Baba
Personal link with Him
Namaskar,
One of the main problems people encounter in sadhana is thinking of Parama Purusa as some type of philosophical, or mechanical, or mathematical Entity. In that case, Parama Purusa does not come within the periphery of their close proximity like a family member. This letter is all about developing an inner closeness with Parama Purusa - i.e. a more personal relation with Him.
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How to develop intimacy and closeness
Usually people feel more closeness with their family such as their father, mother, wife, child, son, or daughter, etc than with other members of society. Because by living with their family and talking together and helping them, by sharing their problems with one another, and by doing so many things, a certain intimacy and closeness develops. So in one's relation with Parama Purusa, if all these things are missing, then He remains merely as a theoretical Entity.
In the life of a bhakta, the main thing is to bring Parama Purusa in one's very close proximity. And that will happen by sharing your thoughts with Him, talking to Him about your innermost feelings, and by asking Him to solve your spiritual problems - all kinds of small or big things. By His grace, when the sadhaka starts thinking that He is with them, then all their problems, sorrows, and miseries fade away.
Bhaktas want His proximity in order to serve Him. And there are certain steps and preparations which are needed to establish oneself in dhyana sadhana. Those steps are: shravan, manan, niddhidhyasana, tattva bhava, yojana etc. These are the golden steps for going close to Parama Purusa in dhyana.
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In a similar manner, when repeating one's mantra in first lesson or 6th lesson then also one should think that, “By this way I am serving Parama Purusa.” This way of thinking makes sadhana meaningful - otherwise it is just some mechanical exercise. To develop more bhakti in dhyana, the aforementioned guidelines help as they allow one to cultivate that inner closeness so one way serve Him. Directly below is one very special discourse on bhakti where it is explained how a sadhaka may come closer to Him.
Call Him both in sorrow & happiness
Here it is explained how one can come close to Parama Purusa in their day to day life and in their ongoing practice of sadhana - thereby making their life meaningful and resplendent. Below is an English summary of Baba’s original Hindi discourse from the Gorkhpur DMC 1984.
SUMMARY: So, "tatvabha'va't", i.e. think about Him in this way: Parama Purusa is mine and I belong to Parama Purusa. Parama Purusa is with me. I am never alone - not in any circumstance. Parama Purusa is with me, both in my pleasure and pain. I will always call Him during times of sorrow, but will not call Him in times of happiness. This approach I will not do. Rather, I will certainly call Him both in times of sorrow and also during my periods of happiness. I will request Him to help in my periods of pain as well as in times of pleasure. Yes, during times of sorrow I will request, Parama Purusa, I am in pain please come and help me remove this problem.
Please come and have some sweets with me.
And during times of pleasure I will say, "Parama Purusa, I am happy, please come and have some sweets with me."
...What you say..? Don't you do this..? You don't do? You call Him in pain and not in pleasure. You don't invite.
[laughter]
Do you invite Parama Purusa in happiness? You do not invite Him then. You only invite Him in times of sorrow. Yes, you should invite him both in times of happiness and sorrow. So, this is tatvabha'va't. Tat means "that" Bhava means ideation. i.e. feeling of that. Always take ideation of that (Parama Purusa). Do your work with your hands and legs but take His feeling in mind, to which we call our 'Guru mantra.
The above is an English summary of Baba’s Hindi discourse from the Gorkhpur DMC 1984.
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Three types service to Parama Purusa
We know that there are three realms in which to serve Parama Purusa: doing relief work and feeding the needy is physical service to Parama Purusa; chanting kiirtan is psychic service to Parama Purusa; and, meditating on Him in half-sadhana, Guru sakash, iishvara pranidhana, Brahmavidya, or dhyana is spiritual service to Parama Purusa.
So in order to physically serve Parama Purusa one has to be in contact with His created world and help those suffering people etc. And to serve Him mentally one has to sing kiirtana and feel His presence inside. And to render spiritual service to Him, one has to ideate on Him and feel His presence in the deep core of their heart in their practice of half-sadhana, Guru sakash, iishvara pranidhana, Brahmavidya, or dhyana. This is highly needed as it is only by having Baba's internal closeness that bhaktas serve and love Him.
Namaskar,
in Him,
Trinetra
~ In-depth study ~
Embrace Him as a family member
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, “One feels kinship to those with whom there is a relation of mutual love and affection, a relation of close intimacy. Where there is lack of intimacy, we call a person as Mr. X, Mrs. Y, etc.; but where there is a feeling of intimacy, the relationship of brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, etc. grows. Obviously where there is no close intimacy between human beings and the Impersonal Entity, no kinship can grow at all. On the other hand, although Saguńa Brahma is a personal Entity, human beings have no personal relationship with Him, because He is extremely busy in creation; He does not do anything beyond His allotted duty. Human beings want a personal God who will understand their joys and sorrows, who will have love for them, and to whom they can express love and feel kinship. They certainly do not want a God who will only impart words of knowledge or punish them and not listen to their tales of sorrow in a sympathetic manner. They want an Entity who will sympathize with them cent per cent in their prosperity and adversity alike. The philosophical texts refer to Táraka Brahma.” (1)
Share one’s pain and pleasure
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, “Human dharma is one, and that is Bhágavata dharma. And iśt́a means the personal God with whom all unit beings can establish a relation of love and affection, to whom they can reveal their pains and pleasures, and surrender themselves and take the safest shelter in Him. That Parama Puruśa, that personal God is not the God of philosophy. Human beings cannot establish a very close relationship with something theoretical. If one closely follows Bhágavata dharma, the final result will be the realization of the Supreme, becoming one with one's iśt́a. Some time ago I said yato dharma tato iśt́ah Yato ista tato jayah. When spiritual aspirants become one with their iśt́a, they no longer remain as insignificant people; in that case their finite happiness is transformed into infinite happiness. Then with their limited strength they become able to perform gigantic tasks...Those who do not follow Bhágavata dharma are almost like animal.” (2)
In sadhana there are only two: sadhaka & Parama Pitá
Ananda Marga ideology states, “There cannot be any complex in the spiritual level or existential sphere. In spirituality there is no complex because every person has contact with Parama Puruśa on a purely personal level. There is no third existence between them. There are only two – the spiritualist and the Parama Pitá [Cosmic Father]. Spiritualists move towards the Cosmic Father and sit on His lap. To do this is every one's birthright. Nobody can be debarred from doing so on the pretext of inferior caste, colour, education or poverty. Since this is every one's birthright there cannot be any complex in the arena of spirituality.” (3)
Ananda Marga ideology states, “When an infant starts walking, the parent first asks it and goads it to walk a little. It tries to walk, but falls. Then the parent advances and lifts it up onto his or her lap. God does the same. Make the slightest effort, and He will pick you up and place you on His lap. Your relation with God is personal. No one can sever this relationship. It is part of your being, your birthright.” (4)
For advanced sadhakas otherwise this may not be understood
Serving Him may mean talking to Him, massaging His feet, feeding Him, and asking for His help and sharing one's problems with Him. These actions all generate closeness in which case we request Him again and again how to serve Him better and better.
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Note: Saguna Brahma, Nirguna Brahma, and Táraka Brahma are not different Entities but rather the same singular Parama Purusa.
References
1. Subhasita Samgraha - 11, A Devotee's Object of Ideation
2. Subhasita Samgraha - 12, Ádarsha and Iśt́a
3. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 5, The Social Order and Superiority and Inferiority Complexes
4. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 23, Your Personal Relationship with God
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Ananda Marga philosophy guides us, "Sarvadharmán parityajya Mámekaḿ sharańaḿ vraja – “Casting aside all other mental preoccupations accept the One alone as your last refuge."" (1)
Note: A common pitfall is that people view their various mundane engagements as their main work. But that is not one's principal dharma. And if one pursues their daily activities in this manner, the mind drifts far from Parama Pursusa and the path of spirituality. This sutra guides us that the way to overcome this is to consciously harbour cosmic ideation before attending to any daily duty or mundane task. Thus when engaged in various works — eating, bathing, sleeping, dancing, walking, cooking, making money etc — one must take cosmic ideation (Brahmabhava) so the mind is always immersed in His thought. Then one will always bear in mind that the sole and only aim of human life is to realize the Supreme. That is the proper spirit of Baba's above teaching.
Reference
1. Namami Krsnasundaram, Párthasárathi Krśńa and Pariprashna (Discourse 24)
== Section: Story ==
True Ananda Margiis are always protected
~ Courtesy to all those who wrote this book, published it, scanned this below page, underlined the passage, and circulated it on social media ~
~ Courtesy to all those who wrote this book, published it, scanned this above page, underlined the passage, and circulated it on social media ~
~ Courtesy to all those who wrote this book, published it, scanned this below page, underlined the passage, and circulated it on social media ~
~ Courtesy to all those who wrote this book, published it, scanned this above page, underlined the passage, and circulated it on social media ~
== Section: Important Teaching ==
How fate was invented
Prout philosophy states, “Whatever dignity a person possesses as a human being in either the Kśatriya Age or the Vipra Age is dealt its heaviest blow in the Vaeshya Age. In the Vaeshya Age a person's dignity is measured in terms of money. The repercussions of this defective evaluation of human beings are not confined only to the realm of dignity; they have far-reaching effects in all spheres of society.” (1)
Prout philosophy states, “In the Vaeshya Age this religious exploitation is more psychic than physical, because the vaeshyas use the vipras to try to spread intellectual propaganda among the masses to prevent them from finding any philosophical justification for their suppressed grievances against the vaeshya structure. This intellectual propaganda aims to convince people that they are the victims of circumstance. It argues, “Everything is destiny. Everything is preordained.” Such doctrines help the vaeshyas to perpetuate their structure. They destroy the personal force of people and make them the playthings of fate. People accept the idea that everything is preordained, and support the status quo.” (2)
References
1. Human Society - 2, The Vaeshya Age
2. Human Society - 2, The Vaeshya Age
== Section: Prabhat Samgiita ==
हे परमपुरुष! तुम उन्हें यह नाच क्यों करने दे रहे हो।
प्रभात संगीत 2815 मानवता आज धूलाय लुटाय, तुमि केनो दूरे रयेछो… तुम्हारा आप
परिचय- यह गीत उस समय का है जब परम पुरुष तारक ब्रह्म के रूप में नहीं आये थे। मानवता अनेक प्रकार के कष्टों ,संकटों और बाधाओं में अपने बेसहारा भाई बहनों को तड़पते देख रही थी। मानवता का इस प्रकार से शोषण होते देख बड़े बड़े भक्तों ने परिस्थिति को सम्हालने की बहुत कोशिश की परन्तु दुष्ट और राक्षसी प्रवृत्तियों वाले लोगों केे सामने वे कुछ न कर पाये। इस प्रकार उन्हों ने बड़ी ही बेचैनी से परमपुरुष को पुकारा कि वह आकर मानवता को दुष्टों के चङ्गुल, से छुड़ा कर कर शान्ति का वातावरण स्थापित करें। इसलिये इस गीत में उन भक्तों की पुकार को दिखाया गया है जो बेचैन होकर परम पुरुष की सहायता को पुकार रहे थे। फिर वह कृपा कर तारकब्रह्म बाबा के रूप में आये और सबके मन और आत्मा में इतना तेज तरङ्ग उत्पन्न किया कि सभी परेशानियाॅं दूर हो गयीं । हम भविष्य में देखेंगे कि उनके द्वारा सुझाये गये समाधान भौतिक जगत में किस प्रकार अपना रूप लेकर सब को प्रभावित करते हैं।
भावार्थ
हे परमपुरुष ! पूरी मानवता भोग विलास में डूबी हुई है। दुष्ट और शोषक लोग आपस में मिलकर मानवता को अपनी इच्छाओं का गुलाम बनाये हुए हैं। बेसहारा और जिन्होंने कोई अपराध नहीं किया है उन पर , ये राक्षस अपनी इच्छायें थोपकर आपसी झगड़ों और शोषण को बढ़ावा दे रहे हैं। मनुष्य जानवरों की तरह व्यवहार करने लगा है। बाबा! तुम क्यों नहीं सुन रहे हो , दूरी क्यों बनाये हुये हो? यह सब टूट फूट तुम क्यों होने दे रहे हो? सभी मधुर कोमलता, कठोर खुरदरेपन में बदल गयी है। प्यार और करुणा, पशुता और दुष्टता में बदल चुकी है। मधुर भक्ति भाव तो सूख ही गया है। अब तो नीची सोच , भौतिकता और भोग विलास ही आज का नियम बन गया है। इस भयङ्कर परिस्थिति को देखकर तुम्हारा हृदय नहीं पसीजता? क्या तुम नहीं जानते कि क्या हो रहा है? तुम अपनी करुणा क्यों नहीं बरसा रहे हो।
बाबा! कृपा कर आ जाइये। इस युग में सुगन्धित फूलों की कलियों ने अपनी महक खो दी है। अब वे बासी होकर सूख गयीं हैं। चन्दन अपनी सुगन्ध खो कर राक्षस के शरीर की तरह कठोर हो गया है। भक्ति और नैतिकता तो अब बीते समय की यादें बन चुके हैं । अच्छे लोगों को सताया जा रहा है। बाबा! तुमने इस हानिकारक जहर को, फूलों के बाग में क्यों फैलने दिया? तुम पूरे समाज को , भौतिकता की तुच्छ सोच और अधार्मिक नीचता से भरे मानव विरोधी लोगों से क्यों शासित होने दे रहे हो? हे परमपुरुष! हे परम सत्ता! अब तुम इस धरती पर जल्दी ही आ जाओ ।
हे परमपुरुष ! हे बाबा! पीढ़ी दर पीढ़ी साधना करने का महान गुण गायब हो चुका है। मानवता के कल्याणकारी दयालुता के कार्य तो कब के समाप्त हो चुके हैं। ऋषियों और मुनियों की महान शिक्षायें धुन्धली हो गयी हैं। दुष्टों ने वायु , पानी और चन्द्रमा के प्रकाश को प्रदूषित कर दिया है। सब लोग भ्रष्टता और पाप की गहरायी में डूब गये है। इस संसार में जो भी मधुर और शुद्ध है वह भौतिकवाद और शोषण की नारकीय विधियों से कुचल दिया गया है। ऊपरी भौतिक वस्तुओं को पाना ही लोगों का लक्ष्य हो गया है। मानव के शरीर में दानव का काम करने वाली बिरोधी ताकतों ने सत्ता सम्हाल रखी है। इससे युद्धों और तोड़फोड़ का नंगा नाच करने को बढ़ावा मिल रहा है । तुम उन्हें यह नाच क्यों करने दे रहे हो।
हे मेरे प्रभु!, हे परमप्रिय! कृपा कर आ ही जाओ और हमें बचा लो।
== Section 3: Links ==
