A Challenge to the Supporters of the “Revised and Enlarged” Gita

Dear Vyapaka Prabhu

Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

No one believes that Jayadvaita Swami is qualified to do what he has done to Srila Prabhupada’s books.

Ranjit who is writing to you openly admits that while he believes some editing was required to the Gita, for example, that JAS has gone way too far.

Even Dravida, Jayadvaita’s “partner in the crime,” says that he prefers to read Srila Prabhupada’s original Gita to JAS’s “Revised and Enlarged” edition.

Jayadvaita himself, in that meeting with me in Mayapur you talk about, where he was screaming profanities at me and physically attacking me, admitted that there are many changes he has made in the Gita that he should not have made. He admits himself he made many mistakes.

So everyone agrees, even Jayadvaita himself, that he made way too many changes to the gita and the changes are full of mistakes. There is no question of this at all. That is agreed on by everyone.  In light of this Jayadvaita himself was suggesting to the BBT that yet another revised edition of the his already revised and enlarged edition be produced where he would reverse many of the changes he mistakenly made…

But Dravida talked him out of this, saying, “What will people think if we correct the mistakes you made…” So he has decided to do the ISKCON thing and just pretend there are no mistakes and pretend that he is perfect and blaspheme anyone who even dares to think that Jayadvaita could have made a mistake…

Of course the real solution is to simply stop printing this changed gita and to go back to Prabhupada’s original Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Very simple. In some simple step you would satisfy everyone.

The real point you have clearly made is JAS has no authority to change Prabhupada’s books AT ALL. Added to this the fact that the changes were made with no documentation, no second person even knowing exactly what the changes were, and no system of authorizing the changes. In other words, no checks and balances. Therefore this fiasco is rather unique in the history of the world. Such an important book has been completely changed by one man according to his own whims and own opinion and such an important publishing house as the BBT has printed this book without even knowing what changes have been made to it and have been distributing this book for so many years as if it was the same “Bhagavad-gita As It Is” by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada…

There is no more important document for the future of the entire world than Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Prabhupada’s original gita has such an incredible degree of AUTHORITY. After all it is the exact book that Prabhupada gave all his Bhagavad-gita classes from for six whole years, the book he read himself daily for six years, and, with the exception of a couple of small changes, he did not request any changes. He NEVER gave Jayadvaita the authority to “Revise and Enlarge” his book. If Prabhuapda wanted his Bhagavad-gita As It Is “Revised and enlarged” by JAS he would have asked him to do it.

It is interesting that JAS waited until after Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance. JAS was intelligent enough not to ask Prabhuapda if he could change it, knowing well the answer Prabhuapda would have given: “NO. NO. NO.”

This destruction of the AUTHORITY of Srila Prabhupada’s books by JAS will go down in history as the greatest attack on Srila Prabhupada and the fact that ISKCON is supporting the destruction of Srila Prabhupada’s books by purchasing and distributing the changed books means that organization is simply helping to destroy Prabhupada’s mission more and more.

No one believes what JAS says. He is the only one who supports his changes to Prabhupada’s books. I do not know anyone else.

I challenge anyone who has complete faith in JAS and believes that all the changes he has made to Prabhupada’s gita are warranted to sit down with me and let me show him some of the changes. I have tried this with some devotees who previously supported JAS’s work. After seeing the changes they are dumbfounded.

Practically no one knows what JAS has changed and when they see it for themselves it is truly very, very shocking indeed.

So we need to make a broad campaign to educate the world about the dangers of reading Prabhupada’s books tampered by JAS and other unauthorized persons.

This is the greatest attack on Srila Prabhupada and we have to fight very strongly to preserve the original teachings of Srila Prabhupada.

The point is even JAS admits he made many mistakes. Even JAS admits Prabhupada never asked him to “Revise and Enlarge” the gita. Really the discussion need go no further. JAS’s “changes” are completely unauthorized and full of mistakes. And JAS’s book presents a completely different philosophy on so many points, subtle, and not so subtle. Everyone agrees with this and if someone does not let them send some time with me…

Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Your servant
Madhudvisa dasa

—–Original Message—–

From: Cope [mailto:vyapaka@nexicom.net]
Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2006 10:07 AM
To: Ranjit DasaCc: Jayadvaita.Swami@pamho.net; Vyswambhara Prabhu; Madhuvisa dasa
Subject: Re: BG manuscript

Dear Ranjit Prabhu,
Obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Thanks for the info. I am just writing to inform yourself and Jayadvaita

Swami that based upon his recent class in New Vrindavana where he derided myself, Vyswambhara Prabhu and other disbelievers of his authority to edit Prabhupada’s Gita, that I will no longer consider any communication between us, in the past, present and future, to be confidential. His action to run us down publicly was hypocritical and cowardly. In addition, his uncontrolled anger shown towards Vyswambhara and earlier Madhuvisa, who was also physically attacked by the so-called swami while screaming profanities, causes me to wonder even more that someone so much caught up in the mode of ignorance is qualfied to edit Srila Prabhupada’s books with so little oversight.

Thank you for your help on this matter.

Best,
Vyapaka dasa
Original source:
http://www.adi-vani.org/articles.php?articleId=110