Overview

Posthumous Editing of a Great Master's Work: Special Focus on the Writings of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda examines how a leading figure's hallowed written and published works, which remain so important to the religious community, should be editorially treated following the leader's departure from this world. The volume addresses the theological, ethical, social, and legal implications of posthumous editing—and even improving—a great master's works. This book focuses on the extensive posthumous editing of the works of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, the original world-teacher of Krishna bhakti of the twentieth century. After Swami Prabhupāda departed from this world, some of his disciples, without the expressed approval of the author, attempted to improve on his authorized published work, which resulted in the publication of a continuing series of inauthentic altered editions. This extreme editing of Swami Prabhupāda's works precipitated the scholarly research and inquiry into the posthumous editing of a great master's work that forms the basis of this book.

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9781666939477

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Rarely does an academic work speak with such urgency and clarity to an issue that concerns millions of readers around the world. This book is a work of interdisciplinary scholarship that brings together theologians, historians, educators, an attorney, as well as practitioners and scholars of religion, to shed light on the extensive and unwarranted editing of the works of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. --Abeer Saha, Curator, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

"Śrīla Prabhupāda was one of the more significant Indians to bring Hindu devotional thought and practice to the west in the 1960s and 70s. Since that time, ISKCON-the organization he founded--has spread all over the world as have many of his teachings. The topic of the present volume then, deals with issues that are not only important to Prabhupāda's followers but to scholars and lay people interested in his approach to Krishna devotion in the Hindu Tradition. Like several of the contributors to the volume, I am not a member of his organization, although I met with Prabhupāda on several occasions and have read many of his writings. In addition, I participated in the conference at GTU in 2020 that generated many of the chapters herein. Each of these bring light to the discussion of the dynamics of translating and editing the work of significant authors as well as of one's own spiritual teacher. Several mention the principle of arsa-prayoga, which is generally understood to mean that the quality and wisdom of a spiritual teacher's words can outweigh whatever grammatical errors he/she might make. In some form or another, this concept of accepting their guru's words just as they have been spoken tends to be adhered to by many followers of Hindu teachers as a way of showing deference and respect. This appears to be the case with many of the contributors to this volume as they adopt and apply this principle to the transcribed versions of Prabhupāda's writings. In doing so, they display sound and rational thought in the process of expressing both their understandings of the issue as well as their devotion. Although the volume is an important contribution to the specific situation being discussed, it also provides the reader a broader perspective on the difficulties that can and do arise when attempting to ""edit"" the words of a posthumous author of respect. --Ramdas Lamb, University of Hawai'i at Manoa The status of a spiritual mission, including the words of the founder, may be judged by the quality of academic debate that ensues in its aftermath. The international success of ISKCON and the writings of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977) are at the forefront of the wave of Indian spirituality that changed the way the entire world thought about theistic Hinduism and Bhakti devotion to Krishna. And while the essential message may remain strong among the devotees, I applaud Graham Schweig and the contributors of this engaging volume for bringing to light many of the scholastic issues involved in the ongoing republication of Prabhupada's written teachings and am confident it will generate valuable insight into sacred texts and the literary experience of the Holy. --Guy L. Beck, Tulane University Asian Studies This collection of essays addresses issues of posthumously discerning authorial intent, a very difficult task! --Christopher Key Chapple, Loyola Marymount University Rarely does an academic work speak with such urgency and clarity to an issue that concerns millions of readers around the world. This book is a work of interdisciplinary scholarship that brings together theologians, historians, educators, an attorney, as well as practitioners and scholars of religion, to shed light on the extensive and unwarranted editing of the works of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. --Abeer Saha, Curator, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution"

Author Information

Graham M. Schweig is professor of philosophy and religion and Director of Studies in Religion at Christopher Newport University in Virginia, and he is senior editor of the Journal of Vaishnava Studies.

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