From: Dr H Sharma <drhsharma@gnet...>
To: Ananda Marga Discourses <anandamargadiscourses@sunlink.net>
Subject: SS-19 DMC, MANY THINGS LEFT OUT: JUST SUMMARY
Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 02:36:34 +0530
Bábá
UPDATED NOTES ABOUT H GROUP—“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. And moreover, H group's publishing department merely reprints the distortion-laden, error-filled books made by Tiljala group, and puts their stamp on it. So they are supporting and participating in the sins of Tiljala group.”
To: Ananda Marga Discourses <anandamargadiscourses@sunlink.net>
Subject: SS-19 DMC, MANY THINGS LEFT OUT: JUST SUMMARY
Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 02:36:34 +0530
Bábá
UPDATED NOTES ABOUT H GROUP—“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. And moreover, H group's publishing department merely reprints the distortion-laden, error-filled books made by Tiljala group, and puts their stamp on it. So they are supporting and participating in the sins of Tiljala group.”
SS-19 DMC,
MANY THINGS LEFT OUT:
JUST
SUMMARY
Respected Márgii Brothers and Sisters,
Namaskár.
On 20th
November, 1966 Bábá delivered a DMC discourse titled Jiṋána
aor Vikásha (ज्ञान
और विकाश)
in Hindi. (1) The Tiljala Publishers published the discourse first in
English, in 1992; only many years later in 2011 did it get published
in the original language Hindi—and only in extremely brief,
summarized form.
In the course of preparing
any discourse for publication, an authentic, “As Is” version of
the original language discourse first needs to be made. Using that as
the original base, careful, faithful translations can then be
prepared in various languages. Such an approach has tremendous value
for all those not knowing the original language.
Instead of following such
a respectable path, the Tiljala Publishers found the discourse in an
old AMPS magazine in which it had been printed in English—and
published that. Due to the defective source, the printed discourse is
mere summary—a fraction of the size of the original—and is
reworded in the vocabulary of the Publishers.
Defective Source Used for Publication
Here is the Tiljala Publishers' Publishers Note describing the source they used for printing this discourse:
“The Real and the Unreal Knowledge”*. First published in English in Education and Culture, June 1972. Original language, date and place not identified in the magazine. English re-editing by ÁAA.
Recall that the discourse was given in Hindi—not English. And the Tiljala Publishers have the original audio recording of the Hindi discourse. Yet, instead of using the original sound source, they printed the discourse twice in two separate books—Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 19 and Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23, on the basis of what they found in the 1972 magazine.
*Published under a different title, but is the same discourse.
English Publication Mere Summary of Original Hindi
In comparison with the original discourse Bábá gave in Hindi, this so-called “translation” is a mere summary of the original. The true, original Hindi “As Is” discourse containing every word Bábá spoke, has a word count of 3842. The English version printed by the Tiljala group has a word count of 2577. So the printed English version has 1300 words less than the original Hindi Bábá spoke. That means 34% of the discourse words have been cut. This difference in word count is itself strong indication of the degree to which the discourse has been curtailed and presented in summary.
If one picks any paragraph at all from the “As Is” transcription of the original Hindi and compares it with what the Tiljala Publishers printed in English, one will find that faithful translation was not done—rather, the Publishers summarized in brief what Bábá spoke, and wrote it out in English in their own words.
Summary Means Distortion: Word of Guru Not Translated
Paragraphs to be compared in Series of Postings
The blatant rewriting and summarizing which was carried out, thus radically changing the face of this discourse, will be presented in a series of postings. Here in the first posting, two such distortions of significance shall be presented. And in subsequent postings, further entire paragraphs will be presented which illustrate the unjust rewriting and summarizing which was carried out in the name of translation.
DMC: Subject of Discourse Eliminated
The first two sentences of any discourse carry great significance because it is here that Bábá explains what He is going to discuss. In a DMC discourse, the initial sentences are even more important because Bábá formally announces the title of the discourse. Only in DMC discourses does Bábá personally name the discourse. The current discourse is a DMC discourse; Bábá announced the discourse title in the first sentence; and the Tiljala Publishers eliminated the sentence.
Here then are the first two original sentences of this important discourse. These first two sentences have never been printed anywhere.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Original First Two Sentences, in Hindi as spoken by Bábá:
आज का आलोच्य विषय है—"ज्ञान और विकाश" | आज के आलोच्य विषय के साथ, साम्प्रतिक Delhi महाचक्र का कुछ सम्पर्क है |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
These sentences carry great import, as Bábá announces the discourse subject and title. They were left out of the printed version published by Tiljala group.
Here is the translation of these sentences into English:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Translation of Original Hindi:
The subject of today's discourse is—“Knowledge and Progress.”. Today's subject and that of the recent Delhi DMC share a common theme.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Tiljala Publishers simply took what was printed in the 1972 magazine and reprinted that as the official DMC discourse. The magazine editors removed the first two sentences for the magazine, so by using that as their source the Tiljala Publishers cut the first two sentences from the official publication in Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 19. If they had listened to their original sound recording, they would have immediately realized their critical mistake.
Section of Discourse is Shallow Summary of Original
Here below is an example from the middle of the discourse where Bábá is explaining about possible sources of error in mundane knowledge. He is talking about the different reasons one may err in stating the capital of Punjab. (Lahore was the capital of Punjab until India was divided by the British in 1947 and Lahore became part of Pakistan.) Bábá explains a first source of error is that one may be reading from an old book which was made when Lahore was the capital of Punjab; this book would give you outdated information. As a second source of error, Bábá explains in the below passage that there could be a printing mistake in the book. Here below is the passage:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“As Is” Transcription of Original Hindi starts Here. Text shown in green. This section given directly by Bábá is printed in mere summary in the Tiljala English publication (shown further below in red).
अच्छा, दूसरी बात यह है क्या ? Source of knowledge में और एक प्रकार का दोष रह सकता है | मान लो printing mistake है | उसमें लिखा हुआ है—"लालोर" | तुम, लोगों से कह रहे हो कि—"लालोर is the capital of पंजाब" | और तुम एक gentleman हो | और, लोग आड़ में हँस रहे हैं कि—"देखो, क्या कह रहा है ? Educated man है, सामने तो बोल नहीं सकते हैं | मगर यह 'लालोर, लालोर' क्यों कह रहा है ?” तुम पढ़े थे "लालोर" | Due to printing mistake | तब क्या होगा ? तुम्हारी इज़्ज़त ? एकदम prestige punctured |
[बाबा मुस्कराए |]
[हँसी]
“As Is” Transcription of Original Hindi ends Here.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
These above are the exact words spoken by Bábá in Hindi. For those not knowing Hindi, this section has been translated into English below. Neither the original Hindi nor its careful, line-by-line translation have ever been published.
English translation of the “As Is” Hindi Audio Passage
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Segment of Translated “As Is” Discourse Begins Here:
And another thing—there is another sort of error that occurs due to defects in the source of knowledge. Suppose there is a printing mistake, in which it is written “Lálore” [instead of Lahore]. You are telling people that, “ Lálore is the capital of Punjab.” And you are a gentleman [i.e. a cultured person]. And around the corner people are laughing, that “Look, what is he saying! He is an educated man; I can't point him out openly. But this 'Lálore, Lálore,' why is he saying it?” Due to a printing mistake—you had read “Lálore”. So what will happen now? What will happen to your prestige? It has been completely punctured.
[Baba smiles]
[Margii Laughter]
Segment of Translated “As Is” Discourse Ends Here
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Above you have seen the original Hindi transcript of this passage, followed by its careful, line-by-line translation into English. Below is what the Tiljala Publishers printed as “translation” of this very section.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Equivalent Section printed by Tiljala Publishers Begins Here: Text shown in red. This section printed by the Tiljala group is mere summary of the actual original Hindi discourse (shown above in green).
There can be still one more flaw in the source of physical knowledge, and that is a printing mistake. Because of it you read “Lahore” as “Labore”.
These things provoke laughter in the audience.
Equivalent Section printed by Tiljala Publishers Ends Here.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A Mere Summary: By The Numbers
So we see above in green, the “As Is” transcript of the original Hindi passage Bábá spoke. That passage contains 13 sentences with 95 words. This section as printed by the Tiljala Publishers in English, here in red, contains 3 sentences, with 34 words. A 34-word section simply cannot be claimed as a “translation” of a 95-word section. It is obviously a summary.
A Mere Summary: By The Content
And if you read the original Hindi above (or if you don't know Hindi, then its translation provided in green just below it), you will see that Bábá has given a rich, colorful, in depth description of the scene in which a high-class intellectual makes a fool of himself by reading wrongly printed information (Lálore is the capital of Punjab), and claiming it to be correct in front of others. Bábá paints such a scene, that afterward when He smiles the Márgiis break out into laughter.
In contrast, the version printed by the Tiljala Publishers is an obvious summary, dryly re-written in brief. The scene is not at all described; it is merely stated that a printing mistake causes you to misread the word Lahore. Here there is complete lack of integrity in the translation. Indeed, it cannot be called “translation”, for nothing has been translated. Instead the Publishers read the Hindi passage, and wrote three sentences themselves in summary of what they understood. They did not even keep the original printing mistake given by Bábá as Lálore, changing it instead to Labore for no reason at all.
What is Faithful Translation
Faithful translation means there should be a clear, sentence-by-sentence thread in which a reader knowing both languages can easily see and follow along with the translation of each sentence. Then only can one say that the reader is actually reading the words of Guru in translation.
Faithful Translation Not Followed
In this discourse, the technique of faithful translation has been thrown to the wind. The above example demonstrates lack of any sentence-by-sentence technique. There has been no attempt to follow the structure and content given by Bábá in Hindi and to reproduced it as closely as possible in English. The Publishers have summarized in three brief sentences what Bábá has given in thirteen.
Rewriting / Summarizing the Discourses of Guru
And Calling it “Translation”: Must Not Be Done
It is said that mantramulam guruvákyam i.e., every word of the Guru is verily a mantra and serves to guide sádhakas for all time to come. The most pure adherence to this principle is attained by publishing “As Is”, in the original language. Yet the principle remains vital to successful translation as well. Márgiis the world over read Bábá's Hindi discourses in English as well as other languages. These translations must be done applying a careful sentence-by-sentence technique which demonstrates clear, consistent correlation between what Bábá spoke and what is translated. Then only can it be said that mantramulam guruvákyam has been adhered to.
In this discourse, Jiṋána aor Vikásha, in the English publication every single paragraph is rewritten, and there is no adherence to the sentence flow and structure as given by Bábá. Moreover, most of the paragraphs are presented in drastic summary—as seen in the above example with the printing mistake of the word Lahore.
Improper Scripture Leads to Division
Bábá has explained how the lack of any shástra given directly by the Buddha led to disagreement among His followers as to what the Buddha's teachings were. That in turn led to schism among the ranks and ultimate division into hundreds of Buddhist sects each with their own beliefs as to what Buddha's teachings really are.
In this connection Bábá says, "One important thing has to be mentioned. Buddhism, three hundred years after the death of Buddha, was clearly divided into two groups, (A) Mahásaḿghik, and (B) Sthavirvádii or Theravádii." (2)
So we Ánanda Márgiis should understand that if we allow our scripture to remain distorted, that distorted scripture will be the cause of more and more division and splintering among Ánanda Márgiis—as it has been with every religion of the world.
Distorted Scripture is the Cause of Schism
Proper Scripture is the Cause of Unity
In the religions of the world, long after, sometimes hundreds of years after a seer or sage—Christ, Buddha, Mohammad—left the world, their followers wrote down what they thought He said. And there was disagreement about it, which only flourished and caused division into sects. Bábá's shástra is different from that of the religions of the world because He has Himself dictated it. And yet despite this, the same schisms as happened in the religions, will go on escalating in Ánanda Márga as well if we do not clean our shástra.
Division into sects has happened with every religious and spiritual movement in the history of humanity. THE difference in Ánanda Márga is that Bábá is Táraka Brahma and He has dictated His own scripture. But that has to be protected from distortion or it will lose its functional value. It is the duty of Ánanda Márgiis throughout the world to see to it that our Ánanda Márga shástra remains intact, pure, flawless. It is the cause of our unity for ages to come.
At His Lotus Feet,
Dr. Harihar Sharma
Footnotes.
1. “Knowledge and Progress”, Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 19, 1992.
Published as “The Real and the Unreal Knowledge” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 23, Tiljala, 1994.
2. The Pervasive Influence of Shiva (Discourse 4). 9 May 1982, Calcutta.
3. Click here to view a scan of the two printings of this discourse by Tiljala Publishers, each with the drastically summarized second point on “Lahore” highlighted in red. Relevant history is also presented on this blog page.
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.
