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In Him,


The Glass Menagerie

Date: Fri, 04 Jan 2008 22:24:32 -0400 From: Donald_G To: Subject: The Glass Menagerie Baba "Toma're balo kii na'me d'aki, kon bha'vana'y mete tha'ki..." (P.S. 4940) Purport: O' Baba, O' my Lord, please guide me how I should sing Your glory and chant Your name. How should I contemplate and ideate on You. Please guide me. In the dawn of the morning I see this colourful world and I listen to the chirping of the birds with my own ears. This is all because You have bestowed Your divine grace on me. You have done and are doing so much for me. In my infancy when I was completely helpless then You provided me with the affectionate heart and lap of my mother. And also You have given so many things through the medium of my laokik father. And also with so many teachers. They all helped & guided me; this is Your grace. You arranged everything for me, in a very systematic way. What I have, everything is Your gift. Even my mind, my heart, my prana, that also You have given with Your grace-compassion. Baba, You have graced me so much in all the ways. I could not contribute any substantial thing. I did not do anything meaningful on this earth. Please guide me how I can sing Your glory with a content heart and full feeling...
Namaskar, Currently one faction, albeit a flailing faction, is filling the sky with their silly menagerie and dreaming that dividing the Marga along racist lines will lead to the formation of a united AM and one human society. They think their racist quota system is the ticket to heaven-- the be-all and end-all. Believe it or not, still 1 or 2 folks-- along with their leader-- are foolishly clinging onto this hopeless, if not dangerous, agenda: The racist quota system. All so that one aged factional leader can get some power. For this reason he dreamed up his quota concoction. However, the broad-minded teachings of Ananda Marga are something totally different. Baba guides us that we are to employ the universal outlook of neo-humanism to form that unified humanity, not a dogmatic quota. In that case what is the need to pull the mundane, racist, and outdated quota system from the general society into our Marga. This will only create tension and ill-feeling.
In our Marga, Baba has brought the feeling of unity between one Ananda Margii and another by instilling high ideals and sentient practices. In AM we have one Ista, one ideology, one code of dharma, and one system of sadhana. These are all part and parcel of Baba's synthetic approach. And the outcome of this is that everyone in AM is an Ananda Margii. We do not distinguish between whether one is Korean or Venezuelan or Haitian or Russian. None of these superficial differences do we recognise-- none at all. Rather anyone who follows the golden precepts of AM is an Ananda Margii. This is the practical outcome and sweet result which we have all experienced first-hand. By this way all Ananda Margiis share so much in common: From our belief system to our way of eating, from our bath mantra to our Kiirtan, from our 16 Points to our Yama & Niyama. By following all Baba's divine teachings, then naturally a deep sense of unity is formed between all Ananda Margiis and no one differentiates between one margii and another on the basis of superficial differences like race or birth. Because we are all one-- due to the great teachings of Ananda Marga. And that is why before 1990 there was no such thing as a quota system in AM.
But now one groupist NIA chieftain is trying to drag that crude quota system into our Marga. Of course B, H, and EC have their crude agendas and racial tendencies but none of these factions will openly proclaim that they actively support a racist quota agenda. This much smartness they have. What they do behind the curtain is another matter. So it is only NIA that is so foolish to publicly condone the racist quota policy. That is why no margiis are attracted to the NIA platform. Before investigating this fully let us see why and how the quota system is used among the masses.
Devoid of any higher ideal and without any sentient life practices, the general society had to grab onto something to make their band-aid type of "unity". And what did they grab onto?-- The Quota System. By that way when employing people in an office or when accepting people into a university the leaders cry out: "Give me 3 whites, 2 Asians, 4 Blacks, 1 Native American, 2 Hispanics, 4 Arabs, and 3 South Pacific Islanders" etc, etc Such a quota system is the crude way of bringing people together in the mundane society. This is done because the common public does not have any higher ideal. Just they employ their crude quota system where everyone maintains their own separate identities-- thus causing all kinds of problems and difficulties like strained social relations, cultural tension, and hatred between one race and another. This we see day in and day out in the general society where race riots, racially motivated killings, and bigoted name-calling are everyday events. So the quota system is not something high or rational; rather it is just one mundane mechanism for mixing people together and creating a false show of oneness. All done because they do not have any higher ideal in mind.
From start to finish Baba is totally against the quota system. Because it completely undermines the fabric of society and inhibits our abilities to from one human society. Baba says, "We cannot build a strong society if we discriminate against a section of humanity by drawing imaginary lines of distinction." (HS-1, 'Social Justice') So Baba does not at all condone the dividing or naming of people in AM based on superficial differences like skin color etc. Thus when NIA has created their own racist dictionary and is dividing the Marga society along racial lines like H, B, NIA, NBIA, NIM, NITA, etc, then which rational margii can appreciate such things. And here again in straightforward and clear-cut language Baba condemns the idea of separating people on the basis of language etc. Baba says, "Clubs that are set up on linguistic consideration may not be supported wholly on moral grounds." (HS-1, '87 Edn, p.39) Thus Baba has zero tolerance for dividing humanity by making crude distinctions on the basis of language, skin color, or origin of birth etc. None of these things are acceptable in our Marga.
Yet that is exactly what the NIA chieftain is doing. He has one grand dream of dragging the crude quota system into our Marga and using that to label and divide our AM society. This is his crude tactic. Because in black and white language the NIA law-makers proclaim: "Give me 3 NBIA'S, 5 NIA'S, 3 H's, 6 NITA's, 4 B's, and 2 NIM's..." This is how the NIA chief wants to make the next batch of Purodhas: By labeling and differentiating using their racist quota formula. In that case how is the NIA agenda different from the ways of the crude general society which has no higher ideal. Once again here is a sampling of how things work in the crude, general society: "Give me 3 whites, 2 Asians, 4 Blacks, 1 Native American, 2 Hispanics, 4 Arabs, and 3 South Pacific Islanders" etc, etc So NIA's grand master plan is nothing but a re-hash of the low-minded strategies already in vogue in the general society. As if in AM we have nothing better to do than to copy racist strategies. This is the NIA leader's crude machination-- his dream of the quota system
When reviewing the defective philosophies of old, Baba points out their demerits and failings. Baba says, "Some of these philosophies pertaining to the physical realm sounded very fine indeed, but they were not in perfect tune with the hard realities of the objective world. Those philosophies were quite satisfactory in the dreamland of theory, but they had no connection whatsoever with the practicalities of the earth." (NH-LOI: Disc 1) Thus the NIA's quota system falls into this same defective category. Because already we know that the quota system is not working well in the general society. It cannot stand up to the hard crust of the earth. Rather this quota system is the cause of extreme racial hatred in so many avenues in the general society. Even then the NIA chief paints the glories of his quota system and insists on using it to promote his own NIA agenda. And here again when talking of the crude philosophies of old Baba points out how such tinsel types of agendas went against the spirit of humanity. Baba says, "Sometimes the superficial display of these theories has dazzled the eyes of the onlooker, but actually they contained no dynamism...In the end they have only flung humanity into the quagmire of dogmatism, the breeding ground of innumerable mosquitoes. They did not contribute to the welfare of any human being." (NH-LOI: Disc 1) Likewise the quota system advocated by the NIA heads falls into this same dark abyss of dogma and confusion. On the outside the leader tries his best to make it sound alluring and he tries to make it sparkle but the truth remains that the 4-Step plan is just one harmful and racist approach drowned in the defects of the quota system.
By following the same sadhana and the same Ista and seeing one and all as brother and sister, all Ananda Margiis are naturally drawn together. Baba says, "People must develop closer and closer links with each other. One heart must gain a warm and deep understanding of another heart." (HS-1) Thus Baba's approach to forming unity is completely unique and universal where there are no superficial distinctions on the basis of race etc. There are no false groupings based on crude quotas. Rather everyone is linked together as one.
By Baba's grace the oneness of all will be established in our AM society and then throughout the entire globe and planetary world. Baba says, "The newly awakened humanity of today is anxious to herald the advent of one universal society under the vast blue sky. The noble and righteous persons of all countries, bound by fraternal ties, are eager to assert in one voice, with one mind, and in the same tune that human society is one and indivisible." (AFPS-2) Namaskar, Divyajyoti
Perhaps nowhere else in the general society is the quota system used as much as it is used on university campuses, especially in the US. See here the recent US Supreme Court decision of June 23, 2003 which upholds the quota system: "The Supreme Court (5-4) upholds the University of Michigan Law School's policy, ruling that race can be one of many factors considered by colleges when selecting their students." ( And see the effect that such quota policies have. It goes not engender feelings of unity--rather the opposite: "A new study shows large numbers of female and minority faculty experience a particularly challenging and sometimes hostile campus climate, even as universities across the United States..." (12/18/2003) And that negative environment does not just exist for faculty but for students as well. "Racism that Blacks and other minority students experience are racist comments, graffiti with racial slurs and different treatment in the classroom." ("Racism on U.S. college campuses') So all along the way, we can see that by labeling and separating people into racial camps does not lead to a wholesome sense of unity-- rather it creates racial tension and backlash. At the same time in the general society they may have no other recourse than to adopt the quota system. Because in the present era they are entirely lacking any type of neo-humanistic outlook. But in AM we have our higher ideal; then what is the need to copy the crude quota system from the debased general society.
Out of the desire to create a crude quota system and make himself a Purodha, the NIA chieftain made-up his own racist dictionary that harshly divides our Marga society. Whose ears can tolerate such terminology. NIA= Non-Indian Avadhuta/tika; NITA= Non-Indian Tattvika / Acarya; NIM= Non-Indian Margii; IO= Indian Office; NI= Non-Indians; NBIO= Non-Bengali Indian Office; ...And here are more communal terms which the NIA founder created: IA= Indian avadhutas/ikas; NIB= Non-Indian brahmacariis; BI= Bengali Indian; NBI= Non-Bengali Indian; B= Bengali; NB= Non-Bengali; BMPS= Bengali Marga Pracaraka Samgha; HMPS= Hindi Marga Pracaraka Samgha, etc. NBIA= Non-Bengali Indian Avadhuta Plus NB-NBIA, NB-NBMPS, NB-NBI/EC, NB-NBI, etc, etc, and on and on he goes... All the above divisions came into the gray matter of the NIA founder. With his own brain he created all this racist terminology. This can only be due to a lack of sadhana and a lack of neo-humanistic feeling-- otherwise what can be the cause of such racist tendencies.
Who can forget the history that when the NIA chieftain first formulated his racist strategy it was called the "Three-Step Plan". But when he realised that the "Three-Step Plan" was totally broken and defective then he invented the "Four-Step Plan". This is their crazy planning and way of working. They invented their own selfish theories and crooked policies based on their lust to become Purodhas. And then change their theories based on their own whim and side by side they hope that no one will notice. Better these NIA heads should clean their minds with the force of sadhana and follow the path of neo-humanism. If they can do that then that will really be great. Then they will become the real seers of society. Until that time however, so long as they remain wedded to their racist polices and divisive Four-Step quota theories, the NIA factional head will go down in history as just one more dogmatic theorist, like so many before him. Because with sparkling eyes the new humanity will easily recognise what is what and who is who.
Here Baba has given the key how to create lasting unity in our Marga. Baba says, "The entire society of A'nanda Ma'rga is founded on a common ideal, the goal of becoming one with Brahma...the unity in a society founded on the ideal of Brahma will be everlasting." (PNS-3)
Baba says, "Inspiration comes from inside. [Sometimes] we need inspiration from outside; but that inspiration is not lasting. It is momentary. But in order to inspire yourself you have got to know yourself; by knowing yourself you are inspired always. Inspiration from inside will stand for all time; it will inspire you for all time. That alone is going to help you. And by inspiring yourself you are inspiring others. So be an example. Be a true aspirant by becoming yourself what you are; [and by becoming what you are,] you show others what they have to be. So in order to know everything you know one thing. That one thing is dharma. That one thing is the supreme truth, and that truth is hiding in your heart. You have got to know that truth inside yourself. That is why sa'dhana' has to be performed." (AV-31, p.100) Note: Everyone desires inspiration; this is a universal quality of human beings. And as Baba is describing above when a sadhaka receives praise from someone for something they did, then that praise does not produce a long-lasting effect. Such external inspiration cannot fuel someone for a long time. Rather it will dry up quickly. In contrast when a strong vibration comes in sadhana and one is filled with inspiration from within, then that inspiration is permanent. It goes on and on. Certainly each and every sadhaka has experienced this. That is why it is commonly thought that external praise has little or no value in comparison to the internal inspiration derived from our spiritual practices.

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