Baba
Inherently one
Namaskar,
We are all human, bound by cosmic fraternity. Wherever humans are born and raised they adopt local variations which vary from place to place. So there are local variations but in essence humans are not different from one another. Human culture is one.
Ananda Marga philosophy teaches us, "Human culture is, therefore, one and indivisible. The use of expressions such as Hindu culture, Muslim culture, Indian culture or European culture is absurd. Those who hold these partisan ideas are not well-wishers of humanity." (1)
Commonality of all
All human beings are one: (a) everyone greets, (b) everyone expresses happiness, (c) everyone has something they value or hold as an ideal, (d) people share and serve food together, and (e) many similar practices can be included in this list.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Irrespective of their so-called caste, language, so-called race or geographical area, and level of education etc, all have these common qualities. That is why inherently human culture is one. By superficial look, it seems that people live in different ways and have a different culture, but these are local variations that we term as demi-culture. The conclusion is that fundamentally human beings are one and there are various local differences and those differences are not cultural but rather demi-culture.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "According to PROUT all of society has the same culture. There are local variations in the mode or state of cultural expression, but the expression is universal. While everybody eats, some eat by hand, others by stick and still others by spoon. Indian dance is based on mudrá or dance postures, and European dance is based on rhythm, but they do not represent two different cultures." (2)
Fiesch Fieldwalk with Baba: intro
By His grace, I was in Baba’s divine company for a fieldwalk (May 8, 1979) in Fiesch where He talked about different cultural expressions. And on that tour itself Baba used the term, demi-culture. For your reference I have appended portions of that fieldwalk further down in this email.
All sadhakas are aware of His guideline that human culture is one and that so-called cultural wars, distrust, and clashes between geographical areas will cease to exist when people accept our human culture as one.
These days what people commonly think of as culture or separate cultures are really nothing more than different modes of expression - not different cultures. Human culture is one and Baba chose the term demi-culture or mode of expression to represent the different ways people express our singular human culture.
Baba's fieldwalk in Fiesch: culture & demi-culture
As mentioned above, Here is my personal account of one field-walk in Fiesch wherein Parama Purusa Baba spoke the following lines about culture and demi-culture:
Baba: "You see, I have said that the human culture is one. Only, there are different modes of expressions. Now, we may say demi-culture, regarding those modes of expression. There were during the Middle Ages, three distinct demi-cultures in Europe. One Prussian, another Latanic, and the third one Iberian. “Iberian” means Spain, Portugal, and Basque...." (3)
Then one margii, not fully grasping Baba's teaching, took a moment to speak.
Margii: Although in ancient times there was only one human culture.
Baba then corrects the margii.
Baba: "Even now, human culture is one. There are local differences in eating and dancing. [But] that doesn't make culture." (4)
In His above teaching, Parama Purusa Baba is clearly stating that human culture has been and remains one. Only we may say that the modes of expression, or demi-culture, vary. Those variations reflect the multifarious ways in which people eat and dance etc. That is Baba's use of the term demi-culture.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
It is our duty to use these terms, demi-culture and modes of expression, in our day to day life. We should utilise Baba's given terminology of demi-culture in our: writing, art, literature, talks, lectures, presentations, stories, dramas and more. Gradually, by this way, Baba's teachings on culture and demi-culture will be propagated. The concept that human culture is one is a completely new idea. We have to help teach others by our practical daily use of the term, demi-culture.
Culture is one & represents diverse human expressions
(A) Here Parama Purusa Baba puts forth the point that culture represents a wide array of human expressions.
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "It [culture] is the collective name for different expressions of life. People eat, enjoy hospitality, laugh on some occasions and shed tears on others, and thereby express life through various actions. The collective name of all these actions is culture." (5)
(B) Next Baba further emphasizes how human culture is internally one with many external variations. As well-wishers of humanity we are to always rally around the common points. That will make society healthy. Those who highlight differences from one human being to the next harm society.
Ananda Marga philosophy teaches us, "There are certain prima facie local variations, but there is no difference in the subterranean cultural flow of the human society. The difference is external and not internal. Culture is one for the entire world. Common factors for the entire humanity (that is, culture in the true sense of the term) should always be encouraged, but prima facie differences should never be encouraged. Those who encourage these differences help the fissiparous tendencies which endanger human progress. To establish a cosmopolitan cultural outlook, we have to wipe out prima facie differences through matrimony and other socio-economic blendings." (6)
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Human expressions are multilateral.” (7)
Culture is one - local customs vary
(C) Here below Parama Purusa Baba differentiates between customs and culture. Customs are many whereas human culture is one.
Ananda Marga philosophy guides us, "Local variations will diminish if there is a close blending between different groups of people, because this will create common customs. In Nepal there is a blending of Hindu and Buddhist customs. In Bengal there is a blending of Aryan and Dravidian customs. These local variations are called customs. Thus local modes of expression bearing local or group specialities are customs, but the expression itself is culture. Therefore it is a mistake to readjust boundaries on the basis of language and culture." (8)
Act of greeting itself is human culture
As we all know, when people meet they greet each other. This practice of humans greeting each other when they meet is pervasive. It happens everywhere. A person in the hills of North Korea greets their friend; and a person from a valley in California greets their friend. In both cases, in some way they greet their relations. This is a common practice. This is culture. And because it is everywhere, that is why culture is one.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Certainly, people from different lands may express their greetings differently, but those different ways of greeting do not stand as different cultures, but rather demi-culture.
For instance, in Ananda Marga we do namaskar or pranam; in some lands, people bow to one another; in other countries people wave their hand and say hello; in some places people say shalom; in other lands people embrace or kiss; and many resort to handshaking also. Thus there are many ways that people greet each other. But these various types of greetings do not represent different cultures. The act of greeting is itself human culture and singular; and the various ways that greetings are done is demi-culture.
So culture is the act of greeting, irrespective of how it is done. On this point, all human beings share a common thread; they all greet one another. The practice of greeting a friend or neighbor etc is shared by all peoples in all lands. The very act of greeting another person is itself our human culture. Thus, human culture is singular - not many.
Some may try and bifurcate the society by dividing people into this culture or that culture. But in truth there is a common thread that is shared among all. The custom of greeting another person is one such common point. Again, there may be various ways of greeting a friend, but in reality people from all various places are all doing the same thing, i.e. greeting.
It should be very clear that the greeting itself is culture, while the way people greet one another is a cultural expression or demiculture. Demiculture may be numerous, but culture is one. That is why human culture is one - not many, as has been explained in the previous paragraphs. Here we all have to remember that internally humans are one and human culture is singular in number; only externally there are a multitude of cultural expressions and variations.
Conclusion
Some people think that, "Our culture is xyz and their culture is abc, so we are different." Those who think like this suffer from a gross misunderstanding. This letter aims to clear up such wrongful notions and explains how phrases like American culture, Japanese culture, and Indian culture etc are a misuse of the term culture. Rather it should be said Indian demi-culture, American demi-culture etc. This should be our approach because human culture itself is one; while demi-culture represents the local variations.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Commonly people think there are so many cultures: African, western, Native American, Chinese, Russian, Indian etc. Indeed, in the last two decades, various terms like multi-cultural, plurality of cultures, bi-cultural, cultural pluralism etc have come into vogue. People think humans differ according to their own "separate culture". Hence it is often thought that there are many different cultures on this planet.
In that case, people look upon others as being different. They aim to tolerate differences, yet ultimately feel that "such persons are not like me - they are foreign - we can live together by tolerating differences - but their culture is different from my culture."
According to Baba's teachings, this is neither correct nor should this be our outlook. We must embrace one and all as our own and cultivate feelings of love and cordiality - not tolerance. Human culture is one - not many. This letter is an effort to better understand Baba's sublime teachings on culture, and gain clarity on why human culture is one.
Namaskar,
In Him,
Prabha
(Patricia)
Prout philosophy states, “Although according to perfect logic the culture of all humanity is one and indivisible, the exponents of isms do not understand this. They prefer to assert that the different sets of script and language, behaviour and habit, and local variations in expression, are actually the constituents of human culture.” (9)
~ In-depth study ~
Ananda Marga wants to unite all and form one human society. This is one of our main themes: To unite all human beings.
Human culture is, by definition, one. It is singular. As Ananda Margiis, we propagate this truth - i.e. that human culture is one - to bring about one human society. Side by side we are to introduce people to more refined and sentient cultural expressions.
When people start thinking human culture to be one it will be very easy to unite all humans. Then peace can be brought on this earth. Disunity invites violence. People divide humanity on the basis of various platforms including culture. By that way so many problems surface. Propagating the truth that human culture is one is how we can unite humanity and bring peace.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Dogma: dividing humanity into different cultures
At present, due to a lack of understanding, people think in an analytical (divisive) way. They divide our singular human culture into many. And still this is going on.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Dogmas have taken root in the human mind. People cannot get rid of these false ideas because they have been injected into their minds since childhood. As a result, one human society is divided into different nations, and one nation is divided into different religions; religions also have different castes, and caste also have different sub-castes – what kind of situation is this? We have only learned how to divide and subdivide humanity, and we never learned how to unite the people. This is all due to the defective teachings of dogmas." (10)
Indeed on this point of culture, people continue to divide humanity to such a degree until finally each and every person carries their own separate culture. This is nothing but the path of analysis (division & factionalism) while ours is that path of synthesis (unity).
For instance, some think that there is both western culture and eastern culture. And by their path of analysis they divide western culture into parts like European culture and American culture. And they further divide American culture into so many parts: Italian-American culture, Native American culture, Chinese-American culture, African-American culture, Mexican-American culture, Guatemalan American culture, Filipino American culture, Japanese American culture, Greek American culture, etc.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
If we continue to list all these divisions then there might be several hundred classifications. Because people from all over the globe are in the US and they carry their own demi-cultural label. In the same way, this type of analysis (division) can be done in each and every land. Tragically, through that lens, there is a gigantic wave of differentiation and distrust. Irrespective of one's mode of expression or demi-culture, human culture is one.
References
1. A Few Problems Solved - 6, The Interplay of Culture and Civilization
2. Prout Nutshell - 15, Talks on Prout
3. Baba's Field Walk in Fiesch, May 8, 1979
4. Baba's Field Walk in Fiesch, May 8, 1979
5. Prout Nutshell - 15, Talks on Prout
6. Prout Nutshell - 15, Talks on Prout
7. A Few Problems Solved Part 6, The Interplay of Culture and Civilization
8. Prout Nutshell - 15, Talks on Prout
9. Prout in a Nutshell - 4, Ism and Human Progress
10. A Few Problems Solved part 7, Renaissance in All the Strata of Life
* * *
The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
* * *
The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
* * *
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Meet their deaths in frustration
Note: Here below Baba is referring to those materialistic philosophies, i.e. capitalism and communism etc. Uninformed people believe the false propaganda and flowery speeches of capitalism etc, and think that by material gain they will get infinite pleasure. By this way they waste their entire life. Acquiring the wealth of sensual pleasure cannot satisfy human longing. They come to know this at the end of their life, but by then it is too late to do anything. In that helpless state, they lay on their deathbed knowing they wasted their time on this earth.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Generally people use the empty words of philosophy like tinsel to cover their internal blackness of character. Some of this tinsel is golden, some silver, some of a variety of colours. At first, people who have lost their way, or strayed from the path, are attracted by these bright colours, like those deceived by a mirage. Later on they lose everything, and their knees broken, they fall and meet their deaths in the scorching heat of frustration. Sometimes, before their deaths, they are able to recognize the illusion of the mirage, but in most cases they are unable to discover it before they breathe their last. The lethal nature of these defective philosophies remains unknown to them forever. In the psychic world, the implementation of these fatuous philosophies can wreak havoc." (1)
Reference
1. Namah Shiváya Shántáya, Disc 14
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Ways of selfish demons
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “I have already said that the task of intellect is to properly utilize all the properties of the universe, of the expressed world. But there are some selfish people in the world who are not in favour of the maximum utilization of mundane wealth, because they fear the control of the developed intellect over the material forces; and selfish people do not like that. They do not want anyone except themselves or a handful of their own group to attain any progress. Rather they would be happy to see that the individual and collective progress of others gets jeopardized.” (1)
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Self-seeking people do not want the collective intellect of the human race to be utilized for the welfare of the entire human race; rather they, in the name of humanity, want to perpetuate divisive tendencies in society, because if they succeed in creating a rift in human society, that will pave the way for their personal benefit or self-aggrandizement. Thus they concoct various so-called scriptures and formulate all kinds of logic. They maintain to humanity that the different races in this world are not equal. Thus instead of considering the interests of the entire human society, they give preference to the interests of a particular community. This loud-mouthed propaganda in favour of a particular community, this parading of irrational logic, this sort of fallacious argument, all combine to stifle the spontaneous growth of human intellect. This sort of mentality is called dogma." (2)
Key quality of a righteous person
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “A person who wants to promote others’ welfare, a person who wants to serve the entire humanity, must keep away from dogma. In addition to that, he or she will have to staunchly resist dogma. It is not enough to keep away from something which is considered a veritable sin, it is not enough to lodge only verbal protest against sin – one will have to against it. This is the greatest criterion of a truly righteous person." (3)
References
1. A Few Problems Solved - 4, The Liberation of Intellect
2. A Few Problems Solved - 4, The Liberation of Intellect
3. A Few Problems Solved - 4, The Liberation of Intellect
== Section: Comment ==
Re: Abhiramananda also sold out to Hindu political party BJP
Namaskar,
Here is one other point to add to the equation.
The BJP party is a supporter of capitalism and capitalists. PROUT / Ananda Marga is against capitalism. Therefore, the question does not arise for any WT / margis to support any of current political parties like the BJP.
In Him,
Pranatos'a
- Here is a link to the initial letter on this topic: Abhiramananda also sold out
== Section 3: Links ==
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