Original Bhagavad-gita ‘as it is’ – – – Bogus Bhagavad-gita as it is NOT
New Danish Bhagavad-gita cover against Srila Prabhupada’s instructions
BBT(I) continues to mutilate Srila Prabhupāda’s original Bhagavad-gītā
Recently the leading Danish editors (Lalitanath Dasa and Jahnudvipa Dasa/Jahnu Dasa) working for BBT International were made aware of this quote:
Srila Prabhupada: “And the covers, if possible, should always be the same for each respective book regardless of what language it may be printed in.” (Letter to Jadurani, Bombay, January 3, 1975)
Here is the cover for Prabhupada’s original 1972 edition of his Bhagavad-gita As It Is:
Prabhupada liked this cover so much that he wanted the Deities of Gita-nagari should be “Krishna and Arjuna, exactly as on the cover of the Bhagavad-gita.”:
Srila Prabhupada began to sow the seeds of inspiration in directing the future development of Gita-nagari farming community. Prabhupada confirmed today that the presiding Deity should be Krsna and Arjuna, exactly as on the cover of the Bhagavad-gita. (Tamal Krishna Goswami’s Diary, Prabhupada’s Final Days, August 30)
Through their online magazine the Danish BBT(I) editors recently informed the Danish congregation that their new translation of the unauthorized BBT International 1983 Bhagavad-gita are to be published late November 2013. Despite being aware of the above desire and instruction from Srila Prabhupada the editors apparently decided to create their own, new cover–quite different from the original:
Srila Prabhupada: “Service means you must take order from the master. That is service. Otherwise it is mental concoction. Actually, the servant requests, “How can I serve you?” So when the master orders, “You serve me like this,” then you do that, that is service. And if you manufacture your service, that is not service. That is your sense gratification. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ. You have to see how he is pleased. Now if he wants a glass of water and if you bring a nice glass of milk, you can say milk is better than water, you take it. That is not service. He wants water, you give him water. Don’t manufacture better thing.” (Lecture, Bhagavad-gita 15.15, August 5, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm))
Here we see, in the background, the painting Prabhupada chose for the front cover of his Bhagavad-gita As It Is (standing yet unframed on the floor).
He was very happy about that painting, and he wished that Deities precisely resembling Krishna and Arjuna on the painting be made for the alter on the Gita-Nagari farm.
“Srila Prabhupada began to sow the seeds of inspiration in directing the future development of Gita-nagari farming community. Prabhupada confirmed today that the presiding Deity should be Krsna and Arjuna, exactly as on the cover of the Bhagavad-gita.” (Tamal Krishna Goswami’s Diary, Prabhupada’s Final Days, August 30)
He also desired that the pictures on he covers on his books should remain the same on all their respective translations into other languages. This wish has, unfortunately, never been honored.
Prabhupada:
“And the covers, if possible, should always be the same for each respective book regardless of what language it may be printed in.” (Letter to Jadurani, Bombay, January 3, 1975)
A unfortunate local example of an unauthorized cover can be read in the links below:
DANISH BHAGAVAD-GITA AS IT IS COVER AGAINST PRABHUPADA’S INSTRUCTIONS
DANISH BBT INTERNATIONAL EDITORS COVERS THE GREATNESS OF BHAGAVAD-GITA AND PRABHUPADA
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Danish BBT(I) editors covers the greatness of Bhagavad-gita and Prabhupada
http://arsaprayoga.wordpress.com/2013/09/09/cover-up/
In Denmark we, unfortunately, just got a translation of the unauthorized 1983 BBT(I) edition of Bhagavad-gita As It Is.
On its back cover we find these words (translated from Danish):
“Bhagavad-gita, India’s great book of wisdom, is a 5.000 years old dialogue between two friends about life’s big questions. This Danish translation includes the original text with the explanations by Srila Prabhupada, the 20. Century’s great exponent of Bhagavad-gita’s philosophy.”
(http://www.harekrishna.dk/wp-content/PDF/2013/Nyt_fra_HK_11_2013.pdf – scroll to the end)
Contrast this to the glorification of Prabhupada found on the original cover (which the Danish editors of the BBT International–Lalitanath Dasa og Jahnu Das–have subtracted from Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is.)
Take note of the following:
1. That the Bhagavad-gita is “…a dialogue between two friend about life’s big questions”.
This drags the Bhagavad-gita down to regular “armchair philosophy”. What comes to mind when hearing that “two friends are conversing about life’s big questions”? For me, it’s not even the debating of two skilled philosophers that come to mind. More likely it is the dry, mental speculations of two buddies looking at the stars while out fishing one night!
2. “This Danish translation includes the original text with the explanations by Srila Prabhupada,…”
It would be too nice to call this a lie. The 1983 edition certainly features a lot of things not to be found in the original text. Corrections to Prabhupada’s Sanskrit translations have been done. Words, sentences, verses, paragraphs, paintings have been removed, added and changed by the hidden co-authors from BBT International. This is all documented here:
http://arsaprayoga.wordpress.com/category/no-reply-from-bbt-international/
3 “…Srila Prabhupada, the 20. Century’s great exponent of Bhagavad-gita’s philosophy.”
Here Prabhupada is described as “the great exponent”. Contrast this to the original Bhagavad-gita where it is said that Prabhupada is “the leading exponent of Krishna consciousness”. That he is “the world most distinguished teacher of Vedic religion and thought,…”, and that he is a “self-realized devotee of Krishna”.
It’s hard to fathom why the BBT International and their Danish editors are covering up the greatness of both the Bhagavad-gita and Prabhupada. An explanation is needed!
In previous post we have described how the cover art on the new Danish Bhagavad-gita is unauthorized: http://arsaprayoga.wordpress.com/2013/09/09/cover-up/
pamho agtACBSP,SRILA PRABHUPADA was always asking to HIS disciples where is the book? where is the book?but what book?of course is not the books that they changed through their mental speculation but that’s the book that HIS guru maharaj order HIM to print and to distribute around all over the world,i mean that;s the divine song of the blessed through the SRIMAD BHAGAVAD GITA and SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM,i say to all these disgraced souls to change their false ego not the perfect books of SRILA PRABHUPADA,they get more trapped by doing that and we don’t want to see anymore prajalpas through their anarthas unwanting changing on the divine scriptures,actually they are struggle very hard to know what they really are but they are doing it in the wrong way therefore they will remain trapped until they understand how to accept the way out through the param-para system and not by changing the param-para system through their dry philosophical speculation,they can’t catch the real reflection of truth by getting more entagled through the bodily concept of life which get stronger by keeping trying to change the transcendental literature but they are so proud still about what they are doing against SRILA PRABHUPADA instructions and this is the proof that they are mudhas donkey,what you are looking for is already there sir but they enjoy to work very hard like the donkey work very hard for little grass when it’s easily available everywhere for free,all of you already stole this fake images by dressing yourselves through the ingredients of SRI KRSNA material nature and now they are trying to take over SRILA PRABHUPADA books,this is pure madness that will keep them jailed through their contaminate guna and karma for a very long term of life,do you know what is your real business? I don’t think so otherwise you was not getting so much swearing by keeping going in the wrong direction by changing what is changeless therefore I say;all of you are first class mudhas donkey,change your false ego and not the perfect books that is require for all these deviants who are still giving a lot of troubles to the spiritual movement of SRI SRI GURU GAURANGA,anyway I wish them good luck they need it at least to get their weak sight restored by giving up all their foolishiness through the index of all their stupidity in changing what is not possible to do therefore they are mudhas eternally by keeping doing that, agtSP ys haribol
Note: What we are seeing is a repeat of history: Srila Prabhupada was given poison so that the demons can usurp the properties, his disciples, take-over and change his books and drive the devotees away “THE DEMONS DIMINISH ALL KINDS OF WELFARE”:
Thus being advised by the demonic ministers, Kaṁsa, who was from the very beginning the greatest rascal, decided to persecute the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas, being entrapped by the shackles of all-devouring, eternal time. He ordered the demons to harass all kinds of saintly persons, and then he entered his house. The adherents of Kaṁsa were all influenced by the modes of passion as well as illusioned by the modes of ignorance, and their only business was to create enmity with saintly persons. Such activities can only reduce the duration of life. The demons accelerated the process and invited their deaths as soon as possible. THE RESULT OF PERSECUTING SAINTLY PERSONS IS NOT ONLY UNTIMELY DEATH. THE ACT IS SO OFFENSIVE THAT THE ACTOR ALSO GRADUALLY LOSES HIS BEAUTY, HIS FAME AND HIS RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES, AND HIS PROMOTION TO HIGHER PLANETS IS ALSO CHECKED. DRIVEN BY VARIOUS KINDS OF MENTAL CONCOCTIONS, THE DEMONS DIMINISH ALL KINDS OF WELFARE. AN OFFENSE AT THE LOTUS FEET OF THE DEVOTEES AND BRĀHMAṆAS IS A GREATER OFFENSE THAN THAT COMMITTED AT THE LOTUS FEET OF THE SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD. THUS A GODLESS CIVILIZATION BECOMES THE SOURCE OF ALL CALAMITIES.
(Krnsa Book )Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fourth Chapter of Kṛṣṇa, “Kaṁsa Begins His Persecutions.”
BG. 4- 34 PURPORT ORIGINAL:
The Bhāgavatam says: dharmaṁ hi sākṣād-bhagavat-praṇītam—the path of religion is directly enunciated by the Lord. Therefore, mental speculation or dry arguments cannot help one progress in spiritual life. One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master to receive the knowledge.
MODIFIED
The Bhāgavatam (6.3.19) says, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam: the path of religion is directly enunciated by the Lord. Therefore, mental speculation or dry arguments cannot HELP LEAD ONE TO THE RIGHT PATH. NOR BY INDEPENDENT STUDY OF BOOKS OF KNOWLEDGE CAN ONE PROGRESS IN SPIRITUAL LIFE. One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master to receive the knowledge.
( AND THE TEXT OF THE VERSE WAS MODIFIED ALSO; “THE SELF REALISED SOUL” BY “THE SELF REALIZED SOULS”