Date: Thu, 22 Nov 2012 18:33:37 -0000
From: Anandasharan
<a.sharana@photolab..>
Subject: My Own Experience
To:
am-g...@earthlink.net
Baba
"Tamasa'y dha'ka' gharete ghumiye chilum nibhrte..." (PS 3930)
Purport:
Baba, that night I was sleeping deeply in one solitary corner of my
house, which was submerged in the cimmerian darkness. And that very
night
the front door of my house was bolted shut. No one knocked to come
inside.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, one divine Entity graciously took advent
in
my room. With a sonorous and beautiful voice He sweetly told me,
'Awake, arise, how long will you sleep. Since ages you have been in
slumber. Now take a look around - look towards Me'.
Baba, I did not unbolt nor open the door, even then You are here
next to
me in my room. O' my most adorable One, my mind fails to conceive
how
charming and beautiful You are. Baba, I feel in my heart that Your
divine
splendor and glory cannot be expressed in words. You are beyond all
logic
and reasoning. Baba, my mind fails to comprehend the greatness of
Your grandeur. I do pranam to You an infinite number of times.
Baba, with Your boundless love You have come to me and showered Your
grace...
END NOTE FOR PRABHAT SAMGIITA #3930:
In the above scene, the sadhaka was in a drowsy state of mind; he
was not even aware about his own condition. His mind was not working
in a pointed way. In such a circumstance, there was an urgent need
to get
some guidance from the Guru.
Usually we see that people do not readily realise the advent of
Parama
Purusa in their practical life. Only when Guru reveals His identity
to such
people and invites their attention by internally pulling their
heart, then
to some degree they are able to recognise Him. In response, they
take initiation and
try to lead a dharmic life.
== MY OWN EXPERIENCE ==
Namaskar,
I am now above forty five years of age, have cared for three young
sisters, have a wife and sister-in-law, and have interacted with so
many girls who were my classmates. I know today that gossip across
the sexes and too much intermingling, especially between young males
and females, always creates a devastating story.
I have personally seen what happens with those who gossip and
intermingle too much with the opposite sex. So many boys and girls
become emotionally attached which results either in (a) sexual
involvement or (b) they face terrible emotional tragedy and
heartache.
In both cases, the prana dharma of the individual is disturbed and
the situation and atmosphere becomes negative for ideological
activity.
In that era of old, Buddhism had the full support of so many strong
kings including the great King Ashoka and the Indian populace was
also Buddhist. But since there was no separate system for male
sadhus and female nuns, a terrible problem of infatuation between
sadhus and nuns literally destroyed the prana dharma of Buddhism.
That culminated in the end of Buddhism in India.
Since our psychology has been weaved by the LORD Himself, He has
clearly given instructions about the separate system for males and
females. By that guideline, He is alerting us to the painful
downfall that meets those who mix freely with the opposite sex.
If we continue to allow our youths involved in Rawa programmes to go
against Baba's mandate, then there will be a terrible price to pay.
At present, under Mrinal Pathak's direction, there is far too much
loose behaviour related with our Rawa programmes - both on the stage
and off of it.
We should all let it be known to the organisers that we will not
tolerate a repeat performance at this coming DMS.
COMMON AMONGST ALL THE GROUPS
Unfortunately, this type of degrading display in RAWA programmes is
common to all the groups. Intermingling among boys and girls in the
name of a RAWA programme is not group centric. This is a pan-group
activity. I know that in Faridabad Third Front (EC) organised this
same kind of programme with the help of B Group.
B group also organises this same kind of programme in Delhi
annually. Even from 19991 to 2003, before the time of division into
various factions, this same kind of programme was happening in DMS.
After 2003 when third front was with Ranchi this same programme was
being organised during DMS.
In fact no single group is considering it wrong. In fact, it seems
these group leaders are (a) either not aware or (b) do not bother,
or (c) do not sense it as problem.
Moreover, it is possible that they are having competition to do more
glamorous.
Whatever the reason, this type of degrading display and activity
surround RAWA programmes must come to an end. Rational margiis and
wts are rallying to bring this to a close. It cannot be tolerated
any longer - prakrti will not allow it.
BABA'S GUIDELINES:
MALE - FEMALE RELATIONS
As a reminder, here is what our Sadguru Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji
guide us about RAWA and our cultural programmes:
Baba says, “Men and women should not jointly participate in
theatrical performances.” (Caryacarya-1)
Baba says, “It should be remembered that a woman’s friend is a woman
and a man’s friend is a man. The more distant the relationship
between men and women, the greater should be the courtesy maintained
in mutual conversation and behaviour between them.” (Caryacarya-1)
According to Baba, our cultural programs must be consistent with
Ananda Marga ideals and must be of a requisite standard. Baba
Himself has told what constitutes a real RAWA program: That which
goads the mind toward a higher ideal. Baba critically warns us not
to allow our Rawa programmes to fall prey to debased approaches. Our
standard is far above.
Baba says, "If art or literature is created around the base
propensities of the human mind, people will naturally gravitate
towards it in large numbers, and the creators of such literature
will earn a great deal of money from it; indeed, this is the only
aim of their artistic creation. Engaged in the quest of evil,
obscenity and vulgarity, they also [like the rightists] lose sight
of the primary goal of art." (A Few Problems Solved - 1, The
Practice of Art and Literature)
MORE ABOUT TODAY'S RAWA PROGRAMS UNDER MRINAL PATHAK
It has been an ongoing concern that adolescent boys and girls - as
well as young unmarried males and females - openly mix and mingle in
preparing & performing Rawa programmes at DMS under the
direction of Mrinal Pathak.
A more descriptive portrayal of this is appended in note 1, beneath
my signature.
I have thought at length about past articles on this matter, and
also watched Pathak's activity along with all his team - boys and
girls in DMS. One solution is to have girls play the role of males
in girls performances, as needed; and have boys play the role of
females in boys performances. That would eliminate the mixing of the
sexes amongst our yoga and provide a safer, more stable atmosphere.
As things are happening now, under Mrinal Pathak's guidance and
supervision, there is far too much loose behaviour etc.
I have personally known Mrinal Pathak and his family for the last 25
years. So there is a long history here.
EVERYTHING IS SEPARATE IN ANANDA MARGA
We have to remember that Baba has arranged life in Ananda Marga
where we we maintain our sanctity by adhering to certain codes of
conduct, not by compromising with our values. In the realm of
male-female relations, our proper standard is separation, not free
and sensuous mixing of the sexes.
Baba has mandated that everything in Ananda Marga should be
separate: For example WWD, our relief activities (AMURTL),
reportings, social service projects, LFT trainings, etc. There are
all separate along gender lines.
Here is a more complete list for your review:
1. Jagrtis are not shared between males and females for staying over
or for office work.
2. Co-education is not practiced with students above 8 or 10 years
of age, i.e. or above the age of puberty.
3. During dharmacakra, seminar, and classes, sadhana is done in
distinctly different rows.
4. The organisation itself has an entire separate wing for females,
WWD or Women’s Welfare Department.
5. Prout, AMURT, VSS etc also have separate sections for males and
females.
6. Reporting is done separately.
7. LFT, Tattvika, and Acarya training is separate for males and
females.
8. In-Charges are not mixed. Males are in-charges of males and
females of females.
Note: Only in Central Office will the head of WWD be controlled by
the General Secretary.
9. During DMS, kaoshikii was also performed separately. And still
this practice is maintained for DMS.
10. Females do guard duty for females, and males for males; it is
not mixed.
11. Akhanda kiirtana is done in a separate manner.
12. Madhur sadhana is done according to gender, not with the
opposite sex.
13. In any gathering, females & males do not participate
together for games and sports.
14. All public processions are organised keeping males and females
separate
15. And there are so many systems in place that ensure strict
separation of the sexes.
Thus, when our entire Ananda Marga way of life is separated along
gender lines, it is shameful that today we are allowing the free and
sensuous mixing of the sexes on the stage during our RAWA cultural
programs. This sets a bad example for those young dancers and
thrusts them into the world of pseudo-culture. Plus it is degrading
for the audience to watch. It is a negative scene from all
directions.
Namaskar,
in Him,
Anandasharan
Note 1: WHAT HAPPENED AT THE DANCE PROGRAM
Here it should be understood that Mr Pathak earns his
livelihood by directing dance / dramas for the general society.
This is how he earns his food; so he is well-accustomed to
creating programs that suit the Hollywood taste of the common
public. That means he regularly uses 16-21 year-old boys and
girls in his programs. And he encourages them to dance and sing
together. Mr. Pathak's shows are designed in the ways of
Bollywood and Hollywood. There is an open degree of sensuality
in his performances.
For example, at his recently displayed performances at
Ananda Nagar in May 2012:
(a) All females aged 16-21 danced with their mid-section
uncovered. That means the entire region from just above their
waist to just below their chest was completely bare.
(b) All males aged 16-21 danced with their entire top
exposed, from the waist up. Males were only wearing a dhoti;
their upper body was fully naked.
(c) These males and females - or young men and women - were
dancing on the stage together, holding and touching one another,
according to the role of their characters. In that way they were
in each other's grasp.
Everyone is aware that per the Ananda Marga system, adult
males and females should not dance together on the stage;
indeed, no females should dance in front of a male audience.
That is just one unfortunate scene. And our RAWA stage is not a
night-club, where all kinds of sensual acts are put on display
(d) The males also had shaved all the hair from their
underarm; it was visible to all. This contravenes Baba's
guidelines of 16 points, i.e. "Do not cut the hair of the joints
of the body." This gives the wrong message to the audience.
(e) Amazingly, the theme of the show was how youths prepare
their mind to become avadhutas and avadhutikas. Yet, in reality,
the entire program only served to goad people's minds toward
sensuality - not towards divinity. Our RAWA programs should goad
the mind from muladhara cakra to the sahasara cakra - not
sahasrara to muladhara. So see what Mr Pathak's dance program
did - that is the irony. (DMS News: Uncultured Dance in
Cultural Program, posted 6/10/12)
Note 2: HUMAN MOVEMENT AND RAWA:
TOWARDS THE SUBTLE SPHERE
Baba says, "Then again, you are not merely an animal: simply eating,
drinking and sleeping is not everything for a human. A human has a
subtler life, a more charming life, a more fascinating life, so your
physical existence moves towards your psychic existence, and this
movement is your [quest] for higher life, your [quest] for subtler
life, that is, your physico-psychic movement, starting from the
physical level and moving towards the psychic level. Your
physico-psychic activities are architecture, literature, dance,
music – they are all your physico-psychic movement. And this
movement is from crude to subtle, starting from the cruder arena and
moving towards the subtler arena. That’s why in Ananda Marga I
encourage this physico-psychic movement: because it will help you in
moving towards the subtler world, in moving towards the supreme
spiritual goal."
"Then the third human [movement] is on the pure psychic level. Your
thought-waves, your subtler thoughts, your aesthetic tastes, they
are all your psychic movement. For physico-psychic movement, I
encourage boys and girls to start work in the RAWA [Renaissance
Artists’ and Writers’ Association] movement. You know, to work in
RAWA, high-grade intellect is not necessary. But for pure psychic
movement, pure psychic development, higher intellect is necessary.
And in that realm also humans are to be encouraged, because it is
even subtler than physico-psychic movement – it is pure psychic
movement. And for that I encourage the intellectuals of Ananda Marga
to form RU [Renaissance Universal] Clubs. Let there be psychic
development, let there be clashes and cohesions in the realm of
intellect. This will help a person to move from crude to subtle.
This is the third expression of the human actional faculty." (Ananda
Vacanamrtam - 30, Human Expressions and Human Movements)
Note 3: LINK TO PRIOR LETTER
(Note: The above email is in follow up to the
thread titled, "DMS News: Uncultured Dance in Cultural
Program." Below is a link to the most recent letter of that
thread. - Eds)