Baba
Danger
Namaskar,
Bábá says that dharmic knowledge or jiṋána is needed to know the right path so that one has a proper roadmap. In the absence of dharmic knowledge, one may get deceived and misled by wrong philosophies. A lack of dharmic knowledge is perilous for one’s spiritual development as it may lead to dogmatic thinking. One should acquire dharmic knowledge and then make efforts to follow the right path.
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Why Bábá would give...
On the practical side, Bábá has given the system of seminar in which classes on a variety of subjects are held on a regular basis. Seminars are held right from the state to the district and till the village level so that everyone gets an exposure to dharmic teachings. This is especially useful for small villages because large programs like DMC cannot be held at the village level but seminars can be. During regular reporting sessions before 1990, Bábá used to ask whether proper teaching was done or not. Exams were conducted. For any lacunae in teaching that was exposed, guidance was given to bring about an all round welfare. Even today, the tradition of seminar continues in the Ananda Marga Pracárak Samgha. The very existence of the system of seminar in AMPS is testimony to the fact that an adequate emphasis on jiṋána (dharmic knowledge) is very important otherwise why Bábá would give this system in the first place?
Seminar is an important constituent of the Sixteen Points. It is directly listed in the 16th point. Bábá says, “Observe C.S.D.K. (Conduct Rules, Seminar, Duty, Kiirtana).” (1)
Perils of ignoring dharmic knowledge
Ignoring one’s duty to acquire dharmic knowledge, by not reading Bábá’s discourses, is dangerous. Due to the lack of dharmic knowledge, one becomes vulnerable to being cheated by the charlatans. One needs to acquire dharmic knowledge and use it adequately for saving oneself from dogmatic thinking caused by ignorance and for solving problems encountered on a day-to-day basis. Active Ananda Márgiis have a higher standard of dharmic knowledge compared to ordinary people as they engage themselves in the acquisition of dharmic knowledge. Lack of this dharmic knowledge renders people unequipped to solve the problems of individual and collective life. Lack of dharmic knowledge also makes people sentimentally attached to the wrongdoers. This is the reason that, in spite of knowing the anti-dhármic activities of a few dadas, some márgiis support them. Those margiis are deficient in proper knowledge of AM ideology, and this dearth allows them to become sentimentally attached and fall prey to supporting adharmic activities.
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Bábá puts special emphasis on…
Baba does condemn the useless knowledge of pseudo-intellectuals. One may wrongly conclude from this teaching of Bábá’s that reading any book is against Bábá’s teachings. Whether such an approach is in line with Bábá’s teachings needs to be understood.
Had Bábá thought that jiṋána (dharmic knowledge) is not important then He would not have given the huge number of discourses which He gave. In the beginning, when audio recording gadgets were not available, the discourses were dictated and later proofread by Bábá Himself. Later, with the advent of audio recording machines, the discourses were tape recorded. During the emergency period when Bábá was in jail, recording or taking written notes was not permitted by the jail authorities. The bhaktas forgot the tradition of recording in this period. It was a great loss as whatever Táraka Brahma Himself spoke was not preserved for the current and future human beings.
Thus, after coming out of jail people took the issue of recording casually and did not record what Bábá spoke. All-knowing Bábá, in order to remind the importance of recording, refused to deliver discourses for some time to teach people. People learnt their lesson quickly. Bábá then began delivering discourses again and proper recording was resumed. The audio recordings are a very useful and important tool today to fix the distortions in the AMPS teachings. We are thus capable of doing for the first time in human history what could not be done when the teachings of Shiva and Krsna were distorted. In this period, Bábá dictated numerous discourses on grammar, history, sociology, and anthropology in addition to spiritual philosophy.
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One should, thus, not be confused as to the importance of dharmic knowledge. In order to do proper pracár, dharmic knowledge is needed. Indeed, to retain people in Ananda Márga Pracarka Samgha, sádhaná is required but to attract people to Ananda Márga they need to be convinced first. Only an Ananda Márgii bhakta can, taking the help of AM shástra, convincingly attract people to the path of bliss - Ananda Márga.
Conclusion
Bábá wants us to acquire dharmic knowledge to become an ideal karmii and bhakta. The only goal of acquiring dharmic knowledge should be to evoke bhakti. Lack of dharmic knowledge is perilous as it can push us towards dogmatic thinking and aid charlatans in their efforts to cheat us. Conducting seminars is a very potent way to spread dharmic teachings, but it has to be made relevant and based on sound background. By spreading dharmic knowledge, we can improve society and align it with the path of bliss.
In Him,
Bhakti
Intellectual extravaganza is garbage
Based on the aforementioned description, we can see that dharmic knowledge is not only useful but forthrightly endorsed by Ananda Marga. Bábá calls the so-called “knowledge” of impractical pseudo philosophies as harmful. For example, communism is outdated and has been proved to be impractical yet people study it and use the teachings of communism in their lives and profess the same. Many even get university degrees in the subject of communism. Today, besides historical, communism does not hold any significance. Likewise, Vedánta and Advaitaváda are dead and impractical philosophies. Many spend their entire lives in studying such useless philosophies and then use their acquired so-called knowledge to claim prestige in the society. Bábá refers to such so-called knowledge and knowledgeable people as lokavya’mohaka’raka.
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Whereas, dharmic knowledge is not bad but rather is very useful. Ananda Márga shástra is proper knowledge and we must all strive to acquire and follow more and more of that in our lives.
Problems with seminars nowadays & solution
Nowadays, although seminars are held very little is accomplished in terms of people learning from those seminars. This is partly due to the work pressure and partly due to a lack of interest in those teachings, and that is why those seminars are mostly ineffective. Often, seminars are delivered on some obscure topic which no one can relate to. As a result, many either sleep during the seminars or forget the topics as soon as they walk out of the venue. Conducting seminars without providing an adequate foundation and background is useless. Just like a building can be robust only if the foundation is laid properly, the background of the seminar has to be established skillfully.
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In addition, the topic of the seminar has to be practical. People appreciate only that which they can directly relate to. For example, if a scientific lecture is to be delivered in a village, a suitable topic is how to make a tube well-- which people can directly relate to-- rather than on theoretical physics, which people may not appreciate and connect to. Thus, the seminar topics must be chosen keeping in mind the direct needs of the people and how they can use the imparted knowledge in their day-to-day lives. For example, an important topic that most márgiis can relate to is how to do effective pracár. Thus, a seminar addressing the practical point of how one can propagate Ananda Marga teachings in their day-to-day lives can be appreciated better compared to an esoteric subject. It should also be said that the skills of the speaker also play a significant role, due to which an esoteric topic can also be conveyed very effectively.
Reference
1. Ananda Marga Caryácarya Part 2, Sixteen Points, Point #16
== Section 2: Prabhat Samgiita ==
In my dream
"Mor ghum ghore tumi ese anáhúta, jágiye dile…" (Prabhat Samgiita #1976)
Purport:
Parama Purusa, You came to me without any invitation and awakened me from my deep slumber. Baba, You told me many things and reminded me that today there are many works to do. My Supreme Guide, You warned me to first finish the work and then sleep, that my time is passing in vain, and that I have come here for a very short while. Baba, You also explained to me that the length of the day is very limited; everything is fixed - each and every minute is measured. Human life is fleeting. The hours that pass do not turn back; they vanish behind the scene. You conveyed to me so many exceptional teachings.
Parama Purusa, Baba, You stirred me from countless dogmas and guided me that, “Your journey is within the boundary of time, space and person; your movement is bound by the relative factors. Under the workings of a certain system you have been blessed with human life and it has to move on. Within a short period many allotted duties need to be done.” Now I understand that life is threaded like a garland and proceeds in a certain fixed direction according to the flow of saincara and pratisaincara. Parama Purusa, You taught me that this life is just like an inn which is just for taking a little rest on the path.
O’ human being, do not forget this eternal truth that you have not come on this earth to remain here permanently. Rather this world is like a transit station. Ultimately one has to move on towards the Goal. So do not waste a moment in lethargy and drowsiness by following the wrong beliefs and irrational dictates, thereby remaining oblivious of the Goal. There are a small number of moments that you have in your hand.
Baba, You came in my life; I was in a deep stupor under the spell of ignorance and avidya maya. You have made me rise and shown me the proper path - what to do and how to move. It is Your grace; it is Your grace…
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"Mor ghum ghore tumi ese anáhúta, jágiye dile…" (Prabhat Samgiita #1976)
Purport:
Parama Purusa, You came to me without any invitation and awakened me from my deep slumber. Baba, You told me many things and reminded me that today there are many works to do. My Supreme Guide, You warned me to first finish the work and then sleep, that my time is passing in vain, and that I have come here for a very short while. Baba, You also explained to me that the length of the day is very limited; everything is fixed - each and every minute is measured. Human life is fleeting. The hours that pass do not turn back; they vanish behind the scene. You conveyed to me so many exceptional teachings.
Parama Purusa, Baba, You stirred me from countless dogmas and guided me that, “Your journey is within the boundary of time, space and person; your movement is bound by the relative factors. Under the workings of a certain system you have been blessed with human life and it has to move on. Within a short period many allotted duties need to be done.” Now I understand that life is threaded like a garland and proceeds in a certain fixed direction according to the flow of saincara and pratisaincara. Parama Purusa, You taught me that this life is just like an inn which is just for taking a little rest on the path.
O’ human being, do not forget this eternal truth that you have not come on this earth to remain here permanently. Rather this world is like a transit station. Ultimately one has to move on towards the Goal. So do not waste a moment in lethargy and drowsiness by following the wrong beliefs and irrational dictates, thereby remaining oblivious of the Goal. There are a small number of moments that you have in your hand.
Baba, You came in my life; I was in a deep stupor under the spell of ignorance and avidya maya. You have made me rise and shown me the proper path - what to do and how to move. It is Your grace; it is Your grace…
== Section 3: Links ==
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