From: "Manoj"
To: am-global@earthlink.net
Subject: For Better Sadhana: Samkalpa
Baba
"Arupe chile tumi rupe esecho, dhara'ke a'loke bhaviyecho..." (PS 2665)
Purport:
Baba, You were formless in Your unexpressed stance of Nirguna Brahma but
now by Your infinite grace You have come in form as the Taraka Brahma [1].
Baba, You are so gracious. You have filled this earth with Your divine
effulgence and fathomless grace. Baba, with Your boundless compassion You
have saturated this world with Your divine nectar. O' Lord, You are the
most Loving Entity in this vast universe. I do pranam to You again and
again. I surrender completely at Your lotus feet.
Baba, in whichever direction I look on this earth, I only see Your
magnificent Self in this expressed world. Baba, besides You nothing else
exists; except You, I do not see anything. You are reflecting Yourself in
each and every entity-- animate & inanimate. Baba this world is filled with
Your divine presence. O' my dearmost, You are expressing Yourself with such
overflowing bliss in each and every molecule and atom of this creation and
in the transcendental realms also. Everything is filled with Your grace--
both the expressed and unexpressed worlds. Nobody is alone; nothing has
been forgotten. All are under Your loving shelter. Baba, although You are
present throughout this created universe, even then in Bhavatiita [2] also,
only You are there. Baba, by Your grace You fill both the manifested and
unmanifested worlds with Your divine bliss.
Baba, You are the Goal of everyone. Without You, nobody has any future.
Those who do not realise this think they are everything. But ultimately
because You are the Goal of life their extreme arrogance gets pulverised.
Their vanity is just wallowing at Your feet with the hope that You are
going to forgive them and shower Your infinite grace and save them from
total destruction because You are eternally established in karuna'.
Baba, You are so gracious; You have come and showered everything in Your
bliss...
NOTES TO PRABHAT SAMGIITA #2665:
[1] Ta'raka Brahma: Some naive persons think that Taraka Brahma is gone.
But that is not true. Because the dhyan Baba has taught us is the ideation
on Taraka Brahma. And Baba Himself has said that to know Him and have Him,
one must get Him in dhyana. That is why even central workers who were
surrounding Baba 24hrs day were also forced to close their eyes and do
sadhana each and every day. Because the real connection with Taraka Brahma
occurs within. That is why we can say that the presence of Taraka Brahma
lives on and on for devotees. Because it is in that form that He is present
in dhyana. And indeed that is the only way to realise Him. And that dhyan
did not change after 1990-- it is the same meditation. In that case which
devotee can truly say that Taraka Brahma is gone-- no one. Because by His
grace each and every day we communicate with Him in dhyana in His divine
form as the Taraka Brahma.
All in all, this is a vast discussion and there numerous angles to
discuss but the overarching idea is that for devotees, the divine Presence
of Taraka Brahma goes on and on as Baba remains ever-present in their
mental plate in that form.
Baba says, "Ta'raka Brahma is not a figure of philosophy-- it is a creation
of devotional sentiment." (Idea & Ideology)
[2] Bhavatiita: In His stance of bhavatiita, Parama Purusa is beyond all
physical manifestations and beyond all thought conceptions.
Baba says, "Parama Purus'a, the Supreme Reality, is beyond all speech and
thought: He is beyond the reach of the vocal cord. So He is bha'va'tiita
["beyond bha'va"]...The more one thinks of His infinite qualities, the more
one becomes speechless, the more deeply one becomes absorbed in Him.
However He is viewed, He is seen to be the newest of the new-- constantly
new. That is why He has been described as bha'va'tiita abhinava ["beyond
bha'va, ever-new"]." (NSS, Disc:19)
== FOR BETTER SADHANA: SAMKALPA ==
Namaskar,
As Ananda Margiis, sadhana is such an essential element of our lives. Here
following is one well-known, yet tremendously important point, that it is
worth bringing to the fore again.
THE MEANING OF SAMKALPA
As we all have seen, each and every aspirant is trying to move towards that
Cosmic Hub-- towards that Supreme Goal, towards Parama Purusa. But by His
grace only those who have firm determination-- i.e. samkalpa-- can get real
success and reach higher stages of realisation in their march towards Him.
Only they can reach unto Him, thus attaining the Goal. That is Baba's
teaching.
Hence samkalpa, or firm determination, is one key point for success in
spiritual life. So we should know the true meaning of samkalpa.
Baba says, "What is sam'kalpa? When the mind is firmly associated with its
object in a relationship of iron-determination it is called sam'kalpa."
(AMIWL-9)
And here again Baba highlights the importance of samkalpa.
Baba says, "'Sa'mkalpa' means 'firm determination'. 'I must do it. I must
be successful in my mission. I must adhere to the principles of my life.
This firm determination is [a] requisite factor." (AV-12)
Hence Baba's directive is that we should apply this feeling of samkalpa in
our spiritual practices-- in our sadhana.
JUST A HOOP TO JUMP THROUGH
Unfortunately what happens all to often is that sadhana just becomes
something mechanical or just gets delayed right up until the neck of the
hour when one is ready to eat. In that case sadhana is just one 'hoop' we
have to jump through in order have some food. Means sadhana is not done
exclusively for reasons of spiritual attainment but merely as a token
exercise in order to take one's meal.
We have all seen such things at retreats or seminars where the the idea
can be 'Let us do sadhana and then take food', or more specifically 'Let
us do sadhana so that we can eat'. In that case sadhana is nothing more
than a ticket or coupon to gain entry into the dining hall.
Altogether this is just one lower type of attitude and by following such an
approach one can never reach up to the higher realms or get that real
sweetness in meditation. That is what Baba is teaching us.
So type of thing-- doing sadhana in order to eat-- we have all seen and as
far as possible this should be avoided.
Rather we should follow that spirit of our sadhana shivir programs where
great energy is placed on the importance of sadhana.
LIGHTING THE FIRE OF SPIRITUAL FERVOR
As we know, for proper devotional sadhana, Baba's guideline is that we must
allot ourselves sufficient time to delve into our practices. In particular,
sadhana itself should take priority. And in each sitting we should take the
firm resolve that we must move one step closer towards our cherished Goal,
Baba.
With this ideal in our heart and mind, we can request unto Him: 'Baba
please grace me; I want to reach up to You. Please take me onto Your divine
lap'.
And indeed in so many Prabhat Samgiita Baba guides us that this should be
our approach. So by His grace with this feeling of surrender and motivation
we should begin our sadhana practice. Here again is Baba's divine teaching.
Baba says, "'Sa'mkalpa' means 'firm determination'. 'I must do it. I must
be successful in my mission. I must adhere to the principles of my life.
This firm determination is [a] requisite factor." (AV-12)
Thus when we do sadhana, we must first lay prostrate to Him in sastaunga
pranam and take that firm determination to get success in our sadhana.
And then again when doing our shuddhis and when repeating our mantra our
mind should be resolute and fixed on the Goal.
If however, we just do sadhana in order to take food so that we can go to
our mundane job etc, then we will never get success.
Our tantric approach must be: 'Baba, You are my Goal; I have to get You; I
will get You; I must get You.'
With this type of samkalpa or firm determination we will surely get His
grace and advance towards our Goal-- Baba.
BUDDHA'S FIRM RESOLVE: DO OR DIE
Here Baba gives us one excellent example of true samkalpa.
Baba says, "When Lord Buddha first sat in contemplation, his goal was not
fixed. There was doubt and confusion in his mind. He was not certain of
what he wanted. And so, whatever he wanted, he was not certain of getting
it. But later, when Buddha sat in contemplation, he took a complete
sam'kalpa. He fixed his goal and made a firm determination to achieve it.
He resolved that he would not get up from his contemplation until he
attained spiritual realisation, even if his body perished. Then he
succeeded in attaining his goal." (AV-1)
As Baba shows us above, Buddha's resolve was 'Do or Die' and in that case
He attained that highest level of enlightenment.
So the degree to which one takes a deep samkalpa, accordingly they will
achieve the result. Those who get true enlightenment by Baba's grace, they
must take a very strong vow.
But the main idea is that taking a samkalpa is necessary for spiritual
attainment. And the more one's resolve, the greater the heights they will
reach.
So with each and every percent of firm determination that we are able to
apply in our sadhana, then by His grace to that degree we will reach new
heights in our meditation and our sadhana will become something
meaningful-- a truly devotional and spiritual practice in our lives.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace when we take a samkalpa then He guarantees that He will
help us-- bless us-- to achieve that Supreme stance.
Baba says, "I know one is sure to get divine help. And I know further that
one is getting divine help. And I know still further that in future, for
infinite time and infinite space, one will be getting this divine favour.
And you are all sa'dhakas. You will certainly attain that supreme stance
and enjoy that divine blessedness. You are sure to enjoy it, my sons and my
daughters." (AV-23, p.76)
Namaskar,
Manoj
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Relations with Others
Relations with Others
Baba says, "Bear in mind that you have a duty towards-- indeed, you owe a
debt to-- every creature of this Universe, but towards you, no one has any
duty; from others, nothing is due." (CC-II, 'Sadhana Section, pt #3)
Note: In the various dogmatic religions this idea is taught God has created
this whole universe solely for the enjoyment of human beings. That is why
religious followers kill animals and exploit downtrodden people up to the
bone without any qualms.
Motivated by this dogmatic teaching, selfish people's mind works in that
way. Such lowly people think that, 'Others have the duty to take care of my
situation and their own situation as well. And they should not bother me
about their own problems'. This is the way such selfish persons think.
And if due to some reason that same lowly person helps others then that
selfish person thinks that in the near future they should full return plus
interest for their so-called service. Thus there is no question of true
duty and service; these ideals have no place in their mind.
Because of all this present day society's condition is unfavourable--
bleak. All around the west these things are quite common as well as in the
big metropolitan cities of the east. The same problem is there also.
But Baba's teaching leads in a different direction. In His above mandate
from Caryacarya, Baba is very beautifully guiding us that our duty is to
serve everybody-- without any expectation of anything in return.
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