BBT | The Hare Krishna Movement

Ramesvara Interview

12 Jan 2022 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, BBT, Book Changes, Book Distribution, ISKCON History, Ramesvara das Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, BBT, ISKCON history, Ramesvara das, Srila Prabhupada's books

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

BBT Media

31 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, BBT, Bhagavad-gita As It Is 1972 Edition, Book Changes, Books by Srila Prabhupada, GBC & Justice, Hridayananda Dasa Goswami Tags: BBT, BBT Media, books by Srila Prabhupada, EPUB, Hridayananda das Goswami, iBoks, ISKCON GBC & Justice, ISKCON Justice, Kindle

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.

BBT Media

Taking Credit Where Credit’s Due

02 Dec 2013 1 Comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Arsha Prayoga, BBT, Bhagavad-gita, Book Changes, Rupanuga das Tags: 1983 second edition, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, BBT, Bhagavad-gita As It Is, book changes, Rupanuga das, Srila Prabhupada

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.

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

Interview with Ramesvara Prabhu on Book Changes

16 May 2013 3 Comments

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, BBT, Book Changes, Books by Srila Prabhupada, Free Downloads, ISKCON History, Ramesvara das Tags: 1979 interview with Ramesvara, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Baladeva Vidyabhusana, BBT, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Bhaktivedanta Books, book changes, interview with Ramesvara, Iskcon, ISKCON history, MacMillan, Ramesvara, Ramesvara dasa, Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada books, Tamal Krsna Maharaja, The Hare Krishna Movement

click on image to enlarge

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!!!

You can download the PDF file of the interview by clicking on: Ramesvara-interview-1979

Or you can read the entire interview here… More

To Edit or Not To Edit – That Is The Question

14 May 2013 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, BBT, Book Changes, Books by Srila Prabhupada, Govinda dasi, Hayagriva das, Srila Prabhupada's Books Tags: 1972 Edition, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, as it is, BBT, bhagavad-gita, book changes, gita manuscript, Govinda dasi, Hayagriva, Jayadvaita Swami, MacMillan, That is the Question, to Edit or Not To Edit

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.

Full article More

“What happened to the BBT”

26 Mar 2013 3 Comments

by The Hare Krishna Movement in BBT, Book Changes, Srila Prabhupada's Books

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.