Baba
Replacing sadhana?
Namaskar,
Around the globe, in various religions, there is a tradition to go to a place of worship, such as a temple, mosque, synagogue. Or they attend some meeting of religious scholars or leaders like the rabbi, pope, Shankaracarya, purodha pramukha, mullah etc and listen to their sermon. They might go occasionally or on a particular day of worship. In all these cases, attendees believe that by this way they will accrue enough virtue to reach heaven, or they will exhaust their samskaras or sin and reach the final ultimate state. But this is just 100% dogma.
These types of satsaunga are only important if they are based on rational teachings, grounded in logic and reasoning. Then it may help in some regards to make their life better; but, in any case, it cannot substitute sadhana. So those thinking that listening to some sermons or reading some books is enough are in a confused state, or living in a fool's paradise.
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Here I am not talking about reading and listening to those illogical, outdated, irrational, communal ideas propagated by religious priests. Such teachings are categorically harmful. Here I am talking about reading or listening to the sermon of good dharmic teachings from the vedas, upanishads, or even Ananda Marga philosophy. Even these studies cannot be a substitute for sadhana. No doubt, the study of dharmic scripture is important; that is svadhyaya. But one has to do sadhana as well. Without sadhana, one will not get anything. This letter discusses Sadguru Shrii Shrii Anandamurti ji’s teachings in this regard.
Tall religious overtures will not do
Ananda Marga ideology, “The Supreme dharma – the paramount act, of merging one's self in the Absolute Entity in full realization of Its charm, will not be accomplished by mere listening to religious dissertations. You must have noticed, there are many people in our society that constantly keep track of "great men" and run up to them soliciting, “Give us some advice. Tell us something about religion.” Such religious discourses will cut no ice, if not substantiated by sádhaná. It is wrong to think that Parama Puruśa is realizable by man through empirical knowledge or through study of a few dozens of philosophical books, rather, there is a greater possibility of one's receding from the path of spirituality. In such a case vanity becomes the chief characteristic of his nature. Brahma or the Supreme Entity cannot be attained through tall religious overtures to the human society nor through interesting recapitulations before it as to which and which great man said such and such things – as to how they walked, or through writing volumes of books. Do not entertain such silly ideas that you can hit the bull's eye so cheaply by dint of your intellect, for you shall not achieve Him through such shady means.” (1)
All acknowledge the great value of sadhana, and the importance of performing spiritual practices regularly, according to the Ananda Marga system. Yet, there are a few who only think about doing sadhana, without ever really sitting down to do meditation. They read about sadhana or talk with others about spirituality etc, but they never seem to get the time to sit for longer periods of meditation, and immerse the mind in extended sadhana sessions.
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Here below Baba gives the teaching that merely reading and talking about spiritual discourses will not bring one closer to the Goal, i.e. Parama Purusa. To gain success in spiritual life one must commit themselves to the practice of sadhana.
"Na'yama'tma' balahiinena labhyah..."
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "The A'tma'n cannot be attained by the immoralist or the materialist. And the one who listens to learned discourses or reads the scriptures in the hope of realizing the A'tma'n with the help of keen intellect will surely be disappointed."
"How can one know the A'tma'? The answer is, by performing spiritual practice (sa'dhana') with devotion and sincerity. For human beings spiritual practice in individual life is mandatory. Without sa'dhana' one cannot expect to make any progress. If one learns the secrets of spiritual practice from a learned preceptor and practices regularly one will realize intuitively the existence of the Supreme Cognitive Faculty." (2)
Jackals’ sermons?
According to Baba, dedicated and sustained efforts in the discipline of meditation are needed in order to advance along the spiritual path. Without sadhana, progress is impossible and one will not reach unto Him. Here again in the following passage Baba emphasizes the need to deeply engage in sadhana with a strong desire to get Parama Purusa.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "To realize Him one must direct all one's sentiments and propensities - in fact the entire psychic flow with its integral outlook - towards one's inner existence. Only on this path of supreme synthesis can human beings attain the Supreme Entity and transcend the bondages of pain and pleasure, old age, death, etc." (3)
In so many ways we can see that sadhana is the key for spiritual growth. Without doing deep sadhana, one will not be able to realize Parama Purusa.
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Ananda Marga ideology guides us, “You must have heard the story of the Vedantist jackal. Listening to the discourses of the panditas (erudite scholars), the jackal too started preaching in his own society that he was not a jackal but the living Brahma, to be adored and revered by all. The state of those who having read a few pages of a book, dream of salvation without doing any sádhana, is similar to that of the Vedantist jackal. Actually mere talk is of no avail; establishing oneself in consciousness is what is important. To think oneself an MA is useless. Only after striving hard and passing the MA exam does the sense of being an MA become established in the mind, and will the talk of being an MA be justified.” (4)
Jiṋániis & karmiis have no future
Ananda Marga ideology states, “By individual effort it is very difficult to surmount that ocean of Máyá. For the jiṋániis, the intellectuals, the Goal is merely theoretical and impersonal. How can they expect a theoretical and impersonal entity to help them – and how can the jiṋániis even approach Him when for them His very existence is impersonal? So the jiṋániis, although they have recognized the importance of jiṋána or knowledge, have no future. They simply waste their valuable time, which is a very short span of hardly one hundred years.”
“And for the karmiis or people of action, the desideratum is partly personal and partly impersonal, but the link between the impersonal and the personal undergoes some distortion. With the help of this distorted link, how can they expect to receive perennial grace for their spiritual progress from the Supreme, and how can they struggle against the all-pervading influence of Máyá? So the karmiis having no fixed desideratum and no fixed personal goal, no personal God, also have no future. The future is with the devotees and with no one else.” (5)
Conclusion
So one should read or listen to the spiritual teachings of Ananda Marga philosophy; that is very important and known as svadhyaya. Yet as much as this practice will help in sadhana, it is not a substitute for sadhana. First and foremost, one has to do committed sadhana. That is the central idea of Guru’s teachings which He has presented in various discourses.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
at His lotus feet,
Satyendra
~ In-depth study ~
How we approach sadhana
Sadhana is the main ingredient of spiritual life. In our Ananda Marga sadhana is a very systematic approach. In our twice daily meditation, first we sit in the proper posture like padmasana. We place the hands in the lap, keep the spine straight, close the eyes, fold back the tongue, and shut down the external senses by performing the three shuddhis as we embark on our meditation. By His grace, we bring the mind to one particular point, cultivate that great devotional feeling of loving Him, and ensconce the mind mantra japa. When doing first lesson the mind is seated in the ista cakra and when doing dhyana the mind is absorbed in Guru cakra. This every practitioner of sahaja yoga understands. And in a nutshell this is how we approach our regular sadhana practice.
References
1. Subhasita Samgraha - 3, Desire and Detachment
2. Tattva Kaomudii - 3, Integral and Non-Integral Outlook
3. Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell - 5
4. Ananda Marga Ideology & Way of Life - 5, Matter and Spirit
5. Suhasita Samgraha - 11, The Essence of Spiritual Progress
== Section 2: Prabhat Samgiita ==
Your mystical songs
"Ga'ner parash da'o pra'n'er pare shya'mal cha'ye..." (Prabhat Samgiita #1405)
Purport:
Please touch my soul with Your songs, spreading Your divine love through the medium of Your music. It is like the soothing shade of the greenery in summertime; Your journey knows no bounds. You go on singing Your charming compositions non-stop.
The day before anything was created, You were also present. That very time Your sadhana was also existing. In that era, You were the sadhaka, the Goal, and the sadhana, as well as the tunes of eternity. You were everything all wrapped together - all in one.
Baba, the day when things will no longer exist, that very time also You will be present and remain ever-brilliant. Then also Your sadhana will exist. Your exquisite refulgence will also remain along with You, in that unknown abode. Your infinite melodies will also be with You.
Baba, with the subtle vibrations of Your mystical songs, You touch my heart, awaken bhakti, and make my life successful…
"Ga'ner parash da'o pra'n'er pare shya'mal cha'ye..." (Prabhat Samgiita #1405)
Purport:
Please touch my soul with Your songs, spreading Your divine love through the medium of Your music. It is like the soothing shade of the greenery in summertime; Your journey knows no bounds. You go on singing Your charming compositions non-stop.
The day before anything was created, You were also present. That very time Your sadhana was also existing. In that era, You were the sadhaka, the Goal, and the sadhana, as well as the tunes of eternity. You were everything all wrapped together - all in one.
Baba, the day when things will no longer exist, that very time also You will be present and remain ever-brilliant. Then also Your sadhana will exist. Your exquisite refulgence will also remain along with You, in that unknown abode. Your infinite melodies will also be with You.
Baba, with the subtle vibrations of Your mystical songs, You touch my heart, awaken bhakti, and make my life successful…
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Ananda Marga ideology says, “Because each and everybody in this universe gets energy from Parama Purusa, He is the Supreme Source of energy.”
“This earth and all the other planets and satellites of this solar system get their energy from the sun. The sun is the source of their energy. But He is the source of the sun’s energy. And that’s why He is jvalantam.”
“And that’s why I have said that there won’t be any thermal death of this universe. Because He is jvalantam, He is present, and He will be present forever. So there won’t be any shortage of energy in this cosmic system, though there may be a shortage of energy in some particular portion of the earth or the cosmos.” (1)
Reference
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 3, The Fear of Him
== Section 3: Links ==
