Today’s Vegetarian Elite will be presented in Russian with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Nepali, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Thai.

Marina Devyatova – a musical star in Russia’s multifaceted culture. Gifted with a beautiful voice of a younger generation and profound love for folk music, she is dedicated to bringing the impressive legacy of her culture into a new and flourishing era. With the conviction that talent comes with responsibilities, as an exceptional singer, Marina Devyatova is doing her part to maintain marvelous aspects of Russian music.

As a devout person, Marina knows that it is crucial to be in communion with God and to adhere to sacred principles of life, such as love and harmony. With a heart of compassion, she has adopted a vegetarian lifestyle. Moreover, she stopped wearing fur coats and leather to avoid inflicting harm and pain upon our animal co-inhabitants.

Today, in part one of this two-part program, let us immerse in the splendid world of Russian folk and pop music performed by Marina Devyatova. This thoughtful artist also shares with us her insights on the importance of conveying our benevolence to all beings through our actions and a non-violent diet.

I am the fire and you are the water
Between us no sadness, no pain
Our thread is always leading us
You could be far, but all is in our hands
And that means nothing can pull us apart
Days are spinning fast But it doesn’t matter
I am the fire, you are the water
Where you have lyrics, you have a song
Wherever you are, I am there too
Like the shadow and the light
I am the fire, you are the water
But we are together again
Wherever you are, I am there too
Whether you want it or not
I am the fire, you are the water
Where you have lyrics, you have a song
Wherever you are, I am there too
Like the shadow and the light
I am the fire, you are the water
But we are together again
Wherever you are, I am there too
Whether you want it or not Whether you want it or not.

Marina Devyatova was born in Moscow, Russia in a family of musicians. Her father, People’s Artist of Russia Vladimir Devyatov, served as model of professionalism and helped her discover the love for Russian folk music.

Marina Devyatova is a laureate of the Ippolitov-Ivanov national Russian competition of folk songs. She participated in the international competition “The Slavic Bazaar,” and has performed in many concerts and governmental receptions.

Her audience includes many world leaders and dignitaries, among whom were His Excellency Russian President Dimitry Medvedev, His Excellency Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In 2008, the Central House of Arts, with the support of the Russian Ministry of Culture, held a Marina Devyatova solo concert that was devoted to Russian traditions and folklore.



Bird cherry tree, bird cherry tree, densely branched!
A scarlet flower on the bird cherry tree.

One of the most significant events in Marina Devyatova’s career was her participation in the “National Artist” singing competition in which she emerged as a finalist. The competition is similar to the world famous “American Idol” and is watched throughout Russia as well as her neighboring countries. Marina believes that this competition shaped her as a professional. Marina performed many wonderful songs throughout this project, but the most memorable one was her duet with the 2001 winner of “National Artist” Alexandre Goman.

You wouldn’t be lonely now
And my cold home would be so warm
But again the lesson wasn’t learned
And our paths again were separated
It could have been love No more and no less
It could have been love But it did not happen
It could have been love Unearthly, unprecedented
It could have been love But it did not happen, did not happen.

Ms. Marina Devyatova talks about her earnest ideals in preserving Russian folk music traditions.

I am uplifting our Russian art and our Russian songs, our folklore. Sadly, in Russia, it is not something popular and unfortunately we are forgetting our roots. Maybe it’s because national music is more of a “countryside” culture, and nowadays more people move to the cities and there are fewer and fewer villages. I am trying to bring some kind of patriotism, to unite the younger generation and basically the older generation.

The culture should unite us because culture is the only thing that unites people. As long as Russian people exist, the Russian song will also exist on Earth. Therefore, we are trying to save somehow those traditions that were kept for centuries. We give them a little bit of a modern twist and bring them to the young generation with more flavor. This is also to say that we don’t have to be like anyone else.

We have our tradition. And we are so rich in our folklore. If you have your own culture, you should follow it and, most importantly, you should be proud of it. When you go somewhere to a far corner of Russia, such as Tyumen, Siberia, Ural, or to the Far East, people there, of course, miss this culture and these songs. And, of course, I am very pleased to be with you. During my concerts I say: “With your applause you are supporting our culture.”

From far away, the long Volga River flowing
No end, no boundary Among the ripe wheat Among the white snow
My Volga is flowing And I am 17 years old.
The mother said: “Anything is possible, my son
Maybe you’ll grow weary of the roads
When you return home at the end of your way
Dip your palms into the Volga.”

The celebrated artist Marina Devyatova shares with us her views on happiness, harmony, and her own spiritual practice.

We should just have happiness in our hearts, love in our hearts, and serve our mission here, our relatives and our loved ones to the maximum. And, of course, it is important to understand that our soul is eternal, but the body is only to fulfill certain life’s functions. If your physical essence and spiritual essence are in harmony, then you will find happiness. We all believe that there is something. Some call it an invisible power. Some call it a higher voice. Some call it God. But everyone believes in it.

But not everybody knows how to find it. This is wisdom. I am practicing Bhakti Yoga and, of course, I understand that animals are our little friends and, of course, I look at the food completely different now. I am not looking at it as a pleasure, but as a necessity to simply maintain my physical body, so that it can serve my profession and serve people, so that I can fulfill my assigned duties given to me by God.

Ms. Devyatova expresses her thoughts on the moral obligation of choosing a cruelty-free diet.

If you eat and kill animals, you take upon yourself a certain responsibility. You are killing. But if you let these living beings be where they belong, they fulfill certain functions.

And there are many spiritual fathers who regard this as killing; therefore they abstain from using animal-based products. Many great individuals were vegetarians. Therefore, this is a matter of choice. You should not limit yourselves only to what you feel, to what you know. Now, I think, our world is so rich in literature and the Internet. It is important to expand our views, expand our thinking, and expand our spiritual essence. And then our world will be in order. Then our soul will be in harmony.

Marina further elaborates on the deeper reason for consciously adopting a plant-based diet.

Many ask me if this is related to religion. I can say no. I know many people, even in our Orthodox Church, many monks who are vegetarians, who are vegans, who do not eat anything at all. This is not linked to religion, not at all linked to faith. Faith is in our heart, in our soul. But this is my moral and ethical attitude towards our Earth and the surrounding world. The Earth? It is overwhelmed with neglect, aggression, and some kind of negative energy. There is a global cleansing on the planet Earth now.

The global cleansing that Ms. Devyatova spoke of has been taking place in the form of more frequent and intense natural disasters. At a climate change conference held on November 8, 2009 in Washington, DC, USA, Supreme Master Ching Hai explained why a vegan diet of compassion is important for a brighter planetary future.

It’s possible that when we’re faced with such a great upheaval, then we will change and we’ll make a leap into the next level. Especially now, we still have a little time to change; it’s just that we need to act now, you see, in halting this so-called catastrophic future awaiting us.

We have to act now for all of humanity. Because along with our own survival and health, there is an entire planet that is in trouble, and everyone needs to be vegan to save it. It’s a very simple solution that we might overlook. Because if we all change to vegan, put down the animal products, then we would have a dream world – that I promise. Because like begets like. We forget that the Bible told us that “as we sow so shall we reap.”

Hundreds of years Day and night turns around
The carousel Earth Hundreds of years on their circuits all the winds return
Tomorrow the wind will change
Tomorrow replacing the past
It will come, it will be kind and gentle
The wind of changes
Tomorrow the wind will change
Tomorrow replacing the past
It will come, it will be kind and gentle
The wind of changes
It will come, it will be kind and gentle
The wind of changes

Such a powerful voice and uplifting message! Please join us again on Saturday, July 23, 2011 on Vegetarian Elite for part two of our two-part program on acclaimed Russian singer, Marina Devyatova, who will share with us how she came to adopt the vegetarian diet and how it benefits her daily life and music career.

For more on Marina Devyatova and her music, please visit www.MarinaDevyatova.ru

Gracious viewers, thank you for your presence today on Vegetarian Elite. Coming up next is Between Master and Disciples, here on Supreme Master Television. May God’s immeasurable love fill our hearts.

Today’s Vegetarian Elite will be presented in Russian with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Nepali, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Thai.

Welcome, charming viewers. On today’s edition of Vegetarian Elite, we have the pleasure of presenting part two of the two-part series on Marina Devyatova – a musical star in Russia’s multifaceted culture. Gifted with a beautiful voice and profound love for folk music, she is dedicated to bringing the impressive legacy of her culture into a new and flourishing era.

An exceptional singer, Marina Devyatova is doing her part to maintain marvelous aspects of Russian music. As a devout person, Marina knows the paramount value of being in communion with God and to adhere to sacred principles of life, such as love and harmony. With a heart of compassion, she has adopted a plant-based lifestyle. This includes not using fur and leather to avoid inflicting harm and pain upon our animal co-inhabitants.

I am uplifting our Russian art and our Russian songs, our folklore.

As for the spiritual side, I am practicing Bhakti Yoga and, I understand that animals are our little friends and, of course, I look at the food completely different now. If you eat and kill animals, you take upon yourself a certain responsibility. You are killing. It is important to expand our views, expand our thinking, expand our spiritual essence.

Let us now listen to Marina Devyatova singing a lovely song called “Dear River, Little River.”

And above the river Golden clouds Carry the happy
Sun shower You and I are still very young
Above the Russian river we will sing
O cherished humble river of mine
Keep our love and save it
O cherished river of mine, you are as clear
As the skies above Russia
O cherished humble river of mine
Keep our love and save it
O cherished river of mine, you are as clear
As the skies above Russia Cherished river.

Besides her sacred love for her homeland Russia, Marina Devyatova has another kind of tender love that is especially reserved for animals. She explained how she decided to adopt a plant-based diet.

In 1999 I entered the musical college where I met a friend who was a vegetarian. Her whole family was vegetarian. We were friends for about five years and when I was visiting them, I ate what they offered me, of course. I would find the food very tasty. Basically, I understood that life does not depend on animal products.

Eventually, I happened to simply see by myself the killing of cows. It is hard to explain. One should see in order to understand. It is like a switch that turns on in the head and I understood that, indeed, the food I was eating was not goodies, that I was eating organs. This was my realization back then. At the beginning I slowly stopped eating meat, stopped eating fish, sea food, eggs. Basically I became a vegetarian and I feel very good. I use a lot of protein and a lot of nuts, soy, lentils. I drink a lot of fresh juice so I can have the vitamins.

My skin became much clearer, this is number one. It became much easier to work on the stage because it is a long known medical fact that meat requires a lot of digestion and by the time it is in its last stage, there are a lot of microbes and it can be hardly broken down. I don’t know if this related to it or not, but strangely enough I started to feel much lighter, it was much easier to work, my voice started to sound better.

And most importantly, the voice brings more benefit [to the audience]. Therefore I feel very good. I do not kill anything, I do not pay for that, and I would advise everyone to do the same.

Old maple Old maple Old maple is knocking on the window
Inviting us for a walk with friends
How come, how come, how come I feel so bright?
It’s because you are walking down the alley.
How come, how come, how come I feel so bright?
It’s because you are walking down the alley.
Snowfall, snowfall, snowfall has stopped long ago
Like if the spring is back again to visit us
How come, how come, how come I feel so good
It’s because you just smiled at me
It’s because you just smiled at me

In the Orthodox faith, an animal-free diet is recognized as cleansing not only the body, but also the soul. Monks in the Orthodox Church originally did not eat meat. In the contemporary era, there are many occasions throughout the year, especially during important holidays dedicated to great Saints, when people adhere to a plant-based diet to abstain from all violence.

The biggest treat for me is the Orthodox Lent. For 40 days the food should be non-animal based. In any restaurant there is a Lent menu. Some kind of buckwheat, or even mushrooms. Therefore, I am always looking forward to the Orthodox Lent. When I am asked: “Are you observing Lent?” I say: “Yes, I have an eternal Lent!”

So, please, bring it here. And, by the way, a great many delicious dishes can be prepared. At first, my friends were kind of, “Come on, Marina. Why do you need that?” But I was firmly standing by my position. And, by the way, I brought many of my friends to vegetarianism. I guided many of my colleagues on this path.

Why do we need to kill animals? When you go to a store – you have such a variety of foods. I have many friends in Canada, many of my friends live in London, and they say that each respectable store has designated shelves specific for vegetarians. We even have restaurants now. Now we have different kinds of television programs that bring up this topic. I am glad that I have many colleagues, friends, and musicians who are also vegan.

Therefore, I would certainly like for a system to form. Maybe they exist, some kind of vegan centers. Maybe there are centers that advocate the healthy way of living. Yes? For nature, for animals, for global ecology. And here I would really like to wish us, Russians, if any of you see that, we should unite, make parties, actions, anything at all – but be outspoken. If we can all unite, we will be much stronger.

Singer Marina Devyatova is committed to a wholesome lifestyle. Along with a vegetarian diet, she has made other healthy and life-enhancing decisions. She offers some sincere words of advice.

This is my way of life, vegetarianism is my way of life. And when my friends come over, they already know that in my house there is no smoking, no swearing, no gambling games, and no animal-based food. But in return, I feed them with delicious food.

I think that with the help of your channel, many young people will learn something for themselves. I am not using alcohol. I stopped using it when I became vegetarian. I was smoking, but I stopped. Alcohol does not give any relaxation. Tobacco causes only habits and addictions. I realized that I was dependent on a small stick called a cigarette. I don’t like to be dependent, therefore I quit.

Many people have the tendency to say, “You know, it is to relax.” In reality, we don’t need to relax with the help of alcohol. We should relax with the power of the Almighty. And those things are only habits and dependencies. Besides, they only cloud your brain and cause bad consequences I want to give birth to healthy children who can follow my culture. I believe that everyone should reflect upon this and enjoy every minute of your life. If you have the chance to smile – then smile. If you have the chance to say a good word to your loved ones – say it. Don’t be greedy with your emotions and your energy.

Now, please join Ms. Marina Devyatova in a joyful song titled “If Winter Did Not Exist.”

If winter did not exist Everyone would be so sad
Even the best minds would wither
because of the heat Crawling like crabs on the green valley
Praying for the dear snow If only, if only, if only.
Praying for the dear snow If only, if only, if only.
If winter did not exist And there was only summer all the time
We would not have all the excitement Of the New Year’s Eve
And Father Frost wouldn’t hurry to us overcoming snow bancs
The ice wouldn’t set on the river If only, if only, if only.
The ice wouldn’t set on the river If only, if only, if only.

An ever thoughtful artist and citizen, Marina Devyatova shares her insights on how to achieve world peace.

I guess that peace in the world will start when there will be peace in your home. When we will start respecting what is given to us from Above. God created this world but we are trying to spoil it. We are trying to bring our negativity. We are trying to rule the process. In reality, this is what’s missing. We lack peace in our home, in our families. I believe we should start with ourselves so that you have peace because peace is impossible without harmony. To people who are in a marriage or are planning to get married, I wish them to think first of all about the children.

Most importantly, the children should be welcomed. They need to be educated in a morally stable family. And of course, a child who is raised with love and knows what parental love is, already has a small accumulation of happiness that he/she won’t need to search for. He/she will have this happiness and this harmony in the family and, as a result, will educate his/her children in the same way. Then, maybe our world would become purer. The world will become brighter because children are our light. And light is necessary for us.

Before our departure, talented Marina Devyatova conveyed her warm wishes to Supreme Master Television’s viewers.

I would like to wish everyone much happiness. Let it be special for everyone. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to wish you, cherished viewers, to love, to be loved, to be happy, have a healthy spirit, happiness in your soul, harmony in your hearts, and that our planet is as clean as possible. And most importantly, that our Lord God would unite us. Always yours, Marina Devyatova.

Be Veg, Go Green 2 Save the Planet!

The storm is over
The air is fresh and sweet
The breeze is whispering among forests and fields.
The flowers have smiled
The rainbow rose in the sky
Above my Russia Above my Russia.
The flowers have smiled
The rainbow rose in the sky
Above my Russia

The children will grow
Warming with tenderness the mother’s heart
With each day getting Stronger and wiser
They will fly colourful kites in the sky
Above my Russia Above my Russia
They will fly colourful kites in the sky
Above my Russia Above my Russia.

Our salute, Marina Devyatova, for being such an exemplary person and for using your talent to bring joy to many. May God forever bless you and your cherished Russian compatriots with inner peace and profound spiritual contentment.

For more on Marina Devyatova and her music, please visit www.MarinaDevyatova.ru

Loving viewers, thank you for joining us today on Vegetarian Elite. Coming up next is Between Master and Disciples. May our Earth prosper in happiness and love.