Baba's Way of Starting Ananda Marga

Date: Sun May 06 2012 21:58:48 -0000
From: "Shivadayal  Singhal"
To: am-global@earthlink.net
Subject: Baba's Way of Starting Ananda Marga

Baba

"Eso prabhu a'ma'r ghare toma'y a'mi ceyechi..."  (Prabhata Samgiita #946)

Purport:

O' Prabhu Baba, please come in my home - with a deep yearning & longing I am calling You. Baba, I want You close. Please listen to the suffering of my heart which is grief-stricken in Your absence. Baba,  O' Parama Purusa, I am living only for You; my life is for You.

Baba, You are the divine tower of effulgence on my dark path; and, You are the warmth of my broken heart. Baba, You are the quintessence of the sandalwood paste of my forehead; O' Lord You are pure and filled with divine effulgence.

O' Cosmic Entity, O' Baba, You are that type of pure joy & happiness which one feels after receiving recovering something that was lost long ago in the past. Baba, by Your grace I have understood You. Baba please come close in my heart. You are my most dear. For You I have kept nectar filled in my heart. Baba, please come to me...

== BABA’S WAY OF STARTING ANANDA MARGA ==

~ Part 1 ~

Namaskar,

There were a few who thought that there was no long-term need for a sannyasi order (i.e. our WT cadre) in Ananda Marga. They thought that the creation of Wts was just a temporary phase and that family persons will again gain full control of the Marga.

Most notably, respected family Ac Pratapaditya fell in this category. From time to time he would write like that; and there were others who expressed this perspective as well.

FLEXIBILITY IS THE MAIN DIFFERENCE

Of course, we all know that family people have certain limitations and time constraints: Raising kids, professional obligations, local relations etc. Naturally it is clear that family people do not have the flexibility that wholetimers have and hence cannot do the things which WTs can do.

Anywhere, anytime those Wts can be sent from one corner of the globe to the other. And they will stay there permanently till the next order comes. They have to attend to calamities and manage the relief work and provide services etc. How can family persons take up that task when they have children, jobs, and the responsibility of running AM in their local area etc.

NOT JUST A TEMPORARY PHASE

So if anyone is still thinking that the creation of the WT cadres is just a temporary measure because the wt cadre was not introduced in the very beginning (i.e. 1955), but rather in 1962, then they should consider 16 Points, paincajanya, kiirtan, fasting, Prabhat Samgiita, neo-humanism, master units, gurukul, tandava / kaoshiiki, and sentient food etc. These practices were also added later on, i.e. after 1955. Step by step Baba introduced all these points. Should we conclude that these “additions” by Baba are also just temporary measures.

Those with a deeper understanding know that Baba planned everything ahead of time. And when it was the opportune moment then in a methodical manner He introduced new points. It is just like how parents do not send their infants off to university for higher studies. They wait until the time is right: When the children are older.

Similarly when there was a certain need etc, Baba would introduce something new. Or, at least, on the surface it looked like that when actually He was just implementing those things which were already in His mind. So it was just a matter of how He was playing His liila.

MORE OF THE BACKGROUND

As we all know Baba started this great organization in 1955. And initially there was no WT system. In the very beginning, in those early days there were only regular Margiis– no family acaryas or tattvikas. That time Baba was the only One involved in doing initiations. Actually He was personally doing everything. Not only initiations, but Baba was teaching asanas to the margiis and even demonstrating all the poses Himself. That was part of the beauty of those early days. But, unfortunately, those around were not thinking that Baba was Parama Purusa. They perceived Him as just an ordinary guru.

Also when going to DMC then the family margii serving as Baba’s PA would live together along with Baba in the same room. Each with their own cot side by side. So that time Baba wanted to bring people close. But those early margiis were not thinking that Baba was so great and mighty – due to that same feeling of closeness. This held a certain charm.

Of course, over time the system changed and later on PA Dada would take a room next to Baba’s. So PA would not stay in the very same room as Baba – but that was later on.

In addition, in those early days Baba was still working in His government job. During this time, He Himself had initiated many margiis, whenever He had time – after His government office hours in His personal quarters or whenever. Many are aware about how things were working that time.

THE CREATION OF TATTVIKAS

Gradually many good Margiis were created by Him. Finally one tattvika training session was arranged wherein Baba started giving tattvika classes. Baba Himself was the teacher.

Around that time, Baba was delivering His teachings on AM philosophy which came into print as the books “Ananda Marga Elementary Philosophy” (1955), “Idea and Ideology” (1959), Ananda Sutram (1962). Naturally it was needed to have qualified disciples to explain and spread these teachings.

For this reason He was leading tattvika classes. During the time of tattvika training there was a very strict routine with lots of discipline. Many Margiis from far and wide participated. Most of them passed and became tattvikas, by Baba’s grace. In the next session Baba blessed them and made them family acaryas.

Gradually, by this way, Baba stopped performing initiations Himself. Of course Baba remained ever-active in countless works. Indeed, He was involved more deeply because a huge number of initiations were done by the new tattvikas, and Baba was giving PC (personal contact) to new Margiis as well as expanding the organisation on many fronts.

The basic progression was:
1. First Baba was initiating new people Himself.
2. Then the system was made where margiis had to get permission from Baba before bringing a new person to Him for initiation.
3. Therefter Baba created tattvikas and then family acaryas to initiate new people. By this time Baba had stopped performing initiations Himself.

HOW SWEET AND BLISSFUL IT WAS

So as the community of Ananda Margiis grew, so many things were happening. DMCs were going on and many villages were blessed by Baba to host DMC – especially in Bihar and in northern Bihar. Baba was doing maximum  pracar there – where He literally travelled from village to village, town to town. Baba reached many places where even travelling by bullock carts was not possible. He went by elephant – how wild it was. Human beings could not even walk there due to the deep mud. What a divine liila those days! There are countless stories recounted by margiis. How sweet and blissful it was.

(Note: This concludes part 1 of this multi-part series. Please watch for the next letter soon that further recounts the glorious and dynamic history of the formation of AMPS.)

Namaskar,
Shivadayal Deva