== A FEW CORRECTIONS FOR ANANDA SUTRAM ==
Namaskar,
Our Ananda Sutram book is very good. However recently when I was
reviewing this text in a more careful manner, I found certain mistakes.
One of the translators and publishers could not properly convey Baba's
teaching. It is not anyone's fault per se - such mistakes happen - as
sadhakas it is our collective duty to correct such errors.
IMPORTANCE OF ANANDA SUTRAM
As we all know, Ananda Sutram stands as Baba's seminal work in the realm
of AM philosophy.
Baba says, "The recognized book on Ananda Marga Philosophy is A'nanda
Su'tram." (APH-4, "Our Philosophical Treatise")
Baba says, "A'nanda Su'tram is our philosophical treatise." (CC-1,
"Svadhyaya")
Plus AM philosophy is completely new and unique - such a philosophy
never existed before on this earth.
Baba says, "The trend of thinking and the spiritual practices prescribed
in our Ananda Marga are not only new but something quite different from
the established ideas and practices...Never before in the entire history
of this world or the universe, if it could be known to mortals, has a
system of life...ever been correlated in such closely knit society as in
Ananda Marga." (PNS-11)
Thus when Ananda Sutram is such an important book and when AM philosophy
is totally revolutionary and unique, then it only stands to reason we
should ensure this book is properly published & printed.
KEY FACT ABOUT ANANDA SUTRAM
Here is one thing we should all be very clear about regarding Ananda
Sutram. In the very early days of AMPS, Baba put forth the sutras of
Ananda Sutram in Sanskrit and dictated the purport of each sutra in
Bengali. That is the source material of all other language editions of
Ananda Sutram.
Those who are not aware think that Ananda Sutram is originally from
Bangla but it is not. Ananda Sutram is Sanskrit because Ananda Sutram
refers to the sutras, not the purports. All the sutras have been given
in Sanskrit and because Sanskrit does not have its own script, they were
written in Shriihars'a script. Plus the title itself is Sanskrit.
To review then, Baba gave the sutras of Ananda Sutram in Sanskrit and
dictated the purport of each sutra in Bengali.
HOW IT WAS WRONGLY TRANSLATED AND PUBLISHED
In the first chapter of Ananda Sutram, Baba is explaining how the entire
expressed universe was created as well as how the unit beings eventually
merge back into Parama Purusa. Baba's philosophy is of course flawless,
and He explains everything in such a clear and concise manner.
So it is a bit of a tragedy that there is one key point from the purport
of sutra 1-21 that has been wrongly published in the English edition -
in two ways.
First the Bengali word pralaya (pra = special; laya = merging;
hence, merging back into the Supreme) was translated as "utter
destruction" in the final sentence of the purport. That was a
translation error. Then certain editors or publishers put that same
"utter destruction" phrase in brackets [ ] to indicate that as the
proper definition of pralaya or pran'a'sha in the second sentence. That
was an editing mistake.
But both of these instances are wrong because in that very purport
itself Baba Himself defines pralaya or pran'a'sha as "when the object
merges in its cause" - i.e. when the unit being merges into the Supreme.
Here it should be noted that "-laya" is common suffix that means merging
such as vilaya meaning properly dissolved. And pralaya, of course means,
merging into Parama Purusa.
Hence it is totally wrong to translate or define pralaya or pran'a'sha
as "utter destruction". Dogmatic Hindus use the word in this way
(explained further down in this letter), but not Ananda Margiis.
Initially, a translation error was made of the word pralaya, and then
certain editors repeated that mistake. That is why now there are two
mistakes in the purport of sutra 1-21.
Here is the sutra and purport of 1-21, for your review, as it appears in
the current English edition of Ananda Sutram. See the mistakes for
yourself.
1-21. Bhu'ma'vya'pte Mahati aham' cittayorpran'a'she
sagun'a'sthitih savikalpasama'dhih va'.
[When the aham and the citta merge into the Macrocosmic Mahat, the
merger is called sagun'a'sthiti or savikalpa sama'dhi.]
"Purport: When after continued spiritual practice the mahattattva, that
is, the “I” feeling, gets metamorphosed into the Macrocosmic “I”
feeling, the citta of the microcosmic mind merges in the aham and the
aham merges in the mahat. When the object merges in its cause, that
merger is called pralaya or pran'a'sha [utter destruction]. Since the
citta of the Macrocosm grows out of the Macrocosmic Aham, and the
Macrocosmic Aham out of the Macrocosmic Mahat, when in pratisaincara’s
introversial movement the [unit] citta merges in the aham and the aham
in the mahat, to call it pran'a'sha is quite logical and reasonable. The
state of utter destruction of the citta and the aham and the state of
all-pervasiveness of the mahat constitute sagun'a'sthiti [the state of
transcendentality], or savikalpa sama'dhi [the trance of determinate
absorption]." (Ananda Sutram)
In His unique explanation, Baba states that "when the object merges in
its cause, that merger is called pralaya or pran'a'sha". Here the point
is that when any unit being becomes one with Cosmic Consciousness then
that is pralaya or pran'a'sha.
There is no ambiguity about this because in His 19 Oct 1971 discourse in
Purnea, Baba designates an entire paragraph to describe the meaning of
pran'a'sha. (Reference AV-27 (H), p.45 or AV-26 (H), p 90)
In that paragraph, Baba tells that if sugar could be converted back into
sugar cane then that is pran'a'sha. Because pran'a'sha or pralaya means
merging back into the source.
But, in Ananda Sutram 1-21, in square brackets [ ] the publishers
inserted the phrase "utter destruction" as if that is the real meaning
of pralaya or pran'a'sha. That is totally wrong. Plus in the final
sentence, the original Bengali purport uses the phrase the pralaya yet
that got wrongly translated as "the state of utter destruction".
Those are the two mistakes from sutra 1-21 of the English edition of
Ananda Sutram wherein pralaya got wrongly translated and printed as
"utter destruction".
WHY IT IS WRONG
According to Baba, when a jiiva'tma' reaches the apex stance of
pratisaincara and, due to sadhana and His divine grace, merges back into
the Supreme then that is pralaya or pran'a'sha because at the point the
unit has merged back into its Source. In that case there is no question
of there being "utter destruction" - the unit being has not been harmed,
ruined or destroyed. Rather a blissful merger has taken place as the
jiivatma has fulfilled its dharma and become one with Parama Purusa.
The dogmatic Hindu understanding of pralaya or pran'a'sha is destruction
and unfortunately that wrong notion got inserted in Ananda Sutram by
certain publishers. Such Hindus believe that the whole world will be
destroyed just as other religions harbor their own doomsday and
Armageddon philosophies. We however do not subscribe to such beliefs and
more about this is written below. Such fundamentalists do this to scare
and trap others in their dogma.
FIX YOUR BOOK: WHAT SHOULD BE
Everyone who has a copy of the English edition of Ananda Sutram should
cross out the two places where "utter destruction" appears in the
purport of sutra 1-21. In that very purport Baba Himself has perfectly
defined pralaya and pran'a'sha as "when the object merges in its cause,
that merger is called pralaya or pran'a'sha".
Hence where "utter destruction" was inserted in brackets it should be
deleted entirely, and where "utter destruction" was used as the
translated text, that phrase should be crossed out and the word pralaya
inserted. Then your personal English copy of Ananda Sutram will be
correct, otherwise not.
And again there is no doubt about this. Because in His Hindi discourse
printed in AV-26 (H) and AV-27 (H), Baba has specifically defined
pran'a'sha as meaning merger into the Supreme Source. That is why there
is no question of pran'a'sha or pralaya meaning anything else - there is
no possible confusion. Baba is always meticulous on such issues wherein
He gives His own dharmic explanation so people do not get misguided by
traditional dogmatic uses. He has done the same with brahamacarya. In AM
we have our dharmic understanding and traditional Hindu society has
their limited dogma. Baba addresses both so there is no confusion.
If still the publishers would like to explain further about the
meaning of pralaya, then they could use either a bracketed section
signifying merger into the Divine or perhaps add a footnote and write a
short paragraph. In that footnote, the editors can explain how when any
thing returns to its origin or source then that is pralaya. Just like
Baba did by giving the example of sugar being converted back into sugar
cane. Ultimately the editors have the freedom to choose on such matters.
But to print the phrase "utter destruction" as the perfection synonym or
translation of pralaya is totally misleading and wrong. Pralaya does not
mean "utter destruction". That is just the dogmatic Hindu understanding
of that term. In reality, according to Ananda Marga, pralaya means that
sweet and blissful merger back into the Supreme - to return to the
original source.
All in all the publishers are working hard on our AM books and they have
made vast strides in making our books better. In this case then they
could have done better.
BEWARE OF THIS KEY DISTINCTION
In AM philosophy, pralaya means the merger back into the Supreme, by His
grace.
The Hindus refer to pralaya as the demolition of this earth, or doomsday
etc.
Here it should be noted that there are many shared words between AM
philosophy and Hindu dogma that carry vastly different meanings: dharma,
brahamcarya, samskara, brahmin, shudra, dvija, vipra, svarga, naraka,
samadhi, yoga, yajina, murti, puja, Guru, and many more. There is the
AM dharmic meaning and the Hindu dogmatic sense.
In the same way pralaya in Hindi means utter destruction and in AM it
means merging back into the Supreme.
Only when Baba is referring to that Hindu dogma in order to dispel it -
since we do not prescribe to any doomsday theory - then Baba uses the
word pralaya in that sense.
Baba says, "Some philosophers, quoting the scriptures, say that a day of
final doom will darken the Earth when the dead will rise from the grave.
Others predict that a doomsday (pralaya)... will obliterate all forms of
life. One should laugh at such illogical doctrines. According to A'nanda Ma'rga
philosophy, this doomsday or pralaya will never occur...Thus, predictions
of an imminent doomsday should be of no concern to you. It is nonsense;
pralaya will never occur." (AV-7)
So in Ananda Marga, pralaya means the final merger back into Parama
Purusa whereas in the faulty Hindu doctrine pralaya means the utter
destruction of earth.
We must not confuse these meanings nor think that Baba gives an iota of
credence to the dogmatic Hindu concept of pralaya. He only uses the term
in that way in order to dispel that Hindu dogma.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace He has given a perfect philosophy and it is our duty to
make all the books proper. We should start by correcting our own
personal English edition of Ananda Sutram.
Those in Publications are trying hard and getting much better. Our
intention in this letter is simply to make the printed English edition
of Ananda Sutram mistake-free, not diminish the effort of those in
Publications. Even then, if they were more careful, they could have done
a better job.
We all need to make these important corrections in our copies of Ananda
Sutram (English edition); please inform others in your unit as well.
Baba says, "The scriptures containing spiritual injunctions must be
totally flawless." (NSS, Disc: 14)
Namaskar,
Ram Sahay
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Sadhana Symptoms
Sometimes a few margiis get confused by seeing others crying or rolling on
the ground during dharmacakra etc. They think that the person doing like
this is very exalted. But Baba says that when maturity of sadhana comes,
then such feelings and expressions do not manifest externally. Baba says
these things get expressed externally only in the case of very basic
beginners-- not with more developed margiis.
Baba says, "When sadhakas attain the capability to establish themselves in
cosmic feeling for long periods, these ideations are confined to the mental
body only and the physical body becomes calm to a great extent." (GHC,
'Iishvara Pranidhan' chapter)
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