Baba
Death & participation
Namaskar,
As everyone understands, the shráddha ceremony in Ananda Marga is for the psychic satisfaction of the surviving family members and close friends etc.
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Ananda Marga Caryacarya states, "The departed soul does not get any advantage from the shráddha ceremony [memorial ceremony]. It is only meant for the psychic satisfaction of the person performing it." (1)
Why pouring water
Specifically, towards the end of the ceremony (after the omn madhu shloka is recited for the second time), Baba gives this directive:
Ananda Marga Caryacarya states, "The ácárya/ás, and following them each person present, will sip a few drops of water from their palms taken from the same pot brought by the performer of the shráddha ceremony. The performer of the shráddha will be the last to take a sip." (2)
Some were wondering about the reasoning and meaning behind this practice.
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Engenders feelings of unity
Question: What is the overall significance of sipping water from the hand?
Answer: This process is done to cultivate feelings of unity and inclusion whereby all who attend the ceremony participate. Whereas in the various religions those attending a death ceremony (funeral etc) are just spectators; the priest does everything and the people watch. But in our Ananda Marga, all are participants - everyone recites the mantras and everyone sips water from the hand. This type of collective approach engenders feelings of closeness and unity.
Furthermore, engaging in this way helps divert the mind of those in mourning - thereby easing their pain and suffering. Since the deceased person does not get any gain or loss with this ritual, it is done exclusively for the psychic satisfaction of those surviving members. And this will help them divert their mind away from their suffering and loss and bring everyone together - as a supportive community. It also brings closure to the ceremony.
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The ceremony should be accessible to all
Question: Why is water poured into the hand and not into tiny cups?
Answer: Ananda Marga is dharma and it is for all - literate and illiterate, poor and rich, educated and uneducated, those living in the North Pole and the Sahara desert, everyone and everywhere. That is why the rules are very basic, simple, and easy. Consider this: Baba did not make the rule that everyone should have a spoon, or cup, or glass. Those types of utensils are not accessible for very poor persons and refugees etc. So water is poured into the hand to make the ceremony very common and easily practiced by all.
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Namaskar,
in Him,
Virat
English title is wrong in Caryacarya
Unfortunately someone mistranslated chapter 31 of the English edition of Caryacarya part 1. They titled it as “Disposal of the Dead Body.” But this is wrong and inappropriate. In the Hindi and Bengali editions, that chapter is titled as Shava Satka’r, meaning ‘reverence to lifeless body.’ This projects an air of respect and sanctity. But those publishers failed to give it a comparatively respectful title in English. Instead they called it “Disposal of the Dead Body”, as if one is just getting rid of some trash, rubbish, or garbage etc. Steps should be taken to properly title chapter 31 of the English edition of Caryacarya part 1.
References
1. Caryacarya-1, Shraddha Ceremony
2. Caryacarya-1, Shraddha Ceremony
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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: Prabhat Samgiita ==
"Ke go tumi ele man ma'ta'te manorathe..." (Prabhat Samgiita #0412)
Purport:
Who are You who has come on this auspicious morning riding a mental chariot and spiritually intoxicated my mind. By Your august arrival, You have stirred my consciousness. You are so gracious; please tell me Who You are. Resplendent One, You have appeared in my mind on my Guru cakra and immersed my entire existence in cosmic bliss.
My Supreme One, You have come treading the path of spiritual refulgence, taken away everyone's unit worldly vibration and mundane attraction, and removed the stain from their mind. You have satiated their heart and mind by pouring Your infinite cosmic waves of bliss. All are in brahmananda.
Who are You who has come treading the path of melody, tune, song, and dance. You have removed everyone's unit rhythm and infused all with Your celestial heavenly tune by pouring Your supreme cadence. You have come to sing the songs of bhakti to everyone and satiate their heart.
Who are You who has inundated the entire universe with blissful songs. You are ever-gracious...
== Section 3: Important Teaching ==
Ananda Marga ideology states, "Those who have attained the kámamaya kośa will say that it is not proper to steal since, if we steal, others may also steal from us. This is the trend of thought of the materialists. Their thinking is distorted with selfishness. One should not steal for the sake of keeping the mind pure. That is the correct approach." (1)
Note: Materialists as well as followers of certain religions think that, “If I steal from others then they might steal from me. For this reason, I should not steal from them.” Or they may think, “I should not steal, otherwise I may get arrested.” This is their reasoning.
Upon careful analysis it is evident that selfishness is the operative factor. That is the motivation why those followers do not steal. So this type of approach is not asteya. Upon superficial view it may look like asteya, but it is not asteya. Because it is goaded by selfishness and still the tendency exists to steal.
In our Ananda Marga, our approach is radically different. A sadhaka thinks that, “I do not need anything other than Parama Purusa. The goal of human life is to realise Him. So I should always goad my mental energy towards Parama Purusa - not towards mundane things, let alone someone else’s worldly possessions. That is why I do not even have the desire to steal anything.” This approach is wholly devoid of selfishness. This comes within the realm of asteya, and that is what ideal Ananda Margiis follow.
Here are more reasons:
- We
do not steal because by committing theft the mind is adversely
affected. And first and foremost we want to keep the mind pure.
- One step above that is, “Because Parama Purusa does not want me to steal, that is why I do not steal.”
In Him,
Tattva Deva
Reference
1. Subhasita Samgraha - 1, Invocation of the Supreme
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Test your knowledge
Intro: Kindly read the below quote from Baba's teachings. At the end of the quote a question has been posed. If your answer to the question is correct then it means you read Baba's books carefully; and, if your answer is wrong or you do not know the answer, then it signifies that you need to pay more attention when reading Guru's teachings. After all, if sadhakas are not diligent in studying Baba's books then who is going to read them - non-margiis?
They have converted them into owls of darkness
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "They have taught people to view each other with suspicion. By restricting social welfare activities to their community, they have kept the rest of the people in the dark about the true state of affairs. They have not let the people know whether they were actually the promoters or detractors of human welfare. By raising an iron curtain, a veil of dark ignorance, before them, they have taught people to chatter a few chosen, tutored sentences. They have confined them within a small dungeon, with its doors and windows locked – they have converted them into owls of darkness. This is the inevitable outcome of those pseudo-philosophies." (1)
Question
Quiz: Who is Baba referring to in the above quote?
Most probably, as an Ananda Margii, you know what the answer is. However to fully satisfy your curiosity and get the complete answer, kindly read below.
--
Answer: About those pseudo-philosophies
Answer: In His above teaching, Baba is primarily referring to communists - they keep the common people in a dark state of repression and oppression. There is no scope to see things in the light of day - everything is hidden under the cloak of darkness. The free and open exchange of ideas is not permitted. The media is wholly controlled by the state and the people have no idea what is happening in the world around them. Only they know the spoon-fed slogans given by those communist leaders.
Answer: In His above teaching, Baba is also referring to some dogmatic religions like Islam, Mormonism, the Amish, Christianity, Judaism and other religious bodies also adhere to this type of censorship where the people are forced to blindly follow their religious codes, without question or reason. Basically wherever the priest, or mullah etc is leveraging tremendous control over their community and not allowing open discussions, then that is also applicable here.
First and foremost however, this teaching is a reference to communism and an indirect reference to the organised religions like Islam, Mormonism, the Amish, Christianity, Judaism, or any organised religion, and those exploitative communist leaders.
References
1. Namah Shiváya Shántáya, Disc: 14
== Section: Important Teaching ==
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How Human Beings Are Reborn As Cats
"Whether one be a philanthropist or a star athlete, one desires to see what is written about them in the newspaper. This means that in trying to do some good work, what are they really doing? They are falling under the sway of one propensity, the propensity of greed. Now if this act is encouraged by the society, that is, if the newspapers dedicate a lot of attention to such news, or if people in general say, “Sir, whatever you are doing is unparalleled in history. Sir, we are not eulogizing you. We are simply telling the truth” – if they praise such a person in this way and then try to extract some money from them (there are such intelligent people around) – then what does it amount to indirectly? The propensity of greed increases. Which animal is the greediest among the animals with which we are all very familiar? It does not like to give up greed in spite of ill treatment and humiliations. It is the cat. Yes, after moving a few steps ahead, the cat forgets that it was beaten. So, that particular person is reborn as a cat after death, because that body affords an opportunity for the satiation of their greed. When the housewife looks around inattentively, the cat sneaks into the kitchen through the small opening in order to reach the milk or fish in the kitchen. So in order to exhaust the samskáras one needs an appropriate body. Some people obtain a new body immediately after death and others obtain it later. But one has to obtain it somehow."
"One who is doing philanthropic work today, tries to find out tomorrow whether or not their name appeared in the newspaper. They have no desire to read the other news. They read the news that relates to themselves twenty times but do not go through the other news with much enthusiasm. If someone asks they might say that today there was only one important piece of news, nothing else. That is how a person comes under the sway of a propensity and remains subject to the cycle of birth and rebirth." (Ananda Vacanamrtam – 10, 22 April ’79)
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== Section 4: Links ==
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