Editorial

Beneath all political and economic systems, socio-cultural differences, racial characteristics and the various forms of karma and mental conditioning of man, lies an eternal, unchanging and unifying essence, called Brahman or Atman. This is the supporting structure for our experience of life and indeed is life itself. When an individual matures in his evolution to the point where he seeks the answers to the deeper questions of life and even more, an experience which fulfils the underlying needs producing such questions, he must necessarily push aside all the surface and petty differences which separate human beings. It is in this search that one discovers the underlying principles which unite people, societies, religions, cultures and which lead to a happier, freer life.

The path of tantra is one in which the seeker digs beneath the layers of his mental conditioning until he taps the hidden reserves of shakti, energy, which lie dormant and unsuspected. It cuts through man made concepts and lifestyles and opens up a truly natural and universal state of being that is the birthright of every human being. The true tantric experience can only be found when we have cleared or burned away all the dross and impurity from our lives.

Post war technological growth in countries such as America and Russia promised to change the world into a utopia in which we would produce enough food, material comforts, medical breakthroughs and other scientific marvels to stave off pain, suffering and death. The systems have obviously failed in their promise, and disillusionment has led to a cultural awakening in which spiritual and inner values have been placed on par with material needs and desires. Rebalance is an automatic, natural process.

The process of awakening is transcultural and knows no political borders or boundaries. Proof of this is seen in the parallel growth of meditation, yoga, parapsychology and various growth movements in America, Russia and most countries in the world. Millions of people, worldwide, are reading literature on yoga, Sufism, Buddhism, Vedanta, Kabbalah and other esoteric subjects. Reports of progress in countries such as Russia have been made available by groups of interested people who are seeking to exchange theories and experiences in the hope of sharing deeper inner development and outer peace and harmony.

One effort at peaceful coexistence and unification is the Esalen Soviet-American Exchange Program, reported in 'New Age' magazine, March 1982. This project has undertaken the exchange of scientists, educators, planners and philosophers and has been made possible by the 'legalization' of work on the unconscious by the USSR in 1979. Soviet theorists are working on the reformulation of Marxist theory to accommodate human reserves and potential as well as scientific theory to accommodate altered states of consciousness. For example, physicist Egor Acturin is working on the connection between quantum theory and consciousness.

The Russian medical community has started to develop interest in 'alternative' health care, such as homeopathy, acupuncture, biofeedback, physiological self-control and herbal medicine. The Soviet Academy of Sciences is sponsoring research programs in psychic healing and, under sponsorship of the Ministry of Health, a spiritual healing clinic is being set up. It is reported that the famous psychic healer Jhuna has met with 350 members of the Soviet Attorney General's Staff and is even rumored to have worked with Brezhnev.

At Kazakh State University, Victor Inyushin and his colleagues are applying studies of 'biofield', the pranic body of yogis, to agriculture and healing, with apparent success. Inyushin's work is linked to the research of Alexander Romen, a pioneer in Psychical Self-Regulation, a system combining yoga, hypnosis, autogenic training and martial arts. This system is used to treat some 5,000 people each year.

The synthesis of spiritual work in various countries, such as America and Russia, is the seed for deeper global understanding and the potential for peace. It is a sign of the awakening of kundalini, deep unconscious forces, at a global level. The mass of humanity is slowly awakening to a higher destiny and purpose. This awakening is being facilitated by the use of the energizing, balancing and spiritualizing forces developed by systems such as those found within the yogic and tantric paths.