“We never compromise. All my students, they will never compromise. Why shall I compromise? If I am confident that I am speaking the truth, why shall I make compromise? Those who are not confident of his position, they will make compromise. One who does not know where he stands, he will make compromise. And if I know where I am standing, why shall I make compromise? Let others do whatever he likes. This is our position.”
By Ajit Krishna Dasa
This a a response to Dravida Prabhu’s article “The Book Changes – A Defense” (posted on the Sampradaya Sun (01.13.2014).
Basically Dravida Prabhu’s attempted defense boils down to two wellknown fallacious arguments often presented by the BBT International:
1. Prabhupada trusted Jayadvaita Swami pre Nov 14th 1978. Therefore the editing Jayadvaita Swami has done after Prabhupada’s disappearance (post Nov. 14th 1978) is also approved.
2. The books are made “closer to Prabhupada” by making them closer to the so called original manuscript (which is really only a draft).
Let us look at each of these fallacious arguments.
The “he is good” argument
I have posted an article on my blog defeating this fallacious argument so often presented by the BBT International:
BBT International and their supporters often attempt to justify the changes made to Prabhupada books by Jayadvaita Swami by pointing out that Prabhupada a couple if times spoke highly of his editing work.
This article will show that these statements by Prabhupada can’t be construed to mean that Jayadvaita Swami’s editing work after Prabhupada’s disappearance is pleasing to Prabhupada.
From BBT International’s website:
“Of course, regarding Jayadvaita Swami, the BBT’s chief editor, Srila Prabhupada wrote, “Concerning the editing of Jayadvaita Prabhu, whatever he does is approved by me. I have confidence in him.” (letter to Radhavallabha, 7 September 1976) Continue reading
Studying Bhagavad-gita As It Is according to the logic of the hen |
The Value of Real Knowledge
By Narasimha das
My next door neighbor came over the other day and gave me his latest National Geographic magazine. Just the day before, I had seen it on a magazine stand and resisted the urge to buy it. Normally I have no interest in this atheist rag, but this issue was about the May 31st F5 monster tornado in Oklahoma this year (2013) and the death of Discovery Channel’s famous “storm chaser,” Tim Samaras, and his crew, which included his son Paul Samaras. I was born and raised in “Tornado Alley” and as a boy was fascinated to see tornadoes at a distance.
Tim Samaras had a cult following of storm chasers and was working for National Geographic on a grant for studying tornadoes and lightning. While he and his crew were gathering data on tornadoes with equipment invented by Samaras, they got sucked into a vortex with 300 mph winds. Their car was found the next day in a crumpled ball. It had been dropped like a ball of trash half a mile away. Witnesses saw it falling out of the sky.
The story mentioned other cases illustrating the power of large tornadoes. It is often noted that these storms seem to have a mind of their own and are unpredictable. I learned that India has tornadoes but they are rare everywhere in the world except Tornado Alley, or the US Midwest and Texas. This issue of NG glorified Samaras as a great researcher, explorer, investigator and inventor who devoted his life, at great risk, to unlocking the mystery of these great storms. Yet scientists are still perplexed how they form and how they operate. As usual, this magazine–its writers and editors– glamorize the search for mundane knowledge and completely rule out any idea of God, the soul, metaphysics, or the spiritual dimension of reality. As such, they are always bewildered and perplexed about the gross and subtle workings of Nature. As described in the Mahabharata, the great emperor and mahajana Yudhisthira Maharaja was asked by Lord Yamaraja, “What man should be regarded as learned? Who is an atheist? And who is ignorant?” Maharaja Yudhisthira succinctly replied, “A learned man is one who knows the science of the self. An atheist is he who is ignorant; and he is ignorant who is an atheist.”
Tim Samaras prided himself on being a scientist first and foremost, yet he had a superstition. He would “religiously” carry a McDonalds cheeseburger on the dash of his car whenever he was out chasing storms. He thought this would bring him good luck. At his funeral, the pastor kept a cheeseburger on the podium as a tribute to Samaras and his strange belief.
The story detailed reports illustrating the power of these storms, many of which seem to love destroying trailer parks and RV parks—easy kills. But they can also lift large barns and homes off their foundations and shread them like cardboard. A county coroner in Oklahoma described how these storms can act like giant meat grinders. Corpses are sometimes so destroyed that they are unrecognizable as former human beings. This issue of NG reported an incident that happened just moments before the demise of Samaras and his crew: A 32-foot trailer with 7 cows inside was picked up and deposited nearly half a mile away. Although trailer was destroyed, none of the cows inside were injured. The atheists reporting this story were totally perplexed how this could be possible. Apparently, the demon inhabiting the body of this tornado had better morals than Samaras, who was addicted to hamburgers.
When He was still a baby, the powerful demon Trinavarta, who took the form of great tornado, picked up baby Krishna and carried Him high into the sky. Krishna at first let the demon carry Him, but then Krishna made His body extremely heavy and grabbed the demon around the neck, causing him to fall violently to the ground. The demon was instantly killed and, of course, Lord Krishna was unhurt. Continue reading
