The purpose of meditative practice – which encompasses both sitting meditation and practice in activity – is to assist in a natural way, based on sensitivity and intelligent understanding, our process of awakening.

The nature of that inner work varies depending on the evolutionary requirements of our particular stage. For most adepts, the practical guidance offered by the spiritual guide is of the utmost importance to ensure that he or she is making the right effort, to correct his mistakes, and to point him towards the next step.

What is Unique about Aadi’s Teaching?

You offer a huge body of concepts and tools in your teaching to awaken the inner states. I wonder, can’t I walk the path without this very detailed guidance? Is there a simpler path, one for instance, of grace or devotion, that leads to the same results?

No, there isn’t. Simplistic paths are designed for immature seekers. Most seekers are not walking the path at all – they are walking an imaginary path and living a spiritual fantasy.

We do offer large body of concepts, but that is because truth is itself complex and rich, and this needs to be reflected in the concepts we use to describe it. It may be intimidating to begin with, but in order to walk the real path, to manifest tangible and transformative results, you have to be willing to use your intelligence and strive towards an understanding which, at this point, may feel somewhat elusive or unobtainable to you. There is no easy escape from our human suffering; there is no easy way out.

Trying to walk the path without a detailed conceptual vision of the inner dimension is like walking in complete darkness, in a wilderness for which you have no map. You have no ability to orientate yourself, and you will inevitably get lost, and you will fail to reach your desired destination. When you close your eyes and enter meditation, what is it that you experience? What should you direct your attention towards? How can you know if you are experiencing the correct state? The answers to these questions lie in the sensitive application of conceptual tools – these are your map and compass, and constitute your power to walk purposefully towards your own awakening.

You mentioned a path of devotion, but devotion to whom or what exactly? To an imaginary deity, divine mother, or god? How long are you planning to live in this kind of fantasy? There is only one true kind of devotion – devotion to your own self. We all want to receive grace, and it’s a very appealing concept. But if you do not engage with all your energy in your inner work, grace will not come to you. Grace is a response of a higher wisdom to the sincerity of your intention and your complete devotion to the inner path.

 

Gaining Inner Orientation

It’s often said that consciousness is ‘everywhere’, while your teaching points to specific locations of centers inside the head. Isn’t consciousness beyond the physical body and entirely independent from it?

While ‘consciousness’ is a concept that is widely used amongst teachers and seekers, there is an enormous amount of ignorance surrounding what this term really points to. Have you ever really experienced such thing as ‘consciousness’ that is ‘everywhere’?

The awakening of consciousness is not magical – it is both tangible and highly practical. As humans, we recognize, awaken, and realize consciousness in our headspace. Consciousness needs a vessel within which to become conscious, first of the outer reality, and then ultimately of itself, and that vessel is the brain. Consciousness actually uses the neurological network in the brain to evolve and develop. Different parts of our headspace house different centers of consciousness, and each of these centers needs to be awakened through very sensitive, specific, and targeted practice, if we want to experience our consciousness in a complete and holistic way.

In order to evolve spiritually, we need to acknowledge the fact that each center of our soul, of the inner dimension, has a corresponding physical location in our body. This knowledge is extremely empowering and liberating, because you can begin to truly cooperate with your own evolution. You finally know that in order to awaken, for instance, pure me of consciousness, you need to begin by directing your attention to the back of the headspace! You are no longer groping in the dark, trying to experience ‘everything’ or ‘everywhere’. Can you experience your heart in your foot? You cannot. And you cannot experience consciousness anywhere other than your head.

In other teachings, they refer to bodily points of reference – such as tan t’ien in Zen, or the chakras in Yoga.  Is this similar to the spatial references you give in this teaching?

The chakras, and also the concept of tan t’ien, represent the effort in past spiritual traditions to locate certain spiritual or psycho-emotional centers within the human body. However, these concepts are extremely outdated, and it is important to know that they do not correspond to the real centers of the soul, or represent an accurate map of her awakening.  

Map of Awakening

Your map of awakening is extremely detailed. What is the benefit of having such a detailed map? Are there also disadvantages or pitfalls to following this approach?

Our map of awakening is not an approach, but rather an extremely clear and detailed description of the inner reality. What is the benefit of having a map? When you are entering the spiritual path, you are walking out into the wilderness. You close your eyes, you sit in meditation, and you simply don’t know where or who you are. As you begin to walk, there are so many pitfalls, dead ends, false trails, obstacles, and challenges, the chances of reaching your destination are simply minute. You need a map. This map is your saving grace, preventing you from getting lost.

You do not need to study the whole map at once. Rather, you need to study that part of it that shows your next step – that holds the information about your present and immediate practice. For instance, when you begin the path, you need only be concerned with pure consciousness and, to a lesser extent, the person. The understanding conveyed through the map is not intellectual – it needs to always relate back to your direct experience. 

One pitfall of a conceptually rich teaching, is that some seekers may interpret it purely intellectually, rather than applying it practically to their inner work. If you approach this teaching too much from the mind, you can get lost in details, concepts, ideas, and terms – and you will get nowhere. Our map needs to be used wisely, and be applied directly to your practice. For instance, you should not be overly concerned with the awakening of the inner knower or the absolute state if you have not yet stabilized pure consciousness. Of course, it can be beneficial to study the map as a whole in order to give you a wider vision of your evolution, but there are certain parts of that map that you simply cannot understand yet, because they are too far ahead of your present evolution.

In your retreats there are many hours of meditation each day. You also recommend daily meditation and constant self-remembrance. Is such an intense schedule of practice really required to reach our spiritual goals?

A Zen master once said “the easy path is not the real path” and that is true.

First of all, we need to understand that awakening is neither the linear outcome of dedicated inner work, nor is it a sudden, magical event, a bolt of lightning from the beyond – it is both gradual and sudden. The event of awakening itself, to any state of pure subjectivity, is a sudden event, often brought about through the help of a spiritual guide. But what we awaken in that instant is not a complete state, but more like the seed of our pure subjectivity, which then needs to be nurtured into maturity through dedicated practice both inside and outside of meditation.

That practice has many important purposes. Firstly, through giving it attention, we empower our state energetically and help it to grow stable roots in our existence, so that eventually it becomes radiant, solid, and independent of our recognition and attention. Secondly, through the practice of self-remembrance, we are actually developing a profound and intimate relationship with our own higher subjectivity, one of intimacy, love and appreciation – learning to truly value it above all else. Thirdly, we are confronting and overcoming with determination all of the obstacles that may arise within ourselves which are pulling us away from the perfect embodiment of our pure nature – unconsciousness, forgetfulness, lethargy, lack of focus, and so forth. The weight of ignorance is strong within us, and our practice, especially at the beginning, represents our efforts to win the battle between light and darkness.

Meditation seems to be a blanket term for such a diverse range of practices, from conscious breathing to repeating mantras, to much more profound states of existence. What is meditation?

In its pure form, meditation is simply to dwell in your soul, in your pure subjectivity. However, meditation is more than ‘just being’ one true self, more than just a state – it is also the inner work, our conscious cooperation with our evolution. This cooperation involves self-remembrance, embodying various centers of the soul, and surrender to the beyond, the transcendental subjectivity.