Reflexions about great Sokrat Sometimes I re-read books for several times. The same thing has happened to me not long ago. I have read all my books that I took in my travel. And I opened the one that I have read for the first time 26 years ago. It is the special book for me. I did not like to read books at school and to write compositions. I had bad relations with my school. I did not like school, and school did not like me. Sport became my real school. My trainers were my best teachers. It happened so that I have served not in common troops but in Sports Company of Privoljskiy district. When I was at military service in department near Kazan, I have got into hospital. I was very glad that I have got there. In spite of all my diseases the presence in a hospital was a kind of rest for me. It was a rest from moronic and boring military service that made me crazy. Why have I remembered my staying in hospital in details? Just there I have got a big start of self-cultivation, personal growth and self-education. I was nineteen at that time. I was dying from crashing bore in the literal sense of the word. I had nothing to do so I went to the library. I saw four tomes of “Platon: Collected works.” Through this book and these crucial works I familiarized myself with great philosopher, brave warrior, wonderful person, who is known worldwide. His name is Socrat. I am thankful to my fortune that the first book I have read not for exams, not for certificates, diploma but for my own pleasure was the book about Socrat. The whole my life has changed at that moment. I stepped on the way of personality development. It was like as if I was born once again. My school has destroyed all my interest toward knowledge but since that moment my interest has revived. Since then I am looking for the knowledge, collecting it all around the world and with like passionate pupil I am reading wise books. The next time I read this book 25 years later. When I have read all books I took with me in my travel, I left the book “Socat’s Dialogs” for afters. I opened the first page with some excitement and trepidation, and the book in literal sense of the word has devoured me. I moved on 2.5 thousand years backwards in history in a split second. Socrat was a great teacher that lived for four hundred years before Christ. His father was a sculptor-stonemason. His mother was a midwife, or speaking the modern language she was an obstetrician. Socrat called himself a midwife, but a spiritual midwife. He helped people to born once again, to wake up. He helped to come into this world spiritually. If a pupil without soul came to him, he even did not talk to such pupil. He knew that vacuousness bring to vacuousness, nothing comes to nothing. Socrat was the great teacher. He taught the whole world. He disseminated eternal in souls of people. He woke the world. Socrat was poor. It completely devoted his life to serving people: « I neglected my own work and I am patiently sustaining decline of my housekeeping for years. I am always engaged in your work, addressing to everyone privately like father or elder brother, and convincing you to care of virtue?» «After all, the only thing I am doing is that I convince each of you, young and old, to care firstly and mainly not of your bodies or money, but of your soul so to make it better. I am saying you will not have valor from money. But if you have valor you will have money and all other blessings, both in a private life and in public». He understood that those who sleep hate enlightened people. He distinctly realized all danger of his mission. But he did not think even for a second to stop. Let's listen to what Socrat says: «But may be you, like people who are half awake will strike me and easily kill me, obeying to Anit. And then you will spend all your life sleeping if only god, being sorry for you, will send you somebody else». Nothing has changed since then. And the eternal struggle between the good and evil, between darkness and light continues. When Socrat was young he was recognized Delphic Oracle. He was recognized to be wisest person in the world. He was not thirty when he was proclaimed the wisest man among the wisest. He participated in three battles and showed outstanding bravery. He took his companion out from a fight when his friends have trembled and run, throwing up their weapons, seeking safety in flight from persecutors. Socrat receded in full arms carrying his head high. And, as often happens, winners pursued cowards and killed them. But they respected courageous and resolute soldiers. Socrat did not stop to reflect and analyze even in short minutes of halts between battles. Once upon a time in the evening he stopped and stood still till morning came thinking about something and solving an important problem. When the army went through mountains and everybody shivered with cold and penetrating wind, Socrat cheerfully walked through snow in his thin cape and encouraged his companions. What was this great philosopher, seeker of truth and great citizen of that time famous for? Even after people recognized him Delphic Oracle and the wisest of the wisest, he told everybody great phrase: « As for me, all I know is that I know nothing. ». Socrat devoted himself not only to search of truth. He thought his main mission was in waking people, saving their souls. He sincerely believed that the most important thing in the person is his soul, his virtues, its aspiration to nobleness and honor. One government replaced another in Africa, but Socrat was always himself. He outlived both democracy blossoming, and government of thirty tyrants which purpose was to sanguine as much respected citizens as possible. They gave specially tasks to people to make them accomplices of terror and crimes. Tyrants ordered four citizens and Socrat to lead an innocent person on execution. Those who were not obeyed would be executed. Four respected citizens under the pain of death betrayed truth, betrayed virtue and went to execute the unjust. Socrat simply went home, and only falling of tyranny saved him from execution. Neither gold, nor fear of death, or glory could make Socrat to betray eternal human values. "Wise men" of that time, as Athenians, so the strangers who did not know Socrat, often rose to his fly. When they wished to present themselves very clever and wise, Socrat asked them one question after another almost in crowded places. That was the way to prove them they were fools. Socrat held them up to derision with the help of logic and inductive dialectic method. He made these without rage, without irony. He simply searched for the truth. He summarized: « As for me, all I know is that I know nothing. And they, knowing less, than I know, are mistaken that know everything». This was real entertainment to people to see how self-satisfied, pompous wise men’s faces are changing. But Socrat’s purpose was not to deride "wise men" and boastful hypocrites. His purpose was to prove to every citizen of Athens that soul, nobleness, honors and dignity were the main things. The main things are eternal human values. During his long life Socrat has destroyed the image of not one wise man, not one governor, not one oligarch. Grey crowd, a land of Nod does not forgive enlightened people their divine light. Grey crowd always hated bright, real, great people. St. Joan of Arc was burnt on the fire. Later this grey crowd would burn Dzhordano Bruno, would poison great people. But Socrat was the first. Such rare flowering appeared on the earth, such rare star lighted up in Athens! He was lighted up so bright that his beams warm our hearts even in 2,5 thousand years. His words are so strong, so powerful, and loud that in 25 centuries they awake us today as if we live nearby with him. The trial of dwarfs, Lilliputians, grey mice over a mighty lion was the most dramatic and greatest event which my teacher has experienced. Oligarchs, “wise men-philosophers" broken, dishonored by Socrat, were embodiment of dullness. And dullness is afraid of and hates bright stars. And as it often happen oligarchs and pseudo-wise men have employed the small, insignificant jackals whose canines have been poisoned with lie. Three pettinesses have sailed into a great lion. Even the names of Socrat’s murderers have become a history, because they stood near a great noble star. Miletus, Anit and Likon have accused Socrat in blasphemy, in God’s disrespect, in intellectual corruption of youth. The court passed then democratically enough. Five hundred elects decided destiny of defendant. Everyone had two stones: one was white, the other was black. They threw white stones in a vessel, voting for the forgiveness of defendant. Throwing a black stone the judges voted for the death execute. Other defendants, artful dexterous dwarfs made everything to move judges to pity. They brought small kiddies, relatives, old men with themselves. They knelt, cried, humiliated, did everything to cause sympathy to themselves. Everybody did so, but not Socrat. He came along with his head carried high. He continued investigating life. He continued his sermon at court. He perfectly understood how his speech could end. But he could not be another in his last battle with a pettiness, meanness and slavery. Great Socrat bore away from this most important battle of his life. Dullness and pettiness tried to condemn honor and dignity, but everything was at the contrary. The great philosopher and the soldier won battle. He turned shameful court into a great victory. He rescued our souls by his death. Socrat called himself "gadfly" of Athens, and Athens he called «a fat well-fad horse that became too choosy, and wallowed in laziness and debauchery». He stung this fat, blasé society with his sharp mind and uncompromising truth. Who will like to hear the truth?! Whom it is pleasant to feel the otioseness, emptiness, negligibility to?! Socrat was like a mirror smooth, beautiful in which all defects of rotting Athens were reflected. I will cite words of great teacher that he said both on court, and after it. Socrat did not change countenance, not shed a single tear when he heard a death sentence. By the way, outvote of prosecutors was only in 31 voice. Let’s hear what Socrat said: « Really, if you think that by killing people, you keep them from censure you because of your incorrect life you are mistaken. After all this way of self-defense both is not quite possible, and not so good. And here is the most good, and the easiest way: not to close one’s mouth and try to be as better as it possible. Well here, I am leaving you having predicted this to you who have condemned me». Even having heard death sentence, Socrat continued his sermon. He continued to rescue souls of people: «Oh man, it is easy to escape death, but it is much more difficult to escape moral damage because it comes more quickly, than death». Mice were going to judge a lion. Dwarfs have tried to judge the ocean of wisdom, nobleness and honor. I have a feeling that many words which Socrat said were addressed personally to me, personally to every one of us, thereby transferring a thread of time, spirituality, force, eternal glory. Look how beautiful he has compared his work with the work of Olympic champions. And you know how Olympians were honored in ancient Athens! They were bright heroes of that time. Socrat perfectly said about their show. His words are addressed to Olympic champions: « Because such person tries about that you seemed happy. And I try about that you are happy ». There is much in this phrase! Olympic Games are a show that proceeds even today! The large quantity of fans pay thousands of dollars to sit on a tribune, to shout, to cry, to jump, to clap, get themselves in this great show, to forget about problems, about dullness, about emptiness of soul, eventually, to be recharged by energy of Olympians. But all these are only an attempt to escape yourself, your internal happiness. For many years I devoted myself to karate. There is only one opponent in Karate. It is you: your laziness, your cowardice, your weakness. And you, torturing yourself, through sweat, blood and tears, win yourself. You win coward and slave. Today I am the vice-president of kekusinkai Federation in Russia. Kekusinkai is rather young style created by Ayama. When Ayama has united already about hundred millions sportsmen worldwide, his friend, the former president of Olympic committee Samaranch, persuaded him to make kekusinkai an Olympic kind of sports. It meant that Ayama could receive the world popularity, the state budgetary money for Federation development, glory, possibility to place advertising at competitions. But great Ayama told: «No!» He always said: «No!» He explained to Samaranch, that not a show, not tribunes, not TV, not a sensation is the main idea of karate, but self-cultivation. Ayama defended his position during all his life. You, probably, often saw, when sportsmen on Olympic Games, winning the contender, boxers or fighters, joyfully jump, beat their breasts like King-Kongs, have fun and exult. Once there was such incident at the beginning of development of kekusinkai: one Frenchman, having won in sparring the contender, begun in the same way as modern sportsmen or showmen, to jump and exult in the same way as modern sportsmen or showmen did. Ayama has frowned and expelled once and for ever this shallow person from kekusinkai Federation. He has explained everybody that such behavior offended the contender, offended karate. Even if you have lost, you should be grateful to your contender because he helped you to overcome yourself. In karate deep respect for the opponent is the basis of self-cultivation. Socrat spoke about it 2,5 thousand years ago. Ayama spoke about it 40 years ago. Technologies and products will change, but our friendship, our association every year all will be stronger and stronger from year to year. Together we develop our inner world. Work is a tool of development of our inner world. It is a great training apparatus which helps us to develop inner world. After all we strongly differ from all leaders in the world, like giants differ from dwarfs, like fine inaccessible mountains differ from bogs! I am always teaching on my Master Classes at schools to live the conscious life, to study oneself, to study inner world, behavior, not to drift, and to be the researcher. I teach to reveal your weaknesses. I teach to try to discover dark sides of soul and to stir up divine light of enlightenment by plunging into great boundless space of inner world and studying it. Only conscious person, changing himself, can change the world. The majority of people, unfortunately, live, like robots, like gears in the huge mechanism called "Business" or "Society" in which the scenario and roles are assigned and everything is classified as in an internal combustion engine in which every gear, every valve knows the place and rotates with the set rhythm. To live unconscious life is not to be born at all. It means not to live at all. To live like gear, or to live like obedient biorobot means to live in darkness. Life in darkness is not a life. It is simply existence. And again I want to return on 2,5 thousand years ago on this great court on which dwarfs tried to condemn giant. But the giant have given to all dwarfs a lesson which we remember 25 centuries after. Let's listen to Socrat. After the death sentence was pronounced Socrat has said surprising words. This was Socrat. He investigated himself even during death sentence was proclaiming. He made a school of death sentence for the whole world. His great phrase sounded: «As for me, all I know is that I know nothing». To be afraid of death is neither more nor less than to think, that know what you do not know. After all anybody does not know what the death is. Whether is it is the greatest of blessings for a man. But everybody are afraid of it as though know, probably, that it is the greatest of harms. But whether it is the most shameful ignorance to think, that know what you do not know?» Even in the face of death Socrat studied himself and the death, and gave us a great lesson. Socrat has been recognized guilty and was sentenced to death with insignificant majority of votes. But he was not executed the next day. Fate decreed that he was imprisoned for some time. The ritual ship with priests should come only in some days. Socrat could be executed only after priests' arrival according to the laws of that time. Execution was humane at that time. People allowed to drink poison called cicuta. Having drunk this poison, the person died without serious consequences. His body gradually became dumb: at first feet, then hands, then body and life silently left him. Why Socrat was as though in an imprisonment? It was so because all his friends, all his pupils could come and talk to him. They tried to persuade him to run. They have already bribed all watchmen and guard. He was asked to leave Athens and go to Thessaly or other state where Socrat had many rich pupils and admirers. Each of them was ready to give riches, each of them was ready to give him the finest habitation, comfortable residing. But Socrat was not like others. It was Socrat running true to form. We were reached many Socrat's dialogues with his pupils begging, persuading him for the sake of children, for the sake of enlightenment, for the sake of wisdom, for the sake of philosophy to leave Athens. But Socrat told everybody: «No!» He did not simply speak about that. He told in his great manner of researcher proving to everybody, that it is impossible to betray the law. This was Socrate. Talking with Criton, he said an interesting phrase about the grey insignificant majority: «My dear Criton, if the majority was capable to do the greatest harm to be capable to do the greatest good! It would be good! But it is capable neither to do that, nor another: it can make the person neither reasonable, nor unreasonable, but does any old thing». My friends, not only life of this great person, but also his last minutes were the most remarkable. He investigated himself being on the deathbed. His pupils were sitting round him crying. But dying he passionlessly investigated himself. He spoke to them: «I do not feel my feet. My feet have grown dumb. There are no legs but I am alive. I do not feel hands, they have grown dumb too. There are no hands but I am alive. I do not feel my body; there is no body any more. My body has died, and I am alive. That means my body and I we are not the same». He was the great researcher, investigator of life and world till his last gasp, till his last word. Recently I have bought a book which is called «Last words of great people». This is rather strange book. The author collected agonal statements of great people more than for 20 years. Academician Pavlov, the great physiologist, the founder of modern psychology, the Nobel winner, used the death as the tool of investigation of a person too. Here is his one remarkable answer: «Pavlov is busy now, he is dying». Pavlov has asked his colleagues to be cool researchers until his last minute. He asked them not to miss such possibility for studying, for ignorance overcoming, for knowledge, as death of the beloved teacher. After pupils have sworn an oath to Павлову, they wrote down everything, that, their teacher dictated them dying. Pavlov liked to say: «I investigate that means I am studying and living». He was the great conscious thinker. For comparison I will give Nikita Sergeevich Khruschev's agonal words: «I would like some salty cucumber with beer». Do you feel difference between how the great enlightened people and a grey small pettiness passed away?! The first ones had no power, no money, but they had greatness, therefore they did not die, they simply passed in immortality. And do you remember how General Secretary of TsKKPSS died? The person who had an absolute power over 250 million people, over a nuclear bomb, over armies. He possessed the whole resources of the country. His portraits hung everywhere. People went on demonstrations carrying them. Portrait of General Secretary hung in every school. Who recollects today Khruschev?! Who recollects a large quantity of liars, hypocrites, and politicians? Nobody! But everybody will remember enlightened people as long as the earth will exist. Isaac Newton the great researcher told a very interesting phrase before his death: «I feel myself a boy playing with cockleshells on an ocean coast of knowledge». He has as though repeated great Socrat's phrase: «As for me, all I know is that I know nothing». But he said that phrase so, like he passed it through his own heart. Today millions companies aspire to receive profit, aspire to win as much money and territories as possible. But no one of these companies, not any person, any leader of these companies (if it is possible to call these biorobots so; those who conduct behind themselves that grey crowd towards riches) do not think of spiritual growth of people, do not think of an enlightenment. They, probably, even do not guess that there is something like that. The majority of people becomes slaves to money and has ceased to be people. Re-reading Socrat, I feel that great relay race which we, my dear friends, have received from great thinkers, from great heroes of the past. It is so good that we have such teachers. It is so good that we have sensation of greatness, sensation of life fullness! That is why any other so-called leaders cannot compare with our leaders. They are shallow. If someone knock in their soul everyone will hear deaf echo, deaf emptiness inside of them as though you are knocking on a huge clay pot. They are really shallow, and this is their weakness. Forget it. Forget all this weakness, this competitiveness! They do not live at all! How can the gear be alive? How can even the most perfect mechanism be alive? It is impossible! Taking an opportunity, I want to address to each of you, my dear reader, my dear colleague, friend, and companion. Fill your heart with greatness, straighten shoulders, lift a chin my dear friends! It does not matter if there is not even a cent in your pocket and nobody knows about you in your area, in your country. Probably you were fired yesterday. Probably everybody think you are nothing, you are pettiness, and ignoramus! No, my dear friend! Fill your heart with greatness! Fill it with light! What defines greatness? Our greatness is defined by our thoughts, our dreams, our purposes, our principles. Believe me, my dear friend, money, glory, riches are all adjectives to your inwardness of greatness and power. You will not even notice how riches will instantly change your life. Your environment will change their life, because they need you to be rich. They need your name sparkle in glory beams. And they will receive it very quickly. You, my dear friend, are getting great at this minute, this second, reading this material, and realizing this great mission, realizing great business we are doing together. The valor should be the first and then should be the money! The first should be the inner valor. The first there should be internal greatness, awareness causeless, and then glory, riches and great success. Our greatness is inside of us. Light of our hearts already driving away darkness and dullness from our fine blossoming earth! Yours faithfully Vladimir Dovgan.