== YOUR BLIND "LIKING" ==
Namaskar,
As the year draws to a close we should all reassess the direction in
which our lives are moving. By His grace He has brought us onto the path
of spirituality and we should be cent per cent sure we are keeping firm
to His tenets and ideals.
THE MAIN PROBLEM
In our lives, it is quite common - yet not always appropriate - to chase
after things that we like. We actually associate that liking with who we
are. We identify with that.
Baba says, "When you develop a fascination for a particular object or
person your mind encircles it." (APH-6)
But those likings - house, spouse, money, food, computer, mp3 player,
youtube video - are not who or what we really are. Yet we become totally
attached to that and our mind takes that shape and form. And we chase
after it with full effort.
This type of occurrence is not good for our human growth and
development. Yet that is the way people's likings shape who they are and
what they become. Most people's lives are totally dominated by such
likings. It can happen to me, you, our friends, family members, and
neighbors.
So we should be 100% careful.
LIKING CHANGES - SEE FOR YOURSELF
Actually such material longings or likings are quite short-lived. You
can see for yourself. Take a long back at the last ten years. Honestly
evaluate those things that you wanted or liked and notice if you still
want that today. We may have given up everything or worked very hard to
get that - yet now today it is not even something we like.
Think about it: technology, cars, property, opposite sex, status, etc.
Many times we acquire such things with full zeal and joy only to soon
lose interest in them entirely. Either they become old, outdated or we
realise that it is not what we thought. This is the way it goes.
Of course those things we liked as children such as toys, dolls, and all
kinds of games and coloring books we no longer like. Yet at that time as
kids we were crying to get those things only to change our mind minutes
or hours later.
But the lives of adults following a materialistic approach is little
different. With all their mental and emotional force they chase after
things they like - they take huge loans to buy new things, prestige,
hobbies, the opposite sex, friends, and so many other examples - and
then after a short while after getting that thing they are no longer
enthralled with it. Some even chase after various types of music, food
habits, and intellectual ideas. This is the common phenomenon. But
ultimately that liking is blind and we become bored or tired with those
things.
Why is that? Because as soon as their mind changes then their liking
changes as well. That is the main principle at hand.
WHAT IS VIVEK
How to avoid such problems and difficulties. As sadhakas we should
always use our vivek (discrimination). But even that becomes difficult
to define.
Here is one key point to keep in mind:
If we think - I exist and I desire xyz - then one is going to run
headlong after that fleeting desire. People think I exist and I want a
red sports car or I exist and I want that opposite sex. If one just
superficially leads their life in this way then they will never employ
their sense of vivek. Rather they will constantly chase from one liking
or desire to the next. Their desires will change with the winds and
their life will be filled with torment and hell.
In contrast, if we think - I know I exist - then whatever we desire will
be appropriate. Here the point is that phrase "I know I exist" is
embedded with the innate knowledge that I am the child of Parama Purusa
and He is watching me and I am to live a life for pleasing Him. This is
the knowledge every sadhakas has.
When we live our lives according to this perspective then we will never
rush after crude or temporary things. Then the whole emphasis of our
life will be towards Baba and His teachings. At that point our liking
becomes something permanent, not short-lived. Then we can say that we
have vivek - not before.
So when are are not submerged in blindly liking some crude or mundane
object then we will be awakened to a finer way of life based on
ideology. In that case we will always be mentally balanced and not
swayed by any blind liking or attachment.
Baba says, "Once you realize the truth, you may be on your guard so as
not to overdo your expressions of liking or love for someone [or
something]; and not to be antagonistic to a person [or object] not to
your liking. In this way you can maintain your mental balance." (DKG)
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace we should all be wary of this notion of blind liking. We
should not chase after temporary things thinking that will give us long
lasting satisfaction or that we are those things. That is not the way of
the sadhaka. Baba has blessed us with a refined intellect and intuition
and with that faculty we are to live focused on Him and AM ideology.
Then our liking will be pure and we will achieve true peace in life.
Baba says, "That is why I say that you must bring about a revolutionary
change in the flow of your judgment and thought, and see how, after
overcoming your fascination with external colour, your mind becomes
tinged with the His glorious colour. In Ananda Marga sadhana, the method
of withdrawing the mind from degrading tendencies, and absorbing oneself
in the colour of the Great, is called pratya'ha'ra yoga (the yoga of
withdrawal) or varn'a'rghyada'na (the offering of colours). All people
have a particular attraction for one or another object or activity and
as soon as they become attracted to an object, then their minds become
coloured with the colour of that object. You can withdraw your mind from
the colour of that object and dye yourself in His colour by offering Him
the captivating colour of the object that has attracted you: this is the
real pratya'ha'ra yoga." (SS-3)
Namaskar,
Cinmay
Note: OTHER POSTINGS ON THIS TOPIC
This is a big topic. Everyone's lives are affected by this. Here is
further reading for your review:
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2009/12/about-ones-liking.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2006/07/about-ones-liking-part-ii.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2009/11/crying-for-what.html
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Three Dangers
Baba says, "We may say that intoxicants have three distinct
characteristics. Firstly, if one addict does not receive that intoxicant at
their regular, fixed time during the day then they will become anxious and
restless-- even agitated. In addition, when they do get it then their mind
will not like to involve in any work. The second major point is that as
long as one remains under the spell of that intoxicant, his intellect will
be dysfunctional. And if one continues to take intoxicants on a regular,
on-going basis, then their mental stupor will continue on and on. The third
major danger is that intoxicants adversely affect the liver, throat, and
kidney. And in the majority of cases, the user suffers from constipation
also. In conclusion, all intoxicants are bad; opium and ganja (cannabis
indica) extremely harmful." (SC-15)
Note: As A'nanda Ma'rgiis, our duty is to propagate Baba's above teaching
and warn others about the harmful effects of intoxicants.
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