Arsa-Prayoga, Posthumous Editing, Editorial Authority and the Danger of Thinking One Knows Better Than the Guru

By Ajit Krishna Dasa

Sometimes a relatively small change can reveal a surprisingly large problem. The replacement of Srila Prabhupada’s expression “military phalanx” with “military formation” in connection with Bhagavad-gita As It Is 1.2 is one such example. There is no major philosophical deviation in the replacement itself, and “military formation” is perfectly understandable English. Precisely for that reason, however, this particular change deserves careful examination, because it allows us to isolate the principle behind the BBT book changes without becoming distracted by an argument over siddhanta.