Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2013 06:14:20 GMT
To: am-global@earthlink.net
Baba
Namaskara.
This story you told about Ac Shivanandji (i.e. Dada Samanvayanandji) needed to be told. It was long overdue. Well done.
When I was in my early 20's I met this yogi.It was many years ago and had admired him for his mention of long sadhanas in graveyards but lost respect for him when he tried to discourage me to do the same. He tried to insert the fear dogma about it being too dangerous for me and that it would be unsafe for me to continue to go there as I had been doing. I am glad I was not affected by his scare tactics...by Baba's Grace. Purely, Baba's Grace.
The same can be spoken about former Dada Kritashivananda when it comes to establishing his own glory, I suppose. It hurts me that he left AMPS to become a guru and establish his own ashram. I traveled with him for periods of time and had appreciate his personal stories with Baba.I had fond memories of this acarya. But now I also lost respect for him, too.
Thank you for bringing to our attention how the ego can thwart our spiritual progress! Let this be a lesson to all of us so we will not make the same mistakes! I thank Baba that this article was written so that I will not go down the same road as these two Dadas. I ask Baba only to keep me in His Lap everyday. I ask Him only for devotion and to serve and please Him. That is my duty. Nothing else. No glory. No position. No material wealth. By Baba's Grace I will remain close to Him only and do His will not my will. My will must be His Will, otherwise, life is not worth living.
I hope others will learn from this article, too.
BABA!
THE START OF HIS DOWNFALL
When Baba was arrested under false charges and incarcerated, Dadaji did not stand by Guru. Instead, he lobbied against Baba, got frustrated, and ultimately went out on his own. And once he left, he was gone, i.e. away from Ananda Marga, for more than a decade. Here is the history.
In December 1971, the day before Baba was to hold DMC, He was arrested. In turn, Dada Samanvayanandji - then known as Ac Shivananda Avt - was appointed as Guru's representative for that 1971 Dec DMS held in Varanasi. After that occasion, Dadaji developed a big ego, and he proudly thought that his next posting would be overseas.
So it was that in early in 1972, Baba was running the organization from His jail cell. All orders were coming from Him and being carried out in the organization. In this way, Dada Shivananda (i.e. Samanvayanandji) came to know he was given a posting in India. In disgust, Dadaji opted to never go to his assigned posting. Instead he traveled around Nepal, all the while presenting himself as a guru. Then he was given another posting and again he did not show up.
Later on in the year 1972 Baba gave the order that Shivananda (i.e. Dada Samanvayananda) was transferred to Udaipur (Rajasthan) as DS where he will oversee the school. Hearing this Dada Samanvayananda / Shivananda again became very upset and frustrated; he did not want this low post. Dadaji had grand visions: He wanted to go overseas and was looking to do some work in Rishikesh etc. When the posting order came as DS Udaipur, then he felt this was too much. Other workers who were friends with Dadaji tried in Jaipur to convince him to attend to his post. Ultimately, Dada Samanvayanandji went there with some of his own newly made disciples. Upon seeing the school he was to run, Dadaji proclaimed, "You do not know my potentiality."
Dadaji remained at that posting in Udaipur for all of one day. He then went off on his own. Indeed, in that dark hour, Dada Samanvayanandji a.k.a. Dada Shivananda left Baba and the AMPS organisation, and in a challenging display created his own separate organization, "Prema Marga". That time, Dadaji established his own office in the foothills of the Himalayas at Dehradun.
Let us not forget that in those days, Baba was in jail. It was during those difficult times in Ananda Marga when maximum support was needed that Dada Samanvayanandji left and created his own organization to compete against Ananda Marga. The need of the hour was to stand firmly by Guru and raise the flag of Ananda Marga. Those days, so many margiis and acaryas withstood the onslaught and backlash of the negative forces, i.e. Mrs Indhira Gandhi's exploitative machine. Margiis and wts were forced into hiding, imprisoned, tortured, and humiliated. All the while Guru was in jail. No true Ananda Margii could ever think to leave in such a moment - never.
Yet, in that critical moment, when Baba was in jail and workers margiis were also suffering, Dada Samanvayanandji left to enjoy his own self-created guru-ship, and establish his own separate organization: Prema Marga. So while dedicated Ananda Margiis stood by Guru, Dada Samanvayanandji fled to establish his own so-called glory. This is not the quality of a disciple, but rather a case of betrayal. Or what should we call it.
Meanwhile Baba was in jail and everyone was struggling hard to carry on. This went on for years.
Finally, in 1977, Mrs Indhira Gandhi's regime was ousted, the Emergency was lifted, and all were released from jail. The authorities released everyone except Baba. From His cell, Baba issued a grand pardon to all. Baba was welcoming all back into Ananda Marga, regardless of what they had done. During Emergency, some had gone to their laokik homes, some were defectors, some testified against Baba in court, some had left their sadhana, others had turned to tamasik eating habits etc. People had gone astray for all kinds of reasons. And in 1977, Baba graciously pardoned all and welcomed everyone back, regardless of their story. And indeed, so many returned back into Ananda Marga.
But not Dada Samanvayananda / Shivananda. He was living the good life as a self-proclaimed guru, and he did not want to give that up. There was another thought in his mind as well. He was thinking that at any moment Ananda Marga could again fall into tough times. Because Baba was not going to change His teachings and those ideals are too tough for the authorities to accept. So again there will be trouble. Dadaji thought, "Better I should stay in my own guruship at my ashram."
In this calculated manner, Dadaji did not return to Ananda Marga in 1977 when Baba graciously pardoned and welcomed everyone. Nor, did Dada Samanavayananda return when Baba Himself was released from jail in August 1978. Weeks turned into months, and months turned into years.
Ananda Marga was growing by leaps and bounds. Baba performed the grandest dharma samiiksa in the history of humanity. Ananda Marga was fast spreading all around the globe. The organization was growing in size exponentially. Still Dada Samanvayananda was nowhere to be seen. Dadaji was still leading the life as "guru" in his ashram. Time and again, Dadaji's friends like Aksarananda had pleaded with him to return, but to no avail.
It was not until around 1984 or so, that Dada Samanvayananda showed up. He came to see Baba in Lake Gardens. Baba refused to see him and refused to let him inside the compound. So Dadaji stood outside the gate and waited. Days passed. Dadaji grew frustrated and despondent. He was standing outside the gate in his civil dress. He was thinking, "Why should I stand here - I can put on my sannyasi dress and return to my own ashram in Dehradun."
Again his friends like Aksarananda came to his rescue. They pleaded with him to be patient and wait for Baba's approval. An entire month passed, Baba refused to see him or look at him. Still Dadaji was thinking to go back to his old ashram in Dehradun, and he never considered donating his ashram to Ananda Marga. Instead he kept that as his "safety-net" in case he ever wished to return there.
Then one day, Baba gave the order that Dada should be accepted back and he was given the name Ac Sambunath Brc. And he was given the very simple and basic post of ZO, i.e. zonal organizer within SDM. Later on he became CO, or circle organizer. Even then, Baba barred him from attending all kinds of meetings and reportings.
All in all, Dadaji was away from Ananda Marga for 11 years. When he was needed most to help in difficult times, he was entirely absent - just enjoying the high life as a self-appointed guru.
Even worse, after that time, Dada Samanvayanandji never expressed repentance or remorse for what happened in those days.
Rather, after his return to AMPS and was named Samanvayanandji, then he used to talk about how great Shivanandji was and how he (Shivanandji) used to have so many siddhis and do long sadhana. With that unrepentent ego, he would talk about himself in the third person as a means of praising himself up to the sky. Dadaji marched around with an extreme sense of entitlement - and not an ounce of repentance.
Plus, Dada Samanvayanandji shamelessly glorified his days in Dehradun in his book. He never once admitted that he betrayed Baba or that what he did was wrong. Dada was never open and honest with himself or others about this. Rather he tried to present this as his own greatness.
He wrote his own book 'Glories of ...'. And in that book he mentioned many times about his great work in Dehradun. So that time when Sadguru Baba was facing so many injustices in jail and all workers and family margiis were struggling tooth and nail to survive, Dadaji went against Guru and made his own separate organization known as Prema Marg. Not only did he leave Ananda Marga, but he created a parallel ashram that was directly challenging Baba's organisation and the path of Ananda Marga.
Yet about all this Dadaji says that this was his "great" work. In his book Dada Samanvayanandji writes on page 57:
"I had established an ashram at the foot of the Himalayas...in Dehradun District of UP."
Indeed, Dada Samanvayanandji did not have an ounce of repentance for his betrayal to Baba. He does not write, "Unfortunately blinded by my own ego I left Ananda Marga in that critical hour." Nor does he write, "How can I ever forgive myself for leaving Baba when so many inimical forces attacked Him." In his book, Dadaji does not express an iota of repentance etc. Just he basks in his own so-called glory that he built up his own ashram.
And even after publishing his book he did not express any remorse. Not a word of repentance did he express for those black days in which he left Baba and created his own organization.
In simple language this is betrayal to Baba and back-stabbing to Guru.
We should not hold Dadaji's example in some divine manner and others should not emulate Dadaji's approach. Now when groupism is rattling our organisation, this is not the time to depart and plant one's flag of glory elsewhere.