== I HAVE ONE MARGII FRIEND... ==
Namaskar,
It can sometimes happen in the life of a sadhaka that one thinks,
'although I do not have time for sadhana today, later on in the future I
will have a lot of time for sadhana'. This type of mentality can develop
in one's mind; even it is common.
EXAMPLES HOW PEOPLE PLAN TO DO SADHANA
I have one margii friend who was trying hard to arrange the marriage of
his daughter. In that planning, day by day was going by, and all the
while he was neglecting his spiritual duties-- he wasn't doing an ounce
of sadhana. And whenever anyone raised the matter with him then he would
immediately retort, 'When this is marriage is finalised then I will
devote a maximum amount of time for sadhana'. This was his on-going
justification. But in the end, when the marriage finally got arranged
then immediately he became involved in arranging a place for the newly
married couple to live etc etc -- and never did he have time to do
sadhana. Just his life became filled with another type of mundane planning.
On another occasion I was in the presence of one acarya, who for years
and years was planning that when he will become old then he will do lots
and lots of sadhana. So he spent nearly 10 or 12 years of his life
planning to find a place to live later on so that when he gets older he
will be able to do plenty of sadhana. But ultimately his plan did not
come to fruition and in the end he only complained that he was unable to
do sadhana because he could not concentrate his mind.
Then in another situation, there was one margii neighbor who was working
24 hrs a day at his mundane job and side by side building sadhana
platforms in his backyard-- planning that 'in the future when I retire
then I will devote all my time to sadhana'. So at present he was
neglecting his kiirtan and sadhana under the excuse that he had no time
as he needed to work to make money in order to build the sadhana
platforms etc. This was his on-going plan. But when all was said and
done, after skipping his sadhana for so long finally he lost interest
entirely in doing meditation. Never was his dream fulfilled, and he just
filled his life instead with more mundane things.
So like this in various ways and shapes people build glorious plans
about how in future they will do a lot of sadhana-- yet neglect their
practice in the present moment. But tragically the end of the story is
never good for such type of planners.
Step by step here are Baba's replies to those who plan in the future
they will do so much sadhana.
TO THOSE WHO PLAN THAT IN OLD AGE I WILL DO SADHANA
Here below Baba responds to those who think that when they retire or
when the kids grow old then I will do a lot of sadhana.
Baba says, "Some people consider that one should start intuitional
practice in old age when a person has more leisure, after one has spent
the prime of one's life earning money. People are afraid that they may
face insecurity and difficulties in their old age if they do not
accumulate enough wealth before their bodies weaken with age, rendering
them incapable of hard work. They regard the prime of life as the period
intended for earning money, and old age with its decreased capacity for
hard work as the time to remember God. They are labouring under the
misconception that hard work is not necessary for intuitional practice
and that old age is therefore the proper time for it. Whoever is born is
bound to die and one is constantly approaching death, not knowing when
it will come. It is never certain if one will live to grow old. Yet
people reserve the most important work of practising sa´dhana´ for the
time when the body has become completely enfeebled and the fatuous mind
of old age has become entangled in the reactions of this life to such an
extent that it is afraid of starting anything new. Ordinarily it is fear
of one's approaching death that makes one think of God in old age. One's
evil deeds begin to haunt one, and one starts praying and imploring God
to save him or her from the consequences of one's deeds. There is no
value in remembering God in old age, when it is not possible to
concentrate the mind due to the weakness and disease of the body and its
preoccupation with the reactions (sam´ska´ras) of the deeds of this
life. The mind then is caught up in the infirmities of the body, in the
diseases of old age, impending death, and most of all, in memories of
past incidents, and it is impossible to concentrate it. For these
reasons one is incapable of intuitional practice." (AMEP, chap 10)
So in His above teaching Baba is guiding us that one cannot suddenly
start doing a lot of sadhana in old age. Because at that point the mind
has already been trained in a different way-- it is not accustomed to
doing sadhana. Thus in later age doing sadhana is nothing but a far off
dream. Plus in old age invariably people suffer from various physical
ailments which prevent them from doing meditation.
MORE ABOUT SPIRITUAL LETHARGY
Here below Baba exposes the futile plans of those who promise that in
future I will do a lot of sadhana.
Baba says, "Of all the different types of lethargy, spiritual lethargy
is the worst. Spiritual lethargy means not to sit for meditation
regularly. Those with spiritual lethargy have time for all other
actions, but for spiritual practice there seems to be no time. They say,
"It's already late today - I'll do a short meditation right now, and
devote more time to sa'dhana' tomorrow." They sit attentively inside the
cinema hall, but in dharma sa'dhana' they feel sleepy." (AMIWL-10)
Baba says, "Every human being, from the age of fourteen or fifteen, has
an innate desire to ideate on Parama Purus'a. With cosmic ideation one
will attain vast expansion of mind, one will become great in all
respects. No one can check the all-round growth of such a person. People
realize this and yet ignore it and thus waste their time getting old for
nothing. That is, they waste their time in non-spiritual pursuits. This
is called 'spiritual lethargy'. It causes the greatest harm to human
life because it results in only a very small percentage of the human
potentiality - maybe one or two percent - being utilized by humans. Even
those whom we call great personalities hardly use ten percent of their
potentialities. Due to spiritual lethargy people are unable to grow, and
thus remain very ordinary. They come to the world, live, decay and die
as ordinary human beings." (AV-8)
So such type of poor planning or laziness in sadhana ruins one's existence.
SADHANA SHOULD BE DONE IN THIS PRESENT MOMENT
Here below Baba guides us that nothing in this world is permanent and
that even our near and dear ones forget us when we leave this world.
Hence while living on this earth we should pass our time in more and
more sadhana-- since our link with Him will alone with us, forever and
ever.
Baba says, "When a person dies, what feelings will his mother and
father, his brothers and sisters show? They will cry aloud, but after
two or three days, normalcy will return. They will resume their normal
mundane duties. And after a few days more or a few months they will
forget the person. In societies where a widow's marriage is accepted by
people, the widow will remarry...So you cannot say that any of your
relatives is your bandhu. Nobody is your bandhu, or friend, in this
respect...Jagat Bandhu is the only real Bandhu. Parama Purus'a is the
only real bandhu. He loved you in the past; He will love you in the
future. He alone is Bandhu. His name is Jagat Bandhu..." (AV-4)
Baba says, "After your death your friends will carry you to the
cremation ground. After being burnt, the body is rendered into ashes.
Your friends will spray some water on the ashes of the funeral pyre, and
then go back home. As long as they are in the cremation ground, they
remember you. After that they forget you. But dharma remains with you
even after your death, and what you did for dharma in this world is
never forgotten. Therefore, in your worldly life, you are to strengthen
the hands of dharma, and in the world, dharma will strengthen you." (AV-4)
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace as Ananda Margiis we should be pointed in our daily
sadhana practice lest all our time get wasted in other pursuits. So we
should devote more and more energy to sadhana in this present moment.
Baba says, "The worship of Brahma should be done scrupulously, or else
you will later regret and bemoan the futility of your life with the last
drop of your tears at your last hour. You should make your life
worthwhile through your sa'dhana' How much can your worldly friends and
relations do for you? After your death your relatives may perhaps ask,
"How much money has he left behind?" Your friends may go to the
crematorium and indulge in flattering reminiscences about you. Your
husband or wife may cry for you for about ten or twelve days and then
regain their normal composure. Your lot will be only a profound sigh - a
record of the futility and frustration of your life. So do not waste
your time lest you later have to repent." (SS-3)
Namaskar,
Praviira
Note: If one maintains a strict sadhana & asana practice throughout
their life then in late age also they will be able to carry on with
their spiritual routine. But those who neglect their daily sadhana will
never be able to taste that sweetness in their later years. That is the
way it works according to Baba.
