Fearless bhakta
Namaskar,
One of the most blessed things in life is to remember the name of the Lord.
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Ananda Marga ideology states, "He is your everything. You cannot do without Him...try to remember Him always. This remembering Him always, in all spheres and all strata of life, is called “dhruva'smrti”. Don’t forget this for a single moment." (1)
Yet we all know how difficult this can be in day to day life. Here below is the story of how one bhakta approached this knotty issue.
What this bhakta did
Many of you may know margii R as he is a long-time Ananda Margii. Years and years ago he was contemplating one problem in life: "How to remember Baba's name all the time." He was thinking he should devise one scheme where others would remind him, and by this way he would be doing pracara also. So here's what he did.
He had his shirts beautifully embroidered with big, artistic letters: Baba Nam Kevalam. This was stitched on the front and back sides of his shirt. The lettering was big enough that people could read the writing - Baba Nam Kevalam - from 20 feet away. And he found that it worked.
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Getting a constant reminder
Wherever margii R ji went, he would notice that people would either read his shirt out loud, or they would smile. Seeing their smile he understood that they had read his shirt. By this way, he was getting a constant reminder to remember Baba's name. He was most happy. But that was not all.
Margii R ji would explain that there were multiple benefits:
#1: Yes, most certainly he was getting reminded to remember Baba;
#2: By wearing that shirt he was doing Ananda Marga pracar and the public was getting benefited by reciting the siddha mantra, Baba Nam Kevalam.
#3: By this way he was forced to follow all conduct rules and be a living representation of Ananda Marga ideals, because he was not just a member of the public - rather he was broadcasting himself as being an Ananda Margii.
Such was the very bhakti-filled outlook of margii R ji - and that was how he explained the tremendous value of these shirts.
Courage of bhakta
One other key point in all of this was that when margii R ji began this endeavour, Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha was very controversial and the government was embroiled in a smear campaign against Sadguru Baba and AMPS. So by doing what he was doing, by stitching "Baba Nam Kevalam" in big letters on all his clothing, margii R ji was diving deep into turbulent waters. This took great courage and strength. Yet for margii R ji, he was not concerned in the least. Just he was blissfully happy that by His grace he could remember Baba, do pracara, and be more strict in adhering to Ananda Marga conduct rules.
All in all he was quite pleased. One of the benefits was that children would regularly and loudly say, "Baba Nam Kevalam" upon seeing him; plus all the aged people in town would smile seeing his shirt.
This veritably became his name
Margii R ji would wear his embroidered Baba Nam Kevalam shirts everywhere, all the time. He was a professor at one college, and everyday he would wear his shirt and it also became his habit to wear exclusively saffron. And on his saffron-colored shirt “Baba Nam Kevalam” was embroidered in large, white letters. The other lecturers were thinking that he was mad. But margii R ji had no cares or worries about their opinions.
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He just thought since Baba Nam Kevalam was a siddha mantra then everyone was getting benefited, whether they liked the mantra or not. He was thinking that this was excellent pracara.
Actually, margii R ji wore these shirts daily for so long, that Baba Nam Kevalam became his veritable name. Everyone in town knew him by this: This is what they called him and this was how they referred to him. He did not live in a huge city - just a moderate sized town - so when anyone new arrived in town all they had to do was ask for "Baba Nam Kevalam" and the residents would direct them to margii R ji's house.
I know because this is exactly what happened to me. When I arrived in his town I did not know where to go and I simply said, "Baba Nam Kevalam" and they brought me to the exact place of margii R ji.
Margii R ji is a bhakta in all respects. His above plan worked perfectly. He wanted to be reminded about Baba's name by others throughout the day, and his desired goal was beautifully achieved by the grace of Parama Purusa Baba.
During the emergency
Here is a tale about one other facet of margii R ji's life. During the Emergency, he was jailed for 2 1/2 years in Jaipur, during which he was dismissed from his job. He was perhaps one of a few margiis in Rajasthan who was jailed throughout the entire Emergency period. The reason was due to margii R ji's dramatic behavior - i.e. always wearing Baba Nam Kevalam on his shirt and wearing saffron clothes. So the government agencies had identified him as a wholetimer. They thought there was no way that he was a family man. Hence he was jailed during the entire Emergency. And margii R ji was quite happy about this as he was in jail along with so many Dadas.
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Then one other great thing happened. When the Emergency was lifted and Ananda Margiis were cleared of all charges, then margii R ji got his job back at the government college and he also received 2 1/2 years of salary to cover the period of his jailing. Prior to the Emergency, margii R would regularly donate huge monies to AMPS, so he never had much money to care for his family. After the Emergency was over, then he received a big payment from the college, and by this way he was able to fund large-scale social service projects and take care of his familial responsibilities. And he was quite happy about that as well.
But the main thing for Rama Sahay ji was always hearing Baba's name wherever he went. For him, this was the most beautiful gift imaginable. To be called Baba Nam Kevalam gave him much joy and bliss in life. By this he could always remember his Ista.
Conclusion
Good things always happen to bhaktas. It is Baba's grace. Baba watches after all. Living the life of a top grade bhakta takes strong desire and courage. Not everyone could do what margii R ji did. It takes a certain degree of longing immersed in bhakti, and mental courage - otherwise one will be embarrassed or self-conscious and swayed by public opinion etc.
That reminds me of one other Ananda Margii who would wear a big placard around his neck that said Baba's name and other bhakti-filled slogans. He would walk around town like that. He never cared what others said or commented.
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It is just purely Baba's ahaetuki krpa to have come into this world and become His disciple. One should remember Him always and strive for that top most level of bhakti. This should be the sole request of Him.
“Whatever you speak or do,
Forget Him never;
Keeping His name in your heart,
Work, remembering it is for Him,
And, endlessly active, drift in bliss.” (2)
Namaskar,
In Him,
Vidya’sa’gar
Historical tales of other bhaktas
There are two stories from history which are similar to this type of deeply bhakti-oriented approach.
#1: In one discourse Baba talks about when Sita was abducted by Ravana. For Sita, Ram was everything and she did not want to forget him despite the hardship and troubles she was facing. One interesting development took place. Ravana ordered the guard to threaten Sita, "Do not think about Ram". They would say this to her throughout the day, and by this negative type of reminder she always would remember Ram's name.
#2: There was also another famous bhakta of Ram. And he had one special trick - feigned anger. He would pretend to be extremely angry if anyone ever mentioned Ram's name. The children in town naturally found out about this so they would run up to him and loudly yell the name of Ram. In turn, the bhakta would pretend to be so angry and upset. This only made the children yell the name of Ram more loudly. Plus they would gaily tell all their friends about this strange man. So wherever this bhakta went so many children would surround him and repeat Ram and laugh by seeing the man's feigned frustration and anger. By this way everyone was happy - the children and the bhakta.
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Unique style those days
In those days people didn’t often wear shirts with messages written on them, as whatever was to be written there had to be sewn on by the old type of manual sewing machines. For that reason margii R ji’s hand-embroidered shirts attracted a lot of attention.
In those days it was a completely unique thing. That’s why margii R ji became a point of attraction.
Note: In the above letter, margii R is Ram Sahay Verma of Wazipur, Rajasthan.
References
1. Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 4, Your Real Friend
2. Ananda Marga Caryácarya Part 2, Sádhaná
* * *
The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
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 ==
Bleak future of pet owners
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, "A monkey is a more developed animal than a dog or a cow, but as it does not live with humans, its development - the speed of its development - is less. Dogs and cows, who live with humans have a speedier evolution. A monkey which lives in the proximity of humans also has a speedier development." (1)
Note: But the reverse happens effect happens in the case of humans. Those people who keep such animals as their pets and live around those animals become that animal in their future life. This happens due to deep attachment with that animal and overall lack of Brahmabhava. Baba has given countless demonstrations about this.
Reference
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 5, Don't Be Misguided
