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Heaven & Hell Difference...

Date: Nov 17 2009 06:39:21 -0700 To: am-global@earthlink.net From: Reynolds_HT Subject: Heaven & Hell Difference... Baba "Tumi a'ma'r a'hva'ne sa'r'a' diyecho..." (P.S. 1265) Purport: Baba, You are so gracious You have paid heed to my call of longing. After remaining quiet for a long time, in the end You have finally listened to the cry of my heart. Such a long span of time has passed. The tender leaves of spring have become yellow and fallen down. The green vegetation in the mountains also underwent huge change; I saw they did not remain the same. Such a long span of time has passed. In the end, ultimately I received the showering of Your grace. My heart is inundated with the bliss of having You. You have filled my life with ecstasy. Baba, You know so many liilas, divine plays, which I do not understand. In this situation, I go on only searching You-- feeling spellbound, astonished, & amazed. Only You know the glory of Your divine play. Baba, You have filled and satiated my heart and mind with the showering of Your causeless grace. Baba, You have heard the cry of my longing....
HEAVEN AND HELL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SELF-CENTERED CAPITALISM AND GOD-CENTERED AM
Namaskar, 'I am happy to be here', 'It is my pleasure to do that', 'thanks for inviting me'... The above are all common sayings in today's western, capitalistic society and such expressions are quickly being converted and translated into languages all around the globe. Such is the spread of capitalism.
FOUR CATEGORIES OF PHILOSOPHY
However, Baba clearly guides us that there is a tremendous difference between the four basic types of philosophies: Dogma-centered, matter-centered, self-centered, and God-centered. And in particular the self-centered philosophy of capitalism is based purely on individual egoistic desires or selfishness whereas the God-centered philosophy of Ananda Marga is based totally on service psychology-- serving all as expressions of Brahma. Baba says, "The followers of self-centred philosophy do everything only for self-interest, self-pleasure...In self-centred philosophies, individual selfishness is the motive, as in capitalism...Those who follow God-centred philosophy serve humanity and the entire living world with equal love and affection according to Neohumanism." (PNS-18)
SELFISHNESS OF CAPITALISM vs SERVICE PSYCHOLOGY OF AM
So there is a heaven and hell difference between the selfishness of capitalism and the service oriented mentality of Ananda Marga. The first aims towards ego satisfaction and the fulfilling of one's petty desires; whereas the latter aims at helping and service others for the cause of universal welfare. Unfortunately, at present, it is this selfish psychology of capitalism that is spreading like wildfire around the globe today. Because already it is saturated in the west and now the so-called third world nations want to step up into the 'greatness of modernity' so they emulate each and every aspect of western, materialistic life-- including their manner of speaking. Those very crude phrases get translated into one's own local tongue-- or people merely adopt the English expression in their hometown of Bali, Cape Town, or San Juan. That is how this selfishness is manifesting itself around the globe in all aspects of life: In how one thinks, lives, walks, and talks. Here then is a further look at the situation at hand.
COMMON SELFISH EXPRESSIONS OF THE DAY
Today on the radio, on the internet, at governmental summits, on TV interviews, in business meetings, at family gatherings, on the street, and in each and every nook and cranny of modernity there are a whole slew of expressions which reveal the utter selfishness of the prevailing philosophy of the day. If one listens to any talk, interview, or speech etc, phrases such as the following abound: 'Thanks for giving me opportunity', 'it is my pleasure', 'I felt good doing that', 'I enjoyed being part of the relief project', 'I am delighted to be here', 'It is my privilege', 'I will be happy to do that', 'I am honoured to receive this', and on and on the list goes. These are totally I-centered, egoistic ways of speaking-- that reflect a self-centered and narrow way of thinking. In each and every case the 'I' is dominating-- i.e. one's own petty happiness, not any welfare or service motive. They all revolve around selfish, unit pleasures. And this is the pervasive mentality of capitalism, where #1 is not God, others, but rather oneself. So it is not just a linguistic phenomenon, because as we look around it is quite apparent that nations, peoples, businesses, consumers, and citizens are acting in a totally selfish manner. So the poison of selfishness is deeply rooted and prevalent all around.
WHY THEY MAY BE HARD TO DETECT
That is why when hearing expressions like, 'It gives me great pleasure' or 'Thank you for inviting me to participate', one may wonder: What is the problem-- those are fine expressions. Because these are so commonly spoken and so commonly heard, people accept such selfish ways of speaking as being totally normal, fine, and well. Verily, the selfishness of capitalism has seeped so deep into the human psyche that selfishness itself becomes hard for some to recognise. It is just like if one works in a barn all day and has cow dung all over their shoes, pants, hands, nose then it may be hard for that person to recognise the very smell of that animal feces as it has become part of their very being. Not only are they surrounded by that cow dung but they themselves are immersed in it. In that case that offensive smell is totally unrecognisable to them. Same is the case with the selfishness of capitalism in today's present day world. Capitalism preaches selfish pleasure and that is what everybody chases after all day long: In their business life, in their personal life, in their family life etc. If their business swallows up another one only to cause massive unemployment, those top executives does not care so long as it is good for their own business agenda; likewise if any individual gets their personal goal met of buying a huge, fancy house, it is of no concern to them that there are millions who are homeless-- because they got their own selfish desire met; likewise if a husband no longer likes to live a family way of life, then in a split-second he will leave his wife and kids and run off with a sensual honey who is 30 years younger. That is the way society is moving these days. And it is accepted-- even people are praised and admired for doing such crude things. That is why it is difficult-- if not impossible-- for many people to detect selfishness in today's world, let alone in their speech patterns. Because for them, selfishness is as totally normal as the air they breathe.
AS MARGIIS WE SHOULD BE VIGILANT
As Ananda Margiis however, our eyes should be open to such selfish ways of speaking and we should awaken others to it as well. Because the root cause of such expressions is one's own mental colour. And possessing a selfish mentality is ultravarious to our AM ideology, and indeed harmful to the humanity and to one's own spiritual growth. For these reasons, it is important to be vigilant to detect and toss out all kinds of selfishness-- including in one's manner of speaking.
WHAT SHOULD BE SAID INSTEAD
Thus instead of saying things like, 'It give me great pleasure', 'I am happy to be here', or 'Thank you for the opportunity', which all reflect one's own personal satisfaction, we should speak in a manner that reflects the service psychology of Ananda Marga. What should we say then? How about, 'I feel blessed to be able to come here and serve you', or 'It is Baba's grace I could participate and help others', or any other style of expression that places emphasis on serving others and not on one's own happiness. The English language is constructed in such a way that it may be impossible to make the statement without using the 'I' term. So what needs to happen then is to direct the importance of the sentence towards helping and serving other rather than one's own unit satisfaction. For that reason it is important that we express ourselves in the follow manner, 'I feel blessed to be able to serve you today'-- because in AM our whole outlook is to live a life in service to others. Baba says, "All human beings are to be served...Remember that your service does not oblige the Supreme, rather you are obliged because you have such a chance to serve the Supreme in the form of living beings." (Ananda Vanii #28) Baba says, "Bear in mind that you have a duty towards – indeed, you owe a debt to – every creature of this universe, but towards you, no one has any duty; from others, nothing is due." (CC-2) Thus our whole way of life in the Marga is based on serving God both in sadhana as well as in the form of living beings-- we have not come here just to satisfy our own petty unit desires. That is why there is a heaven and hell difference between the crude captialistic outlook and all its negative expressions and the glorified vision of Ananda Marga and our service oriented way of life. So none should get caught up in the smog of capitalism where life is merely about satisfying one's own egoistic inclinations-- nor should our talk reflect such things either.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace He has showered the humanity with the sweetness and charm of a God-centered way of living that will bring peace and welfare to one and all. Baba says, "As long as you exist, you have got to perform yajina (service). The moment you cease from discharging duties, either due to incapacity or wrong choice you will fall into an abyss. You should not let this happen. It is your dharma to move from narrowness to vastness, from greatness to divinity. To allow yourself to fall into an abyss is against the characteristic of your existence. You long for eternal bliss and endeavour for eternal life. You are associated with that unending vitality in the blood circulation of your arteries and veins and in the rhythmic throbbing of your heart. You have been listening day and night the voice of eternal youth. Can you ever imagine remaining inert matter in an inactive state where there is no yajina (service)? Even in the state of supreme realization you will be infused with boundless knowledge. O human beings! be established in the radiance of divinity and the splendour of valour and chivalry, because yours is the path of revolution. Your path is not the path of extra caution and scheduled movement. You are the traveller of a rugged path. You are travellers of an impregnable path. You have to march ahead proudly with the flag of Marga upright. You have no time to stagger or to look behind." Namaskar, Harideva
****************************************** Real Wealth
"Ya'jinavalkya asked, 'What would you like?'" "Maetreyii replied: 'Yena'ham' na'mrtasya'm' tena'ham' kim kurya'm'" "'What will I do with things which will not remain with me permanently? Of what use are the objects which will not establish me in immortality?...'Please give me that thing which will remain with me permanently, which I'll be able to preserve forever, which will establish me in immortality. I don't want anything else.'" "Then Ya'jinavalkya gave her a number of instructions, upon which a major part of Raja Yoga is based'." (AV-7, p.44) Note: As described in the above quote: Really, worldly things cannot remain with us very long. That is why ideal people run towards Parama Purusa. Being Parama Purusa and Guru, Baba Himself has guided us how to reach Him. On this point, we are extremely fortunate to at least have gotten the path. Now our main duty is to follow it.
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