Baba
Namaskar,
This following story holds great importance in the life of every sadhaka.
Queen’s jewels stolen
In
the royal court of King Akbar, the minister, Birbal, was given one
special duty: Find out who stole the Queen's jewels. Birbal was very
intelligent, yet his task was formidable. There were thousands of men in
the kingdom, and Birbal had to devise a way to find out who was the
thief - and catch him.
So
Birbal announced that a gathering would be held at the palace, and all
the men of the kingdom had to attend. Essentially, this was a mandatory
meeting, and a tally would be taken to ensure everyone was in
attendance. Birbal himself planned to go in disguise as a magician. So
on the day of the historic gathering, the King's minister Birbal was
introduced as a grand magician who knew all sorts of “mantras” and
“tantras”.
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Birbal’s special mantra
Then
Birbal said to everyone: "Alright -- there is a thief among us seated
right here in this very gathering, and, with my magic, a piece of straw
will suddenly appear in that thief's beard. But, first, everybody must
close their eyes while I recite this special mantra." Then Birbal
announced: "Now I am chanting the first round of the mantra. When I have
finished the third round, then I will check everybody and see who has
the straw in their beard."
Then
he chanted something which sounded very mysterious and mystical.
Hearing Birbal's special chant, many simple people were just sitting
there in awe with their eyes closed, whereas others who were of a more
cunning nature were wondering what Birbal was doing and half opened
their eyes to watch him. Those at the gathering who were innocent were
naturally unconcerned. They thought, "I am safe because I have not
stolen anything, and so the straw is not going to appear in my beard. As
I am not a thief, there is no problem for me and I have nothing to
worry about."
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Caught: the thief’s mindset
But
the thief was worried. He was thinking, "Oh, this will be a terrible
problem. Then he reasoned, "Anyway, if the straw appears in my beard,
that is not a big problem. I will just shake or brush it away and it
will fall to the ground." Thinking in this way, he began to prepare
mentally for the straw to appear.
So
when Birbal finished the three rounds of his so-called mantra, he saw
one person in the hall shaking his beard. Birbal thought he must be
doing this in an attempt to get rid of the imaginary straw from his
beard. Birbal quickly concluded that this person must be the thief,
otherwise why was he shaking his beard while everyone else in the hall
was still and calm. Birbal then ordered the guards to bring that person
to him. Standing before all, Birbal formally announced that the magic
display was over, and the endeavour had been successful.
Birbal
ordered the thief to return the Queen’s jewel. Surrounded by the
guards, the thief left the hall and soon returned with the Queen’s
jewel.
Epilogue:
Birbal understood that the guilt-ridden thief would be paranoid that
the straw would be in his beard. So, when the thief was shaking his head
to prevent anything from getting stuck in his beard, he exposed
himself. Across the entire audience, only the guilt-ridden thief made
unusual and strange movements; and, in that way, he was caught.
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Moral conduct a key for spiritual life
The above story is instructive on many levels. Here are a few key takeaways:
(A)
When plagued by the guilt of their own bad and immoral actions, a
person’s mind becomes paranoid and disturbed. They lose their mental
balance (samatabhava) and rob themselves of their own mental peace.
(B)
In the above story, the thief was apprehended by the authorities and
put in jail. But even if one is not caught, the fact that they are
worried about getting caught is itself a form of bondage. So in either
scenario, verily, they are caught.
(C) In our Ananda Marga, Sadguru Baba has given the special formula:
“Morality is the base, sádhaná is the means, and life divine is the goal.” (1)
So the foundation is leading a moral life, i.e. strictly adhering to the code of yama and niyama.
(D)
Thus strict moral conduct is an absolute necessity in the life of a
sadhaka. Without that, they will be unable to progress on the path of
spirituality. Because the mind will be riddled with all kinds of
worries, anxieties, phobias, debased thoughts, and / or paranoia. One
will not have a sense of santosa or samatabhava, i.e. mental contentment
or mental equipoise, in which case the mind will not be in any shape to
proceed on the path of sadhana.
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Sadguru
Baba says, “Without yama and niyama sadhana is an impossibility, hence
the Lord’s command is also to follow yama and niyama.” (2)
How materialism ruins sadhana
If
anyone is greedy for money, lustful towards the opposite sex, hungry
for prestige, or indulgent in any worldly manner, then they are
essentially ruining their mental equilibrium. And they will not have any
mental peace. For them, sadhana will be a far off dream.
Ananda
Marga philosophy states, “Santośa: Tośa means the state of mental ease.
Santośa, therefore, means a state of proper ease. Contentment is not at
all possible if the individual is running after carnal pleasures like a
beast. As a result of extroversial analysis, the objects of enjoyments
go on increasing both in number and abstraction and that is why oneʼs
mental flow never gets any rest. Under such circumstances how can one
attain perfect peace of mind? Achieving the desired objects may give one
pleasure for an hour or so, but that will not last long. The mind will
again run in pursuit of new objects, leaving behind the objects already
tasted – the long-cherished objects will lose their importance. This is
the rule; this is the law of nature.” (3)
Conclusion
As
Ananda Margiis, the aim is life divine, i.e. the immersion of the unit
mind with Cosmic Mind, Parama Purusa. To achieve this, a firm moral
foundation is an absolute necessity. Only when the mind is free from
complexes and external desires can it then be directed and goaded on the
path of sadhana and, ultimately, supreme fulfillment. Those who are
unable to maintain a basic standard according to the dictates of yama
and niyama will never experience mental peace and the bliss of spiritual
attainment.
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In Him,
Ram ashrya
~ In-depth study ~
Ananda
Marga ideology guides us, “A sádhaka [spiritual aspirant] should
maintain his or her samatabháva – what in English is called a “balanced
mind”. Equanimity of mind should be maintained. Mental balance is
natural, while a complex is unnatural.” (4)
Ananda
Marga philosophy states, “The ideological component of the unit mind
which provides the initial inspiration for the individual to attain that
Cosmic state, is called “morality”. Every aspect of morality sings the
song of the Infinite, even in the midst of the finite. In other words,
or put more simply, I wish to say that those magnanimous propensities
which help to establish one in the Cosmic state are the virtuous
principles of morality.” (5)
Ananda
Marga philosophy says, “The derivative meaning of the word niiti
[“morality”] is “that which contains the principle of leading”. It is
the starting point on the path of spiritual practices. But this is not
the only significance of morality. If morality fails to provide human
beings with adequate guidance about how to move towards perfection, it
does not deserve to be called morality. As morality is distinguished by
its capacity to lead and inspire human beings, it cannot afford to lose
its dynamic nature by limiting itself to a specific time, place and
person. Morality is a living force, the practice of which makes the mind
increasingly contemplative, thereby establishing it in supreme
subtlety, in supreme cognition. There is a state from which human beings
cannot be led to some other state – the question does not arise.
Morality is only worthy of the name if it can inspire human beings to
reach that state.” (6)
References
1. Neohumanism in a Nutshell Part 1, The Neohumanism of Sadvipras
2. The Supreme Command
3. A Guide to Human Conduct, Santośa
4. Discourses on Krśńa and the Giitá, Mucyate Bhavabandhanát
5. Human Society Part 1, Moralism
6. Human Society Part 1, Moralism
