BBTI Editor defends cutting off 22 pages from Srila Prabhupada’s Perfect Questions Perfect Answers book as a “good deed”

Hare Krsna. All glories to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
The changes in many of Sria Prabhupada’s books have been exposed for a long time. One of the most horrific of these stands out as the “Perfect Questions Perfect Answers” book. Here is the link that lists the major changes that resulted in cutting off about 22 pages from the book. https://bookchanges.com/iskcon-perfect-questions-perfect-answers-book-changes/
When we question the editors to give an explanation for their outrageous activities, they respond with self-appreciation and use Srila Prabhupada’s name in their defense. Let us analyze how the BBTI editor has defended his statement of cutting off 22 pages as a “good deed”. This report can be found on the BBT’s facebook page in the link that follows: https://www.facebook.com/bbtedit

A report from Ranjit das, BBTI:
No good deed goes uncriticized.

The story of Perfect Questions Perfect Answers reprint

Recently someone has tried to stir up a new criticism of the BBT by pointing to the re-print (in the 1990’s) of the book Perfect Questions Perfect Answers. Some 20 pages were taken out of the
book. Why?

At that time PQPA had been out of print for a long time. The devotee in charge of operations really wanted to re-print the book because he liked it so much. However there was a problem. The book was around 120 pages long. The small books that the BBT were printing at the time had been formatted into 96-page books so that the printers would give a really good price. If PQPA were printed at the 120 plus pages then most of the distributors would
not buy them and distribute them because such books as Perfection of Yoga, Beyond Birth and Death, etc were cheaper.
What to do?

Our devotee in charge of operations read the book and a good section consisted of a conversation between Srila Prabhupada and an Indian gentleman who was also present at the time. So our devotee figured that this part could go because it was not really part of the conversation between Bob Cohen (now Brahmatirtha Das) and Srila Prabhupada. But this was just not enough to bring it down to the 96-page format so a few more pages were cut.

Srila Prabhupada himself authorized the same thing with the abridged Gita. This devotee simply followed the precedent. But Srila Prabhupada wanted the word to go out and so did our intrepid BBT manager. And now this is being pointed to as some kind of conspiracy. So our BBT manager, instead of being lauded for the 96 pages that were printed and distributed is criticized for the 20 pages that he did not.

PQPA Original book scan:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O59ajchih6MisDIfvVUbB3wIbi2pY6XV/view?usp=sharing

Almost all of the paragraphs/pages that were removed from PQPA were a part of the original conversation. Only a handful of lines might have been added that weren’t a part of the conversation. This was verified with the original transcripts of the conversation.
It was completely unethical to delete so many important pages of transcendental nectar that was spoken by Srila Prabhupada just for quick bucks.
We see the editors using Srila Prabhupada’s printing of the abridged edition of the Bhagavad Gita as an excuse for their atrocious modification of the book. The situations during 1968 and 1990s were completely different and this unauthorized deletion cannot be defended by referencing a past edition. Although Srila Prabhupada did print the abridged edition, he was completely satisfied only after he published the original 1972 Macmillan edition which was complete. So it is obvious that Srila Prabhupada did not want his contents to be cut off just for sales. The removal of a lot of content from PQPA is not authorized and is done without any consultation. If these ambitious people can go to an extent to claim that their spiritual master was a worker made for hire, it is not surprising to observe them defending this content removal from Srila Prabhupada’s books.
They have also started changing front-covers and color plates. If people continue to tolerate their endless editing, the books will turn out to be something else.
It is very important to abolish their uninterrupted playing with Srila Prabhupada’s books and restore all his approved first edition original books.
In no case will Srila Prabhupada be pleased to have his books represented as grotesque playthings where anyone can insert any content as per his deluded understanding.
Let us see what Srila Prabhupada explains regarding such concoctions for earning more profits wrt his books:

“No, the printing of the Gitar-gan cover this fashion is not at all approved by me. You have done most nonsensically. Why change the cover? When people look to see the Bhagavad-gita they expect to see Krishna and Arjuna, not the picture of Krishna with cow. You have done a great mistake by changing the front picture and it will hamper the sale. In future you don’t do any changes without asking me first.
Simply because there is no stock of books, we can do anything whimsically??? Is this logic? Gita is not spoken in Vrindaban, it is spoken on the battlefield of Kuruksetra, but this is Vrindaban picture. That chariot driven by 4 horses, that is the real Kuruksetra picture. It is not that because there is no stock we can do whimsically as we like and lose the idea, that is rasa-bhasa. Because there is no bread, you take stone to eat? There is no stock of bread so you will take stone??? The front picture is most important thing and you have changed it. It must remain standard, and not change. Also, the lettering is not nice on the cover. You could have taken a color picture of Krishna and Arjuna and used it black and white (one color) on the front cover. Just as you did with the inside back cover of the Bhagavat darsana, the original picture of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was in color but you have printed it in black and white. You could have done this on the front cover with Krishna and Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, but the cover must not be changed. (Letter: Bhargava, May 29, 1976)
You may title this book, Teachings of Lord Kapila, but it must be subtitled, “The Son of Devahuti”. That will remain, do not try to change it. The Americans may like it or not like it, but we must make the distinction between devahuti putra kapila, and the atheistic Kapila. Do not try to change anything without my permission.”
(Letter to Radhavallabha, Aug 26, 1976)
1979 Ramesvara Interview regarding book changes confirms that there was no need for any changes in future

The link below contains an interview in 1979 regarding book changes. It is a 321 page booklet. http://bookchanges.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Ramesvara-interview-1979.pdf

Some quotes from the interview are presented below which express Srila Prabhupada’s denial to change anything.One main quote is shown that talks about no allowance for any changes in future.

Prabhupada ‘s realization of God which I consider to be perfect absolute God realization coming from Krsna Himself .And that no one is allowed to change anything . The size , the shape , the number of pages , everything . Actually Prabhupada did make the decisions .[Pages 177-178]

Prabhupada ‘s instructions were there and you can get a first hand understanding of how intense Prabhupada was and how concerned he was that in the future no one ever be allowed to make changes in his books .

[Page 183]

The greatest anxiety he has is that after he’s gone we will add things to his books that are bogus , we will take things out that are bona fide , we will make changes in his books and the whole work for 10,000 years , his plan Prabhupada was working on, it will all be spoiled by us because of our tendency to change . And Prabhupada gave an example that the disease to do things differently is so inherent in the Americans that for the sake of doing things differently we would walk on our hands rather than our feet. He gave different examples like that . He called the artists rascals. So we promised Prabhupada that we wouldn ‘t change the art . I remember Bali Mardan went downstairs to call them up and I remember watching the phone call . He called up the Press and asked for Radhabal labha, ( imitating Bali ‘s voice ) “Hey , Radhaballabha, guess what just happened? Prabhupada called you and all the artists rascals . He said you’re all rascals . Dead silence on the other end . And Bali , he was enjoying this humil iation of the devotees that worked under him . So I saw that and it was the beginning of my suspecting that something’s off with Bali Mardan . So that was a big event , the first of many with the I sopani sad cover and the se paintings . The first of many experiences I ‘ ve had with Prabhupada literally drilling me , pounding it into my head that you’re never allowed to change anything in his books . He trained me so intensely on this point . Even when the changes make sense he wouldn’t let me change . Just to train me . [Pages 83-84] 

The size of the books, the type of art in the books and so on, on principle Prabhupada would not allow changes even if the change was an improvement. Just to teach that principle of don ‘t change. [Page 94]

Before we talk about Prabhupada ‘s travels in ‘ 76 I want to mention another important theme which was Prabhupada actually instructing about the production on his books . I ‘ ve already mentioned the conversation that took place in ‘ 74 about the art paintings . I think that you should get a copy of the letter that I wrote to the art department because practically word for word Prabhupada ‘s instructions were there and you can get a first hand understanding of how intense Prabhupada was and how concerned he was that in the future no one ever be allowed to make changes in his books .

This was more than just a preoccupation with Prabhupada . This was a, you could call this a transcendental phobia , that the entire movement would without any shadow of a doubt be completely wasted and all the work and effort of all the devotees that Prabhupada was directly as well as his own efforts would all be ultimately lost if his books were changed . That was his attitude . 

He expressed that attitude very clearly in 1974 in that conversation and in that letter you’ll see the statements Prabhupada made about how everything will be ruined if his books are changed . Then prior to that I mentioned the incident about the Isopanisad cover where Prabhupada was revealing how much thought went into planning out his books when he was involved . He got very furious when we wanted to put Krsna on the cover instead of Visnu . In 1975 , I think I also mentioned this , that we had a very big problem with the printing of the hardbound Krsna Books . We wanted to change it from two volumes to three volumes . And there was literally like a fight . Not even a fight , Prabhupada was just furious . And he went on for about 1 hour talking about the Krsna Book and how he had planned it out to be in two volumes . And it became very clear to me that Prabhupada was training me to understand that these books are transcendental manifestations of Prabhupada’s devotion , Prabhupada ‘s realization of God which I consider to be perfect absolute God realization coming from Krsna Himself . And that no one is allowed to change anything . The size , the shape , the number of pages , everything . Actually Prabhupada did make the decisions .[Pages 177-178]

Later on in that Mayapur festival , I presented to Prabhupada an idea for Beyond Birth and Death reprint . That was a very popular book at the time – and a new ••. all kinds of new arty and very innovative and creative cover design was going on in the American paperback market . And just going to bookstores , especially in airports, I would see that these publishers , karmi publishers are putting a lot into their paperback covers . And one of the things that had just come out was something called dye cuts . A dye cut is where you have a hole in the front cover and then the inside front pages are actually laminated or glossy paper and you have color printing . through that hole . So you have color printing that kind of comes And it’s like a teaser . And when you see that you’re intrigued and you immediately want to open up the cover and look at the two-page spread on the inside front cover and the inside page , that ‘s called the dye cut . And many books , especially like thriller books , horror books , ghost books , those kind of books use this technique . So I thought that Beyond Birth and Death as a title and as a book lent itself to that . So I proposed it to Prabhupada. He completely smashed the idea . This was inside his room, myself and Radhaballabha . At this time we were showing Prabhupada the •.. ! can’t remember what we were showing him. We SR V dd–18/ were showing him something , maybe color art or something . But anyway, when we presented this idea to him he smashed it and again he gave us a lecture on changes

 . He used to say, ” Change , change , change , for the sake of change . This changing business is the disease that the . Americans have . It’s a disease . .. And he told this story , I just can ‘t remember it but I think it ‘s written in one of the letters too and Tarnal Krsna will remember it. That if an American , just to be different , instead of walking on his feet he ‘ ll walk on his hands . Just to be different . Change without real purpose . Now in that letter that I wrote to the artists in 1974 , so many specific points are made about changing. When you ‘ re allowed to change and when you’re not . 

BV : You don’t have a copy of that? 

SR: I can find a copy . It’s a good thing to refer to . Especially he talked about, as I said earlier , 11You can add things but you can’t delete . If you want to replace a painting you have to actually make an improvement and do the exact same subject matter . Once it’s approved it’s eternal . That was his quote . Once it ‘s approved it’s eternal . One of the heaviest incidences came up I think in ‘_ 76 or ‘ 77, we wrote to Prabhupada about publishing his spiritual mas ter ‘s book the Brahma-samhita . Because it had already been introduced to chant in the Gurukulas , we were chanting it all over ISKCON . And although Prabhupada in ‘ 7 5 said , “You cannot read the Gaudiya Math publications , you cannot approach my spiritual master or Bhaktivinoda directly. You have to learn their teachings through me , through my books , through my lectures . This was a big incident in ‘ 7 5 because the devotees were buying Gaudiya Math publications and reading directly . And Prabhupada completely smashed it

. So it was either ‘ 7 6 or ‘ 77 we wanted to print Brahma-samhita . Prabhupada approved it and he wrote a very heavy letter . to Radhaballabha . Because we were asking Prabhupada about editing changes. I’m not sure if he wrote the letter or if it ‘s on a tape or maybe it ‘s both. I think Radhaballabha had a room conversation with Prabhupada and I wasn ‘t present . Tarnal was there . And in addition to that I think there’s a letter . Anyway, between the letter and the room conversation , the instruction was given that ” You cannot make any changes in my spiritual master ‘s book . ” “What about the incorrect grammar?” Prabhupada ‘s reply , “ You cannot change one comma , not even a comma , not even a punctuation mark , that is the etiquette .” So that was just another one of those super heavy instructions that the etiquette in dealing with a great acarya’s books is that whatever he has done is eternal and it can never be changed .

And I believe that all of this was part of Prabhupada ‘s training us . He wanted to train people who would be entrusted with his books . And who would in turn train the next generation of BBT men , managers and production managers in this fanatical , literally fanatical transcendental phobia about changes. Prabhupada went out of his way to train us . Some of the instructions were so extreme that one might say they’re exaggerated . But they’re not exaggerated . This is exactly what Prabhupada wanted . 

BV : Can you give an example of that? 

SR: Well , just the economics of why we can’t publish the Krsna Book anymore . Because we’re not allowed to change the size . This has been hanging up the BBT trustees for the last five years . The publishing industry has just exploded in terms of inflation. Everything is a 150 , 200% more expensive than when Prabhupada was here . We no longer can afford to print the Krsna Book hardbounds in such large volumes . But no one is willing to change the size , we’re all so afraid . But that ‘s the way Prabhupada trained us . Maybe one day it is changed for economic reasons because ultimately Prabhupada wouldn’t want the book to be out of print . But this training was ultimate to insure that the instructions in his book , the words they weren ‘t changed and pictures and illustrations were not added which make the book incorrect and therefore would cause a person to just dismiss the whole book . Prabhupada said , ” If there ‘s one mistake then the whole book is useless .” When he was rejecting Pariksit ‘s line drawings for the Teachings of Lord Caitanya he said , ” These are mistakes , these pictures do not illustrate properly . Actually some of the illustrations here are subject to great misinterpretation and if you put these in my book the whole book is ruined .” So this was Prabhupada ‘s training to us about his books . So he was very involved in the desing of the book , the format . We talked to Prabhupada about the number of pages, we talked to Prabhupada about gold stamping , we talked to him about color pictures, ultimately he wanted 50 color pictures in each book . Prabhupada was a very active publisher , not just author . He was a very active publisher. We would discuss with him as we’ve already mentioned about the Macmillan contract , about American printer versus Japanese printer , Prabhupada would give us the go ahead and we would go . And by the momentum of his order we would become expert in. international publishing . We became expert in understanding the publ ishing industry of dif ferent countries, the paper industry of dif ferent countries , we became expert in negotiating , but all of this was by Prabhupada’s order . How he moved into Dai Nippon and establ ished a credit , how he authorized us to move away from Dai Nippon . Prabhupada was an active publisher , he was not just someone who just turned it all over and didn’t know what was going on . [Pages 181-185]

ISKCON Perfect Questions Perfect Answers Book Changes

CHANGES — BY MADHUDVISA DASA ON AUGUST 29, 1999 10:14 AM

ISKCON published a new version of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s book, Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers in 1993. It is a transcript of a conversation which took place in Mayapur, West Bengal, in 1972 with a Peace-Corps worker, Bob Cohen.

Please read these changes completely as they give a very good insight into the types of things ISKCON and the BBT are deleting from Srila Prabhupada’s books. They have their own agenda and they want to change the philosophy that is presented in Srila Prabhupada’s books and by carefully studying the changes they are making you can gradually understand their demoniac agenda….

The original edition was more or less a transcript of the original conversation. It was edited, of course, to make the English clear and correct and to make it readable. But basically it remained a transcript of the original conversation.

The 1993 version changes all of this. The book is slashed from 99 pages to 77 pages! And the type is not even smaller! So much has been cut out. In one place four complete pages have been deleted!

All the text has been heavily edited and the whole mood of the book has been completely changed. We have not done anything below about the editing, we have just pointed out a few pieces of text (shown in bold) that have been completely deleted from the new edition.

This is NOT a comprehensive list!

Plain Text – Text from original book (may be edited in new edition)Bold – Original text completely deleted from new edition“Miricles are For the Ignorant”? Chapter 1, Page 5: Bob: Let me repeat what you said this morning–that was interesting. I asked about miracles, and you said that only a fool would believe in miracles because–let us say you are a child and an adult lifts this table. That’s a miracle. Or you’re a chemist and you combine acid and base and you make smoke, an explosion or whatever. To somebody ignorant, that’s a miracle. But for everything there is a process, and so when you see a miracle, it’s just ignorance of the process. So that only a fool would believe in miracles, and–you correct me if I say wrong… Srila Prabhupada: Yes, yes. Bob: You said when Jesus came the people then were somewhat more ignorant and needed miracles as aid. I wasn’t sure if that’s quite what you said. Srila Prabhupada: Yes, yes. Miracles are for the ignorant. Bob: I had asked this in relation to all the miracle men you hear about in India. Srila Prabhupada: Krsna is the highest miracle man. Bob: Yes. Srila Prabhupada: That is stated by Kunti… “Our Knowledge Is Perfect”? Chapter 1, Page 10: Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Our knowledge is perfect. If I say that heat is the energy of Krsna, you cannot deny it, because it is not your energy.Deleting Verse Translations Chapter 3, Page 21: [“After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogis in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.”] Chapter 3, Page 26: “By the mercy of the spiritual master one is benedicted by the mercy of Krsna.”Chapter 3, Page 26: “Without the grace of the spiritual master one cannot make any advancement.”Chapter 3, Page 27: If you displease him, then you are nowhere. Therefore we worship the guru.saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastrair uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya vande guroh sri-caranaravindam[“The spiritual master is to be honored as much as the Supreme Lord because of his being the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged by all revealed scriptures and is followed by all authorities. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master, who is a bona fide representative of Lord Krsna.”] The guru should be accepted as God. That is the injunction of all sastra.“Chanting Hare Krishna is a Yogic Process”? Chapter 3, Page 25: Bob: Is chanting Hare Krsna such a yogic process? Srila Prabhupada: Yes, it is also a yogic process. What Is the Difficulty? Chapter 3, Page 28: Srila Prabhupada: Yes, He is the original spiritual master because He was accepted as spiritual master by Arjuna. So what is the difficulty? Sisyas te ‘ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam. Arjuna told the Lord, “I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.” So unless He is a spiritual master how does Arjuna become His disciple? He is the original guru. Tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye: “It is He only who first imparted Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahma, the first created being.” Therefore He is the original guru.“My Krishna”? Chapter 5, Page 39: Bob: Mine? Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Mine. My Krsna. Bob: Ah. Srila Prabhupada: Krsna is mine. Krsna is mine. Bob: Yes. “That is not Service–That is Business” Chapter 5, Page 39: An Indian gentleman: Srila Prabhupada, I have one question. What is the status of service minus devotion? Srila Prabhupada: Hm-m? That is not service, that is business. [Everyone laughs.] For example, here in Mayapur we have employed a contractor. That is not service–that is business. Is it not? Sometimes they will advertise, “Our customers are our masters.” Is it not? But in spite of the flowery language–”Our customers are our masters”–this is business, because nobody is a qualified customer unless he pays. But service is not like that. Service–Caitanya Mahaprabhu prays to Krsna: yatha tatha va vidadhatu lampato mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah “You do whatever You like, but still You are my worshipable Lord.” That is service. “I don’t ask any return from You.” That is service. When you expect some return, that is business. “So Better Not to Teach…”? Chapter 5, Page 41: Bob: So, what are the things that I may do? When I go back, I must– Srila Prabhupada: When do you go back? Bob: I’ll be going back to Chaibasa to do my work there, and… Srila Prabhupada: What is there in Chaibasa? Bob: That is where I do my teaching. I live there. Srila Prabhupada: So better not to teach–because you do not know what to teach. Bob: [Laughs] I’ll be going–I don’t like this teaching so much, and I’ll be returning to America in May, but while I’m here, this is my agreement for staying in India. “Following the Principles”? Chapter 5, Page 42: Srila Prabhupada: If you are serious, you can keep yourself pure anywhere. It doesn’t matter whether you stay in America or India. But you must know how to keep yourself purified. That’s all. Bob: You mean by following these principles? Srila Prabhupada: Yes. I went to America, for instance, but either in America or India, I am the same man.Sicknesss… Chapter 5, Page 53: Bob: But when someone is removed from karmic influence… Srila Prabhupada: Yes? Bob: … does he still get sick? Srila Prabhupada: No. Even if he gets sick, that is very temporary. For instance, this fan is moving. If you disconnect the electric power, then the fan will move for a moment. That movement is not due to the electric current. That is force–what is it called, physically, this force? Syamasundara: Momentum.That is Perfection… Chapter 5, Page 53: Srila Prabhupada: A perfected soul is one who engages twenty-four hours a day in Krsna consciousness. That is perfection. That is a transcendental position. Perfection means to engage in one’s original consciousness. That is perfection. That is stated in Bhagavad-gita:That is in the Bible… Chapter 5, Page 58: Srila Prabhupada: He said–that is in the Bible–that he took all the sinful reactions of the people and sacrificed his life. But these Christian people have made it a law for Christ to suffer while they do all nonsense.Questions and Answers Chapter 5, Page 64: Srila Prabhupada: And the time? Syamasundara: Six o’clock. Srila Prabhupada: Questions and answers are required. They are beneficial to all. Bob: I still have a question on the prasada. Srila Prabhupada: Suta Gosvami says: munayah sadhu prsto ‘ham bhavadbhir loka-mangalam yat krtah krsna-samprasno yenatma suprasidati [“O sages, I have been justly questioned by you. Your questions are worthy because they relate to Lord Krsna and so are relevant to the world’s welfare. Only questions of this sort are capable of completely satisfying the self.”] Krsna-samprasnah, that is very good. When you discuss and hear, that is loka-mangalam, auspicious for everyone. Both the questions and the answers. Bob: I still do not understand so much about prasada. But if you like I’ll think about it and ask you again tomorrow. Srila Prabhupada: Prasada is always prasada. But because we are not elevated sufficiently, therefore we do not like some prasada.“Independence & We are Always Controlled by Maya or Krishna”? (4 PAGES!!) Chapter 9, Page 89: Barbara: And chanting–what does chanting do? Srila Prabhupada: That you can ask these boys [the devotees]. They will explain. Bob: If Krsna controls everything, how does Krsna control a nondevotee? Srila Prabhupada: By maya. Just as the government controls everything. A kingdom is controlled by the king’s departments. Bob: And how does Krsna control a devotee? Srila Prabhupada: Just as you control your beloved. For example, if you have a beloved child, you control him for his benefit. If he is going to touch fire, you will immediately tell him, “No, no, my dear child. Don’t touch it.” So a Krsna conscious person, a devotee, is never misled, because Krsna is always guiding him, whereas those who are not Krsna conscious are in the charge of maya, and maya will do the needful, as you have seen. Bob: Is it preset, when we’re born, the time that we’ll die? Srila Prabhupada: What? Bob: Is the time that I’m going to die, and others are going to die, preset before we are born? When I’m born, do I have a certain given life span? Srila Prabhupada: Yes. A devotee: And he cannot change that? Srila Prabhupada: No, he cannot change it, but Krsna can change it. Devotee: If he commits suicide, is that also preset? Srila Prabhupada: Not preset. That you can do because you have a little independence. It is not natural to commit suicide; it is unnatural. So because we have independence, we can go from nature to “un-nature.” A prisoner cannot go out of the prison house naturally, but somehow or other he arranges to jump over the wall and goes away. Then he becomes a criminal for further imprisonment. Naturally, the prisoner cannot go out of the prison house, but if somehow or other he manages to escape, that means he becomes again a criminal. He will be arrested again, and his term of imprisonment will be increased, or he will be punished more. So, naturally we cannot violate destiny. But if we do it, then we will suffer. But our destiny can be changed by Krsna when we are Krsna conscious. We do not do it, but Krsna will do it. Krsna says: aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami: “I shall give you protection.” That change takes place for my protection. There are two stages–nondevotee and devotee. The nondevotee is under the control of material nature, and the devotee is under the direct control of Krsna. In the office of a big man, an executive of a big company, there are many employees, and they are controlled by different departmental superintendents. But although outside of home he controls indirectly, the same man at home is controlling his children directly. But he is always a controller. Similarly, God is the controller always. When one becomes a devotee, he is controlled by God; when he is a nondevotee, he is controlled by His agent, maya. But he has to be controlled. For example, every citizen of America is controlled by the government. When he is all right, the civil department controls him; when he is not all right, the criminal department controls him. But he cannot say, “I am not controlled.” That is not possible. Everyone is controlled. If somebody says, “I am not controlled,” he is not sane; he is crazy. Everyone is controlled. So either you are controlled directly by God, or you are controlled by His agency, maya. Being controlled by maya, you spoil your life; you remain in material existence one birth after another, changing your bodies. But if you choose to be controlled by God, then after this body, you go back home, back to Godhead. Then your life is successful. You cannot exist without being controlled; that is not possible. That is intelligence. And that is stated in the Bhagavad-gita. Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate: “After many births of traveling or speculation, one surrenders unto Me.” Vasudevah sarvam iti: “Krsna, You are everything. So I have come. Accept me. I am now fully surrendered unto You, and You control me. I am controlled. For so long I have been controlled by these rascals. There is no benefit. I have been controlled by my senses. So under the control of the senses I have served so-called family, society, country, nation–up to serving the dogs. But nothing has given me satisfaction. Therefore now I have good sense; I put myself under Your control. Instead of being controlled by dog, let me be controlled by God.” This is Krsna consciousness. Have you not seen how a man is controlled by a dog? In the street the dog stops, passes stool, and his master will stand and wait. Is it not? He is passing stool and urine, and the master is thinking, “I am master.” But he is being controlled. That is maya. He has become servant of the dog, but he is thinking, “I am master.” So unless one is Krsna conscious, one cannot understand. We can understand that this rascal is being controlled by his dog, but he is thinking that he is the master. We can understand. What do you think? Has he not become controlled by the dog? Bob: That is so. Srila Prabhupada: But he is thinking, “I am the master of the dog.” A family man is controlled by his wife, his children, by his servants, by everyone, but he is thinking, “I am master.” President Nixon is thinking that he is master of his country, but he is controlled. At once he can be dismissed by the public, his servants! And he will take a position, claiming, “I will give you very good service,” and “I shall be a first-class servant.” Therefore people vote, “All right, you become president.” And he is advertising: “Reelect me! Reelect me!” That means he is a servant. But he is thinking, “I am master.” That is the position. Maya. One who is controlled by maya is thinking himself master, but he is a servant. And a devotee never thinks to himself, “I am master,” only “I am servant.” That is the difference between maya and reality. He at least knows: “I am never master. I am always a servant.” When a servant is thinking, “I am master,” that is called illusion. But when a servant thinks, “I am a servant,” that is not illusion. That is mukti, liberation. Because he is not controlled by false thoughts. Try to think about this subject matter. A devotee is never controlled by false thoughts. He knows his position. Svarupena vyavasthitih. Mukti, liberation, means to be situated in one’s own constitutional position. I am a servant. So if I know that I am a servant, that is my liberation. And if I think that I am master, that is bondage. This is the difference between conditioned life and liberated life. So these Krsna conscious devotees are always thinking that they are servants of Krsna. Therefore they are all liberated. They do not endeavor for liberation. They are already liberated because they are situated in their constitutional position. They are not artificially thinking, “I am master.” Otherwise, everyone is thinking, “I am master.” That is illusion. You cannot be master in any state of your life; you must remain a servant. That is your position. When one thinks artificially that he is master, that is his conditioned life. And when one voluntarily surrenders to the supreme master, that is his liberation. A devotee does not try for liberation separately. As soon as he surrenders to Krsna or Krsna’s representative, he is liberated. Bob: Prabhupada, people that engage in religions, like these “Jesus freaks” and other people, claim that Jesus is guiding them. Can this be so?The Jesus Movement? Chapter 9, Page 94: Bob: What about the “Jesus freaks,” the young people that have joined the Jesus movement? They read the Bible very often, and they try to– Srila Prabhupada: But violence is against the Bible’s injunctions. How can they kill if they are following the Bible?Imitating a Powerful Man Chapter 9, page 95: Jesus Christ is powerful; he can do everything. But we cannot imitate; we have to simply abide by his order. That is real Christianity. We cannot imitate a powerful man. That is wrong.You See How They [the Karmis] Think? Chapter 9, Page 96: Srila Prabhupada: Because Krsna will be pleased. Suppose you have a dog and some friends come and pat your dog. [Srila Prabhupada makes big patting motions.] You become pleased. You become pleased: “Oh, he is my good friend.” You see how they think. We see this–some friend comes and says, “My, what a nice dog you have.” [Laughter.] [Some Indian guests enter the room.]