On the Other Side of the Material World/What Is This: Are You in a Bra Today? What Is This: Are You in a Bra Today?The sun became warmer every day. At last, I could exist without a hat and in an unbuttoned jacket. It is true, however, that I was “told” to do this; if not, I would continue to be dressed like a “cabbage”. For me, in fact, — the hotter the better. Vladimir, at that same time, had already taken off his jacket. He invited me to join all the others in order “to get the great initiations” into mantras “Purr!” and “Miau!”*. We laughed and stood in a circle. Looking at me, Vladimir immediately told me to take off my jersey… Jacket — too. I went to my backpack to put in it the removed clothing. Then I came back. I still had on my body two shirts and two sweaters put one on top of another. He again looked at me critically. “I hope you don’t have synthetics in your clothing?” — And after a pause: — “What is this: are you in a bra today?” Anna and Larisa, it seemed, were more surprised than I was. “But it is not synthetic! And it does not hinder!” — I made excuses. Anna and Larisa embarrassingly tried to apologize also: “We did not notice! We did not even think about it! What is the reason for her to have it?” “Take it off!” — they laughed. — “God loves naked women!” Vladimir smiled looking at me. “Nothing should put obstacles in the way of the expansion of the spiritual heart! There should be no hindering clothing!” “But what about ’public demand’”? — I noticed. “It is — a completely unnecessary ’requirement’. The same — with synthetic tights and shoes with high-heels! How many women have spoiled their health because of these ’demands of society’!” Turning away and a little embarrassed, taking off my bra, I remembered about my permanent ten-centimeter high-heel shoes, in which I ran in previous years to a disco after a long working day… What a suffering it was!… “The spiritual heart must pour freely from the chest: nothing should stand in its way! Do you feel how you are now expanded with the consciousness, how it becomes easier to breathe?” Yes, indeed, it became free! Involuntarily I stood up, straightened my shoulders. … The sunlight gently flooded the meadow with its warmth. With cheerful enthusiasm, they began to make for me “the great initiation”. “Let’s concentrate with the consciousness in the top chakra sahasrara. And then go down quickly through the front meridian — to the muladhara chakra — and without stopping the motion, go immediately through the sushumna meridian up to the top chakra. Then — back along the same trajectory. During each such cycle — we pronounce aloud, but feel the sound in the meridians: ’Miau! Miau! Miau!’. Make the accent on ’a’.” Vladimir showed the exercise, helping in the advancement of the energy with the movements of his body. “This is — a great way to cleanse quickly the front and back meridians. It prepares one for the mastering the ’microcosmic orbit’. We must, of course, repeat these ’miau!’ many-many times.” I asked: “But why the ‘Miau!’?” “Well, you may try to do the same with ‘Bow-wow!’” We laughed. Yes, with a “Bow-wow!” it would be, to say the least of it, more complicated. Then we started the work with the mantra “Purr!” “Let’s concentrate with the consciousnesses in the muladhara and svadhisthana chakras. Then lift the energy of the consciousness through the front meridian, feeling ourselves like a blissful cat that had just warmed up to a radiator and now is stretching in bliss.” — And he showed stretching with pleasure and with “purring” while stressing and prolonging the sound “r”. After verifying the correctness of my execution, Vladimir left me to continue “purring”. Anna added that it is possible to share with others this blissful joy. And — also to use this mantra for becoming free from tiredness. This mantra really caused a sensation of sweet awakening after a good sleep, my eyes even narrowed with pleasure. So, we were walking through the meadow and were “purring”. I sat on the grass to rest and to write down in my notebook about the mantras. When I finished recording, Vladimir came up, having decided to continue the theme of wardrobe accessories: “Clothes, if possible, should be comfortable — to the extent that it is not felt by the body. Because of this, we can feel God better.” “I don’t like it when people stare at me!” — I barked out. Vladimir replied very simply: “Beauty must be presented! This is one of the possible manifestations of the love which is expected by God from people. Beauty — refines us, fills us by the refined power! Beauty, as is known, has to saturate and save — by this — the world! “But, of course, as well as everywhere and always, this must be used with caution. Moreover, one must learn circumspection! It would be, for example, wrong to put yourself in danger, seducing primitives with your beauty.” I did not know about my personal beauty, but what Vladimir referred to about one of my favorite writers — Dostoevsky, forced me to keep silent and to think. Then I remembered another popular expression, but from Chekhov: “Man should be beautiful in everything: with the face and clothes, soul and mind!”. So I thought that: if God allows us to go as openly, then — let us take away the long skirts and covering sweaters! But here, Vladimir said: “But, I repeat: do not behave like a hooligan! And — demonstrate the beauty of a body to the representatives of the tamas guna!” Then he continued: “But, starting this conversation, I did not mean the erotic subject, although it is — also very important and good; it was already discussed by us. But I would like to emphasize that for successful improvement through meditation practices, it is very important to feel free. There should be no concern of unfinished business, alarm. There should not be feelings of ’being crushed’ by someone, also remembering that ‘they do not respect me’, ‘I am misunderstood’, ‘I am victimized’, and so on. “By the way, to get rid of these states, one has to master the art of psychic self-regulation*. “And it is also difficult to achieve a sense of freedom ‘in the 4 walls’ of city apartments and offices — as opposed to natural open spaces, where we, as you can see, have developed ourselves and help you now. “The same — about tight clothes which are harmful for blood circulation, hindering movements, also interfering in the normal functioning of the chakras. Best of all, so that you will feel yourself, it is better to meditate without any clothing. Of course — taking in consideration the weather and different social factors, which were already mentioned by us. “On the spiritual Path, a spiritual warrior must seek ways to cleanse, to wipe, to dissolve all covers around the soul — then to gradually, completely ‘dissolve’ it, moving to the Mergence with God. The clothes may be one of such covers — including even its symbolic consideration. “But I stress again that we must avoid here, as in everything else, ‘excesses’. You, for example, see that we all are working now in clothes.”
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