PRABHUPADA NEWS

SRILA PRABHUPADA ON CHANGING AND EDITING HIS BOOKS

24. September 2020 By Prabhupada News 2 Comments

“They cannot change anything –
The next printing should be again to the original way!”

Yasodanandan: 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.
Yasodanandan: What is it going to be in five years? It’s going to be a different book.
Srila 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…. So you bring this to Satsvarupada. They cannot change anything. (Srila Prabhupada conversation, June 22, 1977, Vrindaban)

SRILA PRABHUPADA ON CHANGING AND EDITING HIS BOOKS

From: Rob Horton <x@xxx.xx>
To: ‘mahasrnga dasa’ <xx@xxx.xx>
Subject: RE: Conversation regarding book changes

Hare Krsna Mahasrnga prabhu, Srila Prabhupada has been consistent over the years in his instructions on editing, that they should be, as he wrote in a letter to Rupanuga Prabhu in 1970: “Our editing is to correct grammatical and spelling errors only, without interpolation of style or philosophy” (Los Angeles: February 17, 1970).
Almost exactly two years later, Srila Prabhupada had his publishing contract with Macmillan Publishing Company modified under the revisions clause, no. V. to say that revisions were allowed only with the consent of the author, and he initialized this.

Even Garuda das’ group of intellectuals who were complaining to the BBT-I re changes, did not seem to GET this principle! After contacting Garuda das, Ajit Krishna das writes…

“…Garuda Prabhu first said he more or less agreed with me (on no changes). But a few days later he wrote this:

‘I’ve looked into every one of the changes in the BGAII with the help of an extremely competent devotee. My conclusion: I can accept up to 25% of the editing, and even some of it very good. But at least 75% of the editing was totally unnecessary, even intrusive. With just the 25% of valid editing, no second edition would have been necessary.’ (Garuda Dasa, Facebook post, May 2020)

Garuda says he can accept 25% of Jayadvaita Swami’s editing. And then he wants to do some editing himself. First we had Srila Prabhupada’s Gita, then we had Jayadvaita Swamis new edition, and now Garuda might take over Jayadvaita Swami’s role as a posthumous editor, and then we will have a third.

It should be obvious that Garuda Prabhu’s attempts will not settle the matter. Intelligent devotees are against all sorts of posthumous editing. Why? Well, first of all because of the above mentioned reasons. But also because no matter how well-articulated your reasons are for making a certain change you cannot get Srila Prabhupada’s approval. And that is certainly needed.

This affair can only be settled by reference to an absolute principle. We are fortunate to have this principle. It is called arsa-prayoga. It means that we cannot make any changes to the acaryas words (without explicit instructions from the acarya himself). This settles the matter. There is nothing further to discuss.

But as long as we have conditioned souls taking up roles as authorities on the editing of Srila Prabhupada’s books there will be disagreements as to what constitutes a good, or the best, editor, and what constitutes a good reason to change. One editor will reject the other editors, and new, differing editions of Srila Prabhupada’s books will be published.  [Read More…]