Rare point about namaskar
Note: This letter is a reminder about the great import of one of our most fundamental practices. It is not a small point as it represents our entire outlook in life.
Namaskar,
In our Ananda Marga, our entire outlook and life is spiritually based - focused completely on Parama Purusa, revolving only around Him. Our each and every thought, word, and action is aimed towards Him. From morning till night, our existence is centered around the Divine Entity: When we awaken, we meditate on Him; when we serve others or feed a beggar, we feel that we are serving or feeding Him; when we receive anything from anyone, we feel we have gotten a gift from Parama Purusa.
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Namaskar: not saluting humans
Our namaskar salutation is to be done to all. It has nothing to do with one's seniority, social stature, post, age, or any other relative factor. When we do our namaskar mudra we are not bowing down to any individual per se. Rather we are paying salutation to the presence of the Divine within that person.
Ananda Marga Caryacarya says, "Namaska'ra...It can be done to all regardless of their age, because this mode of salutation is used with the ideation that everyone is the manifestation of the Supreme Being." (1)
Thus part and parcel of our namaskar practice is seeing the Divine within all. That is the essence of doing namaskar. For that reason, even the senior-most people in society should do namaskar to little babies, and "top"-level workers should do namaskar to newly initiated persons. And fellow classmates should do namaskar to each other.
So namaskar is to be done by one and all to one and all. There should not be any shyness or feelings of superiority that inhibit this process. The sweet ideation is that when doing namaskar we are honouring the presence of the Supreme within that individual. Hence, we should always be ready to do namaskar to anyone.
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When we talk to our children, we feel that Parama Purusa is expressing Himself in the form of these children, i.e. that He is in front of us in the form of these young boys and girls. In this beautiful way the day passes - ensconced in His thought and ideation.
Our namaskar salutation is part and parcel of this flow: It is one of our daily activities related wholly with Parama Purusa. As we all know, when we do namaskar we are not saluting any particular individual like Ram, Shyam, Tom, Dick, or Harry, but rather recognizing the presence of the infinite Supreme Consciousness within that person.
Why be first to do namaskar
Side by side, Baba's guidelines is that we should be the first to do namaskar.
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Ananda Marga ideology says, "You should always make an effort to do namaskar to others first." (2)
So these are two of Baba's fundamental teachings about Namaskar: (a) That it is to be done to all, and (b) that one should be enthusiastic to do namaskar first. These are two fundamentals aspects of our namaskar practice. Reason being that namaskar is an acknowledgement or salutation to Parama Purusa in the form of that human being. It is not the act of bowing down to a particular individual. So we should readily do namaskar to everyone-- first.
Conclusion
So 'namaskar' means: O' Mr Ramesh or O' Mr Manoranjain, I salute the Divine which is residing within you. That is the true spirit of doing namaskar. But if Ramesh or Manoranjan is ignorant and foolish, they will think that someone is saluting them directly. And if the one doing namaskar is foolish, they will think that they are saluting Ramesh or Manoranjain etc. Those who do namaskar in this misguided way are just treating it as some mundane greeting. That is why we say this is a simple but often misunderstood point in our day to day life. None should get confused and think that by saying 'namaskar' we are saluting another human being or that someone else is saluting us.
Namaskar,
in Him,
Karuna’karan
Get the benefits: do namaskar first
Ananda Marga Caryacarya says, "Namaska'ra...It can be done to all regardless of their age, because this mode of salutation is used with the ideation that everyone is the manifestation of the Supreme Being." (3)
According to Baba, there are numerous benefits to always doing namaskar first. And Baba furthermore guides us that He always does namaskar first in order to teach others.
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, "As ideal human beings you should not wait to do namaskar after another has greeted you: you should rather take the first opportunity to greet others. When someone greets you...you do not become an ideal human being thereby. Rather one who seizes the first opportunity to salute others is the ideal. So you should always make an effort to do namaskar to others first: you should not care whether the person whom you greet will greet you in return or not. (When people come to me during personal contact, I greet them first whether they salute me or not.) By giving honour to others you will not be belittled, you will rather enhance your prestige." (4)
By Baba's above guideline we can understand that those who do namaskar first are better than those who wait to do namaskar in response. Unfortunately, those who are unaware about this do not do namaskar first, they think they should wait for namaskar. But by this way they just cheat themselves and deprive themselves of becoming ideal human beings.
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Ananda Marga Caryacarya says, "Namaska'ra...It can be done to all regardless of their age, because this mode of salutation is used with the ideation that everyone is the manifestation of the Supreme Being." (5)
References
1. Caryacarya - 1, Methods of Salutation
2. Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life - 11, Taking the Opposite Stance in Battle
3. Caryacarya - 1, Methods of Salutation
4. Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life - 11, Taking the Opposite Stance in Battle
5. Caryacarya - 1, Methods of Salutation
* * *
The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
* * *
Wrong intention for knowledge & action
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "So why do people bother to cultivate knowledge or action? They do so to make their devotion more intense, not for any other reason. People do not eat pickles to fill the stomach, but only to whet their appetite so that they can enjoy their food more. Similarly, devotees cultivate knowledge and action not for their physical growth, but to acquire more strength to move along the path of devotion with greater acceleration." (1)
Note: Some people have gone astray from this above teaching. They acquire knowledge and do action for reasons of self-satisfaction and self-aggrandizement - so that they can brag to others. They want to misguide people, put simple folks in trouble, and create more dogmas. Yet all this inflates the ego and causes one's degeneration. It is rare that people cultivate knowledge and perform actions solely to serve humanity and increase their level of bhakti.
Reference
1. Namami Krsnasundaram, Vraja Krśńa and Dvaetaváda (Discourse 17)
== Section: Important Teaching ==
What is stopping formation of world government
Prout philosophy states, “The more time is passing by, the more the glare of casteism, provincialism, communalism and nationalism is fading away. The human beings of today must understand that in the near future they will definitely have to accept universalism. So those who seek to promote social welfare will have to mobilize all their vitality and intellect in the endeavour to establish a world organization, abandoning all plans to form communal or national organizations. They will have to engage themselves in constructive activities in a straight-forward manner, instead of resorting to duplicity and deceitfulness.”
“Many people say that divergent national interests are the only impediments to the formation of a world organization, or a world government. But I say this is not the only obstacle, rather it is just a minor impediment. The main obstacle is the apprehension of local leaders that they will lose their leadership. With the establishment of a world government, the total domination which they exercise today in their respective countries, societies and nations will cease to exist.” (1)
Reference
1. Problems of the Day, Point #19
== Section: Prabhat Samgiita ==
बाबा! कृपाकर अपने मधुर आकर्षक रूप में आओगे ?
प्रभात संगीत 3199 झड़ेर राते अंधारेते, केन्दे छिलुम वनो माझे... …
भावार्थ
हे परम पुरुष ! उस अँधेरी रात में जब बहुत तेज तूफान आया था मैं अकेला घने जंगल में रो रहा था। वहां बातचीत करके मुझे धीरज बधाने वाला या मेरी कष्टों भरी कहानी सुनने वाला कोई नहीं था। आसपास कोई नहीं था और मैं तुम्हारी उपस्थिति को भी अनुभव नहीं कर सका । इसलिए मुझे लगने लगा कि उस तूफ़ान में मैं अकेला हूँ।
बाबा! उस डरावने तूफान के तेज प्रवाह से अनेक पेड़ों की बड़ी बड़ी शाखायें टूट कर धरती को छू रहीं थीं, और उनकी कोमल कोंपलें तथा सुन्दर फूल भी पेड़ों की छोटी छोटी डालियों से पूरी तरह टूट कर नीचे गिरे थे। वह अँधेरी डरावनी रात बहुत ही विनाश करने वाली थी। सभी डालियां और फूल बुरी तरह जोर जोर से रो रहे थे, प्रत्येक पेड़ भी कराह रहा था ।
हे परमपुरुष बाबा ! तूफ़ान समाप्त हो गया है। इस मौत भरी रात के जाने के बाद हवा में कोमल मधुर वायु के धीमे धीमे झोंके आने लगे हैं। अब क्या तुम मेरे मन के मधुवन में, मेरे मानसिक बाग में , कृपाकर अपने मधुर आकर्षक रूप में आओगे ?सभी बुरे दिन समाप्त हो गए हैं इसलिए कृपा पूर्वक आकर मुझे आशीष दे दोगे क्या।
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Importance of asana & pranyama
Ananda Marga philosophy guides us, "Our social code provides clear guidelines on how members will adapt to this modern, rapidly changing world. There have been more changes in the past 200 years than in the 800 years prior to that. In education, culture, dress and food habits major changes have taken place. Old, outdated wooden shoes, turbans, etc. have been replaced by modern shoes, hats and clothes made from scientific fabrics with contemporary designs. Primitive bullock carts, horse-drawn carriages, hackney coaches, etc., have been replaced with fast-moving cars, trains, and aeroplanes. In the past, people used to travel by elephant, but now they can travel to other planets by rocket. There should be a proper adjustment between the body and the mind to keep pace with the fast speed of the development in the world. For this reason, Ananda Marga spiritual practices place much importance on ásanas, práńáyáma, etc.” (1)
Reference
1. Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell - 4, Our Social Treatise
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