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Remembering Sadaputa

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Today marks one year since the passing of Sadaputa Dasa (Dr. Richard L. Thompson). To honor this occasion, Caranu Renu Dasi, a Krishna devotee with a doctorate in astrophysics, has decided to share some of her memories of him. She has posted them on her blog, and you can read them (and see some photos) here: Carana Renu's remembrances of Sadaputa She writes in her concluding sentence: "He was a true pioneer and I expect that, 10, 50, or 100 years from now, devotees in ISKCON [the International Society for Krishna Consciousness] will look back and realize, more than we do now, the … [Read more...] about Remembering Sadaputa

What are the original manuscripts?

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What are the "original manuscripts" for Bhagavad-gita As It Is? The first of three videos in which I answer that question is now online at BBTedit.com. This first video, sixteen minutes long, tells especially about the manuscripts for the first six chapters (and shows what they look like). The video is informative, rather than argumentative. Hare Krishna devotees interested in the integrity of Srila Prabhupada's books may find the video worth watching. … [Read more...] about What are the original manuscripts?

BBTedit.com puts annotated Gita scans online

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  BBT press release: The BBT has launched a new website, BBTedit.com, full of information about the editing of Srila Prabhupada’s books. Among the features: More than 80 video clips: BBT editors and other senior devotees offer facts and perspectives on editorial history, myths, and controversies. A collection of Srila Prabhupada’s instructions about editing. First time ever: Annotated scans of Jayadvaita Swami's copy of the 1972 Gita show his editing for the second edition. The scans show practically all the revisions and restorations done for the … [Read more...] about BBTedit.com puts annotated Gita scans online

Durga and the lancet

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On Janmastami I had the pleasure of reading with other devotees from Srila Prabhupada's "Krishna Book" about Lord Krishna's advent in this world. In the course of reading, we heard that when the goddess Durga appeared before Kamsa, "in her eight hands she held a bow, lancet, arrows, bell, conchshell, disc, club and shield." Wait a second. Lancet? Surely that couldn't be right. A lancet is a small, sharp surgical instrument for making small incisions, opening abscesses, and the like. In former days, doctors would sometimes use a lancet to pierce a vein for therapeutic blood-letting. … [Read more...] about Durga and the lancet

“All the changes” soon online for the purports of Srila Prabhupada’s Gita

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Changes! Changes! Want to see all the changes made to the purports of Srila Prabhupada's 1972 Bhagavad-gita As It Is? The BBT will soon be putting them all online. When I made my revisions for the second edition, I did them directly on a copy of the book--that is, a copy of the first edition. After the second edition was published, for many years my first-edition copy was lost. But about three years ago, Dravida Dasa found it in a trunk in San Diego. More recently, that copy has been digitized. And soon the BBT will be putting it online. On that copy, you'll be able to see all the … [Read more...] about “All the changes” soon online for the purports of Srila Prabhupada’s Gita

Techie devotees: Help build the BBT digital repository

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The BBT has a lot of valuable stuff--books, manuscripts, letters, photos, paintings, audio, videos, and more, some of it in the Bhaktivedanta Archives, some of it elsewhere. A lot of it is in digital form, some of it not. Following the model for an Open Archival Information System, the BBT has begun a "Digital Repository" project. Among its purposes: To put all the BBT's stuff (as far as possible) into an up-to-date digital form, with suitable "metatags" to help in finding things. To archive all the stuff in one digital repository--one digital "box" (of course with backups). To … [Read more...] about Techie devotees: Help build the BBT digital repository

Psychology meets reality

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Enough of those cheery motivational slogans trying to psych us into believing "it's all in the mind" and whatever we wish will be ours if only we've got the right positive attitude. The blessed souls at Despair, Inc., have come out with a series of posters (oh, and T-shirts and mugs and whatnot) designed to deflate us and bring us down to earth (and make themselves a bit of money while they're at it). Deliciously depressing. www.despair.com. Enjoy. Thank you to my godsister Urmila Devi Dasi for letting me know about this site. … [Read more...] about Psychology meets reality

BBT publishes unauthorized changes in Vaishnava Calendar, concerned devotees say

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(Exclusive to the SAMPRAJALPA SUN) "At first I couldn't believe it," said Rijidatma Dasa. "The books, yes. But who would ever think the BBT would start monkeying with the Vaishnava Calendar?" The Vaishnava Calendar has been the guide for ISKCON's holy days and festivals since the early 1970s, when Srila Prabhupada first asked for it to be published. And for nearly two decades the BBT has published an annual BBT Art Calendar with a beautiful picture of Krishna-lila for each month. But ISKCON has now been plunged into turmoil by the discovery that the BBT, unannounced, has made changes … [Read more...] about BBT publishes unauthorized changes in Vaishnava Calendar, concerned devotees say

“A man of his word”

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Class on vows and Integrity, March 2008, London (To download: right click, and save as...) This is a slimmed-down version of a class I gave in March 2008 at the ISKCON center at Soho Street in London. One mistake: I say that "some girls" who wanted Bhisma to marry them asked his guru to oblige him to do so. In fact there was only one such girl--Amba. The other girls, her two sisters, married Bhisma's half-brother Vicitravirya. In any case, my point concerning Bhisma's personal integrity remains the same, as do my points concerning our own. Full class - CC Madhya-lila 1.96 - 30 … [Read more...] about “A man of his word”