Jayadvaita Swami agrees that Srila Prabhupada did not ask him or anyone else to “revise and enlarge” his Bhagavad-gita As It Is. So how did it happen? Where did the authority come from for ISKCON’s current “Revised and Enlarged” edition? It seems just after Srila Prabhupada left our material vision, Jayadvaita thought it was a good idea to revise and enlarge Prabhupada’s Gita, so he did it.

This was a confidential program. Although Jayadvaita did write a two-page letter to the “senior devotees” at the time, he never at any point in time revealed the extent of the changes he made to Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is. He personally challenged me on this point at a BBT Trustees meeting where I was invited to speak on the book changes. And when I asked him to let us all know who was actually aware of the extent of the changes he had made to Srila Prabhupada’s Gita before it was published (all the BBT trustees and others were present), his answer was, “three people.” And when I asked him who they were he told us himself, the typist and he also gave Dravida a quick look at the changes.

Apart from these three people no one else was aware of the extent of what he had done to Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is. No one in the BBT, no one in the GBC. The whole thing was done by Jayadvaita. He explained that he did the changes by writing them onto a Macmillan Gita and the only other person who saw that Gita with his changes written on it was Dravida, and of course the typist who typed up the manuscript of the current ISKCON “Revised and Enlarged” Bhagavad-gita As It Is.

So it was a great mistake on the part of the GBC and the BBT to print this book without being aware of the extent of the changes that had been made. Of course they made the decision based on a letter by Jayadvaita claiming that he had not made many changes:

“Comparing each verse in the book with the text of the manuscript, I made only those changes that to me seemed worthwhile. I tried to be conservative and not make needless changes.”
(Jayadvaita’s letter to senior devotees, October 25, 1982)

And what is his “authority” for this you may ask? As he said in the letter to senior devotees, “the text of the manuscript.” “I have made it closer to the original manuscript.”

And what is this so-called “original manuscript”? You can see it here.

As Bhakta Philip Prabhu has pointed out, this is not a manuscript at all. It is the first draft of the book. No author intends that the first draft of his book be published. He appoints an editor and together they work on the book to produce the manuscript which will ultimately be submitted to the publishers. In this case, Srila Prabhupada wrote the first draft and then worked with Hayagriva Prabhu and other editors to prepare the manuscript for his Bhagavad-gita As It Is, which was ultimately presented to MacMillan & Co. for printing.

Imagine that you write the first draft of a book and appoint an editor. You work with your editor on a daily basis for months until together you produce a manuscript you are happy with and your book is published. Your book becomes a worldwide best seller and you are very happy with it. It is a spiritual book and by reading it many of the readers have incredible life-changing experiences. They also become very attached to your book. Your book is praised by scholars worldwide with rave reviews. Then many years later, after you have left your body, somebody finds the first draft of your book and decides to “correct” your published book based on your first draft. Of course you were never intending to publish this first draft. That is why you spent so much time and energy working with your editor on that first draft to transform it into a manuscript you actually wanted to present to the publishers. How angry would you be with this fool who wants to undo your work and your editors’ work by going back to the first draft?

Jayadviata Swami, by going back to the first draft, is eliminating so many corrections and so much work that Srila Prabhupada personally did on his book with Hayagriva and his other editors. This is a great disservice to Srila Prabhupada.

Jayadviata Swami is insisting that his version of the history of the editing of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is is correct. And what is his version of the history? He has turned to “smoke and mirrors” to try and bewilder the devotees into believing a false history. In the “history according to Jayadvaita’s imagination”, Srila Prabhupada only typed and dictated the first draft of his Bhagavad-gita As It Is and handed it over to his editors and did not work with his editors on the book. In this way he claims the first draft that he has is authoritative and he is justified in changing the printed book if he can find something different in the first draft.

On his website he debunks “The myth that Srila Prabhupada and Hayagriva together carefully reviewed the completed text of Bhagavad-gita As It Is“. He does this by debunking a statement by Govinda dasi, who saw Srila Prabhupada and Hayagriva working together on editing Prabhupada’s books in 1968 in Los Angeles. Prabhupada and Hayagriva were actually working together on editing Srimad-Bhagavatam at that time. And according to Jayadvaita, that “proves” that Prabhupada and Hayagriva did not work together on editing the Gita. Strange logic, but we are expected to believe the Swami anyhow.

In a recent blog post [also appearing in today's edition of the Sun – "Book Changes: History Really Does Back the BBT"] Jayadvaita continues to try and distort and change the history:

“And so the image of Srila Prabhupada sitting with Hayagriva in December of 1968 carefully going over every verse of Bhagavad-gita As It Is, seeing to the finishing touches, is a persistent image of something that never took place. That’s the truth. Here’s the timeline. See for yourself.” (Jayadvaita Swami)

Then he goes on to present many quotes from Srila Prabhupada that are supposed to prove that Srila Prabhupada did not work with his editors on the Bhagavad-gita As It Is at all. However, Krishna slipped one quote into his article that completely blows his cover:

December 14, 1967: Srila Prabhupada writes Rayarama, “I have already sent you the purports of each and every sloka that you sent me for correction. . . . As soon as you finish the Gitopanisad business and the matter is handed over to the MacMillan Co. we begin on the Bhagavatam work without delay.”

Here Jayadvaita is letting us know that Rayarama, while he was editing Bhagavad-gita, was in constant contact with Srila Prabhupada and was asking many questions about the editing, which Srila Prabhupada was answering. “I have already sent you the purports of each and every sloka that you sent me for correction.” So even with Rayarama’s editing he was asking Prabhupada many questions and Prabhupada was sending him many corrections to his “first draft”. None of these corrections by Srila Prabhupada are present in what Jayadvaita refers to as “the original manuscript.” This alone completely blows away any justification for using this document as any sort of authority, as it does not include the many corrections that Srila Prabhupada made to it while Rayarama was working on editing his Bhagavad-gita.

The real world is quite different from Jayadviata’s imaginary world. Even though the Swami constantly says, “It’s not true!” Srila Prabhupada and Hayagriva did work together for almost three months in 1967 editing Bhagavad-gita As It Is, during this period Hayagriva Prabhu was consulting Srila Prabhupada daily on almost every verse in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. It’s not a myth, it’s history, and this history completely destroys any justification at all for changing Prabhupada’s Gita based on Prabhupada’s first draft of the book (or the “original manuscript”, as the Swami calls it).

If you ask Jayadvaita about this he will lie and tell you: “It could not have happened. Prabhupada and Hayagriva were never living together. It’s an Internet myth…” All lies and deception, unfortunately. It is frightening to think that such a deceptive, dishonest character has been given full authority to change anything at all he wants to change in Prabhupada’s books without any system of checks and balances at all. He can change anything, print the changed books without even disclosing what he has changed. And he smiles and says, “You just have to accept it…”

The proof that Srila Prabhupada and Hayagriva worked together daily editing Bhagavad-gita for almost three months in 1967 can be found in Hayagriva Prabhu’s wonderful book, “The Hare Krishna Explosion”:

January 17, 1967: Prabhupada arrives in San Francisco from New York. Hayagriva Prabhu is there to meet him. Prabhupada is still translating Bhagavad-gita and Hayagriva is there with him:

“Swamiji continues translating Bhagavad-gita. He is so eager to print it that we begin negotiations with a local printer. Prices are very high. In New York, Brahmananda continues his pursuit of publishers.”

So Hayagriva is negotiating on Srila Prabhupada’s behalf with a local printer to print Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Finishing his translation of Bhagavad-gita As It Is, working with Hayagriva Prabhu to edit it and getting it printed are clearly the most important projects on Srila Prabhupada’s agenda at this time.

Hayagriva is still in San Francisco on January 29th, two weeks later, for the big concert featuring the Grateful Dead.

Hayagriva is still with Srila Prabhupada in San Francisco in February:

“The days of February are beautiful with perfect temperatures in the seventies, fog rolling off early, skies very blue and clear, sun falling bright and sharp on the lush foliage of Golden Gate Park. The park encloses the largest variety of plant and tree life to be found in any one spot on earth. We are at a loss to identify plants for Swamiji.”

Hayagriva has settled down in the ISKCON San Francisco temple (a storefront near Golden Gate Park) and he is working there:

“I rent an electric typewriter, set it up in the back temple room, and continue typing up stencils for Back To Godhead, writing and editing [Bhagavad-gita] while Harsharani sends people after food, and cooks noon prasadam.”

Hayagriva is the only devotee living in the San Francisco temple and is the “Temple Commander”:

“Being the only person living in the temple proper, and one of the senior devotees besides, I’m naturally looked to as the temple commander, a role I often find myself regretting.”

All this time Hayagriva is living with Srila Prabhupada and his main service is editing Bhagavad-gita:

“Apart from kirtans, I find myself spending many sunny hours in the park, walking past the tennis courts to large, quiet bowers surrounded with hybiscus and eucalyptus. And at times I sit in the shade beneath the white and pink rhododendrons and edit Bhagavad-gita. After editing, I sometimes visit the museum and stroll through the replica eighteenth century gardens, chanting my daily rounds while perusing the curlicues of rococo art.”

Hayagriva is still in San Francisco together with Srila Prabhupada on February 27th. This is now six weeks in the personal association of Srila Prabhupada, working with him editing his Bhagavad-gita As It Is.

He is still there with Srila Prabhupada in March:

“Golden Gate Park is redolent with March flowers. The morning fog disperses early, and the days are cloudless and blue. Thousands continue to flock to San Francisco from the midwest and east, and our Sunday kirtans attract big crowds… On Tuesday evenings, we go to the beach with Swamiji and hold unforgettable Pacific Ocean sunset kirtans. Sitting on the sand, we watch the tide roll in, or chant and wait for the sun to dip below the horizon. After chanting, we roast potatoes and smear them with melted butter. Swamiji eats with us, sitting on a big log. And after potatoes, we roast marshmallows, and red apples stuffed with raisins and brown sugar.”

All throughout this time (now over two months) Hayagriva is working editing Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is, consulting Srila Prabhupada on almost every verse:

“Although I write on the Lord Chaitanya play through the spring days, my primary service is helping Swamiji with Bhagavad-gita. He continues translating, hurrying to complete the manuscript but still annotating each verse thoroughly in his purports. Daily, I consult him to make certain that the translation of each verse precisely coincides with the meaning he wants to relate. “Edit for force and clarity,” he tells me. “By Krishna’s grace, you are a qualified English professor. You know how grammatical mistakes will discredit us with scholars. I want them to appreciate this Bhagavad-gita as the definitive edition. All the others try to take credit away from Krishna.”

“I am swamped with editing. Since much of the text is equivocal due to grammar, I find myself consulting Swamiji on nearly every verse. It seems that in Sanskrit, Hindi, and Bengali, phrase is tacked onto phrase until the original subject is lost.”

March 21: Hayagriva is still in San Francisco working daily with Srila Prabhupada on editing Bhagavad-gita As It Is… So far this is almost nine weeks constantly with Srila Prabhupada…

April 9:

“Swamiji leaves for the airport. Before entering the car, he stops, cane in hand, and gives a long look at the little storefront temple. It is a look that says a great deal. Gurudas snaps a photo at that very instant. ‘That’s a farewell look,’ I think to myself.”

So Srila Prabhupada and Hayagriva worked together on editing the Bhagavad-gita daily during the almost three months while Hayagriva Prabhu was living with him in the San Francisco temple, from Janurary 17, 1967 until April 9, 1967.

Jayadvaita Swami [desperately]: “IT JUST DID NOT HAPPEN!!!”

The history is the history. Srila Prabhupada worked on the first draft of Bhagavad-gita As It Is extensively with both Hayagriva Prabhu and Rayarama Prabhu. In the three months Hayagriva went through practically every verse with Srila Prabhupada and Prabhupada also sent many corrections to Rayarama Prabhu later on.

At that time Macmillan were only able to print 400 pages, so Rayarama abridged Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Prabhupada was not happy with this and wanted to publish the complete edition. Hayagriva was again called on by Srila Prabhupada for producing the manuscript, which was submitted to Macmillan for the publication of the complete 1,000 page edition in 1972. At this time there were at least exchanges of letters between Srila Prabhupada and Hayagriva and Prabhupada was still giving him many instructions related to the editing and answering the questions he had in regard to the editing.

So Jayadvaita’s “history” that Srila Prabhupada did not work with his disciples on editing Bhagavad-gita is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. It is a dishonest attempt to mislead the devotees and cover-up the real history.

The authoritative edition of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is is the final published 1972 “Complete Edition.” Not the first draft that Jayadvaita calls the “manuscript.” Srila Prabhupada spent considerable time, energy and effort working with his editors Hayagriva Prabhu and Rayarama Prabhu to take his first draft to the real manuscript — the manuscript which was submitted for publishing to MacMillan.

Changes to the final published book cannot be justified by referring to the first draft. This is a great mistake.

People are not so foolish. The truth is the truth. Eventually Jayadvaita’s smoke and mirrors will stop working and the blind followers will wake up and see the truth.

Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!

Your servant,
Madhudvisa dasa

(1) Why is it in the revised edition of the Bhagavad-gita, you and company have completely removed the foreword by Professor Edward Dimock that was printed in the original Macmillan version of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is which Srila Prabhupada regularly read from?

Readers, please visit the website and see the video on YouTube of Srila Prabhupada lecturing on the Bhagavad-gita. There, in the very immediate beginning (very first few minutes) of this video, you will find Srila Prabhupada praising the foreword by Professor Edward Dimock. This particular video clip is taken from one of the 19 Double layer DVD’s produced by Nrsimhananda Prabhu and his associates at ITV. It is the particular DVD named Bhagavad Gita as It Is, with Krishna and Arjuna on the chariot, and sky background, and is in the very first part, called “Introduction”.

Srila Prabhupada is reading the foreword himself, praising it, mentioning Edward Dimock’s name, and praising Edward Dimock for a particular comment that he had made, as follows:

“Swami Bhaktivedanta comments upon the Gita from this point of view, and that is legitimate. More than that, in this translation the Western reader has the unique opportunity of seeing how a Krsna devotee interprets his own texts”

Srila Prabhupada in the video explains this particular statement by Edward Dimock, on how a Krsna devotee interprets his own texts, by explaining that just as a family member only is qualified to give the best knowledge to others about his own family, similarly, only a Krsna devotee can properly explain to others about Krsna. Srila Prabhupada appreciates this particular point made by Edward Dimock in the video.

Thus, not only has Srila Prabhupada authorized this particular foreword in the Macmillan Bhagavad-gita, but had himself read, it, and praised certain points made by the person who wrote this foreword. Yet you, Jayadvaita Swami, Dravida Prabhu & Company, have the audacity to remove this foreword completely in your revised version. The proof of how you have offended your Spiritual Master is on public video record, as those who watch will sadly but easily be able to understand this particular deviation of yourselves in either revising or omitting your Spiritual Master’s works and words by using your fertile imaginations.

(2) Why have you, Jayadvaita Swami, Dravida Prabhu & Company, omitted 47 out of 48 of the original color pictures inside of the original Macmillan Bhagavad-gita As It Is? Why have you omitted the pictures of the bona fide disciplic succession Gurus coming before Srila Prabhupada, namely Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Srila Gaur Kisore Das Babaji Maharaj, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, with a brief description of their character and achievements? Srila Prabhupada wanted very much for every ISKCON member to understand their spiritual family roots, i.e., to understand the previous disciplic succession Gurus. That is why he arranged to put these pictures there.

Srila Prabhupada also wanted everyone, both devotees and karmi readers, to understand that he, as the author of this Macmillan version of Bhagavad-gita, was authorized and a student of these bona fide spiritual Masters, thus giving genuine authority to this book. Yet you, Jayadvaita Swami and company, have audaciously removed these most important disciplic Guru pictures. The other 43 pictures with their respective written descriptions below were also very useful for the reader to relate to what he was reading in the different chapters of the Bhagavad-gita. They were also painted with the guidance and authority of Srila Prabhupada, who blessed them with his constant glance whenever he used the book. Yet you have unfortunately removed all of them with the exception of one.

(3) Why have you, Jayadvaita Swami, Dravida Prabhu & Company, removed and replaced the original front cover of the Macmillan version of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is with your own version? In that original picture, Krsna is holding the conch shell, which is mentioned in the 1st chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, how when both Krsna and Arjuna blew their respective conch shells, it aroused fear and shattered the hearts of the enemies. Srila Prabhupada and all the thousands of devotees, including the karmis who bought this book, were delighted to see this spiritual picture, which is one of the chief attractions of the whole book. The horses in the Macmillan version look strong, stout, and healthy, as they should be, considering that they were gifted by the fire god Agni to Arjuna by the blessings of Krsna. This is mentioned in the Krsna book in the Chapter entitled, “Five Queens married by Krsna”.

Yet in your revised version picture, your horses look all so thin with very skinny legs, as if they have not had prasadam for a long time. They are half the size in bodily structure as opposed to the original Macmillan horses. They really do not look celestial and gifted by a celestial demigod. Readers, please compare for yourselves. Yet you Jayadvaita, Dravida & Company, have removed this wonderful picture and replaced it with yours. You have also replaced the original Krsna and Arjuna, with Krsna now holding a whip instead of a conch shell. What was the need for this change — just so that you all could show to everyone in the world that you could do something new and different than what your Spiritual Master has done?

(4) Why have you, Jayadvaita Swami, Dravida Prabhu & Company, on the back cover of your revised version of Bhagavad-gita, put a commentary by Mohandas K Gandhi, so-called praising the Bhagavad-gita, when you very well know how much Srila Prabhupada condemned Gandhi, especially in relation to the Bhagavad-gita? Srila Prabhupada comments that Gandhi was the greatest hypocrite, that on one hand while posing himself as a student of the Bhagavad-gita, he never even had any faith that Lord Krishna even existed. Srila Prabhupada describes Gandhi as having no spiritual consciousness whatsoever. Gandhi also did not even care to stop the millions of cows being slaughtered daily, when he had an excellent chance to do so, thus he was directly defying Lord Krishna’s instructions on cow protection described in the 18th Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita. Readers, please see the particular conversations mentioned below in the Folio about what Srila Prabhupada said abut Gandhi in relation to Bhagavad-gita and cow killing:

(A) Room Conversation March 2 1975 Atlanta:

Prabhupada: “No, no. No shortage. That is everything supply. You have got the Vedic knowledge. You don’t take care of that. You now manufacture your own knowledge. Now there is knowledge, this Bhagavad-gita is perfect knowledge, but even a political leader like Gandhi, he says that I don’t believe that there was anybody like Krsna living. This is your leader. All the acaryas, previous acaryas, big, big acaryas, Sankaracarya, big, big, stalwart, learned, they have accepted Krsna. Now Gandhi says, “I don’t believe.” Now you are guided by Gandhi, you are not guided by the acaryas. That is your misfortune. You are not guided by Krsna. You are guided by Dr. Radhakrishnan. That is the misfortune. Andha yathandhair upaneyamanau [SB 7.5.31], one blind man is being, is following another blind man. That is going on. That is going on all over the world, not only in India.

Guest (2): I think Mahatma Gandhi followed the Gita, all these…

Prabhupada: But he did not believe in Krsna and he followed Gita? Just see!

Guest (2): (indistinct)

Prabhupada: No, just try to understand the psychology. He (Gandhi) says plainly that I do not believe there was anybody Krsna, living ever. And he’s following Krsna’s instruction. Just see his position.

Guest (2): No, he must have also answered this question.

Prabhupada: No, no, there is no questioning. If you do not believe in somebody, how you are reading His book of knowledge?

Guest (2): That’s my point also.

Prabhupada: Yes, so therefore. This kind of leader we are following, contradictory. That is our misfortune.

(B) March 10th 1972, Vrndavana:

Prabhupada: “Useless speaking. In India also, so many fools, they are accepted as very perfect. Just like Gandhi, take Gandhi. Where was Gandhi? In spiritual consciousness, he is nothing. Nothing, no value. But if we say in the public, they will be angry, “Oh!” But actually there is no value, no spiritual value. He is known all over the world as a great spiritualist. He was a moralist, that’s all. That is not a qualification for understanding God”.

(C) March 5th 1975, New York:

Prabhupada: “Even Gandhi, such an exalted man, he says that “I have no belief. I do not believe that there was any person as Krsna ever living.” Just see. All the big, big acaryas of India who are practically controlling the destiny of the Hindu civilization or Vedic civilization, they all believe. Gandhi became more than them. Who made him, that is another thing. But he thinks like that, and because Gandhi thinks, just imagine how many millions of people have been misled”.

(D) January 23rd 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupada: “Yes. No, anything, if you can understand very clearly, where is the question of interpretation? But it has become a fashion that “If I can interpret in my own way, I become a big scholar.” This is going on. If you have got your philosophy, you can speak. Everyone is free. Why you should take Bhagavad-gita and distort it? Krsna never meant that “In future Gandhi will come,” or “Dr. Radhakrishnan will come, and he will explain My ideas.” What is this nonsense? Krsna was a foolish person that he left it for Gandhi for distortion? He could not explain Himself that Kuruksetra means this body? Gandhi has to interpret? Do you think it is right?”

(E) Dec 16th 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupada: “Karl Marx maybe. Even your Gandhi-ism, that is also concoction. Gandhi invented nonviolence; it is also concoction. It is impossible. Everyone is doing this—something manufacturing. That is not sanatana dharma. Sanatana dharma is never manufactured. It is already there. You have to accept it, that’s all. Otherwise everyone is manufacturing some concoction. This is going on. Krsna is teaching, “Fight.” And Gandhi is teaching from Bhagavad-gita nonviolence. Just see! Is it possible?

(F) January 9th 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupada: “The people approached him that “Mahatmaji, you have got influence over the Muslims, why not stop cow-killing?” “I cannot touch on their religious principles.” Just see. Cow-killing is religious? Their religious principle. If I say my father-killing, mother-killing is my religion, so Gandhi will say, “Yes, you can do that. Nonviolent.” Kill nonviolent. This nonsense contradiction can be tolerated by the fools and rascals. That’s all. That is…”

(5) Why have you, Jayadvaita Swami, Dravida Prabhu & Company, removed the words below the picture of Srila Prabhupada in the original Macmillan Bhagavad-gita, namely, “greatest exponent of Krsna consciousness in the western world”? Is this also one of the many stupid mistakes made by some raw editors at the time, namely Hayagriva Prabhu, or some raw typist such as Bhakta Neal, and you have mercifully corrected it for all our spiritual welfare? Even a person with half a brain can understand that you have made the greatest offense to your spiritual master by enviously removing these words, “greatest exponent of Krsna Consciousness in the western world”.

Awaiting your reply. . .

It seemed that he couldn’t keep his hands off of Srila Prabhupada’s books! Earlier he had already pulled out his wallet once or twice and it appeared that he really, really wanted books, but something was stopping him. I went ahead doing other things at the table and let him examine the books, go back and forth with his wallet, and vacillating.

After a while he finally asked me, “I’m sorry if this is controversial, but don’t you worry about the fact that the books from this author have been edited after 1978, after his…?” I was surprised to hear this question and cut him off, assuring that he had no reason to worry because these are the original editions, pre-1978. He loosened up in relief and continued to express his concern about the matter – it didn’t make any sense to him why such editing and changing should happen, “posthumously”. He wanted the real thing. Now that his doubts were removed, he gladly gave a donation and took a full set of Bhagavad-gita, KRSNA book and Sri Isopanisad.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

If you would like some of Srila Prabhupada’s original, authorized (pre-1978) books to bring with you in your daily life to distribute, please goto: www.KrishnaStore.com

I asked him, “How did you know about the editing of these books”? He said, “A while ago there were some other people here passing out some books and I looked in the front and it said ‘REVISED’ in it and so I handed it back to them. I told them I don’t want an edited version, I want the original thing!” So he very happily gave a nice donation and took Srila Prabhupada’s original books.

I stopped one Indian man and presented him Srila Prabhupada’s books. He immediately smiled, stood very erect and said in a bit of a know-it-all way: “Oh, Prabhupada, he is a great scholar”. I got a serious expression on my face and firmly replied, “NO, he is much more than just a scholar. He is realized, he is a practitioner, he is a devotee, so his translations are not just scholarly or academic. They are realized, and will reveal to you realizations in your own heart, it’s all about experience.”

As I said this, his facial expressions went from jolly and a bit arrogant to serious and he said: “You know, I am physicist, and I have this book, and I know your Prabhupada”. Then he stopped talking for a moment and then he said in a whole other tone of voice, “I was just walking here one second ago before you stopped me and I was thinking about particles and atoms, and that it’s all useless knowledge unless you experience it. You have to experience it, realize it, and now you’re here telling me the same thing that I was just thinking about!”

He gave a nice donation and took all the books I had and asked if I had any other books by “Swami Prabhupada”, but unfortunately that day I only had three titles with me, so he only took those. Then he just started, on his own accord, glorifying Srila Prabhupada to me, saying he is such a great realized master and how wonderful Srila Prabhupada is, and he thanked me very much for distributing these books and being out there.

Being the last day of final exams, not too many students were around and the pickings were slim. So I approached the only person I saw. Judging by his clothing, demeanor, gait and haircut he looked as straight as a nail and like some type of a military kid. I presented the books to him. He, like many students who are away from home for the first time and burned out by the end of the year from too much partying and studying, was not too present or attentive when I was talking to him. So after I had explained what the books are about, the guy said, “So what is it about?” Obviously he was not listening to me at all the first time I explained it. So again I explained it to him, this time in slow motion. Now he looked up at me and said clearly and matter-of-factly, “Yeah, I have been looking for something like this, thank you so much! Is fifteen dollars ok?” Then, while looking me right in the eyes, he just kept on saying to me again and again, “Thank you so much, thank you so much, this is awesome!”

I was a little surprised at his level of appreciation and how he said he has been looking for something like this, so I asked him, “What is it about this that you’ve been looking for?” He replied that when he grew up he was religious, but he got out of it, came to college and got into partying and drinking. But the scene got old really quick. He wanted to quit drinking and get his life together and do something with himself because, in his words, he really just lost himself. So he found the books important and special and was grateful. He assured me he would read them. Thanking me a few more times, he walked away with the greatest gift one human being can give to another – Srila Prabhupada’s books.

If you would like some of Srila Prabhupada’s original, authorized (pre-1978) books to bring with you in your daily life to distribute, please goto www.KrishnaStore.com.

]]> http://bookchanges.com/the-last-days-of-school/feed/ 0 http://bookchanges.com/srila-prabhupada%e2%80%99s-free-press/ http://bookchanges.com/srila-prabhupada%e2%80%99s-free-press/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 05:05:47 +0000 Rupanuga dasa http://bookchanges.com/?p=55 May 27, 2010 — JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, USA — An intelligent person who wants to learn what Srila Prabhupada has to say in his Bhagavad-gita As It Is will immediately note the sub-heading, “Enlarged and Revised”, which appears in the 1983 version. That phrase, “enlarged and revised”, usually rings a bell in the mind of a thoughtful inquirer: “Revised? What, exactly? When? Let’s see what the author himself has to say about his reasons for the revisions.” With a little luck, such an inquirer would discover in the section entitled “The Author” that actually, the author had passed away six years before the book was revised – posthumously – under his name, as if it were the author’s improvement upon his original work!

At this point, the so-called second edition might well provoke our curious investigator to browse the Internet a bit, as he is inclined to do, where he would find out that “revised” also means “omitted”. For example, the Forward, by a distinguished professor, as well as thirty color plates were omitted!

“Hm… apparently the second edition is not as complete as the first. That’s interesting… and look at this: there’s some articles here that demonstrate how the second edition has also been interpolated, reinterpreted. Hm… very interesting.” Etc.

This scenario is not far-fetched. There are a lot of intelligent people out there, especially those with some education, who approach their reading material in a discerning way. For example, in his article, “The Last Days of School“, Bhakta Philip, a champion book distributor, tells how, when he approached a student the student asked, “Are these the edited ones?”

The student explained, “A while ago there were some other people here passing out some books and I looked in the front and it said ‘REVISED’ in it and so I handed it back to them. I told them I don’t want an edited version, I want the original thing!” Bhakta Philip happily explained how all the titles he carried were original editions, and the student took one of each and made a nice donation.

Yes! All power to Sriman Bhakta Philip, as well as Mahajana das, Murti das, Brahmabhuta das, Raghava Caitanya das, Madhudvisa das and others around the world committed to distributing the real thing from Srila Prabhupada’s free press, Krishna Books, Inc.

Srila Prabhupada included the heading “Complete Edition” on the face page of his Gita. The so-called 2nd edition replaces that statement with the words, “2nd Edition, Revised and Enlarged.” “Complete Edition” certainly means definitive. Let the so-called second edition, which bears scant resemblance to the first, keep the self-incriminating phrase “revised and enlarged.” Very good! It helps to distinguish between the real thing and the other thing.

His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada displayed all of the symptoms of an empowered jiva soul, working tirelessly to distribute the transcendental message of love of Godhead throughout the world. It is therefore the duty of his followers to preserve the legacy and protect the honor of such a great spiritual personality whose every moment was dedicated to the spreading of Krishna consciousness.

To guarantee that his teachings would not be forgotten in the oblivion of time, Srila Prabhupada created the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and, assisted by his disciples, he astounded the academic community with his literary output.

What follows is a brief account of Srila Prabhupada’s struggle with the BBT staff to keep the final version of his books intact by resisting what he called the “American disease” of always wanting to change things. As will be seen from the letters and conversations cited in this article, Srila Prabhupada would finally insist on an “absolutely no change” policy based on the principle of “arsa prayoga”.

That unwanted changes were being made to his books came to his attention as early as 1975, and it quickly became a pressing matter. In a letter to the production manager of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Srila Prabhupada expressed his alarm that changes he had not approved were appearing in print.

“I will have to see personally what are the mistakes in the synonyms and also how you intend to correct them. I was not satisfied with the corrections that were made before. I saw some changes which I did not approve. Nitai may correct whatever mistakes are there, but the corrected material must be sent to me for final approval.” (Letter to Radha-vallabha dasa dated 1-5-76)

Srila Prabhupada never gave anyone carte blanche to make revisions in his books. This letter confirms that any changes to his books would require his personal approval before being printed.

A few months later, the issue of change was raised again by Radha-vallabha dasa regarding the text of several volumes of the Srimad-Bhagavatam which were soon to be reprinted. Srila Prabhupada advised him, “There is no need for corrections for the First and Second Cantos. Whatever is there is all right.” (Letter of 5-4-76) Seeing how persistent his BBT managers were to implement change in the text and presentation of his books, His Divine Grace wrote again to Radha-vallabha dasa in August, 1976, this time more firmly:

“Do not try to change anything without my permission.”

Srila Prabhupada consistently stated that he did not want anything to be changed unnecessarily. Any changes they thought would be an improvement in the text would require his written authorization.

The most serious violation of this instruction actually came years later, after Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance, when BBT personnel decided to print a new [revised & enlarged] version of the Bhagavad-gita. It is a well known fact that His Divine Grace never authorized anyone to re-edit the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. If Srila Prabhupada ever intended to make changes in the Gita, the ideal opportunity for him to say so came in a room conversation that took place on February 24, 1977 in Mayapur. On that occasion, Radha-vallabha dasa was describing how the upcoming printing of the Bhagavad-gita was going to require so much paper that it would take seventy-six train cars to transport it (1.5 million copies). Srila Prabhupada absolutely did not suggest making any corrections before this largest printing ever of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. In fact, and to the contrary, in a discussion that took place three days later, he established a definitive “no change” policy that he wanted applied henceforward to all of his books. The tendency to want to make corrections was now a very serious problem, and Srila Prabhupada dealt with it.

The transcribed conversation of February 27, 1977 presented below clearly indicates that Srila Prabhupada would never have approved of anyone changing the final edited version of his writings, even after his disappearance. In this exchange, His Divine Grace states that for a disciple to see mistakes in his production-ready finished manuscripts was a bad habit that had to be given up. Even though the one correction his disciple Jagannatha dasa wanted to propose would not have changed the wording of the verse, Srila Prabhupada warned that to make any change whatsoever was “strictly forbidden.” As a servant of his spiritual master, Radha-vallabha dasa was obliged to accept Srila Prabhupada’s instruction that the text should be left exactly as is and that making corrections should never be contemplated.

To further enlighten his disciple, Srila Prabhupada explained the rule of “arsa prayoga“, that whatever the acharya has given, it should be accepted. The tendency to think oneself sufficiently qualified to correct one’s authority is not only a breach of vaisnava etiquette, but is an offense in the service of the spiritual master.

If one continues to see mistakes that he thinks need to be corrected, Srila Prabhupada says, “He is the mistake.” Due to his incomplete understanding, Radha-vallabha dasa reasoned, “So if we think there is some mistake, we should just forget about it.” Srila Prabhupada corrects him again, saying that one should not even think his authority has made a mistake. His opinion was that since Jagannatha dasa tended to see mistakes in the writings of the acharya, he was an irresponsible man who could not be relied upon. Srila Prabhupada then made his final point, that our true purpose is not served by becoming so-called scholars able to find errors in the books of the spiritual master, but by becoming advanced in devotion to Krishna. Radha-vallabha dasa finally got the point, that Srila Prabhupada was establishing the rule of “no corrections anywhere” once a book was submitted to his department for publication.

Room Conversation of 2-27-77, Mayapura

Radha-vallabha Das: Now Jagannatha had some questions on corrections in the book. In verse twenty-eight it says, “Then he worshiped Sri Krishna, the essence of all Vedas, with this hymn.”

Srila Prabhupada: Where it is? Brahma-samhita?

RVD: Yes.

SP: What is that?

RVD: So it says, “Then he worshiped Sri Krishna, the essence of all Vedas, with this hymn.”

SP: Where it is?

RVD: It’s verse twenty-eight, “Then he worshiped Sri Krishna.” So Jagannatha said it should be, “Then he worshiped…”

SP: No, no. Jagannatha cannot correct. That bad habit he must give up.

RVD: So we should just leave it exactly.

SP: Oh yes. You should not be more educated.

RVD: He wasn’t changing any of the words. He was just…

SP: Nothing of the…. This should be strictly forbidden.

RVD: So no corrections. That makes it simple.

SP: They can divide the synonyms. That’s all.

RVD: Synonyms. So even…

SP: That is his tendency, to correct. That’s very bad. He should not do that.

RVD: So I’ll just forget this, then.

SP: The system is: whatever authority has done, even there is mistake, it should be accepted.

RVD: Oh.

SP: Arsa prayoga. That is ha… He should not become more learned than the authority. That is very bad habit.

RVD: He was always wondering how he should think. So I’ll tell him that. He thinks, “If I think I see a mistake, what should I think?” I’ll tell him what you just said.

SP: He cannot see mistake. He is mistake (laughter). That is being done by this rascal. I don’t want. And the Hayagriva has…, the Easy Journey, he has changed so many things. That… He is now bad character. You should not maintain him.

Later, in the same conversation

SP: So Jagannatha should be strictly advised not to become very learned to correct authorities. No.

RVD: I think that the instruction you gave will help him very much about even if he thinks there is some mistake, just forget about it.

SP: He is mistake. He should not think his authority mistake.

RVD: He didn’t know what he should do. He didn’t know…

SP: So why he should be given this business. He’s such irresponsible man.

He should not be given any responsible work. Our first business should see how he is advanced in devotion. We don’t want so-called scholars.

RVD: Jagannatha was somewhat affected by Nitai, but he’s…

SP: I know that.

RVD: I think he understands what the problem was. I think he understands what his problem was, and that’s why he won’t do anything without asking you.

SP: Don’t allow him to do anything.

RVD: Well, now that this system of no corrections anywhere, that makes it very simple. Then he can’t do anything. I don’t think he wants to either. It makes it more simple for him. It makes him very uncomfortable.

SP: No corrections.

Six weeks later, Srila Prabhupada was listening to the notes and resolutions of a meeting held by the BBT trustees. He was generally pleased with the decisions that had been made, but at one point he interrupted the reading to make a recommendation of his own. He wanted them to include in their list the following admonition:

“And every time Radha-vallabha changes something, that should be stopped. He is very much inclined to change something. This practice should be stopped.”

Srila Prabhupada was assigning to the BBT trustees the duty of safeguarding his books from being changed in the slightest by anyone who had not been specifically ordered to do so.

The principle of “arsa prayoga” was again referred to on June 22, 1977 when Srila Prabhupada was in Vrndavana, India. In the middle of a reading of the Srimad Bhagavatam, Srila Prabhupada objected when he heard the synonym that was given for the word “sadhu”. The word-for-word translation said, “it is relevant,” but Srila Prabhupada said, “No. ‘Sadhu’ means ‘devotee’.” The editors had changed his translation, and he found this unacceptable. He spoke as though he had been betrayed by a dangerous element within his movement. His authority was being minimized by his own disciples to whom he had entrusted his most lasting contribution: his books. A number of devotees present voiced their objection to the production staff’s practice of deleting entire sections from certain books, and they mentioned discrepancies they had found in the Sanskrit to English translations. Literally hundreds of changes had already been made in the text of Srila Prabhupada’s books from one printing to the next and the devotees testified that the potency was not the same.

Srila Prabhupada asked for suggestions from his senior men to resolve this dilemma and they offered their advice. After hearing various proposals, Srila Prabhupada’s conclusion was that, “The next printing should be again to the original way.” He then ordered his secretary to contact the GBC man he wanted to entrust this matter to in Los Angeles where the press was located. “So you bring this to Satsvarupa. They cannot change anything.”

Drawing from these letters and conversations, we can gain some insight into Srila Prabhupada’s struggle to keep his books as they were. One should rightly conclude that he would never have approved of the wholesale changes that were made by the BBT editors after his disappearance. He would have expected the BBT trustees to resist on his behalf. The unnecessary and unauthorized changes in the Bhagavad-gita alone number more than seven hundred, so where is Srila Prabhupada’s signed approval for such changes to be made? And where are the rave reviews of the revised edition from scholars and professors praising the editors for having improved the original version of the Gita published by their spiritual master? We do not expect to see any testimonials from these mundane personalities glorifying the “revised and enlarged” edition of the Gita. After all, which scholar would approve of having his own writings altered after his physical demise?

The adulteration of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is was the first major milestone in the BBT’s refusal to follow the rule of arsa prayoga (the unholy practice of dishonoring the acharya), a program which reached its zenith when they declared in court that Srila Prabhupada was simply a writer hired by ISKCON to compile the Vedic classics. We do not know what kind of apology can be made by the BBT’s editors and trustees at this point, but it is our humble opinion that the best way to make amends for past transgressions would be to accept Srila Prabhupada’s instruction that “the next printing should be again to the original way.”

“Therefore Krishna said, sa kaleneha mahata yogo nastah kaunteya: ‘And in due course of time, this yoga was lost. Therefore I am repeating the same thing, old philosophy to you.’ So it requires like that.” (750509rc.per Conversations)

The authority of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is (Revised and Enlarged Edition) which is currently printed by the BBT and distributed by ISKCON temples worldwide contains unauthorized changes to more than than 70% of the purports and translations. Many of these changes significantly alter the meaning of the text from the original book which was read daily by Srila Prabhupada without any complaints. This makes the Bhagavad Gita currently printed by the BBT and distributed by ISKCON temples quite different from Srila Prabhuapda’s Bhagavad Gita As It Is…

The original Bhagavad-gita As It Is is clearly approved and authorized by Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada requested a couple of small changes be made including changing the incorrect reference to “cattle raising” to “cow protection” in the Eighteenth Chapter.

Some have complained about “the Blessed Lord said…” which is used in many places in Srila Prabhuapda’s Bhagavad Gita As It Is, suggesting that this should be changed to “The Supreme Lord said…,” however the  abridged edition of Bhagavad-gita As It Is was published in 1968 and it clearly says “The Blessed Lord said” in many places and Srila Prabhupada reads it himself many times on folio and on the audio recordings and he hears it read by devotees so many times, but he never says it should be changed.

If Srila Prabhupada wanted to change “the Blessed Lord said” to “the Supreme Personality of Godhead said” he had nine whole years to request the change. If he wanted it changed he could have easily asked the devotees to change it before 1972 when the unabridged edition was printed. But Srila Prabhupada did not request anyone to change it.

“Vrndavana dasa Thakura has previously elaborately described this. That which is clear need not be scrutinized for good qualities and faults.” (Adi 16.26)

The issue is not if a particular change is good or bad. The issue is AUTHORITY. Jayadvaita Swami, the person who “revised and enlarged” Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita openly admits he has no AUTHORITY from Srila Prabhupada to make the changes:

“To my knowledge, SRILA PRABHUPADA NEVER ASKED US TO RE-EDIT THE BOOK.

“As you know, and as we kept in mind while doing the work, SRILA PRABHUPADA STAUNCHLY OPPOSED NEEDLESS CHANGES.” (Jayadvaita Swami’s Letter to Amogha Lila 1986)

Jayadvaita Swami has the audacity to say this after making more than one thousand [mostly completely needless] changes to the book!

“Comparing each verse in the book with the text of the manuscript, I made only those changes that TO ME SEEMED WORTHWHILE. I tried to be conservative and not make needless changes. At the same time, I kept in mind that whatever changes we are to make we should make now, so that the book will never need to be revised again.”

It’s very important to note that the more than one thousand changes made to Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is, the most important book in the world, are “Only those changes that seem worthwhile to Jayadvaita Swami…”

ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has put everything into the hands of Jayadvaita Swami? Whatever he wants to change in Srila Prabhupada’s books, that’s fine… And he has changed so much…

It’s not a question of arguing a particular change is good or bad. ANY unauthorized change destroys the AUTHORITY of the book.

As we have said over and over, if the BBT had simply corrected the real typos in the English and Sanskrit there would not have been a problem. We are not talking of the sort of typographical errors a proof-reader would find. The really serious changes are the ones where the philosophy is changed or watered-down in the Revised and Enlarged Edition of Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is. There are many such changes:

“On the other hand, he who controls the senses by the mind and engages his active organs in works of devotion, without attachment, is by far superior.” (Original Bg. 3.7)

“On the other hand, if a sincere person tries to control the active senses by the mind and begins karma yoga [in Krsna consciousness] without attachment, he is by far superior.” (Revised & Enlarged Bg. 3.7)

So one does not have to be a great scholar to notice “contoling the senses by the mind and engaging in works of devotion” is NOT NOT NOT the same as “TRYING to control the senses and beginning karma yoga??” Do we no longer have to control our senses and engage in works of devotion? Is is enough to just TRY to control our senses??

There are SO many changes like this. You can see the book changes web page for more. www.BookChanges.com

“I must admit my frailties in presenting Srimad-Bhagavatam, but still I am hopeful of its good reception by the thinkers and leaders of society on the strength of the following statement of Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.5.11):

“On the other hand, that literature which is full of descriptions of the pastimes of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms, pastimes, etc. of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world’s misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though imperfectly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam Introduction)

Srila Prabhupada: No. If one’s mind is perfect, he may give a meaning, but, according to our conviction, if one is perfect, why should he try to change the word of God? And if one is imperfect, what is the value of his change?

[note: in Bhagavad-gita 3.7 as mentioned above and in so many other cases Jayadvaita Swami has changed the translation of the words of God as accepted by Srila Prabhupada to one he considers "more correct..."]

Disciple: Aquinas doesn’t say “change.”

Srila Prabhupada: Interpretation means change. If man is imperfect, how can he change the words of God? If the words can be changed, they are not perfect. So there will be doubt whether the words are spoken by God or by an imperfect person.

Disciple: The many different Protestant faiths resulted from such individual interpretation. It’s surprising to find this viewpoint in Aquinas.

Srila Prabhupada: AS SOON AS YOU INTERPRET OR CHANGE THE SCRIPTURE, THE SCRIPTURE LOSES ITS AUTHORITY. Then another man will come and interpret things in his own way. Another will come and then another, and in this way the original purport of the scripture is lost.

Jayadvaita Swami is just the beginning. He will be gone and another chief editor of the BBT will change Srila Prabhupada’s “Bhagavad-gita As It Is” again, of course he will, like Jayadvaita, only make the changes that seem worthwhile to him… BUT THE ORIGINAL PURPORT OF THE SCRIPTURE IS LOST by such changes.

We have already seen this happen with “Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers.” Jayadvaita Swami edited it in 1978 and in 1993 the BBT had “Sita devi dasi?” re-edit it to remove the things ISKCON didn’t like about Srila Prabhupada’s preaching in PQPA…

www.BookChanges.com/pqpac.html

Jayadvaita Swami explains in regard to his Bhagavad-gita changes: “For this second edition, however, Srila Prabhupada’s disciples had the benefit of having worked with his books for the last fifteen years. The English editors were familiar with his philosophy and language, and the Sanskrit editors were by now accomplished scholars. AND NOW THEY WERE ABLE TO SEE THEIR WAY THROUGH PERPLEXITIES IN THE MANUSCRIPT BY CONSULTING THE SAME SANSKRIT COMMENTARIES SRILA PRABHUPADA CONSULTED WHEN WRITING BHAGAVAD-GITA AS IT IS… in places [Srila Prabhupada's] translations, ALTHOUGH ALREADY CORRECT, HAVE BEEN REVISED to come closer to the original Sanskrit… (Note About the Second Edition p. 866 of the “Revised and Enlarged Edition, 1983 printing. This note has been removed from subsequent printings!)

“I am also practically finding that if any of our students artificially try to become scholars by associating with unwanted persons they become victimized, for a little learning is dangerous, especially for the Westerners. I am practically seeing that as soon as they begin to learn a little Sanskrit immediately they feel that they have become more than their guru and then the policy is kill guru and be killed himself.” (76-09-18 Letter: Dixit)

Yasoda-nandana: In the Gurukula we were teaching Isopanisad class to the children. So we took… (break) …Prabhupada and the words which the recent edition of the Press is wrong. Many changes were brought. They were trying to make better English, but sometimes, to make better English, I think they were making philosophical mistakes also. There is not so much need of making so much better English. Your English is sufficient. It is very clear, very simple. We have caught over 125 changes. They’re changing so many things. We are wondering if this is necessary. I will show you today. I have kept the book.

Prabhupada: I know that these rascals are doing. What can be done? How they can be relied on?… And Ramesvara is indulging this. The great rascal is that Jagannatha? He’s there in Los Angeles… Jagannatha-suta… And the one rascal is gone.

Tamala Krsna: Nitai.

Prabhupada: It is starting. What can I do? These cannot… These rascals cannot be educated. Dangerous. Little learning, dangerous. So how to correct? The leader of these dangerous–Radha-vallabha. Hm. He’s a dangerous, who maintains these rascal with this work. He’ll always have questions and alteration. That is his business. That is American business.

They take that always. What can I do? Ultimate, it goes for editorial. They make changes, such changes…

Prabhupada: So how to check this? How to stop this?…

Prabhupada: BUT THEY ARE DOING WITHOUT ANY AUTHORITY…

Prabhupada: Very serious feature. It is not possible for me to check, and they are doing all nonsense, freedom. (pause)

Yasoda-nandana: Jaya Srila Prabhupada.

Prabhupada: What to do?

Prabhupada: …Now do the needful. OTHERWISE EVERYTHING WILL BE SPOILED.

These rascal editorial… That Easy Journey, original, this (indistinct) Hayagriva has changed so many things.

Tamala Krsna: He actually took out the whole part about their going to the moon being childish. He deleted the whole section.

Yasoda-nandana: Also in the Bhagavatam, where Prabhupada was talking about Lord Buddha… You mentioned that if the followers of Lord Buddha do not close the slaughterhouse, there is no meaning to such a caricature. That word was very nice. But in new book that word is not there any more. They have pulled the word. The meaning of the word is not… So many times.

Prabhupada: It is very serious situation. Ramesvara is in direct…

Yasoda-nandana: Sometimes they appeal that “We can make better English,” so they change like that, just like in the case of Isopanisad. There are over a hundred changes. So where is the need? Your words are sufficient. The potency is there. When they change, it is something else.

Svarupa Damodara: That’s actually a very dangerous mentality.

Yasoda-nandana: What is it going to be in five years? It’s going to be a different book.

Prabhupada: So you… What you are going… It is very serious situation.

You write one letter that “Why you have made so many changes?” And whom to write? Who will care? All rascals are there. Write to Satsvarupa that “This is the position. They are doing anything and everything at their whim.” THE NEXT PRINTING SHOULD BE AGAIN TO THE ORIGINAL WAY…

Prabhupada: So write them immediately that “THE RASCAL EDITORS, THEY ARE DOING HAVOC, and they are being maintained by Ramesvara and party…”

Prabhupada: So what to do?

Prabhupada: So you bring this to Satsvarupa. THEY CANNOT CHANGE ANYTHING!

Tamala Krsna: (indistinct)

Prabhupada: So on the whole, these dangerous things are going on. How to check it?

Prabhupada: So they are doing very freely and dangerously. And this rascal is always after change, Radha-vallabha. He’s a great rascal. (770622rc.vrn )

[For clarity I have removed quite a bit from the above conversation but you can read the whole thing at PrabhupadaBooks.com. All the way through this discussion Tamal Krishna is trying to get Srila Prabhupada to agree to Jayadvaita Swami going through and re-editing all the books, but Srila Prabhupada just says "Hm." and goes on to say "The next printing should be to the original way... They cannot change anything!"]

ISKCON’S current “Revised and Enlarged” Bhagavad-gita As It Is including the more than one thousand unauthorized changes that “seem worthwhile” to Jayadvaita Swami has absolutely no AUTHORITY and is completely useless. Let us read the book Srila Prabhupada himself read from daily and had no complaints with…

“Vrndavana dasa Thakura has previously elaborately described this. That which is clear need not be scrutinized for good qualities and faults.” (Adi 16.26)

Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!

Your servant

Madhudvisa dasa

SB 4.20.17
One should accept the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by bowing down at the lotus feet of the Lord. This means that anything spoken by the Personality of Godhead should be taken as it is, with great care and attention and with great respect. It is not our business to amend the words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or make additions or alterations, as it has become a custom for many so-called scholars and svamis who comment on the words of Bhagavad-gita. Here the practical example of how to accept the instruction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is shown by Prthu Maharaja. This is the way to receive knowledge through the parampara system.

67-02-10 Letter: Kirtanananda
Regarding your editing, I would very much like it. I am sending my lecture copies to you. I think my other copies are lying on the left side of my seat in a cardboard box which please find out. Please be careful not to change the ideas.

68-01-22 Letter: Satsvarupa
Brahmananda & others cannot change the style. They want to see if there is any grammatical discrepancy.

70-02-15 Letter: Satsvarupa
I have sent a few tapes to Bhagavan das. He sends to you his edited copies and they may be made final. I want two editings only, just to see if there is any grammatical or spelling mistake. Your present program of two editions first by yourself and then by Jayadvaita is a nice arrangement.

70-04-28 Letter: Pradyumna Please accept my blessings. I have just received the blueprint copy of KRSNA, the Reservoir of Pleasure and I have begun to read it through. But I notice that there are some points you should correct before the final printing. I have already noted you the injunction that you should change the pretipadika artha to first case ending instead. Sannyasin should be printed Sannyasi, etc. So please correct these.

70-04-28 Letter: Pradyumna
Another point is that there are some errors in the English also. On page 2 it should read “. . . decided to kill his sister, Devaki.” but it has become sisters, plural. Then, what does it mean?: “The Lord’s compromise was that He had Vasudeva propose . . .” This does not seem to be very clear or at least it is very awkward expression. So please see that the editors make a very careful final proofreading before printing the final copies.

71-03-17 Letter: Jayadvaita
I have dictated the missing purports from Chapter IX and they are set enclosed herewith. So far changing the working of verse or purport of 12:12 discussed before, it may remain as it is.

74-10-24 Letter: Frederico:
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated October 3, 1974 and have noted the contents. I am very glad to learn that you are translating the Bhagavad-gita As It Is into Portuguese. Be careful not to change anything but present it exactly as it is. This is how we receive Bhagavad-gita through the disciplic succession as stated in the Fourth Chapter. By this translating work you will learn our philosophy very nicely. It is very important to broadcast Krishna consciousness all over the world. This is the great need of modern civilization.

74-10-31 Letter: Hrdayananda:
I am glad to note the publishing work you are doing, and I look forward to receiving the books printed. I am pleased that you are personally seeing to the translation how it is done. Actually these books are the foundation stone of our movement. Whatever we are is resting on these books, so far reading them and distributing them. This should be our only motto.

74-11-14 Letter: Hamsaduta
Regarding publishing the Life Comes From Life in English it should be grammatically correct because it is written book. Yes, it will be very good if you publish a book of lectures. Regarding going to New York, oh yes, certainly you can go. I have telegramed Bali Mardan to come here but not yet received any reply.

76-01-05 Letter: Radhavallabha
I will have to see personally what are the mistakes in the synonyms and also how you intend to correct them. I was not satisfied with the corrections that were made before. I saw some changes which I did no approve. Nitai may correct whatever mistakes are there, but the corrected material must be sent to me for final approval. So reprinting the volumes will have to wait until the mistakes are corrected and approved by me. In the meantime you can supply the standing orders whatever new volumes are published.

76-05-04 Letter: Radhavallabha
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated April 22, 1976, and I have noted the contents with care. Yes, there is no need for corrections for the first and second Cantos. Whatever is there is alright. Once Pradyumna comes to join me here from India, then there will be no need for Nitai das or Jagannatha das to edit the Srimad-Bhagavatam.

76-08-26 Letter: Radhavallabha
You may title this book, Teachings of Lord Kapila, but it must be subtitled, “The Son of Devahuti“. That will remain, do not try to change it. The Americans may like it or not like it, but we must make the distinction between devahuti putra kapila, and the atheistic Kapila. Do not try to change anything without my permission.

76-09-07 Letter: Radhavallabha
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.

76-09-28 Letter: Gopiparanadhana
Please accept my blessings. With reference to your letter to Harikesa dated 21st inst., regarding the purport, 2nd paragraph to Bhagavatam 2.2.38, it is clear. Do not try to change anything.

HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada