Baba
Reason for not crying
Namaskar,
One person once remarked that, “I have been there in Tiljala to see the holy tomb but I never feel sad.”
This is quite natural. Not all cry when visiting the cemetery. A mother always cries when she visits the tomb of her baby. But when on-lookers and far distant relatives visit that same tomb, they do not cry. Here the operative factor is that crying depends upon how much love you have for the one in the tomb.
https://anandamarganewsbulletin.blogspot.com/
When far distant relatives sit by the grave they do not cry. But if the tombstone is of your most loved one then you are going to cry. You will not be happy or blissful. This is very normal.
Who cries at MPD dogma
In the case of mahaprayan, some attendees cry and some not. Those who think that the tomb is of my closest one cry; and those who have a distant feeling do not cry. This happens everywhere - both in the general society and in MPD. So MPD is a sad ceremony for loved ones.
In contrast, those who have a financial stake in the funeral ceremony, and those digging the graves and selling ornaments etc, feel very happy by their material gain. But loved ones are surely going to cry. That is why for them it is a sad ceremony.
A mother always cries when she visits the tomb of her baby. But by seeing the same tomb, on-lookers and far distant relatives will not cry. Crying depends upon how much love you have for the one whose tomb it is. So MPD is a sad ceremony for loved ones.
Unfortunately, those who do not cry when seeing the tomb are distant people. They visit the tomb for some other material gain. And the worst part is when they return back they tell the mother that the visit was blissful.
https://anandamarganewsbulletin.blogspot.com/
Their favorite justification
Some of our respected brothers and sisters, i.e. those who are the organisers and inventors of the shraddhainjali / mahaprayan (মহাপ্রয়াণ) / tomb worship dogma, repeatedly resort to a particular quote when justifying the existence of their annual tomb day ceremony. Here below is that quote followed by a short analysis.
"Táraka Brahma comes here on a particular date, leaves this earth also on a particular date, takes the birth of His quinquelemental body, the death of His quinquelemental body." (1)
After citing this quote, some Dadas furthermore justify that, "As we already celebrate the birth, then why not celebrate the day of leaving as well. Then everything will be complete."
Baba forbids annual death ceremony / shraddhainjali / MPD / tomb worship
Look at it this way: In the pre-1990 Caryacarya, Baba has given a chapter to celebrate their birthday (chapter 20 of CC-1). And there is a chapter for observing the death ceremony, i.e. shraddha ceremony (chapter 32 of CC-1).
However, observing annual shraddhainjali / mahaprayan (মহাপ্রয়াণ) / tomb worship of Mahasambhuti means going against and violating the pre-1990 Caryacarya and Guru's wishes. That is the worst grade of sin. Because the pre-1990 Caryacarya forbids annual death day.
https://anandamarganewsbulletin.blogspot.com/
So no matter how you look at it, the point is moot. Shraddhainjali / mahaprayan (মহাপ্রয়াণ) / tomb worship is a bogus invention that contravenes every ethic given by Sadguru Baba in the pre-1990 Caryacarya. The so-called shraddhainjali / mahaprayan (মহাপ্রয়াণ) / tomb worship program is fundamentally wrong - on multiple fronts.
Tomb worship is doubly wrong
Baba has stated that the shraddha ceremony must be completed within a 12-day period, and it must not be repeated each year. That is Baba's given guideline in pre-1990 Caryacarya.
Ananda Marga Caryacarya says, "The period of mourning should not extend beyond twelve days. If you wish, you can perform the shráddha ceremony any day within this period according to convenience." (pre-1990 Caryacarya-1, Shraddha Ceremony)
Baba's guideline regarding the shraddha ceremony is that it must be completed within 12 days. So those MPD organisers are clearly going against Guru's teaching. According to pre-1990 Caryacarya, there must not be an annual shraddha ceremony. Therefore, so-called shraddhainjali / mahaprayan (মহাপ্রয়াণ) / tomb worship program is wrong. It is the worst grade of sin.
https://anandamarganewsbulletin.blogspot.com/
Against pre-1990 Caryacarya
Most importantly, the reason why the day Mahasambhuti withdrew His form is not celebrated is because Baba did not instruct us to celebrate it; whereas, He most certainly did guide us to celebrate His advent. This in and of itself is enough to convince any bhakta to only celebrate Ananda Purnima and wholly ignore the day of so-called shraddhainjali / mahaprayan (মহাপ্রয়াণ) / tomb worship, i.e. their annual shraddha ceremony.
Here the whole point is that celebrating or observing the day of Mahasambhuti's so-called shraddjainjali is 100% contrary to Ananda Marga ideology. One must know that Guru is ever-present; the so-called shraddhainjali / mahaprayan (মহাপ্রয়াণ) / tomb worship will ruin one's inner flow of bhakti. It is spiritual suicide.
Yet this is what the Kolkata organisers have done and how they wrongly present and justify their program by misinterpreting the aforementioned quote.
Now, however, the matter is clear. The shraddha day - i.e. so-called shraddhainjali / mahaprayan (মহাপ্রয়াণ) / tomb worship - must not be celebrated annually as this is against pre-1990 Caryacarya, against Ananda Marga ideology, and 100% contrary to what Guru has told.
https://anandamarganewsbulletin.blogspot.com/
Mahaprayan divas of Marhum Kazi N. Islam
Here is the example of mahaprayan divas commemoration organised and observed by common folks. In this Bengali newspaper, it is 38th mahaprayan (মহাপ্রয়াণ) or death anniversary day of Marhum Kazi N. Islam. In the below title of this Bengali newspaper article, the fourth & fifth terms (i.e. the last two words) in the main heading is the phrase “Mahaprayan Divas.” Here is how the term mahaprayan is written in Bengali: মহাপ্রয়াণ. And this word you will find as the 4th term in the below heading.
Sadguru Baba is Parama Purusa - not some type of pseudo guru. He is Mahasambhuti, and He has graciously given all that was needed for humanity. He has given everything. And He was not feeling any problem in telling about the withdrawal of His form as Mahasambhuti and remaining ever-present in His original seity - for bhaktas. So if He wished He could have given a program for this day, but He purposely did not assign any observance for the withdrawal of His Mahasambhuti form. He disregarded that intentionally. Such types of gatherings are against the basic fundamentals of Caryacarya. That is why it is sinful.
https://anandamarganewsbulletin.blogspot.com/
Namaskar,
in Him,
Madhumita Dutta
References
1. The Coming of Táraka Brahma, V12-12, EGD 13 May 1979 Fiesch
2. Pre-1990 Caryacarya - 1, Shraddha Ceremony
* * *
The below section is an entirely different topic, unrelated to the above material.
It stands on its own merit as a point of interest and ideological awareness.
* * *
== Section 2: Important Teaching ==
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, "Regarding age, it might be appropriate to say that there are basically four stages in human life. In the first stage, the primary duty of the human being is to receive knowledge and do dharma sadhana. In the second stage, one must fulfill worldly duties and perform dharma sadhana. In the third stage, one must see to any remaining family responsibilities and perform dharma sadhana. Finally, in the fourth stage, when the human body has become incapable of performing worldly duties, one must do dharma sadhana alone. So there are no barriers of age as far as the requirements for a sadhaka are concerned." (1)
Note: Some of the religions preach that one should only spend their later years for contemplative activities and the rest of the life should be spent on worldly affairs. In Ananda Marga, we do not subscribe to such a belief. Sadhana is to be performed from the earliest possible moment and extended through the course of one's entire life. So many other worldly duties and responsibilities will come and go, but throughout life one should be vigilant in the practice of dharma sadhana. Waiting till old age will not do.
Reference
1. Ananda Vacnamrtam-3, The Requirements for Sádhaná
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Ananda Marga teachings guide us, “Nowadays, in those cases where there is difficulty getting the desired effect by swallowing the medicine or ingesting it in some other way, or where the effect is delayed, the system of introducing the medicine into the body through injection is widely prevalent. If anything is injected into the body through a needle it is called súcikábharańa. Súcikábharańa existed in Ayurveda in ancient times to a small extent, but this science could not advance much in those days, chiefly due to the influence of certain superstitions among the people at that time. They did not want to allow anything into their bodies through injection, so this science remained unappreciated. Nowadays it is possible to save the patient's life with injections in the case of diseases that are difficult to cure or treat, or in the case of life-threatening disease. Thankfully, modern practitioners of Ayurveda and Homeopathy, willingly or unwillingly, have accepted the use of needles and themselves use them. Now let us return to the matter of kulyá. Those medicines that need to be kept dry, but which are difficult to make into tablets, were preserved as powders. Medicines preserved as powders are called cúrńa in Ayurveda, for example, bháskara salt cúrńa, gámbharii múla cúrńa, gud́ucii sharkará cúrńa. Medicine preserved in powder form is also called kulyá." (1)
Reference
1. Shabda Cayanika, Kulya to Kuvela (Discourse 34)
== Section 3: Links ==
Recent postings
Other topics of interest
