Baba
Song for paincajanya?
Namaskar,Everybody is aware that paincajanya is one very beautiful, dharmic, and spiritual program. Indeed, paincajanya is about oneness with Ista, Baba. So if someone is singing the Shivagiiti, i.e. About Lord Shiva, in the morning then that goes against the basic spiritual approach. Because in that sentient mood of the early morning dawn, we should remember Baba. He is our most loving and closest One. This is the common, sentimental feeling of the heart for every Ananda Margii: That Baba is our nearest and dearest One.
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Then why should we wake up in the morning and sing: ‘Lord Shiva, victory is yours, Lord Shiva, victory is yours, Lord Shiva, victory is yours…’ Why should we sing like this when it goes against the basic inner feeling of the heart. All night we dream about Baba and then in the sweetness of the early dawn we want to sing exclusively for Him, a song related with Baba. Yet the Shivagiiti is something different.
A sadhaka should have bhakti for Ista and ideate on Ista in sadhana. For Ananda Margiis, we lovingly call Ista as Baba. For Ananda Margiis, only Baba is Ista.
If all your life you have been calling your mother as mom, and then one day you call her by her legal name, Madam Elizabeth Walton, she will not feel comfortable and she will wonder why her own child is calling her in this way. Hearing this, the mother will feel annoyed and irritated – as she will prefer her own child to call her “maa” etc.
Similarly, we should be very keen to always call our Ista in a personal and intimate way as Baba. The yearning of the heart only knows One. For Ananda Margiis, that singular and most loving Entity is Baba. Hence in the deeply personal mood of the early morning dawn during paincajanya, we should only sing songs that are for Him.
Story of great mythological bhakta Hanuman
Here is a very significant story that is highly related with this entire matter: Pointed ideation on Ista.
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Ananda Marga ideology guides us, "When Hanuman was asked why he was so insistent on taking the name of Ráma and never taking the name Náráyańa, he promptly replied:
Shriináthe jánakiináthe cábheda Paramátmani
Tathápi mama sarvasvah Rámah kamalalocana.
“I know by philosophical analysis that there is no difference between Náráyańa and Rama, and yet I will channelize my mind towards One Entity and not many. For me there is no Náráyańa, there is only Ráma.”
"Likewise for the genuine spiritual aspirants there is only One Entity, and they rush only towards that Supreme One. Their minds move only in one direction, not in a thousand directions." (1)
In that discourse, Baba's pointed teaching in this story is that a sadhaka's feelings of bhakti must be linked with one Ista - for Ananda Margiis that Ista is Baba Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji. For non-margiis it may be Lord Krsna or Lord Shiva. But for Ananda Margiis it is Baba.
Without this idea firmly set in the mind, one cannot reach the Goal. Ananda Margiis should not say, "O' Lord Shiva come and grace me" - that will not help, rather hinder. The mind will be bifurcated or trifurcated. Some part of the mind will go to Lord Shiva, and another portion to Lord Krsna, and some portion to Baba. That mind is broken, retarded - it will go nowhere. There is one ista - that is our Guru's teaching.
One-pointed bhakti
If one margii is singing this song - Jaya shubhavajradhara shubhra kalevara (Prabhat Samgiita #2526) - it means you are paying homage to Lord Shiva, requesting Him to "please come in my meditation and come in my dhyana." But then when you conclude the song and start your actual meditation practice, you are pointing the mind towards your Guru, Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji. So that bifurcated approach is not at all good; it will not be helpful.
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Why? Because you are addressing both Lord Shiva and Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji; the mind is not at all pointed, rather bifurcated. Yet sadhana can only be done with a pointed mind.
Ananda Marga ideology says, "According to spiritual science the samádhi attained when the entire mind is pin-pointed." (2)
Sick father & medicine story
There was a father who had one son, and the father needed his help because he was sick. In fact, he called out to his son to bring his medicines. The son’s name was John, but that father did not call him that. Instead his father called him by his professional title, i.e. as inspector. And the father was calling and calling but his son did not respond as he was not even aware that he was being summoned. All because he expected his father to call him John. And when his father found that his son was not coming then he tried so many other epithets like sir, mister, friend etc, but all those were to no avail. The key word was John.
Similarly, in the field of spirituality, one must know how to call their Ista. And the name should be singular in nature, not many. And by that way the sadhaka can get success. So this same theory holds true in our spiritual lives: Worshiping multiple deities is not going to bring the proper outcome. How is one going to be graced when one's focus is divided and split in multiple directions. The mind must be pointed in one direction. In the field of spirituality, the sadhaka must be singular in approach.
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Conclusion
The conclusion of this entire letter is that the Shivagiiti song should not be sung at the time of paincajanya or for any spiritual gathering of Ananda Margiis. For Ananda Margiis, the Ista is Baba, and we should only sing for Him, our most-loving Baba.
Ananda Margiis should not sing those songs that directly address Lord Shiva and Lord Krsna. Those songs give way to this type of expression, "O' Lord Shiva, O' Lord Krsn, I salute Thee." Those songs are not for margiis but for non-margiis. Those singing such songs are not following 16 points - unfortunately. They are not following one of the points. They are contravening the point #10: Non-compromising strictness and faith regarding the sanctity of Ista.
There are many hundreds of inspiring Prabhat Samgiita that are not for Lord Krsna nor Lord Shiva that focus fully on Baba. Whereas, there are only a few compositions for Lord Krsna and Lord Shiva - other than that, so many songs are for Beloved Baba.
Namaskar,
at His lotus feet,
Dharmaraj
Choose from many hundreds of songs
An Ananda Margii should only sing those bhakti-oriented compositions that point the mind towards Baba; whereas those Prabhat Samgiita compositions about Lord Krsna and Lord Shiva are for the general public. In spiritual life, a sadhaka of Ananda Marga is to choose from the many hundreds of songs about Baba and sing only those songs, and not sing or use compositions about Lord Krsna and Lord Shiva during paincajanya etc. That does not mean we should discard those songs about Lord Krsna and Lord Shiva, rather we are to learn them so we can teach to non-margiis. But, in one's own personal practice, a bhakta of Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji (Baba) is to only sing songs about Him. That is the key guideline - and the pointed mandate to follow.
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Baba wrote Shivagiiti for non-margiis
So Baba wrote the Shivagiiti song for non-margiis. We margiis are responsible for learning this Shivagiiti song in order to share with those non-margii sadhakas who have not yet come onto the path of Ananda Marga and are involved in worshipping Lord Shiva etc. So that song is Baba's gift to those non-margii aspirants. In Baba's divine kingdom no one is left out or forgotten.
Importance of Ista
Ananda Marga ideology states, "Spiritual aspirants should remember that they will have to become dedicated to their Is't'a. They will have to establish a relationship of exclusive bhakti to Is't'a. If there is not intense attachment to Is't'a in one's heart, then one cannot do anything". (3)
Here is another of Baba's key and colorful teachings on this matter.
Ananda Marga ideology says, "A person 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." (4)
So although Baba has given 5,019 Prabhat Samgiita songs, one must have the required viveka to use the songs in the right way. We are only to sing those songs in our spiritual practices like paincajanya that focus on Baba, Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji.
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Faulty approach of Semitic religions:
worshiping multiple godheads
In their day-to-day practical manner, the Semitic religions worship not one god but many. Those followers ask boons and grace from numerous godheads. In theory, they may try to deny this and give their own justification; but in their practical life that is what they do. It is quite evident.
Nowadays, most Christians and Muslims are in so-called 3rd world countries. And those believers follow multiple religions plus local gods and goddesses. They are involved in numerous belief systems. One single person might worship Allah, a Christian God, and their own local or native gods / goddesses and ritualistic deities. This is prevalent all around Africa and the Asian nations. Next is Buddhism which has adopted multiple deities. And the worst is Hinduism where there are countless gods and goddesses.
Those who come into Ananda Marga from such backgrounds often have a hard time understanding that Ista must be one, i.e. singular. Those who come into Ananda Marga at a young age easily understand. Age aside, those with adequate bhakti readily and absolutely understand.
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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.
References
1. Ananda Marga Way of Life - 11, Relativity and the Supreme Entity
2. Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 21, Liberation of the Devotee
3. Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life - 11, Parama Puruśa and His Creation
4. Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 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 2: Prabhat Samgiita ==
By Your mercy
“Tumi, dúr ákásher dhruvatárá, path khunje páy tomár kripáy, jiivane je jan path hárá…” (Prabhat Samgiita #0555)
Purport:
Parama Purusa, Baba You are the Polestar of the distant sky. Those who fix their vision on You never lose the path of Supreme Blessedness. Their life’s journey is assured. But when they focus on something other than You and adopt things like name, fame, money, and wealth as their goal, then they fall. Even then, for those who have lost their way, if they again fix their vision on You, they will regain the path, by Your compassion. If those plunged in dogma and drowned in narrow sentiments surrender to You, they will rediscover the path of neo-humanism. By Your krpa, they will again come onto the path of dharma and tread the path of divinity.
Baba, when, due to stormy winds in the forest those terrified birds flying fearfully in the vast sky and lost the path; due to stormy winds, the boat is rocking violently on the sea, by Your supreme kindness in all situations, and all regain the proper path. It is exclusively Your infinite prema. Supreme Entity, regardless of the circumstances, You save everyone. When due to the onslaught of materialism and the storm of mundane attraction, the sadhaka falls from the path of enlightenment and adopts the ways of sin, in that dire situation, You rescue them. You shower them with samvit shakti and bring them back onto the path of divinity, onto the right path. Forests and mountains all want Your blessing.
Baba, Parama Purusa, when the mind is tormented by sorrow and grief and loses the path in the boundless ocean, by Your mercy, it finds the shore. Seeing their trouble, You come closer with Your exquisite smile and soothing touch and quickly remove their sorrow and fill their life with bliss. Without Your love and guidance, nothing is possible.
Note for Prabhat Samgiita #0555:
[1] Samvit Shakti: "Samvit means spiritual consciousness, spiritual awakening. A man engaged in bad things all of a sudden feels that “No, I shouldn’t do all these things. No, I should be a good man henceforward.” Such an idea all of a sudden comes in his mind. And this thing, this change of mental tendency, is brought about by samvit shakti of Vidyámáyá. Do you follow? This is what is called samvit shakti. “No, henceforward I must be a good man. No, henceforward I must be a spiritualist. I must not encourage any depraving idea.” Samvit shakti." (1)
[2] Those who keep Parama Purusa in their forefront never drift from the path. They make their human life successful. Whereas, those who fail to keep Parama Purusa as their Polstar waste their time accepting mundane things as their goal of life. They destroy their potential. Ultimately, in the end, they die in misery and hopelessness.
Reference
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 23, Brahma Cakra
== Section 3: Important Teaching ==
Racism explained
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "As human beings were not able to unravel the mystery of this diversity, they wrongly preached the doctrine of racial supremacy, resulting in hated of their fellow human beings and heartless cruelty, and indulged in savagery and bloody warfare - these were the darkest and the most lamented chapters in human history."
"Sometimes people are wrongly led to believe that the white people are perhaps superior to the black population, and that the blacks are only a little higher than our animal ancestors on the scale of evolution."
"Even today in Europe, particularly in Spain and Portugal, and in the U.S.A., South Africa and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), one unmistakably notices the curse of this ignorance. But is racial supremacy..." (1)
Note: The same disease is working with caste dogma.
Reference
1. A Few Problems Solved - 2, Human Society Is One and Indivisible – 1
