A few years ago, on my livejournal account, I posted a piece that I had written about the changes made to Srila Prabhupada’s books. I recently went back to it and changed it a bit to more align with my slightly evolved opinion. Give it a read. I don’t want a debate, but I would like to hear some opinions.

Here we go.

Why change at all?
As most devotees by now know, Srila Prabhupada’s original words in his books have been greatly changed since he left out mortal sight. There are many websites and discussions dealing with the specifics and the pros and cons of these changes. This is not what I’ll be writing about. Even though the specific changes are very interesting to read about, the reasons behind the changes and what would make someone feel they have the right to edit posthumously are what should be focused upon.

For the sake of brevity, I’m going to focus mostly on the changes made to Bhagavad-gita: As It Is. These changes come in three categories.

First, spelling and grammatical. These are changes that any basic copy editor could fix. Even a nondevotee copy editor could, with the assistance of almost any devotee, get the job done. There were several misspelled words and a few grammatical errors in the original 1972 Gita. Very few have problems with these changes.

Second, correcting references to other scripture. Srila Prabhupada, being a great scholar, made many references to other vedic scriptures that the copy editors then did not or could not reference. This isn’t essential, of course, but a nice change, nonetheless. I like this change a lot. Basically, when Prabhupada quotes a verse from, for example, the Srimad Bhagavatam, it is referenced so the reader can go look it up. That’s a very good change. Again, very few would have a problem with this.

Third, everything else. I know that the BBT Bhaktivedanta Book Trust – the publishing house that publishes most of Srila Prabhupada’s books) sorts the other changes into other categories, but that’s not necessary. The other changes are not only unnecessary, they’re changing Srila Prabhupada’s actual words. Srila Prabhupada did not say them. The BBT has said them. There is, of course, a difference.

The BBT editors have taken it upon themselves to go back and re-edit the Bhagavad-gita that Srila Prabhupada wrote, read from and gave class from everyday. They admit that Prabhupada never requested this to be done. There are also a good deal of references and recorded conversations with Srila Prabhupada about how he didn’t want his books to be changed. While Prabhupada was physically with us, a few editors made changes to his book book entitled Sri Isopanisad without Prabhupada’s permission or knowledge. He found out about it while one devotee was reading it to him. He called the editors who changed them “rascal editors” and demanded that the next printing be as it was. That never happened and the changed Sri Isopanisad is still one main one in print (though they have recently reprinted the original, they do not recommend that we read it, they recommend the “illegally” edited one).

The mundane example that changed my mind.
Don’t quite get what happened here? That’s ok, let me give an example. Srila Prabhupada’s books are arguably the most important collection of texts ever written in the West. They aren’t to be taken lightly or as mundane classic literature like Lord of the Rings, for example.

However, Lord of the Rings is a good analogy to use. JRR Tolkien wrote the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. They are seen by the world as classics. There are huge fan bases devoted to them. There are fanboys who know every chapter, every paragraph, every word. After Tolkien died, his family went through his notes and discovered that there were many new ideas, changes and earlier manuscripts that he had written. This was a great find, especially for the people so devoted to Tolkien’s work. But if the original work were to be changed, it would be almost heretical! These are classics! You can’t change classics! The family knew this and in all likelihood, the idea of changing JRR Tolkien’s original books never crossed their minds. So what they did was published books (many books) of commentary. These books collected Tolkien’s original manuscripts, alternate wordings, new ideas and more in depth back stories. Everyone was happy. From the fanboys to the Tolkien family, they knew they had preserved something important and added to something great.

This example can be easily and near seamlessly applied to Srila Prabhupada’s books. Watch this.
Srila Prabhupada wrote Bhagavad-gita and Srima Bhagavatam and many many other books. They are seen by devotee and by the rest of the world as classics in Vedic literature. There are devotees everywhere around the world. There are devotees who know every chapter, every text, every sloka. After Srila Prabhupada left our mortal vision, the devotees went through his notes and discovered that there were earlier manuscripts that he had written. This was a great find, especially for the devotees of Srila Prabhupada’s work. But if the original work were to be changed would it be heretical? These are Veda (scripture), after all. You can’t change the Vedas, can you? Even though those closest to Srila Prabhupada knew this and were even told by Srila Prabhupada not to change even one word, the idea not only crossed their minds, the idea became reality and the old words made way for the new words. And the new revised books replaced Srila Prabhupada’s original books entirely. The devotees were divided. Some wanted to stick to the original texts, some wanted to stick to the new changes and even change more books. From the BBT and GBC (ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission) down to the new bhakta fresh off the street, there were suddenly politics and arguments over something that never before needed to be debated. All this from not preserving something most important, something as perfect as Srila Prabhupada’s own words.

Back to reality.
The Bhagavad-gita, Sri Isopanisad and the early cantos of Srimad Bhagavatam, and Krsna Book have all been greatly changed. What makes them so unique is that they were all written, edited and published early on in the movement (no later than 1973ish). True, the devotee editors were young. However, the translations and their editions were used personally by Srila Prabhupada for, in some cases, well over a decade. He never mentioned that “hey, this isn’t what I wanted this to say!” Quite the opposite, really. When he found out that there were changes to Sri Isopanisad, he was very angry and demanded “no changes!” That even extended to the paintings within the books.

The later volumes of SB and CC were cranked out like crazy (especially post 1975). Sure, there are mistakes. However, Srila Prabhupada didn’t suddenly became ok with changing his books. But personally, since those weren’t around as long as the others, they didn’t have time to become “canonized.” Nevertheless, Prabhupada trusted his editors greatly at that point… some of them. Jayadvaita Swami was one of them. Yes, Prabhupada said “whatever he does is ok.” But that was about a very specific task, to help edit the newer books coming out (again, post 1975). It wasn’t permission to change the early books.

It’s true, one could read all of the revised editions and derive Krishna Consciousness from them. It’s not like the changes have changed the essence. Which logically makes one question “well then, why did they change them??”

The crux of the matter.
Srila Prabhupada was a poet. His original writing was beautiful. It flowed with a special rhythm that only he could write. The new editions simply can’t accomplish that. The new editions actually destroy that flow. And most importantly, Srila Prabhupada’s original books made thousands and thousands of devotees. The new editions come, early on, from an ISKCON that deviated so horribly from Srila Prabhupada’s vision that they actually had to tear down the system and start over (talking about the zonal acarya thing here). In my mind, these revisions (especially the gita & krsna book) are sad reminders of power, greed, lust, carelessness and selfishness all in the name of Krishna and Srila Prabhupada. The new revisions, such as the ones to Caitanya Caritamrta, are needless and pointless.

Now, I’m not automatically against everything the BBT does. Their new books, especially the Sri Brhad Bhagavatamrta, are brilliant. There is so much love and care that goes into them, it’s beyond astounding. And even though it took much protesting and bootlegging to get it done, they are once again printing Srila Prabhupada’s original works (except for Caitanya Caritamrta).

How to solve this problem and make everyone happy.
My desire, and I think it’s the desire of a lot of devotees, is to make Srila Prabhupada’s original books the main ones. Make them the recommended ones. Strongly suggest that we again use the original books in class, in our studies, in our daily lives. And then simply stop printing the revised editions. Just stop it.

However, a lot of work *did* go into the revisions. As much as so many devotees disagree with the revisions, it was in fact a labor of love. This labor shouldn’t go to waste. These revisions and even the early manuscripts should be compiled and published much like how it was done with JRR Tolkien’s books. That way, we would have Srila Prabhupada’s original work as well as the revisions, just in separate states. The books are Srila Prabhupada’s words. The revisions are not. Therefore, the revisions are not qualified to be contained within Srila Prabhupada’s books. However, since they are Krishna conscious, they are certainly more than worthy of having their own books. I beg the BBT, please do this.

There is so much fighting and so many offenses committed by both sides over this issue. Please, for the sake of our Krishna consciousness and our sadhana, please go back to the original books. Stop printing the revised books and please stop making changes. Please publish your commentaries as separate books so that we can read and learn more about the Bhagavad-gita and Krishna’s pastimes. Doing these things will indeed make the vast majority of the devotee community very happy.

Hare Krishna.

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I wrote that in 2005, and made some changes to it just now. I went back to it because the topic is becoming a hot one again. Good. I’ve recently read one of the best arguments for keeping the original books that I’ve ever come across. Here is the gist of it:

Srila Prabhupada was also a person. His personal desires for the formatting and phrasing of sentence structure should be according to His desires. They [the BBT] may be free to publish as they wish, but should do so independent of using Srila Prabhupada as the author of their changes. That is dishonest, as is false advertising….

It does not matter if one thinks that the new changes are ok or not. It is not their book either to alter. They are Srila Prabhupada’s books and He said things in the ways he wanted to say things. If He does not please your sense of whatever, still you must concede that they are His books, and if He chooses to keep them as they are then we should respect that….

We always stress chanting 16 rounds and following 4 regulative principles. Why? Because it makes sense to us? No, it is because our Spiritual Master requested us to do these things, and he asked us when being initiated, what are the 4 regulative principles, so we answered. He asked us not to change his books! But somehow some devotees see fit to change them, advertise them as original, and continue doing all this using the name of the same author who left us in 1978. They even speak sarcastically of our attachment to the original words of Srila Prabhupada in his books.

Edited down from the original, found here.

The more I think about this, the more absurd making any changes at all seems to be. I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why someone would want to do this. Even academically, it’s unacceptable. You don’t go back an edit Shakespeare or Dickens or even Stephen King! You mostly certainly don’t go back and edit the Vedas!

Recently, I came across and article that is definitely a “must read.”

Hidden Co-Authors – It discusses in great detail how Srila Prabhupada wrote, edited and published his books and the changes that were made to them.

The article I posted referred to as containing specifics is Distinguishing Srila Prabhupada’s Original Books from Changed Ones. It’s detailed, but very good.

There are also many pages dedicated to the specifics of the changes.

Here is an example (though the page is sort of broken, I think).

You can read the original Bhagavad-Gita: As It Is here.

And since most of Srila Prabhupada’s original books have been reprinted, you can buy them here.

If you’ve got any questions or comments, please feel free to ask/speak.

Hare Krishna.

Related posts:

1. Questioning Srila Prabhupada
2. Following Srila Prabhupada DVD Set
3. ITV Announces New DVD Series: Memories of Memories of Srila Prabhupada
4. Classic ISKCON Tapes #1 – Srila Prabhupada Leads Kirtan
5. The Bajaj connection to Srila Prabhupada