Baba
Female exploitation
Namaskar,
In various spheres of life, people are brainwashed by exploiters. For instance, the media, fashion industry, and entertainment business etc project an image for how people should look. Sadly, many get duped and victimised. They fall into that trap. After being bombarded with glossy pictures and catchy phrases, people begin to think that, "I am not good enough as I am." In turn, they develop an inferiority complex about who they are and how they look.
Our youths are especially vulnerable in this regard, especially females. So many of our sisters and daughters have gotten caught up in the false notion, "I am not up to the standard; I must beautify myself to become worthy." This is their tragic and deplorable condition these days.
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Inferiority complex imposed by exploiters
Along these lines, Baba has made the following declaration.
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "Selfish men, however, have disregarded the value of women; they have taken full advantage….Although men have publicly declared that women should be respected as the mothers of society, they have actually relegated them to the status of domestic cattle and sheep." (1)
In result, some of our sisters feel they should look a certain way. They are taught by exploiters to think that various parts of their body - their hair, nose, belly, or height etc - should be adjusted to match the popular pseudo-culture trends of the day. Men are not out of this loop; they are also affected, i.e. victimised. They can certainly talk about this. But it is the women who are the hunted in this industry. To make matters worse, various doctors and other exploiters capitalise on the situation and have turned cosmetic surgery and so-called beauty enhancement products into a lucrative, mega-billion dollar industry.
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Fashion industry take advantage
Via television, movies, advertisements, billboards etc, people are taught by the exploiters to believe that they must beautify themselves according to certain standards. High-heeled shoes, lipstick, teeth whiteners are some of the more basic methods for enhancing female beauty. These things are imposed as a result of an inferiority complex that has already been planted in the mind. Because of the inferiority complex imposed on them by exploiters, women feel, “I am not worthy.”
More "advanced" strategies include liposuction (sucking fat cells from various body parts), hair removal, hair implants and the like. It is due to this deplorable situation that black-skinned females may straighten their hair to look like white females. But we should not let today's degraded societal values impose such feelings of inferiority complex on any human being. We should not let exploiters and the fashion industry take advantage of the common mass - the good people of the world.
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "A woman who is "unattractive" but is mentally elevated or has a loving nature will look beautiful to others." (2)
Ideal definition of beauty
The basic definition of beauty for our human society needs to be shifted toward the psychic and spiritual realm. We should not let any person feel they are worthless and or undesirable due to some physical characteristic.
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Ananda Vanii says, "Those entities in whom psychic and intellectual powers are looked upon as more gorgeous than the physical ones are called humans – predominantly mental beings. Hence, to bring about the real well-being of humanity, greater attention has to be paid to the psychic and intellectual expressions of human beings, for that will lead to perfect spiritual composure and all-round fulfilment in human life..." (3)
Parama Purusa has made human beings in all shapes and sizes - all designed by Him. So all have their beauty and reflect His vibration. To allow scores and scores of women to fall into the ever-increasing abyss of plastic surgery for purely superficial cosmetic reasons is to go against the natural order of Parama Purusa. He thinks, “We are beautiful as we are” - according to His original design. When one understands this, they will no longer suffer from an inferiority complex and will not become a victim of the exploiters.
People should not get lost in the maze
Our duty as Ananda Margiis is to bring society onto the right track and correct all the ills such as feelings of inferiority due to a person's look or skin colour. Every human being is to be respected, honoured, and encouraged to grow. We should tackle the exploitation that poisons our society by implying that people are not worthy or good enough as they are.
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Instead the various sizes, shapes, and colors of people are to be celebrated. Baba loves all human beings and we are to help create the vibration on this earth that everyone is a dignified and beautiful member of our human family.
One should not get lost in the maze of trying to gain perfection through physical presentation - we are beautiful with whatever physical imperfections we may have - and instead strive to embrace our inner beauty. Our value of being human is our psychic and spiritual qualities. That is what we should emphasize, not one's external presentation.
Conclusion
To exploit the innocent public, greedy capitalists use their propaganda machinery to impose an inferiority complex upon women regarding their body. With their media, capitalists propagate how many women’s bodies are not up to the mark. By this way women are exploited emotionally and an inferiority complex has been injected. In response, some psychically affected women get caught in the trap of such capitalists and opt to operate on their body to suit their demands. On this front, women are pressured and forced to get operated on unnecessarily. By this way, greedy capitalists, in cahoots with cosmetic surgeons, exploit women and cheat them into getting surgery that was not even needed.
Namaskar,
In Him,
Ruplekha’
Exploitation: Leg lengthening, body extension
The leg-breaking, body extension will help ordinary females reach movie star height and glamour. Here is how it works. First they break your legs while under anesthesia - both the shin bones and the large femur bone. That is the least painful part. Then they partially detach the legs from the joints which sets one up for a year-long therapy process wherein the legs are stretched more and more and the broken bones are pulled apart and forced to grow back in longer way in order to fill the space. Often a rod is inserted that extends by a twisting process and the bone grows around the extending rod. That is what is meant by limb-lengthening procedure. The latest in cosmetic surgery.
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But do not get fooled - this is no simple affair. It is an excruciatingly hurtful process that is filled with painful therapy sessions and months and months of rehab - not to mention the very real threat of permanent nerve damage as well as a host of other complications and side-effects. On the top, there is absolutely no guarantee that the procedure will be successful. That is quite a risk to take given its cost of nearly $200,000.00. But due to massive propaganda about beauty etc, this is what people, and especially women, are willing to do.
The irony is that such a procedure will not change the genetic makeup of a person. That female who had a leg lengthening procedure will have "short" children. Thereby setting up another generation to potentially undergo a leg lengthening procedure in order to fit in with her family.
References
1. Human Society - 1, Social Justice
2. Microvita in a Nutshell, Disembodied Souls and Microvita – Excerpt B
3. Ananda Vanii #73
== Section 2: Prabhat Samgiita ==
Now there will not be any more lamentations
"A'lo eseche ghum bheungeche, phuler vane raun legeche..." (Prabhat Samgiita #2253)
Purport:
With the arrival of the spiritual Refulgence, all the drowsiness and sleepiness of staticity and dogma have been vanquished. In the flower garden, charming colour has sprung. The lotus buds which were sleeping and dormant are now filled and overflowing with supreme nectar, by His grace. Humanity has awakened.
The invitation of the hues of neo-humanism has reached each home. Every moment the vibration of life is felt; in layer after layer, there is the charm of divine life. The air, water, earth, and sky - everything is filled with His bliss and beauty.
The era of bhakti has come; now there will not be any more cries or lamentations due to the darkness of the degrading forces. In everyone's language and expression there will no longer be any bitterness; now it will be saturated with sweetness and affection. The cosmic brotherhood will be the source of all inspiration, not fear and terror. The Supreme Refulgence has created this renewal.
This has all happened due to the causeless grace of Parama Purusa Baba; He created this sentient momentum and filled it with His own vibration. The new dawn has come and the drowsiness of staticity and dogma has disappeared. The sweetness and charm of spirituality has arrived...
"A'lo eseche ghum bheungeche, phuler vane raun legeche..." (Prabhat Samgiita #2253)
Purport:
With the arrival of the spiritual Refulgence, all the drowsiness and sleepiness of staticity and dogma have been vanquished. In the flower garden, charming colour has sprung. The lotus buds which were sleeping and dormant are now filled and overflowing with supreme nectar, by His grace. Humanity has awakened.
The invitation of the hues of neo-humanism has reached each home. Every moment the vibration of life is felt; in layer after layer, there is the charm of divine life. The air, water, earth, and sky - everything is filled with His bliss and beauty.
The era of bhakti has come; now there will not be any more cries or lamentations due to the darkness of the degrading forces. In everyone's language and expression there will no longer be any bitterness; now it will be saturated with sweetness and affection. The cosmic brotherhood will be the source of all inspiration, not fear and terror. The Supreme Refulgence has created this renewal.
This has all happened due to the causeless grace of Parama Purusa Baba; He created this sentient momentum and filled it with His own vibration. The new dawn has come and the drowsiness of staticity and dogma has disappeared. The sweetness and charm of spirituality has arrived...
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Who suffers this arduous & torturous punishment
Ananda Marga philosophy guides us, "There are seven kinds of luminous bodies: yakśa, siddha, gandharva, kinnara, vidyádhara, Prakrtiliina and videhaliina. They are categorized according to their respective psychologies. Suppose there is a very elevated person who often ideates on the Supreme Consciousness, but who has some greed for wealth. He does not, however, express it openly to the Supreme, nor does he even think of it directly. He thinks indirectly, "Oh, since I am a devotee of the Supreme Consciousness, He will certainly give me enormous wealth and make me immensely rich." Those who harbour this sort of covert desire are reborn as yaks'as." (1)
Note: Yaksas are one type of degraded being - i.e. those unfortunate ones who cannot get human framework because they are under punishment. Only after extreme punishment, after exhausting so many negative samskaras, may they again get human life. Once they attain human form they will need to get tantric initiation, adhere to the code of yama and niyama, and do maximum sadhana. Then after much effort, only by His grace, may they get moksa. So theirs is a long and arduous journey as they must suffer for millions of years. That is why meditating on money is very bad.
Some sadhaka businessmen and money-minded sadhakas who are indulged day and night in money matters will suffer in this way. They will be degenerated into yaksas. After facing punishment for millions of years, then who knows on which planet they may get the opportunity to live human life and do proper work and service. But if they again indulge in money matters, they will become yaksas (degraded beings) and this cycle will be repeated. They will spin round and round in this torturous pattern.
That is why Baba warns us that when one has a human body then the goal must be Parama Purusa - not money.
Reference
1. Yoga Psychology, Are Ghosts Hallucinations?
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Those who do a lot of mental labour combined with a little physical labour, also fall asleep immediately upon going to bed, due to the tiredness of their nerve cells. But those who perform some mental labour, but proportionately less labour of the nerve fibres [that is, physical labour], suffer from insomnia. They use various types of drugs and injections to induce sleep by forcing the nerve cells and nerve fibres to stop functioning. So it can be imagined how dangerous and harmful is the effect of those drugs and injections.”
“Getting the amount of sleep necessary to maintain physical and mental health should not be criticized. But as with any of the four vrttis, if sleep is encouraged, people can spend twenty-three out of the twenty-four hours of their day in sleep. This kind of sleep is as bad as death. Human beings have come onto this earth to do some work. Now if they spend most of their time in sleep, when will they work? If a major portion of life is spent only in sleep, is that not another name for death?”
“Human beings want to emerge from the dark chasms of sleep and death into the world of light – golden flashes of light piercing the heart of darkness. That golden light is a dynamic and spirited life, which people can enjoy only in the waking state.” (1)
Reference
1. Namah Shiváya Shántáya, Disc: 16
Ananda Marga philosophy guides us, "There are seven kinds of luminous bodies: yakśa, siddha, gandharva, kinnara, vidyádhara, Prakrtiliina and videhaliina. They are categorized according to their respective psychologies. Suppose there is a very elevated person who often ideates on the Supreme Consciousness, but who has some greed for wealth. He does not, however, express it openly to the Supreme, nor does he even think of it directly. He thinks indirectly, "Oh, since I am a devotee of the Supreme Consciousness, He will certainly give me enormous wealth and make me immensely rich." Those who harbour this sort of covert desire are reborn as yaks'as." (1)
Note: Yaksas are one type of degraded being - i.e. those unfortunate ones who cannot get human framework because they are under punishment. Only after extreme punishment, after exhausting so many negative samskaras, may they again get human life. Once they attain human form they will need to get tantric initiation, adhere to the code of yama and niyama, and do maximum sadhana. Then after much effort, only by His grace, may they get moksa. So theirs is a long and arduous journey as they must suffer for millions of years. That is why meditating on money is very bad.
Some sadhaka businessmen and money-minded sadhakas who are indulged day and night in money matters will suffer in this way. They will be degenerated into yaksas. After facing punishment for millions of years, then who knows on which planet they may get the opportunity to live human life and do proper work and service. But if they again indulge in money matters, they will become yaksas (degraded beings) and this cycle will be repeated. They will spin round and round in this torturous pattern.
That is why Baba warns us that when one has a human body then the goal must be Parama Purusa - not money.
Reference
1. Yoga Psychology, Are Ghosts Hallucinations?
== Section: Important Teaching ==
This kind of sleep is as bad as death
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Those who do a lot of mental labour combined with a little physical labour, also fall asleep immediately upon going to bed, due to the tiredness of their nerve cells. But those who perform some mental labour, but proportionately less labour of the nerve fibres [that is, physical labour], suffer from insomnia. They use various types of drugs and injections to induce sleep by forcing the nerve cells and nerve fibres to stop functioning. So it can be imagined how dangerous and harmful is the effect of those drugs and injections.”
“Getting the amount of sleep necessary to maintain physical and mental health should not be criticized. But as with any of the four vrttis, if sleep is encouraged, people can spend twenty-three out of the twenty-four hours of their day in sleep. This kind of sleep is as bad as death. Human beings have come onto this earth to do some work. Now if they spend most of their time in sleep, when will they work? If a major portion of life is spent only in sleep, is that not another name for death?”
“Human beings want to emerge from the dark chasms of sleep and death into the world of light – golden flashes of light piercing the heart of darkness. That golden light is a dynamic and spirited life, which people can enjoy only in the waking state.” (1)
Reference
1. Namah Shiváya Shántáya, Disc: 16
== Section 3: Links ==
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