Distortion in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 12: Part-B Misinterpretation of “Speaker of Truth” as “Virtuous”

Moderators' Note: H and EC groups do not publish their own original books but rather only reprint the books which the Tiljala group publishes. Because of this, H and EC groups are not considered responsible for the below-discussed distortion. For this reason only our Tiljala Publishers' work is being discussed here. In the future if H and EC groups commit similar mistakes, they will also be held responsible.

From: Bhakti <bhakti@ren....>
To: ananda-marga-discourses-2@yogasamsthanam.net
Subject: Distortion in ÁV 12: Misinterpretation of “Speaker of Truth” as “Virtuous”
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 22:30:51 +0530 (13:00 EDT)

Bábá Náma Kevalam

Distortion in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 12: Part-B

Misinterpretation of “Speaker of Truth” as “Virtuous”

Namaskár brothers and sisters,

On 8th June of the year 1979, Bábá delivered a Hindi discourse in Mumbai . (1) In this discourse, Bábá presented a very intricate devotional topic in a simple to understand style. The original Hindi discourse given by Bábá was never published. AMPS Publishers translated this discourse into English and published it in Ánanda Vacanámrtam part 12 (henceforth, referred to as AV12), first in 1980 and then in a highly touted second edition in 2008. (2) There are a large number of deviations in this English translation from the original discourse given by Bábá.

This article is the second of a series in which each of the deviations will be analyzed and presented to Ánanda Márgiis across the globe. Some of the deviations are of extremely serious nature and completely mar the essence of Bábá’s teachings.


Bábá Originally Said Satyavádii (Speaker of Truth): Publishers Interpreted As “Virtuous”

In His original spoken discourse Bábá used the word satyavádii,which means “one who speaks truth.” AMPS publishers have incorrectly interpreted this Hindi word, translating it as “virtuous.”


Usage in the Context of the Discourse

In this discourse, Bábá is explaining that to know the real cause behind anything one has to get to the original cause. Otherwise in the phenomenal world we see so many apparent causes, but behind them there is something deeper. Along this very line, the ultimate teaching of the discourse is that to realize Parama Puruśa one has to move behind all the apparent causes to that true controlling nucleus, the Noumenal Entity—the ultimate cause behind all causes.

And to illustrate this, Bábá gives the example of pápa or sin: there are so many sorts of sin in the world—but behind them there is one ultimate sin which is the fundamental cause of all the others. (3) And that fundamental sin is mithyácára, or falseness in conduct. In this very setting Bábá then gives the example of thievery: if a thief gives up telling lies, he will have to give up stealing altogether. Because, falsehood is the root cause of stealing.

The relevant portion of Bábá’s As-Is Hindi discourse is provided here for reference. This is the exact transcription from the recording of Bábá's discourse—

[Green means text transcribed directly “As Is” from the sound recording, as well its direct translation into English.]

“चोर अगर मिथ्या बोलना छोड़ दिए, तो चोरी भी छोड़नी पड़ेगी | क्योंकि चोरी करने के बाद जब लोग उनको पकड़ लेंगे, वह अगर सत्यवादी है तो, वह कहेगा—"हाँ मैंने चोरी की"; तब तो चोरी ही छोड़ना पड़ेगा | इसलिए लोग कहते हैं कि—"चोर में दो ‘गुण’ नहीं रहना चाहिए |" एक, क्या ? न, सच नहीं बोलना चाहिए | सच बोलने से ही चोरी छोड़नी पड़ेगी | और, चोर में और-एक दोष नहीं रहना चाहिए | वह क्या ? न, खाँसी की बीमारी नहीं रहनी चाहिए |”

[हँसी]

For those who cannot read Hindi, the meaning of the above sentences in English is as follows. Here I have translated in a very careful, literal way so readers will understand the exact meaning of what Bábá has stated :

“If a thief shuns speaking falsehood then he has to leave stealing too. Because after stealing, when other people nab the thief, if he is a speaker of truth (satyavádii) then he will say – ‘yes I stole’; so then he will have to quit stealing. For this reason it is said that there are two “qualities” thieves should not possess—first, he should not speak the truth, because if he speaks the truth he will have to give up stealing. And there is another defect that a thief should not possess. What is that? He should not have a cough.”

[Má́rgii laughter]

In the above passage, Bábá is explaining that the root cause behind the sin of stealing, is that of not speaking the truth. If one speaks the truth, one will have to give up stealing. So here the operative term is that of speaking the truth, versus speaking lies. If one speaks the truth, one cannot be a thief; in order to be a successful thief one has to be a successful liar first.


How Tiljala Publishers Distorted the Passage

Violet color means text published by Tiljala group.
Red color means distortion in text published by Tiljala group.

Now let us see how the Tiljala AMPS Publishers interpreted the above passage. Here is how they translated and printed it in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 12:

“If a thief shuns falsehood, the base of all vices, he will also have to give up stealing, because people will catch him. If he is virtuous, then he will admit his guilt and will have to give up stealing.”

Usage of the word virtuous is destroying the true meaning of what Bábá is telling. This distortion is confusing as well as misleading. The word Bábá uses is satyavádii i.e. speaker of truth; but the Tiljala Publishers wrongly translated it as virtuous. The Tiljala Publishers have equated being virtuous with shunning falsehood. They are not the same thing—to equate them distorts Bábá's fundamental teaching here.


Satyavádii And “Virtuous” Are Not Interchangeable

Satyavádii means “speaker of truth”. Bábá is explaining in this discourse that the root cause of all sin is mithyácára i.e. falsehood. The critical cause of all worldly pápa is thinking and speaking falsehood. Those who are satyavádii i.e. speakers of truth, cannot engage in the other various types of worldly sin because speaking lies is the root cause of all worldly sin.

Whereas the Tiljala Publishers have translated satyavádii as “virtuous”. Ánanda Má́rgiis know from Bábá's teachings that there are various positive qualities, and they are not all the same i.e. cannot be simply interchanged as synonyms. Virtue or puńya means paropakára i.e. helping others, acting for the welfare of others. Someone may be feeding food to the homeless, and that is puńya i.e. a virtuous act. But it is not to be equated with speaking the truth. To confuse these two separate ideas and muddle them together distorts Bábá's central teaching in this discourse.

Bábá has explained that mithyácára i.e. falsehood or lack of speaking the truth, is the root cause of worldly sin such as thievery. Bábá has not mentioned virtue in this context, which is a different concept. To introduce this term “virtuous” out of the blue as a translation of satyavádii i.e. speaking the truth, distorts the discourse and misguides readers.


Another Perspective on The Serious Error In Translating Satyavádii As “Virtuous”

Bábá is taking an example of a thief who is also speaking truth (let us say he is compelled to speak truth -- not because of some ádarsha). For the sake of argument this may happen at least once. When the thief is nabbed then he has to admit to his crime as he is compelled to speak truth due to him being satyavádii. On the other hand the “virtuous” by definition cannot steal even once -- even for the sake of argument. And that is
precisely why Bábá has not used such an example.


Conclusion

In this article, a distortion in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 12 published by AMPS is brought to the notice of general Márgiis. In the distorted text, “virtuous” is used in place of the word satyavádii,speaker of truth. Bábá is logically and in humorous style giving the teaching that if a thief shuns falsehood he will become a speaker of truth. A speaker of truth will not be able to defend himself after stealing. Thus, by shunning falsehood a thief has to shun stealing too. And so indeed by this we understand that falsehood is a root cause of stealing. But the Tiljala AMPS publishers have distorted the text to say that “if a thief is virtuous then he will admit his guilt.” Lack of virtue has not been given by Bábá as the root cause of stealing; speaking falsehood has. To confuse the two represents serious distortion of the discourse of Lord Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrtiji.

The example given by Bábá is simple to understand and humorously presented. By distorting the phrase “speaker of truth” and changing it to “virtuous”, the Tiljala Publishers have marred the meaning.

As Ánanda Márgiis it is our duty to understand, appreciate, internalize, and propagate Bábá’s true teachings. In order to fulfill this duty, that Ánanda Má́rga scripture which we study and propagate, has to be proper. If our scripture itself is distorted, then what we learn and propagate will itself be distorted. So when we see that our shástra is indeed full of errors introduced by our Publishers, then it becomes our duty to point this out and put pressure to get our books fixed. This will prevent people from getting misguided and thereby true pracára of Bábá’s teachings can take place.

Sincerely,
Bhakti

Footnotes.

1.”Towards the Noumenal Entity.” Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 12. 8 June 1979 evening, Bombay.

2. The 2008 edition is highly touted as having been checked, revised, and upgraded by Ác. Sarvátmánanda Avt. Yet there are a large number of deviations in this English translation, from the original discourse given by Bábá.

First published in Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 12 in 1980, this text was republished in 2008 as part of a much celebrated project taken on by a special NY and Berlin Sector team in the Kolkata Publishing Department; Kirit ji was a member of this overseas team. Despite the involvement of this senior team and the supervision of Ác. Sarvátmánanda Avt, the new 2008 edition is afflicted with numerous distortions and flagrantly missing text.

3. Bábá explains that pápa does not have anything to do with not following the do's and don'ts of a particular religion or religious text. Rather, pápa means doing actions which harm others. Baba says, “What is pápa? Paropakárah puńyáya pápáya parapiid́ańam. Any action that leads to one’s physical, psychic and spiritual well-being is called punya or a virtuous deed; and any action which leads to one’s physical, psychic and spiritual degeneration is called pápa or sin.” Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life in a Nutshell Part 10 . “Vaedhii Bhakti and Shuddhá Bhakti .”

4. Click here to view a scan of the concerning portion of the discourse as published by the Kolkata group—with the distorted term underlined in red.


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