Baba
Against the path of bhakti
Namaskar,
Every human being has bhakti and an innate longing to become great. Plus, everyone has the very sincere desire to satisfy that longing. Unfortunately, along the way, some get caught up in undesirable activities.
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Sincere, but misguided
For instance, take the case of Hindus sacrificing goats to the gods. They do this as a sincere expression of their desire to serve the Supreme, i.e. bhakti. But this is a dogmatic ritual that will not bring them any closer to God. Rather, their harmful ways lead them in the opposite direction. Even then, these worshipers think that their practice of sacrificing goats is good and will allow them to reach God. So they are sincere, but misguided.
Such static rituals and traditional forms of worship are present in all the dogmatic religions. Thus, even though all have bhakti, vivek and knowledge are also needed to express that spiritual longing, i.e. bhakti, in a proper way. Now let's see how these above ideas relate with our spiritual life and Prabhat Samgiita.
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Which song is for whom
First off, we have to remember that Ananda Marga philosophy is not just for Ananda Margiis, but for the entire humanity. For instance: Soon the whole world will be following the ways of Prout, whether they be margii or not. Likewise, the remedies in Yogic Treatments are for everyone; and, the various grammar books are to be studied in all schools around the globe. In the same way, the Prabhat Samgiita collection is for the whole humanity - not just to the relatively small number of people who are Ananda Margiis.
Here then comes the crux of the matter. Those Prabhat Samgiita compositions that state, "O' Lord Krsna, please come in my heart”, are for non-margiis. And those songs which say, "O' Prabhu, please come in my heart, come in my mind", are for Ananda Margiis. Here Prabhu means Lord and that can easily be goaded to Ista (i.e. nearest and dearest One), Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji. Side by side, those non-margiis can also use this song in their own way.
So the grand collection of Prabhat Samgiita is for everyone - His divine compositions are for all. As Ananda Margiis, we should sing only those songs which goad the mind toward Baba, not any other. In our spiritual practices, we should only sing those songs that address Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurti ji.
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Certainly we may learn the songs about Lord Shiva and Lord Krsna; by that way we can best introduce non-margiis to those compositions. But we will not use those songs in our own personal, spiritual practices and programs.
16 points: the point of Ista
Here the important key point is Ista. For Ananda Margiis, the Ista is not Lord Shiva or Lord Krsna. Although Lord Shiva, Lord Krsna, and Baba are all the same, in theory. The same Divine Entity came three different times, in three different forms, with three different names. But for Ananda Margiis, Ista is not three, but rather one. Only Baba Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji is the Ista. So we must not chant, "O Lord Krsna, please come in my heart." That is not beneficial - that is against point #10 of Sixteen Points: Non-compromising strictness and faith regarding the sanctity of Ista.
Even then, some may naively wonder, "What is wrong if I sing those songs about Lord Shiva and Lord Krsna. I call out to all three Taraka Brahmas because if one fails to respond then at least one of the other two will do something and solve my problem." But unfortunately that method does not work. About this dilemma, please read the story about the sick father.
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Sick father & three sons story
Once there was a father who was suffering from a sickness. He called out to his sons, "O' Tom, Dick, Harry, I need medicine. Please go to the store and bring my medicine." All three sons listened very sincerely to their father's request. The eldest son, Tom, immediately thought that the youngest (Harry) will get it. And Harry thought Tom would get it. And Dick thought one of his brothers would get the medicine. Later, in the middle of the night, the father called out to his sons, "O Tom, Dick, Harry, now is the time I need my medicine." All three sons looked at each other and realised that no one had gotten the medicine. Now all the shops were closed and father's condition was not good. In short, disaster had struck. And there was nothing to be done in that late hour.
If the father had specifically asked one of his sons to get the medicine, then that son would have done it. Then the problem would have been averted. Asking all three sons at the same time was a mistake. The father learned his lesson. This same theory holds true in the realm of bhakti as well. Worshiping multiple deities is not going to bring the desired outcome. How is one going to be graced when their mind is divided in multiple directions. The mind must be pointed in one direction. In the field of bhakti, the sadhaka must be singular in approach.
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Misguided worshipers ruin their sadhana
Here is Baba's key and colorful teaching on misguided worshipper.
Sadguru Baba says, "A person whom I was very close to, a relative of mine, used to recite the following after taking bath: “Victory to mother Káli, victory, victory to Káli, victory to mother Káli of T́han T́haniá, victory to mother Káli of Dakśińeshvar, victory to Bábá Táraknáth, victory to Bábá Vaidyanath of Deoghar. O, Fathers! None of you should think that I am leaving out someone's name.” After this he would say, “O, gods and goddesses, please forgive me if I have omitted any name inadvertently. Please assume that I have mentioned your name also.” Does this yield anything at all? One says “victory to mother Káli of Kálighát” and in the same breath one says “victory to mother Káli of T́han T́haniá.” It signifies that the mind is moving both towards Kálighát and T́han T́haniá. Can the mind become concentrated in this way? Certainly not." (1)
Every bhakta in Ananda Marga must be singularly pointed on Ista, and only ideate on Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurti ji. There is no other way.
Namaskar,
In Him alone,
Shriidhara
So the overall topic is Prabhat Samgiita and which songs are best for Ananda Margiis to sing - from a purely spiritual perspective.
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Related teachings
Baba has explained that every human being in this cosmos has bhakti; not only that, but even developed animals have bhakti. Undeveloped animals have bhakti too, but it is in latent form. So even developed animals have their animal bhakti and desire to be great. When they see something or someone bigger and stronger than they are, then they stop and look with awe at that entity. That means they accept that entity as greater than themselves. Reverence towards someone great is their bhakti. You can visibly see this in all kinds of tamed animals. That is the main reason why intelligent animals have accepted human beings as their masters and have taken shelter under human care and direction. For them, their master is everything. They have bhakti toward their master - just as intelligent human beings have bhakti for Parama Purusa. Actually, those animals do not know that there is someone greater than their human master - they do not know there is Parama Purusa. The moment they know about Parama Purusa they will salute Him and develop loyalty and surrender to the Divine Entity.
References
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 10, The Supreme Entity Transcends All Colours
* * *
The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
* * *
== Section: Important Teaching ==
How to live long
Ananda Marga ideology says, "Spiritual practice makes the mind calm and quiet, and maintains the nerves in a state of equipoise; and thus spiritual practice increases longevity. Those Vaishnavites who are vegetarians, who regularly sing spiritual songs, do meditation, perform virtuous deeds and think pure thoughts, live longer than ninety years." (1)
Note: By following the spiritual cult of Ananda Marga and abiding by general health rules every sadhaka is ensured a long and healthy life. That is Baba's guarantee.
References
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 33, You Must Live Glorious Lives
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Unfortunate plight of mammary glands
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "There are fishes who carry something like a sack inside their bodies and they carry their children in those sacks. There are some snakes who also take their children with them. Not only have they inborn instinct, but they have something more, that is, they have love and affection for their children. This is also true of some species of snakes, but love and affection for their children is more prominent in mammals. Mammals are more developed than non-mammals because in the case of mammals mothers feed the children with their breast-milk and certainly they have got affection for their children -- that is why they do so." (1)
Note: Mothers of financially poorer countries generally keep their babies along with them and breastfeed their infants. But the case is different with some mothers in the so-called developed nations where certain mothers do not want to breastfeed their infants nor do they want to keep their infants along with them.
Even when those mothers are not working in the office and go shopping etc, then also they do not want to feed their infants when the baby is hungry. Rather they give the infant bottled milk. You might have noticed that in public places where females are in a majority there is not an allotted place for mothers to comfortably feed the baby.
Sadly, in materialistic societies, the mammary glands are treated as a sex organ, not an organ for feeding the child. The loser is the infant. Nature made this gland for the child. But now that utility is almost gone and those glands have become a sex tool. And it is propagated in that way through the mass media and the larger society. That is why kids are deprived and mothers do not like to breastfeed.
And with those who do breastfeed, those mothers often cover themselves with a towel whereby the baby feels suffocated and cannot feed itself in a comfortable manner. You can imagine that if someone covered you with a thick towel while you were taking food then you would get frustrated, stop taking your food, and get out from there. So the child remains hungry.
Due to this entire situation, those children are not emotionally developed, become criminals, and engage in anti-social dealings.
So in comparison to those animals we have to see how far the situation stands. Because, per Guru’s above teaching, those mammals and animals do love and care for their offspring; accordingly, then humans are more advanced so they should express more love. And mothers of poor countries do like that. But the strange thing is that some mothers from the so-called advanced countries….
Using Baba's above teaching as a scale, we have to judge whether such mothers are really developed or moving in the opposite direction.
Reference
1. Yoga Psychology, Instinct and Devotion
== Section: Important Teaching ==
How party politics ruins humanity
Prout philosophy states, “Party politics is one of the factors which stands, or tries to stand, in the way of human unity. In fact party politics is even more dangerous than disease-causing germs. In party politics all the refined attributes of the human mind, such as simplicity and the spirit of service, slowly but surely get totally destroyed. Party affiliation commands more respect than individual ability; service to self, not service to people, is the main motto; ministerial office, rather than human welfare, is considered superior; and mass deception, political somersaults, etc., are most common phenomena."
"Instead of rectifying themselves, politicians want to accomplish everything through their grandiloquence. By identifying the weaknesses in others and by resorting to bombastic language, they incite one section of people against another so that they can usurp the seat of power and cling to it. Human beings will have to remain vigilant against persons of this type."
"Politicians want to poke their noses into every aspect of life: social, religious, educational, literary, etc. Under the hypnotic spell of power, politicians remain oblivious of the fact that experience and wisdom in various spheres of life cannot be acquired by merely mouthing high-sounding slogans from public platforms." (1)
Reference
1. Problems of the Day #26
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Middle East issue:
formation of countries on the basis of religion is deadly
formation of countries on the basis of religion is deadly
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Many people consider their temple to be the only sacred place of worship. But the funny thing is that the builders who construct temples are unholy people or untouchables, and are thus barred from entering their premises. Each religion has its own scriptures. Some scriptures are worshipped with such reverence that they are treated as deities. But the paper on which the scripture was written, and the printing and binding of the book were perhaps done by people of other religions. But once the book is complete it is transformed into a holy scripture and those who made it will not have the right to even touch it. In fact, not only the holy scriptures, but all books are considered as a symbol of the goddess of learning. To pay obeisance to the book by repeatedly touching the forehead with it is apart of religious observance. Many people spend huge sums of money to make an idol of clay only to immerse it in a river with pomp and ceremony to conclude the religious festival. But if the people of other religions happen to break even a finger of that idol terrible bloodshed will ensue. Thus, those who advocate the formation of countries on the basis of religious faith will cause irreparable damage by fragmenting human society.”
“Human beings readily accept traditions without seeking the reasons behind them. Since ancient days the semitic people have been observing the practice of circumcision. Moses and Mohammed accepted this system which today has become tradition. The ancient Austrics used to worship the Sun. Their purpose was to please the Sun God and be blessed with heavy rainfall and bumper harvests. In the social system of the Austrics, women had a predominant role. Thus, in the system of worship and other religious ceremonies, the priest had no significant role. Even the Sun God was looked upon as a female deity and the Moon was a male God. The Sun God was addressed as “mother” and the worship done in her honour was called “Chat Puja”. Even today in Magadh Chat Puja is held twice a year during the harvest time. The sentiment of Chat Puja was so deeply rooted in Magadh that their system of worship is in vogue even today even after such tremendous Aryan, Buddhist and Moslem influence. Of course, in the external rituals of worship some changes have taken place, but the system of worship has not yet become extinct. Even the Moslems participate in the Chat Puja. In some areas they themselves organize the ritual and in other places they get the puja performed through the Hindus. This Chat Puja has now become a tradition. There was a time in Bengal when the Moslems used to worship Satyanáráyańa or the Oláicánd.”
“From the above discussion it is apparent that religions engender hatred for others, blind faith, etc. in the minds of their followers. Through such religions it is next to impossible to establish unity in the society. Religious differences should be minimized as much as possible, but it should be remembered that blind faith in a religion cannot be forcibly eliminated. To strike at any type of sentiment will only cause that sentiment to grow stronger. Psychological methods will have to be employed to make people realize the irrational nature of blind religious faith. This requires a rational interpretation of philosophy through enlightened intellect. When the human mind is gripped by the fear psychology it gives indulgence to blind faith rather than logic and reason. If human fear is removed through logic and reason, the very basis for blind faith will be weakened. That is why human beings will have to be taught philosophical doctrines in a rational way. Furthermore, to remove the psycho-sentiment for a particular physical object, either the object itself should be removed or, by changing the very outlook through scientific and humanitarian reasoning, the person concerned should be separated from that sentimental object. For example, those who perform religious ceremonies in worship of the moon will find it difficult to continue their practice once, due to scientific advancement, they actually get the opportunity to walk on the moon. Blind faith must be removed through the application of science and humanistic appeals. People will have to be united under the common banner of one religion.” (1)
Reference
1. A Few Problems Solved - 2, Human Society Is One and Indivisible – 2
== Section 3: Links ==
