Reading Maria Nikolaeva’s book came actually as a quite pleasant surprise to me. The title of the book led me to expect just another book on meditation and the discovery of one’s self; and, truth be told, there are many of those in print! Fortunately, I was wrong! This book is an easy-to-understand guide to the exploration of one’s self in conjunction with space, time and the cosmic scene. It is a roadmap that imprints not only the paths of self-awareness but also describes the provisions one must carry on the way. I have read phrases such as “one road many ways,” “one way many roads,” etc. In the case however of this particular book, the Author proves both sentences true provided that the correct conditions concur.
The problems of self-awareness and the discovery of one’s true self and as a result, of one’s true volition, have been engaging the mind of man for many centuries and continue still to be a research subject of substance. Starting with Socrates’ exhortation “Know thyself,” the mantle is taken up by the Gnostics, who first pointed out in a systematic way and with a religious structure the fact of the fallacy of appearances when compared to the truth of being. The illusive world of the Creator (“Demiurge”) of the Gnostics differs very little from the Maya, the illusive reality of Hinduism. The Hindus in the authentic “Sanathana Dharma,” the Vedas and their books of knowledge, wherein they have concerned themselves with a multitude of issues, point out the inability of human beings to understand the nature of the Divine as well as their own limitations to perceive the natural reality which surrounds them. This inability to understand the nature of the Divine is also pointed out by Origen, who while walking on the beach with a student proceeded to ask him to count the grains of sand. The student by confessing his inability to do so, received the following answer: If you are incapable of investigating something as finite as a beach how dare you wish to perceive the nature of infinity? What one perceives is a dreamy state, Maya, which imposes an illusory perception of reality. This illusory perception of reality results in an equally illusory perception of oneself, of what one is, where one goes and what one really wants. Modern science confirms that man’s tools of perception of reality have their own limitations. Our senses collect but a fragment of the reality surrounding us and codify it in a way suitable for us to perceive it. From the moment we accept that the Universe is temporary and relative and that we perceive it with ineffective means, it is clear that on a level of consciousness we live in a micro-universe within another Universe. The attempt to break through the walls of the virtual universe we perceive, to break through the Matrix —if I may use the modern terminology for Maya— is clearly to be made using supersensory means, such as those possessed by one’s spirit, one’s higher self, which by its own nature participates in both realities, the Matrix as well as the cosmic truth. One such tool, which has been proven effective through the ages, is meditation.
This book presents a roadmap that guides us to meditation. This is achieved using the Hindu tradition as a point of reference, and yet in an non-dogmatic way, i.e. without imposing authority but with the provision of such means that shall assist the reader to discover his or her own way, without stumbling into obstacles. The references in the book make the analogy between the eastern meditation and the orthodox tradition of anchorites, and the correspondence of yogis to the Christian orthodox “holy fools.” For them the common ground is their distancing from the matrix of material perception. Anyone seriously interested in meditation and wanting to be informed in a correct, objective, impartial and nonsectarian way, has acquired the right book. For me it has been a pleasure to read the book and an honour to meet the author.
