ÁNANDA MÁRGA—A NEW SPIRITUAL ROUSING IN SOCIETY

1955, FIRST DHARMA MAHA CAKRA
In the meanwhile, on Bábá’s instruction, Pranay and Shiva Shankar informed all the initiates that a gathering would be held at the railway quarters on the evening of the 1^st of January 1955.

At the entrance, a cardboard sign was hanging bearing an instruction, “Smoking not permitted in the ashram premises”.

Those who had heard about the incident of 25^th December did not fail to notice the significance of this.

Next to it was a second sign with a Sanskrit couplet: Shive ruśt́e gurustrátá gurao ruśt́ao na kashcana.

Many wondered about this and asked Pranay what it meant.

Pranay explained, “It means that if God (Taraka Brahma) is displeased with a spiritual aspirant, He can seek the shelter of the Guru (the manifestation of Taraka Brahma) to protect himself from the wrath of God.

But if the Guru is angry with a disciple for any reason, even God cannot protect him.

So one should always be alert to make sure one is following the instructions of the Guru.

Bábá guaranteed the other day that those who follow the directions of the Guru are under His complete protection at all times, and no harm whatsoever will come to them from any source, as there is no power in the universe greater than that of the Guru.

We should always remember that, truly speaking, the Guru and God are one and the same.

In the Guru we have an omniscient and omnipotent God as well as a Supreme Guide to help us at every step of our lives.”

Hearing Pranay’s explanation, the listeners had a new understanding about the importance of the Guru in one’s spiritual life.

INDUCTION OF ÁNANDA MÁRGA

Around sixty adherent devotees had gathered in the ashram, braving the chilly evening of the New Year’s Day.

Since the room could not accommodate so many people, an enclosure was erected in the open part of the compound to protect everyone from the cold.

For the first time ever some of the adherent devotees brought their wives along who had imparted by Diikśa.

Many people came for the first time, as they had heard about the amazing demonstrations Bábá had performed during the previous three gatherings in November. Just after dusk Bábá arrived.

Just after dusk Bábá arrived, accompanied by a couple of adherent devotees. Bábá took His seat on a cot in the verandah and greeted everyone first in Bengali and then in Hindi.

“I hope you are all in the best of spirits. I hope you are feeling blissful on this beautiful New Year evening.”

Everyone felt a perceptible change in the ambiance as Bábá took His seat and slowly gazed from left to right. A sublime atmosphere permeated the entire enclosure and a feeling of blissful tranquillity descended upon everyone.

Soon everyone felt that the severity of the cold had considerably abated.

Bábá spoke mainly in Hindi, occasionally interspersing His talk with Bengali, presumably for the benefit of some of the women who were not well versed in Hindi.

“We have all gathered here with a great mission, a lofty goal, and that is to bring about a new spiritual awakening in society based on a spiritual ideology. This awakening will usher in a new chapter in human history.

This spiritual Ideology I have named ‘Ánanda Márga’.

‘Ánanda’ means Infinite/Eternal bliss and ‘Márga’ means ‘the path’.

So the objective of this ideology is to impart a spiritual touch to every aspect of human life.

In order to spread the ideology we have decided to create an organization and call it Ánanda márga pracáraka saḿgha, Do you all approve of this name?” “Yes Bábá!”

Everyone voiced their approval in unison.

Bábá continued, “Everyone who is a follower of Ánanda Márga has two important missions in life.

That is Átmamokśártham and Jagaddhitáya ca.

Every one of you should sincerely carry out your spiritual practices for attaining the liberation of your mind and become one with the Supreme Entity.

The other aspect of life is that everybody has a responsibility to work for the welfare of society.

Here by society I do not mean only the society of human beings. As human beings are the most developed living beings, we all have a responsibility to work for the welfare of all beings, including the entire flora and fauna of the universe. Do you all understand? “Yes Bábá.”

“Very good. Alright. Pranay will give you further details. He has been given the responsibility of serving as the General Secretary of the organization. I hope you will all extend your full cooperation to him in running the organization and assisting in its growth.”

“Yes Bábá, we will”.

Everyone responded enthusiastically.

Bábá then began His discourse by explaining the gradual evolution of society, how it passes through different phases of the social cycle, and how in each phase a particular social class such as the warrior, intellectual, or business class dominate and exploit the others.

Bábá explained that if a particular class dominates society, it would certainly exploit the others. Before concluding the discourse Bábá gave a short summary of the primary purpose of the new organization:

ÁNANDA MÁRGA envisions a society without divisions or discrimination, where everyone will enjoy equal rights and opportunities. For humanity to progress, a harmonious social system is most essential.

Due to financial difficulties, how many meritorious students are forced to abandon their education and how many artists are compelled to suppress their talent before it is expressed?

This happens due to defects in the social order. Such a situation cannot be allowed to continue any longer. The system of division and discrimination is like the tightly woven nest of the weaver bird; it must be broken into pieces forever.

Only then will human beings be able to lead the entire human race along the path towards spiritual welfare. Until that happens, perhaps only a handful of people will be able to attain the pinnacle of spiritual glory, but it will be extremely difficult for all humanity to attain the supreme stance.

In a harmonious social order no one will run after fame or wealth like a mad dog. A congenial physical environment will help them to achieve mental balance, and, as a result, people’s psychic poverty will gradually decrease.

“O human beings, try to understand your human needs and build an appropriate social
system. Do not try to do anything for petty personal or group interests, because nothing done with a narrow outlook bereft of cosmic ideation will last.

The cruel hand of time will obliterate all your achievements and plunge them into an oblivion you cannot fathom.

It is not necessary to study books to know how to move, what to build, what to break, what to preserve. You should look upon every living being of this universe with sincere feelings of love and compassion. Only then will you realize that whatever you do, build or preserve already contained within and vibrated by the flow of the blissful Macrocosmic Entity.

Through action mixed with devotion and knowledge you will discover the life of your life, the supreme treasure of your inner being, that Supreme Entity, which you have unknowingly kept is hidden in the golden temple of your heart.

The disciples noted the significance of the fact that in this very first official function of the soon-to-be-founded organization, Bábá departed from his earlier practice of speaking on a purely spiritual subject.

Instead Bábá began by discussing the dominance of various classes in different phases of the social cycle and how this had led to the exploitation of the rest of elimination of inequality is a prerequisite for leading the entire human race along the path of society, as well as how to put a stop to endless social injustice.

Bábá stressed that the spiritual welfare. Even though ÁNANDA MÁRGA was still not officially formed, the devotees understood that Bábá’s ideas were not confined to spiritual matters alone, but also included radical and progressive thinking about the structure of society, economics, and other issues.

After the function was over, food was served to everyone. First, a plate of food was offered to Bábá. Bábá blessed it by touching it and asked for it to be shared by everyone.

Bábá announcement that on the evening of Sunday the 9^th there would be a gathering of all the sadhakas, and an official declaration of the formation of ÁNANDA MÁRGA would be made. Bábá asked everyone to inform the other disciples who were not present.

Then Bábá got up and left for His usual Field Walk accompanied by Chandranath. Asthana, and a couple of others.

Before leaving the premises Bábá joked, “In one matter none of you should follow My example, and that is, like me, you should not leave without taking your food.

Though the devotees were only a few in number, they had become highly inspired by the positive effects of Sadhana/meditation in their own lives and overwhelmed by the extraordinary powers of their Guru.

So when Bábá announced the decision to establish an organization to spread spiritual ideals, it sparked tremendous excitement in them.

They felt that through the decision to create an organization to spread ÁNANDA MÁRGA’s ideals, Bábá had responded to their own internal urge.

It was remarkable how in a matter of only a few days they had identified themselves so intimately with Bábá’s teachings and the way of life prescribed. This created a close bond amongst the devotees and soon they started to identify themselves as Margiis.

THE GATHERING OF 9^TH JANUARY, 1955
As announced by Bábá, a second organizational function was held on January 9^th. The gathering had swelled to over eighty(80), so the enclosure that had been erected for the previous gathering had to be extended to accommodate everyone.

A simple cot was placed on the veranda with a cover spread over it.

A thin tarpaulin was spread over the grass for everyone to sit. Bábá spoke in immaculate classical Hindi, and everyone was fascinated not only by the topic but also by the beauty of His language.

One of the recurring themes of Indian philosophy is the relationship between Puruśa and Prakrti and the topic was “Prakrti Tattva and Oṋḿkára Tattva”.

In this second discourse about Ánanda Márga philosophy. Bábá explored the nature of Prakrti and the three principles that she is composed of the sentient, mutative, and static. The characteristics of the sentient principle are knowledge of one’s existence and imparting happiness and a sense of relief. The mutative principle is characterized by endless action designed to keep the “I” or “self” busy, and the characteristic of the static principle is to experience and enjoy the result of the action.”

In a flower, for example, the bud blossoms due to the action of the mutative principle. When the flower is in full bloom, this is the state when the sentient principle is active, and when it starts to wither, it is due to the action of the static principle.

In Indian philosophy Prakrti is traditionally considered to be synonymous with illusion or ma’ya’. This type of thinking has inevitably led to the development of a pessimistic outlook among the people of India.

Bábá explained that Tantra, on the other hand, regards Puruśa and Prakrti as one entity, like milk and its attribute of whiteness.

Depending on which of the three principles predominates in a person’s mind, it will have a specific color and correspondingly a different psychology. These mental colors have been wrongly described as either physical colors, as in the case of racism, or as representing different castes.

Bábá stressed that the goal of every Sa’dhaka was the absolute state of Consciousness beyond the influence of these principles.

Therefore, the followers of Ánanda Márga should not differentiate people according to caste or any other narrow consideration.

In His discourse Bábá used the word ‘devata’, meaning gods and goddesses in its feminine form. Dipanarayan, who was a postgraduate in Hindi literature, felt uneasy that while speaking such beautiful Hindi.

Bábá had committed the simple grammatical mistake of using the word ‘devata’ in a feminine form, as in Hindi ‘devata’ was considered a masculine term. Hardly had the thought crossed his mind when Bábá digressed from his subject of discourse and looking at Dipanarayan, said, “In Vedic Sanskrit, ‘devata’ is feminine in gender.”

Bábá then returned to his discourse. Dipanarayan was taken aback by such a fast response to his thought. He was surprised that even while discussing such a profound topic, Bábá was fully aware of what everyone was thinking.

In the course of his discourse, Bábá explained the significance of Oṋḿkára. Clearing up the general misconception that Oṋḿkára was a mantra to be chanted during meditation Bábá explained that it was the primordial sound of creation and not a mantra. In the process of liberating oneself from the principles of the Creative Force, every Sa’dhaka experiences this cosmic sound, the Oṋḿkára. Oṋḿkára encompasses the sentient, mutative, and static realms of creation as well as the realm of the pure Consciousness beyond.

As Bábá elucidated this concept, a few people in the audience heard the cosmic sound, as if it had wafted in from infinite space. They wondered what it was, as they had never heard it before. Bábá then recited some Sanskrit verses describing the glory of Oṋḿkára and explained its meaning:

“The supreme spiritual state, which all the scriptures have described, and for which Sa’dhaka’s have undergone much hardship and practised cosmic ideation lives altogether, can be described in one word by the word ‘Oṋḿ’. This is the state of the Supreme Entity. Knowing this Supreme Shelter, one becomes firmly established in the Supreme Consciousness.”

Bábá concluded by exhorting the disciples to make sincere efforts to elevate themselves towards divinity through their sadhana and devotion, saying that through sadhana and devotion they would be able to merge in the endless stream of divine effulgence. Bábá’s concluding words of His discourse touched the heart of the new initiates:

“From distant ages you have been moving towards the Supreme Beatitude. You have suffered untold privations, and today you have the greatest opportunity to become worthy human beings.”

After concluding His discourse Bábá paused for a while and then continued. “Some of you who have reached a certain level in your sadhana are now hearing the Oṋḿ sound. Soon the others too will hear this cosmic sound according to the stage of sadhana they have attained.

The primordial sound Oṋḿkára resonates through various chakras of the body as per the state of their sadhana and appears as different sounds. The initial sound is like that of the cricket. Slowly, as the mind rises through various chakras, it changes and becomes the sound of ankle bells, then the flute, the sound of waves of the ocean and then the gong. In the final stage of sadhana one hears the pure Oṋḿkára alone.”

In a short while everyone present heard one of these sounds in accordance with the stage of sadhana they had attained. As they became deeply absorbed in it, some went into a spiritual trance, uttering cries of “hum!” and “Bábá!”

Several minutes elapsed while they were immersed in the blissful, divine trance. Bábá then ended their meditation by intoning a Sanskrit mantra. When they opened their eyes, Bábá said. “These are the experiences that one can have as the kundalini rises through the various chakras. Later I will explain this topic in greater detail.”

Bábá then asked Shiva Shankar Banerjee to come forward and instructed him to sit erect and meditate. Bábá commanded Shiva Shankar’s kundalini to rise and pierce the chakras one by one. Initially Shiva Shankar’s body writhed like a snake. As his kundalini started to rise, his body slowly calmed down. As it reached the ajina chakra between the eyebrows, he fell backwards in a blissful trance and became motionless, while Bábá explained the various stages that one could experience as the kundalini rises through the chakras.

Finally, as Bábá ordered the kundalini to return to its normal position in the muladhara chakra, he gradually regained his normal consciousness.

When the demonstration was over, Pranay led all the disciples in performing Guru puja for the first time.

Earlier, Pranay saw that some of the initiates had brought fruit and flowers to offer to the Guru, as was the tradition in Hindu society.

He explained to them that Bábá did not approve of physical offerings. He then explained how mental offerings were to be made to the Guru during Guru puja. He instructed them to offer mental flowers with a different color after each repetition of the mantra to symbolize their attachments and desires.

At the end of Guru puja, they should offer a mental lotus of pure white color symbolizing a mind free from all attachments, and ask the guru to free them from the burden of those desires and attractions that had been hindering their spiritual progress.

After Guru puja everyone went to Bábá one by one and received his blessing. As he stood in line waiting for Bábá’s blessing.

Dipanarayan felt a powerful surge of devotion well up inside him and tears started to trickle down his face.

When his turn came, Bábá asked, “Dipanarayan, what spiritual experience do you want?

Do you want savikalpa samadhi, nirvikalpa samadhi or any of the mahabhava samadhis? Say, what you want. I will give it to you.”

Dipanarayan’s eyes filled with tears of devotion but he remained mute, unable to utter a single word.

Later Dipanarayan explained how in that extremely blissful state, the only desire he had was to surrender to Bábá. He did not feel like asking anything from Bábá, not even nirvikalpa samadhi, which is the highest spiritual state.

A blissful tranquillity pervaded the entire place. For the newcomers it was the first such experience in their lives.

A collective meal had been prepared. They offered food to Bábá first.

As Bábá had done before, Bábá touched it and blessed it and then asked everyone to share it as prasad. All the devotees, from high ranking officers to very ordinary people, sat in the same row and enjoyed the delicious food together.

Asthana, Chandranath, and several other officers sat together with many lower ranking employees of their departments. This program marked the beginning of a new society based on the concept of one universal family.

Before Bábá left the place, Bábá called Dipanarayan aside and told him that his wife was not well, and asked him to go to his village without delay. When Dipanarayan reached his home in Arraha, North Bihar the next evening, he found that his wife, Jivaccha Devi, had suffered a miscarriage and was in a very delicate condition. His arrival was thus timely.

Although Shiva Shankar had yet to fully recover from the demonstration of samadhi done on him earlier, he nevertheless accompanied Bábá for his customary evening Field Walk together with some other devotees. Before reaching the Tiger’s Grave Bábá paused and recalled an incident from their high school days. “Shiva Shankar, do you remember the incident with the cow when we were students in high school?

When I touched it, the cow began to jump. At first you thought that it was in pain. I told you then that I would explain what happened at the proper time.

That day I raised the kundalini of the cow slightly, and as a result the cow experienced intense bliss and expressed it by jumping and running around. Raising the kundalini of an animal is not easy because an animal body is not designed to enjoy bliss.” “Bábá, why was the cow following you that day?”

In reply Bábá quoted a mystical song and then explained its meaning. “It is not possible for human beings to know all the secrets of God, but there is a cause for everything, some things always remain beyond the comprehension of the human mind.” Bábá left the rest of that day’s events a mystery.

Following the November gatherings, a group of disciples started to accompany Bábá on His evening walks to the Tiger’s Grave.

During that occasion, Bábá would then share different aspects of His philosophy with those who accompanied Him. Bábá later expanded on these ideas, which became part of His philosophical legacy.

The fundamental concept around which all of Bábá’s teachings revolved was that the ultimate goal of human life is the attainment of infinite bliss, and that the Supreme Entity is the source of this bliss for which every human being is searching directly or indirectly. So the attainment of Infinite bliss is the dharma or innate characteristic of all human beings.

At the same time, HE stressed that while moving towards this subjective goal, one also needs to maintain proper adjustment with the objective world. The devotees who regularly listened to Bábá realized that His teachings went far beyond those of the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavat Giita, Tantras, and other Indian scriptures.

Even the way Bábá explained these conventional philosophical and scriptural treatises was very different from the old-fashioned style of the preachers and scholars of Indian philosophy and the scriptures that the disciples had themselves read.

They found Bábá’s ideas to be not only logical and progressive, but also a pointed challenge to some of the basic tenets of orthodox Hindu beliefs.

The Margiis realized that true spirituality, which had taken root in India several millennia before, had no connection with the blind worship of imaginary gods and goddesses that was based on a psychology of fear or the expectation of some divine favour, or with the confusing array of elaborate rituals. It was neither concerned with the allurement of heaven and the fear of hell nor with any form of Nature worship.

Through regular discussions during the evening walks to the Tiger’s Grave, Bábá gradually gave shape to the foundational ideas of the Márga’s philosophy and defined its precepts.

What attracted the Margiis to Bábá’s exposition of the ancient Indian philosophy was the way it transformed many of the obscurantist ideas of ancient India into living principles based on rationality and universal application. By constantly listening to Bábá during the DMC the Margiis eventually started to see traditional Indian philosophy in a new light.

With the birth of the philosophy of Ánanda Márga, the Margiis realized that their ancient Indian heritage was brimming with deep philosophical and spiritual ideas, and no longer saw it as being shrouded in a mesh of blind orthodoxy and dogmatic beliefs. Bábá’s explanations made them realize that the several millennia-old Indian philosophy was in fact very rational and scientific, and that it was built on a set of universal principles that transcended the narrow walls of national identity, culture, and religion. Bábá stressed that the ideas he was articulating should not be treated as the philosophy of a particular religion but as a philosophical base that was essential for every human being. Gradually, a new understanding of philosophy dawned in their minds.

Some of Bábá’s discussions at the Tiger’s Grave were published in booklets entitled “Shunun aur Shunan” (Listen and Tell Others), published in Bengali, and “Yugki Pukar” (Call of the New Age), published in Hindi. Soon after, two new bi-monthly magazines were published, one in Hindi called “Ananda Dut” (Messenger of Bliss) and another in Bengali called “Pragati” (The Progress).

These booklets and magazines propagated the ideals of the Marga and its opposition to all kinds of religious exploitation, superstition, and dogma, They expressed support for widow remarriage and staunchly opposed child-marriage and the dowry belief of possession by ghosts, spirits, and gods and goddesses as mere superstition; they system, which they denounced as social evils.

The booklets also decried the commonly held explained such phenomena as conditions that occur due to the play of the different layers of the mind. Through these booklets the basic tenets of the Márga were first made public. These magazines unequivocally declared, “Ánanda Márga is opposed to all kinds of man-made divisions in society based on caste, creed, or color. All living beings are the children of one Supreme Father.”

As the days passed, the Margiis gradually realized that they had a Guru who could do everything, from resolving the most mundane of matters to gracing them with the highest spiritual experiences. The realization that they were under the guidance and protection of an all-powerful Guru gave them a new-found optimism and confidence.

[This incident of Bábá’s high school days was the first known instance of Bábá raising the kundalini of another living being. Strangely, this mystical demonstration was done on a cow. Later there were hundreds of instances where Bábá raised the kundalini of his disciples at will.]