How to Improve Sadhana: Part IV

To: AM-GLOBAL From: Foster Davis Subject: How to Improve Sadhana: Part IV Date: Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:38:29 -0400 Baba "Bha'loba'si toma'y a'mi, keno ta' ja'ni na'..." P.S. 2329 Purport: Baba, I love You but I do not know why I love You. You go on pulling my heart-- but what is the mystery behind this, how and why You are attracting me, that I cannot say. Baba, all I know is that You are the divine effulgence of my dark heart. By Your grace I will never allow that effulgence to get extinguished. Baba, I will always keep Your love in my heart. By Your grace I will always hold Your image in my mind. Baba, all the love I have in the deep core of my heart, and all the hopes and longings I have in my mind, all these desires and aspirations of mine are revolving around You. And by Your grace they get expressed through Your songs, dance, melody, and rhythms. Baba, You are the focal point of my life; You are my everything. Baba, by Your divine grace I feel that You are guiding each and every aspect of my existence. There is not even a single ounce of confusion in my mind. Everything is totally clear by Your grace. Where am I, where will I go, and from where have I come: All these types of useless questions never creep into my mind. Baba, by Your grace, I do not even want to know these things. Just I am fully depending upon You-- that You know everything and that everything is in Your control. For me that is enough. Baba, You are my shelter, You are my anchor. And You are the Supreme Controller of this vast universe. Baba, You are always ever gracious on me. I love You with all my heart; my whole existence is Yours...

== HOW TO IMPROVE SADHAN: PART 4 ==

Namaskar, Only margiis and those sincere field Wts who are following Baba can be classified as dharmikas. In this regard the number of dharmikas in AM is growing as more and more are interested in following HIM. Here is more about the series on Sixteen Points which speaks to Baba's given code of dharma.

DHARMA IS NATURAL LAW

Baba's teachings are the essence of dharma. This is the common fact known to all Ananda Margiis. So Baba's guidelines are-- by definition-- in accordance with natural law. Or, more explicitly, they are the natural law. Hence Sixteen Points is the pathway for the proper and wholesome development of human all beings. And by His grace we Ananda Margiis have experienced this on a first-hand basis. So step by step each and every guideline of 16 Points is leading in this positive direction on all the levels: in physical life; in the psychic sphere; and in the spiritual realm as well.

NATURE'S WAY

Nature has provided the human body with all the basic requirements for human life. Means it provides neither too little nor too much of anything-- by birth the human design is proper, whether male or female. And this all occurs with the golden stamp of approval of Parama Purusa Himself. Thus, with regards to point #2 of Sixteen Points, when all males are born with an attached foreskin, then Baba's expressed guideline is to simply pull the foreskin back upon reaching adolescence. Meaning that when born and up to the age of 12 or so, it is healthy, normal, and natural to keep the foreskin attached as it offers many inherent benefits; and then later on males can keep it pulled back as in that position also it has its plus points. Thus there is no need for any cutting etc.

SIXTEEN POINTS AND CARYACARYA

That is why when Baba first delivered His guidelines of Sixteen Points in Patna just prior to the jail period, then Baba has simply told all margiis to pull the foreskin back. No further option has given and the Hindi and Bengali books of Caryacarya reflect His golden guideline. Meaning: Pulling the foreskin back is the sole teaching of point #2 of Sixteen points. In those original Caryacarya books there is no mention of the word circumcision. Only when certain later English editions of Caryacarya got printed did the word "circumcision" appear on the scene. Thus, when preparing the book for overseas sales, it seems those editors in short-sighted way made the so-called link that being circumcised fulfills the guideline of "keeping the foreskin pulled back". Yet in actuality, the circumcision term has nothing to do with Baba's expressed guideline. However in their naive way of dealing, on their own those editors actually gave circumcision as an option and printed that word in the English version of Caryacarya-- when in fact this is not Baba's guideline. And this word 'circumcision' never ever got included in the Hindi or Bengali editions of Caryacarya. Baba has never included it. And to this very day you will not find it in those editions of Caryacarya.

A FEW UNNATURAL DEVELOPMENTS

Thus the circumcision term is one of a small collection of words that got mistakenly added into or misapplied in our present day AM life, when in fact it really does not belong at all. It is similar how in our overseas countries the term dharmashastra has been wrongly used to refer to Dada's talks after dharmacakra. When in fact in the true sense dharmashastra only refers to Guru's dharmic discourses and guidelines. No Dada can give dharmashastra. So those talks after dharmacakra given by Dadas are really part of the practice of svadhyaya or less than that, depending. So the overarching purpose here is that those talks have nothing to do with the dharmashastra term. Yet for years and years in our various sectors from Berlin to Suva to NY to Hong Kong to GT etc-- in all these sectors various margiis & WTs were using dharmashastra in that wrong way. But now it seems that this is slowly getting cleared up or fixed altogether. But this is just one example of many how terms get added or wrongly used. And in a related way the circumcision term got wrongly latched up with AM society. And here's another example of how such things come to be. Often is that case in those Muslim countries our Dadas go there to try and do pracara and invariably during the course of the day they go to practice their own lessons of dharma sadhana. And then when locals ask about their whereabouts then one or another response comes that 'Dada is doing is namaz'. Thus in certain of those Muslim regions the namaz term has slid into our AM vocabulary. When in fact namaz is really nothing more than dogmatic Muslim prayer rituals-- and has nothing to do with dharma sadhana. But due to local misperception etc the namaz term got stapled onto the practice of AM sadhana. At the beginning times when new practices arrive then such things happen-- there are numerous example of such occurrences. When terms get misapplied or wrongly added etc. And it happened in the case of circumcision as well. Yet invariably in a short time all these things get cleared up via further reflection and heightened understanding.

A HOLDOVER OF SEMITIC RULES

As we think and use our rational minds it becomes increasingly apparent that the term and ritual of circumcision is a by product of semetic life-- and not part of our dharmic AM system. Baba says, "Human beings readily accept traditions without seeking the reasons behind them. Since ancient days the semites have been observing the practice of circumcision. Moses and Mohammed accepted this system which today has become tradition." (HS-1) And in this following teaching Baba is explaining how dogmatic customs like circumcision get carried over from one era to the next. Baba says, "Long ago the Jews started practising circumcision. When Moses converted some of his contemporaries to Judaism, and later when Mohammed converted some local people to Islam, neither prophet dared to instruct their new followers to discard the old customs they followed, consequently the old customs continued after their conversion." (PNS-21) By that content, style, and vibration of Baba's above quotes, it is quite clear that circumcision is really nothing more than on old, outdated ritual of prior eras and not one of the crisp, new, sterling instructions of Sixteen Points. And here is another letter on this topic

http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2008/05/to-those-who-came-from-semitic.html

HANDLING THE SITUATION NOWADAYS

Perhaps the first step now is to think the situation through, talk with others, and apply our rational minds. And by this way in our various overseas sectors where certain margiis are "automatically" circumcising their male offspring, then little by little this practice will subside-- and ultimately come to a halt entirely. If already this is not happening. Of course in many sectors and certainly in our Delhi sector, then circumcision is not at all an issue nor an option. Because no one does it-- nobody. But in those lands that got painted in the colour of those Semitic faiths then circumcision developed into the mode of the day. Yet as Margiis we are not to get swept up into rituals of old; rather we readily pickup Baba's revolutionary new ways. And in this way dharma gets established-- step by step, point by point. So we should take care with our new-borns & infants by rationally applying Baba's dharmic code of keeping the foreskin as outlined in Point #2 of Sixteen Points.

BABA'S BLESSING

Baba says, "You who are genuine spiritualists should practise spiritual cult thinking that by doing so you will become effective in maintaining the universal balance. You must think, 'I will personally move towards the supreme desideratum, and at the same time I will try to assist those who are suffering from despair, those steeped in blind superstition." (MVNS, p. 146) Namaskar, Purusottama

Note 1: COVERING THE BASES

About this entire topic of circumcision, essentially the matter is quite clear and straightforward. However, there are a few auxiliary points here and there so if anyone has any thoughts or unanswered questions about any aspect of this topic then without any shyness that should be raised. Doing so will invariably help clarify the matter further for us all.

Note 2: KEEPING UP WITH THE TIMES

In our western countries and around the globe there is a fast and growing movement against the practice of circumcision. And in most cases the rationale is the same. People are rightly thinking that the human body is God's creation and that the way it is at birth is the perfect presentation. It does not need any alterations or tailoring-- no cutting or splicing. Just it is perfect upon arrival. And even those less theistic type of movements are doing away with circumcision by raising the call of nature. Their feeling is that just as the sun and the moon rise and fall in the sky, and just as the rivers and the oceans merge together on this earth, in the same natural way the human baby has it rhyme and reason and no one should interrupt nature's course. Thus we Ananda Margiis should rationally apply Baba's guideline so as not to lag behind. Rather that will keep us adequately ahead so that by His grace we will steer the humanity in right proper direction in all the spheres of life, from the very outset of one's birth.

Note 3: IMPROVING SADHANA

This letter is part of the series on Sixteen Points. And since 16 Points is inextricably linked with all the realms and especially spiritual life, by following them we gain added momentum in our sadhana also. Here are the other letters in this series:

http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2010/06/improving-sadhana.html http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-to-improve-sadhana-part-ii.html http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-to-improve-sadhana-part-ii-addendum.html http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-to-improve-sadhana-part-iii.html

**************************************** Suffering of the Rich is Much More than the Poor

Baba says, "If money or wealth would have been the solution of all the problems then in that case rich persons would have always enjoyed being in a state of bliss. But in society it is not like that. The suffering of the rich is more than the poor." (Allahabad, DMC 1984) Note: In our western countries nowadays, where money is more free-flowing, the number of psychic diseases is multiplying day by day. The haves are coming under the nasty grip of depression, frustration, hopeless, and overall melancholia. In that state they are always sunk in some degraded psychic flow. This is rampant. That is why so many westerners like those in the USA go to psychiatrists and other psychic counselors in order to feel good. Because otherwise just by following their daily routine they succumb to depression. So they go see their chosen psychiatrist etc. But those sessions are often a band-aid approach at best. Because most of the time those very psychiatrists and psychologists are themselves depressed-- in that case what kind of guideline are they going to give. The only way out is to develop a balanced mind through the practice of sadhana. Then alone one can escape the the terrors of materialism.

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Baba Story: Margii Saved from Jaws of Death

Date: 30 Jun 2010 13:47:18 -0000 From: "Gurucharan Yadav" To: AM-GLOBAL Subject: Baba Story: Margii Saved from Jaws of Death Baba "Tumi eso pra'n'e o pradiipe..." (PS no. 2535) Purport: Baba, please come in my heart, in the deep core of my mind. You are my everything-- You are my dhya'na, You are my jinana, You are my Ista. You are most sacred, holy, and sweetness Personified. Baba, You are the controller of my entire existence. Keeping Your love and divine guidance in my heart I am moving on path which You have graciously shown me. By Your grace I go on remembering Your name constantly. That is my strength of forward movement. Baba, please grace me by coming in my heart...

== BABA STORY: MARGII SAVED FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH == ~ TAKING RISK TO PROTECT THE HELPLESS AND HOW BABA SAVES ~

Namaskar, Here is the story of how Baba saved our margii brother, Harihar Pandey, from the jaws of death.

YOUNG GIRL'S STRUGGLE AT VASANT PACHANII FESTIVAL

In 1957, Harihar Pandey was holding a clerical post in the Indian military and was stationed in Panagar of Jabalpur district, Madhya Pradesh. One of the top offers of his battalion was Major NK, who had a young daughter studying for her baccalaureate degree. During Vasant Pachanii festival in the Spring, the daughter was walking across the military compound when a jeep pulled up alongside her. At that time, our margii brother Hariharji had just finished his lunch and was going out for a walk-- it was around 1pm. He noticed that up ahead a jeep had stopped next to a young girl. Initially he did not think much of it. Then he saw that the driver of the jeep was grabbing onto the girl's hand and pulling her, and the young girl was struggling and trying desperately to walk in the opposite direction. Seeing this, Harihar began to run towards the jeep in order to save the girl.

HARIHAR COMES TO THE SCENE

When he arrived at the scene, then he saw that the young girl was scared and in tears, and that the driver of the jeep who was grabbing the girl was none other than Hariharji's boss, N. Bhattacarya, the 2nd company commander. Immediately, Harihar saluted his commander and then pleaded with him to let the girl go. Commander Bhattacarya was irritated by Harihar's arrival and began to scold him and then he dropped the girl's hand as he smacked Harihar. Harihar stood firm and told Commander Bhattacarya to leave the girl alone. Bhattacarya replied, 'No'. Then Harihar said, 'If you do not leave the girl alone, then I will drag you to the ground, sit on your chest, and beat you'. Hearing this and seeing Harihar's strength of mind, then Bhattacarya stood still, and the terrified girl left. After looking into each other's eyes, then Commander Bhattacarya and Harihar parted ways.

THAT AFTERNOON

Harihar decided to go directly home where he remained for some hours. Then he received word that he was to perform guard duty that night in front of Commmander Bhattacarya's house. Immediately, Harihar knew that this was trouble; it was some type of punishment or trick. Because although he was in the military, Harihar worked in an office and rarely did things like guard duty, let alone night guard duty in front of Bhattacarya's residence. So he knew that he had to be extremely careful.

NIGHT TIME ENCOUNTER

That night, Hariharji was vigilant as he attended his post. He was keeping alert in all directions. Then sometime after midnight, Harihar heard someone approaching him from behind. Harihar turned around and yelled, 'Stop! Halt!'. Then Harihar saw that the person approaching him was his boss, Commander Bhattacarya. So Harihar saluted him. Then Commander Bhattacarya began his tirade, 'Who do you think you are? Why did you come running when I was with that girl? Do you think you are some kind of moralist?! What is wrong with you!!'. In this way Commander Bhattarcarya was abusing Harihar. Then Commander Bhattacarya sneered and said, 'You know, in the military it is very easy to kill someone and cover it up'. In his fury, Bhattacarya continued, 'I am going to kill you now, bury you, and then proclaim to one and all that you were trying to escape and run from your duty. After that I will arrest your entire family.' Then Bhattacarya took out his revolver and pressed the barrel of the gun against Harihar's chest. Bhattacarya's eyes had the look of murder. The situation was ugly and tense. Harihar was standing there totally still, not knowing what to do. Then from behind him he heard Baba's voice: 'Kill him, shoot him, don't miss, otherwise he is going to kill you!'. Harihar wanted to turn around and look towards where the voice was coming from, but he dare not look back. Again Baba's voice came: 'Take action, kill him, he is going to kill you, do not delay even one more second!'. (Note: Decades and years later when Harihar would tell this story, then when describing Baba's voice, his body would become full of goosebumps and his mind would run towards Parama Purusa.) In that next instant, Harihar somehow reached for his own gun, and before he could think anything, his own fingers just "pulled the trigger." He had shot Bhattacarya, and Commander Bhattacarya fell to the ground. Harihar saw his commander lying there and then pointed his gun again and shot him a second time to ensure he was completely dead.

ALL SOLDIERS COME RUNNING

After the sound of the second gunshot, sirens and alarms were sounded in that military compound and people came running from all directions. All the soldiers reached to that place. They all saw that Commander Bhattacarya had been killed. Then Harihar crouched down in a fighting stance, loaded his gun, and forcefully announced, 'If anyone comes even one stop closer I will shoot!'. All the soldiers stayed where they were-- frozen. They understood that when Harihar had already killed his commander then he was capable of doing anything. And from Harihar's side, he was thinking that, 'Already I am going to get capital punishment for killing my superior, then killing more people will not make things any worse'. He had nothing more to lose. The entire situation was totally tense. Then our margii brother Harihar shouted out, 'I want your promise that no one will torture or punish me. I want justice'. Nobody knew what to do or what to say.

'I WILL GIVE YOU JUSTICE'

Then the top commander, CF Warden arrived. He was very understanding and intelligent. He said, 'I will give you justice. If you are right, if you are innocent in all of this, I will give you justice, just drop your gun'. So Harihar put his gun down and was arrested. He was taken to the military jail and then quickly brought to the judge, just a few days later.

THE JUDGE'S QUESTION

The judge simply asked him, 'Did you shoot your commander?'. Harihar replied, 'Yes'. And the hearing with the judge was over. This went on for weeks. Harihar would get called to the military court, the judge would ask the same question, and Harihar would give the same reply. The whole thing appeared to be hopeless and Harihar began to get frustrated and wondered why the judge was not asking him for any more details. In that desperate mood, Harihar sent one of the new margiis that he had created, and told him to go to Baba. Harihar instructed Umashankar to tell Baba that I am in jail and that the situation is not at all good.

GOING TO BABA

Umashankar set out on his journey and reached to where Baba was. As Umashankar was a new margii, he had never been to see Baba before. This was his first time and he did not know what to do. Many people were around and he did not know how he would be able to see Baba. Before Umashankar could even put forth his request, Baba had asked PS Dada Satyananda if anyone had come from Panagar. In that way Umashankar was brought before Baba. Umshankar was thinking that he would tell Baba all the details and go over the entire story, but before he could say anything, Baba told, 'Tell Harihar to do sadhana and everything will be alright'. Umashankar kept trying to tell Baba more of the details, but each time Baba would interrupt him and say, 'Tell Harihar to do sadhana and everything will be alright'. Umashankar then returned to Panagar in an unhappy mood. He felt he did not get to tell Baba anything. Umashankar conveyed to Harihar all that had transpired during his visit with Baba and Harihar smiled and said, 'Baba understands everything'.

MORE ABOUT HARIHAR'S TIME IN JAIL

By this time, Harihar had been in jail for a while-- a few months had gone by. He had dreamed of Baba on numerous occasions. Plus every week he was being called before the judge. Harihar's supervisors were telling him to change his statement, but Harihar refused and insisted that he wanted justice.

FATEFUL MEETING WITH JUDGE

Finally, one day the judge called Harihar and again asked him, 'Did you shoot your commander?'. Then Harihar replied, 'Your Honor, I want to say something, but I wish to tell you in a confidential way, not in front of this entire courtroom crowd'. The judge cleared the courthouse, and then in a calm, deliberate manner, Harihar explained the entire course of events to the judge. He told how he saw the girl, how someone was grabbing her, how that turned out to be Commander Bhattacarya, how Bhattacarya then threatened him and gave him night guard duty, and finally about the epic scene in the middle of the night. All these things he carefully told to the judge. The judge listened and took notes. Afterwards, Harihar returned to his cell and the judge began to investigate the case. Step by step, line by line, he was astonished to discover that all that Harihar told was true. The judge talked to many people who confirmed what had happened.

JUDGMENT DAY COMES

On one special day known as judgment day, all the offenders get dressed in their normal clothes and are allowed to participate in a military parade and then are brought forth before the judge for the final decision. When Harihar stood before the judge, many thought that he would be sentenced to death and hung for killing his supervising officer. The judge asked all to rise as he spoke: 'The decision of the court is not Harihar Pandey is not guilty and he is to be set free under certain conditions. He is not to have home leave for 5 years, he cannot stay in any posting for more than 1 month, and he is not to be promoted for ten years. Under these conditions he is set free'. Hearing this, everyone cheered and celebrated on Harihar's behalf.

A BLESSING IN DISGUISE

Even though he was set free, it was generally thought that Harihar would have to live under a difficult set of rules. But Harihar thought, 'Although I may not get home leave for 5 years, each and every month I will be transferred and in so doing I will be granted ten days to reach my new post'. And sure enough, after one month, Harihar received his transfer orders and had ten days to reach his designation. In that ten day period, Harihar went straight to Baba, and Baba showered Harihar with immense love and grace. During that sweet visit, Baba said, 'It is duty of a margii to fight for dharma and that is what you did.' And so it was that during so many of his monthly transfers, Harihar was blessed to be able to go see Baba. Another point in all of this is that if Harihiar had not done this deed then his jail samskara would have been fulfilled in some other way. So by doing this act Harihar did two things: (1) He stood up for dharma by saving a defenseless girl; and (2) he fulfilled his jail samskara.

CONCLUSION

If we follow dharma and fight against injustice then Baba will always protect us. That is His divine decree. In his life, Harihar stood up for dharma and protected a defenseless young lady, and by His grace Baba saved Harihar from the jaws of death. Baba says, "Men and women are human beings having equal dignity. As the physical strength of women is less than that of men, the latter should always endeavour to save the prestige of women. As the mothers of men, women can claim this much as a right. Special attention should be paid to the comforts of women during festivals, at spiritual conferences, and on other occasions." (CC-1, 'Social Relationship Between Men and Women') Namaskar, Gurucharan

Note 1: MY ELDER BROTHER

In his book, 'My Elder Brother', Manas Ranjan Sarkar, Baba's younger brother, tells how one day in his childhood he got into a fight at school to protect someone, but in turn he himself was beaten up. When he returned home everyone told him not to engage in fighting and that he did wrong, but when Baba saw him, Baba praised his younger brother and said, 'You did a great job'. Manas Ranjan became so happy hearing this. So always Baba supports those who uphold dharma-- He always supports those who protect the weak and the helpless.

******************************************** The Only Duty

Parama Purusa BABA says, "The only duty of a human being is to move along the path of righteousness until he reaches the Supreme Entity, until he touches the sweet feet of Supreme Entity." (DMC, Ananda Nagar, 29 May 88)

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