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Which AM Book Is Authentic

To: AM-GLOBAL Date: Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:33:26 -0000 From: NJK Majumdar Subject: Which AM Book Is Authentic Baba "Ke go tumi a'ji bhare nile sa'ji na' baliya' mor phulavane..." (PS 2111) Purport: O' Divine Entity, who are You who has come today in the flower garden of my mind & without my awareness filled up Your basket by plucking all my flowers. Which Divine Personality are You who has done like this. Baba, neither did I ask You to come, nor did I ask You to please sit-- indeed I could not receive You properly in the canopy of my mental flower garden. O' Baba, Your grace is unimaginable. When I call You, then You do not come; and now without any invitation You have blessed me by coming-- it is Your grace. And You are silently looking at everything in the flower garden of my mind and You are not telling anything-- just You smiled and got involved in plucking the flowers. Baba, Your liila in unique. O' Parama Purusa, I do not have the capacity to understand what type of liila' You are playing. Why do You go on playing with my mind. In my mental garden, without my awareness, You go on swaying Your love. And You go on creating vibrations there without my awareness. And You fill my mind with Your divine attraction and love. Baba, O' the Divine Entity, You have graced me by coming...
== WHICH AM BOOK IS AUTHENTIC ==
Namaskar, With so many things going on in the organisation, nowadays, more than ever, around the globe margiis and workers realise the need for the proper transcription, printing, and publishing of Baba's discourses. Everyone understand this is the urgent need of the day. However, it is not so easy to execute. It is not like taking a stroll down to the corner store. There are many angles & complexities to the issue; hence the matter can indeed seem quite arduous, if not daunting. The question then becomes: How to manage this mighty task and where to begin.
#1: FORMULA FOR AUTHENTICITY NEEDED
First off, it needs to be decided which books are alright-- i.e. authentic, and which ones need attention. Is it that each and every AM book needs to be redone entirely; are all the printed discourses in terrible shape. Or is it that some published discourses are properly done. If so, then which ones. That is the first consideration.
#2: HOW TO REPUBLISH DISCOURSES
Secondly, once it is decided which books need to be reprinted, then what will be our means for republishing the discourses. Shall we merely accept the current printed Bangla edition as the original and print all the discourses from the so-called original Bengali. Is that enough to settle the matter. Unfortunately if we adopt this pathway, then we may face the crisis which has occurred in Ananda Vacanamrtam part 1, where all the printed discourses in AV-1 are missing 95% of Baba's original discourse. Because those publishers only printed the few paras which Baba spoke in Bengali and they outrightly deleted scores and scores of paragraphs which Baba spoke in other languages, like English and Hindi. That is why all the discourses in AV-1 are so short and appear incomplete. Because they are incomplete-- miserably so. And that is not just the case with AV-1, but with numerous titles and editions. The problem is rampant. This then is the second consideration: Once we decide a book or set of discourses needs to be reprinted or republished, then what are we to use as the original material for republication.
OTHER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
And there are other considerations as well such as who can and will do this work and so many logistical matters as well. Nonetheless, these two aforementioned issues stand as the main areas which must be worked out: Parameters need to be established on these two points. Otherwise how is one to move ahead and get the desired result: A properly published discourse.
SOLUTION #1: DETERMINING AUTHENTICITY
Although, there are many angles to the issue, there is one standard measuring rod for determining which AM book is authentic. As we all know, some of Baba's discourses were recorded live via audio cassette and some were given by dictation and margiis or Dadas noted down what Baba said. For example, these books or series contain discourses that were recorded: (1) Ananda Vacanamrtam, (2) Subhasita Samgraha (later editions, (3) Prout Nutshell (some recorded & some not), (4) Discourses on the Mahabharata, (5) Microvita Nutshell (some recorded & some not), (6) Nheo-Humanism: Liberation of Intellect, etc. And then there were other books that were not recorded at all; these were given by dictation: (1) Tattvika Praveshika, (2) Ananda Sutram, (3) Caryacarya (all parts), (4) Namah Shiva Shantaya (some chapters dictated), (5) Shabda Cayanika, (6) Varna Vijiana, (7) Human Society (Parts 1 & 2), (8) Strange Experiences, etc. Thus some discourses were recorded and some were dictated and the books were formed accordingly. So what to to do. [A] Basically, those discourses which were recorded need to be checked word for word with the original cassette to ensure that each and every word was properly transcribed, irregardless of the language in which Baba spoke. Then if the discourse measures up-- if it contains all that Baba spoke-- then we can consider that discourse or book as being authentic. [B] And those discourses which were dictated & noted down by pen, basically we must review them to ensure that every portion of the book is consistent with AM ideology. If so, then we must accept that book as being authentic. We have no other recourse. These then are are two basic parameters for determining authenticity of our AM books. And then there is the matter of what medium to use as the original for those discourses that were recorded.
SOLUTION #2: CASSETTES ARE ONLY DEPENDABLE MEDIUM
For those discourses that were recorded and wherein there are gaps and discrepancies between the original audio tape and the printed discourse, then obviously we must use the recorded audio as the original. To use anything else would be injustice and we would only be asking for trouble. Right now, there are some who are relying on the Bangla text as the original for redoing various discourses, but when the Bengali books have omitted huge portions of what Baba originally spoke, then how can those books be depended upon for republishing His discourses. Let us remember that our job is to print the discourses "as is"-- what Baba spoke needs to be published, irregardless of what language He used. In that case, the only viable option is to resort to the audio cassette as the medium for republishing those discourses.
ABOUT THOSE DISCOURSES THAT WERE NOT RECORDED
And of course for those discourses that were not recorded and have no audio cassette, then we have to ensure those books are consistent with the teachings of AM ideology. Where any inconsistency appears, then a responsible committee should be in charge of informing all of the problem and marking a pathway for correcting the matter. But truth be told, Baba Himself was checking and editing those older published books, so really most of them are just fine. Books like Ananda Sutram, AM: Elementary Philosophy etc have been meticulously used by our Marga over the decades and they are basically approved by Guru Himself. Only we have to ensure that no nonsense was placed into the Appendix by various Dadas such as when they added the gross dogma of Mahaprayan to the appendix of CC-1 etc. Other than that, in most cases, the original text in our older AM books is alright. Even then there should be a comprehensive review.
HOW DO WE KNOW THE CASSETTES EXIST
The final piece of the puzzle is how do we know there is an original cassette for those recorded discourses. For example, let's say we ask the folks in Tiljala and they say there is no cassette etc-- when in fact we know the discourse was recorded. Then what are we to do. Actually, already we know which cassettes exist. Because Baba's demand was that all cassettes must be kept. He was adamant and forceful on this point. After each and every discourse, the cassette would go to the proper authority such as PRS Dada. And by that way the original cassette was maintained. This was the working style. Furthermore, since 1990, in their archive meetings, and when asking for money, and when reports come about which discourses have been put in digital format, and when announcements were made about this or that preservation project, then we have a concrete idea about which cassettes have been kept and preserved. Because, always the in-charges would give reports about what was done. And not only that, so many margiis, Dadas, Didis, and LFTs who have worked in the Tiljala archive etc have talked about which discourses they were working on. So it is known those cassettes exist. Plus, in the Editor's Note, of so many books, Publications personnel neatly describe which discourse has come from which cassette etc. By all these avenues and by all these accounts, we can easily determine how and where to get the original cassette to do this greatly needed work of checking and publishing Baba's discourses "as is". Thus, although it is a complex issue, there is a definite and clear-cut pathway by which to move ahead.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace we will fulfill our dharma of properly preserving and publishing all His original discourses. Baba says, "The scriptures containing spiritual injunctions must be totally flawless." (NSS) Namaskar, Nagendra
**************************************** A Few Medicines
Baba says, "Aloe juice is a medicine. Dried aloe sap is called musabbar in Arabic. A type of rasa'injana also used to be prepared out of aloe sap, or musabbar, which was used as medicine -- it was used to treat blood pressure and insanity due to gall bladder disorder." (SC-3, p.109) Baba says, "The retention-of-urine ailment that results when the movement of the urine is obstructed is also called kabandha. The water from soaked fenugreek, fresh date juice, palm juice, and sha'nkha'lu [a conch-shaped esculent] are medicines for this disease." (SC-3, p.103)
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