Inaccuracies in the Vedabase
BY: KRISHNA DASA
Mar 28, 2016 — EUROPE (SUN) —
The Vedabase includes Srila Prabhupada Remembrances [Siddhanta Dasa, ITV]. Please do not assume that this section is a straight transcription of the DVD series, 'Memories of Srila Prabhupada'. Unfortunately, what is written in the Vedabase is sometimes a very poor representation of what was actually spoken. Devotees should be aware about this when reading and quoting from the folio, as it may lead to misunderstandings.
To give an example, in DVD 8 (1 hour 25 min) Revatinandana speaks the following:
"There's one story that I'd like to relay. It happened in 1976, and as I'm trying to remember where it was, the physically setting I'm not positive, but I think it was in Berkley temple around the same time that Gurudasa took sannyasa.
But in any case I had a chance to ask Prabhupada a question once. I had just heard a story. There was previously, in the mid-seventies, Prabhupada had had one of his Sanskrit scholar devotee assistants. His name was Nitai dasa. Nitai was a very academic devotee, and then he left ISKCON. He, as we said blooped, and later on I asked some devotees what happened to him. And they said, "Oh, he left and went over to some Brijbasi Goswamis in Vrndavana and now he is saying that Prabhupada is not giving us all the information we need because among other things he is not telling us what our rasas with Krsna are." And that was in reference to something called the, I think they refer to it now as siddha pranali. The actual process is called taking an initiation called a siddha deha initiation where one is told by the guru what ones rasa is with Krsna is and how to practice a certain sadhana in relation with one's own personal rasa.
I have been told although I don't, haven't read it, I've been told that Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati did not do it. He said it is not in our line. But in any case, Nitai did go over to that camp in Vrndavana and then he criticized Prabhupada and when I heard about that I wandered about it.
So, subsequently I had a chance to ask Srila Prabhupada a question. And as far as I can remember, again I don't have the exact words, but I asked Prabhupada, that if there are any matters concerning the nature of our devotional service and our relationship with Krsna that he has not personally explained to us or described to us, would it be necessary for us in the future to find out someone else to take more instruction from, or could it be as I thought , that if we were following his prescription for sadhana and for engaging in sankirtana and preaching and chanting, that by our chanting and our preaching and our service, as the heart became pure, Krsna would be able to reveal these subsequent things to us by revelation from within the heart?
And when I said that latter part he smiled and said, "Yes that is the way. You do not have to go anywhere else, but if you simply follow my instructions everything will be revealed to you from within". And he had a very pleased look on me for the way I phrased it in that way. So there was no doubt to me. He was very clear about answering that question, that there wasn't any need for being specifically instructed about these things, about our rasa and like that because in the pure heart everything is revealed to a pure devotee."
Below is the same recollection as it appears in the Vedabase. Notice how most of what was spoken is not included in the Vedabase.
"Revatinandana: In the mid-seventies, Nitai das, a devotee Sanskrit scholar, started hearing from a Brijbasi Goswami and left ISKCON as a result. Nitai claimed that Prabhupada had not given us all the information we needed. He criticized Prabhupada for not telling his disciples about their eternal rasa with Krishna. So, in Berkeley in 1976, I asked Prabhupada, "Are there any matters concerning the nature of our devotional service and our relationship with Krishna that you have not explained to us? In the future will it be necessary for us to find someone else for more instructions? Or, if we follow your prescription for sadhana, sankirtan, preaching, and chanting, will our hearts be purified so that Krishna will reveal subsequent things to us from within?" When I said the latter part, Prabhupada smiled and said, "Yes, that is the way. You will not have to go anywhere else. If you simply follow my instructions, everything will be revealed to you from within." He had a pleased look. It was clear to me that there was no need for information about our rasa, because everything is revealed to a pure-hearted devotee."
