Ananda Marga Universal Forum: 05/01/21

Saturday, May 1, 2021

Freak show display at AM school

Baba

Freak show display at AM school

Namaskar,

Everything in our Ananda Marga way of life is perfect and given by Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurti ji. As His disciples, all we need to do is follow His divine teachings and propagate the same to others and that will be a dharmic life. This includes the Ananda Marga system of asanas, or yoga postures.
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In Caryacarya 3, Baba clearly delineates how we are to perform our yoga asanas. They are calm, steady poses to be done individually.

Unfortunately, one of our very institutions designed to impart our AM way of living to others has deviated grossly in this regard. Take a look at what is going on in the name of asanas at one of our AM schools. Please note that here the children are not to be blamed; they are completely innocent. Tragically, someone has taught them something totally wrong. They are not doing asanas, but engaging in something totally different.

Indeed, what they are doing more resembles some type of freak show (see below) than our Ananda Marga system of asanas.

The above is some kind of weird freak show. So it is very sad and tragic that those schoolchildren at our AM school in Orissa were totally misguided in this regard. The Wt in charge of overseeing that school should be taken to task.
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All that occurs under the auspices of our AM schools should be in strict accordance with our AM way of life. We should not allow them to be taught crude, freak-show type of things in the name of Ananda Marga. That is totally wrong and harmful.

In Him,
Satyajiita
Ananda Marga schoolteacher

Danger of gymnastics / human pyramids etc

Gymnastics and building human pyramids are both highly dangerous activities. But as you can see in the above photo of our AM school, proper precautions are not being taken. Tumbling mats and padding are absolutely essential but those are entirely absent. Instead the school kids are practicing in a concrete room with a concrete floor and walls. This is totally irresponsible and makes risky activities like gymnastics even more dangerous and prone to serious injury and head trauma. This is compounded by the fact that many of our AM schools are in remote locations and medical care is difficult to get. Endangering children in this way is unacceptable and against the spirit and guidelines for care of children in our AM learning institutions.

~ Courtesy of Common Types of Gymnastics Injuries ~

By Elizabeth Quinn

Gymnastics is a difficult and demanding sport for both men and women. Gymnastics injuries most frequently include strains and sprains, but serious and traumatic injuries can occur as well. An increase in risky stunts makes traumatic head and neck injuries a real concern for athletes, parents, and coaches. Today's gymnastic stunts require a high degree of skill in acrobatics strength and balance. It's essential for athletes to have appropriate instruction and coaching, and to follow basic safety precautions. (Courtesy of Common Types of Gymnastics Injuries)

~ Courtesy of Wikipedia ~

“Human pyramids: 2012, over 225 govindas were injured with one casualty; this was higher than the previous year's 205. The government of Maharashtra banned children below 12 years from participating in 2014. The Bombay High Court later ruled in August that the minimum age should be raised to 18 years and height of the pyramid should be no more than 20 feet due to safety reasons. The Supreme Court of India refused to clarify the Bombay High Court thereby upholding it, but various organizations have re-appealed on different legal grounds. They state that olympic sports are dangerous and cause injuries too, but that is not sufficient grounds to ban Olympic participation. Banning a religious tradition, they state, infringes on the religious rights of a particular community. Several parties have defied the ban.” (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

About AM asanas

Here are a few of Baba’s guidelines about the practice of asanas.

"Question: What is the definition of ásanas?

Answer: Sthirasukham ásanam (Patanjali). Ásanas are calm, quiet and easy postures which are held with proper inhalation and exhalation. They exercise the nerves, tissues, glands and organs of the human body. While practising ásanas one enjoys physical comfort and mental composure.

The regular practice of ásanas keeps the body healthy and cures many diseases. Ásanas control the glands, the glands control the secretion of hormones, and the secretion of hormones controls the propensities. So ásanas help a sádhaka [spiritual aspirant] to balance the body and concentrate the mind.

Question: Why do we practise ásanas?

Answer: We perform ásanas for the following reasons:
To increase the flexibility of the body.
To rectify glandular defects and balance hormonal secretions in order to control the vrttis [propensities].
To balance the body and mind.
To withdraw the mind from undesirable thinking.
To prepare the mind for subtler and higher sádhaná [spiritual practices]." (1)