== RE: CIRCUMCISION & HERD PSYCHOLOGY ==
Namaskar,
This is in follow-up to the earlier letter as some still seem to have
questions and confusion about this.
Here we are going to discuss two points: How and why circumcision was
adopted by the Semitic religions and the mistranslation regarding
circumcision and Caryacarya.
This is a short letter - all should write in with their thoughts and
queries.
BRIEF HISTORY OF SEMITIC RELIGION & CIRCUMCISION
Circumcision began in the Semitic religions and then spread around the
world. And here is why those religions adopted circumcision.
The Semitic religions basically took birth in the desert of the Middle
East where it was dry, sandy, and drought-prone. What was a scarcity. In
that case having extra water to clean the genital organ and the area
beneath the foreskin was a luxury that they did not have. Extra water
was not readily available. So for hygienic purposes they cur the foreskin.
Actually in beginning, circumcision was performed on males and females
and but because female was very serious and there was a lot of
bleeding,that is why it was stopped in most places. But the male
circumcisions continued and spread around the globe.
Here the point is that all the religions developed their own rituals
based on their own local conditions and climate. Their rules and
regulations are not grounded in logic and rationality, but rather
convenience. Those Semitic religions - being from desert regions - took
to burying dead bodies because they had lots of open space and suffered
from a shortage of wood so burning the bodies was not always possible.
In AM though we should follow Baba's teachings, not the customs of the
dogmatic religions, because AM teachings are founded in rationality, not
convenience.
CIRCUMCISION & CARYACARYA
Now let's come to the point of how circumcision got placed in Caryacarya.
When Baba first delivered His guidelines of Sixteen Points in Patna just
prior to the jail period, then Baba has simply told all margiis to pull
the foreskin back. No further option has given and the Hindi and Bengali
books of Caryacarya reflect His golden guideline. Meaning: Pulling the
foreskin back is the sole teaching of point #2 of Sixteen points.
In those original Caryacarya books there is no mention of the word
circumcision.
Only when certain later English editions of Caryacarya got printed did
the word "circumcision" appear on the scene. Thus, when preparing the
book for overseas sales, it seems those editors in short-sighted way
made the so-called link that being circumcised fulfills the guideline of
"keeping the foreskin pulled back". Yet in actuality, the circumcision
term has nothing to do with Baba's expressed guideline.
We can say were two basic reasons why the circumcision term got inserted
into Caryacarya under point #2 of Sixteen Points
1. The translation was wrong - period - as there is no mention of
circumcision in Baba's original talks and listing of Sixteen Points.
2. The editors sympathized with ongoing Semitic dogma so readers /
overseas margiis would not get reacted. This was all due to the mental
weakness and miscalculation of the translator.
The historical backdrop of course was that this was during the jail
period and everyone was busy and under others pressure. In that hectic
environment, this dogma of circumcision was infused and accepted.
It was just in their naive way of dealing, on their own those editors
actually gave circumcision as an option and printed that word in the
English version of Caryacarya-- when in fact this is not Baba's
guideline. And this word 'circumcision' never ever got included in the
Hindi or Bengali editions of Caryacarya. Baba has never included it. And
to this very day you will not find it in those editions of Caryacarya.
Those interested should read the original.
DO NOT FALL PREY TO HERD PSYCHOLOGY
Here we should remember that we are Ananda Margiis and our only way is
to follow Baba's teachings, not the wayward dealing of the various
religions whether it be casteism of Hinduism or circumcision of the
Semitic religions. We should not follow the masses in either of these
directions - nor in any other ritualistic tradition.
With our pointed intellect we are to understand AM teachings and follow
that - thus we should all be critically aware that circumcision is not
part of our AM way of life.
Namaskar,
Vinay
Note 1: OTHER LETTERS ON CIRCUMCISION
(A) Read here for more critical facts on the dogma of circumcision.
(B) Read here to find out why it is faulty to think circumcision helps
prevent AIDS.
(C) These two letters address the original aspects of Sixteen Points and
why circumcision is not in accordance with Baba's teachings.
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2008/11/improving-sadhana-iv.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2008/11/improving-sadhana-iii.html
(D) This letter contains key points from Senior Acary Diary:
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