By Madhava Gosh das

The latest topic amongst those in ISKCON addicted to debating is the annotation of Prabhupada’s books. For those of you not familiar with the specifics, I will not provide links because a.) I am too lazy to find and include them and b.) why disturb your mind about it when you were having a perfectly fine day without worrying about it already.

I stipulate I haven’t read the GBC resolution and don’t know their specific reasons for deciding to annotate Prabhupada’s books. I am speaking only from my own perspective on the topic and neither approve nor disapprove of their method of arriving at their decision.

My first impression on reading some of the feedback is that I think that half the opposing commentators or more don’t know what annotation is, ergo I include this definition:

Main Entry: an·no·ta·tion
Function:noun
Date:15th century

1 a note added by way of comment or explanation 2: the act of annotating.

One example would be like Srimad Bhagvatam class where after reading the verse and purport, the person giving class gives a critical analysis of what has been read. An oral annotation in other words.

My premise is that the only way that Srila Prabhupada’s books can be retained in their original version is through the use of annotations. Think of Shakespeare.

He wrote hundreds of years ago and since then the English language, being very fluid, has shifted. In order to understand not only what the now archaic words meant but the cultural context and nuance of how those words were used, one would need to do an extensive study of the culture of that time.

Fortunately, qualified scholars have already done this for us so when we get stuck we can read the annotations and continue to enjoy Shakespeare as he originally wrote it.

Annotations don’t change books, they clarify points in them. Shakespeare comes in both annotated and unannotated versions. Just because an annotated version of a book exists, doesn’t mean an unannotated version can’t also exist, so there is no need to worry an annotated version of SP’s books will replace the current ones.

As language morphs, the need to annotate will become greater if the desire is there to retain Prabhupada’s books in original versions. That may seem academic now, but will be a greater need as decades slip by.

Consider the word “gay” and how its meaning has drastically changed:

Main Entry:1gay
Function:adjective
Date:14th century

1 a: happily excited : merry b: keenly alive and exuberant : having or inducing high spirits 2 a: bright, lively b: brilliant in color3: given to social pleasures; also : licentious4 a: homosexual b: of, relating to, or used by homosexuals

So I personally have no problems with the concept of annotating SP’s books IF it is done by devotees who have an understanding of the principles of Vaisnava philosophy.

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