Baba
Way to befool & earn
Namaskar,
We all know Baba places great importance on the study of history as it enables both individuals and communities to learn from past mistakes and thereby progress. Failing that, without the study of history, people commit the same old errors over and over again. In which case, they remain shackled by the pitfalls of the past and are unable to advance. So the review of history holds a unique place for the development of any society.
Naturally then, as Ananda Margiis, it is to our great advantage to know the history of Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha (AMPS), and our stand on key events. Sadguru Baba has graciously blessed humanity with the teachings of Ananda Marga ideology - to replace the age-old religious dogmas that have been plaguing humanity. So AM is completely against the tiirtha / so-called holy land dogma. Yet, our very own organisation (AMPS) has invested greatly in profiting off of those very same tiirtha dogmas Please read this below letter as a historical account first posted just nearly five years ago (Oct 2015) on this network.
In Him,
Dr. Gopal
Ananda Marga News Bulletin
Note: Please bear in that this letter was initially written and posted five years ago as a breaking news item.
Namaskar,
Before 1990, when our Gurudev intended to bless His children by conducting DMC in a particular area, then simply the dates and places were conveyed via wts and other margis - either personally, or by phone, or by letters, or simple pamphlets. There was no mention about that area’s local historical sites or religious temples etc where He was going to hold DMC. Rather that place itself acquired importance with His auspicious arrival.
Now, I have seen some DMS brochures and pamphlets (Viz. Devghar, Kullu) that highlight the places of pilgrimage like different temples, hills, etc. All these local “attractions” have been highlighted as special places to go to and visit - i.e. sightseeing etc. This means the aim of DMS function has become secondary and the places of entertainment and pilgrimage have become primary.
We all know that Baba clearly explained about "tiirthas" as tire sthitah yah sah tiirthah, and never recommended to visit any temple or other sites as a tiirtha. Yet the organizers have expressed as if such dogmatic tiirtha sites are recognized by Ananda Marga philosophy and are thereby misleading common margiis of the world. This is the harmful scene that is occurring.
http://anandamarganewsbulletin.blogspot.com
Nothing but a travel agency
Sadly, our Ananda Marga has left the work of dharma pracar and instead become a typical travel agency. Just see what is going on.
Up to 1990 when DMC (Dharma Maha Cakra) was being held then Sadguru Baba presided over a grand and dharmic event. There were no side-shows - just pure dharma. Now, at DMS (Dharma Maha Sammelan) dharma is not front and center - it is not anywhere at all. Just DMS has become a collection of side shows, all smoke and mirrors. And this brochure for the Deoghar DMS (03 & 04 Oct) is proof.
On the left panel of the brochure, the DMS organisers are promoting all kinds of sightseeing events such as historical monuments and dogmatic religious sites etc. As if people should be coming to DMS to see these places. And this type of approach has become the norm of all the factions. They are not even a shadow of what Ananda Marga used to be because they have completely forgotten their dharma. Rather their existence defeats the purpose of Ananda Marga.
In 1955 Sadguru Baba blessed this world and beyond with the aims and teachings of Ananda Marga ideology with the sole purpose of propagating bhagavad dharma. But now that very same structure has been reduced to a world-wide travel agency. Gone are the dharmic injunctions and pristine conduct. Instead, they merely call people for DMS with the allurement of sightseeing and vacationing. Their interest is crowds and profit. Whereas in the days up to 1990, DMC discourse verily shook the world with the force of righteousness.
So the Deoghar DMS brochure is just a promotional, sightseeing pamphlet. That is the hallmark of this brochure.
http://anandamarganewsbulletin.blogspot.com
Dogmatic propaganda - typified by this DMS Deoghar brochure
On the one side, all of humanity is desperate for physical, psychic, and spiritual service. And Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurti ji - the Founder and Propounder of Ananda Marga - has given the solution. All the rules and guidelines, all the plans and programs, and all the answers and solutions He has graciously given for humanity to advance.
Yet now those who have taken AMPS hostage and captive are choking the propagation of Ananda Marga ideals. They are impotent and incapable of propagating Guru’s teachings - nor are they allowing others to do so. By their modus operandi it is clear what they are doing - they have reduced themselves to a mere travel agency, highlighting dogmatic sightseeing spots popularised by the masses etc.
And this brochure is not an isolated incident or outlying example. Their each and every action has been reduced to superficiality and self, dogmatic propaganda - typified by this DMS Deoghar brochure.
in Him,
Kailash Tiwari
What is real tiirtha & what is fake tiirtha
Ananda Marga philosophy says, “People generally want to live without intense sádhaná in the spiritual sphere and without much effort in the mundane sphere. When people seek to acquire fortune or attain salvation without proper effort, then they try to remove their sins by visiting the so-called holy places of pilgrimage – they try to escape across the Baetarańii [Styx] by holding the tails of calves! The merchants in those holy places understand this mental weakness of the people, and by taking advantage of it, exploit them to the utmost. As a result, the pilgrims are unable to worship as they should, and are misguided into moving from one place to another by these exploiters. But this does not satisfy their spiritual hunger, and they feel they have not at all been relieved of their sins. Thus people of static mentality waste their valuable time, energy and money rushing from one place of pilgrimage to another.”
“Those who forget the Lord of the holy place, that ever-wakeful One in perpetual tranquillity like an eternal, unflickering flame of light in the deepest recesses of their hearts – those who wander here and there in the mundane world in search of a holy place – can they attain salvation? Shiva answers Párvatii, “No, this type of person cannot attain salvation.” (1)
Sightseeing monuments highlighted in Deoghar DMS brochure
Translation of Left Panel of DMS Brochure
Map - line diagram of area
Vaidhyanathdham Temple, Va'sukinathdham,
Naulakha temple, Nandan Hill, Kundeshvari Temple,
Ramkrashna mission vidyapiith, Harlajouri Temple,
Sikhiya Lilashram, Trikoot Mountain, Tapovan
Tiirtha dogma
So our duty is to follow Baba and not be misled by those who are promoting DMS as a mere sightseeing tour. The following teaching Baba guides that very point.
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, "Very often, ignorant of real spirituality and goaded by religious dogma, people undertake long and hazardous journeys to places of pilgrimage, sometimes even selling their earthly possessions like houses, cultivable land, etc to make the trip possible. They hope to attain virtue by taking a holy dip in sacred rivers. It is needless to say that this causes a loss not only of energy, time and money, but brings much trouble and no spiritual gain." (2)
Now huge propaganda is going on to convince naive people to reach to that holy land of Deoghar to attend the DMS program. We should not allow even one innocent person to become dogmatic prey. Rather we should propagate Baba's teaching that Parama Purusa lives in the heart of each and every devotee. One need not to rush here and there to find Him - that is ultravarious to our spiritual approach.
http://anandamarganewsbulletin.blogspot.com
Reference
1. Namah Shivaya Shantaya, Shivas Teachings – 2 (continued) (Discourse 17)
2. Neo-humanism in a Nutshell - 2, Pramá – 1 / Dynamic Equilibrium and Equipoise
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