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Needs of Margii Children

To: am-global@earthlink.net From: Theresa Maddox Subject: Needs of Margii Children Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:41:12 -0400 Baba "Toma'r katha'i bha'vite bha'vite, din cale ja'y kato na'..." (PS 2264) Purport: Baba, my days are passing thinking only about Your stories and tales. By Your grace my time is spent involved in kiirtan, asana, sadhana, svadhyaya, and ideating on You. All day long Your divine image is floating in my mental plate-- in my Guru cakra. Even then, when I sit in meditation then You do not come in my heart. It makes me think I do not have any sadhana and that is why You are not coming to me. For this reason I feel that the intensity of my sadhana is not proper. Otherwise when I sit in dhyana. You would bless me by coming. Baba, by Your grace I feel in my heart that You love me; I can sense that You understand my painful and melancholic longing for You. By Your divine compassion I also know that You keep my 'I-feeling' and memories with You. Baba, I understand that You are always thinking about me and watching for my welfare. In spite of all this, Your love and my love could not merge. These two things could not become one. Baba, You have not come so I could not hold You and I could not get You very close. That is why there is an aching pain lingering in my heart. Baba, please mold me according to Your liking so that I can realise You more deeply, more intimately. Baba, by Your grace I love You and You love me, so do with me as You wish-- according to Your desire. Baba, please give me the realisation that there is no one other than You in this vast universe. Sometimes I think my worldly friends are my true saviours and that they are going to help me in my hour of need-- up to eternity. Sometimes I think like this. O' divine One, please shower me in Your grace compassion so I can realise in the core of my heart that only You are my eternal shelter.* Baba, please come in my heart... ASTERISK NOTES (*): * "Tumi cha'r'a na'i jagate kehai...": In this last line of the above Prabhat Samgiita the devotee wants the divine realisation that only Parama Purusa is the eternal shelter. This same type of ideas expressed in Baba's below teaching. Baba says, "Because of His grace, they will get energy or strength from Him, and with that strength they will move forward. Without His grace, no one can move even a single step forward. And for this people should always remember that by their own efforts they do not make any progress, rather it is due to the wish of Parama Purus´a that they make any progress at all. It is the duty of Parama Purus´a to help them to move forward. This 100% reliance on Parama Purus´a is called 'Prapatti' in the scriptures. Sadhakas should always maintain the spirit of 'Prapatti...-- 'Whatever takes place in the universe and whatever qualities I possess is all due to His grace. He is the Lord of everything; He is the machine-man, and I am simply a machine'." (SS-18)
== NEEDS OF MARGII CHILDREN ==
Namaskar, Everyone wants that our Marga should flourish-- both now in the present and in the future as well. This earnest desire every sincere A'nanda Ma'rgii has. Over the course of history each and every society has also realised that for the successful continuation of their community, the children or youth of that society must be brought into the fold. That is the common belief and understanding. The same is the case with our Marga: It is imperative that our margii children grow up to be devoted and committed Ananda Margiis. This will be good for their individual development; it will be good for the society; and it will be good for the cohesiveness of our AMPS. Unfortunately, from Ranchi to Kolkata, from Los Angeles to Buenos Aires, from Bangkok to Tokyo, and from Rome to Johannesburg, our Margii children are not making it into our Marga-- not at the rate that is necessary. Too many are falling between the cracks and not growing up to be involved members of AM society. However, it is sure that this situation is going to be properly rectified in the coming days, months, and years. To this end, it is important to both identify the problems and put forth practical solutions. And everyone should also write in with their thoughts and suggestions. As we overcome the present obstacles, more and more margii children will become strong devotees of Baba and great sadhakas in the society.
DIFFICULTIES IN THIS PRESENT ERA
Perhaps the greatest hurdle of today for margii children is that they are just plain outnumbered. In India the situation is a bit better in a few of the village areas, but even then throughout the vast majority of Delhi sector and certainly across the globe, our margii community is but a tiny, miniscule number within the greater society. We are basically flooded by the common masses in each and every region. In such a scenario our child invariably attend schools where they are the only Ananda Margiis or at best those margii children are part of a very small minority. In that case those young impressionable minds are surrounded by all the crude ways of the common people: From food to dress, from after-school activities to conversation topics, and from pseudo-culture to religious dogma. Naturally then our margii children get affected by seeing what those around them are doing. That is the reality of what is happening and we cannot blame them for that. Rather it is up to us to make the situation more favourable for them. And that is what Ananda Margiis across the globe are striving for: To create sentient environments in which to raise our children.
A CASE COMPARISON
Once when I was travelling across Delhi sector I came across a distinct contrast between two "Margii" families. And that may shed insight into the direction in which we need to move. Or it may just be a description that is already quite obvious to you. Here is the scenario. In one family, the margii parents had six children: Four boys and two girls. And the father was extremely determined to raise them as true Ananda Margiis. The mother was basically supportive but not quite so active in this matter. All in all, despite being surrounded by non-margiis, those children all grew up in a distinctly margii environment. They were all sent to Ananda Nagar to receive an Ananda Marga education, when home then special children's dharma cakras were arranged for them, and from top to bottom every effort was made to involve and surround the children with AM activities. And the final outcome is that all six children grew up to become devotionally inspired sadhakas who are solid participants in today's AM society. In contrast, there was another Ananda Margii family where the situation turned out quite differently. The father was a well-known, vigilant margii who was stationed all across India for his governmental job yet wherever he was placed then first and foremost he was doing Baba's work. However in his home he was quite relaxed and he felt that when the children get older then he will introduce them into Ananda Marga. Unfortunately his wife was hardly an Ananda Margii and sure enough as time went by the children hardly knew of Ananda Marga. And when the time came that the father hoped to bring them into AM, the children wanted no part of it. Already the damage was done. Their minds and hearts were elsewhere. And that is why to this very day, in his own home that father is nearly an alien. He worked hard to build AM everywhere but there is not even a trace of AM in the very house where he lives. And indeed his three children have grown and they have not an ounce of sadhana in their lives and no relation with AM. These are two case scenarios. Of course there are hundreds of possibilities. Sometimes the mother is more of a devotee than that father and various other scenarios exist. But one common factor seems to be that the children need maximum positive exposure to AM in order to grow up to be strong Ananda Margiis-- otherwise it is a losing battle. Of course this is a vast topic with so many perspectives and viewpoints so here following are but a few of the innumerable positive solutions which exist.
A FEW SOLUTIONS
These following are some possible ways to help make our children into good sadhakas and established Ananda Margiis. These are things which we have inculcated into the lives of our own children in our home as well as things we hope to bring into their lives in the near future: 1. Bring them into AM life as early as possible. Their food habits and bed-time stories should all be sentient based and flavoured with the sweetness of devotion and neo-humanism. 2. By the age of three or four, try to make their formal education immersed in AM ways of doing and thinking. Songs and games should be universal in nature and kiirtan should be incorporated into their daily life. One minute or two minutes before their various activities. 3. Margii children should be encouraged to play and interact with other margii children. If there are no other margii families in the local school district then try and make arrangements for margii children to play together after-school or on the weekends. This is what we have done and it has had a big effect. 4. On Sundays, it is very good to have two dharmackras: either one after another or going on simultaneous. The latter may be better. In either scenario it is needed for there to be a weekly children's dharmacakra that is perfectly AM based yet also suited to the needs and interests of the children. The DC should be age appropriate where games, puzzles, song, dance, meditation, stories, and philosophical tales are all merged into one. 5. The celebration of AM festivals is also a great way to bring children into the flow of our Marga. Instead of them thinking that various dogmatic religious holidays are the best time of year. Rather may we educate our children about our AM festivals and in our own house those days should be treated with a wonderfully festive and holiday atmosphere. By Baba's grace this suggestion which was told to us by our Didi has worked to a high degree in our own home as well as with other local margiis. 6. Attending the sectorial retreats on an annual basis are also an important aspect. The children should meet all our acaryas and be comfortable with our AM way of life. Going twice a year to big AM retreats throughout their childhood will help them establish the base that AM is their home and family. Then even if they are not able to attend an AM school, there remains a distinct memory of AM in their childhood. 7. Perhaps the golden rule is to bring AM more and more into the child's life from the very outset of their existence and to increase those activities as the child grows. The content of their activities, the friends they have, and the emphasis that we as parents place on AM all help to establish our children onto the proper path. No doubt this era is a difficult one but by Baba's grace we can create that special environment wherein we raise true Ananda Margiis. And indeed this is Baba's Supreme Command: "It is the bounden duty of every Ananda Margii to endeavour to bring all to the path of bliss. Verily is it a part and parcel of sadhana to lead others along the path of righteousness."
BABA'S DIVINE TEACHING
As margiis, as mothers and fathers, as acaryas, and as sadhakas, it is our combined and collective responsibility to bring each and every child of our Marga into a spiritually inspired and devotionally way of living. All should come into our AM society and become the pillars of the future humanity. Baba says, "Children will become assets of society in the future to the extent that their parents or guardians discharge their duties properly." (HS-1)
BABA'S GRACE
By Baba's grace as we follow His universal ideas our Marga will be flooded with the grand participation of more and more of our children. May this moment come at the earliest. Baba says, "Move along the Path of Righteousness with the spirit of Universal Fraternity, victory is yours. The blessing of Parama Purus'a is always with you. [Athens, 11.9.79] Namaskar, Tarini
Note: WORKING TOGETHER
This is a vast and open topic-- as well as a most important one. All are highly encouraged to write in with their own successes and ideas on this. There is no one answer, rather all have great contributions and suggestions to make on the ways to best bring our children into the joyful, moral, spiritual, and devotional light of Ananda Marga.
****************************************** LONGEVITY
Baba says, "Spiritual practice makes the mind calm and quiet, and maintains the nerves in a state of equipoise; and thus spiritual practice increases longevity. Those Vaishnavites who are vegetarians, who regularly sing spiritual songs, do meditation, perform virtuous deeds and think pure thoughts, live longer than ninety years." (AV-33, p.113) Note: By following the devotional cult of AM and abiding by general health rules every sadhaka is ensured a long and healthy life. That is Baba's guarantee.
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