Mai Bless us All. We are glad here, to give information of a reliable nature for the religious world, that believes in human happiness through true morality, religiosity and spirituality of the whole world on reconciliation and unification of all religions under one parental religion, which respects and gives individual respect and welcome place to each religion and yet unites them all collectively to help each religion to keep intact and independent individually. It is something not easily understandable and believable at once as a subject of usual familiarity and daily routine news information and discussion.
This is a subject by itself for them that have great value for morality and religion on one hand and universality on the other.
Since 1893, when there was the world parliament of all religions in Chicago where revered Swami Vivekanand opened the eyes of the world and Hindus themselves, regarding the greatness of Hinduism, there have been so many deep religious thinkers all over the world, who have seen the full need of one universal religion, and every year there have been congresses and conferences in different parts of the world to bring about tolerance and fellow feeling and sympathy amongst different religions, as religions in the past have been inimical to each other and there have been bitterness, hatred, persecution and massacre as a result of different religions.
As every honest and pride-less religious man should admit, West is the source of science and wonderful discoveries; East is the source of religions. It was in 1932 that a miniature of a universal religion by name Mai-ism, i. e, the Universal Mother's religion for one and all of any religion, to be followed without leaving one's own religion, was proclaimed and Universal Mother Mai was installed by Mai Swarupa Mai Markand on 2-9-1932. It has the simplest principles to be followed, viz., universal love and service to all human beings, to the extent of one's practicability and possibility and devotion with unconditional, cheerful self - surrender to one's God, whichever God one is devoted to.
Mai-ism has been doing its slow, steady and silent work since 1932 for the past over 34 years. It was started in Poona by Mai Swarupa Mai Markand (Nagar Grihastha Brahmin of Gujarat-Petlad).
Naturally enough, Mai-ism being the universal religion cannot be confined to any one country, one nation or one religion. The universal name Mai for God as Mother has been by now extremely well known in Gujarat and Saurashtra and South India. Mai - ism has held on Daserah days sisters' socials (in strict purdah) to pray to Mai for showering peace and happiness through true morality and religion, over the whole world, not simply the Bharata Bhoomi of Indians or the followers of Hinduism. Sisters' socials were held in Poona in 1932, in Madras in 1949, in Calicut in 1954, in Trichur in 1957, in Trivandrum in 1958. The further two advanced functions of Mai-ism of the Mai Convocation were held in Trichur on 30-9-1960 and in Ernakulam, Cochin on 7-10-1962, each starting on Daserah day and lasting for three days,An idea about the universal nature of Mai-ism can be gathered from Mai-ism literature of Mai -Sandesh Mai - Sahasranama Mai-ism and World's Need and Mai-ism by late Rev. Brother Ernest Kirk, editor of "Life" at Coimbatore, India.
Being not restricted to any one religion but to universal religion, Mai Swarup Mai Markand was invited to advise on world's peace against the third world war through religion, in Japan by the founder Yonusuke Nakano of Ananai Kyo, in Shimuzu city, in May 1955. Mai Swarup was so much appreciated there that an institute named International Religious Federation (I.R.F.) was started jointly by the two founders and Mai Swarup has been elected to be the Sub-Councillor-in-Chief of the Institute (second in rank only to the Founder Yonusuke). So many Hindu saints and religionists have been in touch with the said Institute.
This meant that Mai-ism was fully known and appreciated in the extreme East. It was in June 1959, five years after that, Mai Swarup was invited by one of the greatest universal religious institutes in the West. It is known under the denomination of "Universal Religious Alliance" (U. R. A.)
Mai-ism and Mai Swarupa (in Mai Niwas, Santa Cruz West, Bombay 54), for the said object of happifying the world through religion (universality, love, service, devotion and self-surrender to one's own God, whoever that God be) have been in close contact with Dr. Yeang in extreme South East Malaya, who has been the organizer of the peace prayer for the whole world under "World-wide Divine Love Radiation Service".
The latest thing that we are giving information about, to the religious world is the appreciation of the universal religion Mai-ism (the new religion for the incoming new age of a new mentality, a new belief and the new condition of the world, for the new future one religious world) evinced by the Universal Religious Alliance (U. R. A.) comprising of ministers, members, secretaries, spiritual ambassadors and participants, etc., from all parts of the world.
Mai Swarup was invited to advise the Institute, but he had to satisfy himself with merely conducting correspondence as he had exhausted his money for the mission conducted in Japan. And naturally enough, for a new religion and a universal religion and not an individual religion like Hinduism, he had no financial backing from any rich or truly religious millionaires in India.
Mai-ism and Mai Swarupa were however extremely appreciated through mere airmail correspondence and greatest sympathy was felt for the universal and simplest all-acceptable principles of Mai-ism, viz., universal love, service, devotion and self-surrender, in the permanent world congress of man held in the national capital Havana, Cuba, for the period from 23rd October 1959 to 22nd January 1960.
A reference made to the new relation of Mai-ism and U. R. A. in the invitation pamphlet for Mai Convocation on the last Daserah Day (30-9–1960) is reproduced below with a view to give an idea about the vastness of U. R. A. with the figures in the preliminary report of the U. R. A. world congress.
"Mai-ism was represented, explained, discussed and commented upon in the world congress by Duchesse Blanche Ledran, the Grand Chancellor of the U. R. A. Maiism received the greatest approbation in this permanent world congress of man convened by U. R. A., which has a standing of over five decades.
"The complete attendance was around 3800 persons, 2184 of which integrated about 318 different official delegations coming from 96 countries and the representation of 449 different sections and sub-sections of religions and various organizations."
The congress expressed its approbation of "Maiism" in these words :
"We have received valuable literature from all quarters of the world, which amply reveal that “Regeneration of man is at hand, a new age (Aquarian) is being ushered in, taking the shape of a brand new spiritual civilisation. We recommend such sources of new religious research. We particularly and specially recommend, in this respect, Mai-ism and the Mai Institute of Santa Cruz West, Bombay 54, India.
Mai-ism has been most intelligently and without any special personal love, narrated by Rev. Bro. Ernest Swift, Editor of "Steps Unto Him" (Wiltshire, England) as under page 13 of June 1960 issue.
“Mai Swarupa Mai Markand concerning whose work we wrote in a recent number, has reminded us of the “Raison d'Etre" of his movement, which he perfers to call “Religion”, not in the sense of a new form of hierarchy. If has its object to bring nearer all religions into one harmonious whole. The idea is to pro. vide a centre in the shape of a religion where that which unites could be shared and developed, whilst each religion would retain its own forms and rituals. Mai-ism welcomes and respects all that is best in every religion and holds that there can be no such thing as “The last word”, if we have the wisest conception of the word. It stands for the universality of God and keeps the door open for changes of approach as the world evolves.”
A skipping glance of the report received later regarding the said permanent world congress of man and its summit spiritual meeting affords more interesting details which give us an idea about the huge volume of the work and the vastest world area and humanity that U. R. A. has been dealing with.
(A) Official congratulations were received from several Governments and Republics :
UNESCO, Kingdom of Afghanistan, India, Japan, Ghana, USSR, Vietnam, Jordan, Thailand, Laos, Nepal, Peru, Brazil, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey, Argentina, China, USA, Poland, Lebanon, Pakistan, Muli, etc.
(B) Some of the important high personages, known to India generally, that sent their congratulations and best wishes to the world congress were as under.
The list is too long to be fully reproduced here; mostly Indians have been enumerated below:
Rev. Sister Annie Marie Leopold (Germany); Rev. Prof. Dr. D. V. Gokhale; Dr. K. J. Nathwani; Dr. M. Hafiz Syed; Aldous Huxley (one of the world's foremost philosophers); Ven. Mai Swarupa Mai Markand; Ven. Dr. Radhakrishnan; Bhikkhu Shiveshvaranand; Ven. Vinoba Bhave; Rt. Hon. Earl Atlee; Sir W. Churchill; Dr. Albert Scheweitzer; Bertrand Russell; Prof. B. L. Atreya; Prof. Sant Rajgopal; Dr. Sivabakshaguru; Dr. K. Seshadri; Ananta Shri Karapatriji Maharaj; Dr. Jyoti Prasad Tain; Tagadguru Shankaracharya; Swami Shri Ananta Krishna Bodhashramji Jain, Muni Sushilkumarji, Swami Shri Chidbhavanand, Meher Baba, Pandit Satawlekar Maharaj, Dr. Tara Shanker Bhattacharya, Dr. G. H. Bhatt, Shri Amratlal Zinda, Arnold Toynbee (the world historian), Saint H. K. Iranschaar (Germany), and others.
(C) Some of the organisations especially of India that sent greetings were as under :
The Light of Lahore (Pakistan), Institute of Oriental Philosophy (Vrindavan), Divine Life Mission (Haradwar), Maha Bodhi (Calcutta), League of Universal Faith (PEPSU, India), Bharathi Association (Ghaziabad), Mai Adherents' Institute (Bombay), Bharata Sneha Vardhini (Poona), Indian Institute of Culture (Bangalore), Latent Light Culture (Tinnevelly), Priesthood of the Holy Sanctuary (Banaras).
(D) There are more than 463 Institutes or illustrious persons whose names have been shown as participants and who sent friendly messages. Few of them especially those in India and Pakistan are enumerated below :
Brahmanic Holy Realm, Biblical Society of India, Great Brotherhood of Buddha, World Association of Sadhus and Sages, Universal Religion of Mai-ism for the New Age, Santa Cruz, Bombay 54, The World Jnana Sadhak Society, Jalpaiguri, Meher Baba Institute, World Congress for World Federation, Suryasthanam, Gorakshanath Order of Yogism, Paramanand Publication Society, Divine Life Society, (Himalayas). Mumtaz League (Lahore), University of Punjab, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, (Bombay), Arya Peshwa (New Delhi), Jain Society (Ahmedabad), Jain World Mission (Pilani), Bible University (Ambut), The Yoga Vedanta Forest University (Himalayas), Rajasuya Ashvamedha Avinashigyana Yajna (Mt. Abu), Raj Bhavan (Bombay), The Islamic World Light (Lahore), Holy Society, All Asia Association of Noblesse (Bombay), Mira (East and West), International Cultural Forum (Delhi), Great World Brotherhood, The Universal Mother (Calcutta), The Animals' Friend Association (Delhi).
The object under the patience-trying enumeration above is not that of impressing the importance of any of the Institutes mentioned, but to give a picture about the immensely vast region of great persons, institutes and organisations and the activities of the U. R. A. Institute Which has been for over fifty years in continued communication with them. Here we especially apologise in as much as very likely so many names of important institutes or high personages might have been omitted in the lists above. It is also a matter for our inward regret that institutes and eminent persons of India alone have been mentioned whereas there are so many more important personages and institutes all over the world in so many other countries of the world whose names have not been included. However, we make it very clear here that the omission is out of fear lest the reading be tiresome and on account of the shortage of space and printing costs. There is another bigger consideration as well, Viz., the far-fetched relation of the whole world information to the subject matter and purpose of this publication. The inclusion of long lists would rather look ridiculous. All the same, we are not the least unconscious and un-apologising lest the omission be misunderstood as arising from any notion of isolating India from all other countries of the whole world.
We therefore once again sweep our eye over the huge lists and add some few more names from other countries, only as they happen to come up.
Even though it may look ridiculous to give big lists, we specially wish that very ordinary readers may thereby have a much greater picture about what the word "world" means in different minds of different developments. Usually, for so many, even educated persons, the word "world" is so often only a vague, hazy, faint, poorly limited word, with widest range of conceptions for different persons. Details alone are capable of giving the definite, rpecise, appropriate shape to any conception and especially about the vague word "world". Fewest have the full picture of the whole world, about its number of human lives, countries, square miles, etc.
One is often staggered at the vastness of the world when he compares the actualities after statistics of accurate figures with what he had previously conceived without details. More of true information immensely widens the outlook. At least there is one greatest benefit. The more we have of information and knowledge, the more do we sometimes feel we are simply nothing". At least for that benefit we prefer to be lavishly superfluous and we feel it a pleasure to add more names of important personages and institutes of other countries outside India. The well-frog pride of "None like us and ours" evaporates as the mind receives hammers after hammers, through more and more true knowledge being added. Many of us have developed our humility, on constantly revolving in our mind, one notion, viz., that there are hundreds and thousands like us in this largest whole world.
Some important institutes outside India that are in connection with U. R. A. are the following:
Scientific Yoga School (Germany); Holy Priesthood of Divine Truth (Jerusalem); Healing Presence (U. S. A.), Spiritual Congress of the New World (Santiago, Chile); World Fellowship (California); World Peace Association (U. S. A.); Universal Spiritual Healing Mission (England); Universal Spiritual Religious and Science Church Fellowship (England); Spiritual Unity Church (U. S. A.); New Age New Thought World Alliance (England); Christo-Jewism Union Church (U. S. A.); Fellowship of the Disciples of Mahatma Koothumi and Morya (London); New Universal Union (Tehran); God Life and Man Society (U. S. A.); Union Spirituelle Universelle (France); Union Espirituelle Universelle (Colombia); Order of Eternal Light and Sages (Burma); Religious Digest (Ceylon); World Federation (Japan); Inter-religious Organisation (Singapore); God's Powers of Protection (England); Universal Brotherhood of Prayer (Brazil); Universal Spiritual Healing Mission (Nigeria, West Africa).
All Asia Grand Modern Spiritual Revival Movement (Burma); Federation of East and West (England); World Council of Spiritual Culture (Germany): World Peace Association (USA); The Holy Dalai Lama Organisation (Tibet); General Welfare (Trowbridge Wilts, England); Spiritual Healers Survey (England) Spiritual Centre (Egypt); World Federator (Australia); Universal Spiritual Order (China); The Islamic World (Pakistan); The International Goodwill Association (Denmark); Worldwide Prayer-Meditation Association (Germany); World Brotherhood (Geneva, Switzerland), etc., etc.
Regarding the names of high personages outside and abroad, we have little knowledge, but we give some few ones:
Venerable Nishimura (Japan); Prince Dr. Lucianu (Italy); Prof. Dr. Johannes (Austria); Prof. Andre Tuledanu (France); Prof. Dr. Friedrich Hailer (Germany); Rev. Dr. Albertureane (Ceylon); Rev. Billy Graham (USA); Capt. Lange (Egypt); His Holiness Cad Dai Pope (Laos); Dr. Lund (Sweden); Dr. Whitley (Transwal) and others.
Messages of goodwill and moral support were received from religious authorities as under:
Lord Abbot of the Buddhist Shrine (Peking, China); Archbishop Maria Van Assendlift,; The Grand Rubbi of Jerusalem; The Head of the Spiritualist Church (England); Roman Catholic Cardinal Fulton Cheen (Philadelphia); The Holy Dalai Lama (Tibet); Roman Catholic Cardinal (Yugoslavia); The Orthodox Grand Patriarch of Moscow; Orthodox Patriarchs of Constantinople and Alexandria; The Graceful Leader of Sufis (Islam) The Archbishop of the Catholic Church (Germany); The Grand Teacher of the Tao-ists (China); The Lutheran Bishop of America, etc. etc.
In a word, this institute has been working since over fifty years for the revival of true religiosity, morality, spirituality, virtue, character, devotion, prayer, righteousness and best man-to-man relationship and treatment of humanity and has quite an immensely vast region of contact. In fact, it has been working as one of the largest universities of spiritual, religious and moral education. It has various religious bodies affiliated thereto.
It is the highest joy and happiness for truly Godloving and God-relying universal-minded religionists to have the idea we have attempted here to give, namely, that while the modern world has gone to the lowest abyss of materialism, selfishness, vice and warfare, there is not yet, in the words of Mai Swarupa "the deadest quietude resulting from any complete death of "religion". "There are yet thousands of true religionists who, in their obscure corner, pray to God for God's greatest mercifulness and as Mai Swarupa openly declares, "But for the sum-total of combined spiritual and religious forces, the third world war would have smashed the major portion of our earth planet, ere long."
In the opinion of Mai Swarupa, there are certain most intricate points in the realm of religion:
(1) To turn irreligious to be religious;
(2) To infuse universality as without that the different supernatural forces of different religions would be neutralising one another as in the past and would pave the easiest open path for the irreligionists, materialists and atheists.
(3) Consolidating them together to create the most mightiest sum-total of scattered spiritual and religious forces to throw out evil Mammon and Satan through the establishment of the full-fledged Universal Religion.
(4) Working out the principal concretised indispensable provisions for the full-fledged establishment and efficient harmonious outspreading of a Universal Religion.
Since 1893, most of the religious-minded thinkers have begun to see the indispensability of the element of a universal outlook and there have been innumerable societies especially in the West, laying highest emphasis on brotherhood, morality, virtue, and character. Through various societies and institutes the world has surely advanced with most wonderful progress in the Understanding of religion when it has begun to realise the importance of the Universal Out- look”
Mai-ism and Mai Swarupa say to the religionists' world "You have surely brought the religious world to a much higher plane by emphasising the element of "universality". Yet one further stage is needed. A society which preaches universal outlook is surely the greatest benefactor of the world. But such institutes themselves should unite to form a Universal religion with entire intactness and respectfulness and welcomingness of all individual religions and with every facility and freedom. Such a universal religion can be preferably the parental religion of the universal motherhood or universal fatherhood or mother-fatherhood or father-mother-hood.
Mai-ism is the 20th century universal religion for the new age. It has to be ever borne in mind that every new religion in order to grow up from its infantile stage, takes its own time, usually in units of centuries and quarters. For the routinistic individual religion's world to come to the stage of appreciating the greater efficacy of a universal religion is bound to take its own time and sacrificing true universal religionists have to work with great love, service, unflinching faith and with the martyr's spirit as that of the Grand Patron of U. R. A. His Holiness Pr. OM Lind Schernrezig and His Holiness Mai Swarupa Mai Markand.
The final conclusion, viz., the appreciation of Maiism and Mai Swarupa by U. R. A. is made with the ending important information contained in the letter dated 26-10-1960, addressed by His Holiness Pr. OM Lind, the Grand Patron of the Universal Religious Alliance to Mai Swarupa Mai Markand regarding the general election of the staff bearers of the institute.
This letter represents the essence of the working of the institute and is summarised here below giving only the relevant important information.
USEFUL EXTRACTS FROM THE ACCOMPANIMENTS TO
THE LETTER DATED 26-10-1960 FROM THE GRAND PATRON OF U. R. A., H. H. PR. OM LIND TO MAI SWARUPA MAI MARKAND, MAI-ISM FOUNDER.
"General elections results for the Universal Humanist Cultural and Spiritual Alliance (briefly named Universal Religious Alliance or U. R. A.)
"In accordance with the regulations of the world congress of man in presence of 271 official designations the world board was constituted for a period of six years from 1959 to 1965."
There are three principal parts of these elections, namely, first, the list of the spiritual ambassadors for 78 countries; second, the list of ministries or secretaries with under-secretaries for each minister and their portfolio subjects and third, the principal office-bearers of the institute.
CONCLUSION:
All these laborious details have been given in this compilation, to inform those interested in universal religion that the New Age that is coming on the earth of mankind has different type of mentalities, environments,conditions, requirements and provisions, as the world has advanced so very quickly in science, literature, technicalities, industries, communications, provisions and plannings and as, on the contrary, it has so greatly and awfully degenerated in fellow-feelings, serenity, sacrifice, morality, selflessness, religion, God-loving, God-fearing, righteousness, sense of justice, love, service, gratitude, goodness, givingness, etc. For the survival of the whole world, it is indispensable that there be a new creation of the good religious and spiritual forces to combat against irreligion, wickedness, vice, selfishness, individualism, atheism, materialism, etc. In a word, as Mai-ism has said, the age of "any this religion against that religion'' is a dead and gone past fact. The modern age means the new fierce battle field of true religion against hypocritical irreligion, virtue against vice, morality against immorality, and God as against Satan.
The world can be saved by God and God alone and that too through truest universal religion. Thus it is the first duty of all religionists to create a spirit of unity to consolidate the required religious and spiritual forces to overthrow inimical, Satanic, evil forces. If this is not done in time, the only possible result is that all nations would be indulging in mutual warfare and finally the annihilation of nearly 30 to 40 per cent. of world's population. During the last decade, we saw this possibility day to day, and we are under the constant danger of the third atomic world war, shattering the whole world. The world cannot cease to exist and therefore the only remedy of the true universal religion of Mai-ism cannot cease to spread from day to day, country to country, and nation to nation.
Thus Mai-ism, which has for its aim the unification and reconciliation of all religions with mutual, synthetic. cable adjustments and introducing simplicities and concentrating on eternal, all-acceptable truths, has been working not for the purpose of bringing to existence a new religion out of any fad or fancy or a craving for self, power, name and fame, but as a universal religion which is the indispensable need of the whole world and the only remedy if its survival is desired.
This compilation is to show to those thinking on the said lines how Mai-ism has been progressing in its mission day-to-day. Mai-ism has been said to be a new religion, in the said synthetic sense.
Mai-ism has been a new religion or rather the new miniature of the newly required universal religion. Of course, in its most infantile stage, it is known to fewest only of the highest religiosity but there is every expectation that at least the knowledge about the new incarnated advent of such a universal religion will soon be spread over the world through the greatest sympathetic co-operation of U. R. A. By 1965 Mai-Ism has more than 350 oath recipients sworn in respect of love and service, with gratefulness, greatness, goodness, godliness and givingness in practical life.
In Japan Mai Swarupa has jointly, with Revered Yonosuke Nakano, Founder of Ananai Kyo, founded I.R.F. (International Religious Federation) in May, 1955 and of which Mai Swarupa is the Second responsible person, elected as the Sub-Councillor-in-Chief. It is the Institute where the preliminary tenets of Mai-ism, viz., "Universal Love and Service" have been accepted and adopted as the basic fundamental substance. Mai-ism has been also known in Malaya, to Dr. C. H. Yeang, Penang, Malaya, who has been the Principal Theosophist Organiser oi "'World Wide Divine Love Radiation Service". This much in the extreme east and in the west. Mai-ism has specially reached the regions of Cuba and America. Knowledge about Mai-ism has reached the ears of more than seventy countries of the world through the world-wide-spread literature of Japan and U. R. A. of Cuba, since 1955.
It should be extremely clear to the subtlest religious minds that Mai-ism has quite a different type of work to do, from what all religions had to do till now. All religions in the past had to devise means for the peace and prosperity, harmony and happiness, divinity and salvation of any particular world portion and to see that it was strong enough to stand against and even to conquer and bring under subjection other nations and religions. Now the work of true religion is different. The first work was like that of a Mother preparing each son to be trained and equipped for a happy life in his own way, following his special aptitude. The next work which Mai-ism has to do is the new work of bringing into harmony, all these sons after they have fully developed and have become selfsupporting and self-independent and subsequently have naturally been completely deteriorated, decayed, disobeyed and detested. An entirely newly revised religious re-adjustment has been necessary, only, because of the most unfortunate reason, namely, that now they have been rivalling, quarrelling, fighting and finishing each other. Irreligion, atheism, materialism and individualism has fully paralysed each and every religion. This is the present truest situation of the world. Mai-ism and U. R. A. are jointly exerting to their best to regenerate mankind through high understanding, righteousness and religion. The two types of work for the very same mother are of entirely different nature. The first is the type of creation; whereas the other one is that of preservation and yet both the duties are to be fulfilled by the very same mother.
Mai Bless the Whole World, as Her Own Universal Family.
It is thus the greatest joy of the Founder of Mai-ism, Mai Swarup, that his work and universal love and service Mission has not only been appreciated by one of the greatest universal religious institutes but that both institute heads have practically been united to be the indispensable complements of each other.
As stated in the last correspondence, Maiji, with the grand patron, U. R. A., represents the great university of religious teachings whereas Mai-ism is for creating, developing and multiplying the divine love through the practical living of mutual love and service with morality and virtue, etc. What the world most indispensably needs today is the universal religion of wisdom and love. The first thing that Mai-ism sees is the greatest necessity of, picking out truly religious-minded, God-fearing men from the God-denying, religionrebellious persons and collecting the former together to create religious strong irreligion overpowering forces. This cannot be done till all the existing scattered religions instead of cancelling the benefitting works and creating conquering forces against each other, begin to see the wisdom of uniting all these now scattered) together. Custodians of individual religions have never shown any sympathetic attitude in this direction, by either working themselves or helping others towards the same goal. Unfortunately, they have not come out of their delusion and pride, namely, "their's is the only best religion and the only one that can give salvation".
The first easiest qualification that Mai-ism prescribes for being a Mai-ist is, whether you believe in God or not or if you do, which God, which religion, which philosophy, which guru, which temple, which worshipping mode, all these are only subsidiary matters for Mai-ism. It is enough that you have the universal outlook and you try your best to love and serve all that you have to deal with.
Mankind can be classified from the point of soul evolution as under, and Mai-ism is for lifting the sincerely aspiring follower from the lowest plane to the highest plane through successive ladder rungs.
First we have the lowest standard of persons who only know how to keep themselves happy. They have no idea or belief in God or divine love or inward happiness on living a virtuous life or any considerations about life after death or answerability to higher powers of hell or heaven. They are of the "eat, drink and be merry" type. This class has only one goal in life, viz., how to attain maximum happiness and minimum misery in life, which is the only life existing or at best to be absorbed in.
They utilise all their available and applicable gifts, capacities etc., to the said purpose. Their action, speech, intention, trickiness, diplomacy, feet, hands, mind and head, their capacities and virtue and vice, even their invocation of spiritual or Godly powers are all dedicated to one supreme goal viz., how to become happiest principally in this world and in this life.
This class is dealt with under Mai-ism with the only said requirement of universally loving and serving any one that it comes in contact with, to the extent of one's practicability. The Mai-ism tenet of universality or universal-mindedness, means for that class making no distinction of religion, country, community, etc. This is ample enough for that class. If people are brought to this much stage in daily living, there will be a great increase in peace and happiness of the whole mankind. This, therefore, is the most preliminary first step of Mai-ism.
Second, Mai-ism comes to the best man to man relationship. Here, one has to deal with virtue and character or in the words of Mai-ism, with the four "C's", namely, gratefulness, greatness, goodness and givingness. This second stage also requires and also includes developing self-control in the matter of wrath, lust, pride, greed and infatuation, envy, etc. and living the most harmless, virtuous and helpful, benevolent life. Here is the life-long practice of evolving oneself to better and better stages in developing one's understandings, beliefs, convictions and masteries, as one has to pass through so many troubles, trials, temptations, tribulations and acid tests.
Third, stage is religious wisdom and divine knowledge. It is here that U.R.A. has helped the world immensely and can help Mai-ism most thoroughly. U. R. A. has the advantage of not only of the most intimate knowledge of all the eastern and western philosophies, but has also the upto-date knowledge of the occult and esoteric sciences of western, newly developed subjects, viz. psychology, spiritualism, hypnotism, clairvoyance, etc. U. R. A. has made immense sacrifice in the matter of spreading useful spiritual knowledge. Here, U. R. A., by its co-operation with Mai-ism can immensely enrich the devotional world and convince modern mind about the indispensability of God, religion, virtue, selflessness, etc. The new world wants everything made anew and requires first to be convinced before being asked to follow any instructions through mere blind faith.
The fourth stage is of course of religiosity consisting mainly of devotion with unconditional cheerful self-surrender known as “Godliness” in the six "G's' of Mai-ism after "givingness".
The fifth stage in that of spirituality known as goingness in the "G's" of Mai-ism. It is the final stage of self-mergence in the finalmost "The all and the only one''; call that "The all and the only one" by any name - Mai or Fai or Mai-Fai or Fai-Mai under the parental conception or Hinduism Brahman in the impersonal, transcendental conception or any name of any religion which is based on and which develops the personal conception of God, or Mai of the Universal Religion of Mai-ism, who is above being He, She or It, above being personal or impersonal, above attributes and with attributes above any name or form, etc, Such a conception of God has been there with some few religions but it is confined only to some individual religion whereas in the case of the universal religion of Mai-ism, Mai is the god who is "The all and the only one", above being He, She or it or above being personal or impersonal or above attributes and with or without attributes or above any or individual person, name, etc.
To explain Mai-ism in few words, it aims in its outermost crust at the synthesis of all religions and in its innermost crust at truest religiosity. Till now we have 12 principal religions. Let us conceive of them as palaces and that in each one of them there are 7 floors. Till now, each palace has acted in rivalry, hostility and hatred with all the eleven others. Maiism wants not only to establish unity amongst the 12 religions but wants to bring about harmony of the different indwellers of all the different 12 palaces and floors. To explain the matter clearly in terms of alphabets and numbers, let us think of the 12 religions as a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, and 1 and of the seven floors of each of them as al, a2, a3, a4, a5, a6, and a7, or bl, b2, b3, b4, b5, b6, and b7, etc. The present position is that neither a and b see eye to eye nor even al and a2 indwellers of the same palace (religion) but on different floors. Maiism wants to establish harmony not only between a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, and l or between al, a2, etc., of the same one religion, but also between the indwellers of the same numbered floor of all the palaces (religions), a to 1. Mai-ism does not ignore human nature, The most difficult task is the establishment of harmony between the indwellers of say the first fioor and the seventh floor but maximum possible harmony can be achieved by appealing to the fact of both being of the same palace (religion), for instance between say, al, and a7 and appealing to the same fact of the stage difference of evolution and common happiness and miseries although falling in the different man-made groups of different religions.
Of course, this may look extremely idealistic and impossible. All the same, whatever efforts are made are never yet to go in vain, although it is true that the success is bound to be proportionate to the effort and sacrifice.
By God's grace, we may reach the highest stage of evolution of the whole world although perfection will ever remain far distant and even impossible for all human beings. Anyway, individuals by themselves do fully realise the results of their individual desire, action, effort and sacrifice. Any effort in the direction of true religiosity has sound advantages. Firstly, not even the smallest effort or service or the good wish of pure and disinterested love to others goes unremunerated multifolld Secondly, whatever you have gained in virtue, wisdom, love, devotion and self-surrender to Mai's will is never lost unlike worldly gains and efforts, which would bring highest success at one moment and that success may turn into the worst miseries at another as we have often seen in the fluctuations of world wars, where the highest efforts, brains, militaries, etc., are putting their maximum intellects, activities and maximum sacrifices. Thirdly, the most mysterious and invisible manner in which the eternal never-failing divine law adjusts all conditions, environments, associations, relations and even destinies, including parentage, birth-place, etc., with fullest regard to what you really are, and on which rung of the evolution ladder you are actually standing on at a particular moment. The natural automatic result is that the higher you go by your efforts, so many miseries automatically cease to exist for you and so many new avenues are opened out to you. The most unfortunate fact is that we have no idea whatsoever, as to which miseries have automatically passed out of existence for us and which sources of happiness have been opened out to the religious aspirants, as they rise higher and higher. In a word, there is no going back
Mai bless all, especially the most conscientious religious aspirants and bring forth the strongest unity of U. R. A. and Mai-ism to outspread the universal religion of wisdom and love or of U. R. A.-Mai-ism or Fai-Maiism or whatever name one chooses for oneself.
MOTHER BLESS ALL
UNIVERSAL RELIGION OF UNIVERSAL GOD
FOR
THE NEW AGE CLARION CALL
TO
One and all of any religion, any nation any deity, any philosophy and any creed
TO
Approach Most Merciful Almighty, call to all human heads and hearts, all leagues, all organisations, literatures, and legislatures that have stayed their hands to bring forth peace and save mankind from mutual hatred and final destruction
THROUGH
The Universal Religion of one Universal God of one truth, one humanity, one morality, one life, one golden rule, one divine law, one evolution path etc. etc.
TO BE
Preached, practiced, perpetuated and upheld.
BY
All religions, societies, fraternities and alliances, etc.
The world today needs
1) The Universal Religion of Universal God of love, service, devotion and unconditional cheerful self surrender to one's own God's will.
2) The Universal Religion of Universal God of best man to man relationship and co-equal status of man and woman.
3) The Universal Religion of Universal God of six G's viz: Gratefulness, greatness, goodness, givingness, godliness and goingness.
4) The Universal Religion of Universal God that for God's greatest grace, most emphatically lays stress upon and assigns quite a high value to the increasing development of one's self-control over the following: - Passions (desires), wrathfulness (outbursts), greediness ( cruelties ), pride (denunciations), jealousies (evil-minded thoughts and actions), hatred (estrangements) and delusive infatuation in respect of I, me, and mine).
5) The Universal Religion of Universal God of optimism and cheerfulness and no self-centredness and no selfishness to the extent of one's practicability and possibility.
6) The Universal Religion of Universal God that does not stand second to anyone in respect of science, reason, conscience, experience, human psychology and individual merit.
7) The Universal Religion of Universal God of the unity of all religions, universal relation of all human beings as members of one family, forgetting all small differences of high and low.
8) The Universal Religion of Universal God which entirely disapproves any dabbling with everyone's right to select one's own line of evolution, so long as any such one does not interfere with the personal freedom and peaceful living of any others.
9) The Universal Religion of Universal God of distinguishing essentials from non-essentials, with test tones of fundamental truths,
10) The Universal Religion of Universal God that religionises rationalism and rationalises religion.
11) The Universal Religion of Universal God of no disunion, no domination, no prejudice, no superstition and no exploitation.
12) The Universal Religion of Universal God of unfailing relief in the highest mercifulness of Almighty which sees "reconstruction" in the womb of destruction,
believing" in that of "doubting", "good" in evil and "sinlessness" in "sinfulness".
13) The Universal Religion of Universal God which is above all suspiciousness or superstitions, divorced of
chhoomantras" or so-called magical miraculous and ceremonious processes which are trumpeted as leading to life-happifying impossible transformations.
14) The Universal Religion of Universal God which believes highest sin to be lovelessness and harmfulness and highest merit to be that of relieving any one of temporary difficulties through every moral, legal, legitimate and harmless practical measure.
15) The Universal Religion of Universal God which means gradual evolution and advancement from "routine lifeless religious living" to "life perfection."
16) The Universal Religion of Universal God of refraining from merely hovering around God of scriptures, temples and priestcrafts and marching toward the pursuit in realisation of the highest and holiest spirit.
17) The Universal Religion of Universal God who is not only above us in skies and heavens but around and below us as well, and on all sides.
18) The Universal Religion of Universal God that would not leave us loose and later lash us for lapses but God at our beck and call, God of now and here, and God of greatest love and less fear.
19) The Universal Religion of Universal God that laughs at proselytism, which is merely transferring one's own coins from one pocket to another from one's own coat.
20) The Universal Religion of Universal God who is Justice as Father or immeasurable mercy as Mother, or both,
21) The Universal Religion of Universal God with the highest wisdom and intellect as Father and greatest love, protection, and happyfication for each and every created being, as Mother.
Haa, Haa, Haa!!! All ideal dreams. Is there any such religion? We have heard of 12 principal religions and they are all individual religions. At best we have heard of universal religious societies and congresses and conferences, but we have never heard of actually a Universal Religion of Universal God and Universal Religionists.
Well, then please accept this happiest news. There has been proclaimed a Universal Religion of Universal God since 2-9-1932, nearly 34 years ago. It is the Universal Religion of Universal God of Mai-ism (U. R. M). Its followers, who are not merely universally religious, but are sworn and avowed followers and Adherents of Mai-ism as described above. They are known as Universal Religionists. It has been working in a simple, steady, silent, solitary, slow but sure manner. It believes more in silent working than in running round and shouting. The universality of true religion is in itself a great spiritual force. The world has never known till now any religion as a Universal Religion of Universal God. All religions till now have been only various aspects of diversities emanating from unity. Differences justifying diversities were practically trivial-most and made-most-of. It may be excused if one remarks that the blind religiosity of different parts of the world was utilised by greatest leaders to secure the greatest worldly peace and happiness and (subjugating) weaker neighbours under the pretext of a different religion.
Mai-ism is just a reverting Universal Religion of Universal God which leads the world from various diversities to unity. Whereas individual religions have worked from centre to circumference with a centrifugal force, Mai-ism actually reverses the working or strives to turn the circumferential points to run towards the centre under the centripetal force.
A universal evil needs a universal remedy and the grace of the universally acknowledged common parent of one and all the Merciful Mother Parent, Mai, the Universal Mother worshipped by U. R. M. S. (Universal Religionists Mai-ism). Mai-ism is most liberal in the matter of least qualifications to be a Mai-ist. Mai-ism is the new psychological rationalistic universal twentieth century religion of Universal God for one and all of any religion or no religion. With the full following of one's own personal religion, one can be a Hindu-Mai-ist, a Muslim-Mai-ist, a Christian-Mai-ist, and so on.
Mai-ism has been successful in cutting off the gordian knot. Any one can have his own individual religion for individual objects and purposes and yet can have a Universal religion of Universal God. For universal questions and guidance, there is absolutely no conflict just as any doctor can be the president or member of epidemic preventing Societies and yet can have his own private hospital or dispensary.
Even one who does not believe in the very existence of God but who does believe and extend love and service to one and all to the practicable extent, can enlist oneself as a Mai-ist (U. R. M.)
This is so because such one is the only worshipper of one of the innumerable aspects of Mai, say, as one's conscience, whole humanity, one universal cosmos, one universal consciousness or one universal soul, etc. Surely there cannot be more than one finalmost God. Universal Mother Mai is Universal Fai (Father) as well, but whereas the latter is justice, Mai is mercy, which the world needs most today.
Well, those to whom such Universal religion of Universal God is welcome, let them decide the richness or goodness of the pudding by the test of eating the pudding itself. Regarding them that have no serious self-thinking about the higher problems of life and those who have a nausea for the very words of religion and God, let them remember that even Voltaire had to admit that "If there be no God, the world shall soon find it necessary to invent Him."
Let the following truths be clearly believed and remembered :
1. A Universal prayer offered to a universally acknowledged universal Almighty has its own un-dreamtof miraculous efficiency, which the followers of individual religions and narrow visions can never imagine.
2. A universal evil needs a universal remedy and the grace of the universally acknowledged common parent of one and all, the Merciful Mother Parent, the Universal Mother Mai, worshipped by Mai-ists.
3. A universal call and prayer alonə can have a universal response.
4. No prayer which was by one nation for destruction or subjugation of another was really heard by the finalmost God. Such prayers are offered only to the imaginary God which such men create for the false connotation of their own individual minds, or which their own minds have created for the delusion and vanity of themselves.
When the wisest men of the world finally found themselves dismayed and disappointed with the disappearance of the last single ray of any hope, they had to think and they have thought of the highest Almighty's forgiveness, mercifulness and protection. It is this finalmost critical situation in respect of which we have the Universal Religion of Universal God of Mai-ism For The New Age.
In the meanwhile, Mai-ism does not want to sit merely hand-folded. The Founder of the Universal Maiism has been absorbingly busy with helping the world through Mai-ism measures, doing what little Mai-ism can itself achieve
There has been recently a demand, suggestion and a proposal that either on Daserah on 5th October or the 81st birthday of the Founder on 23-12-65, a Mai Convocation be convened in Bombay, on the same lines as of the last Mai Convocation, held on Daserah Day, 7-10-1962 in Ernakulam, in Cochin State, but with a much wider circulation and on a grander scale, when the founder was declared by the convocation and proclaimed by the local paper "Independent Malayalam Weekly" as "the prophet of Universal Maiism". However Bombay being a cosmopolitan and business city the desire of all Mai-sits has fallen through as per the wishes of Mai.
The movement has been in existence since past nearly thirty-four years (started on 2-9-1932). Details can be studied from the Times of India Directory and Who's Who, under the Founder's name, "Mai Swarup Mai Markand" vide, 1956-57 edition (page 1061), 1961-62 edition (page 1140), 1962-63 edition (page 1264), and 1963-64 edition (page 1145).
The following facts will be gathered from the above perusal:
Mai the Universal Mother was installed on 2-9-1932 in Poona. Immediately on Mai's command, a Sisters' Social was convened in strict purdah of all creeds, on Daserah Day (9-10-32). Further, Mother's Lodge was started on Gudi Padawa Day (27-3-33). The Founder explained "God as Mother" in the"All Faiths Conference'', Nasik in 1933. He delivered a speech on "Modern World and Motherhood of God" in the Indian Philosophical Congress, Poona, 1934. Further, next functions were those of the Sisters' Social in Madras on Daserah Day (1-10-49) and in Calicut on 8-19-1954, on Daserah Day (1956-57 Directory). Kerala was most enthusiastic in taking up the Universal Religious Movement of Mai. Mai Adherents' Institute was started in Trichur in 1957. The Daserah Sisters' Social was held on 4-10-1957. It may be seen from the Directory of 1961-62, that a further Sisters' Social was held on Daserah Day on 24-10-58, and that the fifth Sisters' Social was held in Trivandrum under the Presidentship of Maharani Sethuparvathi Amma of Travancore.
The fact that all along the Sisters' Social was held for only one day and that it was restricted to sisters only, was a matter of great discontent and inner grief for the Mai-ism brother World, and as a result the Sisters' Social function enlarged itself into Mai Convocation for three days in Ernakulam, from 7-10-1962.
It will be further seen on perusal that there have been two Mai temples in Kerala, one Mai Viddyut in charge of Mai Shishu Ramankutty Nair and Mai Putri. Mrs. Kunjan R. Nair in Trichur and the second one, Mai Kripa Temple, in charge of Mai Shishu U. G. Menon and Mai Putri Mrs. Thangam Menon, in Perintalmanna.
There have been various publications under Mai-ism most important ones being Mothers' Message, World's Need and Mai-ism, Mai. Sahasranama and Maiism, the last two of over 750 pages each).
Mai-ism is not without its full appreciation outside India. Mai-ism has a strong relationship with the Universal Religious Institutes of Ananai Kyo in Japan, Shimizu City in the extreme east and with the U. R. A. (Universal Religious Alliance) in Cuba in the extreme west. Both are the highest universal religious institutes.
Regarding Japan the facts are that as stated in Directory (1961-62), Mai-ism Founder was invited to participate in the World Peace Round Table Conference by the World Congress, Japan, on 3-5-1955.
The Founder's main-most strength being that of the Universal Mother Mai Herself, the Founder cannot entirely sever Himself from references to the divine grace and guidance much though the world likes, not to give any handle to the doubting and disbelieving THOMASES. The installation of Universal Mother Mai and the proclamation of the Universal Mai-ism were not without Mai's command (please read Mai-ism for convincing details) nor was the first Sisters' Social especially, without Mai's immediate command carried out within six weeks.
The Founder was neither young nor rich enough to accept the Japan invitation. There is an important reference about the divine congratulations, when the founder started for Japan on page 27 of "Information About I. R. F. (International Religious Federation)". It is interesting to repeat the relevant portion here for them that have faith in divine assistance, in religious undertakings.
Two days before I (Mai Swarup Mai Markand) started for Japan, I had a letter from the spiritual centre at Coimbatore, in India from my dear friend K. S. D. Ayer, which stated that there was a message for me of an angelic nature, which congratulated and blessed me
for my fervidity of doing my best to establish world peace through religion, and which predicted that I would return after laying the foundation of some movement for world peace. The message in the end concluded with ''we are all with you there". The prediction proved wonderfully true.
As stated in the Directory (1961-62), the Founder of Ananai Kyo, His Holiness Nakano Yonosuke and His Holiness Mai Swarup Mai Markand jointly established the International Religious Federation (I. R. F.), issuing an appeal to religious persons, under their joint signatures, dated 27th May, 1955. Within thirty days of the round table conference, Mai Swarup was unanimously elected Sub-Councillor-in-Chief, second to the Ananai Kyo Founder. The institute has its contact with over 70 countries, i. e., practically with the whole religious world. The Founder, in his capacity as the Sub-Councillor-in-Chief started the printing under I. R. F. the essence series of universal religious contributions by world religionists to the World Religious Congress, Japan, since January, 1958.
The gigantic institute held eight world congresses, inviting thesis from June, 1954. And it will be the greatest joyful surprise for any one to go through the vast number of so many prominent Indian religious writers that have contributed their best brains and labours to popularise the conception of universal outlook in religion. Speaking very broadly the whole series of eight volumes of the world Religious Congress, Japan, forms a precious literature of all religious teachings, with every emphasis on the need of the universal outlook and Universal Religion of Universal God.
In all there are not less than about four hundred different writers on universal religion that have contributed their thesis to Ananai Kyo, of whom about one hundred are from India. We have in the list some quite well known religious high personages like H. H. Swami Kumar Rishi Harivarajak, Sheth Ratanchand Hirachand, Tukooji Maharaj, Swami Shivanandji, Sri Nityanandji, Prof. N. K. Bhagavat of Dharma Chakra. Dr. Edal Beheram, Dr. H. M. Syed, Swami Ajaranand, Dr. N. L. Atreya, Dr. K. S. Ramanujam, The Anuvrata Samiti, Brahma Kumari Ashrama, Shastri Pandurang Athavale, Sadhu T. L. Vaswani, Mai Swarup Mai Markand, Shri Acharya Swami Alokanand Mahabharati, Rev. Kanaiyalal Munshi, Bhikkhu Dhammanand, Dr. J. B. Durkal, Gokulanandji, Swami Rama Rama, M. P. Thyagarajan, Shri Satavalekar, Diwan Bahadur R. K. Bhagawat, Shri Amdekar, Shastri Divakar and so on.
My object in exhibiting this list is not for giving any additional publicity to these eminent persons. My greatest purpose of inviting the full attention of the superficially religious world is to pull their eye-lids to clearly see that if they know how many biggest religious thinkers, either at Japan with reference to World Religious Congress or at Cuba with reference to Universal Religious Alliance, have poured out their hearts in favour of the need of a Universal Religion of Universal God, they will not be at all surprised that the Subcouncillor-in-Chief of Japan Institute and Vice-President of the Cuba Institute is passing so many sleepless nights to wake up the routinistic, narrow-minded, ant-outlooked half-hearted routinistic so-called religious world and to convince the old world, about the indispensability of outspreading the Universal Religion of Universal God, most suited to the new age of no God-belief and no serious following of any religion except for name's sake.
We need an outright change in respect of our understanding about what to call as true religiosity.
In this 20th Century, we have too many complications due to atheism, materialism, economic want, life-struggle, competition and the whole world's getting too fully compact to leave any part thereof without being disturbed by all other parts.
If religion has to be kept alive as a living force as it was for centuries before India became a secular State on achieving independence, every avenue of religion shall have to be thoroughly analysed, revised and re-established with newer ideas, beliefs and living practices. As stated on page 445 of "Mai-ism", the task for a true reformer is hard in hundred ways.
First thing is to train the world to believe that it cannot be happy and peaceful without God and religion, in their truest aspects. The second thing is the introduction of the universal outlook in every individual religion. We have to consolidate all wisdom of the past, and convert it into easily graspable forms, for the leisureless world. The gold has to be picked out and all rubbish removed. Essentials and non-essentials should be made immediately discernible. Monopolies have to be broken. Superstitions have to be evaporated. All abuses and exploitation in the name of religion have to be extinguished. General level of spiritual understanding and moral religious living have to be raised. The best life routine has to be established for smooth working of the public and the various societies. Safety valves and brakes have to be introduced. Various passions have to be controlled. Provisions have to be made for deserving, unfortunante ones, standards of living expenses have to be controlled. Mutual duties have to be regulated. Discontent, rebelliousness, disparity and degeneration have to be carefully watched and controlled. The consideration of this world and that one have to be harmonised, not to be in conflict with each other. The sameness of the creator and the constant memory about one and the same God, same life, animating one and all, has to be kept alive.
The reference about Mai-ism representation in the Institute of U. R. A. (Universal Religions Alliance) in Cuba, will be read in Times Directory, 1962-63 on page 1264. As stated therein, the Founder of Mai-ism has been elected upto 1965, by 271 members to be the VicePresident of U. R. A. which is religiously connected with over 75 countries through spiritual ambassadors, and also to be the Minister for the Peaceful Human Relations, representing the said Institute.
Some of the important institutes of India which have relations with U. R. A. may be mentioned as under :
1) Brahminic Holy Realm; 2) Great Brotherhood of Buddha; 3) World Institute Transcendental Yoga; 4) World Association of Sadhus and Sages; 5) Universal Religion of Universal God for the New Age, Mai Niwas, Bombay; 6) Meher Baba Institute, Bombay; 7) World Congress for World Federation; 8) Surya Sthanam; 9) Gorakhsanam Order of Yogism; 10) Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, India; 11) Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay; 12) Jain World Mission, Pilani; 13) Rajsuya Ashwamedh Gyanyagna Society; 14) All Asia Association of Noblesse, Bombay: 15) Mira Institute of Sadhu T. L. Vaswani; 16) International Cultural Forum; 17) Great World Brotherhood; 18) The Animals' Friend, Delhi.
There are in all more than 450 different institutes from all over the world related with U. R. A. out of which some have been mentioned here to emphasise the truth viz., that there is such a vast number of institutes all over the world which are in full favour of a Universal Religion of Universal God.
Coming similarly to the list of important personalities that have relations with U.R. A. the following compilation will still further convince the ordinary routinistic Religious world about the indispensability of a Universal Religion of Universal God in the opinion of innumerable great religious thinkers and leaders.
This compilation contains several articles written at different times for different purposes from different view points. It was only later that all of them have been brought together for print and for want of leisure it is not possible to revise or alter the various lists of distinguished persons mentioned under each head. Readers are therefore requested not to mind the repetition of the same names nor any additions deletions or alterations anywhere.
1) Prof. D. V. Gokhale; 2) Dr. Nathwani; 3) Dr. M. H. Syed; 4) Ven. Mai Swarup Mai Markand; 4) Ven DN. S. Radhakrishnan; 6) Bhiku Shiveswarananda; 7) Ven. Dhairya Jain; 8) Ven. Vinoba Bhave; 9) Prof. B. L. Atreya; 10) Dr. Sheshadri; 11) Shri. Swamicharan Katpatraji Maharaj; 12) Jagadguru Shankaracharya; 13) Sri Swami Anantasri Krishnabodha Swamiji; 14) Jain Muni Sushilkumarji; 15) Swami Chitbhavananda; 16) His Holiness Meher Baba; 17) Pandit Satwalekar, etc. etc.
It will be seen from the above that highest religious acumen has most visibly visualised the need of the Universal Religion of Universal God.
Referring further, those who are specially interested in the Universal Religion of Universal God of Mai-ism may kindly read the General Welfare Directory, published in England in 1961. The following lines appeared in this world renowned religious work:
"Mai Swarup Mai Markand, Santa Cruz (west), Bombay 23, sponsors a movement recognising the Motherhood of God, to bring balance in our ideas of the Deity, Religions to retain their individuality but to be united in universal worship of one God and Creator."
All these detailed and tiring lists have been recorded here with the only expectation that the new world may fully realise that practically the whole world can no longer hold its own in matters of religion against the onslaught of the satanic forces unless the various individual religions are worked together as indispensable parts of one whole Universal Religion of Universal God.
In fact this sort of final conclusion viz., the need of a Universal Religion of Universal God has dawned upon the religious mentalities of all the best religious thinkers since 1893 when the Parliament of All World Religions was held in Chicago and in which Parliament H. H. Swami Vivekananda had raised Hinduism so very superbly in the eyes of the Christian and the whole world.
However, we have the most unfortunate events of two world wars soon after that parliament of 1893. It meant there was something wrong even though the truth viz., the need of a Universal Religion of Universal God had dawned upon the minds of all. religious great men
What was missing in the Parliament? Mere talks of a Universal Religion of Universal God cannot alter the situation, viz: the world's destiny. The Universal Religion of Universal God must be not a theoretical one but a full-fledged practical one with as much solidity about the working as any individual religion.
This point has been clearly made out by the Editor, Rev. Ernest Swift in his magazine "Steps Unto Him" of March 1965. On page 7 the following printed portion explains the innermost reason underlying the failure of the theoretical Universal Religion of Universal God.
The portion reads as under :"THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN AND THE
FATHERHOOD OF GOD Mai Swarup Mai Markand, now nearing his 80th year, has been campaigning since 1932 for a Universal Religion, originally based on the worship of God as Mother. He now writes, 'My ambition is to sow and scatter seed—the seed of a Universal Religion-as much as I can before I return to Mai's Lotus Feet. A religion is never a mortal man's brain-child. If this were so, there could not have been only twelve principal religions. God alone can give to this world the most suitable form needed by the new world, and that too, when it is honestly and sincerely sought after.' This sincere worker in the religious field in India, is sending us some charts specially prepared to illustrate his ideas, which we shall pass on to any one interested."
The latest publication is that of the Mai-ism Chart with a hand book of explanation for any religionist offered free on postal charges being paid.
SUMMARIZATION OF IMPORTANT ETERNAL TRUTHS IN SUPPORT OF THE UNIVERSAL RELIGION OF UNIVERSAL GOD OF MAI-ISM FOR THE NEW AGE
1) No race, nation, community, society, family or individual can be ever truly happy, unless there is at least a superior morality, an unflinching faith
in God, a clear crystal conscience and a penetrative righteous understanding about spirituality, and a conviction about the never-failingness of the Divine Law and a perfect censorship in the matter of passions and moderation of one's varied desires.
2) Any deep study of the religious integrity or disintegrity of any nation and it having been happy or unhappy during a certain period will bear out the said truth although of course the good or bad seeds-sowing and its rich or poor harvest-reaping may differ in their times by 30, 50, 100 or even more years. Sometimes another equally observable truth is seen, viz., that the finalmost Western point at one end turns out to be the extreme Eastern point and staunchest religiosity on gradual advancement always follows the most rabid irreligiosity. Nations that have gone to the extremity of godlessness do realise their own follies through unbearable sufferings, and turn a new page of morality, religiosity, spirituality, love and wisdom. Since past 300 to 500 years the said transformation age has brought upon the world every course of conflict, quarrelling warfare, in almost all the regions of human activity and living. The only exception is that of the special region of the higher realised godly persons of any religion and any nation.
3) The first happy change in realising the need of living with virtue, character, sympathy, love and service having been achieved (which work has to be actually undertaken), there can be the dawn for the sun of true religiosity to rise. In another word, the next forward step from virtue, morality and character is the truest religiosity of the inner-most inherent nature of any religion.
4) The highest supreme Almighty having fully considered different conditions of the various portions of humanity viz., their climates, geographical environments, inherent natures, surrounding flora-fauna, external and internal forces, etc., has through the highest religious souls of each humanity portion, prescribed certain ways of guidance consolidated together, have formed different religions for various groups of mankind. The end and aim kept in view during the gradual development of any religion by God and God-directed highest religious personages, has all along been one alone, viz., that on strictly living life according to the requirements of any religion, each and every human being that has embraced that religion, may live in peace and happiness, generally and on the whole.
5) The simplest precaution so that there be no complication, confusion or conflict regarding religion is (according to Mai-ism) that there should be a clear, almost impermeable specific understanding regarding each of the three principal elements, viz., (a) God, (b) Religiosity, (c) Religion.
6) According to Mai-ism, religiosity is never confused with religion. Religiosity means the condition of having attained a certain status regarding moral, mental, religious and spiritual development, on having lived out the requirements of a particular religion. It is with this difference of religiosity and religion, that Maiism specially emphasises the truth stated on page 11 of Mother's Message, viz., "Preachers are to be witnesses and not lawyers".
7) Religions differ from each other to quite a large extent. If however under the all=embracing crude word of religion a distinction is made as between religion and religiosity, a world of difference and bitterness will disappear. Compared to what a great gulf lies between one religion and another, if the religious world is trained to see the so-called religious differences through the test of "religiosity", it would be quite surprisingly seen that all religions are much nearer to each other than when religions are viewed through their above stated superficial meaning as “religion". In fact "religiosity" prescribed by all religions is practically almost identical. If religion were viewed in its said meaning interpretation, viz., that of "religiosity', the whole religious world will come much nearer than can be imagined. This can be seen on page 16 of the Mai Chart Explanation booklet. Just compare only the religiosity items of different religions and any truly religious man will be struck with the closest resemblance of different religiosities of different religions. It should be enough that "religion" should mean "religiosity" and the main requirement of any religion whatever, should be various things as are common in all religions. As the common highest factor we have the following commandments of true "religiosity" prescribed by all religions. They are:
1) Don't hurt and don't be violent. 2) Don't steal. 3) Don't kill. 4) Don't bear false witness. 5) Don't indulge in falsehoods. 6) Don't commit adultery. 7) Don't covet another's anything. 8) Keep yourself holy, 9) Always remember God. 10) Obey your parents and God.
11) Remember that the Divine Law will never fail and that God's will ever finally reigns supreme, etc. etc.
Thus, Mai-ism introduces the word "religiosity' instead of various religions and any ordinary commonsensed thinking man must surely come to the conclusion that most of the differences between various religions, religious followers, nations and communities, etc. are bound to vanish. Thus if we consider religions as "religions" we will find thousands of differences, whereas if by religion we mean "religiosity", there will be hardly 10 points of differences. This is then the specific work of Universal Religion of Universal God of Mai-ism. All religions reduced to the various requirements of "religiosity would be reduced in their bulk to almost an unimaginable smallness and that is the work Mai-ism is most ambitious to carry out as prevalent throughout the whole religious world. In one word, what Mai-ism is strongly insisting upon, is to fully visualise the difference of religion and religiosity. As stated on page 8 of "Mother's Message", Religiosity is practice of religion and attainment of the fruits and benefits through the practice.
Mai-ism introduces an entirely new aspect viz., that human beings should be judged and dealt with on the basis of religiosity and not religion. On studying the natural trends of the new age, Mai-ism most clearly visualises that the future humanity will be classifiable as consisting of (1) ignorant self-centred selfish human beings; (2) knowing about God and religion but fully indifferent; (3) knowing all matters fully naturally out of the demoniac nature; and (4) being of the divine godly nature.
Before I conclude this little thesis about the Universal Religion of Universal God for the new Age (U.R. M.), I feel the inner urge of taking necessary literature precaution, lest there be misunderstanding or misrepresentations about the universal nature of this religion, about which I submit as under.
The finalmost God of this religion is Mother Mai. Mai is also not some fanciful name of any individual religion, but is a simple word meaning nothing else except Mother. If any narrow-minded fanatic of an individual religion wants to give any other name, U. R. M. has absolutely no objection. Let that word be of any language. Only repuirement is that that word should mean "Mother". To make it clear, any such name as say, Mary, or Ameena, or Devaki, Mother of Christ, Mohammed, Pegamber or Lord Krishna can't be acceptable. Most often repeated question to the Founder has been "What is the actual name of Mother?'' The Founder's answer is, "Mother's name is Maa, Mother, Amma, Mater." It can be any word which means mother in any language.
The underlying idea is that the God of U. R. M. is the conception of the merciful protective parent and with no limitations of any traditions, mythologies or religious histories or stories.
- None was born without Mother, even though we have certain scriptural references of some greatest prodigies being born without a father. The certainty about, and indebtedness to Mother, is much greater than to the father. Further, if the continued world custom of matrimony disappears due to rebelliousness of man and woman against each other's bondage, where will the world be, regarding the decision about true fatherhood? What about the progeny of unmarried women or of wives of divided heart pairs or professional women? Thus, the claim of the mother is much higher than that of the father. In fact, any impartial thinker would agree with Mai-ism that if God has to have a parental conception, Mother has a greater claim.
Even just ordinary judges deciding the question of guardianship have this consideration most prominent before their mind, which the fanatic religionists who give no peace to God as Mother, don't admit.
Says Mai-ism, if God can be Father, God can as well be Mother; or, as most clearly stated in Mai-ism, Mother is the very same whom the world has mostly worshipped as Father. God under Mai-ism can be universal father as well: Universal Mother, Universal Father, Universal Mother-Father or Universal Father-Mother. as one's faith conceives. F is wisdom; M is love, protection; F is justice; M is mercy and forgivingness.
I think from what little has been stated here, no wise man, unless he be a fanatic, bigoted, or prejudiced religionist, can have any objection to U. R. M.
Taking the yet deeper strata of "Why the parental conception at all?", there is the deepmost psychology below. Let us take the driest crumbs of conceptions, "God is everything that exists. All indeed is Brahman (God) or God is one from whom we emanate, to whom we return and in whom we have our living and being. Or let us have the definition of the creator nourisher and destroyer of universes. Let us add the omnipresent, omniscient, the omnipotent. All these definitions judged by themselves, without any further additions or comments or interpretations, can be only the mental creations of any heartless philosopher or scientist.
Mai-ism most boldly asks, "What do we care for any highest God, just as we don't care for the highest world emperor or multi-millionaire, if he is of no utility whatever to us?"
Has anyone's richness any value to us, unless that sometimes helps us to hold our own against poverty? What does any man care if the number of stars, or planets, or suns or different worlds are reduced or increased? After all eliminations, man wants God only for his own better being, reduction of miseries and increase of happiness. However grand and glorious God be, what does any man care for Him, unless He hears, relieves us, sympathises with us, saves us from injustice, persecution, cruelty, accidents or earth quakes or epidemics, etc., unless God remunerates sufferings for the sake of virtue, merit, sinlessness, etc.?
If this utilitarian view which is the most predominent consideration as it is practically the only one, there is nothing of greater practicability than the conception of the parent and preferable to the most merciful parent, nourishing even before being born, ever forgiving, protecting, maximum sacrificeful and with maximum love and service.
Thus no wise and thinking man can have any opposition (although one is free to choose one's God's ideal) against Mother's conception. The only idiotic argument that can be held forth is that none or few religions have accepted the ideal of God as Mother. Do we not advance in our outside world? We had no radios, trains and planes. Does anyone argue, we had none for centuries before us? We therefore can't accept them. Or is it meant that religious thinkers must be of a much greater brainless stuff than any ordinary worldly man? Well, judge every thing mostly by the utility it serves for mankind. We have till now God as father, but that God did not rise to the ascent of a universal Father.
Mai-ism says "Why not start an entirely new Godgovernment, when the world needs a much broader, almost universal outlook?" If everything is to be made anew, new conceptions, new age, new rules, why not new rulership, as well, especially when God as father has hopelessly failed to keep all his various sons, of religions, without mutual rivalries and hatred? And why be so cruel or at least unmindful of the mother's claim, especially when it is the universal experience that no family can live happily without the central pillar of the mother?
And such ones of the readers as are gifted by God with the sense of rising above one's ancient prejudices or insensible godlessness, may just condescend to admit the possibility of justly holding religious views other than one's own. They may have a look at the Mai-ism literature, to see how very unimaginably broad-minded Mai-ism has been
Just open only the 5th page of "Mother's Message". "One who does not believe in God, but does believe in the common tie of humanity and practises service and extends love to all, is a Mai-ist. Because he is the follower of Mai, in one of Her aspects as one universal soul, one universal consciousness or one universal cosmos."
Just open the very 2nd page of "Mai Sahasranama". It says, "Mai has no name and no form which means that Her names and forms are infinite."
Amongst so many forms and names, enumerated as "some' out of infinite, the following deserve repetition here.
Mother is the inner voice of saintly souls, consciousness, instinct, conscience or inspiration.
One most highly educated young man in Madras in 1949 challenged Maiji, stating that he does not believe in God at all. Maiji told him, "It depends on the definition you make. During life you must be following certain views." He said, "No, no, no God,I will do only what my conscience commands me to do. Said Maiji, True, but suppose some one preaches conscience is God, are you not 'godless'?" "Yes, but I know none has ever defined so". "Rather say none of the religions you have known has defined so". "If I show you Mai is conscience, would you agree you are following Mai?" "Surely'. This reference was shown to him. He saw the broad-mindedness and universality of Mai-ism. (Everyone has a conscience).
Mai that works through three powers of desire, knowledge and action and handles all beings through three principal moods of equilibrium, action and inertia.
Mai has the visible forms of fire, sun, moon and dawn; Mai that is the soul of whatever enraptures us as beauty, sublimity, mercy and compassion; Mai who is in the form of the guru or an assemblage of gurus. Mai that is known in common parlance as nature, divine law providence, time, primary desire, force, power, energy. evolution or chance; Mai that resides in individuals as the serpent power (Kundalini); Mai that is one, few, many and all as conceived by any soul. Mai that is beyond the conditioned state of being He, She or It. Mai that is all and not all, beyond being personal or impersonal and beyond being with or without forms and qualities.
Thus Mai is what any rationalistic religious Man's conception can possibly be.
The next naughty question is the most common notion, as to how any religionist can follow the U. R. M. Here Mai-ism cuts the Gordian knot. Refer "Mothers Message"' page number 1:
"With full respect to and following of one's own religion, one can be a Hindu-Mai-ist, a Jain-Mai-ist, a Christian-Mai-ist, a Zoroastrian-Mai-ist, a Mohammedan-Maiist and so on. Mai-ism is one's own personal religion."
As explained in "World's Need and Mai-ism", Mai-ism cuts off this Gordian knot by bringing into existence a new idea. "There is no conflict or contradiction in any one having his individual religion for individual purposes of religious progress and yet having a Universal Religion of Universal God for universal purposes and considerations." This is as so often stated like any doctor being a president or member of an epidemic prevention institute, for the whole city and yet conducting one's own private hospital or dispensary without any conflict between the universal duties and individual duties, Much more has been stated on the point. In fact, there can be no conflict of duties so long as those both are thoroughly understood in their true spirit.
Whenever there is obviously a conflict between the part and the whole, it implies a disruption of integrity or a crooked behaviour or any offence-giving on the part of either of the part or the whole, or both. In natural unvitiated condition, any whole is never against the better being of any one of its different parts, nor is any part against the better being of the whole, All parts are most anxious and deeply interested in maintaining the highest efficiency of the whole and vice versa, unless there is split, corruption, corrosion and tearing of the heart. To put it in plain words, the principal tenets and authoritative injunctions of the part and the whole can never run cross-wise, if rightly interpreted in their esoteric meanings about the finalmost forms of duties, orders or commands.
Next, the vexing opposition arises from a suspicious mentality, which can be removed only on personal contacts and experiences. How far the U.R.M. is in every atom of its teachings universal can however be seen from various scattered expressions of beliefs given out in the Mai-ism literature all throughout
With a view to leaving no room for any misconceptions the following references are quoted here to permanently imprint the conviction that the Universal Religion of Universal God of Mai-ism is really universal upto its last and lowest end and atom. U. R. M. is for compacting and consolidating and condensing and not for compulsion nor conversion. In fact U. R. M. has no belief in any permenent efficacies of any efforts which have not originated from the heart and wilful resolution of any person.
Says Mai-ism, "Everyone has one's own right fo selecting one's own line of evolution. (Mother's Message" Page 7.) Efforts of all others, unless they are by way of guidance to the determined, go futile, without one's own faith, conviction, desire and determination. (Page 11 of "Mai Sahasranama", "Mother's Thousand Names"'). "If all religions are the creations of some one or another of all Mai's sons, where is the sense and need of transferring your own coins from one of your own pockets to another of your own pockets of your own coat?" (Mai-ism page xi of the preface).
In the regions of religions there are, along with strong prejudices, soft, slippery juggleries, as well. One type is of this nature. Every religion has its exoteric and esoteric forms, external and internal points and best as well as worst sides. Our Christianity our Islam, our Hinduism has so many most attractive features. Therefore be a Christian, a Mohammedan, or an Arya Samajist Hindu. It is like selling fruits in units of baskets on tempting the customers with best fruits placed on top and front for infatuation. Another type of jugglery is to study all religions. Work out one idealistic religion, exhibit the same, and then shout at the top of one's voice, “this is our Hindu Sanatana Dharma"Maiji uses the coined expression
lurking thief" for both kinds of juggleries. A lurking thief conceals himself while all are inattentive and busy during daytime and by night when everyone is asleep, he opens the chest and quietly passes off unnoticed. This tendency arises from passionate overenthusiasm regarding one's own religion being believed to be the only best religion. The same scene was repeated when the world took the fad of universality. Pick out points of universality from one's own religion. Place them before the public in the mostinfatuating language and speak within one's own heart
it is my Christianity or Islam or Hindulsm that should be accepted by the whole world as the Universal Religion of Univ. God." The substantial analysis of all such mentalities is that unless the very fundamental basic mentality has become universal, all efforts for a Universal religion become fruitless. It is that lurking thief mentality that has been responsible for no tangible results, although most expensive and vast conferences have continued since 1893 when the Parliament of All World Religions was convened in Chicago.
U. R. M. has started from God to the world just from the other end, while we solve an algebraical exercise of complicated, both sided identity. We presume it is correct and proceed to simplify both sides till we come to some most evident truth as 2n is-equal-to n plus n; or n2 is is equal to n x n. We than revert all the steps till we come to the most complicated identity, required to be proved this is the true and internal state of things in the case of U. R. M.
The Universal Mother Mai floods certain best conceptions and they are placed before the world as if a Universal Religion of Universal God is worked out, through human brains on studying the world's requirements. This too is the sportivity of Mai just as any mother makes her ignorant stupid obstinate child to believe the child has done what was believed and desired to be done, although really done by Mai Herself.
There are two principal ways for increasing the world's peace and happiness through religion. Leaders and custodians of individual religions should go on developing the element of universality amongst its followers. This remedy had its proper age and time, but materialism baffled the religious custodians and pseudo saints and religionists, through their pitiable lack of true religious powers and abuse turned the follower's mass to be rebellious against church, scriptures and priestcraft.
The second or the other way being that of U.R.M. is that of consolidating all persons that are already of the proved universal mentality and leave the question of the details of formulating the Universal Religion of Univ. God to be worked out by universalists under the grace and inspiration of God as the Universal God (Mai, in the case of U. R. M.), through love, and service to the whole humanity and devotion with self-surrender to one's own universal God.
Best play or drama in the hands of hopeless players and actors is a trash. Best players will give best moral effects and results even if the theme is quite mediocre.
Mai-ism is for selection and consolidation of the highest players, and leave the question of the play selection and its details to them that would know best what scenes to be enacted or rejected. This mentality of U. R. M. will be quite evident on reading the preface portion of the 2nd Volume of "Mother's Thousand Names'', which is as under :
If the world wants to be happy, it must start a searching campaign in every nook and corner of all continents for saintly souls, who are fully universal minded, to whom all religions are theirs, to whom all people of any nation are theirs, to whom the greatest joy is to serve God's children to whom being in communion with, and in the service of God is the on lyliving."
Such self-controlled, universal-minded Godfavoured humanity-welfare-worried selfless high souls of the said new universal saints order, can alone create finally the best legislators, advisers, society-formers and society-reformers, peacemakers and peace establishers.
|U. R. M. or the Universal Religion of Univ. God of Mai-ism wants such saints to be in the higher regions beyond India and Hinduism, beyond America, Europe and Christianity, beyond China and Japan and Buddhism beyond Arabia and Africa and Islam, so on and so forth.
And as stated on page 445 of "Mai-ism" in italics there must be intercommunications and sympathetic exchanges and some eleventh thing must come forth out of the ten ablest things.
The regional height was from U. R. M. expects such saints to work for the world's welfare can be inferred from the following practical measures advocated under U. R. M. (Page 12 of "Mother's Thousand Names"').
(2) Abolition of racial, national, provincial, social and religious prejudices.
(3) Opening, or encouraging to open, independent Mother's lodges and colonies under any denominations, religious, national or communal, of any people, in any
place,
(4) Exchange of opinions on religious questions and of charities by leaders of different religions to one another.
U. R. M. aspires some day to wipe out the mutual bitterness of individual religions to such and extent that Christian, Hindu or Muslim saints under their superior idea of the U. R M. may exert for procuring charities to help the needy humanity portions from the prosperous portions without any considerations of religions or countries and nations. In the final matter of charities, the only consideration should be that of the suffering humanity portion.
The extent of the universality element in the head and heart of the Founder of U. R. M. can be well seen from the following extracts of his thesis In support of I. R. F. (International Religious Federation)" as its subconcillor-in-Chief (in Japan). The thesis has been printed in the Ananai issue of January 1958, page 40, by the Ananai Kyo Institute.
(1) "My object has been to collect all views about the need of unification of all different nations and religions, world peace and re-organisation measures for increasing general religiosity, love and service."
(2) "As I am the follower and devotee of the Universal Mother Mai, of all religions and religionists, I am the pilferer of nectar fruits of any gardens that fall into my hands.
"All gardens are finally owned by God Almighty. whose servant and slave, but most beloved and everpardoned pet creature I am."
(3) I have thrown off all the outher skins of different sugar-canes of different countries. I am pressing out their juice and collecting the same in a common receptacle. I have unified all juices to form one juice, which I invite and welcome all my brothers to share with me, in the sacred memory of one common parentage of ours, of one and all of us, Universal One God of one and all.
(4) Personally I think it will be more useful work, to take up all books of eternities of every religion and to revise and abridge them and to make them appreciative and attractive and handy enough for the modern leisureless world, without thrusting one's own personal views and comments.
I would like someone to prepare new text-books of each religion, made acceptable to the modern man on the basis of psychology, rationalism, universality and science, without losing a single golden dust grain.
(5) Finally, I would like the enactment of a worldbible for them that have remained discontented with any one of so many religions.
As stated on page 118 of Mai Adherents Oath, by Mai's grace, it is very possible that in immediate future. groups of universal religionists, Hindu, Christian, Muslims, Jain, Zoroastrian, Mai-ists may be formed.
Such groups have their full independence and autonomy in all matters and details, except being out of rhyme with the above mentioned Mai-istic principles. All such institutes can be federations to the parental conception and institute of Universal Mai-ism.
Any such universalised group may have its own temple, God, gospel, worshipping modes, rules and regulations, places (temples and monasteries) and properties, in respect of which none others can have any right of dabbling.
Let there be further elucidation as to what views U. R. M. entertains regarding the churches, rites and ceremonies, spiritual yogic practices, devotional methods, etc. There too, U. R. M. has quite an out and out universalistic mentality. None should commit the Himalayan blunder, viz., that U. R. M. is in any way proHinduistic. The casting of prayers and practices of U. R. M. have been to some little extent Hinduistic, not because U. R. M. has any preferential estimation for Hinduism but because the only available human material, to propagate the U. R. principles, has been automatically of the Hinduism casting. If U. R. M. had been born in any other country, it would have taken the shape and colour of that country and the religion of that country.
This is the possible great fear in future and with a view to saving U. R. M. from that danger there have been scattered words of warning against falling into the said cess-pit.
To start with, in the matter of explanation of the Mai-istic view point, regarding various devotional and worshipping or ceremonial practices, etc., we have on page 6 of "The Synthesis of Mai-ism" the following:
(1) "Believe me, the man who loves and serves others, is devout and self-surrendered, is many times much more powerful, even in altering his own circumstances than the man who has learned all scriptures, who has mortified himself in midst of five fires, who has mastered pranayam, who has shut himself in caves, who has awakened his Kundalini, who has repeated mantras and who has performed elaborate ceremonies."
(2) As stated in "Mai Pathanam", Mai worship text, Mai worship can be external or internal, physical or mental, unintrospective or introspective, unmeditative or meditative. The installation of Mai for worship can be supposed to be in one's body, heart or soul or in altars, skies, fires, waters, dawn, full Moon, rising or setting Sun, etc.
One has to decide oneself, as Mother is everywhere, according to which method and associated with which conceptions and environments, one's devotional intensity can be raised to the highest pitch. That is the worshipping method for that particular person.
On page 61 of "Mai-ism" the same idea will be found corroborated. A devotee of the old school came to Maiji for understanding Mai-ism. Maiji inquired, "Shall we pray and worship?" With the old orthodoxical mentality the visitor said, "I don't mind. What is to be done?'' Maiji answered, "Do whatever you like: sing., dance, meditate, kneel, pray, prostrate. Do whatever you love best. There is no particular method with Mai you know best what will make you most absorbed in Mai.
Mai Sahasranama Pathanam, which is the authorised text book of worship, repeats the warning against falling into the said blunder at so many places. It says thus, on the very 2nd page,
(1) Subsidiaries may vary. The main most thing is for everyone to find out in what circumstances one's latent devotional mood can be raised to its highest pitch.
Each thing is best for one, who has found it best for oneself. There should be absolutely no dabbling with some one's own selection for himself or herself.
The worshipped may be an image, an idol or a picture or only a mental imagination of a personal deity or the conception of the all-embracing infinity.
(2) Mai worship does not necessarily mean the worship by a certain congregation, or the installation of a certain image, in a particular place with a particular process.
On arising of that sort of degenerated belief of monopolisation, Mai-ism can no longer retain its claim to universality.
(3) On page 33 under "Dhoons", comprising of couplets for repetition sung musically in a chorus, the following has been stated:
There should be no misunderstanding, that dhoons under Mai-ism are only in respect of any particular deity, God or religion. Mai being universal, represents all deities, and religions.
If the followers of any religion join together in sufficient number and with the universal spirit, and if they undertake the chanting of any dhoon in chorus on unanimous agreement and acceptance, they are equally welcome and such dhoons should be repeated in chorus by all Mai-ists, in as much as Mai is the Mother of all deities, nations and religions.
Many similar other references can be found in "Mai-ism" literature because that is the most natural form of the Mai-istic belief.
Regarding the universal outlook, conception and belief in respect of worshipping Mai and practising devotion to Mai, the following quotation will fully convince that Mai-ism is universal in all its aspects regarding worshipping method, meditation and any rights or ceremonies in connection with any religious undertaking. It is quoted from the Phala-Shruti of Mai Sahasranama, page 146. It runs as under:
Once a very staunch devotee wrote to the Founder, to enquire what were the distinctive technicalities of Mai worship. The founder was just then out from divine ecstasy. In a seemingly blunt but outspoken manner, he wrote to the stranger:
The distinctive technicality of Mai worship is that it has none. This arises from the Founders: conviction that you and I are mere mimics. Mother alone can worship Mother and that alone is the true worship in which the worshipper has been first made Mother by Mother, be it for however a small time period and to however a small degree. The rest is mere mimicry and can therefore be of any type. I am too poor to know how Mother worships or should worship Mother, and too different to be approving or disapproving any particular mode of worshipping Mother. In the finality of things, on elimination, the only truth that stands is that Mother alone can and does worship Mother. The rest is only a self-deception or at the most a mind purifying or mind-concentrating practice. On visualisation of the final-most stage on elimination, you and I are mere moon reflections, say, you in the nectarlike crystal-lake and I in the dirty cesspool. The span of life, however, for both of us finishes as soon as the moon retracts the moonlight or at the most as soon as the dawn breaks.
The subject of religion is actually more endless than the practically endless largest ocean. The final end therefore can only be that the limitations bound human creature has to control its thirst, hunger and gluttony.
We, therefore, rest here, quoting the last para of the Preface to "Mai-ism", which points out the same sublime truth as is contained in the above illustration.
"How little is claimable by man, in the coming forth of any new religious movement or a sub-religion or a religion? It is all the making of Mother alone. The miraculousness of "nothing during a saint's life" and "an amazing huge blaze" thereafter, is not simply a freak or fancy of Almighty. That too has a deep meaning. It is a proclamation of Mai's nothingness, even the highest saint's nothingness, and a working out of an inviolable divine law. The seed shall have to perfectly perish". There is nothing more complicated and incomprehensible, as the healing of the world and worldliness, with a saint and his saintliness.
The life and longevity of any religion's movement depends on its sacred fire being kept alive, by the further sacrifices of more and more high souls as disciples and faithful followers, and as the fire, light and spirit of the predecessors gets dazzling or dimmed with the advent of times.
UNIVERSAL MOTHER MAI BLESS US ALL
JAYA MAAI JAYA MARKAND MAAI
Mai Niwas, Saraswati Road, Santa Cruz (West), Bombay 54. 27-7-265 Mai Day Friday.
Mai Swarupa Mai Markhand Founder of Universal Mai-ism and President - Mai
Adherents Institutes.
MAI-ISM SACRAMENTS
Including references to Celebration days.
Every religion has prescribed certain sacraments for its followers. These are life occasions on which certain religious ceremonies are to be performed with a view to invoking the blessings of the deities, departed friends and relatives, astral world spirits, ancestors, and ultimately finalmost conceived God.
Under Hinduism, sacraments are named as “Sanskars", and in addition to the above stated purposes, there is the belief of a renewal and a new lease of life granted after the burning out of the ash of a huge pile of all sins previously committed, at the end of each sacramental fire sacrifice and the religious ceremony attached thereto, if that is done with full devotion. For an orthodox Hindu, every sacrament becomes a source of spiritual inspiration, full of every cheerfulness to renew one's religious life fully afresh as stated. That is so because generally all Hindus have a profound or a normal belief in the re-incarnation theory. A Hindu believes as if at the end of each ceremony, he is showered by Mother with the Grace of an entirely new, innocent, sinless second childhood, after the fult forgiveness of all his past sins. In brief, sacramental religious ceremonies are supposed to be for the purposes of self-purification and for the forgiveness of all previous sins. In addition to the mental the body as well is sought to be maintained pure. And this is rendered sacred through bathing and wearing entirely new garments or at least untouched after a clean wash. The mental purity is maintained mostly through fasting and sitting in front of the image of the deity and the sacrificial fire at the altar for the maximum time possible with the observance of as much of silence and sexlessness or talking religion alone as practicable. These are considered to be the various factors that help sin forgiveness, devotion increase, self-control development and soul. purification.
Hindu youths, especially molded on the lines of modern materialistic education, are mostly under the false impression that sacraments and various religious ceremonies prescribed under Hinduism are simply the mischievous manipulations of the Brahmanic priest-craft, and that other religions have nothing of that kind, of a boring or extravagantly expensive nature. Of course, we don't waste our energy over them that are of an outright atheistic mentality, nor on them that have an easy-escape answer with the assertion that they equally detest the priest-craft of any religion, say of Christianity as well, for their exploiting tendency through the tiresome and boring ceremonial importance. b Considering however, the particular case of such ones as are under the false impression that Hinduism alone, unlike say Christianity, is full of such tedious and tiring religious compulsions, we here try to give an idea of the various sacraments that Christians are commanded by their religion to go through and observe. Any tiny insect of yesterday may jump with boldness to condemn religious sacraments and ceremonies. However, Mai-ism would request such youths to have a picture before them of millions of men of almost all religions that have believed and observed sacraments as indispensable for the past thousands of years.
Mai-ism has one unique specific feature that is so very necessary in this age of various oppositions against religion. Mai-ism has always held and declared that merely "come here" is not at all enough to satisfy the present irreligious age. We require to deal with not only pros but even cons of any subject, and sometimes Mai-ism also not only deals with equal thoroughness, but greater importance. In a simplest expression, Mai-ism also deals with "Don't go there" with as much importance as "come here".
Thus in an entirely strange manner, with a view to to impress the truth of the indispensability of Sacraments, Mai-ism begins most unexpectedly with the description of the various sacraments as observed in Christianity, which is surely the religion of millions of living persons and has a much greater numerical strength in the ratio of 8 of Christianity to 3 of Hinduism.
Surely in all matters as degeneration sets in with the advent of time, there is always and everywhere every scope and need for revision, reformation, revival and research in the religion realm. What Mai-ism has been insistent upon is the warning to the materialistic world, not to burn off the warmest, cold preventing woollen costliest coat of true religiosity, simply because it finds a few bugs in its sleeves and a few spots on the surface at least till it has succeeded in possessing an entirely new, much superior coat.
Under Christianity, there are 7 Sacraments viz. Baptism, Confirmation, Mrtrimony, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, Eucharist and Penance. These are ceremonies performed in the Church and they are believed to give guidance, Strength and God's grace to the performers and fulfillers of the said ceremonies which are supposed to pass through the channels of churches, priests, etc. Sacraments with ceremonies are believed to be safe and sure escape measures from eternal unhappiness, punishments and miseries of a varied nature.
Baptism is the sacrament of infancy and Confirmation is the Sacrament when understanding dawns. It is supposed that all these sacraments invoke the blessings of the Holy Spirit for Christians. As explained under Mai-ism (page 25 of "Mother's Message"), Holy Spirit is the masculine name of God as Mother. As stated in "Apochrypha", Christ himself has said "My Mother, the Holy Ghost".
The next Sacrament, common to all, religious or irreligious and as a natural and automatic one is the requirement of Matrimony which forms by itself a Sacrament. Matrimony has its own special elaborate customs, conventions and ceremonies in every religion. Under Christianity, when a Christian marries, the sacrament of (Marriage) Matrimony confers God's blessings on individually the bride and the bridegroom and collectively the couple, because marriage is the eternal and holy union of a man and woman for the purpose of continuing the human race. Especially among Roman Catholics it is believed that marriage are made in Heaven and are indissoluble. Under Mai-ism, Matrimony by itself forms a very important subject matter of religious worship and ceremonial importance, and that is by way of a natural corollary because of the human instinct of sexual desire. According to Mai-ism, the union of man and woman in Mother's Worship is the highest spiritualising force ("Mother's Message" page 6).
For the common mass people, while it is a great sin to estrange, disunite and separate married couples, it is a great merit to reconcile, unite, and bring together separated couples with a fair, reasonable and honourable compromise. With the blessings of God, marriage becomes an eternal, indissoluble, holy union of man and woman.
Mai-ism believes in spiritual, co-equal status of man and woman. If that principle were not accepted there could be no locus-standi for motherhood of God, side by side with the fatherhood of God till now practically holding finalmost supremacy in all religions. This motherhoodconception-acceptance is the perfecting of the hither-to imperfect one-eyed and one-legged religion "World's Need & Mai-ism". Both are like the positive and negative currents without the union whereof, no light, love and life is possible. Although in many matters, mentalities, inherent vices and virtues are quite different, they are inseparable and indispensable to each other, as forming the second supplementary part, each one to another, for self-development, especially religious and spiritual.
Mai-ism believes (as stated on page 658 of "Maiism") that it is the highest and wonderful force of sex attraction, that makes a savage man and an ever changeful emotional woman to be a He-Deity and She-Deity, in course of the religious development during their present and future lives,
If conceptions of the vast gulf between worship and ceremony, similar to that lying between devotion on a higher plane and worship be taken as non-existent, it is an important point to note, in connection with the subject matter in hand viz. ceremonies, that on higher advancement plane, Mai-ists that have declared themselves as Mai's Adherents have to undertake "the mutual worship, practice" as between wives and husbands. This mutual worship is to be performed on so many days periodically and recurringly which again may be taken in the above stated broad sense, to be a ceremony connected with, and as a higher aspect of the matrimony sacrament.
Further, there is the sacrament of ordination which is given to purify man and woman and to prepare them for being fit and worthy to be efficiently serviceable to the Holy Church
The Sacrament of Holy Orders is given while ordination initiated persons decide to put aside their daily, worldly life concerns and are prepared to dedicate their whole life to the services as monks, nuns or priests. Taking Holy Orders is considered to be a supreme life task of a Christian and that opportunities of salvation for them that have taken 'Holy Orders' are much greater than any other way of living the Christian life. It is a matter of joy for them that see the same essential principles and beliefs forming the basis of all religions.
Religiously, the most important sacraments are Eucharist and Penance, from the point of psychological and general applicability. There is again the practice of making confessions before particular priests from time to time, almost from very early life which again is a sub item of the Penance sacrament. Each Sunday, Catholics attend a service called 'Mass' for celebration of the Eucharist. It means the celebrating through remembrance of the ceremony that had taken place in the lifetime of Jesus Christ, when he took his last meal with his disciples, and practically repeating the same in the Church. It means developing the mood of meditations and gratitude in respect of Christ's supreme sacrifice of death on the Cross in atonement of man's sins. It is supposed that during the meal at Eucharist function, the priest performs a double miracle on wine and bread which are supposed to have been miraculously turned into the blood and body of Jesus Christ without changing their appearance. The priest then takes them both himself and finally distributes them among all present
Penance is naturally repentance of the sins and means confession to a Priest and undergoing all penalties prescribed by him and obtaining forgiveness for the same. The instrumentality through which all the sacraments are carried out is principally the prayer with burning of candles, etc. Many Roman Catholics revere Holy Mother Mary, Mother of God's Son. To many devotees, Mary is nearer and more merciful in respect of their daily concern and miseries than either Christ or even God. Mary is also worshipped at the time of death.
It is not necessary here to remind all Mai-ists, what has so often been stated viz. that Mary is the individual aspect of Mai, to the Christians, and Mai is the most natural, universal aspect of the Universal Mother of true Mai-ists.
This information, although referring to Christianity. has been incorporated here for so many reasons. First thing is that as detailfully stated before, the modern youngsters are under the wrong impression that the ceremonies and sacraments prescribed under Hinduism form an entirely new variety of compulsion by the Hindu priestly class. This delusion must go.
Secondly, the intellectual and psychological interests and influences of the different sacraments represent and principally depend on the prayers to God only, although accompanied with ceremonies on different occasions at different stages of life and changes of conditions, etc. It is also interesting to see how the Hindu sacraments bear similitude with the sacraments of Christianity, which is considered to be the most advanced modern religion, and to which all nations are usually referring to as the religion of the most modern, science. psychology, culture and civilisation
The most important feature which has a bearing on the subject of Mai-ism sacraments, is what has been stated above regarding Mother Mary viz. that Christians in distress count upon the Mother of Christ) through their prayers and prostrations. Yet further the fact has to be noted that prostrations and prayers offered to Mother are with much greater faith and hope of relief than to Christ or even God.
Thus while Mai-ism simplifies and condenses all ceremonies, texts, etc. of different Hindu Sacraments to the principal soul element of the sacraments viz. the disciplined prayer worship of Mai, Mai repetition etc. the insistence about observing several sacraments remains to be in full fitness and easily acceptable and unobjectionable form.
The first greatest simplicity that Mai-ism introduces is that sacraments and ceremonies for all occasions are reduced to the simplest Mai worship. Mai repetitions in the same manner as what is being most usually and familiarly done on all Fridays and Saturdays, particularly in Mai Niwas. This reduces the mountain of scriptural works which are different for each case or occasion or ceremony. All the worries about hundreds of things to be kept ready in time, their costiliness also are eliminated under Mai-ism. Thus no particularly well-versed priest is required. Innumerable texts prescribed for various occasions or ceremonies often create great confusion and give room for the priestcraft fortified by God's wrath and fear, which keeps the masses of the followers in its clutches. There is nothing Greek and Latin about any particular ceremony attached to any particular purpose in view. What is required is to give the simplest intimation to Maji and all nearest Mai-ists of the purpose, name, place, date etc. to invoke Mai's and Maiji's blessings so that Maiji may also pray at the said hour in his own place at Mai Niwas and according to one's convenience. Either in the nearest Mai Temple or in one's own temple, the same ceremony can be performed with prayers. The purpose for which the cermoney and the sacrament and the prayer is held is already fully known to Mai. Further Mai's name repetition ensures particular symmetry and unanimity coupled with the easiest simplicity.
It is significant that all ceremonies performed for different purposes are eventually reduced to one most essential fact namely that in all cases we finally pray for the maximum grace of Mai. Therefore Mother worship is fully adequate and efficacious. It is extremely evident that Mai fully knows for what purpose a particular celebration is being held and we need not resort to different methods, ceremonies and texts etc. for each case or separate occasion.
Yet further on the study of the texts on sacraments, it is found that every ceremony is utilised by priests as if to revise the whole religion and philosophy through the texts and through the names of all Gods, Deities, and a tangential reference to all traditions, mythologies philosophical theories etc. and so many other elaborate details which are paraded under the name of ceremonies as if the ceremonies were the only method of revising the scripture knowledge and mythologies of Hinduism.
It is true as also a psychological fact that there can be no concentrated influence over one's mind and heart when the attention is directed to innumerable items details of duties, directions, arrangements, particular worshipping texts and ways and materials of worship etc. In a word the ceremony wherein hundreds of things are bound to be brought together cannot serve the efficient method for a concentrated prayer or worship or meditation or absorption as through Mantra repetition or meditations etc. And in practical life, what is stated above holds good invariably. In fact, ceremonies and religious functions are for pulling worldly-minded persons and men of worldly actions towards religion.
Few or none understand anything about the meaning of the details of the ceremony or even the meanings of the special scriptural texts mostly in Sanskrit. The funniest thing is that very few perhaps not more than five percent of the married couples know anything about what solemn pledges they are undertaking.
In a word the age of ceremony which has come down to us from centuries past had been the creation of ancient age when the simple pure religions and virtuous world had nothing like disbelief or absence of leisure or the difficulty of finding sufficient money etc. In fact that was the time when people wanted something that would keep them fully engaged in religious activities and thinking. Our present age is just the reverse and therefore it is natural that the occasions of such ceremonies have now degenerated into only merry-making with best dinners, dresses, social meetings, picnics. processions etc. Naturally enough, Mai-ism recognises that an overhauling change is indispensable and the real purpose for which sacraments are meant should be revived in the most practical and efficacious fruit-bearing manner and to the extent that can be consistent with our modern life beset with worries, least leisure, faint belief, costliness of living, no great love between relations, long distances, foreign services etc. The question regarding the appropriateness of different Deities for different purposes etc. gets eliminated as soon as it is once fully realised that Mai is the Mother and origin of all incarnations and Deities. Rama. Krishna Shiva, Devi, Indra, Sun, Moon etc. All prostrations and prayers referred to Mai are most automatically accepted by the smaller entities as offered to themselves.
Next we come to comparisons. Under Hindu usual practices we have sixteen sacraments and with some little changes here and there the Mai-ism sacraments are finally decided to be principally eighteen as under
(1) GARBHADHAN:- With a view to procreating a meritorious, religious and fortunate child, this ceremony is performed on the day decided for the first co-habitation between husband and wife. It is performed always in the night.
(2) PUNSAVAN:- This sacred function is performed between 60 and 90 days of enceinte. The purpose is for begetting first a son,
GARBHAUSHADHA:- In due course on the proper occasion, suitable medicines are to be administered if necessary and if financial position permits. In this age of costly medical treatment, this idea as a sacrament has been entirely lost. The object in view is to secure the proper and healthy growth of the child in the womb, as also for safe and painless delivery. This is done before or after PUNSAVAN, as convenient.
(3) SEEMANTH:- This ceremonial function is performed either in the fourth, sixth or seventh month of pregnancy. The purpose is for the well-being of both the expectant mother and the expected child. In the modern ways of life, this function may generally be performed somewhere about the time when the expectant mother goes to the maternity home for delivery. After the completion of the fourth month, the elders, especially the mothers on both sides and the husband should make it a point of great concern to see that the child-carrying mother passes her maximum daily time in physical bodily repose and keeps her mind as much engaged in religious functions, reading of scriptures, Mai-worship, attendance, Pathanams of Mai names and mantra repetitions etc. It is the spiritual AUSHADAM medicine on the same lines as physical medicines referred to before. Hindu scriptures are full of proofs that the child takes up all the spiritual feeding that the mother partakes just as the nourishment food. This principle is accepted even by western science as there are proved cases where the children are born with the same complexion as the picture that the mother concentrated upon before the delivery. The moral, religious and spiritual impressions are much more powerful than the materialistic attempts and that which is true of complexion is many times much more true of the mental, emotional, religious and spiritual formation.
(4) JATA KARMA:- The actual moment of birth of the child should be most precisely recorded so that an accurate horoscope can be cast. Although the foretelling of life events is a matter of doubt even with many astrologers, the influence of various planets at the moment the child is exposed to on delivery and the multifarious influences of the planents form a scientifically proved truth especially regarding the character, tendency, help, mood, vocational expertness etc. That the planets exert most lasting and powerful influence can be very well inferred from the fact of full moon tides,
(5) NAMA-ABHIDHANA:- This is the ceremony of naming the newborn child. It is performed ten or twelve days after birth. Names should consist possibly of two or four syllables always with the prefix "Mai" e.g. 'Mai-Das', 'Mai-Prasad' etc. Since long the practice has already begun of requesting Maiji to select the name. Maiji requests parents to put in their proposal and then Maiji improves upon the name if necessary only very slightly and just in full agreement with the selected sense conveyed under the selected name, indicating the taste, ambition, life goal, desire etc. There is further a pet name for constant family use separately, of two syllables for girls and three for boys. Some such christened names have been "Mai-Charan"; "Mai-Premi"; "Mai-Anand"; "Mai-Sanat" etc.
There are other smaller functions and ceremonies undertaken during the period after naming, before the next one, as under:
(a) KHATWA-AROHANA:- This is the sacred ceremony of placing the child for the first time in the cradle or in the bed cot i. e. separate from the mother's direct contractual embrace.
(b) KARNA VEDH:- This is the sacred ceremony of piercing holes in the ear lobes of the offspring after tenth, twelfth, or sixteenth or twenty-eighth day or even after the seventh or eighth month after birth. Piercing holes on the ear lobes is stated to be for ensuring development of grasping power of the child.
(6) ANNAPRASAN:- This is the sacred ceremony of feeding the child for the first time. This is to be performed in the sixth month. All the times and periods mentioned under sacraments are only very general and have to be as convenience and conditions make them suitable. The ceremony should be performed as far as possible in a Mai Temple. The first food should consist of honey, curd, ghee and rice. Naturally enough, all smaller details of feeding etc. will differ from community to community as per local customs and family practices.
(7) CHAULAM:- This ceremony is performed in the third year of the child. It consists of cutting the hair of the child for the first time. In past decades, this was a great occasion for families to go to their Kula Devies (family goddesses). It is now however extremely costly and inconvenient and this practice has been almost abandoned.
(8) ADHYAYANAM OR VIDHYARAMBHA:- This ceremony consists of initiation of the child into the alphabets. This should be preceded by Guru Pooja. The sacred mantra: 'Jai Mai Jai Markand Mai, Vidhya Siddhi Pradayini Jai Mai Jai Markand Mai' should be written on the child's tongue on the night by Maiji or any Mai Shishu or any Mai-ist in descending order of merit with a silver stick. This ceremony has also been started in the case of several Mai-ists of Menon, Pillai, Nair etc. families.
(9) UPANAYANAM:- This is the sacred Thread Ceremony. Under Mai-ism, it should be performed both by sons and daughters. It is expected that by this time, the son or daughter has on the tip of his or her tongue almost as much of Mai mantras and Mai-Ardha-Sahasranama-Pathanams as possible in each case. The best method for this automatic commitment to memory is that the parents, whenever they come to Mai-Niwas, should bring with them their children to be impressed by the holy and peaceful atmosphere and the sound waves created by scriptural utterances. It is as if the children are being trained to develop their subconscious, inward, instinctive knowledge which would be extremely beneficial during their own hard and misery-stricken time.
Maiji is extremely happy about the future of Maiism in as much as he is overjoyed to find that even youngest children, especially in the case of Kerala devotees have shown the spiritual force of a much greater devotion, so often even greater than their parents. They insist strongly on being taken to Mai Niwas to attend Mai-worships and being taught and initiated into name repetitions and worship preliminaries in their own homes.
UPANISHKRAMANA:- This ceremony consists in taking out the child to Mai temple and then to all near relatives, family friends etc.
(10) ADHYAYANA POORNATVAM and AARTHIKA SAADHANA PRAVESHAM: Under this ceremony, Gurushishya relationship assumes great importance. This ceremony marks the completion of education, graduation and securing service or entering into business.
(11) VIVAHA LAGNAM:- This means the sacred ceremony of marriage. This would vary with different places and communities, which may be done in the usual customary or self decided manner. But as stated elsewhere, the first or the final function in addition has to be in the presence of Mai, either in any Mai Temple or before one's family Mai. It is wished that as far as possible, the match for a husband or a wife be selected from the Mai-ists' families. There have been instances of the said type, resulting in the unification of any two Mai-ist families. This is not out of any sectarian or narrow view, but for ensuring the happiest wedlock of the pair and the best progeny born with Mai-istic Sanskars and beliefs. It is the most repeated experience in the present fancies-following age of self-selection, persons of different cultures, civilizations and parental training, that young people do get infatuated of one another, but they have no idea about the greatest need of mutual compatibility and they often fall out. The other possible misfortune is that both of them, in the case of love marriage are cut away and isolated from the parents and respective communities on both sides. Parents also have no voice to render advice or interfere, in case any one of them becomes faithless or tyrannical to the other. Maiji has received so often pitiable complaints from aggrieved married parties especially in the cases of inter-caste, inter-communal or international marriages. Such ones have found greatest consolation and guidance and a religious sanctity under this Universal Religion of Mai. ism. Many of such marriages later after initiation into the universal religion have been fairly happy. In other cases of a hanging position in the matter of any decided community to which they belong, the family remains fairly happy (externally) so long as there is abundance of money, but their children's lot on subsequent poverty is most pitiable as they have no sympathy from any community or any individual religions or religious persons. Maiji recommends that the non-Mai-ist party of a proposed marriage be insisted upon to take the Maiism Oath with a view to ensure oneness and unity, of environment and sympathy of families, societies and religious affinities.
The marriage ceremony according to "Mai-ism" is the simplest measure of both parties garlanding each other in the presence of the parents, relatives, friends and visitors, ending with the waving of light by the pair in common hand in hand, the wife being to the left of the husband. After marriage further recurring practice although optional is being conducted by Mai-ist pairs.
This shortly means and is described in Mai-istic literature with meanings as given here.
(i) It is the waving of the lights nine times, with repetition of "Sree Mata" to "Mandala" first waving by the female of the pair praying to Mai to give her a life-long happy companion.
(ii) The same by the male of the pair praying for a suitable life-long happy companion.
(ii) Both praying together hand in hand, the female being to the left.
(iv) The wife worshipping the husband by waving the lamp in the same manner.
(v) The husband worshipping the wife in the same manner.
(vi) Wife worshipping the husband in the same manner to complete the trio portion of the whole ceremony. Next three stages are the reversions of the first i, ii, iii.
(vii) Both worshipping Mai together by way of greatest devotion and surrender to Mai for showering the grace of giving the life-long companion.
(viii) Worshipping Mal by the husband for making his life worth living with a loving wife,
(ix) Same Mal-worship by the wife for making her life worth living with a loving husband,
(12) MAI SAADHAARANA PRATICNYA:- This is the sacred ceremony of taking General Oath of Mai-ism on assuming household life.
(13) MAI DEEKSHA:- This is the advancement in religious studies, devotion, philosophy etc. under the Mai-ism Adherents' Oath,
(14) VANAPRASHTA:- This marks the stage of retirement from employment, at about the age of 55 or 60 years, of leading household life and carrying out only light duties to children and grandchildren as prescribed under Mai-ism, We are passing through the money-hunger age. No amount of earning is considered enough. That is all right for youngsters, but old persons should establish or rather assert their right of taking rest and having leisure enough to set right the wrong mentalities created through the humdrum life necessary for maintaining the youthful life and turn one's activities to making all necessary religious preparations for the next life. The future life or life existence after death is a matter of certainty as fully proved by spiritual experiences and innumerable instances of indisputable proofs of relations and communications, of persons that have died and are in astral bodies through their communications with our world. Hinduism especially believes in rebirth, which although is not asserted by other religions, is at least not disproved, and the usual tendency is towards trying to make out the truth of rebirth from several broken and half-expressed sentences in the scriptures of other religions. Mai-ism leaves it to everyone to have his own belief in rebirth or not, just as Mal-ism leaves everyone free even to believe in the existence of God or not. These beliefs are not indispensable under Mai-ism.
(15) MAI-CHARAN NIVARTAN:- Return to Mother's Lotus feet i. e. finally leaving this physical body under the phenomenon of the 'deep sleep' known as Death.
(16) VARSHIK ATMA KALYAN VIDHI:- This consists of after-death ceremonies for one year till the death anniversary, including from the day of dying, monthly feedings and charities etc.
(17) VARSHIK SHRAADDHA:- This is the annual day ceremony for the departed soul after the first year.
(18) ICHCHHA TRIPTI:- This means carrying out all small and large wishes of the parents, expressed by them during their lifetime that were not fulfilled but which can be possibly fulfilled; and of occasional praying for the happy forward progress of the souls of the parents in the other world through concentrated prayers and charities, of feeding, clothing, meeting inevitable needs of the poor etc., This obligation has been greatly stressed in Hinduism under the name of "Matru-Pitru Runa" (Parental debt).
It must be noted that for each of the Mai-ism Sacraments, at the commencement and also at the conclusion of the ceremonial function, Mai should be worshipped with intense devotion and earnest endeavour should be made to invoke Her Grace for the proper and fruitful fulfilment of the sacraments, along with the detailed intimation to Maiji at the commencement and end for Mai's and Maiji's blessings.
Further it may be noted that under Mai-ism there are four ceremonies in each of the quadrilateral units. The last one is given quite a special importance as it is a dead certainty although it is left to everyone to believe or not. It is that there is the other life after death and the Shraaddha ceremonies etc, do help the departed soul to be consoled or satisfied with the things as they are after them and thus the Shraaddha ceremonies even impart a great true and joyful heart feeling to the departed soul. This is so much important that there are cases of several most orthodox persons taking even the remotest chance in case life after death may perhaps be possible, perform these ceremonies during their own life time with all charities, donations etc.
In this connection, it is most regrettable to note especially about the modern and rich sons, that they are ready to pounce upon property worth millions which they don't consider in any way polluted or infected with plague germs, but regarding after-ceremonies if there are any proposals of dinners, donations or sacred scripture readings in midst of the relations under bereavement, they at once shatter all such proposals with their own commands in one sentence viz. "We don't believe in any such humbug." This is most regretfully true even when such expenses don't represent even the most trifling percentage of what their parents have left for them. They would most slavishly submit themselves to the income-tax and other expenses for the luxuries of themselves and their families but they would not part with the smallest aforesaid amount for the satisfaction of the parents, sisters, brothers and relations. They don't take even the remotest chance into consideration about the likelihood of life continuing after death.
Anyway, it is specially recommended that in view of the present costliness and poverty and atheistic tendencies of the world, it is desirable that provisions should be made by oneself during one's life-time, entrusting, if necessary, the performance of the ceremonies to a friend or Mai-ist or particularly trustworthy sons, relatives etc. One speciality of Mai-ism is that under Mai-ism, man and woman are under the spiritual co-equal status and therefore daughter and mother are to be treated in the same manner as father and son for sacred thread or birthday ceremonies etc.
It is interesting to note the analogous features in different religions, and if there were leisure and patience to study details it can be shown that every religion has almost similar sacraments. The underlying idea is to seek God's Grace on every important occasion in life. There are certain common things to all human beings. A child is born and the parents with joy invoke God's blessings. That child has some name and belongs to a particular religion. Thus we may take Baptism similar to naming; and confirmation to Upanayanan or the sacred thread ceremony. Marriage is quite clear. Eucharist is similar to Mai worship every week, on Fridays or Saturdays as may be generally fixed. "Prasad" corresponds to the distribution of wine and bread; ordination is similar preliminary to Mai Saadharan Pratignya and on the advanced stage, the dedication to service and taking Holy Orders to help the spread of religion is represented under Mai-ism through the Mai Adherents Oath or Mai Deeksha. Persons about to die receive the Extreme Unction sacrament when they are granted forgiveness for their sins. This ceremony is represented under Mai-ism as Mai Charan Nivartan or returning to Mai's Lotus Feet.
What remains unreferred to is Penance. Under Mai-ism every weekly prayer ends with the Pardonseeking general prayer. With Christians, there is the custom of making confessions to the priest from time to time. This cannot be recommended as an obligatory function under Mai-ism as that is too much of entrusting one's life secrets to any priests who are after all only human beings, lest such confidence and privacy should be abused at some fatal moment. All the same, the corresponding idea under Mai-ism may be explained here. Of course there is this psychology. Every one during difficulties and calamities comes to or corresponds with Maiji, and Maiji then without trying to know any details of sinfulness of anyone, gives a strong dose and always remains without sinfulness as otherwise no relief can be showered by Mai. It is further explained that Penance is like the downright sweeping of & dirtied marble floor with a hose pipe. The greatest point of Mai-ism is that it so very convincingly links up the Mai Grace showering with universal love and service and cheerful self-surrender, that the occasion of anyone approaching Mai-ism and Maiji is most directly utilised to start an entirely new clean slate without at all having to enter into details of the past irregularities, weaknesses, vices, ill actions, acts of sinfulness etc. Maiji does not want to pollute his own heart and brain with a thousand dirty details of individual worldly trivialities, nor does Maiji believe in any special improvement due to contrition on reminding any person of his past sinfulness. Devotion is many times much powerful and as a positive force than sorrowfulness of mere human heart on being reminded of the past.
Maiji does not accept the efficacy of the purgatory method with expiations and atonements in the usual methods prescribed under various religions but the positive method of constructive nature is more desirable in this age when everyone is too egoistic, never truthful and with the extremely short future outlook, has become reckless enough and evades any the smallest humiliating efforts, leaving the future to take care of itself.
Elucidation about details of sacrament will not be complete without the fundamental conception being repeated here. There are two working agencies in the governing of the universe. Religious world is no exception. There is the religiosity increasing agency as also the irreligiosity-increasing agency. Coming to the former, there are again similar forces, one of creating diversities from unity and the other of consolidating all diversities to restore the original unity. Mai-ism unlike all individual religions, which have innumerable sects, while working on the former principle is the universal religion which has for its final aim and goal the blending of all diversities to regain unity. No wonder then that Mai-ism is required to have the broadest definitions, notions, tolerance, and all-embracingness and greatest religiosity welcomeness. Thus Mother Mary or Kali Mata, if accepted and universalised and ridden of all individualistic religious paraphernalia is Mai. Mai, the origin of all God conceptions includes all, just as clay or gold implies all earthen vessels or gold ornaments.
In the matter of fulfilling the Mai-ism Sacraments all these three subtle positions must be clearly realised :
(a) All requirements, in however miniature and
nominal a manner, must be undergone.
(b) For Mai-ists that much is more than enough.
(c) Mai-ism leaves every one free to do any
additional ceremonies etc. as one chooses following the personal desire or as the communal custom requires.
Say, for instance in the case of Matrimony, that has to be done before Mai in a Mai Temple or, if that is not possible, before Mai in one's own home, it is enough if the marriage is performed after mutual worship and Mai functions and for all other programmes one is free in respect of one's any personal Deity, temple, worshipper, religious Acharya or personal Guru. The former is the indispensable measure for propitiating Mai whereas the latter is for the satisfaction of personal likes, or family, or social, communal or individual religious requirements.
In respect of any details, it must be clearly noted by all Mai-ists that Mai-ism is not only for giving the greatest latitude of individual harmless freedom as also the individual right of selection, but it has never claimed to have said anything as "the last word in religion." Maiji's patent argument is that no mother turns negligent about her litter-born children. Mai too can never be supposed to be any the less attentive to the future generations, regarding their particular requirements of that particular age with its particular tendencies and capacities. Just the reverse is the case of God conceived as Mother, the weakest child is to be the dearest and most cared for. Mai-ism not only does not dislike or consider too insignificant the outer non-essential details as at least in quantity they play a very significant part in the daily running and working of the world. Maiji insists upon a standing, fully wide-awake religious steel machinery in the shape of a permanent Mai-ism Institute that would be studying the people's needs and calling all different proposals from expert thinkers and suggesting all-acceptable reforms from time to time.
Mai-ism has at the source of its strength and support neither the political powers or the capitalist's powers, nor the physical Scientist's powers. It does of course welcome, revere and even seek patronage from all great men of the world but without any sacrificing of its main principles, Mai-ism counts for its strength and survival on the spiritual forces and energies as all Mai-ists are richly rewarded by Mai's Grace for their faithful and humble adhnherence. Mai-ism takes its safe stand miles away from politics, parties and elections and different rival schools of philosophies. Mai-ism has a fully democratic mentality but not that of the hypocritical type of democracy. Even today the plan and policy of Mai-ism is to invite all sided) view points on any important questions before any reform is proposed
Mai-ism has stated it in printing that it aims at churning out a solution that is better, than any of the best say twelve religious thinkers ! Mai-ism is sufficiently contented on the fulfilment of its aim and object of consolidating together all scattered religious forces of any nations countries or religions,
There is an old story viz. that a baby boy was claimed in court by two women as each one's son. The Court decided that the son should be cut into two equal halves, to be shared by both the women. At this, the true mother of the child shouted out in tears: "Let my son live, although handed over to my opponent claimant." That is the mentality of Mai-ism. With every relinquishment for which Mai-ism is ready, Mai-ism is contented with the only bare fact that the universal religion of Mai-ism survives all destructive agencies of atheism, materialism, individualism, mammonism, satanism, etc.
Mai the Universal Mother Bless All.
JAYA MAAI JAYA MARKAND MAAI
CELEBRATION DAYS
Mai-ism scripture is simple. It consists of Six words only: Mother, Love to Mother and Her Children, Universality, Service, Devotion and Self Surrender. (Please Part I). see pages 56, 57, of "Mai Sahasranama" Vol. 1,
The first word 'Mother' ' indirectly and implicitly Includes the principle or the word of spiritual co-equal status of man and woman.
Of course practice will take time but at least the scripture is over. In practical life the spirit of spiritual coequal status of man and woman in addition to the four concepts of love, service, devotion and self-surrender are also to be rigidly observed. In every thought, action and desire, keep these Six words before you. If the practice is observed with full austerity, your life is crowned with success by Mai's Grace resulting from your devotion to Her. Relief from misery, happiness and finally salvation are easily attained. Even if there is no conviction about God, Mai-ism has the broadest vision and the words of devotion and surrender should be applied to one's master husband, employer, guardian, parents, patrons etc.
Just practise for a year and you will find you are transformed. Practise it at least one day (Mai days being Friday, Saturday, Tuesday and Sunday in the order of importance), or one day in a month say the full moon day, or once in a year, say your birthday or once in your life on your death-bed and mark the miraculous change.
As detailed in " Mai Sahasranama" (1940). Mother's Day is the day of practice. Do not be wrathful on this day. Do not utter lies. Do not cheat. Do not assume or abuse superiority. Do not exploit helplessness, ignorance or misunderstanding. Do not refuse possible service to the needy.Do not indulge in pleasure. Do not behave naughtily. Do not seek luxury. Do not pervert the truth. Do not misconstrue, misinterpret or take an uncharitable view. Do not think or believe or harbour bad thoughts.Do nothing bad Do not crush the poor and weak,a
None needs being taught what should be done and what not. Be religious and truly religious on that day at least. Dorfast to the extent your vitality permits. Keep silence as long as possible. What goes out of your mouth is often more dangerous than what goes inside through the mouth. All other days are again yours to lead a free life as your agitated mind chooses. Do what little you can. However little in good thing done is much higher than however great the work but only intended or merely desired to be done but actually not done at all. For a Mai-ist a little is better than nothing and it is a matter of satisfaction for himself and encouragement to and example for others. Don't trust the next occasion or moment for beginning any good and meritorious work. Done is done in spite of any imperfection and incompletion Not done is not done in spite of hundreds of justifications for not doing. Any good work once begun, increases in its goodness as time passes.
Temples are there;) scriptures are there, worships by hundreds are there, pandits are there. What is not there is the altruistic,benevolent, devotional spirit, the understanding, the outlook, the sincerity, the faith, the service, the sacrifice and selflessness or in one word, the perseverance and practice of living a self-controlled righteous, and goodness-dedicated life. The said improvement of the mentality itself takes place and progresses with religious and spiritual purest thinking, virtuous living moral environments, varied experiences, etc., although say with a snail or an ant's speed. The miraculous unbelievable transformation however, with an aeroplane's speed has however only one source and remedy and that is only the most sincere surrender to God and Guru which as well governs the said avenues of improvement.
The special days are to be observed as described above to the extent of one's increasing capacities, and the subject of celebration and celebration days has been described elementarily on Page 139 of "Mai Sahasranama" Vol. II under "Falashruthi" (Recollection of benefits arising from Mai Devotion). It is more than clear to all Mal-ists that in respect of observance, the same principle as explained in the case of sacraments holds good.
(1) A Mai-ist must observe as far as possible the undermentioned days, (2) that such observance is more than enough, although (3) any Mai-ist is entirely free to make additions according to one's own personal wishes or the suggestions of one's family, society, community or religion, ancestral tradition or hereditary customs.
Very generally speaking, in addition to the days mentioned below, one should select a particular day representing the day of his individual select adoption and loved religion and similarly a day of his own personal religious initiation, Guru worship and any other day which one's society holds sacred or popular.
It need not be stated here that the most predominant humanity portion from which Mai-ism has drawn admirers, followers, devotees, votaries and adherents is that of Hindus, though Mai-ism has so many advocates and admirers belonging to other religions as well. One thing is true, viz. that Mai-ism has not any other religionists than Hindus who take full part in the worship and that is so very natural.
There should be no misunderstanding or any wrong conclusion or delusion arising from the statement of the stated Hindu predominance.
Any Mai-ism literature reader can immediately see that, if there be sufficient minimum number of Mai-ists of any other religions, Mai-ism has so often proclaimed in writing its Willingness to accept any newly suggested or newly composed prayer series, etc. of any other religion, a new method of worship to be followed by them as say Jain Mai-ists, Christian Mai-ists, Muslim Mai-ists, etc. (Please read "Mai Sahasranama" Vol. II page. 222 - 'Details of Mother Worship'.)
If we penetratingly analyse, the general religious mentality of the modernised Hindus, even though they have joined or taken part in Mai-ism, is interesting. (although the analysis has been subject to a rigid standard.) It is made clear hereunder.
As it is, the modern world is practically living quite a materialistic life. Most of the Hindus have very little interest in religion now. Naturally unless they are in need of any religious or divine help they would not like to be dislodged from their safe and silent saddle of living nominally but under the denomination of "Hindus". Full of lethargic inertia, especially in the matter of higher pursuits, they do not like to undergo any deviation from the trodden religious path, in virtue of the only reason of their association with Mai-ism, if that association is merely nominal, theoretical temporary or only as a need satisfying measure.
There is another class of 'religious' styled Hindus which has an academical, intellectual interest especially in scriptures and philosophers and they have not realised the internal ecstasies of devotion. Such ones agree to be appreciative of Mai-ism but nothing further thereafter.
Just on a little religious higher plane there is again the routinistic or self-centred orthodox class, some ones of which do actually feel the need of some reformation and change. However most of the religious persons of this class, while they covertly appreciate Mai-ism, have all their enthusiasm evaporated under their self pride with the inward feeling of "our own religion" of "Hinduism" is only the best, '"the highest best".
Some of their bear feeling of resentment against Maiism in as much as is surely and admittedly indebted to Hinduism, It is a decision as bureaucratic under the ancestral roof, even though in the midst of all Illiteracies, poverty, and possibly all heterogeneities, for the only reason that he has been born in that family, They exclude all considerations except the parental birthright over the son,
There are others who are yet more aggressive, They desire that any healthy reform would be welcomed by them but they should be placed before the world, as approved and sanctioned by their own acknowledged religious authorities and under the name of "Hinduism'. And this they would expect without the smallest sympathy, encouragement, assistance or co-operation
Yet another class is that of the "lurking thief" which is Maiji's favourite expression. It is getting into a house either as a friend or a guest or a lurking thief during day-time, the thief concealing himself in the corner, observing every detail of possessions, etc, in the day-time and awaiting nightfall or moments of weakness when everything is to be shattered or snatched under the threat of the brutal knife.
All these classes of Hinduism deter the general Hindu mass from associating with Mai-ism, which would naturally create the idea of unification of Hinduism with Mai-ism.
Practically therefore only such fractions of the whole Hindu world have greatest attractions for Mai-ism as are from their full heart fully religious but whose conscience is not satisfied or constantly experiencing that the Hindu life lived actually and factually is entirely different from what is required to be as depicted in theory and speech.
The late Ernest Kirk, the author of "The World's Need and Mai-ism", under the Chapter 'Maiji', a Man of Destiny, has explained this very idea in these words:
"Maiji is born in the family of orthodox Nagar Brahmins, equivalent to, say a Namboodiri in Malabar, or an Acharyar in Madras. This gave Maiji a schooling in Hinduism (orthodox Hinduism), with all its rites, ceremonies and scriptural studies. He was however, brought face to face with the actual struggles and difficulties that confront those in Hinduism, and indeed in every religion, who are feeling the need for something more, real and satisfying than is being offered to them."
Thus even though the Hindu class is as large as an ocean, it is only a particular fraction therefrom which feels the constant need of Divine protections and religious joys and which has not been successful in finding their own joys and misery-relieving means that have rallied round Mai-ism. The greatest uniqueness of Mai-ism is that with only a small preliminary idea of the most important principles of life, it at once starts with the devotion, Mai-Worship, Guru-contact, Mantra repetitions etc. Thus the test of the pudding being in the eating thereof, almost everyone has been a staunch Mai-ist who has already tasted the fruits in solid form, of Mai-Devotion.
It is the only most practical way for general all round happiness and peace, which every human being is in search of and lives for. Mai-ism lays special emphasis not simply on so called arbitrary grounds of religion but even from the viewpoint of psychology, on the continued practice of day to day and hour to hour of maintaining the mental attitude and religious spirit of devotional attachment, in the midst of different moods through various modes of keeping oneself, as much engrossed and absorbed as possible during one's life, in occupations of daily programmes of devotion, benevolence, services wherever needed without any differences, and with universal outlooked love. The monotony of the daily programme needs being wiped out for renewal of enthusiasm and energy, and that is being done through the particular points of time and periods in the eternal run of one's lifetime.
The said celebration days to be observed with rigidity and self-control, self-purification etc. as described before, serve as bench-mark points of new refreshing on the long way. Each year, for a Mai-ist, is supposed to complete by the end of the victory day of Dusserah when as far as possible, the convening of a Mai convocation, large or small, royal or rare with a special day for a Sisters' Social for all women, of any religion is desirable. If unfortunately money, men, material etc. are not coming forth, let such Mai Convocations be held once in two, three, five or even ten years. But let it be most fixedly riveted in the minds of Mai-ists that Sisters' Socials and MaiConvocations, the former representing the Mai-ism principle of the spiritual co-equal status, and the latter the universality, are the two special unique unparallelled, unprecedented features as a Religion of the Universal Mai-ism.
It may be just casually noted here that a pair of Jain religionists who had so many proofs of Mai's Grace came down to Bombay from Saurashtra and took their Oath. Naturally enough they must have full freedom to follow their own religion so far as that does not conflict with the universal truths and they too must have the happiness of selecting their own day for their own God and religion. The same thing is true surely for every religionist and it has been so very clearly mentioned at different places in Mai-ism literature as well as during Convocations that Mai-ism is fully and ever prepared to permit quite a different programme and method of prayer, ceremony, devotion etc. whenever followers of any other religions beside Hinduism join Mai-ism and propose a certain uniform set for them to follow, as say Jain Mai-ists, Zoroastrian Mai-ists, Christian Mai-ists etc. On a smaller scale this freedom has been fully granted even for the sub-classes of Hinduism as will be seen from the full liberty given to every Hindu to repeat specific mantras of one's deity as also to worship one's own deity. The subtlest point one has always to bear in mind is that whereas one's religion is an individual religion most suited to oneself, Mai-ism is the Universal Religion with Universal God for Universal Purpose in order to bring all different religious persons and forces together.
So much introduction being considered enough for the present purpose, we next take up the details and description of celebration days all of which must be observed in the manner described as far as practicable.
(1) Mai was installed on 2-9-1932. This particular day is primarily important.
(2) Good Friday. Mai-ism has considered this Christian day as a special day and a select day for convening meetings, taking oaths etc.
(3) Due to Mai's command in a dream, the first Sisters' Social was convened in Poona on 9-10-1932, Dusserah Day. So many other Sisters' Socials were held on Mai's command on Dussera days in Poona, Madras, Calicut. Trichur, Trivandrum and Ernakulam. Thus Dusserah day is very important as the day of victory for the outspread of universal Mai-ism.
(4) After Dussehra day ranks 23rd December, the birthday of Maiji on full moon Poornima Day of Margashirsh, stated to be the best of all months according to the Bhagavad Gita. This is also the Dutta Jayanti day. It may easily be seen that this day almost immediately precedes Christmas which falls on 25th December, which also should naturally be a celebration day. In a word, if possible, all three days viz. 23rd, 24th and 25th of December, should be observed as special days.
(5) The next most important day is Gudi Padva or the first day of Chaitra Navaratri, the day on which Mother's Lodge was founded for the outspread of Universal Mai-ism. (27-3-1933). It then had the denomination of 'Mother's Lodge' which gave inspiration to the opening of several Mai Mandals (equivalent Gujarati denomination) in Gujarat, principally through the devotional exertions of Keshavlal Pandya in Nadiad (Gujarat) and Mai Kalapi in Rajkot (Saurashtra) who have been working for Mai devotion outspread, as incharge of a temple in each place, constructed through their collections. There are in all more than one hundred and thirty Mai Mandals and some of them are also in Africa, Mombassa etc. Please read pages 60 to 66 of "Mai-ism" regarding the details of the first devotee, Keshavlal's initiation in Poona and the widest sublimation of the Hindu Mataji conception to the Universal Mai conception in Gujarat and Saurashtra.
All these Mai Mandals principally started and practically supervised and guided by devotee Keshavlal of Nadiad, are from the practical viewpoint and test, religious, devotional centres of Hindu Mai-istic nature, and represent the variety of the combination of the
universal conception of Mai with all the rest of the devotional old mentality of the Hindu Mataji's devotion, with notions, beliefs, traditions and customs etc. of the ancestral type, principally including the notions of possession, quickest pleasingness or wrathfulness etc., with which every Hindu is quite familiar. In fact any impartial spectator of the working there will not be far from right if he concludes that except the change in the name of "Mataji" to "Mai'', and a theoretical acceptance of the truth viz. that Mai is the Mother not only of Hindus, but of the whole world, there is very little of modern rational outlook or actual sublimation of the traditional mentality to attain the higher plane as desired, required and preached under strictly clear, purest Mai-ism or say as visualised and understood by educated and religious persons of an entirely clean slate nature.
All the same, most doubtlessly, they are pieces and parcels of Mai-ism, as Mai-ism has a welcoming heart for Hindu Mai-ists as well. A subtle distinction however, is pointed out here, viz. that they represent the Hindu Mai-istic variety which Mai-ism fully welcomes and accepts.
A change in the religious mentality is the hardest task to achieve and the necessary time for its achievement has to be most patiently reckoned in terms of a century and its quarters. The seed once sown in a suitable land never dies. Mai-ism feels fully confident, with a certainty that the routinistic no-change Mai-ists of the said Mai Mandals, after some more decades and years, with greater spiritual development and experience and after much higher considerations, contacts and concentrations, will not fall back into the old marshy mudpools, but will especially hasten to sublimate their narrowed down mentalities and run up to declare themselves as most homogeneous parts and parcels of the parent whole of the unadulterated Universal Maiism. Nothing can be more clear on this subtlest issue as the constant expression of Maiji viz. that Mal-ism is surely Hinduism in its absolute aspect but not Hinduism alone.
After about a long period of say twenty-five years, the seeds of Mai-ism developed into much stronger roots with an unbelievable slow but steady invisible growth. The institutional conception of enlarged itself into the more disciplined advanced and staunchly devoted shape and organised form of Mai Adherents' Institute with the actual construction of Mai temples named 'Mai Viddyut' and 'Mai Kripa' at Trichur and Perintalmanna respectively, both in Kerala State. Mai-ism has Mai Adherents' Institutes in Trichur, Perintalmanna, Madras, Poona and Bombay. It is quite a happy memorable point of noting that Poona is the birthplace of Mai and Mai-ism and the first Sisters' Social. The province of Madras has its own unique reputation of staunch religiosity; and before it was subdivided with the creation of the states of Andhra and Kerala was the birth province of different Acharyas of scriptural profound learning. Bombay has been the central headquarters from where the founder transmits his spiritual messages for the propagation of Universal Mai-ism. The last but not the least is the last sweetest morsel of the mention of the Kerala State which is the real home of Mai's mother and child devotion. Kerala with its higher education and respected rights of the woman, wife and mother has been the natural home of Mai.
To return to the principal commonplace ordinary, straight route issue, wherefrom this bifurcation took place, viz. the enumeration of the celebration days. For reasons explained, Gudi Padva day is a celebration day. This day as also Dusserah day are important Hindu days as well and principal days of Chaitra and Ashvin Navaratra, Navratri being the nine days' period for the propitiation of the Hindu Mother. The former Navaratra has just after its end, the most popularly religious Ram Navami day and the latter is immediately followed by the victorious Dussehra day.
For Mai-ists, any year, for the purposes of Mai-ism devotion and activity may be generally taken from one Dusserah day to another or for them that are staunchly attached to Mai and Mai-ji both from the date of 23rd of December of one year to that of the other i. e. practically from Christmas to Christmas.
(6) As already referred to on Page 139 on "Falashruti" Friday, Saturday and Tuesday of every week and full moon days are important.
(7) Birthdays of oneself, one's parents and especially of one's mother and before one's marriage, the birthdays of one's sisters and brothers; and after marriage, the marriage day and the birthdays of one's husband or wife and children.
(8) From the viewpoint of spiritual success, the day of one's Diksha or also the day when there is spiritual illumination due to Guru Kripa or any wonderful experience, the day of the demise of one's parents, Guru, husband or wife are considered important.
(9) Days of prayers and thanks-giving for welfare and success or desire to be achieved or already achieved.
(10) Finally, most naturally enough, the days of illness and calamities, days of special grace for particular attainments, undertaken periods of Vrata or Anustan or Purashacharan i. e. vow devotional continuation period and determination to finish a certain number of mantras etc.
(11) As desired or decided by any Mai-ist, any special day with suitable programme calculated to be most welcome to, and expected to be fully participated in by all neighboring and nearest Mai-ists may also be included in the list of celebration days.
As said earlier, on all the celebration days one should remain religious, truly religious, and if one's vitality permits, observe fast, keep silence as long as possible, repeat Mai names and conduct especially in the night Mai worship. Particularly on the celebration days one must practice love, service, devotion and self-surrender.
Most religious persons, saints and sages have always repeated the truth viz., that there are times when the very same meritorious actions bear maximum fruits. There must be a fixed time, day and period for everything holy to gain the maximum benefit of self elevation, removal of calamity, poverty, misery, etc. There must be a fixed time for breaking the lethargic monotony, for refreshing and revitalizing energy. There must be a place for everything to maintain orderliness and a time for increasing discipline and personal merit. It may be casually observed that leaflets have been often printed regarding the instructions as to how to observe NAVARATRA. In Trichur, the spiritual strength consolidated during NAVARATRI fast periods has always brought victory to Mai convocations.
The above stated celebration days should be observed on similar lines to the extent of one's practicability.
MAI BLESS ALL
Thus spoke Maiji (Saint Mai Swarup Mai Markand) :-
