaining exams. We are entering the next academic year. I think that in 2007 the learning process will become more profound. I hope that you will make considerable efforts in striving to achieve excellent results.
Once, I was talking with a monk, and he expressed the following thought: “I do not practice for the sake of rankings or grades.” Of course. Rankings and grades merely reflect the inner processes of spiritual growth that are taking place; they are a kind of mirror. It is very important for us to assess ourselves from the standpoint of the Dharma, to understand what stage we are at, and to understand how those above us assess us. This is designed primarily to stimulate our practice and self-development and to guard against any deviations. I think this will be very beneficial.
Of course, a stage is not an end in itself. A stage is for the sake of realization. But a stage is not attained without effort; it is a major milestone in life. To pass it, one must strive to develop many qualities and undertake very serious practices. Being awarded a stage means that you have overcome a certain trial of the siddhas, crossed a certain threshold, and proved to yourself that you are worthy of crossing it. This is precisely how the learning process should be viewed: all of it works for our benefit and for the sake of our realization.
Of course, everyone understands that realization is something internal, but it can be described, assessed, and manifested in some way, and it can always be adjusted. Our spiritual realization must manifest itself in some way, stimulating us in our spiritual practice. Then the process of attaining liberation does not seem difficult.
A disciple asks, “How can I attain enlightenment?” I tell him, “Pass the exam for the seventh stage. If you can pass it—and since you will have to work very seriously and undertake a great many practices—this will confirm and demonstrate that you have attained it. And by that time, your consciousness itself will have become true.”
A system of assessments and certifications exists in various monasteries. For example, it also exists in a Zen monastery, but it is somewhat different there. You are asked a question, you answer, and instead of a grade, you may receive a blow from a stick, for example.
Principles of Spiritual Growth in the Monastery
The point is that in 2007 we need to pay close attention to the grades we receive, to our ranking, and to the stage we are at, and make efforts to raise our level. Life in a monastery is a constant challenge to our abilities, a raising of our level, continuous work on ourselves, continuous expansion of our consciousness and qualities, and the development of new creative abilities. If we stagnate, if there is no growth, this signals to us that we are not doing enough in some area. This is precisely the purpose of the entire learning system.
In the monastery there are no chosen ones, no favorites, and no outcasts. Everyone is equal; everyone is equally dear to God and the guru, but people have different abilities and different levels. And the guru will always be happy if all his disciples attain the highest stages and the highest realization, from the very first monk to the newest novice. This is the guru’s dream—to help everyone attain the necessary level of realization. The learning system exists in the interval between where we begin and where we ultimately arrive.
Time Frames for Progressing Through the Stages
As a rule, you pass the first stage after one or two years in the monastery. You pass the second at approximately the fourth or fifth year. By roughly the sixth year, you approach the third stage. To pass the third stage, you will have to make a serious effort; some may literally have to storm it. I am not even speaking of the fourth. As a rule, the fourth stage can be attained in 12 years, since the fourth stage presupposes a fairly high level. At the very least, each of you should complete the 12-year course of study having attained the fourth stage. This will be your pass and transition into the Swami Order—the order of monks who already practice for the sake of genuine holiness.
If someone rises to the fifth, let alone the sixth stage, that is a true blessing. They will receive genuine benefit from the teaching, become a transmitter of the teaching lineage, and receive my blessings to uphold the lineage of transmission. So far, in our World Community of Laya Yoga, only one disciple has attained the sixth stage—Vasudeva.
Some may need perhaps half a lifetime to move from one level to the next, or even an entire lifetime, since people’s abilities are not the same. I understand this perfectly well. But, on the other hand, our capacity for transformation and learning, for unlocking our inner potential—all of this is in our hands.
Self-Assessment and Working on Oneself
Everyone should check themselves and pay attention to how their learning process is progressing. For example, if a person has been in the sangha for eight years and is still at the first level of training, this is clearly some kind of sign that they are “growing too quickly.” If all their spiritual powers, intellectual and creative abilities have remained at the level of the first stage, which lay practitioners complete in two or three years, then this is an obvious sign that they have gone completely astray. They need to work on this. If a person’s rating does not rise above the beginner level year after year, this is a clear sign that they have something to work on. In other words, a genuine practitioner always demands much of themselves, and does so rather strictly. They always try to work on themselves in order to continuously raise their level. They work on their limitations and illusions without any apprehension, challenging themselves. To keep moving forward, unafraid to challenge oneself, is the very process of liberation.
Weak memory—I will recite a mantra, concentrate on the ajna chakra, and develop it. There are no problems; everything is attainable. Constant idle chatter—I will take a strict vow of mauna. Problems with the chakras and health—I will engage in shakti yantra practices, make this the purpose of my life for the next twenty years, and ensure that all the chakras are under my control. I do not understand intellectual training—I will express the sankalpa to become a mahapandit in this field and attain the highest perfection. There is dullness in meditation or contemplation—I will place the main emphasis on the practice of contemplation. Thus, by constantly challenging ourselves and developing the qualities we lack, we advance in spiritual practice.
Transformation into a Deity and the Highest Exemplars
Spiritual practice means gradually transforming oneself into a deity. Naturally, a deity is capable of earning high marks and attaining high levels; this is not difficult for one. This means that in order to rise to the level of a deity, we must constantly make an effort.
The training system is designed so that we strive for what is better and higher, and orient ourselves toward the highest exemplars in behavior, consciousness, and intellect. We will not descend to lower models of behavior, consciousness, or vision of the Dharma. On the contrary, we will try to help them rise. I once said that the guru will not rest until every one of his disciples becomes the god Brahma. This is precisely why we are improving the training process.
If any of you confirms the realization of the sixth level after twelve years of training, you will receive the true blessing of practice. If you reach the fifth level, you will attain genuine maturity and become a true monk, a candidate for sainthood, one who is impeccable, acts without flaws, is capable of self-directed learning, is flexible and aware, has experience of samadhi, and has become fully established as a monk-swami. One who realizes the fourth level is a genuine vira yogi, without fear or reproach, who follows the path of holiness. This is exactly how one should practice.
Conclusion on Spiritual Education
I wish you this year and in the years to come to increase your level of practice and your understanding of the Dharma by an order of magnitude. And I will make every effort to continue transmitting the teaching properly and conveying it to practitioners.
Many students are now appearing in branches and Dharma centers who express a desire to take the examinations for the first and second levels. In other words, lay practitioners are beginning to raise their level somewhat. Of course, all this can be regarded as lila (play); there is no competition or anything of that sort here. All of this is intended to help us understand that we have potential, that there is room for us to develop further, that we have things to work on, and that there are new qualities we can cultivate within ourselves.
Since we are a Monastery-Academy, that is, an educational institution, we are studying to become “saints” and “deities.” This is an order of magnitude more advanced than the most difficult secular disciplines in the world, because spiritual science is extraordinarily complex and indeed highly sophisticated. Even people who are highly accomplished in secular sciences are often perplexed when they embark on spiritual training. I can say this with certainty because I have interacted with many people who hold academic degrees. Our academic degrees are somewhat different: meditativeness, the cultivation of samadhi, impeccable penetration into the essence of sacred texts, the discarding of the false ego, awareness, and the development of new creative powers and abilities.
