News: Before Donating, Think Twice

To: AM-GLOBAL From: Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 17:41:16 -0000 Subject: News: Before Donating, Think Twice Baba

== NEWS: BEFORE DONATING, THINK TWICE ==

Namaskar, This letter is a call to all in AM and contains critical information for everyone: Family margiis and workers. When donated funds for social service are misused for selfish dealings, then that is cause for alarm. Baba's stated mandate is that both (a) those margiis who donate money and (b) those Wts who collect money are jointly responsible for ensuring the funds are not misused in any way. We should all then pay heed as this letter presents the details about serious misconduct in this regard.

UNIQUE SYSTEM IN ANANDA MARGA

As our aim is not to point out wrongdoing but rather understand what is right, here are some of Baba's important guidelines for our review. Our Ananda Marga outlook is unique. Baba has devised the perfect system where both family people and sannyasis have their alloted social duties. Baba says, "What does a householder have to do? He has to maintain a balance between the two families. One invariably has to look after and expend for the small [unit] family, and, simultaneously, work for the big [universal] family...Thus the householder has to maintain adjustment between the two. But the sannya'sin has only one family – the big family – so there is no question of adjustment." (AV-30) Hence, householders look after the small and big family while wts are fully dedicated for the welfare of the greater universal family. That is Baba's designated system. This we all know. This means that the sannyasis/wts are not on this earth to chase after their own personal agenda, and they should not keep black money. Baba says, "No worker can keep unaccounted money (black money) with him." ("Six Additional Rules, Pt #1a) Nowadays, however, there are cases where a few select workers are grossly transgressing this code. We should all be aware of the following cases and encourage our workers to again hold onto their social dharma - i.e. serving society, not their own self-interest.

SPECIAL POINT OF TAPAH

Before we review the names of workers and what wrongs they have committed, we should take a look at one important point. In His chapter on tapah, Baba clearly warns us that it is the duty of those who donate money to ensure it is properly utilized, otherwise they are party to that negative outcome. That means if we donate money to a wholetimer for a social service project and if those funds get used instead for that wt's own business endeavor or personal indulgence, then we become contributors to that sin - and the whole spirit of service is lost. Here is Baba's clear-cut explanation. Baba says, "The opportunists will misuse your energy by extracting work [and money] from you to serve their selfish ends, and at the same time this will deprive the real sufferers of their due services from you. A rich miser approaches you with a tale of woe and entreats you to give him relief. Being moved with pity, if you do what is needed to relieve him of his suffering, the very purpose of tapah will be defeated, as it is without any knowledge or reasoning." (GHC) Baba's warning then is that those who donate money must be critically aware and informed about who is getting that money and how that money will get used - otherwise their attempt at vaeshyacita seva (financial service) is not only useless, but negative. So no margii can claim ignorance or innocence when they give money for a project - it is the margii's special duty to first investigate the situation before giving funds. Thereafter it is the margii's duty to follow-up afterwards. Baba says, "Therefore, while following the principle of tapah you should ascertain fully well whether the person you are going to serve, really needs your service. Only then should you engage yourself in service." (GHC) We should keep the above point in mind while reading the below case examples, as well as before we donate money in the future. Please do keep in mind that none should come to the conclusion that all Wt's are misusing our donations, only a few rotten apples are the real culprits.

WHO IS INVOLVED

The first case noted below - which is a very recent happening - involves a few Oriya workers. However as you read on, you will see that Wts from around the globe are involved in these types of sinful works not just those from a particular land or region. Any Wt who lost their sadhana and spirit of selfless service has gotten caught up in this whirlpool of deception. The root cause then is when a Wt forgets their dedicated purpose in life. Baba says, "Those who have the responsibility to show the path to others should be of superlative character with the most refined conduct. They and their followers must move constantly towards all-round development and shreya [ultimate spiritual attainment]. Persons who teach such well-regulated behaviour to others by their own conduct are called a'ca'ryas." (AV-31) We must always recall that the whole concept of being an a'ca'rya is very noble. Wt's are not on this earth for lowly dealings like black money scandals etc. Indeed, Baba's blessing on any new worker is that they are going to preach the gospel of AM ideology and spread the ideal of neo-humanism across the universe. That is the way of our wts, in which case there is no scope for the misuse of donated funds, or private business dealings etc. Workers are not meant to live like scammers or industrialists. And they should not get the respect of being a dedicated monk yet in practice just involve in cheating or business.

THREE CLASSES OF ISSUES

Actually, at present, in this regard, there are three basic groups of workers who are going against the ideal of being a'ca'rya: The absolute worst category is those who collect donations and then misuse those funds for their own gain. The next group is very bad. They dress up as sannyasis but spend their entire day doing business like some capitalist or industrialist. The final category is just plain bad. They create a social service project and appoint themselves as the top person and live there like a mahant, i.e. like some dogmatic Hindu sannyasin who remains in one ashram till their death. No doubt this group of Wts is doing some social service, but they are not following our AM system of being acarya. Thus there are three grades: (1) Worst, (2) very bad, and (3) bad.

THE WORST CATEGORY

Now let's take a look at some recent incidents. We will start with those who are worst. Here is case #1: In Orissa, Dada Gunakarananda and his two Didis, Ananda Kaosikii (SWWS Delhi sector) and Ananda Asisha (Suva SWWS), have been collecting money and taking donations in the name of the Orissa samaj movement. And they have used all those funds - which people gave to them in good faith - for their own business venture and personal comfort. So it was a complete betray of trust. This Dada and his two Didi followers (all of whom hail from Orissa) have used all the donated money to construct a 3-story building in Jharsduda, near Dadaji's laokik home. Now they have rented that building and they are personally earning profit each month from the rent. And in the future, they will use this building as their own private home. That is their grand plan. They are selfishly securing their own future by this scam. And shamefully, all these hundreds of thousands of rupees were collected in the name of doing service to the Orissa samaj movemnt. When in fact they are only constructing their own personal palace for when they "retire". These three - Ananda Ashisa, Ananda Kaosikii and Gunakarananda - plus Didi Anuprabha are from Orissa have the plan to improve their own living standard in Orissa. So they have decided to go to Suva sector without the permission of their higher authority. That way they can collect money etc. Thereafter the plan is that these workers will settle in Orissa in the future. They are building now in the name of samaj in order to have their own personal palace later in life and not have any financial worries. They will separate themselves from the main cluster of Wts posted in Orissa. Just prior to that, Didi Ananda Kaosikii built 5 rooms in Jharsguda on land purchased by Dada Citkrsananda. There was half an acre for WWD it was transfered in the name of WWD. But Dada Citkrsananda does not know these 3 people, i.e. Dada Gunakarananda Ananda Kaosikii and Ananda Asisha, have their own building and are making money by collecting rent. This is all being done behind Dada Citkrsnanandaji's back. Here is case #2: Dayasheykarananda built a similar house in Bhagalpur - using donated monies - and started collecting rent with the idea that he will go there one day to live and retire. At one point Dada was keeping his cousin there for security purposes. Here is case #3: Then there are those like Dada Aksarananda who collected money for social service projects and then he sent those funds back to his laokik parents. Here is case #4: Then there is the case of the late chief of VSS Shubabuddyananda in the 1990's. He left and retired in luxury after hiding money huge money he collected in the name of donations for service projects.

REFLECTION ON THIS WORST GROUP

All these four cases come in the category of worst. And there are other Wts in our Marga doing similar things like this as well. Tragically, margiis are blindly giving money to these acaryas out of their devotional feeling and these wts take that money for themselves and the people who are truly suffering do not get what they need. This is all sinful. Such workers are like the demon Ravana who dressed up as a sannyasin and betrayed the trust of the people by abducting Sita while wearing saffron dress. Likewise these Wts wearing orange are creating negative consequences that will have a terrible effect for years to come. Margiis - and even the public - will think that all are workers just duplicitous and selfish. So now it is the duty of good Wts to unmask those bad Wts. That is the only way to save the situation.

VERY BAD CATEGORY

The next group of Wts come in the very bad category. The unofficial leader of this group is Citkrsnananda. Such workers wear their sannyasi uniform but they spend cent-per-cent of their day doing business. Their minds are involved in making money 24/7. When they show up at dharmackra they are greeted as being great sadhus who dedicated their life for humanity, but they pass all their waking moments chasing after the dollar for their own profit. Everyone knows that Dada Citkrsnananda is a money wizard and spends all his days doing business. Pranavatmakananda has a similar background as he has used his financial assets from his black money and smuggling days to become a modern era money lender. He makes money by lending money to others. This is not the way an acarya should live on this earth. Indeed no one should live like this. Baba has labele money lending as sinful and against the code of samyak ajiiva (right livelihood). Then there is the case of Dada Rudradevananda who was working before in Ands light. And then just 6 months ago he made a 3 story building in Sambalpur near his laokik house. Now he is staying in that building and running a school. Actually his case is either worst, very bad or bad. If he used donated money to build his personal palace (i.e. that building) then he is worst. If he got that money by doing business then he is very bad. And if he got that money by doing business and is now doing social service without any intention of leaving his palace, then he is bad. Let Dadaji come forward and state his actual position.

THOSE WHO ARE BAD

Then there are the cases of those who are bad. They create service projects and remain there as the head priest, mahant. No doubt they are trying to serve others, but mostly they are creating a place for themselves to live and they give up all other aspects of their acarya duties. A few notable wts in this bad category are Ananda Gaorii who is set-up in Africa, Ananda Mitra in Brazil, and Dharmavedananda in Philippines. They have permanently settled in their own projects and have abandoned Baba's system of posting transfers and reporting etc. Many say that Didi Ananda Mitra has totally changed her uniform to all white. If every worker were to behave in this way, our entire Ananda Marga WT system would be non-existent. There would be no reporting, no collective spirit, no togetherness, no unity. All would their own keeper, like the dogmatic Hindu sadhu system. All the years Baba guided us about having a complete and integrated WT cadre and functioning organisation would be totally lost. So others must not follow in the footsteps of Ananda Mitra etc. That means the destruction of our AM Wt system and the demise of our Marga.

WE MUST ALL BE AWARE

We must all be aware about what is going on. Those who are not thinking that there is anything wrong and they continue to give donations are part of the problem. That said one should not stop giving money to good workers. Just we must be aware about those Wts who are abusing the donation system. The situation can be likened to those who kidnap small Indian children and break their limbs and then force them to beg for a living. They then exploit the sympathy of the public. Since the public is not educated they give money, thereby perpetuating the cycle of child kidnapping. Same is the case of those margiis who blindly give money to those workers involved in sin, whether they be of the worst, very bad, or bad category. By giving to those workers, the problem is perpetuated. Those margiis who are aware about this situation should propagate the truth and warn others. That is the best way otherwise sooner or later the news will get out in a less savory fashion and things will be worse. Nothing can be hidden in this internet era,; the news will leak out in some way. If this situation is not fixed then margiis will not even give for good causes. On the top, those culprit Wts involved in this sin will face horrible consequences. Prakrti will not spare them. Such monks should think and live like a monk and depend on Parama Purusa, otherwise they should toss away their dress.

BABA'S TEACHINGS FOR ACARYAS

In a nutshell here are some important rules that all Wts must follow. Unfortunately those in the worst, very bad, and bad categories are breaking most of all of these dharmic mandates given by Baba Himself: 1. No Wt should keep black money. 2. Wts are to surrender their everything at the alter of Parama Purusa and accept Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji as their Father, Mother and ultimate shelter. 3. Workers are not to think about their own personal wants and instead watch for the welfare of society. These basis tenets have been reiterated by Baba in countless rules and instructions for Wts, thus it is shameful and sinful that a handful of workers knowingly contravene these guidelines. This should not be allowed to continue any longer. Either such workers should mend their ways or no longer be looked at as acaryas. Baba says, "A'ca'ran'a't pa'thayati yah sah a'ca'ryah-- 'One who teaches through one's conduct is an acarya'. If you cannot learn anything from the conduct and behaviour of a certain person, why should you accept that person as an a'ca'rya." (AV, pt 23 p.150)

BABA'S BLESSING

By Baba's grace our Wt cadre should become grand again, and now wallow in sinful pursuits. Baba says:

"Mana na' ra'inga'ile ra'inga'ile yogi ka'par'a. Saffron and red do not a yogi make With mind undyed he remains a fake."

"Dye your mind with His colour. Those who have not done so cannot attain Him, for this very coloration is Prema or Divine Love..." "No external sign of Sa'dhuta' or virtue is necessary. Become sa'dhu within. Behind the external show of virtuousness of many so-called sa'dhus exists a pharisaic state of mind. Preserve the true dignity of the word, Sa'dhu."

"Mu'd'ha mu'ra'ye jata' v'ar'aye.... With shaven head or matted locks And ashen body a Sadhu walks With the swaggering gait of a well-fed buffalo. And crude mind filled with thoughts mean and low."

"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." (SS-3) Namaskar, Parashram

Note: ENDLESS CYCLE

Various Wts are not discharging their duties properly so family people in turn are also not taking certain responsibilities. This creates a negative trend. Wts think that margiis are not supporting me so I should do business and keep money for when I get old, and margiis think that such workers have more money than I have, what is the need for me to give them money. And round and round it goes. But this negative cycle starts with the misconduct of certain wts. That is the root cause.