Baba's Special Sadhana Guideline

From: "Girish Chandra Mitra" To: am-global@earthlink.net Subject: Baba's Special Sadhana Guideline Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2008 22:28:50 +0530 Baba "Ba'ndhan chinr'e beriye elum kave keno ke ja'ne..." (PS 3526) Purport: Baba, by Your grace You have done everything. You have shattered all my bondages, brought me out of that magical net of maya, and lifted me up onto Your divine lap. Amazingly, You released me from the otherwise insurmountable grip of maya. Baba, it is impossible for me to understand exactly how You did it. But by Your grace, You have smashed all the bondages and brought me out. You graced me and attracted my entire mental flow towards You so I did not get pulled towards the magical allurement of avidya maya. Baba this is Your causeless grace on me. How it happened I do not know-- but now, by Your infinite compassion I am in Your eternal shelter. Baba, the moment You brought me under Your shelter and made me deeply attracted towards You, then from that very time You became my everything. After that no longer did I did pay heed to any obstacles-- or any crude worldly attraction. Instead by Your grace I moved swiftly towards You. By seeing this situation, some concluded that I was imbalanced, mad, and crazy. In their own way they tried to pull me back into their negative way of living. But by Your divine attraction I did not pay any heed to their call; nor did I get affected by the useless comments of those ignorant people. Baba, by Your grace now I am safe under Your shelter. Baba, by Your Supreme direction You have taught me what is important in this life. By Your fathomless grace, You changed my mind: by Your grace You have made me a member of Hari Pari Mandal*. You graced me and showed me how to offer my entire unit being at Your alter. In this magnificent display, You brought me under Your divine shelter and I got You. Baba, by Your grace, You made all those crude desires drift away from my mind and by Your grace now I am blissfully floating in the high tide of Your eternal form of divinity. Baba, each second of my life is like a divine oblation-- giving the flowers of my heart and mind. Each and every moment I am offering everything to You in the form of Guru Puja. Baba, by Your grace my whole existence surrenders at Your lotus feet... * Hari Pari Mandal= Literally means 'circle of devotees'. In the deeper sense it is that highly devotional state of mind where all one's longing and desires are racing towards His Supreme Self, towards Baba. When by His grace one has accepted Parama Purusa as the only Goal of their life then each and everything they do is done to please Him. In that blissful atmosphere, the bhakta is just closely revolving around His Cosmic Nucleus-- not at all distracted by anything else in this created universe. So when one is in that deeply devotional flow of Hari Pari Mandal by Baba's grace they are totally ensconced in Him and moving in His divine flow.

== BABA'S SPECIAL SADHANA GUIDELINE ==

Namaskar, We all know that ours is the path of true realization and spiritual attainment. This is Baba's special grace on us. At the same Baba guides us that we have to do something-- nothing comes without effort. So Baba specifically tells us about overcoming any type of spiritual procrastination or laziness in the spiritual realm. On this point He has given us countless teachings-- plus His own golden example. And one of the main things Baba has done is be ideal model for leading a perfect spiritual life. And one key practice in all of this is outdoor sadhana. Because Baba Himself describes in numerous instances how it was His regular habit to practice dharma sadhana in the tranquility and solitude of nature. In the Jamalpur days, throughout His student life, and in other periods of His life outdoor sadhana was a regular, daily event. And the benefits of this practice are innumerable.

OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND

Often we may try to do sadhana in the house, but that often only invites distractions. Because there we are surrounded by books, family members, computers, phones, food, and numerous daily chores and responsibilities. So with all these types of pabula around us, then naturally the sensory organs get attracted to them. Whereas if those pubula are out of sight and beyond the scope of the senses, then those thing do not drag us down so much and our minds are much more free to do sadhana. So just by escaping out of the house is a big boon for our spiritual practices as this allows us to leave so many distractions behind. And Baba Himself guides us in this same direction. Baba says, "It cannot be denied that the noise of the bustling world is a hindrance to intuitional practice and makes solitude very desirable." (AMEP, '92, p.127) And if we think a moment, we can see how 'bustling world' does not only mean 'on the city streets' but also refers to 'living in our own home'. Because when we remain in the house then countless thoughts & mundane things come in the mind which pull us away from our sadhana. In that case it is difficult to do long peaceful, serene meditation. How many times does it happen that on the point of food alone, that we quickly & hastily conclude our sadhana as meal time approaches etc. And in this way days, months, and years pass by. But if we go outside in the natural environment, we have a much better opportunity to delve into our sadhana practices and do sustained sadhana. And if this becomes our regular practice then it can transform our entire spiritual existence. On this point it can also be said that we need not go so far from the house. Often times in short walking distance we can find a good place for sadhana. And by going just a little further we can find a top-notch place.

WAITING FOR OLD AGE WILL NOT DUE

Yet if we just get routinized into always sacrificing our meditation and just doing short, interrupted sadhana-- constantly getting pulled away by mundane distractions, then this is not good. Because by this way the whole life will pass by. In which case it is not easy to concentrate in sadhana in old age if one did not do proper sadhana their whole life. Baba says, "There is no value in remembering God in old age, when it is not possible to concentrate the mind due to the weakness and disease of the body and its preoccupation with the reactions (sam'ska'ras) of the deeds of this life. The mind then is caught up in the infirmities of the body, in the diseases of old age, impending death, and most of all, in memories of past incidents, and it is impossible to concentrate the mind. For these reasons one is incapable of intuitional practice. (AMEP, '92, p.135)

GREEN BAMBOO VS. OLD BAMBOO

Everyone knows that green bamboo bends easily and can be easily used to make many useful things; but old bamboo is just unbendable, hard, and stiff-- basically useless. Likewise a fresh, supple mind from regular sadhana practice can do many things; but a dry crusty mind devoid of sadhana is not good for much. Without proper sadhana the mind becomes dry & inflexible-- static.

REACHING OUR POTENTIAL

Sadhana is important and outdoor sadhana has many benefits like: fresh air & oxygen, peaceful vibration, less distractions etc. That is why Baba recommends that this is one practice we should all try. Because ultimately sadhana awakens our dormant & latent qualities, and makes the ordinary person extraordinary. Baba says, "When a person attains an exalted state of spirituality, they can bring welfare to millions of people." (SS part 18, p. 14) Namaskar, Girish

Note 1: AVADHUTA & MICROVITA SADHANA DONE OUTSIDE

We all know that Baba has made it compulsory for those doing avadhuta (kapalik) sadhana and microvita sadhana to do their practices under the open sky-- not in an enclosed room. This is the rule.

Note 2: POSITIVE MICROVITA

By being outside then so many positive microvita from the stars, planets, and distant galaxies can also help us in our sadhana. This fact Baba reveals in His microvita discourses.

Note 3: A'NANDA MA'RGA IS UNIVERSAL DHARMA

The practices of Ananda Marga are human dharma and meant to be practiced by all. Thus Baba has not made it mandatory for everyone to do all their sadhana outside all the time. Because for particular reasons and in specific cases one might not be able to go outside for sadhana due to ill health etc. And the overall idea is that the rules should not be so tough and arduous that not everyone in society cannot follow. Rather AM is for all. So this is enough reason to think why Baba has not made outdoor meditation an absolute requirement-- always. At the same time going outside regularly for sadhana is highly beneficial.

Note 4: BABA DOING SADHANA IN THE SOLITUDE OF NATURE

Here Baba describes His own outdoor sadhana practice. Baba says, "I used to go for a walk nearly every day in the mountains east of Jamalpur. I used to sit on the second mountain. One after another, several small and large mountains run parallel to each other. The summit of the second mountain was the highest place among them. I used to arrive there in the middle of the afternoon and stay there until about eight at night." (SC-1, p. 93) Here Baba talks more about His experience of doing sadhana outside: Baba says, "I was sitting on the peak. It was the bright lunar fortnight...In front of me, that is to the west, on the slope of the mountain, was a dense ga'b forest...The mountain in front of me was completely bare...I was probably the only person for several miles, completely alone...the peak that I was seated on..." (SC-1, p.94)