Vladimir Antonov

About Spiritual Ecology (Ecopsychology)

(Lecture from the educational film "Sattva of Mist")

Translated from Russian by Mikhail Nikolenko

… Once near a forest lake, we met a photographer-professional and for a long time admired together with him a similar mist, which was dancing softly in the rays of the rising sun…

He said to us, “Having seen this, I am ready now to die!”

His emotion (the emotion of an atheist, unfortunately) was understandable for us! But would it be right to end the incarnation, having known this super beauty of the Creation, but have not known the Creator?

* * *

Let us think together: what is the meaning of human life?

This is not at all a pseudo-question, that is, the question to which there is no answer, as it was claimed by some philosophers-materialists. No, there is a complete answer to this question — an answer from the standpoint of the modern biological science, the science about the Life. I am going to talk with you about this as a scientist-biologist, who, together with colleagues, dedicated the life to studying this question.

To start with, one can formulate the answer as follows: the meaning of life consists in positive development of oneself as a soul, as a consciousness.

And now let us talk about this in more detail. In particular, one has to answer the following questions: what for it is needed? What for one has to develop oneself? What for one has to become better?

* * *

First of all, one has to destroy in oneself the false religious ideas that we are separated from God by an impassable abyss and that God is just a terrible Judge, Who punishes us, sinners. And that the highest and almost unrealizable dream of man is the dream of going to paradise… And that, in order to make this happen, one has to dedicate one’s life only to begging zealously the forgiveness from God (they call this “praying”) and also to participation in certain rituals; there is also a point of view that for this purpose one also has to torture and kill “infidels” and “heretics”…

But in reality all this is not true.

We are not separate from God. To make it more clear, we have to clarify the meaning of the word God: because among people there is no common understanding even in this; people understand this word differently.

This word can mean Absolute — that is, Absolutely Everything: the Creator coessential with His multidimensional Creation. And every one of us is His integral part, as for example, a blood cell has certain freedom inside the body, where it lives and which it serves; but, at the same time, it is a part of this body.

The other meaning of the word God is the Creator, the Primordial Consciousness, Which is called also God-the-Father and by other names. He abides in the very depth of the multidimensional Absolute. He is infinite. He fills with Himself the immense universal space. He is present inside our bodies. Yet, He exists in the other dimension of space — in relation to those dimensions where most of us live.

He is not cognizable for people who seek Him in a wrong place: in the sky, in other planets, etc. But He is cognizable for those who follow His directions about how we should live on the Earth, those who really love their Creator, who fell in love with Him, who seek to become similar to Him by growing themselves as love… “God is Love,” — so it is written in the New Testament. This means, in particular, that in order to become closer to Him in the state of the soul, we have to grow ourselves as love.

And those who grow themselves as coarseness, hatred, disdain, and haughtiness toward other manifestations of the Life of the Absolute — those go to hell: to the “cesspool” of the Evolutionary process, to the “cesspool of the Evolution”. Hell is the most coarse spatial dimension, the place inhabited by souls who developed in themselves the qualities opposite to the qualities of the Primordial Consciousness.

On the contrary, paradise is one of the subtlest spatial dimensions, the place where live souls who developed themselves on the path of subtlety, tenderness, care, caress: that is, on the path of love.

But how to develop oneself on the path of subtlety?

* * *

The point is that our emotional states are the states of ours as consciousnesses, as souls. And we can accustom ourselves to living in certain emotional states: more coarse or more subtle. By this we predetermine our place in the multidimensional Absolute: hell, paradise, the Abode of the Creator…

This is what Jesus Christ taught to His disciples. And this part of His Teaching was described by a personal disciple of Jesus — Apostle Philip in His Gospel. (By the way, you can read the Gospel of Philip in our book God Speaks).

Apostle Philip writes that people who developed themselves in the right direction are accepted by the Creator in His Abode; they merge by the developed consciousness into Him, become His integral Parts.

And then Those, Who have attained this, can come out from the Abode with a Part of Oneself in order to help the embodied people. Coming out thus, They manifest Themselves as Holy Spirits. (These Manifestations of the Creator are called, in the aggregate sense, the Holy Spirit).

Sometimes They, with the same purpose, even incarnate again in human bodies… Such an incarnation of God in a human body is called, in different languages, — Messiah, Christ, Avatar.

* * *

What does one have to do in order to progress in this direction? This is also described in the Teaching of Jesus Christ and in the Teachings of other Divine Teachers. (You can read about this in more detail, again in our book God Speaks).

First, one has to accept the principle of not causing harm as much as possible: not causing harm to other embodied beings.

We cause such harm not only by killing or by causing physical pain. We cause harm by slandering, by deceiving in other ways, by stealing, by treating others without due respect, by backbiting, by being jealous, by refusing to help without reason, and even by being in coarse emotional states! After all, with our emotions we create energy fields — favorable or unfavorable for other beings! Therefore, our “internal” state is not our “internal affair”!

The second step is mastering volitional regulation of own emotions. This is called the art of psychic self-regulation. And this is not difficult if one knows how to do this.

Efficient control of own emotional sphere can be achieved only through mastering the functions of the chakras, for it is chakras — bioenergy organs — which determine our psychic states, our emotions, our physical and mental abilities, etc.

And the level of development of chakras and level of their energetical purity determine, to a great extent, one’s health…

All chakras and main meridians of the organism have to be pure and functioning properly. But the main chakra is anahata. It is in this chakra that the spiritual heart can grow — the most important on the spiritual Path part of the multidimensional organism. Because it is only development of the spiritual heart that allows us to transform ourselves into Love, to grow ourselves to the state where we receive the right to become closer to the Creator and to enter His Abode.

All this was described by us in detail in the books and films created by our research group. First of all, I recommend you to read the book about the original Teaching of Jesus Christ, the book about Hesychasm, to watch the film Spiritual Heart. And the work with chakras is described in detail in our book Spiritual Practices.

And in no case should one try to use drugs with “mystical” purposes, for example, for getting into other worlds! You will get into the embrace of hellish beings; you will destroy the body and soul! One has to aspire not after the other worlds, but after the Abode of the Creator! And for this purpose, one needs other methods! We have studied these methods, described them, and even demonstrated in our films.

* * *

There is an important and true principle of Islam: “There is no God besides (one) God!” This short formula reflects the principle of monotheism. In relation to this, it is appropriate to consider whether there is a contradiction between this principle and that which I said before.

Let us consider this subject in relation to the two meanings of the word God mentioned before.

What concerns the first meaning (God as the Absolute) — everything is clear about it: the Absolute is One Universal Living Organism, and there can be no other one — this follows even from the definition of this concept.

What concerns the second meaning (God as the Creator, God-the-Father, the Primordial Consciousness) — again we have to abandon the false and primitive notions of God-the-Father as of an old man sitting on a cloud! This lie about God is presented to many people as, allegedly,… Christianity! However, this is a feature of the most primitive paganism, i.e. foolish and false “folk” beliefs, which oppose the true scientific knowledge!

In reality, the Creator is as infinite as the Absolute. He is truly akbar, that is, great, immense, infinite! (And this formula of Islam: “Allah akbar!” directly stimulates reasonable followers to studying the Greatness of the Creator, and — through this — to direct quantitative growth of souls, to worshipping Him, to “sinking” with the consciousness in the Boundless Ocean of the Divine Consciousness!)

The Creator is the most deep (in the sense of the multidimensionality of space) and the fundamental Part of the Absolute. He calls Himself — the Heart of the Absolute (the word Heart here means not a pulsating anatomical organ, but the Spiritual Heart, the most Essential Part).

Belongingness to this Heart of the Absolute implies abiding in It constantly. At that, All Who abide there live inmutually dissolved, merged state. That is, the Heart of the Absolute is indeed one Structure — in the entire Absolute.

And the Individualities are restored when They come out with a Part of Oneself from this One Heart of the Absolute.

(This is not just my or someone else’s fantasies: all this can be observed directly if one is worthy of it.

And we observe this!)

In other words, the Creator is One, but consists of Many. At that, these Many are constantly supplemented by Those newly coming into the Creator and enriching Him with Themselves.

This constitutes the Life of the Universal Organism called the Absolute; this constitutes Its Evolution.

And if we love God, we have to strive to participate in this process by developing ourselves and by helping others in this.

The love to God is similar to the love between two humans: it implies striving for cognition of the beloved, striving for mergence with Him, and also striving to give oneself to Him.

(The opposite of this is pseudo-love, which some perverted people call “love”. It consists of wanting something from the object of one’s lust (that is, primitive egoistic passion), consists of the desire to possess individually this object…)

* * *

So, this constitutes the highestmeaning of our lives. And now we just have to clarify some methodological details.

The love to God necessarily implies studying Him. Without knowing the object of our love, we cannot love Him in all fullness!

The knowledge about God can be gained from books, from lectures, or from conversations with other people. And it is good that beginners in religion seek like-minded people, seek conversations with them, in particular, during divine services, religious meetings, which are often accompanied by rituals.

Taking part in rituals, when the mind usually wandering from one petty thought to another, in this situation gets distracted from such wandering and becomes calm — this allows one to receive the first experience of mysticaltouches by which non-incarnate beings try to draw our attention. And in response to questions arising in us in such moments, we may receive answers, which come as if from “nowhere”.

(By the way, they are not necessarily answers and touches from Divine Teaches — the Holy Spirits; they can be signs from lesser developed souls or representatives of hell: it depends on the ethical status of theobject of such influence).

But then — after some time passes — it will be good if a positively developed seeker enters on the next, third stage of studying God — outside of material temples, on the expanse of the Creation: in fields, woods, steppe, water expanse — where one can expand and flood with the spiritual heart to all sides — in the environment favorable for this! With the help of such possibilities, one can grow oneself quite quickly as a spiritual heart to the size of kilometers and then — to the size of hundreds and thousands of kilometers…

It is in such conditions that we learn to love not only the living nature with all its best manifestations, but also — through this — its Creator. It is not possible to fall in love with the Creator without loving first His Creation!

It is in these conditions and also through relationships with our companions that we learn in the best way the true ethics and love-care!

Here we also learn to overcome difficulties, gain the requisite strength of consciousnesses and bodies.

Here we have the best opportunity for developing correctly the emotional sphere through attunement with the beauty in the living nature.

Moreover, by studying the energetics of the surrounding space, by finding positive and negative places of power, by training oneself through this in practical studying of the principal differences inside multidimensional space — we gradually gain insight about the structure of the Absolute.

And on many positive places of power we find for ourselves the possibility of direct and easy communication — verbal and visual — with Representatives of the Holy Spirit, Who become our Divine Teachers and guide us further into Their Abode: into the Abode of the Creator.

This direction of research is one of the branches of ecology — the science about relationships of an organism with its environment. It is called ecological psychology (or ecopsychology).

* * *

Let me repeat once again:

By reading books, attaining lectures and religious meetings, we receive the possibility to get some preliminary information (true or false) about God.

(By the way, what do I mean by false information about God? For example, that He is not the boundless Ocean of Consciousness, but a flying man, very bloodthirsty in some sectarian beliefs, and that He is our servant, who has to satisfy all our earthly whims… And therefore, all we need to do is to keep pestering Him with our requests: “Lord, give! Lord, give!…”… Yet, this is a disgusting lie! The true love to anyone including God is not wanting from them! Love is, first of all, sincere aspiration to giving oneself, serving for the good of the Beloved!

And God is ready to bring closer to Himself not those who achieved the “perfection” in development of parasitic qualities in oneself! But those who renounced personal interests and selflessly serve Him!)…

… But let us consider the further possibilities of spiritual development of man.

Mastering the art of psychic self regulation in classes, which can be carried out in home or in other conditions, allows one to make oneself better and to prepare oneself for the really serious spiritual work — that is, for the state when one possesses not faith, but knowledge about God!

Yet, direct cognition of God and living communication with Him-Teacher — this becomes really and fully possible only in “ecopsychological work”.

It is only on the various places of power in nature that one receives a possibility for full development of the chakras and meridians, and for curing all physical diseases, for complete unfoldment of the spiritual heart outside the body, and for further learning from concrete Representatives of the Creator, Whom one hears and sees well, and living communication with Whom becomes similar in its easiness to communication with embodied people!

And it is absolutely impossible to achieve this inside buildings!

It is also impossible — other than on corresponding places of power — to cognize paradise (as a place of living) during life in material body and master living in it! And it is even more impossible to master many variants of entering the Abode of the Creator, to learn not only to live in it, but also to come out from it!

* * *

And the last advice to help you to avoid being mistaken: let us not forget the words from the New Testament: “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Yes, the Representatives of the Creator, when coming to us, assume Forms consisting of the subtlest white Light, because the Consciousness of the Creator and of Holy Spirits is the most subtle state of all existing in the universe.

And only those souls can contemplate Him, communicate with Him directly, who became closer to Him on the path of subtlety. In particular, through attunement with similar mists permeated with the light of tender morning sun!

* * *

(Let me remind you that about all this you can read, hear, and see in our books and films).

I wish you success on this Path!

Our Creator is very close to us — inside and outside our bodies, and we just have to make right efforts in order to become convinced in this, to cognize Him… and merge with Him!

Jesus, in particular, said (this is written in The Book of Jesus by Ben Cullen) that the distance from every one of us to the Creator is not larger than the thickness of a sheet of the finest paper. And this is true indeed: this also becomes obvious on corresponding places of power within the work in the program of ecopsychology!

Jesus also said about this the following: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt 5:8).

And Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita (11:54) said the same: “Only love can contemplate Me in My innermost Essence and merge with Me”.

“The most important thing is a loving heart. The first meditation is the meditation of love; in it you should settle your heart aspiring to the good of all beings,” — these words are from preaching of Gautama Buddha.

The same was said by Divine Teachers through the Living Ethics of Agni yoga: “First, one has to accustom oneself to subtlety of emotions, in order to fill the spirit with aspiration to the world of beauty. In this way, conventional concept of the standard (of beautiness) is replaced with true understanding of the beauty. … Subtlety of emotions has to be introduced into life.

“In forest seek My instructions.

“In mountains listen to My call.

“In murmuring of a brook listen to My whispering.

“Love Me — and your power will grow with love!

“The entire world is God’s Body. And My Heart is Home for you.”

The same is taught by our Contemporary, Avatar Sathya Sai Baba: “There is nothing in the world that is not Manifestation of God. Do not doubt that the entire cosmos is pervaded with God and that everything (existing) is contained in Him. There is no single atom in the universe which is not permeated with the Divine!

“I tell you about Love; I guide you (by) on the Path of Love.

“The heart is that most of important of everything.

“… The destiny of man is to go from the human to the Divine.

“The purpose of life is to grow in love, to multiply this love, and to merge with God, Who is Love itself; and the best way to achieve this is by serving. There is no better means for getting rid of egoism than service.

“We have to… love until we become Love ourselves and merge with God Who is Love. Everything is that easy.

“God is Love, and the most quick and straight path to Him goes through love in action, through selfless service to people.

“Seek Him with your heart, and not with the eyes directed at the outer.”