With an Eye Towards Prevention

To: am-global@earthlink.net

Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:37:29 From: "Hank & Rita Tomasson" Subject: With an Eye Towards Prevention Baba "Eso eso prabhu mor mana'ne..." (P.S. 4941) Purport: O' Lord, O' my dearmost Baba, by Your grace please come in the depths of my ideation. By Your sweet attraction, I am always looking towards the path of Your arrival. Always I am waiting for Your blissful presence in dhyana. Baba, by Your grace You have infused my whole existence with devotion. By Your grace I do not want any prestige, money, wealth, boons or any kinds of mundane allurements. Baba, I only want Your compassion. So please appear again and again in my dhyana and bless me with Your sweet smile and close proximity. Baba, ages have passed, so much time has gone by. So many dawns and evenings have come and gone-- where I was crying in longing for You. Baba, now my eyes are floating in the tears of yearning for You. Baba please grace me by coming. Baba, You are my everything. Please come in my contemplation, ideation, meditation and dhyana. Baba, please be gracious and make me Yours. Baba, I love You...

EXAMINING THE LOSS OF SOME OF OUR WT CADRE WITH AN EYE TOWARDS PREVENTION

Namaskar, Everyone is well aware that under Baba's loving and watchful guardianship our esteemed WT cadre grew into a force of hundreds upon hundreds of workers-- into the thousands. This no one can forget. Unfortunately, since 1990 in a steady stream, little by little, that number has been diminishing. This we have all seen and are seeing, as just recently one other case came to the fore where another good worker was lost-- gone. So with full vigour let us analyse this situation to understand the nature of the problem and by Baba's grace implement a solution. Otherwise this withering away of our wts will only become more severe.

A COMMON TENDENCY NOWADAYS

After speaking with various wts and margiis, it has become evident that within our wholetimer ranks there is a tendency for some workers to become "relaxed". In a nutshell a few wts begin thinking that (a) Baba is now gone & (b) the organisation is weak. With that outlook and in that situation some wts become less vigilant in following their various conduct rules. And they stop practicing some key points entirely.

IMPORTANCE OF CONDUCT RULES

Surely each and every margii is well aware that Baba has given so many sets of conduct rules: Sixteen Points, Yama & Niyama, Fifteen Shiilas etc. Everyone in our Marga must follow these. Plus for workers there are many more codes of conduct like: (a) '32 Rules for Avadhutas', (b) '37 Workers Rules', (c) 'Fourteen Points', (d) 'Six Additional Rules', (e) 'The One Point', etc. All these rules are to be followed by each and every worker. And in result, by following Baba's allotted conduct rules, margiis and workers alike, step by step, become established in dharmic life. First it becomes our habit and then our nature. So all these rules are nothing but Baba's great blessing on us: Whereby we can experience divine realisation and become assets of the society. And, on the other end of the spectrum, following His prescribed conduct rules protects us from falling and getting degenerated.

SITUATION NOW AMONGST SOME WTS

Certainly we have many strong workers in our Marga. This no one can deny. At the same time it is quite clear that our worker cadre is dwindling-- there is a growing number who become dissatisfied or disillusioned & ultimately they leave. As many report, primarily those who leave are the ones who became "relaxed" in following their daily conduct rules. This problem did not happen overnight but rather was a gradual process. For example, first shortening sadhana, then stopping dances and asanas, then doing less svadhyaya, and then filling that void with junk food or crude movies etc. It can happen any number of ways. The point being that little by little some workers are getting caught in the grip of avidya maya-- until finally they feel it impossible to continue their WT life. And by this way over the last 16 years, we have lost many, many good wts. And still this tragedy is continuing. And the root cause behind it all is not following our AM conduct rules. This is Baba's teaching. So by seeing this situation, let us all take the matter to heart and learn our collective lesson. Otherwise we will continue to lose one worker after another.

COORDINATE COOPERATION-- NEEDED FROM BOTH SIDES MARGIIS MUST STEP UP

Baba has given the duty to Wts to look after family persons. This oath He has requested from Wts in public. Plus Baba has given the duty to family persons to watch over wts. And for this margiis also took an oath to Beloved Baba. However, now only Wts are pointing out and helping margiis to properly follow 16 Points etc. But generally speaking, margiis are feeling shy to point out wts. So even if a margii sees that a particular wt is not properly following a certain point then 99% of the time that margii will just ignore the matter. They will not say anything to that worker-- even if they know something is wrong. In such a situation, the margii is not intentionally trying to harm the WT. Rather because of one's religious background or due to overall lack of confidence, that margii feels shy to say something to that worker. It is a type of complex. This is not always the case-- but it is not uncommon either. Unfortunately the end result is drastic: some Wts end up leaving their acaryaship. That is the sad outcome. So with renewed vigour and energy we should all take up the task or helping one and all to be strict in our moral and spiritual conduct. And this is Guru's directive upon us all.

OUR MORAL RESPONSIBILITY

Hence, as margiis it is our duty to watch and ensure that our esteemed workers are abiding by our AM conduct rules. That is, we should see that all are getting proper scope to maintain their sadhana, doing their fasting, reading Baba's books not pseudo-culture magazines. Plus things like crude movies, television, and junk food are to be avoided. Just with our common sense we should look around to make sure everyone, all wts, are ok and moving in the right direction, not getting caught in the rancid net of avidya maya. By this process, we can prevent the loss of workers and help bring about their welfare. And already wts are doing that for us, most of the time. And this system of checking one another is Baba's prescribed program. So as margiis we should know & be aware about the various conduct rules and by that we can politely raise the matter to wts-- if and when needed. This is a point of prevention and indeed our moral responsibility. Geared enitrely toward the welfare of our AM society.

MAKING OUR MARGA SOCIETY VIBRANT BABA'S SYSTEM OF POINTING OUT

Here are a few of Baba's explicit guidelines where we should all ensure that everyone-- family margiis & wholetimers-- is properly adhering to our AM conduct rules. Baba says, "All Ananda Margiis, when they see any other Margii acting against the principles of Yama-Niyama, must make them shun this habit either by sweet words or harsh words or by dealing even more strictly. Thus they will have to make the society strong." (GHC, '91, p.24) And here again Baba issues a similar directive. Baba says, "I direct every Ananda Margii to keep strict vigilance on other Ananda Margiis to make them practice the principles of Yama and Niyama." (GHC, '91, p.25) So by following Baba's above guidelines we will be able to correct any problems and bring everyone onto the right path. Indeed this is one unique aspect of our AM society and the best way to help each other to advance. And in result Baba will be pleased and our organisation and AM society will be stronger and stronger. Here it should be added that pointing out can be done in all kinds of ways. Being gentle and encouraging is a very good way to start. Only if the problem is severe and recurring and the concerned worker is not paying any mind to your reminders should more forceful measures be employed. Let us remember that the goal is to rectify, not embarrass and make them run off.

BABA'S BLESSING

Here below is Baba's beautiful verse which encourages and guides all Ananda Margiis to move ahead in a strong and dharmic way. Baba has blessed us with all the tools to advance and by His grace our Marga will grow healthy and strong-- leading all onto the path of bliss.

"Proceed on and on! The sky above is resounding with the sound of drums, And the earth below is waiting expectantly to welcome the glorious dawn, O' the Youth of the crimson dawn March ahead! March ahead!" (Golden Lotus)

Namaskar, Hitendra

*************************************** In Real Sense Everyone's Language is Same

Baba says, "Either from the psycho-physical or theoretical viewpoint, all the people of the world have the same language. This is because the essence of language, that is idea, is one and the same for all languages. Phonetics may differ amongst languages because of differences in geographical environment, which causes differences in racial and ethnic factors and results in variations in the biological structure of the vocal chord. Thus when the idea to drink water appears in the mind, then human beings may express this idea differently. Some say, A'mi jal kha'ba while others say, Mu jala pivu, and others say I want to drink water. Behind these different expressions is the same idea." (AFPS-9)

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