Questions to a Yogic Monk - Dada Krtashivananda

Q:How can I develop my potential?

A: The first question comes, how can one develop one's potentiality. Now, what is potentiality? Potentiality means total personality. Inner potentiality. It is not only psychic, it is also spiritual; or you can say 'psycho-spiritual' potentiality. 'Spiritual' means 'consciousness', awakening of consciousness. 'Psychic' means development of mental force, willpower, and thus does not happen without the evolution of consciousness. But this evolution of consciousness or spiritual flow depends on the physical state of existence because our physical body has different glands which make different hormone secretions. And these hormone secretions influence our thoughts, our mind, our inner strength, our weakness. That's why it's also essential to develop, purify or rectify our glands systematically. Due to wrong food habits, wrong thinking, wrong way of life, the glands get affected,so we want to rectify those glands. The spiritual process is a physico-psycho-spritual process; in other words, meditation is physico-psycho-spiritual.

Questions to a Yogic Monk - Dada Krtashivananda

Q: What is Tantra?

A:Now the question comes, what is Tantra? Tantra has two words: TAN + TRA. TAN means crudeness and dullness, TRA means liberation. That science which liberates the mind from crudeness and dullness, all negative forces, that is Tantra.

Now, this Tantra, actually it is a physico-psycho-spiritual process to develop the personality; not only that, it is evolution of consciousness. And Tantra also has other different dimensions, not only meditation, like Tantra developed medicines, Tantra developed a theory of life, Tantra developed musical science. All of these different... or you can say, a total way of life, a spiritual way of life. Tantra is not just a meditation process.

Questions to a Yogic Monk - Dada Krtashivananda

Q: What is the concept of Guru in Tantra?

A: Now the question comes, what is the Guru? What is the concept of Guru in Tantra? The Guru means that entity who uses his spiritual force to remove the darkness from the disciple's mind. Now, in the real sense of tantra, the Guru is infinite, the Guru is Supreme Consciousness. But to this Supreme Consciousness, human beings cannot relate. Sometimes this infinite force takes a form, a physical form to help human beings to understand the essence of spirituality, and how to evolve their consciousness. So the Guru can also be a physical entity, but must be evolved, a conscious entity.

So, Lord Shiva in Tantra, Lord Shiva was the original Guru, the first who appeared as a Guru on this earth. The Guru's role is very important. The Guru also resides in a spiritual sense; he also resides in our crown chakra, we call it the sahasrara chakra. The Guru's force resides there, and we can communicate with it if we adopt a proper process of meditation that leads to the psycho-spiritual dimension. Then we can realize that he is guiding our progress to develop our personality, directly through the application of spiritual force.
That's why the role of the Guru is very important in Tantra, because we are fighting this negative force, which is very powerful, an infinite force. We cannot fight with our unit mind only, we need some external force, a stronger force, a stronger spiritual force to help us to conquer the negative force of nature.

Questions to a Yogic Monk - Dada Krtashivananda

Q: What is the role of Guru in the spiritual process?

A: First thing, when the Guru appears in his physical form, he prescribes, he gives to the society a way of life, a spiritual way, a spiritual practice, a social system, a socio-economic system - for all dimensions of society - whatever the society needs. Medicine, science, on everything he throws light, based on spiritual values of life.
The role of Guru is very important in spiritual life because without his direct help, or direct use of force, it's not possible to evolve the consciousness or the devotional aspect of life. You know, devotion needs guiding, devotion towards an ideal.
Devotion towards a transcendental personality, or devotion towards any divine entity.
We need some finite existence, a divine existence in physical form, to form that devotion. The Guru helps to form that devotion, which ultimately transforms to devotion towards the Supreme Consciousness. Otherwise the human mind cannot understand what is Supreme Consciousness, cannot believe in the Supreme Consciousness. But we need an intermediate stage, which is the Guru who helps you to evolve this flow of devotion. And without devotion, life, your meditation becomes a dry entity - life becomes a dry entity. Devotion is the sustenance of life. That's why the Guru's role in spiritual practice is very important, because he helps people, he helps the disciple so that he doesn't fall down, doesn't degenerate from the process of the spiritual path.

Questions to a Yogic Monk - Dada Krtashivananda

Q: "What is the Ananda Marga way of life?"

A: As I told you, Ananda Marga is a spiritual way of life, but Ananda Marga has different types of dimension. One dimension is to develop one's potentiality through meditation, that's very important, and that process is physico-psycho-spiritual. But it's not enough. You know, Ananda Marga has three aspects: karma yoga, jinana yoga and bhakti yoga, or the path of action, the path of knowledge, and the path of devotion. So, when you do meditation internally, then you develop some potentiality, you develop some mental force. What to do with that mental force? You have to utilize that mental force for the society, for others, for the universe. So thats why there are different dimensions of Ananda Marga. Do meditation, open education centers, open medical centers, develop a community where you can do farming, industry, everything. That means, develop different centers which will function as the nucleus of a spritual way of life. That's the ultimate, that's the most important aspect of Ananda Marga - that unless we develop a strong nucleus - first the individual has to become a nucleus by developing a spiritual force, then you have to create a nucleus, a place, a nucleus which can radiate not only spiritual force, spiritual culture - and a way of life to survive.Ananda Marga is a complete way of life.

Questions to a Yogic Monk - Dada Krtashivananda

Q: What is the Ananda Marga mission?

A: Now comes, what is the AM mission? The Ananda Marga mission has three different aspects. One aspect is to move towards the spiritual goal, Supreme Consciousness, through meditation. But towards this you cannot move unless there is a strong base, and that base is morality. You have to follow a moral standard, or cardinal principles. This is the base of Ananda Marga mediation. So, morality is the base, spiritual practice is the way, and life divine is the goal. So that these two aspects of Ananda Marga mission - you have to move towards the spiritual dimension - that's the purpose of human life. But to follow the spiritual path you need a strong moral base - the second aspect of Ananda Marga mission, and the third aspect is to reflect that concept or that value in the society. That means that you have to constantly struggle, fight against the negative force in the form of injustice, exploitation and dogma - all these things. This is the external dimension of Ananda Marga mission. Ananda Marga mission is both external and internal - fight against internal negativity and fight against external negativity, to create a positive force. That's the Ananda Marga mission. And this Ananda Marga mission becomes successful ultimately, what is the purpose? The purpose is to create a society where all dogmas - people have to realize this - all dogmas are cancelled, have disappeared. Where people realize, "We belong to one human society". And not only outlook towards other human beings, also you have to understand that human society is not only human beings - also plants and animals - all together - we are all living entities. It is one society, that is the spirit of Neo Humanism. In Ananda Marga that Neo Humanist spirit comes only through a physico-psycho-spiritual process. So Ananda Marga wants to develop a world comunity ultimately where people will realize that human society is one and indivisible - it cannot be divided. Then finally comes the goal of Ananda Marga mission.