== YOUR GUT FEELING ==
Namaskar,
A person's "gut feeling" has a huge impact on how they interact with the
world. It is a person's basic manner of defining themselves and their
relations with others.
This gut feeling, more than anything else, affects our social milieu or
social climate.
These days the world over is irked by so many ills and difficulties.
Various leaders and activists are trying to create change. But the tools
they employ - political policies, rules & regulations, police force,
military offensives, laws etc - are mostly impotent compared with one's
gut feeling.
This letter explores how our gut feeling on life, a.k.a. social outlook,
has the ability to bring both devastation and destruction as well as
peace and harmony.
We should understand how our social outlook impacts society, and examine
the prevailing social perspective(s) of the day, how it can be changed,
and the social outlook of Ananda Marga.
This is perhaps our greatest tool for bringing our human society onto
the right path.
ANANDA MARGA:
WHAT IS OUR GUT FEELING?
In various discourses Baba outlines the six factors that most affect the
development of our human society. Sometimes these are referred to as the
six spokes of the social cycle. Social outlook is the fourth factor.
Baba says, 'The fourth one is social outlook. All living creatures in
this manifest universe are the children of the same Cosmic Entity. They
are the progeny of the same Supreme Progenitor. Naturally they are bound
in a thread of fraternal relations. This is the central spirit. A
socio-economic theory is of no use but for this fraternal feeling. The
implementation of this theory is an impossibility without sa'dhana'."
(AFPS-6)
In our Ananda Marga, our social outlook is based on the principles of
neo-humanism. We see everyone on this earth as brother and sister and
feel all are part of our universal cosmic family. That is the our gut
feeling.
We have developed this outlook by being Ananda Margiis: Studying Baba's
teachings, singing kiirtana, doing sadhana, serving others, and keeping
satsaunga etc.
At the same time it has to be noted that the above is our ideal - what
we strive for but do not always achieve. Why? Because the prevailing
sentiments and philosophy of the land severely influences one's
perspective. For this reason there is a variance even within Ananda
Margiis. Our views on homosexuality differ from one another and even our
style of dancing kiirtan differs from one sector to the next. And there
are so many other variances. Why? Because even though neo-humanism is
our ideal, still people are affected by local ways of doing - including
pseudo-culture and social dogmas. This is examined in greater detail
further down in this letter.
EVERYBODY HAS THEIR OWN OUTLOOK
Actually, there are so many ways people view the world; all have their
own outlook.
Suppose there is a cow. Those from the Semitic religions will choose to
eat it; Hindus will refer to it as mother cow and worship it; others
will just think it is an ordinary animal and keep it for its milk. This
variance occurs because of one's outlook, or gut feeling. It changes due
to local customs and philosophies.
Here is another example.
If an elderly man is walking down the street, then those watching him
will view him differently. Some may think he is a burden to society;
some may think he is a grandfather; others may think he is decrepit; a
sadhaka will think he is the manifestation of Parama Purusa; some may
think he is a wealthy retired banker; and still others will think he is
totally useless.
Just as there are so many ways of looking at the elderly man and the
aforementioned cow, there are also various perspectives of viewing the
world.
FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD:
WHERE DOES GUT FEELING COME FROM
As noted above, as Ananda Margiis, we basically view the world according
to the eyes of neo-humanism. But not everyone else operates from this
perspective.
Around the globe, people develop their own outlook from their various
interactions and institutions: materialism, capitalism, Christianity,
Buddhism, etc.
Those in the Semitic religions view the world as their playground,
wherein everything has been placed on this earth by their god for their
own enjoyment. To that end, they have license to do anything and
everything.
Baba says, "At one time people were told that this world is for human
enjoyment only, so the existence of all the plants, of all the birds and
animals, in the world is intended merely to provide objects of enjoyment
for human beings. Their hopes and aspirations, their intense desire to
live, their pains and pleasures, their affectionate family or community
lives are simply without value. However much a baby goat may wish to
live, the main consideration is how much meat that [goat] carries on its
frame. This defective philosophy has made people ruthlessly violent."
(NSS, Disc: 14)
Hence, a Muslim will kill a goat without hesitation - they will be eager
to do so. As easily as we Ananda Margiis will say namaskar to one
another, such Muslims will cut the throat of a goat. Because that is
their way of doing. And indeed most of the dogmatic religions have their
animal of choice to kill and eat.
And of course some within those religions feel that only they have the
right to live on this earth.
Baba says, "Some philosophies have taught their own [religious or caste]
communities, “The members of this community are the favourite children
of Parama Purus'a – others are cursed and unwanted.” Due to this
defective teaching the people of one community have even considered the
destruction of the members of another community as an act of virtue, and
stained the stony altar of human society with the blood of innocent
people." (NSS, Disc: 14)
Thus due to their outlook, human groups can enslave, attack and kill one
another. The whole concept of jihad is based on one's social outlook.
That is their motivating factor. They are internally convinced of the
need to lash out in the name of their religion, regardless of any laws
or legalities that state otherwise. Hence the rash of car bombings,
vicious attacks, militant training camps, and suicide bombers etc that
we see today.
Religion alone however is not the sole culprit in this equation.
In the materialistic and capitalistic west, selfishness and the
exploiter-exploited relation run rampant. The US & Co think the world's
entire resources are meant to sustain their way of life and that those
who go to the US, as well as those living overseas, should became the
labor force for the US economic machinery. This outlook is most common
in the west. By this way, millions and millions become living skeletons
as the wealthy westerners fatten themselves to no end.
So each and every land, belief system and community has their designated
outlook. And that outlook or gut feeling, more than anything else,
affects how they behave in the world. This has caused untold suffering,
depravity, and violence on this earth.
MORE POWERFUL THAN LAWS & LEGAL STATUTES
The import of one's inherent gut feeling is not to be minimized. Laws,
social policies, court injunctions, and political decrees all pale in
comparison to one's gut feeling.
Drugs may be illegal, yet certain sections of society chase after those
illegal substances as those are part of their sub-culture. The same can
be said of prostitution, gang violence, white collar crime like insider
trading on Wall Street, and so many other actions. Those things may be
illegal etc, but people chase after it anyway. Because that is what they
see around them and that is what they have learned how to do.
Hence, social outlook - more than any other pillar in society -
influences one's mode of conduct.
WHY REGIONAL VARIANCE
We have to remember that social outlook varies from place to place even
within the same social or religious group. Because people's thoughts are
affected by the prevailing philosophy and atmosphere of that region.
Baba says, "Just as individual human beings have their distinctive
characteristics, similarly, groups of people brought up in various
geographical environments, historical eras, or cultural atmospheres,
acquire their own group characteristics, too. Later those
characteristics inherent in a particular group get mixed with the
internal thoughts and ideas of other groups within a society. This leads
to the development of national characteristics. In this way an entire
national psychology – its external behaviour, its social outlook, and
its philosophy of life – is developed. This process produces different
national outlooks which distinguish one nation from another. It is also
in this way that different human groups have developed different
viewpoints towards life and the world." (AFPS-6)
Thus people are dramatically affected by the vibration and customs of
their local area.
This accounts for why a secular person in India is quite different from
a secular person in the US as the person in India has grown up in a land
where God is everything. That is why even communists cadres in Bengal go
to the temple and pray, whereas in Cuba they will never do like that.
Because the prevailing philosophy is the subterranean flow of that land
and that colors one's mind.
That also accounts for the dramatic differences amongst Ananda Margiis.
We have our stated philosophy yet margiis are also coloured by their
locale.
For instance, AM does not support the practice of homosexuality. Yet,
gay and lesbian way of life has been wholly embraced by certain margiis
in some sectors like Suva, because the general society has rallied
around that dogma. The margiis became dyed in that colour. Whereas in
Delhi sector the margiis hold firm to our AM ideal, partly because
homosexuality itself is not openly supported by the general populace of
India. Hence there is a variance between margiis in different sectors.
Because the social climate is vastly different in those lands and that
causes people to stray from AM teachings as their own social outlook is
different.
Here is another example.
In India, males and females dance kiirtan separately whereas in Berlin,
GT and NY sectors, males and females will mix themselves up and even
brush up against each other during those akhanda kiirtan programs. Even
though AM preaches the strict separation of the sexes, this facet gets
lost in our own kiirtan programs as people in those lands are used to
open mingling between the opposite sex. Hence the intermingling of the
sexes has been incorporated in the style of kiirtan.
And there are so many examples of this variance in our Marga. Everything
from how people observe shradda of the deceased person to marriage
making to groupism. Sometimes overseas margiis are more inclined to AM
ideals and sometimes Indian margiis. It depends on the issue.
Baba has delineated everything in His teachings, but people drift away
because their mind has been coloured by the gospel of their own land. In
AM we do not believe in pre-marital sex. And in India this is not a
difficult custom to uphold whereas in the west, dating is the way of the
world and to some degree this has consumed Ananda Margiis as well.
Baba has also given that there should be coordinated cooperation between
wholetimers and family people, yet due to the dogma of sannyasi
supremacy in India, our Wts have curtailed the rights of margiis and
squashed the margii side of the organisation. Why? Because the social
outlook or gut feeling of those Wts was tainted by the prevailing ways
of their land.
With strictness in Sixteen Points, this variance can be overcome. To the
degree one is lax in Sixteen Points is the degree to which they will
drift away from AM ideals and be influenced by the prevailing dogmas of
their local arena.
We should all be most careful in this regard.
PREACH THE GOSPEL OF NEO-HUMANISM
There is so much struggle and strife in this world and most of it is
caused by one's limited or defective social outlook. If one's gut
feeling is changed, then everything is changed. We should be vigilant to
spread the ideals of neo-humanism and implement that in our own lives as
well.
Baba says, "Human beings should base their lives on an ideology. Those
without an ideology do not view the world rationally or benevolently,
but view it with the greedy eye of an exploiter. However, those who
follow the guiding principles of a radiant ideology, can better view and
judge the world. In order to prevent human degradation, ideology is
indispensable. The earlier one embraces an ideology, the better it is
because first, sufficient time is needed to assimilate the ideology and
second, one can never say with certainty how long one will live – many
people die in the prime of life." (AV-7)
Thus the only way to inculcated a truly neo-humanistic perspective is to
implement all the teachings of Ananda Marga - and do so as soon as
possible.
Here again is Baba's stated guideline.
Baba says, "One should follow an ideology which encourages the
development of a universal outlook. It should not be based on narrow
ideas. In the past, ideologies were based on very limited ideas and thus
people had to undergo endless troubles. Due to constant fighting between
various communities, the human society has suffered tremendously." (AV-7)
We all know how the philosophies of old have led to much bloodshed and
continue to mar society today. Only the vast psychic enterprise of
neo-humanism can bridge this divide. Only neo-humanism can unite all
Ananda Margiis and the whole human society.
We should all be critically aware of our own gut feeling and ensure it
is aligned with AM teachings, and not any local dogma. This takes a most
careful and honest review, otherwise we will think we are perfectly
following AM when in fact our outlook is different in certain ways. For
help on this, we should all consult senior margiis and acaryas whom we
trust, otherwise it is not easy to free oneself from the local trends &
wholly adopt AM ideals.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace, when one's gut feeling is aligned with Baba's teachings
on neo-humanism, then the devastation and destruction of the world will
be gone and all will wake up in a world governed by peace and prosperity
and the desire to serve the Supreme.
Baba says, "We have taught people to think about how such-and-such bomb
can annihilate so many millions of people at a time – but we have never
propagated a philosophy to teach them to think how millions of people
could be benefited by psycho-spiritual practices. Thus human beings of
today are following a defective path, and there is a desperate need for
a change in direction. The only remedy is Neohumanism." (NH-LOI, Disc: 11)
Namaskar,
Jiivendra
Note: ANOTHER POSTING ON GUT FEELING
Here is another posting on one's gut feeling for your review.
**********************************************
Bath Mantra and Danger
Baba says, "After finishing your bath, before drying your body, recite
the following mantra while performing the prescribed mudra' and looking
at any luminous object." (CC-3, "Bathing Procedure and Pitr Yajina")
Note: All of Baba's guidelines are 100% dharmic and for the well-being
of humanity. That is why many say the the above teaching was written
down poorly by certain Dadas. Because if you focus your eyes on the sun
then that is not good for your eyes. Of course you may face towards the
sun with your body, as that is highly beneficial as noted below, but do
not look directly the sun. If you have any doubt consult with any eye
doctor or read about the dangers of looking at the sun.
Those who noted this down may not have done the job properly and
recordings are not available about this very point, according to my
knowledge.
Here the main point is that do not look directly at the sun after
bathing but do face towards the sun. By this way the eyes are not harmed
and the body gets the benefit of the sun's rays. When water droplets are
on the body, then the ulra-violet (UV) rays from the sun the body
collects vitamin D & calcium, becomes disease free through internal
healing, and the body becomes more radiant. So there are many benefits
of facing one's body towards the sun.
But again, do not focus the eyes on the sun, by this way the eyes are
harmed; indeed people develop cataracts in tropical areas due to
exposure to the sun.
**********************************************
