== ONE OF THE GREAT CHARACTERS OF THE MAHAVISHVA ==
Namaskar,
In the wake of the recent Mahaprayan (death) of Shrii Pranay Kumar
Chatterjee, the first General Secretary of Ananda Marga, we can see that
through this unit life Baba has put forth an important lesson for each
and every sadhaka of the Marga. Namely, that above all else, one must
never fall prey to the vanity of their petty, little ego; rather one is
to always surrender to Parama Purusa. As we examine the life of PK
Chatterjee, it becomes quite clear that this is one of the central
teachings Baba has given.
A FEW OF THE GREAT CHARACTERS OF THE MAHABHARATA
We know that in the past, Lord Krsna employed various characters, who
had elements of greatness but certain distinct flaws as well, in order
to impart important lessons to the society.
Baba says, "All the characters of the Maha'bha'rata were conceived of
for the purpose of educating the masses. The events and the setting were
all nicely planned out, just as a dramatist selects some special
character and events that suit his purpose." (Disc MHB, Chap 10)
Thus in the age of the Mahabharata, Lord Krsna created characters to put
forth specific teachings:
(a) Dronacarya- to show the society about the tragedies which transpire
when a teacher shows partiality towards particular students; and
(b) Bheesma & Karna- to show the society what befalls a man if he
follows simple morality instead of spiritual morality.
So despite other qualities of greatness which they might have had, all
three of these characters-- Dronacarya, Bheesma, & Karna-- also had a
specific weakness or defect. And Lord Krsna wanted to teach the society
not to fall prey to such weaknesses. That was one of the most
significant aspects of the Mahabharat: To teach the society through
practical, living examples.
Similarly, in this present era, Baba has employed a similar approach in
the creation of the Mahavishva. Baba has utilised certain characters--
such as PK Chatterjee-- in order to teach the society through a
practical example.
THE GREATNESS OF PK CHATTERJEE
Just as Dronacarya, Bheesma, and Karna, will forever be remembered for
their skills, talents, and valour etc, there is no question that Pranay
Kumar Chatterjee will go down in history as a unique hero. Pranayji was
blessed by Baba as being one of the very early members of the Marga. He
first came in contact with Baba in 1947-48 at the Jamalpur Railway
office and at the age of 22 was initiated by Baba Himself on 8 August
1949. But that is not all. By various accounts, PK Chatterjee was the
first Purodha of AM, the first member of AMPS, the first General
Secretary of the organisation, as well as so many other "firsts". Plus
he worked tirelessly in spreading the ideals of AM. Indeed, he worked
quite closely with Baba in those early days. This can never be denied.
Thus when the earth was sleeping and unaware that Mahasambhuti has come,
PK Chatterjee was one of the first to dedicate his energy towards
working for the Lord's mission. Plus he received so many different
sadhanas directly from Baba. This is the immense grace Baba has bestowed
upon him.
HOW VANITY RUINED PK CHATTERJEE'S GREAT CAREER
Unfortunately, despite receiving innumerable and unique opportunities,
PK Chatterjee's ego was too much. Over time, began to disagree with Baba
on various points.
Since PK Chatterjee was a so-called brahmin and since he knew Baba
before He was publicly viewed as a Guru, PK Chatterjee did not like to
sit on he floor while Baba Himself sat on His seat. PK Chatterjee could
not adjust his mind with this idea of paying proper reverence to Baba as
a Guru. Plus he opposed Baba on various directives and policy matters as
well. For example, he disagreed with Baba about the start of the Ananda
Nagar project; he had his own opinion about the meaning of renunciation
and avadhutas; and on various other points he began to differ with Baba.
Thus it was that due to his own unit ego PK Chatterjee could not
surrender Himself to the sweet will of Parama Purusa. And while he was
still a young man, he walked away from AM & Baba.
Baba says, "All human egos, all egoistic expressions, are based on the
vanity moving around the self, moving around the 'I' feeling, the first
expression of existence. 'I am' is the base, is the fundament, of all
egos and all vanities. You know, when a man learns much or earns much,
his ego, his vanity, gets puffed up. The man gets puffed up with vanity,
and under such circumstances he becomes so conscious of his little
existence that it becomes very difficult for him to surrender before the
Supreme." (AV-14, 'Yoga – Its Fundamental Factors')
In His above guideline, Baba adamantly warns us how vanity can be the
cause of one's downfall such that he is not even able to surrender to
Parama Purusa. And this is exactly what happened with the character of
PK Chatterjee. Due to his extreme vanity, Chatterjee could not surrender
to Parama Purusa and instead left the Marga entirely and went away from
Baba.
IMPORTANCE OF GURU-DISCIPLE RELATION IN TANTRA
So this it the great teaching that Baba is giving us through the example
of PK Chatterjee. Namely that in AM Tantra, the Guru-disciple
relationship is everything and the foundation of that relation is one of
surrender-- following His teachings and abiding Guru's wish. And one
must not let their petty ego interfere in this relation.
Yet this PK Chatterjee could not do. So despite receiving so many
sadhanas, spiritual guidelines, and despite having the highest post in
AM, even then PK Chatterjee could not last in the Marga. Because in
Tantra, surrender to Guru is everything. Yet because of his vanity, PK
Chatterjee could not do this.
And if nothing else, that is what we all are to learn from this
character known as PK Chatterjee. That above all else-- no matter what
may happen in this life-- we are to always surrender to Guru and not let
our own petty ego get in the way.
Because that is the cornerstone of Tantra: Surrendering to the Guru
Baba says, "In Tantra emphasis is placed...on the need for disciples to
make a total surrender to the preceptor in the early stages of the
Tantric path." (AMIWL-9, 'Tantra & Sadhana')
IT IS JUST THEIR SAMSKARA, NONE CAN ACCUSE PARAMA PURUSA
Here is one further important point to remember in all of this.
Even though we are all characters in His divine drama, none can lay
claim that Parama Purusa is responsible for our defects and
shortcomings. None can say that Baba placed an extra degree of vanity in
PK Chatterjee's mind and therefore he could not surrender. This cannot
be said.
Because Parama Purusa has lovingly granted free will to all human beings
and He benevolently goads all unto the path of beatitude. However, due
to penchants and proclivities and samskaras, human beings may fall away
from the path. Of course, He always tries to teach and rectify them and
indeed Baba tried innumerable times to bring Shrii Chatterjee back onto
the path of AM. But PK Chatterjee could not pay heed to Baba's call due
to his own feelings of vanity.
So, in the end, all that can be said is that, PK Chatterjee was guided
by his own samskara-- his own ego-- and Baba utlised that example to
teach the society not to do like this.
And that in itself is a blessing. It could have been that PK
Chatterjee's ego would have led to an obscure demise; but instead, his
life will be used as a teaching point for the generations to come.
HOW TO OVERCOME THE GRIP OF EGO
By all this, we should understand that letting go of one's own ego and
surrendering to Guru is the key point in Tantra. That is one of Baba's
golden guidelines, and that is what Baba is teaching us through the
character and story of PK Chatterjee.
Even then, letting go of one's ego is not as simple as 1-2-3. Here below
Baba gives insight into the both the importance and difficulty in
getting rid of one's own ego, vanity, and pride.
Baba says, "By merely relinquishing the desire or pursuit of the fruits
of action it is hard to get rid of the vanity of a doer, of the idea
that 'I do', in so far as we cannot extricate ourselves from the objects
of our actions or from the contemplation of accomplishment. To avoid
these, one has to always contemplate that one is a machine and Brahma
alone is the machine operator who gets the work done through this
machine. But even this is not sufficient to eradicate the vanity of a
doer. The reason is that one may believe that although a machine, yet he
is he is superior to others having been selected by the machine operator
for that particular action being performed at that point of time."
(SS-1, 'Actions & Their Results')
In His above teaching that the ego is such a tough nut to crack-- such a
difficult thing to overcome-- that even adopting the idea that 'Bramha
is the Machine Man and I am the machine' does not do the job fully.
Because although one is following Guru's will, one will still harbour
the idea that they are better than others. So a true sadhaka will have
to go one step further.
Ultimately we will have to adhere to the principle that everything
happens due to His cosmic grace. Only by ensconcing the mind in this
ideal will allow us rid ourselves from any egoistic feeling and
surrender fully to His will.
Baba says, "The belief has to be developed that Brahma is only served or
chosen by Brahma. That is, Brahma inspires us to donate and again
receives the same through others. It is simply by the grace of Brahma
that we act and have the favourable opportunity of performing this act.
It is possible to avoid the doer’s vanity or kartrtva'bhimaa'na tya'ga
by developing this belief." (SS-1, 'Actions & Their Results)
Thus, remembering that everything is done by His grace and that it is
His grace that allows us to serve Him, this alone enables us to move
past all feelings of unit ego and swim in His cosmic ocean where
everything is governed by His grace. So this should be our approach.
And side by side, in this Cosmic Liila of the Mahavishva, the great
character of PK Chatterjee will always stand as a reminder of what
happens to those who get drowned in their own egotistical approach. In
that case, they will leave Baba and the Marga. This also we should never
forget.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace, we will always be ever-ready to surrender fully unto
Him, letting all pride and vanity melt away. In this lies our success on
that path of Tantra.
Baba says, "When human beings depend solely on Parama Purus'a, they
cross the turbulent ocean of Ma'ya' through His grace. Here lies the
importance of Brahma sa'dhana' – the practice of intuitional science –
and the necessity of sharan'agati, total surrender to Parama Purus'a."
(AMPH-4)
Namaskar,
Gaurishankar
Note 1: ON WHAT POINT CAN HUMAN BEINGS BE PROUD
As harmful as vanity is, and as much as Baba warns us not to develop any
type of pride or egoistic feelings, here below Baba guides us what
humans can be proud of.
Baba says, "Human beings have nothing to be proud of except one thing,
and that is Parama Purus'a. What type of pride is this? Human beings can
think, 'A perfect Entity like Parama Purus'a is my Father, I am His dear
affectionate child.' This sort of vanity and pride can be harboured. But
besides this human beings have no other treasure of which to feel
proud." (AMIWL-11)
