Namaskar,
In the 1960's I was a very active margii and became a family acarya, but as time went on through the 70's & early 80's I was not active in Ananda Marga way of life. Rather, I almost forgot Baba.
Then in 1984, Medini Nagar was declared as a site for holding DMC. As that was my home area, all the margiis told me to come and attend. I did not know what to do. I was feeling very hesitant; after all, how could I show my face in front of Baba after being absent for so long. In the end, Baba gave me the requisite inspiration and courage to come and see Him.
As I had not been strictly following the various dos and don'ts of Ananda Marga, I did not dare go and sit directly before Baba. When attending any program at that DMC, I would sit and watch from a distance - filled with a sense of shame.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Drama of tobacco-chewing
One day during that 1984 DMC gathering at Medini Nagar, Baba was walking outside His residence in the courtyard. All the margiis had assembled there and were standing around the courtyard watching Him. I was also watching, but from further back, hiding behind the crowd of thousands. Peeping through a tiny passage of daylight, I was just able to see Baba, yet I also made sure that I was not within His direct field of vision.
While walking Baba started making a big drama of how people chew tobacco. He reached and placed His right hand in His shirt pocket and pretended to take out a small tobacco container. As many know, most tobacco containers have two parts. One side for the calcium hydroxide (chuna or hydrated lime powder), and the other side for the tobacco.
Baba then pretended to put some tobacco and chuna (calcium hydroxide) in His left palm. Then with His right thumb He started pressing and mixing vigorously. All the margiis were smiling, watching His liila.
After mixing the tobacco and chuna for two minutes, Baba then began to shake the mixture, hitting it into His palm making that slapping noise on the palm - as is usually done. Baba was perfectly mimicking every habit and gesture of a typical tobacco chewer. Baba's impersonation was exactly how those nicotine addicts get their fix.
In His impersonation, when Baba was satisfied it was properly mixed, He "collected" it all with His right hand and pretended to place the mixture between His front lip and gum by tilting His head slightly back and raising His jaw. He pulled His lower lip out and "inserted" the tobacco mixture between His lower lip and gum. There was no real tobacco involved - just it was an impersonation.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Baba was making the drama perfectly; He was meticulously copying and emulating their every habit. All present were enjoying His marvelous performance.
Then Baba called my name, and He asked the margiis, “Where is Brahmadeva?” Immediately I started running and emerged from the crowd and went close to Baba and did sastaunga pranam. Baba, asked me, “Brahmadeva, how was that - isn't that how it is done?"
Hearing this I started crying.
Baba watches whatever I do
That drama and His calling touched the deep core of my heart. I realised how Baba watches me always. No margii knew I was chewing tobacco those days, but Baba knew. I had not seen Him for years and years and still He knew.
That day I realised that Baba watches everything and He is Parama Purusa - God. No human being can watch everyone all of the time. Only Baba can. And not only does He watch but He cares deeply.
Intellectually, I knew that chewing tobacco was not good; I understood that it was a filthy, dirty, and harmful habit. I was trying hard but I couldn't give it up. Then at this DMC gathering, Baba graciously pointed me out. From that very moment my tobacco addiction vanished. My mind changed. It was exclusively His grace, because from that very moment my negative nicotine habit / addiction was completely gone.
By Baba's grace, that day three ideas crystalised in my mind:
- (1) Baba watches whatever I do all the 24hrs; whether I am an active margii or not, He watches over me and cares deeply about my well-being.
- (2)
Baba is all-merciful. He graciously took the time to point out my bad
habit by performing that beautiful and hilarious drama about tobacco
chewers. This was all done for my welfare. From that very moment my
tobacco addiction vanished. Baba did not want me to suffer from the ill
effects of tobacco and one day die prematurely of mouth cancer.
- (3)
That moment Baba removed all my guilt and shame. He showered me in His
divine grace whereby I felt so light and burden-free. That was what I can never forget. Even to this very day when I think about that my mind becomes ensconced in that sweet vibration.
Conclusion
Those external observers who watched all this from a distance, and non-margiis who hear this story, may think that Baba only pointed out my mistake. But from the depths of my being, I felt that He graciously removed all my sins and filled my mind with bhakti. From that very moment my tobacco addiction disappeared. It is His grace.
Ananda Marga ideology says, "Parama Puruśa is watching: Parama Puruśa is with them holding their hands. It is the humans who do not look towards Him – this is their misfortune, not His. They may sometimes request Him to hold their hands and lead them towards the goal but even this is not necessary, because He is always holding them. The tragedy is that in their foolish effort to walk alone, people often stumble and fall down. This is not the fault of Parama Puruśa, for He is with everyone." (1)
Namaskar,
In Him,
Shriipati
About Ac Brahamdeva
& how he helped secure land for Ananda Nagar
In case you are not aware, Ac. Brahmadeva ji played an instrumental role in securing the land for Ananda Nagar. Initially some Wts tried to approach the king of Garh-Jaipur of Purulia about getting some land but the king did not even receive them. Then Baba told Brahmadeva to go, and, by Baba's grace, he was able to convince the king of Garh Jaipur to donate land for Ananda Nagar. It did not end there. After the king gave his approval, Ac Brahmadeva ji fought to physically capture the land and clear away all squatters, transients, and others. Then the Ananda Nagar MU program began.
Note: The above is a first-hand account as told by family acarya Brahmadeva ji of Medininagar (Medini Nagar).
~ In-depth study ~
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “The poisonous nicotine in tobacco creates cancerous ulcers in various parts of the body; wine is enormously harmful for the liver, and opium destroys vitality. Intoxicated by opium, people sit idle and doze off. Hemp destroys general intelligence and the faculty of understanding. None of these intoxicants are good for human beings. The use of wine should be restricted in the name of religion or on any other pretext. No one should drink liquor without the permission of a physician, and only then as a medicine. A physician should prescribe liquor only after securing the written approval of another doctor.” (2)
Addicted to intoxicants
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “As a result of taking liquor, twenty percent of the latent potentialities in a student is destroyed. Extreme intoxication leads to inertness. Youths lose their dynamism, and their spiritedness disappears. In such a state, the nerve cells cannot be fully utilized.”
“I request those who use wine as part of their religious rituals to desist from this practice if there is no recognized alternative. In certain Tantric practices, there is a provision that the water from a dry coconut can be left in a brass pot for some time and used as an alternative to liquor. In such cases, coconut water should be used instead of liquor.”
“People practise meditation to make their intellect and intuition sharper and to achieve greater expansion. The use of liquor destroys these faculties and is detrimental to the all-round development of human beings. Alcohol destroys the glands, sub-glands, nerves and nerve cells in the human body. If one consumes alcohol, it is partly ejected from the body through perspiration, partly through defecation and partly through urination. Poisonous nicotine from tobacco is ejected in a similar manner after harming the body in various ways. This is why the perspiration, faeces and urine of those who are intoxicated by liquor smell very bad. If a drunkard or a heavy smoker enters a room, one can easily understand that he or she is addicted to intoxicants.” (3)
Damaged Lungs
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “When a person smokes tobacco through a hooka, the tobacco smoke is mixed with the water in the hooka so it is slightly less harmful for the body, but this does not mean that it is harmless. You must have noticed that after a hooka has been used, the water is a balckish yellow colour. Those who smoke bidis [indigenous Indian cigarettes] and cigarettes – particularly cigarettes – develop a reddish yellow layer of nicotine on the lining of their lungs, and in many cases the lungs also get carbonated. Lungs which have been damaged by smoking are very vulnerable to cancer.”
“If someone indulges in chewing tobacco, when the tobacco comes in contact with the tongue it creates an unpleasant sensation, and consequently the person starts spitting repeatedly. This clearly indicates that chewing tobacco is detrimental to health. Dohta and jardá used in India with betel leaves are also types of small tobacco leaves.” (4)
References
1. Subhasita Samgraha - 12, To Whom Do You Belong? Where Do You Come From?
2. Intoxicants, 27 September 1990, Calcutta
3. Intoxicants, 27 September 1990, Calcutta
4. Intoxicants, 27 September 1990, Calcutta
Plagiary?
It is the accepted international standard and Baba's system not to copy another's work and publish it in your own way. Baba has given a very strict rule on plagiarism. Why is Baba against plagiarism or stealing someone's work? There are many reasons:
1) It is against the code of asteya (non-stealing).
2) Countless stories of bhaktas need to be published. But some do not want to do the hard work of compiling and writing these stories, so they just steal them from others. But new stories need to be told, otherwise so many unpublished stories of sadhakas will be lost and forgotten forever. So watch out for story thieves, and kindly help them not to steal by posting on social media in their own way. If you want to forward this story then attach the following yellow section with the story:
“Courtesy of unknown bhakta via Ananda Marga Universal (https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/)”
This will be treated as the standard protocol.
Hypocrite service
Note:
In Baba’s Hindi teaching from ज़िद चाहिए, Zid Ca'hiye, V24-07, Baba is
giving the example of a few hypocritical political leaders. In
particular, Baba is recounting the tragedy of the Jamalpur earthquake of
15 January 1934. So many people were buried under the debris and rubble
of collapsed houses. Some were dead and some were alive, crying out for
help. Sincere local volunteers and neighbors were trying hard to remove
the debris and rescue the victims / survivors. In the meantime, a few
political leaders came with a cameraman. Those politicians borrowed
spades and shovels from volunteers and posed for photos as if they were
trying to dig out survivors etc. Immediately after the photo was taken
they walked away. That is the eyewitness account Baba is giving in this
above Hindi quote.
Only
hypocrites make this type of fake show; Ananda Margiis should never
conduct themselves in this way. In the life of an Ananda Margii,
sincerity is the beginning, sincerity is the middle, and sincerity is
the end. The main quality of a sadhaka is sincerity - no hypocrisy.
Reference
1. ज़िद चाहिए, Zid Ca'hiye, V24-07
Do you know these vulture brand humans
Ananda
Marga Caryacarya states, “Shráddhánna: Shráddhánna (food offered at a
memorial service) is neither priityanna nor ápadanna, hence it is not to
be taken.” (1)
Note:
In the wilderness when an animal dies a natural death then vultures
come and eat that corpse. But in the case of humans, they are civilised
and after death they should not host a party. Unfortunately, uncivilised
people do so mindlessly. If somebody dies and the deceased was the sole
breadwinner then those children will suffer a lot. In that case if the
tradition is to host a grand feast at the time of death, then that
penniless widow and those impoverished children will have to give up
their food in order to feed those vulture brand humans, i.e. so-called
friends and relatives, who coerce the family of the deceased to arrange a
feast for them. That is why the dogma of feasting after death is not
only inhumane but cruel also.
This
nasty uncivilised way is rampant across the various religions. Since
the birth of Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha, it stopped but again it was
started after 1990 by some opportunistic crafty enemies of AMPS who are
crawling around in the garb of avadhutas and sitting on higher posts.
They created a death day ceremony and that is called….
And
in that ceremony thousands of blind people go there shamelessly and do
not use their brain. They do not know that their actions are prohibited
by Caryacarya. Those participating in the annual death day ceremony or
feast are committing unpardonable sin.
Reference
1. Caryacarya, part 2, Society chapter, point #37
Which fans are harmful
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “If a hand fan is used in a small room it certainly generates some breeze but that breeze does not give much relief from the fatigue of summer. Such a breeze within those small confines becomes more and more injurious to health with every passing moment. The breeze of an electric fan within a closed environment is even more harmful. If a person sleeps with this kind of a breeze they feel heavy when they wake up; a weak or sick person feels feverish. The breeze generated by a fan within a confined space is called kut́heru; since ancient times it has been considered as something which should be avoided." (1)
Reference
1. Shabda Cayaniká Part 5, Disc: 29
== Section: Hindi Quote ==
जहाँ द्विविधा मन में
जो “अ” भी होता है, “ऐ” भी होता है, आगे भी चल सकते हैं, पीछे भी चल सकते हैं | “खाएँ या नहीं खाएँ, करें या नहीं करें”—इस प्रकार के द्विविधा-ग्रस्त जो मनुष्य है, उनसे बड़ा काम नहीं होता है | जीवन के किसी भी क्षेत्र में द्विविधा नहीं हो, किसी भी क्षेत्र में द्विविधा नहीं हो | जहाँ द्विविधा मन में आ गया, एक को रखो; दूसरे को लात मारकर हटा दो |
[भक्त गण -- "बाबा, बाबा, बाबा !"]
[यह प्रवचन-अंश, बाबा के कैसेट से सीधे लिखा गया है । बाबा का यह असली प्रवचन, अमृतोपदेश है। आनन्दमार्ग हिन्दी पुस्तकों में छपे प्रवचन तो नक़ली प्रवचन हैं, असली नहीं हैं -- बंगालीकरण (बँगलाइजेसन) के तहत उनकी बर्बादी की गई] (1)
Reference
1. 30 December 1970 Patna
Other topics of interest
