Ananda Marga Universal Forum: Dry sadhana + 3 more

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Dry sadhana + 3 more

Baba

Dry sadhana

Namaskar

This letter addresses a few key points related with Sadguru Baba’s guidelines on sadhana and dhyana.

Was I sleeping in sadhana?

Sometimes when doing sadhana one may feel some type of sleepy feeling. That means they wasted their time.
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Needed ingredient for mantra japa

Next Sadguru Baba guides us about an important element of sadhana: the repetition of the mantra.

Ananda Marga ideology states, "People do japa kriyá in a very crude manner. It can be said that their method of incantation is like the talk of a parrot. Parrots talk, parrot say so many things, without understanding the meaning, without understanding the spirit of what is meant. Japa kriyá becomes as meaningless as the talk of a parrot for those who do it without love or emotion. It even loses the value of internal suggestion, intro-psychic suggestion." (1)

Here the point is that love for Parama Purusa is needed when one does their mantra japa, otherwise their sadhana will be dry.

Think of it in this manner. In worldly dealings, when two lovers are deeply infatuated with one another then they can gossip together for hours and days on end and never get tired or bored with each other. They will have endless things to say and talk about. But if two people are not infatuated or in love with each other, then they will not like to spend even two seconds together exchanging the feelings of their heart. So love is the main thing.
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And this is the way it works in sadhana / dhyana as well.

How to cultivate love for the Supreme

The question then arises, "What is the way to develop love for Parama Purusa?" Baba says to do japa and involve with Him all the 24hrs in manan, shravan, and nididhyasana, as well as kiirtana and dhyana etc. If one sincerely engages the mind in His thought then bhakti will surely develop, by His grace.

This is based on the yogic tenet: "As you think, so you become." When the mind is goaded toward the thought of the Supreme then gradually one will develop a greater affinity towards Him. That is the way the mind works: one becomes absorbed and colored by the object of its ideation. Even if one's mind is very dry and barren - devoid of spiritual longing - but if slowly that mind is goaded towards the Supreme through manan, shravan, and nididhyasana etc then bhakti (love for Parama Purusa) will slowly sprout and blossom in the mind. This works in social life as well as in spiritual life. For instance, two parents might think incessantly about their daughter studying overseas. And by this mere thought, their love and longing for their daughter grows. Likewise in spiritual life, by thinking of the Supreme all the 24 hours then gradually one's love for Him increases until finally the bhakta becomes completely immersed in His divine love. So love is the main thing.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/

And the unique aspect about love is that it flows from high to low. For instance, a mother has far more love for her baby than the baby has for her. From the outset, the mother's quantum of love is extremely high and slowly the baby develops love for the mother. And in the spiritual realm, Parama Purusa has an unending amount of love for His progeny, while the sadhaka slowly develops love for Him. Yet as one's love for Parama Purusa grows and the sadhaka takes a step forward on the path towards Him, then Parama Purusa takes many more steps towards the aspirant. So love is the main thing.

Special recipe: constant ideation

In worldly experiences, those who have close proximity with someone often develop a closeness or infatuation for that person and their image comes in the mind. Because they see that person each and every day and they are constantly reminded of them as that person is on their mind - through constant interaction in a favourable way. In this process, feelings of closeness develop and their image comes in the mind. Verily there are numerous cases where co-workers end up getting married. So love is the main thing.

The same theory is working in the spiritual realm. When one ideates on Him throughout the day through manan, shravan, nididhyasana, japa, kiirtana, and svadhyaya etc then invariably love develops. And when one has love for Parama Purusa then automatically and effortlessly His image will come in dhyana, and one will naturally be ensconced in His blissful and eternal flow - and the time will pass this way. And even if you try to push His image out of the mind it will not go away, rather it will appear more vibrant and clear than before. So love is the main thing. And that will grow through manan, shravan, nididhyasana, japa, kiirtana, and svadhyaya etc.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/

Conclusion

The above points are important aspects of sadhana / dhyana. And by applying them to one’s own personal spiritual practice, the sadhaka will be successful in their march towards Parama Purusa.

in Him,
Dharmayoddha’

Reference
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 1, Who Is Gopa?

* * *

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 ==

3rd aspect of ayurveda

Ananda Marga philosophy says, “The third health-determining element is kapha, or the liquid, viscous portion of the body. Excess kapha creates spontaneous heat within the body which manifests externally as fever...Ginger is the enemy of kapha, the destroyer of kapha. Thus one name of ginger in ayurveda is kapha’ri. Similarly, arum or elephant root is the destroyer of arsha [piles] so arum in Sanskrit is called arsha’ri or arshaghnii.” (1)

Note: The first two health determining elements are va’yu and pitta.

Reference
1. Shabda Cayanika - 3, Kakubh to Kavaśńa (Discourse 17)

== Section 3: Important Teaching ==

Who gets reborn as a cat

Ananda Marga ideology states, "Whether one be a philanthropist or a star athlete, one desires to see what is written about them in the newspaper. This means that in trying to do some good work, what are they really doing? They are falling under the sway of one propensity, the propensity of greed. Now if this act is encouraged by the society, that is, if the newspapers dedicate a lot of attention to such news, or if people in general say, “Sir, whatever you are doing is unparalleled in history. Sir, we are not eulogizing you. We are simply telling the truth” – if they praise such a person in this way and then try to extract some money from them (there are such intelligent people around) – then what does it amount to indirectly? The propensity of greed increases. Which animal is the greediest among the animals with which we are all very familiar? It does not like to give up greed in spite of ill treatment and humiliations. It is the cat. Yes, after moving a few steps ahead, the cat forgets that it was beaten. So, that particular person is reborn as a cat after death, because that body affords an opportunity for the satiation of their greed. When the housewife looks around inattentively, the cat sneaks into the kitchen through the small opening in order to reach the milk or fish in the kitchen. So in order to exhaust the samskáras one needs an appropriate body. Some people obtain a new body immediately after death and others obtain it later. But one has to obtain it somehow."
"One who is doing philanthropic work today, tries to find out tomorrow whether or not their name appeared in the newspaper. They have no desire to read the other news. They read the news that relates to themselves twenty times but do not go through the other news with much enthusiasm. If someone asks they might say that today there was only one important piece of news, nothing else. That is how a person comes under the sway of a propensity and remains subject to the cycle of birth and rebirth." (1)

Reference
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam – 10, The Supreme Entity – the Non-Doer

== Section: Comment ==

Emigration greed

Namaskar

Well thought out submission (link appended below).

Here in America everyone is arguing about illegal immigrants. Politicians say they don't want it. But they do for different reasons. One side wants it for cheap votes pretending to be compassionate. The other side doesn't want it saying, "Let's build a wall", knowing many will thwart that wall and cheap labor will continue without complaints or wage hikes by the workers.

I hired a Mexican worker who broke his arm and was too afraid to tell me for fear I'd fire/sack him.

If the immoral politicians really didn't want illegal immigration, all that is needed to turn off the faucet is to pass a law that anyone or any company caught hiring an illegal immigrant loses ALL of their assets...lock, stock, and barrel.

So much phony compassion and do goodies abound all over the world. Moral leadership is rare...and party politics supports the party over the people.

It's a disease based on avarice and abject control.

In BABA,
govinda
USA

- Here is a link to the initial letter on this topic: Polluted history: solution

== Section: Historical Record ==

1975 Emergency letter to Ban AM by Government order

Namaskar,

Here you can view or download this important document that is of utmost significance for all Ananda Magiis.