Baba
Proper order to learn AM teachings
Namaskar,
Baba's key teaching from the Acarya Diary is to first study and understand Ananda Marga ideology. Then, once one has full command of the vast teachings of Ananda Marga ideology, then if one chooses they may read other philosophies. Generally, though, we find that people do the opposite. First they read other books: other religious texts, other philosophical treatises, dogmatic teachings, or books by dadas and margiis that often contain gross errors etc. This is the wrong way to educate oneself.
For instance, if you want to learn to play the shofar (musical instrument) then you will consult with a master shofar player, not xyz on the street. Likewise, if you want your child to become educated you will not send him out on the street, but rather enroll him in a very good institution. If the child learns out on the street he will only learn abusive words and slang.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
The central idea is that one should not try to start learning Ananda Marga teachings from sources other than Sadguru Baba's direct teachings. First one should learn Ananda Marga philosophy. That is Baba’s guideline from the Acarya Diary. The underlying reason is that if one first learns something from a secondary source - such as from a dada's book, Ananda Marga magazines, dadas’ lectures etc, then most of the time that is a negative or wrong teaching. In that case, in order to get the right teaching one has to first undo the negative, dogmatic guideline. It is an arduous and laborious task.
Invariably be misguided
Consider this analogy. Two students sought out the guidance of the same music teacher. Student A had no prior knowledge and he was told that the price would be $10 per hour. Student B had already studied music and the teacher told him the cost would be $20 per hour. Hearing this, student B inquired why he had to pay double the amount. The teacher replied, "Because first I must undo all the wrong things and then teach you the right way. It will be double the work for me."
When Wts and margiis try to learn about Ananda Marga philosophy from some other source then they will invariably be misguided and all those dogmas will have to be removed. Best is to first study the books of Ananda Marga. We must bear in mind Baba's teaching from Acarya Diary: Before studying any theory or philosophy, first learn all the tenets of Ananda Marga ideology by reading Ananda Marga books. That way we will know His divine guidelines and we will not be swayed by the dogma of other so-called teachings.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Listening to Baba's books
At present it is the need of the day to impart Baba's key ideological guidelines to humanity on all kinds of issues from human health and spirituality to economics and water conservation. By studying Ananda Marga books we will all develop a clear-cut understanding of His teachings on these burning issues and many other points as well.
Human beings are known as manusa - psychic beings. We eat physical food just a few times a day, whereas we need psychic food all the 24hrs. By feeding our minds with Baba's discourses, the psychic flow of one’s entire existence will be greatly enhanced and one will be better able to serve humanity. Remember, one will only be able to do viprocita seva by teaching and modeling His words and ideas to the general populace.
This psychic nourishment enables us to grow not just today but tomorrow also. What we think now affects our future. By saturating the mind with His sweet ideas over the course of the day through the studying of His books, one’s whole existence will drift in His spiritual vibration - in His flow. His words will be in our every thought and that will invariably accelerate one’s movement on the path.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Again, when Wts and margiis try to learn Ananda Marga philosophy from some other source they will invariably be misguided and all those dogmas will have to be removed. Best is to first study the books of Ananda Marga ideology. We must bear in mind Baba's teaching from Acarya Diary. Before studying any theory or philosophy, first learn all the tenets of Ananda Marga ideology by reading Baba’s books.
Conclusion
The overall message in this email is three-pronged.
(A) First read and study Ananda Marga ideology and gain a clear understanding of the full gamut of His teachings.
(B) In this advanced technological era, there are lots of ways to gain access to and study His teachings. One may download sound files onto a portable device and listen to His books while engaging in mundane, routine duties. This can make one’s use of time much more efficient. More about this is below.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
(C) Once one has completed studying Ananda Marga ideology and gained a clear understanding of Baba’s teachings, then one may read other philosophical books, as well as articles in Ananda Marga magazines and Dadas’ books, which are often full of gross errors and mistakes. Fortified with a clear understanding of Baba’s true teachings one will be able to find the faults in those Dadas’ books, and will not be misled by them.
Namaskar,
in Him,
Ananda
It is a busy life and not everyone has time to sit down and read Baba’s books all day. However as Ananda Margiis we have to be cent-per-cent familiar with His teachings. One very good way to manage the time is to have your phone, computer, or digital player read Baba’s books aloud to you. That way when traveling on a bus, doing food prep, or cleaning the house or jagrti etc, you can listen to Guru’s teachings. If you need more information about how to do this then please write us.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Whoever is born will one day die
Baba has graciously given us the rarity of human life. Furthermore, by ensconcing ourselves in His thought and psychically involving in the dharma of Ananda Marga, we will certainly reach that cherished goal. This blessed recipe Baba has given to every Ananda Margii. May we all recognise His special gift and make our lives successful.
Ananda Marga ideology states, "The books in Ananda Marga philosophy are all absolute knowledge. The proper mark of identity of absolute knowledge is that it must be universal, rational and psychological. Certain instances of absolute knowledge are as follows – the goal of human life is the attainment of Brahma; human beings are the progeny of Parama Puruśa; this universe is created by the macrocosmic conation; matter is the crudified form of the universal mind; by dint of sádhaná or spiritual practices human beings gradually become divine; whoever is born will have to die one day; liberation is the birth right of all living beings; human society is one and indivisible; diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." (1)
Ananda Marga ideology states, "Even after getting human life, only a few get the opportunity to listen to dharmika discourses. Among those, only a few develop the desire to practise dharma sa'dhana'. And even among these, only a few actually grasp the spirit of sa'dhana'. Those rare ones who understand, perform sa'dhana', and reach the goal are truly blessed." (2)
For those who wish to have audio files in English of Baba’s books, contact us as we may be able to provide those to you.
http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
References
1. Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell - 4, Prápta Vákya and Ápta Vákya
2. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 3, The Requirements for Sádhaná
== Section 2: Prabhat Samgiita ==
Flashes of smiling brilliance
"Ábár kii? re álo elo, dhulor e dhará te..." (Prabhat Samgiita #0615)
Purport:
O' human being, look what a liila? See the great refulgence. Behold! Parama Purusa has come again onto this dusty earth. The flood of the Divine Entity has appeared. Open your eyes. Look, gaze, with heartfelt longing, the Lord of Radiance, the Supreme Entity has manifested. The One you have been waiting for since ages has taken advent.
The trees and creepers throughout this wilderness are filled with colours. Now everywhere - on land, in water, and in the sky - in this heavenly intoxicating night the dance of panorama has created a divine vibration. He has ascended on this mortal earth again.
Because of His supreme presence, everything has changed. The minds and hearts, which were crying in sorrow and pain, are now dancing in joy with rhythm and melody. The sweet breeze is blowing full of fragrance. With flashes of smiling brilliance, the fountain is dancing. He is in this world to remove all suffering and establish dharma. On this dusty earth, Parama Purusa Baba is here....
"Ábár kii? re álo elo, dhulor e dhará te..." (Prabhat Samgiita #0615)
Purport:
O' human being, look what a liila? See the great refulgence. Behold! Parama Purusa has come again onto this dusty earth. The flood of the Divine Entity has appeared. Open your eyes. Look, gaze, with heartfelt longing, the Lord of Radiance, the Supreme Entity has manifested. The One you have been waiting for since ages has taken advent.
The trees and creepers throughout this wilderness are filled with colours. Now everywhere - on land, in water, and in the sky - in this heavenly intoxicating night the dance of panorama has created a divine vibration. He has ascended on this mortal earth again.
Because of His supreme presence, everything has changed. The minds and hearts, which were crying in sorrow and pain, are now dancing in joy with rhythm and melody. The sweet breeze is blowing full of fragrance. With flashes of smiling brilliance, the fountain is dancing. He is in this world to remove all suffering and establish dharma. On this dusty earth, Parama Purusa Baba is here....
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Why sadhakas suffer more
Ananda Marga ideology states, “Reactions in requital to past actions normally occur more in a spiritual aspirant’s life than in an ordinary person’s life. The reason is that when all original actions are surrendered to Brahma, there remain only the reactive actions. The reactions may be good or bad [according to whether they are resultants of good or bad original actions]. But think about how many of the deeds you performed before coming to the path of sádhaná were good and how many were bad. To tell the unpleasant truth, ninety-nine percent of your deeds were bad. Hence it is often the case that sádhakas have to suffer much more from bad reactive momenta than get to enjoy good ones. It can even be said that the more one suffers from reactions, the more one is progressing along the path of sádhaná.”
“Of course, the requital of the reactive momenta may possibly be pleasurable instead of painful; it all depends upon the nature of one’s actions. In either case, the more one surrenders one’s actions to Brahma, the shorter will be the period of requital caused by the reactions. In this case the intensity of the requital will be greater than normal; but this is a good sign, because intense requital means the exhaustion of the requital within a short period.” (1)
Reference
1. Ananda Marga Ideology in a Nutshell - 8, Sádhaná
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Enemies of humanity, not rśis
Every margii chants the bath mantra on a daily basis after bathing. One of the terms in that mantra is r'si. Following is the definition:
Ananda Marga ideology says, "A rśi is one who cultivates wisdom, who enriches the intellectual field through deep research and innovative discoveries and harvests the fruits of wisdom. Those who invent deadly weapons such as the hydrogen bomb, which caused the frightening holocaust, do not help the human intellect attain the height of human perfection, but rather direct their intellect towards crudeness. These types of inventors and their patrons do not deserve to be called rśis, rather, they are worse than demons, far worse than internal creatures, having forfeited their right to human identity." (1)
Reference
1. Ananda Marga Ideology & Way of Life - 6, The Expansion of the Microcosm
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Should Proutists be worried
Seeing the slow progress of Prout pracara, some Proutists get depressed thinking that, “We lost yet another election and that nobody is listening to us.” Everywhere capitalism / capitalist exploiters are thriving and sucking the blood. WIth this mindset they become defunct and do not want to do anything. Whatever questions they have about when Prout will be established, Baba has given in the following quote. This society moves on. Now vaeshyas / capitalists are exploiting. In a short period those capitalists will be fully destroyed. That is the natural law. If one does anything or not, by nature of their very deeds, those capitalists will be destroyed. At the same time, one can expedite and hasten this process but even if you do nothing this social cycle will move forward. Nobody can stop it.
The rapacious capitalists are increasing the degree of their exploitation day by day. When the general society has no scope to even breathe, the common people will leap on those wealthy exploiters and destroy everything. In this way the social cycle will rotate one step ahead. This is the inexorable law of nature. So Proutists need not think twice about whether revolution will come or not. Just go on doing your duty and in the opportune moment the change will come like a wildfire.
Remember, regardless how hard you try to start a fire in the rainy season you cannot do it. But in summer, when the conditions are ripe, then without any efforts a fire will break out. In that same way the social cycle will move. With our efforts we can bring that change a little bit sooner.
Prout philosophy states, "The rule of the social cycle is that the Shúdra Age is followed by the Kśatriya Age, the Kśatriya Age is followed by the Vipra Age...This kind of social rotation is the inexorable law of nature." (1)
Prout philosophy states, "Nobody can stop the rotation of the social cycle, not even the sadvipras. They stay in the nucleus of the social cycle, wakefully and vigilantly observing the process of rotation. One after another, one age follows the next: Vipra after Kśatriya." (2)
References
1. Human Society - 2, The Vipra Age
2. Human Society - 2, Shúdra Revolution and Sadvipra Society
== Section 3: Links ==
Postings to ReadBaba did not review pre-1990 books
Never this type of food
Bliss: inherent to being on the path
Raksha Bandhan & female submission
Doing pracara with religious followers
Way to enhance sadhana
