Baba
AM festival: all-inclusive
Namaskar,
In this following letter, I am going to enlist some new things how we are going to arrange and organise our Ananda Marga Ananda Purnima festival this year. A few fresh things have been included in our agenda.
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Programmes for elders
Here Baba guides us how the elderly should also get scope to participate in special ways as well.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “A grown up man does not like that others should call him grown up. An old man does not like that others should tell him old. Do you know why they do not like to be said so? The adults or the aged are nearing death. This means that one is drawing nearer death as one grows up and this is why one does not like to be told grown up or old.”
“Taking this for granted regarding human psychology, you shall arrange for two or three items in the programme for the old to enjoy, so that they may think at least for a short time that they are not old, they have sufficient energy still left in them.” (1)
Ananda Purnima is also an opportunity for artists to display their talents.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Take pains to see that all join in the Utsava. Give full opportunity to all the artists to make a display of their talents in art. Remember that taking food together is a special feature in a Utsava, without which half of the pleasure of a Utsava is marred.” (2)
Exhibition
Around the globe, and in our larger units especially, various exhibitions can be created that encapsulate a wide sampling of Baba’s teachings and programs. In this way, the theoretical side of Ananda Marga ideology and its practical expression can be highlighted. There could be a good news presentation of the wide array of Ananda Marga service projects and socially uplifting programs; plus via story, song, dance, and drama there should be joyous performances that highlight the history and development of Ananda Marga.In addition, there could be the special showing of Baba’s video and other renewing activities like a tree planting, musical performance, and other cultural activities.
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Organising an Ananda Mela (fair of bliss)
A grand Ananda Mela can also be formed in selected places. This can feature local sentient shops, as well as cultural programs, sports and festivities, art, music, a children’s theatre and poetry competitions. Such a gathering could include non-margiis and margiis alike. That will build community relations and involve everyone. It would bring people together in a sweet way and the environment could be nicely maintained by having all the events monitored by margiis. Yet, at the same time, allow non-margiis to participate fully and be active up to certain levels.
Verily, this is an occasion for one and all and could include multi-day or even multi-week camps for honouring and celebrating this most glorified event of Ananda Purnima. Overall, such types of programs would draw in all the various sections of society and could occur over a month-long period, perhaps 2-weeks before through 2-weeks after Ananda Purnima - as some do in India with the Ram Liila*. Our Ananda Purnima should take on that type of significance and celebration, focused exclusively on Baba, Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurti ji.
* Ram Liila: For those who are not aware, the Ram Liila is an annual theatre drama depicting the glory, greatness, and myth of Ram staged in the evening for several weeks. This theatre drama highlights the life of Ram for the public to see, learn and enjoy.
In a similar manner, we should produce a theatre reenactment of all the great, dharmic events. This should include His younger years, the formation of Ananda Marga, the spread of devotion, the jail period, Emergency, how the margiis faced so many problems, how the communists were destroyed, the vast array of AM service projects, spiritual life, etc. All the good and bad times should be depicted for everyone to know.
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Artful presentation of Baba’s liila, cartoons, paintings, & songs
The above programs will serve as a great complement to the numerous other festive ways of celebrating the grand occasion of Ananda Purnima. Some of those activities include: Poetry readings, debates, prize distribution, collective bath, collective food, narayan seva, clothing distribution, collective sadhana, medical camps, food distribution in nursing and convalescent homes, collective social service, singing and dancing of Prabhat Samgiita, the exchange of gifts, sports and games, display of Baba’s diorama, artful presentation of Baba’s liila, cartoons and paintings of how Baba has graced bhaktas, theatrical depictions of how negative forces could not diminish the glory of Baba and Ananda Marga.
Indeed, this is a time when everyone – young and old, wealthy and poor, literate and illiterate, etc – can come together and rejoice in the sweet celebrations of Baba’s divine advent. The festival of Ananda Purnima should be given utmost importance as it is the most festive day of the year.
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Special Prabhat Samgiita programs
As everyone may remember, Baba has beautifully given the system of making extended Prabhat Samgiita programs whereby gathered margiis sing blissful and spiritual songs. Just like we often have our long akhanda kiirtan programs of 3, 6, or 12 hours – in the same way these programs of Prabhat Samgiita can also take place.
Many may recall how Baba used to sit on the dais and call for the rendering of Prabhat Samgiita at the grand celebration of our Ananda Purnima social function. And it would proceed step-by-step where first one purport was read out by a selected margii and then the singing of that same song would begin and small young children of 8 or 9 years of age would dance to that song. As soon as one song was completed then another would begin with the reading of the purport followed by the singing and dance performance of that very song. And in this grand fashion several songs were linked together – all the while maintaining a nicely formatted sequence where the first song celebrated Baba’s holy advent and then the next song depicts His divine blessings etc. By that way several songs are linked together creating one panoramic flow of bhakti.
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Social service, CSS, Narayan seva, painca seva
In addition, during Ananda Purnima all the trades and departments of AMPS partake in their respective social service programs. VSS optees do CSS, i.e collective social service such as public cleaning or repair work or other physical works for the security, safety, and welfare of the society etc. Side by side, AMURT can operate their free medical clinics. Financial donations for further social service work should be encouraged. And SDM optees can arrange for a maximum number of initiations. In this way, Ananda Purnima is a day for doing all types of social service because we Ananda Margiis are declassed and perform all the sevas.
at His lotus feet,
Surta’tma’
Links to previously posted letters on this series have been appended below.
References
1. Táttvika Diipiká (Dvitiiya Parva)
2. Táttvika Diipiká (Dvitiiya Parva)
== Section 2: Prabhat Samgiita ==
Note: Only those who sincerely practice the higher lessons of sahaja yoga meditation can understand this song in the depths of their heart.
"Tomáy d́áki dine ráte, tumi ki páo ná shunite,
d́áki áloy ándhárete, jágarańe svapne nide..." (Prabhat Samgiita #3114)
Purport:
O’ Parama Purusa, in longing for You, I am calling and singing for You day and night and reciting Your name all the time - in darkness, in light, in my sleep and dream, and while awake, repeating my Ista mantra in the mind always. It seems my cry is not reaching You. I think You did not hear me and that is why You did not respond.
O’ Parama Purusa, in yearning for You my time is passing; the sunsets come and go; they will never come back. So many lonely nights passed. With the mirage of hope, I am chanting Your name in sadhana, dhyana, japa, and kiirtana, looking towards the path of Your arrival, thinking You are coming any moment.
O’ Baba, O’ my Supreme Guide, in the various seasons - summer, monsoon, autumn, pre-winter and winter - enthusiastically I await Your presence like a fool always, but it is all in vain. It was hopeless as You did not come. Since I met You, You have been unkind towards me. An extremely long span of time has passed, yet still I am optimistic that next spring You will be here with me and arrive in the blossom…
Note: This above Prabhat Samgiita is the heart-felt expression of an A-grade bhakta. Here the bhakta is making a loving accusation to Parama Purusa. Such high feelings come when there is extreme intimacy and pure, one-pointed love - bhakti for Ista. Then the bhakta feels internally that he has the right to demand and place his accusation at the Lord's feet. The bhakta desires Parama Purusa in a close and intimate way, and that desire is not being fulfilled, so he lovingly accuses Parama Purusa: “You are not fulfilling my yearning to have You close.”
So long as the bhakta is not asking for anything mundane - and only asking for the proximity of Parama Purusa - then it is a deeply spiritual approach. Whereas if the bhakta is crying and asking Parama Purusa for mundane desires like power, post, money or any worldly things, then that is a very low type of dealing and indicative of a selfish relationship. Accusing Parama Purusa on such grounds is not good.
So one type of demand is representative of top-grade bhakti and the other approach is the worst grade. This song expresses the idea of A-grade bhakti and is the expression of deep love for Parama Purusa.
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Example of protozoic & metazoic mind
Ananda Marga ideology states, “The protozoic minds are guided by instinct only. The protozoic mind is citta only, with no development of ahaḿ[tattva] or mahattattva. Ingesting food, supporting offspring – this is all done instinctively, according to their svabháva [spontaneously], the reasons being quite unknown to those creatures. The earthworm does not know that it is an earthworm. It moves instinctively, spontaneously, according to its undeveloped mind. The protozoic minds and the protozoic microcosm can be said to be the physical mind. A protozoic creature has only physical mind. The collection of protozoic minds in the human can be said to be the physical mind of the human, known as the [kámamaya kośa]. It is guided by instinct, there is no discrimination.”
“But the metazoic mind moves with some intellect, or discrimination, as there has been some development of intellect in it. Hence the metazoic mind has control over the protozoic mind. The more the metazoic mind is developed in a creature, the more developed the creature is; that is, a metazoic structure will be more complicated. And where this complication has increased considerably, that physical structure is the human physical structure.” (1)
Note: Living cells act according to instinct because of their protozoic mind. There are many organs in the human body such as the kidneys and the liver. These organs have have a more developed mind, i.e. metazoic mind. So long as the kidneys and liver are in a greater structure like an animal or a human they will do their job. That is why doctors are able to perform kidney and liver transplants from one human body to another. So metazoic mind controls protozoic mind. And, in the human structure, both protozoic and metazoic mind comes under the domain of the unit human mind.
Reference
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 23, Knowledge and Progress
== Section 4: Links ==
Mother's Day Dogma - 12th May
Ananda Purniima - 23rd May
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