6 0 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 8 - 1 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 1 Introduction Květoslav Minařík (1908–1974) states that he rediscovered the lost and forgotten path of Buddhas (Minařík 1993/1, 64). According to Josef Studený, Minařík’s direct disciple and successor, Květoslav Minařík achieved that as a reincarnated tulku of Marpa the Translator (1012–1097) (Studený in Minařík 1992/1, 177). For the spiritual rebirth of man Minařík brings and develops a unique yogic-mystical system rooted in Tibetan mysticism; he sees Tibetan mysticism as “a profound positive psychology, a teaching system that is very practical because it is based on the psychology of the way of life” (Minařík 1995/2, 277). And albeit mysticism as “a purely practical method aiming at putting the driving forces of life under control” (Minařík 1993/2, 86) is not a scientific discipline, Minařík had no doubt that once people with university degrees find in his teaching a consistent spiritual system, mysticism might become a subject of scientific study “for the benefit of all humankind” (Minařík 1993/2, 38). A few centuries ago, along with the so-called industrial revolution, a new trend arose in the world, a trend we can observe as putting material values above spiritual ones. And living in this sort of materialistic positivism, the product of which is the current consumer society at the peak of a crisis, we continuously make efforts to influence the external environment for our imaginary benefit and security. Results thereof are mainly: 1) intensive industrial development incurring devastating impacts on the environment, 2) periodic economic crises causing deeper differencing within society, 3) long-term global massive production of arms inevitably leading to yet another global conflict; thus Minařík’s visions of future will be fulfilled. World War II was, in his view, “albeit an important, but only a chapter” (Minařík 1993/2, 30) in the destructive escalation of violence of man against man. This corresponds with today’s sharp rise of speed at which our current global system gets destabilized. This increasing speed raises common fears of impending domino-like collapse of the current global system. And so “the way the humankind follows to collect life experience goes exactly in the opposite direction, away from happiness, that can only originate from well-doing, i.e., doing good deeds, not from longing for something that just seems to be good” (Minařík 1991/3, 78). This, indeed, is an unpleasant prospect for the expectations and hopes of those who are carried by the flow of civilization. But it is exactly “the civilization that alienates men from themselves so much that all their thinking capacity gets consumed for knowing and using things of the outer world” (Minařík 1995/1, 155). Thus, being dragged by tendencies of our ancestors, our attention is systematically deflected from ourselves to the outer world. The history of mankind proves, however, that the solution of the age-long issue of happy or unhappy life cannot be found ‘out there’. “Because if people do not have happiness in their hearts, they won’t find it outside” (Minařík 1995/1, 155). On the contrary, we can only achieve it within our own feelings and mental states, “because the problem of a happy or unhappy life is an emotional problem” (Minařík 2013, 11). Květoslav Minařík thus speaks to all “who are already coming to understand the meaning of psychic manifestations as factors so strongly influencing people’s feelings. The meaning of sensing is that it serves as a means of shaping life views and ethical beliefs of every individual. These beliefs shape in turn the life conditions for people’s coexistence.” (Minařík 1991/3, 7). We could add to Buddha’s words “in acts devoted to the good, in words devoted to the good, in thoughts devoted to the good” (Neumann 1993, 60), the following: “in the feelings of devotion to the good”. Because hurting, which is the cause of all evil on the world, begins already in our feelings, on the basis of which the thoughts hurting others only arise. “For that reason, mysticism must be regarded as a practical teaching system aiming primarily at increasing the good in the world.” (Minařík 1991/3, 15). Once having an understanding of these mutual relations, the world’s intellectual elite is standing before the task to contribute to the improvement of the living
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