== PROBLEM WILL LINGER UNTIL... ==
Namaskar,
This letter discusses the clarity of the translation of Baba's shloka,
"Jiivankii dha'ra' saunkoc-vika'shii..."
Certainly, we know Baba's teachings are straight-forward and perfect.
Baba says, "I keep no ambiguity, I am clear, concrete, conclusive. My
philosophy is a complete philosophy." (SE)
Hence we should ensure that our AM books are up to the proper standard--
and that includes the translations of the various shlokas like,
"Jiivankii dha'ra' saunkoc-vika'shii..." .
BABA'S USE OF SHLOKAS
Before looking at any particular teaching, let's examine Baba's overall
use of shlokas. By Baba's grace He has provided us with a crystal-clear
explanation about this.
In His historic "Author's Note" to the Hindi edition of Subhasita
Samgraha part 2, Baba has issued a statement regarding His use of
shlokas. The basic idea of what Baba writes in His Author's Note is as
follows:
'I (Baba) am not the interpreter of the Vedas, rather my purpose in
using any shloka is to explain and put forth Ananda Marga ideology. The
shlokas I have selected from the Vedas are used with this expressed
intention. Hence sometimes I expound upon a shloka far beyond than what
was the original meaning of the shloka; and other times I may use or
explain only one word of a shloka when the Vedas have given a lengthy
interpretation of that shloka. Because again My purpose is to set down
the tenets of AM ideology, not explain the Vedas.'
Thus in His special Author's note, Baba clearly states that in His
discourses His intention is not to explain or write a commentary of any
shloka per se; but rather, He is using those shlokas as a means to
illustrate His AM philosophy.
WHAT THIS MEANS
By all this there are two basic points which are paramount:
(1) In His discourses, Baba is using the Sanskrit shlokas of the Vedas
as a springboard to explain His AM ideology.
More specifically, when Baba first began giving His discourses, people
were aware about the Vedas but not about AM ideology. Hence those known
shlokas of the Vedas were a needed stepping stone for putting forth the
ideals of AM. Baba had to move from a point of familiarity (i.e. those
ancient Vedic teachings) to a totally new concept that people were
unaware about, (i.e. AM ideology). And those ancient Vedi shlokas served
as a linking point.
(2) Many of the Vedic shlokas are full of wrong and dogmatic teachings
which Baba does not wish to include in His discourses. Sometimes He
openly corrects the Vedas and many, many times He just ignores the
various dogmatic interpretations of those Vedic sermons and instead
explains about the dharmic perspective of AM.
Hence as important as the various ancient Sanskrit shlokas are, Baba
mainly uses them as a tool for putting forth AM teachings.
This we should always keep in mind when reading Baba's discourses. We
should not become fascinated by the shloka itself but should focus on
what Baba's intention is by the use of that shloka-- what is the
teachings He is giving.
"JIIVANKII DHARA..."
In His discourse, "The Culmination of Devotion" from Ananda Vacanamrtam
part 1, Baba is guiding us that our lives should be clear and pointed.
Baba says, "Man should be clear, clean and conclusive. There should be
no ambiguity in any sphere of life." (AV-1)
To illustrate this point, Baba gives the following shloka:
Jiivankii dha'ra' saunkoc-vika'shii hae kintu jiivan siidha' hona' ca'hiye
So far so good.
POOR TRANSLATION IS THE PROBLEM
Unfortunately, the translators or publishers then gave this following
explain in English.
THE TRANSLATORS WROTE:
"Movement is always systaltic, but the moving entity must be straight."
The above line is what they printed in the Ananda Vacanamrtam Part 1
English Edition.
But this poor translation makes everything totally convoluted and muddy.
The "moving entity" might be a cloud, a star, a giraffe, a celestial
body, a chair. Who knows what it means.
In our AM ideology Baba uses the word "entity" to mean everything from
inanimate objects and a blade of grass to elephants and sadvipras. Baba
uses the word entity to describe every living and non-living being that
is moving around the Cosmic Hub.
Hence, those translators totally muddied the English printing of this
discourse.
In this Hindi discourse given in Patna, Baba is using a shloka in a
particular way to talk about the clarity of human life, but by inserting
the term "moving entities", those translators totally puncture and
defuse Baba's teaching.
THE REAL MEANING
When in fact Baba's point is quite clear.
Jiivankii dha'ra' saunkoc-vika'shii hae kintu jiivan siidha' hona' ca'hiye
Jiivankii = Of life
dha'ra' = flow
saunkoc-vika'shii = systaltic
hae = is
kintu = but
jiivan = life
siidha' = straight-forward
hona' ca'hiye = should be
The translation of that shloka should be: The flow of life is systaltic,
but (human) life should be simple and straight forward.
Baba is telling us that human life moves in cycles of speed and pause
but there must not be any hypocrisy.
Because, again, Baba is talking about human life in the line directly
before the shloka.
Baba says, "Man should be clear, clean and conclusive. There should be
no ambiguity in any sphere of life." (AV-1)
But those editors moved away from Baba's intended meaning and translated
"jiivan" as "moving entities".
THE TRANSLATORS WROTE:
"Movement is always systaltic, but the moving entity must be straight."
That is why the printed English meaning of this shloka is so poor,
confusing, and ambiguous. Who can say what "moving entities" means.
In our AM ideology Baba uses the word "entity" to mean everything from
inanimate objects and a blade of grass to elephants and sadvipras. Baba
uses the word entity to describe every living and non-living being that
is moving around the Cosmic Hub.
That is why the translated version of the shloka is so hazy. If they had
properly translated "jiivan" as "human life" - since in the prior
sentence Baba is talking about human life - then everything would be
crystal clear.
THE IRONY
The irony of that poor English translation is that in the "Jiivankii
dha'ra'..." shloka Baba is telling us that human life should be clear
and straight-forward, yet the very translation of that shloka into
English is totally convoluted and confusing.
It is just like if someone posted a note, "The kitchen must be kept
clean", yet that note was written on a totally dirty piece of paper that
was stained with rotten food, blood, and mucous.
Thus better care should be taken with the translation and understanding
of Baba's use of shlokas.
He is pointedly guiding us that our human life should be clear and
pointed and the translators wrote that "moving entities" should be straight.
WHY IT IS AN ONGOING PROBLEM
Baba has given all His discourses in such a sterling and beautiful
manner, yet often we find that our scriptures are incorrect and
lopsided. The mistakes are pervasive and sweeping, with critical errors
occurring on every page.
These mistakes are preventable, yet when those publishers only have
interest in making the Bengali edition accurate and treat all other
languages like English, Spanish, Hindi, Japanese, and Tagalo etc as the
unwanted step-child, then always these books and translations will be
second-rate.
Up till now, that is what Sarvatmananda & Co have done. They have paid a
blind eye to other languages and treated them as some distant cousin
whom they do not care about. That is why the books are so bad. Despite
repeated requests, reminders, and letters raising the serious nature of
the problems in our Hindi and English books etc.
But Sarvatmananda continues to disregard the matter.
That is why it is an ongoing problem.
The situation will only be repaired when concerned and dedicated margiis
or wts come forward and take over the duty of translating and printing
our AM books. That type of total switchover is needed.
Till that time, Sarvatmananda will continue to treat Bangla as the
privileged language and treat AM books printed in other languages as
inconsequential, even meaningless.
Such a liila: The world over people are bonding together and overcoming
racial differences, but in our Ananda Marga, differences in race have
led to the distortion and ruination of so many books. In this regard, we
seem to be a step behind when in fact we should be leading the society
forward.
BABA'S BLESSING
Our AM ideology is the balm for all of humanity. That is why Baba warns
us that there should not be any weak point or "loophole" in the
translation or printing of His AM teachings.
Baba says, "There must be an excellent and all-embracing philosophy, in
which there should be no loophole in any sphere." (NSS, '95 Edn, p.196)
Namaskar,
Satiish
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Difference Between Literate & Educated
Those who have studied the books but did not bring those teachings into
practice may be termed literate but they are certainly not educated.
Baba says, "Educated are those who have learnt much, remembered much and
made use of their learning in practical life." (PNS-18, p.38)
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