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Forest Lectures on the Highest Yoga/Yoga of Pythagoras

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Yoga of Pythagoras

Pythagoras lived on the Earth around 570-500 B.C. He is known as a Greek philosopher and mathematician. He was a strict vegetarian. In the town of Croton in southern Italy, He founded a philosophical religious brotherhood, which became widespread with time. The purpose of the Pythagorean brotherhood was ethical renovation of the society, purification of the religious views, and imparting confidential methods of spiritual development to deserving students. The brotherhood was a monastic community consisting of both men and women, who regarded Pythagoras as an Incarnation of God. The activity of that great School ended due to a massacre perpetrated by primitive people…

… Pythagoras composed works on philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and music. He knew about the sphericity of the Earth and that inside it there is the Central Fire. He also taught about the immortality of souls and about their gradual development in a series of incarnations.

… At present, Pythagoras manifests Himself as a non-incarnate Divine Teacher, a Representative of the Creator. He supervises the area of the Mediterranean Sea and its coast.

* * *

… Pythagoras was born on the island of Samos in the Aegean Sea. His birth was predicted. Through a prophet God told the parents about the birth of a boy who would grow and become glorious thanks to his wisdom, beauty, and great deeds.

From childhood Pythagoras displayed abilities and interest to philosophy and other sciences. He studied medicine, biology, astronomy, mathematics, learning them from famous scholars of that time; He learned also music and painting. Then He continued His religious education in Egypt, where He was initiated into priesthood. Then He went to Persia, where He continued studying mystical knowledge.

At a mature age, Pythagoras founded His spiritual School in the city of Croton. We know about the work of this School from stories narrated by several great Disciples of Pythagoras, Who also attained Divinity in Mergence with the Creator thanks to Pythagoras’ help. (You can find this material in our book Classics of Spiritual Philosophy and the Present).

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And now let us become acquainted with a translation of the ancient text Golden Verses of Pythagoras, which was studied by beginner students in His School:

Remember about the law of cause and effect in your life.

You are given the ability to overcome your passions: greed, laziness, lust, and anger; use it and restrain yourself!

Do nothing shameful, neither in the presence of others, nor when you are alone! Preserve your honor!

Practice justice in your words and deeds; follow the dictates of the mind and the law.

Remember that all people are destined to die.

Remember that the worldly boons can be easily given to people and just as easily they can be taken away from them.

As for the misfortunes that are sent to people according to their destinies, you have to endure them patiently. Strive nevertheless to alleviate the pain as much as you can. And remember that the Immortal Gods never send to people trials above their strengths.

There are many possibilities people can choose from. There are bad and there are good ones. So, look carefully and choose for yourself the noble path.

Heed to what I am going to tell you:

Do not let deeds and thoughts of other people confuse you; let them not prompt you to do or say anything evil!

Listen to others’ advice and deliberate yourself! Only fools act thoughtlessly, without consideration!

Do not try to do work of which you are ignorant, but learn, first, what is necessary — only then will you succeed!

Do not neglect the health of your body. Give to the body food, drink, and exercise in measure — so that it will strengthen and know not surfeit and slumber!

Keep your life in order. Abandon any luxury, for it can make other people envious.

Be afraid of becoming a stingy person, but fear also to squander goods like careless people do.

Do only that which will not bring you to destruction! Therefore, before acting, deliberate on your every step and deed.

Standing firmly on this path, you will know everything about the Immortal Gods. You will also know about people, about the differences among them, about the One Who contains them in Himself, being their Foundation. You will know that the entire universe is a Single Whole, and that in the Eternal there is no dead matter.*

Having known this, you will make no mistakes, for nothing will be hidden from you!

You will also know that people themselves cause their calamities due to ignorance! They are FREE in choosing their destinies!

Wretches! They do not see that the desired happiness resides in them, in their own depth!

Only a few can cast away afflictions with their own efforts, for most people are blind to the law of the formation of their destinies! Like wheels they roll downhill carrying the burden of their past misdeeds towards others, the burden which controls their destinies until death comes…

Instead of seeking occasions for a quarrel, people should avoid it, conceding to each other without arguing…

But we should not abandon hope of saving people from the darkness of ignorance — for every human has a Divine root…

Heal you the soul! This will reveal to you the way to the Liberation!

And abstain from eating flesh: this is contrary to your nature and will prevent you from purifying yourself!

So if you want to become free from the worldly fetters, follow this understanding given to you from above! Let it control your destiny!

And after you transform the soul completely, you can defeat death and become Immortal God!

* * *

These are excerpts from our conversations with Pythagoras:

“Tell us please about Yourself: how did You receive Initiations, how did You teach?”

“The geometry of Pythagoras is more than just a theorem about triangles studied in the school. It also includes the science about the multidimensionality of our planet and about the multidimensionality of the universe. The very concept of geometrical points, lines, planes, and the infinity of space is one of the ways to talk about God, about His multidimensionality in the Absolute. I used all these in teaching.

“A Pyramid is a symbol of the Creator pervading the Creation, in His initial quality, initial subtlety. The top of this Pyramid is smaller than an atom, for it is a geometrical point; the base of the Pyramid is the Infinity itself.

“… For a long time I pondered on how to lead souls towards the knowledge of the true essence of man, towards knowing the Whole, towards Love, towards the knowledge of nature and of Mother-Earth, on how to show them the Divine Fire and how to illuminate them with the Light of Wisdom… All My non-incarnate Teachers helped Me to create that which was called later the Teachings of Pythagoras.

“I subdivided the Teachings into a number of stages so that those with weak minds would not get overburdened.

“I made ETHICS, LOVE, and BEAUTY the basis of the first stage and called it QUIETNESS OF SOUL.

“Only after one had succeeded in quieting the mind and had mastered the abilities to suppress wicked qualities in oneself, to transform oneself as a soul, and to grow love and wisdom in oneself — only after that could an aspirant be accepted as a student.

“I transformed the tradition of spiritual initiations into a science: the science about the souls development. In this regard, your activity inherits and continues the Work that I performed on the Earth at that time.

“Wisdom is the spiritual knowledge about the Highest.

“There is not much value in knowledge which just trains the mind and memory: it is like a game with a ball for training the body. The only knowledge that is valuable is the one that leads a person to cognition of the Truth and Laws of the Life of the Whole.

“The knowledge is useless if there is no spiritual transformation!

“The knowledge is dangerous if there is no ethics!

“I — Pythagoras — open again My School on the Earth! Here and now with your help, My friends, this work has begun!

“I want to draw the attention of the youth to the Laws of existence and to the meaning of life!

“I want to make Love and Goodness the basis of human life!

“I want to open wide the door to the world of Divine Love, Calm, and Bliss — for all yearning souls!

“The harmony between the development of love, wisdom, and power — this I would call the GOLDEN LAW in the art of raising souls.

“In that last incarnation I was a Soul that already had an experience of cognition of God in many past lives. The main purpose of that incarnation was to reestablish the truth about God for many generations of people on the Earth.

“One can say that I was the last one of those who received an initiation in Egypt in the traditions which had originated from Thoth-the-Atlantean but had been perverted with time.

“But without Divine Love the power is dead… Only a soul transformed with Love can become wise! Only the spiritual heart is capable of walking completely the entire Path of Cognition of the Creator without stumbling — and of merging into the Divine Essence That controls the universe!

“But the Light was not known to the priests.

“Therefore, this last step was revealed to Me by Divine Souls Who met Me in that Light. They initiated Me into the laws of soul’s life and into the Divine Essence.

“… The Divine justice is not like people imagine it. Nothing wrong comes to the lives of people but only that which must come: what they have attracted by their own thoughts and past deeds.

“God is the Creator of these Laws! And no affliction can fall unjustly upon man! There can be no undeserved, unneeded joy; only self-conceit, self-pity, and envy see it so in others!

“The justice of God is great: everyone receives and partakes of the fruit which they themselves sowed and grew. The result can be bitter, but one can develop in oneself other qualities to make the fruit sweet and beautiful!

“Learn the purity of thinking!

“Only when your mind is silent and listens, and your heart is full of love — only then God talks with you.”

We asked:

“Tell us please, did Your School use techniques similar to Hatha Yoga asanas for purifying the energies of the body?”

“I was familiar with such methods; they were used, among other places, in Egypt. But I did not use them in My School, because they attract the attention of students to the body more than to the soul.

“The initial stages of learning in the School were purification and preparation — when the soul acquired knowledge about ethics and purity, about the harmony of the Whole and the meaning of the soul’s life in the body, the knowledge that man is a soul and the body is but the soul’s temporary dwelling. Teaching students kindness, love, calm, and ethics was a preparatory stage before the next stage of Raja Yoga, as you call it. Our harmonious way of life also contributed to this: life at the expanse of the seashore, in a pleasant climate with moderate heat and cold, with good nutrition. The students of the School used soft gymnastic exercises for their bodies and swimming in the sea.

“The stage of work with the energies of the body began when the soul-love grew in size larger than the body, thanks, in particular, to life at the seashore and to the harmony of the sea expanse.

“Always the first step in mastering every new stage was done by the soul, and the body followed it by attuning to the new state of the soul. In this way the body purified. Any problem of the body went away when the corresponding problem or the vice of the soul disappeared on the causal plane.

“The soul-love, much larger than the body, attuned the body like an instrument which has seven chakras and the ‘strings’ of meridians so that to sound in harmony with the universe. This instrument allows the human soul to create the Great Music of Life and Harmony.

“On this stage we paid much attention to music and dance, which can imprint and convey to people elevated states of the soul.

“Students in our School usually performed meditations when walking slowly.

“The stage of Buddhi Yoga began when the soul could naturally live as a Mahadouble, speaking in your terms.

“I did not have many disciples ready for this work. But those who had mastered this stage continued then the work of the School. They supported the ideas of the Pythagorean Brotherhood in branches of the School created by them throughout the entire Mediterranean region — for more than 500 years. They are all willing to help you now with spreading and introducing your knowledge, Our common knowledge.

“You asked Me some time ago about materialization and dematerialization. I can answer this question now.

“I never tried to master dematerialization of the body; I never had such a goal. Immortality of the soul in Unity with the Highest Divine Consciousness — this was the task that I set for Me and for My disciples. If the soul manages to realize this task and lives in this state, serving the Creator and people — then the material body becomes Divine thanks to the Divine status of the Soul.

“After fire destroyed the building of the School, I had to support My disciples, who escaped persecutions but were dejected because of My death — and I easily created a material body and appeared before them. This gave origin to legends that Pythagoras escaped death. Creating a body was necessary to support the disciples who had to continue My Work and bring higher knowledge to people to help them develop successfully on the Earth.”

* * *

Now let us listen to stories about the School of Pythagoras told to us by some of His Disciples and Followers.

Let us begin with the story of Konstantinos:

“I was a disciple of Pythagoras. There was once a Greek town on this place, and there was My School. I created it at the request of My Teacher. I tried to keep all traditions and principles of His School.

“Our selection of aspirants was as strict as His. There was a certain trial period with lectures, which helped the initial ethical transformation of those who wanted to join the Pythagorean brotherhood — in accordance with its highest ethical norms. Only then the aspirants could be accepted as students.

“One of the most important points of the initial stage of learning was to master hesychia. One had to learn to stay in inner quietness not for minutes or hours but for days and weeks — until this state became a quality of the soul.

“Contemplation of the sea expanse, the measured sound of waves helped the students to stop the mind, to become submerged into inner quietness. The students began to live in the space of quietness. In this state one feels that the body is but a tiny grain in comparison with the expanse of the sea, and the life of man is but a moment in comparison with the eternity of the rocks and sea…

“The literary works of Pythagoras and His disciples helped the students at the first stages by giving to the mind formulas for submersion into inner quietness.

‘Your personality is like a grain on the bottom of the ocean. But any tiny part can become aware of its unity with the Whole… Thus we can approach the Truth…’ — this worked in the same way as selections of excerpts from your books.

“Then, in the state of calm, the students learned to listen — to listen to their incarnate Teachers and then — to non-incarnate Ones. Thus the students gained the ability to listen and to perceive information not only with the mind of the body but with the whole consciousness.

“And, of course, from the beginning of learning, the students were taught the art of working with their energy structures: to cleanse them, to move the concentration of the consciousness between different chakras and meridians. The students learned to place the concentration of the consciousness into concrete energy structures and to achieve the beauty of the sounding of oneself-consciousness in harmony with the Whole: feeling and radiating the states of love, calm, joy, strength, confidence, tenderness, etc.

“As a result, the students developed the ability of controlling the body — as a musical instrument, which can sound in harmony with the Divine Subtlety and Purity.

“Then, judging from the results of learning on this stage, we selected a few students for the higher stages — the stages of Buddhi Yoga. It was the stage of meditative work from one’s own Mahadouble.

“As for the others — we created for them the best conditions for developing the consciousness’ abilities to think and to show creativity through various forms of service, through the development of thinking skills by means of studying mathematics, logic, architecture, rhetorical art, etc. It is creativity that is the best way of developing the ability of the consciousness to think!

“On the higher stages of work, our meditations were similar to those you perform. Of course, they were called differently but similar to yours in essence.”

* * *

Now let us listen to the story of Pythagoras’ Divine Disciple Larisa:

We asked:

“Tell us please about Yourself, Larisa!”

“Let Me tell you about Konstantinos — what I know about Him!

“Konstantinos was one of those Disciples of Pythagoras who — before the destruction of His School in Croton — went to different towns at the request of the Teacher — to establish there branches of the School, which could become sources of Truth and Wisdom for a large number of people.

“Konstantinos began here, on this new place, the work done by Pythagoras. He kindled here a new Fire of Love — by telling people about the Wisdom of the Creator of the universe, about the life of the Whole, about Pythagoras.

“Many people came to listen to Him, asked questions. Those who came not only out of vain curiosity remained with Him. I was among His first disciples.

“I listened to Him with the open eyes of the soul — and great love arose in My heart — love for Him and for everything that He manifested with Himself, for the knowledge that He shared! Apart from this, the meaning of human life became clear to Me!

“Konstantinos asked those living in wealth to contribute to the foundation of the School: anything they could. I was ready to give everything I had. Thus My house on the seashore became the first building of the School.

“Many of the noble citizens gave gold and men for construction. One of the Konstantinos’ conditions was that any slave who wanted to work on the construction and was sent for this work by his master had to be released from slavery and to receive the status of a free citizen. And people gave their slaves and valuables, and the School grew!

“The School had, among other things, classes for education of children. It was quite unusual — and this made the School desirable to local nobility; also this ensured the support of the authorities.

“Once per week Konstantinos delivered public lectures for everyone interested. Many people came even from far lands, sailed over the sea — those who wanted to know about the Teachings of great Pythagoras.

“Konstantinos and we, His disciples, spent every morning in meditation, then had breakfast and began to work on constructing the buildings of the School.

“The harmony of life, which was the basis of the School, made our life and work so elevated and wonderful that people who remained in the School did not seek a better lot and a better destiny!

“With time, the lectures of Konstantinos were supplemented with the performance of some disciples who developed capabilities of the soul that could be expressed in music, dance, or declamation. This attracted even more people. The School grew and developed!”

“Larisa! Tell us please a little about Yourself!”

“It was easy to learn when you were burning with love for Him Who manifests God on the Earth! A soul burning with such love grows and develops very easily!

“With the help of meditative methods taught by Konstantinos, the spiritual hearts of the disciples grew and expanded! We learned to flood with the spiritual heart over the expanse of the sea! The fire of cordial love grew larger — and embraced all lives, all the beautiful! Shining with love, the souls approached the threshold of the Divine!

“We also learned to control our emotions: to live always in the state of love!

“Then we learned to be a Flow of Light, similar to ‘solar wind’, streaming over the expanse of the sea and blowing ‘the canvases of the souls’!

“Then we dissolved ourselves so that every drop of myself-Light merged with the Light of those Divine Consciousnesses which you call the Holy Spirit or Brahman. And one could disappear in Mergence with Them — and exist only as Light!

“In this United Light we could feel ourselves as giant, living, and free from the body!

“I learned to be a Soul-Light — with a real face, with smiling lips, with eyes radiating Love and Light, with gentle hands caressing everything! With the tips of My fingers I could touch bodies of incarnate people — to heal them, to caress!

“With My fiery heart I aspired to the Creator of everything — and learned to live with His Living Fire of Love!

“Konstantinos, Pythagoras, and Adler guided Me! And now I — together with Them — from the Eternal Oneness — shine at the Creation with the Light of Divine Love!

“… I may add that I became the wife of Konstantinos.”

“Tell us please how did You and Konstantinos end these earthy incarnations of Yours?”

“Both Konstantinos and I completely dissolved everything worldly in Ourselves, including Our materials bodies! Konstantinos achieved this state several years earlier than I.

“Later I had another husband — one of the promising disciples of Konstantinos. He was much younger than I.

“He did not manage to achieve Divinity in that life…

“… One achieves full FREEDOM only thanks to unceasing work on transformation of oneself as a soul!

“… In ‘usual’ conditions one learns the lessons of karma in many corporeal incarnations, where — by going through pain and trials — the soul ripens and transforms, acquiring this experience slowly, painfully, and with difficulty.

“But meditative work — if organized correctly and combined with ethical self-correction — allows one to go through this transformational stage of growth much more harmoniously and quickly! This was taught by Pythagoras and Konstantinos. And all true esoteric Schools of Soul are based on the same principles!

“But no meditative ‘techniques’, even well-mastered, can allow the soul to infuse into the Ocean of the Creator if there remain states of the consciousness not identical to Him! Until one gets rid of these ‘shadows of the past’, that is of ungodly qualities and states — the soul cannot achieve the final Mergence!

“In particular, there can be some qualities of the soul that have been useful for its growth but have to be discarded now — when the stage of human life has to be replaced with the stage of Divine Life!

“… One has to create Schools on the Earth — according to the principles established by Pythagoras!

“And the principles of living in harmony with the Whole are very simple:

“— Cordial love!

“— Calmness of the mind and inner quietness!

“— Benevolence towards everyone and doing good to all the living — in deeds, emotions, and thoughts!

“— Gratitude to the Creator for all His lessons!

“The one who manages to keep to these principles in life — advances significantly to that quality which God wants to see in all people!”

* * *

Well-known people, Russian poet Nikolay Nekrasov and architect Carl Rossi were also Pythagoras’ Disciples. One may learn about the spiritual aspect of Their biographies from our book Classics of Spiritual Philosophy and the Present.

Now I will give some excerpts from our conversation with Nikolay Nekrasov:

“I attained Divinity not in the last incarnation known to you, but in the previous one. I was a follower of the Pythagorean School and learned from the disciples of Pythagoras and Socrates.

“In that School, they knew also about the multidimensionality of the universe, about how one can cognize the Creator, enter into Him forever, and become a Part of Him.”

We asked:

“Were You aware of Your Divinity in the last incarnation?”

“No. That life of Mine, in many aspects, was not like a life of an Avatar… It was designed so by God: so as not to tempt persecutors…

“… Only a few people in the next millennia understood the Pythagorean tradition, recognized the greatness of that School. The incarnation of Pythagoras was an incarnation of God!”

“Where does Pythagoras work now? Can we communicate with Him as we communicate with You? Are there His Mahadoubles, His working sites in these lands?”

“One can find Him in Sicily and on the south-east shores of the Mediterranean sea.

“Pythagoras was a Messiah in that part of the Earth, similar in His significance to Jesus Christ.”

“For us and for our readers, for sure, it would be interesting and useful to learn more about Your second to last incarnation and about Your apprenticeship with the Pythagoreans…”

“I lived then in the region of the Mediterranean sea. I was a Roman citizen from a noble aristocratic family. I sailed a lot over the sea with diplomatic missions…

“The sea is wonderful! In the early morning, when the giant disk of the sun rises from the horizon and the entire space gets suffused with goldish gentle light — the soul becomes enchanted by the greatness of the Creator! In such moments, one can very easily expand with the consciousness over the sea, open the arms of the consciousness, feel the joy of freedom — and blend with the sunlight, with the wind, feel oneself as a giant free bird soaring over the boundless waters!…

“… I was an educated man thirsting for new knowledge. I heard a lot about Pythagoras, about His Teachings, and dreamed of finding His followers who continued His work. I knew that His disciples, who remained after the carnage, went to all corners of the Mediterranean region and founded Pythagorean Societies.

“I was lucky to become a member of one of them!

“In the Society, they taught the laws of the higher justice expounded by Pythagoras; they also observed the principle of the multistage giving of the higher esoteric knowledge — according to the student’s level of development.”

“What were the meditative methods used in that School for cognition of the Creator?”

“On the higher stages, they gave knowledge about the multidimensional structure of the universe. And the students — with the consciousness developed as a spiritual heart — learned to move using the arms of the consciousness through all the layers of multidimensionality: from dense — to the subtlest ones. In that way, the students cognized the Abode of the Creator, then mastered it and accustomed themselves to living in it in Mergence with the Creator.

“We had incarnate tutors, but Pythagoras and His closest Disciples were for us quite real non-incarnate Divine Teachers. They directed our spiritual advancement.

“In the tradition of the Pythagoreans, the theme of transformation of the society’s life was the most important one; to Me, the most important in My life was cognition of the Creator.

“Though I attained Mergence with the Creator, I had not managed in that incarnation to turn the look of the soul from Him to incarnate people. This became the task of My life in Russia: I had to develop in Myself Divine Love for people.

“In Russia, My civil activity as a publicist and a poet was aimed at changing the ethical norms of the society by drawing its attention to the awful life of common people… I tried to raise compassion for common people in the most powerful people of this world…

“This became My service to Him.

“I lived by the spiritual heart, and it ‘bled’ watching everything that was taking place in Russia: arbitrariness of officials, ruthlessness in the attitude of landlords towards serfs, darkness and ignorance everywhere around…

“I loved the Earth, loved people, loved the great tenderness and harmony of nature… And I learned to love people not abstractly, but by fighting for them…”

“What would You advise us and everyone who goes to the Creator?”

“The first thing to do when one enters on the Path is to learn to live by the spiritual heart which is open towards people and towards all the living and radiates love. The second thing is to bring to people the true knowledge, the pure Teachings about God.

“One has to raise free citizens with the help of the true knowledge about God! Only this will allow the creation of an ethical structure in the society that will be auspicious for the spiritual evolution of all people.

“… Why did in Russia during the last centuries everything develop so badly despite the fact that there were many bright, outstanding personalities who tried to instill in the society the ideas of Love and Good?…

“Yes, God sows through such people His seeds… But other members of the society decide themselves what they want to do with these ideas. This constitutes their freedom of choice…

“The purpose of God is not to make the life of people safe and happy by all means. God helps everyone by constantly suggesting right decisions to them. But He also gives them the possibility to choose their path and to grow as they want. Only in such conditions one can have the true freedom of creativity, i.e. when one can grow as a creator: as a creator of oneself, to start with…

“… And the work of your School has to develop according to the known principle: God wants a new spiritual hearth to grow on the Earth, a hearth similar to the Pythagoras’ School. He wants, among other things, that politicians and scientists of different countries receive confidential knowledge through you.

“However, this process will not take years but decades.”