Ing. Jiří Mazánek

"In Budějovice, there was no canteen at the regional military authority. So, for breakfast, lunch and dinner, us eight soldiers would go eat in the barracks at the other side of the town. We were not allowed to take any detours, obviously. But we violated this rule. We would go to a 'milk bar' for breakfast to enjoy our meal. Whatever they gave us in the barracks was not edible. Since we did it smart, nobody found out. I resumed my yoga practice there, in the chapel because I couldn't have done it in my room, which I shared with a medical doctor. He was completely materialistic and even a mention of yoga or such things drove him mad. So I hadn't spoken to him about it. But while on a leave, I tried to find out whether there was a yoga class I could join. I applied but no yoga course took place. They said they had enough interested people but the instructor instead went to do theater. An they asked me to do the lessons myself, with my years of practice. I didn't have a permission to teach from my teacher but they convinced me. I began having yoga classes there, in the cultural centre with gyms. I followed the practice of Mr. Vojkůvka. That means giving lectures and singing Om. But I couldn't have sung the mantras and talk about things. I highighted the mental and meditative issues. I tried to meditate a bit with the people there - or, better to say, sit in peace."

"It took place sometime around 1979, 1980." - "I'm surprised to hear that 200 foreigners came over to meet with the local Krishna followers somewehere in a cultural centre in Hlinsko. That's like from another world..." - "And it was. Nobody was ever able to explain it. It was a European gathering of Krishna followers with the participation of the main guru Vishnu-Pada. He initiated complete beginners as well as those who were in higher stages already and were able to teach themselves." - "Did all of them wear those orange garbs?" - "Yes, all of the two hundred people." - "It's unimaginable that something like this would be possible in that era." - "I don't get it myself. People could here it from kilometers afar. The music could be heard all the way from the railway station. Probably, nobody cared back then." - "And there were just six Czechs among them..." - "Yes. They only invited the ones who were already acquainted. I invited them because I organized it all. The Krishna followers then invited the foreigners." - "Did you know they were going to be two hundred people?" - "No, I didn't know how many would come. There were a lot of people present, then." - "Had you not feared trouble?" - "I did indeed. And those who recorded it had heard nothing but the 'Hare Krishna' song for several hours. The recording is five hours of 'Hare Krishna'." - "Had it taken only one day?" - "No, it was the full weekend. Obviously, they also cooked food." - "Why Hlinsko, of all places?" - "I was looking for any spot where it could be done and somehow, I came across Hlinsko. I don't even recall what led me there."

"We used to meet there and talk to each other, drink tea and meditate. Suddenly, a phone rang and someone from Poland said that they had some lectures there and would like to come to us, cook, play some music and tell us something as well. Those were the first Krishna followers. The first ones in Czechia. Kirtanananda Swami was not known yet. They were extremely nice, decent people. Today, the Krishna followers are a sect of sorts, and some of them can be fanatical. And so back then, the two of them had come. They cooked great food, played the mantras and tried to explain us something. I liked it and we began to meet at Havelka's. They came many times and I secretly invited people to meet them. And then the others came. Once, their greatest guru Vishnu-Pada or Harikesha came. He was from Sweden where they had their headquarters. The main guru Prabhupada established eleven representatives for the whole world. And Harikesha was governing all of Eastern Europe and a part of Western Europe."

"We were very lucky to avoid any big trouble there because the first camps were terribly harsh. Almost Zen harsh. First, we stayed in silence the whole time. Second, we meditated or declaimed or sang mantras all the time. Meanwhile, we walked to get our legs going. When we went out, we also stayed in silence. We would only say the necessary organizational stuff. Even the cook had been silent. It was very powerful. Havelka whom I knew from Prague also joined, as did a woman yogi from Olomouc. She invited more people to join. There were always around fifty people. The camp lasted for a week. Then, there was another one. I spent my whole vacation organizing those camps. The first ones were smaller with some fifteen people taking part. It was so harsh that as we declaimed the mantras all night, we managed to alter our consciousness and even felt physical effects."

"When I was about sixteen, they used to publish a 'Czechoslovak Radio' magazine or whatever it was called. It contained information about the program which was to be broadcasted, and some additional things. There, they began publishing short articles on yoga. Only very brief ones, always containing one move. I think it was written by Milada Bartoňová. Later, this lady along with others wrote the first book on yoga published here - combining practice and philosophy. I found great interest in Yoga and began practicing myself at home. I would get up at 3:30 in the morning and meditate. My parents weren't too supportive. My dad would always spill water on me and shout so that I'd come round because I was sitting still." - "What was it that they minded?" - "That it was a religion. They were completely areligious. They were not political either, in any way. Not even supporting the regime." - "Were they afraid?" - "They said it was bullshit. To them, it meant nothing. My brother was laughing at me for it, and he still does it today."

"I was interrogated in Bechyně, for instance. One girl used to come to my yoga class who had a friend in Bechyně and that friend had a farm there. They offered us to organize a yoga weekend at their place. We had meditated and sang mantras there and someone had turned us in. And so the police came from Bechyně. They interrogated us there and then had the case transferred to Prague. As soon as I returned, they found me. They hadn't threatened me directly but first 'wanted to ask me something'. Then, they came with threats. Regularly, they'd summon me to Bartolomějská street and ask me to share information on other people. This then led Mr. Cibulka to write in his lists that I was an informer. Well, he didn't write it himself, but it was in his lists. I thought, oh shit, I hadn't signed anything, ever. I never said anything. There was actually nothing I could say. I wasn't interested in politics and what is there to say about the yogis? I didn't even know what they were doing there. So, there was no information they could get out of me. There were always two of them: one nicer one and the other one who began to threaten me. Later, when I saw the dossier, it turned out that when I got the scholarship to study singing in India, they didn't let me leave the country."