Baba
“Running” metaphor in dhyana
Note: This letter is only for committed, sincere sadhakas.
Namaskar,
Ananda Marga sadhana has eight limbs. And it is very nicely depicted in this following teaching:
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “That’s why on the path of spiritual practice, and particularly in the practice of astáuṋga yoga (the eight fold path consisting of yama, niyama, ásana, práńáyáma, pratyáhára, dhárańá, dhyána, and samádhi).” (1)
So one of the limbs of our sadhana system is dhyana. It is also called anudhyana. This is an important aspect of tantric meditation. Following are two passages illustrating this process of anudhyana. As sadhakas, we should pointedly understand how this relates with our own sadhana practice.
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Ananda Marga philosophy states, "When a sadhaka feels that the object of meditation [Parama Purusa] is trying to escape, but as that Entity is the life and soul of the sadhaka he will not allow Him to escape. Thus the sadhaka runs after Him and tries to catch Him. This is called anudhyana." (2)
The above guideline should not be taken literally; it is just a metaphor. The sense is that Parama Purusa is coming in your vision and then fading from your sight. It does not mean that really you are chasing or running after Him. Now here see how the next teaching leads in that same direction.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Your Lord does not want that you should get Him, He will try to dart away from you, but in that case you will have to chase Him mentally. This chasing of yours is called Anudhyána. You must say, "O my Lord...I must catch You". When this mentality functions it is Anudhyána. So without anudhyána one cannot get Him." (3)
What is chasing?
So these spiritual teachings should not be taken literally. The idea expressed in the above guideline is that anudhyana is a bit of difficult process for some, but with a little effort one can get success. As the sadhaka tries to concentrate on the Goal, the mind might run somewhere else. So one should try again. On this point, here is more explanation.
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In the above passages, it is stated that if in your meditation your object of ideation - i.e. Parama Purusa - runs away then you should chase Him. If anyone takes this literally, they may think they should run after their object of ideation in sadhana the way the police chase after a thief, parents run after their children, or the way marathon runners chase after the leader. But this is not the way. One should not take this teaching in such a literal manner.
Anudhyana: making efforts to see Him
As every sadhaka knows, there is a scientific process of doing meditation. One has to bring the mind to a particular cakra, visualise Him, and repeat one's mantra etc. Not only that, the practice is systaltic; it ebbs and flows. So when practicing meditation, and in particular anudhyana, sometimes one easily visualises the Entity which they are meditating on, and sometimes it takes a little more effort.
In that case, one must again and again try to visualise the Entity and bring Him into the mind. In this process of anudhyana, He may come and go numerous times. Sometimes appearing and other times slipping away, but always one should continue making efforts. This ongoing endeavor of trying to visualise Him in the mind is a key aspect of anudhyana.
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The above cited discourses express this process in the form of an allegory or metaphor: "He is running away and the sadhaka is chasing Him." This is a metaphor whereby in anudhyana one should try again and again to hold Him in mind. It does not mean that one should literally run after Him as He is running away. Rather this metaphor of running and chasing Him depicts a sadhaka's repeated attempts to visualise Him in anudhyana. So the metaphor and the step-by-step process of doing anudhyana are not two different approaches. Rather they both represent the same practice and process.
Conclusion
One should adhere to the process of doing dhyana at a particular cakra - following a specific set of guidelines as told by the acarya. That is what one should do. Side by side, it is important to know that in the metaphor of anudhyana described above, the idea is to persevere in visualising and holding Him in dhyana, not chase after Him like a marathon runner.
in Him,
Haribhakta
For newcomers: The Ananda Marga process of sadhana is taught by tattvikas, acaryas, family people, or Wts etc. It is not written in the books. So those who do not know how to start should communicate at the above address and we will refer you to someone near you.
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Related key point
Related to the above topic is one very important point: Namely, when doing sadhana one should think that, "Parama Purusa is seeing me - not that I am seeing Him. Whatever I am doing, He is watching me." That is the proper outlook in dhyana and anudhyana. Unknowingly, people do the exact opposite. They think that they are seeing Him and they consider themselves to be the subject when in fact He is the Supreme subject and the sadhaka is the object. This is very important in being able to properly serve Him in dhyana.
References
1. Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell - 6, Ekendriya - 6
2. Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell - 5
3. Subhasita Samgrahaha - 18, The Stance of Salvation and How to Attain It
* * *
The below section is an entirely different topic, unrelated to the above material.
It stands on its own merit as a point of interest and ideological awareness.
* * *
== Section 2: Important Teaching ==
How selfish teachers behave
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "There is a secret technique to raise this serpentine coil. Previously this technique was not clearly given. At that time some people thought it proper to keep it secret. If something harmful to individual or collective life is not given, that is good; but the useful things have to be given. People will be more attracted to do sádhaná."
"The first thing is that this kulakuńd́alinii rises slowly from the múládhára cakra to the sahasrára cakra in eight steps, it passes through eight cakras, and the sahasrára cakra is the ninth. Just below the sahasrára cakra is the guru cakra. When one meditates at the guru cakra, the kuńd́alinii takes one jump upwards, and the mind goes to the other side of the cakra [i.e., to the sahasrára.] This is the technique of sádhaná, but it has previously neither been explained nor written in books."
"The kulakuńd́alinii rises upward in eight jumps or phases, so with two syllables in a siddha mantra, the kuńd́alinii will jump four times. But a general, or publicly-given, siddha mantra will make the kulakuńd́alinii jump eight times or in eight phases. That is why such a siddha mantra has eight syllables. So you should understand that a proper kiirtana must have eight syllables, never seven or nine syllables." (1)
Note 1: The prevailing dogma in the past in India was that so-called gurus did not want to share all of their knowledge or reveal all of their techniques to their disciples. Those dogmatic gurus were thinking they should keep something 'special' for themselves, otherwise their prestige and own value will be lost. So they withheld certain key teachings and ultimately died with those special techniques.
In that case, their disciples only got 99% or so of what the guru had - not everything, not that last 1%. Gradually, then from one generation to the next, 1% kept getting withheld until finally everything was completely lost.
And now in places like India in the name of spirituality, only dogma is left. This is why the withholding of vital information is very negative. This applies to other fields as well such as medicine, law, chemistry, physics etc. Unfortunately, this same type of withholding of information occurs in many fields. All done by selfish people to "enhance" their own prestige. When, in truth, it undermines their greatness. This dogmatic and defective way must be stopped.
Note 2: Baba has given the idea in Namah Shivaya Shantaya that when one gets proper students who are eager and capable, then in that case tell them everything. Do not withhold any information or keep anything secret. That will be a disservice to the society.
References
1. Discourses on Krsna & The Giita, Krśńa Unparalleled
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Misguide in name of mission
Ananda Marga ideology says, “Human life is a mission; life itself is a mission; one’s very existence is a mission. A’tmamoks’a'rtham’ jagaddhita’ya ca: ‘Whatever one is to do, one is to do for a’tmamoks’a– for their own liberation– and for the elevation of the entire world, elevation of the entire human society’. One is to do both of these things; that is, these two things are one’s mission.” (1)
Note: By Baba’s above teaching it is clear that the AMPS organisation is not the mission. But for certain reasons, some try to misguide or take advantage of the margiis by making them think that AMPS is the mission. But that is not correct. In His above guideline, Sadguru Baba explicitly tells us what is the mission.
Reference
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam – 30, The Four Kinds of Service
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Copying old blunders of forefathersNote: In His following teaching, Baba guides us that pseudo-spirituality severely hampers one's progress on the path of true spirituality. Unfortunately, we see some instances of this taking shape in our AMPS.
For instance, a few Ananda Margiis born into Hindu families copy their ancestors on the point of annual shraddha ceremonies. Confused sadhakas feel that as their forefathers did like this so they should carry on the tradition. Thus each year confused sadhakas organise programs and mass feedings in the name and honour of their deceased relatives. But this goes wholly against Guru's mandate and guideline. Tragically, their mind has been stifled; these confused sadhakas cannot see this matter in a dharmic way. Just some are stuck on their old, dogmatic family tradition of observing annual shraddha ceremonies.
Same is the case for those who follow so-called mahaprayan. Some confused sadhakas think that, "In the past my ancestors honoured their gurus and teachers by making a yearly shraddha ceremony so I should do this too.” In their confused state the thought arises, “Now my Guru is gone so I should organise an annual death day / tomb worship / shraddhainjali commemoration." In that way some emulated the dogmatic religious worship carried out by their forefathers and re-created that in our AMPS. That is the tragedy which has occurred. As this runs wholly contrary to our Ananda Marga teachings.
Here again, the ill effects of pseudo-spirituality from old traditions have caused the mind to freeze and overlook all logic and reasoning. In Ananda Marga, Parama Purusa is the Guru, and He is eternal. Then where is there scope for so-called mahaprayan. There isn't; it is utterly baseless.
But when the mind is blocked by pseudo-spirituality one cannot think freely on such matters. Hence some become prone to dogma. Sadly, some confused sadhakas think they are getting benefited by such annual shraddha ceremonies and so-called mahaprayan programs, when in fact such confused sadhakas are ruining their own spiritual progress.
According to Baba, the real homage to our ancestors is to fix their flaws so society can progress in the physical, psychic, and spiritual realms.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Pseudo-spirituality cannot help us in our free thinking either, for our thinking is badly affected by dogma. When a human being sits alone and thinks, if the person thinks for the collective interest, then such thoughts are proper; but usually people do not think in this way. Usually they lament over the worn-out skeletons of the past. “This was done by, this was imposed by, our forefathers – when our forefathers have said this, why should I break with the old traditions? It was written in this way in the scriptures; and moreover if I follow these old conventions and traditions, what is the harm?” These types of dogmatic and dogma-ic thoughts will naturally stifle the free flow of human thought. And that is why whenever there is dogma, human thinking cannot be free; and for want of, for paucity of, free thinking, there cannot be any proper psycho-spiritual progress either. So here what we want is perfect spirituality and not pseudo-spirituality. Pseudo-spirituality cannot promote the cause of human welfare; the seed of welfare does not lie there. The seed of welfare cannot exist where the seed of dogma exists." (1)
Reference
1. A Few Problems Solved - 5, Pseudo-Spirituality and Neohumanism
== Section: Important Topic ==
Readying for revolution
Prout philosophy states, "In a democratic system non-educationalist politicians poke their noses into university affairs. They do not know what education is, but they interfere to create a sentiment amongst the people to gain support for the particular ism they preach. They have no other motivation. In the democratic system public support has to be purchased to secure votes and this is the reason why politicians make an all out effort to create sentiments in the minds of the people. In communist countries, no other ism other than Marxism can be preached. People are forced to support it. Institutions which have educational value should be controlled by educationalists and not by politicians. Educationalists should also control the radio, otherwise the party in power will have the opportunity to propagate their ism through the radio system, just as they do in the books approved by university boards." (1)
Reference
1. Prout in a Nutshell - 15, Talks on Prout
== Section 3: Links ==
Other topics of interest
