Why not follow Srila Prabhupada, instead of trying to recklessly jump over the head of the acarya?

In the original transcript and in Hayagriva’s and Jayadvaita’s word-for-word rendition we find a cool expression “respectable leader” as rendition of the Sanskrit “shrestas”, which in turn becomes “great man” in both translations.

Please find Jayadvaita’s BGAII 3.21 rendition. This is the official version accepted and promoted by ISKCON:

“Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.”

But in the original Srila Prabhupada verse transcript the word “great man” is nowhere to be seen.

Srila Prabhupada simply sticks to the cool expression “respectable leader of human society” as follows with my own editing and my Godbrothers’ inspiration:

“Whatever action a respectable leader of human society performs, common men follow in his footsteps. And whatever standard he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.”

Original transcript can be found here: https://bookchanges.com/bhagavad-gita-as-it-is-manuscript/

Who is great and what is greatness?

Respectable leaders of human society are within reach.

It is felt that this whimsical, arbitrary and unauthorized transition from “respectable leader of human society” to “great man” represents an instance of over-intellectualization and willful dehumanization of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is.

Srila Prabhupada certainly is great for creating an ideological structure that the whole world can adopt if it wishes to do so.

And Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the greatest in all respects i.e. in terms of wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation, as stated in the Vishnu Purana 5.6.47. He also says so in Bhagavad-gita 15.18:

“Because I am transcendental, beyond both the fallible and the infallible, and because I am the greatest, I am celebrated both in the world and in the Vedas as that Supreme Person.”

The Sanskrit antecedent for “greatest” is “uttamah”, meaning literally “the best”.

Finally and I may have remarked this before in BGAII 3.18 we find again tinges of sexism as Srila Prabhupada’s original “a self-realized person” becomes in both Hayagriva’s and Jayadvaita’s versions ” a self realized man…”

Here is Jayadvaita’s BGAII 3.18 version:

“A self-realized man has no purpose to fulfill in the discharge of his prescribed duties, nor has he any reason not to perform such work. Nor has he any need to depend on any other living being.”

I would suggest in simple wording the following rendition instead which I believe is closer to Srila Prabhupada’s original intention and meaning:

“A self-realized person (in Krishna consciousness) has no obligation to discharge prescribed duties, nor is he attached to not perform such work. Nor has he any need to take shelter of any other living being.”

The same sexism applies to verse 3.33 where Srila Prabhupada’s original “person” becomes “man.”

Two more thing:

Prabhavishnu Prabhu recounts how he met Srila Prabhupada in His office in Mumbai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coI5-cW2YoE

Srila Prabhupada was sitting with His head in His hands and with a pained expression on His face for a few minutes. Then He looked up and said to Prabhavishnu Prabhu:” The Bombay project is such a headache, it is such a headache.” After a pose, He added: “But it is for Krishna, so it is all right.”

And Srimati Malati recounts here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSJmF_m7HPA at 21 minutes how she was cooking in Jaipur and Jaipur is full of monkeys. The monkeys were as bold as grabbing eatable right out of the cooking pan! One day she really got exasperated and Srila Prabhupada told her to get a stick. He also added: “But don’t hit them just show the stick. If you hit them they will get angry and attack you.” On that day Srila Prabhupada gave her his own cane and as soon as she showed the cane the monkeys would split. “It was magic” she recounts. Once in Vrindavan, I had a similar monkey experience. I just had bought some mandarins at the fruit market and while walking in the street the monkeys just attacked, tore the plastic bag into pieces, spread the mandarins all over, grabbed them and disappeared.

Jai Srila Prabhupada!