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Thank You, BBT by Rama devi dasi Posted July 5, 2008
I felt very compelled to write in, just to say, how relieved I feel after reading the BBT's decision regarding annotating Srila Prabupada's books. I am still relatively a new devotee, not even ten years yet, and I felt very nervous and confused about the idea of annotating Prabhupada's books. I very much appreciate and feel very thankful, for the decision that the BBT has made and for the clear, concise wording, and it seems that all areas of questioning have been covered. The BBT took a very strong position and they also took into account other things which had not occurred to me, such as, the delegation of responsibilities for guiding the devotees. I feel very honored and humbled to be a part of Srila Prabupada's movement, and to be able to have this opportunity to be under the good guidance of the BBT, protecting and publishing Srila Prabupada's books for all of the world,as well as the GBC for their leadership, and also to be able to share in the association and mercy of so many senior Vaisnavas. The decision that the BBT had made sets a precedent for the future of ISKCON in such a way as to remain true to Srila Prabupada's vision, to his words, and to all of the work that he did.
On June 20, 2008, Paramount Pictures releases The Love Guru nationwide. The film tells the story of Guru Pitka (Mike Myers), a westerner raised at an Indian ashram, who grows up to be a high-profile and eccentric holy man come west. While the level of humor contained in the film is crass, the comedy has drawn significant attention even before its official opening - both pro and con - and from Hindu-Americans concerned that it violates appropriate boundaries in dealing with a religious subject. On behalf of the North American chapters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), a Vaishnava, or devotional Hindu organization with an ethnically diverse membership, we understand that many Hindus are concerned that the film may mock their faith. At the same time, having seen the film in its entirety, we find it to be a typical satire that does not intend to hurt religious sentiments. While we respect the rights of others within the community to draw their own conclusions, we disagree with the calls to protest or boycott the film. We encourage the Hindu-American community to view the film in its context as a comedy, and to draw on the tolerance and broadmindedness that are hallmarks of our faith. The Love Guru is a satire, a genre that typically replaces reality with contradictions and exaggerations. If however, some mistake satire for truth, then rather than be angered, we could take the opportunity to clarify misrepresentations and educate others about our authentic traditions. If approached in a constructive and proactive way, the film may even lead to increased tolerance, dialogue, and understanding between Hindus and non-Hindus. We believe that pressuring filmmakers to censor , re-rate, or otherwise limit their artistic freedom is generally antithetical to the spirit of pluralism and tolerance within the Vedic, or Hindu culture. We recognize that, in certain cases, media depictions may so egregiously distort or maliciously denigrate our faith that boycotts, petitions, and other acts of protest are warranted. The Love Guru, however, is not such a case. Members of most faith traditions are sensitive about aspects of their tradition being used as sources of humor. However, The Love Guru reminds us that it is wise for people of faith to also maintain a sense of humor-and to take the time to laugh (even at ourselves) once in a while.
Anuttama dasa I recently bought 10 copies of "Sri Isopanisad" from the free Sastra Dana bookrack at ISKCON Laguna Beach Temple. What I do is take a stack, whenever I go to the temple, make a donation in the box on the rack, and then distribute the books at my local yoga studio. Unfortunately, when I opened one of the "Sri Isopanisad", it had the word "Bullshit!" stamped in big red block letters on many of the pages throughout the entire book. Hopefully, this is just an isolated incident, but my gut feeling tells me that some envious group of people is taking our books from the various devotee book racks, stamping them, and then returning them back into the racks for distribution.
I suggest devotees check their books before they give them out or distribute them. Keep an eye out and check the books on your racks once in a while to see if it is happening in your area too.
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BBT Statement On Annotating Srila Prabhupada's Books by BBT Trustees on 1 Jul 2008 Posted July 1, 2008 The ISKCON Governing Body Commission has recommended to the BBT trustees that we insert endnotes or appendices into Srila Prabhupada's books to explain statements Srila Prabhupada makes in Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.25.41, 4.25.42, and 4.26.26 concerning a woman's attitude towards the aggressive advances of a man and towards a man who is "expert at rape." The GBC has also recommended that the endnotes or appendices explain "other such statements." The BBT directors, at their annual meeting in June of 2008, considered these recommendations and decided to turn them down. The directors have in fact discussed the relevant issues at length during several BBT meetings over the past few years. We have listened to opinions from concerned devotees and nondevotees. And additionally we have sought and received written advice on these issues from a selection of senior devotees, both male and female. The directors have considered several suggested approaches to the issues, including deleting or revising the controversial passages, adding footnotes, adding appendices, publishing free-standing explanatory inserts, publishing separate books of commentary, and doing nothing at all. As a result of our deliberations, we decided that the best approach would be to set up a site on the web where readers can go to get a better understanding of statements from Srila Prabhupada's books that may be controversial, contrary to prevailing social norms, or otherwise difficult to comprehend or digest. As we reprint Srila Prabhupada's books, we plan to include on the copyright page a brief note directing readers to that site for guidance on such matters. This web site was already in development long before the meeting at which the GBC passed their resolution. Addressing these issues on a website offers the following advantages, among others:
We foresee that Srila Prabhupada's followers will eventually write many books of commentary to directly explain and elaborate upon the teachings found in his books, and we welcome this. We see the website as an initial step in that direction. In this letter we also wish to respond to the specifics of the GBC's recommendation. The GBC's resolution gives three reasons for their recommendation. Two are these:
Regarding these two reasons, we recognize that Srila Prabhupada's books sometimes make statements that some readers may consider offensive-offensive to women, to science and scientists, to democratic ideals, to other Gaudiya Vaisnavas, to scholarship and scholars, to homosexuals, to pacifists, humanitarians and philanthropists, to people of various nations or races, to followers of various spiritual or supposedly spiritual paths, to individuals widely revered as saints or incarnations of God, and much more. And we recognize that such statements may discourage some readers from reading further. Nonetheless, we think that adding notes or appendices to explain what Srila Prabhupada intended would be unwise, and potentially disastrous, especially if the purpose of the explanation were to soften the impact of Srila Prabhupada's words, to explain that he "didn't really mean" what he appears to have said-that is, not just to explain but to "explain away." The GBC's remaining reason is this: "Some ISKCON devotees may have used these statements out of context as an excuse to offend, neglect and abuse women." We agree that this is true. But we believe that providing guidance and instruction on such matters is the responsibility of the GBC and ISKCON's leaders, not the BBT or its editors. And we believe that Srila Prabhupada's books are the wrong place for his followers to insert corrective guidance on morals, ethics, or proper attitudes and behavior. We think that annotating Srila Prabhupada's books to keep ISKCON devotees from going off track is simply a bad idea. We are concerned, also, that the GBC has asked us to insert endnotes or appendices to explain not only the statements they quoted but also "other such statements as determined by the BBT." That is not a road we think it wise for us to set off on. Once we get started, where does it end? In conclusion: We do not intend to add anything to Srila Prabhupada's books, or subtract anything, or change anything Srila Prabhupada says, to make his controversial or potentially controversial statements more acceptable to readers or less vulnerable to misuse by ISKCON devotees. We believe that this would be unwise, contrary to our prescribed duties, and potentially disastrous. We also strongly urge whoever our successors may be to preserve Srila Prabhupada's books intact and reject all proposals, however well intentioned, for softening the impact of his words.
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I appreciated my Godsister Jadurani's rebuttal to the foolish video posted on YouTube.com. I suppose one of the unfortunate side effects of the Internet is that anyone can post anything at all, even if it is completely untrue, adulterated or disrespectful. One of my favorite quotes from Srila Prabhupada has always been, "The dogs may bark, but the caravan passes" and in this regard it is appropriate that the author of the offensive video goes under the name "Barking Dog."
I also greatly appreciated reading Srila Narayana Maharaja's comments on some of Srila Prabhupada's statements regarding women. It is no secret that our Gaudiya Vaishnava leaders hold a special place in their hearts for women and that, indeed, most are actually female in their eternal, spiritual forms. It is an age-old argument over who is more intelligent, men or women, but at least in Sri Radha's camp there is no doubt--women stand supreme! This opinion is openly admitted even by Lord Krsna Himself in the Bhagavad Gita (10.34), wherein He declares, "Among women I am fame, fortune, fine speech, memory, INTELLIGENCE, steadfastness and patience." I suppose women will need their quality of patience while waiting for the proverbial caravan to move ahead.
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