A New Style of Editing
"Reading material printed in Akhand Jyoti is not compiled from any arbitrary sources. In-depth study and experience of the exponents is behind each and every line of what is printed in it."
— Param Poojya Gurudev Akhand Jyoti kyuṅ paḍhen? Kyuṅ maṅgāyeṅ? (Akhand Jyoti – Hindi, Nov. 1978, p. 55, 56)
Dadda's eyes shone brilliantly as he said, "Akhand Jyoti has developed a new style of editing." He had become very old now, but his face still radiated energy. He was a great poet, wonderful prose writer and an extraordinary editor. As editor of Prabha, Karmaveer and Pratap, he had developed three different aspects of editing. He was not only a gifted writer but also a great speaker. He had a very radiant personality. This person who was of medium build, fair complexioned, had thoughtful eyes, a sharp nose, certain gentleness — and brashness too. Whether he opened his mouth to speak or used his pen to write, it was either like a volcano getting erupted or like the flow of soothing waters of river Narmada. Makhanlal Chaturvedi (Dadda), who called himself the son of Narmada, was currently speaking on writing and editing.
At that time, he was talking to the people assembled near him about the magazines that were published during that time. Those who heard him or those who had not; those who were near him and those who were far — all of them knew that he who introduced himself as 'An Indian soul' possessed extreme levels of forthrightness and honesty. During the days of Independence struggle, when he went to the bungalow of English Deputy Commissioner for registration of Karmaveer, the officer had asked: "By the way, why do you want to publish a magazine like Karmaveer?" He had replied: "English literature is submissive. I want to publish articles which will shake up the British government." He had the same attitude even after attainment of independence. That is why he returned the honour of Padma Vibhushan conferred on him by the Indian government in 1963 to oppose the injustice done to the National language by the National Language Amendment Act (Rajabhasha sanshodhan vidheyak) on 10th September, 1967.
Dadda was a revolutionary, but a divine and a great person. During the talk mentioned above, he said: "Words are formed by letters, and can be dragged anywhere. But they experience their complete glory only in the hands of literati. Victorious shouts are heard when they move their feet and they make heads bow even in pain. Smiles are sweet, but sweeter are the tears." On hearing these words, Ram Sharan Sharma who was present near him expressed his inquisitiveness: "Dadda, do you regularly read Akhand Jyoti?" He replied, "May not be regularly, but I do read Akhand Jyoti. But when I read it, I read it with utmost concentration."
While giving this reply, he turned to the inquisitive person and said: "A young man named Chandramouli Chaturvedi comes to me. He is very interested in Gayatri Sadhana. He even visits Mathura a number of times in a year. It is through him that I get a chance to read Akhand Jyoti. There are scores of religious and spiritual magazines that get published, but the quality and compilation of this magazine is better than any other literary magazine." Saying this, he read out an excerpt from October 1963 issue of Akhand Jyoti: "A person lives in absolute luxury while a poor man who lives right below his palatial house cannot afford to light a lamp. This disparity is so undesirable. One person splurges money in sweetmeats, eats a little and throws the rest away while some others are not fortunate to even eat dry bread. This is the wretched reality of flamboyance in the world."
He read out this portion and said, "The words reflect the pain of the person who has written them. He is expressing his feelings and agony through these words. There is a beautiful blend of feelings and the choice of words, not only in this essay but in all the articles. Each and every one of them has been composed and compiled with the same expertise. Whenever I read this article, I feel that Mother Adi Shakti is empowering his composition and editing. This unique style of editing is rare to be seen not only in Hindi literature but in other languages as well."
When elderly Chaturvediji was speaking these words, there was immense enthusiasm in him. There was a unique sparkle in his eyes. In this sequence of conversation Ram Sharan Sharma asked him, "Dadda, have you ever met the editor of Akhand Jyoti?" In reply to this question, he spoke in an enthusiastic voice: "Yes, why not? I have met him once. There was his program in a nearby place. Chandramouli requested me quite earnestly, but I could not manage to go. My health had deteriorated quite a bit during those days. But when Chandramouli discussed with him, he himself came to meet me." Saying these words, he began reminiscing those moments and remained silent for some time.
He ended his brief pause with these words, "One could probably count the number of drops of overflowing Narmada River, but it is impossible to enumerate all his virtues. He is not only a writer-editor; he is a tapasvi and a rishi of the highest order." While this conversation was in progress, Chandramouli Sharma also came there. He had the December 1963 edition of Akhand Jyoti with him. As soon as he came in, he offered his respects at the feet of Dadda and put Akhand Jyoti in his hands. He was very happy on the sequence of events and said: "What a coincidence! We have been presently discussing about Akhand Jyoti and now you too have joined." With these words, he started flipping through the pages of the new edition.
As he was reading, his eyes fell upon a page and he read out those lines loudly: "We are all the progeny of one father. There is nothing more wretched than being happy at other's distress." After reading this portion of the text, he said, "This is true spirituality — the feelings that are emanating from the heart of the writer." After that he read the full article and said: "This is what is called extraordinary sculpting of words. In this essay, the significance of each and every word is such as that of a brick in a mansion. Even if a single brick moves from its place, the whole mansion could collapse. This is true with respect to all the articles published in Akhand Jyoti. Even if a single word gets misplaced, there is a danger of losing out on beauty and composition. There is another extremely unique feature about this magazine — almost all the articles are written by the editor himself. After reading the entire magazine, you might at times feel that the mind behind this work is that of a fire-spitting volcano, while at other times you feel the cool, breezy waves of philosophical thoughts. While there is anguish of a powerful man, there is also a clarion call filled with kindness and mercy. This is true sensitivity brimming in the words of the editor."
Once the seeker Agnivesh enquired from Acharya Charak, "What is the cause of the numerous diseases found in the world?" The Acharya replied, "The physical and mental ailments arise in direct proportion to the quantum of sins which a person accumulates. Not only personal ailments but also the collective punishments inflicted by nature are the result of man's collective degeneration."
The law of cause and effect is guiding all the activities in the world. The whole Nature is bound by this rule. Those who are wise are aware of this eternal truth and accept the good or bad rewards of their action with equanimity.
"The whole universe is one. There is only one Self in the universe, only One Existence, and that One Existence, when it passes through the forms of time, space, causation, is called by different names, buddhi, fine matter, gross matter, all mental and physical forms. Everything in the universe is that One, appearing in various forms. When a little part of it comes, as it were, into this network of time, space and causation, it takes forms. Take off the network, and it is all one." — Swami Vivekananda
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." — Eleanor Roosevelt
"You have to dream before your dreams can come true." — Abdul Kalam
"My Life is My Message." — Mahatma Gandhi