A Tale of Two Ramayanas
BY: URDHVA KETU DAS
May 15, USA (SUN) —
RAMAYANA by His Holiness Bhakti Vikas Swami:
All glories to my dearly beloved Godbrother Bhakti Vikas Swami Maharaja. I have just discovered, and have been reading, his Ramayana, the Story of Lord Rama. From his writing, I can see that Shripad Bhakti Vikas Maharaj is truly the upholder of the faith- or Krishna Consciousness-as taught by our revered spiritual master His Divine Grace Srila (108) Abhaya Charan Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Apparently Shri Bhakti Vikas Maharaja truly believes in the sacred words and teachings of Srila Prabhupada. He is a genuine gem of a disciple, not some cheap imitation cut glass who thinks Shri Guru is a lever with which to gain an artificial sense of elevation, promotion, rank and a fat salary to boot. The example of Shrila Bhakti Vikas Swami Maharaja should be held dear in each heartbeat of those who worship the spiritual master and his servants with each breath. For me, the dust of the feet of Shri Bhakti Vikas Swami is composed of sacred jewels far more precious than the diamonds and rubies of this world because he marches in the footprints of the sena-pati bhakta, shaktyavesha avatara Prabhupada. I also bow humbly before the disciples of Shri Bhakti Vikas Swami and congratulate them for their good fortune for adhering to the seva of a parampara Shri Guru in the disciplic chain descending from Shrila Prabhupada.
Through the capable lotus hands of Shri Bhakti Vikas Swami, the lila of Lord Shri Rama, the Personality of Godhead has been expertly re-told in simple and chaste English with the glow and luster of bhakti. In fact, our revered Godbrother does not actually claim to be the author, rather in genuine and humble Krishna conscious dharma, he merely takes the position as Editor, since pride of authorship must go to none other than the great Rishi Valmiki. That is Vaishnava etiquette.
Just in case you were wondering which edition of the Ramayana to read, or to offer as a loving gift to someone you’d like to see become Krishna conscious, here are a few words from the Introduction to Bhakti Vikas Swami’s Story of Lord Ramayana (which is dedicated to Srila Prabhupada):
“Lord Ramachandra is not a mythical figure, an ordinary person or even a very great human being. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead-the source, maintainer, and controller of uncountable universes, both spiritual and mundane. As the Supersoul, He is present in every atom and in the heart of every living being. He knows everything, past, present and future.”
In Bhakti Vikas Swami’s honest and engaging style, the story unfolds itself as the valuable lessons of the sacred text unfold in the readers’ hearts.
RAMAYANA by Krishna Dharma (Torchlight):
Compare those words above to the Torchlight edition of Ramayana, which their website has sensationally billed as, “India's Immortal Tale of Adventure, Love and Wisdom.” The Torchlight edition is written by someone who calls himself “Krishna Dharma”. Whether or not this “Krishna Dharma” is a devotee of Srila Prabhupada, we cannot say, but in the ISKCON of which we are a member, devotees keep the word “das” after their names and avoid the charade of sounding like pompous quasi-Indian scholars. Our readers can compare the Introduction above to the fairy tale blurb on the Torchlight website for their Ramayana:
“Revered throughout the ages for its moral and spiritual wisdom, it is a beautiful and uplifting tale of romance and high adventure, recounting the odyssey of Rama, a great king of ancient India. Rama, along with his beautiful wife, Sita, and his faithful brother Lakshmana, is exiled to the forest for fourteen years. There, Sita is kidnapped by the powerful demon Ravana. Along with Lakshmana and a fantastic army of supernatural creatures, Rama starts on a perilous quest to find his beloved Sita.”
Wow, talk about watered down pabulum of compromise! If one argues, that “Well, this is for the karmis”, then I say, “Let the karmis keep it!” Indeed, even the British indologists at their worst were never so overtly offensive as this. I bought the Torchlight Ramayana some years back when it first came out, and was I ever disappointed with their weak-kneed, cop-out claptrap about “gods and heroes”. We are supposed to be uncompromising preachers, not politicians or used car salesmen.
What the Torchlight edition is NOT, is loyal…to the example of Srila Prabhupada, who set the standard with his Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. After slogging through two tortuous pages of Torchlight's pabulum of compromised muck, I wanted to demand my money back.
Torchlight claims that the "Krishna Dharma" edition is the "world’s best-selling edition of Ramayana." If that is so, it only verifies Srila Prabhupada’s analogy that if you sell cut glass, you’ll have a long line at your door. Sell diamonds, and you’ll get only a handful of customers each week. So the choice is yours, Prabhus - diamonds or cut glass. But I think we all made that choice the day we joined Prabhupada’s army.
Apparently, this "Krishna Dharma" has "written" a "Mahabharata" also. And I can’t wait to NOT read that one either.
