Baba
Baba's presence in sadhana
Namaskar,
Some think that when they sit for sadhana then all kinds of stray thoughts flood the mind, but when they are not doing sadhana then those types of thoughts do not occur. But this is not correct. Always those stray thoughts are being generated but when one is not practicing sadhana they do not notice it.
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Bad: keeping a diary during sadhana to note stray thoughts
It is just like if you throw trash in a very clean area then immediately you will notice the garbage in that place. But if you go to the garbage dump and toss more trash there, then no one will notice that trash because already there is so much garbage there.
Similarly, when the mind is involved in sadhana it is getting cleansed so stray thoughts are very noticeable. And when the mind is not involved in sadhana, then it is dirty and distracted, so one does not take note of those stray thoughts because already the mind is goaded in so many different ways. Those stray thoughts are just like adding more junk to the heap of garbage.
Some think that keeping a worldly diary by their side during sadhana is a good idea so they can write down those mundane points and stray ideas. But this is a very bad thing to do. In that case, one cannot ever do sadhana, rather they will just be caught up in crude thinking and when sadhana time comes then more and more of those thoughts will fill the mind and one will go on writing them down. This is a very negative and degrading approach. Rather when those thoughts come they should be immediately pushed aside; one should vigorously redirect their mind toward their spiritual practice and cherished Goal.
At the time of sadhana one should not think about other worldly matters, rather one is to focus on their meditation.
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Sadguru Baba guide His bhaktas
As Guru, Baba guides His bhaktas onto the right path, irrespective of where they are. Always He is present to benevolently guide them in all kinds of ways. Indeed, there are countless stories recounted by sadhakas how Baba helped them in their time of need and brought them onto the path of dharma. Baba has blessed all His disciples in this way, directly and indirectly. Still He is doing this, and He will continue to guide His bhaktas in this way forever.
Ananda Marga teachings guide us, "While doing anything, while doing any mundane duty or doing any spiritual practice – you should always remember that He is Subject, He is seeing what you are doing. He is hearing what you are thinking. You cannot do anything secretly. He is always with you...you are never alone; He is always with you. You are never helpless, you are never shelterless, you are never weak, you are the strongest personality of the universe, because the Supreme Entity is always with you." (1)
Here the point is that Baba is with His disciples all the 24hrs. He is ever-ready to guide and protect you, and there are innumerable ways in which He might express His presence - now and far, far into the future He will be doing this. It is purely His unfathomable grace.
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Ananda Marga teachings guides us, "Now the first phase of the process is physico-psychic – that is, withdrawing the mind from different physical objects and bringing it to a particular point, and directing that point towards the realm of mind. And next is a phase of withdrawing the mind from different mental objects, from different mental pabula, and directing it towards the Supreme Subjectivity. Now this process of movement is the process of concentration." (2)
Conclusion
When doing sadhana don't be sidetracked by all kinds of distraction, rather with doubled efforts redirect the mind towards the spiritual Goal.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "From the psychic sphere also, unnecessary waves are to be removed. This will remove many burdens from the mind. “I must not bother about petty things, because that will waste my time” – people should remember this. This removal or rather withdrawal of unnecessary and undesirable thoughts emanated from the mind will help you in rationalizing the major portion of your mental faculty, so this must also be practised. The cult of spirituality is a cult of pinnacled order." (3)
Namaskar,
In Him,
Ksema Deva
~ In-depth study ~
Guru's book Yoga Psychology teaches us, "Now everywhere, in cent per cent of the cases, there is wastage of human psychic potentiality. The psychic potentialities of human beings are immense, but people do not utilize them because most of their valuable time is wasted in undesirable thoughts, in psychic extravaganza. Suppose human life is an average of sixty years. Twenty years of that is spent in sleep, and the remaining forty years are wasted in petty or useless activities. How much time do people really get to devote to worthwhile tasks?"
"This psychic extravaganza should be checked either by physical approach, or psychic approach, or by spirituo-psychic approach. People should have some control over their breathing, over their respiratory system, because the waves of respiration control the waves of thinking. Whenever you are doing something crude, your respiration becomes very active; and when you are thinking of something subtle, it becomes slow, extremely slow. And finally, when this respiration coincides, or becomes one, with one’s thought-waves, that stage is known as hat́ha yoga samádhi. That is, the physical exertions, the physical emanations, become one with the psychic emanations. So some degree of control over respiration is essential." (4)
When unit ensconced in the Supreme
Ananda Marga ideology explains, "You must have a spiritual goal. You must know what to do, what not to do, how to do, why to do. And for this purpose, the movement is to make the mind pinnacled, apexed, and bring all the propensities to that point, and goad it towards your spiritual goal."
"But a man says, I am an ordinary man, how am I to concentrate the mind? How am I to bring all my propensities to a particular point and goad that pointed mind towards the spiritual goal? It is a natural question...."
"Then what to do? One must remember that one’s unit consciousness is a microscopic fraction of that Parama Puruśa, or that Cosmic Consciousness. I have already said that when one unit thinks that “I am a drop of water,” it is a drop of water. And when it thinks that “I am not a drop of water, I am the ocean,” it is the ocean. Similarly, when the unit ensconces itself in the Supreme Excellence it becomes Supreme, it becomes one with the Lord. And when it becomes one with the Lord no obstacle can defeat him." (5)
Ananda Marga ideology tells us, "When I think I am His object and He is my subject, I cannot commit any wrong under any circumstances. His ever wakeful conscience will constantly warn me, “What are you doing? He is watching you.”" (6)
Baba story: trash in sadhana
I went to Patna to attend to some family matters and while there I faced a lot of clash. When I came back to Jamalpur, I sat for my regular sadhana. But, in place of doing proper sadhana and japa, all the trouble and difficulties of the trip to Patna flooded my mind. I became immersed in those mundane thoughts. I completely forgot that I was supposed to be doing sadhana.
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It was then that I clearly heard Baba's voice. In a scolding tone Baba was saying: "Dashrath...Dashrath...Dashrath...". Baba called my name three times.
Hearing this I was completely surprised. I broke my sadhana and started searching all around to find Baba. I went outside but I did not see Baba. I was thinking, "Where has Baba gone, how has He left so quickly, why is He not here."
I wondered, "When Baba is not here then how did His voice reach me."
I then returned to my seated posture and did my sadhana as usual. I also thought I should go see Baba that evening.
Fieldwalk with Baba
So that evening I made it over to Baba's residence around the time that He would go for regular His fieldwalk. I was standing outside His house with the plan that when He comes out then I will accompany Him on His walk.
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In His usual way, Baba came out from the house and began walking. I started following Him, just keeping a few paces behind. I was thinking when I get the opportune moment I will ask Baba about His coming to my house and why did He leave so quickly without waiting for me. I wanted to know if He was angry with me for not doing meditation in the correct way. I wanted to ask Baba why He came to my house and called me and then left so quickly. While walking, I had these thoughts in my mind.
When the right moment arrived, I asked in a very humble manner, "Baba, did You become annoyed with me today when I was not doing sadhana properly - is that why You scolded me?"
Hearing this, Baba smiled and started talking on another matter.
Since that time I became very particular in my sadhana. If worldly thoughts ever entered my mind and intruded upon my spiritual practice, I did not entertain them at all. I just re-focused my mind on my meditation, by His grace.
(Note: Above is a first-hand account from family Acarya Dashrathji of Jamalpur. Some mistakenly think his name is spelled as Dasarath or Dasrath, but those are not correct. The proper spelling is Dashrath, and that is what has been used in the above story.)
References
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam, part 12, The Only Cult
2. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 23, How to Concentrate
3. Yoga Psychology, The Cult of Spirituality – the Cult of Pinnacled Order
4. Yoga Psychology, The Cult of Spirituality – the Cult of Pinnacled Order
5. Subhasita Samgraha - 13, Subjective Approach and Objective Adjustment
6. Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life - 10, Cognitive Faculty and the Supreme Desideratum
* * *
The below section is an entirely different topic, unrelated to the above material.
It stands on its own merit as a point of interest and ideological awareness.
* * *
== Section 2: Prabhat Samgiita ==
“Se sujan tháke kotháy, tháke kotháy…” (Prabhat Samgiita #4309)
Purport:
Where does that very Charming Entity reside - where does He live? In the anthocephalus indicus flower garden, the peacock goes on telling that it is difficult to understand His liila.
That very Entity smiles like the golden hue of the crimson dawn in the eastern horizon. With great love and affection He is conveying the divine message of spiritual life in every ear - He is telling everybody, without differentiating between caste, creed, colour, or any barriers. He is giving His special teachings to one and all about how to lead a dharmic life.
Age after age, He comes and goes and is known as Taraka Brahma; He takes advent and lives within the reach of human beings, by accepting the bondage of time and space. Even then He remains beyond the limitation of those relative factors always. He comes on this earth by taking human form yet acts beyond time and space eternally and is ever-present with all….
== Section 3: Important Teaching ==
Stooge intellectual extol the elites
Ananda Marga philosophy says, “Powerful people have exploited sáhityikas [writers/ speakers/ artists] in various ways, taking advantage of their indigence. This has been going on since ancient times. In those days even kings and emperors encouraged court poets, giving them gifts of tax-free properties, and in that way bought their head and their hands. Talented sáhityikas or artists frequently had to do uncongenial jobs under circumstantial pressure for the amusement of their patrons. To satisfy the whims of their licentious patrons, they had to compose obscene poems and sculpt obscene statues and images. To make their patrons’ enemies look contemptible, they had to besmirch their names with scandals and calumnies. To extol the dress, colour, family, caste, class and ancestry of their patrons, they had to resort to lies and fraud and cite the revelations of the gods as substantiation. The same condition has continued even today. With very few exceptions, most sáhityikas belong to the lower stratum of society. In spite of their desire to work independently, most of them have pawned themselves, from the grey matter of their brains to the very tips of their fingers, to particular people and organizations. Even those who appear from their writings to be bold and spirited, have, under circumstantial pressure, become the playthings of political parties.” (1)
Note: In His above teaching, Baba is pointing out how throughout history those in powerful positions have exploited and purchased writers, intellectuals, and artisans etc. Due to the pressure of circumstance, those writers and artists had to use their talents to promote the agenda and glories of those in power.
Reference
1. A Few Problems Solved - 1, The Practice of Art and Literature
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Cancer & sleep cycle
Remaining awake after midnight and sleeping after sunrise comes under the definition of being awake at night and sleeping during the day. And that very condition invites cancer:
Ananda Marga Yogic Treatments says "Persons... [who] sleep during the day and keep late nights are most likely to be attacked by cancer." (1)
Note: Sleeping during the day does not just mean taking a nap in the afternoon or in the late morning. Sleeping during the day also means not getting up in the early morning for paincajanya.
Reference
1. Yogic Treatments, Cancer
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Why dearth of aspirants
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, “Among so many people in our human society, very few get the opportunity to acquire spiritual knowledge. And among these, a still smaller percentage get the chance to undergo practical training. Why? Because the science is rare, the aspirants are rarer, and the teachers are rarer still.” (1)
Reference
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 4 The Three Prerequisites for Spiritual Knowledge
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Consequences of retrenching people without arranging a alternative job
According to Prout philosophy, "For the all-round welfare of human beings, society needs to follow some fundamental socio-political principles. Without the firm foundation of such principles, disunity, injustice and exploitation will flourish."
"First people should not be retrenched from their livelihood unless alternative employment has been arranged for them."
“In India during the time of the British, many small kingdoms were ruled by rajas and maharajas. When India became independent, these kingdoms merged into India, and the Indian government decided to pay the former monarchs a stipend. However, this scheme was not a good idea, because many former monarchs wasted money and lived luxurious, sycophantic lifestyles. After a particular leader became prime minister, the scheme was abandoned at short notice. This caused economic hardship for some of the less well-off recipients who were unable to make alternative financial arrangements. Some old people in particular found it difficult to adjust. While the government should not have adopted the scheme in the first place, having adopted it, the government should have withdrawn it gradually and taken the responsibility for looking after the elderly people on humanitarian grounds.”
“Now you understand the consequences of retrenching people without arranging a suitable alternative livelihood for them.” (1)
Reference
1. Prout in a Nutshell-16, Three Cardinal Socio-Political Principles
== Section 4: Links ==
Postings to Read
Ever-present Baba always helps
Seeing Him: special tips
Upavasa & greed
How to remain healthy
