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Saturday, July 20, 2024

Outdoor sadhana + 5 more

Baba
Outdoor sadhana

Namaskar,

Ananda Marga is the path of supreme realization and spiritual attainment. Often, we try doing sadhana in the house, yet that often only invites distractions. Inside we are surrounded by books, family members, food, and numerous daily chores and responsibilities. With all these types of pabula around us, naturally the sensory organs get attracted to them. Whereas if those pabula are out of sight and beyond the scope of the senses, then those things do not drag us down and the mind is much more free to do sadhana. Going out of the house is a big boon for our spiritual practices as this allows us to leave so many distractions behind.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/

Ananda Marga philosophy says, "It cannot be denied that the noise of the bustling world is a hindrance to intuitional practice and makes solitude very desirable." (1)

And, if we think a moment, we can see how the 'bustling world' does not only mean 'on the city streets' but also refers to 'living in our own home'. Because when we remain in the house then countless thoughts and mundane things come in the mind which pull us away from our sadhana. In that case it is difficult to do long, peaceful, serene meditation. How many times does it happen that on the point of food alone, we quickly and hastily conclude our sadhana as meal time approaches etc. And in this way days, months, and years pass by.

But if we go outside in the natural environment, we have a much better opportunity to delve into our sadhana practices and do sustained sadhana. And if this becomes our regular practice then it can transform our entire existence. On this point it can also be said that we need not go so far from the house. Generally by walking just a short distance we can find a good place for sadhana. And by going just a little further we may find a top-notch place.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/


Conclusion

Yet if we just get routinized into always sacrificing our meditation and just doing short, interrupted sadhana - constantly getting pulled away by mundane distractions, then this is not good. Because by this way the whole life will pass us by. In which case it is not easy to concentrate in sadhana in old age if one did not do proper sadhana their whole life.

Ananda Marga philosophy says, "There is no value in remembering God in old age, when it is not possible to concentrate the mind due to the weakness and disease of the body and its preoccupation with the reactions (sam'ska'ras) of the deeds of this life. The mind then is caught up in the infirmities of the body, in the diseases of old age, impending death, and most of all, in memories of past incidents, and it is impossible to concentrate the mind. For these reasons one is incapable of intuitional practice. (2)

Sadhana is important and outdoor sadhana has many benefits like: fresh air and oxygen, peaceful vibration, less distractions etc. That is why Baba recommends that this is one practice we should all do. Ultimately sadhana awakens our dormant and latent qualities, and makes the ordinary person extraordinary. 
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/

Ananda Marga ideology guides us, "When a person attains an exalted state of spirituality, they can bring welfare to millions of people." (3)

Namaskar,
in Him,
Ananda Dev

References
1. Ananda Marga Elementary Philosophy, '92, p.127
2. Ananda Marga Elementary Philosophy, '92, p.135
3. Subhasita Samgraha part 18, The Path unto the Abode of Beatitude


== Section: Important Teaching ==

Overeating is self-destruction

Ananda Marga Yogic Treatments states, “In the world today a handful of people who do no physical work, but live by their wits, have appropriated to themselves most of the wealth of humanity, so they are able to buy comparatively expensive foods, and use them to satisfy their taste buds. As a result, they, on the one hand, swell with unnecessary fat, while, on the other hand, those people doing hard manual labour are forced to live in poverty and deprived of the ghee, butter and sweets they need to maintain their bodies; they have nothing to compensate properly the energy they expend, and they become weak, emaciated and broken in health. On account of malnutrition and excessive hard labour, they fall victim to tuberculosis. Remember that in tropical countries non-vegetarian food is generally like poison….”

“So my point is that obesity is primarily a disease of well-off, non-labouring society. High-salaried office workers, rich businessmen and parasitic politicians are those who suffer most from obesity.”


Fat becomes their enemy and pushes them to their death

Ananda Marga Yogic Treatments states, “It should be borne in mind that the fat stored in the human body is nothing but its work energy in latent form. When fasting or doing physical labour, it becomes liquefied, then transformed into vital energy or work energy. So when people perform little manual labour, their fat becomes their enemy and pushes them to their death.”

Excess fat: sterility in women and impotence in men

Ananda Marga Yogic Treatments states, “When this fat accumulates in the abdominal region, it causes sterility in women and impotency in men. That is why we find that in most cases obese people have no children. Too much accumulation of fat on the chest and abdomen disturbs the váyu; and then, as long as the liver is not affected, the person suffers from “demon hunger”; so much so that in homes where the person is entertained, he or she becomes famous for his or her voracity. Another distinguishing mark of such people is that they are most greedy for those foods which are most fattening; that is, when invited outside, they will never even by mistake eat much in the way of vegetable preparations – instead they will eat a lot of luci, fish, meat and sweets.” (1)

Reference
1. Yogic Treatments and Natural Remedies


== Section: Ananda Vanii ==

The movement of Neohumanism

“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.” (Ananda Vanii #58)

Note 1: True Ananda Vaniis have a number whereas Fake Ananda Vaniis do not - just as a fake car license plate has no number. By this way, you can easily recognise a Fake Ananda Vanii.
== Section: Important Teaching ==

Third class people

Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Those who are egotistic will not accept their mistake even when they discover it. They will say, “You see, it seems I made a mistake and So-and-so has pointed it out. This is a great insult to me – I cannot tolerate it! Though he may have spoken the truth, it is beneath my dignity to accept it. It is too humiliating! If I even admit that I have harmed the people, that will be a great slur on my character – how can I allow that to happen? So I will continue to maintain that what I have done is right. This may harm people, but I must make sure that my prestige is not injured.” (1)

Reference
1. Liberation of Intellect - Neohumanism Is the Ultimate Shelter (Discourse 11)
== Section 2: Links ==

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Proper acarya + 2 more

Baba
Proper acarya

Namaskar,

One should aim to get lessons from an acarya who is highly involved in sadhana and capable of imparting this practice to others. There are few like this in our AMPS.

Here the central idea is that when learning points of bhagavad dharma there is complete freedom of choice; that’s to say, margiis are free to talk to and seek out sadhana lessons from whomever they wish. Margiis and even Wts are given leeway to get spiritual guidance and lesson revisions from any acarya. One can get a lesson revision with anyone. One is not bound for life with the Dada or Didi who initiated them. And verily this below story bears proof of this. 
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/


Baba story: Who is your acarya?

“Baba had called me in His room on Sept 8, ‘87 and talked to me at length about many things. He started with a question as to who my Acharya was. I was wondering since dada Yatishvarananda ji initiated me and gave me all lessons what should I say. But truly dada Maniishananda helped me with sadhana so I informed Baba that Maniishananda ji was my acharya. Baba laughed a lot and asked, “Is that so?” Then He asked, “So what Ishta mantra and Gurumantra he gave you?” When I informed that, He laughed even more and said you got it made, you are taken care of.”

That concludes Kirit Dave’s story that he wrote in Oct 2013. 

By the above account, it is clear that all-knowing Baba has given His approval that sadhakas may get their lessons reviewed with any knowledgeable acarya, and that one is not tied down to the acarya that initiated them. So if anyone is struggling in sadhana and is not convinced that their current acarya is imparting the lessons properly, then they should be proactive and consult another acarya for a lesson revision.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/


Conclusion

In our AMPS there is complete freedom with regards to spiritual study and sadhana lessons etc. Ours is a rational approach. We are not like those dogmatic religions that invoke suffocating injunctions that choke and suppress the common people. 

in Him, 
Dhya’nasiddhi

~ In-depth study ~

Baba doing sadhana in solitude of nature

Here Baba describes His own outdoor sadhana practice.

Baba says, "I used to go for a walk nearly every day in the mountains east of Jamalpur. I used to sit on the second mountain. One after another, several small and large mountains run parallel to each other. The summit of the second mountain was the highest place among them. I used to arrive there in the middle of the afternoon and stay there until about eight at night." (1)

Here Baba talks more about His experience of doing sadhana outside:
 
Baba says, "I was sitting on the peak. It was the bright lunar fortnight...In front of me, that is to the west, on the slope of the mountain, was a dense ga'b forest...The mountain in front of me was completely bare...I was probably the only person for several miles, completely alone...the peak that I was seated on..." (2) 

There was no need for Baba to do sadhana but He performed sadhana outside just to show us that it was beneficial.
                    
Ananda Marga ideology says, "He needs no sadhana, but just to set an example to others, He performs sadhana." (3)


A'nanda Ma'rga is universal dharma

The practices of Ananda Marga are human dharma and meant to be practiced by all. Thus Baba has not made it mandatory for everyone to do all their sadhana outside all the time. Because for particular reasons and in specific cases one might not be able to go outside for sadhana due to ill health etc. And the overall idea is that the rules should not be so tough and arduous that not everyone in society cannot follow. Rather AM is for all. So this is enough reason to think why Baba has not made outdoor meditation an absolute requirement-- always. At the same time going outside regularly for sadhana is highly beneficial.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/


Avadhuta & microvita sadhana done outside

Baba has made it compulsory for those doing avadhuta (kapalik) sadhana and microvita sadhana to do their practices under the open sky-- not in an enclosed room. This is the rule.


For more on this topic:
References
1. Shabda Cayanika - 1, Áṋka to Ád́hya (Discourse 4)
2. Shabda Cayanika - 1, Áṋka to Ád́hya (Discourse 4)
3. Discourses on Tantra - 2, p.92 / 1969, Ranchi

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) 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, and kindly help them not to steal by posting on social media in their own way. If you want to forward this story then attach the following yellow section with the story: 

“Courtesy of unknown bhakta via Ananda Marga Universal (https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/)”

This will be treated as the standard protocol.



*        *        *

The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.

*        *        *

== Section 2: Important Teaching ==

Measuring rod of wealth

Prout philosophy says, "In the subtle economic sense, the value of wealth is the real wealth. Wealth, if not properly defined, may mean only riches. But the value of wealth is to be measured in terms of its capacity to purchase commodities. That is, the purchasing capacity of wealth is its real value. This real value of wealth has not yet been properly understood in numerical terms by economists." (1) 

Commonly in society - especially when dealing with laborers - people demand a certain wage. They think that that wage or salary defines their wealth. When in actuality, the value of that wage is only relative to the cost of living / purchasing capacity. For instance, if a person was making $5 per hour and they got a pay raise to $7 per hour, but the cost of living (food, housing, medicine etc) doubled, then that pay raise is meaningless. Because their purchasing capacity actually decreased. That is why Prout philosophy states that real wealth is determined by one’s ability to afford the requirements of life. That is one’s purchasing capacity. And if one’s purchasing capacity increases then that has value. Because it means they can buy more with the money they have. Whereas if one’s wage or salary increases but their purchasing capacity remains the same or decreases, then that pay raise is meaningless. 

Reference
1. Proutist Economics, Questions and Answers on Economics – Excerpt B


== Section: Important Teaching ==

About today’s era

   Prout philosophy states, "In a joint family every member is provided with adequate food, clothing, education and medical treatment, and amenities, as per their individual needs, according to the financial capacity of the entire family. If, however, any member of the family appropriates more grains, clothes, books or medicines than he or she requires, will that person not be the cause of distress to other members of the family? In such circumstances his or her actions will be certainly against dharma – certainly antisocial."
  "Similarly, the capitalists of this modern world are anti-dharma, or antisocial, creatures. To accumulate massive wealth, they reduce others to skin and bones gnawed by hunger and force them to die of starvation; to dazzle people with the glamour of their garments, they compel others to wear rags; and to increase their own vital strength, they suck dry the vital juice of others." (1)

Reference
1. Problems of the Day, Point #1


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