Baba
Note: This letter is only for those who have reverence for Sadguru Baba Shrii Shrii Anandamurti ji and try to follow His Ananda Marga ideology.
Namaskar,
I recall how one of my friends Kripal was always complaining that he could not concentrate in sadhana and then after some time I saw him again and inquired about his sahana. He replied that his sadhana is very good these days. I was surprised to hear this and asked how he remedied the situation. Kripal said, “It was very easy. Earlier I was working in payday lending, and when I came to know this was one of the negative occupations then I quit my job and got a proper job; and, ever since then my sadhana has been better.”
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Some confused people think that if they are not directly involved in negative occupations like loansharking, payday lending etc, and not directly involved in and harassing the common people, then it is ok. They feel it is fine to give money to a loansharking company to do such things, while they themselves remain in “safe territory.” Those persons do not think they will incur any bad samskara. But that is simply not true.
All are involved
To get a better idea, let’s take a wide-angle view of the situation. In this modern era, everything is happening on a large scale. Various companies and agencies within the financial sector - like hedge funds and certain stock brokers - are doing this type of negative work. So if you deposit your money with them and you are gleaning the rewards of a high interest return with those who are loansharking and doing payday lending, then you are also 100% culpable, albeit indirectly.
It is just like if the mafia boss is sitting far away from the scene and ordering one of his hitman to murder someone. Then certainly the mafia boss is involved in that attack. Some dumb people might think that only the hitman or goonda is accountable. But that is not true - the big boss is also implicated as he ordered the hit.
The conclusive idea is that when a murder happens, then all those involved - directly or indirectly - are criminals, irrespective of how remotely involved they are. Thousands of years ago, killers would choke people to death with their bare hands. Nowadays, people use advanced weapons like guns, rockets, missiles, and drones, etc to kill others. And in some cases, they may be sitting thousands of miles away from the attack scene. Even then they are wholly culpable for their sins.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
This same theory applies with investing in today’s ultra-capitalistic economy. If you are depositing monies in hedge funds that do loansharking, then you are also involved in that sin. In that case, your food is also untouchable. You will have to face the consequences from parama prakrti. The main guiding factor is that in these types of jobs the public is undeniably cheated, exploited, and harmed. They are preyed upon. So labeling such negative occupations as sinful is for the protection of the vulnerable people, i.e. the common public.
Conclusion: list of sinful jobs
Remember, these points were given by Lord Buddha 2500 years ago. Society has since advanced - times have changed. Now anti-social elements are moving about in civil dress as seemingly respectable citizens. When in reality their entire job is aimed at exploiting the unsuspecting masses. The need of the day is to enlist all such jobs of this type, and warn everyone.
For starters, here are a few: porn industry, brothels, illegal wildlife trade, gambling, lottery, tobacco, illicit drugs, legal marijuana business, meat industry etc. Please help formulate this list. Verily, the list is so long these days. All should open their eyes and not deposit or invest money, directly or indirectly, in any field where the public is harmed. Otherwise one will have to face the consequences of prakrti. In that case, cheap money will be very costly.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Ananda Marga ideology states, “One must have a clean occupation, that is, one must not do anything antisocial, one must not encourage anything antisocial, anything that goes against collective interest. That is samyak ájiiva in the physical sphere. One may earn money by selling wine. One may earn money by stealing. These are not samyak ájiiva. Your occupation should be neat and clean – not going against the interest of the society.” (1)
in Him,
Mayadhiish
Reference
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 30, Ideological Flow and the Eight-fold Path
The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
* * *
My existence belongs to You
Intro to PS: This song is the expression of that advanced bhakta who has a very close link with Parama Purusa, and in their intimate communication to Parama Purusa that bhakta may sometimes express himself in the following manner.
"Be-daradii bandhu ghuma bha'unga'o pa'she a'si..." (Prabhat Samgiita #3702)
Purport:
O' heartless One, Parama Purusa, O' my Bandhu, please remove my sleepiness by coming close to me. You can see that when I think about You and try to do sadhana then I become overpowered by drowsiness. I just waste my time dozing in sadhana - and You do not care.
O’ Lord, You know very well that except You no one is mine. My entire life is embedded in You. The totality of whatever I feel is mine is in You. I see and feel You in everything. Baba, You are merged in all my activities. If there is anyone I love, You are that Entity. If there is anyone I am proud of, You are that. My whole existence belongs to You. You are my prana of prana - heart of hearts. I call You heartless One because by this way I get a little satisfaction. Even then, You know I love You. Out of my deep love for You, I call You - heartless One.
You are in my crown jewel. From my earrings, Your effulgence shines. In my mental mirror, in my ideation, You are ever-present. In my mental lotus, Your image is always present. Baba, I surrender to You countless and infinite times in doing sastaunga pranam...
Proper punishment
Ananda Marga ideology says, "And what is discipline? The Sam'skrta term for 'discipline' is 'anusha'sanam'. And what is anusha'sanam?"
Hita'rthe sha'sanam ityarthe anusha'sanam
"When the code of discipline is imposed with the spirit of welfare, with the spirit of development, it is called `anusha'sanam' in Sam'skrta. There is no corresponding English word." (1)
Note: Commonly people think that discipline means "anusha'sanam" - regardless of the motive or intention. For instance, suppose someone did something wrong and was punished; yet the punishment given to that person was done with the malevolent motive of spite, anger, and hatred in order to harass that person, then still some people term that as "anusha'sanam." But that is wrong; that type of approach can never be termed as anusha'sanam.
Unfortunately, most of the time in the general society, punishment is meted out to make an example of the wrongdoer and show others that they too will be punished in this way etc. This is the harsh message they want to deliver to the common people. But that approach is wholly devoid of any type of welfare motive. Law enforcement agencies carry out their work in this way - most of the time. They do this in the name of discipline. But whatever they call it, this malevolent approach can never be anusha'sanam.
Ideal family life is radically different. In this instance, the desire is to love, teach, nurture, and care for the child. So if that child makes a mistake then the punishment given to the child will be for their welfare and progress. In that case, that discipline comes within the scope of anusha'sanam. The main idea is that if the code of discipline is not for the welfare and betterment of the individual, then that is not anusha'sanam.
In Him,
Satyendra
Reference
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 3, The Fear of Him
Be wary of bad jobs
Note: This letter is only for those who have reverence for Sadguru Baba Shrii Shrii Anandamurti ji and try to follow His Ananda Marga ideology.
Namaskar,
I recall how one of my friends Kripal was always complaining that he could not concentrate in sadhana and then after some time I saw him again and inquired about his sahana. He replied that his sadhana is very good these days. I was surprised to hear this and asked how he remedied the situation. Kripal said, “It was very easy. Earlier I was working in payday lending, and when I came to know this was one of the negative occupations then I quit my job and got a proper job; and, ever since then my sadhana has been better.”
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Some confused people think that if they are not directly involved in negative occupations like loansharking, payday lending etc, and not directly involved in and harassing the common people, then it is ok. They feel it is fine to give money to a loansharking company to do such things, while they themselves remain in “safe territory.” Those persons do not think they will incur any bad samskara. But that is simply not true.
All are involved
To get a better idea, let’s take a wide-angle view of the situation. In this modern era, everything is happening on a large scale. Various companies and agencies within the financial sector - like hedge funds and certain stock brokers - are doing this type of negative work. So if you deposit your money with them and you are gleaning the rewards of a high interest return with those who are loansharking and doing payday lending, then you are also 100% culpable, albeit indirectly.
It is just like if the mafia boss is sitting far away from the scene and ordering one of his hitman to murder someone. Then certainly the mafia boss is involved in that attack. Some dumb people might think that only the hitman or goonda is accountable. But that is not true - the big boss is also implicated as he ordered the hit.
The conclusive idea is that when a murder happens, then all those involved - directly or indirectly - are criminals, irrespective of how remotely involved they are. Thousands of years ago, killers would choke people to death with their bare hands. Nowadays, people use advanced weapons like guns, rockets, missiles, and drones, etc to kill others. And in some cases, they may be sitting thousands of miles away from the attack scene. Even then they are wholly culpable for their sins.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
This same theory applies with investing in today’s ultra-capitalistic economy. If you are depositing monies in hedge funds that do loansharking, then you are also involved in that sin. In that case, your food is also untouchable. You will have to face the consequences from parama prakrti. The main guiding factor is that in these types of jobs the public is undeniably cheated, exploited, and harmed. They are preyed upon. So labeling such negative occupations as sinful is for the protection of the vulnerable people, i.e. the common public.
Conclusion: list of sinful jobs
Remember, these points were given by Lord Buddha 2500 years ago. Society has since advanced - times have changed. Now anti-social elements are moving about in civil dress as seemingly respectable citizens. When in reality their entire job is aimed at exploiting the unsuspecting masses. The need of the day is to enlist all such jobs of this type, and warn everyone.
For starters, here are a few: porn industry, brothels, illegal wildlife trade, gambling, lottery, tobacco, illicit drugs, legal marijuana business, meat industry etc. Please help formulate this list. Verily, the list is so long these days. All should open their eyes and not deposit or invest money, directly or indirectly, in any field where the public is harmed. Otherwise one will have to face the consequences of prakrti. In that case, cheap money will be very costly.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Ananda Marga ideology states, “One must have a clean occupation, that is, one must not do anything antisocial, one must not encourage anything antisocial, anything that goes against collective interest. That is samyak ájiiva in the physical sphere. One may earn money by selling wine. One may earn money by stealing. These are not samyak ájiiva. Your occupation should be neat and clean – not going against the interest of the society.” (1)
in Him,
Mayadhiish
Reference
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 30, Ideological Flow and the Eight-fold Path
* * *
The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
* * *
== Section 2: Prabhat Samgiita ==
Intro to PS: This song is the expression of that advanced bhakta who has a very close link with Parama Purusa, and in their intimate communication to Parama Purusa that bhakta may sometimes express himself in the following manner.
"Be-daradii bandhu ghuma bha'unga'o pa'she a'si..." (Prabhat Samgiita #3702)
Purport:
O' heartless One, Parama Purusa, O' my Bandhu, please remove my sleepiness by coming close to me. You can see that when I think about You and try to do sadhana then I become overpowered by drowsiness. I just waste my time dozing in sadhana - and You do not care.
O’ Lord, You know very well that except You no one is mine. My entire life is embedded in You. The totality of whatever I feel is mine is in You. I see and feel You in everything. Baba, You are merged in all my activities. If there is anyone I love, You are that Entity. If there is anyone I am proud of, You are that. My whole existence belongs to You. You are my prana of prana - heart of hearts. I call You heartless One because by this way I get a little satisfaction. Even then, You know I love You. Out of my deep love for You, I call You - heartless One.
You are in my crown jewel. From my earrings, Your effulgence shines. In my mental mirror, in my ideation, You are ever-present. In my mental lotus, Your image is always present. Baba, I surrender to You countless and infinite times in doing sastaunga pranam...
== Section 3: Important Teaching ==
Proper punishment
Ananda Marga ideology says, "And what is discipline? The Sam'skrta term for 'discipline' is 'anusha'sanam'. And what is anusha'sanam?"
Hita'rthe sha'sanam ityarthe anusha'sanam
"When the code of discipline is imposed with the spirit of welfare, with the spirit of development, it is called `anusha'sanam' in Sam'skrta. There is no corresponding English word." (1)
Note: Commonly people think that discipline means "anusha'sanam" - regardless of the motive or intention. For instance, suppose someone did something wrong and was punished; yet the punishment given to that person was done with the malevolent motive of spite, anger, and hatred in order to harass that person, then still some people term that as "anusha'sanam." But that is wrong; that type of approach can never be termed as anusha'sanam.
Unfortunately, most of the time in the general society, punishment is meted out to make an example of the wrongdoer and show others that they too will be punished in this way etc. This is the harsh message they want to deliver to the common people. But that approach is wholly devoid of any type of welfare motive. Law enforcement agencies carry out their work in this way - most of the time. They do this in the name of discipline. But whatever they call it, this malevolent approach can never be anusha'sanam.
Ideal family life is radically different. In this instance, the desire is to love, teach, nurture, and care for the child. So if that child makes a mistake then the punishment given to the child will be for their welfare and progress. In that case, that discipline comes within the scope of anusha'sanam. The main idea is that if the code of discipline is not for the welfare and betterment of the individual, then that is not anusha'sanam.
In Him,
Satyendra
Reference
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 3, The Fear of Him
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Europe is also banning veils
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Perhaps you know that in ancient India, there was no custom of using veils among the women. During the last part of the Pathan rule and in the early days of the Mughal period [16th-19th c.], the veil was forcibly imposed on the women of some aristocratic families in Burdwan, so that others could not see the ladies’ faces. Burdwan was the capital of Bengal.”
“Over a period of time, the use of the veil spread to other areas. Muslim rule was not firmly established in south India, so the veil was not introduced there. You will notice that even today the women of south India use garbhakas in the evenings.”
“I remember some years ago at Anandanagar I said that my daughters coming to Anandanagar need not cover their heads because it is the home of their father. Girls do not use veils at their parents’ house. I remember that it was the first time for the married women of north India to give up their veils. Many years have passed since then. The custom of using veils has disappeared from many urban areas of north India and is fast disappearing from the rural areas as well. That particular incident at Anandanagar set a healthy trend in this regard. This was a step forward in the direction of women’s emancipation [in north India]. An auspicious beginning indeed!” (1)
Note: Many countries in Europe have just passed and implemented laws banning veils.
Reference
1. Shabda Cayaniká Part 20, “Garbhaka”
== Section: Attachment ==
Attached video: Converting Hindus into Muslims
Namaskar,
See how this speaker is saying how they should recruit Hindus into Muslims in order to gain a majority in India. If every Muslim converts five Hindus then they will capture the majority in India.
Ananda Marga philosophy is against any type of conversion. Ignorant people convert others for the wrong reasons. Those getting converted do not know what they are doing. This type of approach is not good as it brings chaos and unrest in the society.
In all the religions you have to lock up your thinking power and throw the key into the ocean. In Ananda Marga everything is logical.
Ananda Marga is a way of life and does not convert anybody. It is not a religion.
in Him,
Ramdeva
(Rafiq Mohamed)
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Higher post should not be entrusted to debased & corrupt persons
Please read Baba’s following teaching which gives a clear indication about the type of leadership needed in Ananda Marga. Specifically, can XYZ type of persons be the leader - whether that be on the village, regional, sectorial, or global level - or are special qualifications needed? If so what are those traits and characteristics required of a leader. All these answers and more are addressed in Guru’s below teaching.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “A rśi [sage] has said: Samamantreńa jáyate iti samájah [“Society is the collective movement of a group of individuals who have decided to move together towards a common goal”]. That is, whether people are pápii or tápii [sinners or victims], thieves, criminals, or characterless individuals, they are so only superficially; internally they are filled with the potential for purity. The principal object of the sadvipras is to explore and bring this potentiality into play. They will accord human value to everyone without exception. Those who have done hateful crimes must be punished, but sadvipras will never hate them, or put an end to them by depriving them of food, because sadvipras are humanists. The pandits puffed up with vainglory could turn their attention to their books instead of attending on the ailing non-Hindu Haridas, but Chaitanya Mahaprabhu found it impossible to remain indifferent to him. He took Haridas in his arms and nursed him carefully, and thus showed respect to human value.”
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “However, when the question of social responsibility arises, it must be considered with great care. Irresponsible people cannot be entrusted with social responsibility, because those who shoulder social responsibility will have to lead humanity on the path of development, and correct the ways of sinners. If they themselves are of evil mentality, it will not be possible for them to discharge their social responsibility. It has been said: “The collective body of those who are engaged in the concerted effort to bridge the gap between the first expression of morality and establishment in universal humanism is called society.” So social responsibility should be entrusted to those who are capable of discharging it creditably. If moralism is the starting-point of the journey of society, then those who are at its helm must be moralists. And since society aims to establish universalism, those people must be universalists. And if the gap between moralism and universal humanism is to be bridged, spiritual sádhaná is a must, so those people must practise rigorous sádhaná. Their philosophy of life must be, “Morality is the base, sádhaná is the means, and life divine is the goal.””
“This great responsibility must never be entrusted to those who are themselves criminals. Unless and until such people correct themselves, they will not be given any social value, though in no way will they be denied human value. At present social value is given importance, but those who are selected to discharge social responsibility do not possess the aforesaid qualities. They have occupied their posts on the strength of their money or on the basis of patronage, but this has not resulted in any collective welfare. That is why there is an instruction in our social scripture:”
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Do not be misled by anyones tall talk. Judge merit by seeing the performance. Remember, whatever position one is in offers sufficient opportunity to work. One whose character is not in accordance with Yama-Niyama should not get opportunity [[to become]] a representative.… to [[vest]] an incompetent person with power means to push society towards destruction knowingly and deliberately.”
“The sadvipras will install qualified persons in power, and the social order which will be evolved by virtue of their leadership will give due importance to one and all. In this new society based on Neohumanism, everyone will find their life worth living. All will regain their lost positions of honour.” (1)
Reference
1. A Few Problems Solved - 2, Social Values and Human Cardinal Principles
== Section 4: Links ==
