Baba
“Can I rely on you”
Namaskar,
Suppose there is one guru who knows that some of his disciples suffer from certain flaws. And that guru calls those disciples near and says:
From tomorrow onward, you will be given greater responsibility to run the ashram and its activities. Promise me that you will not sell the ashram and destroy all the related properties. Can you be trusted not to ruin everything?
By posing this sort of query, it is very evident that those disciples are not trustworthy. Please keep this in mind as you read the remainder of this mail.
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Baba was calling central dadas to take oaths
The present scenario of groupism, division, and infighting going on now in our organisation did not come out of nowhere. Years and decades ago there was every indication that this type of devastation could and would take place. Those around could see the standard of those Dadas.
In 1990, as you may remember, Baba was calling Dadas - groups of Wts, especially central Dadas - to Him so that they could take an oath in His presence. There was no secret this was going on; many have heard about this program. Those days, Beloved Baba was calling several workers or more at a time and asking them, “Do you promise to work for the welfare of the Ananda Marga ideology? Are you trustworthy enough to spread my ideology? Can I rely on you? Are you committed to serving all peoples? Will you keep this organisation unified? Are you to be trusted?”
This was emphatically recounted by Dada Vijayananda. In the sound file (link appended below), Dada Vijayananda clearly recalls how Baba was repeatedly asking top Wts, “Can I rely on you, can I rely on you.” Again and again, Baba was calling upon those Wts in this way.
To all these types of questions, key central Dadas present - ie the central Dadas which Baba had called before Him - were required to take an oath that they would solemnly swear to fulfill their duty to Baba and Ananda Marga ideology. This was the scene which was unfolding in 1990. And those Dadas were quite proud to have been called before Baba to take such an oath. They took this to be an honour and an indication of their high commitment to Baba.
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What is the inner meaning behind such an oath
However, we should apply our own vivek to understand the real meaning of having to take such an oath in the first place. Let’s again review the words of the guru who had the least trust and faith in his disciples.
From tomorrow onward, you will be given greater responsibility to run the ashram and its activities. Promise me that you will not sell the ashram and destroy all the related properties. Can you be trusted not to ruin everything?
By posing this sort of query, it is very evident that those disciples are not trustworthy. Similarly, we can all consider why Baba requested such central WTs to take an oath before Him. Let's take a look at another analogy.
Suppose, a father is about to retire from his business and he is going to pass the torch of ownership of all his entrepreneurial interests and land holdings to his son, and the father says: “Son, I have worked hard all my life, please promise me that you will honestly watch over my affairs and take care of the family.” The father who speaks in this way does not have faith in his son. Otherwise, what was the need for the father to ask such a thing of his son. This type of statement or oath only comes into play when the son has shown that he is not trustworthy.
Or it is just like if there are two friends, and if one says to the other, “Listen, I have to go out for a few minutes, please promise me that you will not steal my belongings while I am away from you.” Then who is going to think this is a trusting friendship. In all these case scenarios, they are saying, “You are not trustworthy.”
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Analogy: “Please be true to me”
If anybody is having difficulty and still could not understand the essence of this situation then this next analogy may help. Let's say a husband and his spouse were at the airport as the husband was about to go away on a business trip. When saying goodbye, just before he was to board the plane, if the concerned husband says to his spouse, “Please promise that you will be true to me”, who is going to think that their marriage is based on trust and fidelity.
Rather, one gets the distinct idea that the husband knows well that his spouse has loose behaviour, or that she has been untrue in the past, or that she has interest in someone else. It gives the distinct feeling that, “You (i.e. the spouse) are not trustworthy.” And it is for this reason, with this doubt and uncertainty in mind, that he is asking her to promise to be faithful. All because the spouse has a clear tendency to be unfaithful. Otherwise what was the need for the spouse to take such an oath when there is a deep and trusting commitment between the two parties, between the husband and his spouse. And the same could be said about a husband with a wandering eye as well.
In other words, if the husband and his spouse have deep trust in each other, and if one asks the other, “Will you be true to me?” there will be tremendous disappointment. If the husband says that to his spouse she will cry out and be angry, “Why are you accusing me in this way?!” She will not be pleased. Similar, would be the case if the spouse said that to the husband.
Baba took a similar oath from central workers
Yet this is the very same type of oath which our all-knowing Baba took from those central Dadas. That oath was done because Baba was intrinsically aware about their worthlessness etc. Yet we all know what transpired thereafter and how far those central Dadas could live up to the oath or not.
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From another perspective, various other acaryas and senior margiis were not asked to take such an oath in front of Baba. And they were relieved because they felt that having to take such an oath meant that such persons were not up to the proper standard. There are so many acaryas and margiis who are truly committed to the ideals of AM, and Baba knowingly never asked them to take that oath in front of Him. Whereas those who were called upon to take an oath back in 1990 are the very ones who have pillaged our AMPS and cracked it into pieces for their own selfish ends. The ones called upon to take the oath were the trustless ones.
Conclusion
When a person asks, “Can I rely on you”, it means they do not have inherent trust and faith in the other party. Now we can see why Baba did not trust those central Dadas. And verily for the last many decades, those very central Dadas etc have shown their true colour.
Namaskar,
In Him,
Rtambhara’
Note: On the path of Ananda Marga, oaths are taken when a person gets diiksa of various types. We remember those oaths every day. Those dharmic oaths are radically different from the query - "Are you trustworthy?"
~ In-depth study ~
Those central Dadas who took the oath - 'I can be trusted to watch over the AMPS' - had their own perspective of the matter. They thought it meant that they were the ones who were true to Baba. So they told everyone that Baba took a special oath from them. They thought this would impress others. Indeed they traveled all over Delhi Sector and the entire globe, describing how Baba had specially called them and asked, “Can I trust you” etc. Through their own eyeglasses, they thought that this was Baba's way of telling them that they are the great ones to run the organisation. But those with a balanced mind can understand the inner truth: That having to take such an oath means that they had a weakness or mental defect. All-knowing Baba was basically saying, “You are not trustworthy.” Otherwise Baba would not have been concerned about them in that way.
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And indeed, see what these oath-taking Dadas have done to our organisation since 1990. It is quite apparent that they were not to be trusted from the outset. That is why Baba was again and again asking them, “Are you trustworthy, can I depend on you?” Yet those Dadas viewed that oath as their entitlement to running the organisation. They thought that they should take similar oaths from the margiis. And that is the very tradition that they started. After 1990, thinking of themselves as the great ones, those central Dadas began calling all the margiis to their various dogmatic programs like mahaprayan and requested those arrivees to take an oath. This was the ridiculous scene that was going on - how ironic.
Those central Dadas have ruined Baba scriptures, broken the organisation into pieces, created dogmatic tiirthas, pilfered so much money, expelled so many innocent margiis, destroyed the BP system, and countless harms they have done to our Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha.
The ones administering this oath have utterly destroyed our Marga. They have made a mockery out of unity; they have tossed Ananda Marga ideology in the dustbin; they have gone against Ista in countless ways; and they have time and again put their own selfish and individual interests ahead of collective welfare. It is an absolute mockery for them to be administering this oath to well-intentioned margiis and acaryas. And again, the only reason Baba was asking them in 1990, “Can I count on you, are you dependable” was because He was indirectly saying, 'You are not trustworthy'. That is what He was telling those top central Dadas.
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Listen to the sound file
Click on the below link to listen to Dada Vijayananda's sound file where he recounts how Baba was asking, "Can I rely on you?":
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The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
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== Section 2: Prabhat Samgiita ==
The loving touch of the Cosmic Entity
“Bháve bhará ákáshe, bhávátiita sakáshe, maner mádhuri d́hele jái…” (Prabhat Samgiita #0573)
Purport:
O Bhávátiita Entity, due to your presence, my mental sky is filled with your ideation. I go on pouring the sweetness of my mind unto You. In the chords of my mental viina and in the music of my heart, besides You there is nothing else. Parama Puruśa, I love only You.
My Eternal Companion, please be gracious and lead me, day and night, unto Your radiant-filled, divine refulgence. You are the abundant beauty of the infinite; You float in the pollen of the finite as Taraka Brahma. Please make me merge into the unknowable Parama Purusa, into You. By Your anudhyána, by Your abhidhyána, I have attained You in my soul. It is Your grace.
In the psychic arena of my unit being, the loving touch of the Cosmic Entity is coming. It rouses the samvit and hladinii, with heart-filled determination. In my meditation, my mind sways from ideating on form to merging into formlessness, and finally loses all boundaries of limitation, and becomes one with that limitless Parama Puruśa. It is Your causeless krpa...
Notes for Prabhat Samgiita #0573:
[1] Bha'va'tiita: This is one of the names of Parama Purusa and describes one of His infinite attributions. In His stance of bhava’tiita, Parama Purusa is beyond all thought conception. Bhava means thinking, and atiita means beyond. So bhavatiita means the Entity who is beyond all thought. If one tries to think of Bhavatiita - i.e. the Supreme Entity - then one’s mind gets suspended in His ideation and ceases to function. It is akin to the doll of salt that tries to measure the depths of the ocean. It dissolves before reaching the bottom and becomes one with the ocean. Similarly, the mind cannot reach that Entity who is Bhavatiita. As the unit mind tries to think of Him, the mind actually becomes one with Him, by His grace. That unit mind loses its individuality and merges into Him - it cannot remain separate. That is why He is called Bhavatiita.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Parama Purus'a, the Supreme Reality, is beyond all speech and thought: He is beyond the reach of the vocal cord. So He is bha'va'tiita ["beyond bha'va"]...The more one thinks of His infinite qualities, the more one becomes speechless, the more deeply one becomes absorbed in Him." (1)
[2] Samvit: Ananda Marga ideology says, "Samvit means spiritual consciousness, spiritual awakening. A man engaged in bad things all of a sudden feels that “No, I shouldn’t do all these things. No, I should be a good man henceforward.” Such an idea all of a sudden comes in his mind. And this thing, this change of mental tendency, is brought about by samvit shakti of Vidyámáyá. Do you follow? This is what is called samvit shakti. “No, henceforward I must be a good man. No, henceforward I must be a spiritualist. I must not encourage any depraving idea.” Samvit shakti." (2
[3] Hladinii: Ananda Marga ideology states, “Hládinii shakti means the shakti that helps, that propels, that directs, the jiiva towards the realm of supreme beatitude.” (3)
References
1. Namah Shivaya Shantaya, Disc: 19
2. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 23, Brahma Cakra
3. Subhasita Samgraha - 24, The Noumenal Progenitor
== Section 3: Important Teaching ==
Prout philosophy states, “A leader of the Maethilii community in Bihar wanted to start a movement against the exploitation of the Maethilii language, so he organized a massive rally and started to lecture the people about the suppression of Maethilii. Initially, everyone listened to him attentively and supported his ideas. At the end of his address he told the masses: “We will live for Maethilii, we will die for Maethilii.” But one person amongst the crowd shouted out: “Yes, we will live for Maethilii, but why should we die for Maethilii? Rather, I choose to die in Kashi.” According to mythology, if one dies in Kashi one goes to heaven. Immediately all the people started supporting this view, and as a result the meeting was disturbed. This happened because the people were not conscious of the suppression of their mother tongue, and they followed the path of religious dogma instead. So, you should ensure that these three cardinal socio-political principles are not violated. By doing this you will safeguard the welfare of society.” (1)
Reference
1. Prout in a Nutshell-16, Three Cardinal Socio-Political Principles
== Section: Important Teaching ==
This era demands AM practices
Ananda Marga ideology guides, "Our social code provides clear guidelines on how members will adapt to this modern, rapidly changing world. There have been more changes in the past 200 years than in the 800 years prior to that. In education, culture, dress and food habits major changes have taken place. Old, outdated wooden shoes, turbans, etc. have been replaced by modern shoes, hats and clothes made from scientific fabrics with contemporary designs. Primitive bullock carts, horse-drawn carriages, hackney coaches, etc., have been replaced with fast-moving cars, trains, and aeroplanes. In the past, people used to travel by elephant, but now they can travel to other planets by rocket. There should be a proper adjustment between the body and the mind to keep pace with the fast speed of the development in the world. For this reason, Ananda Marga spiritual practices place much importance on ásanas, práńáyáma, etc.” (1)
Reference
1. Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell - 4, Our Social Treatise
== Section: News 2017 ==
Namaskar,
Here are two youtube videos related with the sanctity of Guru that demand our strict attention:
- Video #1: This video is from a DMC where sadhakas are doing Guru puja and receiving His blessing. The camera is focused on Sadguru Baba the entire time and shows His varabhaya mudra. This wholly contravenes the sanctity of Ista and should not be available on a public platform. This video should only be accessible to sadhakas and shown in a controlled setting, i.e. in a jagrti or in the privacy of one’s home. Here is a link to the video - you are requested to condemn this fellow who disobeyed Guru and uploaded this video. True sadhakas must condemn this fellow in the comment section of the youtube site.
Ananda Marga Caryacarya states, “You shall protect, in all respects and at all costs, the dignity...of the pratikrti [photo] of Márga Guru.” (1)
- Video #2: In this next video, they are showing all kinds of new-age scenes and images as a backdrop to the audio of Baba discourse on Gurupujanam. That gives the wrong impression that AM teachings support those new age / religious photos etc. Best would have been to simply show the pratika or some other dharmic picture. You are requested to condemn this fellow who disobeyed Guru and uploaded this video. True sadhakas must condemn this fellow in the comment section of the youtube site.
Just a degrading / pseudo-culture platform
All in all, youtube is not a preferred medium for the tantric teachings of Ananda Marga. Before nearly each video, some type of pseudo-culture or degenerative advertisement is shown. And often youtube is displaying other degrading images and video previews that severely compromise our AM values. In brief, most often being on the youtube site means contravening Baba’s teachings.
In Him,
Ravindra
Reference
1. Caryacarya -1, Your Treasures
== Section 4: Links ==
Other topics of interest
