Baba
Why that chant
Namaskar,
After bathing, the Ananda Marga system is to recite the bath mantra: "Pitrpurus'ebhyo namah...". The meaning of this mantra holds great value. So let's take a look at its inner significance and see what our bath mantra is all about, according to Baba's divine guidelines.
Paying salutations to forefathers & sages
If asked, some might say that the bath mantra is about paying salutations to one’s ancestors - and humanity’s forefathers and predecessors.
Ananda Marga ideology says, "You are in this world, but before you so many human beings came...To all our forefathers who came into this world and left this world. So many people, so many millions of people, came during the last ten lakh years. So, Pitrpurus'ebhyo namah. “I do namah to those people,” because I am a continuity of those people in the flow of the human race...During this long period so many things were invented by so many great people. Great people are known as rs'is...So, rs'idevebhyo namah – “I also do namah to those rs'is who invented so many things.” And the collection of their inventions is modern human civilization." (1)
So honouring the forefathers and sages is a definite aspect of our bath mantra. The first few words of the mantra lead in this direction. At the same time there is much more to our bath mantra which some may not be aware about. Here following are Baba's full teachings on our bath mantra.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Bath mantra & ascribing God-hood
In His discourse, "Ascribe Brahma-hood to All", Baba explains the significance of every line of the bath mantra. He states that the essence of the bath mantra is about linking every action of life with the Supreme.
Ananda Marga ideology says, "You should know its [bath mantra] meaning. It has closest proximity to this ma'dhuvidya', that is, this ascription of Brahma-hood to worldly work." (2)
After the first two lines of the bath mantra, (Pitrpurus'ebhyo namah, rs'idevebhyo namah) the entire remaining section of the bath mantra focuses exclusively on Brahma.
Brahma'rpan'am' BrahmahavirBrahma'gnao Brahman'a'hutam;Brahmaeva tena gantavyam'Brahmakarma sama'dhina'.
The meaning is:
The act of offering is Brahma; that which is offered is Brahma;the one to whom the offering is made is Brahma;and the person making the offering is Brahma.One will merge in Brahma after completing the duty assigned to him by Brahma.
For Baba's full explanation of these lines, please refer to the discourse, "Ascribe Brahma-hood to All". The overarching import of this mantra is to be completely immersed in madhuvidya, or second lesson. The sadhaka is to see everything (the offering, the action, the receiver, the doer) as Brahma and remember this fact every day during each and every waking moment. That is the greater meaning of our bath mantra. It is part and parcel of brahmacarya. And since bathing is a daily component of human life, the bath mantra is a perpetual reminder of second lesson. So our bath mantra holds great significance.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Conclusion
The only way to escape this endless cycle of action-reaction is to no longer create samskaras. That is why our bath mantra and second lesson are so important. Whenever our I-feeling is attached to an action, we are binding ourselves. Whereas when we do second lesson ideation and think that Brahma is the doer and we are merely serving His will, then there is no attached samsakara. And that is the inner value of second lesson and the bath mantra.
The bath mantra is a daily reminder of how we should ideate and practice second lesson. After bathing, we chant and ideate that everything we are doing is for Brahma. Then, by His grace, we are sure to remember Him in all we do - always wishing to serve and please Him. He has given us all the tools to achieve liberation. We should be vigilant to incorporate the right and true practice of bath mantra into our daily life.
In Him,
Shivkumar
~ In-depth study ~
Not just a ritual
Some uninformed people treat the bath mantra as some ritual etc, and repeat robotically without proper ideation. In that case, the person does not get the full benefit. So every sadhaka should cultivate the right approach and ideate when doing the bath mantra. That yields excellent results.
Both good & bad actions are binding
Here is more about how bath mantra can help us escape from the serpentine noose of maya. Human beings are often caught in the endless cycle of action and reaction, of life and death - the cycle of samskaras. A person does an action, becomes bound, then has to undergo the reaction.
Ananda Marga ideology says, "Think about how many of the deeds you performed before coming to the path of sa'dhana' were good and how many were bad. To tell the unpleasant truth, ninety-nine percent of your deeds were bad." (3)
So most humans are bound by so many actions - many of which were degrading. But even when they do good actions and get the good reactions, then with that heightened status, that individual again plunges in bad deeds. For instance, due to their good work in the past, one acquires wealth or a position of importance, and then one uses that money for harming others. So whether one does good or bad works, one becomes bound by those actions. That is why it is not easy to escape the cycle of samskaras by one’s own efforts only.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Ananda Marga ideology says, "The unit entities have been moving around the cosmic nucleus throughout eternity...you will have to go round and round like the bullocks in the oil-mill in the endless cycle of creation, life and death." (4)
Our bath mantra helps us remember that everything is Brahma, and Brahma is everything. This will give us force in life to surrender to Him and overcome the bondage of maya, by His grace.
References
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 30, Ascribe Brahma-hood to All
2. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 30, Ascribe Brahma-hood to All
3. Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life - 8, Sádhaná
4. Subhasita Samgraha - 2, The Intuitional Science of the Vedas – 5
* * *
The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
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== Section 2: Important Teaching ==
Great art: awaken link between finite & infinite
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Whatever the profound, philosophical implications of the word prema [“love”], the true characteristic of love is supra-physical – beyond the bondage of any limitation. When artists become absorbed in the essence of love and try to convey it to the people through their language, rhetoric and subtle suggestions, the sweetness of their artistic genius reaches the apex of expression. But then this creation of the artist cannot be regarded as popular literature or art, because the subtle sense which is capable of comprehending that transcendental feeling is, in fact, undeveloped in most people. We do find at places in the literature of Rabindranath Tagore some semblances of this pure, supra-physical love, but whenever Rabindranath tried to give expression to it, he became unintelligible to the masses. The transcendental thoughts and ideas of the sweet, graceful shlokas [couplets] of the Upanishads are also incomprehensible to the common people.”
“This sublime love has established itself for all eternity beyond the limits of time, space and person. Infinite love is the ultimate ecstatic expression of finite love. This sense that artists try to awaken in the popular mind, when they devote themselves to the task of establishing the link between the finite and the infinite, between the mundane and the transcendental – this awareness, though not purely transcendental, is of the greatest importance in the realm of art. Because it gradually leads that sweetness of the human mind which is apprehensible to ordinary intelligence to a dreamland that is beyond the senses.” (1)
Reference
1. A Few Problems Solved - 1, The Practice of Art and Literature
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Selfishness vs dutyAnanda Marga ideology states, “Bear in mind that you have a duty towards others, but that no one has any duty towards you. Everyone’s individual duty is fixed. Only one who move forward with this as his or her only thought can do proper service. Otherwise the thought may remain in the mind of the one doing service that I have done such and such work for that person, so that person ought to do such and such for me. The thought must remain in the mind of the one doing service that I have a duty towards others but no one has any duty towards me.” (1)
Note: In the various religions it is taught, “If you do A then you will get bonus B.” That return (i.e. bonus B) may be in the form of virtue, praise, or respect or help in your hour of need etc. So they do in order to get something in return. In our Ananda Marga, the standard is very high. One is to serve others and see them as narayan, not anticipating anything in return from narayan. When one feeds a hungry person, then seeing their smile is the prize. There is nothing else, no other return.
Motivated by religious dogmatic teachings, the mind of selfish people works in that way. Such lowly persons think that, "Others have the duty to take care of my situation and their own situation as well. But they should not bother me about their own problems." This is the way such selfish persons think.
And if due to some reason that selfish person "helps" others then they want full return plus interest of their so-called service. There is no question of a sense of duty and true service; these ideals have no place in their mind. Because of all this, the present day general society's condition is unfavourable and bleak. All around the west this is prevalent, as well as in the big metropolitan cities of the east.
Sadguru Baba's teaching leads in a different direction. In His above teaching, Baba is very beautifully guiding that our duty is to serve everybody without any expectation for anything in return.
Reference:
1. Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9, The Source of Internal Stamina, 3 April 1979, Patna
== Section 4: Links ==
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