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Shambuka Not Sudroka

Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2010 15:57:11 -0000 Subject: Shambuka Not Sudroka To: am-global@earthlink.net From: Satiish K Bhatia" Baba PS Intro: In this song, Parama Purusa Himself is directly talking with the devotee, however He has appeared in the form of one 'parii'-- (angel). "Rauniir parii elo jiivane, bha'loba'sa' d'hele dilo bhuvane..." (P.S. 2757) Purport: The angel with panoramic colours has taken advent in the life: It has saturated and inundated this whole universe with love. Now nobody is alien; nobody is distant; everyone is close-- my own kith and kin. The new dawn has come. Now the vast and meagre are sitting together on one seat. There is no difference between high and low. The divine angel has captivated everyone's heart. It has coloured everyone with its own divine colour. The angel is showering its smile with boundless affection upon one and all and narrating the tale of divinity. The angel has inundated this entire universe with the flooding of divine effulgence-- wiping away all cimmerian darkness. And it proclaims that, 'I am watching over one and all with love and care. I am eternally along with each and every one through my ota and prota yoga. I will always remain with you.' It also says, 'Bear in mind that humanity will be victorious and the staticity will be destroyed'. The divine angel furthermore proclaims, 'O human beings, keep your mind free from all complexes. Do not consider who is "high" or who is "low". Do not think that any unit entity is lowly. Always remember that the collection of all the units is the Cosmic. No one is outside; everyone is part of the singular divine Entity. O human beings, throw away your heavy load of samskaras, wipe away the stain of the past, and surrender your heart to the Divine Entity-- Parama Purusa. Victory is yours'... Note: In the above Prabhat Samgiita, this parii-- this divine angel-- is none other than Parama Purusa Himself.
== SHAMBUKA NOT SUDROKA ==
Namaskar, There is one very important story from the Ramayana that is recounted in our AM books, but due to human error it has been published incorrectly. We should all take careful note, update our own personal editions, and ensure that next time it is published correctly by contacting our AM Publications Dept. This story is of great significance to many, and non-margiis should not think that we have the facts wrong - that will only lead them to doubt other aspects of our AM teachings.
RAMA KILLS A SO-CALLED SHUDRA
Here is the key story from the mythological epic, the Ramayana, that was wrongly printed in the "Suppression, Repression and Oppression" chapter of Prout in a Nutshell Part 17. In this below paragraph, Baba is giving the teaching that it was wrong for Rama to kill a so-called shudra because he was performing worship. And the name of that so-called shudra is "Shambuka", but those who noted down Baba's discourse wrote "Sudroka". That is the critical error that is made. And that is how it got wrongly printed. Baba says, "In the mythological epic the Ramayana, Ram is the apostle of capitalism and Aryan supremacy while Ravana represents the non-Aryans. Ram is called “Marya'da' Pursus'ottama”. What is Marya'da' Purus'ottama? When Parama Purus'a comes into the world His actions and behaviour will be just like that of Parama Purus'a although He is in human form. This is the meaning of Marya'da' Purus'ottama. However, Ram did not behave like Parama Purus'a – he was not up to this standard. He killed Sudroka, a non-Aryan, when he was performing worship, and he killed him out of a sense of Aryan supremacy. At that time people believed that only Aryans and not non-Aryans should perform worship, but this dogmatic view cannot be supported." (PNS-17) So there are three things going on: 1) Baba is proving that Rama is mythological and that Rama's actions go against dharma. That is quite clear in the above paragraph. 2) Baba is taking a dharmic stand against casteism. The above two points are correctly portrayed in the above quote. It is this third point that is incorrect. And when any scholar, historian, or interested party reads this following point, then they may disregard all of Baba's teachings's therein. 3) Baba is stating that the name of the name of the shudra that Rama killed is Shambuka, but this got wrongly printed as Sudroka. So this is indeed a critical error because in this teaching Baba is condemning the very caste system which the Ramayana advocates. Today, there are many so-called harijans and members of the Dalit community who regularly reference this story as proof that Rama and his teachings about casteism are unjust. Those students and scholars of the Ramayana will question that if the name is wrong, then so many other points are probably wrong as well. In that way they will be suspicious of Baba's dharmic teachings. That is why this story is of such significance and that is why we should have every aspect of the story correct. Unfortunately, the name of the slain so-called shudra was wrongly printed, and that error will naturally cast doubt on the authenticity of the rest of the story.
WHY IT WAS WRONGLY PRINTED
The next question is how or why it got wrongly printed. One potential reason is that Baba gave this discourse in Kolkata on 13 November 1989. And the Ramayana is not well studied in Bengal. So the Dadas noting down Baba's discourse and / or the Dadas in the publication department were not familiar with the name of so-called shudra. Nor did they go back and ask Baba the exact name. Only they knew that the slain person was a "shudra" and with that memory the name "Sudroka" was born. The situation can be likened to if you met someone from France and forgot their name and in trying to remember it you just started calling them Frances. Likewise those Dadas knew he was a shudra so they just printed his name as Sudroka. When the real name of that so-called shudra was Shambuka. And this Shambuka character is well known in and around south India and everywhere that the Ramayana is studied. Hence many scholars will be quite skeptical of our version even though Baba is giving a dharmic teaching.
SUCH A SIGNIFICANT STORY ~ MUST BE CORRECTED
Again, this is a significant story because many believe Rama to be the incarnation of the Lord, yet in this account Baba is proving that Rama is not the Lord but a figure of human imagination, and the proof is that Rama's actions are not befitting that of Taraka Brahma or Marya'da' Pursus'ottama. No God in human form would follow caste dogma and kill a "shudra" simply because that so-called shudra was engaging in worship. No just or noble person can do like that - least of all Parama Purusa. Hence Baba is demonstrating that Rama is not Parama Purusa incarnate. And all those fighting against caste dogma use this story as the critical evidence that Rama's teachings on casteism are unjust and not to be followed. When our Marga upholds dharma and fights dogma in all spheres of life, then this critical story must be printed properly, lest good people become skeptical of all AM teachings. The other side of the coin is that those in the Marga who are not familiar with this story will verily think that the name "Shudroka" is correct, in which case they may wrongly preach the story to others. And learned people will think that we do not know we are talking about. They will doubt us - and rightly so. Finally, this wrong teaching about killing "shudras" in the Ramayana undermines human unity. It totally goes against our movement of ek manava samaj, or one human society. Thus the proper name "Shambuka" must be updated in Prout in a Nutshell Part 17 and all places where this discourse appears.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace all His teachings are pristine and pure and it is our bounden duty to ensure our AM books perfectly reflect Baba's divine gospel. Baba says, "The scriptures containing spiritual injunctions must be totally flawless." (NSS, Disc 14) Namaskar, Satiish
Note 1: HERE IS ONE REFERENCE
Here is one but reference of many on the web wherein they refer to the slain "shudra" as Shambuka.
*************************************** Where We Are
Baba says, "Common domestic animals are individualistic by nature. They are very self-centered. One animal does not usually come to the aid of another. Domestic animals are neither sincere nor devoted to their masters. In fact, they do not have the least sympathy for their masters' interests. Wherever they are, they live only for themselves." (PNS-15, p.42) Note 1: There are some who suffer from this dogma-- thinking that their pets are quite dedicated to them. Hence these persons are not aware of the fact. Because the truth is that wherever pets get their food they become theirs. One can witness this in the practical life if one has eyes to see. Note 2: This above Baba's teaching is related not only with domestic animals but with all animals. Actually, what to say about animals, unfortunately, these days under the negative influence of capitalism, human beings have degenerated to the level of such animals in that they are equally self-centered, living only for themselves, and not caring about others. In (a) capitalist countries and (b) metropolitan cities around the globe, such people are commonly available. They are so self-centered that they never care about others-- not even their own off-spring. Such crude and selfish people are worse than animals in human form. This entire scene is the negative outcome of capitalism-- which itself converts humans into beasts. Capitalist-minded people are the epitome of that; and they may even be regarded as common citizens. Then selfish mentality is the root cause of all the problems.
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