== REVERENCE TO GURU IS AT STAKE ==
Namaskar,
As once again some are murmuring about changing the Supreme Command, let
us all take a moment to reflect on what it means to have a Guru and be
on the path of tantra.
SPECIAL ASPECT OF TANTRA: GURU PUJANAM
As we all know, in tantra, Guru's example, teaching, and word are
everything. We have all experienced how this is an invaluable feature of
being on the path. With reverence & surrender, the disciple must follow
Guru's each and every order. That is the way tantra works: To do as per
Guru's wish.
So the spirit of Guru pujanam is an essential aspect of tantra-- it
creates a special link of love and reverence between the sadhaka and the
Guru. Without that there is no tantra.
Baba says, "Gurupu'janam – one must have reverence for the guru." (AV-34)
Baba says, "Gurupu'janam: one should do as per the gospels of the
preceptor." (SS-18)
Hence, Baba's clear-cut mandate is that each and every disciple must
adhere to Guru's expressed guideline. And indeed the devotee feels in
their heart that there is no other way, 'I must follow what Baba has
given; that is what is most dear to me'. This is the innate feeling of
every Ananda Margii, of every bhakta. And this inherent yearning-- along
with His divine grace-- are what propel us towards the Goal.
MISGUIDED ATTEMPT OF A FEW JINANIS
However, yet again, some misguided jinanis are trying to misdirect
simple margiis by wrongly claiming that the Supreme Command must be
changed. And they have given all sorts of logic and reasoning which need
not be addressed here-- nor anywhere.
Because all such attempts to change Guru's Supreme Command are useless--
since they undermine the whole essence of tantra, and with it the
Guru-disciple relation.
BABA HIMSELF SPOKE THE 'SUPREME COMMAND' TERM
In the recorded version of the discourse-- 'Mantra O Mantrajapa-- given
in Morning General Darshan on 18 June '79 in Kolkata, Baba Himself
states the term 'Supreme Command', in English. That itself is enough to
know that He approves of that very translation of the Bengali 'Caram
Nrdesh'.
So when the term 'Supreme Command' is His own selection of words, then
that should be honoured.
It is not that we are debating the translation of Carma Nrdesh into
Swahili, Portuguese, Thai-- or any other language which Baba chose not
to speak. Rather the Supreme Command term is the very English term which
Baba Himself spoke. Hence there is no question of having it changed.
This is Guru's given term: Supreme Command.
DISEASE OF SOME JINANIS
But some dry jinanis have the penchant to change everything-- even the
Supreme Command-- which is why Baba Himself makes explicit jokes about
such jinanis.
In Varna Vicitra part 2, in the last chapter Baba muses how when
proofing another's writing, a jinani will even cross out the term
'please' and put 'kindly'; and if the person had originally written
'kindly' then the jinani will mark it out and insert 'please'. This is
the diseased approach of various jinanis. Their ego goads them to change
each word-- to put their fingerprints on everything.
And it is this very same pettiness of mind which leads certain jinanis
to even change the words of Guru's Supreme Command.
When, in reality, the term is not up for debate. Baba has Himself spoken
the phrase 'Supreme Command' in English then that is enough for us. What
He has given is gold and none should get duped into chasing after some
glittery tinsel instead-- i.e. the false words of some jinanis.
GURU'S WORD IS EVERYTHING
The overall idea is that Guru's guideline is everything in tantra. In
vaedic diiksa, the guru is not so important. But in tantra the relation
with Guru is everything. That is the greatness of tantra.
And verily true tantric disciples have been blessed with the inner
feeling that Guru's every mandate is divine.
So when Baba is the Tantric Guru and when He Himself has given the words
'Supreme Command', then that is the term to be used-- period.
It is just like how Baba has given the term avadhuta-- then there is no
question of changing that to mullah, or priest, or pundit etc. Because
what He has given is what is best. That is His preference and it is that
preference which we must uphold.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace, He has given us everything to progress in life and the
very essence of those teachings have been embedded in His Supreme
Command. As His disciples, we are not only to strictly follow the orders
given in the Supreme Command, but with reverence-- with Guru pujanam--
we are to honour the name itself as that is the one Guru has explicitly
chosen.
Baba says, "In Tantra, the greatest emphasis is placed on the
preceptor-disciple relationship... [and] also on the need for disciples
to make a total surrender to the preceptor in the early stages of the
Tantric path." (AMIWL-9)
Namaskar
Anil
Note 1: BABA'S WARNING: BEWARE OF JINANIS
Baba strongly warns us about such tricky jinanis who wish to change
Guru's teachings like the Supreme Command. Wherever they go, such
jinanis create hell and confusion in the society-- for no reason other
than to show off their own intellectual extravaganza.
Baba says, "Such hypocrites want to misguide the people by their tall
talks alone...'Loka Vya'moha Ka'raka.” That is, 'They create disease in
the minds of the people.' Their aim is not to solve society’s problems.
Rather, they are the chief cause for the downfall, retardation and sad
plight of human society. The present crisis in today’s civilization is
due to them. Their theories are based on the psychology and intellectual
extravaganza of the hypocrite. You will certainly encounter many such
theories in the social sphere, the economic sphere, and other spheres of
life. This is not the problem of a single country, but of the entire
intellectual world. Again I repeat that the crisis in civilization today
is due to the intellectual extravaganza of these hypocrites, these
polished satans." (PNS-6)
Thus jinanis are never happy nor ever satisfied unless they are puffing
up their own egos by putting forth their own false theories and
attaching their own name to such theories. That is what Baba is warning
us about in the above passage. And that is exactly what we see happening
with such jinanis who have made up their own fake term-- Supreme Direction.
As Ananda Margiis, we are to uphold Baba's original and chosen term,
'Supreme Command'.
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The Way Parama Purusa Evaluates
Baba says, "Do not think that those who are highly learned intellectuals
are elevated. In the realm of spirituality even illiterate persons can
reach the Goal, leaving those intellectuals behind. Parama Purusa does
not consider the intellectual qualification or intellect. He evaluates
everyone with the measuring scale of how much love one has for Parama
Purusa." (SS-14, p. 91, Saharsa DMC, 27 June 1980)
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