Baba
Our 1st PP
Namaskar,
The first PP Shraddhananda had an intense weakness for his own name and fame. Here is one example. To satiate his desire, Shraddhananda wrote his autobiography, which itself is contrary to the fundamental teachings of Ananda Marga because in an autobiography the person writes about himself. And self-propaganda degenerates the mind. That is why autobiographies are not condoned by Ananda Marga ideology.
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Writing autobiography means gloating about oneself
Secondly, an autobiography and a Baba story book are not the same thing. In an autobiography, the person may recount all sorts of mundane things like their dogs, cats, favourite movies, and all the silly or great things they did in their life. That is an autobiography. In contrast, a Baba story denotes the time of your life when you had a deep and direct connection with Sadguru Baba. When all those spiritual experiences are collected and presented in a coherent manner ensconced in bhakti, that is a Baba story book. Unfortunately, in the name of Baba story books, people wrote all kinds of egoistic, autobiographical tales because they did not have anything else to contribute. To cover it up, they put a short Baba story here and there. Anyway, let’s come to our main point.
We are talking about the first PP Dada’s autobiography where he is bragging about being one of the early pioneers in learning Prabhat Samgiita. In that autobiographical story, Shraddhananda is trying to show his greatness. But he failed miserably and exposed his own ignorance. Shraddhananda completely misunderstood Prabhat Samgiita #0004 and came up with his own explanation that was diametrically opposed to the real meaning. It is just like if the Prabhat Samgiita purport says go north then Shraddhananda understood to go south. Dada Shraddhananda did not have a clue; but, due to his ego, he documented his folly with pen and paper for the whole world to see.
Shraddhananda gives his negative explanation of this song, PS #0004 - "Sakal maner viina' ek sure ba'je a'j…”
...Eso tumi aro kache,
Aro kache, aro kache
Niye jao jaha kichu sab
WRONG: Shraddhananda is preaching that in this song Baba is addressing margiis: “O’ margii, come close to Me (Baba) and take away whatever I have.”
CORRECT: The real purport of this song is that the margii is addressing Baba: “O Baba, come close to me and take away whatever I have.”
PP exposed himself
The first PP Shraddhananda was a longtime and senior dada and it is tragic he could not gain a proper understanding of Ananda Marga spiritual life. When Shraddhananda was not aware about the inner meaning and purport of Prabhat Samgiita #0004, then he should not have written about it publicly in his book. The point being that when the writer himself is not well-studied on a given topic then he should not attempt to write about it in a book, lest he expose his ignorance in front of all. And sadly, that is what Shraddhananda did.
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Ignorance of first PP Shraddhananda
On page 15-16 of his autobiography, "My Spiritual Life with Baba", Shraddhananda recounts one incident:
Ba’ba’ asked me, “Should I [Baba] give you everything now or at the proper time?” (p.15)
Then Shraddhananda equated the above idea with Prabhat Samgiita #0004:
Eso tumi aro kache,
Aro kache, aro kache
Niye jao jaha kichu sab
Shraddhananda translates, “O sadhaka Come near me (Baba), come near me, and take everything that I have.” (p.16)
Shraddhananda in his misguided manner is preaching a purport that is diametrically opposed to the real meaning of the song. Dada is falsely claiming that in this PS Baba is singing to bhaktas, “O’ bhakta, come close to Me and take away whatever I have.” So Dada Shraddhananda is telling that (a) in the past Baba told me that I (Baba) want to give you many things, and (b) this PS expressed this same idea. On this point Shraddhananda is way off base.
PP reversed entire meaning of the song
Shraddhananda wrongly uses PS #0004 to build upon the story where Baba is offering to give everything that He has. The key problem is that PS #0004 represents the voice of the bhakta, not the voice of Parama Purusa Baba. In the song, the bhakta is surrendering to Parama Purusa and requesting Him, “to take everything that I have.” Shraddhananda is so confused that he reversed the entire meaning of the song. Shraddhananda thinks that Parama Purusa is addressing the bhakta and offering the bhakta all His divine gifts. But that is completely wrong.
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The correct meaning of Prabhat Samgiita #0004 is that the bhakta is making the request to Parama Purusa, "O' my Dearmost Supreme Entity, please come and take all the colours of my mind, all the bondages of my mind, and make me colourless."
If you don't know, don't preach - why
Let's also remember that this song was initially given on 19th September 1982. And there were many seminars, reportings, and programs wherein Prabhat Samgiita was highlighted, reviewed, and discussed, including the purport for PS #0004. Plus there were numerous magazines that featured the inner meaning of this song; and the translation of this song was included in the book, Prabhat Samgiita Vol 1.
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There were numerous ways to gain the proper understanding of this composition. Not to mention, any senior margii or Wt could have easily offered the right meaning. Yet Shraddhananda did not take note of any of these resources. Instead, in his own way, nearly a full decade after the song was composed, PP Dada published his own wrong meaning in his autobiography, "My Spiritual Life with Baba" (June, 1991).
When Shraddhananda did not know the correct purport then what was the need to preach and lecture others about this song. After all, if someone, anyone - even PP Dada Shraddhananda - is not aware about a topic, then they should not attempt to teach that subject. And that is exactly Guru’s guideline in His rules of conduct for Wts
Wt conduct rule: “One should not give any false answer and should consult with one`s seniors for the correct answer.” (1)
Instead of giving a false explanation in his book, PP Dada should have properly researched the matter and gotten the proper response from those experienced in Prabhat Samgiita. Then this whole blunder would not have happened.
Example of PP’s confusion
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "By surrendering all the colours of my mind to You, I want to become colourless.” (2)
Here is the real spirit of this Prabhat Samgiita.
Nivedayámi cátmánaḿ tvaḿ gatih Parameshvara
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, “Oh Lord, what can I offer unto You? I can only offer my existential ‘I’ feeling. Please take it.” (3)
In this song the bhakta is addressing Parama Purusa. There is no scope to think that Parama Purusa is addressing and offering His treasures to His disciples in this PS. So Shraddhananda actually invented his own flip-flop purport for the song, "Sakal maner viina'...". Shraddhananda writes as if Parama Purusa is making a request to His disciples. This is the ridiculous and brainless way in which PP Dada is explaining the song.
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In the purport of Prabhat Samgiita #4 song, bhaktas are being taught to yearn and sing for the Divine Entity: "O' my Dearmost, I am offering my mind to You, please grace me by accepting this...O' Dearmost, please come and take all the colours of my mind, all the bondages of my mind, and make me colourless.".
Unfortunately, Shraddhananda misunderstood everything; Dadaji could not understand even this basic aspect of this song. In turn, he wrote his own bogus purport that does not reflect the meaning and spirit of that Prabhat Samgiita composition.
Namaskar,
in Him,
Shrii Deva
Dream of Dada Sarvatmananda
All this goes to show that in this present era of groupism when the various factions use the post of PP as a puppet and rubber stamp for their various agendas, then the main qualification for becoming Purodha Pramukha is stupidity and ignorance. If one has both of those qualities to a high degree then one may become PP - otherwise not. All who knew Shraddhananda know that in his writings, his books, his Shradha Shuman songs, and his decisions that he was a complete idiot. Actually, he did not even make any of his own decisions. At first Sarvatmananda and then later Rudrananda made all his decisions for him. PP was just a stooge.
Similarly the present day PP’s - Vishvadevananda and Kinshuk - are both stooges. Every organisational decision and directive is made by someone else in their name. If you ever hear that a particular rule or order was given by PP then the real meaning is that PP did nothing. Rather those pulling the strings behind him did everything.
Indeed, who can believe that Vishvadevananda and Kinshuk are the two most refined and capable sadhakas in the entire organisation. In comparison to these two present-day PP’s, there are many qualified and intelligent people in our Marga. But they did not get the post of PP. This shows that the chief qualification for holding the post of PP is being a puppet in the hands of those factional leaders.
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Finally, to hide the ignorance of these two present-day PP’s, their handlers do not allow anyone in their contact. Instead they prop up and project the greatness of their selected PP from afar.
You know that Dada Sarvatmananda is the most cunning and sharp person. The moment he saw Shraddhananda’s bogus manuscript of the book he decided that Shraddhananda would be the first PP because he would be very easy to control and manipulate. This happened just after Oct 21, 1990.
~ In-depth study ~
Words fail to describe or explain how Shraddhananda Dada could have made such a dramatic blunder, other than to say that the first PP dada was wholly ignorant. He had every resource available to him, and this was common knowledge to many margiis, but still he could not get it right. Shraddhananda wrote in his book as if Parama Purusa was singing the song, "O’ bhakta, come and take away money, prestige, siddhis, occult powers, and post etc."
As we know, this song is for bhaktas to express their own heartfelt feeling of love and surrender to Parama Purusa. Not vice-versa. So in his sheer simplicity or ignorance, the first PP Dada completely missed the point and took the whole meaning of the song in the wrong way. Shraddhananda became so convinced by his own wrong analysis, that he justified his misinterpretation in his own book for the entire world to see.
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See for yourself: On page 16 of his autobiography, in the wrong fashion, Shraddhananda exposes his own misunderstanding and blatantly took the song in his own opposite fashion.
Giving false answer is not good
We all know that the integrity and standard of our organisation is wholly dependent upon how well we follow and understand Ananda Marga philosophy. When our own 1st Purodha Pramukha Dada Shraddhananda had this type of misunderstanding, it is shameful.
Here the key lesson is that one should not enter onto the public stage and venture into areas of knowledge they are not familiar with. Yet that is exactly what Shraddhananda did. He did not understand the real meaning of Prabhat Samgiita #4; with that ignorance he published the purport incorrectly in his book. This is not the way to guide others. First one should gain a degree of competency of a subject and then share that with others. Unfortunately, Shraddhananda failed to do that and the result is that his book is misleading. The tragic result: many margiis can see the poor standard of our first Purodha Pramukha Dada.
Here again we are reminded of Guru’s special teaching.
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WT conduct rule: “One should not give any false answer...” (4)
If “I know not” psychology is missing, ignorance flourishes
Here is one analysis that explains how Shraddhananda could have made such a mistake. In Caryacarya, Baba outlines the secret to taking in new knowledge.
Ananda Marga Caryacarya says, "One will not be able to know [learn] anything unless one develops the psychology of “I know not.” It is the fundamental spirit of a true aspirant." (5)
Unfortunately, it seems that Shraddhananda Dada already thought that he knew everything. He was surrounded by knowledge in the form of seminars, books, other sadhakas, and the all-encompassing Ananda Marga philosophy, but none of that could enter Shraddhananda’s brain because he was already full of the idea that he knew what he needed to know. That seems to have been his mind-set. It is just like a rock in the river - the inside of the rock never gets wet - it is never touched by the water. Similarly, the inner chamber of Shraddhananda mind could never be drenched with the sweetness of Prabhat Samgiita. All because he thought that he already knew all that was needed to know.
Value of history
Some may question what is the need to say all these things now. After all, the first PP Shraddhananda retired from this earth some years ago - so just let him rest in peace. The reply is that Shraddhananda did not like to live in peace. He wrote numerous wrongful books and still today those books are misguiding others. So his works are having a recurring, adverse effect. In that sense, the first PP Dada is still negatively active, i.e. through his books. His books are riddled with mistakes and so many false ideas. This response was needed to protect margiis from his wrongful teachings.
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Accurate purport of that Prabhat Samgiita stanza
To review, here is one of those early Prabhat Samgiita compositions.
Prabhat Samgiita No. 0004
"Sakal maner viina' ek sure ba'je a'j...
Eso tumi a'ro ka'che, A'ro kache, a'ro kache
Niye ja'o ja'ha' kichu sab"
In this song, the bhakta is addressing Parama Purusa, and requesting Him to please come close, more close and take my mind. "O' my Dearmost, I am offering my mind to You, please grace me by accepting this."
As sadhakas, we know that mind is the cause of bondage and the cause of liberation. If the mind is coloured with mundane longing, then that is bondage. When it is purified in the thought of Parama Purusa and becomes colourless, then it is liberated. That's why we do dhyana. And in the last stage of dhyana and Guru puja, the bhakta surrenders fully and offers their mind with deep love. So the bhakta is requesting,"O' Parama Purusa, please come and take all the colours of my mind, all the bondages of my mind, and make me colourless."
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "By surrendering all the colours of my mind to You, I want to become colourless.” This surrender to the Supreme Consciousness propels human beings towards Him." (6)
This is the central idea of Prabhat Samgiita #4.
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Offering of mind for Parama Purusa
These following guidelines also reflect the inherent theme and spirit of this song wherein the bhakta offers their mind unto Parama Purusa.
Tava dravyaḿ jagatguro tubhyameva samarpaye.
Ananda Marga ideology states “Everything of mine, along with my mind, is offered at Your altar. Please oblige and accept it.” (7)
Nivedayámi cátmánaḿ tvaḿ gatih Parameshvara
Ananda Marga ideology states, “Oh Lord, what can I offer unto You? I can only offer my existential ‘I’ feeling. Please take it.” (8)
So the entire meaning of this song is that the bhakta is offering everything to the Divine Entity, Parama Purusa. That is why this song has been named: "Song of Sweetness". Without deep love towards Parama Purusa, the feeling of full surrender will not arise in the mind. That stage of deep love is full of sweetness. For this reason, this song has its own title "Song of Sweetness".
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The central theme is that in this song the bhakta is yearning for Parama Purusa: “Please come and take the offerings of my mind, and make me Your own.” The bhakta is feeling a strong urge to reach his desired Goal: Becoming one with Parama Purusa by surrendering unto Him. It is quite evident that the bhakta is addressing Parama Purusa in this song; the bhakta is singing to the Lord. Parama Purusa is not singing the song to the bhakta. So the inner essence of this Prabhat Samgiita is how the bhakta is offering their everything unto the Supreme Entity.
References
1. 37 Workers Rules, Point #32
2. The Liberation of Intellect - Neo-Humanism, Inner Asset
3. Subhasita Samgraha-12, The Secret of Dharma Lies Hidden in the Mind
4. 37 Workers Rules, Point #32
5. Caryacarya - 2, Chapter 1, Pt # 7
6. The Liberation of Intellect - Neo-Humanism, Inner Asset
7. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 3, Prańáma Mantra
8. Subhasita Samgraha-12, The Secret of Dharma Lies Hidden in the Mind
== Section ==
The section below demarcated by asterisks is an entirely different topic,
completely unrelated to the above material. It stands on its own as a point of interest.
The section below demarcated by asterisks is an entirely different topic,
completely unrelated to the above material. It stands on its own as a point of interest.
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How you are watched
How you are watched
"In the case of a living person, the unit consciousness continues to see everything. In that case, the átmá witnesses all that the mind thinks, does, remembers, how it regulates the active sense organs, how the person talks, how the person thinks. “I will eat this food, I shall sit here, I will exploit these fools in such and such a way. I shall sit with my body smeared with ash. If any erudite person comes, I shall send my disciple and tell him to say that today Sádhujii is observing silence; so I won't have to answer his questions. I shall observe silence.” One has entertained all these thoughts and one has decided accordingly. The átmá has heard everything." (AV-10, The Supreme Entity – the Non-Doer)
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== Section 2: Links ==
Other topics of interest
