Baba
What is misdirected bhakti
Namaskar,
Every human and many animals have the seed of bhakti. First we should examine how certain animals have the seed of bhakti, or sámányá bhakti, i.e. rudimentary bhakti. By and large, animals have respect for or are in awe of those they deem as being greater than themselves. One of the more common examples is a dog that obeys its master. That obedience itself is reverence, or rudimentary or ordinary bhakti, for its master.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Plus various farm animals view their farmer as their master; so they also have the seed of ordinary bhakti. This type of bhakti, however, is not limited to domesticated or farm animals. For instance, there are other animals that are awed by large trees and big mountains because those mountains and trees are greater than themselves. And verily there are so many animals that have rudimentary bhakti, either towards other animals, towards humans, or towards nature.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "When an individual’s psychic feelings get suspended at the sight of the greatness of an entity, then the individual attitude towards that great entity is devotion. Initially it is known as sámányá bhakti [natural devotion]. This sámánya bhakti is present even in many undeveloped creatures. Suppose you look upon the vast Himalayan range. When you gaze at the sky-kissing peaks, your mind becomes overwhelmed and you exclaim, “Oh, how vast are these mountains!” You develop a feeling of reverence for the Himalayas." (1)
Whenever any animal feels a sense of awe or reverence towards any other entity, then that feeling of awe is the seed of bhakti, or sámányá bhakti, i.e. rudimentary bhakti. However, there are some extremely undeveloped animals like grasshoppers, lizards, fish etc that are not adequately developed and therefore lack sámányá bhakti, i.e. rudimentary bhakti. Those creatures are only involved in their own existence.
Examples of misguided bhakti
When various animals possess the seed of bhakti, then certainly every human being also has ordinary bhakti.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "The fundamental psychology behind bhakti, which I once discussed at Anandanagar, is this: when a person looks upon the awesome greatness of any great entity, his or her own qualities become suspended. He or she develops a special attitude towards that great entity, and that attitude is known as devotion." (2)
Invariably, all look upon someone in this world with awe and reverence. Teenagers scream and cheer when their favourite musician comes onto the stage. Sports fans applaud wildly for their sports heroes. Everyone in this world holds a sense of awe for someone or something else that they revere. And that is a form of ordinary bhakti. But that ordinary bhakti is misdirected. They do not understand their desire is actually for the Supreme. Ultimately, ordinary bhakti is one. When a person longs for worldly things, it means their ordinary bhakti has gone astray. And their inherent, infinite longing is never satiated by these finite worldly entities, i.e. by seeing that sports player, musician, or pop icon etc.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Ananda Marga philosophy states "Bhakti means ideation on the Supreme." (3)
But in the general society, ordinary bhakti takes expression in many other forms. People revere the wealthy, the famous, the talented etc. Whatever a person treasures, when they see that quality present in someone else to a higher degree, then they will revere that being. That is where their reverence lies. Tragically, their ordinary bhakti is misdirected.
Bhakti: analogy of baby chewing paper
As Parama Purusa Baba guides us, all have ordinary bhakti - even non-sadhakas. The only problem is that their ordinary bhakti is misdirected. Think of it this way. When a baby is hungry it tries to satiate its hunger but it does not know what to eat. The baby innocently reaches for paper, small stones, plastic, and so many other inedible objects. Yet none of those things will satiate its hunger.
Similarly, human beings have inherent bhakti. They want to become great, but they do not know where to search. They do not know how to satisfy their infinite longing. Instead of meditating on the Divine, often their longing gets routed to the external sphere. In this way, they seek out and run after money, status, prestige, animal propensities, and other things they revere or view in awe.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
That is why such people are no different from the baby that is putting sticks and stones into its mouth. Just as the baby does not realise that it wants food so it instead reaches for plastic and stones, likewise people do not realise that they long for the Supreme, so instead they misdirect their longing towards mundane objects etc.
Conclusion
The overall message of this letter is that all have ordinary bhakti, i.e. all human beings and even some animals. But their ordinary bhakti is misdirected towards the limited and the mundane. That is why they are never satisfied. Their desire is never quenched. They never feel a sense of true and lasting satiation. Just their longing changes from one object to the next. When ordinary bhakti is directed towards the Supreme, then bhakti grows more and more; then only can one feel His grace and feel satiation.
Namaskar,
In His service,
Ananda
~ In-depth study ~
Bhakti is service to Parama Purusa
Ananda Marga ideology guides us about the uniqueness of the path of bhakti. And the first aspect of that teaching is as follows:
Bhakti bhagavato seva
Meaning: bhakti is service to God
So the inherent inner desire of the bhakta is to serve Parama Purusa - in all ways at all times. This is their inner-heart's feeling: To serve & please Parama Purusa. To make Parama Purusa happy.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
The three ways to serve Parama Purusa
So bhaktas keep the closest link with Him all the time in order to serve Him, directly and indirectly. This service occurs on three basic levels.
While living in this world, bhaktas indirectly do seva to Parama Purusa by serving His creation through the four sevas - shudrocita seva (physical service), ksattriyocita seva (security or martial service), vaeshyocita seva (economic service), and viprocita seva (spiritual service). Serving His creation in one of these four ways is physical service to Parama Purusa. That means viewing each and every expression as the manifestation of Supreme Consciousness and helping them according to their greatest need. That is physical service to Parama Purusa.
And in kiirtan, the bhakta lovingly sings the name of Parama Purusa and calls Him into their heart. This is serving Him in the mental sphere. In dhya'na, the bhakta channelizes all their love and all their desires unto His divine Self and by this way they are serving Parama Purusa Baba in the spiritual realm. In dhyana and kiirtan, the bhakta is rendering service to Parama Purusa directly. In all ways at all times, bhaktas are involved in serving the Lord - i.e. pleasing Parama Purusa Baba.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Asakti vs bhakti
Ananda Marga ideology states, "When this attraction is for any non-integral entity, or for any small entity this is called káma. When that attraction is for that integral entity, and the integral entity is only one and that one is Parama Puruśa – it is called Prema. When the attraction is for the non-integral entity, for money, for family, for land, it is called Káma; when it is for integral entity it is called Prema and the mental tendency during Káma i.e., the mental tendency during attraction for a non-integral entity is called Ásakti in Samskrta and the mental tendency during attraction for that Integral Entity is called Bhakti. Do you follow?" (4)
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, "When the Esana is not for Paramatman but for something else, it is known as Asakti (Attachment) and not Bhakti. As for example, the Esana for wine. This Esana will be termed as Panasakti, the attachment for wine i.e. attachment is always in bad sense and devotion is always supreme. Therefore the correct Esana is devotion." (5)
Ananda Marga ideology states, “When the unit self is associated with the cosmic it is called “bhakti” or “devotion”, but when it is associated with the mundane it is called “attachment”. You must withdraw your mental propensities from all external objects – no matter what they might be – and channelize them only towards Parama Puruśa. Only when you direct them towards Him, can it be called bhakti. If you allow your mind to become fascinated by any other object, it is called “ásakti” or “attachment”. When your only desire is for Iishvara, it is called “Iishvara-bhakti”, but when that attachment is for wine, for example, it is called ásakti for wine. An attachment for any object other than Parama Puruśa is called “ásakti”.” (6)
What is real bhakti
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “When one’s psychic attraction is toward the crude, the mind has a downward tendency...which leads to one’s eventual downfall. But when the mind moves upward it is called anurakti [attraction for the Great]. The consummation of this attraction is devotion.” (7)
Ananda Marga ideology states, "Anurakti is of two kinds. The anurakti for the Supreme Brahma or Infinite Cosmic Consciousness is para'nurakti. The anurakti for Brahma under the sway of prakrti or the anurakti for the crude manifestations is termed apara'nurakti. God is an object for para'nurakti. When the aspirant considers the Supreme Brahma to be his own, it is termed bhajana' or bhakti." (8)
Here following is Parama Purusa Baba's supreme guideline and blessing.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "This blended devotion enables spiritual aspirants to attain the pinnacled goal of their lives. It is this devotion that human beings have been seeking since time immemorial. When they finally attain the guru and get initiation, then they begin to walk on this path of devotion. And those who have started on this path realize that they are sure to reach their destination, that to reach their goal is the sole reason for their birth. You should remember why you have been born. Following the path of devotion, you will have to ultimately reach Parama Puruśa. This is the pinnacled point, the supreme point of human glory. You should always remember this, during your lifetime and even after your death." (9)
References
1. Namami Krsnasundaram, Disc: 23
2. Namami Krsnasundaram, Disc: 23
3. Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell - 4, Bhakti and Krpá
4. Subhasita Samgraha - 18, The Stance of Salvation and How to Attain It
5. Subhasita Samgraha - 20, Astitva and Shivatva
6. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 7, The True Nature of Bhakti
7. Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell - 8, The Acoustic Roots of the Indo-Aryan Alphabet
8. Ananda Marga Ideology & Way of Life - 2, Bhaktitattva
9. Yoga Psychology, The Cult of Spirituality – the Cult of Pinnacled Order
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Quiz: Who make this claim
Kindly read the below quote from Baba's teachings. At the end of the quote a question has been posed. If your answer to the question is correct then it means you read Baba's books carefully; and, if your answer is wrong or you do not know the answer, then it signifies that you need to pay more attention when reading Guru's teachings. After all, if sadhakas are not diligent in studying Baba's books then who is going to read them - non-margiis?
Ananda Marga ideology states, “Those who profess a faith claiming to be the last word from the last prophet follow an incorrect line. Prout [Progressive Utilization Theory] philosophy is ahead of such philosophies and faiths. As is stated in its fifth principle, it is a philosophy which not only sets its goal as the ultimate subjectivity (Brahma, who is unchangeable and eternal), but also adopts the objective course of adjustment according to time, space and person.” (1)
Question: Who is Baba referring to in the yellow highlighted section?
Answer: In the above Quiz, in the yellow highlighted section Sadguru Baba is talking about - the Semitic religions. They preach this type of dogma.
Reference
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 33, Sálokya, Sámiipya, Sáyujya, Sárúpya, Sárśt́hi
== Section: Important Teaching ==
What is the best language according to Prout
Prout philosophy guides us, “In the past undeveloped persons used to express their thoughts through gestures and postures. A time will come when there will be no language. With the advancement of science human beings may again adopt new types of postures and gestures, and they may think of using the energy saved by minimizing the use of spoken language for higher pursuits.”
“Intelligent people will evolve a common world language and will not be guided by false, narrow sentiments. Like all other mundane property, languages are the common property of the Cosmic Father. We should love all these languages, hate none, and adopt one of these languages as the world language. As all languages are our common property, we should not oppose the existence of other languages. We should not brand any language as foreign or national.”
Prout philosophy says, “In the present system the English language deserves to be the world language because it is scientific and widely spoken. It would be a great folly for any government to deny this fact. With the change of time future generations may select any other language as the world language. Thus we should adopt a common lingua franca for the mutual exchange of ideas. For this purpose English may be accepted as the world lingua franca for some time more. We should however feel that all the languages of the world are our own languages. No language should be treated as indigenous, foreign or national, and nobody should treat the world language as a foreign language and discourage its propagation.” (1)
Reference
1. Prout in a Nutshell - 15, What is the best language according to Prout
== Section 3: Links ==
Other topics of interest
