“Everyday when I sit down here to write these books Krishna personally comes and dictates every word.” The fact that now ISKCON is attempting to ban Srila Prabhupada’s original books is indicative of the toxic effects of the changed books. ISKCON and the BBT themselves are suffering from the toxic effects of their own unauthorized book changes. Srila Prabhupada being non different from his original books is banging on their temple doors demanding entry with the whole world at his side.
How much potency do these constantly changing books have? Srila Prabhupada in The Yoga System tapes talks about the fact that in the world there are so many religions. The world has created so many religions but what is the best religion? The best religion is that religion in which one develops his dormant love of God. So how do we know which Gita for example is the Gita with the most spiritual potency that will help the prospective devotees develop their love of God, Krishna?
The original 1972 Gita is the answer, if it wasn’t, then why all the fuss to change it and ban it from Srila Prabhupada’s temples and the hands of the world?
When one leaves the changed Gita and takes to the original Gita then for all intents and purposes the changed Gita has lost its potency with respect to the original.
It does not matter how many changes to Srila Prabhupada's books that ISKCON and the BBT engage it. It does not matter that they may print millions of changed books. It takes very little however by clever deviates to contaminate the whole message of Srila Prabhupada's books thereby diverting the whole world from a multitude of spiritual realities.
The intention of changing the books is and has been done in order to stifle the spread of Krishna Consciousness, not to facilitate it. The only potency left in the illegally edited books is that their internationally revealed contrast in relation to the originals is causing more and more interest in the originals. That in itself indicates that the illegally edited books lack the inherent capacity for the spiritual growth of the prospective devotee. The BBT and ISKCON will continue
as a spoiled child continues in spite of being chastised by Srila Prabhupada.
ISKCON’s book changes continue to be ignored. They are being ignored by scholars worldwide and will continue to be ignored. ISKCON is hard pressed these days to get out these changed books. In fact there are many devotees of ISKCON Toronto who will only read and distribute the original Srila Prabhupada books.
The fact that recently ISKCON is reacting more vigorously against Srila Prabhupadas books is simply because they are loosing the battle for hearts and minds of the people of the world. The spiritual potency of those representing the changed books matches the spiritual potency of the books they’ve changed.
Wanting to prevent a choice of what version of Srila Prabhupada's books the world wants to read is feeding the world's curiosity. ISKCON’s high-handed militaristic tactics of book banning was similarly started in Berlin Germany May of 1933.
Srila Prabhupada does not have any changed books. There are original books only and those are the books that the scholars and new disciples of Srila Prabhupada are studying and copying from. The original books of Srila Prabhupada are going on line as fast as possible…for free.
The BBT and ISKCON-Changed Book manufacturers are simply that….manufacturers!
I once asked the BBT on line “Is the changed Gita from the 1972 edition as spiritually potent as the 1982 changed Gita?” His answer was “YES.” So I responded….”Then why change it ?” There has always been and will continue to be people interested in anything “original” in the world at large. Original artifacts, original cars, original records, photos, machines, art works of various kinds, pottery, furniture etc. People worldwide in regard to books are especially very wary of the words “Abridged or Revised”. Abridged or revised indicate that something is now missing from the original, then why is there something missing? – the question is asked. And where did the reviser and abridger get the right legally to do that continuously for 33 years?
ISKCON will continue on it’s path of “revising and abridging” as long as they have the money to do so…but the money is running out folks. So pay them no mind…they love the attention. Take that energy and purchase from KBI the originals anyway you can and preach from them. The BBT credibility profile is shrinking, their former supporters and even disciples are going to the original teachings and books. “ISKCON will continue to revise itself out of existence. The future will never notice their former presence.” Someone must clearly state for the record: Where is it written in Srila Prabupada's will or testament that he authorized his books to be changed at the free will of the BBT for as long as the BBT and their descendents decide? WHERE? If anyone regularly connected with ISKCON does not consider these facts then they are buying into literary products that have not been tested. Where are the bona fide reviews from new scholars? The world ought to understand how their intelligence is being insulted by so-called scholars whose only intention has been for a steady income at the buyers expense. Like any corporation with a product to sell, it is important to keep the coins rolling in. Every so often reshaping of the original product selling it again as “New and Improved” is what they think is essential. It is not.
The way ISKCON manages Srila Prabhupada's books and image as an ISKCON product indicates to the intelligent class of people that the present and long time managers of ISKCON
have never really felt secure in the original books, never really had faith in them and therefore never really took the time to understand them. Buying anything from a doubt-filled salesman is a high risk venture for sure.
ISKCON is constantly trying to reshape the perfect square but no matter how much they try their reshaping indicates comprehension failure and complete lack of faith in the acharya they claim to represent. That lack of comprehension and lack of faith is more than evident now to the intelligent class of people than ever before because they have seen and are reading the original works. They now know how in spite of ISKCON and the BBT to perceive the perfect original form.
Srila Prabhupada's original books are absolutely essential for many reasons – two quickly come to mind. First they will confirm or deny the validity or potency of the changed books and secondly they will be allowed to speak for themselves allowing the hearts of the world to hear them. The original books are DIRECTLY FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD, KRISHNA. Srila Prabhupada told us this. That means authorized. In the nice article titled 'Leave Srila Prabhupada Books Alone', Srila Prabhupada said: “Everyday”, he said, “when I sit down here to write these books,” he was now looking into space waving his hands in the air, his voice filled with transcendental emotion, “Krishna personally comes and dictates every word.” With the original books the reader goes DIRECTLY to the source – Krishna, as opposed to indirectly due to redirection as a result of verse changes and word meaning changes by completely conditioned souls.
Those at present who are not able to perceive the differences BETWEEN THE ORIGINAL AND THE CHANGED BOOKS are suffering the toxic effects of being subjected to ISKCON's constant reshaping. There is the original potency in Srila Prabhupada’s books. POTENCY means “THE INHEIRENT CAPACITY FOR GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT." Growth and development take place as one applies the teachings, the essential constituent is that the people make spiritual advancement. Constantly debasing the original Gita for example simply has those whom Srila Prabhupada told us to reach constantly trying to shift from one direction to another mirroring the mental inconsistencies of a BBT and ISKCON who live in doubt of the teachings themselves.
Srila Prabhupada explained that his books are transcendental and every time they are read, more information is revealed. That is the difference between ordinary books and transcendental books. Some may argue that the changed books still have some potency. By altering the original books as the BBT are continuing to do has the same effect as altering an equation with even one number. That means you will reach a different conclusion than the original conclusion.
Besides the world doesn’t need SOME of Srila Prabhupada's potency, it deserves and requires ALL of Srila Prabhupada's potency. All of Srila Prabhupada's potency is what he wanted and still wants distributed for the whole world to have. Not just SOME.
Where are the at length essays from anyone….anyone who is a student in ISKCON that can detail the spiritual advantages of the BBT book changes from the original Srila Prabhupada books so that new devotees may understand their reasoning. Where again are those at length essays regarding the re editing of the first edited books by world scholars who were exposed originally to Srila Prabhupada's first editions? There aren’t any because real bona fide scholars have long left behind reading what ISKCON and the BBT have been selling since 1982.
By continuing to water down the Hare Krishna Movement, ISKCON and the BBT force an unwilling world into a completely unnecessary forest of concocted ideals and misdirections.
Cultivating love of God, Krishna, the original consciousness of the living entity is being seriously delayed by a controversy created intentionally.
This intention is spreading wide an unnecessary conflict that is very seriously delaying the most important spiritual progress of mankind in the last 5,000 years.
Take heart, purchase, distribute and teach from Srila Prabhupada’s pre 1978 books while ignoring any ISKCON corporate threat.
“I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.” – Hellen Keller, whose books were burned by the facists in Berlin, Germany in May of 1933.
YS Hasti Gopala Dasa October 7, 2010 – TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA