Not long ago, I was asked by yoga teachers from Argentina to answer questionary. \u00a0I decided to publish it here, in case someone would be interested in.<\/p>\n
Interview with Guru Yogi Matsyendranath<\/strong><\/p>\n 1.\u00a0What is your spiritual name? 2. What\u00a0Sampradaya do\u00a0you belong to? And what is your Parampara? 3.\u00a0Where do you live now? 4.\u00a0What do you do? 5.\u00a0Do you have any family;\u00a0wife or children? 6.\u00a0Could you give us a brief overview of your life? 7.\u00a0What\u00a0is spirituality according to your\u00a0understanding? 8.\u00a0Do you think a person can live a spiritual life? 9.\u00a0Do you think there are people living a material life? 10. In your opinion\u00a0is the balance between the material and the spiritual possible? 11.\u00a0What can you tell us about the Life itself? 12. How\u00a0do you think what is the purpose of life? 13.\u00a0What is\u00a0that particular thing which should be never forgotten in this life? 14.\u00a0Can you give us a definition of Yoga? 15.\u00a0What is meditation? 16. \u00a0What is meant by enlightenment? 17.\u00a0And\u00a0what does\u00a0self-realization mean? 18.\u00a0Do you think it is possible to find self-realization in this life? 19.\u00a0Who\u00a0has\u00a0reached\u00a0self-<\/strong> 20. What is the mind according to\u00a0your understanding? 21.\u00a0What do you think is the best technique to control the mind? 22.\u00a0Do you think it is possible to transcend the mind? 23.\u00a0What is desire? Do you think that desire stems from the mind? 24.\u00a0What should we do with our desires? 25.\u00a0What is Maya? 26.\u00a0What is its origin, how is its effect produced? 27.\u00a0Is there a way to transcend Maya? How? 28.\u00a0What is your understanding of what compassion is? 29.\u00a0Can compassion be developed? How? 30.\u00a0What are the characteristics of compassion and how in your opinion a compassionate person reacts to aggression? 31. In your opinion is\u00a0the role of a woman changing in todays world? Has this any affects on\u00a0a\u00a0man? 32.\u00a0Do you think Yoga can help people who live in a big city? 33.\u00a0Do you think that a yogi can reach the state of Dhyana within the distractions of a big city? Not long ago, I was asked by yoga teachers from Argentina to answer questionary. \u00a0I decided to publish it here, in case someone would be interested in. Interview with Guru Yogi Matsyendranath 1.\u00a0What is your spiritual name? My spiritual name … Continue reading
\n<\/strong>My spiritual name is Yogi Matsyendranath. I was given it while I was receiving the transmission into tantric sadhanas. But\u00a0among Nath Sampradaya followers in India\u00a0I\u00a0am more known as Yogi Matsyeshvarnath. Actually, these two names are\u00a0synonymous.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I belong to\u00a0the\u00a0Nath Sampradaya, it traces back to Shiva Adinath, however, it became famous\u00a0in virtue of Mahayogi Gorakshanath. In fact, both of them are considered to be the Lord Shiva.\u00a0The Parampara I belong to is quite long. My Guru\u00a0is the head of\u00a0Devipatan temple, which is a popular and well-known sacred place among Nathas\u00a0situated in North India. My Guru was given his first initiation by Guru Kamalnath, while Kamalnath obtained his initiation from Navaminath and so on. My Guru has also been blessed by the patriarch of Sampradaya, Shri Shri Avedyanath and his\u00a0successor Yogi Shri Adityanath.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>At this moment I live in Latvia (Europe), where I have a temple. Sometimes I travel to India and Russia, the place where I was born and began to spread out the Tradition.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I am teaching the people yoga, that very one which\u00a0was taught by\u00a0Gorakshanath and Matsyendranath, as well as the other yogis of my Tradition.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>No,\u00a0I do not have a family in\u00a0its\u00a0usual sense. I have only my spiritual family consisting of Guru (my father), Goddess of the Universe (my mother) and disciples (my children). Although I am not opposed to the general family values, my affairs do not leave me any time for social life.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>In brief, I was born in the USSR and\u00a0began\u00a0to\u00a0study martial arts when I was at school. Gradually, I became interested in spirituality, then I switched to yoga. At that time\u00a0only one ideology existed in\u00a0the USSR\u00a0\u2013\u00a0communism and\u00a0there was not enough information regarding\u00a0spiritual aspects of yoga. So,\u00a0I started\u00a0to study by\u00a0books, which\u00a0were spread out illegally.\u00a0After a while\u00a0everything\u00a0became\u00a0open and my friends asked me to teach them,\u00a0so we started practicing together. At\u00a0that time\u00a0I was the only yoga teacher\u00a0in the city.\u00a0Afterwards\u00a0I went to India,\u00a0since I\u00a0did not have any\u00a0money I\u00a0had been living there as a beggar\u00a0for several years. Some time later\u00a0I met Nathas\u00a0and received\u00a0initiations. I\u00a0had\u00a0learned\u00a0everything that\u00a0Guruji was teaching me, then he told that I was allowed to\u00a0spread the Tradition on but\u00a0to sincere\u00a0students\u00a0only. However, I had no idea how to start\u00a0it,\u00a0because the Indian reality\u00a0is different from\u00a0the West\u00a0one;\u00a0perhaps that was the reason why lots of Teachers\u00a0did not want to do it. Nevertheless, I tried to develop the Tradition\u00a0and I faced lots of challenges in the beginning.\u00a0As I see now much has been done since that time and\u00a0today practitioners from\u00a0Europe, America and other countries\u00a0know about the Tradition and\u00a0some of them are\u00a0even\u00a0teaching\u00a0it.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Spirituality is samarasya realisation (the state of a single\u00a0taste of life). It is an accomplishment of soul\u00a0transcendence (Alakh-vijnyana) within this body and this world.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Of course,\u00a0spirituality is the nature of one\u2019s\u00a0true Self.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I think so,\u00a0but everyone\u2019s\u00a0live\u00a0is\u00a0different. Our aim is to obtain\u00a0enlightenment\u00a0while we are living in this world, as well as to\u00a0acquire wisdom, which will liberate us from sorrow.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Definitely. Gorakshanath taught yoga of the sun and the moon, and, of course, they were simbols. The sun is an immersion into\u00a0material being and\u00a0mode, while the moon is spirituality which rejects society. In spite of this, we are able to reach the balance.\u00a0However, there are different practitioners, some of them\u00a0go to extremes, but what we need is equilibrium.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Life for many people\u00a0is\u00a0full of bitterness in this world,\u00a0however,\u00a0the\u00a0happiness\u00a0
\n<\/strong>The aim of the life is to\u00a0cognize its source and realize it within oneself.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>My Guru said\u00a0\u201cIn every moment of your life\u00a0realise what is\u00a0the main thing,\u00a0and\u00a0what is the secondary\u00a0one.\u00a0You should always\u00a0remember about supreme one.”<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Yoga\u00a0means connection between an individual soul and the\u00a0supreme source, this contact reveals\u00a0in presence of\u00a0a\u00a0pure, quiet and\u00a0awaken consciousness. Every man needs this state, whatever\u00a0he is\u00a0doing in this life\u00a0he\u00a0will always be\u00a0a winner. So,\u00a0yoga is necessary for\u00a0everyone.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Different religious schools imply their meaning in this\u00a0concept. In our Tradition it is called dhyana, that is the state when attention is absorbed by its source,\u00a0by Self\u00a0(Atman)\u00a0or pure consciousness. Then\u00a0a\u00a0yogi\u00a0is dwelling\u00a0in a state of super-consciousness (unmani).<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>This is when you look at things correctly,\u00a0i.e. when you perceive a\u00a0temporary\u00a0thing as the temporary,\u00a0and\u00a0an\u00a0eternal one as the eternal.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Self-realization is a proper realizing\u00a0yourself as\u00a0Shiva,\u00a0and the\u00a0entire\u00a0world\u00a0as\u00a0Shakti, your\u00a0manifestation. Then\u00a0yoga can be discovered\u00a0(the\u00a0unity of all).<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>It is necessary. Sometimes we\u00a0are able to\u00a0feel our higher nature even though we may be far from it. But\u00a0the goal of yoga, according to our Tradition\u00a0is to\u00a0learn how to\u00a0be\u00a0in the presence of the God\u00a0continuously\u00a0while living this life.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>There have been such yogis\u00a0in our Tradition\u00a0and they still exist,\u00a0however,\u00a0most of them are very modest. Therefore, they tend to talk about themselves as minor Gurus\u00a0or yogis. Although\u00a0they share their strength\u00a0and support high aims\u00a0of\u00a0sincere seekers (avalambi).<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Mind\u00a0is what\u00a0controls our feelings (indrias). Mind\u00a0can be\u00a0controled via\u00a0prana (pranayama), and a yogi is able to control prana through\u00a0nada\u00a0sound\u00a0(anahata). Then a yogi dissolves\u00a0his\u00a0mind in the universal source of consciousness, he reaches samadhi.\u00a0Mind can be our friend,\u00a0if\u00a0it is\u00a0enlightened one,\u00a0which\u00a0agrees\u00a0with the heart.\u00a0However,\u00a0mind can be\u00a0an\u00a0enemy, in case it\u00a0clings to the\u00a0limitations of this world.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>As I have said above, if the mind is enlightened (s\u0440uddha-vikalpa), such control and related\u00a0techniques are\u00a0efficient and rather accurate. But this is possible through the\u00a0expansion of its peaceful\u00a0consciousness.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Of course, if you are\u00a0very honest with yourself (actually,\u00a0you\u00a0are\u00a0Atman\u00a0whose nature is\u00a0the\u00a0pure consciousness), it will definitely happen.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Yes, the desires arise out of our consciousness. But\u00a0we should be able to regulate\u00a0our\u00a0desires, it is possible only through\u00a0the\u00a0mind control. Mind control\u00a0means\u00a0its purification or enlightenment. Of course, it is not always\u00a0easy for everyone, but we must try. Peace of mind\u00a0(that is yoga\u00a0itself) is\u00a0possible through vairagya\u00a0and the practice\u00a0of mind\u00a0quieting which\u00a0is abhyasa.\u00a0Thus, we need to practice yoga (pacification of mind).<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>We need to transform our\u00a0lower desires through awareness\u00a0of the presence of Divine\u00a0in them.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Maya can be rendered as “dimension”, which is measurable by any means.\u00a0For example,\u00a0if I watch at and listen to\u00a0someone, I do not perceive the others, because\u00a0through one object “meya\u201d Maya reveals\u00a0as limiting power. But the term “maya”\u00a0has\u00a0not only a negative context. There\u00a0is\u00a0Maya as illusion, but\u00a0there is also\u00a0Yoga Maya\u00a0\u2013 the\u00a0form of enlightened knowledge. In the world there\u00a0are\u00a0not\u00a0only bad or good objects, all depends on how we perceive them within\u00a0our\u00a0own consciousness. Development of\u00a0pure\u00a0and positive vision is the\u00a0yoga\u00a0practice.\u00a0Then,\u00a0Maya\u00a0
\n<\/strong>It appears from the omnipresent light of consciousness, which\u00a0is called Shiva in Tantras and Yoga Shastras. Shiva creates\u00a0a\u00a0play for Himself,\u00a0thus\u00a0Maya\u00a0is\u00a0manifest
\n<\/strong>Yes, through Divine Love.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Compassion\u00a0is Shakti. As a yogi and tantric I consider that\u00a0clarifying knowledge\u00a0is\u00a0in our soul, it is also associated with Kundalini Shakti, which\u00a0awakens\u00a0and allows\u00a0to perceive others. We are not able to accept what\u00a0we do not appreciate, respect,\u00a0love and what is of no interest to us. On the contrary,\u00a0if we see the Divine in somebody, our mind and soul are open for that person. This is what I call compassion full of wisdom, purity and renunciation.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Of course, it may be also necessary. Through attentiveness to the true self, we can\u00a0gradually\u00a0sympathise and be attentive to those, who need enlightenment and self-awareness.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>A man with a\u00a0genuine\u00a0compassion should not be confused with\u00a0one who\u00a0imitates\u00a0it. Much depends on the particularities of the case but we must learn\u00a0how\u00a0to deal with varied aggression neatly, to avoid causing harm to\u00a0ourself\u00a0and others\u00a0whenever it is possible. If we imply ahimsa in respect of\u00a0ourselves, then we will not have any problems\u00a0with external aggression too, we will be able to\u00a0reduce\u00a0it\u00a0dramatically. But it is a great\u00a0mastering\u00a0with different levels. If you are not able to respond to aggression just\u00a0like\u00a0Jesus, then do\u00a0not imitate him. We can perform some actions\u00a0properly only having\u00a0some wisdom within. Everyone\u00a0overcomes\u00a0his\u00a0own\u00a0sta
\n<\/strong>The women have their\u00a0strengths and weaknesses, like the\u00a0men. All women are the earthly manifestations of the Goddess,\u00a0eventually\u00a0they help the men to find their inner woman\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Kundalini, while\u00a0the women find\u00a0Shiva\u00a0inside\u00a0of themselves. I think if\u00a0Kundalini is awaken inside of you,\u00a0no adverse external circumstances could frighten\u00a0you any more. But,\u00a0this\u00a0knowledge is secret,\u00a0therefore\u00a0certain limits and etiquette\u00a0have\u00a0to be followed\u00a0in the world. Of course, the frames\u00a0do not\u00a0imply\u00a0the inner purity,\u00a0and we\u00a0should not condemn anything,\u00a0because\u00a0everyone\u00a0may have imperfections. In addition, the\u00a0conviction\u00a0is considered to be one of the\u00a0imperfections.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>If we\u00a0understand it\u00a0thoroughly, it\u00a0will\u00a0help anywhere. As I said earlier,\u00a0this is the\u00a0purity of mind and soberness. Is there\u00a0anyone who does not\u00a0need\u00a0it? Certainly,\u00a0techniques\u00a0will differ from those that are used\u00a0by\u00a0sadhus living in the Himalayas and forest, but the essence\u00a0of yoga\u00a0remains the same.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Actually pranayama helps in such cases\u00a0greatly.\u00a0Also,\u00a0the\u00a0deepe