Testimony of a childhood friend of Grieg
Note that this testimony comes from a childhood friend of Grieg who does not yet practice yoga. This testimony was written in March 2002.
I find it hard to accept that our lives go by so quickly and, unfortunately, sometimes without us realizing it. For some, birthdays are an occasion for joy, while for others they are, above all, a time for reflection: “fugit ireparabile tempus“. For me, ’round’ celebrations are more special because they are divisible by five! The Jubilee (from the Latin “jubilaeus“) – a feast that takes place every fifty years – is in some traditions the year dedicated exclusively to God! At this age, it is said, wisdom, paid for by white hairs, becomes the calling card of those who cross the threshold beyond the fifth decade of life. So, my good friend Grieg is turning 50 soon.
I had the chance to know him since my childhood. I can say that he was a sensitive man, strongly interiorized, withdrawn in a different world from the one he was born into. He read enormously, devoured stacks of books, especially old books, many of them obviously banned in those days. He had finished reading all the books in the house, he had gone through all the works in the school library and in the Cultural Centre to the point that he had amazed the librarians.
It seems paradoxical, but Grieg read everything he could get his hands on: classical literature, in particular, but he did not ignore science books, adventure novels, travel novels, he even read the famous collections “15 lei”, “Famous Women“, etc. He surpassed in intelligence and understanding anyone of his age. His imagination was truly impressive. In the courtyard of his parents’ house, Grieg felt like he was inside a universe that was hard to penetrate. Here, he was constructing a world of his own, in which he was writer, director and performer.
Sometimes he included me in his scripts, where he played 1001 roles: detective, King of England, policeman, taxi driver. I remember him driving the family bike at top speed, taking spectacular turns. One day, he told me that he had discovered a weathered piece of paper tucked between the folds of an officer’s pen, containing a mysterious inscription and a treasure map, buried somewhere in the mountains under a rock. He remains so today, a man fascinated by the hidden secrets of this world.
Grieg was an eternal thirst for knowledge, but even as a teenager he could not bear to be forced to learn what was not useful. He loved philosophy and languages. He was fascinated, however, by a science considered taboo at the time, parapsychology.
As fate would have it, we later attended the same high school, “Gh. Șincai” in Bucharest. An impressive building, full of sobriety, situated next to a dreamy park, it received young people from all over the capital, and among them were two students from the countryside. At the time, “Șincai” was considered a strict school, where real books were taught, especially real sciences, especially mathematics, with teachers who tried to carry on the fame of the brilliant teachers (Ne-dioglu, Călinescu, etc.) of the interwar period.
It was a high school of the “poor” but, I repeat, it was a famous high school that successfully competed with the others in the center: “Lazăr”, “Bălcescu”, “Basarab”, “Cantemir”, “Neculce”. At that time, this high school had become a nightmare for the elders of the time: the echoes of the youth and student uprisings in Paris in 1968 had reached Bucharest, and the rebellious gestures broke out at “Șincai” as well. Here, in the spring of ’68, one of the first forms of protest against a world that was beginning to decline had taken place. The burning of the catalogues was the reaction of the younger generation to the restrictions and aberrations that were becoming increasingly obvious.
Although he was an avid reader passionate about spending hours in the library, Grieg grew up in this high school with a generation imbued with the idea of non-violence, as expressed at the time by the motto: “Make love, not war“. It was a generation born of parents who had survived the Second World War and suffered the horrors of Stalinism. That’s why they condemned both the Vietnam War and the invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Thus, in the “Șincai” high school, Grieg understood the perennial aspirations of the young generation, probably the same as those of today’s generations: the fervour to be in harmony with the universe and, at the same time, with oneself, the desire to live truly free, by controlling one’s own urges and channeling them towards a higher spiritual fulfilment.
Grieg was one year older than I: he was studying “humanities” and I had moved on to “science”. But his fame had already spread throughout high school and beyond. He amazed his teachers with the breadth and depth of his knowledge. Some of them didn’t hesitate to suggest him to give lectures to their classmates on philosophy, universal literature, Romanian language, etc. It was a delight to watch his scholarly dissertations, remarkable for the exuberance of the language, the exhaustive documentation, the clarity of the message.
While other classmates played sports, he preferred to read. He read day and night, but especially at night. Personally, through him I was able to approach the essential aspects in life with love and understanding. His vocation as a spiritual guide was evident even then. I remember an episode related to my admission to the university: during the philosophy exam I drew a card containing a single word – “idealism“. Then I remembered Grieg’s “lessons” and I reproduced a saying, but not in the truncated form that was used in the textbooks of the time: “Know thyself“, but “Know thyself and leave matter to the gods“. I got a 9 in the oral exam and I was admitted to the university, 7th on the list of 1600 applicants (20 per place) with an overall average mark of 9.00, and the knowledge I received from Grieg contributed to this. I now thank you, dear friend.
Grieg was not drawn to useless teachings, censored by the narrow mindset of that era. He was looking for an entirely different “teaching”, one that was truly addressed to the spirit. He was already striving to achieve the perfect harmony between soul and physical body, spirit and matter, human being and the surrounding world. This “teaching” could not be found in any of the textbooks of the time; no university course or academic treatise dared to address such a theme.
In the 1970s, the thirst for knowledge about the unknown universe around us made Grieg a singular figure. He was a special character, in the gallery of “beautiful idealists of the big cities”. Not having enough reading hours during daylight, he preferred to work as a night teacher in boarding schools so that he could go to libraries in his spare time. When others were asleep, Grieg could quietly study whatever his heart desired, at work. For Grieg, the night was the best time for meditation. His “pedagogical” experience in his youth would later serve him well, as he became a consummate educator.
Although he was very young, he had become a figure of Bucharest, especially in the student circles. Many students found in Grieg another “magister”. He had charisma, as he does now, and he was very much loved. His look was truly memorable, but this was not the essential fact. What really fascinated was his teaching. His words and thoughts captivated you from the first moment, transformed you and “cured” you of all the evil in the world.
Around ’75-’76, meeting him, I told him that I was depressed because of a love affair that had failed miserably. I was distressed and I could find no way out of the impasse. He listened to me and, looking in my eyes, said, as if reading in me everything I was going through: “I will help you, but it all depends on you, on your will to transform yourself. Tonight, at 10 p.m., I’ll think of you and tomorrow you’ll tell me what occurred“. I confess with my hand on my heart that, at that hour, I lived an improbable experience. I felt that a river of unknown energy, a complete peace and tranquility flooded me, coming from nowhere, without me realizing it. I was like a different person, more balanced, calmer, stronger. The next day I was completely transfigured: what I had thought was the tragedy of my life now seemed ridiculously insignificant. I had become what I had been before I was dumped by my lover, a free man. Then, and not only then, I became convinced of the truth that my childhood friend had unusual powers.
Here’s another example: later, when I met him on the street, he slowly shook my hand for a few seconds. We exchanged a few words, me being in a hurry, and we said goodbye. At home, my wife asked me what was going on with me: I seemed to be floating, I seemed to be dreaming. I told her that I had met an old friend from my childhood, who had instilled in me a formidable vital energy, that those moments spent with him had convinced me that he possessed a kind of “bio-field” with beneficial virtues. She put it all to the excitement of seeing an old friend I had not met for a long time. I picked up a lighter, put it in my palm and it didn’t come off when I twisted my hand. I continued with a pen, a key, a ruler, then other small objects. I was almost shocked. I had become “magnetized” as a result of meeting Grieg. Since then, when I want to amaze my acquaintances, making them amused by my “paranormal” powers, I show them the experiment with objects stuck to my palm or body.
Finally, I remember another episode, related to the same childhood friend. 10-12 years ago I was coming by train to Bucharest. There were cheerful, young people in the compartment. I got into a conversation with a young lady who was sitting quietly to my right. I asked her where she was from and where she was going: she said she was from Baia-Mare and was going to Costinești. Then I found out that she was going to attend a yoga course taught by Professor Gregorian Bivolaru.
I became attentive to what she was telling me and told her I was interested in her opinion of this man. She replied that she didn’t know him very well, but she knew he was an extraordinary man, listing a host of qualities to reinforce the truth of what she had said. I replied, “I don’t need any further demonstration to convince me“. “Why?“, asked the young woman a little annoyed by my words. “Because it’s not necessary,” I replied. “No one can change my opinion about this man, because I’ve known him all my life!“. Now my interlocutor had become thoroughly interested in finding out more about him.
Obviously, with the sincerity of a man who has no interest in lying to her, I told her that this man is more than anyone can imagine, in other words, I described Grieg in very suggestive colours and nuances. She was simply enthusiastic, and finally made the following confession to me: she did not expect to meet a stranger who, without any interest whatsoever, would say such words about the man who was to become her teacher. She was convinced that she would learn a lot from Grieg. From that moment on, the other travellers in the compartment wanted to know more about him too. I replied: “Look him up, get to know him and you’ll see for yourself!” When I got off the train, I realised that Grieg didn’t need any publicity, because he was known everywhere, highly appreciated and admired.
But this also got him into trouble. In the 1980s, he was labelled a national “public danger” by the regime of the time, and was targeted like the “transcendentalists”, the “Artists Group Flacara”, etc. What they did was considered a potential threat to the establishment. Grieg was one of those who were truly hounded, surveilled step by step, ostracised from society. His “fault” was a serious one: he had too much power, he was a leader, an opinion-maker, whom you couldn’t control, you couldn’t manipulate.
He was therefore an inconvenient man for the regime. All sorts of serious, imaginary facts were being pinned on him. I well remember the furore, the fright that Grieg’s miraculous escape from prison caused among prosecutors, investigators, judges, policemen, party activists and especially the guards. Everyone was simply terrified.
Against Gregorian Bivolaru the most abject means were used: from discrediting him within the yogic movement in Romania, denigration, blaming, mystification, ridicule and manipulation of public opinion, to his forced internment and isolation, in an attempt to silence him. After the 1990s, unfortunately, dirty press campaigns were launched and he was framed for various “accidents” (the burning of his home and the nearly 3000 books in it, etc.), which proves once again that certain “occult” circles see in Gregorian Bivolaru a potential “adversary”, extremely formidable.
But his unfriends realise that Grieg is protected by his own paranormal abilities (and firstly by God), which make him untouchable; they also know that any action against him is directed against his tens of thousands of supporters, not only in Romania, but all over the world. A study carried out by a team of Romanian sociologists has established that MISA is included among the mass movements with a wide spread in Romania. All this says a lot about the man who will soon turn 50. He is a legendary figure, full of consistency in an increasingly troubled world where people are once again beginning to seek the path to Truth, Knowledge, Faith and Purity.
Happy Birthday, Grieg!
Dan D.
yogaesoteric
March 12, 2022
