Where the Jayadvaita Swami Approach to Correcting 'Errors' is Wrong

[krsna 3]

 

BY: NARA NARAYAN VISVAKARMA DAS

 

 

Mar 14, USA (SUN) — Publishing is a rarified area of endeavor. If you stop to think of it, all publishing does is take spoken or written words and puts them into print. There is a certain sanctity in that process that treats the words spoken or written by the author as a sacred and perhaps inspired or channelled stream of consciousness to be preserved in the durable form of a book. (and what I have described here is a MATERIAL author writing a MATERIAL book!) When the book is edited in collaboration with the author, when the author makes whatever changes that he himself wants and the book goes to publication, it is no longer subject to change.

 

We all encounter second printings that advertise, "With more material", "Updated to include...", etc. These "changes" are not changes at all, they are ADDITIONS to the original edition. Sometimes mistakes are corrected. BUT WHO CORRECTS THEM? The AUTHOR of course! In the history of publishing, there are no cases of books being posthumously changed for any reason whatsoever without clear explanations as to why, and with the original unchanged volume still in print.

 

An interesting exception to this rule is a new (ish) scholarly study completely revising James Joyce's epic work Finnegan's Wake. The book was already famous and taught in practically every universsity. THEN IT WAS DISCOVERED that the book had been written in English by Joyce, translated badly into French, where a french PRINTER re-translated into English once again. Since the book is a 500-page rambling stream of conciousness, no one realized that a lot of the words written by James Joyce were not his words at all! So the new editors sorted out the book from the original manuscript and created an ANNOTATED corrected volume CLEARLY MARKED as revised and not the author's formerly published work. No one will ever become confused as to which version is which.

THE RULES:

 

1. No changes are made in a previously published work (even typos) without a footnote or an appendix to explain the change.

 

2. Generally, the publisher continues to use the erroneous word cluster (eg "planet of the Trees") but notes it on the page, and then puts a footnote stating that the correct phrase would be "planet of the Pitris".

 

3. Anyone who wants to can go back to Srila Prabhupada's tapes, listen to them, produce a manuscript and then publish it as a scholarly work. There have been literally THOUSANDS of such books collected, written and published on the topic of the Christian Bible, but no one pretends that such versions are equal to the original. These books remain commentaries, and anyone who is a serious scholar is quite welcome to read whatever he likes about Srila Prabhupada, and publish what he has writtten. None of this can be published as the original approved work of the author.

 

4. Srila Prabhupada has stated that "even if the works of the pure devotee contain mistakes, it is still perfect". One should not overlook the fact that whatever went to print with Srila Prabhupada's clear stamp of approval, was "BLESSED" by Him which means "BLESSED" by Lord Krishna. Whatever mistakes are present, the "mistaken" version is BLESSED, and there is no reason to believe that the changed version is equally as blessed, due the fact that the original book was blessed by Krishna.

 

5. Once again, there is no limit as to how many study guides, books of "errata" (mistakes), re-reading of material, commenting on it etc. There is nothing wrong with this. It is a practice that will add substance to what Srila Prabhupada has written without eclipsing it by the process of changing the original.

 

6. In fact, each time the books are changed, the BBTI takes out a new copyright to cover the changed books! In real terms, this constitutes theft of intellectual property. Since either no mention is made of the changes, or if the changes are inconspicuously mentioned on a distant page, no normal average reader will know that if you purchase 5 copies of Srila Prabhupada's books, that you may be holding 5 significantly different versions in your hands.

7. IF JAYADWAITA SWAMI REALLY WANTS TO EXTENSIVELY RE-EDIT AND CHANGE SRILA PRABHUPDA'S BOOKS, HE IS CERTAINLY WELCOME TO DO SO (at the risk of being sued for Copyright Infringement), BUT he must state that this book has been extensively "re-told", "changed" or edited by Jayadwaita Swami. This must be printed on the cover. He can also say, "The Bhagavad Gita as retold by JAS". He could also say, "A New Version of the Bhagavad Gita based on the Bhagavad Gita As It Is" by Jayadvaita Swami. He could do it, but he would be sued for theft of name and content. Of course, he would not be able to use the illlustrations or pictures of Srila Prabhupada in any meaningful way.

So book publishing has very strict rules, and anyone who violates them can be charged with criminal or civil crimes, for fraud, theft of intellectual property, etc etc. If sued, he would have no defense against any of the book changes, particularly due to the fact that when he changed them, he left the original books with their original copyrights in the original BBT Trust, and have stolen the books and placed them in the BBTI, and claimed that these changed versions with new copyrights to reflect the changes are actually now property of the BBTI!

[vee 0]

very interesting information ... but a question remains ... what do we do about these violations ? just sit back and accept it ? or stand up, put our hands up and say, "we are not going to take this anymore !" ... surely we owe that to Srila Prabhupada ... these are his meditations directly inspired by Lord Sri Krsna ... NOBODY has the right to change them ... either according to copyright laws or out of respect for the spiritual master ... i dont know what else i can do besides the letter i sent to the bbt and voicing my opinion here ... may good sense prevail lest some very serious guru aparadha takes place ... hare krishna

[Mantrabliss 0]

Hare Krishna Vee.

 

All Glories to God's Pure Devotee Srila Prabhupada!

 

All honest devotees are outraged about the deterioration of Prabhupadas original books. Prabhupada said many times over and over how changing his words will diminish and ruin the potency of the message.

 

To guarantee that his teachings would not be forgotten in the oblivion of time, Srila Prabhupada created the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and, assisted by his disciples, he astounded the academic community with his literary output. What follows is a brief account of Srila Prabhupada's struggle with the BBT staff to keep the final version of his books intact by resisting what he called the "American disease" of always wanting to change things. As will be seen from the letters and conversations cited in this article, Srila Prabhupada would finally insist on an "absolutely no change" policy based on the principle of "arsa prayoga".

 

That unwanted changes were being made to his books came to his attention as early as 1975, and it quickly became a pressing matter. In a letter to the production manager of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Srila Prabhupada expressed his alarm that changes he had not approved were appearing in print.

 

"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)

 

Srila Prabhupada never gave anyone carte blanche to make revisions in his books. This letter confirms that any changes to his books would require his personal approval before being printed.

 

A few months later, the issue of change was raised again by Radha-vallabha dasa regarding the text of several volumes of the Srimad Bhagavatam which were soon to be reprinted. Srila Prabhupada advised him, "There is no need for corrections for the First and Second Cantos. Whatever is there is all right." (Letter of 5-4-76) Seeing how persistent his BBT managers were to implement change in the text and presentation of his books, His Divine Grace wrote again to Radha-vallabha dasa in August, 1976, this time more firmly:

 

"Do not try to change anything without my permission."

 

Srila Prabhupada consistently stated that he did not want anything to be changed unnecessarily. Any changes they thought would be an improvement in the text would require his written authorization.

 

Stay away from the False and Stay with the REAL Guru. SRILA PRABHUPADA.

 

HARE KRISHNA.

[Guest guest]

the question has the appeances of some devotees feeling remorse for falling away from the explicitly clear and simple instructions from our Srila Prabhupada. Of course immediately some one calls "fault finder "but how is the spiritual master able to say very expertly we are to point out who is not Vaisnava? Srila Prabhupada has stated this.It takes on the old and wise saying we are our brothers keepers. The Vaisnava is expertly compasionate in his dealings with all living entities. There for in the best interests of the aspiring devotee he tells us the truth absolute.WE are sinning by our attachments and desires. So Srila Prabhupada blesses us in this way that we may not forget the jaghais and madhais we actually are.lest we forget we pray by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada to always remember his undeserved love and kindness bestowed on us. let us always remain ever felicitate in the dust of the feet of genuine Vaisnavas.

[Beggar 0]

First let me say that I agree with opponents of the constant re-editing of Srila Prabhupada's books. It seems obvious from the quotes that have been present on these different threads that it is a dangerous course and it certainly appears to be against both Vaisnava and modern publishing etiquete. This is not an issue only for Rtviks but anyone who has an attraction for Srila Prabhupada's books. The real solution has already taken place. Prabhupada's original books are being published by several sources. Its also a good thing that devotees don't want to see others cheated. Especially those who had Srila Prabhupada's direct association or even those who never met Him but had the association of the ISKCON that He personally guided want others to get the same quality of exposure to Krsna Consciousness This is because the devotess are para dukha dukhi, always burdened by the suffering of others. On the other hand we need to make sure that we our not imposing our previous Judeo-Christian concept of a judgemental God who has created an eternal Hell for all those who revise Srila Prabhupada's books or take disciples prematurely. Still more extreme is to interpret, "All Glories to Srila Prabhupada" as "All Glories to Srila Prabhupada" and therefore none left over for any one else including Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu etc. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is our Saviour, and our samasta Guru but we cannot really follow him because he is Krsna himself. Our goal is not Krsna but Krsna prema, so for these two reasons we follow the six Gosvamis and primarily Sri Rupa and Ragunatha das. This is what Srila Prabhupada came to give in his books. The Vrndavana Krsna that Mahaprabhu adored is not the God of judgement but that of love, beauty and Mercy. And Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu who is Krsna covered by the luster and mood of Srimati Radharani in is the mood of audarya; He is busy distributing the highest thing to the lowest persons, us.

So then who are we to judge? But we can call a spade a spade. We need not to focus on the faults or shortcomings of others. We can take the positive approach and lead others to the original books of Srila Prabhupada. In these endeavors we will go on in the mood of service, knowing that everyone will approach Divinity according to their sukriti. We will make the endeavor but leave the results up to Krsna. As Srila Prabhupada has said, "we have our plans and Krsna has His."

[Guest guest]

In answer to this pertenant question posted above:" but a question remains ... what do we do about these violations? just sit back and accept it? or stand up, put our hands up and say, "we are not going to take this anymore!"

let all concerned devotees support the printing of the original books by keeping a stock of them at home, distributing them or just having the unchanged editions available. You will be surprised at the demand for the genuine editions. Just let people know you've got them. If you are interested in what books are available: dougyes@hotmail.com (put "books" in the subject line.)