Baba
Women exploited in marriage
Namaskar,
Here is a colorful description of some dogmatic marriage rituals: tragically there are still dogmatic ritualistic observances that happen in marriage ceremonies around the globe.
Hitched together like two train cars
(a) The bride wears a long sari and covers her face with a 2-foot long veil. So the female face is completely hidden during the ceremony and oath taking.
(b) The religious priest ties the bride and bridegroom together by making one knot using the cloth from the bride's dress and a section of the groom's clothing. So the bride and bridegroom are hitched together just like two train cars - one in front of the other. In this fashion, they circle 7 times for the fire god. And during this time the priest repeats some mantra from ritualistic religious books.
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(c) In this way, there are many rituals in this dogmatic religious ceremony which support the dogmas of old; and down below we will examine how women were humiliated and the bride's family was beaten in some cases and taken captive by the bridegroom's clan. So clearly Ananda Marga is against all such religious rituals.
It is so astounding why some bhukti pradhans and a few family acaryas actively accept the religious marriage system, dowry, and all dogmatic rituals. When all margiis know these dogmatic rituals and dowry are so seriously against Baba's system.
Hypocrisy in marriage ceremony
Ananda Marga is a revolution and that applies to our system of marriage as well. Baba has graced us with an ideal, dynamic marriage ceremony that is perfectly suited for all Ananda Marga marriage candidates.
Unfortunately, sometimes a few compromise in this regard and when the time comes for marriage, they give way to family pressures and resort to dogmatic religious functions. Or they do an Ananda Marga marriage in front of margiis and then marry in a church, mosque, synagogue, or temples to please their worldly family members and old friends etc. Here below is an in-depth look at the harmful effects of some of these dogmatic ceremonies.
Present-day dogmatic religious marriages
The central point is that current day religious marriage ceremonies were born out of dogmatic practices from those days of old. Baba recounts this history in His various discourses, some of which are included further down in this email. Several thousand years ago history bore witness to times when one mountain clan was fighting with other mountain clans for superiority. People born of the same mountain were treated and respected as brother and sister in those days. And strong aggression was aimed toward other clans from other mountain tops. So fights broke out regularly where the full army of a particular gotra or clan attacked other clans.
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Even all the youths of that clan would go to fight. And after the attack they would arrest all youths, females, and males from that defeated camp. The males were treated as slaves. And the females were treated as slaves or captured for marriage. Generally though, in this fight, males were arrested and taken into custody, while females were taken captive to be submissive wives of the victorious party. The males got beaten and the females also suffered and were bleeding from the head. Under the rule of brute force and cruelty, marriages were going on. There was the system that in same gotra marriage cannot take place.
Vermillion mark signified blood from the head
Still today it is continuing; symbolically this same system is going on in religious dogma. Those days in battle, females were attacked with sticks. In turn, they were wounded and their head was broken; they would bleed from the head. Now, in place of the oozing of blood in battle, the red vermilion mark is used on the forehead.
In the past, women were chained and kept in handcuffs. Nowadays in marriages, bangles are used around the wrists. Without bangles, marriages are basically unacceptable in the religious system. And bangles are the sign of slavery. No doubt, in the old days they were made of iron, and nowadays it is gold, bronze, or silver. So in place of iron, the bangles were changed into silver or gold; but, the meaning of being handcuffed is the same. In the past, females were humiliated and treated badly, and today still this is continuing in the form of dowry etc.
The present day dowry is the symbol of the old days of looting by one clan to another. One group was going to loot another group so nowadays in marriages, the marriage party is symbolic of that. Those days of old, the army was led by a commander. And the commander was carried on a slave-drawn chair or small hut where 4 male slaves were carrying from the front side and 4 from the back. The leader or prince was carried on the shoulders of slaves from one mountain to the next. Or he was carried there by horseback. The aim was to tie up sisters from that clan and make them slaves and bring back to their own clan.
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Still today, symbolically everything is present in the religious dogmatic marriage system. The groom goes with the marriage party driven in a carriage or carried on the shoulders. So in marriages, the drama is played that males are princes, and females are the captive slaves. So you can say all these things are symbolically included in these ritualistic marriages at present. That is why in the religious dogmatic society the biggest problem is the daughter's marriage.
The bridegroom's family are the 'victors'
Today, the bridegroom party gets treated as the victorious camp and the bride's party is forced to accept the superiority of the bridegroom. The bridegroom party arrives as the victors, and the bride's family is regularly faced with the burden to supply housing and all living accommodations for the guests of the bridegroom’s family. This might last one day, two days, and sometimes even 7 days during the marriage ceremony. It is a tremendous financial burden. With arrogance, pomp, and show, the bridegroom’s family claims the upper hand. All these things symbolically show how one clan conquered other clan and how the wife is subservient to the bridegroom's family.
Awful situation of females
Because of this superiority of males and the rampant exploitation of females, around India nobody likes to give birth to females. Especially these days when medical science is developed in India it has become a huge problem. When medically it is confirmed that the girl baby is in the womb, they wish to get rid of that child. Only boys are accepted. Everyone is not like that, but it is a pervasive problem. Many times such news are reported in the newspaper.
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From Wikipedia: “Prenatal sex determination was banned in India in 1994, under the Pre-conception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act. The act aims to prevent sex-selective abortion, which, according to the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, "has its roots in India’s long history of strong patriarchal influence in all spheres of life". However, Supreme Court raps Central Govt. for "Sloppy" implementation of PNDT Act.” (Courtesy of Wikipedia)
The reason for this is because of the dogmatic religious marriage rituals like caste dogma and dowry etc.
Margiis should follow AM system
In the dogmatic religious marriage, the status of females is very pitiful - highly insulting. Those who have a human heart feel pained by seeing the torture done to the females. That is why Baba discarded and condemned this. One must not attend this. In numerous instances, Baba has granted equal status to males and females and that is the Ananda Marga marriage system.
Thus, every Ananda Margii should be vigilant to adhere to Baba's guidelines on marriage. This is very key as only the Ananda Marga marriage ceremony is dharmic and universal in approach, where all are respected and honoured. There are not degrading rituals - neither for the bride nor the groom.
Whereas in the various marriage ceremonies from the dogmatic religions throughout the entire globe, there are rituals that are outdated and undermine one's inherent humanity. There is not equal status. Yet various people give way to participating in dogmatic, ritualistic ceremonies. Due to pressure from their parents or in-laws, some resort to religious marriages, either in lieu of or in addition to our dharmic Ananda Marga marriage. This happens not just in India but all around the globe. When it is time for marriage people succumb to the prevailing, local religious dogmas.
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Here we have to bear in mind that dogmas like religious ritualistic marriage functions can only be overcome when people understand the reason why. It is our duty to teach others through logic and reasoning; people will never learn about dogmas by the imposition of brute force. Dogmas can never be eliminated in this way.
It is bad that some fake family acaryas attended, witnessed, and appreciated all the religious ritualistic symbolism in their own sons’ marriages. Even they had one dogmatic priest presiding over the marriage - and the Ananda Marga system was left by the wayside. This was often done to satisfy family elders and other family members who are blinded by and attached to local religious dogmas. And this is not just religious dogma, but verily in all sections of the world we see some who feel compelled to give way to the local religious dogma.
Conclusion
Altogether this is suffocating. Those who are true margiis never appreciate this. Such dogmatic marriage systems from the various religions are insulting to females and full of archaic rituals that go against the fundamentals and spirit of humanity. Baba has assured us that the golden day is not far off when with lightening speed the dharma of Ananda Marga will be spread across this entire universe, and all such harmful and dogmatic religious ceremonies are left behind.
Namaskar,
In Him,
Shubhamayii
Margiis should marry margiis
We can understand by the very meaning of the Ananda Marga marriage oaths, that Baba has given direct injunction that only margiis - only a margii groom and a margii bride - should be permitted to take these vows.
Most of the time when a margii married a non-margii the outcome has not been good. Regardless of who is dominant in the marriage, in many cases the margii's life becomes adversely affected. Spiritual practices fall by the way-side, the margii stops attending dharmacakra, and the psycho-spiritual flow diminishes. Moreover, society loses the benefit of their services. And those who approved of and facilitated these marriages do not have any face to show.
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Slave not maid-servant
In the first two quotes below from the discourse “Bhaerava and Bhaeravii”, Tiljala Publications wrongly uses the term “maid-servant” in the English translation. That was not proper. In the original Bengali, Baba used the equivalent of slave. Hence, slave, not maid-servant should be used in the English translation. This error should be fixed in the printed English editions and in the electronic edition of Baba's books. Kindly see how it is marked below in yellow highlight.
~ In-depth study ~
Old religious marriages: female was captured as a slave / wife
Ananda Marga ideology states, "Those people who lived on the same hill under a common patriarch lived just like brothers and sisters. However, they considered the members of other hill communities to be their deadly enemies. And since all on one hill were brothers and sisters, they could not marry among themselves. So what would they do in order to marry? One clan would defeat a neighbouring clan in battle, and they would forcibly drag the vanquished women, with hands bound, back to their own hill for a life of domestic servitude. The males of the defeated clan were utilized as slaves."
"Even to this day, there is a custom whereby the mother asks her son on the eve of his marriage, “Where are you going?” He replies, “I’m going to bring you a
Ananda Marga ideology states, "So even today women bear the mark of servitude by wearing iron bangles on their wrists, thus giving the impression that they have been vanquished; they still use the vermilion which originally symbolized bloodshed; they still tie the gánt́chaŕá after marriage, which symbolizes their being forcibly carried away; and the bridegroom still often says to his mother on the eve of his departure for the marriage, “I’m going to bring you a
More about those marriages of old
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "As I told you a little earlier, 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."
"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."
"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." (3)
How women were exploited
Ananda Marga philosophy, "The marriage customs were all framed in this inhuman way. A woman was never entitled to full freedom in marriage, and the few freedoms that were granted her were in the context of her subordinated cooperation [with] males. In some places a woman was given away placed on a wooden seat like a goat, cow or sheep – this was called kanyádán [“giving away a daughter”]. In some places a woman has no security for her future. If a man desires, he can divorce a woman by paying a nominal amount of money. The women had to tolerate all these injustices with bowed heads because they were physically weaker and lacking education." (4)
References
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 7, Bhaerava and Bhaeravii
2. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 7, Bhaerava and Bhaeravii
3. Namah Shivaya Shantaya, Disc: 2
4. Shabda Cayanika - 10, “Kramalaya”
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Casteism is a burden on the Hindu society. All the year round they preach casteism but on the polling days they decry it. This is wholly undesirable. It is better to avoid all titles. Titles signify the caste. If casteism is to be wiped out, it is incumbent to discard the titles. It is commendable if everyone adopts uniformity on title – Deva. Persons using a particular word more often will influence their minds with the meaning of that word. People are reluctant to use the word dása because this word signifies slavery. Whenever the so-called low caste people catch an opportunity, they declare themselves as belonging to the so-called elevated caste, etc. It is an ideal to become deva and for this reason Deva title should be adopted.”
“Titles of the present society have undergone considerable changes during the past fifty years, the cause being that everyone aspires to pertain to an elevated caste. The so-called Shúdras also use the sacred thread. This is only an effort towards the concealment of one’s identity. By this means, they conceal only their disregarded status. This is to be regretted. It is consequent on social debility that they harbour the desire for changes in their situations. It is out and out purposeless to convene All-India Conferences or particular castes. All of them desire to assert and establish their rights. This is simply misuses of energy and money.” (1)
Reference
1. Táttvika Diipiká (Paiṋcama Parva)
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Regulate ripus, not suppress them
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "An intelligent or wise person should keep the Ripus [internal enemies] under control and resist the Pashas [external fetters]. The ancient saints and sages did not prescribe any method for the resistance of the Ripus because the Ripus should be regulated. If a Ripu is resisted or suppressed, then the suppressed Ripus finds expression through another Ripu. Suppose in a person the instinct of greed is very strong. He is compelled to keep this instinct under control, under pressure of poverty. If a person who habitually takes bribes is found not taking bribes due to the enforcement department, then that suppressed instinct of greed will manifest itself through anger or any other Ripu. That is, he will burst into violent anger." (1)
Reference
1. Prout in a Nutshell - 12, Sin, Crime and Law
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Referring to communists
The Propounder of Prout says, "I cannot support the attitude of those who denounce capitalism at every opportunity, because this allows capitalists to become alert and invent more scientific and devious ways to exploit the people. Those who lack a constructive ideology will never be capable of destroying capitalism, even if they speak sweet words, use threats, or create circumstantial pressure." (1)
Reference
1. Problems of the Day, point #3
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Way to overcome superiority complex
Here Baba supplies us with the special formula for keeping mental balance and not succumbing to any type of superiority complex.
Ananda Marga ideology says, "People must always bear in mind that 'Whatever I have acquired is all by the grace of Parama Purus'a. If He decides that I should not possess wealth [or any other quality etc], He will take it away at any moment He wishes.' So no one should feel pride about anything under any circumstances." (1)
Note: By seeing everything as Baba's fathomless grace then we will not get puffed up with vanity and instead will be able to maintain mental balance at all times.
Reference
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 16, “Mucyate Bhavabandhanát”
== Section ==
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Too much emphasis on forgiveness and mercy is very bad
Too much emphasis on forgiveness and mercy is very bad
"Mahaviira's philosophy of nirgrantha vada never gained mass support. Secondly, he placed too much emphasis on forgiveness and mercy. He taught people to forgive their worst enemies, even if they were as deadly as scorpions and snakes. As a result of this teaching, people lost the will to fight against the enemies of society. So, although the teachings of Buddha and Mahaviira Jain were not based on dogma and did not deliberately mislead people, they failed in the course of time because they were not sufficiently comprehensive and well-balanced." (1)
Reference
1. PNS-16
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== Section ==
साधुता, सरलता तेजस्विता और साहस से साधारण व्यक्ति भी असाधारण हो जाता है।
प्रभात संगीत 399 ‘साधुता. सरलता. तेजस्विता‘ गुणे सामान्य लोकव असाधारण होय...
भावार्थ
साधुता, सरलता, हृदय की दयालुता, तेजस्विता और साहस से साधारण व्यक्ति भी असाधारण हो जाता है। इन नव्यमानवताजन्य गुणों को विकसित कर लेने पर साधारण व्यक्ति महान बन सकता है। आडंबर और कपटाचरण का रास्ता विनाश की ओर ले जाता है, इस रास्ते पर चलकर कोई भी विकसित नहीं हो सकता। साधु के लिये मनोआत्मिक विस्तार का रास्ता ही उत्तम है, और इस प्रकार के साधक ही समाज के हितकारक नेता हैं। केवल वे ही महान हैं।
धार्मिक कहानी में युवा-राजपुत्र इन सद्गुणों से गुणी था, इसी लिये वह राक्षसों पर विजय पा सका।
टिप्पणी
1. साधु कौन है? जो सभी प्राणियों पर दया करता है वही साधु या सद्गुणी व्यक्ति कहलाता है। वह मन में अनुभव करता है कि जिस प्रकार मेरा शरीर मुझे प्रिय है उसी प्रकार अन्य प्राणियों का शरीर उन्हें भी प्रिय है । केवल गेरुये वस्त्र पहिनने से ही साधु नहीं हो जाता मन में उपरोक्त भावना होना चाहिये।
2. यह गीत बाबा की लघु कहानियों ( गोल्डन लोटस...) को स्टेज पर प्रदर्शित करते समय गाने के कार्य में लिया जाता है । इसे व्यक्तिगत साधना , धर्मचक्र या पाॅंचजन्य के समय नहीं गाना चाहिये।
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== Section 3: Links ==
