Baba
Marriage feast
Namaskar,
Suppose the person inviting you to a wedding via a mass mailing was a friend / acquaintance from long ago. And you have had very little contact with them over the years. And now they are holding a local non-margii dogmatic marriage reception in your city. In that case, what should one sincere margii do?
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Please pay attention to the yellow highlighted phrases from Baba’s below stated conduct rules from Caryacarya part 2 Society chapter.
Find out if innocent ceremony or not
Ananda Marga Caryacarya states, “You may participate in all kinds of innocent ceremonies.” (1)
Again, please pay attention to the yellow highlighted phrases. The non-margii dogmatic marriage is not an innocent ceremony. Any marriage which is done in a dogmatic manner then the bride has a lowly status. According to those rituals, the bride is treated as a slave and that is why it is not an innocent ceremony. So one should not attend. The bride and groom are not equals in a typical Indian wedding so the way of solemnising the non-margii dogmatic marriage is against the neo-humanistic principle of equal rights. So it is a dogmatic ceremony.
Marriage: when to take food & when not
Ananda Marga Caryacarya states, “If dowry is demanded on behalf of either the bride or the bridegroom at a wedding, you can help out manually as required, and if you feel like it, you can give a present, but you must not take food there.” (2)
Please pay attention to the yellow highlighted phrases. The spirit of this guideline about not taking food applies to any kind of non-margii, dogmatic ceremony. That means this guideline is not limited to dowry marriages only, but any ceremony that contains elements that are against Ananda Marga ideals. Thus if there is alcohol, or non-veg food, or the meal is being served by slaves etc, then in all such cases one must not take food at that ceremony. So the above point is universal.
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Remember: Dharmic scriptures should not be read literally but rather one should understand the spirit. That is the standard protocol of Ananda Marga philosophy. So in Guru's above guideline about dowry, the spirit should be applied, not the literal meaning. Here Baba has given the example of dowry, but the spirit is any type of ceremony that contravenes Ananda Marga ideals. So if in the future there is a marriage ceremony where the groom belittles the bride, then this same rule applies. Thus this rule may take expression in countless ways - dowry is one such example. With the perspective of neo-humanism, this rule should be applied with any type of conduct or ritual that contravenes Ananda Marga ideals.
Marriage: loving feast vs donkey feast
Ananda Marga Caryacarya states, “Priityanna: If a person wants to feed you out of genuine intimacy, you should take that food happily, even if it is just grains and vegetables. But if someone invites you only to make a show to people, never accept his/her food.” (3)
To understand the above rule first one should understand these terms:
Priityanna = priiti (love) + anna (food): To serve food to 1 or more persons with love and affection and a neo-humanistic feeling in the heart - not for any show or ego satisfaction.
Priiti-bhoj = priiti (love) + bhoj (feast): To serve food to approximately 8 or more with love and affection and a neo-humanistic feeling in the heart - not for any show or ego satisfaction.
But we know that those who are wealthy and egocentric and organise feasts as being “priit-bhoj” then that is often just a false show or facade. Such persons are not doing this out of love and affection. In which case that food is not to be eaten. Now let’s apply this understanding to marriage ceremonies.
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In the general society for non-margii dogmatic marriage ceremonies, people invite a maximum number of persons - even those whom they are not close with. A person cannot have hundreds & thousands of friends. If your close friend is hosting the non-margii marriage ceremony then one should go and eat if it is a dharmic ceremony. But if the person hosting the non-margii dogmatic marriage reception is not your close friend, then never eat at that marriage ceremony.
If someone is claiming to offer prittyanna [priiti-bhoj] and they have invited 20,000 people then it is not prittyanna. Because not all those 20,000 persons have a special relation with the host. Remember, the word “priiti” means love and affection; so priityanna is the food that is prepared by one with whom you have a relation of love and affection.The central idea is that for priityanna one must have a special relation with the host. Otherwise it is not prittyanna. Sometimes in the newspaper it is announced that hundreds of thousands of people are invited for priiti-bhoj, but that food is not priityanna according to Ananda Marga because all those attendees do not have a close, loving, and intimate link with the person sponsoring that feast.
Dharma is collective affair, religion is individual affair
Ananda Marga Caryacarya states, “Dharma (spirituality) is for all walks of individual and collective life. Those who think that dharma is a personal system of worship or that dharma is completely a personal affair are wrong, and their mistake: hurts collective progress.” (4)
Some people think that Ananda Marga is a way of life that is something personal so they think, “I can be a margii and have all kinds of friends who do not like Ananda Marga, or are even anti-Ananda Marga, and they can be my good friends.” But that is not the case. See the above point from Caryacarya. In His teaching Baba guides us that dharma (Ananda Marga) is not a personal affair - it is related with the entire society. Thus, anyone who contravenes Ananda Marga ideals is harming society. It is a collective matter that affects everyone, not an individual situation that can be overlooked.
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That is why we have the system that every Ananda Margii should bring others onto the path of Ananda Marga. As long as everyone has yet to understand and accept the ideals of Ananda Marga, then one must tirelessly propagate Ananda Marga ideals.
When society is bad then all will be affected
Whatever is good for individual and collective life has been incorporated into Ananda Marga ideology. So if someone is going against any point of Ananda Marga teachings then it means they are going against the fundamentals of humanity. That is why that person’s behaviour and manner should be changed and we should work toward that. We may or may not be able to change their behaviour but we should go on trying. The main thing is that we should not accept that what they are doing is ok and it does not matter. If society is bad then every individual will be affected. That is why society should be changed. It is just like if there is a pandemic then the well-being and safety of every individual is at stake. That is why adharmic (anti-Ananda Marga) activities must not be condoned.
Ananda Marga Caryacarya states, “Do not have any dealings with a party whose policies are opposed to those of the Marga.” (5)
In His above guideline, Baba is very strict that we must not interact or mix with those who are against Ananda Marga values and teachings. We cannot maintain any link or connection with such groups. So when anyone declares - by word or by deed - that they are against Ananda Marga ideology, then we must not enjoy feasting in ceremonies with such persons, even if it is the marriage of our laokik relatives.
Some think that if you do not go and attend negative marriages then how are you going to make them into Ananda Margiis. But this is a flawed argument and approach. Communists do like this - they sit and drink liquor and smoke cigarettes and make people their cadres. But in Ananda Marga our approach is different. We do not indulge in their vices like that. Best is to bring them to our Ananda Marga functions or communicate with them in any general occasion etc.
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Conclusion
The non-margii dogmatic marriage is not an innocent ceremony. Any marriage which is done in a dogmatic manner then the bride has a lowly status. In their ritual those brides are treated as a slave and that is why it is not an innocent ceremony and one should not attend. The bride and groom are not equals in a typical Indian wedding so the way of solemnising the non-margii dogmatic marriage is against the neo-humanistic principle of equal rights. So one should not attend a dogmatic ceremony.
Namaskar,
In Him,
Prabhu Deva
~ In-depth study ~
Ananda Marga philosophy says, “As I told you a little earlier, each clan used to live on a separate hill, and the leader of that clan was respected as rśi of the clan. The affiliations of the gotra people were indicated by the name of that particular rśi. After the patriarchal system was established, the members of one gotra would forcibly kidnap women from other gotras to their own gotra, their own hill. Thus immediately after the marriage, the woman’s gotra would change, because she was then a member of a different gotra, a separate hill.”
“All this invariably led the different clans into bloody conflicts. Those who were defeated in battle were captured as slaves and the women were taken to the harems of the victors. The victorious clan would then occupy the hill, the gotra of the vanquished clan. Thus within one gotra, there were many sub-gotras, called pravaras.”
“The women were forcibly carried away, their hands bound in iron chains. Even to this day, women in Bengal and some other areas wear iron bangles on their wrists after marriage – the symbols of their ancient servitude. One should clearly understand this. The males who would attack the neighbouring hills would tie up the women and carry them to their own hill. Even today, during the marriage ceremony in certain parts of India, the bride’s clothes are tied to the clothes of the bridegroom. This enslavement of the defeated gotra was a great humiliation, especially for the women. Sometimes, during the battle, the men would strike the heads of the women with an axe, causing blood to flow. Up until the present, at the time of marriage, women use a vermilion cosmetic mark on their foreheads – a symbol of blood. However, Shiva, by introducing the Shaeva system of marriage, brought an end to this shameful chapter of human history.” (6)
So this is the long and tortuous history and still today in some form or another this is going on in that the females are taken from the defeated party. The bridegroom is the victor and the female is the subordinate. The symbols remain firmly in place in today’s typical Indian non-margii dogmatic marriage ceremonies. There is a clear-cut winner (bridegroom) and a vanquished party (bride). On the one side there is the vanity ridden winner (bridegroom) party and on the other side the humiliated party (bride). This is the shameful history and painful chapter of dogmatic, Indian marriages.
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Follow the spirit
Here is Guru’s teaching about how one must understand the inner spirit - not the literal word meaning:
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, “It is not correct to always take the philological [literal] meaning of something; its inner meaning should be accepted. For example, a certain gentleman is walking along a path. Say his name is Paiṋcánan Jhá. We call him saying: “Mr. Paiṋcanan, come over here, please.” Does Paiṋcánan here mean a man with five faces? No, of course not. Paiṋcánan is the name of that man. Here one must not take the literal meaning but rather the inner meaning.” (7)
Note: This letter was related with a very peculiar situation. When you have a non-margii friend or relative - who is against Ananda Marga, and he invites you to a marriage ceremony and feast in his house, then what should you do.
References
1. Caryacarya, part 2, Society chapter, point #35
2. Caryacarya, part 2, Society chapter, point #36
3. Caryacarya, part 2, Society chapter, point #37
4. Caryacarya, part 2, Society chapter, point #30
5. Caryacarya, part 2, Society chapter, point #26b
6. Namah Shivaya Shantaya, Shiva – Both Severe and Tender (Discourse 2)
7. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 9, Vasu and Vásudeva
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Why some animals can do sadhana
Ananda Marga ideology says, "In certain animals like dogs and monkeys, the 'doer' I is a bit more expressed or developed than in other creatures. That is why in the future they may be in a position to do this spiritual practice." (1)
Reference
1. Subhasita Samgraha - 18, Cult, Inference and Propensity
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Rare dreams depict a true upcoming event
Ananda Marga ideology states, “In sleep if the flatulent gas moves upwards on account of stomach trouble or if there is some nervous disturbance, the brain and the sub-conscious mind will become agitated. Our previously imagined or felt objects reappear in our subconscious mind in a disjointed form. This we call a dream. Obviously such a dream is of no consequence. Not only that, the story formed therein will not be well-knit as it consists of merely the re-appearance of the objects, stored in the different parts of the brain. There is yet another type of dream. The Atimánas kośa (supramental mind) is the store-house of all knowledge. At times a premonition of a coming be great happiness or sorrow, which only the omniscient causal frame can visualize, is created during deep slumber in the subconscious mind of an individual, who is deeply concerned with that particular happiness or sorrow. Such dreams do not take place very often. Nevertheless such a dream does carry the prognosis of a true event.” (1)
Reference
1. Subhasita Samgraha - 2, The Intuitional Science of the Vedas – 4
== Section: Ananda Vanii ==
Life and ideology
“Life represents Ideology. Life should be sacrificed for Ideology.” (Ananda Vanii #15)
Note 1: True Ananda Vaniis have a number whereas Fake Ananda Vaniis do not - just as a fake car license plate has no number. By this way, you can easily recognise a Fake Ananda Vanii.
== Section 2: Links ==
Upcoming Festival: Ananda Purnima - 05 May 2023
- #1: How to celebrate
- #2: Include all
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