This
is the fourth and final installment of an essay exploring JAS’s editing of
Srila Prabhupada’s books. Please refer to earlier sections already published
on this website.
DO NOT CHANGE WITHOUT PERMISSION
There are many instructions from Srila Prabhupada that illustrate his fear
of editors making needless and unbonafide changes. A few excerpts follow.
Do not try to change anything without my permission. 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.
(Letter to: Radhavallabha, 26 August, 1976)
Re. Bhaktivedanta Institute BTG article:
Svarupa Damodara:
One time I had a strong talk with Ramesvara Maharaja about our article for
printing in the Back to Godhead. I didn't want them to be printed in Back
to Godhead because they made so many changes...
Prabhupada: Oh, he has dared to change yours also? [Please note Srila Prabhupada’s humility]
Svarupa Damodara:
Oh, yes. They change so many things in our article. And it was on the telephone.
I was speaking to him in Atlanta from Los Angeles. And I told him that "This
article should not be printed because they have made so many changes." And
I didn't like that. Then they answered that "It has already been offset,
and BBT policy is always to be rushing. It's always BBT policy." Then I told
him that "If you sacrifice quality on the strength of rushing, then it is
your business, but that's not my way, so please don't print it." But in any
case, they have printed anyway that article. And we all had a bad reaction.
Prabhupada: So you bring this to Satsvarupa. They cannot change anything.
(Conversation, "Rascal Editors,"and Morning Talk, June 22, 1977, Vrindavana)
Re. Sri Isopanisad:
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.
(Conversation, "Rascal Editors,"and Morning Talk, June 22, 1977, Vrindavana)
It's not the responsibility of the BBT trustee, to see these things
don't change without Prabhupada's sanction? (Bhakti Svarupa Damodara Swami)
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 no 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?
Svarupa Damodara: It's not the responsibility of the BBT trustee, to see these things don't change without Prabhupada's sanction?
(Conversation, "Rascal Editors,"and Morning Talk, June 22, 1977, Vrindavana)
Svarupa Damodara: No, if they consult us, even with changing,
that's all right. But they just edit here and there and cut it out, certain
things. They're changing the whole meaning. And that makes sometimes nonsense
instead of making sense.
Prabhupada: So on the whole, these dangerous things are going on. How to check it?
(Conversation, "Rascal Editors,"and Morning Talk, June 22, 1977, Vrindavana)
Corrected material must be sent to me for final approval:
"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)
Everything is done nice:
In the present Krsna book
everything is done nice, but there are many mistakes, but on the whole the
work is nice. So if our books are regularly printed and the magazines are
regularly distributed, and occasionally you visit the centers, that will
be very nice program.
(Letter to: Brahmananda, Los Angeles, 2 June, 1970, 70-06-02)
“EVEN IF THEY ARE PRESENTED IN BROKEN AND IRREGULAR WAYS, SUCH
LITERATURES ARE WELCOMED, READ AND RESPECTED BY BONA FIDE DEVOTEES”
The following remark by Srila Prabhupada is often utilized by BBT editors as being supportive for change.
“We have to do things now very dexterously, simply we have to see that in
our book there is no spelling or grammatical mistake. We do not mind for
any good style, our style is Hare Krsna, but, still, we should not present
a shabby thing. Although Krsna literatures are so nice that, even if they
are presented in broken and irregular ways, such literatures are welcomed,
read and respected by bona fide devotees.”
(9 January 1970 Letter to Satsvarupa dasa)
The BBT editors focus on the part of the statement “we should
not present a shabby thing.” I do not think anyone is suggesting or desiring
that Srila Prabhupada’s books be presented shabbily. Unfortunately, the term
“shabby” is a term open to interpretation. But when does the effort to eliminate
shabbiness override Srila Prabhupada’s staunch opposition to needless changes,
as JAS points out?
Editing warts and all, the large MacMillan BGAII, was a great success. In
this regard His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada remarked:
"The preaching
of Bhagavad Gita has been going on in India and abroad, but almost all of
them on the speculative platform without any knowledge of devotional service
to the Lord. Many Swamis before me came in the Western countries, and they
say that nobody could act so wonderfully as I am doing. Perhaps it is right.
But I do not know how such things are happening. The only reason it can be
adduced is that I am presenting Bhagavad Gita as it is."
(Srila Prabhupada letter, 13th March, 1970)
In1968, Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita was published in an abridged format.
However, since the Sanskrit and transliterations were eliminated with some
purports shortened, Srila Prabhupada was most pleased in 1972 when the full
edition was finally printed. He commented on this matter in the Preface of
the original MacMillan printing (Page xi, BGAII, 1972 MacMillan version).
By 1974, the 1972 edition had been reprinted at least five times. I
have been informed that the price of the MacMillan BGAII was increasing so
the orders to the publishers were stopped in an effort to acquire the copyrights.
In 1977, one million copies of the 1968 abridged Gita were reprinted.
During this time Srila Prabhupada did not issue any instructions to re-edit..
This seems significant considering that in the five years between the first
and last printings, Srila Prabhupada never voiced any concern over its quality
as admitted by JAS.
As a result, it is difficult to see any validation for such a stringent
edit in Srila Prabhupada’s printing efforts. He seemed genuinely pleased
by the quality of the BGAII. An estimated 5,000 edits of the BGAII does not
seem to be at all in tandem with Srila Prabhupada’s perspective. Indeed just
the opposite. So many changes seem to reflect an unbridled and unsupervised
editing effort with an over- emphasis on improving style. In addition, JAS’s
recent push towards changing capitalization policy re. divine pronouns continues
to highlight his predilection.
No Needless Changes
Much discussion has been undertaken
about the differences between the 1972 MacMillan BGAII and the 1983 Revised
and Enlarged edition. In many instances meanings do seem to have changed.
JAS defends the revisions as a return to the original manuscript. This has
been dealt with already but I’d like to add a new twist. Even if these changes
are a throwback to the original manuscript, we need to ask are they truly
required. A case in point follows.
Original Version
“The Blessed Lord said: O mighty-armed son
of Kunti, it is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but
it is possible by constant practice and by detachment."
Revised & Enlarged Version
"Lord Sri Krsna said: O mighty-armed
son of Kunti, it is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind,
but it is possible by suitable practice and by detachment."
Is the change from “The Blessed Lord” to “Lord Sri Krsna” truly necessary,
even if it is a return to the original, pre-edited manuscript? Are there
any new revelations here, new nuances in philosophy? Those in favor of editing
may argue that there are no new revelations, etc. so where is the problem
in making the change? But doesn’t Srila Prabhupada’s absence of a directive
to change the BGAII and the directive of avoiding needless changes have relevance
here?
Remember it is JAS who revealed: "... Srila Prabhupada staunchly opposed
needless changes.” Many more examples can be given but we will limit our
self to just one change. Please do your own research if you have both the
original MacMillan edition and the Jayadvaita Swami Revised and Enlarged
Version.
A Breakdown in Dialogue
From my experience, as illustrated in the recently published emails between
myself and H.H. JAS, discussion with him has proven difficult and fruitless.
He wrote:
“That's why I asked earlier whether, if the answer to your previous question were yes, your
thinking would change or I would just be wasting my time.
“You have answered my question.” (JAS Email, 4/28/2006)
Again, the comment was in relation to his use of Jiva Goswami as precedent
for posthumous editing. In my opinion, there is no support for his claimed
example of Jiva Goswami after consulting Srila Prabhupada’s purports. So
are we to fight back and forth with JAS on every detail? If there is authorization
for editing the BGAII, then debate is required over needless changes. But
if no authorization exists, then why bother fighting over details when a
man is so sure he’s right that no evidence would be enough to change his
mind. To solve this difficulty, the movement must return to step one re.
the decision to authorize such unprecedented action.
There are reasons to erode our faith in JAS’s perspective. It is distasteful
to be so critical of a senior devotee but his efforts demand special analysis
due to his potential effect on our sampradaya. These reasons include:
- JAS has not revealed, or seems to be even aware of, all of his
edits and has not properly presented them to either the GBC, BBT Trustees
or ISKCON leaders. Therefore, he cannot claim any authority on their part
for his changes until an in-depth inspection and discussion of his edits
occur.
- Balavanta dasa’s letter further weakens JAS’s claim of GBC authorization.
- The
mandate given from the Trustees is questionable since it is far from certain
their authority described in the BBT Founding Document extends to posthumous
amendments.
- Changes to verses
have been made which were read by Srila Prabhupada during conversations and
classes. Srila Prabhupada’s usage is explicit approval of the published version
found in the MacMillan 1972 version of BGAII.
- JAS’s alterations reneges on the efforts of Hayagriva dasa and others who were directly supervised by Srila Prabhupada.
Faith in JAS’s inability to understand Srila Prabhupada’s meanings and instructions
has been highlighted by the following actions:
- His faulty interpretation of a direct instruction from Srila Prabhupada as a “circumstantial
comment” re. the capitalization of “divine pronouns.”
- His
faulty defense of the change to the phrase that Bhaktivinoda Thakura was
initiated by Jagannatha das Babaji in the Caitanya Caritamrta. It is an explicit
change and challenge to Srila Prabhupada’s writings based upon external teachings.
- His
precedent of Srila Jiva Goswami does not bear up to the scrutiny of Srila
Prabhupada’s teachings. How can such flimsy evidence be presented to support
posthumous change to the spiritual master’s writings? This will cause havoc
to the sampradaya’s ability of disseminating bonafide knowledge of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krsna to future generations.
- His
not having received any instruction from Srila Prabhupada to undertake such
heavy editing of the BGAII as illustrated by so many needless changes.
“...When a man is so sure he's right that no evidence would be enough to change his mind, there's no use of further discussion.”
Only time will tell if JAS and the BBT Trustees will re-examine their controversial
decision to edit Srila Prabhupada’s books, but I see no purpose in wasting
time while they deliberate. To quote a contemporary sage: “After all when
a man is so sure he's right that no evidence would be enough to change his
mind, there's no use of further discussion” (4/28/2006 email from JAS).
So what are we to do? If the above points seem to hold any legitimacy,
should the distribution of JAS’s heavily edited BGAII continue. Curtailing
book distribution is not an option, especially of our movement’s seminal
sastra, The Bhagavad Gita As It Is. But what is the alternative?
It will be welcome news to all that the original MacMillan BGAII has
been reprinted and is now available from the following sources at competitive
prices. It is my understanding that this edition has actually been reprinted
by the BBT, so its purchase will by no means detract from your support of
Srila Prabhupada’s publishing house. This, and other original versions of
Srila Prabhupada’s books, are available at various locations in the U.S.A.
Please choose the location nearest to you.
1. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
P.O. Box 34074
Los Angeles, CA 90034, USA
Phone: +1-800-927-4152
Fax: +1-310-837-1056
E-mail: bbt.usa@krishna.com
2. Festival Of India
Madhuha dasa
P.O. Box 100,
Sandy Ridge, N.C. 27046
Ph: (336) 593-8108
Fax: (336) 593-8106
3. Radha Damodar TSKP Inc
18127 NW 112 Blvd.
Alachua, FL 32615
tel.:386 418 1251
email: dougyes@peoplepc.com
4. Hare Krishna Store
http://www.krishna.tv?
For wholesale orders please go to
http://krishna.tv/books-wholesale-c-21_37.html
Please encourage these devotees through your purchases and let us re-invigorate
Srila Prabhupada’s book distribution with a treatise that we know he had
faith in. Let us have the same confidence as he did in his own books. Let
us send a strong message to the editors and the BBT Trustees that these books
do not belong to them but rather to Srila Prabhupada and the vaisnava community
as a whole. Unauthorized and needless changes to our spiritual master’s books
need not be tolerated. The whole editing issue must be re-opened for more
discussion. Until then, let us distribute far and wide the 1972 edition of
the Bhagavad Gita As It Is, authorized by Iskcon’s
Founder/Acarya, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! Books are the basis.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
