To: AM-GLOBAL
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 2010 05:45:17 -0000
From: NJK Majumdar
Subject: Name Calling
Baba
"Ke go tumi ele man ma'ta'te manorathe..." (PS 412)
Purport:
O' Divine Entity, by Your grace on this auspicious morning You have come and stirred my consciousness. You have come on a mental chariot and divinely intoxicated my mind. You are so gracious, please tell me Who You are. O' Gracious One, please grace me by revealing Yourself fully.
O' Divine One, You have come moving along the path of effulgence. You have taken away everyone's unit feelings and removed their personal desire. You satiated their heart and mind by pouring Your infinite cosmic bliss.
O' Baba, You have reached me by moving long the path of melody and tune. Baba, by Your grace You have taken away everyone's unit rhythm and infused everyone by pouring Your divine cadence. You have come to sing the divine song to everyone and satiate their heart.
Baba, with Your divine song You have inundated the entire universe; You are ever-gracious...
== NAME CALLING ==
Namaskar,
Just the other day one margii raised an ideological point for review and discussion. In response, one Dada abused that margii by calling him "a dog".
Now it is for you to decide if this was proper or not.
WHAT IS AT STAKE
In our Ananda Marga, free and open debates and healthy discussions are wholly embraced. That is Baba's explicit teaching. In so many discourses Baba has put forth this idea.
Baba says, “Different theories and doctrines with their numerous interpretations and connotations should be developed. No one should object to that, because intellectual clash and cohesion cause the human intellect to progress. Why should we keep all the doors of the human intellect closed?”. (Human Society Is One and Indivisible – 3)
Baba says,"When people's ideas are so fixed that they will not entertain any discussion or argument it is called “fanaticism”...In one sense they are worse than animals, because animals do not harbour any communal feeling." (Prout Nutshell, Part 21)
Baba points out that only communities plagued by dogma - like the stagnant religions and communism etc - do not allow open discussions.
Baba says, "What is dogma? Where there is no logic, where there is no support of intellectuality, where there is no debate and free discussion, but there is only a severe imposition forcing people to accept something, there is dogma." (A Few Problems Solved-5)
Thus when one avadhuta has called one margii "a dog" for raising a point of philosophical inquiry, then we all have to think what direction things are headed.
Are we going to allow our AM society to become like the dogmatic religions where logic and reasoning is prohibited and one must blindly follow the ruling priests, lest one risk being excommunicated or verbally assaulted.
RESPECTFUL DISCUSSION
Baba's expressed policy is that any and all philosophical discussion is welcomed in our Marga - the only stipulation is that one's tone should be "respectful" towards others. That is Baba's explicit guideline.
Baba says, "I am not saying that one should accept whatever people say, but surely non-acceptance and intolerance are not the same. Why is there a mania for refuting the views of others anyway? If necessary, different views can be compared and presented in philosophical books. The philosophical and psychological loopholes in an argument may be pointed out without being disrespectful. But is the attempt to insult others indicative of magnanimity?" (HS-1; i.e. Human Society - 1, "Moralism")
Hence Baba's teaching is that our philosophical discussions should be dignified. We may or may not agree with the next person, but our language, manner and choice of words should be civilised - neither lowly nor disrespectful. That is Baba's above teaching.
Unfortunately, the avadhuta of Ananda Marga who called that margii "a dog" swerved from Baba's guideline - either he did this knowingly or unknowingly. In either case it is a shame as we all wish to see our avadhutas successful in their role.
Baba says, "Those who have the responsibility to show the path to others should be of superlative character with the most refined conduct...Persons who teach such well-regulated behaviour to others by their own conduct are called ácáryas." (Ananda Vacanamrtam, Part 31)
So when one of our avadhutas calls an innocent margii "a dog" when that margii has simply raised an ideological issue, then that expression undermines their role as an acarya. Baba Himself has furthermore given this below conduct rule explicitly for our workers.
Baba says, "You should always think that you are to see the Cosmic brotherhood, so your voice should be as sweet as honey..." (Avadhuta Conduct Rules, Pt #8 of Fourteen Points)
Indeed it is unfortunate, because that avadhuta has dedicated his life for a high ideal yet has veered off course by calling that margii "a dog". That is the tragedy. Nobody likes to see anyone fall in this way.
WHY PEOPLE GET REACTED: FROGS IN A WELL
Here below Baba Himself points out why some get so reacted and resort to name calling.
Baba says, "You all know, where reasoning fails, vilification becomes the sole stock-in-trade. When you hear abuses from these frogs-in-the-well, you can take for granted that the grey matter in their frenzied brains have no functional residues left and that they have come to you only to convince you of their helpless and fey condition." (Subhasita Samgraha, part 3)
Baba's above teaching is that when anyone resorts to name calling it means they suffer from a lack of logic, reasoning and rationality. With no other recourse - i.e. devoid of any substantive reply - someone calls another "a dog" etc. That is Baba's prescribed teaching.
MUST FOLLOW DHARMA & NOT GET PERTURBED
In this below shloka, Baba guides us that those who are propogating AM ideology should not get swayed by public opinion or name calling, just we should follow the path of dharma and continue to serve Him.
Nindantu niitinipuńáh yadi vá stuvantu
Baba says, "“Let those well-versed in ethics criticize me or praise me, as they so desire..It makes little difference to me. Wise people will never withdraw from the path of ideology, the path which they accept as their ideal.”" (Namami Krsna Sundaram, Disc: 2)
Here again Baba guides us that those propagating His teachings should not be concerned about praise and censure.
Baba says, "“If I am too concerned with those who praise or censure me, I will not find time to do my real work. As I have come to this world only for a short period, my only concern should be to keep on doing the duty the Lord has assigned to me. And while doing this allotted duty, I should remember that I belong to Parama Puruśa. I have come from Him, and I will have to return to Him – and to do that, I must complete my allotted duty.”" (Subhasita Samgraha-12)
Next, Baba guides us that not to be frightened when propagating AM ideology.
Baba says, "In a jungle the number of tigers and lions is always few; the jackals far outnumber them. Yet in the jungle the tigers and lions reign supreme, not the jackals. The jackals are sure to howl, that is their nature; but the tigers and lions will not be frightened." (Ananda Vacanamrtam-6)
Finally in this last Hindi poem, Baba again reminds us not to be reacted by the belittling remarks of others while doing AM pracara. Only we are to follow dharma and serve society.
Hathi chale bazar, kutta bhonke hazar
When an elephant walks through the market, dogs start barking upon seeing the elephant, but the elephant remains unperturbed.
Sadhun ke durbhav nahin yadi ninde sansar
Even If the world abuses them, sadhus do not feel animosity or malice towards anyone, they go on serving all.
This is Baba's teaching which is published in so many Hindi discourses. And this same theme is expressed in international literature as well.
"The dog barks but the elephant moves on." (J.L Kipling)
Baba's overall teaching is that we should remain fearless and unaffected by dogmatic naysayers and name callers and continue to abide by the dictates of dharma.
In contrast, in the face of dogmatic opposition, shy and cowardly people run away or give up the pracara work. But we are to stand firm. Then and only then can we wipe out existing dogmas.
And till now this is the way things have gone in AM. When margiis were attacked for opposing the caste system etc, then those margiis and Dadas stood firm, and today we see how the caste system is on its last legs, crumbling before our very eyes. Time proves that those following dharma always get victory.
So our duty is to go on serving others by propagating Baba's teachings. Our goal is to serve the society, not to receive praise per se. Just we are to please Baba and not focus on who is praising or abusing us.
SUMMARY
Here are some final thoughts on this entire topic of name calling, and then you - the reader - will have to finally decide if Dada's approach of calling a margii "a dog" was proper or not.
1. In our Ananda Marga, logic and reasoning are appreciated as are open, dignified and respectful discussions.
2. Those who dream of turning AM into a dogmatic religion try to hush others and close their mouth by name calling. It is most unfortunate if one finds themselves part of this crowd of repressing the voice of others.
3. We must be vigilant not to allow anyone to shut another innocent person's mouth.
4. We should take pity on any Dada who calls a margii "a dog". It is a shame that any avadhuta has gotten so far removed and distanced from Baba's teaching. Such avadhuta is showing his real colour by such a comment.
5. Those doing pracara should be aware of this following formula.
a) Suppose you are doing Ananda Marga dharma pracara in the neighborhood of a Christian church. If the public is not paying attention to you and attending the church as usual, then those priests and church officials will not do anything against you. However, if you are encouraging people to follow AM and give up church dogma - and the common people are getting interested and leaving the church, then those priests and church officials will certainly attack you. That is the rule.
b) In those pre 1990 days when AM was preaching the gospel of Prout and warning people about the ills of the Indian government and capitalism, then the public was intensely interested in what was being said. Many of their supporters joined the Marga and understood the hypocrisy of the government. On a daily basis thousands and thousands were joining our various movements. That is why those days, the governmental leaders like Mrs Indira Gandhi launched numerous offensives against AM and attacked us viciously. However since 1990, our Marga has been involved in infighting. Thousands and thousands of people are not joining AM. For this reason, the government is not attacking us or our policies.
c) In the past, margiis had a lot of trust and respect in senior Dadas - thinking them to be perfect and beyond reproach - so margiis were not questioning the veracity of the Ananda Vanii issue. Hence those at the helm did not feel threatened and continued to implement their fake Ananda Vaniis. However, these days, due to the group fight, the mass of margiis have seen the conduct and true color of some senior Dadas. So they have begun questioning things in the Marga - including the Fake Ananda Vanii issue. In response, those at the helm have raised an offensive against anyone questioning the validity of fake Ananda Vaniis.
6. Finally, we should decide: In this present circumstance of name calling, who is the real dog?
BABA'S BLESSING
Baba says, "Ananda Marga is fighting for satya (absolute truth) and unless and until we get total victory in both individual and collective life we must not stop the struggle. Compromising with injustice during battle is asatya [untruth]. Achieving only seventy-five percent satya and twenty-five percent asatya is no victory. Quinine suppresses the symptoms of malaria, while the disease still remains in the blood. But the disease must be destroyed. Therefore, until you banish asatya you shall not stop your battle." (Ananda Vacanamrtam-31)
Namaskar,
Nagendra
Note 1: WHAT SOME FORUMS ARE LIKE
It is unfortunate that in some of our Marga forums, run by sincere Margiis, open and free debate is not invited. Instead a repressive, closed-door atmosphere is created - like a dark closet. That mentality only invites dogma into our Ananda Marga. If you want more information about this please write me. Such networks are harming their own cause as their own actions undermine their purpose.
Note 2: DADA THE GREAT
In his below cited email, you will see that Dada Yogakshemananda calls himself: Yogakshemananda Mahata, or 'Yogakshemananda The Great', as mahata means the great one etc.
So indeed it was Dada Yogakshemananda who called the margii "a dog" - and now we should all think: Really this Dada is great like he claims or is he like a dog.
On Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 8:35 PM, Yogakshemananda Mahata
Namaskar, Is there any different between any Dog and you?...You are a Dog in human form always you bark and bark... Dada Yogakshemananda
***************************************
Why Red Dress
Baba says, "Ta'n'd'ava is a heroic dance, showing the fight between life and death. The knife represents life, represents your vital stamina, and the skull represents the death that wants to destroy you. You are fighting against death with your weapon, be it a knife or a trishula (trident). And as per the rule, during the day, if one so desires, one may use a live snake in place of the skull; and at night one may use a fire masha'la [torch] or a d'amaru [small drum]. This is the rule. So ta'n'd'ava represents the eternal fight, the fight for survival, the fight to maintain existence, the fight to establish oneself as a man in this world."
Note 1: By Baba's above guideline we can outline the system for doing Tandava like this. During daytime in the left hand the tandava dancer may hold either (1) a skull, or (2) a live snake. And when doing tandava during the nighttime then in the left hand the dancer can hold either (3) a fire torch or (4) a d'amaru, which is a small, one liter size, hand-held, double-sided drum that has a string and two knots attached which twist around and create a beautiful sound when they strike against either face of the drum. Lord Shiva was using one of these.
So the point is that during tandava, depending on the time of day etc, any one of these four items (skull, live snake, fire torch, or d'amaru) are held in the dancer's left hand. And all four items symbolize the force of death and destruction.
Then in the dancer's right hand he will hold a dagger or a trishula (trident). In AM, a dagger is a knife where both edges of the knife are perfectly straight and angle towards each other to create a distinct point at the end. So a dagger is a pin-pointed, dual-edged knife; thus not just any ordinary type of knife is a dagger. And the second option for the right hand is the trishul (trident). This is similar to the western "pitch-fork". It is a three pronged, pointed iron tool attached onto a bamboo handle of variable length from 3 to 6 feet long.
Note 2: By Baba's grace I was also present at that special darshan on 20 April 1979 in Kolkata where Baba revealed the secret why tandava dancers wear a red-coloured outfit. Because in AM it is a commonly known fact that tandava dancers always wear that unique read uniform when dancing. Everyone who attended DMC, DMS, or any of Baba's darshans saw this thing. And on that special day in April '79 Baba explained that red is the color of rajoguna (the mutative factor) and that by wearing red the tandava dancers are expressing the idea that they are above the mutative factor. It is a representation that they are not controlled by rajoguna. Rather they are established in the sattvaguna (sentient sphere), by Baba's grace. So the red uniform has this unique meaning which Baba Himself beautifully described in His darshan of 20 April 1979.
Note 3: Those doing kapalik sadhana also use a red mark on their forehead when practicing this meditation. And the meaning behind that red mark is the same as tandava. Namely read mark signifies that the kapalika is above the mutative sphere of life-- above rajoguna.
***************************************
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 2010 05:45:17 -0000
From: NJK Majumdar
Subject: Name Calling
Baba
"Ke go tumi ele man ma'ta'te manorathe..." (PS 412)
Purport:
O' Divine Entity, by Your grace on this auspicious morning You have come and stirred my consciousness. You have come on a mental chariot and divinely intoxicated my mind. You are so gracious, please tell me Who You are. O' Gracious One, please grace me by revealing Yourself fully.
O' Divine One, You have come moving along the path of effulgence. You have taken away everyone's unit feelings and removed their personal desire. You satiated their heart and mind by pouring Your infinite cosmic bliss.
O' Baba, You have reached me by moving long the path of melody and tune. Baba, by Your grace You have taken away everyone's unit rhythm and infused everyone by pouring Your divine cadence. You have come to sing the divine song to everyone and satiate their heart.
Baba, with Your divine song You have inundated the entire universe; You are ever-gracious...
== NAME CALLING ==
Namaskar,
Just the other day one margii raised an ideological point for review and discussion. In response, one Dada abused that margii by calling him "a dog".
Now it is for you to decide if this was proper or not.
WHAT IS AT STAKE
In our Ananda Marga, free and open debates and healthy discussions are wholly embraced. That is Baba's explicit teaching. In so many discourses Baba has put forth this idea.
Baba says, “Different theories and doctrines with their numerous interpretations and connotations should be developed. No one should object to that, because intellectual clash and cohesion cause the human intellect to progress. Why should we keep all the doors of the human intellect closed?”. (Human Society Is One and Indivisible – 3)
Baba says,"When people's ideas are so fixed that they will not entertain any discussion or argument it is called “fanaticism”...In one sense they are worse than animals, because animals do not harbour any communal feeling." (Prout Nutshell, Part 21)
Baba points out that only communities plagued by dogma - like the stagnant religions and communism etc - do not allow open discussions.
Baba says, "What is dogma? Where there is no logic, where there is no support of intellectuality, where there is no debate and free discussion, but there is only a severe imposition forcing people to accept something, there is dogma." (A Few Problems Solved-5)
Thus when one avadhuta has called one margii "a dog" for raising a point of philosophical inquiry, then we all have to think what direction things are headed.
Are we going to allow our AM society to become like the dogmatic religions where logic and reasoning is prohibited and one must blindly follow the ruling priests, lest one risk being excommunicated or verbally assaulted.
RESPECTFUL DISCUSSION
Baba's expressed policy is that any and all philosophical discussion is welcomed in our Marga - the only stipulation is that one's tone should be "respectful" towards others. That is Baba's explicit guideline.
Baba says, "I am not saying that one should accept whatever people say, but surely non-acceptance and intolerance are not the same. Why is there a mania for refuting the views of others anyway? If necessary, different views can be compared and presented in philosophical books. The philosophical and psychological loopholes in an argument may be pointed out without being disrespectful. But is the attempt to insult others indicative of magnanimity?" (HS-1; i.e. Human Society - 1, "Moralism")
Hence Baba's teaching is that our philosophical discussions should be dignified. We may or may not agree with the next person, but our language, manner and choice of words should be civilised - neither lowly nor disrespectful. That is Baba's above teaching.
Unfortunately, the avadhuta of Ananda Marga who called that margii "a dog" swerved from Baba's guideline - either he did this knowingly or unknowingly. In either case it is a shame as we all wish to see our avadhutas successful in their role.
Baba says, "Those who have the responsibility to show the path to others should be of superlative character with the most refined conduct...Persons who teach such well-regulated behaviour to others by their own conduct are called ácáryas." (Ananda Vacanamrtam, Part 31)
So when one of our avadhutas calls an innocent margii "a dog" when that margii has simply raised an ideological issue, then that expression undermines their role as an acarya. Baba Himself has furthermore given this below conduct rule explicitly for our workers.
Baba says, "You should always think that you are to see the Cosmic brotherhood, so your voice should be as sweet as honey..." (Avadhuta Conduct Rules, Pt #8 of Fourteen Points)
Indeed it is unfortunate, because that avadhuta has dedicated his life for a high ideal yet has veered off course by calling that margii "a dog". That is the tragedy. Nobody likes to see anyone fall in this way.
WHY PEOPLE GET REACTED: FROGS IN A WELL
Here below Baba Himself points out why some get so reacted and resort to name calling.
Baba says, "You all know, where reasoning fails, vilification becomes the sole stock-in-trade. When you hear abuses from these frogs-in-the-well, you can take for granted that the grey matter in their frenzied brains have no functional residues left and that they have come to you only to convince you of their helpless and fey condition." (Subhasita Samgraha, part 3)
Baba's above teaching is that when anyone resorts to name calling it means they suffer from a lack of logic, reasoning and rationality. With no other recourse - i.e. devoid of any substantive reply - someone calls another "a dog" etc. That is Baba's prescribed teaching.
MUST FOLLOW DHARMA & NOT GET PERTURBED
In this below shloka, Baba guides us that those who are propogating AM ideology should not get swayed by public opinion or name calling, just we should follow the path of dharma and continue to serve Him.
Nindantu niitinipuńáh yadi vá stuvantu
Baba says, "“Let those well-versed in ethics criticize me or praise me, as they so desire..It makes little difference to me. Wise people will never withdraw from the path of ideology, the path which they accept as their ideal.”" (Namami Krsna Sundaram, Disc: 2)
Here again Baba guides us that those propagating His teachings should not be concerned about praise and censure.
Baba says, "“If I am too concerned with those who praise or censure me, I will not find time to do my real work. As I have come to this world only for a short period, my only concern should be to keep on doing the duty the Lord has assigned to me. And while doing this allotted duty, I should remember that I belong to Parama Puruśa. I have come from Him, and I will have to return to Him – and to do that, I must complete my allotted duty.”" (Subhasita Samgraha-12)
Next, Baba guides us that not to be frightened when propagating AM ideology.
Baba says, "In a jungle the number of tigers and lions is always few; the jackals far outnumber them. Yet in the jungle the tigers and lions reign supreme, not the jackals. The jackals are sure to howl, that is their nature; but the tigers and lions will not be frightened." (Ananda Vacanamrtam-6)
Finally in this last Hindi poem, Baba again reminds us not to be reacted by the belittling remarks of others while doing AM pracara. Only we are to follow dharma and serve society.
Hathi chale bazar, kutta bhonke hazar
When an elephant walks through the market, dogs start barking upon seeing the elephant, but the elephant remains unperturbed.
Sadhun ke durbhav nahin yadi ninde sansar
Even If the world abuses them, sadhus do not feel animosity or malice towards anyone, they go on serving all.
This is Baba's teaching which is published in so many Hindi discourses. And this same theme is expressed in international literature as well.
"The dog barks but the elephant moves on." (J.L Kipling)
Baba's overall teaching is that we should remain fearless and unaffected by dogmatic naysayers and name callers and continue to abide by the dictates of dharma.
In contrast, in the face of dogmatic opposition, shy and cowardly people run away or give up the pracara work. But we are to stand firm. Then and only then can we wipe out existing dogmas.
And till now this is the way things have gone in AM. When margiis were attacked for opposing the caste system etc, then those margiis and Dadas stood firm, and today we see how the caste system is on its last legs, crumbling before our very eyes. Time proves that those following dharma always get victory.
So our duty is to go on serving others by propagating Baba's teachings. Our goal is to serve the society, not to receive praise per se. Just we are to please Baba and not focus on who is praising or abusing us.
SUMMARY
Here are some final thoughts on this entire topic of name calling, and then you - the reader - will have to finally decide if Dada's approach of calling a margii "a dog" was proper or not.
1. In our Ananda Marga, logic and reasoning are appreciated as are open, dignified and respectful discussions.
2. Those who dream of turning AM into a dogmatic religion try to hush others and close their mouth by name calling. It is most unfortunate if one finds themselves part of this crowd of repressing the voice of others.
3. We must be vigilant not to allow anyone to shut another innocent person's mouth.
4. We should take pity on any Dada who calls a margii "a dog". It is a shame that any avadhuta has gotten so far removed and distanced from Baba's teaching. Such avadhuta is showing his real colour by such a comment.
5. Those doing pracara should be aware of this following formula.
a) Suppose you are doing Ananda Marga dharma pracara in the neighborhood of a Christian church. If the public is not paying attention to you and attending the church as usual, then those priests and church officials will not do anything against you. However, if you are encouraging people to follow AM and give up church dogma - and the common people are getting interested and leaving the church, then those priests and church officials will certainly attack you. That is the rule.
b) In those pre 1990 days when AM was preaching the gospel of Prout and warning people about the ills of the Indian government and capitalism, then the public was intensely interested in what was being said. Many of their supporters joined the Marga and understood the hypocrisy of the government. On a daily basis thousands and thousands were joining our various movements. That is why those days, the governmental leaders like Mrs Indira Gandhi launched numerous offensives against AM and attacked us viciously. However since 1990, our Marga has been involved in infighting. Thousands and thousands of people are not joining AM. For this reason, the government is not attacking us or our policies.
c) In the past, margiis had a lot of trust and respect in senior Dadas - thinking them to be perfect and beyond reproach - so margiis were not questioning the veracity of the Ananda Vanii issue. Hence those at the helm did not feel threatened and continued to implement their fake Ananda Vaniis. However, these days, due to the group fight, the mass of margiis have seen the conduct and true color of some senior Dadas. So they have begun questioning things in the Marga - including the Fake Ananda Vanii issue. In response, those at the helm have raised an offensive against anyone questioning the validity of fake Ananda Vaniis.
6. Finally, we should decide: In this present circumstance of name calling, who is the real dog?
BABA'S BLESSING
Baba says, "Ananda Marga is fighting for satya (absolute truth) and unless and until we get total victory in both individual and collective life we must not stop the struggle. Compromising with injustice during battle is asatya [untruth]. Achieving only seventy-five percent satya and twenty-five percent asatya is no victory. Quinine suppresses the symptoms of malaria, while the disease still remains in the blood. But the disease must be destroyed. Therefore, until you banish asatya you shall not stop your battle." (Ananda Vacanamrtam-31)
Namaskar,
Nagendra
Note 1: WHAT SOME FORUMS ARE LIKE
It is unfortunate that in some of our Marga forums, run by sincere Margiis, open and free debate is not invited. Instead a repressive, closed-door atmosphere is created - like a dark closet. That mentality only invites dogma into our Ananda Marga. If you want more information about this please write me. Such networks are harming their own cause as their own actions undermine their purpose.
Note 2: DADA THE GREAT
In his below cited email, you will see that Dada Yogakshemananda calls himself: Yogakshemananda Mahata, or 'Yogakshemananda The Great', as mahata means the great one etc.
So indeed it was Dada Yogakshemananda who called the margii "a dog" - and now we should all think: Really this Dada is great like he claims or is he like a dog.
On Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 8:35 PM, Yogakshemananda Mahata
Namaskar, Is there any different between any Dog and you?...You are a Dog in human form always you bark and bark... Dada Yogakshemananda
***************************************
Why Red Dress
Baba says, "Ta'n'd'ava is a heroic dance, showing the fight between life and death. The knife represents life, represents your vital stamina, and the skull represents the death that wants to destroy you. You are fighting against death with your weapon, be it a knife or a trishula (trident). And as per the rule, during the day, if one so desires, one may use a live snake in place of the skull; and at night one may use a fire masha'la [torch] or a d'amaru [small drum]. This is the rule. So ta'n'd'ava represents the eternal fight, the fight for survival, the fight to maintain existence, the fight to establish oneself as a man in this world."
Note 1: By Baba's above guideline we can outline the system for doing Tandava like this. During daytime in the left hand the tandava dancer may hold either (1) a skull, or (2) a live snake. And when doing tandava during the nighttime then in the left hand the dancer can hold either (3) a fire torch or (4) a d'amaru, which is a small, one liter size, hand-held, double-sided drum that has a string and two knots attached which twist around and create a beautiful sound when they strike against either face of the drum. Lord Shiva was using one of these.
So the point is that during tandava, depending on the time of day etc, any one of these four items (skull, live snake, fire torch, or d'amaru) are held in the dancer's left hand. And all four items symbolize the force of death and destruction.
Then in the dancer's right hand he will hold a dagger or a trishula (trident). In AM, a dagger is a knife where both edges of the knife are perfectly straight and angle towards each other to create a distinct point at the end. So a dagger is a pin-pointed, dual-edged knife; thus not just any ordinary type of knife is a dagger. And the second option for the right hand is the trishul (trident). This is similar to the western "pitch-fork". It is a three pronged, pointed iron tool attached onto a bamboo handle of variable length from 3 to 6 feet long.
Note 2: By Baba's grace I was also present at that special darshan on 20 April 1979 in Kolkata where Baba revealed the secret why tandava dancers wear a red-coloured outfit. Because in AM it is a commonly known fact that tandava dancers always wear that unique read uniform when dancing. Everyone who attended DMC, DMS, or any of Baba's darshans saw this thing. And on that special day in April '79 Baba explained that red is the color of rajoguna (the mutative factor) and that by wearing red the tandava dancers are expressing the idea that they are above the mutative factor. It is a representation that they are not controlled by rajoguna. Rather they are established in the sattvaguna (sentient sphere), by Baba's grace. So the red uniform has this unique meaning which Baba Himself beautifully described in His darshan of 20 April 1979.
Note 3: Those doing kapalik sadhana also use a red mark on their forehead when practicing this meditation. And the meaning behind that red mark is the same as tandava. Namely read mark signifies that the kapalika is above the mutative sphere of life-- above rajoguna.
***************************************
