To: AM-GLOBAL
From:
Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2011 22:38:23 -0000
Subject: Baba's Plan: Key Female Issue...
Baba
Namaskar,
Here is one beautiful memory many others may also recall. It is related with our most beloved Sadguru Baba and how He has infused the needed dynamism to build up a society based on dharma.
All are aware that Baba used to live in Patna. During the time of His residence there, various types of Prout organisations were made active with the inspiration of His sweet will whereby He would encourage, prod and lovingly scold us into action. This was all going on just after His Jail period.
That time, under His guidance, the Proutist federations like UPSF, UPYF, UPLF, UPFF, UPIF became quite active. And by His grace the moment came to activate our Didis' side. As we know we have the GP Department.
BABA'S SPECIAL PLAN
Baba gave one special program that was really unique. The plan was that sisters should protest against the exploitation of females. And the creative part of the program was that the Didis / sisters should organise one big procession. And that was exactly what was done. So many margii sisters and Didis made one huge public march to uphold the dignity of women.
And it was a grand success. It was a consciousness raising event where countless people became active on the issue. Some youths were even holding sticks in their hands and tearing away crude advertisements by the roadside which had negative pictures of females. All in all many good things came in result. And when the report of the procession was given to Baba then He became very happy.
Some special details about this program I will also recount further down in this email. But that time the whole event was held because of the on-going exploitation against women.
In our lives we regularly come across different media such as the internet, newspapers, magazines, as well as posters and bill boards on the roadside which depict females in crude way. People are making big, big banners and posters in this way to sell their articles and wares.
The crude depticion of women is used when advertising for many products. Surely we all may have seen such things. Around the globe irrespective of any country, male domination is prevalent. Of course for males, the opposite sex is females. And it is a basic yet crude instinct to be attracted to the opposite sex, especially if one's mind is impure. Because of this male domination, advertisers use females to attract males and thereby sell their products.
Most likely, if society was dominated by females, then crude business people would have painted males' photos and they might have used males to attract females to sell their products. And thus empty the pocket of female customers.
But now things are opposite. Advertisements are based on the exploitation of females because of the currently male dominated society. The motivation is to attract males for purchasing their goods by showing the picture of elaborately decorated and exposed females. This very cunning and devious type of exploitation is going on. Some people are aware but most are oblivious.
Now, as told above, I am coming back to the story of what occurred during that grand procession in Patna as per Baba's guideline.
We know our AM and Prout fight against all sorts of exploitation. So that time in Patna the procession was organised to raise the awareness of the public against the exploitation of females. And as is seen all around, female exploitation is going on by businessmen by placing females photos in their advertisements in 'negative way'.
That grand procession created a huge stir. Young sister youths and students had buckets of black paint and so many brushes. And wherever they saw negative pictures of females, they were just destroying those negative advertisements with the black paint. All along the city streets this was going on. Both on the main road and also on so many side avenues also. In that was this procession had a huge effect. The news was published in the newspapers and the common mass appreciated the work done by our procession. Plus, Baba was extremely pleased.
The effect was very great: For some time thereafter many negative advertisements were reduced and or eliminated completely. So that was one point of success. Of course, though, to completely wipe out any such exploitation then indeed constant hammering is needed. So this is our ongoing work of both AM and Prout.
Previously in our programs, we were raising the slogans and opposing the negative societal trends. We were bringing the banner and protesting that females should not be negatively portrayed in advertisements. Means our Marga was upholding Baba's dharmic guideline that as Proutists and Margiis our duty is to fight against female exploitation and uphold the dignity of women.
So we should remember that Baba has guided us to build up all the sectors of society and, in that same spirit, He has warned us to be careful not to sacrifice the sanctity of women.
Here are a few of the many teachings of Baba that lead in that direction.
Baba says, "Men...should always endeavor to save the prestige of women. As the mothers of men, women can claim this much as a right." (CC, '95, pt 1, p.49)
Baba says, "Special attention should be paid to the comforts of women during festivals, at spiritual conferences, and on other occasions." (Caryacarya)
And here Baba emphasizes the need to elevate and safeguard women's place in society thus ensuring a bright future of humanity.
Baba says, "We stand to create a powerful, dynamic and upsurging social consciousness, especially among women, so that they are inspired to rise, abolish dogma and annihilate all symbols of slavery, and usher in a new era of coordinated cooperation and glorious achievement." (PNS-13, p.49)
But now what is going on in some of our AM public programs is against the word and spirit of Baba's mandates. A few people are making public programs these days that are moving in their own direction, against the dignity of women. Please refer to the notes further down.
These following words of Baba stand as great inspiration for one and all.
Baba says, "The significance of life does not lie only in living. Animals also live. But life to us means something more -- rather something much more. To us life means living for a great cause." (AFPS-9)
Namaskar,
Parashram
Since 1990 and up till today, the on-going negative trend by leading groups in their public Prabhat Samgiita & RAWA programs is quite apparent and, on the whole, rather degrading. These days they are using various alluring female dancers who are in the peak age of their physical attraction-- i.e. 20-25 years old. So by seeing the body, look, and dress of the female dancers it is clear how they are being negatively projected as tools of allurement. Just so that these group draw in the public and thus sell their cassettes and gain more profit, and / or attract crowds at the RAWA programs.
Unfortunately these programs are going on all around on our very own platform of Prabhat Samgiita & RAWA programs. They have shockingly become the scene of female exploitation. A few are simple and they may not understand how they get exploited. So this is one group's special tactic to use those 22 year old alluring girls to stockpile profits for their Prabhat Samgiita sales. And this has been going on in DMS and programs all along since 1990. So this is the common malady. And recently another group has been continuing this tragic trend.
At the DMS of 2011 January & June they were putting the women of Delhi sector up for show, the director also included females from Brazil who were 20+ years of age, girls from Taiwan who were 14+ years of age and women from Bengal who were 30 years of age.
So there was a wide array of women on display for this "cultural program" at DMS. And all were dancing and swinging on that stage on stage in a way that was not befitting of our dharmic code.
That is why many people say that director of these programs - Mrinal Pathak of Ranchi - is just a perverted man doing injustice to the status of females and going agains the dharmic cause of the dignity of women. Because despite the many complaints about such degrading displays recently with our youths and young ladies, he does this again and again to our RAWA cultural programs. Many have therefore concludes that Mr Pathak has suffers from a weakness of mind, i.e. perversion. Worst of all, he goads our youths in the wrong direction on the public stage no less, as if this is our stand in AM.
No Ananda Margii wants to degenerate themselves by attending such a "cultural program". But those at DMS and RAWA programs are often forced to watch. Many of our younger Dadas complain about this. As a new acarya they want to support all programs at DMS, yet this type of pseudo-cultural program seriously compromises their position and discipline as it contravenes Baba's conduct rules.
Of course we know that this was never Baba's approach. And I myself remember when I personally attended the Shravanii Purnima program in 1990 then that time just a young girl of 5 or 6 years of age was dancing Prabhat Samgiita. And that was Baba's strict rule and we all witnessed this. That only those pre-adolescent girls should be on the public stage dancing
Prabhat Samgiita.
But now something completely different is going on. People should understand that Prabhat Samgiita should not be used to satisfy the crude instincts of certain negative people. And women of any age should also not get exploited on any stage - let alone that of our Ananda Marga. But I have full faith that by our collective effort we will not allow such negative affairs to go on much longer.
The Universal Proutist Federations known as UPSF, UPYF, UPLF, UPFF, and UPIF accordingly refer to the (a) Student, (b) Youth, (c) Laborers, (d) Farmers, and (e) Intellectuals, Universal Proutist Federations.
"Ei anurodh prabhu tava caran'e, manake a'ma'r shubh pathe calio..." (P.S. 2098)
Purport:
Baba, I place this request at Your lotus feet: Please guide me and goad my mind towards the path of welfare and divinity. If ever I am surrounded by hopelessness, then please light my heart with the lamp of hope and lead me unto the path of effulgence.
Baba, I ask for your Your divine grace: Do not allow fear, shyness, hatred, and all these pashas (bondages) and ripus (enemies) to block the path of my forward movement towards You.
Baba, please grace me with Your thundering voice of the samvit shakti-- "awareness"*. If ever my mind gets negatively affected with attachment of materialism and indulges in crude worldly enjoyments, then that time please awaken the tender human qualities which are sleeping in my heart.
When in my heart, my human feelings become drowsy and sleepy, that time my mind degenerates and I get attached towards those mundane, worldly things. And I get involved and start indulging in those crude affairs. So that time, please grace me and awaken my human feelings.
Baba, please give me strength so I can march ahead on Your path, in a very straight direct way. Make it so that I will never lose the track; make it so taht I wiol never fall onto that negative path. Baba, please remain along with me, all the time. Always keeping Yourself as my guide on this journey of forward movement.
Baba at Your lotus feet, this much request I have: Please lead me from the darkness to the effulgence...
* Samvit = "The popular meaning of sam'vit shakti is "awareness" - awakening from slumber. With the help of sam'vit shakti, unit beings become aware of their existence. They realise that they are the crown of creation, the most evolved beings whose goal is to attain the supreme rank and dispel the darkness of the avaran'ii shakti of avidyamaya." (Baba)
From:
Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2011 22:38:23 -0000
Subject: Baba's Plan: Key Female Issue...
Baba
BABA'S PLAN: KEY FEMALE ISSUE -
START ONE GRAND PROCESSION
START ONE GRAND PROCESSION
Note: This entire letter exemplifies our key stand
against the exploitation of women. This is critical in the dharmic fight
against today's pseudo-culture. We should all take aim on this issue.
Namaskar,
Here is one beautiful memory many others may also recall. It is related with our most beloved Sadguru Baba and how He has infused the needed dynamism to build up a society based on dharma.
THOSE DAYS IN PATNA...
All are aware that Baba used to live in Patna. During the time of His residence there, various types of Prout organisations were made active with the inspiration of His sweet will whereby He would encourage, prod and lovingly scold us into action. This was all going on just after His Jail period.
That time, under His guidance, the Proutist federations like UPSF, UPYF, UPLF, UPFF, UPIF became quite active. And by His grace the moment came to activate our Didis' side. As we know we have the GP Department.
BABA'S SPECIAL PLAN
Baba gave one special program that was really unique. The plan was that sisters should protest against the exploitation of females. And the creative part of the program was that the Didis / sisters should organise one big procession. And that was exactly what was done. So many margii sisters and Didis made one huge public march to uphold the dignity of women.
And it was a grand success. It was a consciousness raising event where countless people became active on the issue. Some youths were even holding sticks in their hands and tearing away crude advertisements by the roadside which had negative pictures of females. All in all many good things came in result. And when the report of the procession was given to Baba then He became very happy.
Some special details about this program I will also recount further down in this email. But that time the whole event was held because of the on-going exploitation against women.
HOW FEMALES ARE EXPLOITED IN TODAY'S DEGENERATED SOCIETY
In our lives we regularly come across different media such as the internet, newspapers, magazines, as well as posters and bill boards on the roadside which depict females in crude way. People are making big, big banners and posters in this way to sell their articles and wares.
The crude depticion of women is used when advertising for many products. Surely we all may have seen such things. Around the globe irrespective of any country, male domination is prevalent. Of course for males, the opposite sex is females. And it is a basic yet crude instinct to be attracted to the opposite sex, especially if one's mind is impure. Because of this male domination, advertisers use females to attract males and thereby sell their products.
Most likely, if society was dominated by females, then crude business people would have painted males' photos and they might have used males to attract females to sell their products. And thus empty the pocket of female customers.
But now things are opposite. Advertisements are based on the exploitation of females because of the currently male dominated society. The motivation is to attract males for purchasing their goods by showing the picture of elaborately decorated and exposed females. This very cunning and devious type of exploitation is going on. Some people are aware but most are oblivious.
...THE STORY OF BABA'S REVOLUTIONARY PLAN CONTINUES
Now, as told above, I am coming back to the story of what occurred during that grand procession in Patna as per Baba's guideline.
We know our AM and Prout fight against all sorts of exploitation. So that time in Patna the procession was organised to raise the awareness of the public against the exploitation of females. And as is seen all around, female exploitation is going on by businessmen by placing females photos in their advertisements in 'negative way'.
That grand procession created a huge stir. Young sister youths and students had buckets of black paint and so many brushes. And wherever they saw negative pictures of females, they were just destroying those negative advertisements with the black paint. All along the city streets this was going on. Both on the main road and also on so many side avenues also. In that was this procession had a huge effect. The news was published in the newspapers and the common mass appreciated the work done by our procession. Plus, Baba was extremely pleased.
VICTORY ACHIEVED
The effect was very great: For some time thereafter many negative advertisements were reduced and or eliminated completely. So that was one point of success. Of course, though, to completely wipe out any such exploitation then indeed constant hammering is needed. So this is our ongoing work of both AM and Prout.
Previously in our programs, we were raising the slogans and opposing the negative societal trends. We were bringing the banner and protesting that females should not be negatively portrayed in advertisements. Means our Marga was upholding Baba's dharmic guideline that as Proutists and Margiis our duty is to fight against female exploitation and uphold the dignity of women.
So we should remember that Baba has guided us to build up all the sectors of society and, in that same spirit, He has warned us to be careful not to sacrifice the sanctity of women.
A FEW OF BABA'S TEACHINGS ON THE DIGNITY OF WOMEN
Here are a few of the many teachings of Baba that lead in that direction.
Baba says, "Men...should always endeavor to save the prestige of women. As the mothers of men, women can claim this much as a right." (CC, '95, pt 1, p.49)
Baba says, "Special attention should be paid to the comforts of women during festivals, at spiritual conferences, and on other occasions." (Caryacarya)
And here Baba emphasizes the need to elevate and safeguard women's place in society thus ensuring a bright future of humanity.
Baba says, "We stand to create a powerful, dynamic and upsurging social consciousness, especially among women, so that they are inspired to rise, abolish dogma and annihilate all symbols of slavery, and usher in a new era of coordinated cooperation and glorious achievement." (PNS-13, p.49)
But now what is going on in some of our AM public programs is against the word and spirit of Baba's mandates. A few people are making public programs these days that are moving in their own direction, against the dignity of women. Please refer to the notes further down.
BABA'S BLESSING
These following words of Baba stand as great inspiration for one and all.
Baba says, "The significance of life does not lie only in living. Animals also live. But life to us means something more -- rather something much more. To us life means living for a great cause." (AFPS-9)
Namaskar,
Parashram
Note 1: HOW THEY ARE GOING AGAINST THE CODE
Since 1990 and up till today, the on-going negative trend by leading groups in their public Prabhat Samgiita & RAWA programs is quite apparent and, on the whole, rather degrading. These days they are using various alluring female dancers who are in the peak age of their physical attraction-- i.e. 20-25 years old. So by seeing the body, look, and dress of the female dancers it is clear how they are being negatively projected as tools of allurement. Just so that these group draw in the public and thus sell their cassettes and gain more profit, and / or attract crowds at the RAWA programs.
Unfortunately these programs are going on all around on our very own platform of Prabhat Samgiita & RAWA programs. They have shockingly become the scene of female exploitation. A few are simple and they may not understand how they get exploited. So this is one group's special tactic to use those 22 year old alluring girls to stockpile profits for their Prabhat Samgiita sales. And this has been going on in DMS and programs all along since 1990. So this is the common malady. And recently another group has been continuing this tragic trend.
At the DMS of 2011 January & June they were putting the women of Delhi sector up for show, the director also included females from Brazil who were 20+ years of age, girls from Taiwan who were 14+ years of age and women from Bengal who were 30 years of age.
So there was a wide array of women on display for this "cultural program" at DMS. And all were dancing and swinging on that stage on stage in a way that was not befitting of our dharmic code.
That is why many people say that director of these programs - Mrinal Pathak of Ranchi - is just a perverted man doing injustice to the status of females and going agains the dharmic cause of the dignity of women. Because despite the many complaints about such degrading displays recently with our youths and young ladies, he does this again and again to our RAWA cultural programs. Many have therefore concludes that Mr Pathak has suffers from a weakness of mind, i.e. perversion. Worst of all, he goads our youths in the wrong direction on the public stage no less, as if this is our stand in AM.
No Ananda Margii wants to degenerate themselves by attending such a "cultural program". But those at DMS and RAWA programs are often forced to watch. Many of our younger Dadas complain about this. As a new acarya they want to support all programs at DMS, yet this type of pseudo-cultural program seriously compromises their position and discipline as it contravenes Baba's conduct rules.
BABA'S DHARMIC APPROACH
Of course we know that this was never Baba's approach. And I myself remember when I personally attended the Shravanii Purnima program in 1990 then that time just a young girl of 5 or 6 years of age was dancing Prabhat Samgiita. And that was Baba's strict rule and we all witnessed this. That only those pre-adolescent girls should be on the public stage dancing
Prabhat Samgiita.
MORE ABOUT THE CURRENT SCENE
But now something completely different is going on. People should understand that Prabhat Samgiita should not be used to satisfy the crude instincts of certain negative people. And women of any age should also not get exploited on any stage - let alone that of our Ananda Marga. But I have full faith that by our collective effort we will not allow such negative affairs to go on much longer.
NOTE 2: ABOUT OUR PROUT FEDERATIONS
The Universal Proutist Federations known as UPSF, UPYF, UPLF, UPFF, and UPIF accordingly refer to the (a) Student, (b) Youth, (c) Laborers, (d) Farmers, and (e) Intellectuals, Universal Proutist Federations.
PRABHAT SAMGIITA
"Ei anurodh prabhu tava caran'e, manake a'ma'r shubh pathe calio..." (P.S. 2098)
Purport:
Baba, I place this request at Your lotus feet: Please guide me and goad my mind towards the path of welfare and divinity. If ever I am surrounded by hopelessness, then please light my heart with the lamp of hope and lead me unto the path of effulgence.
Baba, I ask for your Your divine grace: Do not allow fear, shyness, hatred, and all these pashas (bondages) and ripus (enemies) to block the path of my forward movement towards You.
Baba, please grace me with Your thundering voice of the samvit shakti-- "awareness"*. If ever my mind gets negatively affected with attachment of materialism and indulges in crude worldly enjoyments, then that time please awaken the tender human qualities which are sleeping in my heart.
When in my heart, my human feelings become drowsy and sleepy, that time my mind degenerates and I get attached towards those mundane, worldly things. And I get involved and start indulging in those crude affairs. So that time, please grace me and awaken my human feelings.
Baba, please give me strength so I can march ahead on Your path, in a very straight direct way. Make it so that I will never lose the track; make it so taht I wiol never fall onto that negative path. Baba, please remain along with me, all the time. Always keeping Yourself as my guide on this journey of forward movement.
Baba at Your lotus feet, this much request I have: Please lead me from the darkness to the effulgence...
* Samvit = "The popular meaning of sam'vit shakti is "awareness" - awakening from slumber. With the help of sam'vit shakti, unit beings become aware of their existence. They realise that they are the crown of creation, the most evolved beings whose goal is to attain the supreme rank and dispel the darkness of the avaran'ii shakti of avidyamaya." (Baba)
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Importance of Padma'sana
Baba says, "Padma'sana [lotus posture] is just like a lotus in full bloom. Just as the roots and stem of the lotus remain under the water and only the leaves and flowers float about it-- and although it is born in the mind it sustains its love for the stars-- in the same way people sitting in this lotus posture and remaining in the world, can keep their minds above their mundane environment. That is why on the path of sa'dhana' this posture has tremendous importance." (NSS, '85, p.241)
Importance of Padma'sana
Baba says, "Padma'sana [lotus posture] is just like a lotus in full bloom. Just as the roots and stem of the lotus remain under the water and only the leaves and flowers float about it-- and although it is born in the mind it sustains its love for the stars-- in the same way people sitting in this lotus posture and remaining in the world, can keep their minds above their mundane environment. That is why on the path of sa'dhana' this posture has tremendous importance." (NSS, '85, p.241)
******************************************
