Ananda Marga Universal Forum: 05/03/17

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Great versus lowly + 4 more

Baba

Great versus lowly

Namaskar,

Baba says, "People recollect the tasty dishes they once relished and derive pleasure from that. Other people delight in feeding others. They offer rasagollás or sweets, and at the time of giving, imagine that their guest is enjoying the same delightful taste, the same sweet vibration from the rasagollás which they once relished when they ate them. A host feels mental satisfaction by imagining that the guest’s mind is full of those pleasing vibrations. The host wants the guest to enjoy more and more of those delightful vibrations, and therefore asks the guest to accept the offer of more rasagollás. So, one enjoys pleasure in two ways."

http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/

"The human mind has two contradictory inherent tendencies: one of acquisition, the other of sacrifice. The more one advances along the path of evolution, the more the tendency, the spirit of sacrifice, becomes prominent." (1)

Two opposing scenario to derive happiness

In His above teaching Baba is illustrating two opposition psychologies:

(A) The science behind why people feel mental satisfaction by feeding delicious food to others.

(B) The mentality of those who themselves eat delicious food yet do not desire to feed others.

In the first scenario, people derive great happiness from feeding others a tasty meal. But how exactly does this work? What is happening in the mind. Well, suppose one day Govinda ate a sumptuous meal which he enjoyed very much. Then a week or a month letter, Govinda prepares and serves that same type of food to his friend Tanmay. The meal is delicious and Tanmay enjoys every morsel. But that is not all. Govinda himself derives great mental pleasure in feeding Tanmay, even though he (Govinda) is not eating. How does this happen? In his own mind, Govinda recollects how much he enjoyed that meal and he thinks that just as he enjoyed it, similarly Tanmay is also enjoying that meal. This creates a sympathetic vibration in Govinda's mind and he feels great psychic fulfillment. So Govinda is taking delight in sacrificing and serving Tanmaya.

In contrast, in this second scenario, Liilamaya, cooks food for himself and eats it all himself. And he becomes happy thinking how much he enjoyed the food. In this case, Liilamaya is deriving enjoyment from directly eating that food; he does not want to share it with others. There is no spirit of sacrifice, rather he delights in acquiring that food and filling his own belly.

So there are two different approaches:

1. A person derives happiness by sacrificing and watching others enjoy that food.

2. Another becomes happy by direct acquisition, by tasting that food themselves, i.e. greedy.

It all depends on the level of one's sadhana and mental standard etc.

Conclusion

These two - sacrificing vs acquiring - are radically different psychologies. And they are not related solely with food but with all kinds of indulgences and offerings. Some gain pleasure from acquiring something directly, and some become happy by sacrificing and watching others enjoy.

Finally Baba explains that the path of sacrifice is the higher path and as people develop, the more they will adhere to the path of sacrifice.

So be careful, by seeing another’s behaviour you can determine in which group a person falls.

in Him,

Prakash

http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/

Reference

1. Yoga Psychology, 'Faculty of Knowledge-2’

== Section 2: Important Teaching ==

Prout: Educational Institutions must be controlled by educationalists

"In a democratic system non-educationalist politicians poke their noses into university affairs. They do not know what education is, but they interfere to create a sentiment amongst the people to gain support for the particular ism they preach. They have no other motivation. In the democratic system public support has to be purchased to secure votes and this is the reason why politicians make an all out effort to create sentiments in the minds of the people. In communist countries, no other ism other than Marxism can be preached. People are forced to support it. Institutions which have educational value should be controlled by educationalists and not by politicians. Educationalists should also control the radio, otherwise the party in power will have the opportunity to propagate their ism through the radio system, just as they do in the books approved by university boards." (1)

Reference

1. Prout in a Nutshell - 15, Talks on Prout

== Section 3: Important Teaching ==

Why one should not run blindly after wealth

“The characteristic (dharma) of the mind is to seek the infinite. The mind attains this goal by concentrating on a particular ideation. As material objects are finite, those who accept them as the aim of life eventually feel frustrated. They fail to attain bliss because neither wealth nor material objects can be enjoyed infinitely. Moreover, those who make material objects their aim in life find their self-interests in conflict with those of other people. They try to deprive others, to protect their own endless greed for wealth and material objects. There will have to be a continuous pressure on the minds of these people to keep them away from material objects. People cannot tolerate such imposition and, on becoming disgruntled, take the path of revolution or counter-revolution against those who pressurize them.”

“Materialism functions by imposing social pressure on people to enjoy material objects; and accepts that as the only mode of operation. Thus, in materialistic countries or societies, people look at one another with suspicion and act according to the information given by the intelligence agencies. In the absence of spiritual ideas, firmness of morality cannot be established. The apparent morality in a materialistic society is nothing but an immoral alliance to protect self-interests.”

Reference

1. Tattva Kaomudii, Questions and Answers on Ananda Marga Philosophy #45

== Section 4: Ananda Vanii ==

Due to lack of intellect or mutual conflicts - Ananda Vanii # 60

“Human society is one and indivisible. Keeping this supreme truth ever fixed in one’s vision, one will have to think of promoting human welfare, love for humanity, human solidarity and universal fraternity, and move accordingly. Not for a single moment should one forget it nor even ignore it. Due to lack of intellect or mutual conflicts in the past, a vast number of creatures have become totally extinct from the surface of the earth. Let human beings not meet the same dreadful consequence.”

== Section 5: Links ==

Ananda Purnima - May 10th 2017