Sunday, October 13, 2013

Another Distortion in English Book: Ltr #4


From: Bhakti <bhakti@ren....>
To: <anandamargadiscourses@sunlink.net>
Subject: Another Distortion in English Book: Ltr #4
Date: Sun, 13 Oct 2013 09:11:53 +0530



Bábá Náma Kevalam

Another Distortion in English Book: Ltr #4

Still Another Paragraph Omitted from AV Part 12

Namaskár brothers and sisters,

This article is the fourth of a series about the discourse “Towards the Noumenal Entity,” delivered by Bábá on 8th June 1979, and published in the highly touted 2008 edition of Ánanda Vacanámrtam part 12. In the previous articles, the following concerns were raised vis-a-vis the original Hindi discourse as spoken by Bábá compared with the English version published by Tiljala group:
  1. Words that were seriously mistranslated;
  2. Paragraphs that were merely summarized rather than translated;
  3. Paragraphs that were left out altogether.
In this article, another paragraph from Bábá's original discourse that was completely omitted from Tiljala group's published English version is discussed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Section 1. The Missing Text

A very important section of this discourse has been omitted by the Tiljala Publishers, and that is the focus of this article.

Please note that the As-Is text has been transcribed very carefully. The portion in red was discarded by the Tiljala Publishers and has never been printed in any AMPS publication.

Here below then is a portion of the discourse given directly by Lord Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrtiji during the Evening General Darshan on 8th June, 1979 in Mumbai. This is Hindi text from the transcribed As-Is discourse.

यह सम्पूर्ण रूपेण अभ्यन्तरीण अग्रगतिहै |

और, इसीलिए मैंने कहा कि—अग्रगति मनुष्य की जागतिक में, अर्थात्‌ शारीरिक स्तर में, मानसिक स्तर में हो ही नहीं सकती है | क्यों ? , वहाँ phenomenal जो है, उसके पीछे noumenal भी चलनेवाला, हिलनेवाला है | आज है कल नहीं रहेगा; अभी सुख है, थोड़ा बाद नहीं रहेगा | किन्तु जो movement है towards the आत्मन्‌, वहाँ क्या होता है ? , वहाँ उसका जो चक्रनाभि वह हिलनेवाली चीज़ नहीं है | इसलिए उस क्षेत्र में मनुष्य की जो अग्रगति होती है, वह स्थाई अग्रगति है |

End of Portion of Original Hindi Discourse, omitted by Tiljala Publishers.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(section 2 starts here)

Section 2.

Translated Portion of Original Hindi Discourse, omitted by Tiljala Publishers.

The following text has been translated from the above displayed As-Is transcript of the Hindi which Bábá directly spoke. Please note that our Tiljala Publishers omitted this text. Here then is the missing paragraph, shown translated into English as it should have been printed in AV12.

The below translated text is again colored red to show that it corresponds to the red-colored Hindi text shown above in section 1.

It is completely introversively directed, progress.

And that is why I said that – progress of humans in mundane, meaning physical and mental level, cannot happen. Why? Here the noumenal cause behind the phenomenal is also mobile, non-stationary. Today it [noumenal entity behind phenomenal entity in physical and mental level] is there, tomorrow it will not remain; today there is happiness after some time it will not be there. But this movement towards the Átman, there what happens? There the nucleus or goal of movement is not a mobile thing. Thus, the progress in that area [movement towards Átman or dharmasádhaná] is the permanent progress.

End of English translation of As-Is Hindi section, omitted by Tiljala Publishers from the discourse.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(section 3 starts here)

Section 3. Original As-Is Discourse Section w/ Sentence-by-Sentence Translation (Omitted From AV12, Tiljala Edition)

Here below is the very section given by Lord Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrtiji during the Evening General Darshan on 8th June, 1979 in Mumbai. It was discarded by the Tiljala Publishers and has never been printed in any AMPS publication. It is shown below in the original Hindi which Bábá actually spoke, with sentence-by-sentence translation to English for the convenience of the non-Hindi speaking brothers and sisters. Here I have also written some informational notes to highlight important aspects of the missing text. These are marked as [Explanation].

The As-Is text written below in Devanagari script is again colored red to show that it corresponds to the red-colored paragraphs above in sections 1 & 2 which you already read.

यह सम्पूर्ण रूपेण अभ्यन्तरीण अग्रगति है |

और, इसीलिए मैंने कहा कि—अग्रगति मनुष्य की जागतिक में, अर्थात्‌ शारीरिक स्तर में, मानसिक स्तर में हो ही नहीं सकती है |"

[Translation]
And that is why I said that – progress of humans in mundane, meaning physical and mental level, cannot happen.”

[Explanation]
Bábá says here that any movement towards mundane things cannot be called progress. In human life, progress can only happen when movement is towards Paramátmá. It is said by Bábá that not doing sádhaná not only stops one’s movement towards Paramátmá but also regresses one backward to crude matter (please see footnote 1). So, no movement towards physical and mental level can lead to progress of humans.

क्यों ? , वहाँ phenomenal जो है, उसके पीछे noumenal भी चलनेवाला, हिलनेवाला है |

[Translation]
Why? Here the noumenal cause behind the phenomenal is also mobile, non-stationary.

[Explanation]
Here Bábá is giving the reason behind the fact that any movement towards the mundane cannot lead to progress. The reason is that the noumenal cause behind such a movement towards the mundane is also itself mundane and thus bound by time place and person. Such is the transient nature of mundane objects that they are mobile and non-stationary. If the cause (noumenal entity) of one’s movement is not great and impeccable (i.e., Parámátmá) then that movement will not lead one to greatness. This will thus not lead to progress.

आज है कल नहीं रहेगा; अभी सुख है, थोड़ा बाद नहीं रहेगा |

[Translation]
Today it [noumenal entity behind phenomenal entity in physical and mental level] is there, tomorrow it will not remain; today there is happiness, after some time it will not be there.

[Explanation]
The desires which guide movement in physical or mental level are very fickle, very changeable. Bábá is telling such a movement is bound by time, place, and person as it[noumenal entity behind phenomenal entity in physical and mental level] may exist today but may vanish tomorrow. Let us suppose someone aspires to purchase a certain very costly house, or to marry a particular person. After buying the house, then after some time the mind gets bored of the house and wants a different one; and after marrying finds that the person one married is prone to fighting all the time due to which the mind begins to consider divorce. In this way the mental causes of desire in one's mind do not remain the same. What the mind wants on the psychic and physical plane is constantly changing. The toy which satisfied you at the age of four, no longer satisfied you at the age of twelve; minds desires changed. And the games you liked playing at age twelve, you no longer wish to play at age forty. In this way, noumenal causes of minds desires in physical and mental plane constantly change, and due to this happiness (sukha) does not remain. This concept applies to all mundane pursuits like reputation, worldly relations, worldly knowledge, etc: one day they make one happy, the next day they no longer do.

किन्तु जो movement है towards the आत्मन्‌, वहाँ क्या होता है ? , वहाँ उसका जो चक्रनाभि वह हिलनेवाली चीज़ नहीं है |

[Translation]
But this movement towards the Átman, there what happens? There the nucleus is not a mobile thing.

[Explanation]
The actions taken by someone to move towards Átman known as dharma sádhaná leads to his progress. This is because Átman is a fixed entity unlike mundane entities. One may lose his physical body but Átman is never destroyed. Átman is nitya.

इसलिए उस क्षेत्र में मनुष्य की जो अग्रगति होती है, वह स्थाई अग्रगति है |

[Translation]
Thus, the progress in that area [movement towards Átman or dharmasádhaná] is the permanent progress.

[Explanation]
In this whole world which is largely transient or impermanent (anitya) the only permanent entity is Átman. Thus any action performed by taking Átman as noumenal entity is an action that will result in permanent progress.

End of Translation of Section of As-Is Discourse Omitted From AV12, Tiljala Edition
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Conclusion

In this article, a serious omission in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 12 published by AMPS is brought to the notice of general Márgiis. In this omitted section, Bábá is presenting this profound truth about impermanence and the recipe for permanent progress hardly explained ever before in such a short number of simple words. When humans live their lives they keep doing actions or karma, whether they want to or not. Every karma leads to a movement. Bábá is clearly classifying the actions performed by humans into two categories: First, those that will lead to degeneration; Second, those that will lead to permanent progress. The actions directed towards physical and mental level or mundane noumenal entity will lead to guaranteed degeneration. The actions directed towards Átman (i.e., dharma-sádhaná) leads to permanent progress, as Átman is itself the only permanent entity. Thus, Bábá is giving this simple formula for success that one should engage only in those actions that are aligned with dharma-sádhaná. By removing this paragraph, AMPS publishers have stripped the discourse of this great teaching.

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. From Bhakti Bhaktasya Jivanam, DMC 10thDecember 1966, Gorakhpur

तो, कहा गया है कि ‘भक्ति भक्तस्य जीवनम्‌’ | जो परमात्मा की ओर साधना करके आगे बढ़ते हैं, वे ही हैं भक्त | और, कहा गया कि भक्ति ही उनका क्या है ? , जीवन है | क्यों ? , वे अगर भक्तिमान नहीं हुए, तो उस दशा में क्या होगा ? , वे metazoic structure की तरफ़ पीछे की ओर चलेंगे | अथवा protozoic structure की ओर चलेंगे |अथवा crude matter की ओर चलेंगे | तो, उसमें होगा क्या ? उसका तो अन्त हो गया | उसका तो ख़ातमा हो गया |तो, जीवन नाश हो गया | तो, साधना नहीं करने का अर्थ क्या है ? , ख़ुदकुशी करना |”

[Translation]
So, it is said that “bhakti bhaktasya jiivanam” [Devotion is the life of a devotee]. They only are devotees, who move towards Paramátmá by doing sádhaná. And it is said that devotion is their what? It is their very life. Why? If sádhakas are not devotional, then what will happen in that situation? They will move backwards, to become a metozoic structure. Or they will move towards a protozoic structure. Or they will move towards becoming crude matter. So, by that what will happen? Their human existence comes to end; they are finished. Their life is destroyed. So, not doing sádhaná means what? It is suicide.

2. Click here to view a scan of the fifth page of this discourse as published by the Kolkata group—with a red rectangle marking where the missing paragraph should have been printed. The paragraph was spoken by Bábá in his original Hindi discourse, but discarded by the Kolkata Publishers in the published version.

3. “Towards the Noumenal Entity.” 8 June 1979 evening, Bombay.

In this Hindi discourse delivered by Bábá in Mumbai, Bábápresented 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). The 2008 edition is highly touted as having been checked, revised, and upgraded by Ác. Sarvátmánanda Avt. There are a large number of deviations in this English translation, from the original discourse given by Bábá.

First publishedin Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 12 in 1980. It 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.

4.Removing Paragraphs From Discourse Leads to Chaos

Kolkata Publications has in this discourse removed a paragraph from the middle. Think of the discourse as consisting of three sections: the beginning section (section A), the middle section (section B), and the last section (section C). All the sections work together to produce the message Bábá intends. And each section depends on the one before and after to complete its meaning. In this discourse, the Kolkata Publishers have removed section B, and pushed section A and C together. Because of the lack of section B, neither A nor C are clear. They were meant to be understood in the setting of section B.

5.Soul of Unique 1979 Mumbai Discourse Crushed Due to Distortion

In this discourse, Bábá is talking about how all the action that we see happening around in the palpable world is centered at the Cosmic nucleus, known as Supra-Noumenal Entity. In this highly intricate system, each entity has a causal relationship with some other entity, excepting the Supra-Noumenal Entity. The Supra-Noumenal Entity has no cause but is the cause of everything else.

This causal hierarchy existing in the universe is very complex and Bábá has explained that using a very simple and affectionate style. In the original Hindi discourse, Bábá is directly addressing devotees at a number of places and is giving simple yet profound examples. In the translated English version of the discourse published by our Tiljala Publishers, such direct address and examples given by Bábá are completely eliminated. This has crushed the soul of the discourse.

-----------------------------

Quotes From Previous Posts

It is regrettable that H and EC groups have no interest in Bábá’s discourses, otherwise they would have become active in publishing them from the original sound track instead of merely reprinting the books which the Tiljala group publishes. The distortions introduced by Tiljala group in their publications of Bábá’s discourses are errors of commissional in nature. But let none make the mistake of thinking that H and EC groups are innocent here; by their failure to take interest in publishing Bábá’s original discourses, they demonstrate a lethargy toward Bábá’s shástra which is highly condemnable. H and EC groups’ failure to publish Bábá’s original discourses is a failure of omission. The omissional error of H and EC is every bit as serious as the commissional errors of Tiljala group.”


From the Moderators—

Moderators Note 1.

Fix Bábá's Discourses Now or Never

If we remain passive onlookers and do not fix the negative trends of introducing distortion into Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrtiji's discourses—if we do not bring the printed discourses up to the proper standard now—it will become impossible to change this in the future. And even if in future some sincere Ánanda Márgiis will try, they will be treated as enemies. Because this is the way religion works: Today one cannot teach the devotees of Lord Krśńa that He has nothing to do with cows; they will never believe it. In the same way, Ánanda Márgiis will become used to the wrong teachings in our AM books and they will not like to give them up. They will think that whatever was there at the end of the twentieth century, that was the gold standard for all time. And it should be kept and maintained.

Ánanda Má́rga is dharma—not religion—but we will face the same opposition from within to change, when wrong teachings get established.

So we don't have any time: it is either now or never. The clock is ticking: If we do not get Bábá's discourses fixed now, it will be impossible to do so later. And that will cause bloodshed and more division on the basis of the various versions of Bábá's teachings and their explanations. History bears testimony to this, that all the religions have similarly broken into multiple factions, groups and subgroups on the basis of differences in scripture interpretations. Bábá wanted to eliminate such problems, and that is why Bábá's discourses are recorded. But unfortunately, those recordings are not being published properly. This matter is very serious.


Moderators Note 2.

Request for Volunteers

We make a special request for volunteers to help in this work of producing and reviewing the “as is” discourses. Márgii volunteers are needed from all countries around the world, to help with translating the “as is” discourses into the various languages, and also to help with translating postings about distortions so that all Márgiis around the world can be made aware. Comparing the “as is” discourses to the discourses published by our AMPS is a big job, and help here is also needed. We welcome a hand from any and all who are inspired and interested to serve in the protection of the discourses of Lord Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrtiji.

Moderators Note 3:

Need for Audio Recordings

In order to produce “As Is” discourses, there is a need for audio cassettes of Bábá's discourses. These are treated with the utmost of care as we do the job for which the recordings were made: discourse transcription. So any who have recordings of Bábá's discourses are encouraged to contact us in order to get the recording transcribed in “As Is” fashion.


Moderators Note 4:

Only Goal of Ánanda Má́rga Discourses Network:

To Protect Bábá's Discourses

This Ánanda Má́rga Discourses Network does not have any agenda against any group. Its only goal is to repair and protect Lord Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrtiji's holy discourses so they will remain for the present and future humanity.