Articles written by my Guru Maharaja can be published without any hesitation….[1]
Devotee 1: Srila Prabhupada, I remember once I heard a tape where you told us that we should not try to read the books of previous acaryas.
Srila Prabhupada: Hmm?
Devotee 2: That we should not try to read Bhaktivinode’s books or earlier books of other, all acaryas. So I was just wondering…
Srila Prabhupada: I never said that.
Devotee 2: You didn’t say that? Oh.
Srila Prabhupada: How is that?
Devotee 2: I thought you said that we should not read the previous acaryas’ books.
Srila Prabhupada: No, you should read.
Devotee two: We should.
Srila Prabhupada: It is misunderstanding.
Devotee 1: I think maybe he was thinking that there were some things about some of the Gauḍiya Matha books.
Srila Prabhupada: Maybe.
Devotee 1: And sometimes you said that better not to…, better to read your books.
Devotee 2: When the devotees went to India this year, they said that one of the sannyasis chastised them that, “You should never…. If I catch any of you buying a Bhaktisiddhanta book from the Gauḍiya Matha then I will take it away,” something like this.
Devotee 1: Yeah, the reason was because he didn’t want the devotees going to Gauḍiya Matha. But there’s nothing wrong with the idea of studying the previous acaryas’ books.
Srila Prabhupada: No. Who said? That is wrong. We are following previous acaryas. I never said that.
Devotee 1: All of your commentaries are coming from the previous acaryas.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes.
Devotee 3: But that wouldn’t mean that we should keep all the previous acaryas’ books and only read them.
Srila Prabhupada: That is already there. You first of all assimilate what you have got. You simply pile up books and do not read — what is the use?
Devotee 3: First of all we must read all your books.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes.[2]
[1] Letter to Hayagriva, 7 November 1969.
[2] Morning walk, Perth, Australia, 13 May 1975.
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