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Thursday, March 9, 2017

Dogmatic marriages & subjugation of girls + 2 more

Baba

Dogmatic marriages & subjugation of girls

Namaskar,
Here we uncover the shameful chapter of human history where members of one gotra would forcibly kidnap women from other gotras. And that message is conveyed still in traditional Indian marriage ceremonies. This letter concerns the Hindu dogma pervasive in traditional Indian marriage ceremonies where the female / bride is presented as the defeated party and captured as slave, while the male / groom is viewed as the victor-hero-king. Baba reveals the historical background of this dogma and how humiliating it is for the bride.

The entire marriage solemnization is essentially a dramatization of what took place on the battlefield in those olden days when the king and his victorious army would invade, attack, besiege a different hillock inhabited by a competing clan. The victorious king would beat and bloody all the females and capture them for his use - as slaves, servants, concubines etc. This is the gory and shameful scene that would take place and this entire drama is portrayed in today’s Indian marriage ceremonies. It grossly undermines and violates the dignity of women.

The key point is that the male and female, groom and bride, are not on equal footing. The red mark on the bridge signifies her crushed head. When today a bride is marked by that red color it is a sign of her submission. It is completely humiliating. Baba explains this here below - read carefully.

Females: defeated in battle & captured as slaves


Ananda Marga philosophy states, “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.” (1)

Men would strike the heads of the women with an axe, causing blood to flow

 
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “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.” (2)

Forcibly kidnap women from other clan


Baba says, “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.” (3)

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 the other side humiliated party (bride). This is the shameful history and painful chapter of dogmatic, Indian marriages.

See here below this photo of a recent marriage ceremony. While looking at the photo try to identify as many of the dogmas which Baba has pointed out above. Then compare your list with what has been described below beneath the photo.



So many of the dogmas which Baba has pointed out are present in the above scene from a recent, traditional Indian marriage ceremony.

1. The girl has a vermilion mark on her forehead. As Baba has pointed out this signifies the blood rushing from the female’s head when they were brutally ransacked and attacked and taken away as slaves / captives by neighoring clans.

2. The groom has just arrived mounted on a decorated horse. So he is the key figure, just as in olden days the victorious king would arrive on horse as the commander of the army when claiming victory. Furthermore, the groom arrives surrounded by people standing around him just as the victorious king would have a retinue of foot soldiers in his entourage as he arrived on horseback.

3. The girl’s arm is covered by bangles which signify her capture and bondage. In the past the women were bound in iron chains and forcibly dragged away. The victorious party treated those females as their booty, one of the rights of victory. That is the meaning and history of the bangles which females wear today in the marriage ceremony.

4. Often the girl applies a mark upon the groom. This symbolises her accepting defeat to the victorious male king. It is a demonstration of submission. This sets the tone of a male-dominated society where the female is the property of one male.

5. This entire marriage scene is taking place at the bride’s family property just as the king’s victorious party would march upon the defeated clan / hillock and capture all their females.

6. This whole scene depicts the humiliation of females and how they are subservient to the dominant males.

As Sadguru Baba points out, this whole scene is quite humiliating and denigrating for those girls but due to their ignorance they feel ecstatic and glorified during this ceremony. When that girl was small she was taught that a one fine day she will become the property of another family. So they believe that this is a respectful and dignified outcome - i.e. to live as the property of someone else.

These are not innocent affairs


This defective mentality is similar to that of a caged bird that has been caged for so long that it cannot conceive of its own freedom. It likes that small, puny cage.

Baba is warning us about this dogma and it is our duty to educate the public and remove this social injustice and gender difference. Females are not anyone’s personal property. A few confused or very new margiis attend this dogmatic Hindu marriage ritual. But every true Ananda Margii must think long and hard before attending any such type of event etc - sincere sadhakas understand they cannot support or attend this Hindu ritual / dogmatic Indian ceremony. After all, these are not innocent affairs, but rather represent the imposition of dogma and the exploitation of women.

Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Renaissance people will have to start a movement immediately to fight against all these disparities; otherwise if fifty percent of the population, that is the ladies, remain downtrodden, how can there be all-round progress of human society? So these are all the social duties, the social responsibilities of the Renaissance movement. Renaissance people will have to wage war on these disparities, these inequalities – they will have to be rooted out of the society.” (4)

Conclusion


The above about Indian dogmatic marriages. Our Ananda Marga revolutionary marriage system is completely different - it is grounded in neo-humanism and dharma. Most Ananda Margiis perform Ananda Marga marriage ceremonies. But some pseudo people do both.

The purpose of this letter is to educate everyone that dogmatic Indian marriage do not give equal status to females and it si quite humiliating. The duty of all Anada Margiis is not to participate in such marriages and try to educate and convince the hosts about the harmful symbolism. By this way this dogma can one day be eliminated.

Namaskar.
In Him,
Sulekha' Singh



References
1. Namah Shiva Shantaya, Shiva – Both Severe and Tender (Discourse 2)
2. Namah Shiva Shantaya, Shiva – Both Severe and Tender (Discourse 2)
3. Namah Shiva Shantaya, Shiva – Both Severe and Tender (Discourse 2)
4. A Few Problems Solved - 7, Renaissance in All the Strata of Life


== Section 2: Important Teaching ==

Special place for sadhana?

You might have heard some people say that, “This place is very good for sadhana.” Especially you will hear this in Ananda Nagar, Jamalpur, Tiljala, Ranchi etc. They like to create the feeling that in order to get a special blessing you have to come in Ananda Nagar, Jamalpur, Tiljala, Ranchi etc and sit under that particular rock or tree etc. And then only sadhana will be best. Because that place emanates a spiritual vibration. Baba’s below teaching debunks this idea.

Ananda Marga philosophy states, “To differentiate between different places for sádhaná, to consider one place more suitable than another, or to regard a particular spot as good and another bad, is to divide Brahma. Every place in this creation is the manifestation of the Supreme Cosmic Entity (Brahma), and to call one place good and another bad is to attribute these qualities to Brahma. If sádhaná is based on the consideration of good and bad, it will never be possible for one to develop the feeling of oneness with the rest of creation. One will never be able to love others as oneself. To Brahma every place is the same, and sádhaná can be practised anywhere.” (1)

If some place is isolated or a natural setting and there is no pollution of any kind, then that is suitable for sadhana in comparison to a noisy bus stop that smells like an open sewer. That is based entirely on the environmental qualities. The above teaching debunks the myth that some place is spiritually important whereas other places are not.

Reference
1. Ananda Marga Elementary Philosophy, Why Are People Afraid of Intuitional Practice?




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This email contains three sections:1. Posting: Dogmatic marriages & subjugation of girls
2. IT: Special place for sadhana?
3. Links


Story: anger & hate + 2 more

Baba

Story: anger & hate

Note: This is a devotional story so those who do not have reverence for Baba may not understand it.

Namaskar,

Many know that in the 70's when the mass of Wts were called for reporting and RDS with Baba, then it was so crowded. The rooms were small and everyone had to squeeze into just a few rooms.

During one such occasion, Dada SN arrived and was told that all workers should place their bags and blankets into a particular room. There was hardly any space as hundreds of workers were putting their belongings in that same place. Anyway, somehow Dada SN ji found a tiny space. He spread his blanket halfway and placed his bag on top. Then he went off to attend his various meetings etc.

He felt hatred towards them

That evening when Dada SN ji returned, he saw that his belongings were not there. So he mistakenly thought one other Dada had intentionally tossed his things aside and taken his spot. When Ac Dada SN ji awakened that Dada and told him of the problem, the Dada did not even realise anything wrong had happened. He had no idea as his own things had also been shifted. After all, it was a small space that was filled with hundreds of Wts who were coming and going with their belongings.

Without thinking deeply and without asking others for help, Dada SN ji became extremely frustrated. In addition, it was a fasting day and that made his frustration mount even more. Internally he was thinking that many of these other Wts were just like monkeys, i.e. uncultured and uncivilised, just worthless people and he felt hatred towards them. Dada SN did not complain openly but those were the thoughts floating in his tumultuous state of mind.

Baba lovingly feigned anger to rectify Him


The next day Dada SN ji was called before Baba for reporting. Baba looked at him and in His loving liila He scolded him. Baba feigned anger and said, you must not harbour any hatred towards anyone. While pretending to be angry, Baba lovingly scolded Dada SN in this manner.

Dada was shocked to hear this. First because he had not complained to anyone about the incident; he had not shared his thoughts or feelings with anyone. Just Baba was peering into his mind. Secondly, he realised that he must reconsider his relations with other workers and never harbour any hatred or malice towards them. In Ananda Marga ours is a family feeling. Dada SN ji came to understand that he must have respect and love for all because of their inherent link with Parama Purusa.


Benevolently point out wrongdoers

This above story shows that we must not hate anyone. That does not mean that we cannot point out their wrongdoing. Rather we should oppose those who contravene various codes, and do’s and don'ts; they absolutely should be reprimanded and rectified. So we should take a stand against those wrongdoers, but only with the sweet motive to clean them of their faults. One should not loathe or harbour hatred towards them.

Ananda Marga ideology states, “You have no right to hate anyone. Do not be afraid of nature either. The thunder and the roar of the oceans hide His sweet music within their apparently frightful sounds. Fear none and hate none. All are One.” (1)

Ananda Vanii guides us, “You have no right to hate even a single living creature. The best you can do is only to serve. Remember, you are to serve bearing in mind that every creature is verily the living manifestation of the Supreme Consciousness. Remember also that the credit of service is not yours; it is due to the Supreme and the Supreme alone, whose ideation has inspired you to acquire the capability of rendering service.” (2)

Conclusion


Here following is Baba’s great teaching where He guides us about the importance of pointing out the wrongdoing of close persons. Just like how parents lovingly point out the faults of their kids, similarly with love we are to create the requisite circumstantial pressure so those who are very, very close to us - margiis, Wts, laokik relations, colleagues, and other respected persons etc - can mend their ways.

Here is an English summary of Sadguru Baba’s the below Hindi teaching: If our own person or relative deviates from the truth or is lacking sincerity, oppose him, do not tolerate him. It does not matter if he is our own relative. If our own person is dishonest and insincere then he is more dangerous. Why? If there is a snake outside it is dangerous, but if a snake comes inside the house it is more dangerous. Therefore he [our close person] should be opposed more strongly. (3)

अपना आदमी हो, घर का आदमी हो ; कोई सत्य से इधर-उधर हट गया, sincerity की कमी जिनमें है—उसका विरोध करो, बर्दाश्त मत करो | अपना आदमी है तो क्या है | अपना आदमी अगर असाधु है, insincere है, तो, और भी अधिक ख़तरनाक है | क्यों ? बाहर में अगर साँप रहा, वह जितना ख़तरनाक है, घर में अगर साँप घुस गया तो और भी अधिक ख़तरनाक है | इसलिए, और भी, उसका अधिक विरोध होना चाहिए |” (4)

In His above guideline Baba explains that bad elements in society are dangerous, but bad elements inside your house - inside your organisation - are more dangerous. Do not tolerate them, benevolently oppose them. So they can rectify their ways and become an asset to our Ananda Marga society.

Namaskar,
in Him,
Dayananda

References
1. 25 May 1969 DMC, Ranchi
2. Ananda Vanii #23
3. Taking Shelter in Satya is the Essence of Sadhana, EGD 25 November 1978 Mumbai -Trans: Dr. T.R.S.
4. Sa’dhana’ kii Mukhy Ba’t – Satya’shraii Bano, EGD 25 November 1978 Mumbai,

Warning about plagiary
It is the accepted international standard and Baba's system not to copy another's work and publish it in your own way. Baba has given a very strict rule on plagiarism. Why is Baba against plagiarism or stealing someone's work? There are many reasons:

1) It is against the code of asteya (non-stealing).

2) The individual who steals gets degenerated and it sets a bad example in the social sphere.

3) It impedes social progress as others will not be inclined to pursue new and original work as they think that others will just steal it.

4) It breeds a society of lethargic people who will always wait for others to create something new. It is just like those who are lazy in the kitchen do not cook - just they wait for others to prepare food and then they steal it away and devour that food.

5) Countless stories of bhaktas need to be published. But some do not want to do the hard work of compiling and writing these stories, so they just steal them from others. But new stories need to be told, otherwise so many unpublished stories of sadhakas will be lost and forgotten forever. So watch out for story thieves.


== Section 2: Main Topic ==

I had forgotten You completely, yet

Note: Only those bhaktas who feel a devotional vibration in their heart can understand this song in the depths of their core.

"Ámi, tomáy bhúle giye chinu, tumi nije mor páne ceyecho..." (Prabhat Samgiita #0629)

Purport:

O’ Parama Purusa, I had forgotten You completely. Yet, You came forward and looked towards me in a very compassionate way and and blessed me with bhakti. I deviated from the path which You had shown me, i.e. the practice of sadhana and Sixteen Points. I was not following bhagavata dharma, but rather but groupism. I fell from the path of neo-humanism but You lovingly pulled and brought me back onto the path of Ananda Marga. You forgave me and placed me back on the path of righteousness. With affection, You lifted me up and put me on Your divine lap. It is Your grace, Your unconditional love.

Although a planet is far from its nucleus star, can that planet ever drift far away from its star? No, that star attracts that planet incessantly towards itself. O’ Parama Purusa, in the same way, You also are pulling me always towards with love and affection. Many times I left my sadhana, and then You lovingly called me back and goaded me onto the path of bhakti. You are ever-caring.

Baba, The waves of the ocean drift far away - very far. But those waves never leave the ocean. The ocean always calls them and attracts them. With my ignorance I always lose sight of You. You are so gracious: You also constantly call me and pull me back towards You, and keep me under Your shelter. This is nothing but Your karuna, Your grace...



Reply to: anandamargauniversal1@yogasamsthanam.net

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Baba


This email contains three sections:1. PS #0629: I had forgotten You completely, yet
2. Posting: Story: anger & hate
3. Links


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