Spirit Behind Ananda Marga’s Vivaha System

21 Jun 2013

Baba

This entire posting is composed of 2 parts:
(2) Posting: Spirit Behind Ananda Marga’s Vivaha System;
(1) Prabhat Samgiita #886.

== SPIRIT BEHIND ANANDA MARGA’S VIVAHA SYSTEM ==

Namaskar,
To bring anyone on the path of dharma a proper environment is necessary and for that one human society is needed. Towards this end, Baba has taken numerous steps.

On the one hand He has involved deeply in repairing addressing and solving society’s ills. In this way And He has exposed and given the solutions to cure society from: religious dogmas, casteism, racism, communalism, sentiments, exploitation, untouchability, color, economic disparity, etc. Indeed Baba has addressed so many inequalities and injustices in the society.

Simultaneously Baba has infused one very positive feature for humanity – His revolutionary concept of society building: Which includes both the creation of WTs and the formation of revolutionary marriages.

Society building ensures a certain stability and dynamism as well as the love and compassion necessary for enabling people to grow in a healthy and proper way. So this is one key for developing one human society.

And indeed when that society is formed then there will be huge scope for people to grow in all sorts of ways and devote maximum time for spiritual pursuits and ultimately become one with Parama Purusa.

So society building has a special role.

REVOLUTIONARY MARRIAGES:

IDEAL TOOL FOR SOCIETY BUILDING

Revolutionary marriages (RM) are a special feature of our Ananda Marga way of life and come within the scope of the society building department of AMPS. Actually the main basis of marriage in Ananda Marga is society building.

In the past Lord Buddha also neglected this important social factor so he could not form the society properly. Lord Buddha’s teachings were deficient in this regard. And many religions also have not been able to create solid systems and ideals for marriage. The materialistic societies around the globe are also severely lacking on the point of marriage.

The tantric system of marriage is 7000 years old and holds a special meaning and practical presentation. We have seen this in our lives especially in DMC when Baba used to give blessings to marriage couples.

BABA’S MARRIAGE BLESSING

First the newly married couple would approach the dais and do sastaunga pranam to Baba. And then with both of their hands the couple would jointly offer a flower garland to Baba. Then Baba would then place His own hands around their hands and join them in holding the mala (flower garland).

Then Baba would graciously bless their marriage: “Be like Shiva and Parvati, go on doing your worldly duties along with your psychic and spiritual pursuits, be the assets of the entire civilisation, and by your service the whole society should be benefited.”

Baba also used to repeat the mantra ‘Shubamastu…’, meaning ‘May you be blessed’.

And then He would give the mala to the bride. To English speaking margiis Baba used to say, ‘little girl take this mala and keep it with you’. And when He spoke to margiis in Bengali or Hindi this was the translation: ‘mother keep this garland along with you’.

Hundreds of times during DMC we have witnessed how Baba used to give His marriage blessings. And always He would begin by saying, “Be like Shiva and Parvati…”

Here the special significance of ‘Be like Shiva and Parvati’ is that during Lord Shiva’s entire married life He took care of Parvati and watched over her physical, psychic, and spiritual development; and Parvati took care of Lord Shiva as well. Their marriage was ideal. It was not based on material satisfaction or gain, but rather a high ideal. It was starting point of building one human society.

NO SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE PAST

Prior to Lord Shiva’s advent society was not properly formed. One key reason for this was that there was not a proper system of marriage. Instead, most were involved in libertine type of relations – especially the males.

The ones who suffered most then were the children and their mothers, but especially the children. Basically males did not accept any responsibility. So the whole responsibility of the child’s physical, psychic, sentimental, and spiritual welfare rested upon the mother alone. And it was just not possible for a single mother to manage all aspects of raising and providing for the child. The condition of the baby and mother was terrible.

LORD SHIVA’S CONTRIBUTION

Then Lord Shiva took advent. For the first time in human history He graciously gave the system of marriage. And that marriage system was primarily for the welfare of the child. So that child could receive the requisite love and support to one day become a bonafide member of the civilized society.

In this same spirit, Baba has created the society building department in our Ananda Marga.

THE PRESENT SCENE:

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN MATERIALISTIC AREAS & IN OUR ANANDA MARGA

Unfortunately in today’s materialistic countries, the true spirit of society building is not followed. Wherever materialism reigns, children are not properly cared for rather they are a by-product.

That is why we often see that children are not able or allowed to live along with their mothers, or sleep and get love and affection from their mothers even in nighttime. This results for any number of reasons: The parents might be divorced and the mother may have to work 3 jobs, or the parents are grossly involved in their careers and ignore their children, or there are other reasons. Unfortunately this is the common fashion these days: Children are often ignored and neglected whereby the child feels alienated from their surroundings.

In our Ananda Marga society the situation is improving a lot, but in the true sense society building has not yet taken proper shape. If we look back over the history we will find innumerable examples how the letter and the spirit of Baba’s given marriage system has been compromised.

But I have deep faith that with firm determination we will reach to the goal which Baba has established.

MUST PROPERLY PRESENT THE POINT OF VIVAHA

Baba has graciously given various special teachings for building up a spirited & singular human society. Each point has its own unique aspects and beneficial results – including His divine teaching on ‘vivaha’.

However, certain publishers have defined vivaha in an ordinary and mundane way. Yet we know Baba’s grand guideline of vivaha is not common and ordinary, but extraordinary.

POINT SOCIETY TOWARDS A SPIRITUAL GOAL

Since the very beginning in 1955, Baba’s has graciously guided us to form one human society. Because the whole aim of the Ananda Marga mission is Atmamok’s’a’rtham’ jagaddhita’ya ca – ‘self-realisation and service to humanity.’ But without building up one human society this can never be achieved. So Baba has taken strong steps to form a single human society whereby people can move towards their spiritual goal.

NEVER DONE BEFORE

In the past neither Lord Shiva nor Lord Krsna could do this. They were engaged in other ways and could not manage the strong planning necessary to bring the entire humanity within one thread. But Baba has indeed taken up this great endeavour.

BABA’S DIVINE TEACHING OF VIVAHA

Baba’s following teaching makes this subject more clear.

(A) LORD SHIVA INTRODUCED THE IDEAL

OF THE MARRIAGE SYSTEM

“Prior to Shiva, there was no system of marriage in human society. And as there was no recognized marriage system, the matrilineal order was in vogue, because it was easy to identify the mothers. In the case of the fathers, it was impossible to identify them. Shiva, for the first time, introduced the system of marriage which has continued until this day. The Sanskrit word for marriage, viváha (derived vi – vah + ghaiṋ), literally means “to follow a particular system”. This system of marriage is known as Shaeva viváha. According to this system, the bride and the bridegroom will equally share full responsibility for their marriage, without any consideration of caste or community.” (1)

(B) BABA PRESENTS THE HISTORY OF THOSE EARLY HUMANS:

FROM LIBERTINE WAY OF LIFE TO MARITAL FAMILY SYSTEM

“At the beginning of evolution, humans used to lead libertine lives without any consideration for family obligations, but they gradually developed a family instinct. However, that family instinct was no different from that of the elephants, lions, pigeons, etc. Due to this inborn instinct, males and females arrived at a loose but workable compromise regarding family life. But in that there was no sense of responsibility born out of a developed conscience; rather, due to their loose relationships with each other, one person used to desert another and go anywhere he or she liked. The number of such libertines was very high, and they used to disturb the peace and harmony of the so-called family members and become the cause of many serious quarrels.”

“The male libertines would not take responsibility for their offspring. They used to wander freely, and as a result, the entire responsibility for raising the children in their infancy would devolve on the mothers. But it was not possible for the mothers alone to bear the responsibility of maintaining the children, as a result of which many children died in early infancy. Those who survived felt themselves to be in a sea of troubles after they were weaned from their mother’s breast-milk. Then they would be deprived of their mother’s love, since she had to take care of the next baby. Those were the days of the prehistoric humans…The life of the libertines was just like that of the animals.”

“Shiva made the rule that regardless of whether women were capable or incapable of earning a livelihood, men would have to take on the responsibility of supporting them; thus the Sanskrit word for “husband” is bharttá. The word bharttá is derived from the root verb bhr + suffix trń; the root bhr means “to support” and bharttá (in the first case-ending) means “one who supports someone”.”

“As a result of this arrangement, it became easier for the women to maintain the children, since they were relieved of the onerous responsibility of providing their food and clothing. Not only that, when the children became a bit older the direct responsibility for their maintenance shifted from the mother to the father.”

“It was not easy to know the fathers of children even in the case of the so-called householders, far less in that of the libertines. Children would know only their mothers. And after they were weaned, they would forget their mothers also. Thus being deprived of motherly love and affection at a very early age, they had no opportunity to develop the sweeter and finer sensibilities of the human mind. The human mind, the human intellect, was nipped in the bud; those people had no opportunity to blossom, to gladden the heart of the world with their sweet joy. By declaring the males to be bharttá [husbands] Shiva fulfilled a major portion of His task for human society.”

“But Shiva did more than that: He declared that women must be kalatra, which means that women must discharge their obligations to their husbands and their children in such a way that the latter will not have the least difficulty.”

“Those who accepted this new arrangement were declared married, and the other members of their society would be witnesses to the marriage ceremony, to bless the newly-married couple and pledge their cooperation to them. The Sanskrit equivalent for marriage is viváha (vi – vah + ghaiṋ): it means, after the ceremony, the man and woman can no longer live as libertines or as irresponsible so-called family people. They have to discharge their full obligations as bharttá and kalatra, responsible husband and responsible wife.” (2)

(C) VIVAH MEANS TO

LIVE LIFE IN A NEW WAY WITH A SPECIAL TYPE OF RESPONSIBILITY

“Vi – vah + ghaiṋ = viváha. The root verb vah means “to flow, to lead”. Viváha means “leading one’s life in a new way with a special type of responsibility” [in both Sanskrit and Bengali]. In the most correct Sanskrit, however, the word for “marriage” would be formed vi – úh. An alternative spelling is with u (not ú). Vyuh + kta = vyud́há (meaning “a married person”).”

“An unmarried person remains somewhat free from responsibilities. As a result they get the chance to discharge some greater duties outside their small family. Even though they go outside the house for other work, it is not against anyone’s interests. Vyud́há means a “married person who shoulders a greater family responsibility and begins a new style of life.””

“Hence, when an unmarried girl or boy gets married, his or her life begins to flow down a different channel. Various responsibilities devolve on them. They can no longer afford to take their responsibilities lightly.” (3)

Namaskar,
in Him
Diindayal

Note 1: MISTAKE MADE BY PUBLICATIONS DEPT:

OVER AND OVER AGAIN THEY WRONGLY DEFINE VIVAHA

So vivaha is one special way for developing the society; it is a revolutionary form of marriage that brings the fulfillment of human potential through responsibility, commitment and spiritual growth. Vivaha cannot merely be defined by a single mundane term, i.e. marriage. The Sanskrit word vivaha cannot merely be translated or defined as marriage. The ideal of vivaha is so much more than that. That is why Baba Himself takes several paragraphs to explain the meaning of vivaha. Baba never merely defines vivaha as marriage.

As we all know, nowadays marriage mostly means one mundane love marriage where males later divorce when their sensual desires get directed towards some younger female etc. A person might marry 2, or 3, or 4, or 5 times. That is the common way nowadays. And each time it is defined as marriage, but that is not at all what vivaha is all about.

Unfortunately if you search for a definition of vivaha in the note sections of various Ananda Marga books, you will find that certain members of the Publications Dept merely define vivaha as marriage. That means in certain specific sections like the glossary and the footnotes, the publishers themselves chose to define the ideal of vivaha as marriage:

For instance:

(a) In the book, “Sarkar’s Short Stories Part 1” – the publishers inserted a footnote in the story – “The Headmasters’ Contest”. Here is the entirety of that footnote: “Viváha is the Sanskrit word for marriage.” So they merely defined vivaha as marriage when in fact it is so much more than that. Remarkably, the publishers took special efforts to create a footnote for the term vivaha. In that situation they could have described vivaha in so many positive and practical ways according to Baba’s dharmic explanation. But instead they merely defined it as marriage. That is completely misleading to the reader and it undermines the ideal of vivaha.

It would have been far better if those in charge defined vivaha as ‘the special system of a dharmic marriages first introduced in Lord Shiva’s time’ or ‘a union between husband and wife based on fulfillment of an ideal’ etc. Any of these type of definitions would been much more appropriate. Because to only say ‘vivaha = marriage’ is very misleading.

(b) In the book, “The Awakening of Women”, the publishers inserted a glossary and in that glossary they merely defined vivaha as marriage. They wrote one word – that’s it. Here again the publishers created a special place to define and describe the term vivaha but they failed to use any of Baba’s dharmic tenets. Yet vivaha itself is such a key component for the upliftment of humanity and grants women and mothers an entirely new status. And in the book “The Awakening of Women” the publishers utterly neglected to put a proper definition of vivaha in the glossary. That undermines the very purpose of the book.

It would have been far better if those in charge referenced specific sections of Baba’s discourses and direct the reader to learn about vivaha in that manner. Or if they wanted a shorter definition for their glossary they could have defined vivaha as ‘the special system of a dharmic marriages first introduced in Lord Shiva’s time’ or ‘a union between husband and wife based on fulfillment of an ideal’ etc. Any of these type of definitions would been much more appropriate. Because to only say ‘vivaha = marriage’ is very misleading.

(c) The Ananda Marga Dictionary published in 2005 falls into this same problem. If you look up vivaha in the Ananda Marga Dictionary all you will find is the singular mundane term ‘marriage’– nothing more. By this way people will think that vivaha just means one mundane love marriage where males later divorce when their sensual desires get directed towards some younger female etc. It would have been far better if those in charge defined vivaha as ‘the special system of a dharmic marriages first introduced in Lord Shiva’s time’ or ‘a union between husband and wife based on fulfillment of an ideal’ etc. Any of these types of definitions would been much more appropriate. Because to only say ‘vivaha = marriage’ is very misleading.

Just imagine if in the dictionary someone defined dharma as ‘religion’ – without saying anything more. Then people would think dharma was just something dogmatic. How misleading and unjust that would be. Similarly to define vivaha using one simple mundane term like marriage is to do injustice to the ideal of vivaha because nowadays the marriage term is so commonly abused in as the divorce rate is 75% in some states and males regularly cheat on their wives, and vice-versa.

So in this materialistic era where the institution of marriage has nothing to do with the dharmic ideal of vivaha, the publishers of the Ananda Marga Dictionary must not define vivaha as ‘marriage’. The Dictionary definition must carry the inner spirit or dharmic quality of the term. Because Ananda Marga means dharma; so without that, the goal of making an Ananda Marga Dictionary remains unfulfilled, lacking, or faulty.

Note 2: NOT AN ISOLATED EXAMPLE – RATHER A PERVASIVE PROBLEM

The problems associated with the Ananda Marga Dictionary’s definition of vivaha do not exist in isolation. Verily there are dozens and dozens of terms – even hundreds – that are improperly defined in that Dictionary by those publishers. Unfortunately, many of the definitions do not reflect Baba’s given teachings of Ananda Marga. That is why the entire dictionary needs a critical review, not just one single definition.

Note 3: IDEA IS GOOD; PERFORMANCE WAS POOR

Overall, the idea of making an Ananda Marga dictionary is very good – if done properly. That means the dharmic definitions must be given according to the word and spirit of Ananda Marga ideology. Then surely it will be beneficial.

But when a Dictionary itself offers misleading, incomplete, and wrongful definitions, then that undermines the entire purpose of making a dictionary. Rather it is harmful. Best will be if stringent efforts are made to create a proper, well-referenced dictionary based purely on Ananda Marga ideals.

In conclusion, the term vivaha might also be defined in this way: A special union between a husband and a wife based on a dharmic ideal where both parties shoulder a great responsibility in raising a family while caring and watching for each others physical, mental, and spiritual development – plus we should always refer them to Baba’s discourses that offer a more explicit explanation.

REFERENCES
1. Namah Shivaya Shantaya, Disc: 2
2. Namah Shivaya Shantaya, Shivokti 3
3. Shabda Cayaniká Part 19

******** Prabhat Samgiita #886

“A’j toma’y pelum notun sa’je mor manoma’jhe…” (P.S. 886)

Purport:

O’ Parama Purusa, by Your causeless grace, today I have gotten You in a more loving way in my mind. You have come in a new form in my dhya’na. It is Your grace. Earlier my mind was busy and involved in a variety of works – both positive and negative. But now there are no such distractions. My mind is one-pointed and only ensconced in Your love.

O’ Divine Entity, the path that I was moving on was a zig-zag path. There was no hope or relief. My life was covered in darkness, day and night. By the attraction of Your divine love I looked towards You. O’ my dearmost, my most loving One, by Your grace the wheel of my chariot has just turned. In my dead river, a flood of sparkling fresh water has come. Baba, now my life has become effulgent.

O’ Parama Pursusa Baba, in the past there was black darkness and after that it was even more black. The whole atmosphere was totally bleak; my whole life was shrouded in darkness. Baba, You are so gracious, You have come with Your divine effulgence. You have come with more and more divine effulgence. O’ my Lord, now in whichever direction I look, it feels very blissful and loving. I feel Your divine presence in my heart and all around me. Baba, You have stolen my mind and made my heart full. My heart has become full with Your love.

Baba, today You have blessed me by coming to me in a more intimate and loving way. You are so gracious. Baba, I love You…

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STORY: BABA’S HUMOUR

Baba

PS Intro: This following Prabhat Samgiita can be understood in two distinct ways:

(1) Baba is depicting the advent of Parama Purusa as Mahasambhuti in the play of His divine liila; and,
(2) this song refers to Baba’s divine appearance in dhyana.

“Na’m na’-ja’na’ ma’na’ na’-ma’na’ rauniin parii ese pa’she…” (P.S. 2983)

Purport:

One shining, colorful angel of unknown name came close to me. This angel was not concerned about getting respect or not. Just it graciously came to me. Its eyes were glowing with golden effulgence, and this divine angel told something to me.

The angel said: ‘My abode is in the divine world yet to accomplish the work & for the welfare of all, I move around this entire universe. All those who love me, I pull them close.’

‘Without stopping I move continuously around this entire universe.’ The angel furthermore told, ‘In the bond of love, I also get caught. I float in the flow of divine songs.’

From the divine world one angel has come and graced me, and told me all the secrets of its advent…

Note: In this song Baba is using the allegory of an angel, yet in true sense He is talking about Himself. Thus, although the word – parii – literally means ‘angel’, but in Prabhat Samgiita the real meaning of the term parii is: Baba the Parama Purusa.

== STORY: BABA’S HUMOUR ==

Namaskar,
In His divine manner, Baba made everyone laugh at this DMC (Dharma Maha Cakra) with His humourous comment.

HERE IS THE SCENE

It was May 1983 in Ananda Nagar and general darshan was going on.
The Prabhat Samgiita was sung. It was song #58, Dujane jakhan miliche takhan, which is a song about marriage. As per the custom, after the song was sung, then in Baba’s presence, selected Dadas read their purports.

The basic idea of the song is:

O’ human beings, when two people are being united in marriage, then you all shower them with your good wishes. Amidst their burning sorrows, amidst their garlands of joy, in their pains and pleasures, be with them always.

Our human society is indivisible, neglecting not a single family. Let us all sing and dance together. Accept everyone as your own.

With the sweet music of the earth, give this newly married couple your affectionate words and wishes. Give them sweet messages of love. Fill their lives with colour and shower them with your well wishing…

HERE COMES BABA’S HUMOROUS COMMENT

As everyone may recall, it was quite normal for Baba to add and correct the purports read by various Dadas. This day was no different.

When the Dada finished reading His Hindi purport, Baba started reciting this Sanskrit shloka about marriage.

Kanya’ varayate ru’pam, ma’ta’ vittam, pita’ shruti,
Ba’ndhavaha hitam icchanti, mis’t’a’nnam itare jana’h

While smiling, Baba then gave the following explanation:

At the time of marriage, the bride longs for a handsome groom; the mother hopes that the bride and groom become wealthy; the father hopes the groom is a talented and smart husband for his daughter; the friends desire that in spite of all of life’s difficulties the newlyweds should be happy; and others in attendance hope that whatever may be, there should be the distribution of sweets.

With His wide smile, and looking across the pandal from left to right, He said: “I belong to the last group!”

Hearing this, everyone started laughing.

REFLECTION ON ABOVE STORY

By His divine example, Baba is demonstrating that there should be a very sweet and cordial relation when teaching others. As the ideal Guru, and Supreme teacher, Baba always maintained a familial and loving relationship with His disciples, where there was always a perfect symmetry between discipline and humour.

As Ananda Margiis, when guiding others it is our duty to create this same balance. When we teach others we should emulate Baba’s appraoch. We should not be too strict where there is no time for laughter. That will not achieve the desired result. Through the use of humour, talented teachers hold the interest of their students. Laughter helps bring the wandering mind back onto the topic with greater focus.

Those who fail to use any humour in their teaching style are poor teachers. Indeed, we have all seen how some professors remain aloof when they are teaching; that makes for a very poor relationship with students. In contrast, some teachers are too casual and relaxed in their teaching style. That also is not good because when the time comes to impose discipline, they cannot do it.
Between the teacher and student, there should be a proper balance between discipline and humour. That is Baba’s teaching.

Finally, the above story is not an uncommon occasion. In every discourse and darshan, Baba would lovingly create the situation where everyone would laugh and feel joyous. This was part and parcel of His beautiful and effecive teaching style. By this way, all bhaktas kept focused on the topic and enjoyed Baba’s darshan.

BABA’S SPECIAL MANNER

Being a Parama Purusa, Taraka Brahma and Sadguru, Baba was very humorous and loving. Irrespective of anyone’s economic or social standing, all margiis felt close to Him. By this way they came closedevotionally as well. Between God and His devotees there should not be any distance or complex. Every margii felt Baba to be their own, by His grace.

During His each and every discourse, Baba used to create certain situations wherein everyone would laugh.

“Laughter gives happiness.” (Yoga Psychology)

Namaskar,
in Him,
Surya

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Baba Story: When My Wife Became Enemy

To: am-global@earthlink.net
Subject: Baba Story: When My Wife Became Enemy
From: Ananda Mayii
Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2013 22:36:04

Baba

This entire email is composed of 3 parts:
(1) Posting: Baba Story: When My Wife Became Enemy
(2) Trailer Quote: Samaj Is Based on Neo-Humanism – Not Groupism
(3) Prabhat Samgiita: #3982

Each section is demarcated by asterisks (***).

== BABA STORY: WHEN MY WIFE BECAME ENEMY ==

Namaskar,
The year was 1967. While taking initiation, Shrii Somnath Upadhayay gave up his sacred thread and sacred hair that was indicative of his birth into a so-called brahmin family. At the time, Somnathji was working as a bank cashier and leading a relatively normal life.

Seeing this, all his relations were very upset and frustrated with him. They thought he had joined one Muslim sect etc. In particular, his wife was very unhappy with what had transpired. She was not at all pleased by seeing her husband renounce those Hindu rituals, i.e. sacred thread and sacred hair.

Not only that, but so many changes were going on – he had adopted a sentient diet and there were other lifestyle modifications.

HIS WIFE IS MOST UPSET

His wife was sad and became fearful that he would leave the house entirely. She confronted him directly about this and demanded, “Do not do sadhana, you are going to leave me and become a monk. I want that you should go back to your old ways of living.”

She was becoming a big obstacle and creating terrible problems for him.

Somnathji tried to reassure and convince his wife that everything was alright. But to no avail.

When he sat for sadhana, then she would bang a metal plate near his ear by striking the plate with a big metal spoon. Not only that, She did all sorts of harassment to interrupt and stop his sadhana. But Somnathji did not want to leave his sadhana.

That only made his wife more intent on running his meditation practice.

To not rile her and invite her anger, Somnathji began doing his sadhana in his personal room so that his wife would not see him. But that did not stop her. Instead, she would just bang loudly on the door. Plus she would do other things to disturb harass him at the time of sadhana.

Even then it did not end there. Sometimes she would intentionally add too much salt to his food and make life difficult for him in other ways. Somnathji tried various methods to convince his wife – but nothing worked. She remained upset and was crying all day long.

SOMNATHJI APPEALS TO FAMILY ACARYAS FOR HELP

Finally, Somnathji asked local family acaryas to come and speak with her one-on-one. Somnathji wanted them to come and reassure her that everything was alright.

So family acaryas like Ac. Devi Chand Sharma ji, Ac. Kedar Sharma ji, and Ac Ksitij ji each came. They tried hard to convince her and fix this problem. They told her that her husband was involved in dharmic practices and that he will not leave her and become a sannyasi. They patiently explained to her that sadhana is not bad. They tried to reassure her and inspire her in various ways.

But his wife She yelled and screamed at them. She was very frustrated with what they were saying and abused and threatened them: “You are a liar, you took away my husband. He used to eat onion and garlic, but now no more. He left Hinduism and is doing all kinds of things in his room!” Their visits did nothing to diminish her fears. Indeed, she was so feisty and abusive that nobody wanted to go again and try to convince her.

THINGS GET EVEN WORSE

Just when it seemed like it had hit rock bottom – she would do something even more extreme.

Their house was on a road that margiis would travel and she would cry out and say, “You stole my husband and ruined my family.”

Everyone in Ananda Marga was shocked by her dealing and nobody wanted to go and convince her that everything was alright. Upon seeing anyone from Ananda Marga, she would just become more irate and volatile.

The situation become more extreme: She stopped cooking food for herself and her husband. She refrained from eating anything and told him to leave Ananda Marga. Not only that, she stopped breast-feeding their very young infant. The whole situation was becoming worse and still more worse.

Finally, Somnathji thought, “Only You Baba can save this situation. My wife stopped taking food this morning; she is going to become ill and die; and my newly-born child is also not being fed and will surely die. No one around here can help; all attempts have failed. Being the Omniscient Entity, You now all this so I am not going to tell you in person. You know my thoughts. Only You can save the situation. Without that my whole life will be hellish. No acarya can solve this matter. Baba, the situation is so extreme; this is beyond what anyone can do. Only, You can solve this matter.”

BABA ARRIVES IN RANCH TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM

Those were the thoughts of Somnathji one morning, and that very afternoon, Baba made a surprise visit to Ranchi. Upon His arrival at Devi Chand’s house, Baba, the all-knowing Parama Purusa, told that Somnath was facing a big problem that needed to be resolved. Baba furthermore gave Devi Chand the instruction to bring Somnath’s wife to the ashram.

Devi Chand conveyed Baba’s guideline to all concerned family acaryas and margiis etc. They all felt that indeed something should done. All felt an inner duty to follow Guru’s order, but no one wanted to go and face the wrath of Somnath’s wife. That was the predicament. They were all afraid of her abusive manner.

So they collectively discussed what should be done and they decided that they should all go together en mass to visit Somnath’s wife. After the 1 or 2 kilometer journey, they reached her house and found that she was no longer so furious. They invited her to come to the ashram and see Baba. Amazingly, she did not abuse them, rather she contemplated the matter and decided that she would go.

BABA SHOWERS HIS GRACE

She went to the Ranchi jagrti and by Baba’s grace her entire mind-set was transformed. She saw so many people: Females, children etc. She was very happy with their demeanor and dealing, and she asked how she could become a margii. All were astonished to see the change and encouraged her to learn sadhana.

Baba was there conducting Personal Contact (PC) and she was very curious. So she attended general darshan and just by being there in His Presence, all her doubts and concerns melted. She thought how all have come for Baba. She was interested to learn sadhana and ultimately became a very good and active margii.

Over time, she told her story to others and asked new people to keep an open-mind when first coming in contact with Ananda Marga.

THREE TEACHINGS FROM THIS STORY

1. When any devotee is in problem then Guru is also affected. He cannot remain indifferent or apathetic. That is why Baba rushed to Ranchi and asked others to bring Somnath’s wife to the ashram. Baba changed her mind and she became cooperative and turned into a bonafide margii. Baba changed her mind and resolved Somnath’s problem. It is His grace.

2. When new people see many margiis they feel they are part of something big and their concerns and frustrations are eased. They get a psychic boost. That is why it is important to bring new people and even so-so margiis to big programs where they will get inspired and become active.

3. It is the duty and dharma of every Ananda Margii to fight against obstacles. On the path of dharma, there will always be difficulties and hurdles. By overcoming such obstacles, we proceed onwards towards the Goal. Thus, obstacles are helping forces on the spiritual journey. To shirk such obstacles is to lose the path and invite degeneration. To overcome all obstacles establishes the aspirant on the path of sadhana.

Here following are Baba’s teaching related with this topic.

“IF OBSTACLES DO NOT BLOCK YOUR PATH,

IT MEANS YOU ARE ONLY INDULGING IN TALL TALK”

“The psychic inertness which I term dogma will seek to thwart your progress with all its might; this is quite natural. One should not be fearful and stop moving due to this dogma. It should be borne in mind that forward movement always implies facing obstacles created by inertness. It would be unnatural if obstacles did not come. If obstacles do not block your path, it means you are only indulging in tall talk, you are not actually trying to move forward. We often hear people saying, “I just commenced a project and such-and-such person opposed me”. This is quite natural. If you want to do something concrete, inertness in various forms and various ways will stand in your path. You will have to welcome these obstacles with a smile and say, “Hello obstacles, you have come. You do your duty and let me do mine.” In Ananda Sútram it has been said, Bádhá sá yuśamáná shaktih sevyam’ sthápayati lakśye “Obstacles are the helping forces which establish people in their cherished goal.”” (1)

“IGNORANCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL MIND”

“The greatest obstacle to the collective progress of the human race is the ignorance of the individual mind. Knowledge is for all – it should be available to all and free like the light and air.” (2)

“Obstacles in fact are no foes on the path of sádhaná [spiritual practice], but indeed friends. They only do service to a person. It is on account of these obstacles that the battle rages against them, and this counter-effort alone carries the sádhaka [spiritual aspirant] to his or her cherished goal.” (3)

“THEY ARE NOT CONFIDENT OF THEIR ABILITIES”

“The madhyama category of people are those who undertake some work but throw up their hands when any problem crops up. They presume that any obstacle that comes in their way is a Himalayan obstacle, and hence they give up their work. They think they will not be able to tackle the problems they face. They are not confident of their abilities.”
“The uttama category of people are those who take up a task and are determined to fulfil it. They go on struggling against all odds till they achieve their goal. No problem can defy solution. No difficulty can be greater than their capacity to solve it. They go on fighting against all obstacles. They can face any challenge and meet any predicament. They are determined to achieve their objective, come what may.” (4)

“THE NOBLER THE TASK, THE MIGHTIER THE OBSTACLE”

“The entire humanity must be looked upon as one integrated existence – and move collectively towards the all-round perfection of human life. All actions are bound to confront obstacles. It has to be borne in mind that the nobler the task, the mightier the obstacle. For human emancipation, there is no other way but to march ahead crushing the towering peaks of obstacles with a benevolent intellect and collective endeavour.”
‘Hence I reiterate, go ahead with courage and unity. You have to move on ensuring real justice to all individuals and all geographical people.” (5)

“ONLY WAY TO OVERCOME AVIDYÁMÁYÁ”

“Intuitional practice, as taught by a great preceptor, is the healing balm; it is with this that one can drive away Avidyámáyá and gain emancipation. As the influence of Avidyámáyá decreases, the temptations and troubles of the world cease to be an obstacle to intuitional practice. As this is the only way to overcome Avidyámáyá, it can easily be practised within worldly life. Avidyámáyá will disturb a person in the beginning, but once defeated, it will not be able to create any hindrance to the pursuit of intuitional practice.” (6)

“THEY ARE BOUND TO BE DESTROYED”

“Whatever humans do in consonance with the dictates of dharma will ensure their well-being, their victory, their prosperity. And whoever goes against these ingrained human characteristics, against these dharma-orientated characteristics, will be doomed to destruction. For human beings, ideation on Parama Puruśa is a dharmic injunction. By divine decree everyone has the right to live in the world with dignity. If anyone creates any obstacle against this dharma-oriented system, if they oppose it, they are bound to be destroyed.” (7)

Namaskar,
at His lotus feet,
Ananda Mayii

References:
1. A Few Problems Solved – 5, Shrávańii Púrńimá
2. A Few Problems Solved – 1, The Practice of Art and Literature
3. Ananda Sutram, Chapter 3
4. Ananda Vacanamrtam – 1, The Best Category of Persons
5. Ananda Vanii #56
6. Ananda Marga Elementary Philosophy, Why Are People Afraid of Intuitional Practice?
7. Ananda Vacanamrtam – 4, Opposition to Dharma Will Certainly Invite Destruction

The section below demarcated by asterisks is an entirely different topic,
completely unrelated to the above material. It stands on its own as a point of interest.

*************************************
Samaj is Based on Neo-Humanism, not Groupism

“If each samaj [socio-economic unit] is inspired by a comprehensive ideology and a universal outlook, human society will move ahead with accelerating speed towards a sublime ideal.” (Prout in a Nutshell – 13, p. 23)

Note: Nowadays some leaders are singing the song of samaj as they try to forge ahead with their narrow-minded agendas. They justify their groupism by claiming it as a samaj movement. But margiis understand Baba’s teachings and recognise the truth. Our samaj system is based on universal principles not factional allegiances. Thus the groupism carried out by certain, so-called NIA Dadas and the ideal of our samaj movements are worlds apart.
*************************************

******* Here Starts the Prabhat Samgiita *******

“Toma’y khunje khunje priyo, din je ket’e ja’y…” (P.S. 3982)

Purport:

Baba, my most adorable One, with deep longing in search of You my days are passing in vain. In the absence of getting You, my whole life is gradually getting wasted. O’ my Dearmost, where have I not looked for You. I have wandered around and searched in the seven oceans, on the mountain peaks, as well as on the earth, and also in the caves – in every nook and corner of this world, but alas I could not get You.

Baba, day and night, secretly I also searched You in the flower garden and in various holy lands and tiirthas – all done in hopes of getting a glance at You. Baba, I searched everywhere with the hope that one day I will find You. But, in the end, all my efforts were for naught.

Baba, with deep longing in my heart, I have also searched You in the galaxies, meteors, nebulae, and in the stars – all around & everywhere. Also, I searched for You in the dark, black-coloured clouds on the rainy days, in the scorching heat of the summer season, as well as in the shade of the tree in springtime. Baba, I have searched for You with a deep yearning and longing in my heart; I have looked for You everywhere.

Baba, O’ my Dearmost, on one colourful golden dawn saturated in the effulgence & aroma of a newly blossoming flower, You took advent in my heart. Your grand arrival came after a long, deep, dark, & painful night of searching for You. Alas, in the end, You graced me by coming in my mind. Baba, You are so gracious…

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Why Some Marriages Fail in AM

From: Kiran
Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2013 21:53:58
Subject: Why Some Marriages Fail in AM
To: am-global@earthlink.net

Baba

This entire email is composed of 3 parts:
(1) Prabhat Samgiita #2429;
(2) Posting: Why Some Marriages Fail in AM;
(3) Trailer Quote: Structural Defects May Be The Cause
Each section is demarcated by asterisks (*).

**** Here begins the Prabhat Samgiita ****

Note: This Prabhat Samgiita is opening the window for how life society will be after the establishment of neo-humanism.

“Sakal duya’r khule dile prabhu, Va’ta’yan-pathe a’lo elo…” (P.S. 2429)

Purport:

O’ Parama Purusa, O’ Baba, You are so gracious; You have come and opened all the doors and windows, and inundated this world with Your divine effulgence. O’ Baba, You are so gracious; You have taken advent and given the divine teaching of neo-humanism and Your universal philosophy. By this way, You have eradicated all dogma and narrow-mindedness. On the eastern horizon the crimson dawn is visible. The darkness has been dispelled. There is a brilliant new era on the rise. The statictiy of narrow-mindedness and misunderstanding is vanishing, by the propagation of Your neo-humanistic philosophy.

O’ Divine Entity, in the past there was the domination of dogma and groupism all around. Countless superstitions, rituals and dogmas were doing their naked dance. In the past there was a lot of division and narrow-minded people had the upper-hand. Now the era has changed.

Now, with the presence of Your divine effulgence, in the blink of an eye those creatures of darkness along with their dogmas dissolved into thin air. With the arrival of Ananda Marga philosophy and neo-humanism, the demons cannot spread their venom anymore – they have all been destroyed. O’ the Embodiment of effulgence and shelter of all, with Your affection and punishment, scorching heat and cool shade, Your love is vibrant. Irrespective in all these situations – good or bad – tough times or good times – Your grace emanates in various ways. You are always present with Your mood of causeless grace. O’ Parama Purusa, You have only one motive – to help jiivas. In Your divine liila, You create all kinds of events – good and bad – yet everywhere Your well-wishing is present. There is no other motive than the welfare of all. Baba, Your grace is always flowing and showering bliss…

== WHY SOME MARRIAGES FAIL IN AM ==

Namaskar,
Here are more points which I think will be helpful for understanding this entire issue of failed marriages.

BEWARE OF INTEREST GROUPS

1) One should be prudent – even skeptical, about receiving advice from stakeholders – ie sometimes even family margiis also carry a bias. For instance, let’s say that in their unit or bhukti, there is a girl or boy nearing 30 years of age and it is obvious that this person needs to get married soon. Then with the intention of supporting them, such people falsely praise that boy or girl up to the sky in order to attract an interested party. Under the notion of helping to marry that older boy or girl, some such people may say things that are not true. Out of sympathy they may say, “Oh he or she is very good and has always been exemplary in our community.” When in fact that is not at all true. Just they are saying like that in order to get that person married. Actually they want to help but what they are doing is not at all good. Encouraging false perceptions as will lead to a bad marriage – or the marriage may simply implode or break apart.

FINANCE

2) Finances play a big role in any household. So the boy and girl should have in-depth discussions and get to know each other’s lifestyle and views on money. Someone who wishes to live like a king or queen should not marry someone with a sadhu mentality, or vice-versa. There should be clarity on all financial matters including credit, debt, cash allowances etc. The expectations on points of finance should be very clear.

CHILDREN & EDUCATION

3) One of the most defining points of any marriage is child rearing. Ahead of time – before they marry – the boy and girl should discuss how they are going to raise their children. What values will they impose? How far will they goad their child into Ananda Marga way of life? How far will they go to never compromise with dogma? The child must be brought to the path of sadhana at any early age and encouraged in this practice wholeheartedly.

Is one going to let the child play always while the other parent tries to instill a sense of discipline toward spiritual life? Is one going to let the child eat garlic while the other wishes to raise the child on a sentient diet. There are so many points of possible contention.

One must also remember that those children will one day be teenagers. Will you raise a person who will be a slave of pseudo-culture. If so, that teenager may bring meat into your kitchen, alcohol into your study, and harsh, loud music into your sadhana room. If one parent emphasizes spiritual life and the other does not, there are going to be problems – many of them.

So this should be thoroughly discusses beforehand, lest you become a stranger in your own house where your own children have become like non-margiis. In that case, they and your spouse will form a majority vote in your own home. If you do not educate them about our AM way of life from their infancy, this is going to happen.

POINT OF AWARENESS

4) If the groom follows the Indian tradition that females should cook and do all sorts of house chores – if this is his preconceived notion – then it should be be discussed ahead of time.

Here I don’t want to debate the which role is proper or improper for the male and female in a marriage, only this is brought as a point of awareness and that discussion ahead of time is helpful.

Otherwise this might be the cause of a marriage break-up.

NATURE OF TRANSITORY WORLD

5) Here is another critical point that the boy and girl must review. They both must be educated about, as well as discuss, how this world is transitory. The beauty they both possess today will not last forever. At any time, they may lose much of that beauty. One might contract some terrible disease like diabetes or multiple sclerosis, or get involved in a road accident etc. So many things can happen. The boy and girl should be told about how this world is transitory; they must understand the impact of this. If anyone gets married based on external beauty that marriage will fall apart. We have seen this so many times. They should discuss with one another how they will treat and regard each other when they are sick, disabled or helpless. Because, after all, their youthfulness and beauty will not last forever. Hearing and seeing this, do they still want to get married.

ANANDA MARGA IDEOLOGY

6) The teachings of Ananda Marga have to be a central aspect of any margii marriage. Both boy and girl have to be of the mind-set that what Baba says on any given topic is the defining opinion.

It is not enough to renounce one’s caste and get married. Yes, we have to overcome all caste sentiments etc, but our Ananda Marga ideology encompasses all realms of existence.

Both have to be ready to follow Baba in each and every aspect of life. So when there is any disagreement between the husband and spouse, then the answer must be found in Baba’s guideline. And that must be accepted by both as final. This must be discussed ahead of time.

OATH

7) The boy and the girl should be ready to strictly follow the oath of our Ananda Marga marriage: To live like Shiva and Parvatii. This should be formally written down and both the boy and girl should be educated as to what that means and then sign that piece of paper as a veritable contract. This contract must be binding on each and every Ananda Marga marriage. One must be extremely careful and aware if their spouse will Ananda Marga way of life or not.

DO NOT RELY ON WTS FOR MATCH-MAKING

8) It is important to remember that Dadas must NOT act as a mediator for any Ananda Marga marriage. Invariably, Dadas will give preference to the family giving them more money. So if the boy is not interested in AM and drowned in pseudo-culture, that Dada will paint a false picture and say how the boy is spirited and meticulous in 16 pts. This may not happen every time – but certainly there is scope for such issues. It has happened in the past and must be avoided in the future. And the best way to avoid this in the future is not to involve Dadas.

Besides it is not good for our wholetimers to act as matchmakers. In that process some accidentally get themselves matched up and they leave their Wt ship. This also has happened.

Thus for everyone’s well being, no Wt should be actively involved in match-making. Rather Wts should refrain from match-making entirely. That is Baba’s rule.

TREMENDOUS BENEFIT

By making all of the above perfectly clear between the boy and girl before marriage, then so many misnomers, false perceptions, and bogus expectations will be washed away. The mind will be clear and pointed and one can truly decide whether to marry that person or not. Or should they marry someone else. This will have tremendous benefit in both the personal lives of those who wed as well as in the greater society. People will be successful and productive in their marriages and society will not be plagued by mis-matched marriages and divorce. Mis-matched marriages are commonly looked upon as normal to others, but those involved in that marriage suffer internally and feel like an alien in their own house. Children will not be left shelterless but rather empowered by having dedicated parents who live by a spiritual ideal. Then society can truly be done in the real spirit of the term.

POSITIVE OUTCOME

Some may complain that after reading this now no one will want to get married. They will argue that there are to many stipulations and it is an impossible endeavor. But theirs is not a well-reasoned approach.

We have to remember that when drugs were initially given as medicine then the side effects were never listed and patients were getting harmed. Finally the government intervened and demanded that all medical side effects must be stated. After this judgment, some were concerned that no one will take those medicines if companies are forced to list the side effects. Yet here we are years and decades later, and people still take those medicines and they are aware about the side effects so they can protect themselves. The end result is positive.

Similarly, if people are aware ahead of time about the difficulties of married life, they will be better off. Then they can properly prepare for getting married and select the right spouse and create an ideal family.

Finally, the main idea is that the entire institution of marriage cannot be stopped. It has been going on for thousands of years. It satisfies a basic human need. Thus listing the pitfalls of marriage is not going to deter anyone from getting married. Only it will fortify them with the requisite knowledge to make an educated decision.

NEGATIVE INFLUENCE

After all, we are living in a materialistic society, so what is going on all around affects us. Not only that, we live in world that is dominated by gross materialism where “love” marriages are the norm. Two people get attracted – give in to sensual desires – and then divorce when any problem comes or difficulty arises. Or they leave one another when their become infatuated with someone else.

We must not allow this disease to affect our Ananda Marga way of life. Rather we are to positively affect the greater society.

RESULT OF MIS-MATCHED MARRIAGE

Here Baba graphically points out the fate of those who suffer from mismatched marriages.

Baba says, “The spouse of a certain gentleman that I knew was quite ill-mannered. One winter evening I saw this gentleman sitting quietly at the foot of a tree. I asked him: “Why are you sitting under this tree on a winter evening? You’ll freeze.” He replied: “You know, my young friend, if I go in the house I’ll hear only khankhan jhanhan [unpleasant and disturbing sounds]. It’s a lot more peaceful out here.” (1)

VIVAHA

Baba has graciously given the perfect system for building a great human society. Marriage is one of the key elements. Every marriage within the Marga should be done only after thoughtful consideration. All should be very aware of what marriage means and they should know who they are marrying.

Baba says, “[Shiva] declared that women must be kalatra, which means that women must discharge their obligations to their husbands and their children in such a way that the latter will not have the least difficulty. Those who accepted this new arrangement were declared married…The Sanskrit equivalent for marriage is viváha (vi – vaha + ghaiṋ): it means, after the ceremony, the man and women can no longer live as libertines or as irresponsible so-called family people. They have to discharge their full obligations as bharttá and kalatra, responsible husband and responsible spouse…The liberal meaning of the term viváha is “live one’s life in a new way with a special type of responsibility.” This is the underlying significance of the Shaeva system of marriage.” (2)

Namaskar,
In Him,
Kiran

REFERENCES:
1. Varna Vijiana, Disc: 19
2. Namah Shivaya Shantaya, Disc: 9. Shivokti 3

Note LINK TO SIMILAR TOPIC:

Here is a link to an earlier letter on this issue

http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2013/02/story-of-broken-marriage-infighting.html

The section below demarcated by asterisks is an entirely different topic,
completely unrelated to the above letter. It stands on its own as a point of interest.
**************************************
Structural Defects May Be The Cause

There are all kinds of reasons why people may succumb to dogma. It may happen due to self-interest, cowardly nature, political gain etc. And here Baba points out how it may be due to defects in their physical structure. That may be why they cannot follow Baba.

Baba says, “If there is under-secretion of the hormones of the testes glands, a youth will develop less kindness, and less hair will grow in the armpits and pubic region. If you see a man with these physical characteristics, then and there you can come to a conclusion about the extent of his kindness. Moreover, such a person will most likely support dogma. He will not have the moral strength to protest against dogma (including scriptural dogma), and he will not support a new idea.” (Yoga Psychology)
**************************************

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Story Of Broken Marriage, Infighting, & Kicking Each Other

From: Vikram
Subject: Story Of Broken Marriage, Infighting, & Kicking Each Other
Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2013 20:23:58
To: am-global@earthlink.net

Baba

This entire email is composed of 3 parts:
(1) Prabhat Samgiita #2180;
(2) Posting: Story Of Broken Marriage, Infighting, & Kicking Each Other;
(3) Trailer Quote: In Ananda Marga Guru Puja is one Lesson
Each section is demarcated by asterisks (*).

**** Here begins the Prabhat Samgiita ****
Baba

“Tava path dhare, tava na’m kare, toma’r pa’nei cale tha’ki…” (P.S. 2180)

Purport:

O’ Parama Purusa, by Your grace I am treading on Your path – singing Your name and moving towards You. You are my Desideratum. O’ my Dearmost, I am moving closer and closer towards You – to reach You. Baba, except You, in this universe who else is mine – no one. For this reason, I am always calling Your name in my dhyana sadhana, seeking Your shelter.

O’ Lord, in this beautified universe of Yours, You have provided me a special place according to Your liking and plan. You have graciously bestowed everything upon me; You have given me everything; and, You did not desire anything from me in return. O’ my Lord, You go on pouring Your divine grace eternally. But I alone indulged in procrastination. All demerits such as lethargy come from my side. I created all kinds of lame excuses as justification. Baba, all the lacuna belong to me; whereas, You Yourself are ever-gracious.

O’ Divine Entity, in the lonely corner of Your vast Cosmic Mind, my unit mind resides. From that corner, my mind vibrates. From those vibrations, in sweet resonance, the lotus of love opens its eyes with devotion and love. That lotus has blossomed in my heart and is looking towards You with deep yearning.

Baba, singing Your Name, I am moving on Your path. For me, Your grace is everything…

== STORY OF BROKEN MARRIAGE, INFIGHTING, & KICKING EACH OTHER ==

Namaskar,
Recently, on one rainy dark lunar midnight, a dear friend of mine came to my house in that pitch darkness and knocked on the door. I was surprised he had come but after hearing his voice I brought him inside.

He was visibly shaken – nervous, upset, and worried. We talked at length. I found out that his spouse had beat him. She returned from a friend’s wedding reception where she ate some tamasik food. It was quite apparent as onion small was emanating from her mouth. The husband objected. Then they started quarreling. Ultimately he overreacted and verbally accosted her. In his fury he called her nasty names. In turn, she hit him & beat him. He ran away to save his own life. Don’t be surprised. But she was a certified karate teacher.

For reasons of privacy we shall refer to the husband as Prakash and the spouse as Renu.

Prakash and I talked for hours that night. I calmed him down. Though I was shocked & surprised to hear since the inception of their marriage they have been quarreling on multiple issues.

This was very astonishing to me because I always thought of theirs as an ideal marriage. I did not realise what was going on behind the scenes. All along I had been telling everyone that their marriage was successful. But now look what happened.

Just to give you a little background, Prakash and Renu were married at DMS – it happened quickly and was nearly forced on them. I also found out that Renu’s father gave Dadas a “contribution” of RS 50,000 to arrange the marriage and perform the ceremony. In this way Prakash was bound. In addition, those Dadas praised Renu. But although her parents are good margiis it became clear that Renu herself wanted nothing to do with Ananda Marga.

Before this, it was known that she would eat tamasik food: onion, garlic, meat & eggs when she was with her friends in town. She would eat those things outside the house – never bringing it into her own kitchen.

Anyway, that night when Prakash reached to my house, I clearly understood that they were living in hell. Externally it looked exemplary – but the reality was something quite different.

By this whole story my mind was blown away.

I tried to communicate with other margiis – near and far – about such matters and found that similar things were going on in many cases, but not most. I synthesized all the info and present these points to you to help ensure that such episodes do not happen again & again. Before the boy and girl even marry, something needs to be done to ensure that a mismatched marriage is averted in the future.

OVERVIEW

Marriage is such an important aspect of our Ananda Marga way of life. Family life plays a critical role on many societal levels so it is important that our Ananda Marga marriages be healthy, vibrant and strong.

However, in our Marga cases do arise where the marriage does not go well. In the case of Prakash and Renu – although they belonged to margiis families and their parents were strong margiis – but as a married couple they did not match. They had different life goals. If they knew this ahead of time they would not have married one another. They married because their parents were margiis, not because they had a shared life vision. They hardly knew each other and Dadas and others were just painting a rosy picture by talking only positives. No one talked about the negative side. If they had known more about each other they would not have married.

This letter contains key guidelines and recommendations for ensuring two people in Ananda Marga have the best opportunity for a proper marriage. Everyone, especially parents and those seeking to get married, should be aware of these following points.

ANANDA MARGA:

MARRIAGE IS FOR SOCIETY BUILDING

As we all know – first and foremost – our Ananda Marga marriage system is purely for society building. Ananda Marga marriages are for creating a healthy, safe, and inspired environment for raising children in a conscientious manner. The married couple should be confident and ready to contribute to the all around growth of society: individually & collectively, locally & globally etc. Marriage in Ananda Marga means commitment to one another and strict adherence to AM ideals. It is a unique system; this type of universal outlook is not formed in any other marriage system. They must build a proper unit family and embrace the greater universal family. This is our ideal.

It is in no way related with Hindu ritualistic marriages, western materialistic marriages, or any other “marriage system” from around the world. Nor do we follow or appreciate the new western model of “co-habitating” without marriage and living as a libertine. In all such cases, marriages are either based on external beauty, infatuation, money, post or social status, local or religious dogmas. These are the main allurements and aims most of the time.

POINTS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW

The following are points all should be aware of when considering marriage – either their own marriage, or a marriage of a family member or friend.

LIFELONG COMMITMENT

1. Those getting married must firmly know in their mind that an Ananda Marga marriage is a lifelong commitment to one another for society building. The main idea is for both to take care of their progeny and make their children into bonafide members of society. There is no other outlook than this.

THE BOY AND GIRL MUST TALK AT LENGTH

2. The two young people – the future husband and spouse – must get ample scope to talk beforehand. They must get the opportunity to get to know one another and decide for themselves if this is a good match. Here it should be clarified that “getting to know one another” does not mean dating or being boyfriend and girlfriend. The boy and girl can get to know one another in a neutral setting. We can all think and decide what that setting should be. It should be supervised, safe, yet private enough that they can talk freely.

a) They should talk about their goals and aims of life. They should frankly discuss what they want. It is not that the parents should decide if this is a good match. They should critically evaluate if they share a similar outlook.

b) The boy and girl should discuss things as basic as: Who will hold an outside job? Who will cook? Who will raise the children? Where will we live? All these basic existential points should be discussed as far as possible. Nothing should be left to assumption; one must not rely on preconceived notions. They both should openly and clearly review and compare their vision for how their life will progress.

Unfortunately, all too often these things are not discussed; and, in result, there is much confusion and disappointment after marrying. What happens next is separation, marriage breaking or even divorce.

CASE STUDY:

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN…

Last year, two people married with the false expectation that the other would do all the cooking and cleaning, etc. Both the husband and spouse worked outside the home and neither wanted to attend to any domestic duties. Hence their marriage became a mess because they had the wrong impression from the outset. Today, both of their families are involved daylong in settling their marital disputes.

This is what happens when such matters are not discussed ahead of time.

THE BOY AND GIRL MUST TALK AT LENGTH (Cont)

c) The boy and girl should also talk about their likes and dislikes. Firstly, they should talk about their role in Ananda Marga and their devotional link with Guru. If one is very involved in Ananda Marga and is attracted to sadhana and the other is from a margii family but has zero interest in Ananda Marga, then that marriage is not going to work. So the boy and girl must sincerely talk about their social and spiritual commitment to Ananda Marga ideals and Baba.

I know one margii family where the husband is somewhat dogmatic but the spouse wishes to sincerely practice Ananda Marga teachings. The husband attends Ananda Marga programs as well as other dogmatic religious gatherings and he tries to force his spouse to come to those as well. But she does not like to attend local religious events. This has become a source of tension and strife.

There are some margii marriages where the husband is very sincere in 16 Pts and other do’s and don’ts, but the spouse has other interests and ways of living. So she raised the children in her own way, different from Ananda Marga. In result, the husband has become a stranger in his own house. Sometimes he wishes to sing kiirtan out loud, but with fear he does not do. He wants a home based on Ananda Marga socio-cum-spiritual ideals, but something else is going on. If any margii visits, then the spouse is not at all happy.

d) Next the young man and young lady should talk about their own personal likes and dislikes related with everyday life – everything: music, sports, literature, food, movies, friendships, cars, exercise, reading, college or university studies, habits etc. They should get a full picture of one another.

e) As far as possible, the boy and girl should get a clear cut vision of each other’s mental outlook. Without that, they definitely should not marry.

Namaskar,
in Him,
Vikram

The section below demarcated by asterisks is an entirely different topic,
completely unrelated to the above letter. It stands on its own as a point of interest.
*******************************
In Ananda Marga Guru Puja is one Lesson

“Question: What is pratyáhára?”

“Answer: Pratyáhára is derived: prati – á – hr + ghaiṋ. The word áhára literally means “assimilating” or “taking something within”. As a yogic practice, pratyáhára means “withdrawal of the mind from external objectivity and goading the withdrawn mind toward Parama Puruśa”. (Yoga Psychology, Questions and Answers on Meditation)

“You must bring about a revolutionary change in the flow of your judgment and thought, and see how, after overcoming your fascination with external colour, your mind becomes tinged with the His glorious colour. In Ananda Marga Sadhana, the method of withdrawing the mind from degrading tendencies, and absorbing oneself in the colour of the Great, is called Pratyáhára Yoga (the yoga of withdrawal) or Varńárghyadána (the offering of colours). All people have a particular attraction for one or another object or activity and as soon as they become attracted to an object, then their minds become coloured with the colour of that object. You can withdraw your mind from the colour of that object and dye yourself in His colour by offering Him the captivating colour of the object that has attracted you: this is the real Pratyáhára Yoga. The word Pratyáhára means “to withdraw” – to withdraw the mind from its object.” (Subhasita Samgraha – 3, Vibration, Form and Colour)

Note: In Astaunga Yoga, there are 8 limbs – one of which is pratyahara. We practice that as Guru puja as part of our regular sadhana routine. Guru puja is very important. After sadhana, one should always do Guru puja, and Guru puja can also be done on its own. After all, it is a lesson. By this way, one’s attachment for mundane things slowly fades away. It is a perfect science. If, after practicing Guru puja, one is unable to get rid of their worldly attachments and / or a particular mental weakness, then best is to consult an acarya. In Senior Acarya Diary, Baba has given a detailed science and method for practicing Guru puja. One should learn how to do this from any acarya, one on one.
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Donkey Birthday

To: AM-GLOBAL
Subject: Donkey Birthday
From: Nityanirainjan@4sign…
Date: Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:04:37

Baba

“A’loker path cha’r’ibo na’…A’mi nijere praca’r koribo na’…” (P.S. 337)

Purport:

Baba, by Your grace I will not leave the path of Ananda Marga ideology, the path of effulgence. I will never leave the path which You showed me. By Your grace, I will mold myself according to Your desire. With Your guidance, I will make my mind straight, focusing on You & propagating Your glory. I will never glorify my own existence. I will never propagate about my own personality. I will never praise myself in front of anyone. I will never propagate myself. O’ my Lord, You have taught me to propagate Your glory. I will propagate the glory of Parama Purusa – not anyone else. So I will never propagate my own self…

== DONKEY BIRTHDAY ==

Namaskar,
On and off we hear how some fallen avadhuta has come off the true path. In result, they engage in bizarre behaviour. Here are a few examples of what some have done.

We should ensure other workers do not indulge in a similar manner. If you know of more cases, please let us know. The aim here is to enhance the standard of our Wt cadre – not anything else.

INITIATION MEANS REBIRTH

Baba’s teaching that during initiation one gets re-birth. So in this situation, we should all consider & rethink the notion of celebrating one’s physical birth.

“With an initiated person the first birth was the physical birth and the second birth was the spiritual birth, during initiation. Such a person is divya, born twice: First, you are simply born as an animal being. But this second time, as a human being. So unless and until one is initiated one is not, one cannot be, treated as a human being.” (1)

Thus the physical birth does hold much value in the life of a spiritual aspirant. When they get initiated onto the path of dharma sadhana, that is their real birth – i.e. when the person gets initiated and takes shelter at Rev. Baba’s feet.

PART LIFE VS FULL LIFE

Regarding birthdays, it also has to be mentioned that our present life is nothing but a part life. It is not a full life. Our life began when our consciousness first emanated from the Cosmic Hub. Since that time we have undergone incarnation after incarnation.

Baba says, “After millions of animal lives, a created being attains the human form…” (2)

Baba says, “In Sanskrit, dvi means “two” and ja means “born”, so dvija means “twice born”…the first birth was the physical birth, and the second birth was the spiritual birth, during initiation.” (3)

Thus, one should not think that when the spermatozoa fertilised the egg and led to this particular birth, then that is one grand birthday event.

Our life is spiritual oriented, not goaded toward the mundane.

Thus, every sadhaka in the Marga should think twice about how far they should celebrate their “birthday”. For workers, there is no question of celebrating as they have given up everything of their unit existence for Baba. At each and every juncture or stage of an avadhuta’s development and training they are given a new name because each stage itself represents a new birth– a new beginning, all the while leaving behind their old life. In which case, where is the scope for an avadhuta to celebrate his own worldly birthday.

Indeed, all sadhakas in the Marga should take a moment and consider the points in this letter and see if really they feel it appropriate and beneficial to celebrate their own birthday.

SOME NAIVE PEOPLE MAY RAISE THIS QUESTION

Some naive persons may raise the question that when Baba has given the birthday celebration chapter in Caryacarya, then what is wrong if our avadhutas celebrate their birthday? The answer is quite clear. In Caryacarya, Baba also explains what type of meat a person should eat if they cannot resist eating meat. But that does not mean sincere sadhakas and avadhutas should also eat meat or that we should appreciate meat eating.

Remember, Caryacayra is our smrti shastra – our social code – which is not eternal. It depends upon time, space, and person. All kinds of people are coming into Ananda Marga. For some, Baba has given such rules for periods of transition onto the path of dharma.

Everyone knows that in Ananda Marga there are three types of sadhakas: pashvacariis, viiracariis, and divyacariis. Pashvacariis are half-margiis; viiracariis are mediocre sadhakas, and those who are very strict and do not compromise on points of dharma are divyacariis. There will always be a mixture of all three grades of sadhakas. Always, new people are coming into human life and they will enter onto the path of pashvacara. After many lives and with God’s grace they will one day become viiracariis.

This point of eating meat in Caryacarya is for pashvaraiis. They compromise on various aspects of 16 points, but they are also margiis. They live amongst us – we all know this and recognize who is who. A person may not openly declare, “I am a pashvcarii; I am a half-margii”, but everyone knows.

When such pashvacariis become strong, established margiis, their manner will be different. Then they will not do such things like eating meat and celebrating their birthday.

Just as meat-eating is a hindrance to those on that path of sadhana. Similarly, indulging in self-glorification – such as celebrating one’s birthday – is not conducive to one’s spiritual growth and development. Rather it is antithetical. Our spiritual philosophy condemns all forms of self-glorification.

BIRTHDAY IS WORSE THAN SELF-PRAISE

As we all know, Baba warns us to steer away from things like self-publicity & self-praise. Thus, when the chief result of indulging in one’s own birthday party is drawing attention to oneself, then no avadhuta should indulge in such acts.

Baba says, “Why on earth should he indulge in self-publicity? To whom will he publicize himself? Such acts are the antics of common, avaricious people with beggar-like mentality.” (4)

And to go one step further, in the case of one’s own birthday party, that is not only praising oneself but even worse – celebrating and overtly highlighting one’s unit cause.

Overall, it is just like how stealing itself is bad yet the annual celebration of a notorious stealing program is far worse.

BABA’S ORDER:

MUST NOT GLORIFY ONESELF

Here Baba is clearly warning that human beings, let alone our avadhutas and acaryas, must not be involved in self-glorification by holding birthday parties and singing songs of their own greatness. One must not do such things.

Ananda Marga philosophy says, “Kiirtana should be done on Hari and on no other entity. One should not praise oneself or any other person. There are many people who are very fond of praising themselves by telling everyone what wonderful things they have done, but, as mentioned in this sloka, kiirtana is not for one’s own self but for Hari. Even though people are taught to do kiirtana for Hari, they still make the mistake of praising themselves too much. Sometimes their self-praise is so intense that others are obliged to say, “Please stop praising yourself so much.” They forget that their self-applause is rather boring for others. Human beings should realize that no one likes to hear the self-praise of others.” (5)

Even though a few degraded workers may enjoy the display of their own petty glory, such ostentatious displays are not received well in the society. This will tarnish the image of all workers who have come on this earth to selflessly serve others, not glorify themselves.

Here Baba gives the formula for how to become great.

“It is action that makes a person great. Be great by your sa’dhana’, by your service, by your sacrifice.” (6)

SPRIIT OF AVADHUTA

The spirit of being Avadhuta is to dedicate everything to Marga Gurudev. By getting Avadhuta diiksa and by getting their new avadhuta name, they they no longer have anything of their own. In that blessed state, everything belongs to Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji. And Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji is their mother father, & everything. That is the oath they have taken.

They surrender their all – their entire I-feeling – at His lotus feet. Their name has changed; their address has changed; their identity has changed. They have no past connection with their worldly life, nor their worldly birth. Avadhutas give everything to Parama Purusa – they have nothing left to call their own.

That is why in the conduct rules of Avadhuta, there is no such thing as the observance of one’s own birthday or any form of celebration or glorification of one’s own unit existence. Rather the avadhuta’s goal of life and the be-all end-all of their existence is to glorify Baba’s image. They are to be established solely in Marga’s Guru’s glory.

“Avadhuta shall always keep himself engaged in the service of Gurudeva with sincerity and devotion, in thought, words and deed, in subtle and in crude spheres, in inner and outer expressions of life.” (7)

In that case, there is not an iota of scope to celebrate one’s own unit birthday. Our wholetimers are to think about Him and focus on the Goal.

Tadekam’ smara’mah…Tadekam’ nidha’nam’

“That Cosmic Entity alone should be created in your mind and no other object…He is the terminating point. He is the Supreme Desideratum.” (8)

WHY ONE SHOULD NOT CELEBRATE THEIR BIRTHDAY

Why should anyone practice or propagate their own birthday? We are raising the slogan Parama Pita Baba Ki Jai! His victory, His glory, that is why the real devotee has only one birthday to celebrate. That is Ananda Purnima – Baba’s birthday. But those who do not have that type of devotion, with faltering steps they may go away from the ideological path.

You may have also noticed that the birthdays of acaryas and avadhutas were never published in different magazines prior to 1990. And now also, we do not recogise the birthdays of acaryas and avadhutas via different media like e-mail or organisational news publications etc.

Thus, the birthdays of our wholetime workers are not to be celebrated nor even mentioned publicly. Even in their individual life, a Wt should not think, “Today is my worldly birthday.” There is no scope for that in our Ananda Marga Wt cadre.

MARRIAGE IS NOT FOR WTS

In Caryacarya, Baba has given all kinds of ceremonies – marriage etc – for the general society, including birthday celebrations. But no avadhuta or WT should blindly think that therefore that birthday celebration is for them anymore than they should think that the marriage ceremony is for them. Those types of things in Caryacarya are for others, not our wholetimer acaryas.

JUST DONKEY’S BIRTHDAY

In Ananda Marga, if anything is done for superficial show or in an insincere manner then that is not at all acceptable. For instance, if someone serves you food only to show how great they are then Baba terms that food as: Donkey Food.

“If food is not offered with that heart-felt feeling then that food is donkey food, gardabha’nna. So one must not eat that food.” (9)

Similarly sadhana done with the primary motive of showing one’s greatness instead of pleasing Parama Purusa is donkey sadhana. And if kiirtan is sung with the primary motive as a display of one’s musical talent and instead of to spread the glory of the Lord, then that is donkey kiirtan.

Likewise, when any Wt or avadhuta celebrated their own birthday in their honour instead of spreading the glory of Parama Puruas, then their celebration is a donkey birthday.

Namaskar,
In Him,
Nityanirainjan Deva

Note 1: SOME FAKE AVADHUTAS INVOLVED IN BIRTHDAY ANTICS

About any such cases where Wts go against their own code of conduct – by celebrating their worldly birthday etc – Baba has given the following teaching:

“Mana na’ ra’inga’ile ra’inga’ile yogi ka’par’a.

Saffron and red do not a yogiis make
With mind undyed he remains a fake.”

“Dye your mind with His colour. Those who have not done so cannot attain Him, for this very coloration is Prema or Divine Love… No external sign of Sa’dhuta’ or virtue is necessary. Become sa’dhu within. Behind the external show of virtuousness of many so-called sa’dhus exists a pharisaic state of mind. Preserve the true dignity of the word, Sa’dhu.”

“Mu’d’ha mu’ra’ye jata’ v’ar’aye….

With shaven head or matted locks
And ashen body a Sadhu walks
With the swaggering gait of a well-fed buffalo.
And crude mind filled with thoughts mean and low.”

“That is why I say that you must bring about a revolutionary change in the flow of your judgment and thought, and see how, after overcoming your fascination with external colour, your mind becomes tinged with the His glorious colour.” (10)

(A) Some time back in Jharsguda (Orissa, India), there was a big birthday party event held in honour of of so-called Dada Priyakrsnananda.

For those not aware, Dada Priyakrsnananda has years and years of experience in Ananda Marga and even in his early years in the Marga he was a Central Worker who lived close to Baba. But unfortunately, those years he was like a rock in a river. Just as the water never touches the inside of the rock despite the rock being immersed in the water, similarly Priyakrsnananda Dada was living in Centre surrounded by Baba’s physical presence for many years, but internally he could not get drenched. That is why he is like a rock in the river – or what we can say.

Perhaps most surprising is that there were many, many so-called senior workers on hand for this birthday gala event and in one big round, they all sang Prabhat Samgiita #135, “Janma dine…”, in order to celebrate Priyakrsnananda’s birthday.

This type of dogmatic occasion is 100% against the ethics of our Ananda Marga and it sets a very negative example.

(B) Not surprisingly then, more recently in SUVA sector, the very so-called senior Dada Paramatmananda and so-called Didi Ananda Shamiita organised two birthday parties. And once again, they both insisted that PS #135, “Janma dine…”, be sung. Thus with printed song sheets etc that Dada and Didi made sure that the birthday event was celebrated with Prabhat Samgiita.

Our so-called senior most workers do not understand the basic principles about Ananda Marga and Prabhat Samgiita. They have forgotten Guru’s teachings and guidelines.

(C) Some years ago at New York sector’s Boston Regional retreat, Ac. Rainjitananda Avt celebrated his own birthday with full gusto and glory. In grand fashion, everyone present at the retreat sang a hearty round of the traditional American “Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You” song in so-called Dadaji’s honor. And during the singing one sumptuous cake was brought out and served to so-called Dadaji. And like that the whole affair took on the flavor of one mundane Americana birthday party whereby non-margiis make a wish for mundane objects as they blow out the candles on the birthday cake and receive presents from one and all etc. So like that Rainjitanandji’s celebratory occasion and birthday party was carried out whereby Dada accepted the card and cake and all arrangements in his own honour. Because at that moment so-called Dadaji’s birthday was the showcase event going on at the retreat.

Note 2: MORE ABOUT DONKEY SADHANA, DONKEY KIIRTAN, AND DONKEY FOOD

For more about Baba’s teachings in this regard:

http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2012/12/donkey-food-donkey-sadhana-donkey.html

REFERENCES:
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam – 30, Twice Born
2. Ananda Va’nii #33
3. Ananda Vacnamrtam – 30
4. Subhasita Samgraha – 2, p. 49
5. Ananda Vacanamrtam – 8
6. Ananda Vanii #20
7. Rule no. 28 of 32 Rules for Avadhutas
8. Ananda Vacanamrtam – 2
9. Summary of Shabda Cayanika – 20, p.163-64 [Bangla]
10. Subhasita Samgraha part 3

The section below demarcated by asterisks is an entirely different topic,
completely unrelated to the above letter. It stands on its own as a point of interest.

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Why Some Like To Sacrifice For Others And Some Do Not

Baba says, “People recollect the tasty dishes they once relished and derive pleasure from that. Other people delight in feeding others. They offer rasagollás or sweets, and at the time of giving, imagine that their guest is enjoying the same delightful taste, the same sweet vibration from the rasagollás which they once relished when they ate them. A host feels mental satisfaction by imagining that the guest’s mind is full of those pleasing vibrations. The host wants the guest to enjoy more and more of those delightful vibrations, and therefore asks the guest to accept the offer of more rasagollás. So, one enjoys pleasure in two ways: first, by eating the delicious things; and secondly, by recollecting the pleasing vibrations enjoyed in the past while eating those very same delicacies. The human mind has two contradictory inherent tendencies: one of acquisition, the other of sacrifice. The more one advances along the path of evolution, the more the tendency, the spirit of sacrifice, becomes prominent.” (Yoga Psychology, ‘Faculty of Knowledge-2’)

Note: In His above teaching Baba is illustrating two opposition psychologies:
(A) The science behind why people feel mental satisfaction by feeding delicious food to others.
(B) The mentality of those who themselves eat delicious food yet do not desire to feed others.

In the first scenario, people get derive great happiness from feeding others a tasty meal. But how exactly does this work? What is happening in the mind. Well, suppose one day Govinda ate a sumptuous meal which he enjoyed very much. Then a week or a month letter, Govinda prepares and serves that same type of food to his friend Tanmay. The meal is delicious and Tanmay enjoys every morsel. But that is not all. Govinda himself derives great mental pleasure in feeding Tanmay, even though he (Govinda) is not eating. How does this happen? In his own mind, Govinda recollects how much he enjoyed that meal and he thinks that just as he enjoyed it, similarly Tanmay is also enjoying that meal. This creates a sympathetic vibration in Govinda’s mind he feels great psychic fulfillment. So Govinda’s is taking delight in sacrificing and serving Tanmaya.

In contrast, a third person, Liilamaya, cooks food for himself and eats it all himself. And he becomes happy thinking how much he enjoyed the food. In this case, Liilamaya is deriving enjoyment from directly eating that food; he does not want to share it with others. There is no spirit of sacrifice, rather he delights in acquiring that food and filling his own belly.

Both scenarios start from the same point – both enjoy their food; but then, due to proper and or a lack of proper sadhana, things go in 2 contradictory directions. One sadhaka derives happiness by sacrificing, while the other becomes happy by direct acquisition.

These are two radically different psychologies. They are not related solely with food but with all kinds of indulgences and offerings. Some gain pleasure from acquiring something directly, and some become happy by sacrificing and watching others enjoy.

Finally Baba explains that the path of sacrifice is the higher path and as people develop, the more they will adhere to the path of sacrifice.
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Marriage Crisis: West Moving Fast to Matriarchal & Libertine Society

Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2012 20:26:55 -0400
To: am-global@earthlink.net
From: Miguel
Subject: Marriage Crisis: West Moving Fast to Matriarchal & Libertine Society

Baba

MARRIAGE CRISIS:

WEST MOVING FAST TO MATRIARCHAL & LIBERTINE SOCIETY

Namaskar,
These days the trend of living in the west is moving towards the matriarchal system. Due to the libertine way of living, women alone raise most of the children & more and more kids are using their mother’s family name, as they do not know who their father is.

There is a crisis going on – and it is only worsening as the libertine ways of capitalist materialism leap frog from one place to the next. And no longer is this issue related only to the west. It is spreading – fast.

Now is the time we need to implement Baba’s teachings and ideals. Otherwise society will continue to suffer terribly.

Now is the time we should implement an arranged marriage system – per our Ananda Marga ideals. Hearing this, many of you may be thinking, “Arranged marriages!! That will bring us back to the stone age!” When in fact, the opposite is true. If we fail to provide structured support to women in the marriage process, society will continue to tailspin into that era of old – the libertine system that was in vogue prior to Lord Shiva.

WHY DOES ANANDA MARGA SUPPORT ARRANGED MARRIAGES

AND HOW IS SOCIETY BENEFITED

In Ananda Marga, Baba guides us that we are to maintain the dignity of women. Helping women arrange a marriage will create a stable and dependable future for them – and their offspring. It is a win-win situation. Plus it helps protect men as well as it saves the from degeneration.

Here arranged marriage does not mean that the bride-to-be cannot select their spouse. It does not refer to those archaic weddings of rural India where the bride and groom would not even recognise each other if they saw one another on the way to the wedding. Rather, it refers to a rational approach where both have met and spoken with one another. Furthermore, it is a pathway toward marriage where those watching for the welfare of the girl – her guardians and parents – should help in the process of meeting a suitable spouse. In due course, naturally the boy and girl (or young man and young woman) will meet and talk to see if they feel comfortable with one another. And ultimately, the prospective bride and groom will have the final say. The arranging of the marriage means that the girl need not be on her own to find a spouse.

GIRLS: EMOTIONAL SCARRING & PSYCHOLOGICAL PAIN

Unfortunately, that is what happens now in western, materialistic societies. The girl searches alone for a spouse. And in that process, women repeatedly give in to the sensual desires of men, and most often end up pregnant, and not married. Or they end up in one relationship after another – hoping to find marriage – yet watching the man walk away each time. That leaves the female with emotional scarring and psychological pain. The counseling centers in the west are filled with such victims.

The answer then is to create a system where the well-wishers of the girl and boy gather and talk. It is a collective process where society takes responsibility for the safety, comfort, dignity, and happiness of the girl – and boy. By this way, the bride-to-be need not allow her body to be exploited by libertine males. By this way, there will be no child out of wedlock – lacking a father. By this way the physical, emotional, psychic, and spiritual needs and safety of the girl and her offspring are at the forefront.

Perhaps in another letter, someone can offer more details about how to best implement and oversee an arranged marriage system. Because without it, the way things are going now, it is only from bad to worse.

If you have any doubts at all, please read the following. Then you will see how the present-day libertine approach is sending society back to the stone ages.

STATISTICS OF THIS PRESENT ERA

First, here are some statistics for your review:

– Approximately 84% of custodial parents are mothers;

– 45% of the women are currently divorced or separated;

– 34.2% of the women have never been married;

– Unmarried mothers gave birth to 4 out of every 10 babies born in the United States in 2007, a share that is increasing rapidly both here and abroad;

– 11,000 babies are born daily in the US; at minimum, 4,500 babies are born out of wedlock – without a father. This trend is on the rise.

The situation is dire and what is happening now in the west will soon be happening in the east – as the eastern world is fast copying all of the western social trends.

The irony of all this is that in this ultra-modern era we are fast falling into the ways of those pre-historic humans. Those early humans led libertine lives and now the same thing is going on. It is most ironic that we think of those early humans as being uncivilised and we think of ourselves as being highly civilised, yet on this critical point of promiscuity and child rearing, we share the same negative ways.

ARE WE CIVILISED?

Thus, are we – the present day humans – civilised? That is what we should all consider when reading this letter and reviewing Baba’s teachings.

What was so rampant 8000yrs ago is going on today in so-called developed countries. This “loose” lifestyle has become the accepted norm; it is the fashion.

Unmarried boys and girls are sleeping together and producing offspring. Thereafter, males are not taking responsibility for the children.

To understand this fully we must review the history. Then we can properly evaluate if how far we have progressed: Are we civilised or not.

We have to to be alert to the fact that as fast as the selfishness of capitalism is growing, the libertine way of life is spreading all around. Today so many children are born out of wedlock and many will never meet their father. In a decade, almost all will be born without a father. This negative trend is only increasing.

The general society is undergoing the disastrous consequences in the form of sky-rocketing crime and so many other social ills. Because of a lack of parental love, such children cannot grow properly.

BABA’S TEACHINGS & WARNINGS ON LIBERTINE LIFE:

CHILDREN SUFFER THE MOST

Best is to propagate Baba’s teaching; due to a blatant lack of knowledge all this is happening.

Baba says, “Long ago there used to be a popular and interesting folktale. In very ancient times, as with other animals, there was no custom of marriage among human beings. As far as it can be ascertained, this situation certainly continued until the middle of the Rgvedic age and likely until towards the end of that age. It was said during that time that there was once a five-year-old boy, the son of a certain sage, who became perplexed when he saw his mother going off with another man and asked his father why his mother was going off with that other fellow like that.

The sage answered his son: “That’s the rule. Any woman can stay with any man whenever she likes. She can also leave him whenever she likes. In the same way, any man can go off with any woman at any time.”

The sage’s son asked: “Then what will I do?”

The sage replied: “Children who are breastfeeding will stay with their mother. Once they become too old for that they can stay wherever they like. Wherever they stay they have to make arrangements for their food in exchange for labour.”

“But that’s no good!” the sage’s young son exclaimed. “No good at all.”

“In most cases, it was generally seen that the father did not bear the responsibility for the maintenance of their offspring or any other kind of responsibility towards them. All responsibility fell on the mother’s shoulders. For this reason wicked men used to put straightforward-natured women into extreme difficulty. The womenfolk used to spend their time under great duress. If not all, at least most of the men did not shoulder any responsibility for their offspring. Most of them were libertine. This is not to say that there were not any libertine woman, but the number of such women was less. Moreover, the affection they felt towards their children was a very strong bond of attachment which they could not easily break. This situation among humans, which was similar to that of animals, had been going on for approximately one million years, that is, human beings appeared about one million years ago.”

“The women of that day stood at Shiva’s door and said: “O Sada’shiva, save us from this beastly, distressful condition. There is no man or woman strong enough today to lay down rules in this matter and to put them into practice with a firm hand.” Shiva’s heart melted; he understood their pain. He introduced the custom of marriage and firmly fixed the rights and responsibilities of the father. For the first time human beings felt the contact of a peaceful environment in social life.”

“Still some wicked-natured men remained and some libertine women as well. Then, with the help of his followers, Shiva obliged those wicked men to marry by punishing them with the rod and rope. Just as there were libertine men, there were also some libertine women. This libertine group became greatly frightened of Shiva.” (Shabda Cayanika – 2; Disc: 10)

BABA’S TEACHINGS & WARNINGS ON LIBERTINE LIFE (CONT)

Here are Baba’s further teachings on this point of a libertine society.

Baba says, ” At the beginning of evolution, humans used to lead libertine lives without any consideration for family obligations, but they gradually developed a family instinct. However, that family instinct was no different from that of the elephants, lions, pigeons, etc. Due to this inborn instinct, males and females arrived at a loose, but workable compromise regarding family life. But in that there was no sense of responsibility born out of a developed conscience; rather, due to their loose relationships with each other, one person used to desert another and go anywhere he liked. The number of such libertines was very high, and they used to disturb the peace and harmony of the so-called family members and become the cause of many serious quarrels.”

“The male libertines would not take responsibility for their offspring. They used to wander freely, and as a result, the entire responsibility for raising the children in their infancy would devolve on the mothers. But it was not possible for the mothers alone to bear the responsibility of maintaining the children, as a result of which many children died in early infancy. Those who survived felt themselves to be in a sea of troubles after they were weaned from their mother’s breast milk. Then they would be deprived of their mother’s love, since she had to take care of the next baby. Those were the days of the prehistoric humans. One should remember that even in those prehistoric days, some portion of the Vedas was composed, chiefly by the so-called family people. The life of the libertines was just like that of the animals.” (NSS, Disc: 9, Shivokti-3)

INCREASING PROBLEMS

So long as this trend is in vogue – so long as children are born out of wedlock and fathers are remiss in their responsibilities – as a society we are inviting so many problems. Such children cannot grow properly without proper maternal supervision, care and love. Due to financial pressures, a single mother cannot manage the demands and rigors of parenthood all by herself – in which case children are the big losers. They will come into this world devoid of the requisite love, attention and support to grow properly. And the tragedy is that this situation is on the rise – it will not be long before we are a mirror image of what was going on 8000 years ago.

The cause of libertine life in the prehistoric era was ignorance and today the cause is selfishness, but the result is the same. When all is said and done, it is the children who suffer most. And that has a most disastrous effect on society.

BABA’S BLESSING

By Baba’s grace we should all be aware of this problem and work to solve it. The Ananda Marga arranged marriage system would help tremendously. The present-day libertine epidemic should not be a surprise to us. We should clearly understand what is at stake and side by side help society to improve.

Namaskar,
Liilavati & Mantreshvar

Note: SOCIETY BUILDING IN ANANDA MARGA

The Ananda Marga marriage system is for society building. Marriage is a means to raising a family; it is not just for sex. If children are not born and raised properly, then society itself will become aged and die; a healthy, new generation is always needed. That enables society to grow. The Ananda Marga marriage system focuses on the welfare of the child; children are not a mere by-product of lust etc. Our approach is that marriage is for the proper nurturing and growth of the child. So they develop into great citizens and sadhakas.

PRABHAT SAMGIITA

Intro to PS: In this song the devotee is innocently sharing his inner heart feeling about that most loving Entity, Parama Purusa. Yet, unbeknownst to
him, the very Personality whom the devotee is communicating with is none other than Parama Purusa Himself. So that is the unique aspect of this song.

“A’ma’r gopan kathá jene niyeche” (PS 1272)

Purport:

My Parama Purusa is my most close and most dear; He is surrounding me in all the ways; I remain under His eternal shelter. He understands all the vibrations of my mind, all the feelings of my heart – all my secret tales. He knows me inside and out; He is aware about everything.

He understands the pain and longing of my heart; He knows what is good for me and what is bad for me; what is for my welfare; and, what I should and should not do. All these things He understands well. Parama Purusa is my everything – He is my Guardian.

Indeed my entire existence is within the palm of His hand. He knows everything about me. Whatever I try hide to from Him cannot remain hidden for long; everything gets exposed. Because He is well aware about my situation. Whatever I think, He understands. Nothing can be hidden from Him. Everything is within His reach. He brings everything into the light of His awareness.

He resides in the depths of my heart. And by His remaining there, my whole being gets saturated by His divine presence. So He is my most dear One. In my inner-heart and inner-mind He whispers sweet, loving things into my ears.

Parama Purusa is living in my heart and He knows everything. Indeed He is more aware about my whole existence than I am myself. And He constantly guides me and keeps me under His loving care and shelter. In that way I am moving – I feel so blessed…

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Marry or Not Marry

Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 22:34:55 -0600
To: AM-GLOBAL
From: “Punya’tman Deva”
Subject: Marry or Not Marry

Baba

“A’lo jhariye madhu ks’ariye a’ndha’r sa’riye tumi esecho…” (P.S. 1233)

Purport:

Baba, You have come and by Your divine advent You are showering effulgence, exuding nectar, and wiping away all darkness. Baba, You have come – making the flowers blossom & graciously spreading happiness and bliss to one and all. Baba, by Your august arrival, everyone’s hopes and longings have been fulfilled.

Baba, O my Lord, living beings were awakened by the deep yearning and melancholic longing in their heart. In the anticipation & hope of Your arrival, they awakened and began watching for Your arrival – constantly looking towards Your path. Baba, the painful longing of devotees resonated in Your heart and You could no longer remain distant. Baba, You
have come and You are graciously pouring the basket of love – satisfying everyone’s heart. The sleeping humanity has gotten new life by Your grace.

Baba, that river which dried up and evaporated, and that song which was lost in the oblivion, the current of that very river and the tune of those songs You have graciously brought along with You. [1]

Baba due to Your august advent You have inundated each and every heart with the nectar of devotion. This is Your causeless grace…

END NOTES FOR PRABHAT SAMGIITA #1233:

[1] The inner idea is that when Parama Purusa comes and saturates the heart with deep devotion, then all those feelings of love, which had dried up, start to blossom. In the above song, the river signifies the flow of devotion and the song and melody refers to that subtler expression of devotional feeling.

== MARRY OR NOT MARRY ==

Namaskar,

Baba says, “In the opinion of Ananda Marga every individual has complete freedom in matters of marriage… Those who are constantly engaged in the fulfillment of an ideal, or those who have to spend the greater part of their day in…some mental occupation should not marry, because they will not find it possible to fulfill their family commitments properly. The marriage of such people is harmful to the society in many cases.” (Guide to Human Conduct, ’91 Edn, p.19)

In our Marga there is a dogma that either one should become a wt or get married. Yet in the practical sense everyone knows that just wearing the saffron dress does not mean dedication. There are many wts who are exclusively “dedicated” for their own stomach – or for power, post, and their groupist agenda.

Only those workers dedicated for the propagation of Ananda Marga ideology are true wts.

In contrast, on other side, there are many margiis who are completely focused on ideology and dedicated to our holy AM adarsha. That is why after getting married they are unable to properly look after their marital and family responsibilities. In result their children end up not liking or even blaming Ananda Marga.

About such cases, Baba has given the clear mandate that it would have been best if such ideologically-minded margiis would have remained single, and not married.

Namaskar,
Punya’tman Deva

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Marriage and Problem

From: “Satiish K Bhatia”
To: am-global@earthlink.net
Subject: Marriage and Problem
Date: Tue, 15 May 2012 21:24:52 +0530

Baba

“Ga’n geye ja’bo…” P.S. 2305

Purport:

Baba, O’ Supreme Entity, I will go on singing Your song – Your glory. It’s up to You whether You grace me by listening to these songs or not. But with these songs, in the depths of my contemplation, I will generate divine vibrations, by Your grace – and go on serving You.

Baba, with my deep yearning, I am calling You again and again without getting any response – You are not paying heed to my call. By avoiding me maybe You are thinking that I will not sing Your song anymore and that I will remain quiet. And that in frustration, I will give up the hope of getting You. And that I will no longer engage in the flow of those divine tunes and melodies, which is inundating the vast sky, by Your grace. And that I will not utilize these melodious treasures in my practical life to go closer to You.

Baba, with the strength of knowledge, wisdom, intellect, and worldly attributions, Your depth cannot be measured – nobody can realise You. By surrendering that very unit “I” which already belongs to You, and with the divine sweetness of singing Your name, I will surely get You, by Your grace.

Baba, I sing my songs only for You. Please, listen to these heart-felt loving melodie – and be gracious…

Note: In the above song, the sadhaka has deep love and a strong yearning for Parama Purusa. So when Parama Purusa does not respond to his call in the way that he desires, then the sadhaka makes one loving accusation towards Parama Purusa. So actually that is not an accusation per se, but rather an intimate type of loving expression. And Baba is approving that devotees have the right to do like this and that this loving way of communication is quite natural.

== MARRIAGE AND PROBLEM ==

Namaskar,
Here Baba has given a few guidelines about marriage eligibility.

Baba says, “At the time of marriage the bride and bridegroom should not have any direct relationship three generations above and three generations below. If this condition is not met, the marriage should not be solemnised.” (Ananda Vacanamrtam-7, p.57)

In the above quotation Baba has given strict guidelines for members of the general society regarding marriage. The idea of no direct relation three generations up means that there must not be any blood relation between the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents of the bride and the groom. That is the meaning of three generations up. And three generations down means no blood relation between the families of the bride and groom from their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

For instance, suppose the young boy of one family wants to marry the grand-daughter of his uncle then such a marriage could not be condoned. Similarly if the bride and bridegroom are planning to marry but if the great grandfather of the groom was the cousin of the great grandfather of the bride then such a marriage must not be permitted. So in AM for a marriage to be approved one of the distinct conditions is no direct relation three generations up and three generations down.

BIRTH DEFECTS

Around the globe there are various clans, countries and religions which do not follow the above mentioned rule. Instead they arrange marriages where the bridge and bridegroom have direct blood relation and that outcome of this is disastrous. It causes brain disorders, genetic abnormalities, onset of chronic diseases like cancer, and so many other problems and difficulties. This the well-documented fact. Everyone knows that Baba’s guidelines are deeply meaningful, whether He has opted to give a full explanation or not. On this point of marriage, these serious health issues are the main reason why this rule has been given. As margiis our duty is to convince members of the general society not to commit such blunder because that will only invited disastrous diseases into their family. On this point everyone should cooperate to make this a happy and healthy universe.

WHAT HAPPENS IN SOME RELIGIONS

In the dogmatic religion of Islam their only restriction on the point of marriage is that the mother’s milk must be different between the bridge and the bridegroom. If this requirement is met then they can marry. But this creates huge problems. Because many Muslim men have 4 wives. In this way the male and female offspring of the same father often marry each other. In such marriages birth defects and diseases like cerebral palsy are rampant. This is not only the case with Muslims but also with orthodox Jews, Mormons, indigenous people, tribal communities, Bible believers, and various other sections of the population around the globe.

Namaskar,
Satiish Deva

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WT Profit: New Way Money is Made

Date: Sun, 08 Apr 2012 19:36:04
To: am-global@earthlink.net
From: Pradiip Deva
Subject: WT Profit: New Way Money is Made

Baba

== WT PROFIT: NEW WAY MONEY IS MADE ==

Namaskar,
A new trend is on the rise that we should all be aware of; it is related with our Ananda Marga ceremonies.

As we all know, our Wt’s (wholetimers) are meant to be the luminaries and ideal examples in society. By this way all will trust and revere our acarya cadre. Baba has talked about this again and again.

Kindly read the following about how our wts are conducting ceremonies and share your thoughts.

BABA MOCKS THE MODUS OPERANDI OF PRIESTS

First we should review Baba’s special teaching. Here following, Baba is openly mocking certain vipras and pointedly revealing how the priest class (i.e. vipras) exploits society.

Baba says, “Even if one undergoes austerities, practises ritualistic fasting, undertakes pilgrimages, bathes in holy rivers and springs, worships a sacred fire or studies the scriptures, one will not be blessed unless one also offers sacerdotal fees to the vipras (priests). Only the vipras are authorized to recite even ordinary páncálii [long folk poems] about laokik gods and goddesses – and needless to say, a vipra would never visit anybody to recite such poems without remuneration…every intelligent person knows that a vipra (priests) will never act as an agent of God without some remuneration.” (Human Society – 2, The Vipra Age)

In His above guideline, Baba is colourfully describing how the vipras (priests) operate: How they dominate and exploit the society. They charge the common people for all kinds of “holy” arrangements and ceremonies. This is the ongoing approach by such vipras / priests to make more money.

WHAT IS GOING ON IN OUR MARGA

But the story does not end here.

Tragically, in our own organisation, Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha, similar types of things seem to be occurring. Here are points for your consideration.

1. As we know, Baba created the system that no one should pay anyone for conducting marriage ceremonies, baby naming ceremonies, death ceremonies and all such occasions etc. In Caryacarya it has been declared that all such functions and ceremonies are free. That is Baba’s stated mandate.

2. Unfortunately, nowadays, various dadas are charging big money for arranging marriages, conducting marriages, and even conducting death ceremonies etc. This has become big business for certain dadas. For marriages they are accepting cash and kind (gifts).

3. Some dadas are also charging money for initiations and other ceremonies. This creates problems in multiple directions. Baba teachings are not being followed; margiis are being subjected to unjust fees; and lastly such actions reflect poorly on the many dedicated and honest wts in our Marga. Thus it is a triple-loss.

4. One key example is Ac Sharanananda Avt. who is involved in society building. Our Dadaji charges as much as 10,000 rupees for Indian couples and approximately 10,000 dollars for overseas margiis just to sign one simple piece of paper indicating that a marriage has been performed. Here we are not talking about court fees or any other expense. Dadaji is charging the families that much just to sign his name on the paper.

However Sharananandji is not alone in this endeavour. Other dadas charging big-time fees for marriage ceremonies include Madhuvratananda, Nabhatiitananda, Raganugananda, and Satyashreyananda etc.

5. In their heart of hearts, such Wts know it is wrong so they ward off any guilt with the justification that, “This is the easiest way to get some money from margiis.” This is their mentality.

6. The question of virtue and vice does not arise for these types of wts. Such workers feel that virtue and vice are for margiis or non-margiis. They console themselves by thinking that, “For me, as a wt, there is no question of virtue or vice; I am beyond all that.” More and more dadas are resorting to such justifications and negative thinking. Unfortunately that will only lead to their downfall and create problems in society.

ANOTHER DOGMA

7. Here in India there is a strong dogma that Ananda Marga ceremonies must be led by wts. That is the demand and feeling of many margiis of Delhi sector. All because of the prevailing Indian dogmatic belief: some have have an inherent preference for the saffron cloth – not margii cloth. For instance, even in those places where family acaryas are prevalent, the margiis think that it will be very auspicious if the ceremony is conducted by a wt. This dogma is reinforced by wts; that is unfortunate. Because an acarya is an acarya, irrespective of whether they are a wt of family margii.

WT’S AND MARRIAGE

8. Who can forget that our organisation lost so many good wts because they were overly involved in arranging others’ marriages. In that course they arranged a marriage for themselves as well. Still today this is going on.

9. The standard system is that wts should not be involved in marriage ceremonies and preparations etc. That is the work of our family acaryas. If any wt is doing this job then we must conclude that he has that type of weakness: To remain around the opposite sex. That may lead to his final decay. So best is for family acaryas to oversee and conduct all marriage ceremonies etc.

CONCLUSION

10. By the looks of it, these workers, who are charging big money to perform marriage ceremonies, are exploitative vipras – not sadvipras. Here again is Baba’s teaching where He exposes how the priest class exploits society. Actually in this below teaching Baba is mocking the dealings of such priests. Thus in Ananda Marga, we do not at all support this type of mentality where the priest class uses their status and position to take advantage of the people.

Baba says, “Even if one undergoes austerities, practises ritualistic fasting, undertakes pilgrimages, bathes in holy rivers and springs, worships a sacred fire or studies the scriptures, one will not be blessed unless one also offers sacerdotal fees to the vipras (priests). Only the vipras are authorized to recite even ordinary páncálii [long folk poems] about laokik gods and goddesses – and needless to say, a vipra would never visit anybody to recite such poems without remuneration…every intelligent person knows that a vipra (priests) will never act as an agent of God without some remuneration.” (Human Society – 2, The Vipra Age)

11. In the next letter, we will share how Wts from other factions, such as B group and EC, are also involved in charging for marriage ceremonies etc.

12. Finally, I invite you to write in with your comments and reflections on this topic, especially from those who also have been personally affected by this.

Namaskar,
Pradiip Deva

PRABHATA SAMGIITA

“An’ur vyatha’, etodine bujhale priyo, anuma’ne…” (Prabhata Samgiita 4593)

Purport:

Baba, O’ my Dearest, now by Your guessing You have understood the feeling of this unit being. How You do not have time to come close to me; rather, You remain sitting on the divine throne of Your devotees. On that throne which is studded with jewels. So You do not have time to look towards this little being.

People are demanding of me, “Why do you go on crying, and why do you call that Divine Entity who will not come and who will never pay heed to your calling.” People also tell me, “Don’t you know, His heart is very hard like a stone. He does not care. He knows all the scriptures, all the shlokas, all the mantras and bhajans, so there is no need to tell anything to Him. He will not pay heed to your call.”

In spite of what they say, I never get frustrated or feel hopeless. By Your grace I know that I must get You. I know for certain that at some point in this life of mine, up to my death even – I know that You will come to me. O’ Baba, I am hopeful that You will grace me by coming in the lotus of my heart, and that You will make my life successful…

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Are You Concerned About Beauty?

To: am-global@earthlink.net
Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:00:36
From: “Hitendra Deva”
Subject: Are You Concerned About Beauty?

Baba

“Ba’dha’ eseche bheunegeche toma’r…hoyeche…” (PS 2647)

Purport:

Baba, by Your grace all those obstacles which have come on the path have been pulverized. They got completely destroyed. Whatever horrifying things were there – fog, dilemma, confusion – all disappeared into thin air. This happened only because of Your divine grace.

In a ghastly attempt, the bad days – the foggy weather – wanted to swallow everything. They tried to submerge everything into cimmerian darkness. However the demons’ dances, and the days of hellish creatures and their kingdom of doom, are gone forever by Your grace, by Your karuna.

O’ Parama Purusa, the Charioteer of the chariot of effulgence, You have come. All the confusion, illusion, and dilemmas have been wiped away from everyone’s mind. It is Your grace.

Baba due to Your holy advent the bondage of ignorance and staticity, and the serpentine noose of maya have been destroyed. With the presence of Your august advent, Your arrival, all the sins have gotten destroyed. Now everything is saturated with divine effulgence. Baba, You are ever-gracious…

== ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR BEAUTY ==

Namaskar,
Beauty…

This is one big trend all around the globe these days – now more than ever. All want to become stunningly beautiful.

And there is nothing wrong with that…

…except that people are looking for beauty in all the wrong places – i.e. externally – and it is wrecking their lives. Their misguided search for beauty leads to anxiety, depression, divorce, trauma, frivolous expenses, financial debt and all kinds of psychic complexes and afflictions.

We may even find traces of this ill-conceived quest for beauty in our Marga, though in the general society it is much more rampant, exponentially so.

We should all be aware, lest we fall into a similar pattern. Also with awareness comes the ability to help others and convince them of the truth in a compassionate way through logic and reasoning.

TRENDS, TRENDS, TRENDS

The trends about what is beautiful vary from place to place, but now in this materialistic era, all parameters of beauty are based on the most superficial aspect of the human experience.

In the US and Europe, white-skinned people generally think that “having a tan” makes them more beautiful. Thus most everyone in those areas wants a tan, or brown skin. To get that, they may lie in the sun, lie on a tanning bed, or even have it sprayed on like paint.

In India, now it is more fashionable or beautiful to have light or white skin. For this reason ladies may not even go outside in the sun for fear that their skin will get too dark.

Yet these trends come and go like the wind. One day one wishes to look dark, and the next white. It can flip-flop anytime. Yet on these whimsical and fleeting styles, people form their crude judgments of a person and formulate their own look as well.

Baba says, “The notion of what is beautiful or ugly, or good or bad in human beings changes from age to age, and in different environments. Those who are black-complexioned will say, “How beautiful black is. Why is that man so white? Has he contracted leucoderma (white leprosy)? How repulsive, how utterly repulsive!” That is, human judgement is relative; it changes according to time, place and person.” (AV-8)

And not just skin colour, but each and every aspect of the physical body has a trend, or look, or way that is deemed as beautiful. And people go bonkers trying to achieve that.

They may spike their hair, expand their lips, paint their face, tattoo their body, pluck their eyebrows, squeeze their feet into small shoes, whiten their teeth, grow their nails, paint their toes, and the list goes on and on.

We have all seen it.

They may even visit plastic surgeons to make their nose or other parts “absolutely ideal”, i.e. beautiful. They may body pierce themselves all over thinking that this makes them attractive. Or they may get a liposuction or tummy tuck in order to make themselves look skinny.

In the past in India and other poor countries, being fat was a sign of wealth and prosperity – they all wanted to be fat. That was desired and beautiful. Now in those same places, all that has changed. Especially where the internet is big – like in the Indian cities – all want to be thin now, because that is the rage in the west.

No matter where one resides, to gain that look – of being beautiful – people are willing to do anything.

Even in these tough economic times – when cash is sparse – people are spending thousands and millions even billions of dollars on various cosmetic medical procedures or beauty supplies in order to enhance their look. It is a mega industry at present.

And the one who suffers most is the individual – they become a victim of the times. They ruin their peace and composure by indulging in this quest for beauty externally, which in truth is destined for failure.

POINTS TO NOTE

1. Although beauty varies from place to place and era to ear, people in the same place and in the same era chase after the same look. They all want to be thin, or have their hair in a particular way, and dress according to the day’s fashion etc. In essence, they become mirror images of one another – when in truth diversity is the spice of life. Mother nature makes us all different, even if our parents are the same. By this way the gene pool of our human society gets stronger and more developed. To chase after the same look is to going against nature.

2. The beauty business corrupts people’s mind into thinking that beauty only resides on the outside. They have so many tricks for brainwashing people, especially young women and teenagers. This is their big market and they spend huge money convincing them. In turn, the beauty industry takes in billions. The entire situation is most unfortunate.

3. People naively think that by becoming more beautiful then all their problems will be solved and everything will be alright – i.e. they will be happy and all will adore them. This is their day-dream fantasy as well as the reason why they chase relentlessly after external beauty.

4. Now more and more people are goaded toward external beauty at a younger age. This imposes a terrible inferiority complex that “I am not beautiful enough.” Generally self-conscious feelings about one’s looks occur when one is going through adolescence. But today, in countries like Brazil and India, girls of 3 or 4 years of age are being dressed up like
dolls and the children get the teaching early on that external beauty is everything. This is a terrible tragedy and brings about the demise of the human condition.

5. And there are more points, write us with your thoughts.

NO-WIN SITUATION FOR ANYONE

All in all, chasing after external beauty is a no-win situation for anyone, neither for materialists nor for spiritual aspirants.

Materialists, or common people, bank all their happiness on external beauty and allurements, which is itself fleeting. Most of the time people are too self-conscious to delight in what beauty they do have, and even if they do enjoy their “beauty” what they fail to realise is that their beauty will not last. It is impermanent, temporary. It will wane, wane, wane with the passage of tiem. Seeing this, people get distressed and depressed. They worry about thinner hair, flabby thighs, droopy skin, and so many other things. To make matters worse, people are living longer now than ever before so while their “beauty” may begin to decrease after the age of 30, 35, 40, or 45, they now live longer, up to 80, 90, or 100 and in that case they merely extend their days living in that depressed state. Such is the fate of materialists.

And spiritual-minded people also run into trouble by chasing after external beauty. They may have lived a most dharmic life and helped others but because of their lust for external beauty all their good efforts get wasted and instead of progressing on the path, at the time of death they get turned into bodyless microvita. Such a horrible fate.

Baba says, “Though siddhas are elevated human beings, those who have some aesthetic attraction for physical objects like money, ornaments, etc., become kinnaras after their demise. As spiritual aspirants they are elevated to some extent, and as human beings they are decent, but they prayed to Parama Purus’a for beauty instead of for Parama Purus’a Himself. Such people, after their demise, attain the status of kinnara devayonis.” (MVNS)

So neither the common materialist nor the advanced sadhaka benefits by chasing after external beauty – yet so many engage in this way.

WHY THEY DO IT

The next – or obvious – question then is why do they do it. Why do people chase after external beauty?

The answer we all know.

When people do not seek peace within then their mind turns to the external sphere for happiness, acceptance, and approval. And one of the closest external qualities we have is our bodies. Thus people seek attention and respect based on their external looks, i.e. “beauty”. Their figure, hair, shape, softness etc.

But this leads them nowhere other than their demise.

And tragically the trend is only growing. Now more than ever people are mentally imbalanced due to materialism, and in that precarious state they invariably look more and more for external beauty as their great value in life.

This then makes them more insecure and worried and ultimately sets them up for “the big fall” when their beauty invariably wanes as the body decays.

So it is a vicious cycle.

In contrast, if one is able to find peace within, then they are not so concerned about their superficial looks. Already they have found beauty and value in life. And that is the real beauty that will bring peace and happiness.

WHERE THE REAL BEAUTY LIES

Here Baba graciously guides us where our real beauty lies.

Baba says, “Perhaps you know that mental beauty exercises some degree of influence on the human body. A woman who is unattractive but is mentally elevated or has a loving nature will look beautiful to others. You must have heard that to a child, the most beautiful woman in the world is his or her mother.” (MVNS)

Thus beauty – ie lasting beauty and attraction – lies in the benevolence and sentientness of mind.

As a person gets to know your mind, then they will find you to be more and more beautiful, so long as your mind is spiritually inclined. That is why people who come close to you and become your friend value you for your behaviour and conduct, not for your looks. So long as one’s mind is vibrated, one’s conduct will be proper, and others will be attracted to you. So the point of allurement is the mind not the body. That is where lasting beauty exists. That is Baba’s guideline.

Proof of this is that these days so many marriages are made based on purely external beauty and sexual attraction. But then, as they get to know one another and see how the other thinks and behaves, then they develop distaste for one another until finally they fight, beat each other, and ultimately divorce. Countless high-profile, glamorous marriages have destructed in this way. And it happens to common people as well.

The point is that if you do not like the way a person thinks and behaves, then they will not be beautiful to you, irregardless of how physically attractive they are. And vice-versa.

Whereas, if one’s behavior and dealing are benevolent and charming, then everyone will be attracted to you and find you to be beautiful.

That is Baba’s magic formula.

Thus if one is concerned about beauty – they should ensure they are concerned about their psychic beauty, not the physical one. Only the beauty of the mind can bring about happiness and welfare to oneself and others. Only then can on be truly beautiful in the eyes of others.

BABA’S BLESSING

By His grace here again is His divine teaching. By adhering go 16 Points, doing sadhana, singing kiirtan, and being strict in yama and niyama, then one’s beauty will increase more and more.

Baba says, “Perhaps you know that mental beauty exercises some degree of influence on the human body. A woman who is unattractive but is mentally elevated or has a loving nature will look beautiful to others. You must have heard that to a child, the most beautiful woman in the world is his or her mother.” (MVNS)

Namaskar,
Hitendra

Note 1: BABA’S COLOURFUL DESCRIPTION:

HOW THE NOTION OF BEAUTY CHANGES

Baba says, ” Just imagine the situation that will arise in the future as a result of humanity’s ever increasing thirst for knowledge. To meet these developments the nerve cells and nerve fibres will have to become more complex. Consequently, the human cranium will become larger and the size of the head will increase. The hands and feet will become weaker and weaker and human beings may even lose the ability to walk…Today we think that such people will look very strange, but in the future one may hear people commenting, “Oh, how handsome he looks with eyes as small as little peas and arms as thin as jute sticks. He can’t hear anything with his ears. In fact, he hasn’t got any ears at all! What an attractive man.” Although it seems slightly repulsive to us, this will become the standard of beauty in future. People will judge beauty according to the standards of the day, saying, “Oh, those stick-like arms of his make him look so handsome. The fellow can’t walk properly. How wonderful.” And if someone can walk, people will say, “How indecent that fellow looks hobbling around on two legs!” But if he crawls along the ground they will say, “How wonderful, how beautiful!” If we were to see this sort of scene today, however, we would say, “How unsightly. That fellow is uglier than an owl.”” (AV-8)

***************************************
Samaj is Based on Neo-Humanism, not Groupism

Parama Purusa BABA says, “If each samaj [socio-economic unit] is inspired by a comprehensive ideology and a universal outlook, human society will move ahead with accelerating speed towards a sublime ideal.” (PNS-13, p. 23)

Note: Nowadays some group leaders are singing the song of samaj as they try to forge ahead with their narrow-minded agendas. But margiis can smell this from a mile away and are keeping distance from such talk. Means other than a select few, no one is falling into the trap that the spectacle of such and such WT group is part of samaj theory.
***************************************

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How You Can Save Money

Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:39:47 -0000
To: AM-GLOBAL
From: J.Deva
Subject: How You Can Save Money

Baba

== HOW YOU CAN SAVE MONEY ==

Namaskar,
In this day and age, people waste a lot of time trying to earn more and more money – laboring anywhere from 8 – 10 hours daily, or even 18 hours in a single day.

Plus most people are totally worried about money – so they think about earning money even when they are not working. They eat, sleep, and dream about it.

In this way their entire psyche and days are consumed.

The general psychology is to earn more and spend more. That becomes their entire life – that is the unfortunate truth. The tragedy is that this human life is about so much more than just collecting money. Human life is far larger than this.

To resolve this critical issue, Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji has given a beautiful way of living that is very easy for everyone to do. And by following His guidelines, you are sure to save huge amounts of money.

So if you are suffering from any sort of financial worry or fiscal need, then read this following letter.

THIS LETTER IS FOR EVERYONE

The guidelines in this letter are for everyone. If you are already an Ananda Margii or a sympathizer of the Marga, you will readily see how much you are saving by following AM practices. Plus you may get some new tips as well.

And if you are not yet an Ananda Margii, then by reading the below you will get a clear-cut vision how following our AM way of life will benefit you financially.

Hence this letter is for absolutely anyone and everyone who wishes to save money and live a financially secure life.

NO INTOXICANTS (Part 1)

In Ananda Marga, as we all know, or as new people will soon learn, we do not use any intoxicants – none. This is the first great way of saving money by leading life as an Ananda Margii.

Cigarettes, beer, wine, and hard alcohol are all getting taxed verily heavily by the city, state, provincial and federal government. So the prices of these substances is skyrocketing.

Indeed recently the tax on cigarettes in NY state went up $1.60 to a total of $4.35 on taxes alone, so a pack of cigarettes now costs $9.20 (on average) in NY, and more than that in New York City. Smoking a pack a day over the course of a year would add up to more than $3,650.00 at a minimum. And this type of increase is happening everywhere. The same thing is going on with regards to alcohol.

Since in Ananda Marga we have no interest in or use for cigarettes, or any of these other legal intoxicants like alcohol etc, we are saving a huge amount of money. Just ask any ex-smoker or ex-drinker and they will most assuredly tell you about all the money they are saving by quitting their dirty habit.

NO INTOXICANTS (Part 2)

Then of course there are the illegal drugs like marijuana, cocaine, heroine etc. These all cost a huge amount of money – it is big business – but for Ananda Margiis this is a non-issue entirely. Hence big $aving$.

Included in this topic are other health costs and legal fees. If one is using intoxicants of any kind they will certainly have to spend more money on doctors fees, health concerns, insurance premiums, hospital care and other medications etc, since those intoxicants will ruin their health.

In addition, drinking and driving is illegal so if one gets caught by the police they will incur big legal fees in order to clear their name and stay out of jail, if possible. Same is the case if they are caught using illegal drugs. Not only are the drugs expensive and addicting, but one have to spend huge money on attorney fees to clear their name in a
court of law.

So from multiple angles, our clean way of living that is free of any and all intoxicants saves us a lot of money. That is the first great savings for being an Ananda Margii.

FOOD

Our style of eating, i.e. our vegetarian diet, is also a big money saver. In most places, fresh fruit and vegetables are far less costly than meat – both on our wallet and our health. Our daily or weekly shopping is less expensive plus we will not face all the health issues that hinders meat-eaters. So we will not have to pay those big medical bills either.

Various studied show how eating home-prepared vegetarian meals foods is cheaper (and healthier!) than a meat-based diet. Also always look into buying foods in bulk – one can save huge money this way.

There is much more involved in this point of food, but I think most of us are aware about them. And already there is a lot of information out there about the extreme financial and health costs of a meat-based diet.

The only further point that is worth raising on the point of food is that as Ananda Margiis we do not dine in restaurants or hotels. Of course the reason we do not do this is because those places are not sentient: The dishes themselves are dirty, the ingredients are unknown, and the cooks are non-sadhakas. So that is why we do not dine in such establishments. But, on the top, eating in these restaurants is an expensive habit. By not frequenting such restaurants we save a lot of money. What average people spend on a single meal in a restaurant is enough funds for wise, vegetarian shoppers to eat for 1 or 2 weeks at home.

GAMBLING

So much of the world indulges in gambling – either in casinos, or on-line, or at sporting events, or in lotteries, etc. The tragedy with gambling is the the “house” always wins. People waste their time and hard-earned money and come home empty handed. Not only do they lose their money, but they lose their mental balance as well as gambling is
an addition. People go so far as to sell their most valued possessions in order to support their gambling habit. Indeed, even the great King Yudhisthira lost his entire wealth and property in a game of dice. Such are the ill effects of gaming and gambling.

Our Ananda Marga does not allow for this at all.

Baba says, “The habit of making wagers is extremely undesirable. You must avoid lotteries and gambling.” (CC-2, Society, pt#38)

When there is no gambling then there is no question of losing money or wasting away one’s time. This is an absolute money-saver.

LOANS

In our present era, this is a big, big point. So many people around the world, especially in the materialistic western nations, make it a hobby or even career in life to spend money which they do not have.

People incur debt by taking big loans to pay for things that they cannot afford: clothes, fancy meals, i-Phones, sports cars, gadgets, and so much more. By this way they lose money in two ways: Firstly by purchasing a costly item which they do not really need; secondly by having to pay the interest on the loan for that item. Hence it is a double loss.

Yet all “modern economies” around the globe are based on this faulty precept. Not only do individuals and families indulge in this, but entire cities, counties, states and even whole nations embark on this defective manner of taking loans to pay for things they cannot afford.

From beginning to end this is a totally costly and mentally taxing affair. People stay awake at night wondering and worrying about how they are going to pay back their loan. And countries even go totally bankrupt – that we are seeing today.

In Ananda Marga, Baba is entirely against the idea of taking a loan or incurring debt for superfluous items.

Baba says, “To purchase, by incurring debt, serge where tweed will do, or gaberdine where serge will do, is surely against the principle of aparigraha.” (GHC)

Indeed the entire spirit of aparigraha is to live in a simple manner, within one’s means. This is only possible if oe can to cultivate the requisite santosa (mental ease), such that a person will not senselessly run after material goods. As Baba points out in many discourses, the practices of aparigraha and santosa are closely linked.

Baba says, “Human desire knows no end. Millionaires want to become multimillionaires, because they are not satisfied with their million. Ask the millionaires if they are happy with their money. They will say, “Where is the money? I am somehow pulling on.” This answer indicates their ignorance of aparigraha. But such feelings have another adverse effect on body and mind.”

Here Baba continues His discourse.

Baba says, “Out of excessive fondness for physical or mental pleasures people become mad to earn money and amass wealth. As money becomes the be-all and end-all of life, the mind gets crudified. Constant hankering after money results in negligence of one’s health, and this makes the body unfit. Therefore, santos’a sa’dhana’ lies in being contented with the earnings of normal labour, without any undue pressure on the body and mind. To remain contented, one has to make a special type of mental effort to keep aloof from external allurements.” (GHC)

Hence by following yama and niyama and doing sadhana, one can easily become adept at the points of aparigraha and santosa. And this will lead to saving so much money – huge amounts.

Because without aparigraha and santosa, one will become a prisoner to the consumer mentality of “buy this” & “buy that” which is so infested within capitalism.

Hence this topic of loans in highly linked without our mental state and yama and niyama. When the mind is balanced one will steer clear of all kinds of unneeded purchases as well as unnecessary loans, thereby saving tremendous amounts of money.

OTHER WAYS OF SAVING MONEY

BY FOLLOWING OUR AM WAY OF LIFE

Here is a brief list of other ways any sadhaka of the Marga will certainly save money. Again, anyone can follow this approach and get the financial benefits. I invite others to comment and elaborate on these below points.

– Fasting: By fasting 2 or 4 times monthly, we save 1 – 2 months worth of food over the course of the entire year. Plus fasting purifies the body and keeps us disease-free, and away from expensive medical visits.

– Marriage: In some traditions huge money or dowries are paid to get one’s children married. We do not subscribe to such dogmas. Our social ceremonies are free.

– Tiirtha / Pilgrimage: Traveling to so-called holy lands like Mecca, Jerusalem or Varanasi each year is an expensive proposition. In AM, we do not have such destinations – the only tiirtha in AM is Guru cakra.

– Birth & Death: Here again these entail social ceremonies that do not cost any money in AM, whereas in the dogmatic churches and temples, moderate to large sums of money need to be paid. Plus without a large payment, one will not even find a spot in the cemetery or get a good casket, whereas in AM the body is burned at no expense to the deceased or their family.

– Hobbies: In AM, our only hobby is social service and helping others whereas in the so-called first-world nations average citizens spend enormous amounts of money on hobbies and recreational activities. Thus we save a lot in this department as well.

– Psychic Disease: Sadhana keeps the mind balanced and without sadhana people encounter so many mental problems: frustration, depression, angst, phobias etc. In that case they have to spend huge money on psychiatrists and psychologists.

– Inferiority Complex: Anyone with an inferiority is bound to be exploited. Sadhana will free the mind from such complexes.

– Religious Taxes: In most of the religions, the tax for the average member is 10% or so of their total income. In Ananda Marga it is only 2%. Thus we save 8%.

And there are a multitude of other ways in which we save money. Everyone should write in with their experience of how they save money by being an Ananda Margii

BABA’S BLESSING

By Baba’s grace He has given us the perfect system for living in this era of economic struggle and strife. By following His life principles we are bound to save large sums of money and feel relaxed about our financial picture.

So if anyone is suffering from economic turmoil, just become an Ananda Margii or redouble one’s efforts in following 16 Pts. Then one will be worry-free and unencumbered by economic problems.

Let us remember that human life is short and it is meant for sadhana, not getting caught up in financial concerns.

Baba says, “One should not forget that human life is short. From the moment of birth one slowly and steadily advances towards death with every passing second. This short period of time from birth to death is human life. Human beings have come from the world of invisibility and at the end of this short span of time will return to the world of invisibility. Those people can be called intelligent who utilize every moment of their short life engaged in spiritual practice.” (APH-4)

Namaskar,
Jagatmitra

Note 1: BABA’S SPECIAL ORDER ABOUT LOANS

Here furthermore is another of Baba’s special guideline about taking loans.

Baba says, “I am also giving one more advice in regard to aparigraha. If any Margis have to spend on anything in addition to the fixed expenditure (for example, expensive clothing, ornaments, articles of furniture, marriage, building, etc.), they should, before incurring such expenditure, obtain a clear order from their a’ca’rya, unit secretary or district secretary, or any other person of responsible rank. Similarly, permission is to be obtained before taking loan from any businessman or money-lender.” (GHC)

Note 2: GOOD FOR ONE AND ALL

In this materialistic era, the mass of people weigh most of their decisions on money. People want to know what is most economical. This plays into our favour as this entire letter aims to show the innumerable ways how living life as an Ananda Margii is the best bank for your buck. So this is a good pracara strategy: Save money by becoming an Ananda Margii.

In addition, challenging or severe economic times are mounting, so as Ananda Margiis we need not worry so much since in a multitude of ways our way of life is the most economical. It is a better deal fiscally.

By the above listing of points, it is easy to see how and why our AM ways of life is great in all realms of life, including financially.

PRABHAT SAMGIITA

“Ajuta chande esechile tumi nacite nacite ha’site ha’site…” (PS #146)

Purport:

O’ Baba, with the resonance of melody and in the manana [1] of my heart, and the jingling of the ankle bell [2], You came in countless rhythms, dancing and smiling, smiling and dancing.

You came with the resonance of melody; You came with the manana of my heart, You came with the jingling of the angel bell. O’ Lord you came, You came with the resonance of melody, O’ Lord You came.

You came with the manana of my heart, O’ Lord. You came with the jingling of the ankle bell. O’ Lord, with the resonance of melody, and in the manana of my heart, O’ Lord You came. In the manana of my heart, and the jingling of the ankle bell, O’ Lord You came.

If I blossom as a flower on the branch, then You become fragrance and fill me always. If I become the distant sky, then You become blue and fill me always. [3] O’ Lord, You fill me always. As a blue color You always envelop me.

If I become the distant sky, then You become blue and fill me always. O’ Lord, You fill me always. You surround me from all the directions, You came in countless rhythms, dancing and smiling, smiling and dancing.

O’ Baba, I am never alone. You are always with me, no matter what. You are ever gracious, I surrender at Your lotus feet…

NOTES FOR PRABHAT SAMGIITA #146:

[1] Manana: The contemplation or ideation of the Supreme Entity by repeating the Lord’s name in the mind. This special process Baba has described in-depthly in His various teachings of AM devotional and spiritual life.

[2] Jingling of the Ankle Bell: This song carries great symbolic and is the poetic expression of what the sadhaka feels in dhyana. So the “ankle bell” is not a physical bell attached to one’s ankle nor does it refer to some type of bell that Parama Purusa is wearing around His foot. Rather when the sadhaka realises and feels the proximity of Parama Purusa in deep dhyana, then one hears this ankle bell sound within. That is the meaning of this metaphor in the song. One hears this ankle bell sound when in His close proximity. The phrase – Parama Purusa has come with His ankle bell – is just a poetic expression that holds greater symbolic meaning.

[3] Two More Metaphors: The metaphor of the sky and its blue color indicates how they are inseparable. The sky and blueness cannot be made distinct from one another. The two are inextricably inter-linked. In the same way the devotee and Parama Purusa are inseparable. Similarly, the flower cannot be separated from its fragrance; where there is a the flower there is fragrance and where there is flower fragrance there is the flower. The two are completely part and parcel of each other. Here again this refers to the inherent link between the Lord and the bhakta. Parama Purusa is always with the devotee – one cannot remain separate from the other. Parama Purusa comes with His omnkara dhvani (eternal sound) the bhakta gets attracted and merges in Him.

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In AM Sex is For What

From: “Gagan Deva”
To: AM-GLOBAL
Subject: In AM Sex is For What
Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2011 10:35:43 -0000

Baba

== IN ANANDA MARGA SEX IS FOR WHAT ==

Namaskar,
In the general society, especially in the west, sex is for enjoyment. People commonly think the material world is only for their selfish enjoyment. And of all the worldly pleasures, sex is the top. This is the common outlook and way of life.

This is evidenced by the movies, dress, advertisements, values, products and activities of those living in materialistic countries.

But in Ananda Marga, our approach is totally different. AM is the path of bliss – i.e. spiritual bliss. For us, worldly dealings are for adjustment only to proceed on the path of spirituality. Our food habits, lifestyle, and thinking are to be controlled in order to advance pointedly towards our Goal, Supreme Consciousness. Indulgence of the various motor and sensory organs is not appropriate for one’s physical, psychic and spiritual progress.

A few of the various religions hold somewhat similar beliefs while other religions are more indulgent.

In our Marga however, our stance is very straight and clear. Ours is that path of bliss where the mind is goaded towards Parama Purusa and sex is merely for society building (i.e. procreation), not for sensual pleasure etc. Baba’s teachings about this are very straightforward.

Here following are Baba’s guidelines on this subject. We must reflect on them in a deeper way; a knee-jerk reaction is not at all helpful. If anyone reads Baba’s teachings with a dogmatic or stagnant state of mind, they will not be able to understand. An open mind is needed. Baba’s following guidelines are life changing.

BABA’S DIVINE GUIDELINES

[1] In this first teaching Baba warns us that often males are more prone towards indulgence and this leads to female diseases as well as the degeneration of those males. Best is to exercise restraint and goad one’s energy to higher cakras. In the following quote Baba is clearly stating that males are the cause of female disease.

Baba says, “In most cases, if not all, lack of self-control by the male is one of the causes of female disease. It is certainly not desirable for women to go to their graves prematurely due to the intemperance of men. Sexual over-indulgence is also harmful to the men, because it causes excessive wastage of shukra, which in the lymph stage nourishes the brain. Remember that self-control is the greatest thing in life.” (Yogic Treatment, Females Diseases)

[2] Here again in this next teaching Baba warns us that lack of restraint leads to a whole host of illnesses and diseases.

Baba says, “People should not taint their lives by sexual over-indulgence. Everyone should remember that shukra is the ultimate element of the body, and if it is absent or somehow impaired, all the elements of the body may become impaired and invite attacks of various diseases.” (Yogic Treatment, Appendix)

[3] Baba’s final guideline is that one should exercise more and more restraint.

Baba says, “When it comes down to a choice between restraint and lack of restraint…the more restraint the better.” (Yogic Treatment, Sex)

We should all be aware of Baba’s guidelines and follow accordingly. We should not get caught up or swayed by the crude ways of materialism where sex is everything. Ours is the path of bliss where we goad all our energies towards serving and pleasing Parama Purusa.

Namaskar,
Gagan

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Re: Goenka: I Have No Interest in Revolutionary Marriages

To: AM-GLOBAL
Subject: Re: Goenka: I Have No Interest in Revolutionary Marriages
Date: Sat 25 Jun 2011 17:29:36 +0500 (IST)
From: Ram Sahay Deva

Baba

== RE: GOENKA: I HAVE NO INTEREST IN REVOLUTIONARY MARRIAGES ==

Namaskar,
One of the key points of building one human society is our revolutionary marriage system which was specially given by Baba. This is an essential way for bringing people together and creating a harmonious society.

As has been clearly detailed in earlier postings (see links below), the Goenka clan has resisted Baba’s divine guideline of revolutionary marriages. Instead they have glued themselves to their own caste and community. This has been going on from generation to generation.

Yet, by His below teachings, Baba guides us that revolutionary marriages are needed in order to do AM pracara and build a healthy social order. Without revolutionary marriages, these two aims cannot be achieved. We see then how important they are.

You can decide for yourself the quality of the person who intentionally rejects Baba’s teaching and instead arranges caste marriages.

One margii has contributed the following teachings by writing a summary in English of Baba’s below quotes from Hindi discourses. (Note: If you are unable to read the Hindi font in this email, kindly refer to the attached PDF file.)

BABA’S TEACHINGS ON REVOLUTIONARY MARRIAGES

Baba says, “You will have to struggle against dogma. And not just by saying dogma is bad, no. By your own actions, you will have to show you reject dogma. I will tell all that we need to create a human society as soon as possible.
Everywhere in the world A’nandama’rga praca’ra will have to be done even more strongly. And for this, two things are needed. For creating a society more and more revolutionary marriages are needed. … And those who are guardians, mothers and fathers, have your sons and daughters do revolutionary marriage and thereby show that you are against dogma. You should fear no one. If your duty is not accomplished by individual effort, then move ahead collectively. There is no cause for fear. I am with you.” (Summary of the below Hindi)

तुम लोग dogma के ख़िलाफ़ सङ्ग्राम करते रहोगे | और केवल—मुँह से बोलोगे कि dogma ख़राब है—सो नहीं | अपने करके दिखला दोगे कि—तुम dogma को नापसन्द करते हो |

हम तो सबसे कहेंगे कि हम लोगों को जल्द से जल्द समाज बना लेना है | और, दुनिया में सर्वत्र आनन्दमार्ग का प्रचार और ज़ोरदार करना है | इसके लिए चाहिए दो | समाज बनाना है, इसलिए अधिक से अ&
#2343;िक revolutionary marriage चाहिए | …

और, जो लोग guardian हो, माता-पिता हो, अपने बटे-बेटी को revolutionary marriage करके दिखला दो कि—तुम dogma के ख़िलाफ़ हो | घबड़ाओ नहीं, किसी से डरो नहीं | अपने वैयष्टिक प्रयास से अगर नहीं हुआ, सामूहिक प्रयास से करो
; | घबड़ाने की कोई बात नहीं है | और हम तोरा सिनी रो साथ छियो |

क्रान्तिकारी विवाह
(Kra’ntika’rii Viva’ha, Deoghar, 08 Jan 84 General Darshan)

Here is another of Baba’s divine teachings on this key point.

Baba says, “Get more and more revolutionary marriages done. And, what should brave youths and their parents do? Put an ending to casteism, pulverize it to dust with the force of their blows. Build one human society, and deliver the message of Ananda Marga to all the corners of the world. And for this, maximum whole timer workers are also needed. So create more and more whole timer workers. And by creating more and more revolutionary marriages, make the society strong.” (Summary of the below Hindi)

अधिक से अधिक revolutionary marriage करा लो | और जो हिम्मतवार लड़के हैं, वे, उनके guardian, उनके माता; वे लोग क्या करें ? जात-पाँत को लात से ख़त्म कर दो, चूर-चूर कर दो | एक समाज, एक दल, एक मज़बूत समाज बना लो और हम लो& #2327;ों को दुनिया के कोने-कोने में आनन्दमार्ग का पैगाम पहुँचा देना है | इसलिए अधिक से अधिक सङ्ख्या में whole timer worker की भी जरूरत है | कोई whole timer worker बनो | कोई revolutionary marriage करके समाज को मज़बूत बना दो |

(14 Jan 1984, Patna)
Namaskar,
Ram Sahay

Note: LINKS TO EARLIER POSTINGS ON THIS TOPIC

http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2011/06/goenka-i-have-no-interest-in.html

http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2011/06/re-goenka-i-have-no-interest-in.html

http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2011/04/baba-story-about-serious-injustice.html

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Re: Goenka: I Have No Interest in Revolutionary Marriages

Date: 19 Jun 2011 09:19:25 -0000
From: “Manoj Deva”
To: am-global@earthlink.net
Subject: Re: Goenka: I Have No Interest in Revolutionary Marriages

Baba

== RE: GOENKA: I HAVE NO INTEREST IN REVOLUTIONARY MARRIAGES ==

Note: This entire letter has been attached as a PDF file. So if anyone is unable to read the Hindi font portion of this email, they can reference the attached file.

Namaskar,
Yes I fully support this letter. It is astonishing that someone given top prizes and high stature in AM is at the same time a firm believe in the dogma of casteism. The position of the Goenka / Agarwal clan is untenable.

As Baba says in the following quotes: Be aware of such hypocrites who outwardly brag about their greatness in AM yet internally eat, breathe and sleep in the dungeon of casteism.

These people are that type of stone that resides in the bottom of the river – always immersed in water – but could never get drenched. Those stones are dry as a bone inside. Similarly, such persons lived with Baba under the banner of Ananda Marga, but they could not soak up those teachings, instead their minds remained as dark as a dungeon.

Nobody gets inspiration from the conduct of such persons. The straight-forward approach is to follow silent action with these people until they mend their ways.

Indeed, I am quite outraged by this entire episode of Goenka casteism & elitism. If an ordinary or new margii were to do like this then I could ignore the matter. But when a senior margii is following the Hindu caste dogma, then that is appalling.

Please review these following quotes from Baba and see how He strongly opposes this dirty dogma of casteism. The transcription of the original Hindi is noted below for your reference.

Respectfully,
Manoj Deva

QUOTES FROM BABA ON CASTEISM:

ONE CANNOT BELIEVE IN BOTH CASTEISM AND PARAMA PURUSA

Baba says, “Everyone on this earth is a child of Parama Puruśa; no one is big or small. All are related as brothers and sisters. As far as castes are concerned, no one is high or low. How can the children of the same Father be of five hundred different castes? All people are of the same caste. Everyone is by birth of the same caste as their father. So keep away from those who discriminate in terms of caste; keep far from the reach of their noose. Why? Because those who believe in caste, do not believe in Parama Puruśa. If five people are of five different castes, then what is the caste of Parama Puruśa? Can He be of five castes? No, that is not possible. So bear in mind that those who believe in caste, do not have genuine belief in the Supreme Father. How can people of five hundred castes have one and the same father? So I say those who believe in caste, do not believe in the Supreme Father, and those who believe in the Supreme Father do not believe in caste.” (Discourses on Krśńa and the Giita, “Mucyate Bhavabandhanát”; First Published in Ananda Vacanamrtam – 16 (Hindi))

(Note: Although the above English translation has been approved by Publications Dept and printed in the book Discourses on Krśńa and the Giita, the translation is a bit sloppy. There are various terms like “earth”, “birth” etc which Baba did not say yet which appear in the above translation.)

For your ease and convenience, here is another translation for your review.

Baba says, “Indeed, everyone is brother and sister. No one can is of high or low caste. Can the children of one father be of five hundred different castes? Everyone is of one caste; the caste of the father is the caste of all the children. Beware of those who believe in the dogma of casteism. Do not get trapped in their ways. Why? Because those who believe in the dogma of casteism, they do not have any reverence for the Supreme Father.”

[Ma’rgiis– “Baba, Baba, Baba!!”]

“Because, if five people are of five different castes, and their father is Parama Purus’a, then what is the caste of Parama Purusa? Will He be of five castes? Never. So remember, those who follow casteism, do not believe in the Lord. How can five hundred people of various caste, all have the same Father? It means they do not believe in Parama Purus’a. In contrast, those who believe in Parama Purus’a as the Supreme Father do not follow caste dogma.” (summary of the below Hindi)

सब तो भाई-भाई हैं | कोई ऊँच जात, कोई नीच जात तो नहीं हो सकते हैं | एक बाप के बेटे, क्या पाँच सौ जाति के हो सकते हैं ? सब एक जात के हैं | बाप का जो जात बेटों का वही जात | जात-पाँति जो करते हैं, उनसे दूर रहो | उनके चङ्गुल से दूर रहो | क्यों ? न, जो जात-पाँति मानते हैं, वे परमपिता को नहीं मानते हैं |

[मार्गी लोग—“बाबा, बाबा, बाबा !”]

क्योंकि, पाँच आदमी अगर पाँच जात हुआ, तो उनके पिता परमपुरुष, उनका जात तब क्या होगा ? क्या वे पाँच जात के होंगे ? सो तो नहीं | तो, जो मनुष्य याद रखोगे जात-पाँति मानते हैं, वे परमपिता को नहीं मानते हैं | क्योंकि पाँच सौ जातिवाले मनुष्य के एक पिता कैसे हो सकते हैं | इसलिए परमपिता को नहीं मानते हैं | और, जो परमपिता को मानते हैं, वे जात-पाँति नहीं मानते हैं |
मुच्यते भव बन्धनात्‌
Mucyate Bhava Bandhana’t
10/31/79 Kullu
(Published: Ananda Vacanamrtam Part 16, Chapter 03)

Here below is another of one of Baba’s teachings on caste dogma wherein He claims one cannot be both an adherent of caste dogma as well as a believer in Parama Purusa.

Baba says, “There is one Supreme Father for every living being. So there should not be any feeling of high and low between humans. So many times I have told you that those who believe in the caste system do not believe in Parama Purusa. Why? The sons of one father cannot be of many castes. Those who believe in caste dogma disregard Parama Purusa. Those who believe in the Cosmic Father will never surrender at the alter of caste dogma. Follow one ideal. You cannot keep your feet in two separate boats. Either believe in Parama Purusa or believe in the dogma of casteism. It is impossible to believe in both. A stone vessel is by definition made of stone. “A stone vessel made of gold” is a utopian idea; it is totally impractical. A stone vessel can never be made of gold. Similarly, supporting both Parama Purus’a and casteism is an impossibilty. Humans will have to tread on only one path. (summary of the below Hindi)

हर जीव के पिता एक परमपुरुष हैं | इसलिए मनुष्य में उच्च-नीच का भेदभाव रहना नहीं चाहिए | कई बार मैं कह चुका हूँ कि जो मनुष्य जात-पाँति मानते हैं, परमपुरुष को वे नहीं मानते हैं | क्यों ? न, एक पिता के पुत्त्रों का अनेक जात नहीं हो सकता है | और, जात-पाँति माननेवाले परमपिता को नहीं मानते हैं | और, परमपिता को माननेवाले जात-पाँति नहीं मान सकते हैं | एक को रखना है जी | दो नाव पर चलने से नहीं चलेगा | अगर जीना है, अगर आगे बढ़ना है, तो एक नाव पर चढ़ना है | Either परमपुरुष को मानो, या जात-पाँति मानो | दोनों मानोगे, नहीं हो सकता है | पथरौटी पत्थर की होती है, सोने की पथरौटी नहीं हो सकती है | तो, मनुष्य को एक ही राह पर रहना चाहिए |

आध्यात्मिक साधना के साथ मानसिक स्तर का सम्पर्क
A’dhya’tmika Sa’dhana’ ke Sa’th Ma’nasika Star ka’ Samparka
6/27/80 Saharsa
(Published: Subhasita Samgraha, part 14, Chapter 09)

ORIGINAL POSTING ON THIS TOPIC:

http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2011/06/goenka-i-have-no-interest-in.html

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Goenka: I Have No Interest in Revolutionary Marriages

Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2011 20:02:37 -0000
To: AM-GLOBAL
From: Niranjan Deva
Subject: Goenka: I Have No Interest in Revolutionary Marriages

Baba

== GOENKA: I HAVE NO INTEREST IN REVOLUTIONARY MARRIAGES ==

Namaskar,
Many of you may recall the story of Sanjay Goenka and how he was totally undeserving of and wrongly awarded the prize of “Best Bhukti Pradhan” at the January 2011 DMS.

A link to that letter of 26 Apr 2011 is appended below for your easy reference.

Now here is more news about that same Sanjay Goenka and his family. This letter is also quite revealing about his “dedication” to AM ideals and how far he was deserving to get the prize of “Best Bhukti Pradhan”.

STORY:

WE ONLY MARRY WITHIN OUR OWN CASTE

Once, during seminar in Tadepalligudem, I asked Sushil Goenka Dada, who has a nephew-uncle relation with Sanjay Goenka, why he had come to the seminar on the third day. Why did he not come earlier for the start of the seminar.

Note: Here it should be understood that Sushil Goenka runs the family business, i.e. a large factory, in Hyderabad. Yet he comes to Tadepalligudem fairly regularly as OP Goenka runs the factory there. Thus it was expected that Sushil would be present for the entire seminars it was in his known area. That is why I asked why he had been absent the first two days.

Sushil Goenka replied, “I have been in Delhi to attend the marriage of the daughter of one margii named Vijay Agrawal.”

Note: Vijay Agrawal is a well-known and respected margii and according to Goenka he belongs to the same community, i.e. marwarai business community of India. As people learn more about Agrawalji’s actions, they may reevaluate how much respect he truly deserves.

I inquired, “Was it a revolutionary marriage?”

“Dada, in our community, no such marriage is allowed.” That was the reply uttered by Sushil Goenka.

It then became quite clear how far he follows AM ideals.

WHO CAN SAY LIKE THIS

Why was it so clear? Because it is only when people feel extremely comfortable with their manner and ways that they will overtly tell things about their own life that others might find to be improper or even despicable.

For example, those in the mafia will openly brag about killing and murdering common citizens because those mafia men are very comfortable with the fact that they murder other humans. They are so involved and accustomed to killing that they do not care what others think about this. So they would openly tell others about it.

Similarly, because of his strong allegiance to caste dogma, Sushil Goenka was very frank in telling that he and his family totally shun Baba’s system of revolutionary marriage.

Here the whole point is that only someone very comfortable with caste dogma can openly and shamelessly proclaim his strong allegiance to caste marriage to a fellow Ananda Margii. Such is the lowly psychic status of Sushil Goenka on this matter. The man has not an ounce of shame about this – only pride.

Furthermore, Sanjay Goenka, with whom he has uncle-nephew relation, overtly supports caste marriages for his entire extended family. Sanjay Goenka Dada knowingly and unflinchingly contravenes Baba’s explicit guideline. As a senior member of the family, it is Sanjay Goenka Dada who has perpetuated and approved this dogma of caste marriages. Indeed he is more wedded to his dogmatic Hindu caste than to Baba’s dharmic and divine teachings. Yet this same Sanjay Goenka was awarded the “Best Bhukti Pradhan” prize at the January 2011 DMS.

It is also known by many that Sanjay Goenka Dada is not very involved in AM teachings or activities. Just he mingles with margiis on occasion. So here again it is most surprising that this same Sanjay Goenka was awarded as “Best Bhukti Pradhan” in front of one and all at the January DMS.

And really, this point of blatantly disregarding Baba’s system of revolutionary marriage is too much.

THE TRAGEDY OF IT ALL

As we know Baba has taken great trouble to wipe out the dogmatic caste system. And one of the main techniques Baba has prescribed is inter-caste marriages. In those early days of AM, the Hindu establishment strongly opposed Baba and destroyed the land and personal property of countless Ananda Margiis who strictly adhered to Baba’s system of revolutionary marriage. There are countless tales of struggle and strife in this regard.

Because as we all know, rooting out an age-old dogma is not easy. It takes the advent of a great Personality like Taraka Brahma to guide society and wipe out such dogmas. Without that, harmful dogmas like the Hindu caste system continue on for centuries. Baba has graced humanity by opposing and eradicating this heinous dogma.

Yet now, people from the Goenka family are re-implementing this crude dogma under our very eyes. They are more concerned about the their prestige and the so-called purity of their own caste, i.e. marwarai business community of India, than they are about adhering to and following Baba’s dharmic ideals. That is why Sanjay Goenka and his whole clan openly disregard Baba’s revolutionary marriage system.

Then, beyond belief, this very same Sanjay Goenka is awarded the prize of “Best Bhukti Pradhan.” How does this work? Such people are a slur on AM yet they are treated as class “A” margiis. Their behaviour is awful yet they are given the top prize. What message are those at the helm trying to give to margiis: “Become worthless and get the top prize”.

THEY DO NOT BELIEVE IN PARAMA PURUSA

Here Baba strongly condemns any and all who follow caste dogma and disregard the revolutionary marriage system. Such persons “do not believe in Parama Purusa” – those are Baba’s exact words. Please read His following guideline.

Baba says, “Everyone on this earth is a child of Parama Puruśa; no one is big or small. All are related as brothers and sisters. As far as castes are concerned, no one is high or low. How can the children of the same Father be of different castes? All people are of the same caste. Everyone is by birth of the same caste as their father. So keep away from those who discriminate in terms of caste; keep far from the reach of their noose. Why? Because those who believe in caste, do not believe in Parama Puruśa. If five people are of five different castes, then what is the caste of Parama Puruśa? Can He be of five castes? No, that is not possible. So bear in mind that those who believe in caste, do not have genuine belief in the Supreme Father. How can people of five hundred castes have one and the same father? So I say those who believe in caste, do not believe in the Supreme Father, and those who believe in the Supreme Father do not believe in caste.” (Discourses on Krśńa and the Giita, “Mucyate Bhavabandhanát”)

In clear-cut language, in His above teaching, Baba definitively guides us that those following Hindu caste dogma do not believe in Parama Purusa. There is no middle ground. Where there is casteism there is no belief in Parama Purusa. That is Baba’s exact teaching, nay warning. Thus one should keep oneself millions of miles away from the dogma of casteism.

Here following is Baba’s fundamental teaching from Caryacarya about marriage. Once again, one is not to pay heed to caste dogma in the case of marriage.

Baba says, “While arranging a marriage [in the case of that kind of marriage], the guardians should not consider the caste or nationality of the bride and bridegroom.” (Caryacarya-1)

Thus Baba’s stand is perfectly clear. Yet, the Goenka clan, like Sanjay and Sushil, is pointedly committed caste marriages. It is a shame.

BABA’S BLESSING

Baba has blessed us with all the practices to lead a dharmic life. So it is not at all appreciated if one family – like the Goenka family – follows their caste dogma with regards to marriage and totally ignores Baba’s revolutionary marriage system.

More about this is written below in “Note #1”.

But already you have the essence of the story. Sanjay Goenka has blatantly overlooked Baba’s marriage system yet still he gets huge respect and wins the award of “Best Bhukti Pradhan”.

Rather the prize should go to the one who sincerely follows Baba’s grand teachings in all realms of life. That is Baba’s distinct teaching.

Baba says, “It is action that makes a person great. Be great by your sádhaná, by your service, by your sacrifice.” (Ananda Vanii #20)

Baba says, “Your ideal is represented by your conduct. Your learning, your social or economic status have nothing to do with your ideal.” (Ananda Vanii #13)

Namaskar,
Niranjan

Note 1: CLARIFICATION ABOUT SHYAM SUNDAR GOENKA – AKA HAMRAHI

Many margiis around the world know of SS Goenka, i.e. Shyam Sundar Goenka, also known by his pen-name of Hamrahi. SS Goenka is very active on email and he shares the same forefathers as Sanjay and Sushil Goenka. Most specifically, Sanjay is the grandson of SS Goenka’s elder brother B.K. Goenka.

SS Goenka also does not have or follow the RM system. People mistakenly think Geonka Dada is a top-notch margii. But in reality we have to question this. After all, his family never does intercaste marriages. Rather they do one special trick.

Within the entire Goenka clan, their sons and daughters are not married to any Ananda Margii families. So they just marry their children into their marwarai business community. And then only after the marriage is performed, they are initiated into AM. This is their devious method of not paying heed to Baba’s system of revolutionary marriage (RM). Yet such persons hold themselves to be the vanguards of Baba’s holy teachings. Everyone can decide for themselves how far this is hypocrisy or not.

They preach the intercaste marriage system to others, but they themselves do not follow it.

They want to be looked upon as being ideal – and some naive margiis believe that the Goenka clan follows all Baba’s guidelines perfectly. But rational margiis have a different understanding.

Up till now the Goenka clan has not done any RM, and they have no plan to do so in the future either. You can ask more about their caste marriages with SS Goenka Dada (sgoenka.amps2@gmail.com).

Here are some other key note facts about the Goenka / Agrawal clan:

– Sanjay Goenka and Sushil Goenka are nephews of SS Goenka.

– Vijay Agrawal stays in Mumbai and SS Soenka is the maternal uncle of Vijay Agrawal.

– SS Goenka is the youngest among his brothers and sisters. That is why all his nephews are only a little younger then he is.

– SS Goenka is now 72 years old. Vijay Agrawal is around 60 years of age.

– Vijay Agrawal has two sons and two daughters. Both daughters got married a few years ago. Both have kids. The younger daughter got married almost two years ago. She stays in Delhi. The elder daughter was married in Mumbai and has two kids. None of these marriages were RM.

– The mother of Vijay Agrawal is the elder sister of SS Goenka. She does not like Ananda Marga and she is a strong, traditional Hindu Marwari follower. Vijay Agrawal has two daughters and two sons. One daughter got married with a different caste – this was the first intercaste marriage in his family but the wedding was solemanised as per the Hindu system, not our revolutionary AM marriage ceremony. The other daughter married within that same Marwari caste. Arunanshu is the eldest son of Vijay Agarwal and a few months ago he got engaged to a girl from a different caste. He will be just the 2nd person of the entire Goenka / Agrawal clan to marry someone from a different caste. Arunanshu has promised us that he will marry as per our Ananda Marga revolutionary system. At present, he is facing strong protest from his grandmother (mentioned above) who is the sister of SS Goenka. Let us see whether Arunanshu becomes the first person to get married as per our AM system or not in the Goenka / Agarwal family.

Note 2: FAKE SAMADHI

It is generally known that Sushil Goenka is basically a goody-goody margii. Many may recall that when Sushil Goenka comes to dharmacakra or akhanda kiirtan, then he cries and weeps loudly, and sometimes afterwards he even tells others that, “I got samadhi.” But by his actions and overall manner, we can verily see that this is not true. Even then no one says this openly to him. When he says he got samadhi, then we just nod our heads and say “yes”.

Note 3: ANOTHER REASON WHY HE GOT THE PRIZE

it is also known to many that Sanjay Goenka bribed the police to harass and bring false cases (theft & burglary) against the innocent margiis of Karnool. Those margiis of Karnool were opposing Savitananda on dharmic points. So when Sanjay Goenka hired the police to “deal with” those Karnool margiis, then Sanjay Goenka got in the “good book” of Savitananda. That is why Savitananda is very pleased and overwhelmed with joy; and that is why Savitananda requested Ranchi leaders to give the top prize of “Best Bhukti Pradhan” to Sanjay Goenka.

Here it should also be noted that when those innocent margiis of Karnool were harassed and arrested by the police, then they were “booked” by Ashok Reddy, who is Savitananda’s loakika brother-in-law, i.e. the husband of Savitananda’s laokiks sister. Ashok Reddy himself is not a true margii in his day-to-day life, just he acts like he is king of the Marga when he has to harass others.

By this story of Sanjay Goenka bribing the police, it is clear that the next time anyone hires some “hitmen” or goondhas to terrorise the other group, then those at the helm will grant that margii the high prize at DMS.

Note 4: PLEASE FORWARD TO SS GOENKA & SANJAY GOENKA

After reading this letter kindly forward this to both Sanjay & SS Goenka. Here are their email addresses for your easy access:

Sanjay Goenka: sanjay@fff.co.in

SS Goenka: sgoenka.amps2@gmail.com

Note 5: LINK TO EARLIER LETTER ABOUT BEST BP AWARD

http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2011/04/baba-story-about-serious-injustice.html

PRABHAT SAMGIITA

“Toma’r pathe cali a’mi, kon ba’dha’y pechoba na’…” (P.S. 1390)

Purport:

Baba by Your infinite grace I am moving forward on Your divine path. By Your grace I do not care about any types of obstacles. I will never look behind in frustrated mood. You are my everything; You are my Goal; You are my sadhana. Baba, fortified with the strength of Your divine name my life is moving. Your name is like the lamp on my path of forward movement. By Your grace You have made me realise that there is no comparison to the strength which is residing in Your holy name.

Baba, by this way days and months are passing. Our closeness is getting more and more intimate, by Your grace. In my heart I realise that You are my everything. Baba because You are and I am. Except this I do not know anyone. By Your grace I am moving on Your path without bothering about any sorts of hindrances. It is Your grace…

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Role of Family People in Ananda Marga

Date: 10 Apr 2011 19:46:13 -0000

From: “G Bhaskaran Deva”

To: am-global@earthlink.net

Subject: Role of Family People in Ananda Marga

Baba

= ROLE OF FAMILY PEOPLE IN ANANDA MARGA ==

Note: An audio file – Role of Family People & Wts in Ananda Marga – has been uploaded to the AM-GLOBAL blogsite in association with this topic.

Namaskar,

The following paragraph is a summary of Baba’s special teaching on the roles of both family people and wholetimers in our Ananda Marga.

Baba says, “What is the objective adjustment of sannyasis [AM Wts]? To help family people in their all-round development. And what is the subjective approach of the sannyasis? To do more sadhana [in comparison to ghriis]. Sannyasi means one should immerse oneself only in the thought and service of Parama Purusa. These two have to follow their duties. Sannyasis should follow their duties; and, family people should follow their duties. If you adopt this approach, you will be able to make one ideal human society. I see that the role of family people is very significant in Ananda Marga. There is a great need of LFT’s. Because of their family responsibility those who cannot dedicate themselves fully can do part-time service and become LPT. In that case they should dedicate at least 5 minutes every day for service. Only engaging in subjective approach [one’s own sadhana] or only engaging in objective adjustment [one’s own family life] is not good.” (Summary of Baba’s Teaching)

Note: Baba spoke the above originally in Bengali and the original audio file has been posted to the AM-GLOBAL blogsite.

IN AM FAMILY PEOPLE HAVE THEIR PLACE

AM society is comprised of both family people and sannyasis, i.e. Wts. And Baba has given a unique role for each to play. These roles are very revolutionary and unlike any of the dogmatic religions. In all of the religions, family people are basically 2nd class citizens. They have hardly any role at all. All the power is with the priest class. Family people just obey the orders of the clergy like sheep or slaves. Our Ananda Marga is totally different. In Ananda Marga, Baba has given family people their rightful place in the running of AM society.

STUNG BY IMPOSED SAMSKARA

The question arises then, when family people have been given a distinct role in our AM way of life, why is it that family people always take a backseat to Wts in running the organisation.

Here is the reply.

In AM philosophy, Baba describes different kinds of samskaras, one of which is an imposed samskara. And it is that type of samskara that is hurting us right now. An imposed samskara is when we get indoctrinated into the dogmas and trends of the greater general society. That is what has happened in AM with regards to the relationship between Wts and family margiis.

Since almost all the religions suffering from priestocracy etc, that same dogma is in AM in most parts of the world. Neither does the priest class want to empower the family people, nor do family people feel comfortable having any role.

It is just like if you ask one so-called Harijan in the remote village to sit on an equal chair, then bound by their inferiority comples they will say that, “I am comfortable on the ground.” Here below Baba further describes this type of mentality.

Baba says, “The headmaster of a Harijan school once asked a student to fetch him some drinking water, but the boy did not move. Instead he asked a non-Harijan friend in a low voice to do as the headmaster requested. But the headmaster intervened and asked the boy why he would not comply with the request. The student replied, “Sir, I am an untouchable by caste. How can you drink water touched by me?” This is an example of how repression can bring about a change in the psychic structure.” (Prout Nutshell-17)

In a similar manner, some or most of the family people in our Marga suffer from the same type of inferiority complex as those hairjans. Family people feel unworthy of a proper role in AM. That is the dogma or imposed samskara that has been dragged into AM.

BABA HAS GIVEN DISTINCT ROLES

By Baba’s grace He has cleared up that situation and everyone should be aware of Baba’s stand.

Baba has given each a role to play: Family people and sannyasis. The duty of each has been allotted. We do not have any option. What Guru says we should follow.

Sannyasis have only one family (i.e. the greater universal family) they have to do more sadhana and help others in their development / 16 Pts. They should not drown in all kinds of vices including self-indulgence.

And family people have two families (unit and cosmic) and must participate in organisational life and serve the society. That is their dharma.

BEWARE: DO NOT BE LIKE ANIMALS

If either family margiis or Wts do not pay heed to Baba’s aforementioned guideline, then they may be no better than animals.

For instance, the status of those family margiis totally indulged in their unit family life is like that of an animal. Why? Because even wild animals, especially mammals, have their own family and attend to their responsibilities. So if one family person does like this and neglects the greater universal family, they are not human.

Likewise if a sannyasi is engrossed in their own luxuries, material wealth, and selfishness, they are also like a beast.

BABA’S BLESSING

Baba has made it very clear what our duties are. We are to follow our allotted duty and fulfill our human dharma.

Namaskar,

Bhaskaran

PRABHAT SAMGIITA

“(A’mi) krpa’-kanika’ ceyechiluma, Tumi karun’a’dha’ra’ d’helecho… (1355)

Purport:

Baba, You are ever gracious. I was asking for an iota of Your divine grace and You have showered me with the endless flow of Your infinite karuna [1]. Living in this world, in the ocean of sorrow, everything is transitory; it cannot give us eternal happiness. Baba, I wanted You to bless me with a wee-bit of Your divine grace and a’nandam. And You have showered me in the causeless compassion of Your varabhaya mudra. Baba, You have completely flooded my entire being. Your infinite grace is boundless.

With the passage of time, so many jiivas come and go in this srsti (creation). In this panoramic cycle of life and death, so many jiivas come and go. They are unable to remember you constantly. O’ Baba, You keep careful watch over one and all – unit and vast. You witness everything. Everything occurs under Your divine witnesship. Baba, You care for everyone via your ota and prota yoga.

O’ Parama Puruas, You are the ocean of love. By Your grace You have removed all cimmerian darkness and negative samskaras. You have graciously removed the bondages and showered me with Your effulgence. With the warm, loving touch of Your heart, with the flow of nectar, You have showered Your grace and this whole universe became dhanya [2]. Baba, You blessed all with Your infinite grace.

Baba, I surrender to Your lotus feet…

Notes for Prabhat Samgiita #1355:

[1] Karuna’: (Literally: ‘Divine Compassion’); When Parama Purus’a sees the suffering of devotees, then He feels pained by how they are unable to move ahead on the spiritual path due to getting caught up in various problems and difficulties. In such circumstances, Parama Purusa cannot bear to watch His bhaktas go through so much struggle and strife. So in their helpless condition, when devotees are trying hard to progress but their pathway is completely obstructed and they cannot advance in their sadhana or spiritual life– and again and again they are overcome by various complexes, bondages, and obstacles– then by seeing His devotees beleaguered in this way, Parama Purus’a Himself comes and graces them. With His immense feeling of karuna’ (divine compassion), Parama Purusa blesses His devotees and relieves them of their pain and suffering. This special grace is nothing but His divine karuna’: Wherein Parama Purus’a graces the devotees and removes their troubles and hindrances so that once again they can move ahead freely on the path of spiritual salvation.

[2] Dhanya: This means successful in the spiritual sphere in the form of reaching your Goal, reaching your Destination, attaining Parama Puruaa. Baba blesses us with this idea at the conclusion of all His devotional discourses. It is His special blessing for spiritual victory and reaching Him.

Baba says, “He is with you – He will give you proper direction so that with His gospels for the salvation of the universal creation, you will reach your goal without much difficulty. He will do what is necessary. You just go on obeying Him, just go on doing His work and adhere to what He says with all your energy. Let the speed of His introversial thinking be accelerated by your noble actions and by your spiritual pursuits. Let that golden day come at the earliest and make your life effulgent.” (SS-18)

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“Blessing” Business

Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2011 22:46:41 -0000

To: am-global@earthlink.net

From: Tapan Prabhu

Subject: “Blessing” Business

Baba

== “BLESSING” BUSINESS ==

Namaskar,

Dadaji told us that he could arrange it, but that it would cost us. We were eager and ready. This was the moment in our life we were waiting for. We were not going to miss the opportunity. Dada told us he would be back with the details. We waited anxiously.

After two days he phoned us and told us that it was all set. All that was left to settle was the money. We had to pay him ahead of time. No problem we thought. Our dream was going to come true: We were going to get a marriage blessing by PP Dada.

Here is one look into how those at the helm aim to profit from their “blessing” business. See and decide for yourself if this is proper or not.

MARRIAGE IS VERY SENTIMENTAL

We all know that marriage is a very sentimental occasion. All newly married couples wish to have a long and healthy marriage full of joy and happiness. No one wishes to have a marriage wrought with arguments and deception. To ensure a wonderful marriage, that newly married couple often seeks a marriage blessing.

And we all know that before 1990, Baba would graciously bless so many newly married margiis during DMC festivities etc. This was His usual way. And being the Parama Purusa incarnate, Baba would shower His unfathomable grace on those newlyweds.

TURN OF EVENTS

Now however something totally different is going on in our Ananda Marga.

These days certain Dadas have fixed a high price for margiis to get a marriage blessing from PP Dada. The rate is RS 10,000 – the equivalent of 6 months salary for the average Indian citizen working in the village. That is what Dadas demand to get a so-called marriage blessing.

Why so-called blessing? Because these Dadas are just ordinary human beings, or even worse than that as they are submerged in groupism. They are not Parama Purusa nor does PP Dada “channel” Parama Purusa when he gives his so-called blessing. PP is a social post, not a spiritual one.

PP IS NOT A SPIRITUAL POST

To think PP Dada is the spiritual head of Ananda Marga is nothing but an imposed dogma from the other religions that Guru-ship passes down and the successor inherits the spiritual power. Gurus and holy priests are treated as the preceptor or the preceptor’s representative. But in AM it is not like that, we do not follow this in AM. Only naive margiis believe this.

For us, the post of PP is only a social position, not a spiritual one. PP cannot bless anyone in the spiritual realm. The marriage blessing of PP is purely social. It is done to show the public that these two people got married and they are ready to carry out the responsibility of society building.

Whoever is PP is not realised soul. Their kundalini may just be totally stuck in the muladahra cakra. They cannot bless others. Only Parama Purusa can bless.

EVERYONE HAS A DIRECT LINK WITH BABA

If we think in proper way, of course we know that everyone is a mini-Baba. All are Baba’s representative – every disciple. We have a direct link.

Baba says, “What is ota yoga? The Cosmic Father has a direct relationship with each and every entity of this world, animate or inanimate. Not a single grain of sand nor a single blade of grass is neglected by Him. All are his affectionate children. This is His ota yoga.(3) Each and every entity, animate or inanimate, has a direct link with Him.” (A’nanda Vacanamrtam, Part 6)

So in Ananda Marga, there is no middle man between the bhakta and God. Purodha Pramukha is not a middle man between you and Baba. The various dogmatic religions believe in an intermediary. But that is not our way so do not get exploited and pay huge sums to get Baba’s “blessing”. If you want His blessing ask Baba directly, irrespective of where you are.

JUST A SCAM

Of course we all know that in the pre-1990 era, there was never any charge to get a marriage blessing. Baba would unconditionally bless those newly married couples.

So what a scam is going on these days. Such PP or senior purodhas are not up to the mark yet they are charging for their marriage blessings just like Wall Street Brokers.

And do you know how they are able to command this price? Do you know how they are able to attract more and more customers?

Well here is their trick. They share profits with other Dadas. That means each and every Dada in the field is a broker for marriage blessing clients. They get 50% of every marriage blessing referral. So a Dada gets RS 5,000 for convincing, consoling and injecting the fear complex so that newly-wed couples go for marriage blessings.

Needless to say that with the stakes so high, Dadas use all kinds of methods, strategies and psychologies to convince all newly married couples to get PP Dada’s bogus blessing. Such Dadas say things like, “Don’t you want a long and fruitful marriage?”, “Don’t you want to have healthy children?”, “In this mundane world, all need the grace of Baba – so come and get blessing from PP Dada.”

They even impose fear tactics by telling stories of woe: “One couple did not get PP’s blessing and their first child tragically died at birth”; or “One family unfortunately missed out on getting a blessing and the horrific situation was that the wife died of cancer at a young age” etc. They tell stories of people far, far away so such tales cannot be verified. If the newlywed couple resides in Rajasthan, then the Dada will tell a “story” about a couple in Bengal. Likewise if the Dada is in south, then they will tell a tale about newly-weds in Bihar.

In this way such captialise on the sentiments of those newly married couples. Indeed they employ all kinds of tactics to generate as many marriage blessing referrals as possible. That is how many Dadas become gold-star brokers and collect a RS 5,000 fee for each case.

NOT THEIR FAULT

All along those newly married margiis are innocent victims. They are not at fault. For a life full of cherished happiness, 10,000 is a small price to pay. They even go into debt to do so. Troubled by a fear complex they move ahead and follow Dada’s suggestions exactly. Due to fear, the mind fails to work properly, so margiis actually proceed with faith and trust. They feel Baba is directly giving a blessing via PP Dada, or the senior purodha etc.

They do not realise that this is all a total sham. They think that our Dadas are doing so many divine works in this world and helping so many people, then paying the marriage blessing fee supports such service projects. Those newlyweds do not realise that this entire plot is a money-making venture for Dadas so that they can buy fancy watches, new laptops or fuel their groupist crusades.

When this type of environment is created, then that brings heightened social pressure to go and get a blessing.

So no one should think those margiis are at fault. They do this out of their innocence and heart-felt desire to live a full and happy life. Marriage is a very sentimental occasion and those newly married couples are prime targets of exploitation by such Dadas who wish to captialise on the moment.

THE CASE OF ANAND FROM PATNA

Indeed our dear brother Anand of Patna had a revolutionary marriage and he thought it would wonderful to have a marriage blessing as well. When he approached Dadas in hopes of arranging this, they bluntly told him that any marriage blessing costs RS 10,000 minimum.

SUMMARY

So this is the sad and tragic tale of what some Dadas are doing. They are ruining the entire institution of AM marriages and marriage blessing by their conniving business tactics. And on the top they are taking advantage of margiis’ sentiments during this most delicate and sentimental time of marriage.

Everyone should be aware of what is going on and put a stop to such greedy shenanigans by our Dadas. Their so-called blessing business must end.

IMPORTANT POINTS ABOUT MARRIAGE BLESSING

The lessons from this entire situation are wide-ranging:

1. PP is not the spiritual head of Ananda Marga so there is no need of any “spiritual blessing” after one gets married. A marriage blessing is purely social recognition of the marriage; it does not affect your past, present or future samskaras.

2. Even some who received a marriage blessing by Baba ended in divorce. Why? Because in His marriage blessing Baba says that, “Be like Shiva and Parvatii…serve the society” etc. The point being that Baba’s blessing is not a guarantee that the husband and wife will remain together forever. Rather Baba is giving the directive of how to live together. Those who follow this directive will be a shining example for the society. And those who cannot follow this directive will end in divorce or an unhappy marriage.

3. It is dogmatic to think that those couples who receive a marriage blessing will stay together forever etc. The marriage blessing is an oath for taking a responsibility to live like Shiva and Parvati. Baba is telling the way to live.

4. Dogmatic people started thinking that the blessing will keep the couple together. Many could not follow and they split. The marriage blessing given by PP does does not affect one’s samskaras per se. Rather it is a social ceremony honoring the marriage and giving the pathway for how to live on this earth as a married couple.

5. I think now that the point is clear. No one should be paying RS 10,000 for one bogus blessing by PP Dada. It is nothing but highway robbery and one scam. The more people are aware about this, the more pressure can and will be exerted on those Wts to mend their ways. Then they will stop their crude business of marriage blessings.

Marriage blessing should be available and free to all. Plus it should be clear that the AM marriage blessing is a way to socially acknowledge the marriage, as well as the institution of marriage itself. It both directs and inspires that couple to move ahead in a proper way.

Baba says, “Prior to Shiva, there was no system of marriage in human society…Shiva, for the first time, introduced the system of marriage which has continued until this day. The Sanskrit word for marriage, viváha (derived vi – vah + ghaiṋ), literally means “to follow a particular system”. This system of marriage is known as Shaeva viváha. According to this system, the bride and the bridegroom will equally share full responsibility for their marriage, without any consideration of caste or community. Shiva was above all sorts of geo-sentiment and socio-sentiment.” (NSS, Disc: 2)

Namaskar,

Tapan

Note 1: JUST AS BABA BLESSES MARRIAGES HE BLESSES WORKERS

On many occasions Baba would bless Wts and give them the way forward for how to live. Those who could not follow or abide by Baba’s directive left their wt-ship. Thus it is the same as those recipients of Baba’s marriage blessing. If that couple could not hold dear to Baba’s directive, their marriage would end up in turmoil.

PRABHAT SAMGIITA

“Toma’r tare, jiivane bhare, sedhe gechi jato ga’n…” (P.S. 3747)

Purport:

Baba, by Your grace throughout my entire life I have been singing Your

blissful songs of divine love– Prabhat Samgiita– in order to satisfy

You. O’ Prabhu, now, however, I do not know which particular song to sing

in order to please & satiate You.

Baba, all the time– from the middle of the night up to the morning

dawn– I go on practicing and singing those tunes and melodies according to

Your direction with deep longing in my heart, hoping to bring You close.

And I have also sung Prabhat Samgiita in the scorching heat and in the tune

of the evening sunset. All the time I sing for You, with only one motive to

please You and bring You in my close proximity– O’ my dearmost.

Baba, when I sing for You and repeat Your name in Your divine ideation

then by Your grace a very special feeling comes in my heart, and tears roll

down in love for You. Baba, that intense love I am unable to express in

words, You know. Those blissful feelings cannot be conveyed by language.

Because of that blissful feeling for You, my mind always longs to sing the

song to call You. And also I have sung the song in the spring season along with the

flowers and sweet breeze of the effulgent purnima night. Baba, with the

strong feeling of yearning in my heart, I have also sung Your songs in the

terrible whirlwind of the hurricane of the pitch dark amavasya night. Baba,

by Your grace You have made me understand that everything is Your divine

blessing and I go on singing Your song, irrespective of the time, season,

hours, and days.

Baba, by Your grace I have only one longing in life: To satisfy You and

bring You close. Baba, please be gracious on me…

***************************************

Sign of Devotees

Baba says, “When undergoing any trouble then some human beings think

that they are shelterless. But you should always remember that in this

world at any given moment you are never shelterless. Because when Parama

Purusa is with you then how can you be shelterless. So there is no

reason for any feeling of helplessness or fear in any circumstances.

Because when He is with you the strongest and mightiest force of this

universe is with you. Then what is there to be afraid of? If you

encourage fear complex it means you have the forgotten the fact that

Parama Purusa is with you. So those who are sadhakas, those who are

devotees, those who are adherents of the path of dharma, they will

always be fearless. This is the quality of a sadhaka: That he is

fearless. Why is he fearless? Because he knows that the most powerful

entity, Parama Purusa, is with him. So there is a loving relation

between devotees and Parama Purusa– their relation is based on love.

Because of this truth the devotee is never afraid. He will never be

afraid of anyone and under no circumstances will he be perturbed.

Becoming paranoid is not the sign of devotees. Parama Purusa always

remains with you and HE always watches over His devotees. He is always

seeing how He can save devotees from any and all difficulties. So when

in this loving way Parama Purusa is concerned about you, then why will

you be disturbed. You should be fearless. There is no reason for any

sort of paranoia in the mind of devotees.” [SS-16 (H), p. 83, DMC Agra

19 Feb 84]

***************************************

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A Query about Marriage

Date: 05 Feb 2011 11:43:29 -0000

From: “Acintya Deva”

To: am-global@earthlink.net

Subject: A Query About Marriage

 

Baba

 

== A QUERY ABOUT MARRIAGE ==

 

Namaskar,

Is it really true that LFT’s must get married? Because many have noticed

how Dadas are highly concerned on this point and they often convince LFT’s

to either (a) get married or (b) in straight way those Acaryas inject in

the minds of those LFT’s that ‘if you want to remain celibate then become

WT’.

 

Under these circumstances, most of the time ultimately those LFTs do get

married. And by this way gradually our LFT system has gotten ruined or

paralysed. And the reason is obvious: In this modern world, doing social

service work full-time and simultaneously looking after one’s unit family

life and caring for the children is not possible.

 

 

LFT LIFE AND MARRIED LIFE DO NOT MIX

 

So we have seen that those inspired youths who were engaged in full-time

service to the society on the platform of AM, until they were married their

role and output was very good. They were hard working & dedicated. But as

soon as those same LFTs got married, they felt themselves surrounded by

innumerable personal problems of their own family, children, etc.

 

Then, struggling in this way between the two commitments of LFT and family

life, neither could they do full-time social service nor could they look

after their family life properly. In result their own children got

negatively affected and started hating AM.

 

Many examples are there of this – especially in India – where married LFT’s

continue in their dedicated work for AM but in that way their family got

disturbed in many ways. Partly because they hardly had any income and also

because of lack of time spent with the family. Then in that case the

children see that they are not getting what others have– not proper

clothes, education, or money and ultimately under such conditions they get

one negative impression of AM. The children feel that AM is the cause

of all their problems.

 

 

OTHER EFFECTS

 

Furthermore I personally know so many LFT’s who started suffering from

an inferiority complex. On the mundane level – i.e. earning money, worldly

comforts, family education – they felt they were not doing good. In that state

of mind when one is filled with an inferiority complex, it is impossible to

give the balm of peace to the suffering humanity.

 

Because if someone is suffering from psychic ailments of their own, then

how can they remove those same ailments in others’ lives. It is commonly

seen how many LFTs after getting married became so self-occupied & drowned by

their personal and own family problems.

 

And they did not have the time or opportunity to think on the matter of

social service. So on both the fronts they lost: Their marriage suffered

and their LFT life suffered.

 

Because they were leading the life of LFT so they did not care about the proper

job or earningsource. So when they were suddenly forced / convinced to marry,

then in a flash the situation went from positive to very negative.

 

We are also aware about many LFTs who worked for some time as LFT without

caring for their worldly qualifications and after getting married they

started feeling the need of proper money and job. In which case some of

them started feeling repentance that why they became LFT. And they began

questioning themselves that why they did not care about own career, degree,

diploma or proper job earlier. Because now their married life became one

nightmare.

 

So these are some of the common concerns, difficulties and problems related

to LFT life in our organization these days.

 

 

BABA’S GUIDELINE

 

Now let us see what our Guru says, then this disputed matter can be solved.

Because in this world everyone has their own logic. So if we investigate

what is Baba’s eternal truth and we keep that view in mind and start our

discussion then the outcome will be healthy.

 

 

REMAINING CELIBATE AS LFT IS A DHARMIC STAND,

 

IT IS NOT SINFUL

 

So on this point Baba has given a very significant and in-depth teaching in

the Namah Shivaya Shantaya book, section Shivokti 3. In this following

teaching Baba’s guideline is very straight forward. It does not have any

ambiguity nor is it convoluted. In clear-cut language Baba teaches us that

those who want to do something great for the general society or for the

welfare of one and all should remain unmarried.

 

Baba says, “Those who want to shoulder a greater responsibility out of the

dictates of a noble and great ideology and find it impossible to accept the

bondages of family life, should remain single.” (NSS, p. 115)

 

So Baba’s teaching is very clear and we have seen in the practical life

also that when LFTs are bound in marriage then it is very difficult for

them to wholeheartedly serve and give 100% time for the cause of the entire

humanity.

 

 

LFT vs LPT

 

One other point: If LFTs are involved both in their own family problems

and in for problems of general society then it means that they are

not giving full time. And in that condition they cannot be called as local

full-time worker– their situation will be LPT (Local Part-Time).

 

Because when the full form of the abbreviation of LFT means Local Full

Timer, then surely they have to give full-time otherwise they will not be

LFT. And full time cannot be given when one is in the bond of family life.

That is why LFT and married life are not working together.

 

So we have to think on this very point. Because nowadays our LFT system is

basically defunct. Means whatever was existing got deteriorated; and

whatever was existing lost its vitality.

 

 

NEED OF THE HOUR

 

The demand of the time is to create more & more LFTs because LFTs are the

full-time link between the common mass and WTs. Reason being LFTs are more

aware about their own local areas than WTs. So if our LFT structure is

functioning properly then our WTs will more easily manage our social

service programs of Ananda Marga. Otherwise, without the help of LFTs, when

Wts are transferred to new places then they face enormous problem to start

everything from the beginning.

 

 

BABA’S BLESSING

 

While there is much work to be done on this earth, by Baba’s fathomless and

with a solid AMPS structure– including a healthy LFT cadre– success is

assured.

 

Baba says, “Move ahead and wage war against all difficulties, every

impediment. Victory is sure to embrace you. Difficulties and encumbrances

cannot be more powerful than your capacity to solve them. You are all

children of the great Cosmic Entity.” (PNS-6, p.30)

 

brotherly,

Acintya

 

 

Note 1: PRESSURED BY WHOLE-TIMERS

 

Get married= WTs are telling or preaching to LFTs that either you

get married or become WT. There are some cases where LFTs do not like to

become WT b/c while living with Wts those LFTs saw first-hand many of the

negativities and Himalayan problems that WTs undergo, and their way of

exploitation to others and by others to them. So because of living close by

WTs and seeing all those things, then in that case many LFTs do not feel

comfortable to join along as a WT. This is one of the reasons. And those

LFTs who decide not to marry and remain as LFT then pressure comes ‘You

have to have marry otherwise I push you to be WT. Choose either one. You

cannot remain as LFT and unmarried’. In this situation innocent LFTs feel

themselves to be in an awkward situation. They find themselves standing on

one small rock between one chasm and one ocean. And with pressed mind in

uncomfortable state they half-hearted resolve that, ‘Oh, oh okay, if I have

to opt one then I have to choose married life.’

 

 

Note 2: PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE

 

I have seen here in India that those LFTs who are unmarried, their

work is excellent. Since long time they are continuing their services and

welfare activities unhindered. But unfortunately those who got married

either they left their LFT ships or got plunged into the quagmire of family

life and they became dysfunctional in deep organisational involvement. So

they became liability on both the sides: family life and organisational life.

Here we can conclude that married life is needed and important for aspect

of society building; but for LFT’s it is proved as impractical.

 

 

Note 3: CRITICAL MISUNDERSTANDING

 

The root cause behind this entire LFT issue is the following

defective mentality: ‘That we WTs are dedicated & no one else can be

treated as a dedicated’. This sort of misunderstanding is the cause of

ruining the LFT structure.

 

When we know the truth is that LFTs can and should be just as dedicated as

WTs, because dedication is not something external only. That is why there

are many cases where it looks like someone is fully dedicated but in

reality that person is self-engrossed and involved only in their own belly.

So superficially they dedicated in that they wear the dress, but

practically they are not.

 

The point is that the dedication of sincere LFT is equally important as

that of good WTs. And when LFTs are allowed and encouraged to express their

dedication then great things can be done for Baba’s mission.

 

 

Baba

 

PS Intro: This following song is for teaching to non-margiis because it is

a song in reverence to Lord Krsna. Baba has written this particular Prabhat

Samgiita for devotees of Sri Krsna. In contrast, we Ananda Margiis are

fully devoted to Baba, Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji, so when we sing with

our devotional heart then we sing to Baba– not Lord Krsna. In that case we

select one of the innumerable dhyana songs related with Baba. The point

being that for true devotees Ista is one and only one. For more about

pointed devotion and strictness in Ista refer to Baba’s colorful

explanation of the shloka, ‘Shriinathe…’, from AV-23, p.118.

 

 

PRABHAT SAMGIITA

 

“Ka’nu binu tha’ka’ na’hi ja’y…” (P.S. 3355)

 

Purport:

 

Without Lord Krsna, life is very miserable– surviving itself is very

difficult. Because Lord Krsna is that glittering Personality of my heart so

when He is not present then I suffer terribly from the pain of restlessly

longing for Him.

Day and night every moment I hear His flute in my heart. With the sound

of that flute, Lord Krsna is telling me that He loves me. And He tells me,

‘I love you, that is why I am calling you’.

The flow of my life is ensconced in His ideation and it goes on fighting

strongly against the deep fog and it is rushing with the high tide in a

hundred directions by His grace.

My life is very painful in the absence of Lord Krsna…

 

 

 

******************************************

Time of Eating

 

Baba says, “This rainy season cucumber is called shashakphalam. This

shashaka phala is a favourite food of the shashaka (in English, “hare”).

For this reason its name became shashaka phala. However, one shouldn’t

think by this that rabbits don’t also love to eat cucumbers.”

 

“Cucumbers which are not grown in the rainy season, but which are grown on

scaffolds rather than being allowed to creep along the ground are also

called shashaka phala. If this shashaka variety of cucumber is left to

creep along the ground then it easily falls prey to insect attacks and its

fruit is destroyed.” (SC-3, Disc 19)

 

 

Note 1: According to Baba, it is highly beneficial if the small variety of

cucumber is eaten in the morning up to 11 o’clock. That is very good. And

in fact the earlier in the day it is taken the better; and guava falls in a

similar category. If such foods are eaten in the afternoon and late hours,

then it causes cough and cold. This idea Baba has guided in various

discourses / acarya diary.

 

Note 2: This cucumber is found around the globe and people use it in

salads; that is why it is important topic to discuss with one and all.

******************************************

 

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Why Marriages Fail: Part 2

Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 06:29:49 -0000 (GMT)
From: Singh_Manindra
Subject: Why Marriages Fail: Part 2
To: AM-GLOBAL

== WHY MARRIAGES FAIL ==

~ PART 2 ~

(this is the continuation…)

DO NOT RELY ON WTS FOR MATCH-MAKING

3) It is important to remember that Dadas must NOT act as a mediator for any Ananda Marga marriage. Invariably, Dadas will give preference to the family giving them more money. So if the boy is not interested in AM and drowned in pseudo-culture, that Dada will paint a false picture and say how the boy is spirited and meticulous in 16 pts. This may not happen every time – but certainly there is scope for such issues. It has happened in the past and must be avoided in the future. And the best way to avoid this in the future is not to involve Dadas.

Besides it is not good for our wholetimers to act as matchmakers. In that process some accidentally get themselves matched up and they leave their Wt ship. This also has happened.

Thus for everyone’s well being, no Wt should be actively involved in match-making. Rather Wts should refrain from match-making entirely. That is Baba’s rule.

BEWARE OF INTEREST GROUPS

4) One should be prudent – even skeptical, about receiving advice from stakeholders – ie sometimes family margiis also carry a bias. For instance, let’s say that in their unit or bhukti, there is a girl or boy nearing 30 years of age and it is obvious that this person needs to get married soon. Then with the intention of supporting them, such people falsely praise that boy or girl up to the sky in order to attract an interested party. Under the notion of helping to marry that older boy or girl, some such people may say things that are not true. Out of sympathy they may say, “Oh he or she is very good and has always been exemplary in our community.” When in fact that is not at all true. Just they are saying like that in order to get that person married. Actually they want to help but what they are doing is not at all good. Encouraging false perceptions as will lead to a bad marriage – or the marriage may simply implode or break apart.

FINANCE

5) Finances play a big role in any household. So the boy and girl should have in-depth discussions and get to know each other’s lifestyle and views on money. Someone who wishes to live like a king or queen should not marry someone with a sadhu mentality, or vice-versa. There should be clarity on all financial matters including credit, debt, cash allowances, and so much more. The expectations on points of finance should be very clear.

CHILDREN & EDUCATION

6) One of the most defining points of any marriage is child rearing. Ahead of time – before they marry – the boy and girl should discuss how they are going to raise their children. What values will they impose? How far will they goad their child into Ananda Marga way of life? How far will they go to never compromise with dogma? The child must be brough to the path of sadhana at any early age and encouraged in this practice wholeheartedly.

Is one going to let the child play always while the other parent tries to instill a sense of discipline toward spiritual life? Is one going to let the child eat garlic while the other wishes to raise the child on a sentient diet. There are so many points of possible contention.

One must also remember that those children will one day be teenagers. Will you raise a person who will be a slave of pseudo-culture. If so, that teenager may bring meat into your kitchen, alcohol into your study, and crude, loud music into your sadhana room. If one parent emphasizes spiritual life and the other does not, there are going to be problems – many of them.

So this should be thoroughly discusses beforehand, lest you become a stranger in your own house where your own children have become like non-margiis. In that case they and your spouse will form a majority vote in your own home. If you do not educate them about our AM way of life from their infancy, this is going to happen.

NATURE OF TRANSITORY WORLD

7) Here is another critical point that the boy and girl must review. They both must be educated about, as well as discuss, how this world is transitory. The beauty they both possess today will not last forever. At any time, they may lose much of that beauty. One might contract some terrible disease like diabetes or multiple sclerosis, or get involved in a road accident etc. So many things can happen. The boy and girl should be told about how this world is transitory; they must understand the impact of this. If anyone gets married based on external beauty that marriage will fall apart. We have seen this so many times. They should discuss with one another how they will treat and regard each other when they are sick, disabled or helpless. Because, after all, their youthfulness and beauty will not last forever. Hearing and seeing this, do they still want to get married.

AM IDEOLOGY

8) The teachings of Ananda Marga have to be a central aspect of any margii marriage. Both boy and girl have to be of the mind-set that what Baba says on any given topic is the defining opinion.

It is not enough to renounce one’s caste and get married. Yes, we have to overcome all caste sentiments etc, but our AM ideology encompasses all realms of existence.

Both have to be ready to follow Baba in each and every aspect of life. So when there is any disagreement between the husband and wife, then the answer must be found in Baba’s guideline. And that must be accepted by both as final. This must be discussed ahead of time.

OATH

9) The boy and the girl should be ready to strictly follow the oath of our AM marriage: To live like Shiva and Parvatii. This should be formally written down and both the boy and girl should be educated as to what that means and then sign that piece of paper as a veritable contract. This contract must be binding on each and every AM marriage. One must be extremely careful and aware if their spouse will Ananda Marga way of life or not.

TREMENDOUS BENEFIT

By making all of the above perfectly clear between the boy and girl before marriage, then so many misnomers, false perceptions, and bogus expectations will be washed away. The mind will be clear and pointed and one can truly decide whether to marry that person or not. Or should they marry someone else. This will have tremendous benefit in both the personal lives of those who wed as well as in the greater society. People will be successful and productive in their marriages and society will not be plagued by mis-matched marriages and divorce. Mis-matched marriages are commonly looked upon as normal to others, but those involved in that marriage suffer internally and feel like an alien in their own house. Children will not be left shelterless but rather empowered by having dedicated parents who live by a spiritual ideal. Then society can truly be done in the real spirit of the term.

RESULT OF MIS-MATCHED MARRIAGE

Here Baba graphically points out the fate of those who suffer from mismatched marriages.

Baba says, “The wife of a certain gentleman that I knew was quite ill-mannered. One winter evening I saw this gentleman sitting quietly at the foot of a tree. I asked him: “Why are you sitting under this tree on a winter evening? You’ll freeze.” He replied: “You know, my young friend, if I go in the house I’ll hear only khankhan jhanhan [unpleasant and disturbing sounds]. It’s a lot more peaceful out here.” (Varna Vijiana, Disc: 19)

BABA’S BLESSING

By Baba’s grace He has given the perfect system for building a great human society. Marriage is one of the key elements. Every marriage within the Marga should be done only after thoughtful consideration. All should be very aware of what marriage means and they should know who they are marrying.

Baba says, “[Shiva] declared that women must be kalatra, which means that women must discharge their obligations to their husbands and their children in such a way that the latter will not have the least difficulty. Those who accepted this new arrangement were declared married…The Sanskrit equivalent for marriage is viváha (vi – vaha + ghaiṋ): it means, after the ceremonially, the man and women can no longer live as libertines or as irresponsible so-called family people. They have to discharge their full obligations as bharttá and kalatra, responsible husband and responsible wife…The liberal meaning of the term viváha is “live one’s life in a new way with a special type of responsibility.” This is the underlying significance of the Shaeva system of marriage.” (NSS, Disc: 9. Shivokti 3)

Namaskar,
Manindra

Note 1: NOT A JUSTIFIED CLAIM

After reading the above, some may complain that now no one will want to get married. They will argue that there are to many stipulations and it is an impossible endeavor. But theirs is not a well-reasoned approach.

We have to remember that when drugs were initially given as medicine then the side effects were never listed and patients were getting harmed. Finally the government intervened and demanded that all medical side effects must be stated. After this judgment, some were concerned that no one will take those medicines if companies are forced to list the side effects. Yet here we are years and decades later, and people still take those medicines and they are aware about the side effects so they can protect themselves. The end result is positive.

Similarly, if people are aware ahead of time about the difficulties of married life, they will be better off. Then they can properly prepare for getting married and select the right spouse and create an ideal family.

Finally, the main idea is that the entire institution of marriage cannot be stopped. It has been going on for thousands of years. It satisfies a basic human need. Thus listing the pitfalls of marriage is not going to deter anyone from getting married. Only it will fortify them with the requisite knowledge to make an educated decision.

Note 2: NEGATIVE INFLUENCE

After all, we are living in a materialistic society, so what is going on all around affects us. Not only that, we live in world that is dominated by gross materialism where “love” marriages are the norm. Two people get attracted – give in to sensual desires – and then divorce when any problem comes or difficulty arises. Or they leave one another when their become infatuated with someone else.

We must not allow this disease to affect our Ananda Marg away of life. Rather we are to positively affect the greater society.

Note 3: WRITE IN WITH YOUR SUGGESTIONS

This is an ongoing discussion so please write in with your thoughts and suggestions.

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