Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2010 05:45:17 -0000
From: NJK Majumdar
Subject: Ananda Marga: Plight of WT Trainees (Part 2)
Baba
"A'ma're dekhe calecho prabhu more pu'n'ya phale..." (PS 4477)
Purport:
Baba, because of the virtue of having Your grace, I can feel that You are so close and that You are looking at me all the time. Baba, You are with me each and every moment, in the brilliant effulgence and in the cimmerian darkness-- constantly, all the 24hrs. In my good days and bad days always You are and will remain along with me. Baba, You are so gracious.
Baba, when I am surrounded by the fog of hopelessness and despair, & when my life becomes burdened, then it is very difficult for me to move ahead-- all my inspiration is lost. And when I cry in pain and the tears are rolling down my cheeks like a river, and when I am drowned in pessimism, then I think that this life is useless and that this whole world is poisonous. In that case I feel it is better just to die. When I am in such a crisis, then with a very pleasant and sonorous voice, Someone appears in my mental abode and in a very sweet & intimate way He whispers, 'Do not worry, I love you'.
Baba, the effulgence of Your divine love never gets extinguished; Your love is eternal and never fades or ends. In this mundane world, everything comes and goes. Baba only You are eternal and infinite. You are the sweetest Entity. You are that force that never stops. You are that magnificent bliss that never diminishes-- always that bliss is growing and growing. Baba, You are my everything: The be-all and end-all of the life. By Your grace I am under Your shelter. Baba, in the deep core of my heart the only request I have is that: Please do not forget that I am sheltering myself in You, at Your lotus feet.
Baba, by Your infinite grace-compassion You are remaining by my side always...
== ANANDA MARGA: PLIGHT OF WT TRAINEES ==
~ AN OPEN LETTER TO GTS & CTS ~
~ PART 2 ~
~ AN OPEN LETTER TO GTS & CTS ~
~ PART 2 ~
Namaskar,
This is the second part of our investigative report on the conditions of our trainees at the Varanasi WT training centre.
As you may recall the first letter detailed how trainees were given old, dirty clothes to wear and deprived of even the most basic foods. Plus other issues were raised including the very dramatic story of dharma samiiska. A link to the first letter is noted below.
Here in this second letter further matters are explored.
AGE OF IDEALISM
We must remember that our trainees are youths - mostly teenagers - and they arrive at our doorstep with tremendous idealism. They want to do something to change the world and serve Baba. They have a mind, a heart and they have feelings. They know a little about Ananda Marga yet have a strong desire to know more. That is why they have come - that is why they have chosen to dedicate their life. They have come in search of living for a high ideal.
NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO TALK
Of course it is our duty to create a Training Centre that nurtures their inherent desire to lead a spiritual life and serve humanity. But our TC is operating in a different manner.
At our Varanasi WT Training Centre, our trainees are malnourished. They get 1/2 the calories needed to maintain a healthy human body. They growing bodies and minds are deprived of the food needed to grow. Just they are left to suffer and waste away. Yet, side by side, these same trainees see how the Trainer Dada is eating like a king.
By Baba's grace our trainees have great dedication for our AM ideals and love for Parama Purusa. For this reason they do not run away.
Indeed they are cognizant that Baba's teachings of neo-humanism and Prout hold immense beauty and hope for the society. Our trainees are attracted by the ideals of a single human family. That is why they debate these points among themselves. One trainee was telling that Baba's teachings are for others, but not for those in AM. Then other trainees retorted that if we ourselves are not practicing these ideals then how can we teach them to others. This type of back and forth discussion is common at TC. When the trainer Dada hears this he feels irritated and does not wish for the trainees to discuss such matters and / or the irregularities at TC.
Verily, the Trainer Dada does not like that his trainees should reflect openly on such topics. Many say that the Trainer Dada is himself defensive about the the double standard set between the himself and the trainees. So the Trainer Dada does not want them talking about our AM way of life lest they question about all the injustices and inadequacies going on in TC. He wants that they should keep mum on all these topics.
For their part, the trainees are not complaining, merely they are immensely interested in and curious about Baba's divine teachings. But the trainer Dada is not apt to let them grow or discuss in this way.
That is why for the last few months, the trainer Dada has imposed a curfew: No talking on any point at all. If any trainee wishes to express any idea then it must be conveyed in writing only. One may not talk on any topic. When taking a collective meal, if a trainee wishes to have some salt on their food then they have to write that down on a piece of paper and hand that to the trainee who is near the salt. That is the extreme imposition going on at TC these days. The trainees are not allowed to talk amongst themselves - period. They must bear their mistreatment in silence.
Such harsh rules do not exist in any civilised country or modern society. There is no way to justify the imposed silence order by the trainer Dada.
Here it should be clarified that the ruthless and repressive policy of TC cannot be classified as maonbrata (vow of silence). We must know that maonbrata is a self-imposed discipline not to talk - it comes from within and is not imposed by others. Plus maonbrata is for limited time - it is not meant as a permanent way of living. Hence what is going on at TC is a complete injustice. It is just the case of a repressive regime wherein the trainees are forced into silence in order to keep their mouths shut about their miserable living conditions.
Only in Nazi concentration camps or in Communist work prisons would such harsh rules be imposed. So it is quite ironic that this is happening in our own WT training centre - a place that is supposed to be the embodiment of neo-humanism, yet instead emulates the ways of dark, totalitarian regimes.
WHERE MONEY GOES - WHAT HAPPENS TO MARGII CONTRIBUTIONS
When it was asked why trainees are not given proper food, he replied that he was not getting sufficient financial contributions from margiis. He added that if donations were good, then certainly the trainees would be properly feed.
However, later on I found that this is not true as most of the money that comes in goes to the upper / WT kitchen. That means Dadaji and some visiting avadhutas are eating up all the donations on rich, tasty food for themselves. Hence just the bare minimum is left for feeding the full team of trainees.
Even when a margii visits and wishes to arrange a nice meal or donate food for everyone in TC, that plan is rejected by CTS (i.e. Trainer Dada) and in turn he controls that money and spends very little on food for the trainees. This also I came to know.
Plus, in order to save his post, the Trainer Dada diverts money towards Rudrananda.
STYLE OF AM EDUCATION AT TC
Let's again stand back and ask ourselves why such trainees felt inspired to attend TC. It is very easy to understand that all these youths reached from around India to get training and learn about AM philosophy: Both its theoretical and practical aspects.
But what is the reality that is going on?
One particular aspect they have learned first-hand is: How exploitation occurs when those at the top do not view others as their family members. This they have learned first-hand while in TC.
With regards to their theoretical learning, there is virtually no teaching going on at all.
The trainer Dada is busy all day with his school kids. From early in the morning to evening time he is busy at his school in order to make money. He does not like to hire teachers as that would be an added expense.
But the truth is that our Trainer Dada should supervise the school on the greater level and let hired teachers run the daily operations of school. In addition, the trainees should be taught how to supervise a school. That is why Baba has given such a system.
Unfortunately the trainer Dada just drowns himself in the mundane dealings of the school and totally overlooks his duties at WT Trainer. All because he is more concerned with making money at the school. So when he returns back to the TC in the late evening, he is tired and he reads the newspaper and plays computer games. That is how the days pass. There is no time to teach anything to the trainees. Yet they yearn to learn about Ananda Marga.
We should remember that the WT Trainer Dada is a trainer first and a school principal second - not vice-versa. His title is WT trainer. Yet this role he mostly overlooks.
So after three years in TC, it is sadly apparent what our new brahmacariis have learned about AM. Just ask such new wts a question and see what they say.
For instance, ask them to explain about brahmacakra, kosa, loka, three causes of sin - all these basic points. They will not know the answers. Believe it or not, some passed and do not even know how to dance kaoshikii and tandava, yama and niyama, 16 Pts etc.
Please do not think that I am blaming our trainees; they are A-grade. All blame
goes to those in-charges who do not feed them or teach them. They neither teach the trainees by their conduct nor in the classroom. No education is imparted whatsoever.
Instead those in-charges impose all kinds of dogmas and complexes. Such bosses eat while their trainees starve.
This cycle of exploitation goes on and on.
Tomorrow these trainees will become brahmacaryiis and then become avadhutas. Unfortunately, many of them will pursue these exploitative methods with their
juniors. This is vicious cycle that is being perpetuated.
It is no different from the mother-in-law who beats her daughter-in-law. One day that daughter-in-law does the same thing.
The situation is so extreme one trainee became mad and was kicked out from TC and laokika parents were searching for him. for all we know he may be begging in Varanasi or has been placed in some lunatic asylum.
THE REALITY STARING US IN THE FACE
Here is one hard fact we all must face. These days the number of aged Wts is much more than the number of incoming Wts. Should this trend continue then we will have a severe crisis and shortage of wts in AM. At present more than 50% of our workers are 50+ yrs of age. No one likes to think like this, but these wts are not going to live forever.
We should all take it upon ourselves to consider this situation: Ineveitable shortage of workers. Any organisation suffering from this type of trend will become extinct in a short time. This was the recent trend of Christianity in Europe and now today there are thousands of churches that are essentially vacant. The church has basically given up in various European countries.
Here the point is that our WT training centre has a big role to maintain and protect those who come to train. But that is not happening. Our level of retention is very low. If 100 reach Training Centre then from the time of their arrival to the time they have graduated and worked in the field for one year, then only 5 remain as workers. That means over the course of training and within the first 12 months of field work, we are losing 95% of those who enter TC. That is a very dramatic figure. No organisation can survive with such a low rate of retention.
Whereas if our trainees and new workers are instilled with a deep sense of family feeling and supported by their seniors, then one can weather all kinds of problems etc. Then our retention rate will be much, much higher.
Unfortunately when a family feeling is not cultivated and trainees are not encouraged in sadhana or given the opportunity to garner a deep spiritual base, then so many young trainees and wts are lost - they just leave entirely. Without the requisite spiritual base and guidance, their chance of gaining success as a Wt is very low. So we cannot blame them as individuals. Only we must reassess what is going on in out Training Centre(s).
Of course I have great regard for our trainer Dada; he is a learned person. Dadaji has extraordinary qualities but he mostly uses them for Oriya trainees, not others. If that same ethic was applied to all, then things would be much different. Dadaji must sacrifice and pour his heart for all trainees, not just for those who hail from Oriya. Then so many good things will result.
THIS IS WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING
All this is not a fairy tale. This is the unfortunate scene happening in Varanasi TC. If you have real interest to know more, talk to any trainee who just came from TC or do your homework of investigative reporting.
Pushing aside others plight by claiming their ordeals as mere hearsay is heartless and not the way of any true sadhaka. We have to have sympathy for those suffering and we must have the courage to step forward and put a stop to their misery. Things must be set right.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace He has given the perfect remedy for addressing the problems going on in the Varanasi Training Centre.
Baba says, "The incapability to recognize the requirements of others because of insensitiveness is a psychic disease. Those afflicted with this disease are also members of the vast human family; they are also our brothers and sisters. So, either by making humanitarian appeals or by creating circumstantial pressure, arrangements will have to be made to cure them of their ailment." (Problems of the Day, #4)
Namaskar,
Nagendra
Note 1: HERE IS THE FIRST LETTER OF THIS SERIES
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2010/11/ananda-marga-plight-of-wt-trainees-part.html
Note 2: OTHER REPORTS ABOUT WT TRAINING CENTRE
******************************************
Sarva'unga'sana and Vipariitakarani Mudra
Sarva'unga'sana and Vipariitakarani Mudra
"Question: What is the difference between sarva'unga'sana and vipariitakarani mudra?"
"Answer: In sarva'unga'sana we have to fix the mind at the point of the toes, whereas in vipariitakarani mudra we have to fix the citta or mind stuff at the tip of the nose or at the navel point." (YP, p.117-18)
Note: Sarva'unga'sana and vipariitakarani are very similar-- they are almost the same thing. Just a few little differences are there:
(1) In sarva'unga'sana the mind and eyes are fixed on the center point between the two big toes while in vipariitakarani mudra the mind focuses on the navel or the tip of the nose.
(2) When the body is very straight and it does not have to exert a continuous effort to maintain that position-- rather it is easy and comfortable to hold that posture-- then it is sarva'unga'sana. Whereas mudras, such as vipariitakarani mudra, demand a constant and ongoing effort to maintain the posture. Asanas, on the other hand require a little effort to enter into the position and thereafter it is comfortable and easy to maintain.
(3) In sarva'unga'sana and vipariitakarani mudra, although the postures look the same but the effort exerted and way of approach are a little different as explained earlier. And in addition they effect the body in different ways. Sarva'unga'sana affects the glands & cakras, and the secretion of the hormone; while mudras give strength to the muscles and nevers. These ideas have been given by Baba in His various discourses.
(4) In WT reporting sessions, Baba used to sometimes give atonement by demanding that some or all do vipariitakaranai for a long time. Sometimes for 1/2 hr, 1 hour, 2 hrs, at a stretch. Naturally that qas quite enjoyable for everyone to do. And the underlying reason behind this was that the majority of WT had acidity problems and this Vipariitakarani mudra was the cure. So in the name of doing atonement it was actually Baba's blessing.
********************************************
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comment here