No One Authorised: Proofs 7-10

 

T he proofs in the previous chapter showed how the completion of ÇrélaPrabhupäda’s Bhägavatam by someone else is not supported by Çréla Prabhupäda’s teachings. This conclusion can now be separately confirmed by specifically establishing that Çréla Prabhupäda did not authorise anyone to complete his Bhägavatam.

 

No Order Given

 

The most obvious proof that Çréla Prabhupäda did not authorise either HD or anyone else to complete his Bhägavatam, is that there exists no record of an order from Çréla Prabhupäda authorising them to do so. And, without such an order from Çréla Prabhupäda, it is not possible to act:

 

“The order of the spiritual master is the active principle in spiritual life. Anyone who disobeys the order of the spiritual master immediately becomes useless.”

 

(Cc., Ädi-lélä, 12.10)

 

If we act without such an order, or claim that such an order is not necessary, then we immediately become useless, because we would then also be disobeying this order that “The order of the spiritual master is the active principle in spiritual life.”

 

Nor is it possible to claim the existence of such an order simply on the basis of asserting that “Prabhupäda said” such a thing, without any recorded proof. Because such a claim in itself would also be disobeying Çréla Prabhupäda:

 

“ Unless it is there from me in writing, there are so many things that “Prabhupäda said.””

(Çréla Prabhupäda Letter, 2/9/75)

 

“just like in our ISKCON there are so many false things: “Prabhu päda said this, Prabhupäda said that.””

(Çréla Prabhupäda Letter, 7/11/72)

 

“Sometimes they say, “Prabhupäda said it.” More misleading. Yes.”

 

(Çréla Prabhupäda, Morning Walk, 3/2/75)

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₆                                         The Authorised Bhägavatam

 

 

Thus, Çréla Prabhupäda did not approve of the “Prabhupäda said” method as “evidence” of his order, and hence it cannot be put forward as evidence that Çréla Prabhupäda issued an order for his Bhägavatam to be completed.

 

8) Çréla Prabhupäda Confirms No One Authorised

 

The previous proof established that there exists no order from Çréla Prabhupäda authorising the completion of his Bhägavatam. Now we will see Çréla Prabhupäda confirming this fact. On May 28th, 1977, a delegation of the GBC met with Çréla Prabhupäda to ask him questions relating to how ISKCON would continue in the future after his physical disappearance. One of those questions was whether the BBT could publish scriptures in the future translated by others that he would not see. This proof and the next will look at the answers Çréla Prabhupäda gave to this question. Çréla Prabhupäda replies first in regards to others translating, that:

 

Çréla Prabhupäda: “But amongst our disciples, I don’t think thereare many who can translate properly.”

 

Rämeçvara: “ None. We’re not eager to publish anything which isnot perfect, because you have already set the highest standard for the BBT. The name BBT means the highest standard right now in the world.”

 

Çréla Prabhupäda: “ That is good answer. ”

 

(Conversation with GBC, 28/5/77)

 

By stating “That is good answer”, Çréla Prabhupäda agrees with

 

Rämeçvara that:

 

a) “ None ” of his disciples can translate.

b) Therefore, the BBT will only publish translations that are “perfect” and of the same “highest standard” set by Çréla Prabhu päda’s translations.

 

This answer means that Çréla Prabhupäda had not, nor could he have, authorised anyone to translate the Bhägavatam. Because he agrees that actually no one is qualified to translate scripture, and that only translations of the same standard as his should be published.

 

9) Must Be “Very Realized”

 

Çréla Prabhupäda then concludes the conversation just quoted in the previous proof by explaining the actual standard required for

No One Authorised

7

 

translation, which led to “none” being qualified to translate scripture:

 

“Our translation must be documents. They are not ordinary… One cannot become unless one is very realized. It is not A-B-C-D translation.”

 

(Conversation with GBC, 28/5/77)

 

a) Çréla Prabhupäda refers to the standard of translations in ISKCON, stating that “they are not ordinary”. Çréla Prabhupäda had made this same point previously:

 

“These books I have recorded and chanted, and they are transcribed. It is spoken kirtanas. So book distribution is also chanting. These are not ordinary books. ”

 

(Çréla Prabhupäda Letter, 19/10/74)

 

Çréla Prabhupäda refers to the entire contents of his books, which contain both translations and purports, as being “not ordinary”. And, it is this “not ordinary” standard that is required of all translations in ISKCON, which must thus be “documents”. Therefore, Çréla Prabhu päda is not giving a new, lower standard for future translations, but rather is expecting them to be of the same standard as the existing translations in ISKCON, i.e. his translations.

 

b) Çréla Prabhupäda therefore states that the person who produces such “translation” must be “very realized”. Which, by point a), means of a similar standard of realisation to Çréla Prabhupäda, so as to be able toproduce the same “not ordinary” translations.

c) In stating this, Çréla Prabhupäda is just confirming the same point he had just agreed with Rämeçvara making a few sentences earlier, as covered in the previous proof. There Çréla Prabhupäda agreed that translations must be of the same “highest standard” as his own. Hence, it follows that the translator would need to be similarly “very realized” as Çréla Prabhupäda is. Therefore, Çréla Prabhupäda had agreed that there existed “none” who could translate in ISKCON, because they needed this “very” high level of realisation.