The Bhaktivedanta Archives replies to H.H. Vipramukhya SWami

[Guest guest]

Dear Devotees,

Please accept our most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

our eternal savior.

 

A rather critical email regarding the new version of the Bhaktivedanta

VedaBase was sent to the above conferences and individuals by His Holiness

Vipramukhya Swami in the last few days, the text of which is reproduced at

the end of this email for your reference. The devotees at the Bhaktivedanta

Archives welcome constructive criticism and are ever aspiring to be the

servants of the entire Vaisnava community. Therefore we wish to respond to

the points brought up by His Holiness Vipramukhya Swami, because we are

extremely concerned that a devotee in his position of authority in ISKCON

and especially within the ISKCON "cyber community" has reacted in such a

flippant and negative manner to an offering of the Bhaktivedanta Archives.

We sympathize with the struggle of all devotees who are intent on serving

the mission of Srila Prabhupada and apologize for any inconvenience caused

by our incompetence and other anarthas, however the tone and the intensity

of the attack by His Holiness Vipramukhya Swami leaves us no alternative but

to air these issues to those devotees with whom he has communicated.

 

1 Copy protection of the Bhaktivedanta VedaBase and the Dongle (key) issue.

 

The Bhaktivedanta Archives has tried various copy protection systems in the

past but our previous system of passwords and phone calls became a nuisance

and expense for VedaBase users especially those preaching outside the USA

time zones. Hence we had to come up with a better system for all. At the

present time and with the present technology, the cheapest and most

convenient effective system is the dongle. For desktop users there is

practically no inconvenience - just plug in and go. For the laptop user

there is very minor inconvenience. The dongle for laptops is much smaller

and lighter than the extra battery most serious laptop users have to lug

around. Laptop cases can be acquired that have convenient accessory pockets.

Something can be worked out. To use the terms His Holiness Vipramukhya Swami

uses like:

 

"impractical"

"it's only a matter of time before it gets lost somewhere" and

"risks having the little door over the printing port break off"

 

begs the questions:

 

"How hard is it to plug in something 2 inches by 1 3/4 inches?"

"Don't you think extra care should be taken when carrying the vani of Srila

Prabhupada?"

"Just how careless can one be when one sets up, uses and packs away a

library of the vani of Srila Prabhupada?"

 

We are talking about expensive electronic equipment here, not children's

toys. We are talking about an electronic library of Srila Prabhupada and

other Vaisnava publications. These are worshipable and worthy of awe and

reverence, what to speak of responsible computer handling.

 

2. Improvements in the interface.

 

To state as His Holiness Vipramukhya Swami does that "changes in the

interface seem cosmetic and unnecessary" is a gross distortion and

over-simplification of the reality. The goal of an interface is to give

greater functionality so that less experienced computer users can more

easily access the more powerful features of this very sophisticated program.

The Bhaktivedanta Archives personnel have worked long and hard to include

features that will make it easier for users of popular programs like Windows

to navigate the Bhaktivedanta VedaBase. To quote a previous cyber guru, "the

medium is the message" and if your medium is more user friendly, you enhance

the value of the program for all.

 

3. "Aside from a few bugs that I found already (it crashed on me twice,

though I'm not sure I can reproduce it)..."

 

If it cannot be reproduced then it cannot be called a bug. His Holiness

Vipramukhya Swami being a programmer himself, should know better than to

make such a statement. Unless you can verify that the bug is cause by the

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase and not by something or someone else, how can it be

called a bug? However, because of the increasing sophistication of the

Windows 95, 98 and NT operating systems and the inherent conflicts of

different computer configurations, it is increasingly difficult to create a

program of this size and complexity in the Windows environment. As a point

of interest we invited His Holiness Vipramukhya Swami to participate in beta

testing the program but he did not respond to our request. We thank the

devotees who participated in the beta program and we fixed whatever bugs

were found at that time. The release of this version was delayed in large

measure by some of these problems. Even now we are ready to fix any reported

bugs and request all users to inform us of any new ones that may arise.

 

4. New content.

 

As His Holiness Vipramukhya Swami points out "...it is nice having the Song

books and other things also on the disk." We request all readers of this

message to examine the list of contents in the VedaBase which we have

appended at the end of this message with the new materials indicated. Even a

cursory glance at this list will reveal that this is a major upgrade. To say

as His Holiness Vipramukhya Swami does, "All in all, I wouldn't recommend

the VedaBase if someone has the old one" and "I only wish to gripe about

it", begs even more questions regarding his vision and sense of purpose than

we are going to raise in this letter. This contrasts strongly with messages

we have received to date like:

 

"I have to say I am really pleased with the amount of work the Archives have

put into improving the previous release. The quantity of information in it

is astounding. You are also right in promoting its ease of use. It is much

easier to use than any of the previous versions. Thank you very much." A.

Dasa

 

"I have read the list of material included in the new VedaBase and I am in

complete awe. I had no idea that all of this had been added. It is frankly

more than I would have ever dreamed would be included. I would like to take

advantage of your open-hearted program of $25/month on my MasterCard. Thank

you for the time you spent with me on the phone and for answering my

questions. All glories to your service and my profound thanks to all of you

who have worked so hard on this project." M. Dasa

 

We are perfectly prepared to refund His Holiness Vipramukhya Swami the cost

of his upgrade in accordance with our customer satisfaction guarantee.

 

We thank you for your attention and beg your forgiveness for any offences.

 

Your humble servants,

The Bhaktivedanta Archives staff.

 

-------------------

 

Below is the entire listing of the Bhaktivedanta VedaBase.

 

The Bhaktivedanta VedaBase 4.11*

Released on Krishna Janmastami 1998

 

Full Contents: * = Extra Data in version 4.11

 

For Windows 95 / 98 / NT

 

[VedaBase #1 - Bhaktivedanta]

 

---BOOKS---

 

1. Beyond Birth and Death

2. Bhagavad-gita As It Is with

3. Contents & Translations,

4. Plus Over 250 Extra Reference Links * [New]

5. Civilization and Transcendence * [New]

6. Dharma: The Way of Transcendence * [New]

7. Easy Journey to Other Planets

8. Elevation to Krsna Consciousness

9. Gitar Gan, Bhagavad-gita, In Bengali Poetry * [New]

10. Journey of Self-Discovery

11. Krsna Consciousness,

12. The Topmost Yoga System

13. Krsna Consciousness, The Matchless Gift

14. Krsna, The Reservoir of Pleasure

15. Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

16. Life Comes From Life

17. Light of the Bhagavata

18. Laws of Nature: an Infallible Justice

19. Message of Godhead

20. Mukunda-mala-stotra

21. Narada-bhakti-sutra

22. Nectar of Devotion

23. Nectar of Instruction, Upadesamrta

24. On the Way to Krsna

25. Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers

26. Path of Perfection

27. Perfection of Yoga

28. Quest for Enlightenment * [New]

29. Raja-Vidya: The King of Knowledge

30. Renunciation Through Wisdom * [New]

31. Second Chance: The Near-Death Experience

32. Science of Self Realization

33. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta with

34. Contents & Translations * [New]

35. Sri Isopanisad

36. Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 1 - 12 with

37. Contents & Translations * [New]

38. Teachings of Lord Caitanya

39. Teachings Lord Kapila, The Son of Devahuti

40. Teachings of Queen Kunti

41. Transcendental Teachings of Prahlada Maharaja

 

---COMPILATIONS---

 

42. Namamrta, Nectar of the Holyname * [New]

43. Preaching is the Essence * [New]

44. Spiritual Master & Disciple * [New]

45. Varnasrama * [New]

 

---TRANSCRIPTIONS---

 

46. Arrival Addresses and Lectures (42)

47. Bhagavad-gita Lectures (419)

48. Cornerstone Ceremonies (2)

49. Conversations (1384)

50. Departure Talks (7)

51. Festival Lectures (47)

52. General Lectures (208)

53. Initiations & Lectures (66)

54. Nectar of Devotion Lectures (48)

55. Philosophy Discussions (56)

56. Purports to Songs (43)

57. Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures (923)

58. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures (100)

59. Sri Isopanisad Lectures (22)

60. Sri Brahma-samhita Lectures (1)

61. Wedding Ceremonies (5)

 

---CORRESPONDENCE---

 

62. Letters, 1965 - 1977

 

---EXTRA'S---

 

63. Bhaktivedanta Tape Ministry,

800 Tape Listings * [New]

64. New Bhaktivedanta Tape Ministry,

320 Tape Listings * [New]

65. Bhaktivedanta Hindi Tape Ministry,

32 Tape Listings * [New]

66. CD Music, 26 CD Title Listings * [New]

67. CD Music, Text of 23 CD's * [New]

68. Bhaktivedanta CD Ministry, 39 CD Listings * [New]

69. Chronology, 1965-1977 * [New]

70. Glossary, 2500+ Entries * [New]

71. Thousands of new Links in the books & transcriptions

 

[VedaBase #2 - Supplementary]

 

---BHAKTIVEDANTA INSTITUTE---

 

72. Consciousness / The Missing Link * [New]

73. Scientific Basis of Krsna Consciousness * [New]

74. Vedic Cosmography and Astronomy * [New]

 

---COOK BOOKS---

 

75. Great Vegetarian Dishes, (Kurma dasa) * [New]

76. Vegetarian Cooking, 2nd Edition (Adiraj dasa) * [New]

77. Hare Krsna Cook Book, Original Edition, 1973 * [New]

 

---BIOGRAPHY /GLORIFICATION---

 

78. Lilamrta (Seven Volumes) * [New]

79. Srila Prabhupada in Malaysia (Janananda dasa) * [New]

80. Acharya (Sesa dasa) * [New]

81. TKG's Diary (Tamal Krishna Goswami) * [New]

82. Srila Prabhupada Uvaca (Srutakirti) * [New]

83. Servant of the Servant (Tamal Krishna Goswami) * [New]

 

---KRSNA INSTITUTE---

 

84. Tattva-viveka * [New]

85. Sri Prema-bhakti-candrika * [New]

 

---HAND BOOKS---

 

86. Pancaratra Pradip,

87. Deity Worship Handbook * [New]

88. Hare Krsna Handbook, 1970 * [New]

 

---SONG / VERSE BOOKS---

 

89. Srila Prabhupada Slokas * [New]

90. Introductory Temple Mantra Guide * [New]

91. Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas * [New]

92. Prakrta Rasa Sata Dusini, * [New]

93. Baul Sangit Songs of the Madman * [New]

94. Sri Godruma-Candra-Bhajana-Upadesa * [New]

95. Gitavali * [New]

96. Saranagati * [New]

97. The Literary Works of Srila Thakura Bhaktivinoda * [New]

98. More Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas * [New]

 

----KRSNA CONSCIOUS PLAYS---

 

99. Plays (90) * [New]

 

---MISCELLANEOUS---

 

100. Study Guide to Bhagavad-gita * [New]

101. Coming Back * [New]

102. Divine Nature * [New]

103. Chant & Be Happy * [New]

104. Our Original Position * [New]

105. Krsna Consciousness is Authorized * [New]

106. Readings in Vedic Literature * [New]

107. Prabhupada, Centennial Leaflet * [New]

108. Vaisnava Etiquette * [New]

109. Responsible Publishing * [New]

110. Vrndavana Bhajana * [New]

111. Vyasa-puja 1961 * [New]

112. English Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Lectures * [New]

 

[VedaBase #3 - Historical]

 

---BOOKS---

 

113. Srimad-Bhagavatam, First Canto,

114. Pre-1965, India

115. The Beginning-26 2nd Ave, 1966 * [New]

116. Jaladuta Diary, 1965-66 * [New]

117. Bhagavad-gita As It Is, MacMillan 1972 * [New]

118. Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Collier / MacMillan 1968 * [New]

 

---MAGAZINES---

 

119. Pioneer Years - 1944-1960,

120. Back to Godhead Magazines

 

---ESSAYS---

 

121. Various Essays

 

---CORRESPONDENCE---

 

122. Letters, 1947-1964

 

---ADDITIONAL---:

 

17,000 Slides of Srila Prabhupada

(Thumb-nails).

1600 BBT Artworks (Thumb-nails).

CD Music Sample Sounds.

 

 

---NEW PROGRAM FEATURES---:

 

32 Bit Applications (Windows 95/98/NT).

New Text Filters.

Easier User Friendly Interface.

More Powerful Search Engine.

Enhanced Navigation for Bg., SB & Cc.

Devanagri & Bengali Script.

(In Bg., S.B. 1, 2, 5-9, Cc. Madhya, Antya)

Multiple Choice of Diacritic Fonts.

Multiple Windows Shown In the Same View.

Enhanced Table of Contents.

Enhanced Printing Menu.

Automated Program Installation.

New Transcriptions & Letters Search Only.

Vast Majority of Spelling Errors Corrected

Copy & Paste with Automatic Reference.

File Save with Append;

a) Automatic Reference or Not

b) Diacritics Filter or Not

Expanding Menu for Table of Contents.

Selected Item (Branch) Searches.

Easy Customized Applied Searchable High-liters.

Expanded Search History.

Zoom (20-200%).

Customizable Interface.

Complete Windows NT Support.

Copy Protection Hardlock*.

No More Calls Necessary for Passwords! (4.11 only)

 

 

To order or for more information please contact Ekanath das:

 

Retail price is still the same at $595.-

Current customers can upgrade for just $85 including shipping.

 

$25 monthly installment plan available without interest!

We accept all main credit cards.

 

Ekanath (AT) mindspring (DOT) com

 

Ekanath das

Bhaktivedanta Archives

P.O. Box 255

Sandy Ridge, NC 27046

Tel. 336-871-3636

Fax 336-871-3641

 

Please Note: The copy protection hardlock which comes with the Bhaktivedanta

VedaBase is not compatible with bi-directional printers. An additional

parallel port may be required. PCMCIA cards as a replacement of the

hardlocks will be available in the very near future at an additional cost of

$65.

---

Below is the letter sent by Vipramukhya Swami

 

 

Dongle Bongle

08/28 2:09 AM

Received: 08/28 10:24 AM

Vipramukhya Swami, Vipramukhya.Swami (AT) com (DOT) bbt.se

Bhaktivedanta.Archives (AT) com (DOT) bbt.se

UK.Forum (AT) com (DOT) bbt.se

Canadian.Forum (AT) com (DOT) bbt.se

UK.National.Council (AT) com (DOT) bbt.se

COM: Ekanath ACBSP, Ekanath.ACBSP (AT) com (DOT) bbt.se

COM: Ananta Purusottama TSI, Ananta.Purusottama.TSI (AT) com (DOT) bbt.se

COM: Bhaktivedanta Archives, Bhaktivedanta.Archives (AT) com (DOT) bbt.se

COM: Canadian Forum, Canadian.Forum (AT) com (DOT) bbt.se

COM: UK National Council, UK.National.Council (AT) com (DOT) bbt.se

 

[Text 1634660 from COM]

 

Dear Ekanatha Prabhu,

 

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I just

received the updated Bhaktivedanta Vedabase. Aside from a few bugs that I

found already (it crashed on me twice, though I'm not sure I can reproduce

it), I really wish I had been informed about the "Dongle" before ordering.

 

As you know, the "Dongle" is a little thing that plugs into the printer

port, which is the new copy protection system of the Vedabase. It won't run

without it.

 

This is totally impractical for laptop users to have an extra thing hanging

out the back of the computer, which also means on my machine having a little

plastic door open all the time too, making it highly suspectable to breaking

off. Plus, my printer *is* biodirectional, and the Dongle doesn't work with

biodirectional printers.

 

Now I'm screwed because I'm in the USA but I'm returning to England soon and

to send the PCMCIA card (at an additional $65!) to me in England means I

will also have to pay VAT tax in the UK simply because I didn't order it

here in the USA because I wasn't told about it.

 

I'm not happy about that at all. What to do. Your order people didn't inform

me of this when I was placing the order.

 

Another thing I don't like about the Dongle is how easy it is for a laptop

user to lose the thing. Basically, since I use the Vedabase almost

everywhere, like in meetings, etc., I have to keep the stupid Dongle thing

with me all the time. If I keep it sticking out the back of the machine it

is not only awkward, but risks having the little plastic door over the

printer port breaking off. If I remove it and stick it in my pocket, it's

only a matter of time before it gets lost somewhere.

 

Had I known all this I probably wouldn't have ordered it and stayed with the

older version of the Vedabase. I know there is a PCMCIA card lock which is

an alternative to the Dongle, but you charge an extra $65 for that and I was

not told about it up front. Wouldn't it have been more honest and

straightforward to mention that up front, and then given me the option NOT

to have a Dongle and have the PCMCIA card instead from day one rather than

have me wait 2 weeks for it to arrive and then discover I don't have

everything I need? Perhaps a discount could have been offered on the PCMCIA

card because no Dongle would have been required to send to me?

 

So in a nutshell, here are my complaints:

 

1) The Vedabase has bugs and crashes at times.

2) Had I known about the Dongle I probably wouldn't have ordered the new

Vedabase but stayed with the old one.

3) The Dongle is easy to loose.

4) An option to have a PCMCIA card OR a Dongle should have been offered to

me from the beginning. The cost of the Dongle should be deducted off the

PCMCIA card by sending one OR the other but not both.

 

That having been said, I do not wish to return it (though I am considering

it). I only wish to gripe about it. At the same time, I would not recommend

to other laptop users that they order the new Vedabase if they already have

the old one. Most of the changes in the interface seem cosmetic and

unnecessary, though it is nice having the Song books and other things also

on the disk. All in all, I wouldn't recommend the Vedabase if someone has

the old one.

 

Hoping this meets you in good health and spirits,

Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada,

Vipramukhya Swami