My Maryadas-Do's and do not's at "the centre "

My Maryadas

A thread for CONSTRUCTIVE comment with regards to approaching"the centre"; a chance to create your own Maryadas. (it doesn't have to be 10)

1) There is no benefit in comparing the self to others. Indeed, it can be destructive. We cannot play the role of another/s. We have a role of our own.

2) Think first before bringing your professional life into BK life. They can remain separate if you wish. The highest form of service is through detaching and merging with the Supreme Soul. Other forms of service follow (number-wise). We could approach service as something to keep us busy even. If you do mix the two, consider that you may be dealing with a BK who is not a professional in your field, yet assumes authority over you in your field, and so tests can arise. There can be a tendency to develop personal agenda's and/or allow negative desire/expectations to come in to our positive desires. Push and we push it away. Let go and it will come to you. Who's service is it? We all want to get involved and do something. It always returns to the same thing, if you want to do something, change.

3) If you want to move forward, put others forward ahead of the self, even if they already appear to be ahead of ourselves. What constitutes 'ahead'? If someone has gone deeper than us, perhaps we can learn from them. Observe how Shiva puts everyone forward.

4) Depending on your role and closeness to the centre, it is a good idea not to get "caught up" in things. Balance within the spiritual family is the aim. We can achieve much without competing with others. We can get involved in things without becoming control freaks. We can find skills and talents we never knew we had. The drama is on our side, let it take us there, without handing your life over to others, it IS about learning to control our own minds, no one else can do that for us.

5) We can find ourselves in a position where we are spending a lot of time with people we otherwise probably would NOT have in our life outside or before Gyan/path. When we consider this and observe, we can see just how effective meditation can be in bringing people from diverse backgrounds together. Also, there will be those differences, or VARIETY OF FLOWERS.

6) The centre is a goldfish bowl. It is a huge magnifying glass. Not only can we see our own weaknesses very clearly, but also others. We are there to look at our own positive aspects.

7) I am there to experience knowledge and change. Others are there for the same reason,self transformation. Service, socialising, interacting with others takes place around that basic aim.

8 ) There is no such role as "centre-in-charge". I think the title is "co-ordinator". It is Shiva's centre. It is not easy running a centre. It is an on going thing, always having to be there with a smile. No matter what our relationship, it is always worth remembering that. The BKWSU has been expanding for many years, it needs certain types of souls to play the role's to bring it all about.Put others forward. Allow others to blossom, accepting their flaws as we go. We can expect too much from those in the centre/organisation (they are only human or beings ). The centre co-ordinator may not necessarily have a closer connection to Baba than everyone else. It is not a requirement. Their specialities may lie in other area's, hence, they are co-ordinator.

9) Get some exercises and fresh air. The body cannot just be ignored. We still need to have respect for the fact that it is a wonderful machine with complex balance which needs to be sustained, so diet is important also. Doing service to the detriment of our body doesn't sound worth it to me.

Good advice sparkal . Too late for me now ... In a more flippant vein:

The 10 Commandments According to BapDadi

1 - thou shalt not touch - thou shalt remain physically detached

2 - thou shalt be of female gender, and shall remain segregated from those of male gender, as they are impure

3 - thou shalt have an Indian body

4 - thou shalt wear only Indian clothing, and thy clothing shall be immaculate and spotless at all times

5 - thy clothing shall all be white

6 - thou shalt not question

7 - thou shalt not criticise

8 - thou shalt not think for thyself

9 - thou shalt obey

10 - thou shalt worship one Dadi and none other

Okay, Sparkal, I can begin to warm up to you. Howie, your list is good, too. Please don't twist the knife too hard; I cannot stop laughing.

Bansy obliged me with a recent list of maraydas (thanks!) but I am still looking for the original English language ones with nice calligraphic flourishes that were on display in centers as far back as ... as when I first came (to knowledge!) in the early 80s. The language was uniquely charming--goes with the unique language of the original teaching posters (see wikipedia article BK links) and the original sample chart, which I am also looking for.

Stay within the lines of safety, boys! (and grrls!)

why do you keep posting in the ex-BK bit ... Maryadas, please, some of us have followed these strange life choices to the letter for a long time before true spiritual awakening ... in other words the realisation 'what the hell am I doing this for???' .

You know most of these rules were invented after the Death of Lekhraj and are pretty dodgy on the whole. Plus you only get to hear the severe ones if you live in a centre ... like only going in the 'kitchen/bhandara if you've showered and changed your clothing!!! ... or not allowing any student to even walk in the kitchen if they haven't been pukka for at least 6 months.

Oh Joel, I just read your post. I was in possesion until recently of some very old BK literature including the original unedited versions of the books like 'The Gates of Heaven' with all the old pictures and Maryadas ... in the original version which you cannot get now. They stated that tea was Tamsic (i think that's right, the terminology is escaping me these days, thank God) the most impure level of food ... this was edited out as more Westeners joined and found it more pleasing to be celibate than to go without tea .

I was in possesion until recently of some very old BK literature including the original unedited versions of the books like 'the gates of heaven with all the old pictures and Maryadas.......in the original version which you cannot get now, they stated that tea was tasmic ( i think that's right, the terminology is escaping me these days, thank god) the most impure level of food ...

I'd be really interested in hearing a lot more about those secret Maryadas, Mr G. Shame you binned the books too.

One of my favourites was Jagdish Chanders writings on Sex Lust in which he dug out and quoted all this really weird and freaky stuff about sex dating back to the 19th Century writings without any sense of discrimination or realism. You know, the sort of " if it is in a book it must be true " approach of BK academia. It was the sort of stuff that would make it onto a really shocking website these days. I guess he really wanted to frighten off BK Sisters from ever dreaming of trying any of it but no doubt you would.

I showed it to a doctor who happened to be a venereologist by way of trying to do service ... the dumb things we would do back then! I think I narrowly missed being sectioned as mad to believe it all and it did not have much of a positive effect. The " if Jagdish Chander say it, is must be true and Godly service " school of BK service.

But please, document the Maryadas here or in the Wiki please!

why do you keep posting in the ex-BK bit ... Maryadas please, some of us have followed these strange life choices to the letter for a long time before true spiritual awakening ... In other words the realisation 'what the hell am I doing this for??????'

That was why you were following them, yes? For a spiritual awakening

You know most of these rules were invented after the death of lekraj and are pretty dodgy on the whole, plus you only get to hear the severe ones if you live in a centre ... like only going in the 'kitchen/bhandara if you've showered and changed your clothing!!! ... or not allowing any student to even walk in the kitchen if they haven't been pukka for at least 6 months

Yes, ordinary impure were not allowed in the kitchen, or frowned on. You had to be special BK (im)pure. You weren't supposed to be wandering around anywhere with stinky pooh hands. Seems inconceivable that I could have lived those years without scratching my ... okoli ... to use the Hawaiian.

Oh joel, I just read your post, I was in possesion until recently of some very old BK literature including the original unedited versions of the books like 'the gates of heaven with all the old pictures and Maryadas ... in the original version which you cannot get now, they stated that tea was tamsic (i think that's right, the terminology is escaping me these days, thank god) the most impure level of food ... this was edited out as more westeners joined and found it more pleasing to be celebate than to go without tea

I remember hearing Dr. Nirmala say that about the tea ... It seemed rather doctrinal, even then. Dr. N, herself was unashamedly addicted to coffee. If she did not have a cup by mid-day she would get a headache.

How to decribe the transition to ex-BK?? "No longer a man of the cloth, more like a man of the kleenex." .

"No longer a man of the cloth, more like a man of the kleenex."

HAHAHAHA, hey you must be checking my new chart .