AM Sadhana Can Be Pramatta

Date: Sat, 16 May 2009 23:51:19 +0530 To: AM-GLOBAL From: "Pandit_Sudhakar" Subject: AM Sadhana Can Be Pramatta Baba Intro to PS: In this following song, the loving Parama Purus'a, Tara'ka Brahma, is communicating directly with the devotee. Specifically, in a personal way, the divine Entity, Tara'ka Brahma, is asking the sadhaka various questions. In contrast, in most Prabhat Samgiita songs, the devotee is singing or expressing his own thoughts to Parama Purusa. But this entire song is different: It is expressed in the voice of Parama Purusa; He Himself is narrating the scene. "Kende kende tava kavarii-bandha khuliya' giya'che ka'r tare..." P.S. 1104 Purport: For whom have been crying such that your hair braids have become loose and undone, and now your hair is just falling in an unkempt manner. Who is responsible for causing you so much pain. Even then you are trying hard to conceal your grief-stricken & broken heart; but by seeing your pain-filled eyes anyone can understand how sorrowful you are. Indeed, you are so upset that you cannot maintain the proper melody or tune of the song which you are singing. Why like this-- whose longing has caused all these problems & distress in your life. Now look, the whole day has passed and it is reaching up towards evening time. The brightness of the day is gone and now evening is falling. The sun is going to set; that time has come. At this time in this lonely place are You sitting here by yourself in this isolated forest. Tell me, whose memory is churning your heart; why are you so heart-broken. The whole day you have been sitting here alone involved in contemplation and now evening has come and still you are remaining here. Who is the cause behind all this, how has this happened-- please tell me. Always remember that the balaka bird flies off to far distant places, but again and again it returns and comes back to its own nest. Similarly, if your Beloved has gone far away, then He too will return again and come back. So please do not cry. O' devotee, whose love has shaken your whole existence. Rest assured that He will come..

== AM SADHANA CAN BE PRAMATTA ==

Namaskar, The goal of all sadhana is to reach Parama Purusa. This idea must be the propulsive force in our sadhana. And we are most fortunate. By Baba's grace, He has blessed us with the untainted spiritual approach of Ananda Marga. He is the Sadguru and He has given us siddha mantra and the path of pure spirituality. The sole goal of AM sadhana is to please and serve Him. Naturally then, we all think our sadhana is cent-per-cent sentient - perfect. Of course the teachings and the practices in AM are blemishless. But what many do not realise is that if not done in the right spirit, even AM sadhana can become pramatta, i.e. totally negative. Tragically, this has become the case for some practitioners of AM sadhana. To prevent this from happening to us, we should better understand how our AM sadhana can be pramatta - lest we also fall into this trap.

PRAMATTA & DOGMATIC WAYS

Baba says, "Pramatta means something which is completely bad – bad from beginning to end. Pramatta totally destroys human faculties." (PNS-16) Generally then, we think of pramatta as being associated only with pseudo-spiritual and dogmatic approaches like idol worship, hatha yoga tapasya, crude tiirthas, religious dogmas, and animal sacrifices etc. Because all such approaches are based on a faulty premise, offer negative practices, and degrade the mind. For example in the case of hatha yoga, the practitioner may be told to stand on one leg in a cold river for 6 hours. When doing this form of crude tapasya, that person is only focused on completing the practice. They are thinking, "I hope I am done soon - I hate doing this - I am so cold - I cannot feel my leg, it is totally numb - only 4 more hours and 2 minutes left - I can't wait until this is over." In that case their hatha yoga tapasya is totally prammatta. There is no place or space in their mind for Parama Purusa. They are not thinking about Him nor are they going to get Him. Their entire goal is something mundane. The same is the case with those who do idol worship and pray for their daughter's marriage or a job promotion at work. Their mind is not filled with thoughts of Parama Purusa. Rather they have some other agenda in mind. The situation is the same with those involved in going from one dogmatic tiirtha site to the next or those involved in sacrificing animals to the the gods. All these are clear-cut instances of misguided or non-spiritual dealings. They are pramatta. Their goal is not Parama Purusa, but something transitory, if not selfish. They will not move ahead - rather theirs is that path of negative pratisaincara.

HOW AM SADHANA CAN BE PRAMATTA - Part 1

Pramatta however is not limited to the aforementioned dogmatic practices. Our AM sadhana can also be pramatta, if we are not careful. This may sound surprising but it is true. Unfortunately, already many have fallen in this way. In fact, you have probably seen others turn their AM sadhana into pramatta - i.e. something totally bad. Let us again remember that the goal of our sadhana is to attain Parama Purusa. So anytime when that is not front and center in our meditation, then that sadhana turns sour. Then it is pramatta. For instance, if someone does AM sadhana with the sole intention to go eat dinner, or run to the office, then that sadhana is pramatta. It is bad from beginning to end. Yet many do that. I do that, on occasion. I fail to plan properly and do not allot sufficient time for sadhana. And then, sadly, I just end up doing sadhana quickly in some ritualistic manner so that I may attend my next appointment - whether that me dinner or my job etc. Likewise, if someone is doing sadhana with the desire that others will think that he is a great sadhaka, then that sadhana is also pramatta. And you may have seen this happening at our retreats. Or how about this. One Dada hardly does any sadhana when he is alone in the jagrti. But then when he goes to a margii house, then he sits like a stone statue for hours in the pre-dawn hours as if he is some great sadhaka. All done to heighten his prestige. Have you never heard or seen such things - something similar. Probably you have. Even then, some may be thinking - "Oh come on, it is really not that bad. Our AM sadhana can never become pramatta." But Baba is quite clear that performing sadhana in hopes of enhancing one's prestige or for some mundane reward is totally off the mark. Baba says, "What is pramatta? He who has committed mistakes, committed blunders, in the very beginning, and he who is committing mistakes throughout the phase of activity, and he who is committing mistakes even in the last stage, is called pramatta." (AV-34)

HOW AM SADHANA CAN BE PRAMATTA - Part 2

We must never forget or fall from the idea that the real aim of sadhana is to serve and please Parama Purusa. He is the only goal of sadhana. Hence, if one is doing sadhana with an ulterior motive in mind, then it really is pramatta. And that is not some type of joke but rather a serious if not dreadful circumstance. One will fall entirely and degrade themselves. They think they are doing sadhana when in fact they are not. So just because we are initiated sadhakas on the path of AM, just because Taraka Brahma is our Guru, just because ours is the path of pure spirituality does not mean that our sadhana cannot become pramatta. It most certainly can, if we are not vigilant to keep Parama Purusa as the focus and aim of our sadhana. Unfortunately, people do AM sadhana for all kinds of reasons: To show themselves to others as being great, to get respect, etc. Some also think that by doing sadhana, then Baba will reward them with a long life or a big bank account. Others think that they may become a great world leader or attain occult powers. Anyone doing sadhana with these types of things in mind has sadly turned their sadhana into pramatta.

SAME THING HAPPENS WITH KIIRTAN

And the same thing can happen with kiirtan as well. Some sing to show off their voice or musical abilities. This totally ruins their kiirtan turns it into pramatta. Then they are not singing to please Him, but rather to glorify themselves. Have you never heard of or seen such things happen in AM.

BABA'S GUIDELINE

Of course most in AM are totally focused on Baba and do their practices with Him in mind. We all know we should do like this and many are quite proper in their approach. Even then we should be vigilant. Because ego is such a tricky thing. It is always trying to get the upper hand. In any relaxed moment, it can get the better of us and our sadhana may become tainted or become pramatta. This has definitely happened to some. That is why Baba warns us that we should be cent-per-cent careful to always keep Him as the goal in all our spiritual endeavours. Baba says, "What is pramatta? He who has committed mistakes, committed blunders, in the very beginning, and he who is committing mistakes throughout the phase of activity, and he who is committing mistakes even in the last stage, is called pramatta. And a sa'dhaka, a spiritual soldier, should be apramatta. Only in that case will his “I” feeling reach, come in contact with, the Supreme Self. He will attain the stance of salvation." (AV-34)

BABA'S BLESSING

By Baba's grace, if we immerse our mind in Him then we will certainly reach Him. Then we will not fall prey to vanity and worldly pressures and end up doing AM sadhana for the wrong reasons. Then our sadhana will not become pramatta. Baba says, "One who has made it a mission to attain Parama'tma' will assuredly attain Him. You are sa'dhakas, and you should always remember this. Your love for God, your devotion for God, should be of non-attributional, or spiritual, nature." Namaskar, Sudhakar