== TANTRIC PRACTICES AND TIMING ==
Namaskar,
Our AM is the spiritual path. Accordingly Baba gives huge emphasis on the
importance of sadhana.
Baba says, "Human life is for spiritual sadhana only. There is not, there
cannot be, any other motive; there cannot be any other intention; there
cannot be any other desideratum." (AV 23, p. 112)
DOING NIGHT SADHANA
Doing sadhana on the night of amavasya (nil moon) is one special way for
gaining more and more momentum in the spiritual field. And amavasya is not
only beneficial for avadhutas, but it is a very significant and useful
night for everyone to practice sadhana. And this sadhana can be our
standard sahaja sadhana, or kapalik, or vishesh, or any dharmic variety.
But the central idea is thinking about Parama Purusa, chanting His name,
and ideating on Him. This ideation on amavasya nights has more meaning.
Usually in all 24hrs, anytime if one gets opportunity one should practice
sadhana; that is good. But at the same time Baba says that the best time to
do sadhana is midnight and up to 3 hours after that. Because during that
time the pineal gland becomes active and more receptive to spiritual
vibration. In short, the practice of sadhana can be intensified and very
beneficial. This thing Baba has revealed in 1990 Diipavali discourse, which
is printed in AV-24.
WHEN IS MIDNIGHT??
But figuring out when midnight is, that is not very easy to decide. By
loose thinking people follow that 00 hrs is midnight. But now in this
materialistic era, 00 hrs is tainted by the politics of various countries.
So this makes it quite misleading for the purpose of deciding midnight.
If we accept that political 00 hrs is midnight then to believe that will be
dogmatic. To make it more clear then please read as follows.
These days in any country it is not easy to decide what is 12am-3 am, or
midnight. One main reason behind this is that in various countries, the
time zones change or are drawn according to the political cause.
Strictly speaking though, if you say midnight it should mean the central
point between sunset and sunrise. But in most of the countries it is not
like that. Rather, for their various mundane conveniences etc, the
governments change the time.
WHAT SHOULD TANTRIKAS DO??
Now the question becomes, when any government changes the time / time zone,
then accordingly should our midnight or kapalik sadhana timing also get
changed?
Truly speaking, our spiritual practice and midnight etc have nothing to do
with politics and political maneuvers. So it is the duty of tantrikas and
sadhakas to decide and find out what is the central point of sunset and
sunrise. And one should treat that very time as 12am / midnight.
But in various countries for their political reasons or business interests,
many countries change the clocks to meet their desired ends. In that way
their clocks no longer represent the proper time. And in not 1 or 2 but in
most countries it is like this.
For example in the USA, the government changes the time by advancing the
clock. This happens for more than half the year during the warmer months.
Around April or so by the direction of the government the entire country
pushes the clock ahead 1 hour. And it stays like that until Oct / Nov month.
So that whole six month+ period the clock time is 1 hour off. So in USA,
only winter time represents the correct time, in basic sense. And summer
time is improper, always it is one hour ahead. To follow the proper time
for sadhana during those summer months, then one must begin or start
counting their "midnight" sadhana at 1am-- not any earlier than that.
THE ISSUE OF TIME ZONES
And in addition the US is broken up into 4 distinct time zones. Each zone
differs by 1 hour-going from east to west. So by common look some people
may be thinking that this is the most advanced way to do. But even then
various discrepancies are there.
For instance,. suppose you are in the state of Indiana, then the time is
12:00am midnight But then if you drive just a few minutes south into
western Kentucky then the time is 11:00pm. By this way one can see that
within the distance of just short drive, the time has changed 1 hour. And
the border of each and every time zone has such inconsistencies. So such
things are not to be followed by sadhakas.
Because if are in Indiana and it is 12:30am then you will think that
already you are half an hour late for sadhana. But if you drive just s few
miles then you will say that no time was lost because suddenly it became
11:30pm in which case sadhana preparation is going on because it is still
30 minutes before midnight . So all this is just technical and political
differences, nothing more.
Because, just see, in the state of Alaska that in itself used to have 4
time zones and then they decided that was too difficult to deal with so it
became just one time zone.
So the sense is that even in materially developed lands these times zones
are not at all perfect measurements of time.
Next example: If you are in central Idaho and if you go 100 yards north
into the panhandle of Idaho then in there is a 1 hr time difference. But it
does not mean that if any avadhuta misses their sadhana and it became 3am
and then they can cross the imaginary line and think that now I can do my
sadhana.
So those are some of the various points discrepancy of a country with
multiple time zones. This I learned during my visit there.
MORE ABOUT TIME ZONES
In contrast here in the entire India there is only 1 time zone, but the
country is large. If anyone is living in Tripura / Nagaland (far eastern
India), then sunset happens by 6pm and then the person who is living in
Dwaraka in Gujurat (western India), for them the sun will set by 8pm. Then
in Tripura morning approaches by 4am and in Dwaraka it will come by 6am.
So in Dwaraka after midnight one has 6 hours time up to dawn. And in
Tripura only 4 hrs time is there until sunrise. So all around all sorts of
discrepancies and odd timings are there.
WHAT IS OUR SYSTEM
But according to the calculation of tantrik system one should understand
and find out what is central point of sunset and sunrise of that particular
place. And one should treat that time as 12am or midnight. And from there
one should count 12am to 3am.
When Baba has emphasized the importance of 12am-3am, the first prahar, as
the best for tantric sadhana. And we know that sadhana is related with
spirituality, and is beyond the reach of country politics. So what way
political leaders and map makers change their time let them do. But
tantrikas should decide with their common sense about midnight and utilise
that time.
But those who are not thinking carefully they just blindly depend on the
country / government time and ultimately they are loser. Because 12am is
the critical time for tantrik sadhana when that 12am is just the centre of
the night. But if according to the political maneuver the time is 1/2 hr,
or 1 hr, or 2 hrs before or after, and if anyone treats that as 12am, then
they will not be benefited.
So these are some of the critical matters to think about with regards to
timing and doing night sadhana.
Because of all these reasons I talked with various respected Dadas and
senior margiis and their various opinions I synthesized and wrote above.
Please write your opinion, what is your thought.
BABA'S BLESSING
Here I conclude with this following guideline of BABA where He is telling
us to make use of this human life for sadhana, and that worldly things and
worldly relations have no lasting value. So best is to put maximum effort
into our spiritual practices.
Baba says, "The worship of Brahma should be done scrupulously, or else you
will later regret and bemoan the futility of your life with the last drop
of your tears at your last hour. You should make your life worthwhile
through your sa'dhana'. How much can your worldly friends and relations do
for you? After your death your relatives may perhaps ask, "How much money
has he left behind?" Your friends may go to the crematorium and indulge in
flattering reminiscences about you. Your husband or wife may cry for you
for about ten or twelve days and then regain their normal composure. Your
lot will be only a profound sigh -- a record of the futility and
frustration of your life. So do not waste your time lest you later have to
repent." (SS-3)
Brotherly,
Dayananda
Note 1: The sadhana of each and every Ananda Margii is Tantra sadhana.
Everyone knows this truth. Those who are not aware they should not feel
otherwise.
Note 2: We should always live our life according to this following approach.
Baba says, "The dharma of human beings is to do sadhana and become a mukta
purusa (emancipated being)." (AMEP, p. 64)
Note 3: There is a strict rule that kapalik sadhana should not be practiced
in broad daylight or any other time than 12am-3am, in the middle of the
night. And in Sanskrit that period is called as pratham prahar. One prahar
means a 3 hour period of time. So by this way 12am to 3am is the first
prahar, and then 3am-6am is the second prahar. Like that it goes on up to
the 8th prahar.
One of the very important discourses, the one on 18 Oct 1990 in Calcutta
(AV-24), Baba says that the best time to do sadhana is during the first
prahar, 12am-3 am.
Note 4: It is common in the various sectors for Margiis, Dadas, Didis, etc
to create fasting charts according to their local time zones. So just as we
take the time to properly calculate the eka'dashii dates for our fasting
charts according to where we live, similarly we have to properly calculate
when true midnight occurs. That will be very beneficial for having a proper
sadhana routine.
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DRUM BEATING AND KIIRTAN
Baba says, "It is advisable to play some instrument during kiirtana. A
mrdanga [a kind of drum] or some similar instrument should be used , but
one should not play any heavy sounding instrument like a dhak [a large drum
played with sticks], a dol [a loud drum] or a gong. The mind prefers to
hear a sweet sound, like that of the mrdanga, than a harsh sound. Some time
ago I mentioned that Bhola Mayra said that when the cawing of crows and the
beating of drums stop, human ears get some relief. People do not like to
hear such harsh, unpleasant sounds. The sound of the mrdanga may not be
perfect, but it has one quality: it is very sweet. Thus, whenever a
distracted mind hears the sweet music of a mrdanga, it returns to the
proper place. A remarkable science lies in kiirtana." (AV-8, p. 13-14)
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