Taoist Yoga

This remarkable direction of spiritual thought was created in China, where the spiritual development of incarnated people has been guided by Huang Di since ancient time.

The words Taoist yoga, Taoism originate from the Chinese word Tao, which means the Creator, God-the-Father. (The word Te means the Holy Spirit, Brahman).

The Teachings of the Taoist yoga, that is Teachings about Tao and about Mergence with It, were formulated and described by Lao Tse, a Divine Disciple of Huang Di. Its competent and clear to the reader translation was published for the first time by us. One can find it in the book Classics of Spiritual Philosophy and the Present.

Tao Te Ching (i.e. Book about Tao and Te) is a remarkable textbook on religion. Let me note that it contains the same truths as the Teachings of Jesus Christ, the Bhagavad Gita, and other Divine Teachings, but expressed in slightly different words. Thanks to this, one can understand the Teachings of God better, more fully.

Putting it briefly, the essence of these Teachings can be described as follows:

One cognizes Tao by developing oneself as a spiritual heart against the background of inner calm. We have to learn to love the beauty of the Creation, to have a careful and tender attitude toward it, to learn to merge with it by the consciousness. Then we can — having become a large and subtle spiritual heart — merge with Te and then with Tao.

In China and in some other countries of that region of our planet, these Teachings about the Beauty, Calm, Harmony, and about Mergence with God had a major effect on the formation of the spiritual culture. The examples are tea ceremonies, landscape parks, the arts of painting and photography adequate to this religious-philosophical direction, and even corresponding kinds of martial art.

When China and other neighboring countries adopted Buddhism — similar Teachings about the Path to cognition of the Primordial Consciousness through love for all the living and through spiritual service — then mergence of these two directions happened, which resulted in Chan Buddhism.

And now let us read what Divine Teachers — Huang Di, Lao Tse, Huang, and Han say about the Path to Tao.

From conversations with Huang Di:

“The eternal is LOVE!

“Civilizations come, flourish, and disappear, new life arises and vanishes in various corners of the universe — but LOVE remains everywhere the unchanging Basis of Everything.

“LOVE is the language of life that God speaks in the universe!

“LOVE is the language that helps people to understand each other!

“LOVE is the language that helps man to understand God! After all, God is LOVE!”

We asked:

“Huang Di, how did You cognize the Creator?”

“It was so long ago that I cannot recall it!” jokes Huang Di. “I became One with the Primordial Consciousness so long ago that it hardly makes sense to tell now My story.

“I was at the origin of the Earth, and all its development from the beginning up to the present days happened with My help.

“My Mission is universal. Stars, galaxies, the entire manifest universe is contained in Me.

“As for the seekers of Me, I reveal with Myself the unmanifest to them. I also give them a possibility to cognize ‘the building material’ of the universe.

“I do not construct Brahmanic Mahadoubles, and almost always remain on the other side of the mirror. I come to the Creation from My Abode through the worlds on the other side of the mirror.

“… Being a Universal Divine Soul, I joined the stream of life on the Earth. As many Others, I attained Divinity not on this planet. But however various may be the Path of the ascent of souls, the law of development is one for all.

“There exists Great Boundless Tao, and there are individual souls, created by Tao, that have to learn to use correctly the freedom of will granted to them by Tao.

“The freedom of will is a very interesting thing. It can bring the soul to falling into the abyss, or it can bring it to unbelievable heights… Everything depends on how one uses it.

“The correct use of the freedom of will brings one to impeccable life.

“There are three stages of mastering impeccability:

“The first stage that the soul has to master implies living in the world without disturbing its beauty, harmony, and balance. This is the ethics of relationships with incarnate beings and with all other elements of the Creation.

“I, as any other Avatar, told people about the laws that they had to follow in their relations with the environment. I taught people ethics, first of all. It is people that need to be taught ethics: lower forms of life almost never disturb the harmony of the world. But people are inclined to violate the laws of Tao…

“A soul which is capable of comprehending intellectually these laws, of embracing them, and of building its life in accordance with them — masters thus the first stage of impeccability. And Tao allows such souls, impeccable in the earthly matters, to advance further.

“At the second stage, people who observe the laws of beauty have to transform themselves into beauty. They have to merge with beauty into one, have to become it. Of course, it does not mean adorning the body; it implies transformation of oneself as a soul into beauty. This stage is mastered through the methods of cleansing the chakras and other structures of the organism, and then — through development of oneself as a spiritual heart.

“There may be many methodological variations here, but their essence is one: there is the ‘Heaven’ — Tao, and there is the ‘earth’ — the material world; also there are souls that have to walk the Path leading from the ‘earth’ to the ‘Heaven’, from yin to Yang. At the end of this Path, the soul merges with the Beauty of Tao and becomes It.

“The third stage of mastering impeccability implies that the soul merged with Tao learns to create actively the Higher Beauty on the Earth with each its word, thought, or deed, emitting thus to the world the Sparks of Beauty from the Boundless Ocean of Tao…

“… I began My Service as an Avatar at the dawn of life of this planet. For millennia, China was the main area of My service. I brought to people the laws of morality and the laws of cognition of the Highest. I manifested the Love of God in this world — so that people may desire to become similar to Me.

“There is the law of similarity: Similar things are attracted to each other. I sowed in souls the seeds of LOVE — and then for many centuries I could attract them into Myself with the Universal Magnet — with the GREAT LOVE!

“Many times I came to the Earth. People remembered Me in legends as the first Divine Emperor of China.”

“Did You have many successful disciples — those who cognized the Creator?”

“Yes, I did. I opened for them the Highest as I did for you.

“There are two fundamental things that My disciples cognized and that allowed them to master successfully the rest. They are calm and the arms of the spiritual heart.

“Calm is the basis of the ability to dissolve oneself. Calm is the basis of the ability of the consciousness to remain unstained, to remain transparent… The one, who is capable of becoming calm, is capable of cognizing.

“There is the phenomenon of transparency. There is the transparency of water, the transparency of air. And Tao is the Subtlest Transparency!

“In order to learn to cognize oneself, one has to feel — in calm! — the arms of the consciousness: the arms of the spiritual heart. One has to learn to touch with the hands of these arms the objects on the non-material plane as with the hands of the body we touch material objects. One has to learn to feel the multidimensional space as water — and to move in it with strokes of the arms as in the water… If one masters this — then the worlds on the other side of the mirror are easy to cognize. And There one finds the Great Calm…”

“Huang Di, how can one gain strength that makes one absolutely invulnerable to negative energetical influences?”

“Understand that a separate ‘I’ cannot possess the absolute power. In the universe, there is only one such power — the Power of the Creator!

“In order to unite oneself with this Power, one needs, in particular, to learn to accept the course of events as a manifestation of the Creator’s Will. One also needs to understand and accept the fact that the Creator controls everything happening in the universe.

“Mergence with the Power is possible only if there are no manifestations of the individual ‘I’ at all, that is when you accept the events without desiring some particular outcome for yourself. Only then you are invincible.

“… My Life is an unceasing development, an unceasing advancement to the new. I never remain the same; I am always changing.

“Everything existing, anything that happens is directly related to Me.

“In the Depths of Me is the origin, the beginning of everything.

“From there — from My Depths — comes the Power that gives beingness to everything. Every thing exists because I gave it the possibility to be!

“Now you can understand that behind every thing, behind every event there is Me.

“All manifestations — even those appearing most despising to you — may happen because I granted them such a possibility.

“Therefore, do not condemn anything or anyone!

“… The great, boundless Ocean of Tao is the Basis of the manifested world. Nothing exists on its own, independent of Tao!

“Everything in the world of the Creation becomes manifested and disappears with time. But Tao remains — Living, Ever Existing!

“Let everyone try to feel this, confronting everything transitional, limited in the manifested world — with the eternal, infinite Life of the Ocean of Tao.

“For those who have realized and felt this relation it becomes clear to what goal one has to aspire in life. This helps them to make the right choice and to avoid becoming deluded by viewing something in the material world as the essence of life…”

“Huang Di, please tell us something of Your biography.”

“Of which one?”

“Tell us something that can be useful to us or something that is pleasant for You to recall.”

“Well.

“… One of My incarnations was quite different from the others. That time I had seven strong disciples, whom I initiated into the final stages of buddhi yoga. They were all to Me like children; they were all to Me like brothers! Every one of them could jump after Me into the abyss or enter into fire without hesitation… They all listened to Me with their minds, hearts, and consciousnesses.

“It was a rare fortune! It was like the shining of seven Suns that later merged simultaneously into the Father. Such things rarely happen in the history of the universe… You know what a group meditation is… The power of merged, synchronously acting consciousnesses increases by many times…

“It was remarkable! They aspired to Me, and I guided them. In the universal Depths, I accepted them and dissolved in the Infinity of the Creator…

“… When later They came to the Earth, They took sometimes the name Huang Di… This name was Theirs by the right of inheritance, and to Me it seemed sometimes that it was Me incarnated again on the Earth…

“… Bright future is ahead of you! The light of knowledge will come to the Earth through you! But We understand that this is a gradual process.

“We all are with you! Together with you, We work for the cause of the evolution of people and the Evolution of the universe!”

From conversations with Lao Tse:

“… Yes, the ancient Chinese civilization is one of those important cultures of the Earth that humanity still remembers about. Its development from the very beginning was guided by Avatar Huang Di.

“It is since that time that people began to call by the name Tao the One and Indivisible Whole — God in the aspect of the Primordial Consciousness.

“Tao is above everything and in the depth beneath everything.

“It is beyond understanding of the ordinary mind, yet It can be cognized with a developed consciousness.

“Tao is the Highest, the most Subtle and Blissful, indivisible into male and female, into left and right, into more and less perfect.

“It creates. It manifests with Itself the Original Essence of all things and phenomena, yet It is not these things or phenomena.

“Tao is omnipresent.

“Everything in the world of matter has certain limits, but Tao is unlimited and eternal.

“Only those dedicating their lives to cognition of Tao and living in love and calm can cognize Primordial Tao.

“Millennia pass…, but the Teachings about Tao and about the Path to It remain among people.”

… We asked:

“You said that You were a disciple of Huang Di?”

“Yes… Once it was My turn to come so close that I began to see Him… I managed to become calm and silence to such an extent that I could hear Him. Huang Di began to speak, and I wrote down the text called Tao Te Ching…”

“Tell us please how did You learn?”

“From a certain stage, a consciousness developed in past incarnations receives a direct guidance from Tao. There is a stage in soul’s development when the Teachings of the Immortal Ones can be not only understood in words but also realized in life.

“Such was My last incarnation. I came to the Earth to renew and to purify the Teachings about Tao from everything superficial and to leave this knowledge to people.”

“Legends say that You were a philosopher, a historian, and a keeper of ancient archives; that You retired and went traveling; and that a guardian on the border did not let You pass until You expounded Your Teachings in a written form. Is it true?”

“Yes. As any One who has achieved the Goal and crosses the border of life-death on the way from the world of incarnate beings to the Life in Tao — so I had to leave My Message to people.

“… Even before this, in the previous life I was a disciple of Huang Di in one of His Great Incarnations.”

“May we ask You to tell about Huang Di, about how He taught?”

“How does God teach? Don’t you know?… He shows the Way and then creates obstacles for you to overcome. He teaches you subtlety — and then suggests that you strengthen your power. He suggests that you become aware of yourself — and then shows that there is no you, that there is only Tao… Softly and gently, as a calm tender ocean, He embraces you and immerses you into Himself. And then — in Silence and Infinity — there remains nothing of you! Then there is nothing but Tao — All-pervasive, Infinite!… And above the Ocean of Tao, there is Light which has Names and Forms… One of these Names is Huang Di. These Names are as many as the rays of the Sun. Among Them there is also Lao Tse.”

“Did You see Huang Di living in a body?”

“I saw Him living in a body, disappearing and appearing again. Yes, I saw Him! I heard His words coming from His lips. I heard His words sounding in the depth of the spiritual heart. I heard the Silence of His Quietness in the Depths of Tao.”

“Could You tell us a bit more about Him?…”

“These are very ancient images from the life of China…

“Sunrise in the mountains… The Huang He river rolls its waters to the sea, which is called now the Yellow Sea. Do you know why? The Goldish Light of the shining of the Glory and Greatness of Huang Di reflected in it, and the water became filled with its yellow-goldish shining, legend says…

“The castle of Huang Di… Its form resembled a giant multilevel pyramid. Wide terraces on every level of the pyramid allowed one to walk around it. In order to come to the next level, one had to pass through a guarded gate into the inner rooms. There was a passage further — to the next level. People who had not achieved a certain level of the development of the consciousness were not allowed to come to the higher levels.

“In the inner rooms of the highest level, Huang Di accepted His closest associates and disciples.

“The first level was used for crowded meetings. Its giant gate opened outside — through it, solemn processions came out when ceremonies were performed.

“At that time Huang Di granted to China not only the Teachings about Tao but also knowledge for the material world: writing system, mathematics, astronomy, counting of time and calendar, many things of medicine. All this became available to people. Also His precepts about righteousness and order became the basis of welfare for centuries.

“… Quietly flows the Huang He river; the mountains’ tops are in the sky, and the Earth itself is their firm base… Look in the eyes of Huang Di and you will learn more…

“There are the eternal and unchanging Teachings of God. There is boundless Tao. Everything created by Tao comes and disappears, but Tao remains… It cannot be described with the help of words, but there are Immortal Ones Who have traversed the Path and cognized Tao!”

“Tell us, Lao Tse, do You have Your places of power?”

“Yes I do. I have many such places! Most of them are in China but there are some in other regions as well. I have been looking after the growth of many souls for many centuries. I like arts. I am a Patron of those who with a stroke of a brush on paper make viewers hold their breath and peer at that Unmanifest which becomes living on paper in the place where the picture left empty space. I am glad at the rhythm of verses which reveal quietness. I am a Guardian of the traditions of calm, harmony, and beauty.

“Calm and love are the basis of the righteous beingness!”

“Please say something for beginners.”

“The dense and coarse brings destruction, aging, and death. Therefore, you should aspire in everything to the harmony and subtlety of the consciousness! Find beauty in the Creation — in a tender flower, in a gentle wind, in a transparent brook! One must learn not to disturb this harmony by rude actions!

“Then one has to cleanse in the heart and in the entire body — a place for Tao!

“One has to learn to serve Tao, having become Te. This is a quality of the Perfect Ones.

“The Perfect Ones quietly tell to the world about the greatness of Tao!

“Seekers listen to Them in the silence of the soul and grow in cognition and love!

“The Subtlest has a great power to create and to spiritualize!

“Become similar to the Subtlest — and then you will be capable of embracing the Whole!

“The warmth of the Great Sun melts down the remains of the lower selves — and the Light of Love begins to flow freely through the bodies of those who have submerged themselves — as consciousnesses — into Tao!

“Then the Immortality of Tao comes up through their bodies — as they merge the consciousnesses with Tao and act from It. This can be likened to a blossoming peach tree: its branches imbibe the vernal life-giving current and produce beautiful flowers! In the same way, Tao comes up through the bodies and manifests to the world the Calm, Light, and Wisdom of the Depths! Having become rooted in the Depths, the Tree of Love grows and begins to bloom in due time, giving to the world the fragrance of the Truth!

“Listen in silence to how the blissful currents of the Light of Divine Life come up!

“Allow Tao to manifest Itself here! A non-doing of you is a doing of Tao!

“Come to know the Great Border after which there are no borders at all! The ‘bottom’ of the manifested world is just a ‘Curtain’ of the world of the Depths, which is infinite…”

From conversations with Huang:

“My greetings to people living not for themselves but for God!”

“Huang, tell us please about Yourself.”

“Let Me first tell you who a true Taoist is.

“A Taoist is, first and foremost, the one who has cognized calm. The developed mind of a Taoist stays silent. A Taoist is immersed in contemplation and in the creation of the fathomless quietness in which Tao abides.

“A Taoist is firmly connected with Tao by the ties of LOVE.

“The Path of a Taoist is the Path of calm and bliss. The love of a Taoist is steadfast; the faith of a Taoist is unswerving. A Taoist feels great tenderness for all the Creation. A Taoist never harms living beings without necessity, never disturbs the calm of any creature.

“Tao fills the heart of a perfect Taoist, and a perfect Taoist lives in the Abode of Tao. A Taoist lives radiating bliss to all the living.

“A perfect Taoist becomes Tao.

“… And now I want to describe the methods that were taught in the School which I finished in one of My incarnations.

“The entire course of learning was subdivided into three main stages: a) the initial stage, b) the stage of thorough treatment of all the energy structures of the body, and c) the stage of transformation of oneself as a consciousness. The latter stage was also called ‘birth of the new body’.

“The initial stage of the School was open to everyone: anyone who had a sincere desire to change oneself could be accepted. This stage included the methods of initial cleansing of the body. Beginner students were taught to enter the subtle states of the consciousness. This allowed them, for the first time, to cognize the non-material Light inside the body. They were taught to merge with this Light and to wash the body with It. This helped, in particular, to heal the body. Most of the students were quite satisfied with such an initial level of knowledge and did not ask for more.

“But there were those aspiring for more, those who wanted to receive the knowledge about further possibilities of self-development.

“Such seekers were gladly accepted in the School, but the requirements for entering the next level of learning were quite strict. Only those were admitted to whom this Path could really become the main purpose in life, those who could sacrifice all the rest and dedicate themselves only to this goal.

“These students learned to master more subtle states of the consciousness and to control sublimation (i.e. transformation of energy from one kind into another). They were taught the methods of more thorough treatment of the entire body with Light. Special attention was paid to complete cleansing of the energy structures of the head. This work was considered successfully done when a flow of energy could absolutely freely and naturally move inside the body and nothing obstructed its movement.

“At the third stage, students worked with the Golden Elixir. This term denoted the most tender and subtle goldish Light of Tao. Students learned to find It in the Primordial Depth and had to accustom themselves to Its state, to the state of being this Light. Students also learned to influence the body with this Light. Under the influence of the Primordial Light, the energy structures of the body had to as if ‘dissolve’, ‘disappear’, so that in the body there remain nothing denser than the Light of Tao…

“… I want everyone to understand that work with the Primordial Light or Golden Elixir — whatever one may call it — must not be reduced only to the treatment of the body. People have to transform themselves as souls, to change the emotional states, first of all.

“It does not make sense to move energy through the body again and again, hoping that the body transforms miraculously while the soul remains as coarse as it was. After all, the purpose of alchemy is not to transform the body into the Golden Light but to become the Golden Light of Tao!

“… Tao is Calm.

“Tao is Bliss.

“Immortality is Mergence with Tao.

“Centuries-old traditions live in China. They may become slightly forgotten… but again come to the Earth Those Who restore the Teachings about the Path and about the Highest Beingness.”

“Did You know Lao Tse?”

“No. I knew His Teachings. I lived after Him.”

“Tell us please more about Yourself, Huang.”

“When I came to My last earthly life, I had no unrealized desires of the soul that would require immersion into the worldly affairs. I sought neither glory, nor wealth, nor woman’s caress. I aspired to nothing but to cognition of Tao. I came to become a Teacher of Tao, and this intent, formed before the embodiment, led Me from early childhood.

“From childhood I lived in a small monastery, where there was true spiritual knowledge.

“A little boy, I was initiated into the life of the Spirit.

“My freedom was not limited; I explored the world around Me by climbing the mountains, observing the plants and other living things…

“The meditations of adults became the first lessons of inner quietness for Me. I cognized calm through the silence of the mind immersed into the Heavenly heart — the spiritual heart. These were the first meditations I learned.

“The stories of My tutors about the Immortal Ones were My main food for thought. The tutors wisely included in these stories history and ethics, psychology and truths about God.

“When I grew up a bit, the chakras and meridians, the organs of the body and its structure became the object of My study. I possessed clairvoyance developed in the past incarnations and easily mastered working with the energies of the body. The energies moved inside My body as flows of goldish light — like small mountain brooks. I could see every meridian and could easily direct there a flow of light.

“When I grew older, the next important stage was work with the Divine Fire. I learned to submerge into It in the core of the Earth through the structure called the stem of golden flower. I learned to be this Fire. The entire treatment of the body up to its smallest meridians was done by Me again — on this new level of subtlety.

“I could radiate now the Divine Fire from My eyes or could easily move it through the meridians of My arms with the purpose of healing someone. I easily saw in the bodies of other people diseased parts and contaminated meridians that did not let the energy pass. And I could wash dark energies away or burn them with a flow of Fire.

“I was allowed to help the poor coming to the monastery. It became for Me the first important lessons on psychology: the ability to discern people. After all, healing of the body without transformation of the soul cannot give a stable positive result. On the contrary, it can only burden the destiny of the healed person and of the healer* as well.

“Then I ‘crystallized’ a giant Spiritual Body. In such a Manifestation I met you for the first time on this place of power of Mine and helped you then to cleanse your bodies.

“The next stage was a stage of merging with Tao. I had to master the Great ‘non-I’. I had to learn to retain this state not just for several minutes or hours: I had to become it.

“It was non-doing from the ‘I’.

“It was non-thinking from the ‘I’.

“It was total reciprocity in the Abode of Tao.

“It was cognition of the Highest, of the Original Source, of the Ocean of Tao.

“The Great ‘non-I’ was now the Ocean of Tao in the Primordial Depth and in every part of My body.

“I learned to be the Ocean of Tao, which fills from within everything, everything that has a form and everything formless.

“This state became total! The Bliss of the Subtlest One was in everything, and there was no ‘former me’.

“Everything submerged into the Ocean becomes filled with It like a jug submerged into water.

“I want to give you this state of Great ‘non-I’ connected with the physical body. It is the state when all parts of the body are purified from the ‘I’, immersed into the Ocean of Tao, and filled with Its Great Calm.

“If one lives so, then the next step is easy. One needs to perceive this Great ‘non-I’ as the only existing ‘I’ of Tao. In order to realize this, one must grow a giant Immortal Body. This state may be called the dynamic aspect of Nirvana in Tao: the ability to act from the Primordial, from Tao.

“I cognized this and became a Master of Tao.”

“Huang, did You have many disciples?”

“Not many: tens, not hundreds. I taught those who were near Me and those few brought to Me by God. You know One of Them: His name is Han.

“I also left Teachings to people and later helped many from My non-incarnate state. I am also happy that I helped you.

“I love you all; you are My spring!”

“I am the Beauty! And a reflection of this Beauty is the beauty of people who have cognized Me.

“… I want you to note also that through cognition of handmade beauty one can approach the cognition of Me.”

… Huang shows teahouses, trails in gardens where a brook murmurs and lotuses bloom…

“This handmade beauty immerses one into calm and through calm — into Me. I want it to be so throughout the Earth: so that dissolving calm immerse people into Me!”

“And what about the beauty of nature?”

“Not everyone can admire it. Some people living in cities virtually never go outside them… They can know a little of the Beauty of Tao through handmade beauty.

“And note: the beauty of souls is the highest handmade beauty!”

From conversations with Han:

“Silence of the mind! Become silent all whose minds are developed! Only then the arms of the spiritual heart can be opened, and then the Embrace of the Heavenly Father will open toward them!

“With the arms of LOVE embrace all the living in the Creation and then — Tao!

“This is how I traversed the entire Path, and so did every One of Us.

“In all times on all continents of the Earth, in all countries, only one strategy helped righteous souls to advance radically to Me: it is silence of the developed mind!

“Only when the developed mind becomes silent, then in such a body and through such a body I begin to speak.

“I let into Me only those developed souls whose mind learned to be silent! Then it is enough to have one United Mind! The second mind is an obstruction!”

… We asked:

“Will You tell us how You developed?”

“In that very silence I bloomed as a flower.

“In ‘velvet’ conditions My Master raised Me. He was Huang!

“A garden, ponds with lotuses… It was His ashram of Tao…

“The theory of growing the golden flower was also formulated for the first time by Huang. You read these thoughts many years ago. The title was Mystery of the Golden Flower. Unfortunately, these ideas came to you in the form perverted by the translators.

“The essence of this treatise is the following:

“The corolla of the golden flower is the developed anahata.

“Its stem is that part which goes into the Abode of Tao.

“The golden flower grows with its roots into Tao.

“The bulb, like that of tulip, is formed in Tao. Into this bulb one has to move with anahata with arms.

“And then — as you know already — an individual bulb merges with the bulbs of all Those Who are There… Actually, there is one united Bulb There… It is infinite in space and time… It is Tao.”

“Thank You. It is clear to us.

“Tell us please, why have You settled in Russia?”

“Here I raised you!… You cognized Perfection thanks to Me, in particular, thanks to Us all!…”

“Thank You, dear Han! But please do not consider this work ended!

“Tell us please something of Your past that can be valuable for incarnated people, for example, how You learned from Huang.”

“I sought an Immortal* Master of Tao who would show Me the way.

“I saw many. They all told Me that they knew the truth, that their methods could help one to achieve Immortality… Yet I did not trust their competence and went further…

“Once I stayed to rest near a brook. Nearby there was a monastery whereto I was going.

“A man approached Me and asked permission to sit nearby. His body was filled with soft calm…

“He asked Me where I was going.

“I answered that I was seeking a wise man who could teach Me how to cognize Tao.

“Huang (it was He) said:

‘In this way you will never find what you seek! You have to seek not a person but Tao! Then Tao will be your guide and will bring you to the Goal!’

‘Thank you for your wise advice,’ I replied. ‘Tell me: in what direction should I go?’

‘You have to go not farther but deeper! Tao is the Subtlest; It is in the Depth beneath everything. It is everywhere. When you master the silence of the mind, then you will see the path which can be cognized only by the heart.’

“… I understood… that I did not know where to go… So I became a disciple of Huang.

“… Then for a long time I lived in the delusion that He did not know answers to the questions which He asked us, His disciples. In reality, He… just brought us to the threshold of new discoveries, but every one of us had to move further only by making personal efforts…

“For a long time I lived so, being ignorant of His Greatness… His wisdom was… quiet.

“Only later, recognizing in meditations His gentle smile and tenderness, I realized eventually His all-embracing Unity with Tao…

“He helped many people, Me in particular, to cognize this Great Unity.”

“What would You advise those who want to control the mind?”

“Silence of the mind can be mastered through the lessons that I give to people.

“Accustom your minds to respect every life.

“Teach your minds to be grateful. The grateful mind is lowly and obedient. In the grateful mind, the seeds of pride can never grow; a grateful person never becomes haughty.

“Enormous is the work and infinite is the patience of the Ocean of Tao in raising souls! Immeasurable is the Power of Tao’s Love which feeds every life!

“In essence, people have nothing to be proud of. Everything they achieve in worldly affairs or in spiritual search is a result of the efforts of many and not only of this particular person. One receives knowledge from books, from other incarnate and non-incarnate souls, from the infinite variety of life on the Earth. And behind all this, there stands the Heavenly Father, Who created the sky and the Earth and all the living. People just use gifts of the Heavenly Father; efforts which they make on development of themselves as souls is a very small reward for all His Love and Care!

“The greatest event in the universe is when a human soul opens itself for Tao! Such a soul-flower is an invaluable treasure for Me! There is nothing more important than this!”

Vladimir Antonov, Ph.D. (in biology)
(chapter from the book
Forest Lectures on the Highest Yoga)

Translated from Russian
by Mikhail Nikolenko