Are You a Sadhaka

Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:39:59 -0500 From: Sudarshan To: am-global@earthlink.net Subject: Are You a Sadhaka Baba "Tumi a'ma'y hrdaya ma'jhe eso go priyo madhurata' ma'khi..." (P.S. 747) Purport: Baba, please come in my heart and saturate my entire being with the showering of Your sweetness, O' my dear most. Baba please remove my all impurities and negative samskaras-- and whatever other things I have that got accumulated over the ages. Please inundate my entire existence with the showering of Your love and divine grace. Baba, this entire universe, these seven lokas, nothing is beyond Your reach. Everything is within You. And because everything resides in You, that is why You know all my merits and demerits-- whatever I have. By Your Grace today I am surrendering whatever that is mine unto You. With the only desire that You please look towards me with Your compassionate eye, eyes full of karuna'. This wee-bit of grace I long from You. Baba, since ages, since many lives, I have been crossing through the negative path, path of dogma. But today by Your grace, this is the first time in my entire life when You awakened my samvit and now I understood my mistakes. And I rectified them by Your grace. Baba, all my actions, my entire being, my whole heart, everything I offer at Your lotus feet. I do not want to keep anything as my own from henceforth onward. With this pointed mind I am doing sastaunga pranam to You. Please accept it...

== ARE YOU A SADHAKA ==

Namaskar, While there are many ways to determine if one is a sadhaka of the proper standard or not. This following letter clearly delineates one major aspect of the mind-set needed to be a true sadhaka. With the utter pervasiveness of materialism, we should all be vigilant on this point. Everyone should read the below and then be honest with themselves.

CURRENT SOCIAL MILIEU

In this current social era, in front of Ananda Margiis 2 ideas are floating side by side. One is from the environmental factor, i.e. the worldly society, and the second one is from Baba's ideological guidelines & teaching. Theses days due to a lack of high motivation and not focusing the mind to Ista and Adarsha, the common public is self-engrossed, thinking about themselves. Naturally their periphery of mind then gets smaller and smaller. Because the characteristic of mind is- 'As you think so shall you become'. So by thinking about the unit self, then the dimensions of one's mind gets smaller and smaller. And the consequence is psychic disease: frustration, melancholia, and so on and so forth. So many diseases will come. In addition, such persons are hungry for someone's praise. They always harbour the deep desire that someone should come forward and praise them. Not only every day but every minute, otherwise they feel depressed. This is the pitiful situation of general people these days.

IDEATON OF ANANDA MARGIIS

But the standard of margiis is quite high. Because the mind is focused on Ista (BABA), Adarsha, proper ideation, social service and God-hood. So the mind does not have the opportunity to think about the self. In which case then the periphery of the mind is getting bigger and bigger and in due course it becomes infinite. And finally in one golden dawn it becomes so vast and that it merges into Parama Purusa, and reaches its Goal.

WHY FRUSTRATION

However, those who think about themselves most of the time they feel frustrated; and sometimes when they get praised by others then they feel arrogant. And then they foolishly forget that whatever little strength they have is just the gift of Parama Purusa. Devoid of this thinking they feel egoistic and are full of vanity. And in result they invite their ruination.

"Aham'ka'rah patanasya mu'lam" (Shivokti no. 6) Meaning: Pride goeth before a fall

So this malady has come from the offshoot of materialism. Mostly materialistic minded people, those whose be-all and end-all of life is matter, they suffer from such types of diseases. And they need day-long appreciation by others. Otherwise frustration and depression comes in their day to day life. Such an unfortunate episode is very common. Now this is the time we should analyse how far Baba appreciates this self-praise. Or the habit to enjoy self-praise. How far does this selfishness have any value in the life of true human beings. We should see carefully whether this self-aggrandizement is something meaningful or detrimental.

BABA'S BLESSING

But one thing is for certain. Our scriptures say that those who are great persons, in their life, they never get recognised. And in the society they always get abused. About such great people's mentality Baba says:

"Nindantu niitinipun'a'h yadi va' stuvantu laks'mii....na dhiira'h."

"Let those well versed in ethics criticize or praise me, if they so like. The goddess of wealth may be gracious enough to stay in my house or she may go wherever she likes. Death may visit me today or decades later - it makes little difference to me. Wise people will never withdraw from the path of rectitude the path which they accept as their ideal." (NKS) in Him, Sudarshan

Note 1: BABA'S STRICT GUIDELINES AGAINST SELF-PRAISE

(A) AS STATED IN PRABHAT SAMGIITA

In Prabhat Samgiita, Baba guides us that the Divine realm is far beyond that of criticism and adulation. Therefore those involved in their own reputation and self-aggrandizement will never reach to BABA. Baba says, "Ninda-stutira u'rdhva jagate toma'r a'san jyotirmaya" (PS #1280) Meaning: Baba, Your abode is beyond the censure and praise

(B) LOW MENTALITY

Here below Baba is describing the poor mental condition of those people who hanker after and paint their existence with their own praise. Baba says, "Why on earth should anyone indulge in self-publicity? To whom will he publicise himself? Such acts are the antics of common, avaricious people with beggar-like mentality." (SS, part 2, p.49)

(C) THOSE WHO ARE VANGUARDS

As Ananda Margiis we should be fully aware of and always remember this golden teaching of Baba: That the vanguards of society are never praised in their age.' Baba says, "You should always remember that those who are the vanguard of society are always in a minority, but they are the ones who will ultimately be victorious. Those who opposed, are opposing and will oppose the pioneers will one day say, `Now we're driving along the roads made by our pioneers after they cleared the jungles'. That is, they will certainly give you due recognition in the future. They never give any recognition when something new is started: this is the rule." (AVM) (D) So the whole point is that those who are atheist or self seeking they are involved in their own self-glorification, but our philosophy is not like that. We should think about God. This is our approach. Hence engaging in self-praise is not at all proper for a sadhaka-- rather it is unfit to do so.

Note 2: WHERE THE HANKERING FOR PRAISE IS PREVALENT IN AM

Unfortunately it is often noticed that those who go to this or that groupist convention or "peace meeting" hanker after running there not because they wish to bring idealogy into the Marga, but because they want to be seen, noticed, and appreciated. Such is the shallow mentality of those in attendance. This is not the case with all, but one cannot say that it is entirely uncommon either.

*************************************** Unruly Free Mixing between Males and Females?

Parama Purusa Baba says, "It does not require the harnessing of any elaborate logic or reasoning to convince people that the final outcome of permissiveness is not healthy. But it is also true that the result of free mixing in society, without self-control, is bad...Hence, along with the recognition of the freedom of the two sexes, a well-judged code of self-control will also have to be associated with their mutual mixing." (HS-1, p.35)

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