Jagannatha's blogging Hut

108 Changes to Srila Prabhupada’s
Bhagavad Gita As It Is (pt.1)

It’s well known among ISKCON devotees that the new “Revised and Enlarged”
version of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is is very different
from Srila Prabhupada’s original book. Jayadvaita Swami
says in a note in the new revised & enlarged version (1983 printing):

“…the Sanskrit editors where by now accomplished
scholars. And now they were able to see their way through perplexities in the
manuscript by consulting the same Sanskrit commentaries Srila Prabhupada consulted
when writing Bhagavad-gita As It Is.” (from A Note About
the Second Edition, 1986 printing)

The BBT editors may think they are very great scholars, qualified to go back to
the original scriptures and “correct” Srila Prabhupada’s translations…
But Srila Prabhupada didn’t have so much faith in his “Sanskrit Scholar”
disciples…

“…a little learning is dangerous, especially for the
Westerners. I am practically seeing that as soon as they begin to learn a little
Sanskrit immediately they feel that they have become more than their guru and
then the policy is kill guru and be killed himself.” (from a letter
to Dixit das on 18 Sep 1976)

There are some typographical errors in the 1972 printing, and if Jayadvaita
had simply corrected the obvious typos no one would have been at all concerned.

The problem is Jayadvaita did not just correct the typographical errors. He
has also changed so many things. There are thousands of changes which are completely
unnecessary, change for the sake of change. Most of the changes make no significant
improvement to the book. However these changes alter whole “feel” and
style of the book and many devotees do not like the new “style.”

Among his more than 5,000 changes to Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As
It Is there are many major changes to the meaning of the text in the original
book amid thousands of petty changes which apparently do not change the meaning…

There are hundreds of changes that completely alter the meaning of what Srila
Prabhupada says in the original book, and which he confirmed while giving his
classes and hearing the book read by devotees…

To give some idea of the changes we have collected 108 of them. This is by
no means a complete list. There are hundreds more similar changes that COMPLETELY
alter the meaning of the text in Srila Prabhupada’s book, but these 108 changes
will give us a small insight as to how different Jayadvaita’s Bhagavad-gita
is from Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is.

I guarantee if you take a little time to carefully go through this paper you
will be surprised and shocked to see the GBC could allow such meddling with Srila
Prabhupada’s books…

These 108 changes are just a few examples we have picked out to illustrate
the point that Jayadvaita’s “New, Revised and Enlarged” Bhagavad-gita,
in many, many cases, is completely different in the message it presents to Srila
Prabhupada’s book. It’s NOT, NOT, NOT at all the same message one gets by reading
Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is! It’s a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
BOOK.

Srila Prabhupada completely approved of his original Bhagavad-gita
As It Is , he read it himself daily and gave his classes from it. He
certainly did not give ANYONE the AUTHORITY to “revise and enlarge”
it.

Bg 2.8 P ORIGINAL:

…they can achieve real happiness only if they consult
Krsna, or the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam–which constitute
the science of Krsna–or
the bona fide representative of Krsna, the man in Krsna consciousness.

Bg 2.8 P REVISED & ENLARGED:

…they can achieve real happiness only if they consult Krsna, or the Bhagavad-gita
and Srimad-Bhagavatam–which constitute the science of Krsna–through
the bona fide representative of Krsna, the man in Krsna consciousness.

(1) It’s only one word changed, but what a difference! In Srila Prabhupada’s
Bhagavad-gita we can understand Krsna by reading the Bhagavad-gita and
Srimad-Bhagavatam, after all the books are not different from Krsna!! But
Jayadvaita has adjusted everything for us…

Bg 2.18 P ORIGINAL:

…The body itself is unimportant. Arjuna was advised to fight and to
sacrifice the material body for the cause of religion.

Bg 2.18 P REVISED & ENLARGED:

…The body itself is unimportant. Arjuna was advised to fight and not
sacrifice the cause of religion for material, bodily considerations.

(2) Arjuna WAS advised by Krsna to “sacrifice the material body for the
cause of religion…” But one would never know that by reading Jayadvaita’s
version. This is typical of his word juggling. He uses the same words as in the
original book but moves them around to get a completely different meaning…

Bg 2.25 T ORIGINAL:

It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable, immutable
and unchangeable. Knowing this, you should not grieve
for the body.

Bg 2.25 T REVISED & ENLARGED:

It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and
immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.

(3) One would never know the soul is unchangeable by reading Jayadvaita’s book…

Bg 2.30 T ORIGINAL:

O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body is eternal
and can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any creature.

Bg 2.30 T REVISED & ENLARGED:

O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body can never be slain. Therefore
you need not grieve for any living being.

(4) If one removes “is eternal” [perhaps by studying the original
sanskrit to "correct" Srila Prabhupada's translation] it is NOT the
same thing as the book Srila Prabhupada personally read from daily and gave all
his classes from. Is it? Why didn’t Jayadvaita Swami listen to Srila Prabhupada’s
classes?

“O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body is eternal and can
never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any creature.”

Prabhupada: Dehi nityam avadhyo ‘yam dehe sarvasya bharata. Dehe,
dehe means body, within the body. This topic began, dehino ’smin yatha
dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara. Deha, dehi. Dehi means one who possesses the
body. Just like guni. Asthate in prata. The grammatical. Guna,
in, deha, in, in prata. Dehin sabda. So the nominative case of dehin
sabda is dehi. Dehi nityam, eternal. In so many ways, Krsna has explained.
Nityam, eternal. Indestructible, immutable. It does not take birth, it
does not die, it is always, constantly the same. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire.
In this way, again he says nityam, eternal. (730831BG.LON)

But Jayadvaita has “intelligently” removed “eternal”
form his translation of this verse!

Bg 2.31 P ORIGINAL:

…Discharging one’s specific duty in any field of action in accordance with
varnasrama-dharma serves to elevate one to a higher
status of life.

Bg 2.31 P REVISED & ENLARGED:

…Discharging one’s specific duty in any field of action in accordance with
the orders of higher authorities serves to elevate one
to a higher status of life.

(5) Why bother with varnasrama-dharma? How can one make spiritual advancement
by following varnasrama-dharma? No. One has to surrender to the ISKCON
authorities…

Bg 2.40 P ORIGINAL:

If someone gives up self-gratificatory pursuits and
works in Krsna consciousness and then falls down on account of not completing
his work, what loss is there on his part?

Bg 2.40 P REVISED & ENLARGED:

If someone gives up his occupational duties and
works in Krsna consciousness and then falls down on account of not completing
his work, what loss is there on his part?

(6) Is it really the same thing to give up “self-gratificartory pursuits”
and to give up “occupational duties?”

Bg 2.48 T ORIGINAL:

Be steadfast in yoga, O Arjuna. Perform your duty
and abandon all attachment to success or failure. Such evenness of mind is called yoga.

Bg 2.48 T REVISED & ENLARGED:

Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity
is called yoga.

(7) Just see! We get absolutely no hint at all from Jayadvaita Swami’s translation
that a devotee is “steadfast in yoga” or a devotee has any “evenness
of mind.” However, when Tamala Krsna read the verse to Srila Prabhupada in
1968 (681216BG.LA) Prabhupada had this to say:

Tamala Krsna: “Be steadfast in your duty, O Arjuna, and abandon
all attachment to success or failure. Such evenness of mind is called yoga.”

Prabhupada: This is the explanation of yoga, evenness of mind. Yoga-samatvam
ucyate. If you work for Krsna, then there is no cause of lamentation or jubilation.
Jubilation is there because you are working for Krsna, but there is no cause of
lamentation. Yoga-sthah kuru karmani, yogah karmasu kausalam. That is the
secret of activities, how you can very diligently work at the same time you are
not entangled with the actions. That is the secret. Go on.

Srila Prabhupada very clearly accepts the translation As It Is!!! He
does not say “It’s wrong! Please get Jayadvaita Swami to change it…”

Not only does Srila Prabhupada accept the translation As It Is, he says
“This is the explanation of yoga, evenness of mind.” And Jayadvaita
Swami has completely deleted it!!!

Bg 2.49 T ORIGINAL:

O Dhananjaya, rid yourself of all fruitive activities
by devotional service, and surrender fully to that consciousness.
Those who want to enjoy the fruits of their work are misers.

Bg 2.49 T REVISED & ENLARGED:

O Dhananjaya, keep all abominable activities far distant
by devotional service, and in that consciousness surrender unto the Lord. Those who want to enjoy the fruits
of their work are misers.

(8) Here the emphasis has been taken off “freeing oneself from all fruitive
activities.” Also the the meaning of surrender has been changed… Anyhow
it’s different from the translation clearly accepted by Srila Prabhupada in his
physical presence.

Bg 2.51 T ORIGINAL:

The wise, engaged in devotional
service take refuge in the Lord
and free themselves from the cycle of birth and death by renouncing the fruits of action in
the material world. In this way they can attain
that state beyond all miseries.

Bg 2.51 T REVISED & ENLARGED:

By thus engaging in devotional
service to the Lord, great sages
or devotees free themselves from the results of work
in the material world. In this way they become free
from the cycle of birth and death and attain the
state beyond all miseries [by going back to Godhead].

(9) Krishna! It’s difficult to work out what Jayadvaita is trying to do here!
The original translation is so perfectly clear and obvious. After reading it there’s
no doubt what it says… “The wise, engaged in devotional service take refuge
in the Lord and free themselves from the cycle of birth and death by renouncing
the fruits of action in the material world. In this way they can attain that state
beyond all miseries.” What’s wrong with that? It’s perfect! When we read
Jayadvaita’s translation it’s not at all clear… And the meaning is completely
different from the one personally approved by Srila Prabhupada!

Here Jayadvaita Swami has covered up the point that devotees renounce the fruits
of action. He doesn’t seem to like this point and often obscures it, but it’s
a basic cornerstone of Krsna Consciousness… Whatever fruits our actions produce
are not ours! They’re Krsna’s and should be used in Krsna’s service. That’s
renouncing the fruits of our actions, we don’t enjoy them ourselves, we use them
for Krsna’s enjoyment…

So what did Srila Prabhupada think about the original translation? Did he ask
Jayadvaita to change it?

Tamala Krsna: “The wise, engaged in devotional service, take refuge
in the Lord and free themselves from the cycle of birth and death by renouncing
the fruits of action in the material world.”

Prabhupada: Yes. There is purport?

Tamala Krsna: No. There’s a little more to that sloka.

Prabhupada: All right. Finish.

Tamala Krsna: “In this way they can attain that state beyond all
miseries.”

Prabhupada: Read it again.

Tamala Krsna: “The wise, engaged in devotional service, take refuge
in the Lord and free themselves from the cycle of birth and death by renouncing
the fruits of action in the material world. In this way they can attain that state
beyond all miseries.”

Prabhupada: How easy it is. You take to Krsna consciousness, you act
in Krsna consciousness, you overcome the cycle of birth and death. And as soon
as you overcome the cycle of birth and death, you overcome all miseries. Because
birth and death means this material body. The living entity, spirit soul, has
no birth and death. And anyone who possesses this material body has to undergo
the threefold miseries of the material world. A similar passage is there in the
Srimad-Bhagavatam. The other day, as I was speaking to you, nunam pramattah
kurute vikarma. All these people, they are acting in a way which they ought
not to have done. Nunam pramattah. But they are acting as madmen. Why?
Yad indriya-pritaya, for satisfaction of the senses. Nunam pramattah
kurute vikarma yad indriya-pritaya aprnoti na sadhu manye. This is not good.
Because he does not know that he has achieved this material body by working in
that way in his previous life. Again he is working in that way. So he’ll have
to accept again this material body, therefore he’s miser. He’s not properly utilizing.
Go on.

So it’s obvious Srila Prabhupada approved of, accepted and fully authorized
the original translation! He had Tamala Krsna read it and agreed, “Yes, there
is purport?” Then he had Tamala read it again, “How easy it is…”
There is absolutely no hint Srila Prabhupada even considered anyone would
dare to change the translation he personally heard twice here and completely
agreed with and approved of…

Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! All glories to Srila Prabhupada and his original
books!

Madhudvisa dasa

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[99 more changes to come in Part 2 next week...]