The BBT does not own me

[Paramananda das]

pranams

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Pancaratna  das told me to always work with the BBT and not use KBI books bla bla bla.The fact is the BBT does not own me, nor do they care about bookdistributors they often use and abuse them for years.So many bookdistributors have been bullied ,used and abused and left this important service.And do the BBT care, or the GBC? OR any ISKCON sannyasis? No ,why do they not care? Because it is all about their power and influence and  comfort and making money in ISKCON.

They never distribute even one of Srila Prabhupadas books and mostly have zero real interest in pushing on Srila Prabhupadas bookdistribution. There was an announcement by the GBC chairman, ISKCON bookdistribution has increased 5 percent, I was thinking if he had at least distributed 5 books himself or 50 or even 500, then it might have been 6 percent increase.

The fact is the GBC and BBT and sannyasis in ISKCON mostly do not push this bookdistribution enough nor personally ever distribute Srila Prabhupadas books.

  BBT or KBI it does not really matter to me, I buy where there is better quality and better prices and I prefer the original versions  .

See what happened to the Bible, over a period of time everything was edited out and the Bible has nothing to do any longer with the teachings of Jesus.And the BBT is headed in  this   direction.Because there is persons pushing to remove Srila Prabhupadas statements about women and many other issues they have with Srila Prabhupadas books.

I have seen BBT trustees live in wealth and comfort of the money that we sankirtana devotees collect.The biggest thief and demon was Harikesa.He stole over 5 million dollars from the BBT, being the most influential BBT trustee.

Among Srila Prabhupadas disciples I have seen the fighting about becoming BBT trustee, I have seen the abuse of money and the mistreatment of devotees.I have seen that the books  have been marked up to high, not for increasing printing more books of Srila PRabhupada , but to print other books than that of Srila Prabhupada.BBT should have no

interest in printing other books than Srila Prabhupadas. This was Srila Prabhupadas clear and written statement just to print his books.Regarding editing Srila Prabhupadas wrote:

Srila Prabhupada’s own words about grammatical errors in his books:
“So far your telling me that some devotees consider that because there may be some grammatical discrepancies in my Srimad-Bhagavatam, first canto, then they may also be allowed to translate with errors accepted, that is just like imitating Raslila. When you do all other things like Krishna, then you can do Raslila. So if these other writers can do like me and spread Krishna Consciousness all over the world by becoming big Vedic scholars, then they can do. If one is too big, there is no mistake. Arsapreyaya means there may be discrepancies but it is all right. Just like Shakespeare, sometimes there are odd usages of language, but he is accepted as authority. I have explained all these things in my Preface to First Canto.” (Letter to: Mandali Bhadra — Jaipur 20 January, 1972)

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada said better sell the marble of the temple and print books if devotees are simply fighting over the rooms in the temple and who will be leaders.

In one letter Srila Prabhupada wrorte there may not even be a movement one day but his books will be there. Srila Narayana Maharaja once told me how much anxiety Srila Prabhupada was in at the end of his life over the future of ISKCON, and he told Srila Prabhupada that kindly just leave it in Krsnas hands now, you have done all that you could.

Just remember Krsna and be in peace.

  Would Srila Prabhupada like to see the editing and printing other than his books.Certainly not. When the BBT has all of Srila Prabhupadas original  books, just as cheap as KBI and just as good quality , giving up the huge salary program to its employees, that was not allowed by Srila Prabhupada.When it stops printing other books than Srila Prabhupadas we can talk.

  I have a book about Lord Narasimha that I have not published because , it will be another distraction from Srila Prabhupadas books ,though it contains very important teachings and instructions related with Lord Narasimhadeva, including the importance of Ahovalam etc. I have no real desire to print it.I rather see that every devotee in ISKCON gets a copy of "Teachings of Lord Caitanya".This book is lost in the "Editing war" and the BBT has not printed it in many many years.

And yes the BBT editors use some of Srila Prabhupadas quotes:

“We have to do things now very dexterously; simply we have to see that in our book there is no spelling or grammatical mistake. We do not mind for any good style, our style is Hare Krishna, but, still, we should not present a shabby thing. Although Krishna literatures are so nice that, even if they are presented in broken and irregular ways, such literatures are welcomed, read and respected by bona fide devotees.”

-Letter to Satswarupa Maharaj (9 January 1970)

“…In this way I have read the book sporadically, not very minutely. I think it should be gone through once more very carefully and all the mistakes that are still existing there should be corrected. If the books are printed with spelling mistakes and other mistakes, that will be a discredit for our publication. So please see that editorial work is done very nicely...”

-Letter to Brahmananda 10th Dec 1969)

And in the older version of Teaching of Lord Caitanya there is things like Valarama for Lord Balarama, but otherwise why touch anything else?

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.5.11

tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavo

yasmin prati-ślokam abaddhavaty api

nāmāny anantasya yaśo 'ńkitāni yat

śṛṇvanti gāyanti gṛṇanti sādhavaḥ

SYNONYMS

tat — that; vāk — vocabulary; visargaḥ — creation; janatā — the people in general; agha — sins; viplavaḥ — revolutionary; yasmin — in which; prati-ślokam — each and every stanza; abaddhavati — irregularly composed; api — in spite of; nāmāni — transcendental names, etc.; anantasya — of the unlimited Lord; yaśaḥ — glories; ańkitāni — depicted; yat — what; śṛṇvanti — do hear; gāyanti — do sing; gṛṇanti — do accept; sādhavaḥ — the purified men who are honest.

TRANSLATION

On the other hand, that literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms, pastimes, etc., of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world's misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though imperfectly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest.

In 1995  when many Prabhupada disciples was pushing that it is bonafide for ISKCON temples to have demigodworship in the temple room and rent the temple room even for mayavadis etc, I was the person that spoke up the strongest against this and though among the number 3 first bookdistributors in US, the BBT never supported me in this.

Why should they? They just want to make money....

"There will be fire in these walls" this fire takes place when we do not surrender to the instruction of Srila Prabhupada to distribute his book.The whole world is on fire: The fire of samsara.

saḿsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka- trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇārṇavasya vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

The spiritual master is receiving benediction from the ocean of mercy. Just as a cloud pours water on a forest fire to extinguish it, so the spiritual master delivers the materially afflicted world by extinguishing the blazing fire of material existence. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master, who is an ocean of auspicious qualities.

The rain cloud is the distribution of Srila Prabhupadas books.I was sitting in a metro one day on my way downtown to distribute Srila Prabhupadas books, and I heard Paramatma shout in my ears (heart) to give the person next to me a free "Beyond birth and death". It is a long story. But   Paramata is shouting at us :" Please distribute Srila Prabhupadas books, life is short"

And I am personally not opposed to other vaisnava littaratures, but this is not the duty of the BBT, please look up Srila Prabhupadas instructions..I suggest the Teaching of Lord Caitanya get printed again..there is a "huge market" for it too, this should be an impetus for the vaisyas within the BBT

Namaste

Paramananda das