His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
“He lives forever by his divine instruction, and the followers live with him”
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977), Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, otherwise knon as The Hare Krishna Movement, and affectionately know as Srila Prabhupada by his followers, is the extraordinary person who dedicated his life to teaching the world about Krishna consciousness, ancient India’s most noble message of spiritual wisdom.
In 1965, at the age of 69, on the order of his spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, representing a line of teachers dating back to Lord Krishna Himself, Srila Prabhupada sailed from India to New York to share Lord Krishna’s message.
This English translation and commentary is the work of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the world’s most distinguished scholar and teacher of Indian religious and philosophical thought. He himself is a disciplic descendant of Sri Caitanya, and his intimate familiarity with the precepts of Caitanya Mahaprabhu eminently qualifies him to present this important classic to the English-speaking world. The ease and clarity with which he expounds upon Sri Caitanya’s precepts lures even a reader totally unfamiliar with Indian religious tradition into a genuine understanding and appreciation of this profound and monumental work.
Srila Prabhupada himself considered his most important work to be the translation and publishing of his books. From the period of 1966 till 1977, Srila Prabhupada translated and wrote purports to nearly all of the 18,000 verses of Srimad-Bhagavatam, 700 verses of Bhagavad-gita, and 17 volumes of Sri Caitanya-caritamrita. He published a monthly magazine, Back to Godhead, which at one point was distributed in excess of one million copies per month. His published books number 160. Millions of copies have been distributed around the world in 28 major languages. Highly respected by academicians for their authoritativeness, depth and clarity, they are used as standard course material in numerous colleges and universities in India and the USA. In 1972, Srila Prabhupada founded The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust for publishing his works exclusively, and The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust went on to become the world’s largest publisher of books in the field of Indian religion and philosophy.
I remember as a young book distributor on the Radha Damadora Traveling Sankirtan Party back in 1975, we were getting fresh new cases of the Caitanya-caritamrta to distribute, “Hot off the press”. Literally the pages were still warm. We couldn’t wait to open up a new case and look at all the new pictures.
Celebrating Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
A 16th-Century Bengali Masterpiece
By Kalakantha Dasa
By any standards, Caitanya Mahaprabhu led a most remarkable life. As a child-scholar, He refuted the leading philosophers of His day. Later, as a young renunciant, He traveled widely, converting kings, panditas, Muslims, Buddhists, and thousands of their followers to the path of Krsna-bhakti. In His final years, He exhibited unprecedented miracles and devotional ecstasies. Even today, five hundred years later, Lord Caitanya’s movement reverberates around the world with startling religious vitality.
I have posted this article as well as other articles written by Locananda Prabhu before, but because of the significance and quality of the writing, we have decided to post it again.
Arsha Prayoga – Part One
by Locanananda Dasa
…For those who saw the Hare Krishna movement spread from city to city and from country to country, it was clear that the original version of Srila Prabhupada’s books was full of spiritual potency and did not require to be changed in any way for his words to act upon the hearts of the conditioned souls…
The question as to whether the writings of the acarya may or may not be revised by his disciples after his disappearance is answered by the rule of “arsa prayoga”. This principle states that one should not see mistakes in what the spiritual master has written or think that his writings may be changed to make them more effective or politically correct. To preserve his teachings in their originally published form is the way by which the acarya is honored, and to do otherwise is to dishonor him. That is the rule of “arsa prayoga”, a principle that devoted followers of a bona fide spiritual master must adhere to without deviation.
The following is an excerpt from a long interview of Ramesvara prabhu made for Srila Prabhupada lilamrta. If you read the whole interview, you will find it full of nectar pastimes of Srila Prabhupada, but the interview, unfortunately, never made it to the lilamrta?
The interview was made in 1979 and was carefully hidden in the Bhaktivedanta archives until it was leaked by a devotee in 2013.
Please bear in mind, as you read the following, that in 1979 when the interview was made, there were no bookchange conflicts, consequently there could have been no hidden motives in Ramesvara prabhu’s statements.
(There is a lot of sweet nectar and good information here, worth a moment of your time. -Vyasasan das)
The paintings sell the books
See, what Prabhupada did was so ingenious, it has to be appreciated from a historical point of view. No one in modern history has ever made philosophy books popular for the mass market. So what Prabhupada did was a stroke of genius and he should be described as…this should be understood to be part of Prabhupada’s genius in knowing how to popularize Krsna consciousness. That he combined the world’s deepest philosophy with paintings. And the paintings added to this philosophy made the books popular, made very deep high-level philosophy books popular to the masses. The average print run and distribution of a major philosophical work is miniscule in this world. In any language it’s miniscule compared to the popular novels and the popular nonfiction works. Philosophy books just are not big sellers. So this was Prabhupada’s genius. It cannot be in any way overstated, because it is an act of genius that he figured out how to have mass popularization of very high philosophy books. Prabhupada actually wanted 50 paintings in every volume. That was Prabhupada’s vision. Genius! No philosopher ever thought of such a thing. And therefore their books never sell. These art paintings were the basis of all the book distribution.
Of course, it was our sincerity and our drive and our desire to please Prabhupada. But the technique was showing people the paintings, attracting their senses, getting them curious and interested and attracted by the art. The more beautiful the art the more you could tell people that this describes the most beautiful, peaceful way of life, the most beautiful spiritual thing, you have to find out these people have. You’d show the paintings and you’d say things like, “This explains how to experience the highest happiness. Just look at this painting. Wouldn’t you like to be there?” The paintings were the basis for the book selling. And Prabhupada is the genius who thought that up.
Ramesvara interview on history of ISKCON and book changes — full text 77
This morning I was visiting the web site of H. H. Hridayananda Dasa Goswami. I was there for a specific reason, I wanted to read his recent paper on the ISKCON justice system. The paper is entitled “ISKCON, GBC & Justice”, HDGessay_iskconsgbc (1) (click on link to read or download).
But while I was at his site I noticed a link to BBT Media which I followed. I was surprised to find the Original Bhagavad-gita As It Is, as well as many other of the original books available on various formats such as EPUB, iBooks, and Kindle. I was excited to find this link and just wanted to share it with all our readers.
Here is another nice article by Sriman Rupanuga Prabhu. This deals with the book changes issue, particularly, the revised 1983 Bhagavad-gita. This book change issue is very important for the spiritual welfare of all future generations of devotees and interested persons. It is worth a careful read.
Taking Credit Where Credit’s Due
by Rupanuga das (ACBSP)
The revised and enlarged edition of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is (BGAII), as published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) 1983, disregards the academic community’s protocols or standards governing the revised editions of the books. According to the guidelines now widely accepted and practiced by publishers and academicians, the names of editors and co-authors of such newly revised editions are to be included along with dates. This distinguishes such a 2nd edition from a publication which is only a second printing of an author’s original first edition.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Tenth Canto, Part Three
Foward
This is the final Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam volume translated by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. It is smaller than the earlier volumes because it ends where the renowned author stopped translating just before his departure from this mortal world on November 14, 1977, at the Krsna-Balarama Mandira in Vrndavana, India.
The first part of this volume was produced in the usual fashion. Srila Prabhupada would sit and read silently from the Sanskrit text and then speak the translation and commentary into his dictaphone. Later, due to illness, it became necessary for his disciples to assist him personally.
In these last days Srila Prabhupada was gravely ill. Unable to eat for weeks, his health had deteriorated, making even the slightest movement excruciatingly painful.
As he lay still, a devotee would softly read the Sanskrit to him. Another disciple, sitting on his bed, held the microphone to him, nearly touching his mouth. And then Srila Prabhupada would speak, voice sometimes barely audible.
These recordings, made in his quarters at the temple, constitute the balance of this book.
In these final moments, the physician attending His Divine Grace confided that an ordinary man in such critical condition would have been crying out from the intense pain. Srila Prabhupada’s disciples were awestruck as they watched their spiritual master work quietly, undisturbed.
In the last part of the book we find Srila Prabhupada’s usual clarity of thought, constant scriptural references, scrupulous attention to detail, and rigorous philosophical exposition fully intact, just as they were in the preceding twenty-nine volumes of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Srila Prabhpada’s last days and this translation will stands an inspiring reminder that even the severest material circumstances cannot impede the activities of a pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
-The Publishers
For a Free PDF download of this special volume click on following link; SB-10-03-1980
Testimonial by Ramesvara dasa
Ramesvara-interview-1979
A very, very important document has just become public. It is a 300+ page transcript of a 1979 interview betweem Baladeva Vidyabhusana Prabhu and Ramesvara Prabhu, the manager of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, the person who was directly in charge of printing Srila Prabhupada’s books durning that time. Ramesvara had many direct instructions from Srila Prabhupada in regard to printing his books, and he also gives an eye-witness account of many events that took place while Srila Prabhupada was physically present. Very interesting read!!!
This is another very nice article by Govinda dasi on Book Changes, posted recently on the Sun. We are reprinting it here, as it is a very important issue, and needs to be shared with every devotee.
…Yes, he read his books daily, and he spoke from that original Bhagavad-gita for over 10 years! He gave lectures on nearly every verse in that original Gita, and he requested only a couple of corrections, such as “the planet of the trees,” (to be changed to “the pitris”), and a couple of other small corrections. Had only those few changes been made, perhaps this controversy would never have occurred.
However, the problem is this: BBT did not simply edit Srila Prabhupada’s books and make simple Sanskrit corrections; rather, they edited Srila Prabhupada’s books and made sweeping changes, over 5,000 of them in the Gita alone, and thus changed the “writer’s voice” that had been so artistically created by Srila Prabhupada and Hayagriva working together.
Although this is an older post, still it is relevant, in light of the recent post by Rupanuga Prabhu “The Change Disease” and an even more recent reply post by Ramesvara Prabhu entitled “A Reply to Rupanuga’s Article“. Followed by the reply from Hansadutta Prabhu; “Ramesvara was never a BBT Trustee“. One needs a score card to keep up with it all, but personally I find it all very interesting, and perhaps in the big picture on Book Changes, all this is needed.
“What happened to the BBT”
Posted by Hansadutta das on August 1, 2010
My Dearest Urdhvaga Prabhu,
Obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I owe it to Srila Prabhupada and to the devotees, to yourself, as having been appointed by Srila Prabhupada to act as trustee for life, to clarify what happened with the BBT.
In your post “Copyrights Transferred to the BBTI?”, published up on the Sampradaya Sun, you’ve understood correctly that BBTI is not the same as Prabhupada’s BBT. BBTI (Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.) is a California corporation (non-profit) that was registered in 1988, in a deliberate attempt to bypass the legal trust.
Immediately thereafter, ISKCON GBC voted to assign the copyrights from BBT to BBTI. However, they had no legal authority to do so, because Prabhupada gave express instructions in the trust document that ISKCON was to have no jurisdiction over the trust.
The Hare Krishna Movement 
Foward to Final Volume of the Srimad Bhagavatam
14 Jul 2013 1 Comment
by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, BBT, Book Changes, Books by Srila Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, BBT, dictaphone, final volume, Founder Acarya, foward to tenth canto, International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Krsna Balarama Mandir, Sanskrit text, Srimad Bhagavatam, Tenth Canto, translation and commentary
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Tenth Canto, Part Three
Foward
This is the final Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam volume translated by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. It is smaller than the earlier volumes because it ends where the renowned author stopped translating just before his departure from this mortal world on November 14, 1977, at the Krsna-Balarama Mandira in Vrndavana, India.
The first part of this volume was produced in the usual fashion. Srila Prabhupada would sit and read silently from the Sanskrit text and then speak the translation and commentary into his dictaphone. Later, due to illness, it became necessary for his disciples to assist him personally.
In these last days Srila Prabhupada was gravely ill. Unable to eat for weeks, his health had deteriorated, making even the slightest movement excruciatingly painful.
As he lay still, a devotee would softly read the Sanskrit to him. Another disciple, sitting on his bed, held the microphone to him, nearly touching his mouth. And then Srila Prabhupada would speak, voice sometimes barely audible.
These recordings, made in his quarters at the temple, constitute the balance of this book.
In these final moments, the physician attending His Divine Grace confided that an ordinary man in such critical condition would have been crying out from the intense pain. Srila Prabhupada’s disciples were awestruck as they watched their spiritual master work quietly, undisturbed.
In the last part of the book we find Srila Prabhupada’s usual clarity of thought, constant scriptural references, scrupulous attention to detail, and rigorous philosophical exposition fully intact, just as they were in the preceding twenty-nine volumes of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Srila Prabhpada’s last days and this translation will stands an inspiring reminder that even the severest material circumstances cannot impede the activities of a pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
-The Publishers
For a Free PDF download of this special volume click on following link; SB-10-03-1980
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