== ONE PERSON'S CHOICE INVITES OTHER'S DEATH ==
Namaskar,
In our human society, there are so many "special interest groups" and
each invent their own vocabulary according to their planned agenda. All
done in order to make themselves and their message appear to be good,
rational, or wholesome etc.
One such group are those in favor of abortion and they have created
their own special terminology: "pro-choice".
Indeed, under the banner of their "pro-choice" slogan, they have
confused many common citizens into thinking that theirs is the rational
and logical pathway.
However according the the outlook of Ananda Marga - according to Baba -
the entire practice of abortion is sinful and must not be done. So none
should get duped by their "pro-choice" slogan.
YOU CAN'T MAKE A CHOICE TO KILL OTHERS
One can make all kinds of choices in life. A person can choose what
clothes to wear, which school to attend, what career path to select -
there are many, many choices to be made.
However, one cannot make a choice to destroy another's existence. Yet
that is what an abortion does.
As has been detailed before in so many postings referenced below in Note
3, the baby in the womb is a living, breathing entity. It is not that a
baby magically comes alive when it suddenly emerges from the womb. Human
life starts as soon as the egg gets fertilised by the spermatoza. From
that moment forward, the baby starts to grow, eat, drink, and breathe.
It is carrying out all kinds of life functions. Plus the baby has its
own mind, own set of samskaras, and it has it own inherent desire to
live. It is not just a body part of the mother that can be clipped away
like a finger nail etc. That baby has its own independent existence.
The baby is merely taking shelter, temporarily, under the mother's care
for a short while until that baby is able to emerge from the womb. Just
as parents cannot murder their baby children who are living under their
roof and depending upon them for food, care, and guidance, similarly, no
mother has the right to choose to end the life of the baby that is in
the womb and depending on mother for food, safety, nourishment, and
care. To kill that baby is wholly wrong, in both instances.
Thus to say that the mother of that baby has a "choice" about whether
that baby is destroyed or not is a totally defective approach. Yet that
is what those in favor of abortion advocate.
In their crafty manny, they say "pro-choice" to make their agenda sound
reasonable.
But when that so-called choice involves the permanent destruction of
another being, then such a "choice" cannot be supported - not in any way
shape or form. Rather it is a sin, as it infringes on another being's
God-given right to live.
SPIN DOCTORING
These days in the internet and mass-media marketing, there are some who
are "spin doctors" - they earn their keep by making a message sound good
to the public's ears. They spin and manipulate an agenda into a
so-called credible sound bite.
It is all about glitz and glamor, about presenting falsehoods as truth
and presenting crude ideas as something P.C., politically correct.
That is exactly what the selfish agents of abortion have resorted to
when they selected their slick slogan, "pro-choice". By this way they
have attracted many so-called open-minded and "broad-minded" people into
thinking this was the cosmopolitan perspective.
But that is all nonsense. Engaging in abortion is nothing but sin as one
is wholly robbing a living entity of their God-given right to live. In
some states or lands abortion may be lawful, but one cannot escape the
grave samskara that will be attached with this sinful practice. Both
father and mother will be forced to face the consequences. Because
abortion is tantamount to murder.
It is no different than what happens in India and China when parents may
drown their new-born baby girl because they see her as a burden. Just as
that is unconscionable and against all codes of human rights, same is
the case for killing the baby inside the womb for equally selfish or
dogmatic reasons.
AM'S RATIONAL WAY:
ONE OCCASION WHEN ABORTION IS ALLOWED
According to the rational and logical ways of Ananda Marga, Baba has
declared that there is one & only one occasion wherein an abortion is
justified.
If the mother's life is in danger, then and only then may a pregnancy be
aborted. Only to save the human life of the mother is an abortion the
ethical choice.
That is the sole condition - if the mother's life is in danger. That is
Baba's guideline.
If the mother is poor, if the mother was raped, if the mother does not
want the baby, if the father has left - none of these are valid reasons
for an abortion. They may be unfortunate circumstances, they may be
heinous as in the case of rape, but none of them are proper
justification for murdering the baby. The baby should not be the one to
suffer for other's crimes. Committing one more ruthless injustice (i.e.
abortion) on top of a lesser evil does not resolve the problem - it only
makes things worse.
Only if the mother's life is in danger due to the birth itself, may an
abortion be supported.
Beyond that, there is no scope for "pro-choice" in any other
decision-making process.
ABOUT THE RIGHT TO LIFE CAMPAIGN
The religious coalition adamantly opposes abortion and proclaims their
approach as "pro-life" or "right-to-life".
But none should then think that such persons are true neo-humanists. On
this point they are alright, but they are also inconsistent.
They are not neo-humanists as their churches have caused harm and
alienated so many populations. Thus they do not honor human life per se,
just because of their church dogma, they happen to oppose abortion.
Yet when we evaluate their approach on the whole, their ways are full of
contradictions and choices that harm others.
In contrast, the approach of AM is based on human cardinal values and
rationality.
BABA'S BLESSING
By His grace He has blessed us with the answer to all of today's social
issues, including that of abortion. As Ananda Margiis, we should
unitedly be aware of and support Baba's viewpoint - none should be
swayed into the so-called open-minded camp of "pro-choice". Such a
slogan is a mere euphemism for killing others based on self-interest.
There is not an ounce of welfare motive in their manner.
Baba says, "Have mercy on all living beings."
Pra'n'a'h yatha'tmano...
"Just as your life is extremely dear to you, similarly the lives of
others are equally dear to them. A person who thinks thus and shows
mercy on other creatures is really a sa'dhu, or virtuous person." (Yoga
Psychology, 'Instinct & Devotion)
Namaskar,
Balakrsna
Note 1: OTHER SLOGANS IN SOCIETY
There are so many slogans in society that sound good but are quite harmful.
For example, the term "Eco-Friendly" or "Environmentally Friendly" often
means "less destructive", it does not really mean friendly or
sustainable. A gasoline engine may be termed as eco-friendly because it
gets better gas mileage, yet still it is creating harm to the
environment. Same is the case with so many household cleaners and other
corporate products.
So we should be astute when considering any group or company's chosen
slogan.
B group also poses their slogans for mahaprayan (MPD) yet we know MPD -
i.e. Baba is gone - is in totally opposition to the spiritual approach
of Ananda Marga which states that Baba is in our heart. But for their
own selfish agenda and geo-sentiment, B group creates all kinds of spins
and slogans to make their program sound "enlightening" when in fact it
deadens one's link with Parama Purusa.
Note 2: SENIOR ACARYA DIARY OPPOSES ABORTION
In the 'Pranayama' chapter of our Acarya Diary, Baba describes the
process of breathing and how it relates with life and death.
Baba tells how death occurs on the exhale and life begins on an inhale.
Now here comes the critical point: Baba tells that when an old person
dies upon their final exhalation, then their next inhalation occurs when
their next life begins as an embryo in the mother's womb. That is Baba's
direct guideline.
The key point then is that Baba is clearly defining that life begins
inside the mothers womb. That developing embryo, that unborn babe, is
indeed alive. That human embryo is a living, breathing being.
In that case, we have no right to curtail or destroy the life of that
unborn child, irregardless of the circumstances.
So every abortion is a direct contravention of Baba's divine teaching.
Note 3: MORE LETTERS ABOUT AM'S STAND ON ABORTION
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2008/11/abortion-acarya-diary.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2008/02/beginning-of-life.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2009/01/unnecessarily-punishing-infant.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2008/05/social-issue-inherent-contradiction.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2008/04/ananda-marga-stem-cell.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2008/03/unknown-sins-in-our-life.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2009/03/babas-warning.html
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Sentient Income
Baba says, "It is clear here too that one's ajiiva or physical
occupation should be sentient...No one should be a trader in religion ,
because in the name of religion, many people are exploited...The
scriptures stipulate that people should not accept food from such
people, because their occupations are despicable." (SS-11, p. 24-25)
Note 1: In the past when Lord Buddha first gave this teaching there were
4 categories of negative occupations; but now the world is so complex
that this group has expanded in multiple despicable directions. Through
it all the central idea is the same: That people should not make their
livelihood by depraved means.
In this present era these following "professions" also fall into this
negative category: crude film-makers, drug dealers, politicians, stock
brokers, pornography dealers, casino owners, lottery makers, religious
traders who are propagators of dogma like Mahaprayan (MPD), and
gangsters etc.
In today's capitalist society, the middle-man is also a negative
occupation. Because such persons do not produce anything of value for
the society. All they do is take what is produced in one place and pass
on that same product to someone else for a sizeable profit. Thus such
middle men are just the leeches of society-- just sucking money from the
common people without doing any constructive work of their own.
Everyone is hereby invited to add more undesirable professions to the
above list.
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