Thursday, October 25, 2012

Writings of Avadhutika Ananda Mitra Acarya

Avadhutika Ananda Mitra Acarya is a wholetimer in the Ananda Marga organization. Her book “The Spiritual Philosophy of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti” [1] is a very important book as it provides excellent commentary. I will provide short quotes from her book and give the links to her articles at the end.

Baba’s Istanbul Discourses (3): The Supreme Truth

Shrii Shrii Anandamurti visited Istanbul in 1979. I was a third year student in Boğaziçi University at that time and I did not know about him. He gave 3 lectures in English on September 14 and 15 in 1979.  I missed these special gatherings but I have read the text of the discourses countless times. I translated the Istanbul discourses into Turkish. You can find the Turkish versions in the links given at the end of this page. Baba’s Istanbul discourses have been preserved by Ananda Marga but I think that more people should read them.

The Supreme Truth
15 September 1979, Istanbul

The sentient action comes very near to Supreme Existence; it can maintain a good proximity, but cannot coincide with that Supreme Entity. The philosophy of spiritual aspirants, known as Tantra, says that he is a singular entity. Why should we say that He is a singular entity? You know, singularity and plurality are different projections of the human mind. If we say “one”, it is a particular projection. If we say “two”, it is a particular projection. If we say one hundred, it is a particular projection. So far as the tendency of projection is concerned, all projections are the same. There is neither any singularity nor any plurality. Even then the spiritual aspirants say that he is a singular entity. Why do they say this? Because when all the propensities of the mind, when all the propulsions of mind come to a particular point, and apex to singularity, one comes in contact with Him. That is why, if a numeral is to be used at all for Him, that numeral is one. He is the Supreme Controlling Faculty.

Baba’s Istanbul Discourses (2): Beware of Dogma

Shrii Shrii Anandamurti visited Istanbul in 1979. I was a third year student in Boğaziçi University at that time and I did not know about him. He gave 3 lectures in English on September 14 and 15 in 1979.  I missed these special gatherings but I have read the text of the discourses countless times. I translated the Istanbul discourses into Turkish. You can find the Turkish versions in the links given at the end of this page. Baba’s Istanbul discourses have been preserved by Ananda Marga but I think that more people should read them.

Beware of Dogma
15 September 1979 Evening, Istanbul

Structures

So far as structural solidarity is concerned, the best shape is the oval shape. “Oval” means (in Latin ovum means egg) “similar to an egg, not exactly like an egg but to some extent like an egg; not exactly elliptical but to some extent elliptical”. All celestial bodies are of that shape. That’s why in Sanskrit this universe is called Brahmáńd́a. (Ańd́a means “egg”. And from the Sanskrit word ańd́a it became ańd́á in the Urdu language.)
Now, this universe of ours is very big, but not infinite. It is an elliptical figure, an oval figure, which means it has a boundary line. Yes, it is very big, and actually so big that we cannot measure it; but in theory it can be measured.

Baba’s Istanbul Discourses (1): Mysticism and Yoga

Shrii Shrii Anandamurti visited Istanbul in 1979. I was a third year student in Boğaziçi University at that time and I did not know about him. He gave 3 lectures in English on September 14 and 15 in 1979.  I missed these special gatherings but I have read the text of the discourses countless times. I translated the Istanbul discourses into Turkish. You can find the Turkish versions in the links given at the end of this page. Baba’s Istanbul discourses have been preserved by Ananda Marga but I think that more people should read them.

Mysticism and Yoga
14 September 1979, Istanbul

When the aesthetic sense, based on the subtle aesthetic science, comes to touch a certain standard, it is what is called mysticism. And when this mysticism reaches the pinnacle of human glory, or the excellence of human glory, it is called spirituality. What is mysticism? Mysticism is the never-ending endeavour to find out the link between the finite and the infinite. It is a never-ending endeavour to find out a link between the self and the Super-Self, khud and Khudá. This is mysticism.

Spiritual Philosophy of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti

Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar (May 21, 1921 – October 21, 1990), also known by his spiritual name Shrii Shrii Anandamurti was one of the highest expressions of universal teacher in human history. He was the founder of Ananda Marga.

In all of history, no philosopher explained the cosmic mystery and the spiritual reality more rationally than Shrii Shrii Anandamurti. His rational outlook was truly inspiring. He was a polymath: writer, philosopher, scientist, music composer, social theorist, and spiritual leader. Those who practice the meditation techniques he taught feel blessed and deeply inspired by his example. He talked about so many things and has written on so many varied subjects. I get overwhelmed with emotion when I try to describe the vastness of the written treasure he left behind.  He wanted to be known as Baba.

His writings are very intellectual. The spiritual practice he taught, however, is intensely devotional. A significant portion of his writings and speeches are dedicated to Divine Love.  In his sophisticated language he always talked about devotion to God.

If I have to pick few concepts from the vast number of clarifications he brought to spiritual philosophy, I would mention the following. He clarified that Self-realization is not possible without service to humanity. He also clarified the “relative truth” concept. He enriched us with his explanations of the relationship between the cognitive and creative aspects of Reality. He introduced the Microvita theory. Even though the Microvita theory is only a small fraction of his contributions, the impact of Microvita theory will be even greater than the Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics combined when it is worked out mathematically. Microvita theory promises that the distinct disciplines of physics, chemistry, biology and psychology will merge into one science in the future.

You can obtain Shrii Shrii Anandamurti’s publications from  Ananda Marga Books.

Articles at AnandaMarga.org
Ananda Sutram

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Mystic Poetry: Meister Eckhart

Meister Eckhart’s words still resonate in our hearts.

********************
God is always ready,
but we are very unready;
God is near to us,
but we are far from Him;
God is within, but we are without;
God is at home, but we are strangers.
********************

Mystic Poetry (1)

I have been thinking …
I have been thinking of the difference between water
and the waves on it. Rising,
water’s still water, falling back,
it is water, will you give me a hint
how to tell them apart?
Because someone has made up the word
“wave,” do I have to distinguish it
from water?
There is a Secret One inside us;
the planets in all the galaxies
pass through his hands like beads.
That is a string of beads one should look at with luminous eyes.
Kabir [1]

Orhan Veli

Orhan Veli Kanık (b., 1914, Istanbul; d., November 14, 1950, Istanbul)

“Son of the conductor of the Presidential Symphony, Orhan Veli received a good liberal education but left University of Istanbul in 1935 before completing his studies. He worked in the Ankara Post Office until he was called up during World War II. On his discharge in 1945 he obtained a post as translator in the Ministry of Education but left his job in less than two years to lead a Bohemian existence. His younger brother, Adnan Veli, himself a writer, was imprisoned for political offense in 1949 but Orhan Veli was able to publish a literary journal, Yaprak [Leaf], for 28 issues until a cerebral hemorrage ended his life."

“Orhan Veli was more influenced by the sketch image of the Japanese haiku than by any Turkish or even conventional Western poetic source. He felt that we ‘must free ourselves from poetic conceptions and from the effort to make the use of words beautiful. “

I am listening to Istanbul, with my eyes closed.
The drunkeness of ancient feastings in my head.
A seashore villa with dim -lit boathouse
With howling of the dying west wind
I am listening to Istanbul, with my eyes closed

Yunus Emre

Yunus Emre (1240?–1321?) was a Turkish Sufi poet. His influence as a poet and as a Sufi teacher in Turkish speaking lands from Eastern Europe to Central Asia is immense. He expressed the highest spiritual truth of Divine Love, the states of mind during the spiritual journey, and the Sufi metaphysics based on the concept of Unity of Being in simple terms in his poetry.

Only You Exist

The original poem written in Turkish on July 25, 2012

Bir kalb sızısıyla başlar böyle hisler ama
Bugün öyle değil
Bugün sızlamıyor kalbim.
Güzel yüzler parlayıp kayboluyorlar
Takılmıyorum güzelliğe.
Şehir de parıltılı bugün,
Herşey ışık dolu.
Aynalar gereksiz bugün
Yansıma gereksiz.
Güzellik bir yansıma değil bugün.
Yansıma yok çünkü
Sadece sen varsın.

Translation:

Feelings of this kind usually start
With a sweet pain in the heart,
Not today!
Beautiful faces appear and disappear
I am not distracted by beauty today.
The city is shiny too,
Everything is full of light,
No mirrors necessary,
Beauty is not a reflection today.
No reflection, no mirrors because
Only You
Exist

Quantum of Love

Words are
Quanta of Love.
Emitted,
Transmitted,
Received,
By the heart.
And reflected
Back to the source,
In a Self-feedback,
Amplifying
The mystery.

Where does beauty come from?

Where does beauty come from?
Is it on the outside or
Does it come from the inside?
What is it a reflection of?
What is it that shines so bright?
What is it that burns the heart so blissfully?
What kind of Alchemy,
What kind of magic is it,
That spellbinds
And captivates so powerfully?