Book Publishing Controversy on Wikipedia

[Paramananda das]

Book Changes Controversy now on Wikipedia
The controversy about the editing in Srila Prabhupada's books are now to be found on Wikipedia. Did Jayadvaita Swami and the BBTI really think they could eternally hide the fact that they are editi...
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Paramananda Das this is the very important part: Book Publishing Controversy[edit]
According to many followers of Swami Bhaktivedanta and substantiated on the website http://bookchanges.com/, Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is (as well as other books by the author) have been changed (by the publishers, "The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust"), since the passing away of the author, fueling a significant controversy among his followers. While the BBT argue the book-edits are in line with the original Sanskrit origin of certain words, as well as English grammatical errors in the original "As It Is" version, many followers of the author insist that the edited nuances collectively give a totally different spin to the author's unique presentation and positioning of the philosophy of "Bhagavad Gita As It Is" in the original "As It Is" version. Among these are subtle nuances in the edits such as changing the word "Aether", in the philosophy's elemental construction of the Universe, into the words "sky" and "space" in various places—to name one of many. Followers argue that while some of these changes may align to the strict meaning in context with the original Sanskrit, the author's license to present his unique poetic and scientific presentation and positioning for his intended demographic audience, as well as the copyright, have been violated.

There are also examples of changes which are not subtle and which clearly alter the meaning of the original published text in Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is and are not justified by the meanings of Sanskrit words or grammatical errors in the original edition and not even justified by the text of the so-called "original manuscript" (http://bookchanges.com/bhagavad-gita-as-it-is-manuscript/) which the BBT claim is their justification for the changes.

The controversy over the book-changes and the argued philosophical digressions by "The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust" fueled a splintering of the original group of followers into various groups. In 2014, four decades after the "As It Is" controversy began, the "Bhaktivedanta Book Trust" continues to defend its claim to editorial rights on the Internet with apparent transparency and accountability for their editorial changes and nuances in strict, grammatical detail, at http://bbtedit.com/changes however they have generally only mentioned changes that were first reported at http://bookchanges.com ignoring many other similar changes.

Many of the followers of Swami Bhaktivedanta insist that "The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust" has no authority to change Swami Bhaktivedanta's books after his physical disappearance. It is not the correction of the few actual typographical errors found in the first-editions of the books that form the basis of the controversy. Bhaktivedanta Swami constantly presented the principle of "no changes", not only to his books but to all aspects of Krishna consciousness. "Gradually the Krishna Consciousness idea will evaporate: another change, another change, every day another change. Stop all this." (http://prabhupadabooks.com/.../november/05/1972/sudama). It is the total disregard of this basic principle of "no changes" by "Bhaktivedanta Book Trust" which forms the basis of this controversy.

ISKCON is Changing Srila Prabhupada's Books -- Hare Krishna!
Srila Prabhupada's greatest gift to us is his...
BOOKCHANGES.COM
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Paramananda Das It means the intellectual class are agreeing with us devotees that disagree with the BBT about the book changes
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Paramananda Das In ISKCON if some leaders have presented many bogus ideas ,concepts or changes to Srila Prabhupadas standards these things have often been defended even by the GBC in the past ,they will have to eventually change, at present many ISKCON leaders act as monarchs with imperial power and due to their power hunger they also change things to suit their own personal agendas, the same was seen in the Christian Church for hundreds of years :
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Paramananda Das it is due to the anartha that happens in organized religion as explained by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada in his article" Organized religion" the book changes are due to pseudo religion dictated by Kamsa
mentality in the administration of ISKCON

[Paramananda das]

Organized Religion

by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur 

Sri Krishna manifests His eternal birth, the pure cognitive essence of the  serving soul who is located above all mundane limitations. King Kamsa [the demon  king who wanted to kill Lord Krishna] is the typical empiricist, ever on the  lookout for the appearance of the truth for the purpose of suppressing Him  before He has time to develop. This is no exaggeration of the real connotation  of the consistent empiric position. The materialist has a natural repugnance for  the transcendent. He is disposed to link that faith in the incomprehensible is  the parent of dogmatism and hypocrisy in the guise of religion. He is also  equally under the delusion that there is no real dividing line between the  material and the spiritual. He is strengthened in his delusion by the  interpretation of scriptures by persons who are like-minded with himself. This  includes all the lexicographic interpreters.

The lexicographical interpretation is upheld by Kamsa as the real scientific  explanation of the scriptures, and is perfectly in keeping with his dread of and  aversion for the transcendental. These lexicographical interpreters are employed  by Kamsa in putting down the first suspected appearance of any genuine faith in  the transcendental. King Kamsa knows very well that if the faith in the  transcendental is once allowed to grow it is sure to upset all his empiric  prospects.

There is historical ground for such misgivings. Accordingly if the empiric  domination is to be preserved in tact it would be necessary not to lose a moment  to put down the transcendental heresy the instant it threatens to make its  appearance in earnest. King Kamsa, acting on this traditional fear, is never  slow to take the scientific precaution of deputing empiric teachers of the  scriptures, backed by the resources of dictionary and grammar and all empiric  subtleties to put down, by the show of specious arguments based on hypothetical  principles, the true interpretation of the eternal religion revealed by the  scriptures.

Kamsa is strongly persuaded that faith in the transcendental can be  effectively put down by empiricism if prompt and decisive measures are adopted  at the very outset. He attributes the failure of atheism in the past to the  neglect of the adoption of such measures before the theistic fallacy has had  time to spread among the fanatical masses.

But Kamsa is found to count without his host. When Krishna is born, He is  found to be able to upset all sinister designs against those who are apprized by  Himself of His advent. The apparently causeless faith displayed by persons  irrespective of age, sex and condition may confound all rabid empiricists who  are on principle adverse to the Absolute Truth Whose appearance is utterly  incompatible with the domination of empiricism.

But no adverse efforts of the empiricists whose rule seems till then to be  perfectly well-established over the minds of the deluded souls of this world can  dissuade any person from exclusively following the Truth when He actually  manifests His birth in the pure cognitive essence of the soul.

Putana [the demoness who tried to kill Krishna] is the slayer of all  infants. The baby, when he or she comes out of the mother's womb, falls at once  into the hands of the pseudo-teachers of religion. These teachers are successful  in forestalling the attempts of the good preceptor whose help is never sought by  the atheists of this world at the baptism of their babies. This is ensured by  the arrangements of all established churches of the world. They have been  successful only in supplying watchful Putanas for effecting the spiritual  destruction of persons from the moment of their birth with cooperation of their  worldly parents.No human contrivance can prevent these Putanas from  obtaining possession of their pulpits. This is due to the general prevalence of  atheistic disposition in the people of this world.

The church that has the best chance of survival in this damned world  is that of atheism under the convenient guise of theism. The churches have  always proved the staunchest upholders of the grossest form of worldliness from  which even the worst of non-ecclesiastical criminals are found to  recoil.

It is not from any deliberate opposition to the ordained clergy that these  observations are made. The original purpose of the established churches  of the world may not always be objectionable. But no stable religious  arrangement for instructing the masses has yet been successful. The Supreme Lord  Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in pursuance of the teachings of the scriptures enjoins  all absence of conventionalism for the teachers of the eternal religion. It does  not follow that the mechanical adoption of the unconventional life by any person  will make him a fit teacher of religion.Regulation is necessary for  controlling the inherent worldliness of conditioned souls.

But no mechanical regulation has any value, even for such a purpose.  The bona-fide teacher of religion is neither any product of, nor the favourer  of, any mechanical system. In his hands no system has likewise the chance of  denigrating into a lifeless arrangement.The mere pursuit of fixed  doctrines and fixed liturgies cannot hold a person to the true spirit of  doctrine or liturgy.

The idea of an organized church in an intelligible form, indeed,  marks the close of the living spiritual movement. The great ecclesiastical  establishments are the dikes and dams to retain the current that cannot be held  by any such contrivances. They, indeed, indicate a desire on the part of the  masses to exploit a spiritual movement for their own purpose. They also  unmistakably indicate the end of the absolute and unconventional guidance of the  bona-fide spiritual teacher.The people of this world understand  preventive systems, they have no idea at all of the unprevented positive eternal  life. Neither can there be any earthy contrivance for the permanent preservation  of the life eternal on this mundane plane on the popular scale.

Those are, therefore, greatly mistaken who are disposed to look forward to  the amelioration of the worldly state in any worldly sense from the worldly  success of any really spiritual movement. It is these worldly expectants who  become the patrons of the mischievous race of the pseudo-teachers of religion,  the Putanas, whose congenial function is to stifle the theistic disposition at  the very moment of its suspected appearance. But the theistic disposition can  never be stifled by the efforts of those Putanas. The Putanas have power only  over the atheist. It is a thankless but salutary task which they perform for the  benefit of their unwilling victims.

But as soon as theistic disposition proper makes its appearance in the pure  cognitive essence of the awakened soul, the Putanas are decisively silenced at  the very earliest stage of their encounter with the new-born Krishna. The  would-be slayer of herself slain. This is the reward of the negative services  that the Putanas unwittingly render to the cause of theism by strangling all  hypocritical demonstrations against their own hypocrisy.

But Putana does not at all like to receive her reward in only form which  involves the total destruction of her wrong personality. King Kamsa also does  not like to lose the services of the most trusted of his agents. The effective  silencing of the whole race of pseudo-teachers of religion is the first clear  indication of the appearance of the Absolute on the mundane plane. The  bona-fide teacher of the Absolute, heralds the Advent of Krishna by his  uncompromising campaign against the pseudo-teachers of religion.