Page views

Ananda Marga Forum

All the letters on this blog are directly related with the teachings of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti ji Baba.To communicate with the editors of this forum or receive postings of this blog, email us at: anandamargauniversal@earthlink.net

Baba


Namaskar,


Just a reminder to be sure to subscribe to our two new blogsites:


For latest news click here Ananda Marga Universal


For latest news click here Ananda Marga News Bulletin

Or email us at: anandamargauniversal@earthlink.net


And we will be sure to add you to the list.


In Him,

Moderator



Anti-Devotional

Date: Fri, 10 Apr 2009 23:00:16 To: AM-GLOBAL From: "Pandit_Sudhakar" Subject: Anti-Devotional Baba "Toma'ke ca'i a'mi jiivane, a'loke a'ndha're sabkha'ne..." (PS 3238) Purport: Baba, You are my everything. In the effulgence as well as in the darkness, all the time, in all the places-- everywhere, in my life I only desire You. Baba, by Your grace You are mine; You are mine and mine alone. I want to keep You with me always. Baba, please be gracious and remain in my heart eternally. Baba, I long for You in the depths of my heart. Baba, except You, I do not have any other desire. By Your grace You are my shelter & You are my base. Baba, You and I-- the two of us-- will remain in one corner of my deserted heart forever and ever. By Your grace, we will be there together, always. That is my longing; that is my desire. Baba, by Your grace nobody is lowly or insignificant, everyone is Yours. We are all part of one divine family. Baba, those who went away in the past and those who will come in future, I go on telling the tale of their heart: No one is downtrodden and all belong to You. O' my dearmost Baba, Your qualities are endless and You have infinite forms. Baba, all the flora and fauna, all that is moible and immobile-- everything is Your divine expression. By Your grace, You are manifesting Yourself in countless ways. Baba, whatever right or wrong I do, by Your grace I always keep You in my mind, in my heart. I always surrender unto You. Baba, in my shravan and in my manan, I go on singing Your song-- Your glory. It is Your grace. Baba, You are the Polestar of my life; You are my everything. Baba, please keep me under Your shelter...
== ANTI-DEVOTIONAL ==
Namaskar, Here we are talking about Prabhat Samgiita and which songs are best for Ananda Margiis to sing - from a purely devotional perspective. Nowadays, in their innocence, a few are singing songs which go against the devotional feeling of AM. We should therefore take a deeper look at the matter.
ALL HAVE DEVOTION
As we know, Baba has explained that every being in this cosmos has devotion. Even animals have their animal devotion and desire to be great. When they see something or someone bigger and stronger than they are, then they revere that being. Similarly, every human being also has devotion and an innate longing to become great. Plus, everyone has the very sincere desire to satisfy that longing. Unfortunately, along the way, some get caught up in undesirable activities. For instance, take the case of Hindus sacrificing goats to the gods. They do this as a sincere expression of their devotion. Of course, we know that this is just a dogmatic ritual that will not get them any closer to God. Rather their harmful ways lead them in the opposite direction. Even then these worshipers think that their practice of sacrificing goats is good and will allow them to reach God. So they are sincere, but misguided. Such static rituals and traditional forms of worship are present in all the dogmatic religions. Thus even though all have devotion, vivek and knowledge are needed to express that devotion in a proper way.
RELATING THIS WITH AM AND PRABHAT SAMGIITA
Now let's see how these above ideas relate with our devotional life and Prabhat Samgiita.
PRABHAT SAMGIITA IS FOR ALL
First off, we have to remember that Baba has given His teachings not just for Ananda Margiis but for the entire humanity. Soon the whole world will be following the ways of Prout, whether they be margii or not. Likewise, Baba's remedies in Yogic Treatments are for all types of people and His various grammar books are to be studied in all schools. In the same way, Baba has graciously given His Prabhat Samgiita collection for the whole humanity - not just to those small number of people who are Ananda Margiis. Those intimate dhyana songs about Parama Purusa (i..e. Baba) are for Ananda Margiis whereas songs about Lord Krsna and Lord Shiva are for the general public. That does not mean we should discard those songs about Lord Krsna and Lord Shiva entirely, rather we are to learn them so we can teach others. But for us, in our devotional life, we are not to sing or use songs about Lord Krsna and Lord Shiva. Unfortunately, at present, many have fallen into this trap. With full sincerity they sing those songs like Shivagiiti and follow the meaning, yet they do not realise that their approach undermines and decreases their attraction and longing for Baba - i.e. their true Goal. In that case their situation is quite similar to those who sacrifice goats and worship idols: They are unaware that their practice diverts them from their Goal. So althought Baba has given 5,018 Prabhat Samgiita songs, one must have the required vivek to use the songs in the right way.
ONE POINTED DEVOTION
We must remember that to achieve or attain anything in the spiritual sphere, one-pointed devotion towards Parama Purusa is needed. Even if one sincerely worships a stone idol they will not reach to God, rather that person will be converted into stone. Because the practitioner is worshiping that stone idol not God. Baba says, "The mind is extroverted by idol worship and is attracted towards finite objects. If the mental force is directed towards finite and crude objects, then the person is ultimately converted into crudeness." (SS-1) Their mind is diverted in the wrong direction, so their approach is defective. Likewise if one sings for and ideates on Lord Krsna or Lord Shiva before doing sadhana and Baba dhyana, then they are goading their mind in the wrong direction - not towards Ista - and they will not reach the Goal. For this reason, Baba has carefully given the teachings that Ista must be one, i.e. singular in nature. In the discourse 'Onmkara and Ista Mantra', Baba tells the highly significant story about the great mythological devotee, Hanuman. One day, many other sadhakas were asking Hanuman why he only repeats the name 'Ram' and not 'Narayan' when both the words mean the same thing. Both names refer to Parama Purusa. Hanuman's reply was that "philosophically speaking they may be the same, but for me these other names have no value, I only know Ram." Baba's teaching then in this story is that all our devotional feeling must be linked with one Divine Entity, otherwise one cannot reach the Goal. Thus, when we are Ananda Margiis and Baba is our Guru, then when He is our Goal (Ista) then we should not sing those few Prabhat Samgiita that focus on Lord Shiva and Lord Krsna. Those songs are not for our devotional practice. They are for others. Out of their nativity and sincerity, some margiis and acaryas always sing Lord Shiva and Lord Krsna songs before sadhana. When in fact this diverts their mind away from the Goal. In that case, those songs weaken their devotion for Baba. Please excuse me, but those songs are anti-devotional for true Ananda Margiis. During cultural programs we might sing such songs when members of the general public are in attendance, but such songs are not for our own personal sadhana practice.
THE LANGUAGE ISSUE
When those songs about Lord Shiva and Lord Krsna devalue our devotional longing towards Baba, then the natural question is why some Ananda Margiis get caught up singing those songs. One reason is due to language and region. For instance, in South India, the people are most often followers of Lord Shiva and most of the people know English and Sanskrit, not Hindi and Bangla. So when the songs about Lord Shiva have been given in Sanskrit, then naturally those margiis from South India gravitate towards the Prabhat Samgiita written in Sanskrit about Lord Shiva. In their innocence they do not realise that this is undermining their love for Baba and their sadhana. In North India, the worship of Lord Krsna is much more prevalent and the people speak Hindi and Angika etc, so some margiis from those areas are prone to singing those songs about Lord Krsna. In their sincerity they do like this. But again this only diminishes and bifurcates their attraction for Baba. We must remember: One cannot sing and divert all their energy towards Lord Shiva or Lord Krsna and then expect to get success in AM sadhana and Baba dhyana. It just does not work. For successful sadhana and dhyana, one must goad the mind towards Baba the entire day. That is His teaching.
WTS ARE MAIN CULPRITS
Many margiis and wts have innocently fallen into this wrong practice of singing those Prabhat Samgiitas about Lord Krsna and Lord Shiva. They sing these songs during paincjanya, at dharmacakra, in devotional programs, or anytime, but this is not at all good. Such songs should never be linked with our devotional life. But in their simplicity some do like this. Then there are some Wts who are committing a double-sin. Why? They are doing this faulty practice of singing Lord Shiva and Lord Krsna songs before sadhana etc, and to make matters worse they are teaching this faulty approach to others. That is why they are committing a double-sin and their future is not bright. They should change their ways immediately, otherwise they will not be spared. Ultimately, this is a big topic and there are many points to discuss. But if one understands nothing else from this letter than they should know that singing Lord Shiva and Lord Krsna Prabhat Samgiita songs is anti-devotional for true Ananda Margiis.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace He has given the teaching that we are to have one-pointed devotion for Him and not divert the mind toward any other deity, not even Lord Krsna and Lord Shiva. Baba says, "Non-compromising strictness and faith regarding the sanctity of Ista." (Sixteen Points) Baba says, "If people constantly think of their Is't'a with undivided attention and repeat their Is't'a Mantra with conceptual understanding, their future is certainly glorious." (NKS) Namaskar, Sudhakar
Note: FOR MORE INFORMATION
To learn more about this important topic, read this below letter:
********************************* Food Problems and Their Solution
Baba says, "In the event of shortages in the food and accommodation of the population of the world, people will convert uncultivated land into new arable land, increase the productivity of the soil by scientific methods, produce food by chemical processes with earth, water and air, and if this earth decreases in its productivity, then land seeking human beings will migrate to different planets and satellites and settle there." (PNS-13, p.45)
*********************************

Policy on Comments

Spam and unparliamentary language not to be used.

folders: Ananda Marga related articles on hundreds of niche issues

Namaskar

To receive postings of this blog, email us at: am-global@earthlink.net

Baba nam kevalam