AM: what about destruction of Lincoln statue
Namaskar,
Suppose a group of men tear off a woman’s clothes and rape her, and then
later another man comes onto the scene and is hailed as a hero for
giving her back her clothes. That smacks of injustice because there has
not been any redress of the main crime of rape. Moreover, the
perpetrators did not apologise, or try to rectify their wrongdoing, or
express the least bit of remorse. And the hero who returned the clothes
to the woman is neither demanding justice on the woman’s behalf nor
going after the perpetrators. Yet the woman, who did nothing wrong to
deserve such abuse, is expected to be grateful for getting her clothes
back. From beginning to end, such an account smells of callousness and
exploitation, and is utterly devoid of human decency and dignity. Any
portrayal of that man as a hero for giving the woman her own clothes
undermines any sense of justice.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Scientific cause behind white / black race
Here below Ananda Marga philosophy outlines the climatic reasons why
peoples of the world have different so-called racial characteristics.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "The greater the heat of the sun, the
greater the amount of ultraviolet rays in the sunlight. A study of
geography tells us why there are differences in the degree of heat of
the sun’s rays. Where the sun’s rays fall on earth obliquely, there is
less heat of the sun, and where the sun’s rays fall straight on the
earth, the heat is greater. In very hot countries white-skinned people
find it very hard to live, because their skin, having less of the
chemical substance called melanin, is unable to stand much heat. Body
skin with a great quantity of melanin in it turns jet black, and
obviously a lesser quantity of melanin makes one’s skin white. If ever
white people are forced for some reason to live long in a hot climate,
their colour turns brown. In 1939-40, when British soldiers came to
India for war purposes, their colour became brown due to the great heat.
Naturally, as the skin of these soldiers had to adjust with the hot
climate of India, there were some necessary changes in their skin to
effect acclimatisation." (1)
Here that point is that we are one human race with different physical
features. There are not different races based on different physical
characteristics.
Grotesque display
Keeping all of the above in mind, let’s examine the scene depicted in the below statue:
(A) The main figure is a regal-looking, well-dressed man standing tall. That is President Abraham Lincoln.
(B) In President Lincoln’s right hand he is unrolling a document that is not well shown.
(C) With his left hand, President Lincoln is portrayed in a
condescending manner dismissively gesturing to someone kneeling beneath
him.
(D) The half-naked person kneeling at President Lincoln’s feet
is a black man, i.e. a slave. There are iron braces around his wrists
that seemingly show he is still in bondage; verily, his right hand looks
to be chained to the ground, whereby he cannot move. For more
explanation about this, please read the next point.
(E) The statue deviously makes it look like the black man, a
slave, is bound to the earth, as if his right wrist is still shackled to
the ground. The chain seemingly does not even enable him to stand, so
the black man is forced to kneel and remain in a very submissive stance
at the feet of Lincoln. This is the impression given to the observer.
But if one looks very closely the black man is not physically chained to
the ground, although the statue gives that vibration to the onlooker.
With this strategy, the white people who commissioned this statue
project their desired image of a lowly slave, but if anyone accuses them
of why the black man is still bound, they have an escape hatch, or
alibi. They can say he is not actually bound to the ground. This
approach is quite devious in nature and mirrors those types of
revisionist historians who give the false justification that the
American Civil War was not about slavery but about the economy.
(F) The below statue paints the picture that the black man has
committed a heinous crime and now President Lincoln has come to render
justice. When the truth is that the black man did no wrong, but was
harshly subjected to torment, enslavement, and abuse. Yet President
Lincoln shows no signs of any remorse or misgivings - nor is he begging
apology - for the injustices rendered to the innocent man.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Have a look at this below statue and the story it tells:
Look at the horrific scene depicted above. The cruel, torturous, and
inhumane treatment that shattered the lives of those innocent slaves is
beyond shocking. The above statue paints the picture that the black man
has committed a heinous crime and now President Lincoln has come to
render justice. When the truth is that the black man did no wrong, but
was unjustly subjected to torment, enslavement, and abuse. Yet President
Lincoln shows no signs of any remorse or misgivings - nor is he begging
apology - for the injustices rendered to the innocent man.
Note: This letter is strictly a commentary on the statue and how those
who commissioned this work deftly strategized to seemingly honour the
emancipation of the slaves, when in reality the greater intent was
saving the prestige of the exploitative white population, while
simultaneously patronizing, humiliating, and repressing blacks. This was
a form of damage control by those white leaders because a truthful
portrayal would have displayed the white people as veritable demons who
broke all codes of humanity in their insatiable pursuit of destroying,
belittling, and degrading those slaves, i.e. the black population.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Current quandary
Question: Should this statue remain standing or be taken down? The
answer seems a quite obvious “yes”. Yet, at present, this is of great
debate within the black American community. And further down in this
letter we examine the opposing psychologies at play. First let’s address
this from a neo-humanistic perspective.
Demeaning statues should be removed
According to Ananda Marga teachings of neo-humanism, this horrific
statue of President Lincoln with the bound black man kneeling at his
feet should be taken down. The main problem is twofold: (a) President
Lincoln is not showing any remorse or repentance for the generations of
mistreatment levied against the black people, and (b) the statue depicts
the black person in a submissive, compromised, and lowly stance.
All in all, this statue sends a harmful and demeaning message to the
entire society that black people are less or lower, and are indebted to
white people, despite the fact that their horrific plight is due to the
mean-mindedness and exploitation by white people. Verily, the scene
depicted in the statue pushes down the status and psyche of black people
and paves the way for further exploitation against them.
Think of it this way. Suppose a group of men gang raped a woman and a
hero came along and saved the woman from this debased, horrible, and
demeaning attack. Then if they made a statue of the scene they would not
depict the woman with half of her clothes ripped off. Rather they would
present her in a respectable light.
Similarly, with regards to the above statue of President Lincoln, the
black man should be shown standing upright on equal footing with
Lincoln. That would place black people’s existential status on the same
plane as all others. Secondly, Lincoln should be shown with a look of
repentance and sorrow for the terrible harm enacted by white people upon
black people in the US. Then such a statue would be consistent with
neo-humanistic values, as it would demonstrate that black people are not
only free, but worthy of a dignified stance in society, equal to that
of every other person. And it would send the clear-cut message that
those in positions of power must express remorse, beg apology, and pay
reparations to the exploited peoples in their land.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Conclusion
Wherever people have been pushed down, beaten, and exploited, then they
should be presented in a positive light and given a respected place in
society. If this is not done and those exploited people continue to be
shown in a demeaning role, then that just rekindles the negative memory
from the past and cripples that population. As sadhakas, as
neo-humanists, we should never tolerate that. All such debased statutes
like this Emancipation Memorial should be categorically removed and
ground to dust. And the perpetrators or leaders must express remorse for
the horror they of their forefathers have committed.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “If one’s spine is shattered, it is
impossible to hold one’s head erect. Can those whose necks and backs are
crushed under the weight of pseudo-culture, be expected to hold their
heads high in any sphere of life? Hence it is the bounden duty of every
rational person to save innocent people from pseudo-culture.” (2)
In Him,
Jiivan Deva
Jared Monroe
~ In-depth study ~
Difference between older & younger generation blacks
Here below Sadguru Baba outlines the key psychic tendency that
differentiates the older generation of blacks who support the Lincoln
statues and the younger generation of blacks who do not. Essentially,
the older generation has been repressed and is accustomed to feeling
that they are of a lower standing. This inferiority complex has been
imposed on their psyche due to a lifetime of repression by the
exploiters. In contrast, the younger generation of blacks are not
repressed and feel that, “I am just as good as anyone else; I have my
rightful place in society.” Buoyed by this outlook, they are wholly
disgusted by the degrading depiction of the black man on his knees
before Lincoln. Here below Baba describes the debilitating effect of a
repressed mind indicative of that older generation of blacks.
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Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Repression directly affects the
subconscious mind. Gradually the psychic structure is severely damaged,
and finally the mind is totally changed. The result is that people are
inflicted with a defeatist psychology and an inferiority complex. Let me
give you an example. The headmaster of a Harijan school once asked a
student to fetch him some drinking water, but the boy did not move.
Instead he asked a non-Harijan friend in a low voice to do as the
headmaster requested. But the headmaster intervened and asked the boy
why he would not comply with the request. The student replied, “Sir, I
am an untouchable by caste. How can you drink water touched by me?” This
is an example of how repression can bring about a change in the psychic
structure.” (3)
Deceptive funding
The white people who designed this racist statue knew the only way for
it to be socially accepted was if they had the support of black people.
So they adopted a deceptive strategy where the funding for the statue
was raised almost entirely from freed slaves. This gave the grand
impression that the black population fully embraced this statue, when in
fact they had no idea about the design. Whites capitalized on this and
commissioned a statue that depicts a black man in a sub-human manner to
suppress the collective black psyche.
Heinous days of American slavery
One of the darkest moments in American history is slavery - i.e. when
white people owned black people and traded and sold, whipped, chained,
black people like cattle or other commodities and used them as free
labor. Blacks were grotesquely viewed as sub-human, or just like cattle.
Ultimately, in 1863, President Lincoln issued his famous Emancipation
Proclamation which declared all blacks as free men. Indeed, based on
this decree, Lincoln was hailed as a great man. And even today, many
black people feel that, by definition, any statue of Lincoln should
remain standing. At the same time, the younger generation of black
people in the US vehemently oppose those statues of Lincoln - such as
the Emancipation Memorial. All neo-humanists will stand arm-in-arm with
those youths and demand such aforesaid statues be ground to dust.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
References
1. A Few Problems Solved - 2, Human Society Is One and Indivisible – 1
2. Liberation of Intellect: Neo-humanism, Exploitation and Pseudo-Culture (Discourse 7)
3. Prout in a Nutshell - 17, Suppression, Repression and Oppression
* * *
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 ==
You remain by my side and care for me
"Priyo ámár, priyatamo tumi mor..." (Prabhat Samgiita #3261)
Purport:
My Parama Purusa, You are dear to me, You are my Dearmost. Even when I
am in cimmerian darkness - during storms and cyclones, tornadoes, in my
miseries, my terrible days - You remain always with me, and keep me
safe. My Citcor, You remain by my side and care for me; I am never
alone.
Baba, You are Alakhanirainjan; Parama Purusa You are blemishless, pure,
and vipad bhainjan, the destroyer of all calamities and all-powerful.
You are my práńer spandana, the pulsation of my heart warmth of my life,
and the citi bodháinjana - collyrium of Brahma jina’na. Parama Purusa,
Your beauty and infinite, spiritual charm satiates my heart.
Baba, You protect me from all sorts of dangers and calamities and remain
as the abode of bliss. Those who attain You will be fearful of whom -
they will fear no one. By Your mercy, those who bind You with the thread
of their love and bhakti, even their obstacles are removed. They can
overcome all hurdles, cross the ocean of bhavasagara - the sea of
sam’ska’ra, and get moks’a. No impediment can halt their forward march.
Baba, Parama Purusa, Omnipotent Entity, please shower Your karuna on me...
Note for Prabhat Samgiita #3261:
[1] Citta-cor / Chit-chor / Citcor: In His role as 'Citcor',
Parama Purusa is the Thief or Stealer of the bhakta’s mind. How does He
steal the mind? He captivates their mind and attracts the bhakta by His
exquisite spiritual charm - whereby the sadhaka cannot think of anything
or anyone else. The sadhaka has lost control of his own mind: It
incessantly and unknowingly rushes towards Parama Purusa. The One who
makes this happen is Citcor - the Stealer of the mind.
And to some degree this happens in the mundane realm as well, though it
is degenerating and not long-lasting. There are numerous worldly
examples where a person's mind is stolen. For instance, if they lost
money, if they are infatuated with mundane attraction, if they are
anxious about something - in all such cases when the person's mind runs
again and again in that direction. So to some degree their mind has been
stolen. The person's mind is no longer their own - they do not have
control over it. Over and over, their mind is thinking of something -
yet that something is not eternal but rather short-lived. So the effect
is degenerating. Because their I-feeling has become attached to
something mundane. In the real sense that is not citcor, but rather a
reflection of a reflection of the stage of citcor.
The Entity that causes someone to lose control of their mind is Citcor -
the stealer of the mind. And this is a deeply spiritual state. In the
sphere of bhakti, only Parama Purusa is Citcor. The sadhaka thinks of
Him, unknowingly. Always the mind is goaded in that direction. Even if
the bhakta intentionally tries not to think in this way, still his mind
becomes ensconced in the thought of the Supreme, i.e. Parama Purusa.
This is an elevating experience and has a wholly beneficial result.
Ultimately, when this condition climaxes, in that culminating state the
unit mind - the jiiva'tma - becomes one with Supreme Consciousness.
Lastly, another name of Citcor is Makhan Cor (Butter Thief).
A number of dogmatic worshipers think that Lord Krsna is a butter-thief
and they portray Lord Krsna as a small child who has stolen butter
whereby the child Krsna is eating a lot of saturated fat. The sages
tried to teach the common people with analogies but due to a very low
standard the people took it in a literal way until finally it became an
entrenched dogma. They do not like to hear the real truth of the matter.
[2] Alakhanirainjan: ('Alakh' means 'invisible'; 'nir' means 'no';
'ainjan' means 'black spot'.) Of the infinite attributions of Parama
Purusa, one of which is that He is invisible and blemishless - totally
pure and perfect. That is why He is known as Alakhanirainjan. Because in
this world unit beings are bound by their past actions, by their
samskaras; and this creates a black mark in their mind. But being
Alakhanirainjan, being both invisible and blemishless, Parama Purusa is
totally beyond the realm of sense perception and beyond the realm of
samskara. His mind never gets stained. He remains eternally pure and
spotless.
== Section 3: Links ==
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