I saw this posted on Facebook, and thought we would share it here with all of you. In this article by Locan Ananda Prabhu, he again makes the argument for Arsa-prayoga, or no change.
Srila Prabhupada was recognized as a great Sanskrit scholar. His depth of knowledge was unfathomable. Not a single word of his should have been changed. That policy is called arsa-prayoga, and it guarantees that the spiritual head of our institution should never be dishonored by changing his words.
THE ROD OF CHASTISEMENT IS GONE!!!
by Locan Ananda Dasa
One of my favorite verses in the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is
was once found in Chapter 10, verse 38:
“Among punishments I am the rod of chastisement, and of those who seek victory, I am morality. Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am wisdom.” (B.g. 10.38, original)
Chapter 10 is entitled, “The Opulence of the Absolute” wherein Krishna enumerates some of His extraordinarily splendorous manifestations. On August 12, 1976, Srila Prabhupada was having an evening darshan in Tehran, the capital and largest city in Iran. He was talking about how ordinary people know little about the greatness of God. “They say, ‘God is great,’ but how great? That they do not know.” Srila Prabhupada then asked his secretary at the time, Harikesa dasa, to read selected verses from the Bhagavad-Gita, beginning with Chapter 10, verse 20:
“I am the Self, O Gudakesa, seated in the hearts of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings.” (B.g. 10.20)
Harikesa prabhu continued to read through the verses that followed, the chapter ending with verse 42:
“But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge. With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.” (B.g. 10.42)
When he finished the reading, Srila Prabhupada said, “That’s it. This is greatness. So we should not simply be satisfied ‘God is great.’ We must try to know how great He is. Then our God consciousness will be fixed up. It’s all right?”
Atreya Rsi prabhu responded: “It’s very beautiful.”
So, in the course of that reading by his secretary, Srila Prabhupada heard the translation of verse 10.38 which included the phrase “the rod of chastisement.” Not on any occasion did he ever object to that choice of words because it perfectly reflected his deepest understanding of this opulence of the Lord. It was his prerogative, and no one else’s, as the empowered emissary of the Personality of Godhead, to choose the wording of this verse. This was Srila Prabhupada’s language, and as he himself often said, he had to weigh every word carefully because he was describing the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Whom there is no imperfection.
Next, take a look at the original purport to verse 10.38 written by Srila Prabhupada, which begins with:
“There are many suppressing agents, of which the most important are those that cut down the miscreants. When miscreants are punished, the rod of chastisement represents Krishna….” (B.g. 10.38, original purport)
I take it as my responsibility to bring to the attention of the devotee community to what extent this verse has been tampered with.
That phrase, “the rod of chastisement”, which so clearly expressed Srila Prabhupada’s appreciation of the opulent attributes of the Lord delineated in Chapter 10, was removed, both from the verse and from the purport, by an irresponsible editorial department. Keep in mind that His Divine Grace never asked anyone to re-edit his Bhagavad-Gita As It Is. In fact, in the Introduction to the Bhagavad-Gita, he wrote:
“In the present day, man is very eager to have one scripture, one God, one religion, and one occupation. So, let there be one common scripture for the whole world — Bhagavad-Gita…” This statement was made in reference to the original edition of the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is. It did not point to or include any later version of his work that he had not specifically authorized.
I did a little research online and found the revised translation of 10.38 as it now appears in the heavily edited book published and in print since 1983. Here is the revised translation of the verse:
“Among all means of suppressing lawlessness I am punishment, and of those who seek victory I am morality. Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am the wisdom.” (B.g. 10.38, edited version)
The purport begins with, “There are many suppressing agents, of which the most important are those that cut down miscreants. When miscreants are punished, the agency of chastisement represents Krishna.” (B.g. 10.38, revised purport)
Personally, I saw no need to make any changes to this verse or purport. It had been perfectly composed. In fact, I found that the revisions made the verse and purport both incomprehensible and meaningless. In addition, I would never change a single word in our scripture without the direct approval of the author. That policy is called arsa-prayoga, and it guarantees that the spiritual head of our institution would never be dishonored by headstrong, insensitive disciples acting independently to “improve” what was already perfect.
Srila Prabhupada was recognized as a great Sanskrit scholar. His depth of knowledge was unfathomable. With this in mind, the phrase “rod of chastisement” had a much deeper significance which the editors could not comprehend. I just scratched the surface by doing a little research and found a site online called Wisdom Library where this phrase was further explained in greater depth. There, it was stated that:
“In Vedic culture, the ‘rod of chastisement’ symbolizes a king’s authority to uphold righteousness, enforce laws, and administer punishment, ensuring order and discipline among subjects, while representing the moral duty inherent in leadership.”
Other scriptural references to the “rod of chastisement” include:
The Ramayana of Valmiki:
1) A metaphorical weapon symbolizing Rama’s intended punishment against Ravana for his sins.
The Mahabharata:
1) A metaphor for punishment, which should not be used against harmless creatures.
2) Symbolizes the authority and responsibility of the Kshatriya to enforce law and order.
3) A symbolic implement representing the authority to enforce moral order, passed down through various divine entities.
It should be obvious that due to a poor fund of knowledge, and being infected with the urge to sidestep the authority of Krishna’s pure devotee, many unwarranted changes were made to his books posthumously which should never have been allowed.
I thank the readers for having patiently read this essay. Please share it with others to help get the word out. Arsa-prayoga is the way to go. The original books of the most superior acarya are the way to learn what is true and what is eternal. So remember these prophetic words:
“Let there be one common scripture for the whole world — the original Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.”
The Hare Krishna Movement 