== STORY OF WORTHLESS SON ==
Namaskar,
In late 2009, AM Publications released a new book. It is a collection of
essays about Baba's contributions written by members of the academic
community.
However, for any Ananda Margii, reading the cover itself is enough to
know that there are serious issues with this publication.
This is an important topic for it reflects how Baba, the Guru of Ananda
Marga, is presented to the general public. As His disciples, it is
exclusively our duty to safeguard His excellence.
Anyone with basic devotion will understand the proper way to address
Baba on the public platform, let us see what was done in this particular
book.
STORY OF WORTHLESS SON
Before discussing the details of the aforementioned book, here is one
related story.
There was a village family in Sheohar (Shivahar) district of Bihar and
the father - though illiterate himself - had a great desire that his son
should be properly educated. The father toiled in the fields night and
day in order to send his son to the finest schools. The father
sacrificed much and used 100% of his limited financial means to send his
son to college. After showering his paternal affection and giving all
the family funds to his son's study for years and years, his son
completed his schooling and became a professor.
All along, to ensure his son would have a great opportunity in life, the
father labored hard in the hot sun day after day. But to him, it was all
worth it to see his son succeed.
On the occasion of one festival, the father made the big excursion and
traveled from his remote village to visit his son, the professor, at
college. The father was extremely proud and told all his friends and
neighbors about the upcoming trip.
The momentous day arrived and his father arrived smiling with gifts in
hand for his son. His best clothes and jubilant expression however could
not hide his weathered features from his many years of working outside
in the fields.
The son greeted his father at the station and brought him to the college
to show him around. As it was a festival day, the son was not thinking
that any of his colleagues would be there.
Father and son walked and talked from building to building and the
father was very impressed by what he saw. It was all that he expected
and much, much more. But mostly, he was so pleased to be with his son.
After much walking, they took a seat in the shade. They sat and talked
for some time when from behind them a man approached. When they could
hear the footsteps directly behind them, the son turned around and much
to his surprise saw that it was the chairman from his department. The
son was shocked and his whole expression changed.
Immediately he stood up to greet his senior colleague. He took on a
serious demeanor and spoke eye to eye with the chairman. The father sat
there quietly watching, waiting to be introduced. But the two kept talking.
At one point, in the conversation, the chairman motioned inquisitively
towards the father, and the proud father was ready to stand up and meet
the chairman. But the son just brushed his hand in a rather brusque
manner and attempted to redirect the conversation.
But this did not resolve the situation, he could sense the the
department chairman was still curious as to who this person was.
So the the son said, "Yaha mera' servant hai." (Yaha means "this", mera'
means "my", servant means servant, and hai means "is".)
The chairman nodded - paid no attention to the father - and continued
his dialog with the son.
The father only knew Hindi - not a single word of English - so the
father only understood the Hindi words: "Yaha mera' _______ hai",
meaning, "This is my _______".
But he heard the sound "servant" and kept it in his memory.
A few minutes later, the chairman and the son finished their
conversation and the chairman walked off without even acknowledging the
father. The son looked visibly affected - he had not expected to see any
colleagues at the college on this festival day. This disappointment was
not lost on his father.
The rest of their visit went uneventfully - though the father felt
perplexed by his son's behavior. The father returned back to his village
with one burning question in mind. What did the English word "servant"
mean.
He immediately asked one of the literary people in his village what the
English word "servant" meant. When the father got the answer, he
immediately understood the situation.
The father felt saddened that his son was so ashamed of him.
Apparently during his years of study, the son had created his own
history and background and told many stories of how he was born into a
literate, well-to-do family to all his colleagues. He thought this would
boost his prestige.
So when he and his illiterate and simple father unexpectedly met up with
the chairman of the department, the son introduced his father as his
servant.
That occasion turned out to be one of the last times the father and son
ever spoke. The arrogant son had not an iota of gratitude for the
father's sacrifice of putting him through school. The son wanted to
disassociate himself from his village roots entirely. In turn, the
father was despondent that he had lost his son - the very person to whom
he had given so much. He had given everything for the growth of his son
and now his son was essentially disowning him. The father lived out his
days with a heavy heart.
This very tragic story is highly related with the recently published
book noted above.
SHRII SHRII A'NANDAMU'RTIJII
As we know, when speaking about our Sadguru Baba, as His disciples we
are always to use words that reflect only the highest respect.
Baba says, "The one formless, beginningless and infinite Parama Brahma
(Supreme Consciousness) is the only entity to be attained by living
beings – That alone is Jagat Guru (the Supreme preceptor), That alone
has revealed Brahmavidya' (intuitional science) to us through the medium
of the name and form of Anandamu'rtijii. Unit beings must be made to
appreciate Its majesty." (CC-2, 'Sadhana', pt 1a)
Baba is our spiritual Preceptor, and in that role He is known as Shrii
Shrii A'nandamu'rtijii. Thus we are to use this name with the greatest
reverence. Every A'nanda Ma'rgii is aware about this.
We should not be like the worthless son in the above story who fails to
give proper regard to his father.
Unfortunately, in the recently published book, the situation is not very
favourable. See for your yourself how the publishers did.
HOW THEY PUBLISHED THE BOOK
Now, let's get to the book itself. The title is "He Lived Among Us" and
it is 300+ pages long; but one need look no further than the cover to
see how the publishers represented Baba.
Remember, this book is a collection of essays written by various
intellectuals and researchers. But it was published by Ananda Marga
Publications.
The subtitle of the book is printed on the cover: "Contributions of
Shrii Shrii A'nandamu'rti in the eyes of his contemporaries".
PROBLEM #1: "contemporaries"
The first and most glaring problem on the cover is the use of the word
"contemporaries" in the subtitle. Using this word - "contemporaries" -
puts all those jinani intellectuals on par with Baba. Because as we all
know, contemporaries refers to both time and stature. For instance, even
though a normal citizen was born during the same time period as Barack
Obama or Hugo Chavez, that person is not considered to be their
contemporary since he is not a world or country leader. To be a
contemporary one must be of a similar social stature etc.
So it is abominable that our publishers used such a word in the subtitle
to refer to these jinani authors, thereby placing them on equal footing
as Sadguru Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji. This book is supposed to glory
Baba's Divine status but unfortunately it merely equates Him with these
intellectuals, calling them His "contemporaries".
Some naive readers may think nothing is wrong with this, but every
devotee will take strong exception to what these publishers have done.
Indeed every bhakta will be quite alarmed and think that the AMPS
publishers of this book have behaved like the worthless son in the above
story.
PROBLEM #2: "his contemporaries"
The next major problem on the book's cover is this: The publishers did
not capitalize the letter "h" when they wrote "his contemporaries" in
the subtitle. This does two things. It fails to show the we, His
followers, believe Him to be Divine; and it further equates those
"contemporaries" as being on par with Baba. They are human beings and
"he" is also a human being. There is no difference in stature.
Such is the tragedy that occurs by not capitalising the word "his". And
again, this gross negligence was not carried out by some distant jinani
writers but rather by our very own AMPS publications team. That is
another reason why many are saying that those publishers are no better
than the worthless son in the aforementioned story.
The worthless failed to give proper regard to his father, and the publishers
of this book have failed to do the same.
PROBLEM #3: Missing "ji"
PROBLEM #4: The Main Title
Finally there is the main title: "HE LIVED AMONG US". No doubt the
capitalised "H" but that has little value since ALL the letters are
capitalised.
The main issue is that the title conveys the feeling that the book is
about someone who has come and gone from this earth - that he was here
and is now gone.
The title, "HE LIVED AMONG US", carries all kinds of finite and fleeting
meanings.
It does not convey the idea that the subject of this book is an Eternal
Entity who exists across time and space.
Thus on the cover of the book alone there are any number of cases of
negligence and neglect. And it all speaks to the poor standard of the
publishers. No one else is to blame. Those jinani writers may have
written all kinds of nonsense on those 300+ pages, but what has happened
on the cover is enough to turn the stomach of any right-thinking devotee.
That is why many sadhakas think that those publishers are just like the
worthless son in the above story.
HOW IT WORKS WITH OTHER RELIGIONS
The various religions may be dogmatic and may be corrupt but at least
they have the requisite courage and awareness to glorify their chosen
Deity. In contrast, the publishers of AM books are either cowards or
blind, or both.
Just see: Buddhists around the globe always refer to their leader as
"His Holiness the Dalai Lama." This phrase gets repeated with every
action and word of the Dalai Lama. And by this way they effectively
promote their perceived greatness of their leader. Plus, they have
taught the rest of the world to do the same - ie treat their Buddhist
leader with respect.
Here is the proof - see this statement printed in a top western newspaper.
"Statement from the Press Secretary on the President' s meeting Thursday
with His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama:"The President met this morning at
the White House with His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama..." (Washington
Post, Feb 18 2010)
Note only the newspaper but the Press Sectretary of the US President have
emulated the titled that the followers use for the Dalai Lama, ie. His Holiness.
If we fail to refer to Baba in a proper way on the public platform,
then we will miss the opportunity to teach the rest of the world
about Baba's Divine stature, and we will be blamed - and rightly so.
Rather we will be teaching them the wrong way of doing.
Because indeed this is something that all the dogmatic religions and
sects do: They treat their leader with utmost respect in the public
arena. Whether it be "Lord Jesus Christ", "The Honourable Elijah
Mohammed", "Maharishi Patanjali Ji", "Sri or Saint Shankaracarya Ji",
"Saint Francis of Assisi" or any other religioius leader, always the
followers have the foresight and courage to give their leader respect.
But in AM, when our Guru truly is the Parama Purusa incarnate, the
publishers could not live up to the standard that the dogmatic followers
of other religions do. That is why many say that the cowardly publishers
are just like the worthless son from the above story.
BABA SCOLDED ONE DADA
Who can forget that dramatic reporting session in front of Baba when one
Dada mentioned Ramakrsna. Then immediately Baba scolded that Dada and
told him not to refer to any great person in such a disrespectful
manner. Baba said that one should use "Thakur Ramakrsna Paramahansa" as
that gives the proper respect.
Here Baba is teaching us to use proper language and feeling when
referencing a revered person. Naturally then, we are to apply the spirit
of this teaching when referencing Baba also.
That means we are to say, "Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji, or "Revered Baba",
or "Sadguru" or any term that conveys the proper respect. By this way we
not only share the feeling of our heart but we show others how they
should refer to Him as well.
So we should pay heed to Baba's guideline from this reporting session.
Tragically, those publishers fell short of the mark, which is why many
just call them worthless. About this you can decide for yourself by
seeing the quality of their work.
JUST LIKE A PIG LICKING YOU
Here is one analogy that is appropriate to this situation.
If a dog or pig gets close to you then it may lick you out of love and
respect. Because that is all that dog or pig knows to do. Likewise when
any unqualified person tries to glorify Baba then due to their
limited understanding they will create a mess, dripping their saliva all
over the place. In trying to love and glorify Him something else will
happen. And that is exactly what occurred when the AMPS publishing team
made this book, "HE LIVED AMONG US". In that case are they any different
from the local street dog or domesticated pig.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace, He has revealed to us whom He is and it is our duty to
share and spread His greatness with one and all. But when certain
publishers shy away from this divine truth, either due to their cowardly
nature or lack of realisation, then that is nothing but an ugly failure.
That is why they and their book become "worthless", like the useless son
in the above story. Baba is our Supreme Father and we must always convey
this feeling of love and respect when raising His name, especially when
done in public in the form of a book. As His sons and daughters, that
is our inherent responsibility. None should fail and become worthless.
Baba says, "The one formless, beginningless and infinite Parama Brahma
(Supreme Consciousness) is the only entity to be attained by living
beings – That alone is Jagat Guru (the Supreme preceptor), That alone
has revealed Brahmavidya' (intuitional science) to us through the medium
of the name and form of Shrii Shriui Anandamu'rtijii. Unit beings must be made to
appreciate Its majesty." (CC-2, 'Sadhana', pt 1a)
Namaskar,
Sudhakar
Note 1: THIS DADA DID THIS
I have great friendship and respect for Dada Sarvatmanandaji, so when it
is his name that is listed on the inside cover as the Publications
Secretary and when his Publications team is also involved, then I feel
great pain as many may lose trust and faith in Dadaji. They may think he
and his team are "worthless".
Here I just want to say I have great feeling for Dadaji and I truly
hope he is able to repair this error - and fast, otherwise I fear others may
lose respect for Dadaji.
Note 2: WHAT UGLINESS IS ON THE INSIDE
When the cover of the book is such an utter mess, then we can only
imagine how many gross errors appear on the 300+ printed pages of this
book. When the publishers themselves are unable to properly present Baba
and His ideas, then they will be in no position to correct the many
wrongs potentially made by these jinani authors. So we should all be
ready. At this point, who knows what dirt might lie inside the front cover.
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