Date: Sat 05 Nov 2011 22:03:39 -0500
To: am-global@earthlink.net
Subject: Your Blind "Liking"
From: CJ Phillips
Baba
"Toma're bha'labese toma're paoya'ra a'she..." (PS 766)
Purport:
Baba, in Your love and in the hope of getting You, I am ready to fight against hundreds of obstacles [1]. Baba, I love you so much; I am ready to do anything and everything to have You close. Singing Your song and looking towards the path of Your arrival, ensconced in Your ideation, my days and nights are passing. Baba, my time passes like this in waiting for Your arrival.
O' Divine Entity, You are not coming close - days are going by. Baba, I do not know whether You love me or not. I do not know if my longing for You is resonating in Your heart. But You must know, You are the quintessence of my life, the essence of essence. Because of that, nothing comes in my mind other than You [2]. O' my Lord, I salute You time and again [3].
In the three worlds, crude, subtle, and causal, You always remains ever-present [4] in an invisible way [5]. With Your divine attraction, You pull everyone [6] towards the spiritual realm. You always remain ever-present with everyone and everything. You never get tired; You never stop [7].
Baba, please be gracious and come before me...
NOTES FOR PRABHAT SAMGIITA #766:
[1] Fight Hundreds of Obstacles: When one first starts on the path of sadhana then there are so many external / worldly clashes and obstacles. Relatives and friends oppose what you are doing. Your whole lifestyle changes - including food etc - and your family members take issue with how you are living. As one progresses further along the path, obstacles come from within. Vrtiis, propensities, the sadripus and astapashas try to drag you down. There is a huge fight and if one meets defeat then their journey on the path is over. Such is the path of AM. That is why we see that if 100 people take initiation then 99 disappear; they get defeated along the way.
[2] When a sadhaka advances on the path of devotion and falls in love with Parama Purusa, then the bhakta thinks about Him always. Without even realising it, one is just thinking about Baba every moment. The mind naturally gravitates towards Him. That is dhruvasmrti (fixed or perfect memory). Then one's ista mantra is always being repeated in the mind and one does not waste time in idle gossip or extravaganza.
[3] This is the expression of surrender - the sadhaka is surrendering everything. Without surrender one cannot get Parama Purusa. When devotion reaches in the higher stages then it is very natural. As long as one's devotional feeling is lower, people think that they are something: Their unit ego is dominating. And when devotion is higher they yearn to give everything to Parama Purusa - to surrender at His lotus feet. This feeling is expressed in this song: O' Parama Purusa, let Thy will be done.
[4] The name Parama Purusa itself means that He resides in each and every iota of this universe.
[5] You are present invisibly: It is the liila of Parama Purusa that He does not like to be seen by others; He prefers to remain in hiding and do His work from behind the scenes. That way He goes on playing His liila. If He is visible then people will not leave Him alone. So He remains out of eyesight. He is there but people cannot see Him with their crude eyes. Why? Because the mind is filled with impurities. That is why people cannot see Him. On the other hand, those with extreme love for Him see Him everywhere. But because of the spell of avidya maya, ordinary persons cannot see Him. Only when the veil of maya is removed can one see that everything is nothing but Parama Purusa. To reach that stage one must do sadhana.
[6] In the cycle of creation, along the path of pratisaincara, everything moves slowly, slwoly toward the Cosmic Hub - because of the attraction to Parama Purusa. That is why we see that gradually matter gets transformed into plant life, and plants become animals, and animals become humans, and normal humans become elevated sadhakas, and finally that sadhaka becomes one with Parama Purusa. That is what is described in srsti cakra (cycle of creation). Srsti moves according to His attraction. That is what is described here.
[7] Srsti never stops because Parama Purusa is pulling all towards the Cosmic Nucleus. Lower beings become higher beings and they ultimately become one with Him. In this way the cycle of creation is constantly moving. It never comes to a halt. In pratisaincara, all move closer to Him. This happens non-stop. That is the proof that Parama Purusa never gets tired. Because His creation unfolds eternally and His energy and love are what keep it going.
Namaskar,
As the year draws to a close we should all reassess the direction in which our lives are moving. By His grace He has brought us onto the path of spirituality and we should be cent per cent sure we are keeping firm to His tenets and ideals.
In our lives, it is quite common - yet not always appropriate - to chase after things that we like. We actually associate that liking with who we are. We identify with that.
Baba says, "When you develop a fascination for a particular object or person your mind encircles it." (APH-6)
But those likings - house, spouse, money, food, computer, mp3 player, youtube video - are not who or what we really are. Yet we become totally attached to that and our mind takes that shape and form. And we chase after it with full effort.
This type of occurrence is not good for our human growth and development. Yet that is the way people's likings shape who they are and what they become. Most people's lives are totally dominated by such likings. It can happen to me, you, our friends, family members, and neighbors.
So we should be 100% careful.
Actually such material longings or likings are quite short-lived. You can see for yourself. Take a long back at the last ten years. Honestly evaluate those things that you wanted or liked and notice if you still want that today. We may have given up everything or worked very hard to get that - yet now today it is not even something we like.
Think about it: technology, cars, property, opposite sex, status, etc. Many times we acquire such things with full zeal and joy only to soon lose interest in them entirely. Either they become old, outdated or we realise that it is not what we thought. This is the way it goes.
Of course those things we liked as children such as toys, dolls, and all kinds of games and coloring books we no longer like. Yet at that time as kids we were crying to get those things only to change our mind minutes or hours later.
But the lives of adults following a materialistic approach is little different. With all their mental and emotional force they chase after things they like - they take huge loans to buy new things, prestige, hobbies, the opposite sex, friends, and so many other examples - and then after a short while after getting that thing they are no longer
enthralled with it. Some even chase after various types of music, food habits, and intellectual ideas. This is the common phenomenon. But ultimately that liking is blind and we become bored or tired with those things.
Why is that? Because as soon as their mind changes then their liking changes as well. That is the main principle at hand.
How to avoid such problems and difficulties. As sadhakas we should always use our vivek (discrimination). But even that becomes difficult to define.
Here is one key point to keep in mind:
If we think - I exist and I desire xyz - then one is going to run headlong after that fleeting desire. People think I exist and I want a red sports car or I exist and I want that opposite sex. If one just superficially leads their life in this way then they will never employ their sense of vivek. Rather they will constantly chase from one liking or desire to the next. Their desires will change with the winds and their life will be filled with torment and hell.
In contrast, if we think - I know I exist - then whatever we desire will be appropriate. Here the point is that phrase "I know I exist" is embedded with the innate knowledge that I am the child of Parama Purusa and He is watching me and I am to live a life for pleasing Him. This is the knowledge every sadhakas has.
When we live our lives according to this perspective then we will never rush after crude or temporary things. Then the whole emphasis of our life will be towards Baba and His teachings. At that point our liking becomes something permanent, not short-lived. Then we can say that we have vivek - not before.
So when are are not submerged in blindly liking some crude or mundane object then we will be awakened to a finer way of life based on ideology. In that case we will always be mentally balanced and not swayed by any blind liking or attachment.
Baba says, "Once you realize the truth, you may be on your guard so as not to overdo your expressions of liking or love for someone [or something]; and not to be antagonistic to a person [or object] not to your liking. In this way you can maintain your mental balance." (DKG)
By Baba's grace we should all be wary of this notion of blind liking. We should not chase after temporary things thinking that will give us long lasting satisfaction or that we are those things. That is not the way of the sadhaka. Baba has blessed us with a refined intellect and intuition and with that faculty we are to live focused on Him and AM ideology. Then our liking will be pure and we will achieve true peace in life.
Baba says, "That is why I say that you must bring about a revolutionary change in the flow of your judgment and thought, and see how, after overcoming your fascination with external colour, your mind becomes tinged with the His glorious colour. In Ananda Marga sadhana, the method of withdrawing the mind from degrading tendencies, and absorbing oneself in the colour of the Great, is called pratya'ha'ra yoga (the yoga of withdrawal) or varn'a'rghyada'na (the offering of colours). All people have a particular attraction for one or another object or activity and as soon as they become attracted to an object, then their minds become coloured with the colour of that object. You can withdraw your mind from the colour of that object and dye yourself in His colour by offering Him the captivating colour of the object that has attracted you: this is the real pratya'ha'ra yoga." (SS-3)
Namaskar,
Cinmay
This is a big topic. Everyone's lives are affected by this. Here is further reading for your review:
To: am-global@earthlink.net
Subject: Your Blind "Liking"
From: CJ Phillips
Baba
"Toma're bha'labese toma're paoya'ra a'she..." (PS 766)
Purport:
Baba, in Your love and in the hope of getting You, I am ready to fight against hundreds of obstacles [1]. Baba, I love you so much; I am ready to do anything and everything to have You close. Singing Your song and looking towards the path of Your arrival, ensconced in Your ideation, my days and nights are passing. Baba, my time passes like this in waiting for Your arrival.
O' Divine Entity, You are not coming close - days are going by. Baba, I do not know whether You love me or not. I do not know if my longing for You is resonating in Your heart. But You must know, You are the quintessence of my life, the essence of essence. Because of that, nothing comes in my mind other than You [2]. O' my Lord, I salute You time and again [3].
In the three worlds, crude, subtle, and causal, You always remains ever-present [4] in an invisible way [5]. With Your divine attraction, You pull everyone [6] towards the spiritual realm. You always remain ever-present with everyone and everything. You never get tired; You never stop [7].
Baba, please be gracious and come before me...
NOTES FOR PRABHAT SAMGIITA #766:
[1] Fight Hundreds of Obstacles: When one first starts on the path of sadhana then there are so many external / worldly clashes and obstacles. Relatives and friends oppose what you are doing. Your whole lifestyle changes - including food etc - and your family members take issue with how you are living. As one progresses further along the path, obstacles come from within. Vrtiis, propensities, the sadripus and astapashas try to drag you down. There is a huge fight and if one meets defeat then their journey on the path is over. Such is the path of AM. That is why we see that if 100 people take initiation then 99 disappear; they get defeated along the way.
[2] When a sadhaka advances on the path of devotion and falls in love with Parama Purusa, then the bhakta thinks about Him always. Without even realising it, one is just thinking about Baba every moment. The mind naturally gravitates towards Him. That is dhruvasmrti (fixed or perfect memory). Then one's ista mantra is always being repeated in the mind and one does not waste time in idle gossip or extravaganza.
[3] This is the expression of surrender - the sadhaka is surrendering everything. Without surrender one cannot get Parama Purusa. When devotion reaches in the higher stages then it is very natural. As long as one's devotional feeling is lower, people think that they are something: Their unit ego is dominating. And when devotion is higher they yearn to give everything to Parama Purusa - to surrender at His lotus feet. This feeling is expressed in this song: O' Parama Purusa, let Thy will be done.
[4] The name Parama Purusa itself means that He resides in each and every iota of this universe.
2- 13: Puruśadehe jagadábhásah
"Purport: All that is manifest and unmanifest in the world is embodied in the Bráhmiidehe [Cosmic Body]. No one and nothing is outside Brahma. The name “outsider” is a misnomer – a nonentity." (Ananda Sutram)
"Purport: All that is manifest and unmanifest in the world is embodied in the Bráhmiidehe [Cosmic Body]. No one and nothing is outside Brahma. The name “outsider” is a misnomer – a nonentity." (Ananda Sutram)
[5] You are present invisibly: It is the liila of Parama Purusa that He does not like to be seen by others; He prefers to remain in hiding and do His work from behind the scenes. That way He goes on playing His liila. If He is visible then people will not leave Him alone. So He remains out of eyesight. He is there but people cannot see Him with their crude eyes. Why? Because the mind is filled with impurities. That is why people cannot see Him. On the other hand, those with extreme love for Him see Him everywhere. But because of the spell of avidya maya, ordinary persons cannot see Him. Only when the veil of maya is removed can one see that everything is nothing but Parama Purusa. To reach that stage one must do sadhana.
[6] In the cycle of creation, along the path of pratisaincara, everything moves slowly, slwoly toward the Cosmic Hub - because of the attraction to Parama Purusa. That is why we see that gradually matter gets transformed into plant life, and plants become animals, and animals become humans, and normal humans become elevated sadhakas, and finally that sadhaka becomes one with Parama Purusa. That is what is described in srsti cakra (cycle of creation). Srsti moves according to His attraction. That is what is described here.
[7] Srsti never stops because Parama Purusa is pulling all towards the Cosmic Nucleus. Lower beings become higher beings and they ultimately become one with Him. In this way the cycle of creation is constantly moving. It never comes to a halt. In pratisaincara, all move closer to Him. This happens non-stop. That is the proof that Parama Purusa never gets tired. Because His creation unfolds eternally and His energy and love are what keep it going.
== YOUR BLIND "LIKING" ==
Namaskar,
As the year draws to a close we should all reassess the direction in which our lives are moving. By His grace He has brought us onto the path of spirituality and we should be cent per cent sure we are keeping firm to His tenets and ideals.
THE MAIN PROBLEM
In our lives, it is quite common - yet not always appropriate - to chase after things that we like. We actually associate that liking with who we are. We identify with that.
Baba says, "When you develop a fascination for a particular object or person your mind encircles it." (APH-6)
But those likings - house, spouse, money, food, computer, mp3 player, youtube video - are not who or what we really are. Yet we become totally attached to that and our mind takes that shape and form. And we chase after it with full effort.
This type of occurrence is not good for our human growth and development. Yet that is the way people's likings shape who they are and what they become. Most people's lives are totally dominated by such likings. It can happen to me, you, our friends, family members, and neighbors.
So we should be 100% careful.
LIKING CHANGES - SEE FOR YOURSELF
Actually such material longings or likings are quite short-lived. You can see for yourself. Take a long back at the last ten years. Honestly evaluate those things that you wanted or liked and notice if you still want that today. We may have given up everything or worked very hard to get that - yet now today it is not even something we like.
Think about it: technology, cars, property, opposite sex, status, etc. Many times we acquire such things with full zeal and joy only to soon lose interest in them entirely. Either they become old, outdated or we realise that it is not what we thought. This is the way it goes.
Of course those things we liked as children such as toys, dolls, and all kinds of games and coloring books we no longer like. Yet at that time as kids we were crying to get those things only to change our mind minutes or hours later.
But the lives of adults following a materialistic approach is little different. With all their mental and emotional force they chase after things they like - they take huge loans to buy new things, prestige, hobbies, the opposite sex, friends, and so many other examples - and then after a short while after getting that thing they are no longer
enthralled with it. Some even chase after various types of music, food habits, and intellectual ideas. This is the common phenomenon. But ultimately that liking is blind and we become bored or tired with those things.
Why is that? Because as soon as their mind changes then their liking changes as well. That is the main principle at hand.
WHAT IS VIVEK
How to avoid such problems and difficulties. As sadhakas we should always use our vivek (discrimination). But even that becomes difficult to define.
Here is one key point to keep in mind:
If we think - I exist and I desire xyz - then one is going to run headlong after that fleeting desire. People think I exist and I want a red sports car or I exist and I want that opposite sex. If one just superficially leads their life in this way then they will never employ their sense of vivek. Rather they will constantly chase from one liking or desire to the next. Their desires will change with the winds and their life will be filled with torment and hell.
In contrast, if we think - I know I exist - then whatever we desire will be appropriate. Here the point is that phrase "I know I exist" is embedded with the innate knowledge that I am the child of Parama Purusa and He is watching me and I am to live a life for pleasing Him. This is the knowledge every sadhakas has.
When we live our lives according to this perspective then we will never rush after crude or temporary things. Then the whole emphasis of our life will be towards Baba and His teachings. At that point our liking becomes something permanent, not short-lived. Then we can say that we have vivek - not before.
So when are are not submerged in blindly liking some crude or mundane object then we will be awakened to a finer way of life based on ideology. In that case we will always be mentally balanced and not swayed by any blind liking or attachment.
Baba says, "Once you realize the truth, you may be on your guard so as not to overdo your expressions of liking or love for someone [or something]; and not to be antagonistic to a person [or object] not to your liking. In this way you can maintain your mental balance." (DKG)
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace we should all be wary of this notion of blind liking. We should not chase after temporary things thinking that will give us long lasting satisfaction or that we are those things. That is not the way of the sadhaka. Baba has blessed us with a refined intellect and intuition and with that faculty we are to live focused on Him and AM ideology. Then our liking will be pure and we will achieve true peace in life.
Baba says, "That is why I say that you must bring about a revolutionary change in the flow of your judgment and thought, and see how, after overcoming your fascination with external colour, your mind becomes tinged with the His glorious colour. In Ananda Marga sadhana, the method of withdrawing the mind from degrading tendencies, and absorbing oneself in the colour of the Great, is called pratya'ha'ra yoga (the yoga of withdrawal) or varn'a'rghyada'na (the offering of colours). All people have a particular attraction for one or another object or activity and as soon as they become attracted to an object, then their minds become coloured with the colour of that object. You can withdraw your mind from the colour of that object and dye yourself in His colour by offering Him the captivating colour of the object that has attracted you: this is the real pratya'ha'ra yoga." (SS-3)
Namaskar,
Cinmay
Note: OTHER POSTINGS ON THIS TOPIC
This is a big topic. Everyone's lives are affected by this. Here is further reading for your review:
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2009/12/about-ones-liking.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2006/07/about-ones-liking-part-ii.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2009/11/crying-for-what.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2006/07/about-ones-liking-part-ii.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2009/11/crying-for-what.html
***************************************
Three Dangers
Baba says, "We may say that intoxicants have three distinct characteristics. Firstly, if one addict does not receive that intoxicant at their regular, fixed time during the day then they will become anxious and restless-- even agitated. In addition, when they do get it then their mind will not like to involve in any work. The second major point is that as long as one remains under the spell of that intoxicant, his intellect will be dysfunctional. And if one continues to take intoxicants on a regular, on-going basis, then their mental stupor will continue on and on. The third major danger is that intoxicants adversely affect the liver, throat, and kidney. And in the majority of cases, the user suffers from constipation also. In conclusion, all intoxicants are bad; opium and ganja (cannabis indica) extremely harmful." (SC-15)
Note: As A'nanda Ma'rgiis, our duty is to propagate Baba's above teaching and warn others about the harmful effects of intoxicants.
***************************************
Three Dangers
Baba says, "We may say that intoxicants have three distinct characteristics. Firstly, if one addict does not receive that intoxicant at their regular, fixed time during the day then they will become anxious and restless-- even agitated. In addition, when they do get it then their mind will not like to involve in any work. The second major point is that as long as one remains under the spell of that intoxicant, his intellect will be dysfunctional. And if one continues to take intoxicants on a regular, on-going basis, then their mental stupor will continue on and on. The third major danger is that intoxicants adversely affect the liver, throat, and kidney. And in the majority of cases, the user suffers from constipation also. In conclusion, all intoxicants are bad; opium and ganja (cannabis indica) extremely harmful." (SC-15)
Note: As A'nanda Ma'rgiis, our duty is to propagate Baba's above teaching and warn others about the harmful effects of intoxicants.
***************************************
