== HEIGHT OF LETHARGINESS ==
Namaskar,
We all know our AM books contain eternal truths and that these
publications should be proper in presentation; everyone is also aware
that Baba's Sanskrit shlokas form the foundation of His discourses; plus
it is well understood that Ananda Margiis are anxious and excited to
purchase Baba's books. Thus, it all adds up to a wonderful combination.
Except for the fact that our Publications Dept is not up to the mark, or
so it seems.
Here we are not talking about mistakes of a very fine order, but rather
fundamental & gross errors & inconsistencies that are easily verifiable
and not at all difficult to catch. Yet time and again such simple things
& basic mess-ups slip through the fingers of those sitting at the desks
in our Publications office(s).
That is why many are saying that the problems in our Publications Dept
stem from sheer letharginess, or even disinterest.
Read the following and decide for yourself.
IMPORTANCE OF SANSKRIT SHLOKAS
THEY ARE NOT JUST FOR NOVELTY OR MERE SHOW
The Sanskrit shlokas in AM discourses are of great significance. Let us
not forget that the whole of Ananda Sutram-- our philosophical
treatise-- is exclusively a collection of shlokas along with their
purports.
Plus, innumerable discourses begin with a shloka, and the entire
discourse aims at nothing more than the true and proper explanation of
that shloka. This is Baba's formula in so many of His discourses.
Thus, the Sanskrit shlokas presented in our books form the very backbone
of AM ideology. Further proof of this is that many of the shlokas are
repeated numerous times in various discourses.
All this goes to show the great importance and deep significance of
these shlokas.
They are not just a novelty, or just some showpiece that people put in
their living room for others to see & marvel at. While the owners of that house themselves know nothing about it.
That is not the case with our Sanskrit shlokas. They are meaningful and
we are expected to exercise a certain command of their significance etc.
Otherwise, how are we going to be able to understand AM ideology.
Tragically, most often, our Publications crew does just a lousy job in
printing these sacred shlokas.
NA'NYA PANTHA VIDYATE AYANA'YA
The shloka-- Na'nya pantha vidyate ayana'ya-- is a widely used line in
AM philosophy. Baba uses it in several discourses, and the basic meaning
is 'There is no other way'.
And the etymological breakdown is as follows:
Na' = 'not'; anya = 'other'; pantha = 'path'; vidyate = 'is' or 'exists';
ayana'ya = 'course'.
Taken in its entirety it is:
Na'nya pantha vidyate ayana'ya
Again the meaning is, 'there is no other way'. As in the path of AM is
the proper avenue. Or Baba may use this phrase to emphasize any of the
pillars of AM thought, or when giving a directive that He wants all to
follow. In all these contexts, it means 'There is no other way'.
Thus the shloka is quite straight forward and highly significant.
FAULTY WAYS IT GETS PRINTED
The main problem arises because the shloka is printed incorrectly and
differently in so many of our books.
Sometimes it is wrongly written as:
Nánya panthá vidyate yanáya.
(AMIWL-11, 'To Know Him Is to Be Free from All Fetters')
This above version is arguably the most confusing since it not only
misspells the last word of the shloka, but it separates and begins that
last word with the wrong letter.
In other instances the shloka is wrongly written as:
Nányah panthá vidyateyanáya.
(AMIWL-7, 'The Highest Category of Devotion')
Here again they misspelled the last word which should be ayana'ya, but
they switched the letters and seemingly combined the 'y' with the
previous term. This faulty method is used in various printed discourses
like, (a) AV-2,'Soliloquy of the Supreme'; (b) APH-4, 'Bhakti and Krpa';
(c) AMIWL-6, 'The Only Way to Salvation'; etc.
(Note: AMIWL refers to the series of books, 'Ananda Marga Ideology & Way
of Life)
Then there are other wrong versions where a random 'h' appears, or some
other flaw occurs.
Thus there are numerous faulty versions which makes it all quite
confusing to the reader.
And this is not some abstruse or difficult thing to manage. Because this
shloka has been used for centuries in various ancient Tantric texts. So
it is not that this is the first time in the human history that the
shloka has been given.
No doubt Baba's explanation and application is unique, but the shloka
itself has been around for thousands of years. Yet our Publications Dept
seems more inclined to print it any type of wrong way, rather than make
it proper.
THEN THEY GOT IT RIGHT (ALMOST)
The scene becomes almost laughable because finally in one discourse they
got the shloka properly presented-- yet in that very same discourse they
wrote it incorrectly also. Thereby adding to the confusion.
In the discourse, 'The Only Way to Salvation', printed in AMIWL part 6,
they printed the shloka twice.
The first time they printed the shloka in one of their adopted wrongful
ways...
...and then finally at the end of the same discourse, the shloka is
printed in the proper manner. But by that point, who can know what is
correct.
Let us also give credit where credit is due: In the discourse,
'Ekendriya-8' from Ananda Marga Philosophy Nutshell-6, the shloka
appears once and is correctly written.
DO NOT WANT TO LEND AM BOOKS TO FRIENDS
All in all it is just mind boggling how many different and incorrect
ways those Publishers are making Baba's books. That is why many are
telling that they are just doing 'a lousy job'. Unfortunately there is
no other way to phrase it than that.
And since that same Publications Dept is utterly unwilling to release
and share Baba's original audio cassettes etc, then we have no other
option but to analyse and critique their work. Since without the
cassettes, general margiis and field workers are unable to transcribe
Baba's original discourses.
Thus until, Publications wishes to take help from margiis by making all
of Baba's cassettes available, then they must bear the burden and take
full responsibility for their errors.
Because again, the bulk of these errors are fully preventable. But since
Publications Dept knows that margiis are excited to purchase Baba's
books-- it is a guaranteed sale as there is an active market-- then
those in Publications just make the book in a sloppy way since they know
it is going to be sold. This is their lazy way of living.
And in that condition, who wants to share our AM Books with others.
Because in their present state, there are just to many inconsistencies
to stand up to the evaluation of others. So we must fix the problem.
PROPOSED SOLUTIONS
With regards to the wrongful printing of shlokas, perhaps the he easiest
and most efficient solution is this.
In Ananda Marga ideology, the number of shlokas is finite. There are a
few hundred in total. And practically speaking, there are only several
dozen which are quite common and appear again and again in various
discourses.
Then just as every computer has a spell check function to ensure the
words, 'devotion', 'determination', 'love', and 'desire' are always
spelled in a uniform manner.
Similarly, each of our Sanskrit shlokas should have a standard way of
being printed-- one which is agreed upon as being correct. And then
whenever that shloka is used, it should be published using that standard
format.
In this computer age, this is not at all difficult to do. But if one is
lazy, then it may seem utterly impossible.
The thing is wherever humans are involved in work, then mistakes will be
made. Our goal is not to punish those who make mistakes, but rather to
develop a system wherein mistakes are minimised and ultimately
eliminated. That should be our approach with our AM Publications Dept
and everyone is responsible for steering things in the right direction.
OUR DUTY
As Ananda Margiis, our duty is to properly present Baba's ideas to the
humanity. In our lifestyle we must exemplify those ideals and our AM
books must accurately reflect Baba's original discourse.
So when any member of our Marga errs, especially one who is holding a
post and taking a leading role, then we must first see if it is a random
error or a systemic one. Was it accidental or intentional. Was it
preventable or not. And we should address the matter appropriately.
Even if someone is doing work without a malicious thought in mind, still
those errors should be considered intentional if they consistently
approach their tasks in a lazy or sloppy manner.
All things considered, if we ourselves do not find and point out the
mistakes in our AM publications, then when we share those books with
others, certainly they will find those mistakes. In which case they will
think that either our ideas or wrong or that we do not care-- both of
which are not true.
So we should all take a concerted effort to ensure all our AM
publications are proper, because right now those sitting in the chair
are not up to the task-- either due to letharginess or some other reason
that is best known to them.
And those in Publications should think: Either should either give up
their job entirely and allow more competent people to sit in their
chairs, or they should freely distribute the original discourse
cassettes so all margiis can help with the transcription, or those in
Publications must leave their ego aside and be ready to hear about the
gross inconsistencies in our AM books. One or more of these approaches
must be taken.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace, He has blessed us with a perfect ideology-- of which
the shlokas are an integral component. We must not then tolerate ongoing
mistakes and inconsistencies by Publications in the presentation of
these shlokas. This is not what Baba wants. By His grace we will be
successful in satisfying His wish.
Baba says, "The scriptures containing spiritual injunctions must be
totally flawless." (NSS, Disc: 14)
Namaskar,
Jawaharlal
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Honey is Eye-Medicine
Baba says, "Floral nectar can be collected from lotus and is very good
for all kinds of eye diseases, including retinal detachment...To extract
the honey, you have to employ the same method as doctors use to extract
blood. This is because many ants and insects feed on the honey. A
syringe can extract it without getting clogged up." (PNS-16, p. 33-34)
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