Baba
Sin of Divyachetanananda: photo in newspaper
Namaskar,
Baba places great importance on the study of history as it enables both individuals and communities to learn from past mistakes and thereby progress. Failing that, without the study of history, people commit the same old blunders over and over again. In which case, they remain shackled by the crimes of the past and are unable to advance. So the review of history holds a unique place for the progress of any society.
As Ananda Margiis, we must know the history of Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha (AMPS) and our stand on key events. And we should certainly know about the sanctity of Baba’s photo and why it should never be printed in the newspaper. Yet time and time again this standard is not followed, as evidenced in the below account. Although this is the first time this particular correspondence has been posted publicly, this topic has been addressed over and over again yet these types of contraventions remain quite common in our AMPS, especially with Divyachetanananda.
In Him,
Dr. Gopal
Ananda Marga News Bulletin Moderators
Note: This is the first time this correspondence has been publicly posted on this network.
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Respected Sukulji,
Namaskar. Here are points for replying to Dada Divyachetanandji.
From: Divyachetananand Avadhuta <divyachetananand@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Jul 17, 2014 at 2:30 PM
Subject:
To: tr sukul <trsukulsagar@gmail.com>
Respected brother,
Namaskar.
Divyachetananand says: I appreciate your concern about sanctity of Guru's Pratikrti.
There is another dimension to this issue which was raised before Baba, when He was President and Purodha Pramukh of the organization. When Baba fought with top level administration when He was put in jail, and came out victorious, the whole media wanted to know about Him. and also common people. Baba's contributions to humanity in innumerable fields made Him a mystery and so it was natural the people, especially intellectuals would become curious about Him. So He was approached to allow to print His photograph in Prout in Nutshell series, which was to be printed and after due consideration
Dharmic Reply #1: Dadaji has no idea what he is talking about. He is trying to portray himself as being someone very knowledgeable and great but the exact opposite has happened. Baba came out of jail in 1978 and the Prout Nutshell series was published in 1987. So Dadaji is terribly mixing up two vastly different incidents. Yet he is talking as if he is the source of all information.When in fact he has made a grave error by circulating the newspaper article and photo and breaking the sanctity of Guru's image."You shall protect, in all respects and at all costs, the dignity of your treasures and the sanctity of your flag, of your emblem, and of the pratikrti [photo] of Márga Guru.” (Caryacarya, Part 1, Treasures of Ananda Marga)Per Caryacarya, Dadaji should admit his mistake, apologize, and ask for punishment."...If there is even a little fault in you, you should keep your mouth closed and accept it all, and you should thank the person for pointing out your fault and ask for punishment." (Caryacarya part 2, Sadhana, pt #20)"Due to carelessness, if any mistake has been committed unknowingly or unconsciously, one must admit it immediately and ask for punishment. " (Fifteen Shiilas, pt #11)Unfortunately, due to his cowardly nature, thus far Dadaji is unwilling to admit his mistake. If this is not true, then this very instant he should come forward, apologize, and ask for punishment.
Divyachetananand says: He agreed. Baba's photo was also printed in several Marga magazines with His due permission.
Dharmic Reply #2: This is not correct, rather so many false and bogus things were printed.
Divyachetananand says: These days media has become very powerful.
Dharmic Reply #3: Why is Dadaji acting like a coward and bowing down and surrendering to the media channels. Baba always says we should stand tall in the face of injustices and exploitation and we should never give in to such parties. Yet, here it seems that Dadaji is completely giving up. This is a most shameful quality.
Divyachetananand says: Several margiis, especially from overseas do not appreciate what Baba has asked us in CC.
Dharmic Reply #4: Dadaji is just rampantly and blindly blaming an entire section of margiis as if they are traitors to Guru. Indeed, instead of taking responsibility for his own actions he is blaming and pointing fingers at others.
Divyachetananand says: They have uploaded all the photographs available in internet. In this scenario, if we do not give photo of Baba to the media, they can easily download it from net.
Dharmic Reply #5: Dadaji is just rampantly and blindly blaming an entire section of margiis as if they are traitors to Guru. Indeed, instead of taking responsibility for his own actions. This is the height of hypocrisy.
Divyachetananand says: During Baba's time Baba's photo was printed in newspapers on special occasions with His permission.
Dharmic Reply #6: That is patently false. So many things occurred those days that Baba never approved of those days including all kinds of smuggling etc. So just because something happened does not mean that Baba supported it.
Divyachetananand says: So considering all these dimensions and keeping good relations with media, which is very important for us to propagate His ideology, we have given them a photo which they print along with the article.
Thanks for writing me.
with regards,
Ac. Divyacetanananda Avadhuta
Points in Review:
-
Dada Divyachetanandji is a coward; he is not following the CC directive
to beg apology in the face of wrongdoing - rather he is skirting the
issue and blaming overseas margiis.
- Dadaji is surrendering to the capitalist media empire. The truth of the matter is that he himself distributed the photo to the media channels. They did not take it from his pocket etc. Dadaji may justify that he did not give it to them but the opposite is the case - he did give them the photo.
- The two other newspaper articles did not have photos of Baba, just this article.
- It is important to note that - regardless where the media got the photo from - if they are given the stipulation that it goes against our sentiment and ethic to have Guru's photo printed in the paper, then they will comply. They are businessmen and ultimately they want their readers / customers to be happy and they do not want to alienate a section of the population. It is just like how they will not print cartoons of the prophet Mohammed for fear of offending Muslims. Similarly, now the media is showing pictures of gay people kissing one another because the gay community likes that - so in this case those business-minded news agencies are including photos to please their readership & gain customers.
- Clearly Dadaji did not read this section of the letter:
- Dadaji is surrendering to the capitalist media empire. The truth of the matter is that he himself distributed the photo to the media channels. They did not take it from his pocket etc. Dadaji may justify that he did not give it to them but the opposite is the case - he did give them the photo.
- The two other newspaper articles did not have photos of Baba, just this article.
- It is important to note that - regardless where the media got the photo from - if they are given the stipulation that it goes against our sentiment and ethic to have Guru's photo printed in the paper, then they will comply. They are businessmen and ultimately they want their readers / customers to be happy and they do not want to alienate a section of the population. It is just like how they will not print cartoons of the prophet Mohammed for fear of offending Muslims. Similarly, now the media is showing pictures of gay people kissing one another because the gay community likes that - so in this case those business-minded news agencies are including photos to please their readership & gain customers.
- Clearly Dadaji did not read this section of the letter:
OUR STIPULATION TO NEWSPAPER EDITORSEvery newspaper and publication must abide by certain ethics. So when they wish to print Ananda Marga news, or when we submit one of Baba’s discourses for publication and the editors ask for Baba’s photo, then at that point we must deny their request and point out that it goes against our devotional cult to have Guru’s photo printed in the newspaper. We must firmly stipulate that under no circumstances should they print Baba’s photo. And we should appeal to their business interests: They want all their customers and clients to be satisfied and happy.We can then suggest that if they need an image they can use a photo from one of our service projects or Ananda Marga banners etc.This should satisfy those newspaper editors and they will still be able to supply their readers with the material they desire. So we should be able to come to an easy agreement with newspaper staff members. Because as stated, they are a business and they do not want to do anything that would rile their customer base.- When anyone goes against Ista and adarsha, then the situation must not be overlooked and they should not be pardoned. Up till now so many purodhas have done harm. And those situations must be addressed and step by step they are getting addressed. So just because Dadaji is a Wt does not mean he can avoid the situation - he did wrong and he should admit his mistake, apologize, and ask for punishment.
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