Wrong and Dogmatic Photo on AM Book Cover

From: Surabhi Mukherji <s.mukherji21@computech....>
To: Ananda Marga Discourses <anandamargadiscourses@sunlink.net>
Subject: Wrong and Dogmatic Photo on AM Book Cover
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 09:51:24 +0530 (IST)

BABA

Wrong and Dogmatic Photo on AM Book Cover

Namaskar,

The Ananda Marga "Namah Shiváya Shántáya" (NSS) book is one of the foundational texts of our ideology. It is given by Baba as part of our "dharma shastra"-- which consists of Subhasita Samgraha, Ananda Vacanamrtam, Namami Krsna Sundarama, and Namah Shiváya Shántáya. So NSS has tremendous importance.

In view of this it is shocking and unfortunate that the cover of the printed book NSS has for many years been an ideological blunder.

Dogmatic Hindu Depiction of Lord Shiva Is Used

The cover of a book is a representation of what it contains: A cookbook will depict food on the cover; a book on ecology will have nature scenes on the cover. In this way, our book on Lord Shiva contains a picture of Lord Shiva. But it is so unfortunate that a dogmatic Hindu depiction of Lord Shiva was used, due to which Shivaji is pictured in a wrong posture which Baba forbids.

Baba says, "Padmásana is the posture of sitting with the right ankle over the lift thigh and the left ankle over the right thigh, the tongue pushing the teeth out. In padmásana alone, the vision can be fixed on trikuti – the middle point between the eyebrows. Just as the lotus blossoms forth in water, so also in this posture the mind tends to evolve. That is why this posture is termed padmásana (padma – lotus, ásana – posture). This is the best ásana for meditation. Persons with shorter legs experience difficulty in padmásana. Sádhaná is directing the mind towards expansion and padmásana does help the same." (Táttvika Diipiká Ánanda Púrńimá 1957)

Legs Are Portrayed in the Opposite Arrangement

See the below picture, and you will note that the legs are portrayed in the opposite arrangement from what Baba directs. All Ananda Margis sit in Padmasana using the arrangement Baba has taught. Lord Shiva is Taraka Brahma and the representation of dharma itself. Why should we publish a book which portrays Lord Shiva in a dogmatic Hindu posture? The book cover is a representation of what the book contains: If the cover is dogmatic, then readers can expect that the contents will also be dogmatic. So it goes completely against Ananda Marga ideology to print such a nasty dogmatic photo which makes it appear as though the book contents are also dogmatic.

Please see the Namah Shiváya Shántáya book cover below, and note how Lord Shiva is sitting:

This above is the scan copy of the Ananda Marga NSS book cover from our Tiljala Publications.

Please pay attention to the arrangement of Lord Shiva's legs, which is wrong. That is the topic of this posting: In the photo, the legs are displayed in an incorrect way.

Just The Opposite of How Baba Instructs Padmásana

Baba says that in Padmásana the right ankle should be lifted first so it goes over the lift thigh, and then the left ankle is lifted to cross over the right leg and right thigh. But look carefully at the above picture, and see how Lord Shiva is sitting. First the left ankle is lifted onto the right thigh, and then the right ankle is lifted to cross over the left leg and left thigh. That is just the opposite of how Baba instructs Padmásana is to be done! So this is a great ideological blunder. Padmásana is an integral part of our Ananda Marga sádhaná, and Lord Shiva would never go against this timeless guideline. But in the dogmatic Hindu tradition that is how He is usually pictured. And our Tiljala Publications adopted just such a dogmatic depiction for the cover of NSS book. This is completely unacceptable.

Showing Lord Shiva in an Adharmic Posture

The NSS English version (1995) was the first to be printed with this dogmatic photo. When it came out, Márgiis protested and opposed the dogmatic depiction of Lord Shiva. But the Tiljala Publishers ignored Márgiis' concerns, and went on to print the NSS Hindi (1996) and NSS Bengali (2000) with the same dogmatic depiction of Lord Shiva, showing Him in an adharmic posture.

So this is one very serious matter, that when an adhármic distortion of Lord Shiva's image is printed on our AM NSS book cover and it is brought to the attention of our Tiljala Publishers, even then they do not care enough to rectify the matter. Even if they could not reprint the English edition but the matter was brought up prior to the Hindi and Bengali editions. So the book cover could easily have been corrected for those editions. Our Tiljala Publications' failure to make this correction is indicative of a non-caring and brazen attitude which is wholly inappropriate for publishers of our dharma shastra.

Namaskar,
Surabhi Mukherji

Example: Distortion in Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 34

From: Jyotiisha Bujosa <jbujosa@qmul...>
To: Ananda Marga Discourses <anandamargadiscourses@sunlink.net>
Subject: Example: Distortion in Ananda Vacanamrtam Part 34
Date: Sat 20 Dec 2014 10:32:45 +0000

BABA

Example: Distortion in Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 34

Namaskar,

1. The discourse "Revolt Against Dogma" was given by Baba in Kolkata in 1981. It is published in Ánanda Vacanámrtam part 34.

2. Now first see what Baba actually said on that occasion:

“For [the] devotional approach, nothing external is required; nothing external is required to be done. And the supreme apex of this true spirit of devotionalism is Ánanda Márga. And because it is the supreme pinnacle of devotional approach, you should remember that victory is yours, because Parama Purus'a is cent per cent yours.”

Again please see, and pay special attention to the red section, which has been removed by our Tiljala Publishers:

"For the devotional approach, nothing external is required; nothing external is required to be done. And the supreme apex of this true spirit of devotionalism is Ánanda Márga. And because it is the supreme pinnacle of devotional approach, you should remember that victory is yours, because Parama Purus'a is cent per cent yours."

3. Now see here how our Tiljala Publishers printed this section in Ánanda Vacanámrtam part 34 of Baba’s books:

“For the devotional approach, nothing external is required; nothing external is required to be done.(5) And because it is the supreme pinnacle of devotional approach, you should remember that it is yours, because Parama Puruśa is cent per cent yours.”

4. So see the above para, how our Tiljala Publishers removed Baba’s original words, that is, the following portion which is highlighted in red: And the supreme apex of this true spirit of devotionalism is Ánanda Márga.

Why Sentence Removed

Why was this sentence removed by our Tiljala Publishers? The reason is quite obvious. They are ashamed and embarrassed to publicly highlight Ánanda Márga philosophy as being the height of spirituality. They are too concerned about what others will think. So they deleted that section.

The unfortunate fact here is that our Tiljala Publishers felt it was an outrageous statement that Ánanda Márga philosophy is the culmination of spirituality, so they left out the sentence altogether. In the same way, some cowards do not like to hear people say that Shrii Shrii Ánandamurti jii is Parama Purus'a.

And in the same way our Tiljala Publishers think, "What will non-Márgiis say when they read these things like-- And the supreme apex of this true spirit of devotionalism is Ánanda Márga."  So, they leave out such points wherever found in the discourses. The present case is one such example.

THEIR READY-MADE EXCUSE

There is one other very important thing you must know about this entire situation. Our Tiljala Publishers have incorporated one ready-made excuse into their plan. If anyone raises this matter with them and asks why certain key words are missing, then our Tiljala Publishers will say, “It was inaudible on the original cassette.” This is what our Tiljala Publishers repeat.

Here then is the “As Is” version of that section of Guru’s discourse again--

“For [the] devotional approach, nothing external is required; nothing external is required to be done. And the supreme apex of this true spirit of devotionalism is Ánanda Márga. And because it is the supreme pinnacle of devotional approach, you should remember that victory is yours, because Parama Purus'a is cent per cent yours.”

Again please see the above para, and pay special attention to the red section, which has been removed by our Tiljala Publishers

Ánanda Márga Scripture Not Being Protected

Therefore Responsibility Falls to Ánanda Má́rgiis

Bábá says, “The scriptures containing spiritual injunctions must be totally flawless.” (Namah Shiváya Shántáya, Disc: 14) So as Ánanda Márgiis, we must take this very seriously and work together to make the printed version of Bábá's discourses perfect. By such examples as the above, it becomes clear we cannot merely sit back and expect that with time the Tiljala Publishers will fix everything.

Thirty three years have passed since 1981, with no sign of fixing the discourses going on. The Tiljala group whatever they spend all their time and resources on these days, if instead they had utilized these in fixing Bábá's discourses, then their efforts would have been worthwhile. When our Publishers are not fixing the discourses, then it falls upon Ánanda Má́rgiis to come forward, create pressure for change, and help in the rectification of our scripture.

Namaskar,
Jyotiisha

Distortion: English Version Ruined, EE7.5

From: Ramkumar <rkumar@rangenet...>
To: Ananda Marga Discourses <anandamargadiscourses@sunlink.net>
Subject: Distortion: English Version Ruined, EE7.5
Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2014 13:41:26 +0530

Bábá
 

Distortion: English Version Ruined, EE7.5

Dear Márgii Brothers and Sisters,
Namaskar

(a) The discourse Rudra Gotra was originally given by Bábá in Hindi in Ranchi on 26 May 1969. The English translation of this discourse was published  by Tiljala Publications in their Electronic Edition 7.5 (EE7.5) in 2009.

(b) Now, for all concerned Ánanda Márgiis, we compare the English version printed by Tiljala Publications in EE7.5 with the "As-Is" Hindi transcription of Bábá's original sound file of this Hindi discourse.

(c) The below scanned text in English is how Tiljala Publications published the final section (1) of the discourse in the EE7.5. That is followed by scans of the "As-Is" Hindi version. Anyone can easily see that the "As-Is" Hindi version ​is over four times as long the printed English version. It is evident that those in Tiljala Publications did not do a proper comprehensive translation of the original Hindi as given by Bábá.

Indeed, Bábá spoke 1442 Hindi words in this final section of the discourse. Every one of those words you will find in the As-Is transcription. Whereas Tiljala Publications' English printing of the same section of the discourse contains only 325 words.

Thus, it is immediately apparent that there is a large difference in the amount of text in the original Hindi "As-Is" transcription, and the EE7.5 publication. The "As-Is" version presents every single word Bábá spoke. In stark contrast, in their English version, Tiljala Publications printed a mere summary of what Bábá spoke. Much has been left out, and what small amount they included is a paraphrased summary. Indeed, what Tiljala published is not a translation of Guru's words, but a scant summary.

One great devotee recently sent a copy of the original Hindi sound file of the final section of this discourse.(1) The As-Is Hindi transcription was made from this sound file.The sound file can be downloaded below. (2)

Tiljala Publication's English Version of Final Section of Rudra Gotra

Published in: Electronic Edition 7.5, Bábá's Grace [a compilation], Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 25 [unpublished in English]
Notes: official source: Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 25

Rudra 25 May 1969 DMC, Ranchi

So the above is the 325 word summary published by Tiljala Publications. What they have done is a complete injustice to Guru's original discourse. Because see here below all that Bábá spoke. Whether you know Hindi or not, with your own eyes, you can easily see that Bábá's below original Hindi section is much longer and more involved than the petty summary that Tiljala printed above. See here all that Bábá spoke that day in His holy discourse, "Rudra Gotra."


As-Is Transcription of Final Section of Original Hindi Sound File

Following is the "As-Is" transcription of the original Hindi sound file of the equivalent final section of the discourse "Rudra Gotra":

Note: Bábá’s discourses were delivered orally. Speech patterns are different from the written word. Naturally then, when making the written version, certain words are not needed. Those words have been marked by curly brackets { }. That means every word Bábá spoke has been included in this Hindi transcription, but when reading pay attention to these bracketed {} sections.

Those bracketed sections have been kept intact as an official record. That way - when comparing with the original sound file - the "As-Is" version stands as a complete record of every word and syllable spoken by Guru.

Also note that square brackets [  ] in the text are used to indicate insertions by the editors. Anything spoken by Márgiis during the discourse, is also placed in square brackets. Such as ["बाबा, बाबा, बाबा !"].


Next Four Pages of Final Section of Original Hindi Sound File - As-Is Transcription

Here are the next four pages of the "As-Is" transcription of this final section of the discourse "Rudra Gotra":

So the above six pages are the "As-Is" transcription of that final section of Guru's discourse, "Rudra Gotra." (1) These pages correspond exactly to every word spoken by Bábá on the sound file, which is downloadable at the below link. (2)

In comparing the "As-Is" transcription with the text of Tiljala's published version in the Electronic Edition 7.5, all will easily see that the Tiljala Publishers have not presented Guru's complete discourse. Tiljala Publications has moreover reprinted this severely contracted English summary in the book Bábá's Grace, and they continue to make it available for purchase.

Anyone can see with their own eyes - regardless of their language background - that Bábá's original spoken discourse is much, much longer than the abbreviated English version put in print by Tiljala Publications. This is not a matter of translation. This is an issue of distortion. Guru's words are being categorically dismissed and removed by those in Tiljala Publications. In result, the English edition is an altered, bogus representation of what Guru actually spoke. Not only that, the integrity of the discourse itself is now threatened and put in jeopardy for the future generations. It is a very sad and painful state of affairs.

It is unfortunate that Tiljala Publications have distorted our Ánanda Márga scripture in the following ways:

(1) Failure to present all Guru has said;

(2) Failure to transcribe in "As-Is" fashion;

(3) Changing and rewriting Guru's words as a mere summary of what He actually spoke.

Ánanda Marga Scripture Not Being Protected
Therefore Responsibility Falls to Ánanda Má́rgiis

Bábá says, “The scriptures containing spiritual injunctions must be totally flawless.” (Namah Shiváya Shántáya, Disc: 14) So as Ánanda Márgiis, we must take this very seriously and work together to make the printed version of Bábá's discourses perfect. By such examples as the above, it becomes clear we cannot merely sit back and expect that with time the Tiljala Publishers will fix everything. Forty-five years have passed since Bábá delivered this discourse in 1969, with no sign of any work to fix it going on. The Tiljala group whatever they spend all their time and resources on these days, if instead they had utilized these in fixing Bábá's discourses, then their efforts would have been worthwhile. When our Publishers are wasting their time and money in self-serving pursuits such as group fighting, then it falls upon Ánanda Má́rgiis to come forward, create pressure for change, and help in the rectification of our scripture.

Must Not Delay Repair of Scripture

Such distortion and extreme summarizing as seen in the above Rudra Gotra publication is of vital importance and must be repaired without delay. The very survival of Ánanda Márga ideology as guiding light for the suffering humanity depends on this.

Bábá says, "When the sole purpose of scripture, i.e. dharmashástra is to establish the human beings in the stable, exalted position of spiritual ideation, it must be practical, rational, infallible and universal. It must be based on deep eternal truths. It must be ápta vákya. A scripture is a guided entity." (Tattva Kaomudii - 2)

Namaskar,

At His Lotus Feet,

Ramkumar


Note

- Sound File donated by a great devotee.

- Transcribed by one devotee

- If you have any question, please contact us at <anandamargadiscourses@sunlink.net> and we will be happy to reply.


Footnotes.

1. "Final Section"= In the course of recording and storing this Bábá's discourse, as well as many other discourses, the recordings sometimes got broken up into small pieces. The current sound file is of a section of this discourse Rudra Gotra-- in particular the final 12 minutes of the discourse.

2. Please download the sound file at this link, and add it into your collection. If you understand Hindi, then compare the versions for yourself. If you do not know Hindi, it is enough to visually inspect the six pages of the "As-Is" transcription of Bábá's original Hindi, compared with the very small amount of printed text published by Tiljala in English as a "translation". The difference is astonishing.

3. Rudra Gotra, was printed in Hindi by Tiljala Publications (TP) as Subhasita Samgraha Part 25, chapter 8 in the 2000 edition.  Please see this posting, where the "As-Is" transcription of Bábá's original sound file of this discourse has also been compared in length with the Hindi publication of this discourse. There it was seen that whereas the As-Is transcription contains 1442 words, the equivalent section of Tiljala Publications' Hindi version contains a mere 349 words.


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.

​

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 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. 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.