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Ongoing Dogma

Date: Fri, 29 May 2009 22:35:11 -0000 Subject: Ongoing Dogma To: am-global@earthlink.net From: Satiish K Bhatia" Baba "Cirka'ler bandhu nikat'e ese ghum bha'ungio..." (PS 3002) Purport: O' my eternal Bandhu*, since the early dawn of my journey You have been along with me. Baba, when my very first life began-- long, long, ago-- since that time You have kept me in Your shelter. O' my dearmost Baba, please be gracious; please come very close and break my slumber. By Your grace, bless me with the realisation that I have come from You and that one day I will return unto You. Baba, if ever I become indulged and engrossed in crude materialistic thoughts then please be gracious and awaken me by blessing me with samvit-- spiritual consciousness. Baba, if ever I fall then by Your grace please bring me back onto the path of divinity. Baba, You know the ins and outs of everything; nothing is unknown to You. Baba, You know all there is to know about me. You are present everywhere. You eternally reside in each and every pore of this whole creation. You are Vishnu-- that all-pervading entity. Baba, my bounden duty is to remember You always. But if somehow I forget You and get lost in crudity-- in the spell of avidya maya, then in such a circumstance please be gracious and You Yourself pull me back onto the path of divinity. Baba, You are forever playing Your divine liila. Baba, this liila of Yours is beginningless and endless; it just goes on and on; it never stops. With this liila You are playing Your game of hide and seek. Baba, You are everywhere and I want to have Your closeness, but it is very difficult and tedious to find You. All the confusion & illusion of avidya maya does not allow me to see You. That does not allow me to come in contact with Your divine Self. Baba, without Your grace it is not possible to get You. O' my Lord, please bless me with the gift of true knowledge, diipak jva'lio*, and grace me with Your varabhaya mudra. Baba, please grace me with Your divine enlightenment: Only then can I see You. O' my eternal Bandhu, please be gracious. Without Your grace nothing is possible. Baba, You are my nearest and dearest eternal One...
ASTERISK NOTES (*):
*Bandhu= Parama Purusa is the nearest and dearest of all living beings. Separation from Him is unbearable; nobody can exist without Him. That is why He is called Bandhu. Only Parama Purusa is Bandhu. Baba says, "'Atya'go sahano bandhu'-- the person who cannot tolerate separation is a 'bandhu'. When the tie of love is so great that a person cannot tolerate any separation from you, he is called your 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." (AV-4, 'Your Real Friend') *Diipak Jva'lio= 'Please light the lamp of divinity and remove the darkness of ignorance'. As a Sadguru Baba graces us with true, inner knowledge by lighting our lamp within. And that is one of the main messages of this particular Prabhat Samgiita. By His grace an idea similar to the one expressed in the above Prabhat Samgiita is expressed in our Guru Puja. About this I think most are aware.
"...Jina'na'injana shala'kaya'..."
Baba says, "You know that an eye ointment is applied with a stick ('Shala'ka' means stick). Now, all the microcosms are parts of that Noumenal Entity, all are actually parts and particles of that Supreme Entity, but due to ignorance, due to the darkness of ignorance, they cannot see what is what and which is which. That is why they require the ointment of spiritual knowledge. Guru (with a stick) applies the ointment of spiritual knowledge to their eyes." (AV-3)
== ONGOING DOGMA ==
Namaskar, During my usual pracara work with my Dit.S. Dada, I visited various remote villages of the district. And in those travels I became surprised to see that long-term, senior margiis were singing Shivagiiti at the time of Paincajanya. Not once did I witness this but on numerous occasions. Because I got the opportunity to stay in those remote villages. And in those places they are without basic communication-- let alone email. Then still this dogma of Shivagiiti and paincajanya is going on. Actually they think the two are interlinked. That one cannot happen without the other. And this may not be an isolated case; there may be other places where this is going on. Some of our brothers and sisters may have their own opinion about this-- whether it is a dogma or not. So I thought to invite others to think about this and I have written the following with the hope that others will also share their thoughts and perspectives. One way to begin is by reviewing the history. Here then is one look into the past to see into the situation.
HISTORY OF SHIVAGIITI IN AM
Per my recollection and discussion with other senior Margiis what follows is a brief history of how the dogma of singing ShivaGiiti got established in AMPS. As many margiis know, in 1982 Baba graciously gave the book Namah Shivaya Shantaya (NSS). I remember that Baba delivered many of the discourses during general darshan in front of the margiis and acaryas. And other chapters Baba did in straight dictation format privately in His room in Patna directly with Vijayanandji. One such discourse was 'Shiva in the Song of Shiva', discourse #19 of the book Namah Shivaya Shantaya. And that very chapter begins with the ShivaGiiti song, "Jaya shubhavajradhara...", which is actually a song Baba wrote long back in His childhood. Because that time on 8 August 1982 when Baba was giving the dictation, then Baba told to all that this ShivaGiiti is one song which He composed for Shiva in his childhood. And then and there Baba sang the Shivagiiti song and made the Dadas note it down. Of course as we know now that just over 2 1/2 years later on 28 March 1985 in Kolkata, Baba included this very same ShivaGiiti song "Jaya shubhavajradhara shubhra kalevara" in His Prabhat Samgiita collection as song number 2526. But 8 August 1982 was the day that Baba first revealed this Shiva Giiti song to Ananda Margiis. And that was the time when He in was dictating the Namah Shivaya Shantaya book.
HOW SHIVAGIITI GOT ENTWINED WITH PAINCAJANYA
So that time immediately news quickly spread that Baba has just revealed one song which He has written in His childhood. And everyone was very excited. Because those days in August 1982, it was a difficult task to find songs which Baba had composed Himself, since Baba had not yet begun His Prabhat Samgiita collection. We know that Prabhat Samgiita first began on 14 Sep 1982. So original songs composed by Baba were unavailable those days in August 1982. That is why Dadas were encouraging everyone to sing the ShivaGiiti bhajan because this was composed by Baba. So all thought that, 'okay this is good'. And as there was no existence of Prabhat Samgiita so everyone was feeling comfortable. Simultaneously that very time in 1982 Baba also introduced the practice of paincajanya into Ananda Marga. And according to Baba's direction, everyone was supposed to sing a song during this newly given paincajanya program. So those days in Aug of 1982 Dadas were vigorously moving all around giving two basic messages: (1) That Baba has given a new devotional program that is to be done in all AM units. And that program is paincajanya. And the singing of a song is compulsory in this program. (2) That Baba has recently revealed one of His original songs: the ShivaGiiti. In this way many Ananda Margiis mixed up the two matters and developed the fixed idea in their mind that the Shiva Giiti song is the song of paincajanya.
THE STARTING OF PRABHAT SAMGIITA
Furthermore, those days Baba used to encourage Samaj members to compose their own songs. And I remember how that time Baba used to arrange competitions between one samaj and another samaj on the point of composing and singing their Prout or social or devotional songs. This style of competition went on for few weeks. We should not forget that this was the pre-stage of Prabhat Samgiita planning. So in 1982 first Baba inspired all the margiis to compose their own songs and when they could not make proper songs, then Baba Himself started giving His own song. And in that way Baba's fountain of Prabhat Samgiita songs started. The history is like this: Those days Baba was moving around in Bihar and as I recall in the end of August He was in Kolkata. Then after a short tour Baba reached Deoghar. And it was on the historic day of 14 September 1982 in Deoghar, Bihar Baba composed His first Prabhat Samgiita, 'Bandhu he niye calo'.
HOW SHIVAGIITA GOT ENTWINED WITH PAINCAJANYA - PART 2
Here then we should analyse how ShivaGiiti got established in the Paincajanya program. Basically those Margiis who got the message from Dadas about the new paincajanya program before the creation of Prabhat Samgitia, they started using the ShivaGiiti song because those days ShivaGiiti was easily available. And when Prabhat Samgiita started coming then some units started using Prabhat Samgiita directly in their paincajanya program. But already some units were habituated with ShivaGiiti and in this way singing ShivaGiiti at paincajanya had taken root in many AM units. And for those who started with Shiva Giiti, that tradition continued on for years and years. And today in some places today it is still going on. But in my heart I do not think that it should and will continue much longer. Because although in philosophical sense Lord Shiva, Lord Krsna, and Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji are one, but with the strict adherence to Ista no Ananda Margii should worship or meditate on Lord Krsna or Lord Shiva. Reason being that mind is one and at the same time it cannot focus on or be dedicated to two or three different Entities.
DEVOTION TOWARD BABA ONLY
And here is another way of looking at it. Everybody is aware that Paincajanya is one very beautiful, dharmic, and devotional program. But linked up with that program is one bulky dogma. Because paincajanya is about oneness with Ista, Baba. So if someone is singing the Shivagiiti in the morning then that goes against the basic devotional approach. Because in that sentient mood of the early morning dawn, we should remember Baba. He is our most loving and closest One. This is the common, sentimental feeling of the heart for every Ananda Margii: That Baba is our nearest and dearest One. Then why should we wake up in the morning and sing: 'Lord Shiva, victory is yours, Lord Shiva, victory is yours, Lord Shiva, victory is yours...' Why should we sing like this when it goes against the basic devotional feeling of the heart. All night we dream about Baba and then in the sweetness of the early dawn we want to sing exclusively for Him, a song related with Baba. Yet the Shivagiiti is something different. Philosophically speaking, one can make various connections but those cannot stand in the field of devotion. Because the devotional heart only knows One. And for Ananda Margiis that singular and most loving Entity is Baba. Hence in the devotional mood of the early morning dawn we should only sing songs that are for Him. Here I would like to conclude with this following Baba's teaching. Baba says, "Spiritual aspirants should remember that they will have to become dedicated to their Is't'a. They will have to establish a relationship of exclusive devotion to Is't'a. If there is not intense attachment to Is't'a in one's heart, then one cannot do anything". (AMIWL) Namaskar, Satiish Note 1: Please, if anyone else remembers others aspects of this history, please write and share with one and all. Note 2: I think all readers are aware of the fact that Baba wrote the ShivaGiiti song for non-margiis. And that we Margiis were / are responsible for learning this ShivaGiiti song in order to share with those devotees who have not yet come onto the path of AM and are involved in worshipping Lord Shiva. So that song is Baba's gift to those non-Margii devotees. In Baba's divine kingdom no one is left out or forgotten. Note 3: Till recently even in our local unit we were singing the ShivaGiiti song during paincajanya. But that practice has since stopped as we realised that when Baba alone is the Ista, then during our collective devotional practices we should sing songs of His glory, and not that of Lord Shiva or Lord Krsna. Note 4: It was not entirely uncommon for Baba to take songs which He wrote in His childhood or during His student life and include them in His Prabhat Samgiita collection. For example, one other such song "Toma'r e asiim apa'r bha'laba'sa'r..." which Baba wrote as a young boy when seeing His grandmother pray to the Lord, and this song Baba later included in HIS Prabhat Samgiita collection as Prabhat Samgiita no. 209. In 1988 DMC Baba told about this.
*************************************** WT Conduct Rule: Laokika Family Relations
This following rule applies to all Wts: Baba says, "No relationship should exist with worldly family." (Pt 9 of '32 Rules...') Note 1: These days unfortunately the standard of Wts is quite low. They continue their relations with their own laokik family. But being an avadhuta doing like this is sin. Because for them the whole universe belongs to their family. True avadhutas will not commit such sin rather they will follow Baba's above guideline. Note 2: Some senior Wts are so thick skinned that in DC they openly brag and shamelssly tell stories about visiting their own loakik family members like their parents, brothers and sisters.
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