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Appendices
729
It is not possible to give here a critical rcvicw of all thcsc writings and translations; on the other hand, an analysis of one of these works would give little idea of the others. After studying cight of them, each one representative of a different type of writing, I can say that:
- the commentaries and doctrinal works are, fundamentally, perfectly faithful to the original texts and use clear and expressive language;
- the same applics to the translations;
- the hymns of praisc, both Sanskrit and Hindi, are spontaneous outpourings, expressing profound conviction and devotion; they are the jewels of her cntirc output.
Nevertheless, it must be said that certain of these works, from the technical and scientific points of vicw, present some deficiencies. It would be tcdious to make of these a detailed list, but it is not difficult to find the reason for what, from the outside, may seem a certain negligence. Mātāji works alone and herself writes all her manuscripts. She possesses the original texts and the pricipal commentaries upon them, but the library at her disposal is very limited. The two young disciples who help in the publication process have a good basic knowledge of the doctrine, are very devoted and, allowance being made for local conditions, do a good job. However, they do not have either the knowledge or technical experience necessary for this type of work. One could wish that Mātāji might have one or two competent pandits to help her, a better-equipped library and collaborators with specialist knowledge of the publishing side - this with the aim of producing her works as perscctly as possible. Mātāji, with whom I shared these observations, is of the same mind, but this poses considerable practical problems: what pandit could be found willing to devote himself to this close collaboration and how could a salary be assured? Furthermore, to acquire a thorough technical training would require a long apprenticeship in a specialised institution.
This important problem is not new and arises in an ascetic milieu which, as such, is a world of its own, a little removed from society. In all the religious traditions, there has always been this sort of nonrelation between learned monks and scholarly academics. These are two worlds apart, two different milieus, which have, nevertheless, a
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