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How to Prevent People from Leaving Their Sadhana

Date: 21 Sep 2010 22:47:29 -0000 From: "Anil Vijayan" To: am-global@earthlink.net Subject: How to Prevent People from Leaving Their Sadhana Baba "A'mi toma'y ja'ni, e katha' bolite pa'ribo na', na', na', na'..." - P.S. 609 Purport: Baba, this thing I cannot claim-- that I know You, that I recognise You. No, no, no, this I cannot say. Even when known, even then You always remain unknown. On the viina, You always play the unknown tune in my heart. You are always hidden, even then You are my everything. Baba, keeping Yourself secret, You go on attracting me with the melody of Your flute. In this vast creation You have expressed Yourself in different forms and colours. But You are only the One with infinite forms. Baba, You alone are Divine...
== HOW TO PREVENT PEOPLE FROM LEAVING THEIR SADHANA ==
Namaskar, Our AM is the path of tantra where by Baba's unfathomable grace the sadhaka has the opportunity to attain liberation in this life itself. Indeed this is the guarantee. So really we are blessed. Because human desires are infinite and as this infinite desire gets channelised toward the spiritual realm, one will get tantric diiksa, exhaust all their samskaras, and reach unto Parama Purusa, At the same time, we should know about the underlying philosophy and science behind it all. By this way we can better anticipate and understand how and why our lives transform as we speedily move towards the Cosmic nucleus, towards Baba. And perhaps most importantly, by this way we will be able to support and guide new and old margiis on the path when they invariably undergo the accelerated ripening of samskaras in their movement towards the Goal.
STORIES TOLD IN OUR UNIT
The other day in our unit, a number of margiis were telling stories about their sweet journey since coming onto the path of sadhana. Some talked about their devotional experiences; and some shared the Baba dreams they had. There were many things told; but, certainly one theme common among all was the remarkable difficulties & great changes we all have faced when since embarking on the path of sadhana-- due to the ripening and burning of our samskaras. Here below is one such account.
THE BOILS ARE COMING
One brother recounted how when he first started doing sadhana then suddenly boils formed on his rear. In his life he had never had boils before, so this was a big surprise for him. They were so tender and sensitive that it was too painful to sit down and do sadhana. And when he told his acarya about this, his acarya directed him that no matter what he must continue with his sadhana. So that margii adjusted and began doing sadhana from a lying position. It was not long thereafter when boils began to form on the back of his legs and in the middle of his back as well. The margii was thinking that this was unbearable and again he went to his acarya and told that it was too difficult to forge ahead with meditation. But his acarya would not relent and instead told that, 'This is a good sign-- you are cleaning and purifying your body and burning samskaras. At any and all cost you must continue with your sadhana.' Not knowing what else to do, the margii started doing sadhana from a prone position, lying face down on his stomach. But then again trouble found him out as almost instantaneously boils began to appear on his belly, thighs, and torso. When he approached his acarya this time he was totally ready to give up his sadhana and quite entirely, but his acarya outrightly told him that, 'Great things are happening, you are getting purified to pursue the path of AM-- all those negative samskaras are oozing out. So keep going.' With renewed vigour, that margii continued his sadhana and by Baba's grace despite having painful boils all over his body, his sadhana improved and, amazingly, within a week all the boils totally disappeared-- leaving as quickly they came. And in the 25 years since, he has not had a single boil and to this day he remains a committed sadhaka and fully dedicated member of our Marga.
GETTING AM DIIKSA': WHAT THAT MEANS
So in the above account, the newly initiated margii was well-coached by his acarya, and by that way he courageously adhered to the path. Because the whole point here is that as soon as one takes initiation and gets diiksa', then the annihilation of samskaras begins in an accelerated fashion. And this continues throughout the course of one's life. Baba says, "When a spiritual aspirant moves from the most negative point towards the ultimate positivity, what happens? His accumulated sam'ska'ras start to become exhausted. That is, all his sam'ska'ras start to wane." (AV-25) So as soon as one starts sadhana up until the time they attain liberation, one will invariably undergo the speedy exhaustion of samskaras. And here below Baba specifically reveals how the term diiksa' into AM sadhana means the burning of their old samskaras. Baba says, "For this “waning of sins” the Sanskrit word is pa'pa'ks'ayam. The initial letter of ks'ayam [waning] is ks'a. So the dii of diipanii [which means ray of light that shows the path] together with the ks'a of ks'ayam becomes diiks'a. And with the addition of the feminine suffix t'a, the word becomes diiks'a'." (AV-25) Here it should also be noted that in the above term-- pa'pa'ks'ayam-- the prefix pa'pa does not mean sinful deeds, but rather it refers to the collection of both good and bad samskaras. Because any samskara-- either good or bad-- is a chain or form of bondage that will keep one from reaching the Goal. So our AM tantrika diiksa' means the imminent burning of all samskaras-- both good and bad ones-- so one can move quickly ahead and reach their cherished Goal, i.e. becoming one with Baba.
MANY REMAIN UNAWARE OF THIS FACT
Unfortunately, as we all know, so many come onto the path of AM and immediately their life undergoes radical change-- things start happening more quickly than they can seemingly manage. All sorts of things, which they did not expect to happen, start occurring at an accelerated rate. They may lose their job or have their car stolen or so many things might happen. And rather than think they are getting purified and progressing, they become worried or scared end up leaving their sadhana and the Marga, thinking that it has brought them too many difficulties. Certainly, we all know so many cases like this. Plus there are an equal number of cases where sadhakas undergo the burning of good samskaras and due to their success in the mundane world they lose sight of the real Goal and leave their sadhana. Infatuated with worldly riches or a Mercedes Benz or with professional successes, they mistakenly think that such wealth and prestige will give them lasting happiness and they fail to pursue the path of sadhana. So in both the cases it happens. In the case of good samskaras, people lose their sadhana due to their great happiness with their worldly life; and in the case of bad samskaras, people lose their sadhana due to their sorrows of living in this relative world.
NEW & OLD PEOPLE ALIKE MUST BE ADVISED: OBSTACLES ARE GOING TO COME
But it does not have to be like that. It does not have to be that we lose so many sadhakas from the path of AM. If we are vigilant and educate new and old margiis-- including our wts-- about the way of the path of sadhana, then our attrition rate will be much less. Then far fewer wts will leave and we will be able to retain more and more initiated margiis. This can all happen as we educate everyone about how samskaras are bound to be exhausted very quickly while on the path of sadhana and that through it all we must not be sidetracked-- either due to our worldly happiness or mundane sorrows. Just we have to ensure to keep our mind focused on the Goal. In that case everyone will be sure to maintain their sadhana-- regardless of what may be happening in their life, regardless of the way their samskaras get exhausted. So here the point is that we must be vigilant to coach new and senior margiis alike about all the inevitable and great changes that are going to occur while on the path of sadhana. Speedily they will get cleansed and purified and our job is to support and guide them through this process. By that way they will not lose sight of the Goal and not drift away from their sadhana.
THE BEAUTY OF SADHANA
Let us then take a moment to reflect on how fortunate we Ananda Margiis are to be on the path of sadhana-- because only sadhana can bring lasting peace. After all, every human being-- whether margii or non-margii-- has infinite desires; and only through satiating that infinite longing can one get true happiness. Hence mundane, finite things like worldly riches etc can never bring lasting happiness or peace. The chief difference is then that non-margiis remain oblivious of this truth and they go on chasing after crude allurements with the mistaken idea that this will bring them happiness; whereas, Ananda Margiis ensconce the mind in sadhana and exhaust all samskaras. By that way we are blessed to truly experience that infinite bliss that gives permanent satiation to our infinite desires and leads one to a stance of perfect peace. Baba says, "Fill your heart with love of the Infinite, and your soul will be transformed into the Supreme Soul. No worldly happiness is limitless. Dedicate yourself completely to the blissful ocean of the Supreme Soul. Then alone will you realize what happiness really is. This path to attain happiness, this sa'dhana' of self-surrender I call absolute devotion. Carry on performing your worldly duties with sincerity, and at the same time think about the pure self within you. Then alone will your sa'dhana' be justified. The constant thought of your pure inner Self will certainly one day establish you in your original source, and this is the ultimate aim of sa'dhana'. The Soul is by nature characteristically pure. The mind gets tied to sam'ska'ras (potential reactions) due to its actions, and that is why the unit becomes the slave of life and death. When all the sam'ska'ras are destroyed through spiritual sa'dhana' and mental purification, one goes beyond life and death to the eternal region of immortality, where there is no difference between the soul and His Supreme Soul." (SS-2) So the accelerated exhaustion of samskaras and progress in sadhana go hand in hand and by that way we are able to reach the Goal, by His grace alone. Thus none should fall by the wayside and become frustrated or intoxicated by the burning of their bad or good samskaras. These samskaras must find expression-- and very quickly-- because that is the only way to reach liberation in this very life. So our only duty, our only aim is to keep the mind fixed on Him by holding onto our sadhana. Only then we will experience infinite anandam or bliss.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace, our path of AM is complete. With Baba as our Tantric Guru, He has given us the best path to move ahead wherein when we get our AM diiksa, and by His grace we are given the light or lamp-- diipani-- to race ahead across the ocean of maya by exhausting all our samskaras and reach the Goal-- reach unto His divine lap, in this very life itself.
Diipajina'nam yato dadya't kurya't pa'paks'ayam' tatah; Tasma'tdiiks'eti sa' prokta' sarvatantrasya sammata
Baba says, "Now what is diipanii? Everything lies coverted within the self. The Supreme Entity is also within your “I” feeling. [He] is with you, but you do not know Him. That is, the Supreme Entity is with you, but You cannot see Him. You cannot realize Him. Why? Because you are covered by, you are surrounded by, ma'ya', the cimmerian darkness of ma'ya'. This diiks'a', Tantrikii diiks'a', is just like a torch. And by focusing the torch, you see your route through the darkness. That is why the first sub-phase is diipanii – diipanii means 'showing the torchlight'...Diiks'a' gives the aspirant the route, the way, or rather the path, of bliss. It shows the path of bliss. And to show the path of bliss, light is required; and that light is also supplied by diiks'a'. This light is diipanii." (AV-6) Namaskar, Anil
Note 1: THE VAST DIFFERENCE IN SPEED BETWEEN MARGIIS AND NON-MARGIIS
As soon as one gets tantric diiksa' and starts doing sadhana and leading our AM way of life, then their wheel starts moving quickly. Lifetimes of old samskaras become ripe and ultimately get exhausted. By that way one becomes free of so many fetters and they are able to advance ahead very, very rapidly. Then His grace becomes ever resplendent in their life and they able to reach their ultimate abode upon His divine lap. This is the sweet destiny of every Ananda Margii. Because in this lifetime every Ananda Margii will have to reach their Goal. That is why their speed is so great. And that is why in the life of margiis the cycle of happiness and sorrow rotates quickly, because only by exhausting all these good and bad samskaras can one reach their ultimate abode. So our movement is very fast by His grace. Because in this very life we are going to get Him. In contrast, the road for non-margiis is totally different. Rather than racing towards the Cosmic Nucleus in a straight line, they move slowly, slowly around the periphery. The ripening of their samskaras occurs in a very gradual way such that one can hardly see any movement in their life. What they are when they were born is not much different from how they are when they die. Their progress is negligible, if any at all. Because when one one does not have a Tantric Guru and when one does not have sadhana, then they have no path of movement to race ahead. So they live their life shackled by old samskaras and their rate of change is very minute. Hence, they will have to undergo life after life-- thousands and millions of lives. Their journey will be extremely slow and mostly uneventful. Whereas in our Marga, due to Baba's grace, we are racing ahead towards Him with great speed-- in which case all the fetters rapidly fall away as one after another samskara gets annihilated. Such is the great transformation that takes place within the life of every Ananda Margii. And that is why amidst the various obstacles and difficulties & joys and pleasures, those moving on the path of AM will reach their cherished goal in one life. One is sure to reach Baba's lap & get Him.
Note 2: HOW WE GET LIBERATION
Here below Baba beautifully explains how those on the path of sadhana reach unto the Supreme Goal of life and attain Him. Baba says, "Now how to get liberation from these bondages? It’s possible only when the reactive momenta get exhausted, and this is possible only through sa'dhana'. When one walks in the sphere of actional bondages one’s movement is from subtle to crude. The sa'dhana' for liberation from bondages is a movement from crude to subtle. The 'saincara' process is a movement from the supreme positivity to the supreme negativity, a flow from fundamental negativity to fundamental positivity. But, what is this movement for? This movement is for the exhaustion of actional bondages. It is movement from darkness to light and truth. One has to march towards truth."
Satyameva jayate na'nrtam satyenah pantha' vitato devaya'na.
"This is the sa'dhana' of liberation and this is not possible without Diiks'a'. If one walks in darkness one needs a torch otherwise one will fall down in a ditch. Similarly one walking on the path of sa'dhana' needs this torch, otherwise however strong one may be, downfall will be inevitable. The Sanskrit synonym for the word torch is diipaka or diipanii. The first letter of diipaka is dii and the first letter of the word ks'a'ya is ks'a. Thus comes the masculine word diiks'a. In feminine it is diiks'a'. Diiks'a' is essential for the exhaustion of actional momenta. This is the sa'dhana' of liberation. To learn is the sa'dhana' of knowledge. To walk on the path, i.e., to do regular practices is the sa'dhana' of action. Last but not the least is devotion – the culminating point of moks'a sa'dhana'. " (SS-19)
*************************************** Like New Born Baby and Mother
Baba says, "It is a law of nature that nature provides a mother with sufficient breast milk to feed her newly-born baby. In the same way, nature provides sufficient resources like food and other essential requirements for all human beings. Human beings need only utilize these resources in a proper way. Shortages of food and space cannot be blamed on nature. These problems have been artificially created by the folly of human beings." (PNS-13, p.45)
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