Page views

Ananda Marga Forum

All the letters on this blog are directly related with the teachings of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti ji Baba.To communicate with the editors of this forum or receive postings of this blog, email us at: anandamargauniversal@earthlink.net

Baba


Namaskar,


Just a reminder to be sure to subscribe to our two new blogsites:


For latest news click here Ananda Marga Universal


For latest news click here Ananda Marga News Bulletin

Or email us at: anandamargauniversal@earthlink.net


And we will be sure to add you to the list.


In Him,

Moderator



The Thought Behind the Word

Date: Tue, 13 May 2008 22:18:53 -0000 From: Sheila Wiedriech Subject: The Thought Behind the Word To: AM-GLOBAL BABA PS Intro: This following song is for teaching to non-margiis because it is a song in reverence to Lord Krsna. Baba has written this particular Prabhat Samgiita for devotees of Sri Krsna. In contrast, we Ananda Margiis are fully devoted to Baba, Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji, so when we sing with our devotional heart then we sing to Baba-- not Lord Krsna. In that case we select one of the innumerable dhyana songs related with Baba. The point being that for true devotees Ista is one and only one. For more about pointed devotion and strictness in Ista refer to Baba's colorful explanation of the shloka, 'Shriinathe...', from AV-23, p.118. "Ka'nu binu tha'ka' na'hi ja'y..." (P.S. 3355) Purport: Without Lord Krsna, life is very miserable-- surviving itself is very difficult. Because Lord Krsna is that glittering Personality of my heart so when He is not present then I suffer terribly from the pain of restlessly longing for Him. Day and night every moment I hear His flute in my heart. With the sound of that flute, Lord Krsna is telling me that He loves me. And He tells me, 'I love you, that is why I am calling you'. The flow of my life is ensconced in His ideation and it goes on fighting strongly against the deep fog and it is rushing with the high tide in a hundred directions by His grace. My life is very painful in the absence of Lord Krsna...
== THE THOUGHT BEHIND THE WORD ==
Namaskar, As we know language is but a reflection of the attitudes, aims, and mental standard of the day. So when the male-dominated, sex-oriented capitalism being the driving force behind the development of the English language, it is no wonder why the simple term 'plug and socket' gets expressed as 'male and female'. And not only 'plug and socket', but there are various words and phrases in the English language which get switched over into such type of innuendoes. About this I asked various people what can be the reason behind this. Because now this type of crude phrasing-- such as 'male and female' etc-- is spreading in various parts of the globe. Before sharing more about this, it might be useful to investigate some basic & qualitative differences between oriental and occidental language. As this gives some insight as to how languages are formed.
UNIQUENESS OF THE SANSKRIT LANGUAGE
As Ananda Margiis, by Baba's grace we have gotten opportunity to bring the Sanskrit language into our everyday vocabulary. Because certainly this is a beautiful and subtle language-- with its own internal and unique meaning. As we have all seen there are numerous Sanskrit terms which have no direct corollary word in the western languages like English. For example such important and deeply meaningful words like mantra, upavasa, dharma, and sadhana etc-- none of these words have an appropriate English synonym. No doubt certain words are used such as incantation, fasting, religion, and meditation etc. But these all fall short of the mark; they sacrifice to some or more degree the true meaning of the term. And Baba Himself clearly points out that these English terms do not carry the real spirit of the corresponding Sanskrit words. Baba says, "There is no proper English word for the Sanskrit word 'mantra'. We use the word 'incantation' for mantra, but it is not a proper word for the Sanskrit term." (AV-23, p.115) And regarding the word upavasa Baba again points out the deficit of the corresponding word in English. Baba says, "'Upavasa' - on these days of fasting, what are all spiritual aspirants to do? Mentally they should live near their Lord...these days are known as 'upava'sa'. The word 'fasting' does not represent the proper sense or proper spirit." (AV-6)
MORE EXAMPLES HOW ENGLISH CANNOT CARRY THE SPIRIT OF SANSKRIT
Likewise dharma is often translated as religion; yet as Ananda Margiis we all know the term 'religion' is entirely insufficient to represent the Sanskrit word 'dharma'. And even the word sadhana has no English counterpart. In common circles the English word meditation is used. But that is unable to express the proper meaning of the Sanskrit term sadhana. And same is the case with the Sanskrit word Is't'a. In that case also the applied English term 'goal' does not carry the distinctive meaning of the term I'sta'. Rather a whole collection of words are needed to attempt to carry the spirit of the term Is't'a. But even by using a half-a-dozen English terms or more, still they fail to reflect the real sense, spirit, and vibration of the term Is'ta. Baba says, "What's the meaning of Is't'a? Is't'a means 'loving', 'favourite', 'dear', 'attractive', 'goal', 'terminus', 'desideratum'. There are so many imports for that single term Is't'a." (AV-23, p.115) So we see that in so many cases the English vocabulary is basically incapable of reflecting spiritual ideas which are neatly expressed in a single Sanskrit term. The idea is that language itself is a reflection of the mental standard of a given society. And when the Sanskrit language itself was developed during an era when the psychic standard was quite high, then there is a tremendous number of words for expressing subtle spiritual ideas. Whereas in English, that scope is not there. Rather, if anything, the English language is prone in the opposite direction, especially these days.
MALE DOMINATED SOCIETY IS FORCE BEHIND ENGLISH TERMS
In our male dominated western society, the language has been formed to reflect many lower types of ideas. That is why 'plug and socket' gets switched over into 'male and female' type of phrasing etc. Because this male western culture dictates things according to male satisfaction, or sensual male desires. Where words and phrases are regularly used to objectify the female body and / or portray a crude sexual way of thinking etc. Just like the term 'lady's finger' was made to represent the common Hindi word Bhindi, also known as the vegetable okra. Or this male dominated society borrowed the sensual female related term 'bra' or 'brassiere' to depict the mundane cover that fits over the front of an automobile. So like this the English language is littered with so many of these types of expressions and innuendoes. Where normal everyday things get described and named according to the landscape of the female body. Altogether all these words & phrases are the expression of a low mind. It is a degenerated way of thinking whereby the collective debased mind submerges in a negative thought pattern. And mostly the cause is current era of our male-dominated society.
BABA'S SPECIAL SOLUTION
However, in Ananda Marga we always bring everything into a positive light. Because Baba graciously gives solutions for each and every problem. So in the response to the current trend of debased language, Baba has given special encyclopedia(s) and grammar books-- such as Langhu Nirukta and Shabda Cayanika etc--and included within them are guidelines for how to create new words. Means He has granted us the opportunity to invent and formulate proper sentient words which were otherwise lacking in the language. So this is one special new technique given by Baba.
BABA'S BLESSING
Baba wants us to build up a happy and harmonious and sentient human society. Baba says, "Everybody should be given the chance, or circumstances should be created, such that nobody gets the scope to feel their future is sealed forever, is blocked. So let everyone feel that everybody in this expressed universe belongs to the same big human family." (AV-3) Namaskar, Sharada
****************************************** Manav manav ek Hai! (Human, Human, One!)
Baba says, "Is the division of people into castes and communities natural... Amongst the inimical forces, there are certain parties which are goaded by certain forces, by the spirit of certain fissiparous tendencies, and there are also some persons goaded by these fissiparous forces. How can this problem be solved? How can we check these belligerent parties from implementing their outdated ideas." (PNS-18, p.58) Note 1: In His above teachings, Baba poses the question and guides us that dividing human society according to caste, community, creed, color, race etc is totally harmful and negative. Furthermore, in His discourse 'The Dangers of Communalism', Baba has given historical examples which demonstrate the sheer terrors of such divisive tendencies like groupism & racism etc. Baba sharply condemns such social diseases and instead has given the beautiful ideal of one healthy, unified, human society-- free from caste distinctions etc. However, nowadays in our organisation there are groups trying to divide our AM family along communal & racist lines. Various groups are there like H, B, and NIA. But on this point the worst is NIA (Non-Indian Avadhutas) as they are trying to split our society into Indians and Non-Indians-- crude divisions based on race and color. So this harmful approach of trying to divide the humanity is as unnatural as preaching that people should walk on their head and hands-- as opposed to using their feet. But such fissiparous type of persons infuse this negative idea of division in order to promote their own self-interest-- i.e. to get some power. So although NIA is trying to splinter the society along racist lines, they will never be successful as it goes against the natural laws neo-humanism and universalism. Note 2: Everyone is aware that the present central organisational structure is not working properly nowadays. To correct it, Baba's teachings should be followed. Certainly any type of misguided attempts towards division are not the solution. Universalism is the solution. Note 3: 'Manav, Manav, Ek Hai!'= (Meaning: Human, Human, One!) This is our universal slogan commonly used during the DMC processions and various other of our gatherings.
******************************************

Policy on Comments

Spam and unparliamentary language not to be used.

folders: Ananda Marga related articles on hundreds of niche issues

Namaskar

To receive postings of this blog, email us at: am-global@earthlink.net

Baba nam kevalam