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.