Reviews on the original authorized Sri Caitanya-Caritamrita
Some quotes:
Yasodanandan: Sometimes they appeal that “We can make better English,” so they change like that, just like in the case of Isopanisad. There are over a hundred changes. So where is the need? Your words are sufficient. The potency is there. When they change, it is something else.
Svarupa Damodara: That’s actually a very dangerous mentality.
Yasodanandan: What is it going to be in five years? It’s going to be a different book.
Srila Prabhupada: So you… What you are going… It is very serious situation. You write one letter that “Why you have made so many changes?” And whom to write? Who will care? All rascals are there. Write to Satsvarupa that “This is the position. They are doing anything and everything at their whim.” The next printing should be again to the original way. (Srila Prabhupada conversation, June 22, 1977, Vrindaban)
Srila Prabhupada: … So you bring this to Satsvarupada. They cannot change anything. (Srila Prabhupada conversation, June 22, 1977, Vrindaban)
“It is not possible for a common man to write books on bhakti, for his writings will not be effective. He may be a very great scholar and expert in presenting literature in flowery language, but this is not at all helpful in understanding transcendental literature. Even if transcendental literature is written in faulty language, it is acceptable if it is written by a devotee, whereas so- called transcendental literature written by a mundane scholar, even if it is a very highly polished literary presentation, cannot be accepted . The secret in a devotee’s writing is that when he writes about the pastimes of the Lord, the Lord helps him; he does not write himself. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, dadaami buddhi-yogam tam yena maam upayaanti te. Since a devotee writes in service to the Lord, the Lord from within gives him so much intelligence that he sits down near the Lord and goes on writing books. Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi 8.19
“So unless one is self-realized, there is practically no use writing about Krsna. This transcendental writing does not depend on material education. It depends on the spiritual realization. You’ll find, therefore, in the comments of Bhagavatam by different acaryas, even there are some discrepancies, they are accepted as asat-patha (not being on the right path). It should remain as it is.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.23-24, March 31, 1976, Vrindaban)
Caitanya-caritamrta-set-transparent, watch out for modified, "second edition" versions. These can be recognized by the fact that they have different bookcovers, plates and different translations of verses and changed meaning of purports.
Srila Prabhupada’s literary legacy must be preserved, frozen in time so to speak, for posterity. Continuing changes over the upcoming decades and even centuries will only serve to incrementally denigrate the potency of His gift. The world wants and needs to hear Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental voice As It Is — not the prissy sterility of an editorial cottage industry run amok. Certainly, if the authorized and approved pre-1978 books were good enough for Srila Prabhupada during his manifest presence, they should be good enough for everyone right now!
About the only way out of this editorial and publishing morass is to firmly re-establish the 1972 edition of the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is which was approved and authorized by its author, His Divine Grace, as the literary standard, and then, some time later, to publish the original manuscript so that scholars and spiritually-minded persons can study and comment as they see fit. The editors are free, of course, to print their own books and to make a record as they want, but not under the guise that the original author approved their particular post disappearance word craft.
On the other hand, to continue along the “I know better what Srila Prabhupada really meant” route by allowing post disappearance editorial changes to Srila Prabhupada’s authorized and approved pre-1978 editions can only be seen for what it is — an ongoing, blatant violation of the sastric principle of arsa-prayoga.
At bottom, it is Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental vision the world wants and needs — not the conditioned viewpoint of some editor’s temporal sense of grammar or correctness that we seek.
REVIEWS OF THE ORIGINAL BOOKS:
“I am most happy to have these handsomely printed volumes which embody the work of so learned and sincere a believer in the message of the Caritamrta. I thank you.” Dr. Daniel H. H. Ingalls Chairman Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies Harvard University
“The appearance of an English translation of Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami’s Sri Caitanya-caritamrta by A.C. Bhaktivedanta [Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness] is a cause for celebration among both scholars in Indian studies and lay-people seeking to enrich their knowledge of Indian spirituality. It will fill a most serious lacuna in our libraries and in our courses on the religious traditions of India.
…For the first time we possess a readily accessible edition for this great religious classic that will provide opportunity for scholars in Indian literature and followers of the Krishna consciousness tradition alike to compare the original text with a modern English translation and become acquainted with the deeper spiritual meaning of this work through the learned commentary of Sri Bhaktivedanta.
…Anyone who gives a close reading to the commentary will sense that here, as in his other works, Sri Bhaktivedanta has combined a healthy mixture of the fervent devotion and aesthetic sensitivity of a devotee and the intellectual rigor of a textual scholar. At no point does the author allow the intended meaning of the text to be eclipsed by the promotion of a particular doctrinal persuasion.
…These exquisitely wrought volumes will be a welcome addition to the libraries of all persons who are committed to the study of Indian spirituality and religious literature, whether their interests are sparked by the motivations of the scholar, the devotee or the general reader.” Dr. J. Bruce Long Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University
“It is a remarkable document of great historical and sociological importance, giving a picturesque presentation of the socio-religious climate in the India of Sri Caitanya’s times and the far-reaching social and religious changes wrought by him. As a literary piece, it is regarded as a work of great merit, having no parallel in the whole of Bengali literature. As a religious text, its sanctity is comparable to that of the Bhagavad-gita. This English edition translated by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is superb. It contains the original Sanskrit and Bengali verses with their English transliteration, synonyms, translation and elaborate purports, easily bearing testimony to the author’s profound knowledge of the subject.” Dr. O.B.L. Kapoor, Emeritus Chairman and Professor, Department of Philosophy Government Postgraduate College, Gyanpur, India
“It is a genuine joy to have this momentous biographical work on the life of Bengal’s great saint Caitanya, prepared by his best-known modern interpreter, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.” Dr. Mark Juergensmeyer, Associate Professor of Ethics and the Phenomenology of Religions Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California
“Year by year, interest in Eastern religious thought and philosophy grows in America. The editing and translating of the important Sri Caitanya-caritamrta will make a substantial contribution to those who seek information about Indian concepts….” Dr. Gerald A. Larue Professor of Religion, University of Southern California
“I can recommend Sri Caitanya-caritamrta as a source of rich insights for every serious student of consciousness.” Dr. Rory O’Day, Department of Human Relations University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada