Baba
Preya
Namaskar,
In their life, people do many things. Ordinary humans are commonly propelled by their baser propensities and run towards material allurements without thinking deeply. That is why they often invite trouble. Why is this happening? Because Parama Purusa has given humans the power to choose - people have a lot of options. Whereas animals do not have such choices. Animal life is basically pre-programmed. But human life is different. People have the power of choice and that freedom can be one’s most dangerous enemy or one’s most helpful friend.
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Preya brings disease, cancer, & untimely death
For instance, humans have the option to choose between junk food or a sentient and balanced diet. Eating junk food will cause the body to become sick and diseased, and eating sentient food will enable the body to maintain a good state of health. Unfortunately, most often people choose the wrong one - and they suffer. If you watch carefully, you will notice that those things that are alluring to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste) generally yield a bad result. For instance, candy is very sweet and tasty, but those who eat it regularly suffer from poor health, disease, and premature death. And verily any type of addiction like tobacco, drugs, and liquor etc are initially very enjoyable but the end result is horrific. People suffer from illness, cancer, and untimely death.
The unfortunate thing is that ordinary people are attracted towards and captivated by these mundane allurements, without considering the end result. In turn, they destroy themselves. Such allurements are deemed as preya (mundane pleasure). But true sadhakas keep distance from preya (mundane allurements) and go towards shreya (supreme benevolence). In the beginning, shreya may not seem so alluring, but the end result is extremely beneficial and long-lasting.
Choosing preya means going against dharma
Bear in mind cigarettes, drugs, and liquor do not represent a complete list of preya materials. Preya (mundane pleasure) constitutes anything other than following the path of bhagavad dharma. And each and every day we are always confronted by these choices. Here are a few hypothetical examples:
(a) It is a fasting day and you get tempted to eat food. If you eat that food that is preya (mundane pleasure), whereas being disciplined in fasting is shreya (supreme benevolence). If you do not fast then initially you might enjoy eating food that day, but over the long haul by not fasting you will suffer from various ailments and diseases.
(b) You are doing sadhana and the urge comes to break your sadhana before completing all your lessons. If you act on the urge and curtail your sadhana that is preya (mundane pleasure), and if you persevere and do all your lessons that is shreya (supreme benevolence). If you do decide to leave your sadhana, then initially you might enjoy your time doing something else, but over the long term your spiritual flow will wane and you will be more prone to all kinds of material pursuits that degrade the mind.
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(c) It is time for your evening kaoshikii practice, but you want to watch TV instead. If you skip your kaoshikii then that is preya and if you do kaoshikii that is shreya. If you do choose to skip kaoshikii then you will initially like watching TV etc, but ultimately you will suffer various maladies (physical and psychic) as kaoshikii is the cure of 22 diseases.
(d) The alarm clock rings for paincajanaya. If you just turn it off and go back to bed that is being captivated by preya (mundane pleasure), and if you wake up, do Guru Sakash and half-bath, and go to paincajanya then that is shreya (supreme benevolence). If you do go back to sleep then you might initially enjoy that extra time sleeping but invariably the end result is that your body and mind will become more static and lethargic.
(e) You are in the store and there is shiny object that catches your eye. Already you have one at home and you do not need another. So if you purchase that shiny object that is preya (mundane pleasure), whereas not purchasing it is in line with aparigraha and is therefore shreya (supreme benevolence). If you do decide to violate the code of aparigraha then initially you might get some fleeting satisfaction from your purchase but ultimately that will lead to being spendthrift, going into debt, and becoming mentally depressed.
How to recognise preya
To recognise preya (mundane pleasure) is very simple. That means falling away from the path of bhagavad dharma and giving way to mundane desires. By the end result it is easy to understand what is preya and what is shreya (supreme benevolence). If the outcome is negative, then that is preya (mundane pleasure) and one should reject that. Eating junk food and drinking alcohol are preya because they have a very negative effect. And if the outcome is positive, then that is shreya and one should follow that path. For instance, drinking lemon water in the early morning is very advantageous for human health so that is shreya (supreme benevolence). And doing yoga asanas according to the prescribed system is shreya as that makes both body and mind more sentient.
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At first, one may not be attracted to the path of shreya (sadhana, fasting, 16 Points, etc) but with practice one will gain a keen desire to follow that path; and by following shreya the outcome will be extremely beneficial. True sadhakas always run away from preya (mundane pleasure) and move towards shreya (supreme benevolence). By seeing their conduct one can easily recognise who is a preya sadhaka and who is shreya sadhaka.
Conclusion
Everyone should be vigilant to avoid getting captivated by all forms of preya (mundane pleasure) and be keen to help others do the same. As disciples of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti ji we should follow that path of bhagavad dharma keep away from the path of preya. By this way, we will progress on the path of shreya sadhana and set a practical example to others as well. This is our moral duty.
Remember, those things which are preya are initially extremely alluring and tantalizing but later on they are certain to cause a lot of suffering and pain; verily, the long-term effect of the pursuit of preya is absolutely horrific. Preya (mundane pleasure) means acting on those negative, materialistic desires (junk food, Hollywood movies, alcohol, skipping sadhana etc).
In stark contrast, those engagements which are shreya may be a little difficult or tough at the outset but they are highly beneficial and get easier with time as the body and mind get accustomed to this pursuit. For instance, when one first sits for sadhana they may feel pain in their knee, their back may be uncomfortable, and their mind may be unable to concentrate, but with some effort their body will feel comfortable in that posture and their mind will drift in bliss. Shreya (supreme benevolence) means adhering to Guru’s guidelines like Sixteen Points, yama and niyama, Ananda Marga conduct rules, Caryacarya etc. Sadguru Baba is the dharma Guru so following any of His teachings means adhering to the path of shreya.
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Namaskar,
In Him,
Tapeshvar
(Tim Garrison)
Consider the immediate delight of eating sugar, yet over time that will cause all your teeth to decay and will rot your overall bodily system. That is why eating sugar is preya. Whereas eating neem leaves may be distasteful as it is bitter, but by eating that neem one's body will become healthy and vibrant. That is why it is shreya.
Example of preya: E-cigarettes
Due to indulgence in preya, unfortunately this person in the below photo has destroyed his face by using an e-cigarette. It is so painful to see. Now all should take lesson that no one should run after preya. See below how this e-cigarette blew up in this person’s face. For more information, please continue reading.
Many forms of preya - all are harmful
Even after a lot of warning about e-cigarettes and their dangerous blasts and explosions, sadly these people harm themselves with the material of preya. These are not isolated cases - there are millions upon millions of sub-humans who run towards preya.
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Due to indulgence in preya, unfortunately this person in the below photo has destroyed his face by using e-cigarettes. It is so painful to see. Now all should take lesson that no one should run after preya. For more information, please continue reading.
~ In-depth study ~
Ananda Marga ideology states, "What do the wise people do? First, they judge within themselves with cool heads which is shreya and which is preya. The way of discrimination and judgment is to distinguish shreya from preya after close analysis. Humans are not inanimate but conscious beings. Their dominant feature is their mind with its power of judgment, and through this judgment, their intellect finds proper expression. It is not the way of human beings to run heedlessly after things regardless of whether they are shreya or preya; in every human action there should be the appreciable stamp of their intellect." (1)
Ananda Marga ideology states, "Preya, which is one attained with little or no difficulty, will one day recoil on them with the fiery scourge of a thousand scorpion stings." (2)
References
1. Subhasita Samgraha - 3, Supreme Benevolence and Mundane Pleasure (Shreya and Preya)
2. Subhasita Samgraha - 3, Supreme Benevolence and Mundane Pleasure (Shreya and Preya)
* * *
The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
* * *
== Section 2: Important Teaching ==
Irredeemable debts
Ananda Marga Caryacarya states, “Four kinds of debt are irredeemable – debt to father, debt to mother, debt to ácárya, and debt to guru (divine debt)."
"(a) The only way to do service to one's father after his death is to help every male member of the universe to progress on the path of highest development."
"(b) The only way to do service to one's mother after her death is to help every female member of the universe to progress on the path of highest development."
"(c) The best service to the ácárya is to work for the comfort and benefit of one's ácárya and his/her family."
"(d) The best service to Márga Guru is to work according to His wishes. But however much service one renders, one will not redeem the four debts until Mokśa (salvation) is attained.” (1)
Reference
1. Caryacarya, Part 2, Society, Point #20
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Cause and cure of psychic undesirable thoughts
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "Now everywhere, in cent per cent of the cases, there is wastage of human psychic potentiality. The psychic potentialities of human beings are immense, but people do not utilize them because most of their valuable time is wasted in undesirable thoughts, in psychic extravaganza...wasted in petty or useless activities. How much time do
people really get to devote to worthwhile tasks?"
"This psychic extravaganza should be checked either by physical approach, or psychic approach, or by spirituo-psychic approach..."
"I have already said that the scope of rationality and rationalization should be increased more and more, and for this, unnecessary waves should be removed from the plane of physicality. From the psychic sphere also, unnecessary waves are to be removed. This will remove many burdens from the mind. 'I must not bother about petty things, because that will waste my time' - people should remember this. This removal or rather withdrawal of unnecessary and undesirable thoughts emanated from the mind will help you in rationalizing the major portion of your mental faculty, so this must also be practised." (1)
Verily, in Baba’s above guideline He he clearly sets forth some key concepts:
(a) One should think of Parama Purusa all the time - i.e. all the 24hrs;
(b) When engaged in any type of mundane work - personal, family, social etc - then one must think and ideate that it is His work.
When a person adheres to the these aforementioned principles then that is proper use of one’s psychic potentiality; failure to follow these principles results in misuse of one’s psychic potentiality, i.e. extravaganza.
Next Baba guides how to treat one who suffers from this type of improper thinking or extravaganza:
(a) Firstly, one should be removed - or remove oneself - from that physical environment;
(b) Next, such negative thinking must be removed from one’s own mind;
(c) Then one must goad the mind to Parama Purusa.
In result, one will have proper sadhana and be free from worry.
References
1. Yoga Psychology, The Cult of Spirituality – the Cult of Pinnacled Order
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Those who die for prestige can't serve humanity
Ananda Marga teachings guide us, “When for age after age society spins in the murky eddies of evil and vice, when individual and collective knavery masquerades as intelligence, when hypocrisy, bribery and fraud are the yardsticks for measuring the ability to lead – it is then that the genuine followers of Bháratii [the goddess of learning] must struggle on in spite of constant humiliation. Only taunts and insults will be their fate. Those who are afraid of these insults are incapable of offering anything really lasting to humanity. How can people who lack moral strength, under whose feet the soil is not hard and strong, invite anyone into a cool, refreshing shelter and impart happiness to them? It may be possible to drag oneself through life by sucking the blood of others like social parasites, but this will not bring fulfilment to either sáhityikas or their readers.”
“The artist or sáhityika who assumes the responsibility of leading humanity along the path to light from the caverns of darkness will have to heed the road signs on that path. It is not possible to guide others with mere cheap, superficial knowledge, like a half-baked pandit who reads a half-a-dozen books and then spouts a few mouthfuls of grandiloquence, and who has obtained a doctorate by plagiarizing others’ works. Rather it is necessary for the sáhityika or artist to have a keen and vigorous insight, without which all their endeavours will prove fruitless. Merely juggling words or depicting defects in society will not satisfy the hunger of the human mind – and such creations of art are indeed valueless for social progress as well. One must know the path, and one must also know how to move on it. If those who have not comprehended what the form of society will be, allow the trends of the past that have shaped the present to proceed unchecked, they can never lead society to the path of perfection. They will in fact thrust society into darkness in the name of social reform; they will encourage license in the name of freedom. Instead of modelling a woman after the ideal of a goddess, they will mould the image of the goddess after the ideal of a harlot.” (1)
Reference
1. A Few Problems Solved - 1, The Practice of Art and Literature
== Section 3: Links ==
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