Namaskar,
When Sadguru Baba arrived in Bettiah via rickshaw to conduct DMC in the 1960’s, then one margii saw the scene and immediately bought Baba his first automobile. And not only that, Sitaram Rajgarhia engaged wholeheartedly in innumerable AMPS service and construction projects. Verily, this is the tale of how much a person can do when they become active and inspired by the great love of Ista.
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Getting blessed in PC with Baba
Back in the Jamalpur days, Sitaram was just a simple bhakta of meagre mundane means. He went to Jamalpur to see Baba and in his personal contact (PC) Baba blessed him by lovingly beating him with His stick, from head to toe. This of course was Baba’s special blessing as Sitaram became fully charged as so many negative samskaras were burned. In that PC, Baba demanded that Sitaram become engaged in social services and build jagrtis etc.
In the aftermath of his PC, Sitaram was a changed man. He took the experience very seriously and was extremely inspired and emotionally moved by Baba’s words and sweet touch. Upon returning back to Bettiah, Sitaram became deeply engaged in social service projects. Although he and his family were of little means, Sitaram was regularly donating what little money he had for AMPS projects. All those around him thought he was mad, and his family members became completely frustrated with him. But Sitaram did not pay them any mind. Rather, he always entered into a special bhava just by thinking and talking about Baba so he was not perturbed by his family’s complaints etc. Ultimately though, his laokik brother banished him from the household. So Sitram left to live on his own. He started his own new business and quickly became very successful economically. Sitaram used all his business earnings for making and constructing jagrtis. These were not ordinary jagrtis but wonderful, beautiful buildings which were rare those days in AMPS.
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Avidya maya: Sitaram decides not to go
After Sitaram had completed the main jagrti for Bettiah, Sadguru Baba arrived there to hold DMC and He was very pleased with Sitaram’s work. With the conclusion of DMC, Baba returned to Jamalpur. After a few days, one margii arrived from Jamalpur and conveyed the message that Baba said that Sitaram should again come to see Him in Jamalpur. But then a strange cloud hovered in Sitaram’s mind. He thought, “The last time I went to Jamalpur Baba beat me and I became fully vibrated and forgot about all my worldly needs. If if go there again, I might become completely imbalanced and forget about all my business engagements. I might even leave my family, lose all my samskaras and leave this world, or wander off into seclusion.” With all these thoughts and the influence of avidya maya hounding him, Sitaram decided that it would be best not to go see Baba in Jamalpur.
Instead, Sitaram remained in Bettiah and built up his business empire. He became the top entrepreneur in the entire town and became very, very rich. He had large land holdings, diverse business interests, a huge labor force, and local connections - both economic and political. Ultimately, he was thinking that it was all Baba’s grace and while he always remembered Him, Sitaram became completely defunct with regards to AMPS activities. This period of inertness did not just last for a few months, rather it continued for 12 - 14 years. During that time period he earned a tremendous amount of money but was defunct with regards to AMPS.
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Baba comes in dream & scolds Sitaram
Then in 1983 or so, Baba came to Sitaram in his dream. Baba scolded him strongly by pulling on his ears and Baba was berating him, “Why are you sleeping - go and do some service! There is a sannyasi in your town, and you are not helping him.” When Sitaram woke up he was deeply affected by Baba’s message, and he immediately went to the jagrti and started another period of deep engagement in AMPS service work and activities.
Over the years, the jagrti had become dilapidated and fell into a state of disrepair. There was also the issue of the demolition of the boundary wall and the encroachment by the government on AMPS land etc. And Sitaram went into high gear and restored the beauty of the jagrti and resolved the issue of the boundary wall and encroachment by making a deal with those government officials. At the time, he had been building a new home for his family and he diverted all the entire work crew to begin remodeling the jagrti and various AMPS projects. All the splendour returned to those AMPS projects with Sitaram’s great engagement. Once again, Sitaram’s family became furious with him, especially his wife. But Sitaram did not pay them any mind.
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Deeply engaged in AM way of life
Rather, every morning, instead of going to work and overseeing his business empire he went straight to the jagrti to do kiirtan, sadhana, Prabhat Samgiita etc. And it was only in the early afternoon that he would tend to his business dealings. It was an amazing scene since he was essentially the CEO and everyone was waiting on his order to get to work and decide everything, but Sitaram was nowhere to be found and since he was the boss they could not come and drag him to his job.
Indeed, those days, Sitaram was going to dharmacakra and attending DMC, and he was using his financial power to assist in all kinds of AMPS endeavors. He was supplying all of the rice and other essential items for AMPS camps, including purchasing hundreds of uniforms and clothes for Wts, arranging cars and vehicles, and using his big trucks and trailers to drive bhaktas around the town in the mornings for nagar kiirtan. Everyone would pile into the trailer with loudspeakers and sing Baba Nam Kevalam to all the locals. It was a grand time.
Then one day, after then prior Wt was transferred, Sitaram came to know that the new Wt was very sexually weak and had been involved in characterless behaviour in the jagrti itself. Sitaram was quite disgusted and once again estranged himself from AMPS. Only this time he maintained a link with the Wt who had previously been posted to Bettiah as he had great respect for him. And upon that Wt’s order, Sitaram would arrange for all sorts of needs such as buying blankets in the winter for hundreds of Wts and attending to whatever was necessary, all on the recommendation of that Wt. So although, Sitaram stayed away from AMPS those years, in his heart he always remembered Baba and felt the need to help those who were truly doing Baba’s work.
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Conclusion
Ultimately, in his later years, he repented for how he did not abide by Baba’s wish and did not return to Jamalpur to see Baba to receive His blessing. Yet, through it all, it has to be said that when Sitaram did become active then he positively influenced our entire AM society and helped in countless ways. And that is the great lesson of this story. When one feels linked with Guru then the desire sprouts to serve society to please Parama Purusa because all are His progeny.
Ananda Marga Caryacarya states:
“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.” (1)
In Him,
Bha'varainjan
Similar case in South India
There is another margii in south India who entered a similar quandary as Sitaram. Margii B had the opportunity to arrange and host numerous DMCs for Baba but he declined to do so as he thought it would take too much of his money. So instead he saved his money, only to see his son come of age and lose all that money. Such a liila. Likewise, Sitaram chose not to see Baba in Jamalpur for fear of losing his mundane wealth. In the end, they both missed out on the grand opportunity of seeing Parama Purusa Baba and passing many blissful days with Him.
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Reference
1. Caryacarya, Part 2, Sadhana, Point #10
Plagiary?
It is the accepted international standard and Baba's system not to copy another's work and publish it in your own way. Baba has given a very strict rule on plagiarism. Why is Baba against plagiarism or stealing someone's work? There are many reasons:
1) It is against the code of asteya (non-stealing).
2) Countless stories of bhaktas need to be published. But some do not want to do the hard work of compiling and writing these stories, so they just steal them from others. But new stories need to be told, otherwise so many unpublished stories of sadhakas will be lost and forgotten forever. So watch out for story thieves, and kindly help them not to steal by posting on social media in their own way. If you want to forward this story then attach the following yellow section with the story:
“Courtesy of unknown bhakta via Ananda Marga Universal (https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/)”
This will be treated as the standard protocol.
The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
“Ke tumi ele go áji sonálii saroje sáji…” (Prabhat Samgiita #0666)
Purport:
My Unknown Entity, who are You who has appeared adorned with a golden lotus - and eyes filled with hope and loving assurance. Who are You who came to me today from the divine origin---graciously arrived in the inner casket of my core and mind.
Your soft, gentle, sweet smile floats in the sky of my heart. Your attractive joyous look draws me near and wants to take me towards some unknown spiritual realm.
Parama Purusa, You never remain distant and never leave me. You always stay near me - in my inner self. You are so compassionate. You are love-personified and can never hate anyone. You constantly shower me with Your exquisite kindness. Even after knowing all my bad deeds, You affectionately keep me on Your lap, within Your warm embrace.
My Eternal Guide, in the initial dawn of creation, I was with You, and now today also I am with You. Throughout this entire journey, spanning countless lives, You have always kept me under Your care. By Your grace, I shall remain forever under the cool shade of Your eternal love and affection…
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Not a unifying force
Ananda Marga ideology states, "There are a variety of religions in the world formulated by different propounders. But instead of enhancing the spirit of unity in the human society, these religions have actually increased disunity and mutual conflict. How many wars have been fought in the name of religion? So, far from being a unifying force, religion should be seen as a cause of disharmony." (1)
Reference
1. A Few Problems Solved - 2, Human Society Is One and Indivisible – 2
Watch out - wrong things in YT book: TP blunder
Here is the way Tiljala Publication has published to below paragraph in the Yogic Treatments book. Pay special attention to the yellow highlighted terms.
Tiljala Publications wrote: "Taking excessive fatty and oily food and not undertaking a proportional amount of physical labour loads the human nervous system down with fat, and as a result it becomes impossible for the nerves to properly assist the heart. As a result the heart becomes weak. Fat accumulated in the nerves and blood vessels terribly hampers the blood circulation, and in order to maintain the circulation, the heart is forced to overwork. As a consequence the heart soon becomes weak." (1)By reading the above, it is clear that the yellow highlighted terme in the above passage are incorrect.
Corrected version
Here below are the suggested changes in bracketed bold red font to correct the blunders by Tiljala Publications.
"Taking excessive fatty and oily food and not undertaking a proportional amount of physical labour loads the humanNote: Anyone person, young or old, who has taken even the most basic level class in biology or human anatomy will easily realize that the way the Tiljala Publications presented this section is completely wrong. Sadguru Baba is the all-knowing Taraka Brahma, and it is our duty to ensure that His books are published with the highest accuracy and utmost integrity. Sadly, time and time again, Tiljala Publications proves that their work is flawed and clearly not up to the mark.nervous system[circulatory system] down with fat, and as a result it becomes impossible for thenerves[arteries] to properly assist the heart. As a result the heart becomes weak. Fat accumulated in thenerves[arteries] and blood vessels terribly hampers the blood circulation, and in order to maintain the circulation, the heart is forced to overwork. As a consequence the heart soon becomes weak." (2)
References
1. Yogic Treatments and Natural Remedies, Heart Disease
2. Yogic Treatments and Natural Remedies, Heart Disease