The Subháśita Saḿgraha (“Collected Discourses”) series assembles all the Dharma Mahácakra (DMC) discourses given by Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti. Dharma Mahácakras, large spiritual congregations addressed by Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti, were held in cities and towns all over the world. They were an important feature of Ananda Marga throughout most of Ánandamúrtijii’s long life as its preceptor. The first DMC was held on 1 January 1955, and within less than two years, that DMC discourse and ten more appeared in book form as Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 1.

As far as possible throughout the publication of the Subháśita Saḿgraha series, the chronological order of the discourses, both within each part and among the various parts, has been maintained. However, pressures such as those occasioned by the Emergency meant that many discourses, though preserved in one medium or other, were unavailable when their normal turn came for publication. Starting with Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 18 (1991), such discourses have been published (so as not to delay their printing) in the order in which they happened to be recovered by our archivists. Within each separate part, however, the chronological order has been maintained.

The present volume, Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 24, contains eleven discourses. The discourses were given by the author on diverse occasions over a period of fourteen years, but they have not been published before in authorized book form. Most of the discourses in this volume have been transcribed from tapes. Two of those for which no tape was available, “What Is the Primary Cause of the Universe and Who Is the Only Object of Ideation?” and “Mysticism and Spirituality”, were originally published in Ananda Marga magazines (the former as “Srśt́icakra and the Dhyeya of the Microcosm”), and subsequently in Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23. They have now been reprinted here, as recent research has proved that these are DMC discourses and therefore rightly belong in the Subháśita Saḿgraha series. “Mysticism and Spirituality” appears here without change. In the case of “What Is the Primary Cause of the Universe?”, however, whose sole previous source had been Cosmic Society, another translation was found in the Prout newspaper (from which the date and place were gleaned), so the discourse as printed here represents a combination of the two translations.

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.

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.”

“The Noumenal Progenitor”. Discourse in English. Tape. No date identified.

“What Is the Primary Cause of the Universe and Who Is the Only Object of Ideation?”. Discourse in Hindi. First published in English as “The Goal of Life” in Prout. Second English publication as “Srśt́icakra and the Dhyeya of the Microcosm” in Cosmic Society, 1 Jan. 1966. Third English publication as “Srśt́icakra and the Dhyeya of the Microcosm” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23, 1994 (English re-editing by Ácárya Acyutánanda Avadhúta).

“The Causal Matrix”. Discourse in English. Tape.

“The Supreme Cognition”. Discourse in English. Tape. Originally published in English as “The Cognitive Principle and the Causal Matrix” in Prajiṋá Bháratii (it was mistakenly identified as a 1971 Vizag General Darshan).

“The Grandeur of the Supreme Entity”. Discourse in English. Tape.

“Mysticism and Spirituality”. First published in English as “Mysticism and Spiritualism” in Divine Flame, 1970. Original language, date and place not identified in Divine Flame. Second English publication in Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23, 1994 (English re-editing by Ácárya Acyutánanda Avadhúta).

“Longing for the Great”. Discourse in English. Tape. First published in English as “Self-Knowledge: The Way of the ‘Practical Man’” in The New Generation. The main basis for considering this article a DMC discourse is that a 1969 Ánanda Dúta report on the author’s tour of the Philippines mentions that there was a DMC in Manila about “the aim of a yogi”. Of all known discourses given on that tour, that description best fits this one. Also appeared in Bábá’s Grace and Supreme Expression 1 (the latter from Nirvikalpa Printing, ’s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, 1978.)

“The Cosmological Order”. Discourse in English. Tape.

“Bhakti, Mukti and Parama Puruśa”. Discourse in English. Tape.

“Incantation and Human Progress”. Trilingual discourse in Bengali, Hindi and English. Tape. Original Bengali and Hindi portions tr. by Ác. Vijayánanda Avt. and Avtk. Ánanda Rucirá Ác.

“Macrocosmic Conation and Microcosmic Urge”. First published in English in a magazine. English re-editing by Ácárya Acyutánanda Avadhúta.

We particularly wish to thank Ácárya Prańavátmakánanda Avadhúta, who went to much trouble to recover archival material, and Táttvika Dhanjoo Ghista, who sent us discourses that he had collected.