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Is Our Future in the Cards

From: "gabriel jans" To: am-global@earthlink.net Date: Sun 11 Jan 2009 23:38:11 Subject: Is Our Future in the Cards BABA PS Intro: This song describes the feeling of one higher stage of devotional realization. "Prabhu, toma'y kii kahibo a'ro..." (P.S. 447) Purport: Baba, O' Prabhu, how can I express the feeling of my heart to You. I do not have any words to describe the feeling, the grace which you have showered on me. Always I am drenched with Your ahetuki krpa'. Since I got You in my life, my life became meaningful. I do not have any other type of longing. By Your grace, my mind is running always towards You. You made my life blissful, in all the ways. It is just like, it is full of nectar. The cimmerian darkness from my life it just went far distant. There is no trace of that. This happened since the divine effulgence descended in my life by Your grace. Now according to Your tune and melody, I am dancing. My day and night and entire life became just like one bouquet of songs. Even a wee bit of dilemma and confusion is no more existing in my life. What more can I express. This is all because of Your karuna' on me. My whole existence, my body, mind, and prana is shivering with the spiritual vibrations which You have generated by Your sweet touch. Baba, I have gotten You. You have graced me immensely. I fully surrender at Your lotus feet...
== IS OUR FUTURE IN THE CARDS ==
Namaskar, In general, people have a strong fascination for knowing their future problems so they can counteract or avert those upcoming difficulties. For that reason many have tremendous interest about palmistry, tarot cards, and astrology. Thus when they see that any person has a little knowledge about these things, they get quite attracted. Means except for those few who have a little self-control, the common people start hovering around anyone who claims to have a little knowledge about "how to read the future" using tarot cards etc. So that is one side. And regarding those who refrain from hovering around or who keeping distance from such things, among them there are two types of people: (1) Those who mentally think that in a quiet moment they will personally communicate and get their future read then; (2) Those who philosophically do not believe in this fake magic and they think that it is useless. And according to Baba's teachings, this second type of people-- those who are not befooled by this sort of magic-- they alone are proper in their approach.
ASKING AROUND TO OTHERS
Since a long time this question has sat in my mind, that what is the veracity behind all these things. And whether margiis should include themselves in these things, or not. Is it worth doing such fortune-telling things, or it is just a waste of time. Many in our Marga have expressed diverse opinions about his. So in the last, it was suggested to read various Baba's books, and try to know what Baba says. On that dharmic suggestion, by His grace a few of Baba's meaningful teachings have been collected. And here are Baba's explanations for those interested to know.
WHY PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED TO KNOW THE FUTURE BABA'S TEACHING ON ACTION AND REACTION
Many people want to know their future by astrology or palm reading so they can escape from or remove their future sufferings. Baba says, "There are many who with the intention of escaping this suffering of reaction (karmaphala) try various methods." (AMEP) So people's purpose in knowing the future is to escape from future suffering. But the reality is, this goes against the very law of Prakrti. Because as we margiis know the future happenings are the result of one's past actions. And such reactions have to be experienced-- there is no side-stepping the matter. Baba says, "Many believe that by neutralizing the influence of the stars (grahasha'nti) and by rituals of offering sacrifice in repentance (pra'yashcitta), they will be able to escape the consequences of their actions. This belief is not correct, because according to the rule of Prakrti every action has to be followed by its reaction. The mind has to regain its normality through reactions. This is the law of Prakrti and no one can set it aside." (AMEP) Baba says, "...Reactions of actions (karmaphala) have to be experienced. No one is spared from experiencing them; the reactions of all one's actions will have to be borne by oneself alone." (AMEP)
OUR FATE= EXPERIENCE THOSE REACTIONS
So there is no way to escape the eventuality of facing the reactions to one's past actions. And this is what is known as fate. Fate is nothing but the unmanifest reactions to one's past actions. And as this is the law of Prakrti, so trying to know those future things because one wants to escape future suffering, this is a fruitless task. Through the performance of tantric practices, the way in which one will experience those future reactions can be moderated. But even then, the expression of those reactions cannot be altogether removed. Baba says, "The mode of experiencing the reaction can be changed with the help of Tantric practices...but the experience of the reaction, or fate, cannot be evaded. Karmaphala, consequences or reactions of one's actions, will have to be experienced by a person, and at best only the intensity of suffering at a time can be reduced or increased by slowing or accelerating the speed of reactions." (AMEP) The expression of samskara cannot be removed, but through tantric practices or sadhana the way these samskaras are experienced can be changed. Some may get confused about this and they may start thinking the change is due to their own efforts to neutralize the "effects of the stars". And they may mistakenly think that their efforts palmistry have removed their suffering. But this is not at all the case.
AN EXAMPLE OF HOW IT ALL WORKS
Here below Baba gives the example of a debtor. Baba says, "It is possible that the condition of returning one hundred rupees in one installment may be too hard for the debtor and he may have to suffer great mental agony, but if the same amount is returned in several small installments the debtor may not feel it at all. The period of suffering is thus increased with the help of Tantric practices with the result that one does not feel the intensity of suffering and wrongly concludes that the experiencing of reactions (karmaphala) has been evaded or stopped because of grahasha'nti (that is by neutralizing the influence of stars)." (AMEP) Here Baba is explaining that many mistakenly believe that changes in their experience of samskara happened because they changed their fate through grahasha'nti, or neutralizing the influence of stars. And that with such a wrongly conceived goal to change their fate, many engage in the practice of astrology, palmistry or tarot cards. Or they retain someone to engage in these negative practices on their behalf. But fate cannot be evaded. Because as Baba tells, that fate is merely the expression of reactions to one's past actions. True fate is an inexorable law of prakrti.
PALMISTRY IS SELF-TRICKERY-- NOTHING MORE
So on that ground, the practice of astrology, palmistry, or tarot cards to affect one's future is in reality nothing but a practice of self-deception. Here Baba gives an example of the negativity of such pursuits. Baba says, "For example, if on reading the future of a person it is found that he has to bear the mental suffering of fracture of an arm, it may be possible to stop the fracturing of the arm with the help of grahasha'nti. But the quantum of mental suffering cannot be changed or done away with. The suffering could be spread over a longer time due to a number of minor incidents. For instance, the person's hand might get scratched, and later on he might fall sick. The person would go suffering in installments till the quantum of his suffering equaled the mental suffering he was destined to get from the fracture of the arm." (AMEP) And here below Baba relates the same negative practice of attempting to alter one's future through self-deceiving means, to the experience of a debtor. The debtor is befooled into thinking they escaped from the debt. When in reality, the debt is only distributed over time. Baba says, "...It would mean that the debtor of one hundred rupees would have to keep on repaying his debt in small installments of a rupee or so until they had paid off the full hundred. Here the payment of the debt of one hundred rupees represents the mental suffering from the fracture of the arm, which was supposed to be completed in one installment; but through flattery and persuasion of the creditor, that is, by neutralizing the influence of the stars (grahasha'nti), it is being paid back in small installments. Hence as the return of the hundred rupees is not complete, the payment will have to continue." (AMEP) So actually no one escapes fate. All have to face their samskaras. But those who try to change their fate through the practice of astrology, palmistry, or tarot cards, engage in the very same self-deception as that of the future fractured arm or the debtor of one hundred rupees, above. Here below, Baba offers another example of such self cheating-- those who engage in the wearing of different stones for the purpose of protecting them from future suffering. Baba says, "Just as it is possible to increase the period of experiencing the reactions with the help of grahasha'nti, it is also possible to decrease this period. For instance, some persons wear different stones such as blue sapphires which change the mode of their experiencing the reactions. It is possible that by this one may get a fortune by winning a prize in a lottery or may get a promotion in one's employment. This makes people believe that all this has happened due to grahasha'nti, but it is actually not so. Fate, or the quantum of experiencing the consequences of one's actions, can neither be changed nor evaded." (AMEP) Baba also explains how the distribution of reactions over time can be not only lengthened, but also shortened by such negative practices. And that in the time-shortened case as well, the outcome is equally self deceptive. Here below Baba gives an example of this, with the spending of a 150 rupee budget. And He likens that to what self-cheating happens with the use of blue sapphire stones to affect one's future. Baba says, "Taking again the example of the deposit of 150 rupees, we see that the money intended to be spent in a month at the rate of five rupees a day, can be spent in one day by shortening the period of expenditure and leaving nothing for the remaining twenty-nine days of the month. The change in fate brought about by grahasha'nti is similar to this. For instance, the one thousand rupees that one gets as a prize in a lottery due to the influence of the blue sapphire, is the person's own money scheduled to be received by him in small installments over a long period of time. This money is received in one installment, leaving no balance for the rest of the installments. Yet getting a huge amount at once makes one believe that grahasha'nti, or the wearing of a blue sapphire, has changed one's fate." (AMEP)
PALMISTRY CANNOT OVERCOME FATE
So by this way it becomes clear that the use of external superimpositions like astrology, palmistry, or tarot cards to predict and thereby change one's future, are futile and have as their only outcome that of self-cheating. Because the reactions of one's past action will still express, only in a different way.
SADHANA AND ONE'S REACTIONS
Here below Baba concludes the point beautifully, explaining that fate or the expression of reactions to one's past actions is inevitable. And that sadhana is the only way to get these reactions to express as readily and quickly as possible, and thereby hasten one's emancipation by Baba's grace. Baba says, "In fact, fate or the experiencing of reactions (karmaphala) can never be changed. It is only the duration of reactions that can be changed. That is why those who carry on intuitional practice (sa'dhana') with the intention of achieving emancipation, experience pleasure and pain, happiness and agony quickly, so that they may complete the experiencing of reactions in as short a period as possible. Those who desire liberation (mukti) want it in this life itself, and so they experience everything quickly, according to their potential reactions (sam'ska'ras), so that nothing is left for the future life and they can obtain release from the bondage of Prakrti." (AMEP) Namaskar, Gautam Note: Here Baba explains more about the facts regarding "fate". Baba says, "There are many people who are fatalists. They are worshippers of fate. A fatalist means a worshipper of fate - a worshipper of fortune or fate. They are worse than nature-worshippers. What is fate? There is nothing such as fate in this universe. So far as the philosophy is concerned there cannot be anything called fate. What is fate? Everyone has to undergo the reaction of his or her past actions, the reaction of the original action. Suppose your finger comes in contact with fire; you will feel pain, you will have to suffer but, at that moment one will say that because your finger came in contact with fire, that's why you are suffering. But when the reaction takes place after a long gap, and when the original action is not known or has been forgotten, or when the original action took place in another past life, and you do not know what was the original action - in that case you say, it is fate, it is fate. But actually there is no fate. What you call fate is actually the reaction of our past actions. In sam'skrta, it is called sam'ska'ra, in Latin 'reactive momenta'." (SS-12, p.8) Note 2: The quotes from this letter above are from the chapter of AM Elementary Philosophy, "How Should Human Beings Live in this World?"
************************************** Health Guideline
Baba says, "Dhaotii: Immediately after Nasapana, at a time when your stomach is empty and you are washing your face, the throat should be cleaned with the middle finger of the right hand, inserting it as far as possible." (CC-3, chapter 7, Point #5) Note: Since the practice of nasapana is required in order to practice dhaotii, here following is a reminder about that:
"Nasapana: Draw in clean water through the nostrils and pass it out through the mouth. This water may be swallowed, but it is better to spit it out." (CC-3)
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