“Changes” That Really Need Editing!

Rama dasa, Feb 04 2010, Timbuktu. Here is a quote from the BBT Vedabase, Bhagdavad-gita, Chapter 2, Verse 20, compared to the 1972 MacMillan original, which is so obviously much, much, much, better. Three, much’s. You will see why.

Vedabase Bhagavad-gita 2.20

“For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time, He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever existing, and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.”

Yesterday morning, upon reading this Gita verse as part of our Srimad-Bhagavatam class, from Canto 1, Chapter 14, Verse 38, I was astounded by the gross lack of literary finesse by redundantly using the above phrase, “not come into being”, three times in a row. Yuk! I thought and felt, so I immediately went to the original Bhagavad-gita As It Is, to see what Srila Prabhupada had written and gotten published in 1972. Here is the original Bhagavad-gita Chapter 2, Verse 20, so much better. There is no comparison:

Original Bhagavad-gita As It Is 2.20

“For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.”

Plus the fact that so many other Gita verses confirm the same principle, that the soul is ever existing and never dies or ceases to exist. What the BBT has done in their editing most definitely is in need of re-editing, Just go back to the original text which they say they have improved, but actually have butchered! The original is so much clearer, whereas the edited ‘new and improved’ BBT version basically stinks. Srila Prabhupada’s text is clear, concise, fluid, and easy reading, whereas the BBT text feels like it’s done by a teenager, or novice writer, and novice spiritualist, which is in fact the case.

It is no wonder why so many of Srila Prabhupada’s very sincere disciples were so dismayed, and disgusted by the BBT changes to the original Bhagavad-gita As It Is, and yet the BBT has the stupidity, the lack of genuineness, and the gal to leave such a gross example of their editing in place for ever.

So much has been written on this subject. The BBT itself has promoted and defended it’s editing of the original works, and even recently come out with websites simply dedicated to upholding and defending their dumb editing of Srila Prabhupada’s original texts. What audacity! They obviously had nothing better to do with their time since, as Bhagavad-gita says, we are all forced to act. They should have simply gone on Hari nam and distributed books and prasadam, instead of taking prasadam and butchering Srila Prabhupada’s original books while sitting inside their comfy little BBT offices and being paid to butcher.