Baba
Namaskar,
It
is commonly recognized that human thinking and values change over time.
A brief look at the history of any country, community, or group shows
that the values of a given population changed dramatically over the
course of 500 years, and even in as little as 50 years, as well as from
era to era. In the social cycle chapter of Prout, Baba describes this
and guides us that the values are molded toward the dominant
socio-philosophical outlook.
How Buddhism halted India’s progress
Take
the example of the pre-Buddhist era of India and the post-Buddhist era.
Prior to Buddha, medical science was quite developed, and surgery was a
common phenomenon. But when Buddhism spread, then surgery died out
because it was not considered acceptable in the Buddhist society. Due to
this, the development of medical science was severely retarded.
Secondly, in the pre-Buddhist era, people were fighters, but with the
onset of Buddhism and its dogmatic view of ahimsa, the general
population became cowardly. And verily, there are innumerable ways the
society changed during the Buddhist era in India.
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Gandhi’s negative effect on society
Let’s
also take the case of Gandhi. Prior to his emergence, the Indian people
did not destroy or burn public property as a form of protest. However,
Mahatma Gandhi taught the principle of civil disobedience and this
destructive policy became quite common. That is, when the public feels
wronged by the government etc, they wantonly destroy and burn public
property. Until recently, this was unheard of in European countries,
but, in India, this has been an ongoing problem for nearly a hundred
years. Angry protesters block trains, roads, railway stations, and even
burn hospitals and schools. This negative trend in Indian society
developed because of the psychic disease of Gandhism and his faulty
preachings of “satyagraha”, or ‘non-cooperation movement’. Essentially,
in India, the public thinks that expressing their dissatisfaction about
public policy in this destructive manner is appropriate because this
dogmatic approach was infused into the public psyche during Gandhi's
time.
How women lost their rights
In
the prehistoric era, males and females had equal rights. As society
became more organized, men seized women’s rights by infusing an
inferiority complex in various arenas of life. For instance, on various
religious pretexts, it was imposed that women were not entitled to
liberation. This occurred in Hinduism where women had to be reborn as
men in order to gain liberation, or in Islam which stated that three
women were equal to one man in voting rights, or in Catholicism where
women could not be priests. All these dogmas were introduced to prevent
women from having equal rights - a grave injustice. Unfortunately, in
those respective societies, people thought that there was nothing wrong
with these dogmatic practices. Yet, today in most countries of the
world, equal rights for women have been enshrined in legislation, though
the battle for actual equal rights still rages on.
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Selfishness in materialism - part I
Here
is another critical case of how the values of society have changed. The
self-centered philosophy has spread world-wide and, gradually, people
are becoming more and more selfish. This is the general flow, and it is
evident in the common manner of speech and expression in capitalist
society. For instance, in their general parting, many people write or
say, "Take care", which means, 'Take care of yourself.' However, when
one thinks about it, this is a completely self-centered and selfish form
of expression.
Another
instance of the extreme selfishness of capitalist society is that, in
many families, the relations between parents and children have
completely degenerated. One example of this is that the sense of
parental duty towards the children has greatly diminished. For this
reason, families easily break up, and the parents may kick the children
out of the house, or the children leave because they are abused. As a
result, in many nations around the world today, there are so many abused
and neglected children that the state has had to create different
"social welfare" centers to care for such abused children. A second
cause for the degeneration of the family in capitalist society is that
people view having children as a way to invest in their own personal
care for the future so that in their old age, these children will help
them. In that sense, children are just a "capitalist investment" in
exchange for care later on.
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Selfishness in materialism - part II
The
negative behaviours rampant in families throughout capitalist society
are the outcome of a self-centered philosophy, and that is why children
and parents often develop severely dysfunctional relations. Indeed,
there are hardly any children in materialistic nations where grown
children live with their aged parents in order to care for their
well-being. Most often, those elderly parents are placed in old-age
homes, i.e. institutions. Moreover, there is also the element that the
elderly parents feel so distant from their children that they do not
want to live with them even if they do need the help.
And
on this point of selfishness, there should not be any confusion that
materialists keep pets because they are proponents of animal rights etc.
Rather, people keep pets not for feelings of animal welfare, but so
they can selfishly control another entity, or because they are unable to
get along with other humans. Many times even their own children do not
want to follow their selfish orders, so, to satisfy themselves, they
keep some animals. And such people usually talk and gossip with their
cats and dogs to relieve their loneliness. They also know that
regardless of what they do the dog or cat is not going to oppose them.
Baba's
teaching is that capitalism is a self-centered philosophy. And now, the
whole world is being influenced by this psychic disease of selfishness
such that people are always thinking about themselves, planning for
themselves, talking about themselves, and praising themselves. It is not
only accepted in society, it is also encouraged.
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Self-praise brings degeneration - part I
One
of the hallmarks of self-centered philosophy is self-praise. This is
everywhere; people perpetually glorify themselves, but this degenerates
the mind and brings their ruination. Verily, Baba warns us that if
someone does everything for their own prestige it will lead to their
destruction.
Ananda
Marga ideology says, "Even people of wisdom, of high social status--
even so called intellectual and accomplished scientists and philosophers
who are always concerned with earning high respect for themselves or
saving their own prestige...they deliberately refuse to realise that
these petty objectives of their egos will infuse their minds with
meanness, as a result of which all their egoistic respect, prestige, and
status will ultimately be pulverized into dust." (1)
Unfortunately,
as the general society has become degenerated and affected by
self-propaganda and self-praise, even good people have also fallen into
this trap. In their degenerated state, they become grossly energized by
praising themselves because their minds have become stained by the dogma
of a self-centered philosophy.
Self-praise brings ruination - part II
Baba
guides us that those involved in self-glorification suffer from a
psychic defect, and, in turn they become even more degenerated. Baba
warns us about what happens to those driven by vanity and ego.
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Ananda
Marga philosophy states, "It often happens that whatever one
assimilates, one considers to be one's own achievement, and the ego
becomes inflated like a croaking frog. Just as a frog considers itself
to be bigger than others--just as the frog, in its vanity, to
demonstrate its size, tries to inflate itself more and more until it
bursts--so those who have assimilated only a little of the psychic world
become puffed up with vanity and thereby invite their own ruin. (2)
In the above teaching, Baba makes two key points.
(1)
Those who have a little knowledge start thinking about their own glory.
In result, they get puffed up with vanity and go around praising their
own existence.
(2)
When people are very self-centered they sing their own kiirtan, i.e.
their own self-praise. They are so self-absorbed they do not even care
what other people around them think.
Ananda
Marga ideology states, "'Kiirtaniiya' sada'harih'. Kiirtana should be
done on Hari (Parama Purusa) and on no other entity. One should not
praise oneself or any other person. There are many people who are very
fond of praising themselves by telling everyone what wonderful things
they have done, but as mentioned in this shloka, kiirtana is not for
one's own self but for Hari. Even though people are taught to do kiirtan
for Hari, they still make the mistake of praising themselves too much.
Sometimes their self-praise is so intense that others are obliged to
say, 'Please stop praising yourself so much'. They forget that their
self-applause is rather boring for others. Human beings should realise
that no one likes to hear the self-praise of others." (3)
In
His teaching, Baba is guiding us that human beings are to do the
kiirtan of Parama Purusa. It is His glory we are to sing. But,
unfortunately, those guided by materialistic, selfish tendencies become
completely egocentric such that all they can do is sing their own
praise. This is a pitiful, pathetic, and lowly state of mind.
Specialty of tantra: serve others
Our
tantric culture is completely different. Tantra is founded on the ethic
of helping and serving others and thinking about their well-being - all
done taking cosmic ideation. The basic spirit is: "It is my duty to
serve all". This is the spirit of Tantra.
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Ananda
Marga Caryacarya states, “Bear in mind that you have a duty towards –
indeed, you owe a debt to – every creature of this universe, but towards
you, no one has any duty; from others, nothing is due.” (4)
The
basic outlook is:, "Don't think about your own problems. Think about
others' problems and help them resolve their difficulties." In essence,
be selfless, not selfish. This is the drastic difference between
materialism and spirituality, or self-centered philosophy and
God-centered philosophy.
Conclusion
The
overall message is that from era to era the dominant philosophy has a
dramatic effect on the mentality and values of the people. Philosophies
like Buddhism, Gandhism, and self-centered philosophy have hastened the
demise and degeneration of society, as has the imposition of various
religious dogmas. The tantric and neo-humanistic teachings of Ananda
Marga ideology can lift society up from the mud and into a whole new
golden era where cardinal human values are cherished and spirituality is
embraced.
Ananda
Vanii states, “All the beings of this universe are the kith and kin of
one another. No one is despicable. All are equally respectable and
entitled to equal love and affection. No problem is to be ignored as an
individual or group affair. Every problem is to be considered as the
collective problem of universal humanity and is to be resolved
collectively and resolved it must be. Let it be the vocal panorama of
the newer world of today – the continuous musical notes behind the
movement of Neohumanism.” (5)
Sadguru Baba explains, “Ananda Marga alone is dharma and all the rest are sectisms.” (6)
In Him,
Gaurishankar
Self-praise brings degeneration - part III
In so many teachings, Baba warns us about what happens to those who foolishly run after their own prestige and self-glory.
Ananda
Marga ideology states, “Gaorava is the second type of ahaḿkára. It
means “self-aggrandizement”. Puffed up with vanity, a person will want
to project his or her image in an exaggerated manner. Often we hear
somebody say, for example, that they have a rose the size of a balloon
in their garden – whereas actually the rose may be the size of a
ping-pong ball. Constant indulgence in this type of activity converts
the mind into matter.” (7)
So,
according to Baba, we should not praise ourselves and, in consequence,
invite our ruination. Rather, we are to sing His praise and His praise
only.
Ananda
Marga ideology states, “Vanity harms the mind in three ways: abhimána
or inflated ego, gaorava or self-aggrandizement, and pratiśt́ha or
prestige.” (8)
References
1. Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 3, Supreme Benevolence and Mundane Pleasure (Shreya and Preya)
2. Namah Shivaya Shantaya, Shiva’s Teachings – 1 (Discourse 10)
3. Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 8, “The Lord Should Always Be Praised”
4. Caryacarya - 2, Sadhana, Point #3
5. Ánanda Váńii #58
6. Subhasita Samgraha – 1, The Call of the Supreme
7. Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23, Safeguards against the Defects of Jiṋána and Karma
8. Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 10, Taking the Opposite Stance in Battle
Fountain of refulgence
“E kii praheliká e kii kuheliká káche káche ácho dhará náhi diyecho..." (Prabhat Samgiita #1769)
Purport:
O’ Parama Purusa, what a riddle - what a strange fog. I know that You are with me, yet You do not come within my grasp. I cannot hold You. Baba, why is Your love covered, as if it is hidden in the deep, dense fog?
The fountain of refulgence merges into infinity. The resonating melody of the viina is filled with tears. Baba, please come closer and remove all my bondages, blackness, impurities, and dogma, along with whatever other defects and dark aspectsI have.
O’ Parama Purusa, Baba, I love You and this much I also know: You love me; You know me. I have offered my heart and my everything at Your lotus feet. Baba, please come alone in my core, in the hub of my mental lotus, and kiss it with Your sweet smile...
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