Baba
Strategic method to clean mind
Namaskar,
The wide range of psychic diseases leads to so many problems. Yet those who do sadhana regularly purify the mind. In that case, their thought process and outlook are not dominated by psychic diseases. The formula is: The more sadhana one does, the more the mind rises above those depraving tendencies.
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As sadhakas, we do sadhana regularly and strive to keep the mind pure, calm, and blissful; then the mind is less prone towards psychic diseases. By this avenue, one keeps the mind balanced. Those not doing sadhana are more apt to succumb to mental ailments as those vrttis are not checked by a spiritual approach. So we should all know the way out.
Two-step process to overcome psychic disease
The question then arises: What should one do with feelings of envy? First we should counteract that psychic disease of envy by happiness and then channelise the mind toward Parama Purusa. For this, Baba has given us a two-step process:
(a) Neutralise those feelings of envy. The best way to do this is by cultivating feelings of encouragement (mudita). Do not tease or mock others who are doing good work - instead encourage those people. Think how happy and wonderful it will be to see your colleague, teammate, or fellow student become highly successful. Bathe oneself in the joy of their accomplishments. With such feelings of kindness, one will not feel disturbed knowing that another is on the pathway to greatness. Then, one will not be hindered by this very negative tendency of envy. Once that happens the mind will become calm and balanced.
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(b) The next step is to channelise that calm mind towards Parama Purusa by engaging in spiritual practices: Singing kiirtan, doing sadhana etc.
Here again is that two-step process: First is neutralisation by developing an encouraging attitude of happiness by seeing another’s development. That means taking delight or becoming joyous seeing someone else’s progress. That will help make the mind balanced. Once done, the mind can be channelised to the thought of Parama Purusa through the practice of kiirtan and sadhana.
Baba's example: how to neutralise the mind
In this following section of His discourse, Baba practically shows us the technique for neutralising the mind.
Ananda Marga ideology states, "Suppose someone is doing some good work but others cannot tolerate him; they try to pull him down. This should not be done; rather you should encourage such people by saying, “Keep up the good work! I fully support you.” This is muditá (encouragement)." (1)
By following Baba's practical suggestions and guideline, any sadhaka or any individual can easily overcome this tendency to discourage those involved in noble pursuits, and thereby avoid accumulating that negative samskara. This is one great boon for both individuals and the collective body. So much loss and waste results from discouraging others - i.e. undermining good people involved in productive endeavours. This is the misuse of human life. Plus, those who indulge in this way will have to undergo so many bad reactions. For this, Baba has given the remedy: Neutralise the mind by harboring feelings of kindness and joy.
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Conclusion
Ultimately, a sadhaka will not just neutralise the mind, but will also goad the mind towards Parama Purusa. Because when the mind is clear, balanced, and calm, it can easily be channelised to the Supreme. Baba's teaching of "taking the opposite stance in battle" means withdrawing the mind from a depraving tendency - neutralising it by opposing thoughts - and then goading the mind towards Parama Purusa. This is a very practical guideline that we should all use in day to day life.
Sadguru Baba says, "The movement is to make the mind pinnacled, apexed, and bring all the propensities to that point, and goad it towards your spiritual goal." (2)
Namaskar,
In Him,
Ravindra
~ In-depth study ~
In the general society, envy is looked upon as a normal condition. This type of reaction is common, unfortunately. People feel threatened by another's success, so they try to discourage him from doing good works. Yet, this defective mentality of envy only leads to self-pity, mean-mindedness, and a defeatist complex etc. Now let's examine how this problem might take shape in common, everyday life.
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An athlete sees his fellow athlete (Ramu) involved in a diligent training routine. They may think, "Ramu, is working very hard, he is in excellent condition, and his mind is focused. Certainly he will make the Olympics, and I will be left behind." At this point, that person may try to discourage Ramu by saying, "Why are you training so hard - take a break - come out to the movies with us etc." Why do such persons do this? Because they know that they themselves do not have the requisite drive to gain victory, so they try to ruin the next person's chances. This happens due to fear, nervousness, or they simply feel threatened by another's impending success. So they try to spoil it by preventing them from achieving greatness or respect etc.
Let's take a look at another scenario. Suppose one student in a dormitory is very focused on his studies. Everyone can see that at some point in the future he is bound to receive a great academic prize. Then other students may start to joke or tease that conscientious student. They do not want him to progress, so they say things like, "You are so boring, you study all the time." Or, "Don't you have any friends - all you do is study, study, study." In this way they will try to discourage him and interrupt his approach.
How communists tried to undermine AMPS
In all such cases, one party discourages another to prevent them from doing good deeds and becoming successful. They do not want that person to be lauded, recognised, honoured, or respected for his efforts. So they do all they can to prevent his success. The communist government in West Bengal did this with Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha. During the disastrous flood in Tiljala, then right away our Dadas, Didis, LFTs, and family margiis jumped into action to help the common people. But the government did not want Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha to gain any recognition so they announced, "Only government agencies can provide flood and disaster relief - not any other party."
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Ananda Marga philosophy states, "There are people, however, who have opposite feelings. They burn in envy to see someone happy, and make an all out effort to put them in danger. On seeing someone in distress, they think: “Rightly served. As you sow, so you reap. Let their troubles augment.” Such human-shaped animals are prowling about in many fields of life, including the field of politics." (3)
Main formula
Baba's foundational formula for treating certain psychic diseases is to apply the exact opposite mind-set. Jealous is cured by kindness (maetrii); sadistic feelings are cured by compassion (karuna). And in this letter we addressed the problem of discouraging others' good works.
In all these conditions, Baba has given a set procedure: Adopt an opposing approach. In His discourse, Baba presents a very simple analogy. If you are surrounded by darkness, then the solution is not more darkness, but rather a torchlight. That is how to overcome the darkness.
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References
1. Ananda Marga Ideology & Way of Life - 11,Taking the Opposite Stance in Battle
2. Subjective Approach and Objective Adjustment, 14 September 1979 DMC, Haifa
3. Shabda Cayaniká Part 4, Ku to Kuiṋjara (Discourse 27)
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Sleep, insomnia, & the living dead
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Those who do a lot of mental labour combined with a little physical labour, also fall asleep immediately upon going to bed, due to the tiredness of their nerve cells. But those who perform some mental labour, but proportionately less labour of the nerve fibres [that is, physical labour], suffer from insomnia. They use various types of drugs and injections to induce sleep by forcing the nerve cells and nerve fibres to stop functioning. So it can be imagined how dangerous and harmful is the effect of those drugs and injections.”
“Getting the amount of sleep necessary to maintain physical and mental health should not be criticized. But as with any of the four vrttis, if sleep is encouraged, people can spend twenty-three out of the twenty-four hours of their day in sleep. This kind of sleep is as bad as death. Human beings have come onto this earth to do some work. Now if they spend most of their time in sleep, when will they work? If a major portion of life is spent only in sleep, is that not another name for death?”
“Human beings want to emerge from the dark chasms of sleep and death into the world of light – golden flashes of light piercing the heart of darkness. That golden light is a dynamic and spirited life, which people can enjoy only in the waking state.” (1)
Reference
1. Namah Shiváya Shántáya, Disc: 16
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Ayurvedic medicines: ginger and elephant root
Ananda Marga philosophy says, “The third health-determining element is kapha, or the liquid, viscous portion of the body. Excess kapha creates spontaneous heat within the body which manifests externally as fever...Ginger is the enemy of kapha, the destroyer of kapha. Thus one name of ginger in ayurveda is kapha’ri. Similarly, arum or elephant root is the destroyer of arsha [piles] so arum in Sanskrit is called arsha’ri or arshaghnii.” (Shabda Cayanika - 3, Kakubh to Kavaśńa (Discourse 17))
Note: The first two health determining elements are va’yu and pitta.
Real purpose of knowledge and action
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "So why do people bother to cultivate knowledge or action? They do so to make their devotion more intense, not for any other reason. People do not eat pickles to fill the stomach, but only to whet their appetite so that they can enjoy their food more. Similarly, devotees cultivate knowledge and action not for their physical growth, but to acquire more strength to move along the path of devotion with greater acceleration." (1)
Note: Some people have gone astray from this above teaching. They acquire knowledge and do action for reasons of self-satisfaction and self-aggrandizement - so that they can brag to others. They want to misguide people, put simple folks in trouble, and create more dogmas. Yet all this inflates the ego and causes one's degeneration. It is rare that people cultivate knowledge and perform actions solely to serve humanity and increase their level of bhakti.
Reference
1. Namami Krsnasundaram, Vraja Krśńa and Dvaetaváda (Discourse 17)
Ananda Marga philosophy says, “The third health-determining element is kapha, or the liquid, viscous portion of the body. Excess kapha creates spontaneous heat within the body which manifests externally as fever...Ginger is the enemy of kapha, the destroyer of kapha. Thus one name of ginger in ayurveda is kapha’ri. Similarly, arum or elephant root is the destroyer of arsha [piles] so arum in Sanskrit is called arsha’ri or arshaghnii.” (Shabda Cayanika - 3, Kakubh to Kavaśńa (Discourse 17))
Note: The first two health determining elements are va’yu and pitta.
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Real purpose of knowledge and action
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "So why do people bother to cultivate knowledge or action? They do so to make their devotion more intense, not for any other reason. People do not eat pickles to fill the stomach, but only to whet their appetite so that they can enjoy their food more. Similarly, devotees cultivate knowledge and action not for their physical growth, but to acquire more strength to move along the path of devotion with greater acceleration." (1)
Note: Some people have gone astray from this above teaching. They acquire knowledge and do action for reasons of self-satisfaction and self-aggrandizement - so that they can brag to others. They want to misguide people, put simple folks in trouble, and create more dogmas. Yet all this inflates the ego and causes one's degeneration. It is rare that people cultivate knowledge and perform actions solely to serve humanity and increase their level of bhakti.
Reference
1. Namami Krsnasundaram, Vraja Krśńa and Dvaetaváda (Discourse 17)
== Section: Bangla Quote ==
কি করৰে?
“সৰাই এক থেকে এসেছ | সৰাই এক আলোকোজ্জ্বল সৌরকরোজ্জ্বল ভবিষ্যতের দিকে এগিয়ে চলেছ এক সঙ্গে | কোনও অবস্থাতেই হতাস হওয়ার কারণ নেই | নিজেকে একাকী ভাবৰার কোনও সঙ্গত কারণ নেই | তাই, ৰুদ্ধিমান মানুষ কি করৰে ? What an intelligent man is to do? What a devotee should do? He should look upon the entire living world, entire human world as one and inseparable, indivisible entity. We were one, we are one, we will be one.
[মার্গীরা—"ৰাৰা, ৰাৰা, ৰাৰা !" |]
”আজ সৰাইকে সঙ্গে নিয়ে এগিয়ে চলতে হৰে, মানব জীবনের সার্বভৌমিক চরিতার্থতার দিকে |” (1)
Reference
1. অপ্রকাশিত, unpublished,18 may 1981, Calcutta
घायल होकर नष्ट हो गये हैं
प्रभात संगीत 4756 कांटाय जारा भरे छिलो...
भावार्थ
हे मनुष्यो! भौतिकता के पुजारी अनैतिक लोगों ने , आसामाजिक तत्वों ने, अपनी दुष्टता से दूसरों को नष्ट करने के उद्देश्य से चारों ओर काॅंटे फैलाये। वे सीधे सादे निर्दोषों को जानबूझकर नुकसान पहुंचाना चाहते थे , परंतु वही असामाजिक तत्व अपने ही बोये गये काॅंटों से घायल होकर नष्ट हो गये हैं।
हे मनुष्यो ! ए पापी लोग केवल भावजड़ता में ही डूबे थे, उनके मन में किसी अन्य के प्रति प्रेम और आकर्षण नहीं था। वे लोग लाखों करोडो लोगों के जीवन से खिलवाड़ कर, जड़ता भरे भौतिकवाद और कम्युनिज्म को स्थापित करना चाहते थे। परंतु उनका सब कुछ व्यर्थ हो गया। उनकी नारकीय योजना चूर-चूर हो गई है।
भाइयो, मानव मन का स्वाभाविक गुण है पाप कर्म का विरोध करना, । मनुष्य मन स्वतंत्रता चाहता है। इन दोनों सदगुणों को नष्ट करने के लिए इन राक्षसों ने दमन-चक्र चलाया। मानव आत्मा को नष्ट करने का प्रयत्न किया था, परंतु वे अनैतिक लोग अपने ही आघातों से नष्ट हो गये, और परमपुरुष की कृपा से मानवता और धर्म की जीत हुई। आज बाबा की कृपा से स्वर्णिम प्रभात आ गया है।
“সৰাই এক থেকে এসেছ | সৰাই এক আলোকোজ্জ্বল সৌরকরোজ্জ্বল ভবিষ্যতের দিকে এগিয়ে চলেছ এক সঙ্গে | কোনও অবস্থাতেই হতাস হওয়ার কারণ নেই | নিজেকে একাকী ভাবৰার কোনও সঙ্গত কারণ নেই | তাই, ৰুদ্ধিমান মানুষ কি করৰে ? What an intelligent man is to do? What a devotee should do? He should look upon the entire living world, entire human world as one and inseparable, indivisible entity. We were one, we are one, we will be one.
[মার্গীরা—"ৰাৰা, ৰাৰা, ৰাৰা !" |]
”আজ সৰাইকে সঙ্গে নিয়ে এগিয়ে চলতে হৰে, মানব জীবনের সার্বভৌমিক চরিতার্থতার দিকে |” (1)
Reference
1. অপ্রকাশিত, unpublished,18 may 1981, Calcutta
== Section: Prabhat Samgiita ==
प्रभात संगीत 4756 कांटाय जारा भरे छिलो...
भावार्थ
हे मनुष्यो! भौतिकता के पुजारी अनैतिक लोगों ने , आसामाजिक तत्वों ने, अपनी दुष्टता से दूसरों को नष्ट करने के उद्देश्य से चारों ओर काॅंटे फैलाये। वे सीधे सादे निर्दोषों को जानबूझकर नुकसान पहुंचाना चाहते थे , परंतु वही असामाजिक तत्व अपने ही बोये गये काॅंटों से घायल होकर नष्ट हो गये हैं।
हे मनुष्यो ! ए पापी लोग केवल भावजड़ता में ही डूबे थे, उनके मन में किसी अन्य के प्रति प्रेम और आकर्षण नहीं था। वे लोग लाखों करोडो लोगों के जीवन से खिलवाड़ कर, जड़ता भरे भौतिकवाद और कम्युनिज्म को स्थापित करना चाहते थे। परंतु उनका सब कुछ व्यर्थ हो गया। उनकी नारकीय योजना चूर-चूर हो गई है।
भाइयो, मानव मन का स्वाभाविक गुण है पाप कर्म का विरोध करना, । मनुष्य मन स्वतंत्रता चाहता है। इन दोनों सदगुणों को नष्ट करने के लिए इन राक्षसों ने दमन-चक्र चलाया। मानव आत्मा को नष्ट करने का प्रयत्न किया था, परंतु वे अनैतिक लोग अपने ही आघातों से नष्ट हो गये, और परमपुरुष की कृपा से मानवता और धर्म की जीत हुई। आज बाबा की कृपा से स्वर्णिम प्रभात आ गया है।
== Section 3: Links ==
Other topics of interest
