Why Dear Lord Krishna Did They Change Srila Prabhupada's Books???

[Guest guest]

 

Authority of the Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 

 

What is the strength of Srila Prabhupada’s books? The secret of success? Why are Srila Prabhupada;s books authorized?

 

 

“The description given in these books are not mundane speculations, but they are authorized versions of liberated souls, presented by our humble self. So the strength is not in us, but the strength is in the Supreme Lord. And we have to simply present them without any adulteration. That is the secret of success."

 

Srila Prabhupada Letter to Devananda dasa, September 27, 1968

 

The authority of the Acharya.==========================

 

 

 

Srila Prabhupada: “I am surprised how I have written so many, [books] what to speak of them? It is all Krsna’s mercy.”

 

Dhira Krsna: “One professor the other day was trying to convince one of our boys that you were coming in the disciplic succession and were authorized to translate all these books.”

 

Srila Prabhupada: “Yes, that is right.”

 

Dhira Krsna: “Because he was dressed and he didn’t know that he was your disciple, so he was saying, “Bhaktivedanta Swami, he is coming in a disciplic line straight from Krsna. That’s why he can speak on all these books.”

 

Srila Prabhupada: “Yes, that is a fact. That authority I have got. That’s a fact. tasyaite kathita hyarhah prakasante mahatmanah. They become manifest, all the meanings of the Vedic literature. yasya deve para bhaktih.”

 

 

Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk, March 1, 1975, Atlanta

 

 

Srila Prabhupada’s literary contribution to be remembered in history.=============================

 

 

 

Brahmananda: “...in the airport. And this caused big sensation, because never, even big Indian gurus have come to South Africa. Never have any whites bowed down. It was the first time whites bowed down to...”

 

Srila Prabhupada: “They clapped. After hearing me, they clapped. They purchased books. Now they are selling books. Some think my books are more important. We shall give more concentration for pushing and publishing. What do you think?”

 

Tamala Krsna: “Yes. That is our weapon. They are our strength, they are our guidance, and they are our ammunition. Everything is based on these books, everything. We are...”

 

Srila Prabhupada: “One Indian, a very learned scholar in Chandigarh, he has given very good certificate. What is that?”

 

Satsvarupa: “He said that ‘there have been many commentaries on the Bhagavad-Gita including Ramanuja, Madhava and Sankara’, and then he said, ‘Tilak and Gandhi, but of all of them the commentary by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami is the greatest commentary.’ Punjab University. Then he said later that ‘In this suffering mankind, God has sent His Holiness A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.’”

 

Srila Prabhupada: “So, let us do our duty. Our attempt Krsna will see. That gentleman has written, ‘Swami Bhaktivedanta will be remembered for centuries, making history’, is not that?”

 

Satsvarupa: “Unsurpassed, this... Not just remembered, it will be unsurpassed.”

 

Srila Prabhupada: “And many foreign scholars also, they have. In France... In France one professor has said...the...”

 

Satsvarupa: “Chenique?”

 

Srila Prabhupada: “Aurobindo and Dr. RadhaKrishnan, they have compromised with the Western idea, but here is the real tradition of India.” Actually it is a fact. All of them, they have tried to make a hodgepodge. And from the beginning my idea was I shall present as it is. That’s all. Therefore I gave this name “As It Is.” Caitanya Mahaprabhu said yare dekha tare kaha krsna-upadesa. Why shall I manufacture idea? Present this As It Is.”

 

 

 

Srila Prabhupada Conversation, February 15, 1977, Mayapura

 

 

Not a sentimental movement=================================

 

 

 

“Everything is there, provided they take it. Everything will be all right. So this is not a sentimental fanaticism, religious movement. That is scientific movement for the good of the whole world. That we have to convince by our character, by our behavior the people will accept it.”

 

 

Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam, March 13, 1975, Tehran

 

 

 

No change.=============================-------

 

 

 

“Therefore we are presenting Bhagavad-Gita As It Is. No change. Others they are interpreting in their own way. That is not Bhagavad-Gita. That is something else.”

 

 

Srila Prabhupada Room Conversation, August 5, 1976, Paris

 

 

 

Followers of parampara cannot change anything.=============

 

 

 

“So in the parampara system in that disciplic succession, you will find no change. You cannot change anything.”

 

 

Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Caitanya-caritamrta, December 1,1966, New York

 

 

 

Srila Prabhupada’s books are the ultimate source of knowledge.====================================

 

 

 

“But one thing I may inform you, that the three books which I have already prepared, namely the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, Teachings of Lord Caitanya and Srimad Bhagavatam, all these books are the ultimate source of knowledge. If you simply reproduce what I have tried to explain in those books, surely you will come out victorious, even in the midst of so many mundane scholars. The descriptions given in these books are not mundane speculations, but they are authorized versions of liberated souls, presented by our humble self. So the strength is not in us, but the strength is in the Supreme Lord. And we have simply to present them without any adulteration, in humble service spirit. That is the secret of success.”

 

 

 

Srila Prabhupada Letter to Devananda dasa, September 1968

 

 

 

Why are Srila Prabhupada’s books so potent?===================

 

 

 

Srila Prabhupada: “Thank you. You have read some of my books?”

 

Guest: “Yes.”

 

Srila Prabhupada: “They are not my books. I am simply translating. They are written by Vyasadeva, the original Vedic scholar.”

 

 

 

Srila Prabhupada Room Conversation, February 26,1973, Jakarta

 

 

 

Ramesvara: “The only hope is to read your books.”

 

Devotees: “Jaya.”

 

Srila Prabhupada: “Not my books, Krsna’s books.”

 

 

 

Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk, June 8, 1976, Los Angeles

 

 

 

Not humanly possible to write so many books.================

 

 

Srila Prabhupada: “Are you reading sometimes my books? Which one?”

 

George Harrison: “Mainly Krsna.”

 

Srila Prabhupada: “That is the main book.” [laughs]

 

George Harrison: “Mukunda gave me the new books, but there’s so much to read.”

 

Srila Prabhupada: “Philosophy.”

 

George Harrison: “I don’t know how anybody could have written it, it’s difficult to read all that amount.”

 

Srila Prabhupada: “Sometimes they are surprised how one man can write so many books, but it is Krsna’s grace. Otherwise, not possible. Human being, it is not possible.”

 

 

 

Srila Prabhupada Room Conversation, July 26, 1976, London

 

 

 

As it is. No addition. No alteration.

 

 

 

Aksayananda: “...preach more, then that would help. Because he was previously a principal of a school.”

 

Srila Prabhupada: “No, how he is preaching? Have you heard? No you cannot understand in Hindi.”

 

Aksayananda: “Hindi.”

 

Srila Prabhupada: “Anyone?”

 

Dhananjaya: “We have been told he preaches nicely.”

 

Srila Prabhupada: “I have told him that, ‘You simply read My books and reproduce it. That’s all. That will be preaching.’”

 

Aksayananda: “At least when he speaks to me in English, it is always very nice.”

 

Brahmananda: “He can memorize Prabhupada’s books and then just speak it.”

 

Srila Prabhupada: “That is preaching. Our process is anusrnuyat. We hear from the superior and reproduce it. That is sravanam-kirtanam. Then perfect. If I add something, my own imagination, then it will spoil. No addition, alteration; as it is. As it is you hear from your spiritual master, reproduce. That’s all. yare dekha tare kaha krsna upadesa. This Krsna-upadesa is coming by parampara, so you reproduce. That’s all. Even a child can reproduce what he has heard from his father. It is not at all difficult.”

 

 

Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk, August 29, 1975, Vrindavana

 

 

[Guest guest]

Yes GITA as it is in indeed wonderful. But it is still having the interpretation of the author. From whatever he has understood the shastras, vedas and whatever he realised, he has given them as purport. A great work like GITA will always be interpreted thousand times during different time points and each interpretation has its own value, because every learned person who interprets gives new wisdom. So never say that only "GITA as it is" is the only GITA and all others are not good. Have you read the interpretations of Sankaracharya and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. These people are still living in their works.

 

[gHari]

I somehow feel that if Srila Prabhupada was asked "Prabhupada, we are about to do a new printing. Should we correct the typos and obvious clerical errors in the new Gita version?", that he might just agree to make the presentation more palatable for the critical. When examining some of the changes we see that the new version is actually closer to or even exactly as Srila Prabhupada originally intended in his manuscript before the McMillan publishers changed it. So the whole topic is certainly not black and white.

 

But I still want this picture put back in As It Was:

 

<center><img src=http://home.primus.ca/~caitanya/syama.jpg></center>

gHari

[Guest guest]

I agree with this author's conclusions:who are we to make changes to Srila Prabhupada's books?

 

 

Should Srila Prabhupada's Books Be Changed?

 

BY GUPTA DAS

 

Jan 18 &#8212; The principle of arsa-prayoga and other considerations.

 

Hare Krishna. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

Below is a copy of a letter which was sent in support of those who are presently speaking out in favor of preserving Srila Prabhupada's adi-vani.

 

January 12, 2003

 

Hare Krishna Govinda devi. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

Yes, I certainly share your deep concern over the ongoing editorial changes being made to Srila Prabhupada's literary legacy. And here is the gist of it: while an author might, during his or her lifetime, re-edit and then re-print a previously published book, we would be hard pressed to find anyone, anywhere, who would entertain the idea that, once published, an author's work may later be edited posthumously and then presented anew in a 'revised and enlarged edition' as if it were the author's original work!

 

And, for those who have any sensitivity or knowledge of spiritual etiquette regarding the proper post-disappearance handling of an Acarya's sacred adi-vani, or original spiritual instructions, such a disturbing editorial scenario is wholly unacceptable.

 

In the Western tradition, the posthumous bastardization process is referred to as "bowdlerizing" a work (named after an English editor, Thomas Bowdler, famously involved in an editorial scandal involving an expurgated edition of Shakespeare). In the Eastern tradition the principle of not changing an Acarya's work post-disappearance is enshrined in the sastric principle referred to as arsa-prayoga. Clearly, post-disappearance editorial changes to an Acarya's transcendental literary work is not done and should not be done. Sastric authority on this point abounds.

 

What really strikes me is how unfortunate it is that there is need for this discussion at all. Indeed, it should not have to be pointed out that post-disappearance editorial revisions by conditioned jivas to the sacred, memorialized realizations of an exalted Acarya is nothing less than crude, insulting and offensive. Yet, this is precisely what has taken place for two decades and continues to take place by those who, ironically, have a special spiritual duty to preserve Srila Prabhupada's literary legacy at all cost. Certainly those entrusted with the fiduciary duty of preserving Srila Prabhupada's adi-vani, or original spiritual teachings, should know this.

 

As regards the rationale and reasons cited for making post disappearance changes to Srila Prabhupada's adi-vani, His original instructions, those flimsy arguments completely miss the mark.

 

A threshold argument made is that continuing changes are authorized merely because certain editors were permitted, during Srila Prabhupada's manifest presence, to make editorial adjustments to punctuation, spelling and grammar, and because, at that time, Srila Prabhupada expressed a certain degree of confidence in their editorial ability.

 

That pre-1978 service engagement was not a blank cheque, however, to continue the editorial process unabated for all time. Just as you never ask a barber if you need a haircut, you cannot reasonably expect an editor to make an objective decision whether or not to continue editing a book! There is no written authority whatsoever that Srila Prabhupada expected or wanted the editorial process to continue post disappearance on books that he already approved and that were already published. In fact, the unequivocal evidence is inapposite -- Srila Prabhupada did not want his books continuously changed and edited after they were published.

 

It is one thing for an understudy (an apprentice) to contribute to a Master's work, be it artistic or literary, during that Master's lifetime and under the Master's supervision and approval. However, once a Master signs off on a work (that is, approves the work as finished), it is unheard of in either the Western or the Eastern tradition that the apprentice would then take the liberty sua sponte to change the painting or book and publish it posthumously AS IF that painting or book had been approved by the Master during his lifetime! Using such logic, a one percent per year change to the enigmatic Mona Lisa could wind up being, in a short hundred years, a picture of MAD Magazine's demented Alfred E. Newman!

 

Moreover, we should not overlook the fact that Srila Prabhupada personally lectured on most every verse in the 1972 Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, other than perhaps the first chapter, and as far as I am aware, He only asked that three words be changed. If those pre-1978 books were good enough for the author and Founder/Acarya, they should certainly be good enough for us! If those books were considered transcendental by the author and by the entire movement then, why should we not continue using those books now?

 

And, if Srila Prabhupada had authorized continuing editorial changes, as is being intimated, then why is it that permission from the GBC was sought in 1983 for the 'revised' edition? The reason, of course, is that such post disappearance changes were never authorized by Srila Prabhupada and therefore institutional approval was sought by the editors. By the way, the GBC agreed to allow the changed book in 1983 by only one vote -- not exactly a landslide.

 

The main argument being asserted for changing the books is as deceptive as it is subtle. The argument is that changes made to the 1983 edition of the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is brings the book closer to the manuscript (or galley proofs) than was the original 1972 edition. As noted above, however, this argument completely fails to take into account the absolute prohibition, in both the Western and Eastern tradition, against posthumous and post disappearance changes, respectively.

 

It is critical to understand that the issue is NOT whether the manuscript is closer to the first or second edition (or perhaps in fifty years closer to the tenth edition). If that were the issue we could then expect who knows how many more editors making who knows how many more changes to Srila Prabhupada's books under the guise that their editorial changes were, in fact, closer to what Srila Prabhupada really meant or really said. A misguided publishing policy which approves post disappearance changes to Srila Prabhupada's works will only result in an unending series of changed books for many more years to come. Is that what Srila Prabhupada wanted? Certainly not!

 

Instead, the actual issue at hand is that once an author has personally approved his work and it is published, it cannot be changed posthumously or post-disappearance by a non author and then presented AS IF it were the actual author's originally approved work. Doing so runs directly afoul of both Western and Eastern traditions.

 

Srila Prabhupada's literary legacy must be preserved, frozen in time so to speak, for posterity. Continuing changes over the upcoming decades and even centuries will only serve to incrementally denigrate the potency of His gift. The world wants and needs to hear Srila Prabhupada's transcendental voice As It Is -- not the prissy sterility of an editorial cottage industry run amok. Certainly, if the authorized and approved pre-1978 books were good enough for Srila Prabhupada during his manifest presence, they should be good enough for everyone right now!

 

About the only way out of this editorial and publishing morass is to firmly re-establish the 1972 edition of the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is which was approved and authorized by its author, His Divine Grace, as the literary standard, and then, some time later, to publish the original manuscript so that scholars and spiritually-minded persons can study and comment as they see fit. The editors are free, of course, to print their own books and to make a record as they want, but not under the guise that the original author approved their particular post disappearance word craft.

 

On the other hand, to continue along the "I know better what Srila Prabhupada really meant" route by allowing post disappearance editorial changes to Srila Prabhupada's authorized and approved pre-1978 editions can only be seen for what it is -- an ongoing, blatant violation of the sastric principle of arsa-prayoga.

 

At bottom, it is Srila Prabhupada's transcendental vision the world wants and needs -- not the conditioned viewpoint of some editor's temporal sense of grammar or correctness that we seek.

 

With regards,

 

Gupta das

Joseph Fedorowsky

lawyer@oxfordlaw.com

gupta@krishnabooks.org

[Guest guest]

Now here is a reasonable and just solution to the whole problem that would satisfy both camps.Yes?

 

Classic Manuscripts

 

BY RUPA-VILASA DASA

 

Feb 21 ; Should Srila Prabhupada's Books Be Changed?

 

The way the matter should have been handled, and could still be handled is this: Republish the editions of Srila Prabhupada's books as they were when he was on the earth and footnote any changes in a scholarly edition the way that it is generally done. In this way, additional notes, verses, rewordings and comments could be incorporated without any change or alteration to the original text.

 

Those notes, comments, verses, etc. can then be analyzed by the reader as additional information, and not a rewording of the original text.

 

This is the way scholarly editions of other classic manuscripts and spiritual books are generally approached. This could still be done, and most everyone would be satisfied with this standard.

 

Your servant,

 

Rupa-vilasa dasa

[theist]

Yes that is the solution and it has been proposed several times before. So what's the hang up you may ask? I guess one should ask Jayadvaita.

 

He seems to be occupied with defending himself at the expense of peoples faith in Srila Prabhupada's books.

 

Perhaps the changes have been so large that he considers it impractical.

 

This whole obstruvtionist mentality is just beyond belief IMO. Years and decades are passing and this simple solution remains just a thought on the sidelines.

 

Rather the changes are good or not is not the point. Devotees would like the chance to compare the differences. And a web site with a few justifiable changes is not enough. They should be right there on the same page.

 

Prabhupada never demanded blind faith so why is Jayadvaita?

[Guest guest]

The sermon of some GM made a larger loss than book change. They simply search for where by it still it will be hooked book SP them they do not interest.

 

you be careful when you they glorify, they simply want to use you.

[Guest guest]

who provides prabhupada's books as he wrote them

but with english corrections only please?

 

jai sri prabhupada!

 

[gHari]

It is interesting that the words Hansadutta remembers when Srila Prabhupada praised Hayagriva were almost identical to those recorded when Srila Prabhupada similarly praised Jayadvaita.

 

I don't want to get into an argument where the only result can be vaishnava aparadha. But .... I'll likely speculate a bit about it privately. There, done; enough speculation. Your turn.

 

<blockquote>Letter to: Radhavallabha

--

Vrindaban

7 September, 1976

76-09-07

Los Angeles

 

My Dear Radhavallabha das,

 

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letters dated August 25 and 31 and have noted the contents.

 

Concerning the editing of Jayadvaita Prabhu, whatever he does is approved by me. I have confidence in him. Your changes which I have seen of the sanskrit synonyms is also approved by me. Tanmayataya refers to the fact that the trees and the father were absorbed in the same feelings.

 

Titling of the Ninth Canto as Liberation is good, and the Tenth Canto should be called ``The Summum Bonum''. As far as the 11th and 12th Cantos are concerned they shall be named when they are presented. The title which you have given to the Eighth Canto was a little hard to understand at first but if it refers to pralaya, then it is alright. You must consult with me on such matters. Do not manufacture anything.

 

All of the sketches which you have sent to me while I am in India are approved. The picture of the Mohini Murti capturing the demons should take place outside on grass, there is no floor or walls. Prahlada Maharaja does not have a beard. Always avoid beards. it is not true that there are no shoes in Krsna lila, rather there are shoes except for the Vrndavana pastimes. But the shoes are of another quality, they are beautiful with jewels etc. On the battlefield they must wear shoes. The severed head of Rahu should look like the head of a demon, not round like a planet.

 

By controlling sex desire one becomes the most perfect sober person, kandutivan manasajivam visaheta dhirah. I hope this meets you in good health.

 

Your ever well-wisher,

 

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS/hs

</blockquote>

 

gHari

[Guest guest]

What does IMO mean Theistji?

 

Hare Krishna!

[gHari]

IMO, IMO means "In my opinion".