To: Ananda Marga Discourses <anandamargadiscourses@sunlink.net>
Subject: Ridiculous Things in Ananda Marga Books: Example
Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2014 18:34:15 +0530
BABA
Ridiculous Things in Ananda Marga Books: Example
Respected Brothers and Sisters,
Namaskar
On 18 August 1979 in Taipei, Baba has given a short and very pointed discourse on the teaching that dharma is for all human beings no matter where they live or what language they speak. (1) In that setting, He concluded with some poignant words which He has used in other discourses as well:
"So, you should always remember that dharma is for all. Though it is for those who know English, it is [also] for those who do not know English. It is for all, it is for common people just like pure water, pure air, and pure light."
Instead of writing what Baba said, the Tiljala Publishers have printed---
"So, you should always remember that dharma is for all. Though it is for those who know English, it is for those who do not know English. It is for all. It is for common people just like your worker, your dear and near ones."
For an image of the actual page from the published Ananda Vacanamritam 14, please see the scan below. (2)
This yellow phrase that dharma is for all, "just like pure water, pure air, and pure light" is a classic expression in Ananda Marga ideology. Baba has used this very phrase in two other discourses (3), and has utilized the idea in innumerable discourses. Indeed, it is part of the core of Ananda Marga teachings.
And so how unfortunate it is that our Tiljala Publishers could not recognize such a ubiquitous teaching when they heard it with their own ears on the taped recording. They have themselves printed in Ananda Vacanamrtam part 14 Publisher's Note that this discourse has been transcribed from tape. Hearing and accurately transcribing what Baba says requires regular practice and great interest. This raises the question as to why the Tiljala Publishers cannot manage accurate transcription of Baba's discourses.
And it is one thing that they could not hear accurately what Baba said; it is yet another matter that they could not recognize the inappropriateness of what they were writing and printing in Baba's name.
Regarding dharma, Baba closes this discourse by stating "It is for all, it is for common people just like pure water, pure air, and pure light."
Instead of writing what Baba said, Tiljala Publishers have printed---
"It is for all. It is for common people just like your worker, your dear and near ones."
Whereas Baba is comparing dharma to the universal elements "pure water, pure air, and pure light", the Tiljala Publishers have quoted Baba as instead likening dharma to "your worker, your dear and near ones."
It is obvious that "your worker, your dear and near ones" are not universal in the way that dharma is. Anyone having a grasp of Ananda Marga ideology would immediately recognize and be suspicious that what they thought they'd heard on the tape, must not be correct. Anyone having developed viveka in this situation would listen again and again to that portion of the tape, thinking of what other words Baba might have spoken besides "your worker, your dear and near ones." But our Tiljala Publishers did not have that viveka. They unwittingly accepted that Baba had compared the universality of dharma to "your worker, your dear and near ones." Having thus wrongly accepted this, they became completely misguided by their own lack of understanding of Ananda Marga teachings, and printed these words.
The unfortunate result is, this Tiljala Publisher's final sentence of the discourse, is a laughing stock. It is common knowledge in Ananda Marga that dharma is universal, "just like pure water, pure air, and pure light". No one can think that Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji would close a discourse comparing dharma to "your worker, your dear and near ones."
Sadly, with such balking errors our wt dadas in Tiljala Publications expose themselves as incapable of transcribing Baba's discourses. Two things are needed for proper transcription from the sound files of Baba's discourses:
1. Repeated practice listening to Baba's audios;
2. Understanding of Ananda Marga Ideology.
If they had #1--practice listening to Baba's audios--they would have been able to hear what Baba was saying.
If they had #2--understanding of Ananda Marga Ideology--they would have immediately discarded what they wrote knowing it to be inconsistent with AM teachings, and searched further,
In view of the above points, no one possessing viveka could think that Baba is comparing dharma with "your worker, your dear and near ones."
Baba says that apta vakya does not undergo metamorphosis or distortion. So if it does get changed or distorted, then it is no longer apta vakya i.e. the word of Guru. It is up to Ananda Margiis to protect our scripture and keep it "As Is"-- the word of Guru.
Baba says,
"Now in this realm of spirituality, whatever we receive, we receive directly from Him, and not through any media, and that's why the secret of spirituality is known as “ápta vákya” and not “prápta vákya”. Prápta vákyas come through different media, through different physical media, and that is why they may vary, they may undergo metamorphosis. And, due to their going through metamorphosis, they may come within the scope of relativity; they may undergo distortion. That's why these prápta vákyas or prápta vastus are not final, and these prápta vastus or prápta vákyas can not be, must not be the desiderata of human beings. The only thing that we want, that an aspirant wants from Him is the ápta vákya and this ápta vákya is guru vákya, and this guru vákya is mantramúlaḿ." (Ápta Vákya and Prápta Vákya EGD 30 November 1978 Madras AV6-01)
Will Cause Bloodshed and More Division
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.
If we remain passive onlookers and do not fix the negative trends of introducing distortion into Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrtiji's discourses and 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. 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.
Namaskar,
R. Naidu
Footnotes.
1. "Three Species of Human Being" V14-4 (E) 18 August 1979 Taipei
2. Here below is a scan of the actual page from the printed discourse in Ananda Vacanamritam 14, where the Tiljala Publishers printed that dharma is for all, "just like your worker, your dear and near ones."
3. In two other discourses Baba has directly and explicitly compared dharma with the universality of pure water, pure air, and pure light:
a) "Universality in Race, Language, Religion and Culture", A Few Problems Solved Part 6
"There should not be any inferiority or superiority complex in anybody. Those who preach individual and racial superiority are committing sins against human dharma [human spiritual nature]. Like earth, air, and water, this dharma is common to one and all."
b) "Ordinary Mortal or Divine Child?", Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 31
"There cannot be and should not be an inferiority or superiority complex in anybody. Those who preach individual racial superiority are committing sins. They are going against human Dharma. Like earth, air and water, Dharma is common to one and all."
4. Here below is the Publisher's Page showing that Tiljala Publishers openly declared they have transcribed this discourse from tape. So they cannot say they did not have the tape. They used the tape, they listened to the tape-- and even then could not listen properly, and did not have the discrimination to understand that what they wrote is inconsistent with Ananda Marga teachings.
NB For those searching the Electronic Edition for the distortion described in the above posting, please note:
The final two pages of the discourse "The Three Species of Human Being" are not in EE7.5. You will need to refer to the actual printed book "Ananda Vacanamrtam (AV) Parts 13 & 14", which came out later.
The Electronic Edition EE7.5 was published in 2009, and does not contain the latest version of the discourse "The Three Species of Human Being". The latest version of this discourse is printed in the book "AV Parts 13 & 14", published by the Tiljala Publishers in 2011. In that book, the discourse goes from page 158 to page 164. The final two pages of the discourse are not contained in EE7.5. These final two pages are listed by the Tiljala Publishers as a "Short talk by the author after the discourse". This short talk was given by Baba during the same session when He gave "The Three Species of Human Being", and is considered as a part of that discourse as per the table of contents.
Look in the book "AV Parts 13 & 14" on page 164, and you will see the final sentence of the discourse as follows:
"So, you should always remember that dharma is for all. Though it is for those who know English, it is for those who do not know English. It is for all. It is for common people just like your worker, your dear and near ones."
