Denys Bohush, Kyiv
Head of the international project “Cossack-Charakternyk ” and the Academy of Charakternyk Knowledge “Power of the Earth”, neurophysiologist physician, martial arts master.
The knowledge of the Charakternyks is based on sacred traditions (Spas, charakternyk science, etc.) that existed for many centuries on the territory of present-day Ukraine. Seers, volkhvs, Charakternyks, and magi preserved this knowledge so that people could live happily on this land and make use of its boundless possibilities.
However, this knowledge was not only preserved but also constantly refined and applied in various situations for different purposes. It was obtained through historical discoveries, work with diverse sacred sources, and direct transmission both from teachers and through family lineage.
My Lineage
I come from an intriguing Bohush family line, which I began to study very thoroughly after filming the movie “The Black Cossack” in 2010–2011. I realized that many Charakternyks and a vast body of sacred knowledge existed in my lineage. It turned out that even during the Soviet era my grandfather, Denys Bohush, conducted research into paranormal human abilities within high-level intelligence structures. He not only collected this knowledge but also actively participated in extraordinary developments of that time. He personally communicated with Tibetan monks, traveled to China, and supervised the decoding and subsequent implementation of the knowledge and developments of the German Ahnenerbe Institute in the USSR.
After examining numerous intelligence service archives as well as my family archive, I discovered such a profound layer of ancestral knowledge that at first I could hardly believe it existed. I later wrote a separate book about this. My research also led me to my great-great-great-great-grandfather Ivan Bohush, who was a friend of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi.
There was also Yakym Bohush, the ataman of the Zaporozhian Host, who was the last to defend the Kamianska Sich, preserved part of the Cossack army and treasury, and transported the remains of Ivan Sirko. Later, in 1710, he founded the Oleshky Sich. He was a fierce opponent of Muscovy, which is why he was omitted from textbooks on Cossack history. His father was certainly a charakternyk , as his nickname was Ulas the Witch.
I met many interesting individuals who claimed to possess charakternyk knowledge and Spas, and I studied extensively. Nevertheless, the core of this knowledge came from my own lineage.
The main book I wrote on this topic is “The Cossack-Charakternyk, or the Secret Science of Grandfather Arkhyp”. It contains extensive knowledge about how Charakternyks were trained over many years, starting from early childhood. I also conduct seminars and lectures where charakternyk knowledge can be acquired. Some intriguing aspects of charakternyk science are presented in this article.
WHO ARE THE CHARAKTERNYKS?
“Charakternyks whom neither fire, nor water, nor saber, nor an ordinary bullet—except a silver one—could harm.
Such ‘Charakternyks’ could open locks without keys, sail in a boat across a floor as if over sea waves, cross rivers on felt or reed mats, take red-hot cannonballs with bare hands, see several versts around themselves with the help of special ‘mirrors,’ live on the river bottom, get in and out of tightly tied or even sewn sacks, ‘transform’ into cats, turn people into bushes and horsemen into birds, climb into an ordinary bucket and swim underwater in it for hundreds and thousands of versts.”
— D. Yavornytskyi
The Cossack-charakternyk is a Ukrainian national archetype of a heroic individual endowed with profound knowledge and supernatural abilities. Such unique people were rare even among the Cossacks of that era. They were feared by adults, while children secretly dreamed of becoming like them. Cossack-Charakternyks are a real historical phenomenon of our people, and the techniques and training they developed and mastered constitute an invaluable treasure of Ukrainian culture, worthy of study and continuation.
Charakternyks were those in whom some distinctive trait, ability, or talent was discovered in childhood. Over at least two decades, they were trained and forged through special exercises and knowledge, resulting in abilities beyond what others could even imagine. Both girls and boys could become Charakternyks. Today, this knowledge is being revived, and there are increasing opportunities to train true Charakternyks if this is done from childhood through later years. Certain charakternyk qualities can be observed in our warriors today.
Kossack Mamay
“Though you look at me,
you wan’t guess—
where I come from or what I am called, you don’t know anything!
If someone has wandered through the steppes,
He can guess my last name.
But I don’t have just one name, I have a whole lot of them!”
Mamay means “no one.” It is precisely this “nobody” that is needed to cross into the unknown. Cossack Mamay represents the ultimate formula of world-building for the entire Ukrainian people. Images of Cossack Mamay hung in every home for centuries. He served as a sacred talisman and was passed down from generation to generation along with customs and practices.
Because Mamay is Nobody, he cannot truly be painted, named, or understood. The great mystery lies in contemplating the image of Cossack Mamay while imagining that neither he, nor the horse, nor the saber, nor the spear, nor the oak, nor the kobza exists. Whoever can do this is able to perceive the invisible world.
This is how our ancestors acted for centuries, and miraculously this tradition has survived to this day. For those who cannot achieve this state, Cossack Mamay will remain merely a household talisman.
Truth and Falsehood
Truth and falsehood have always been in constant struggle over who will rule the world.
In other words, it is the struggle between good and evil. Everyone has a choice: to stand with truth or with falsehood. If a person wants to be free, they must live their entire life together with truth, and then they will gain freedom of choice and the possibility of being in Vyrii. Staying with truth is not easy, because there are many different situations and events in life where it is unclear whether it is truth or falsehood. Truth can only be felt with a sincere heart. For the mind, falsehood often disguises itself as truth. One must personally feel one’s destiny. It is important not to listen to people who may present falsehood as truth. You must make your own choice, because this is your destiny.
Four Directions of Charakternyk Practices
- Power – achieving the power of body and spirit in the manifest world (Yav).
- Roots – perception of one’s lineage and the line of teachers.
- Vision – achieving the ability to see auras (of plants, animals, people, entities) of different planes and realities, a state of clarity. Feeling the Power of the Earth.
- Dreams– development in dreams from different worlds to Mamay.
- Essence – awareness of one’s essence and mission.
Mamay’s Mountain – Seven Steps to Salvation
If you look closely, in our universe there is a raging Sea of Sorrow.
And in the middle of this troubled sea stands the great Mount Mamay in the form of seven steps to salvation, with Cossack Mamay at its summit. If you leave the Sea of Sorrow, the sea of fears, anger, disappointment, and the whirl of events, you walk the path to the Spas of Mamay.
But only a few, with great longing and will for salvation, can leave the Sea of Sorrow. And to leap out of this cursed sea is possible only with the help of Spas.
Spas of Radiance
Spas of Radiance is already the key to the invisible world. When you have decided which side you are on and have skillfully and consistently worked with the body, you can begin to look into the invisible world. First, you must learn to see the radiance around plants, animals, and people who exist in this world, and then you will see other beings who live alongside us, other dimensions and realities. It is important here to see the boundary between radiance and one’s own fantasies—these are markers on this path. Awakening in Yav and perceiving the elements and the Power of the Earth are important skills of this level.
Spas Of Dreams
Your dreams can be useful in life. Techniques of working with dreams are called Snivo. The first important stage of Snivo is the journey to the “library,” and the final one is the path to Mamay. All this is done with the dream horse, which must be fed, resilient, and fast.
The path of Snivo levels: blind horse, horse with a cart, free horse, conscious horse, horse within a horse, above the herd, and together with Mamay. The capacities of the horse in Snivo also depend on the place where you fall asleep and on who helps you in this difficult journey.
Spas of State
Spas of State refers to the states of body and consciousness that one can enter and exit. There are seven basic states and forty states of the great map of the reality of Spas. Charakternyk science makes it possible to study these states and apply them on the path to salvation.
In the Spas of State, transformations of the body and transformations of the shadow are possible, making one’s own life incredible and extraordinary compared to others.
Spas of Will
Every person in life must make ten choices. There is the river of life, and by entering it, you make the first choice. There is no way back. The second choice is destiny or will. That is, you must choose either to drift with the current and surrender to circumstances, or to swim by spirit and strength, to control your life and all events, to take responsibility.
- The third choice is joining with truth. The fourth choice is to pass the rapids. The fifth choice is to leave the flow. The sixth choice is the form of the spirit.
- The seventh choice is concentration and dispersion of events.
- The eighth choice is “the whirl or paradise of events.” It is important to create this “paradise” around yourself and transform everything into spirit and truth.
- The ninth choice is the center of calm. And it is important to exit the flow not just anywhere, but precisely into this center of paradise.
- The tenth choice is together with Mamay.
Spas of Mamay
Salvation from this cursed life and the cycle of plunging into the Sea of Sorrow. The path to the universal source, to God, as is said in such cases.
Mamay is the son of the universe, Mother Nature, and divine providence. And if in the Ukrainian universe there is a path to freedom and salvation, it is connected with Mamay.
The highest step of the teaching of Spas and charakternyk science.
Radiance
Around all living beings many layers of radiance are formed. It is possible to see it.
All living things shine. A human has the most complex radiance—luminosity—while a stone has the simplest. Animals and plants are in between.
By radiance it is possible to determine the boundary between life and death, health and illness, the past and the future.
Invisible beings also have radiance around them. They can likewise be in different states.
Charakternyks are able to see and observe the radiance of visible and invisible beings, but this is their great secret.
Charakternyks themselves also have many layers of multicolored radiance around them, similar to an onion. And someone is also observing their radiance.
The biggest mystery who has watching the Charakternyks since ancient times.
It is possible to transition from the visible to the invisible world and back. These abilities are both given and trained. It is possible to see this oneself, but without charakternyk initiation it is impossible. It is best to contemplate the harmony of the world.
Practices for perceiving the invisible world
Snivo
There is Reality, and there is Snivo. Reality is our manifest world, and Snivo is the fabric of dreams. We spend a lot of time in sleep, and this time should be used to study charakternyk science, because we waste our sleep time in vain.
The most important rhythm in the life of a charakternyk is the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness. When the sun rises, a great amount of light energy rises with it for the activity of all living beings. When the sun sets, the flow of active energy disappears. It is beneficial to be active when the sun is in the sky and to sleep when it is not. If one does the opposite, it is unnatural.
There are many levels of dreams layered upon one another, like the layers of an onion. The outer layers, the first two levels, are a grinding of one’s own problems. Useful dreams begin from the third layer.
Blind horse. The outer level of Snivo is called the “blind horse” or the “game of the body.” Actions here are caused by physical exertion, heavy food before sleep, bodily illnesses, nervous tension, life problems, and various troubles. These problems are processed in such dreams, so there is nothing useful to be found or learned here.
Horse with a cart. The middle level is called the “horse with a cart” or the “game of consciousness.” It is caused by unfulfilled desires, the dreams and problems associated with them, resentments and external attachments, psychological experiences, and the wishes of close and familiar people. If desires are not realized in real life, this strains the fabric of sleep, and they begin to be realized in dreams. This is also a level of Snivo that is not useful for development.
Free horse. The inner level of Snivo is called the “free horse.” At this level, you are already freed from the bonds of Reality and can travel through Snivo, fly, and learn. It is recommended during this Snivo to visit the charakternyk academy and the library. There are even deeper levels of Snivo, as the onion has many layers. But for practical benefit, the three levels mentioned are sufficient. There are also the levels “conscious horse,” “horse within a horse,” “above the herd,” “together with Mamay,” and others.
Power for everything. For Snivo of the third level, the “free horse,” and deeper levels, saved and accumulated life energy is required. The horse must be fed and watered; then it will be ready for long and dangerous journeys. Otherwise, sleep will be only rest after a busy day.
SNIVO practices: Will and Fate
There is an ancient charakternyk practice called “Will and Fate”. Will and destiny are the main instruments of life, and one must be in a certain state of self-sufficiency and all-possibility, with constant connection to truth (“touching truth”), being a form of spirit, and then you will be together with Mamay*.
How to explain this? Every person in life must make ten choices.
There is a river of life, and by entering it, you make the first choice. And there is no way back.
The second choice is fate or will. That is, you must choose either to go with the flow and surrender to circumstances, or to swim by spirit and strength, to manage your life and all events, to take responsibility. And this will be your choice.
The third choice is joining with truth. You must be with truth. If we imagine that there is “truth” and “falsehood” (accordingly, good and evil), then you must keep truth as close within yourself as possible. And “falsehood” (evil, conflicts with the world and with oneself) should be farther away. What will be closer to you and what will be farther away is your choice.
The fourth choice is to pass the rapids. It is very important to pass certain trials in life. And life itself throws these trials at us in different forms and according to our different abilities. For the Cossacks, these were rapids, which is why they were called Zaporozhiya. And they had a saying: “A Cossack with trouble is like a fish with water” — Cossacks were never afraid of obstacles and problems and always overcame them with dignity.
The fifth choice is to leave the flow. One must step out of the flow of events of the river of life. Everyone is flowing, but sometimes you must leave this flow and observe it for a while.
You need to be able to stop so that chaos, problems, and foolishness do not pull you into thestream. Periodic exit from the flow can take the form of meditations or certain spiritual practices.
The sixth choice is the form of spirit. It is impossible to control your life and movements in the flow if you cannot be a form for the spirit. Accordingly, you must be empty in order to receive the spirit within yourself. When you are a form of spirit, there are many more correct choices in your life. What is the form of spirit? We live, and we have an inner dialogue. And it tells us: “This is good, and this is bad.” When we are a form of spirit, we have no inner dialogue. When we stop it and let something higher into.
The seventh choice is to be able to pass through walls, transform into animals, move in space and time and control one’s shadow.
The eighth one is to know the laws of Svino and win a total battle in a dream.
The ninth choice is to be able to send mana and darkness and ward them off, to be able to cast spells and heal.
The tenth choice is to be a patriot of Ukraine! To know and preserve the language and culture of our people, to defend the native land without sparing one’s own life. To preserve the power of the ancestral Cossack spirit.
Glorification of our lineage
We are descendants of the ancient Aryans, the warlike Scythians, the wise magicians of Rus, the knights andheroes, glorified in the epics and legends of Rus’ – Ukraine.
Of Igor and Princess Olga, Soyatoslav the Brave,
Volodymyr the Great, Yaroslav the Wise, and the Savior
Mamay.
Of the Cossack hetmans and chief-tains, the defenders of our holy land.
Of Baida Vyshnevetskyi, Petro Sahaidachnyz, Petro Doroshenko, Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, Ivans-Bohun,
Vyhovskyz, Mazepa.
Of Pylyp Orlyk, Pavlo Skoropad-skyi, Ivan Sirko, Yakym Bohush,
Kostya Hordienko.
Of famous Ukrainians: King Daniel, Constantine Ostrozky, Petro Mohyla, Taras Shevchenko, Lesya Ukrainka, Oleksa Doubush, Hryhoriy Skovoroda, Mykhailo Hrushevskyi,
and others.
We remember our lineage. We know about the glorious Cossacks-characternyks. We remember our ancestors – heroes, great Ukrainians.
We will be worthy of you! We will multiply the glory of our lineage.
Glory to Ukraine!
Glory to the heroes!
International Project “COSSACK-CHARAKTERNYK”
Project goal: to raise the topic of the heroes, the Cossack-charakternyks, and to launch an information campaign to such a level that children in kindergarten would want to be like a Cossack-charakternyk rather than Batman, Superman, musketeers, etc.
Project elements: books, documentary and feature films, video clips, computer and mobile games, animated films, presentations, shows, charitable actions, and tourist routes, etc. An important part of the project is the Academy of Charakternykhood “The Power of the Earth.”
Official project website
www.kh.org.ua
Ukraine, Kyiv
Phone 066-977-64-04
