By Ajit Krishna Dasa

Arsa-Prayoga.com – Revisited is the title of an upcoming ebook that continues the work begun here on arsaprayoga.com. It re-examines the changes made to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s original books from new angles and explains why each alteration is significant.

Each example will also be posted here on arsaprayoga.com.

Today we are revisiting:

Spaced Out Edit

https://arsaprayoga.com/2021/02/28/spaced-out-edit/

Description

The article examines a major change in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.16.12, purport, where a large portion of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s original text was deleted and replaced with a much shorter version. In the original Delhi edition, personally typewritten by Śrīla Prabhupāda, the purport included a vivid cosmological description explaining how each planet is “an island in the airy ocean of outer space.” The later BBT-International edition removes most of this section, leaving only a brief mention of Bhārata-varṣa and the Mahābhārata’s description.

Since the Delhi edition was typed by Śrīla Prabhupāda himself, there is no earlier draft that could justify this change. The deletion therefore cannot be called a “restoration.” It is a posthumous editorial removal of material personally written and approved by the author.

Type of change

Deletion and condensation — a large section of original text removed and shortened.

Category

Philosophical change.

Commentary

Deletion and condensation

This is not a correction of typographical error. Substantial text has been eliminated, changing both the content and scope of the purport. Such reduction is not preservation but revision.

Loss of cosmological detail and mood

The removed section presents the Vedic conception of the universe, describing planets as islands in the airy ocean of space. This imagery expresses both philosophical meaning and devotional beauty. Its removal flattens the text, leaving a stripped-down version that weakens the reader’s sense of Vedic cosmology and spiritual wonder.

Interpretive interference

By removing this material, the editor decided which aspects of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s exposition were “essential” and which were not. That decision cannot be editorial—it is interpretive. It transfers authority from revelation to human judgment, from transmission to management.

Modern palatability

It seems likely that the editor considered Prabhupāda’s cosmological explanation too unusual or “unscientific” for modern readers and shortened it to make the purport more acceptable. This turns faithfulness into adaptation. Instead of preserving Śrīla Prabhupāda’s transcendental message, the text is reshaped to suit secular taste.

The result is not merely a shorter purport, but a reorientation of meaning: the Bhāgavatam’s bold transcendental cosmology is softened into something modern minds can tolerate. What was revelation becomes explanation.

Śrīla Prabhupāda’s original books were never meant to be adjusted for comfort. Their strength lies in direct transmission of transcendental knowledge, unbent by modern prejudice. Editing them to “help” the reader understand does not illuminate the message—it dims it. In this change, the editor crosses the line from preservation to modification, from śabda-pramāṇa (divine authority) to manuṣya-pramāṇa (human opinion).