Ramesvara's Position on BBT (BBTI) Editing

Robert Grant (Ramesvara das) Dear Respected Prabhus and Matajis,

Hare Krsna. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! 

Reading the many posts on these threads that I have read, and trying to digest your concerns and critiques, I feel it would be helpful, even though I am actually insignificant, to state clearly what my position is regarding the editing, and what my position is regarding the distribution of sets of books that I glorify in great awe from the Hare Nama NYC SKP party. 

First on editing. The context for me is 1977, after having traveled to India 3 times to discuss with Srila Prabhupada his BBT, and the unimaginable topic of how things will continue after his disappearance. After those three visits I received the tape and transcript of the conversation dubbed "rascal editors". 

As the BBT Trustee for his original publications in English, I met with our English, Sanskrit and Bengali editors to plan a response, and then I wrote to Srila Prabhupada about "final editing" of his already published books, knowing with the greatest dread this his disappearance seemed inevitable. I summarized the final editing we wanted to do on his already published books into three categories, with specific examples for each category. 

Srila Prabhupada dictated a reply that authorized and allowed us to do final editing in only the three categories I had described. The premise was that all of us at the BBT (transcribers, editors, typesetters, etc. along with managers and BBT Trustees could commit inadvertent mistakes. His reply was the FINAL INSTRUCTION ON EDITING given in confidence to his BBT Trustee, to be passed on to his BBT editors. 

It was his authorization for extremely limited and careful editing, after scrutinizing his published works, to correct clear errors, to correct grammar and punctuation, and in the event something was missing due to our error, to carefully insert it back into his purport. This was to be the most limited proofreading and editing imaginable of his published works. 

In the context of his having met with the BBT Trustees and the GBC in the prior few months to discuss the preservation and continued growth of the BBTs and of ISKCON after his disappearance, this authorization was not limited to just a few remaining months of 1977. It was meant to be done once, slowly and extremely carefully, in ONLY THOSE THREE CATEGORIES, for his published books. 

Once completed, I assumed that the editing department would either shut down or be restricted to editing new works by translators /authors authorized in the future by the BBT. In my wildest dream or nightmares, I could never imagine that this process could last more than several years. I am sure that if I were to have told Srila Prabhupada that more than 40 years after his disappearance there would still be editors tinkering with his books in a seemingly endless process, I am sure that His Divine Grace's reaction would have been the most explosive fearsome and angry disapproval ever heard! 

There is an important editing point that you may or may not know that created an exception for the Bhagavad-gita As It Is unabridged edition. The publishing rights were still with the Macmillan Company. The strategy Srila Prabhupada gave me personally to execute first lead to the BBT getting back the publishing rights to the abridged Bhagavad-gita As It Is. It took several years after his disappearance for the BBT to wrest away from Macmillan the publishing rights to the unabridged edition. 

But by following his carefully laid-out plan, over a period of years, we were successful as Srila Prabhupada knew we would be. During the years leading up to his disappearance, we had written to Srila Prabhupada and obtained his permission to make specific corrections in the unabridged edition (EG. "planet of the trees", "cattle raising" and many others). In fact when I traveled with Srila Prabhupada in January 1977 as his secretary, I brought with me from the BBT Sanskrit and English editors several pages of additional corrections they were proposing. 

I read the pages of proposed corrections to Srila Prabhupada; he approved them all; and when I returned to LA in February and I gave the latest list of approved Bhagavad-gita As It Is corrections to our editing departments, to hold for future use when we finally could publish the unabridged edition. Srila Prabhupada expected that those corrections would be made after his disappearance.

Fast forward to sometime between 2010-2012. During one of my visits to our LA New Dwaraka Community, I net for 3 continuous days with BBT editor Sriman Dravida Prabhu to review the principles behind the BBTs continuous editing and what I feel is over-editing. We chose to evaluate every change made to the 2nd Chapter of the unabridged Bhagavad-Gita As It Is. 

I divided every change into three (3) categories: 1) Changes that were authorized based on the “final 1977 editing instructions” - about 10% of the changes; 2) Changes that needed to be further justified to make sure they fit into the three final editing categories - another 10% if the changes; and 3) Changes that in the end accomplished practically no improvement nor correction of any substance and therefore clearly did not fit into the three categories of final posthumous editing authorized by Srila Prabhupada, and therefore should not have been made - this totaled between 75% - 80% of the changes.

Unfortunately, I was unable to convince the BBT editors that there should be a final review and consensus within the BBT to roll back so many of the changes and produce a final authorized edition. I have pledged the remainder of this life to work towards that end.

Now, regarding my glorification if the most amazing transcendental book distribution I have ever witnessed being done here in NYC by the Yuga Dharma ASRAMA SKP Warriors. They sell sets of books in the subways and parks of NYC to total strangers by the most dynamic straightforward preaching of our transcendental philosophy and message. 

The basic set sells for $50 US and consists of the following hardbound books: Bhagavad-gita As It Is (unabridged), the KRSNA Book, the Nectar of Devotion, The Teachings of Lord Caitanya and The Science of Self-Realization. Regardless of my view that the editing of Srila Prabhupada’s books should have ended 35 years ago, I WILL NEVER STOP GLORIFYING THE AMAZING BOOK DISTRIBUTORS WHO HAVE DEDICATED THEIR HEART and SOUL to DISTRIBUTING SRILA PRABHUPADA’s BOOKS. 

They are clearly empowered by Lord Krsna! When you read the captions beneath the photos I post you can’t help but cry in ecstasy at the SKP stories, and the amazing souls sent to meet them in the subways by the Lord and how they transform and become so receptive and hopeful when they buy these sets. Krsna is sending them thousands upon thousands of sincere souls to receive these sets. Anyone who loves book distribution would never complain under the present circumstances about this astonishing and glorious Sankirtana Yajna. They are our front line heroes who are rescuing fallen souls 7 days per week, week after week. Please don’t ever criticize what they do.

Finally, I would like to share my observation about the participants on this FB site. I believe we fall into one of three categories: 1) Devotees who want to study the editing issue objectively, based on a thorough understanding of all of Srila Prabhupada’s editing instructions given to his BBT Trustees and BBT editors without fault finding - which isn’t really necessary to objectively see what went wrong with the over editing; 2) Sincere Devotees who haven’t yet reached a final conclusion and are willing to hear many different sides of the editing issue; and 3) Devotee extremists who are entrenched in their position and who will not care that I have presented factually both the authorization and restrictions given to the BBT by Srila Prabhupada on posthumous editing of his unabridged Bhagavad-gita As It Is. 

These devotees either blindly endorse all the changes out of ignorance, or blindly endorse none of the changes - also out of ignorance. Of these three groupings of devotees, a select group of devotionally scholarly advanced souls in this first category will ultimately prevail at arriving at final authorized editions of all of Srila Prabhupada’s published works, and will also finally succeed in shutting down the editing department forever!!! 

These devotees, working towards a consensus with the BBT, will all be able to roll back the unnecessary edits (of which there are so many) and roll back the changes to the cover art and the inside art, etc. I humbly pledge the remainder of my life to working with this group and the BBT trustees and editors to accomplish this goal before we leave our bodies.

I deeply beg your forgiveness for the countless offenses and mistakes I have made, and beg for the chance to try to make it up to the devotees, no matter how many lifetimes it takes. I am so sorry for the burden I placed or left devotees with when I left New Dwaraka to move to NY at the end of Oct 1986. Now, many years later, I have finally announced my retirement to my company next year- at the end of 2021, and pray that I may be allowed to move back into an ISKCON temple to try and humbly resume my Sadhana and purification and to try to begin making up for so many offenses, and be of some use again in service to the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada and to his Sankirtan Warriors, to his disciples and to his followers, as their lowly aspiring servant, Ramesvara dasa.

[PADA: First of all, most of these book changes were made because the leaders were too busy with many other side show issues, and the main issues were neglected, including changed books. When we were telling devotees about changed books in the 1980s - 1990s, most of them had no idea this was being done. The leaders were not making it a priority issue. 

Anyway we are where we are now, and lets hope we can reign in all these books being changed because that is the actual legacy of Srila Prabhupada and we should not allow his prime legacy to be lost, changed, and forgotten. And if Ramesvara can help in this regard, bravo, we need all the help we can get at this stage. 

Most people simply are unable to bother anymore, thinking the BBT is a lost cause due to its overly ambitious and arrogant members. The good news is, many more people are now in favor of originals. So we have at least some awareness and growing consensus for originals. ys pd]