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Friday, May 24, 2024

History of human spirituality

Baba
History of human spirituality

Namaskar,

In the prehistoric age, rśis were involved in their own practices of introspection, ideation, bhajan etc. Through such practices rśis moved closer to Paramátmá, and after many births they were getting moksa.
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Moksa in 20 years


Baba says Ananda Marga sadhana carries such force that if a general person does pointed sadhana, they can get moksa in about 20 years in this very life. This is both because of the special quality of AM sadhana, and also because the glands of humans in the current age are quite advanced compared with the humans of ancient times. As Baba says, in the past if a rśi did spiritual ideation in one life, yet did not get liberation in that very life, then if he took sankalpa (determination) he could try to get liberated in the next life. In that next life, siddha microvita would tell him his old mantra so as to enable him to do further sadhana. Like this rśis were getting liberated in many lives.


After many human lives they may come

If anyone practices any field of endeavor, they will advance in that arena. As an example, if a layman is asked how electricity is generated from atomic energy, the layman will not have the answer for it. But one who has studied and done experiments in physics, or engineering will know this answer. Taking this analogy, we can say that the mind gets refined as one involves more deeply into a certain practice. If one is great in a specific field, then one may get rebirth with that specific expertise; that is why some children are more developed in a certain domain (singing, academics, sports, etc.) than others. Verily, many people are born without having interest in spirituality and do not have any interest in learning about Ananda Marga in their first human life. After many lives as a human, they may come onto the tantrika path of Ananda Marga. 
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Slow speed equals longer time

If we take an example, now we have varieties of modes of transportation to go from one place to another. But thousands of years ago, such modes of transportation were not available. People took significant time to go from one place to another. Shankaracarya literally walked from one end of India to another to spread spirituality, and it took several years. This analogy suggests that to go from one place to another, the pace depends on what mode of transport one uses: walking, cycling, driving, flying etc—low speed means more time travel. Similarly, in the path of sadhana people travel at various speeds. Someone who does a little bhajan and kiirtan also gets some benefit, and if they progress in this life a little then in the next life if they again get human birth, and if there is no retardation in efforts, they move forward to mukti / moksa.


Ignorance of karma káńďii rśis


The Vedas are nothing but an explanation of what needs to be done in life—15,000 years ago. Munis and rśis explained their experiences. For example, how to serve animals, how to control the mind, how to treat people. So everything was explained in the Vedas; in those days the Vedas were the Wikipedia of how to lead a life. This was the knowledge base about 15,000 years ago. The Vedas do contain practices in both the spiritual and physical spheres. Since science was not that advanced, so as per the human mind of those days, the Vedas contained information on how to lead a life.
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In ancient times, those elevated rśis composed the upanishads. But they were few in the world. Lord Shiva taught sadhana to all about 7,000 years ago. In the Vedas, sadhana will not be found; rather, various types of prayers will be found. In the Vedas there are various gods and goddesses as various karma kandii rśis have composed based on their ignorance. They composed prayers to worship the gods agni (fire), varun (water), etc.


Why downfall

In the past, rśis in their personal life adopted certain practices— in India for example, they did a lot of bhajan, ideation. But it took multiple births, and even then there was no certainty of getting moksa. There were many such good people advanced greatly in spiritual practices in a prior birth, and in their next birth they started reaping the benefit of their previous good deeds so they got name / fame etc as a result of which they got diverted and committed sin, papa, with resultant downfall. And then in the following birth, they might get born as a brick, mortar, or stone. But the ones who did not get diverted in this long process birth after birth, slowly and steadily advanced to moksa. Ultimately it was Lord Shiva who taught sadhana to all, and thus showed people how they can increase the speed of their progress towards moksa. And now today with the jewel of Ananda Marga sadhana, that speed has been greatly increased where one can achieve mukti / moksa in a mere 20 years or less, by His grace. 
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In Him
Nirakar


Realise God: 15 to 20 years of sadhana


Ananda Marga ideology states, "Later on, with the further development of philosophy and science the number of impediments and obstacles faced by humans became fewer than those which the ancient humans faced while moving along the path of spirituality during the days of backward science and philosophy. The people of today do not have to labour quite as hard as Vaishishta and Vishvamitra had to do in order to discover the way to move ahead, because modern science and philosophy today are valuable aids to human progress. The people of today are able to realize the Supreme Entity in one life, or maybe in 15 to 20 years, for which they had to practice penance for lives together in the past." (1)

Ananda Marga ideology states, "Spiritual progress is the only real progress. Those who deem mundane or psychic movement to be true progress are misguided and are wasting their time. Whatever [mundane thing] Ka'l Purus'a giveth with one hand He taketh with the other." (2)

References
1. A Few Problems Solved - 3, The Evolution of Human Civilization
2. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 12, Towards the Noumenal Entity


== Section 2: Links ==

Is Milarepa story applicable? + 2 more

Baba
Is Milarepa story applicable?

Namaskar,

From the very outset, Baba had a grand plan for humanity. And He presented it step by step in a very exact and practical manner—over the course of time. On day 1 in 1955, He did not call everyone together for a seminar and tell them to write down a list of all His plans for the entire humanity. Nor did He do so in 1970 or 1978.

For example, He did not give Prabhat Samgiita or Gurukul or neo-humanism in those early days. If He had done so, people would not have been ready. However, that does not mean that Baba did not have the idea or plan to put forth those projects—everything was in His cosmic mind—but people were not ready for those teachings.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/

At that time, no one would have been able to learn that way—nor would they have remembered because of the great extent of His teachings. Already Parama Purusa Baba was presenting so many new programs. And to remember and learn anything new and revolutionary, human beings must engage in that enterprise and repeat it again and again—practically with their own hands. Then that experience gives a deep impression in the mind. That way the mind gets saturated with that idea.

Baba took a divine approach, which we now may call His working or teaching style in the pre-1990 period. As we all saw, those days—step by step—Baba would present a new plan and program.


Liila done in phases to teach us


That means in one work phase, Baba might emphasize the need for a school—i.e. that each village must have a primary school. To teach this point, all workers and margiis got involved in securing funds to start a school. There was huge momentum in that moment to focus on the establishment of Ananda Marga primary schools. That was the main program Baba would ask about in reporting.

In turn, some units created comparatively successful schools while many did not—but everyone learned that a primary school was needed in order to propagate the ideas of Ananda Marga. In each and every reporting session, Baba would ask about and praise people for their work, and guide about this point of creating schools until He was satisfied that everyone understood that a school was needed in every small or big town and village throughout the entire globe. By that way, from the very outset of their learning, children will learn Ananda Marga ideals.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/

In some places, expensive buildings were purchased for schools but only got used a few times, or maybe not at all. The main thing was that everyone got the psychic understanding about the need for a school. That was Baba's aim all along.


Transfers: new dada got training


When this program was built up and some of the schools were going strong, Baba might transfer the lead Dada from that project and post a fresh new Dada from Training Centre to that school who had little skill or language knowledge of that area. The school would inevitably suffer and ultimately close, but that new Dada got the needed training and the prior Dada was freed up to learn a new aspect of Baba's vast program like Prout or dharma pracara or VSS work. That was the way things went.

Baba told Wts to create LFTs who can run the school and inform margiis that they should oversee the operations of the school. Then the school would be sustainable. But in many cases, margiis may not have been active or were already too busy and there were no LFTs, in which case a very reputable Ananda Marga school eventually closed.

In such a situation some naive margiis started thinking to request Baba not to transfer the Wt of that unit in hopes of saving the school. But Baba did not listen to such pleas because the Wt formerly posted there has to go for other / higher duties.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/

Serious misunderstanding: bogus answer


After a Dada was transferred from a particular unit and the projects and programs in that area were disrupted and disturbed, then local margiis would ask their SS Dada, "Why is Baba doing like this?"

Some Wts had no clue how to respond. So they came up with the bogus answer that Baba is like the Tibetan Guru Marpa and we should think of ourselves as Milarepa. This especially happened in NY sector when in one era all were moving with the Milarepa story in one hand. But that was an outrageous response and it was a terrible blunder to talk like this. 

The proper answer would have been, "I don't know." That would have been better; but, unfortunately, that was not done. In turn, margiis got more confused. And sadly still that confusion remains in many cases.


Buddhist monk: cruel story of Milarepa

In an attempt to explain Baba's system of transfer postings and plans and programs, some uninformed people came up with an outrageous and wild theory—and that is presented here below. Some confused people were telling others that Baba is like the Tibetan Buddhist guru Marpa who was giving the order to his disciple(s) to make and break buildings—make and break, and make and break.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/

In legend, it is well-documented that Marpa was a Buddhist guru in Tibet and before giving any spiritual training to his perspective disciples he would allot difficult tasks. They were forced to meaninglessly and uselessly construct buildings through years and years of bone-breaking labor. These buildings were made by individual muscle power alone. And as soon as they were constructed then Marpa would order his followers to dismantle it stone by stone. This was not some social service project for the welfare of humanity. This was just the order of one lunatic.

So it is unfortunate that some confused Wts have propagated and equated Baba in this way. It is so disgraceful. The first thing is that in Ananda Marga, initiation is accessible to all—bar none. There are no stipulations. Those interested will get diiksa. In stark contrast, the pseudo-guru Marpa harassed his new recruits like Milarepa for decades and decades and never gave them any true training or guidance. How can one sane person link such dealings with Baba. It is unfortunate that still some are believing this myth. 


Main reason to start AM primary schools—not colleges


Here below Baba gives His guideline and strategy to start primary schools throughout the world.

(Note: Baba is adamantly against the build-up of any high school until we have our Ananda Marga primary schools in each and every village of this earth. On this very point, Baba has given the logic and reasoning. By Ananda Marga primary schools, Ananda Marga bhagavad dharma will be established little by little.)
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/

Nowadays high school and college youths are not inclined towards spirituality. And it is hard to teach them. So what is the answer. The answer is very simple. You know that small kids have an immense desire to learn everything. That time whatever you teach them they will learn. So if from infancy spiritual and neo-humanistic principles are inculcated in the children, they will grow into ideal spiritual aspirants and they will be ready to easily learn all sorts of spiritual sadhana and spiritual way of life & practices. And it will be easy to create margiis from infancy. To achieve this, Ananda Marga primary schools are needed. Otherwise, small kids are indoctrinated into a materialistic way of life. And their mind becomes crude. As we have not yet started a primary school in every village we are also responsible.

Ananda Marga ideology states, “We must start primary schools throughout the entire world to create a spiritual urge amongst the little pupils. I am not in favour of starting colleges; I am in favour of starting primary schools. In the entire world we have got one degree college at Ananda Nagar and thousands of kindergarten schools. That is why it is desirable in the first phase to start many primary schools instead of colleges. Merely opening high schools and colleges without a proper system of education will not serve the purpose. Rather, thousands of kindergarten and primary schools must be started with this new system of education, to create a spiritual urge amongst children throughout the entire world.” (1)


Conclusion


Actually, it would have been impractical to keep one committed Dada assigned to a single school for decades. Baba was putting forth His new and newer plan for the humanity and training wts. Plus when workers were transferred to new posts and jobs, they developed greater experience and learned new languages, psychologies, and problem solving skills etc. All along Baba was creating new and newer programs in further succession. If those Dadas had been kept in those old programs then who would have been available to learn the new programs.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/

In Him,
Sarvavya’pii

Reference
1. Discourses on Neohumanist Education: Prama - 4


== Section 2: Prabhat Samgiita ==

With Your inspiration

"Prabhu, tomár námer bharosá niye, agádha ságar páŕi dobo..." (Prabhat Samgiita #2350)

Purport:

Baba, trusting in Your name, I can even cross the bottomless ocean. By surrendering and having faith in You, and relying on Your name, I can do anything. Nothing is impossible in this universe. I can even do extraordinary things by having conviction in You, keeping You in my heart, and holding Your feet. My Divine Entity, I will go on singing Your glory while pulverizing all the obstacles and hindrances of pebbles and stones which come on the pathway of my forward journey. By Your grace, with the stroke of my feet I will crush them and march onwards.

Baba, with unwavering belief in Your Supreme Self, holding Your flag in my hand, chanting Your kiirtan within, and putting Your victory mark on my forehead, I will go on marching forward with my head held high - it is Your mercy. Prabhu, by Your ahaetuki krpa', I will bring the neo-humanistic era onto this dusty earth.

Parama Purusa, by prostrating to You and keeping You near, there will not be any dilemmas or doubts in any sphere of life. The mind will be pointed, straight, and clear. Everyone's physical, psychic, and spiritual hunger will be satiated. Baba, with Your inspiration, I will shower my love and win over everyone's inner feeling by my selfless service and sacrifice. I will honour everyone's right to live.

Parama Purusa Baba, by keeping Your feet in my core, I can do anything. Nothing remains difficult or impossible - by Your infinite karuna...


Note for Prabhat Samgiita #2350:

[1] Ahaetukii krpa'

Ananda Marga ideology guides us, “Scripture says that in this universe of ours, everything is causal. Everything is haetukii, everything is causal. Only three entities here are of non-causal character. One is transmutation of non-attributional entity into attributional faculty. And second one is creation of this universe, and third one, the krpa' of Parama Purus'a.”

[“Baba, Baba, Baba”]

“Parama Purus'a is not to explain for His conduct when He does any krpa' or when He attracts anybody towards Him. So, these three entities, three items are of non-causal character. So, ahaetukii krpa', that is, non-causal blessing or, say, non-causal gratitude.” (1)


[2] Height of foolishness and existential value

Ananda Marga philosophy says,  “Who says that those creatures who have lost their immediate utility value have no right to exist? No one has the moral right to say this. No one can dare to say that only human beings have the right to live – and not non-humans. All are the children of Mother Earth; all are the offspring of the Supreme Consciousness. Most creatures have existential value, although they may not be valuable to human beings, or we may not be aware that their existence has some significance. This existential value is sometimes individual and sometimes collective, and sometimes both. Oftentimes, we cannot know the utility value, or the collective existential value, of a creature; we wrongly think that it has no existential value. This is the height of foolishness. As human beings have not advanced very far in the field of knowledge, they are prone to this sort of error. Even those creatures that have no utility value for human beings or whose utility value has ceased, which have no existential value for human beings or whose existential value has ceased, still have the right to live. Even those animals which have negative utility value instead of positive, and negative entitative [[existential]] value instead of positive, human beings will have to try to preserve even those animals by creating a congenial environment for them instead of destroying them. And they will also have to provide adequate safeguards so that those creatures may not prove injurious.” (2)

References
1. Unpublished discourse, transcribed from audio file, GD, 3 June 1989, Ananda Nagar
2. The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism, Disc: 8


== Section 3: Links ==

SUBJECTS TOPICS