Baba
Origin of hunger strikes
Namaskar,
Hunger strikes are a common phenomenon in India. What is the reason behind this and why do such strikes occur especially in India? What is the history?
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Politicians using false ideas for their own benefit
In elections today we see many such types of inappropriate ideas being spread. Those ideas are typically narrowminded and filled with a number of sentiments. Some politicians say that they are going to implement great ideas by which the country will move forward very fast, whereby everyone will be benefited, etc. By spreading such ideas, they get the majority of the votes and are elected to serve in political positions. While other politicians spread narrow ideas by creating division among people. Narrow ideas are such as casteism, provincialism, racism, religion, etc.
For example, in western countries, politicians use white skin sentiment / white supremacy as a theme to unite people to win an election. By arousing such sentiments politicians indulge into the superiority complex of people with white skin. Sometimes, it is very hard to unite people with great ideas, but it is easy to influence people with a narrow sentiment. If one politician says that all humans are equal and tries to infuse a great idea in their mind, that politician will face a terrible uphill battle. Those with narrow sentiments will push back very strongly. It is the quality of human beings that their animalistic propensities are aroused very quickly, as humans are evolved from animals.
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For example, a rich person is persuaded many times to donate but is hesitant to give food to a poor person because of his attachment to money and other material objects. But it is very easy to create anger in a person’s mind. The rich person can be persuaded to become angry by touching some of his weak sentiments. In the same situation, if the person is asked to understand the concepts of tya’ga, tapasya’, universal brotherhood, etc., it is difficult to motivate. Politicians use various narrow sentiments to motivate rich people and others to motivate and unit them in political movements.
In India during Gandhi’s time, the message that was spread was that communism is not good. In communism, people who have more wealth are being tortured in different ways, and their money is being snatched.
Divided India with two streams of ideas
To make India independent two primary forces were there: (a) garam dal (so-called tit-for-tat approach), (b) naram dal (so-called non-violence approach). The garam dal approach was the use of force as needed to fight the Britishers. The naram dal approach was refraining from the use of force against the British oppressors. Advocates of this later approach started hunger strikes to show and demonstrate their demand. Anything they wanted was shown in the form of protest by hunger strike.
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Role of Gandhi and Nehru
There was one party formed during that time: Congress Party. Because of such an approach, the Congress party was divided into two parts. Subhash Chandra Bose was the president of Congress party then, but he was withdrawn from his position because he was of the opinion that if someone is exploiting then we should be fighting against them. But Gandhi and Nehru were agents of the capitalists, and they did not want to rage a war against those exploiters. Both Gandhi and Nehru proposed that hunger strikes can be the mechanism to mold the mindset of exploiters thinking that then only will they will change.
Business intent of British
Britishers did not come to India for taking over the country, rather they came to India for business purposes. Ruling India was an act through which they could exploit natural resources. That is why they made roads, bridges, railway tracks, etc. The primary intent was to exploit only, exploit resources, and not rule the country or to reside in the country. The time they realized that it became costly to exploit India at that moment they went back.
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Example: the landlord conundrum
Similar types of exploitation we find in rural India as well. There are landlords who exploit common people. First by having an exploitation mind with lending money to have huge return, by charging huge % or more monthly interest rate. The landlord to gain everyone’s respect also pays to other good causes such as the development of the village temple. So the opinion of villagers is divided regarding the landlord. Some think that he is an exploiter, and others think that he is a noble person. The landlord will continue to exist and exploit as long as the village is divided in opinions. But when a revolution is expected against the landlord, then with fear the landlord will go away from the village to keep himself alive, even without caring for his property.
Hunger strike movement
Gandhi was not supportive of fighting against Britishers with force. Rather, he called the attack against Britishers by Indian people as a terrorist movement. Around the same time, there were communist movements at its peak in other parts of the world such as Russia and China. One of the disciples of Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave, initiated a movement called “bhu-daan”, “giving away land”.
What is “giving away land” movement?
In India, there were a lot of landlords, and they occupied more than 90% of the land. For there are about 10,000 acres of land available in the village. All of the 10,000 acres were occupied by the landlord only while others in the village would work for the landlord. Gandhi started the “bhu-daan” movement to unite people so that common people can have more land while landlords can donate the extra land they possess. Land donation did happen in India, but landlords donated lands which were barren fields, not suitable for agriculture or anything productive. Newspapers did spread the word that landlords were donating lands just by protesting and not being engaged in any war. So what is the benefit of being involved in a war? This was the initial movement in which Gandhi began to show people that there is no need of fighting wars, rather justice can be achieved with non-violence.
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There was another disciple of Gandhi named Jayprakash Narayan. His movement was named as “Sarvodaya”, which means that rich people are going to help the poor so that the whole society will move forward. In reality, these people were agents of capitalists and had no intentions to bring welfare to the society. These movements were only to misguide common people so that they will not create a revolutionary movement.
Even to mask the common people, Gandhi said that everyone should spin their own cotton, and not purchase garments from outside. Even children in the school were taught how to use the spin wheel. Even Gandhi himself used to spend a couple of hours per day generating cotton. His point was everyone should be self sufficient. Everyone should know everything so that there would not be any dependence on others. That was his viewpoint of society. Ananda Marga’s viewpoint is different for building an organized society.
What is an organized society- AM View
Baba says that in an organized society each person should not be doing everything by oneself. Each person’s specialty is different. For example, one is a doctor, then he should continue to practice to do medical service and not take up other jobs. If a common person is suffering from any disease then s/he can go to the doctor, and since the doctor knows the profession very well, he can serve them better. In this way, the doctor is able to do his work, and the patient gets benefitted. Everyone is a doctor, everyone is a farmer, everyone is a lawyer, this will not work in forming an organized society.
A sequence of similar pre-independence events in India
In India, several movements such as donate land, hunger strike, helping the poor were created during the Gandhian era. The motive of all such movements was to use a non-violence approach assuming that the exploiter also has a heart and by showing non-violence protest the exploiter will eventually understand what is right and will do what the protestors are demanding. But Baba’s approach is different to deal with exploiters. Baba says that exploiters do have a heart, but their heart is corrupted by bad thoughts. A corrupt businessman plans to build a factory, and how to utilize poor labourers with minimal hourly wage so that they will remain as laborers for generations. In this way only the businessman will make profit. Exploitation becomes a habit of such businessmen and such habits do not go away easily.
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Dogma continues to exist for thousands of years
In Bihar, there is a ceremony called “Chat puja”, which is more than 20,000 years old. People used to worship the sun as a female God to bestow rain to help farmers grow crops. Even today, people in Bihar, worship the sun as a female God for blessings. In Bihar, irrespective of religion, being Hindu or Muslim, everyone is involved in this worship at the time of growing crops. Such worship does not make any sense. The point here is that once a dogma is created, it spreads quite fast, and continues to exist for a very long period of time.
Hunger strikes continue to happen in India
In India for any type of demand, till today, people use hunger strike as a weapon to fulfill their demand. Though the number of hunger strikes has reduced compared to the past. With the advancement of medical science, doctors can easily find out cheaters in the name of sitting in a hunger strike who take food behind the scene. But still, to some extent, some true hunger strikes do take place. If hunger strikes go on for more than two days or so, then the government is under pressure just to ensure that no one should die because of such strikes. There are some people who are cheaters in the name of hunger strike, just to show off, but still, there are people in India who continue to fast for multiple days in the purpose of protesting for a certain cause.
Baba says that such hunger strikes are not useful and are outdated in today’s society. Without having proper Ananda Marga knowledge, some wrongly become sympathetic to such hunger strikes or even embark on them themselves. But this is wrong.
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Conclusion
Hunger strike was created by Gandhi as a means to fulfill demand of common people without physically harming the exploiter. This principle was misguiding for the people to fulfill their demand. Such protests do not end exploitation. For example, a mosquito bites, then pray to the mosquito, and it will stop biting? Such type of approach does not work. In religion, such types of approaches exist. Many worships exist in India in anticipation of not being affected by natural phenomena, or by exploitation etc.
Baba says that one has to do sadhana, which is fighting against avidya, then only one can make progress, and overcome hurdles. Baba says that such approaches of non-violence and ritualistic worshipping are anti-revolution, and do not provide any way of growth. Only time is wasted with such approaches, exploitation, and pain of common people increases without any progress. To stop exploitation, dharmic revolution is needed. Hunger strikes and other approaches created during Gandhian times are not successful approaches. In no other country around the world are such hunger strike protests in vogue.
In Him,
Nirakar
Peak days of communism
The time in the world when communism was growing, people all over the world were thinking that communism was created to diminish the inequity between the wealthy and poor. In many societies, wealthy people were the ones amassing wealth and had access to everything whereas the general mass was suffering from basic needs. Communism first was seen in Russia, then in China, and slowly spread into other countries such as Vietnam, Cuba, and other countries.
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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 2: Important Teaching ==
Why not pray
Note: This letter is for those who understand Ananda Marga philosophy or those who have a keen interest to know Ananda Marga philosophy. If someone is not in either of these categories, then for them this letter is useless.
Namaskar,
Here is Guru's teaching from Ananda Sutram: Prárthanárcaná mátraeva bhramamúlam.
“Purport: It is useless to pray to God for something, for He is sure to give what is necessary. Solicitation or importunity in the name of worship is nothing but toadyism and flattery.” (1)
In His above teaching of Ananda Sutram, Guru guides us that any type of prayer to Parama Purusa is useless and hinders one’s progress on the path. In our Ananda Marga we do not pray to Parama Purusa because He is all-knowing and all-benevolent so naturally He knows more about our needs than we do.
Anyone who has studied even the basics of Ananda Marga philosophy understands this fact: A true sadhaka will never pray to the Lord. By mere use of the word “pray” - it is evident that a person is unaware about this fundamental aspect of Ananda Marga philosophy. And if such a person is an avadhuta or senior person in AMPS, he is leading others astray.
Praying to God means accusing Him of partiality
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Prayer is the act of asking for a favour with earnestness. It also means a solemn petition addressed to the Supreme Being for certain benefits. One prays to God for something which one does not possess or thinks one does not possess. One asks God for these favours with the faith that He alone can bestow everything and by His mere wish all wants can be satisfied. By prayer or by begging one wants to awaken His wish so that one may be granted the things one lacks. Does not one’s attempt to rouse the wish of God to fulfil these needs, upon careful and rational thinking, appear to be a reminder to God to give one something of which God has kept one deprived? It would otherwise not be necessary to remind Him in prayer of that thing or to try to arouse His wish to give. For instance, if one is in need of money, one would, with the faith that God alone can give, pray to Him for the favour of giving one money. Does not this request show God’s fault in keeping one in want of money, when He alone can give it? God alone is blamed for it, and by praying to Him for money one is precisely pointing out to Him His partiality in not giving one the money one needed. Therefore, prayer or asking for favours from God is only pointing out to the Sole Giver His mistakes in the distribution of His favours. It only presumes lack of impartiality in Him, and that is why He is blamed for making some very rich and others very poor. Praying to God for favours is only to bring to His notice the charge of partiality levelled against Him. When prayer leads to such a conclusion, it is only ignorance to ask for favours.” (2)
In brief, prayer undermines His supreme stature and blatantly exposes that seeker as selfish, ignorant, and arrogant.
As disciples of Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji it is our duty to stay true to the path of pure spirituality and not get caught up in any type of dogmatic or ritualistic prayer. We are to propagate the ideals of dharma sadhana and bhakti, i.e. love for Parama Purusa.
Namaskar,
Sanjay
Sam Woods
References
1. Ananda Sutram 3-11
2. Ananda Marga Elementary Philosophy, How Should Human Beings Live In This World?
== Section 3: Links ==
Other topics of interest
