Question:Hesychasts speak of the union of mind and heart. Could you comment on this from the point of view of kriya yoga, where concentration is constantly returning to ajna. I understand that hesychasts are talking about a restless mind that needs to be put to rest in the heart, and the ajna chakra is a completely different matter, but still I wonder how it all relates, and why they are silent about ajna, and the emphasis is on the heart. What do you think, what is meant in this case by the heart, anahata or hrideyam?
Answer:The Christian practice of hesychasm is very close to the meditation practices in the tradition of
Kriya Yoga. The heart is the place where the soul is located, both from the point of view of Christianity and from the point of view of Kriya Yoga. Therefore, finding peace and harmony in the heart is the most important spiritual task for every person. Obviously, in Christianity there is no concept of chakras, at least not directly. At the same time, St. Seraphim of Sarov spoke about the practice of the Jesus Prayer, during which one must unite the heart and head. This means that indirectly there is still an indication of the ajna chakra. If we talk about hrideyam (right heart), then there is a teaching about this point only in Hinduism. This means that there is no such practice in hesychasm. The practice of praying or mantra with breath exists in different traditions, in Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism.
Question:Activation of kundalini energy often occurs for me from the area of anahata or solar plexus. Usually heard of updraft or downdraft. Does this direction matter or not? Maybe you just need to be happy with what you have and think less?
Answer:The activation of the kundalini energy can happen for many reasons: the practice of mantra and prayer, breathing exercises, hatha yoga, even fasting can lead to the activation of the kundalini. Basically, the energy of kundalini takes its source in dakshina bindu (prostate-womb) and a number of other points, including the solar plexus (middle bindu). At the same time, our feelings can be very different. For example, you can feel a strong flow from the anahata chakra, but in fact the energy takes its source in the lower abdomen. Our tradition speaks of four aspects of kundalini: fire kundalini, sun kundalini, moon kundalini, and light kundalini. Some of these types of kundalini are associated with ascending energy and some with descending. The main question of the spiritual path is the contemplation of God in the spiritual heart. Too much concentration on the kundalini can be dangerous, as it can lead to overstrain of the brain. If you perceive kundalini as a goddess that leads you to spiritual knowledge, then this process can truly become the path of divine evolution. Kundalini can give many mystical experiences and strike beyond capacity. That is why it is important to remember the main thing, that is, the search for God in the inner space.
Question:How to understand the spiritual message of Jesus Christ? The problem is that without a church liturgy, it will be very difficult for you to tune in to Jesus.
Answer:I think that the teaching of Jesus Christ can be understood in different ways, which is why there are many different interpretations of the New Testament. For me, the most significant comments are the reflections of
Paramahamsa Yogananda. He called his gigantic book “the second coming of Christ.” What does this strange name mean? How can we understand this? Yogananda believed that the second coming occurs through the enlightenment of each person. Yogananda's comments are based on the teachings of Kriya Yoga. This is a real masterpiece of philosophical and esoteric thought. By studying these comments, you can see and understand the teachings of Jesus Christ in a completely new way. Another amazing comment was given by
Sathya Sai Baba. We have many lectures by Sathya Sai given by him over the years. He spoke about the secrets of the spiritual path of Jesus Christ, about how Jesus traveled to India and practiced meditation. According to Sathya Sai, Jesus Christ went through three stages in his spiritual development before becoming a teacher. Georgy Gurdjieff, Peter Uspensky, Leo Tolstoy, Nicholas Roerich and many other esotericists wrote about the spiritual path of Jesus Christ and the Christian tradition. There is also considerable diversity in the understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ in the church environment. For example, there are big differences between the teachings of Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Evangelicalism. Thus, there are many possible interpretations of the teachings of Jesus Christ. I also advise you to study the New Testament for yourself, it is an amazing book that will open wide horizons for understanding the process of divine evolution.