Baba
About sadhana & mantra
Namaskar,
Sometimes for a sadhaka the repetition of the mantra becomes ineffectual. Specifically, this letter addresses how repeating the mantra without properly understanding its inner spirit is a waste of time. As sadhakas and disciples of Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji we should have proper clarity on this important spiritual topic.
Ananda Marga ideology says, "To repeat the mantra without understanding its spirit is a waste of time." (1)
A key aspect of Baba's above teaching is that every sadhaka should know the meaning of their mantra and repeat it with proper ideation, otherwise their approach will be futile. Knowing the meaning is very important; only then will one be able to ideate properly. We should all be vigilant on this matter as it is related with sadhana and spiritual life. Here following are more points that every sadhaka should know.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Ananda Marga ideology says, "Some people do japa kriyá in a very crude manner. It can be said that their method of incantation is like the talk of a parrot. Parrots talk, parrot say so many things, without understanding the meaning, without understanding the spirit of what is meant. Japa kriyá becomes as meaningless as the talk of a parrot for those who do it without love or emotion." (2)
Meaning of their own ista mantra
1. Without knowing the meaning of one's ista mantra, mantra caetanya (awakening of the mantra) will not be achieved. That means one's mantra will not vibrate their being or become "live".
2. In that case, proper ideation will not arise during mantra japa.
3. Instead, the mantra will remain dry - as if one is just involved in some empty, parrot-like type of repetition.
4. The sadhana mantra is in Saḿskrta, and if one does not know the meaning of the Saḿskrta mantra then it will not work. For example, if English speaking people who do not know Hindi are told to repeat niibu', then saliva will not be generated in their mouth. But if the same English speaking person is told the meaning of niibu' is lemon, automatically their mouth will produce saliva. Because they know the meaning of that particular word: niibu'. The overall point is that knowing the meaning of a word or phrase is necessary to achieve the desired result. One must know the meaning of the mantra.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
5. In our Ananda Marga sadhana system, there are many different ista mantras, and the meaning varies from one to another.
6. Each and every sadhaka must know the meaning of their own ista mantra.
Particulars of first lesson mantras
1. In our system of sadhana, certain ista mantras are repeated in their original order, while some mantras are repeated in reverse order. So sadhakas should know from their acaryas how their personal mantra works. One should know the meaning of their own mantra and its style of repetition: standard way or reverse order. Otherwise it will not work.
2. The selection of the mantra is done depending upon a sadhaka's samskara and according to a particular formula given by Baba.
3. In addition, there are various ista cakras so that must also be assigned. And everyone should know their own ista cakra. In His historic discourse from 1984 Agra DMC, Baba told to all that there are 4 ista cakras: (a) anahata, (b) vishuddha, (c) lalana' (tip of the nose), (d) ajina. According to one's own samskara, one should keep the mantra at any one particular cakra during first lesson as told by your acarya.
4. In first lesson there is no ista cakra that is above ajina cakra or below anahata cakra.
5. And not only is there a mantra with first lesson, but in the lesson of dhyana there is also a mantra.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
6. So all this should be known to each sadhaka regarding their own personal meditation practice.
Better not to learn from quack acaryas
Unfortunately, there are many acaryas who themselves are unaware about all these points because they give more emphasis and importance to earning money than doing sadhana. Not only that, they do not like to admit or accept their deficit, so they just continue to misguide others by giving false answers and wrong teachings. In this regard, margiis should be careful and alert.
At the same time, when you see an acarya sincerely involved in sadhana and spiritual life then you should learn from them. It is just like if you want to win a court case, then you do not hire xyz persons like a potato-seller or fruit seller etc. Rather one should seek out a trained attorney. And if you want to be cured of a disease, then do not consult a bicycle mechanic; rather one should find a doctor. Same is the case with learning sadhana: Seek out an acarya deeply involved in meditation.
Note: If anyone has any confusion about their ista cakra or ista mantra then they should not start haphazardly guessing and practicing it in the wrong way. Because that will be harmful. In that case, best is to communicate with a proper acarya.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Science behind three shuddhiis & japa
Every sincere sadhaka of Ananda Marga is aware about first lesson, i.e. iishvara pranidhana. It is comprised of three essential sections:
(a) Diipanii - literally means torch. It is just like if you are surrounded by darkness then you need the torch to see the path. With the help of the torch you will be able to follow the path and reach your destination. Similarly, when a sadakha sits in sadhana then the mind wants to wander around. So one must goad the mind step by step by doing one shuddhi after another and ultimately reaching to the ista cakra. This process is called diipanii. Devoid of this the mind will wander around - it will not reach the ista cakra, i.e. the place of concentration. In that case, how can one do proper japa and real sadhana - because the mind will wander around. That is why diipanii is needed. The three shuddhis (भूत शुद्धि, आसन शुद्धि, चित्त शुद्धि) come within the stage of diipanii.
(b) Mantra caetanya - literally meaning awakened mantra which has two sub-sections:
1. The mantra must be a siddha mantra; and,
2. the practitioner must know the meaning of the mantra and during sadhana the aspirant has to channelise that inner spiritual feeling and yearning towards Parama Purusa, coordinating and chanting the mantra with the breath.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Ananda Marga ideology states, "What is mantra caetanya, or the awakening of a mantra? Mantra caetanya is the condition where, with the help of a particular shabda [mantra], a person establishes parallelism between his or her external physical vibration [entitative waves] and his or her internal ectoplasmic vibration [incantative waves], and then raises this to the spiritual level." (3)
(c) Mantra'gha'ta - literally meaning when the mantra strikes the kulakundalinii. This occurs when one knows the meaning of their mantra and repeats it sincerely with devotion then that mantra repetition will automatically strike the kundalinii. This is a natural outcome if the above points are followed with sincerity.
These are all key for doing better sadhana. If any aspect is missing, the mantra will not produce the desired effect.
Why parrot sadhana is useless
Here below Baba gives some key guidelines about mantra repetition and doing sadhana with bhakti.
Ananda Marga ideology says, "Some people do japa kriyá in a very crude manner. It can be said that their method of incantation is like the talk of a parrot. Parrots talk, parrot say so many things, without understanding the meaning, without understanding the spirit of what is meant. Japa kriyá becomes as meaningless as the talk of a parrot for those who do it without love or emotion. It even loses the value of internal suggestion, intro-psychic suggestion. Sadhana is withdrawing the mental propensities from all extroversive entities, and then collecting those withdrawn mental forces, mental propensities, and urging them towards the Supreme Entity. If there is no love for the Supreme Entity, this movement cannot be done. Where there is no love, the mind will not run after Him. So sadhana also becomes meaningless." (4)
If all the above points are followed then sadhana will be blissful. And one will desire to sit in sadhana for long periods.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Namaskar,
at His feet,
Ananda Deva
Diiksa: (dii = diipak or lamp; ksa = annihilation of samskara) the process whereby after initiation one’s sin or bad samskaras are eradicated.
Ananda Marga ideology states, “What does the term “diikśá” mean? During the DMC discourse in Madras, I said that the Saḿskrta word “diikśá” and the English word “initiation”, do not have quite the same meaning. But as there is no exact English equivalent for diikśá, the word “initiation” is generally, used. According to the scriptural meaning, diikśá is derived from “dii” and “kśa”. Dii is the first letter of the word “diipajiṋána” (light of knowledge) and kśa is the first letter of “kśayam” (exhaustion of saḿskaras).” (5)
~ In-depth study ~
#1: In the Senior Acarya Diary chapter on Iishvara pranidhana, section - “shuddhis”, Baba is describing that when sitting in meditation (padmasana, siddhasana, viirasana) one must keep the back straight so that the kundalini can the passage to rise upward from muladhara to sahasrara.
#2: Ananda Marga Caryacarya states, "They should be taught to sit in padmásana [lotus posture], but instead of interlocking the fingers, they may rest one palm upon the other; and keep the spine erect.." (6)
#3: Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Tailless apes can be taught sádhaná after some effort. The tailed bipeds will not be able to do sádhaná like the tailless bipeds because the backbone of the tailed bipeds, containing the controlling points of the five fundamental factors, does not come in one line. The controlling points fall on a curved line, hence they cannot perform sádhaná properly.” (7)
#4: Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Mono-sided, straight or erect beings can perform sádhaná very well because all the five controlling points of the fundamental factors fall on a straight line...You see how fortunate you are to have a human biological structure. You have got a human frame. Humans should be obliged to Supreme Consciousness for this favour.” (8)
#5: Ananda Marga philosophy states, "The one who has followed the straight path of the sus'umna' canal upwards becomes one with Parama Purus'a." (9)
#6: Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Ujure uju cháŕi ná leo re báḿka. The word “uju” in Saḿskrta is derived from the Saḿskrta word “rju”. “Rju” means straight. The meaning of this line is “don’t accept the crooked path rejecting the straight one”. That is, just proceed along the path of “suśumná” not along the path of “id́á” and “piuṋgalá”.” (10)
~ Unrelated teaching ~
Why dogmatic family names should be discarded
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "Casteism is a burden on the Hindu society. All the year round they preach casteism but on the polling days they decry it. This is wholly undesirable. It is better to avoid all titles. Titles signify the caste. If casteism is to be wiped out, it is incumbent to discard the titles. It is commendable if everyone adopts uniformity on title – Deva. Persons using a particular word more often will influence their minds with the meaning of that word. People are reluctant to use the word dása because this word signifies slavery. Whenever the so-called low caste people catch an opportunity, they declare themselves as belonging to the so-called elevated caste, etc. It is an ideal to become deva and for this reason Deva title should be adopted."
"Titles of the present society have undergone considerable changes during the past fifty years, the cause being that everyone aspires to pertain to an elevated caste. The so-called Shúdras also use the sacred thread. This is only an effort towards the concealment of one’s identity. By this means, they conceal only their disregarded status. This is to be regretted. It is consequent on social debility that they harbour the desire for changes in their situations. It is out and out purposeless to convene All-India Conferences or particular castes. All of them desire to assert and establish their rights. This is simply misuses of energy and money."
"The consent of those embraced must be sought for before renaming them in Samskrta. Language has got nothing to do with religion and as such, there is no reason for anybody depreciating the use of Samskrta. In this connection it may be added that the great emperor Aurangzeb used the term sudhárasa (juice of nectar) for mango (original Samskrta term for mango is ámra) and saddharma for Islam." (11)
So many areas of the globe are affected by caste and communal feeling. From the British lords to India's brahmins and so many points in between, and here above Baba gives the perfect antidote and solution to such narrow-minded and harmful thinking.
References
1. Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life - 9, Tantra and Sadhana
2. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 1, Who Is Gopa?
3. Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life - 11, Mantra Caetanya
4. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 1, Who Is Gopa?
5. Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 8, He Who Steals Others' Sins Is Called Hari
6. Caryacarya - 1, The Process of Initiation
7. Yoga Psychology, The Human Body Is a Biological Machine
8. Yoga Psychology, The Human Body Is a Biological Machine
9. Namami Krsnasundaram, Párthasárathi Krśńa and Vishiśt́ádvaetaváda (Discourse 16)
10. Ananda Marga Karma Yoga in a Nutshell, “Kurvanneveha Karmmáńi”
11. Tattvika Diipika, 5th part, Ánanda Púrńimá 1957
== Section 2: Prabhat Samgiita ==
So much love for You
“Bhalobási tomáy ámi, tabu keno dúre ácho…” (Prabhat Samgiita #3900)
Purport:
O’ Lord, I love You so much, so why do You stay away from me? Why don’t You come close? How come You never let me hold You. Even then You go on watching my every movement, pause, smile, and cry - everything I do - but keep Yourself away. Please tell me why You behave in this unusual manner.
When I am alone, I ponder and muse over the fact that You are that most dear Entity whom I hold ever in my heart, yet You remain forgetful of me. You don’t care about me. How sad that is.
Despite remaining with me in all my actions, good and bad, in my pravrtti and nivrtti - from the dawn to the dusk of my life - alas, You remain far away from me. O’ Parama Purusa, You never come near to me, even though I have so much love for You. Please tell me why….
== Section: Important Topic ==
How the four root languages developed
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "When a swift horse runs its hooves make a turtur sound. That which makes a turtur sound as it moves is called turaga or turaunga or turaungama (that is, "horse"). That animal which makes a kurkur sound as it runs is called kuraga or kuraunga or kuraungama (that is, "deer"). In this way human beings have created many word forms and verb forms to express their mental ideas. This process of word formation is called "acoustic derivation" and the original verbal roots in all the world's languages were created in this way."
"The first word forms in all the world's languages were the original verbal roots. By adding prefixes and suffixes many different words were derived. Among the established languages of the world, mainly four can be considered as the root languages. They are Vedic, Latin, Hebrew and old Chinese. If one examines the derivation of the vocabulary of these languages one will find that their method or process is identical. (1)
Here Baba is explaining that these 4 languages (Vedic, Latin, Hebrew, and old Chinese) are root languages. The words and vocabulary of these languages are based on the natural sounds those inhabitants heard, such as when a horse runs. In that way those early people created root verbs. Time passed; daughter and granddaughter languages were formed. And those languages were built upon the root verbs of those four original root languages.
For example, Sanskrit / Saḿskrta came from the Vedic language and from Sanskrit / Saḿskrta so many Indian languages were created: Hindi, Bengali, Gujurati, Malayalam and all the Indo-Aryan languages. They are all based on Sanskrit / Saḿskrta and follow the same root verb from the original Vedic. This is also happened with Latin, Hebrew, and Old Chinese. So many languages were formed upon the root verbs of these 3 other root languages, just as happened with Vedic.
Reference
1. Varn'a Vijina'na, Disc 19, p.270
== Section: Prabhat Samgiita ==
तुम्हें पाने की आशा में, मैं अपने मन दर्पण में तुम्हारा चित्रप्रभात संगीत 0784 तोमारे पावार …. तोमारे पेते पासे
भावार्थ
हे परम पुरुष! तुम इस विश्व में सबसे महान हो। तुम्हें पाने और तुम्हारे निकट आने की आशा में, मैं अपने मन के दर्पण में तुम्हारा चित्र बना रहा हॅूं । और तुम्हारे प्रेम में आनन्ददायी गीत गा रहा हॅूं। हे मेरे परमप्रिय! बाबा! कृपा करो और पास आ जाओ।
हे मेरे बाबा! उस समय तुम मेरी ओर अपनी आॅंखों में ममता मधुरता और स्नेहामृत भर कर जो देख रहे थे, वह मैं कभी नहीं भूल सकता, हमेशा यह याद रखता हॅूॅं । मैं उन स्मरणीय, जादुई और मोहित करने वाले क्षणों को कभी नहीं भुला सकता। मैं अपने हृदय की गहराई में उस मधुर स्मृति को हमेशा रखता हॅूं।
तुम्हारी कृपा से मैं इस धरती पर, तुम्हारा काम करने के लिये बार बार आया, और काम समाप्त करके मैं कहाॅं चला गया, मुझे यह पता नहीं है।
हे परम पुरुष, बाबा! तुम्हारी कृपा से एक बार फिर मैं इस धरती पर आया हूँ, और मैंने तुम्हारी दिव्य मुरली ध्वनि सुना है, जो तुम मुझे बुलाने के लिये बजा रहे हो। इसके उत्तर में मैं तुम्हारे गीत गाता, नाचता तुम्हारी ओर दौड़ता आ रहा हॅूं। यह तुम्हारी कृपा ही है। हे मेरे परमप्रिय, बाबा! तुम मेरे सब कुछ हो, मेरे ऊपर अपनी अहैतुकी कृपा बनाये रखकर मुझे अपनी शरण में रखो ।
तुम्हारी कृपा से
== Section 3: Links ==
Other topics of interest
