The Ánanda Vacanámrtam (“Blissful Discourses”) series assembles all the known General Darshan discourses given by Márga Guru Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti. General Darshan (GD) speeches, or discourses, were those given to Ananda Marga members, often as a part of the daily routine, in whatever locality Márga Guru happened to be staying in at the time. Normally briefer and lighter in tone (though no less profound in their fundamental meanings) than the discourses given on the formal occasions of Dharma Mahácakra (DMC), these talks were sometimes delivered in a very intimate way to relatively small groups of Margis.

The Ananda Vacanámrtam series was begun in 1978 with the GD discourses given by the author at that time; it then kept pace with the GD discourses that the author gave over the subsequent six years. Starting with Part 23, the series has included GD speeches given before 1978. Most of the contents of this present volume is from that earlier period.

In this present volume, ten discourses (most of them quite short) have been assigned to the appendix “From the Notebooks of Devotees” in the last pages of the book. These are discourses that were recovered in the form of typed discourse notes; or in the form of typed transcripts of tapes where the original tape was no longer available to be checked. It was thought advisable to locate these discourses separately. Writers who wish to quote from these discourses should attribute the material to the “Ananda Vacanámrtam Part 30 appendix”.

Normally within each Ananda Vacanámrtam the discourses appear in chronological order. Although in this volume the appendix has been separated from the main text, within the main text and within the appendix, respectively, the chronological order has been maintained. Note that an interesting series of discourses given by the author in Patna on the 14th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 21st of December, 1971, has been included here – but since tape recordings are still available only for the first four of these discourses, the last two have been assigned to the appendix.

Under our normal procedures the discourse “The Dialogues of Shiva and Párvatii – 5” would have been published together with the other 1967 “Dialogues of Shiva and Párvatii” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23; but this dialogue had not been recovered at the time that that book was published. (Though this dialogue has been numbered “5”, since four had already been published and numbered, it was not actually the last of the series. It may have been third.)

Similarly, “Beware of Dogma” would normally have been published together with the author’s other 1979 Istanbul discourses in Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 14. It was not available at the time that book was published, however, so it has been included here.

To assist researchers, it is our policy to indicate here – in addition to the original language of each speech, the date and place, by whom it was translated, and where, if other than in this book, it was originally published – whether or not a tape of the speech is in existence. At the time of this printing, however, not all the cataloguing of tapes has been finished. Further information as to tapes will be given in future printings.

In the cases of some of the discourses published here, no written record was found of the language in which the discourse was given; but if the language could be clearly inferred from the location and other circumstances of the discourse, we have cited that language.

Footnotes by the editors have all been signed “–Eds.” Unsigned footnotes are those of the author.

Square brackets [   ] in the text are used to indicate translations by the editors or other editorial insertions. Round brackets (   ) indicate a word or words originally given by the author.

The author used a certain shorthand for explaining the etymologies of words. Under this system, a minus sign (–) follows a prefix, and a plus sign (+) precedes a suffix. Thus ava – tr + ghaiṋ = avatára can be read, “the root tr prefixed by ava and suffixed by ghaiṋ becomes avatára.”

“Dagdhabiija”. Discourse in Hindi. First English publication in Bodhi Kalpa, Oct. 1968. English re-editing by Ácárya Acyutánanda Avadhúta.

“The Dialogues of Shiva and Párvatii – 5”. Discourse in Hindi. First English publication in Prout, Aug. 19, 1967. Original date and place not identified in Prout. English re-editing by Ácárya Acyutánanda Avadhúta.

“Self-Transcendence”. First English publication in a magazine (Supreme Expression I noted: “This book is compiled from articles… previously printed in the magazines: Cosmic Society, Bodhi Kalpa, Education and Culture and others”). Second English publication in Supreme Expression I, 1978. Original language, date and place not identified in Supreme Expression I. English re-editing by Ácárya Acyutánanda Avadhúta.

“The Subtlest Propensity”. Discourse in English. Tape.

“Macropsychic Conation”. Discourse in English. Tape.

“Ascribe Brahma-hood to All”. Discourse in English. Tape.

“The Sound of God”. Discourse in English. Tape.

“Twice Born”. Discourse in English. Tape. Source of first sentence (not on tape): early typed transcript of tape.

“The Four Kinds of Service”. Discourse in English. Tape.

“Hara’s Seven Secrets”. Discourse in Hindi. First English publication as “Bábá’s Morning General Darshan at Bombay” in Prajiṋá Bháratii. English re-editing by Ácárya Acyutánanda Avadhúta.

“Self-Realization and Service to Humanity”. Discourse in Hindi. First English publication as “Self-Liberation and Service to Humanity” in Prajiṋá Bháratii. English re-editing by Ácárya Acyutánanda Avadhúta.

“Human Expressions and Human Movements”. Discourse in English. Original English publication as “Human Expression” in Bábá in Fiesch, 1979.

“Parama Puruśa within Everyone”. Discourse in English. Tape.

“Ideological Flow and the Eight-Fold Path”. Discourse in English. Tape.

“Beware of Dogma”. Discourse in English. Original English publication in Prajiṋá Bháratii, Jan.-Feb. 1980. Second English publication in Prout in a Nutshell Part 9, 1987.

“Samatábháva”. First English publication in Supreme Guide. Original language, date and place not identified in Supreme Guide. English re-editing by Ácárya Acyutánanda Avadhúta.

“The Most Dignified Section of Human Society”. Discourse in English. Original publication in English in Trishula, Vol. 2 No. 12, Feb. 1980.

“Longings of Microcosms”. Discourse in Hindi. First English publication as “Longings of Microcosms and Grace of the Supreme Being” in a magazine. The magazine mentioned, “Notes from Discourse of Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti”. English re-editing by Ácárya Acyutánanda Avadhúta.

“The Phases of Human Approach”. First English publication as “Communication and Human Approach” in a magazine. Original language, date and place not identified in the magazine. English re-editing by Ácárya Acyutánanda Avadhúta.

Appendix: From the Notebooks of Devotees

“Principles and Practice of Philosophy and Cult”. Discourse in English. Sources: typed notes and “My Beloved Bábá” Philippines booklet. The typed notes mention, “Substance of Bábá’s Discourse. Evening 24-5-69”. (The typed notes date this discourse and the following one as “24-5-69” and “26-5-69” respectively, but a tape of three General Darshans and a DMC in Manila gives the dates of the three GD’s as 21 April, 22 April and 23 April 69. The only other set of notes available in the same typing as that of this discourse [and the next] is of a DMC in Ranchi on “25-5-69”, a date and place corroborated by two GD’s in Ranchi on 23 May 69 and one on 24 May 69. That the author toured the Philippines in April only is also corroborated by evidence regarding the author’s tour from Indian magazines. So we have dated this discourse and the following one as April, not May, 1969. The taped GD’s from Manila and the GD’s from Ranchi may all be found in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 23.)

“Surrender”. Discourse in English. Sources: typed notes and “My Beloved Bábá” Philippines booklet. The typed notes mention, “Departing Talk on 26-5-69. Summary”. (Regarding the date, however, see above entry.)

“June-July 1970”. Discourses in English. Sources: typed notes. A handwritten note added after the typing of the second discourse indicates that the typing was done from earlier handwriting, and that as regards the second paragraph of the second discourse, that earlier handwriting was not clear.

“You Live According to God’s Desire”. Discourse in English. Source: typed notes.

“The True Devotee”. Discourse in Hindi. Source: typed notes. The typed notes mention, “Paraphrased from a translation of Bábá’s darshan by Amogha Siddhi”. English re-editing by Ácárya Acyutánanda Avadhúta.

“One and Zero”. Discourse in English. Source: typed notes. The typed notes mention, “Paraphrased (from the English darshan) by Amogha Siddhi”.

“He Is Everywhere”. Discourse in English. Original English publication in a magazine (Supreme Expression I noted: “This book is compiled from articles… previously printed in the magazines: Cosmic Society, Bodhi Kalpa, Education and Culture and others”). Second English publication as “Lord’s Grace” in Supreme Expression I, 1978. Other source: Transcript of tape, typed by Shrii Vásudeva.

“Occult Powers or Parama Puruśa?” Discourse in English. Source: Transcript of tape, typed by Shrii Vásudeva.

“Bio-Psycho-Spiritual System of Kiirtana”. Discourse in English. Source: typed notes.

“Mysticism”. Source: typed notes. Original language not identified in the typed notes.

Note that besides the previous occasions of publication mentioned above for different discourses, the discourses “Dagdhabiija”, “The Sound of God”, “Surrender”, “The True Devotee”, “One and Zero” and “Occult Powers or Parama Puruśa” also appeared in Bábá’s Grace, 1973. “Self-Transcendence” also appeared there, as “God”; “You Live According to God’s Desire” as “Live According to God’s Desire”; and part of “He Is Everywhere” as “The Lord’s Palms”.

We particularly wish to thank Ácárya Prańavátmakánanda Avadhúta, who went to much trouble to collect Márga Guru’s GD discourses from old magazines and newspapers, and from the notebooks of different sádhakas; Shrii Giri Dhara and Shrii Vinaya of New York Sector, and Táttvika Dhanjoo Ghista of Delhi Sector, who sent us discourses that they had collected in similar form; and Avadhútiká Ánanda Rucirá Ácáryá, who provided great assistance in the editing.