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Groups: Past, Present & Future

Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2009 07:47:03 +0530 To: am-global@earthlink.net Subject: Groups: Past, Present & Future From: Manomohan Sanyal Baba Intro to PS: In this following song, the loving Parama Purus'a, Tara'ka Brahma, is communicating directly with the devotee. Specifically, in a personal way, the divine Entity, Tara'ka Brahma, is asking the sadhaka various questions. In contrast, in most Prabhat Samgiita songs, the devotee is singing or expressing his own thoughts to Parama Purusa. But this entire song is different: It is expressed in the voice of Parama Purusa; He Himself is narrating the scene. "Kende kende tava kavarii-bandha khuliya' giya'che ka'r tare..." P.S. 1104 Purport: For whom have been crying such that your hair braids have become loose and undone, and now your hair is just falling in an unkempt manner. Who is responsible for causing you so much pain. Even then you are trying hard to conceal your grief-stricken & broken heart; but by seeing your pain-filled eyes anyone can understand how sorrowful you are. Indeed, you are so upset that you cannot maintain the proper melody or tune of the song which you are singing. Why like this-- whose longing has caused all these problems & distress in your life. Now look, the whole day has passed and it is reaching up towards evening time. The brightness of the day is gone and now evening is falling. The sun is going to set; that time has come. At this time in this lonely place are You sitting here by yourself in this isolated forest. Tell me, whose memory is churning your heart; why are you so heart-broken. The whole day you have been sitting here alone involved in contemplation and now evening has come and still you are remaining here. Who is the cause behind all this, how has this happened-- please tell me. Always remember that the balaka bird flies off to far distant places, but again and again it returns and comes back to its own nest. Similarly, if your Beloved has gone far away, then He too will return again and come back. So please do not cry. O' devotee, whose love has shaken your whole existence. Rest assured that He will come...
== GROUPS: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE ==
Note: Recently - on 30 Aug '09 - two leading factions gathered and talked at Ananda Nagar and came up with a so-called plan for unity. Elements of their flawed plan are discussed below. Be sure to read all the way to the bottom of this letter and see how skewed their declarations are. Even more revealing however is what was NOT mentioned in their "plan". There is a blatant omission of any mention of AM ideology and Baba's teachings. Without those ideals, their plan for unity is but a scam. That is the tell-tale sign that their plan is just a bunch of hot air destined for failure. Overall, their plan reads as a fake treaty between two warring gangs or two mafia families, not as a dharmic stance taken by disciples of the Sadguru. So no good margii should be duped by their words, thinking that they are reading some glorified message. Namaskar, If someone were to say, "Today there is groupism in our Marga", it would not come as a surprise to anyone. All would internally think, "Yes, that is true." Side by side, we all know that, "There should not be any groupism in our Marga." That also no one would dispute - not even the group leaders themselves. So it is a bit of a puzzle: We all know that it should not be there, but it is there. How then did groupism come into our Marga? What is its state at present? And, what will be the situation in the future? If we understand the nature of groupism itself, then by Baba's grace we have the best chance of rooting it out from our Marga forever.
UNITY IS OUR AIM
Before advancing this topic any further, we should just remind ourselves that the unity we all want has nothing to do with merging various groups and factions. Unity only stems from following His teachings, i.e. AM ideology. Then and only then will we be united and groupism vanquished. Baba says, "Human unity is purely an ideological unity, which means unity in the psychic sphere. Where there is psychic unity, physical unity will also occur. In the realm of unity, unity is always psychic ideological unity means unity in the subtlest level of the mind." (PNS-15) So unity is ideological unity. That is Baba's guideline. And then, in the very next sentence, Baba issues His grave warning that any chance of real unity is destroyed by the mere presence of groupism. Baba says, "However, psychic or ideological unity may be affected if we encourage the exploitation of one group by another." (PNS-15) Tragically, that is where we are now: Any semblance of unity basically shattered by the overwhelming presence of groupism. And it is this problem that we have to understand and ultimately fix.
NO REAL GROUPISM BEFORE 1990
Prior to '90, there was no real evidence of groupism in our Marga. The seeds were there because the same people who lead groups today were also in the Marga those days. But by Baba's grace He showered His great love and created a whirlwind of activity and that kept us together. We were busy rallying together against a common enemy, i.e. fighting for our very existence with the communists. Plus Baba kept everything in AM moving at such a rapid pace, we could only think about keeping up with Him. There was little or no opportunity or scope to pay heed to individual or group interest. All that changed after '90.
HOW IT GOT THERE
In the early years immediately after 1990, still our Marga stood as one cohesive whole, at least in physical form. The organisation did not crack or split. Was it because all were rallying around ideology? No. It was because that was a time of transition and all were worried about how they would survive. When times are tough, and one is concerned about their very existence, then even enemies can co-habitate. For instance, snakes and humans are natural born enemies. But during a terrible flood, when both are scrambling for their own survival, they can live together without attacking one another. Such was the case in our Marga from 1990 - 94 or so. All the elements of groupism were present, but those Dadas were so worried about how they would even survive, they bonded together. But that bond was not ideological, but rather for their selfish survival. Once they became more confident that indeed life would go on and their extreme concern for survival subsided, then those same people aimed toward something else: power. Then their real colours came forth and the groups began to manifest. So as soon as the great fear that their own survival was not in jeopardy, and they need not huddle together for shelter in order to exist, then - lacking any higher goal - the fight for power started. They did not just want some power, they wanted all the power. And in that lust for power - more and more groups were formed. So that is the basic formula or continuum of groupism in AMPS: (a) selfish survival -> (b) lack of higher ideal & quest for power -> (c) proliferation of more factions to satisfy that lust for power. No water or sunlight is needed, the above sequence is enough to create an absolute jungle of groupism. And that is exactly what we have now in our Marga.
IT WAS REPORTED THOSE DAYS
Back in the mid 90's, various circulars were in fact written about the initial presence of groups, but no one could really believe it and the circular writers were victimised, attacked and exiled. Because in those years, the group fight was not pronounced - it was just gaining momentum - and still many were thinking that all our avadhutas are divine, i.e. second gods.
OVER TIME IT BECAME CLEAR
Over the ensuing years, the existence of groupism became more evident, as described above. With the rise of groupism came group clash and the struggle for power and control. Specifically, that clash manifested in three distinct ways: (a) The fight for property, (b) the fight for margiis, and (c) the fight for acaryas. It was generally view among the "contestants" that the one who got the most in each of these categories was the victor. Tragically, especially since 2000, in our Marga we have seen bitter battles over the land, buildings, and followers. To the groupists, they felt these things meant power. Never in any stage of the fight has it been over ideological ideals. The groups have never fought over the dogma of Mahaprayan, or Fake Ananda Vaniis, or crude tiirthas, or scriptural distortions, or margii rights, or the Fake BP manual, or anything remotely related with ideology. The fight was purely over mundane wealth - crude power. Their concerns have been and remain totally selfish. There is no welfare motive and no cares for Baba's teachings. Hence, we have witnessed veritable wars over buildings and property rights in Ananda Nagar. Our sacred master unit has essentially been turned into a battle zone. The spilling of blood and the destruction of property became a daily affair. Even one of our avadhutas was murdered during this fight for property. All the while, there was also the fight for people in the form of margiis and acaryas. Each of the groups equated power with landholdings and numbers. The more land and buildings, the more members, the stronger the group. Till now that was what the fight has been about. That is essentially where we are at present.
THE PROLIFERATION OF GROUPISM
Still today, there is no clear-cut sign that the groupist battle will subside or that the proliferation of groups will stop. Because of their misguided outlook and endless desire for power, more and more groups are getting created. It used to be Sarvatmananda's gang versus everyone else. Then H group formed. Then NIA / SKY / Shiva Gotra came & went. Then EC spurred onto the scene. And now all the major groups are splitting again into sub-factions. So now instead of there being two groups there are at minimum six - and that is not including the Didi's side. Why so much division? Because all want power. When it comes to groupism, there is no common ideal of service and spiritual value. As soon as one group affiliation fails to satisfy one's desire for power, then another group or sub-faction is formed. Baba says, "We have only learned how to divide and subdivide humanity, and we never learned how to unite the people. This is all due to the defective teachings of dogmas." (PNS-9) Groupism is a dogma - it is a totally defective notion. Yet at present, it is burning sky high in our Marga. Until that fire is extinguished, we will continue to see the proliferation of more and more groups. If we go at the current pace, by 2015, instead of 5 or 6 groups there will be 12 - 15. Can you imagine the mess that will make. Each and every sector, nay region, will be run by a different groups in the same way warring mafia families divide up and rule city blocks, each competing for supreme control. Right now, the groups are fighting groupism with still more groupism. By Baba's grace and with the efforts of good margiis, the situation will right itself in our Marga, but not until that golden day dawns - and it will dawn - when really ideology is the guiding light, not the groupist rush for power.
MUST UNITE THE GOOD PEOPLE IN AM
At present, there are so many good margiis and acaryas who want to please Baba and build up a shining AM society, but till now they could not unite, only the groupists have been able to rally together. Baba says, "The moralists have been scattered for so long that they could not fight... there is an unholy alliance amongst the latter [groupists]." (PNS-18) So that is the way things have been moving in our Marga - but that will not last much longer. No one should give up hope.
JUST ONE FARCE - A SHAM OF UNITY
At the same time we should not get duped by the ruling leaders. For years and years they have sat in separate dharmacakra halls and chanted the vedic sermon of samgacchadhvam about the greatness of collective movement and unity, but in their heart of hearts they harbored more power and division. Plus they have consistently made proclamations about peace, unity, and other high sounding ideals. This only to be followed by the launching of the next groupist offensive. Their claims then of unity and singing of samgacchadhvam stand as a gross display of hypocrisy. Just it is the talk of one parrot. Repeating the same thing again and again with no inner understanding of those words. And now check out their latest trick. On Aug 30, 2009, the H and B factions came together and issued a document describing how they will be united. As noted above in the top of this letter, there is no mention of adhering to AM ideals in their so-called unity plan. In that case their unity treaty is just one more political sham. Baba says, "Human unity is purely an ideological unity..." (PNS-15) Without AM ideals unity is but a joke. Instead in their plan they are still preaching about the existence of groupism. In the first sentence of their report they write:
"ways for dialogue and unity with the other groups" Sent: Wednesday, September 9, 2009 8:28:32 AM Subject: [AnandaMarg] Meeting Between Ranchi & Kolkata
Thus the group leaders openly preach for the continuation of groupism, as if unity can be achieved by merging or making a pact between factional forces. Yet Baba warns us that the mere presence of groupism alone spoils any chance at unity. Baba says, "However, psychic or ideological unity may be affected if we encourage the exploitation of one group by another." (PNS-15) But because the factional leaders are so ingrained in groupism they can neither comprehend Baba's teachings nor do they have even an ounce of shame that in their own unity report they talk about continuing groupism. Such is the depths of their disease of factionalism - their minds are totally painted in that colour. So their very premise is misguided and so are all their points. For instance, let's look at point #1: "1. To share the land dispute situation in Ananda Nagar. As in several places through lack of our attention local villagers have grabbed land, both groups agreed to cooperate to protect our land in Ananda Nagar, providing all their legal papers." The above point is nothing about unity. All it states is that the two groups (H & B) should protect their shared self-interest against a common enemy. In that sense the Ranchi and Kolkata teams are no different from the Americans and Russians "uniting" to fight together in World War II. We all know what hell took place afterwards. So fighting against a common enemy is no unity at all. Yet this is their first stated declaration. And to tell you the truth, all of their declarations are silly and in the same vain as the above. It is a mere waste of time to analyse the other points. They all read the same. There is zero mention of following the high ideals of AM. All they talk about are back-door deals between groupist leaders who have not an ounce of trust or brotherly love for one another. That is why all good margiis and acaryas understand that this latest attempt at unity by the B and H forces is nothing but a total sham - a political whitewash to befool and pacify margiis that "proper steps are being taken." But no one with eyes to see is at all duped by this latest groupist ploy.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace, more and more awareness of AM ideals is mounting in our Marga. The groupist leaders may not know anything about Baba's teachings but margiis and acaryas around the world are deeply interested. Their hearts are pained by what is taking place now in our Marga and they are ready to bring real unity. That day is coming soon. We are all working together toward that glorious moment. Baba says, "Human history today has reached such a transitional phase that universal humanity, forgetting all spatial, temporal and personal differences, shall have to move, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder towards the new dawn with rapid steps. Humanity must respond to this call. With the reddish glow of the dawn, the collective body, mind and soul will be radiant with joy. And that alone will be the real progress of universal humanity, the firm establishment of unified humanism." (Ananda Vanii #61) Namaskar, Manomohan
****************************************** Blow on Human Intellect
Baba says, "They [groupist leaders] concoct various so-called scriptures, they formulate all kinds of logic. They maintain to the human race that all the races in this world are not equal. Thus instead of considering the interest of the entire human society, they give preference to the interest of a particular community. This loud propaganda in favour of a particular community, this parading of irrational logic, this sort of fallacious argument, all combine to stifle the spontaneous growth of human intellect. This sort of mentality is called dogma." (AFPS-4, p.61) Note: Some groupist leaders in our Marga are moving in this same narrow style.
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