Posthumous Editing of a Great Master's Work

Special Focus on the Writings of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Graham M. Schweig

• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Year: 2024
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9798216337775
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Ethics & Religion

Posthumous Editing of a Great Master's Work: Special Focus on the Writings of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada examines how a leading figure's hallowed written and published works, which remain so important to the religious community, should be editorially treated following the leader's departure from this world. The volume addresses the theological, ethical, social, and legal implications of posthumous editing—and even improving—a great master's works.
This book focuses on the extensive posthumous editing of the works of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the original world-teacher of Krishna bhakti of the twentieth century. After Swami Prabhupada departed from this world, some of his disciples, without the expressed approval of the author, attempted to improve on his authorized published work, which resulted in the publication of a continuing series of inauthentic altered editions. This extreme editing of Swami Prabhupada's works precipitated the scholarly research and inquiry into the posthumous editing of a great master's work that forms the basis of this book.

Table of contents

• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: On Revealing the Face of Truth
• Chapter 2: The Posthumous Editing of the Books of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
• Chapter 3: Posthumous Editing and the Privilege of the Sages
• Chapter 4: On Restoring the 1972 Edition of the Bhagavad Gītā As It Is
• Chapter 5: Issues Pertaining to the Editing of Prabhupāda’s Books
• Chapter 6: Los Angeles Devotees’ Responses to ISKCON’s Post-Charismatic Editing Crisis
• Chapter 7: Challenges in Constituting the Written Works of a Post-Mortem Author
• Chapter 8: Guru, Śāstra, Anubhava: The Triumvirate of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Authority
• Chapter 9: Let the Master Speak!: Issues of Textual Translation, Organization, and Interpretation in the Tradition of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda
• Chapter 10: Establishing Unitary Canons
• Chapter 11: The Acharya’s Copyrights: Legal Implications of Irresponsible Publishing
• Chapter 12: Framing the Master’s Work: On the Theo-Literary Method for Preserving the Completed Writings of the Departed Spiri ual Preceptor
• Index
• About the Contributors