== NY NEWS: CAME BACK TO HAUNT ==
Namaskar,
It has been four years since one group changed the NY sector by-laws in
their own favour, and today their actions have come back to haunt them.
They are being bitten by their own deeds, yet hoping that the rest of
the sector will bail them out. All the details are clearly outlined below.
BABA'S TEACHING ON UNITY
As we know, Baba's guidelines on unity are sublime. Unity means rallying
around a common spiritual ideology and Goal.
Baba says, "Human unity is purely an ideological unity, which means
unity in the psychic sphere. Where there is psychic unity, physical
unity will also occur. In the realm of unity, unity is always psychic
ideological unity means unity in the subtlest level of the mind." (Talks
on Prout)
Our definition of unity then is moving together toward the Supreme, not
any worldly or selfish outcome like post, power and prestige. That is
what our samgacchadhvam chant is all about: Uniting our minds for the
great cause, not any small-minded pursuit.
So unity in AM is a high endeavour.
RECAPTURING THE SPIRIT IN AM
Unfortunately, these days in AM, the word unity itself has become
misused or misunderstood as all the groups try to rally adherents in the
name of unity and one group even tried to call themselves as such.
As Ananda Margiis it is our duty to once again ignite the spirit of real
unity in our Marga. No group interest should be served, only we are to
do according to His wish.
To that end, we should clearly understand what is happening now in NY
sector, as it is a mere microcosm of what will invariably unfold
wherever groupism is in vogue.
WHAT IS GOING DOWN IN NY SECTOR
See here what is happening in NY sector. In a nutshell let's review a bit.
Four years ago, in the early monthly of 2006, one Dada and his group X
captured the hearts and minds of some of the senior margiis in NY
sector. In order to keep his power, that Dada convinced margiis to
change the by-laws of NY sector. Why? Because group Z who was
controlling Centre wanted to appoint a new SS. But the leader of group X
did not want this to happen. He wanted the power for himself. By
offering top posts and prestige to certain senior margiis, this Dada and
his newly made subordinates (i.e. Board of Directors) changed the
by-laws of NY sector to state that group Z could not appoint a new SS
without the clear approval of the NY Board of Directors. That was the
way things were distorted.
Time passed like this. Now, see what is going on...
In Feb 2010, group Z had enough and hired a legal team to take action
against group X and the Board of Directors of NY. The legal team sent a
letter informing the group X and his Board of Directors that they are no
longer the legal managers of AMPS in NY sector and that they had to
relinquish all AM assets etc, including their cherished posts.
Today, in Mar 2010, the Dada leading group X and his Board of Directors
find themselves in a jam. They tried to negotiate themselves out of
trouble, but it did not work. Now they have no choice but to fight back
in the courts, which is both a time consuming and costly affair. So they
have written a letter appealing to NY margiis to help out.
Of course, in this tainted era, no group is pure - neither X nor Z.
But it is ironic, that all along the lead Dada of group X and his Board
of Directors acted unilaterally to control NY sector by distorting the
established by-laws etc, and now that they are in trouble of losing
their grip (as well as a pile of money) they are appealing to the mass
of margiis, whom they've been treating all along as second class citizens.
Now see here what the margiis have to say about this.
MARGIIS ARE COMING FORWARD
At minimum, two brave and clear-thinking margiis sisters (one in NYC and
one in Los Altos, CA) have come forward and made a dharmic stand.
The sister in NYC has outlined a number of points of concern about the
way things have been been going in NY sector the last few years. Here is
what she says:
"There is no excuse from SO that margiis are not sent this information"
"As a Margii and the rest of us, we have the right to know information
about any issue concerning Ananda Marga from the existing Ananda Marga Inc."
"How can we truly accept the legality of Ananda Marga Inc Board of
Directors when a portion of the original By Laws was changed without informing,
consulting the General Body of Ananda Marga that itself is illegal."
"The Tenure of Board of Directors must be clear...The General Body must be
able to select / elect their officers, board of directors ETC. and there
must be an official communication...given to all members of the General
Body."
"This periodical communication should give accurate report of what is
going on..."
"Now that there is a lawsuit, WHY is it that only now the Names of the
Board of Directors appear in our Screen reaching out for help to handle this lawsuit
and LAWSUIT was never officially communicated to ALL by mail or in person
thru a meeting with the local unit."
"Is it not hypocritical?"
That was the pointed letter from one margii in NYC.
In addition, the margii sister from Los Altos (who was one of the first
to publicly break the story) has given some excellent points. One of the
main themes in her letter is that of moral responsbility by those Board
Members. See here what this margii sister has written.
"I feel strongly that the Board of NYS should shoulder the financial
costs of their legal case since it involves them specifically and does
not in any way help the sector nor benefit general Margiis. All the
members of the Board are well able to pay their legal costs and BE
RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT THEY HAVE CREATED. Let Margiis and simple WTs
continue to do their missionary work and support their local units. I
hope the Board of Directors do not have plans to have the Margiis pay
for their own power games. I consider such, along with that credit card
for dharma pracar I keep seeing advertised, exploitation."
By their expression it is quite clear that the mood in NY sector is not
to support any group in their contest or slug-fest for power.
Others have also come forward in this respect.
The margiis want to see the ideological expression of Ananda Marga, not
the crowing of power of any group through the US court system.
Now it is quite apparent how the selfish misdeeds of group X and their
Board of Directors has come back to haunt them. They distorted the legal
foundation of AMPS in NY sector to gain power, and now that same legal
system has come back to bite them.
THE WAY TO COMBAT GROUPISM
Here the main ideological point and Baba's divine teaching is that we
should never tolerate division. Group X broke away from group Z to
capture NY sector. No doubt group Z is unjust, but breaking away is not
the answer. That is a common ailment that plagues humanity.
Baba says, "As a result [of the dogma of groupism], one human society is
divided into different nations, and one nation is divided into different
religions; religions also have different castes, and caste also have
different sub-castes – what kind of situation is this? We have only
learned how to divide and subdivide humanity, and we never learned how
to unite the people. This is all due to the defective teachings of
dogmas." (AFPS-9)
Then what is to be done. When group Z is in power and if group Z is
abusing that power, then a consciousness raising movement must happen
within the Marga about the injustices and exploitation done by group Z.
And then mass psychic pressure must be applied to group Z until they
reform their ways or leave.
That is our avenue for fighting groupism and exploitation - applying
pressure on the wrongdoers, not creating a parallel group.
Once a second group is formed that only compounds the problem and sets
the tone for more and more groups to be created. And that is what we see
happening today in AMPS. However picking up all the pieces of all these
factions is not so easy. Putting the parts back together is a difficult
job. That is why the main strategy is to keep the organisation whole and
correct the wrongs - not jump ship and create yet another faction.
Unfortunately, that is what group X did as well as so many other
factions. That only worsens matters. But they do this because it appeals
to their selfish interest. They want power and it is easy to grab the
power by creating a separate club or group and appointing oneself as the
leader etc. Their whole entire outlook is based on material lust and
control. They think they will live on this earth forever and the crowing
glory is to rule the roost. This is their manner - but it will never
bring unity, just groupist strife.
Hence an entirely new mind-set is needed. One must think, "My life is
short, I have come on this earth only for a short while. I do not want
any post or power, just I want to serve Baba and His creation and spread
His ideals."
When one thinks in this way, then they will never tolerate any
exploitation nor will they rush to grab the chair either. They will
establish His teachings within the organisation and beyond and bring
unity amongst all beings. This is Baba's divine guideline and this is
our way.
The whole episode in NY sector is moving in a faulty direction because
all parties involved are just interested in power and post. Their fight
has nothing to do with ideology. Their concern is not the right printing
of Baba's discourses, nor margii rights nor proper BP elections nor the
elimination of Fake Ananda Vaniis. These factions are only in it for
their own power. That was what led group X to change the by-laws and
that is why their wrongdoing from 4 years ago has now come back to haunt
them.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace, He has blessed us with all the teachings to resolve the
current problems. All we need to do is follow His guidelines - nothing
more. Unfortunately, when various groups chase after the post at any and
all cost, then unity is but a dream. Knowing this, we should all take
concerted efforts to reform the ways of all groupists and bring about
that era of peace and happiness into our Marga.
Baba says, "However, psychic or ideological unity may be affected if we
encourage the exploitation of one group by another. So to avoid this
there should not be any scope for exploitation in society. And to ensure
this we have to start a new order to safeguard the interests of the
exploited masses. So for a proper social synthesis what we require is a
common philosophy of life; that is, ideological unity." (PNS-15)
Namaskar,
Prakash
Note 1: WHO IS GROUP X AND WHO IS GROUP Z
In the above letter, group X is the EC faction led by Tiirthananda and
his chosen Board of Directors and group Z is the Rudrananda/Nigamananda
faction and their selected NY SS, Vimalananda.
One thing should also be noted. For years and years, Tiirthananda and EC
were the right hand cadre of Rudrananda as they thought this would bring
them post and power. When it did not yield them any fruit, they split up
and went on their own.
So their fight is just based on selfishness, not universal welfare or
ideological unity.
One noted group not mentioned in this letter is the Tiljala faction.
Suffice to say here that they too have their stated agenda but they
could not capture or compete for power in NY sector.
Note 2: WHO ARE THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Here is the list of EC's Board of Directors of Ananda Marga, Inc. (NY
Sector). It is these people are who in danger of losing their shirt in
NY sector so all of a sudden they are appealing to others for help, when
all along they have been quite aloof all these years.
Ac. Tiirthananda Avt.
Ac. Rainjitananda Avt.
Ac. Vedaprajinananda Avt.
Avtk. Ananda Vibha Ac.
Ac. Devanistha
Valmiki
Vishva Deva
Vinaya
Note 3: RELATED LETTER FROM FOUR YEARS AGO
These letters were posted four years ago when it became known that some
in NY sector had distorted the by-laws. This is the history of what took
place.
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2006/03/real-well-wisher.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2006/03/like-another-breakaway-faction.html
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Health Guideline
Baba says, "In order to digest starches and carbohydrates, the saliva of
the mouth must help at the preliminary stage. Chewing food brings an
adequate quantity of saliva into the mouth. No sooner does the food
mixed with saliva enter the stomach than the liver and the pancreas are
enabled to start secreting their bile and digestive fluids. So unless
food is chewed well, the liver can never function properly." (YT, p.1)
Note: In the fast-paced life of this 21st century, people no longer give
themselves proper time to attend to their basic life duties, such as
eating food. Instead people just rush off from one appointment to
another and "grab a bite to eat" along the way at any number of
drive-thru, fast-food places. In their hectic pace, instead of chewing
their food they just inhale their meal, nearly swallowing it whole. But
this way of "eating" is terribly hazardous to the health and invites
many diseases. As Ananda Margiis we should spread Baba's above teaching
to the members of the general society so that they may be benefited.
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