Writings of Porphyry Ivanov. A Hymn to God.
Soon I shall be eighty-five years old. Fifty years of them I gave to the practical search for the ways of healthy life. For that I daily test on myself the different qualities of Nature, especially her rough sides. I am filled with the wish to give the benefit of my experience to our youth and all Soviet people. This is my gift to them.
If it is possible, please publish my suggestions in a newspaper or a magazine.
Warm thanks to you.
Porphyry Korneyevich Ivanov.
Dear Child,
thou art filled with the wish to bring benefit to all Soviet people, which build communism. For that try thou to be healthy.
I ask of thee from my heart to accept several suggestions from me, in addition to what is written in “Ogonyok” No. 8, 1982 ¹), in order to strengthen thy health ²):
1.Two times a day, bathe in cold natural water, that thou feltest good. Bathe where thou canst: in a lake, a river, take a shower or a bath, or pour water upon thyself. This is thy conditions. Finish up hot bathing with cold one ³).
2.Before or after bathing, and if it is possible together with it, go outdoors to Nature, and stand barefoot upon the ground or snow in the winter, for at least one or two minutes. Breathe in the air through thy mouth several times and wish in thy mind health to thyself and to all the people ⁴).
3.Do not drink alcohol and do not smoke ⁵).
4.Try at least once a week to go completely without food and water, from Friday evening between six and eight o’clock until noon on Sunday. This is thy achievements and peace. If it is hard for thee, keep fasting for at least twenty-four hours ⁶).
5.At noon on Sunday, go to Nature barefoot and breathe several times and think as it was written above ⁷). This is the celebration of thy business. After that thou canst eat whatever thou likest.
6.Love the Nature that surrounds thee. Do not spit around and do not spit out anything. Get used to it: this is thy health.
7.Greet every one here, there and everywhere, especially the aged people. If thou wantest to get health, greet every one ⁸).
8.Help people with what thou canst, especially the poor, sick, abused and needy man. Do it with joy. Answer to his need with heart and soul. Thou wilt find in him a friend and help the cause of peace ⁹)!
9.Overcome thy greed, laziness, complacency, material gaining, fear, hypocrisy and pride. Trust to people and love them. Do not speak of them unjustly and do not take to heart unkind opinions of them ¹⁰).
10.Put out of thy head thoughts about diseases, weakness and death — it is thy victory.
11.Do not separate thought from action. Thou hast read — that is good, but the most important is to act!
12.Tell other people about this business and pass thy experience on, but do not pride thyself upon it nor brag about. Be modest ¹¹).
If there is anything unclear or incomplete for thee, then write to me. I am ever ready to share my experience, in order that thy business should be successful.
I wish thee happiness and good health.
Porphyry Korneyevich Ivanov ¹²).
My address: 58 Sadovaya Street, Verkhny Kondryuchy village, Dolzhanskoye post office, Voroshilovgrad’s region, Sverdlovsk’s district, zip code 349200.
¹)It is the article “A Half a Century Experiment” (“Экспериментъ длиною въ полвѣка”).
²)Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, often spoke and wrote in parables, and many of his words require interpretation. He could not manifest that he was a messenger of Allah and spoke on his behalf, because it was prohibited to spread religion in the Soviet Union, especially Islam. And he said to his wife Valentina Sukharevskaya not long before his death, “All is simple. But there is no one to pass the word to.” It may safely be said that his words “all is simple” mean that people must worship Allah, glorious and exalted is He, because anything what was said and written by him corresponds to the words of the Holy Qur’an and the words of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, said that all religions will come to one religion, and he meant not a new religion, what appears from his sayings that his business will be lost if they make a [new] religion from it, and that he has millions of people. And it is a known fact that he was not a defender of Christianity — thus, he said that Christianity was dead when it came to Rus’, and that the priests know the truth, but keep it from people, so that there is no doubt that he spoke about Islam.
The words “all religions will come to one religion” correspond to the words of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, saying, “Allah will perish all religions except Islam.” (Sunan Abu Dawood, book 37, number 4310.) And the words “the priests know the truth, but keep it from people” reflect the words of the Holy Qur’an, which says, “Ye People of the Book! why do ye clothe Truth with falsehood, and conceal the Truth, while ye have knowledge?” (Surah “The Family of ’Imran”, ayah 71.)
Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, emphasized that his teaching has two sides, and warned, “Before going in for my tempering system, think well for what thou wilt do it.”
There are the words of him about his teaching, “It is necessary to know this oral teaching by heart, keep in head and think what thou art to do every day. This is thy practical work, thy deserts to live in Nature without diseases and chills. According to my teaching, thou regainest thy health. This act makes thee a new, conscious person in Nature, and connects thee with all living people.”
And he said, “Health is the notion of life.”
Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, addressed to people, “I ask and beg of all people: come and take thy place in Nature. It is occupied by no one and no money on earth can buy it, and thou canst get it only with thy own deeds and labor in Nature for the good of thyself, that thou feltest easy.”
And he also said, “He who will take his place in Nature will live forever.”
There are the other words of Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, “And he achieves his goal who acts.”
And he said, “Spend the day in victory.”
³)Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, said about, “Tempering with cold water has a very great benefit, it is the awakening of the central nervous system.”
And he said, “When the central nervous system wakes up, all the diseases, that so torment man, vanish physically in Nature — it is the never-dying truth. There is nothing to awaken the central nervous system save cold water. The live quality of cold raises all the cells. After getting out of bed, at first take up cold water, and afterward get down to work. And so in the evening. Wake up ye, all people, with this advice from me.”
There are the other words of Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, “I have poured cold water upon myself for fifty years, and though I myself am afraid of her, I ask of you: do not be afraid of cold water, she is lively, energetic. I cannot even convey how lovely it is!”
And he warned, “Cold water is alive, natural, she only helps the body to create the warmth inside. The warmth is what every one needs. Not the warmth that is in the coat or dress, but the warmth that is in our organic body. I warn you that I have bathed for fifty years, and not once every day, but I beware of that cold water. Because she is alive, natural, she can do all things.”
He said that it is necessary to bathe when the thought about it came to mind, in other words, the body must be ready to contact with cold water.
There is another warning of Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, “It is possible to fast and not bathe, but not allowed to bathe and not fast. The roots of diseases are aroused.”
He also said, “It can be added banya [the Russian sauna] and running to my system — and nothing more.” He ran a lot and said that it is necessary to run that the blood will not stagnate in the organs. And he said, “Running develops the will, especially the will of youths.”
And he said, “My system is not only awakens man with cold water — it is the outward side of the business, but also with act.”
The Holy Qur’an says, “O ye who believe! when ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands [and arms] to the elbows; rub your heads [with water]; and [wash] your feet to the ankles.” (Surah “The Repast”, ayah 6.)
Also the Holy Qur’an says, “But those will prosper who purify themselves, and glorify the name of their Guardian-Lord, and lift their hearts in prayer.” (Surah “The Most High”, ayat 14 and 15.)
⁴)Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, suggested to make these draughts of life, as he called them, as following: “inhale the air through thy mouth from the height and ask of the person thou trustest to give thee health with the air”.
He said about the air, “The most important is the air, it is alive. All the power is in the inhalation and the exhalation, but no one recognized it. The fresh air, a deep inhalation and a deep exhalation — it is the very instantaneous awakening of the central nervous part of the brain. It is necessary to draw in the air from the height of the atmosphere through the larynx to the full, it falls from the height. It is obligatory to swallow the air, in order to use it as for eating to satiety. The air is never-dying nitrogen, and there is the full of life in nitrogen.”
There are the other words of Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, “There is food in the air that surrounds man — it is ether, which moves with the air and passes through the human body. There is the live condition of life in ether. And how well it is replenished inside from this case — there is no need for any food, for there is a million doses of nutrition in the air. There is everything in the air! The Teacher has found and deduced it from his practice. This is what thou needest for living.”
And he said, “The help of Nature is especially strong when man doesn’t eat.”
He also suggested to make the draughts of life before each important work, and said that it is possible to breathe in such a way in any conditions, anywhere, but it is necessary to concentrate, and do it with heart and soul.
But the explanation of Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, what is the draught of life fits the words of Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (the Gospel According to Saint Matthew, chapter 4, verse 4), which were reduced to a practical form — namaz — by the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and the words of the namaz, that also is offered barefoot and requires ablution.
As it is mentioned above, it was prohibited to spread religion in the Soviet Union, especially Islam, and Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, often spoke and wrote in parables. So that there is no doubt that his words that the prayer is “that which Christ has given” are a parable, for after Jesus Christ came the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon them, and for it is a known fact that Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, was not a defender of Christianity, and it may safely be said that he spoke about the prayer that the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, gave us.
Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, wrote that we must pray to Allah, glorious and exalted is He, in the works “The Victory of Mine” (“Побѣда моя”), “Nature” (“Природа”), “How to Get Rid of Diseases and Become Healthy” (“Какъ избавиться отъ заболѣваній и стать здоровымъ”), “The Untruth” (“Неправда”), “The Five Rules” (“Пять правилъ”), and others.
The Holy Qur’an says, “Verily, I am Allah. There is no god but I: So serve thou Me [only], and establish regular prayer for celebrating My praise. Verily the Hour is coming — My design is to keep it hidden — for every soul to receive its reward by the measure of its Endeavour.” (Surah “Ta Ha”, ayat 14 and 15.)
Also the Holy Qur’an says, “O my son! establish regular prayer, enjoin what is just, and forbid what is wrong; and bear with patient constancy whatever betide thee; for this is firmness (of purpose) in (the conduct of) affairs.” (Surah “Luqman”, ayah 17.)
⁵)Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, warned, “He who smokes makes his heart unfit, especially if he tempers himself.”
⁶)Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, attached great importance to fasting on Saturday, and it relates, in my opinion, to that which was said about Saturday in the Book of Genesis (chapter 2, verses 2 and 3), “And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it: because that in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made.”
He also suggested to those who are able to fast for one hundred and eight hours: from Friday evening until noon on Sunday, from Sunday evening until Monday evening, and from Tuesday evening until noon on Thursday.
The Holy Qur’an says, “O ye who believe! fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint — (fasting) for a fixed number of days; but if any of you is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed number (should be made up) from days later. For those who can do it (with hardship), is a ransom, the feeding of one that is indigent. But he that will give more, of his own free will — it is better for him. And it is better for you that ye fast, if ye only knew.” (Surah “The Heifer”, ayat 183 and 184.)
Also the Holy Qur’an says, “Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur’an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment [between right and wrong]. So every one of you who is present [at his home] during that month should spend it in fasting, but if any one is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period (should be made up) by days later. Allah intends every facility for you; He does not want to put you to difficulties. (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period, and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance ye shall be grateful.” (Surah “The Heifer”, ayah 185.)
In addition to fasting during the month of Ramadan, there are other days for fasting in Islam — every Monday and Thursday of a week, and the 13th, 14th and 15th day of every month of the Islamic, or Hijri calendar.
It is obvious that the fasts given through Porfiry Ivanov, peace be upon him, are additional to the already existing ones in Islam.
⁷)Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, also suggested to make these draughts of life before each eating.
It is obligatory to mention the name of Allah, glorious and exalted is He, when eating, and we have to start our eating by making a supplication to the Most Merciful, as it was practised by the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
⁸)Greeting in Rossia is wishing health.
There are the words of Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, “We, all people, are equal in Nature, so we must show each other respect and honor. But people leave one another behind, one parts with another — the rich from the poor, the learned from the unlearned. It is necessary to wish health to others, if thou wishest to get it thyself, greet all people — the ones thou knowest and strangers. Do not wait when they greet thee, but be the first to say, “Health to you!” What do we attain by that? With our words we awaken others to the good side, they come to know that they aren’t forgotten. For the good ye do, ye’ll also get the good from Nature. That is the best health improvement. Nature — it is we, all the people. But if thou greetest not people, it’ll be better for thee not to come to me.”
The Holy Qur’an says, “When a [courteous] greeting is offered you, meet it with a greeting still more courteous, or [at least] of equal courtesy. Allah takes careful account of all things. Allah! There is no god but He: of a surety He will gather you together against the Day of Judgment, about which there is no doubt. And whose word can be truer than Allah’s?” (Surah “The Women”, ayat 86 and 87.)
When the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was asked, “What sort of deeds or [what qualities of] Islam are good?” he replied, “To feed (the poor) and greet those whom you know and those whom you do not know.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 11.)
The Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, also said, “The disease of the nations who came before you has started to spread among you: jealousy and hatred. This is the shaver [destroyer]; I do not say that it shaves hair, but that it shaves [destroys] faith. By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I not tell you of that which will strengthen love between you? Spread (the greeting of) salam amongst yourselves.” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, hadith 2510.)
The greeting of salam is wishing peace.
⁹)Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, said about, “The work of God is to accept in Nature not only the good and the warm, but the bad and the cold as well, and help the poor, sick, abused and needy people.”
The Holy Qur’an says, “Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good by way of trial. To Us must ye return.” (Surah “The Prophets”, ayah 35.)
Also the Holy Qur’an says, “If ye disclose (acts of) charity, even so it is well, but if ye conceal them, and make them reach those [really] in need, that is best for you: it will remove from you some of your (stains of) evil. And Allah is well-acquainted with what ye do.” (Surah “The Heifer”, ayah 271.)
¹⁰)There are the words of Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, “Our pride, our hatred, our anger — for all this will we answer. Be ye polite, politeness overcomes everything. Only a whim is the bad side. It is necessary to abolish our pride, and make friends with politeness. If we, all the people, do it, there will be born between us a never-dying love, we all shall live not the world’s way, but God’s way, unprecedented and new.”
And he said, “Politeness made a friend of the enemy.”
The Holy Qur’an says, “By the Soul, and the proportion and order given to it; and its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right — truly he succeeds that purifies it, and he fails that corrupts it!” (Surah “The Sun”, ayat 7 — 10.)
Also the Holy Qur’an says, “The Believers, men and women, are protectors one of another: they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil: they observe regular prayers, practise regular charity, and obey Allah and His Messenger. On them will Allah pour His mercy: for Allah is Exalted in power, Wise.” (Surah “The Repentance”, ayah 71.)
¹¹)There are the words of Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, “Nature doesn’t love a boaster.”
And he said, “Man is preserved in secret.”
The Holy Qur’an says, “And swell not thy cheek [for pride] at men, nor walk in insolence through the earth; for Allah loveth not any arrogant boaster. And be moderate in thy pace, and lower thy voice; for the harshest of sounds without doubt is the braying of the ass.” (Surah “Luqman”, ayat 18 and 19.)
Also the Holy Qur’an says, “O ye who believe! when ye go abroad in the cause of Allah, investigate carefully, and say not to anyone who offers you a salutation: ‘Thou art none of a Believer!’ Coveting the perishable goods of this life: with Allah are profits and spoils abundant. Even thus were ye yourselves before, till Allah conferred on you His favors: therefore carefully investigate. For Allah is well aware of all that ye do.” (Surah “The Women”, ayah 94.)
¹²)The author of this publication does understand this address as an invitation to the ark of our time.
Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, said about his mission, “I came to gather my people.” (Let us remember that the God of the Earth could not manifest that he was a messenger of Allah and spoke on his behalf, because it was prohibited to spread religion in the Soviet Union.)
And there are the words of him about his teaching, “This system is immortal, but it needs a time, it needs a place, it needs a condition...”
The Holy Qur’an says, “...But those who believe and work righteous deeds will be in the luxuriant meads of the Gardens: they shall have, from their Lord, all that they wish for. That will indeed be the magnificent Bounty [(of Allah].” (Surah “Consultation”, ayah 22.)
Also the Holy Qur’an says, “And this life of the world is only an amusement and a play! Verily, the home of the Hereafter — that is the life indeed, if they but knew.” (Surah “The Spider”, ayah 64.)