BACK TO THE STATES: Where It All Began
The important thing is this: to be able, at any moment, to sacrifice what we
are for what we could become…
~ His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
In honour of this special day of January 5th, 2024, the birthday of our dear Teacher and Guide, Igor Vamadeva Kufayev, we invite friends, followers and Sangha to celebrate with us, join us on a time travel to the beginnings of the teaching and savour a darshan from one of Igor’s first US immersions from the archives…
BEGINNING OF THE TEACHING YEARS
Ever since Igor’s decision to step out and begin teaching after emerging from his years of radical transformation and the furnace of love, it was a leap of faith into the unknown. In 2013, still based in Costa Rica with his family, Igor began to travel extensively in the States to share his direct insights into Being, the neurophysiological path to Self-realisation and the universal teaching of nondual Shaiva Tantra. Organically, people of all walks of life began to welcome him with open arms and gather around him, as the hearts here were tuned to receive his life-affirming perspective, cutting-edge vision and a down-to-earth spirituality for our time. It was here, on this side of the Atlantic, where many of Igor’s first talks found their emphatic mark and created strong ripples in the spiritual community – of which can be felt to this day.
…How many times have we ignored the still voice within, silencing the whispers of intuition? Life, with its ever-flowing hymn of temptation, steers us hither and thither with the promise of fulfilment that is always within an arm’s reach… a hair’s breadth, and yet…
IMMERSIONS AND INITIATION OF SHAKTIPAT
The work took off in California, where the first weekend immersion on the theme of Vibrant Self was offered in 2013 at the legendary retreat centre “Mount Madonna”, near Santa Cruz. Even after Igor and his family moved to Europe, to the Mediterranean island of Mallorca in 2015, Igor would still return to North America twice a year to offer his transformative work in California, Sedona and British Columbia in Canada.
This was an incredible time of new beginnings, filled with synchronicities, heart-felt and impactful encounters, and an effortless flow from one place to another – to share the bliss of Being. Many of those who would become Igor’s close companions came into the work during this time, to be of service to its unfolding. Igor presented at SAND (Science and Nonduality) conferences in California, held intimate in-home gatherings, and eventually, began to offer larger programs that he coined as “immersions” – a term indicating what should become the heart of Igor’s work, the immersion into one’s own divinity (Samavesha in Sanskrit).
…Never was there gain without a certain risk. The kind of spiritual work we do is not for the faint-hearted and requires a form of courage – a willingness to see through, an openness to be taken in, to be radically transformed…
In a prophetic and unexpected turn of events, the Feminine Powers of God immersion in 2014 in Ralston, CA, marked a profound shift in the way the teaching was delivered. It was here that the first spontaneous vocalisations were collectively experienced and captured during the group meditations. They would become one of the rare features of Igor’s transmission-based work – an expression of the awakened prana shakti reclaiming the instrumentality of the human body. As Igor recalls, even he did not anticipate that this would be the direction in which the work would unfold…
“…Certain aspects of your own awareness are expressing itself through this neurophysiology in the form of sound. Why is it happening? How is it happening? There are different reasons for that…
It was at Ralston and it coincided with me using the shawl [to facilitate the flow of prana via shaktipat, also known as transmission of spiritual energy], working with the group during the meditations, and the unleashing of the vocalisations. And I like to tell this story: this immersion was absolutely magical and just extraordinary in every way – we were all just blown over. And we [Igor, Amrita and the family] were moving between Central America and North America, Canada, California, Arizona, back to Costa Rica; and at the time, we were renting this lovely old house in Mill Valley.
And after the immersion, we went to this shop – Mill Valley is like the “South of France of California”. For those of you who haven’t been there, Mill Valley is kind of a happening, chic place, lots of lovely old shops and it’s not a grid – it’s in nature, in a bay, and the Ralston was just up on Mount Tam. So we’re looking there and I’m trying on this pair of white jeans and learning the price and it’s sort of like, “What? How can white jeans cost that much?” and then Amrita, you know, she’s much more communicative than me, she just speaks to the guy and she’s like “Yeah, we just held an immersion”.
And, one thing after another, I don’t know how it all came out – I don’t think Amrita would have said to this guy that we had the vocalisations there – but somehow it came out and he was like: “Yeah, Mount Tam is known for that. That’s why we call it the singing mountain”. And I’m standing there looking through all the jackets, all very cool, and I’m thinking, Damn! So it’s Mount Tam, Tamalpais, that’s singing – so it’s not happening in our immersions. It’s not because I was there in that state, and some of the goddesses just came down and are doing their work through us. Alright, never mind!
So, I like to tell this story because this is where it started and it never stopped. So, it didn’t matter where we went, everywhere we went – everywhere – this was the case. Even then we found out that it doesn’t even matter how long the programs are – if it’s longer than just a couple of hours, it is bound to happen. And then people just began to flock into this work because they find maybe that resonance, you see? But in the course of the sadhana, this is [immersing ourselves in] the body [of the goddess], this is that which is known as being taken over.
That what is here exemplified by Samavesha is what is quintessentially the essence of this work. It can be spoken of in various ways. It can be spoken of as being reabsorbed into the body of the Goddess, or re-possessed – re-possessed in the sense of a true possession because it takes over all false possessions…”
– Igor Kufayev, excerpt from a Q&A session during a week-long immersion in Mallorca, Spain, May 2023.
…When human physiology is finely tuned, we come to live the awe that all of life speaks… listen, listen…
Participants of various US-based immersions in involuntary yogic movements – yoga asanas, mudras, vocalisation (kriyas) – during meditation sessions with Igor Kufayev.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE TEACHING
From thereon, the work intensified and grew, as more and more people gravitated towards the potency of what was happening in these unique containers as the birthplace of new consciousness. Igor was recognised as one of the very few living Kundalini masters and experts today, capable of not only bestowing the power of Grace and initiating the awakening of Consciousness, but also facilitating and safeguarding the awakening process through all its successive stages.
Over the next years, Igor began to deliver the Perennial teachings in particular themes – Luminous & Self-Aware, Tantric Christ, The Heart of Shiva, Transformative Power of Beauty, to name a few – which gave additional angles and richness to the body of the Advaita Tantra teaching itself, revealing new insights and breaking new ground, which set the stage for how the teaching has been presented today.
The following darshan from one of the first week-long immersions that Igor delivered at Joshua Tree in California, under the theme of HUMAN BEING: The Gate, the Altar and the Offering, will offer a glimpse into this time.
Courage & Recognition: Becoming a True Student of Consciousness
by Igor Kufayev
Detachment comes from understanding. Worship also comes from understanding. Detachment comes from understanding that this body is just a passing phenomenon. Life is transient; it’s as simple as that. So we cannot put all our bets on that; it’s simply silly, illogical – whatever you may call it – if it sounds stronger, delusional.
It’s like drawing something on the seashore and then being annoyed by the fact that the wave came and claimed it. That’s this body. The detachment comes from this understanding. You build a sandcastle but the tide comes in, goes out, the time comes to dissolve it all, back into the ocean. And just as soon you come the following day – and build more sandcastles. Detachment in a way is a very natural outcome of this understanding. Worship comes from understanding as well. It comes from the understanding that no matter how transient this life is, no matter how ephemeral, impermanent, this life is sacred. Sacred, not from that humanistic perspective – which is also valid and very important – but it is sacred because it’s not what we think of it or come to think of it. But it is sacred precisely for the reasons mentioned earlier because it’s the place of worship itself. It’s a place of gathering as well. Gathering of these divine energies that are gathered here, and there is a purpose. Something is being extracted there, something is being performed here. The understanding of that invites that same sacred attitude towards this body, towards every part of this body, towards every minute part.
The language of lower or higher does not apply to this body from a Tantric perspective. This body doesn’t have “lower” or “higher”. It may be spoken [that way] in the course of the spiritual discourse just to give some idea to the student of Consciousness; but from the standpoint of how this body is being viewed and experienced, there is no lower or higher. The lower and higher is born of the dichotomized nature of the mind; because the mind likes to compare, so it creates. It’s easier to function that way. And for that reason to remind ourselves, there’s this very important sutra in the scriptures, which puts to rest all argumentations at once; which basically states that “Bhumi is Shiva”. Bhumi stands for the earth element – the lowest of the chakras as muladhara. In that anatomy, in the subtle anatomy, muladhara is considered to be the lowest chakra, the base one that connects us to the Mother Earth; it’s the grossest of all elements, the densest of all the elements. Matter itself could be said as a representation of that element. So to lay to rest all these arguments, to put them aside, there’s this saying, “Earth is Pure Awareness. The earth itself is Shiva”. There’s nothing that is sacred or unsacred in this body; there’s nothing that is more or less profound. Yes, we can speak about the elevation, elevated, refinement. We can endlessly speak about it – and we will – however, it’s very important that you have that understanding as a given, that there is nothing that we could call “lower” or “higher”; it simply doesn’t exist. Everything performs and functions in coherence, in union. Even on the level of disunion, there’s union. I want you to understand this, I want you to hear this. Even on the level of this disunion, there is still union.
So detachment and adoration, or worship, are two sides of the same coin. They become two aspects of the whole that make the whole. You can see where the tilt, the balance, is being tipped – you can see it in the collective, in groups, culture, in yourself. When you go on autopilot, you can see that you’re forgetting – that this is not meant to go on autopilot. And you can see when we become too contracted, taking everything and assigning everything to this body, to this particular organism. You can see that also you are somehow falling out of that attitude of detachment. And again, this is a limitation of the language: detachment is not an attitude. An attitude is easy to fashion. Detachment is the realisation itself. Detachment is born literally of dispassion. Dispassion is a very important quality, a very important quality in every spiritual adept, in every student of Consciousness.
Vairagya, it is called. This dispassion comes, comes to you; and at times, one may even mistake that dispassion. There are extreme cases of course of being thrown off the course, of which we spoke last night. In those cases, it’s actually very easy, because that detachment is granted. But if that detachment is not accompanied by that continuous recognition of this divine, of the sacred, then it could go into extremes. And we don’t want that to happen, at any stage, at any phase. That’s why I said: this is a fine balance.
A true artist is not an artist when he or she goes to work – and it’s very obvious and we all know that. A real artist doesn’t say, “Okay, it’s seven o’clock, I’m done with my artist work. Now I can do something else”. Right? “Okay, I’ve washed the brushes and I’m done with it. I’m no longer an artist! I’m a housewife”. No – for a true artist, it doesn’t work like that. An artist awakes, goes to sleep, perhaps even abides in a deep sleep as an artist. Wakes up – it’s this creative impulse that doesn’t let this jiva, this being, off the hook of that creative power of self-expression. In the same way, we could say that that is applicable to a true scientist, as far as I’ve heard or am aware. A true scientist doesn’t come back home from his lab, take off his jacket and say: “Oh, I’m done with this”. No – the curiosity of the mind carries on, even in a dream, then he wakes up, quickly starts writing down things. Apparently, Albert Einstein had a few major breakthroughs precisely in that state of consciousness – and the list goes on. A poet certainly doesn’t go on a weekend from his poetic inspiration. He doesn’t say, “Okay, I’m going to take a break from my poetry writing”. Well, then the Muse comes and slaps him in the face, “Sit down bastard! You owe it to me – and write now!” You’re just happy to [Igor pretends to scribble furiously in a state of possession and ecstasy] – and then we all marvel.
Do you see where we’re going? See where we’re trying to lead you? A student of Consciousness is not a day job or a weekend job or retreat job – you’ve got to get this! A student of Consciousness, once that impulse is being put in motion, becomes your obsession. This is the healthiest obsession, and you work within it. You don’t say, “Okay, I’ve done a lot of spiritual work today. Now, let me be finally back to being me. Yeah! Let’s kick the ball, let’s run to the beach, let’s go for a drink”. It doesn’t work like that. Not that you don’t kick the ball or don’t go to the beach or don’t get a drink. Don’t get me wrong! Of course you do! Naturally. But it’s that impulse of creative intelligence that is awakened within and alive, that carries on. So you don’t need to remind yourself, “Wait a minute I’m an artist, I need to be like an artist. Let me put on a beret, let me dirty my sleeves a little bit here”. Actually, I was a very clean artist. Nobody believed how tidy my studio was. I hated the mess; I couldn’t function in a mess.
So it’s not about the appearances of things, not the attitude we put on – obviously not. So the dispassion, this detachment, is not an attitude. But once it is understood and experienced, then it is ingrained in your life – ingrained. It’s an inquiry in itself, and so is the worship. And every action, every instant is an invitation – absolutely every instant is an invitation. Certainly, when we perform something which is so accepted and kind of a casual affair; whatever we do – interact, sitting down to eat, taking a walk in nature, speaking to a friend or reading a book – whatever we do could be that worship, that offering. And certainly, whatever we put into our body, becomes that worship. So this is not an attitude; it’s a way of life. And if you’re sincere about it, this would be very hard to bypass – to put it gently.
And, when we speak of the centrality of taking a stand as Consciousness, I want to remind you again that there is no world out there independent of our perception. This is the message. It’s just that for too long it’s been accepted, for too long, so it slipped in and grew and took hold – but no longer – it’s actually scientifically incorrect. If science is that, let’s say, the best of what we could say, and easily – myself for instance – I believe it is science that is the greatest breakthrough that Western civilization offered to humanity. If the Orient preserved the spiritual traditions and that investigation from the perspective of Consciousness, that same impulse was directed outward that would make a full circle to arrive at the same conclusions. This is the age we live in. So this is really what this means, when science meets spirituality – in changing the economy of our life, in changing the way we live.
So taking a stand, that understanding that the world comes out of you – the world is as you see this world – it’s in conjunction with these very insightful statements that you can find in quantum physics – and they all say the same things now. There is no out there, “out there”. There is no “out there” in contrast to “in here”. The out there and in here does not exist – it’s one continuum. We cannot even put our finger where it begins and where it ends, we simply cannot. Yes, the split between the subject and object gives this experience of, “I am experiencing this world, in this organism”. Even when we go logical about it, we cannot go beyond that, because subject and object rules in this case. However, from the standpoint of Consciousness, or ultimately speaking, there is no such thing. Hence, I said that earlier: there’s no world outside of my perception of it; this world exists as my, both, grant projection and grand perception. And that is applicable to each and every one of you – to each and every one. Ignorant, enlightened – it makes no difference whatsoever. Because Shiva doesn’t give a hoot who is enlightened and who is ignorant.
But I consider – because this is not easy to implement and it’s not even easy to understand and grasp it fully. How can it be that the world is actually out there as my projection and my perception? Isn’t the world already there as objective reality? “Weren’t there rocks here before, when Swami Yogananda walked here and other guys, all these luminaries who came here 180 years ago [Igor referring to the surrounding rocks in the desert of Joshua Tree]? These rocks were here, so there must be an objective reality out there. I’m not coming here creating these rocks suddenly”. So yes, it’s not easy to grasp that concept. However it is so. It is so, if you go deep into it and actually see for yourself. It will be either available within – as a student of Consciousness, as the explorer of Consciousness, you will be able to perceive it – or you can educate yourself by simply giving yourself a healthy dose of that science, to see that that’s precisely what has been stumbled upon. It was stumbled upon – it wasn’t even discovered. As you know, literally, all greatest discoveries are stumblings, revelations. Not only that – there is not even a locality we can speak of. As I speak here, I exist simultaneously in every corner of the universe, in every particle, in every atom, in every quark; and as a result, or consequently, I must exist as every wave as well, every possible wave – that’s how far it goes.
So it’s not just applicable to the way we speak here in terms of “The world as I see it is not separate from me as a perceiver” – it goes further than that. Or, logically, if you carry on that investigation, then time and space does not exist in terms of localization. Because Consciousness is not localised; it cannot be localised. It is granted the experience of being localised, but it’s not localised. Hence, it takes us all the way back to where we started this retreat, this immersion, with that line, “Whatever one can find in the outer universe, one can find in this body”. This is one of the tenets of Tantrism, one of the tenants of Tantric philosophy, of Tantric tradition. Hence a walking universe. Each and every one of you is that: walking around, creating a universe, countless universes, not being aware of that. Certainly, our impact is not being felt immediately – or it’s being felt immediately on that level of horizontal interaction. But this does not only take place on the horizontal plane of existence, and that’s where the magic of it is and that’s where the power of it is. Though it takes place on the horizontal plane of existence – because the senses and the mind function on that plane – it is being propped by that which has a vertical axis-like plane. And we affect reality from that plane, even if we’re not aware of it. Do you see where that takes us, where that could possibly lead us?
Do you see that this is literally the age of the end of God, as we knew him? Nietzsche said that 100 years ago – a bit more than that, some 120 or 130 years – and caused a big stir because of that. “God is dead”. For those of you who are not aware, he wrote that essay. Of course, those who were not fully aware of the profundity of his teaching thought this is like (a) blasphemy, and (b) the establishment of atheism. Some foolish atheists actually believed that this is what Nietzsche meant. What it means is that there’s no God out there. And, there is no Shiva outside of me, there is no me outside of Shiva – another tenant of Tantra. There is no Awareness outside of me, and there is no me outside of Awareness. Can you just repeat that line in your own head for just a moment?
This is literally the age of the end of adolescence and asking to be grown up – because religion is for kids. If we have no mind of our own, certainly, we cannot handle God on our own; so God has to be put somewhere safely. There’s always an intermediary, there’s always someone who is in between. But it cannot be like this any longer. This is what it means to grow up – to grow up. This is what I mean by taking a stand as Consciousness. Just when you were an adolescent and you were playing the ball, running around, chasing girls, chasing whatever – you’re doing things, you know. You always come home and there will be a meal on the table; a smack and a hug, being told off and being loved. You know it’s always there. It’s taken for granted. That’s what it means: it’s like lovely days of being taken care of. “Can I have some money, pocket money, for a movie?” Then suddenly – for some it happens earlier, for some it happens later – the example here is that this sudden growing up comes when you either cannot afford to because life circumstances are not allowing you (that’s why I said for some earlier), or there is this consciousness that is growing in you and you suddenly realise, “Wait a minute. Actually, I ought to take charge”. You cannot just accept that “I am growing up” – and it’s painful, it’s not easy. That breaking away from the age of adolescence is not easy. It could also be accompanied by the fear of, “Am I going to make it? Am I going to stand on my own?” – it’s no different. Believe me, it’s not different here. It’s the same kind of dynamic and the same kind of dilemma. This is an existential dilemma that you have to resolve sooner or later – that you are your own Consciousness. There is no God outside of me; there is no me outside of God. Shall I spell it this way? Because maybe “Shiva” sounds too exotic and you kind of buy it, but when we replace it: There’s no God outside of me, and there is no me outside of God. Therefore, I am God, am I not? Isn’t it logical to conclude that, or do we still have to kind of like “Ohh! How could that be?” No, it takes courage. It takes courage and recognition.
This is what I meant when we spoke at the last retreat in terms of universal egoity. When you understand there’s only one “I” here, and everything is subordinate to that – absolutely everything – creation, sustenence, dissolution – countless of them, all of them at once, separate, in linear, in cyclical manner. But there is only One here – that one “I” of creation. This is what true nonduality means. This is what true Unity and Oneness means.
And also, that’s what it means to grow up. Because also, just as the mother and father used to take care of the meal, shopping, cleaning, and what have you, we always assigned that to God: “Oh, God will take care of it. Oh, God will take care of everything”. Can’t you see? Can you see, now, how this is the thinking from the old paradigm? “As long as I am not in charge, as long as I’m not in charge”. It’s very, very comforting to throw everything on God – and that’s what we’ve been doing. It’s a great excuse. “God will take care. In God we trust” – and so it goes. Well guess what? There’s no God outside of me; there’s no me outside of God – get it? That’s why I keep saying, “You feel miserable? That’s your God. That’s you, as God, feeling miserable”. Feel contracted? There is no problem – only perceived. And all empowered by the same power – and not two powers. This is what I mean to take a stand as Consciousness. This is what I mean to grow up.
There’s no way we can take responsibility, any responsibility, in creating a better world, creating heaven on earth, recreating a Golden Age, or sorting out the mess we’ve basically put ourselves in, unless we take a stand as Consciousness, unless we are capable of doing that. This needs to sink in – sink in deeply into every cell of your body. I would even dare to say that you cannot fully understand it, because the mind cannot understand this. Something lingers – that spark might tell you that that rings true. But if you try to apply logic or rationale, it becomes slippery, it eludes. Because it does not belong to that sphere of the dual-nature of the brain and the dual-nature of the mind itself.
So you can interpret a lot of mystical poetry and mystical verses in that way. To take the thorn out of the heart, we use another thorn [paraphrased]. Have you heard that line? It belongs to Rumi, one of Rumi’s verses. To take the thorn out you require another thorn.
So, there’s no God outside of me; there’s no me outside of God. Just as I create everything that I look at here – taste, smell, perceive, cognise – so every one of you, every single being, does that. And the collective sum total goes into that, where the prevalent vibrations, where that wave moves – only then to collapse into particles, and then reality, alternative reality, is born into existence. Otherwise, we remain stuck in that patriarchal dualistic spirituality: “There is God and there’s me. There is God and there is creation”. And we are constantly delegating, negotiating – continuously dealing, bargaining even. It takes courage to take a stand as Consciousness. It takes real courage and it also takes maturity.
– Igor Kufayev, excerpt from a Darshan from the immersion “HUMAN BEING: The Gate, the Altar & the Offering” at Joshua Tree, California in May 2014. Watch the full archival darshan on our YouTube channel.
BACK TO THE STATES
It was in this part of the world where the most emphatic addresses were given on the subject of beauty and art, which eventually formed itself around and as Igor’s debut book Camatkāra: The Hidden Path, published in Spring 2023. There is so much that was initiated, unfolded and gained momentum in the States, and these foundational years carry more than just sweet memories, but the resonance of the silent melody behind this living teaching, which was and is received by all those hearts tuned to the whispers of love. So, it is with great joy that we can share today that Igor will finally be returning to where it all began, deep in the American evergreen forests, in the cradle of it all – singing as consciousness, standing tall as the mountain.
We will offer a week-long immersion in North Carolina, at the well-established Art of Living centre in the Blue Ridge mountains in Sept/Oct 2024 – making it Igor’s debut in the East Coast. And then just two weeks later, Igor will be at the Mt. Madonna retreat centre on the West Coast in Northern California, where we historically held one of the first weekend immersions ever.
HERE IN THE HEART OF IT ALL
We are incredibly excited to bring the teachings into the States again and to reunite with everyone who has been eagerly waiting for Igor to return, anticipating the spontaneous orchestration of the Shakti, the mover and shaker of this universe, the Grace behind this work.
We give our utter thanks and appreciation for all the supporters of Igor’s work, for our friends, followers, Sangha and the World family, as we sense the glory and beatitude which awaits, when we gather as One.
“This conversation is like the song heard at the distance, we don’t know its name, we don’t know its author; it’s a folk song but it’s been sung there by our ancestors and the echo of this song fills the valley with that shared purpose of what it means to be alive, here and now.”
– Igor Kufayev
For more information on our long-anticipated, upcoming week-long immersions in the States with Igor Kufayev in the Autumn of 2024, please visit the following pages:
7-day Immersion September 2024 in Boone, NC, USA
7-day Immersion October 2024 in California, USA
Photos taken during events and immersions with Igor Vamadeva during the years 2012-2016. Courtesy of Flowing Wakefulness.
Responses
Wonderful recollection of the development. May this return to America be one that touches many lives and bring a wave of alignment into that country and beyond. Jai Guru Dev! 🙏🏽
Dearest Vamadeva
My heart feels infinitely grateful right now and always that you are our beloved Teacher and I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart.
I wish for the upcoming events that there will be many hearts waiting for you on the other side of the big pond, welcoming you with open arms and recognizing the greatness of your holy teachings.
I wish you a wonderful birthday with your loved ones and all the best and Love.
Durga Ananda Ma
May we always make space to embrace the song’s gentle whispers,
May our dance to this song be ever vibrant,
With eternal love and gratitude to our Teacher
Dearest Master,
may you be gifted with everything your heart fills with joy and ease. May there be lots of good tea, yummi food and warm embraces! May you and your family be healthy and safe. Happy Birthday, my dear teacher – or as we say in Indonesia: Selamat Ulang Tahun 😉
My greatest gift is being able to be in your presence, learn from and be guided by you in this lifetime. Bowing down in deepest gratitude. Jai Guru Dev 🙏🏾
Dearest Vamadeva,
Thank you for all the transformations that I have been blessed with in my life. And the many different ways my life has been unfolding after I have met you and been in your Grace.
May your light and beauty touch countless others and bring the Divine into everyday life for everyone on our beloved planet. ☀️
Jai Guru Dev 🙏