== PROOF OF DISTORTION IN NEW BOOK: AV 11-12 ==
Note: Many of us know that there are terrible issues with the publication
of Baba's books. Even then it has to be recognised that Dada Acyutanandaji
has tried hard since he became part of the Publications team to improve the quality
of the books. It is due to his efforts and Baba's grace that progress has been made.
Tragically at present our dear Dada Acyutanandaji is bed-ridden in Kolkata due to long
standing illness. As our brother and esteemed worker, we are hoping for his
speediest recovery. Once he is feeling better we hold much confidence that he
can put forth effort to improve upon the gross errors that have plagued our AM
books since 1990.
Namaskar,
The highly touted, latest edition of Ananda Vacanamrtam Part 11-12
(2008) came out last year with much fanfare; unfortunately the book is
riddled with scriptural distortions.
This letter (a) contains an important Baba story on keeping the sanctity
of His scripture, and also (b) points out grave transcription /
translation errors from the recently published AV 11-12 (2008).
Although AV-12 has many, many errors, one key distorted paragraph about
priest dogma has been discussed in detail below.
CANNOT LIVE TOGETHER WITHOUT IDEOLOGY
One of Baba's great reasons for coming onto this earth is to teach
humans how to live together. Some mistakenly think that by mixing and
merging all the groups together then a great human society can be built.
However, that is not possible: Just as leeches can never co-exist with
humans, similarly, combining different forms of self & group interests
can never bring that grand ideal of 'ek manav samaj', or one human
society. To do that-- to build a human society in the true sense of the
word-- ideology is needed. For that reason Baba has come and given His
teachings.
And it is our duty to maintain the integrity of those teachings-- if not
one human society will never be formed on this earth.
BABA STORY:
MAINTAIN SANCTITY OF MY TEACHINGS
Being the Parama Purusa incarnate, Baba has issued various warnings
about future events and wrongdoings pertaining to His divine teachings.
From these below instances, we can see how much importance Baba has
placed on keeping Marga teachings perfect and free from dogma.
For example, it is well known how Baba issued a stern warning to
Raghunathji about the dogma of idol worship. Baba said, 'After I leave
this body, you must ensure that no form of idol worship is done in AM'.
And to Parasattananda, Baba told, 'After my leaving, there must not be
any form of celebration or ritualistic ceremony commemorating that
date'. Hence here, Baba was foretelling that no dogmatic Mahaprayan
should be started.
And to family Ac Pratapadityaji, Baba warned, 'In the past crooked Hindu
priests who professed to be followers of Lord Krsna distorted and ruined
Lord Krsna's teachings by inserting all kinds of dogma.
I have taken certain precautions and arranged to have everything
recorded. That way distortions will not be allowed to happen, even then
you must be vigilant not to let anyone ruin My discourses.'
OUR MORAL DUTY
As disciples of Baba, we should be very strict in preserving the
sanctity of His printed discourses. This is our moral duty.
Some may claim, 'What is the big deal if we change a few words here and
there-- that is fine, so long as we keep the gist of what He is saying'.
Some may say like this.
But that error-prone approach will not do. It is not acceptable. Because
one error leads to another until finally everything is totally ruined.
Vigilance is needed from the very beginning.
NOT A GROUPIST ISSUE
Everyone knows that the Tiljala camp is the one printing Baba's books
these days. But here the issue is not who is printing Baba's books. No
one is trying to criticise any group per se. That is not the motivating
factor behind this letter.
The issue is that the our AM books-- Baba's teachings-- must be proper,
period, no excuses. That is what Baba wants and that is what this letter
is about.
Who can forget those days in Patna when Baba was harshly scolding and
rebuking various wt's for not recording and printing His discourses.
Baba was furious and set the tone that His discourses must be recorded
and printed in a timely and proper way.
So this whole topic goes way beyond any petty group clash. Rather it is
an issue of non-compromising strictness and faith regarding the sanctity
and Ista and Adarsha.
THE PROBLEM WITH AV-12
Now then to the problem at hand...
Nearly every discourse in AV-12 (2008) has been terribly distorted in
one way or another. Here we are not just talking about skipping over
small words like 'and' or 'but' etc, but rather deep-seeded distortions
that affect the very meaning of Baba's discourse.
Here is one critical example. In the 3rd to last paragraph of the
discourse, 'Everything Comes From Something' (2 June 1979 evening, Lyon,
France), those publishers wrote it entirely wrong.
THEY WRONGLY WROTE: "And you should never think, 'Oh, because the priest
didn’t issue me any ticket for Heaven, I won’t be able to go to Heaven.'
No, no, no, don’t say that. The priest has no right to issue you a
ticket, and who is going to issue you a ticket to Hell? No, no, no, your
good actions will bring you closer to Parama Purus'a, and finally you
will become one with Him by dint of your sa'dhana', by dint of your
occult practice."
Yet see here what Baba really spoke.
BABA ORIGINALLY SPOKE: "And you should never think, “Oh, because the
priest didn’t issue any ticket for Heaven, that's why I won’t be able to
go to the Heaven.” No, no, no, don’t think that. The priest has got no
right to issue you a ticket of heaven, and who is going to issue him
with a ticket to Hell? No, no, no, your good actions will bring you
closer to the Parama Purus'a, and finally you will become one with Him
by dint of your sa'dhana', by dint of your occult practice."
The above is what Baba originally spoke in English as He was in Europe
at the time and this discourse was given 100% in English.
So in Baba's version, He is pointing out the injustice of the priests
and making a joke about how those dogmatic priests should sent to hell.
BABA SPOKE: "The priest has got no right to issue you a ticket of
heaven, and who is going to issue him with a ticket to Hell?"
Here Baba is making a direct statement about how crooked priests have no
right to misguide exploit the people based on the false notions of
heaven or hell. Rather, those priests themselves will live in their own
hell if they continue to perpetrate crimes against humanity. That is
Baba's essential point.
But the publishers of the book changed that very section to make it
sound like you the reader, not the priest, is being sent to hell.
THOSE PUBLISHERS WROTE: "The priest has no right to issue you a ticket,
and who is going to issue you a ticket to Hell?"
So they totally skirted the issue of Baba mocking and attacking that
priestly dogma. So their new edition of AV-12 strays far from Baba's
teaching.
Because in His revolutionary way, Baba is boldly pointing out the dogma
of the priest class and bashing and mocking their so-called authority,
yet our Publishers changed that section entirely.
And indeed there are so numerous errors.
A COMEDY OF ERRORS
In comparing the above two paragraphs, anyone can see that 13 errors of
omission and commission have been made in only 4 or 5 lines of text.
That means there are 2 or 3 distortions on every line. And it seems the
whole book is like that. Yet this newly published AV 11-12 (2008) is the
book that some of our respected Dadas are saying is "perfect", and done
"word-for-word" according to the original cassette. They were assuring
margiis that there are no errors in this book etc, etc.
But now we can see for ourselves what is going on.
THE MAIN CRITICAL ERROR: 'PRIEST IS GOING TO HELL'
And again, the main critical error of this passage is that those
publishers distorted the section where Baba is saying that the priest
will go to hell. This is a serious point.
Because AM is against all kinds of dogma, especially religious dogma as
that stifles the growth of the whole society. And Baba is adamantly
telling that not only do those priests not have the power to send anyone
to heaven, but because of their shams and duplicity those crude priests
themselves will go to hell. That is Baba's dramatic statement.
Yet the publishers missed and distorted this point entirely when
printing the latest version of Ananda Vacanamrtam 11-12.
Baba makes a revolutionary stand against priest dogma and our respected
publishers deleted that point.
WHY LIKE THIS
Was the error done deliberately by our publishers-- i.e. The Tiljala
camp. Was it a mere oversight-- along with thousands of others? How did
it happen? Only we can guess.
But one thing is certain: Since they are so enthusiastic to translate
all Baba's discourses from Bangla, irregardless of the original
language, perhaps that is the cause of this problem. That is one hypothesis.
Or maybe those Dadas just want to preserve or protect the sanctity of
the priest class. Or maybe they are scared of criticising those priests.
Any or all of the above may be the reason why this horrible distortion
was done.
Let us remember that in the recent past, these same publishers deleted
the final three paragraphs of the discourse 'Liberation of Intellect'
(NHNS) where Baba points out how the dogma of Islam says three females
are equal to one male.
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE:
BOOK IS NOT WORTH PURCHASING
So now that we know the new book, Ananda Vacanamrtam Part 11-12 (2008),
is full of big and small errors, then what should be done.
Truly speaking, this book is not worth purchasing when it is in such bad
shape. The plus point is that by our not purchasing it, then it puts
pressure on those publishers to print it properly.
Whereas if we all simply go out and buy the book with all those current
errors and distortions, then they will think it is fine. And those
errors will remain in the book up to eternity.
Because just see: The first edition of AV-12 was published in July 1980.
And now, after 28 long years, the book is again being printed with all
these errors. If we just accept the book in this poor condition, we will
all be long gone from this earth by the time a new edition is printed--
in 50 or 100 years from now.
So if in this lifetime you would like to have an accurate version of
AV-12, and would like to see all of Baba's books printed in the right
way, then certainly we should discard the 2008 version of AV-12 and
refrain from purchasing it.
That will send the proper message to those involved.
Excuse me for saying so but, "money talks", at least in this case
because those publishers are trying to generate a solid income. And if
we opt to NOT purchase the book then it makes a profound statement on
their bank account.
Of course those truly interested in serving Baba will always be strict
to ensure that no mistakes are made in His books, and if so an immediate
correction will be done and an apology issued. In that case, money need
not come into play. With all due respect, our Dadas seem to have
something else on their mind because they never make a swift, or, for
that matter, any rectification of their distorted books. And they
certainly never apologise or admit their guilt. In that case what are we
to think. No doubt they are our family members, but still we have to
evaluate the situation for what it is.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace He has given us human life and we should ensure that we
preserve the integrity of Baba's teachings. Here is Baba's special
teaching on this point.
Baba says, "You have to build up society by your collective efforts. You
know when the weaver weaves clothes then rats and termites engage in
trying to cut it. So the weaver has to protect the clothes from those
rats and termites. In the same way when you are building anything then
without any delay various types of "termites" and "rats" will try to
destroy that work. You must be careful. Above all those who have a pious
motive to build up something, they ultimately get victory. But "rats"
and "termites" do not have a pure motive so ultimately getting destroyed
is their fate. Just they leave some dirty, ugly mark in the pages of history."
"By seeing those ugly, black marks, in future people think 'oh, it seems
this was attacked by termites and rats. Oh it appears that the termites
and rats which came to attack and destroy this, but instead those rats
and termites broke their teeth and got annihilated'."
"It is the universal law. So as you build up good things, be vigilant to
keep sharp eyes all around. Be sure to protect your work from "rats" and
"termites"."
"In the past females were preparing mango jelly in summer. And to shoe
away the crows & to protect the mango jelly, one boy from the house was
always standing guard with large stick in his hand and sharp eyes
watching for those crows. Same way you should always be alert & vigilant
to save your work from termites and rats. Then work will be done..."
"Today again you take oath to build up the earth by your own individual
and collective efforts. We have come here to beautify this earth. We
will make it so and we will go on doing this our whole life. This will
be our main collective vow." (AV-24 Hindi, p.149).
Namaskar,
Pramod
Note 1: MORE MISTAKES FROM AV-12
Here is another discourse from AV-12 (2008) that is riddled with errors
and distortions. The following is the opening paragraph from the
discourse 'An Expression is Never Alone'.
In BOLD LETTERS & [in brackets] are words that Baba spoke but do not
appear in the latest printed edition of the discourse.
"The entire expression of this Universe is vibrational. Whenever
[WHEREVER not whenever] there is vibration, there is sound, there is
colour. So whatever you see or whatever you feel has an inference or
inferences that come in contact with your [OUR not your] sensory or
motor organs – has some sound. You see, when you are moving, you are
walking, a particular sound – “tak, tak, kat, kat” – is created. That
particular sound, sound representing an action, is called “acoustic
root” – in Samskrta, “Biija Mantra”. [WHATEVER YOU DO], there is a sound
just to represent the spirit of that being [DOING not being], of that
deed. While you sit [SLEEP not sit] you are doing something, that is,
your respiratory organ is functioning..."
And like this there are countless errors in the newly printed AV-12.
Because the errors in the above paragraph are of a less severe nature
than the error about the priest dogma and going to hell mentioned in the
main letter, for that reason this has been added as a note instead of
being discussed in the body part of the letter.
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We Should Know & Correct
Baba says, "In algebra the formula (a+b) squared= a2 + b2 + 2ab. This is
a well known formula and originally it was invented by Mahars'i Kapil."
(SC-8, disc 1, 5 oct 86 kolkata)
Note: It is well known that Mahars'i Kapil was born in India several
thousand years ago. People commonly think the above formula was first
propounded by a western mathematician, but in the above teaching Baba
reveals the real fact. This gives the idea those mathematics was highly
evolved in that early history of India.
Here below Baba tells another important fact regarding Kapil:
Baba says, "The first philosopher was Mahars'i Kapil, who will be
remembered and respected for all time." (AFPS-9, 'Geology & Human
Civilisation')
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