Neither is Absolutely Good...
From: "Marc Pele" == NEITHER IS ABSOLUTELY GOOD ==
~ DON'T FOLLOW BLINDLY ~
Namaskar,
These days east is becoming more like west and west is becoming more
like east. That is the general trend clearly visible in the daily living
patterns of modern society.
In India, western fashion and corporate life, not to mention fast-food &
cocktails, are becoming highly sought after things, whereas in the west,
more and more are turning to eastern philosophies and even adopting
practices like idol worship etc.
So a "grand melange" or big mix is going on.
However to blindly jump from one side of the spectrum to another is just
to fall into another dogma. So all should pay heed and be astute, lest
one fall into a new pothole.
At the same time we should remember that our AM is entirely new and
quite different from the on-going patterns of east and west.
Baba says, "Ananda Marga is a revolution. It is not only a spiritual
revolution but also an economic, social and mental revolution. The
economic system, the social structure, the trend of thinking and the
spiritual practices prescribed in our Ananda Marga are not only new but
something quite different from the established ideas and practices in
these spheres of life." (PNS-11)
Thus while our AM teachings reflect dharma in all respects, totally free
from dogmas and hypocrisy, the ways of the east and west are riddled
with such incongruities.
A FEW EXISTING CONTRADICTIONS
1. WOMEN IN INDIA: In India, for centuries females have been honored and
revered as mother and worshiped as those who grant life to others. Thus
women seemingly enjoy a goddess-like stature in India, yet side by side
those very same females are bared from leaving the home, and not given
even basic human rights. Plus people are willing to pay huge dowries to
marry their daughter bur are then unwilling to spend one rupee on the
education of that female. So from top to bottom females are not treated
as equals in day-to-day life and instead are often forced to live the
life of a subservient being. Clearly, then this is one living
contradiction or incongruity.
2. CLEANLINESS IN THE WEST: On the outside, everything in the west looks
neat and clean, i.e. well-organised and taken care of. The roads and
houses are well-maintained and most things are quite orderly. One might
be led to believe then that the standard of shaoca in the west is quite
high. Yet on points of basic hygiene the west suffers quite terribly.
For instance, toilet paper - not water - is used for cleaning the
backside and that is certainly a dirty manner. Then there are other
common problems that are fairly common such as not clearing the bowels
upon awakening, long and dirty finger nails, obesity, and other such
habits and illnesses.
3. PETS IN USA: At present in the US, people's pets (dogs, cats etc) are
treated extremely well. People feed their dog organic dog food, bring
their pets to spas for massages and shampoo, and when they go on
vacation then their bring their dog or cat to a pet resort so their pet
will get treated like a king or queen. All of this costs big bucks too.
And if anyone abuses their dog then they may even be sent to jail. So
from the outside it looks like animals are treated very well in the US.
However, in this very same land, most of the people eat animal flesh on
a daily basis, advocate hunting, and allow millions upon millions of
innocent animals to live in factory farms where they are tortured,
poisoned, debilitated, drugged, and ultimately butchered and killed. So
there is extreme hypocrisy within the US about "animal rights".
4) SPIRITUALITY IN INDIA: As we all know there is a long-standing
tradition of high spiritual values in India where reverence to God and
oneness of the universe are quite pervasive ideals. Yet in the same land
where all are acknowledged as being reflections of the Supreme, the
terrible caste system was put in place which differentiates the value
from one human being to the next. Thus there is the inherent
contradiction of oneness of life and a completely stratified society.
5) RACISM IN AMERICA: In the past year, an African-American was elected
President of the US. It looks like then that the US is a land of
equality and equal opportunity where all races are honored and
respected. But in this same land, racism rages on a daily basis in the
form of hate crimes, murders, cheating, theft, hirings and firings,
violence and hatred. This stands as a clear-cut manifestation of the
duality with regards to race, equality, safety, and opportunity.
6) RELIGION IN THE US: The world over the US is looked upon as the most
technologically developed nation where so many inventions & innovations
have taken place in the material sphere: space travel, cars, planes,
computers, etc. Technology is king, logic is supported, and superstition
is disregarded. That said, within this same land, so many schools are
barred from preaching the scientific theories of Darwin and instead
religious fundamentalists insists that the dogma of creationism be
preached in the classroom, and not scientifically supported studies.
By all of the above, it is quiet clear that neither east nor west has
their stamp on the truth. Both are lopsided in their own ways and both
suffer from serious contradictions, despite their good qualities.
NOW EAST COPYING WEST & VICE-VERSA
However, at present both are in the mode of copying one another.
Copying the good points is fine, such as vegetarianism, women's rights,
human suffrage etc, but it does not stop there. They also copy each
other's dogmas and ways of pseudo-culture.
With the spread of eastern philosophies in the west, so many false ideas
are being adopted in the name of yoga and spirituality. All of a sudden,
dogmatic kiirtans and idol worship are grabbing the attention of
America's youth and young professionals and on the other side of the
planet, anything & everything remotely related with Hollywood and cheap
pseudo-culture fashion like dating and open sex is being gobbled up in
India.
And there are so many other examples from dress to language to food to
you name it.
So by copying one another, it is not just the good things that are
embraced. All too often dogmas are also emulated due to people's blind
attraction for either "anything American" or "anything Indian".
Of course this entire phenomenon is not just limited to the US and
India. Many other places and communites are involved in the sharing of
each other's dogmas. Every country is involved to some or more degree.
This letter focused on the US and India as these two lands historically
represent polar-opposites, or the extreme opposite of one another.
ONLY AM IS PERFECT AND DOGMA-FREE
Here we have to remember that no society is wholly perfect and proper -
goaded by service mentality, high-minded ideals, and rationality.
Rather, both in the east as well as in the west, so many degrading and
backward things are prevalent. And now with more travel and internet
access, those bad things are also getting spread around the globe.
Only, by Baba's grace, is our Ananda Marga way of life totally new and
original and beyond the limitations and distortions of east and west.
Baba says, "Ananda Marga is not a change merely due to the cycle of time
but a revolution, a radical change – in the true sense. Never before in
the entire history of this world or the universe, if it could be known
to mortals, has a system of life fully embracing the economic, social,
mental and spiritual spheres ever been correlated in such closely knit
society as in Ananda Marga." (PNS-11)
By His grace, our Marga ideology is entirely new. It did not merely a
collection of the various things of east and west - both good and bad.
Rather AM is based purely 100% on rationality. What things from the east
and west that were in harmony with AM ideals were adopted. But not just
that - so many new things have been given. Sixteen Points is new - the
idea of having a spiritual path also give socio-economic teachings is
totally new - many of our sadhana lessons are new - and so much more.
When neither east nor west is entirely good, then it demands that
something different, i.e. the teachings of Ananda Marga given by Taraka
Brahma, be placed before the humanity. This is the only way to make
progress and move ahead.
BABA'S BLESSING
No society is wholly perfect, only our AM ideology is perfect so by
Baba's grace we must strive to follow His teachings and not anything
from east and west per se. Doing the latter means only inviting more dogma.
Baba says, "Though the human society is one and indivisible, still there
are certain differences in the attitudes to life and the world between
the East and the West. Both have their distinctly different mentalities.
The East is predominantly subjective in outlook, whereas the West has a
mainly objective bent of mind. The East, throughout its development, has
maintained a subjective approach, whereas western countries put great
stress on objective development. Too much emphasis on either one of
these approaches is not conducive to the all-round growth of the
society. We can build up an ideal society only on the basis of a happy
adjustment between the subjective and the objective approaches. Here is
the greatness of Ananda Marga ideology." (PNS-18)
Namaskar,
Moksa
Note 1: ECONOMIC DOGMA
For years and years in the US, so many people spent money on "extras"
when in fact their basic necessities and needs were not met. Money went
to cigarettes and alcohol as opposed to household needs and clothing for
the children. People spent extravagantly on cars yet overlooked buying
proper, healthy food. People spent huge money on cosmetics to "look
good" rather than affording themselves the opportunity to lead a healthy
life. So money has mostly been misspent, chasing after prestige and
superficial things instead of truly making one's life better. And now,
that same dogma and misunderstanding is spreading across India as they
take the internal vow to become like America.
Plus there are so many issues like this one:
For instance the US government and its citizens draft so many public
policies to help the "poorer nations" yet within their own borders of
the US, there is homelessness and starvation in nearly every city, not
to mention a slew of other social problems.
Note 2: OUR DUTY
Thus none should think that any country is perfect or good. Peace and
unity will only result where AM ideology is followed - nowhere else.
Baba says, "Remember, until every person in the universe accepts the
Ananda Marga ideology, you have no opportunity to rest." (CC-2,
'Miscellaneous', pt#6)
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Sadhana?
"Baba says, "Whatever a man is to do in his spiritual life he is to do--
why? Because he is in love with the Supreme Entity. Love is the first
word, love is the starting point, and love is the last point." (AV-12,
p. 13)
Note: Baba's above guideline is very beneficial for sadhana. However
these days some innocent or simple people just do meditation for "mental
peace". And ever worse some wts do sadhana for show-- to pose themselves
as someone great. Such workers do hardly an ounce of sadhana when they
are alone; but when they go to margiis' houses then in Hollywood style
they sit in meditation for a long time. All done in order to put
themselves on display and create one show that they are highly elevated
sadhakas. Certain margiis do a similar thing when they attend retreats.
But by looking at the on-going conduct of such margiis one can
understand how far they are really doing sadhana or not. It is just like
if you are approaching one animal at night. At first you may think that
it is a tiger or a lion, but when that animal makes its weird 'Huan,
Huan' sound, then you know that it is just a jackal. Same is the case
when being around those types of few margiis and wts who put on a show
of sadhana. By their conduct and dealing they just expose themselves etc.
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