By Kinisha O'Neill, Staff Reporter
Didi, one of the elders of Ananda Marga, loves music and can often be seen around Kingston with her guitar.
Glossary
Ananda Marga: The philosophy was started in the eastern part of India in 1955 by a spiritual master, Shrii Ananda Murtijii
Dada: Spiritual elder/brother
Didi: Spiritual elder/sister
THEY HAVE crazy sounding names and head an organisation that sounds equally odd. Garbed in flowing orange monk and nun-like outfits they appear like religious fanatics in search of converts.
But looks can be deceiving. DadaJii and Didi, spiritual leaders of the Ananda Marga organisation based in Kingston, are indeed on a divine path but they are calm and peaceful, and willing and open to hear all points of view. If there are any two words that best describe them they would be compassionate and non-judgemental.
Ananda Marga is not a religion. It means path of spiritual bliss, they explain, and like other spiritual philosophies its ins and outs cannot be narrowed down in one fell swoop. However, at its core are service to humanity, which translates to service to God; education for liberation from the bondage of the physical, mental and spiritual self; and the philosophy that human society is one and is indivisible.
ANANDA MARGA IN JAMAICA
These principles guide the lives of members of Ananda Marga which has three spiritual elders in Jamaica Dada, from West Bengal, India, who has been in the island for a year and a half; Didi, an English woman who came here four years ago; and another Dada who recently arrived from Nigeria and is living in St. Mary.
The organisation has had a presence in Jamaica for 28 years and has 50 local members that include people of various religious, social and economic background. This too stems from the Ananda Marga philosophy, and it so follows that anyone of any race, religion or from any walk of life can and are members of the organisation.
The attraction, says Jamaican Maurice Rhoden, is the organisation's philosophy that service to humanity is service to God.
HOW THEY LIVE THEIR LIVES
Dadas and Didis live a simple, disciplined life which is entirely dedicated to their spirituality.
"We fast four days out of every month, in sync with the full moon," says Didi. "On those days we do more spiritual work, like meditation and yoga."
Their daily routine begins somewhere between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. with an hour and a half of meditation. They also chant, read Ananda Marga books, and practise yoga.
The rest of their days, they say, is spent serving humanity in any way they are needed. However, they do pause four times throughout the day to meditate.
Dada and Didi also emphasise that they are not a couple and are both celibate, an underlying principle of their belief. Dada, also explains that he has never had sex.
They are also strict vegetarians.
WHAT THEY DO
As a unit the Anada Marga organisation ventures into a number of charitable activities, running a children's home, a home for the disabled, performing medical tasks, and helping out in emergency situations.
In addition the group says it's committed to operating school for the very poor. Ananda Marga has started two basic schools, one in the troubled Mountain View area of Kingston, the other in Barbican, attracting students from surrounding areas like Grants Pen. The schools are operated in large part with money raised from fundraising activities.
At the heart of their spiritual practice is yoga its principles and philosophies. The two say that they feel morally obliged to offer their knowledge of yoga and meditation, either for free or at a minimal cost. They offer yoga classes at their compounds in Mountain View and Barbican.
DADA'S PATH TO SPIRITUALITY
Born and raised in West Bengal, India, Dada recalls the first time he thought of becoming a spiritualist.
In his deep accent he told Lifestyle: "One day when I was 10 years old I looked to the picture of Swami Viveka Anada and I felt something. I thought to myself, 'He is a great spiritualist, why not me?'"
It took another four years and the death of his mother for him to make a commitment. In his early twenties, while studying religion at university, he made the final decision to dedicate his life as an Ananda Marga spiritualist.
DIDI'S STORY
Born into an English family that liked to explore various religions and spiritual philosophies, Didi describes her family as dysfunctional.
However, "obstacles and difficulties in life should be viewed as an opportunity for growth," she adds, noting that her family's explorations led her, at an early age, to question the meaning of her existence and of life itself.
By her teenage years she had developed her own spiritual practices which included being a vegetarian, yoga, meditation, travelling the world, and fasting. In her 20s she was introduced to a Didi and says she intuitively knew that she was meant to live her life in that manner and at 25 became a member of Ananda Marga.
More
about
them
WHAT ITEM would you take with you if you were stranded on a dessert island?
Didi: "My guitar."
Dada: "I wouldn't have to take anything because God would take care of me, I wouldn't need anything else."
What do you think when people say you're a part of a cult?
Didi: "I have complete free will to do whatever I like. You won't lose your mind and be brainwashed. A lot of people also believe that when you do yoga you become possessed by demons.
"I believe people who say those things are just ignorant. Fear comes through ignorance, and they're afraid of what they don't understand.
PARTING WORDS
"Human nature is to seek
happiness, nobody wants pain," says Dada.
Didi admits that through Ananda Marga "I feel more
at peace, harmonious
and balanced."
