THE ESSENCE OF TANTRA

No human being wants to live in sorrow or misery. No one wants keep on wandering here and there looking for objects to satisfy their senses only to find frustration instead of satisfaction. Alas,most people in the world have found out for themselves that the much sought- for infinite happiness is not in finite objects. That only liberation from the natural bondage of staticity in man , can infinite happiness be attained. Thus it can be said that human beings knowingly or unknowingly want to attain God, the repository of infinite happiness.

Ananda Marga( meaning, the Path of Bliss or Infinite Happiness) imparts different lessons of Yoga to all those interested in the spiritual pursuit, free of cost. Besides Yoga there is another distinct system of spiritual practice called Tantra , as profounded by Lord Shiva . P. R. Sarkar, profounder of Ananda Marga teaches that the actual significance of Tantra is to liberate the human beings from the bondage of staticity. That is, the science which liberate people from bondages of the force of ignorance that leads man away from God. The latter "Ta" is the seed word of dullness. the root verb "Tare" suffixed by "Da" becomes "Tra" which means " That which liberates," i.e., the spiritual practice which liberates the spiritual aspirant from dullness or animality of the static force and expands his self in the Tantra Sadhana. Tantra is the Sadhana, which means a practice for expansion and this expansion is liberation from the bondage of all sorts of dullness.

The main characteristic of Tantra is that it represents manly vigour. It represents a pactless fight. Where there is no fight ,there is no Sadhjana. It is an impossibility to conquer a crude idea and to replace it with subtle idea without a fight. Hence , Tantra is not only a fight , it is an all round fight.

( To be continued)

amurt update

Last Sunday ,August 14, 2005 AMURT conducted a medical mission at Baranggay Wakat, in Nagcarlan ,Laguna. Two hundred indigent residents availed of free medical treatment at Ananda Kurangga Master Unit of Ananda Marga Yoga Society in the Philippines. Margii volunteers headed by doctors- in -charge of the medical mission invited lecturers from the Department of Health to join the two-hour land travel from Manila to teach the Nagcarlan barrio folks the proper preparation and use of ten herbal medicine namely:(1) Lagundi, Vitex negundo L. gamot sa hika at ubo; (2) Yerba Buena,Mentha cordifolia Opiz ex Fresen, gamot sa pananakit ng iba't ibang bahagi ng katawan ; (3) Sambong, Blumea balsamifera (L.) DC., gamot sa manas (pampaihi) at pantunaw ng bato (anti-urolithiasis); (4) Tsaang Gubat, Ehretia microphylla Lam., gamot sa sakit ng tiyan ; (5) Niyug-niyogan, quisqualis indica L. gamot sa bulating askaris; (6) Bayabas, Psidium guajava L., panlinis ng sugat, impeksiyon sa bibig, magang gilagid, bulok na ngipin.; (7) Akapulko, Cassia alata L. gamot sa an-an, buni , alipunga , galis-aso ; (8) Ulasimang Bato, Peperomia pellucida, pampababa ng "uric acid" sa dugo, gamot din sa rayuma at gout; (9) Bawang, Allium sativum, ajos (Span.,Bis) garlic(Engl.), pampababa ng kolesterol, (10) Ampalaya ,Momordica charantia, para sa diabetes mellitus ( mild non-insulin dependent).
Other treatment methods administered are acupuncture and homeopathy. The medical mission beneficiaries were also introduced to the health benefits of Yoga as an alternative lifestyle.

Another medical mission is scheduled on September 4 ,2005 at Las Pinas , according to Bro.Hariram, mission organizer and Ac. Bodha, Rector of Master Unit, Maharlika Sector.

RELIEF DISTRIBUTION, MEDICAL CHECK-UP, FREE PROVISION OF MEDICINES, MASS FEEDINGS AND SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM ARE THE USUAL SERVICES UNDERTAKEN BY AMURT TEAM AT TIMES OF NATURAL AND MAN-MADE CALAMITIES.

YOUR GENEROUS ASSISTANCE IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF AMURT. GIVE NOW.
METROBANK ANONAS BRANCH. AMURT ACCOUNT NUMBER 734-751-598-8

yoga for a peaceful society

"A peaceful Philippines can only exist if we are able to eliminate crime, and the practice of yoga can help in establishing a type of frame of mind that can make people peaceful. Yoga can even counter terrorism by making individual abhor violence,"

said lawyer Jose Malvar Villegas Jr., chairman of the Citizens Crime Watch (CCW) and the Philippine Confederation of NGOs on Human Resources and Public Safety (Phil-HRPS) when he intoduced this writer as guest speaker in one of their members' regular meeting held in Manila.

I was asked to talk about the subject: How to Control Vices through YOGA.

I started the lecture by introducing Yoga as "The Science of the Mind"or a way of life, developed 7000 years back.

Yoga comes from the root "yuj" a Sanscrit word which means "to unify",i.e., to reunite the unit entity with the Supreme Entity. Actually the word religion in its original significance, meant the same thing as "yoga", union with God.

"Religion," on the other hand, comes from the Latin word "religare", "re", again, and "ligare", to unite, or to unite again, to tie again to the Source. The fundamental basis of all religion is, essentially, yoga, the experience of God-consciousness.

Those who practiced the teachings of " yoga" found their lives transformed as they overcame the weakness and negative tendencies of the mind and experienced a deep peace and bliss within.

What is the scientific process to attain this experience?

First, by maintaining a healthy human body by proper food and exercises.

Then by adherence to the ten principles of morality (refer to previous blogspots of this writer, Cornerstone of an Ideal Society, Sunday, June 26, 2005) yoga practitioners may be able to develop readiness to practice "Yoga Meditation".

The participants in the seminar were taught basic yoga "asanas" or exercises to demonstrate different postures intended to maintain the youthful flexibility of the human body among other health benefits. Issues on the advantages of vegetarian lifestyle over non-vegetarian diet were were addressed.

A major part of the lecture discussed at length the process of attaining a type of mental frame of mind that can make people peaceful, which in effect is termed as Yoga Meditation. It is in this stage of mental purification or internal cleansing that questions like "I want to know what I Am ?" or " Who Am I ?", other than "Will there be food on my plate tomorrow?" will surface in the human mind.

At this stage human beings begin to use their own self-will, their own unit energy to accelerate the process of returning to the Cosmic Nucleus. This self-effort to complete the flow of evolution is called "sadhana"(from the root "sa'd," to do, to complete). The more sadhana is performed, the closer the unit entity moves to the Nucleus, the greater the force of cosmic attraction and the speed of acceleration, until ultimately merger is achieved. The unit becomes one with the Cosmic.

A humble contribution by the two-hour lecture towards promoting a peaceful society can be summarized by the following commentary:

"More and more people are now turning to the practice of the ancient yoga meditation. Even anti-crime groups are now applying yoga to their programs aimed at preventing crime and bringing about an orderly society." -Sanny Galvez, Manila Bulletin, Dec. 17,2004.

YOGA MEDITATION

In the July 30,2005 edition of KAYAMOBATO-ONLINE (simulcast on 3 shortwave bands) formatted to the needs of OFWs in the Middle East, South East Asia, parts of Europe, India and New York) we had Architect Felino Palafox, Jr. talking to and inspiring our Pinoy listeners on the secret of his success.

Not many of us realize it, but Jun Palafox is one Pinoy architect who knew early on that to be successful one has to look outside of its natural boundaries. Sharing statistics,he says that more than 99 percent of the world's market is outside our country,and that out of the 6 billion population of the world we are only 84 million or less than one percent.This figures has served to motivate this firm that started with three people in 1989 to grow at an amazing rate to a present 150 full-time staff, landing in the world's Top 200 architects and with an ISO Certificate for Quality Management System for office operations for architecture, urban planning,intrior design,,site and vertical engineering and landscape architecture.

When asked to share to the Pinoy overseas workers how he dealt with "homesickness", this Pinoy architect who once had a two year stint in Dubai where he worked as a city planning consultant, revealed his regular communion with God as a source of his creative skills and turning to Him only for guidance in dealing with the hardship that confronts most OFWs.

He advised the listeners that homesickness can be addressed simply by constant communication with their family back home.

We taped today kayamobato -online August 6,2005 edition. Our Pinoy listeners travelling around the globe as called for by the nature of their work are not as updated on what's happening in the country.

For the benefit of the listeners who heard the challenge to practice the five principles of social balance, the question of whether the present political disaster could have been prevented if all of us heeded the princples of non-injury, benevolent truthfulness, non-stealing, non-indulgence and recognising everyone and everything as an expression of the Supreme Father.

No doubt many of the constituents who placed their leaders to position of power has been badly injured by the betrayal of their leaders that they trusted. It is needless to elaborate that many our leaders have not been observing benevolent truthfulness. Only a few among our politicians and government administrators cannot be accused of stealing public funds. Most of us have over-indulged in excessive enjoyment of physical comfort at the expense of ecological degradation. Many are not aware that by recognizing everyone and everything as manifestations of God , man will eliminate the tendencies to harm, to selfishly lie, to steal, or to exploit others through over-indulgence.

Easier said than done? Nope, try Yoga Meditation. And try to apply the other principles of yama and niyama in our day-to-day lives.

For inquiries on Yoga Meditation, call Tel.436-2946.