Srila Prabhupada spoke out against Bhagavad Gita changes while he was still with us. Unfortunately some disciples ignored his direction due to maya’s influence.
For example there have been over 5000 changes or so called legitimate edits to his original Bhagavad Gita manuscript. This is a grave error of common sense by our godbrothers and is one of the main causes of dissension amongst our peers.
Some people believe your level of advancement is contingent on the colour of your robes.
No!
A true sanyasis follows the instructions of Srila Prabhupada in Iskcon. Some peers think they are aloof from the rules and regulations due to seniority say.
No!
We are peers and we have to listen to our guru and his instructions. The book changes by a few called small group of non samkirtan devotees is demoralizing. The main editor has been a pencil pusher all of his devotional career. No samkirtan austerity or success to his record.
How can one make advancement without any austerity. You can’t.
Austerity is the wealth of the renounced order not living off the hard work of others. Such pink robed members are stealing in the name of religiosity and it reflects in their speech.
They criticize us for chanting Jai Prabhupada in our Kirtan. What foolish thinks foolish speaks.
Yet these same pink robe peers have the audacity to correct our gurus writings.
I personally like Prabhupada’s unedited Bhagavatam’s from 1962, 1964 and 1965. They give us real insight into his character and the glory of his vision and mission.
Here in this conversation we get the direction we need to preserve his books.
Srila Prabhupada said, “We are therefore presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is. We do not change.
Why should you change? What right you have got to change?”
So if you read Bhagavad-gītā as it is, that is mad-āśrayaḥ.
But if you interpret Bhagavad-gītā according to your rascal imagination, that is not Bhagavad-gītā. Therefore it is called mad-āśrayaḥ, “Under My protection, as I am teaching in my books.
We are therefore presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is.
We do not change.
Why should you change?
What right you have got to change?
If Bhagavad-gītā is a book of authority, and if I make my own interpretation, then where is the authority?
Can you change the law book according to your interpretation? Then what is the meaning of that law book? That is not law book. You cannot change.
Similarly, if you accept Bhagavad-gītā as the book of authority, you cannot change the meaning. That is not allowed. What right do you have as a disciple? None you must follow me.
If you have got some opinion, if you have got some philosophy, you can write in your own book.
Why you are, I mean to say, killing others and yourself by interpreting Bhagavad-gītā?
You can give your own thesis in a different way.
But many people, they take advantage of the popularity of Bhagavad-gītā and interpret it in a different way according to their own whims.
Therefore people do not understand what is Kṛṣṇa. That is the difficulty.
And the purpose of Bhagavad-gītā is to understand Kṛṣṇa. And all the so-called scholars’ and politicians’ commentary is to banish Kṛṣṇa or to kill Kṛṣṇa—the Kaṁsa’s policy.
Kaṁsa was always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, how to kill Him. This is called demonic endeavor. So that will not help you.”
[27th April 1974,Lecture BG 07.01 – Hyderabad]
So Prabhupada called changing things a disease. You cannot correct the surgeon that cures you of cancer. In the same way we cannot reinvent the Bhagavad Gita based on our own opinion.
Please read only Prabhupada’s original authorized versions and avoid the edited versions post 1978 by a few of our godbrother’s who assumed these lofty roles of editing his books without being very advanced in the Samkirtan mission.
There purpose in many ways is to justify the current elected guru system of the gbc which is also unauthorized in the Vaisnava sampradaya.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!