Baba
Festivals: renewal of life
Namaskar,
One of the most wonderful days of the year for Ananda Margiis all across the globe is Ananda Purnima (12 May 2025). This is perhaps the most joyous and charming festival that we have. For this is the time when our Beloved Baba has taken advent on this earth as Mahasambhuti to shower us in His divine love. Ananda Purnima marks the occasion when He has taken the firm determination to infuse dynamism into our individual and collective bodies. It is the time when He has graciously come and made the world new all over again by bestowing upon us a new ideology and a new way of living.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
In turn, it is also a time - a day - when we should take a strong commitment to do more to serve and please Him and incorporate more of Ananda Marga into our own lives. This is one of the very blissful ways to think about our Ananda Purnima festival. And as we all know this most charming festival is soon upon us.
A time to shake off the old
As we live our lives, there is a tendency for things to become dreary and boring. It can happen to anyone. Because as colourful and exciting as this world is, still we get bogged down in our daily routines: Go to work; come home from work; take care of children; talk with friends, do sadhana; cook food and eat; go to sleep etc. Indeed, if we are not careful even our sadhana can become rote and mechanical. In that way, it can seem like we are doing the same thing day in and day out.
Firstly then this magnificent festival day of A'nanda Pu'rn'ima is a time to rid life of any dreary quality and invite a sense of wonder and vitality. That is one of the main characteristics of our festivals (utsava) in Ananda Marga.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Ananda Marga philosophy explains, "People often feel bored with their humdrum lives, with their mechanical routines; thus a fresh start must be created through [utsava] festivals...“Ut” means “above” and “sava” means “[[to take]] birth”; so utsava means “an occasion which gives human beings fresh inspiration to live a new life.” When people become tired and uninspired, when they can no longer look towards the future with hope, when their colourful dreams are shattered, at that time the sweetness of a festival brings new joy and vigour in life. Thus in individual and collective life, the importance of festivals is tremendous. One should always remember that festivals should be such that all can take part in them without any ostentatious display of wealth, and with an upsurge of their life force. And these festivals should be conducted in such a way that people take part in them from a spontaneous inner urge. I hope that you will make such arrangements so that all are attracted towards your festivals which will be more and more charming – and this will bring about your collective welfare." (1)
This coming day of A'nanda Pu'rn'ima' is a time to break the cyclic repetition of mundane life and bring in an entire new freshness to our existence.
Leave shortcomings behind
So this festival of A'nanda Pu'rn'ima' is a time for us to evaluate our course and commit to incorporating more of His divine ideas into our lives. This is the duty of each and every sadhaka. It is a time for us to leave our shortcomings behind and move forward on the divine path. That is one way to think of this wonderful occasion of A'nanda Pu'rn'ima'.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
A life full of exuberance
Baba has lovingly brought us onto the path of realisation and service; He has infused within us the desire to do something great in life. As His disciples, on this holy occasion of A'nanda Pu'rn'ima', we should take the determination to live a life that is full of His Sixteen Points - overcoming all degrading tendencies - and become true mediums of His teachings.
Here is one Ananda Vanii to reflect upon on this most blissful upcoming event of A'nanda Pu'rn'ima'....
Ananda Vanii #58 says, “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.” (2)
Happy upcoming Ananda Pu'rn'ima' to all my brothers and sisters!
Baba is so gracious!
Namaskar,
In Him,
Brahmajinana Deva
A time to be more strict in Sixteen Points
The standard protocol of Ananda Marga is not to wait for any holy occasion to give up any bad habits - rather all bad habits should be rectified immediately. But if for some reason one is still troubled by bad habits on Ananda Purnima then that is the occasion to take a firm stand and give up any remaining degrading habits.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
So this coming A'nanda Pu'rn'ima' day, we may ask ourselves, 'What type of determination should I take?'
Our determination will be based on blessedness and benevolence - on how to bring more of His teachings of Sixteen Points into our lives. For some who are not so strict in fasting, then this may be a time to commit to that practice. For those who need to be more regular in their asana practice, they might commit more to that. Depending on the person, the type of determination may take a different shape - a different form. But the spirit will be the same: To please Baba by further advancing along the path of spirituality, by His grace and His grace alone. Surely we will be successful.
Once again, bear in mind that the standard protocol of Ananda Marga is not to wait for any holy occasion to give up any bad habits - rather all bad habits should be rectified immediately. But if for some reason one is still troubled by bad habits on Ananda Purnima then that is the occasion to take a firm stand and give up any remaining degrading habits.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
References
1. A Few Problems Solved - 5, On Festivals
2. A’nanda Va’nii #58
* * *
The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
* * *
== Section 2: Prabhat Samgiita ==
You have brought me here
Note: Only those who sincerely practice the higher lessons of sahaja yoga meditation can understand this song in the depths of their heart.
"Tandra' yadi a'se he prabhu bheunge dio..." (Prabahta Samgiita #2497)
Purport:
My Parama Purusa, Baba please bless me so that I can better serve You. If tandra', if spiritual drowsiness, ever clouds my being then destroy it. And if vanity ever enters into my mind, then pulverise that into the dust and keep me in Your shelter. I request that You bless me so that I can follow You.
My nearest Entity, if I ever forget You and move along the sinful path, then with a thunderous voice kindly guide and discipline me, and bring me back under Your shelter. Parama Purusa, I have come onto this earth - You have brought me here - to do Your work, to serve You by doing mantra japa, kiirtan, sadhana, and dhyana.
Supreme Entity, Baba, I have come here to move on the pathway which You have shown me. I ask that You soak my mind with this divine truth: The sole reason for my birth is to serve You. You are the be-all and end-all of my life.
Baba, be ever-merciful so that I can remain at Your lotus feet permanently, forever and ever...
Note for Prabhat Samgiita #2497
[1] Tandra': (Literally meaning 'drowsiness') In the above Prabhat Samgiita, tandra does not mean physical weariness but rather drowsiness in the spiritual realm. When people remain oblivious of the spiritual world, and when they think that sadhana is for the future only, their life passes only in mundane thoughts and preoccupations. By this way the mind gradually gets debased.
This state of remaining oblivious to one's spiritual life is known as tandra, or drowsiness in the spiritual sense. As we know Prabhat Samgiita is divine - not mundane. For this reason we can understand when the term tandra' is used in this song it refers to the spiritual realm.
Baba has told that one can only properly understand Prabhat Samgiita when the mind is at the trikuti (ajina cakra) or above. Otherwise one cannot understand the meaning. Sometimes in Prabhat Samgiita Baba uses terms related with mundane life; but this is usually done as an allegory only. The inner sense is something deeper. So on the mundane level tandra' means physical drowsiness but in this song it refers to spiritual drowsiness.
In this materialistic era, people are more involved in their material gain than their spiritual progress.
Here are Baba's comments on tandra' and spiritual drowsiness and lethargy.
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 progress of such a person. People realise 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 utilised by humans. Even those who we call great personalities hardly use ten percent of their potentialities. Due to spiritual lethargy people are unable to progress, and thus remain very ordinary. They come to the world, live, decay and die as ordinary human beings." (1)
And here Baba explains about tandra' and the six defects:
Nidra' tandra' bhayam' krodha a'lasyam' diirghasu'trata';
S'ad'ados'a'h purus'en'eha ha'ntavya'h bhu'timicchata'.
Ananda Marga ideology says, "Those who want to prosper in life must destroy these six defects in themselves: nidra' [sleep], tandra' [drowsiness], a'lasya [lethargy], bhaya [fear], krodha [anger], and diirghasu'trata' [procrastination]." (2)
References
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 8, 'Bad Habits Which Should Be Given Up'
2. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 31, 'Sleep & Inertia'
Note: Only those who sincerely practice the higher lessons of sahaja yoga meditation can understand this song in the depths of their heart.
"Tandra' yadi a'se he prabhu bheunge dio..." (Prabahta Samgiita #2497)
Purport:
My Parama Purusa, Baba please bless me so that I can better serve You. If tandra', if spiritual drowsiness, ever clouds my being then destroy it. And if vanity ever enters into my mind, then pulverise that into the dust and keep me in Your shelter. I request that You bless me so that I can follow You.
My nearest Entity, if I ever forget You and move along the sinful path, then with a thunderous voice kindly guide and discipline me, and bring me back under Your shelter. Parama Purusa, I have come onto this earth - You have brought me here - to do Your work, to serve You by doing mantra japa, kiirtan, sadhana, and dhyana.
Supreme Entity, Baba, I have come here to move on the pathway which You have shown me. I ask that You soak my mind with this divine truth: The sole reason for my birth is to serve You. You are the be-all and end-all of my life.
Baba, be ever-merciful so that I can remain at Your lotus feet permanently, forever and ever...
Note for Prabhat Samgiita #2497
[1] Tandra': (Literally meaning 'drowsiness') In the above Prabhat Samgiita, tandra does not mean physical weariness but rather drowsiness in the spiritual realm. When people remain oblivious of the spiritual world, and when they think that sadhana is for the future only, their life passes only in mundane thoughts and preoccupations. By this way the mind gradually gets debased.
This state of remaining oblivious to one's spiritual life is known as tandra, or drowsiness in the spiritual sense. As we know Prabhat Samgiita is divine - not mundane. For this reason we can understand when the term tandra' is used in this song it refers to the spiritual realm.
Baba has told that one can only properly understand Prabhat Samgiita when the mind is at the trikuti (ajina cakra) or above. Otherwise one cannot understand the meaning. Sometimes in Prabhat Samgiita Baba uses terms related with mundane life; but this is usually done as an allegory only. The inner sense is something deeper. So on the mundane level tandra' means physical drowsiness but in this song it refers to spiritual drowsiness.
In this materialistic era, people are more involved in their material gain than their spiritual progress.
Here are Baba's comments on tandra' and spiritual drowsiness and lethargy.
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 progress of such a person. People realise 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 utilised by humans. Even those who we call great personalities hardly use ten percent of their potentialities. Due to spiritual lethargy people are unable to progress, and thus remain very ordinary. They come to the world, live, decay and die as ordinary human beings." (1)
And here Baba explains about tandra' and the six defects:
Nidra' tandra' bhayam' krodha a'lasyam' diirghasu'trata';
S'ad'ados'a'h purus'en'eha ha'ntavya'h bhu'timicchata'.
Ananda Marga ideology says, "Those who want to prosper in life must destroy these six defects in themselves: nidra' [sleep], tandra' [drowsiness], a'lasya [lethargy], bhaya [fear], krodha [anger], and diirghasu'trata' [procrastination]." (2)
References
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 8, 'Bad Habits Which Should Be Given Up'
2. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 31, 'Sleep & Inertia'
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Ananda Marga ideology says, “Suppose a man wants to be a king. In the next life he may be born into the household of a poor man whose surname is 'Raja' (king). He wanted to be a raja (king) and he became one! One must be very cautious before wishing for anything. In this regard there is a nice story. Once a certain person asked Shiva to grant him the boon of immortality. Shiva told him, 'It's impossible to become immortal. You should think more intelligently before asking anything.' So the man said, 'Alright, please grant me the boon that I will never die at night or during the day.' He died in the evening! In fact, the best thing is not to ask Parama Purus'a for anything." (1)
Note: First thing is that it is best not to ask mundane things from Parama Purusa because one does not know what is going to happen even after one second - whether one will survive or die. In that case, asking for something will be useless as we ourselves do not know our future needs. That is why one should say, "O' Parama Purusa, please act according to Your wish." Finally, if one has so much desire to ask something from Parama Purusa, then the only thing one should ask for is parabhakti - the highest devotion.
Reference:
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 4, “Ye Yathá Máḿ Prapadyante”
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Prout philosophy states, "The ambition to become rich by exploiting others is a type of psychic disease. In fact, if the infinite longing of the human mind does not find the proper path leading to psychic and spiritual fulfilment, it becomes engaged in accumulating excessive physical wealth by depriving others. If any member of a joint family appropriates food from the family food store by using physical or intellectual force, he or she becomes the cause of misery to others. Similarly, when capitalists declare, “We have amassed wealth by our talent and labour. If others have the capacity and diligence, let them also do the same; nobody prevents them,” they do not care to realize that the volume of commodities on the earth is limited, whereas the requirement is common to all. Excessive individual affluence, in most cases, deprives others of the minimum requirements of life." (1)
Reference
1. Problems of the Day #4
== Section ==
FROM 2018
Ananda Purnima: Which day is proper
Namaskar,
This year [2018] Ananda Purnima falls on the 30th of April in India. And on 30th April, B group always organizes a protest against the Calcutta massacre of Bijon setu. For their own convenience, they changed the date of the Ananda Purnima celebration, giving their annual protest priority instead.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
So here in India, Ananda Purnima is on April 30th, and that day B group is feeling difficulty due to it being the date of their procession. For their convenience they changed the date of Ananda Purnima celebration to the following day, 1st May. Or in some areas, it is observed one day early, means 29th April. The main priority of the leaders of B group is the Bijon setu massacre protest on 30th April. --Not Ananda Purnima. This is their standard of bhakti and reverence to Guru.
In the past also it has been seen that if Diipavali Festival falls on 21st October, or between 21st - 26th October, then B group skips Diipavali Festival which is given in Caryacarya. And in place of that, they go on engrossed in their dogma of MPD. This is their standard of bhakti and reverence to Guru.
By these above two examples, it is clear that something is missing in their heart.
In the oriental system, the day begins with the sunrise, and is calculated as lasting from sunrise to sunrise. The lunar day is also calculated according to the lunar date present at the time of sunrise. For example, if it is Purnima at the time of sunrise, then that entire day will be treated as being Purnima. And in any Ananda Marga festival, that calculation is accepted. This system is approved by Baba.
Exclusively in our Ananda Marga fasting system, the day where the eleventh moon is present for more time, is announced as the day of Ekadashii. Indeed, in AM the day of any lunar festival is calculated in accordance with the sunrise. In accordance with this system, Ananda Purnima occurs on 30th April. And Baba approves of this very system. Indeed, this very system of oriental calculation of the date is described here in Ananda Marga ideology.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
AM ideology says, “As per oriental system, that is,... a day is from sunrise to sunrise. One day in India means sunrise to sunrise. …” (1)
We have to follow Baba.
In Him,
Hari Om
References
1. Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 2, Keep Company with the Virtuous
== Section 3: Links ==
Upcoming Festival: Ananda Purnima 12 May
Joyous festival
AP celebrations: key points
AP celebrations for all
Upcoming festival: getting readyOther Postings to Read
Posture of full surrender
Mother's Day: why dogmatic
Fundamental spiritual teachings
