Page 42 - SBV (English)

xl Editorial Notes

From transcriptions of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté’s speaking, it seems
that he often quoted Sanskrit without giving translations, which suggests that
his listeners were capable of comprehending those citations. In reproducing such
cases I have provided English renditions, anticipating that most readers will
need them. Many translations of verses and Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté’s
commentaries are from the books of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupäda or other BBT publications, some are from the Harmonist, others
are redacted from Bengali translations of Sanskrit verses or of commentaries
given by Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté or his discipular descendants, and some
are by myself or my contemporaries.
Some translations from BBT publications have been altered, and other
verses or passages that appear in BBT books have been newly translated, either
as contextually required or to more closely resemble the translations of Çréla
Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté from which they are derived. Similarly, certain
citations of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda’s spoken
words and letters, some source materials already translated by others from Bengali
to English, and sundry other passages from English language sources have been
emended for ease of reading and to conform with the overall style of this book.
Nonetheless, to preserve and demonstrate their idiom and flavor, most excerpts
from the Harmonist and other English writings from Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta
Sarasvaté’s time are presented largely unedited, yet with some revisions of
punctuation, addition of diacritical marks and italicization, spelling converted
to American English, and lowercasing of many capital words.
Most of the Sanskrit and Bengali words in this book are followed (within
parentheses) by English equivalents, and many are further explained in the
Glossary. English transliteration of Sanskrit and Bengali script is rendered
according to the diacritical system used by BBT, a guide to which is included in
the back matter of each volume of Çré Bhaktisiddhänta Vaibhava. In some cases,
phonetical adjustments have been made to Sanskrit words used in Bengali—for
instance, rendering Vimalä as Bimalä, and Yadumaëi as Jadumaëi. Also included
in each volume is a Guide to Obscure English Words, to aid readers who are
not familiar with the many uncommon words herein, employed to reflect Çréla
Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté’s highbrow literary style.
The appendixes include a guide to Bengali months and dates. Generally
Gregorian dates are used, but in cases wherein sources quote only the Bengali
year, that has been given; since Bengali years straddle the Gregorian, unless the