Baba
Warning: forgotten sadhana
Namaskar,
Ananda Marga ideology says, "Of all the different types of lethargy, spiritual lethargy is the worst. Spiritual lethargy means not to sit for meditation regularly. Those with spiritual lethargy have time for all other actions, but for spiritual practice there seems to be no time. They say, 'It's already late today - I'll do a short meditation right now, and devote more time to sa'dhana' tomorrow.' They sit attentively inside the cinema hall, but in dharma sa'dhana' they feel sleepy." (1)
Sadhana is the main thing
In our Ananda Marga, Baba places maximum emphasis on sadhana and encourages us to progress on this blessed path.
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Ananda Marga philosophy says, "The only aim of life is spiritual practice-- the realization of the Supreme. Thus people will have to continue their spiritual practice as the primary mission in life." (2)
So our entire human existence must be aimed towards spiritual growth and development. We are to dedicate ourselves to divine realisation-- and not towards any other secondary endeavpour. Here again is Baba's reminder about the importance of our spiritual practices.
Baba says, "Life is a spiritual sa'dhana' and the result of this sa'dhana' is to be offered at the altar of the Supreme." (3)
Danger of spiritual lethargy
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, "Spiritual lethargy means not to sit for meditation regularly. Those with spiritual lethargy have time for all other actions, but for spiritual practice there seems to be no time. They say, 'It's already late today - I'll do a short meditation right now, and devote more time to sa'dhana' tomorrow.' They sit attentively inside the cinema hall, but in dharma sa'dhana' they feel sleepy." (4)
Baba says, "Of all the different types of lethargy, spiritual lethargy is the worst." (5)
Instead of realising one's potential, due to spiritual lethargy, life just passes in a most mundane and common manner.
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Ananda Marga ideology says, "Every human being, from the age of fourteen or fifteen, has an innate desire to ideate on Parama Purus'a. With cosmic ideation one will attain vast expansion of mind, one will become great in all respects. No one can check the all-round growth of such a person. People realize this and yet ignore it and thus waste their time getting old for nothing. That is, they waste their time in non-spiritual pursuits. This is called 'spiritual lethargy'. It causes the greatest harm to human life because it results in only a very small percentage of the human potentiality - maybe one or two percent - being utilized by humans...Due to spiritual lethargy people are unable to grow, and thus remain very ordinary. They come to the world, live, decay and die as ordinary human beings." (6)
The greatness of tantra
Baba has come onto this earth and blessed us with all tools and practices to overcome obstacles and difficulties. And even more specifically, the tantra of Taraka Brahma crushes and eliminates all kinds of spiritual letharginess.
Ananda Marga ideology teaches us, "'Tan' means 'dullness', 'lethargy' and 'tra' means liberator. That which liberates you from spiritual dullness, spiritual lethargy is Tantra." (7)
So as we sincerely follow His guidelines and involve in AM intuitional practices (sadhana), then it is sure that all spiritual letharginess will vanish from life. In which case, we will become proper mediums to serve Him and establish His mission, by His grace.
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Baba's warning
Here Baba severely warns us about what will happen if one gives greater priority to worldly pursuits and forgets their sadhana.
Ananda Marga ideology states, "Some people think early in life, even at the age of twelve or fourteen, about how they can utilize cent percent of their psychic power and perfect themselves through spiritual practices. Unfortunately, due to lethargy, they fail to utilize their capacity and thus their potentiality gradually diminishes." (AV-7)
Conclusion
Baba has given all in AM the unique opportunity to make sadhana a deeply spiritual experience where we fall more and more in love with Him. May we make our human live bereft of any spiritual letharginess and become deeply ensconced in His blissful flow-- loving and serving Him.
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Ananda Marga ideology says, "When spiritual aspirants advance towards Parama Purus'a by dint of the practice of yoga or Tantra, they develop an exclusive bhakti towards Parama Purus'a."
Ananyamamata' Vis'n'ormamata' premasaungata'
"'Spiritual aspirants withdraw their minds from all mundane objectivities, and with the same intention direct all their physical, psychic and spiritual propensities towards Parama Purus'a.' They remove their individualities, and accept Parama Purus'a as their nearest and dearest one. This is what is called exclusive love for God. This is called kevala' bhakti. And only in this stage does devotion reach its fruition or culmination." (8)
Namaskar,
In Him,
Nirakara
References
1. 1 January 1971 DMC, Patna
2. Namah Shivaya Shantaya, Disc: 13
3. A'nanda Va'nii #12
4. 1 January 1971 DMC, Patna
5. 1 January 1971 DMC, Patna
6. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 8, Bad Habits Which Should Be Given Up
7. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 2, A'gama and Nigama
8. Subhasita Samgraha - 14, 'Yoga, Tantra, and Kevala' Bhakti'
* * *
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 ==
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Still, a controller is necessary in the physical sphere, highly necessary, because in this physical sphere, those of animal nature seize the morsels of food from others’ mouths like mad dogs. In this material sphere, living beings in human form, driven by dogmas, dash the only children of widows to the ground. In this material sphere, demons greedy for wealth starve the simple, innocent and disunited people to death, bit by bit. In this material sphere, the mighty rip out the tongues of the weak and silence their voices forever; they deprive them of the opportunity to express their inner urges. Thus there is a great necessity of a strict disciplinary code for this physical world. It is not necessary for this code of discipline to be always in the form of a book. Rather, a benevolent person of spirited intellect can work more effectively than a book in this regard." (1)
Reference
1. Namah Shivaya Shantaya, Shiva's Teachings – 2 (continued) (Discourse 14)
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Prout philosophy states, “Today there are too many obstacles on the path of morality. Urban civilization is one of the chief reasons of moral degeneration because many people are compelled to live undesirably in small, congested places. This is inimical to morality in individual life. Solitary living for some time is essential for the cultivation and development of morality.”
“Where the population is very dense, milk and vegetables are in short supply, and these are indispensable for healthy survival. When the demand is more than the supply, adulteration goes unchecked. To meet the deficit in the supply of milk, people mix water with it. To meet the demand for diamonds, imitation diamonds are produced, because the demand is more than the supply. Cities become dens of corruption because of antisocial elements, but generally such things are not noticeable in villages.” (1)
Many swindlers lurking in their midst
Prout philosophy states, “In villages, everybody knows everyone else. Everybody knows the livelihood of their neighbours. But even after twenty years of living in a city people seldom get acquainted with their neighbours. They don’t even know that there are many swindlers lurking in their midst.”
“However, the slogan, “Go back to the village” alone will not suffice. City life has a great attraction for people generally so they run to cities for their livelihood. To stop this trend intellectuals and others will have to look for their livelihood in villages. The supply of cheap electricity and the expansion of cottage industries in villages are of paramount necessity today. By cottage industries I do not mean outdated, primitive handicrafts. Cottage industries must be efficient, modern mechanized units.”
“From the economic viewpoint decentralization is an absolute necessity. With the exception of heavy industries and essential government offices, all industry should be shifted to the villages. To stop overcrowding in the cities this is the only feasible approach.”
“Villages are not congested, so antisocial people will not be able to hide themselves there. If they try, the police can easily detect them.” (2)
References
1. Prout in a Nutshell - 6, Dialectical Materialism and Democracy
2. Prout in a Nutshell - 6, Dialectical Materialism and Democracy
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Price of poor leadership
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, "The behaviour of the respected and elder persons in society is an example and ideal for others; it is followed and imitated by the succeeding generations as well. Today there is catastrophe and misery in human society and there is one reason: the defective leadership of society. People blindly follow even unintelligent leaders. The leaders hypnotize and attract thousands with their tall talks, gestures and other dramatics. Understand that the poverty and misery of any people in any country are the sins of the leaders. True leaders should always be vigilant and think how to work best for human society: they must be ever cautious that under their guidance the people are not led to darkness, death and immorality." (1)
Reference
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 31, The Conduct of an Ácárya
== Section 3: Links ==
