Baba
Inner feeling
Namaskar,
A black man was walking down the street. My neighbour Sam was raised by white supremacist parents who taught him that all black people were thieves. So Sam immediately ran after the black person assuming that the black man must have stolen something. Sam chased after him with his gun ready to fire. But when Sam got closer he noticed that the black man was the same paramedic who last year resuscitated his grandpa at the stadium.
In a separate incident, a man wearing a turban was accosted by numerous townspeople who had assumed that the man wearing the turban was a Muslim terrorist. So they grabbed hold of the man and pinned him up against a wall. The men aggressively surrounded him, and one guy grabbed him but he but quickly found out that the man in the turban was neither a Muslim nor a terrorist. The person wearing a turban was a follower of the Sikh religion and is a company manager where his son-in-law is working. So the townspeople released him and apologised profusely for their rude behaviour.
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In both of the above cases, the aggressors suffered from an inherent bias. Sam was prejudiced against black people, and the townspeople were prejudiced against Muslims. So they reacted instinctively based on their initial visceral feeling. Their gut-feeling was to attack. But in both cases, with their sense of vivek and discrimination, they realised that their initial impulse was wrong. Their gut-feeling had betrayed them.
Ignorant depend on gut-feeling
Generally when one is in a quandary and considering what to do, they often rely on their “gut-feeling.” And they will often be praised for listening to their “gut-feeling.” Unfortunately, for most people, their gut-feeling is inherently defective and will lead them to act in degrading ways.
Here it should be clear that a person’s gut-feeling is not based on logic and reasoning; it is wholly devoid of any use of the brain. Gut-feeling is one’s initial instinctual reaction. As soon as one starts using their vivek to evaluate the situation, then that is no longer one’s gut feeling. Then they are relying upon their rational mind, i.e. logic and reasoning.
The point is that (a) gut-feeling and (b) one’s rational mind are mutually exclusive. The two cannot co-exist. Gut-feeling is one’s initial visceral reaction based on one’s own inherent inclinations and biases, and one’s rational mind employs various mental engagements like viveka and psychic analysis etc to form a conclusion. A person’s gut-feeling is not based upon one’s conscience or rational mind.
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Gut-feeling vs neo-humanistic feeling
One’s gut feeling is based on what lies deep within their psyche. So if one’s psyche is filled with garbage, i.e. dogma, hatred, prejudice, and narrow-minded thinking, then one’s gut feeling will reflect that. And that is the problem in the general society. Their mind is polluted so their gut-feeling is junk and goads them to act in racist, hateful, and nasty ways. For instance, a white person might unnecessarily harass an innocent black person or a so-called brahmin might needlessly abuse an innocent so-called harijan. The problem in both of these circumstances is that their subconscious mind is overloaded with dogma and lowly tendencies.
In contrast, when one becomes an Ananda Margii and is established in sadhana etc, then their subconscious mind will be filled with dharmic ideas, by His grace. In that case, their subconscious thinking is inherently supported by vivek and rationality. In result, their gut feeling is extremely meaningful and in line with neo-humanistic principles.
Conclusion
An ordinary or lowly person’s gut-feeling is based on their inherent dogmas and prejudices. That is why according to Ananda Marga ideology, their gut-feeling is not looked upon as something great or holy.
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In any unfamiliar or difficult situation, one should try and use their vivek. After weighing the pros and cons, one should follow the path that is best. At the same time every day one should train their subconscious mind by various Ananda Marga practices so that good ideas are deposited in their subconscious mind, i.e. so-called gut, on an ongoing basis. Then in difficult situations, under pressure of circumstances, if you have to decide something in haste, your decision will always be proper because of your long term practice of bhagavad dharma. The central idea is that one should always pause and evaluate the situation using their vivek. And, at the same time, on a daily basis one should train the mind with neo-humanistic ideals. Then even on the spur of the moment, one can decide the best path. By this way, one’s gut feeling and knee jerk reaction will become neo-humanistic. And they will be victorious by Baba’s grace.
Namaskar,
In Him,
Raghava
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “This was done by, this was imposed by, our forefathers – when our forefathers have said this, why should I break with the old traditions? It was written in this way in the scriptures; and moreover if I follow these old conventions and traditions, what is the harm?” These types of dogmatic and dogmatic thoughts will naturally stifle the free flow of human thought. And that is why whenever there is dogma, human thinking cannot be free.” (1)
Related points
Knee-jerk reaction: This is when one’s mind is weak and not in control of their motor organs. In that case, a person reacts extremely quickly, in a split-second, without thinking. And then only later on they consider and often regret what they’ve done. For instance, suppose a person comes up to Mr Johnson in the marketplace and verbally mocks Mr. Johnson for no reason.
Then if Mr. Johnson quickly punches that fellow in the face and breaks his nose, then that was just a knee-jerk reaction by Mr. Johnson. What happened was that, before Mr. Johnson could consider the situation, his motor organs went into action and he punched the fellow. Later on it was discovered that the person who was punched died in the hospital.
Unfortunately, due to an extremely weak mind, Mr. Johnson has no control over his motor organs. Instead, the physical body acted swiftly, and in reaction he immediately punched the patient.
In contrast, those with a stronger mind will not blindly react if someone needlessly mocks them verbally. They will remain calm and weigh the pros and cons before doing anything. If anyone responds out of a knee-jerk reaction it means they have a weak mind.
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Ultimately, the police arrested Mr. Johnson.
References
1. Neo-Humanism in a Nutshell - 1, Perfect Spirituality and Neohumanism
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The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
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== Section: Important Teaching ==
How to free oneself of sin
Namaskar,
In the following teachings noted below, Baba is talking about patakiis [ordinary sinners].
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, "Someone might have committed a pátaka [ordinary sin], but after that wrong action feels repentance, and compensates for the harm his or her action caused. After such repentance and compensation, the action is no longer a sin. Suppose someone has stolen a thousand rupees from someone else. If after this theft the thief feels compunction and returns the money – better, however, with the inclusion of interest thereon – and begs forgiveness, that will mean that the person’s sin has been washed away. The person should no longer be called a sinner." (1)
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, "If, knowingly or unknowingly, you have committed any mistake or any sin [mental sin], then your repentance and your singing kiirtana, wholeheartedly, will free you from all sins. So, your future is always bright, never dark, never dark." (2)
In Him,
Devaprakash
Devotion & bhakti are not same
Sin and pa’pa are not the same thing. Sin means going against the fundamentals of the Bible, and pa’pa means those actions which harm others. So sin and pa’pa are not the same. However, as the term pa’pa is not so well known, in certain cases, Baba uses the term sin. But He has given the direction that step by step over time the term sin should be changed to pa’pa in Ananda Marga philosophy.
This is similar to the case of bhakti and devotion. For example, you may have devotion towards your spouse or pet, but it would be a gross mistake to say that one has bhakti for their spouse or pet. Unfortunately in India, due to lack of knowledge, people misuse the term bhakti, and they created the word desh-bhakti, meaning patriotism. But that is preposterous. Because the term bhakti means service to God. The root itself is spiritual. That is why it is wrong to use bhakti in the context of one’s motherland. Whereas the term devotion has a different origin. It means commitment and has no spiritual foundation. That is why Baba rejects the term devotion in favour of the word bhakti, and He wants His discourses updated accordingly. That is what He has described in a general darshan at Bhagalpur DMC in 1987.
With the fire of sadhana, i.e. practicing regular meditation, one’s sin is burned, bit by bit. The rate depends upon how committed one is in their sadhana. Those who are very sincere in sadhana can exhaust all their samskaras in approximately 20 years. That is what Baba has described in one discourse.
References
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 9, "Take Refuge in Parama Puruśa with Unswerving Attention"
2. Ananda Vacanartam - 12, The Real Value of the Human Entity
== Section: Important Teaching ==
When there is a dearth of physical and intellectual pabula
Ananda Marga ideology states, “If there is a dearth of intellectual pabulum and the intellectual standard of the people is not high, they can take “dos” to be “donts” and vice versa. Take for example, a communal riot where a little innocent boy is killed, and when the person who encourages the riot becomes the people’s leader. Where the intellectual standard of the people is low, people commit blunders – prompted by such leaders they become beasts. Those backward countries which have less socio-politico-economic consciousness in the people tend to have more immorality. In such countries the leaders misguide the people in order to collect votes. I call such leaders “political satans” or “political pigs” Such pigs become leaders only when the intellectual standard of the common people is low. In a country with shortages of physical and intellectual pabula, people ultimately become beasts and commit sins and crimes. To murder a person during a riot is both a crime and a sin. In political clashes innocent people are killed. This is also a crime as well as a sin. So, to summarize, when physical and intellectual pabula are lacking, people become beasts and commit sins and crimes. Among the three reasons for sin, this is the first and primary one. It is prevalent everywhere in the world although it is less evident in a few of the more affluent countries.” (1)
Reference
1. A Few Problems Solved - 6, The Three Causes of Sin
== Section 4: Links ==
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