Govinda dasi is a devotee of the early days of ISKCON and was initiated by Srila Prabhupada in February of 1967, but was coming to Srila Prabhupada's gatherings before that time.
On January 19th 2003 she met with Jayadvaita swami, the "editor" of the bowdlerized editions of Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad-gita As It Is (the 1980s and current editions). It should be noted that the current edition of Bhagavad-Gita As It Is is now 77 percent changed from the 1972 author approved edition.
This article is meant to highlight some important issues that Govinda dasi has brought up and shed light on Jayadwaita's distortion and fabrication of the history in creating the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is.
Govinda dasi: …in 1966, ’67 and ’68, Hayagriva spent many, many hours alone with Srila Prabhupada, discussing the different aspects of the editing work. They went over each verse extensively, and Srila Prabhupada was actually quite clear in expressing what he wanted. He, even in the case of legal matters, or something else that he might not know how things worked, he knew what he wanted. So he had an uncanny ability to see through any situation. That’s an understatement, and I’m putting that way so that people can appreciate it.
Jayadvaita swami claims that he was the "production manager" at the very time the 1972 Bhagavad-Gita manuscript was being worked on (1969-1972)" Jayadvaita says, "…he [Rayarama] was the final editor [for the 1972 edition]. [inaudible] The unabridged edition, uh, the unabridged edition, um, I was the production manager at the time…[inaudible] and, for that edition, Hayagriva had some manuscripts already with him. And, he called for whatever other manuscripts we had available at that time at ISKCON Press"
Jayadvaita also claims that Srila Prabhupada was "not involved" in the 1972 edition except that there were "some meetings". Then he admits that he doesn't really know if Srila Prabhupada worked on the manuscript with Hayagriva, "He [Hayagriva] may have, for some brief time, spent some time with Prabhupada. It’s possible." Then he repudiates that statement by saying, "he just didn’t have, couldn’t possibly".
Above Jayadvaita has said that Hayagriva was not the final editor of the Bhagavad-gita 1972 edition and that Rayarama was the "final editor".
Jayadvaita then leads us to believe that he edited the manuscript himself before Hayagriva edited it, yet he still refers to the manuscript as "Haygriva's manuscripts".
Jayadvaita: "I worked with Hayagriva’s manuscripts; I worked with manuscripts that Hayagriva had not yet edited; I worked with manuscripts that Rayarama had worked on; I retyped the entire Bhagavad-gita As It Is from, from beginning to end"
So out of Jayadvaita's own account of the production of the 1972 edition of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, we can gather the following points that he makes:
1) Hayagriva with Srila Prabhupada created the manuscript to the Bhagavad-Gita 1972 edition. (but he is not really sure)
2) Jayadvaita retyped the entire manuscript(s)
3) Rayarama was the "final editor" (we are not really sure what he means, but maybe he means Rayarama was the last person to work on it?)
Jayadvaita: ". . .he [Srila Prabhupada] really didn’t see in its preparation for its, um, pre-publication stages, except perhaps there were some meetings at some point, you were there to…
Govinda dasi: He signed it in ’71…
Jayadvaita: I mean to say, in terms of actually going over the text, seeing what was being done, approving or disapproving the particular ways that things were edited, Prabhupada wasn’t involved. With the possible exception, you know, that there were some meetings, on some…occasional meetings. Like when the manuscript came to me, it was clear, that this was not something that Prabhupada had, um, gone over in the same kind of painstaking detail that you described for the abridged edition. Um…
The first thing to note here is that Jayadvaita is trying to make us believe that the manuscript for the 1968 edition of the Bhagavad-Gita is different than the manuscript of the1972 edition of the Bhagavad-Gita. Srila Prabhupada writes in the preface to the 1972 edition of the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is the following:
"Originally I wrote Bhagavad-gītā As It Is in the form in which it is presented now. When this book was first published, the original manuscript was, unfortunately, cut short to less than 400 pages, without illustrations and without explanations for most of the original verses of the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā. In all of my other books-Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Śrī Īśopaniṣad, etc.-the system is that I give the original verse, its English transliteration, word-for-word Sanskrit-English equivalents, translations and purports. This makes the book very authentic and scholarly and makes the meaning self-evident. I was not very happy, therefore, when I had to minimize my original manuscript. But later on, when the demand for Bhagavad-gītā As It Is considerably increased, I was requested by many scholars and devotees to present the book in its original form, and Messrs. Macmillan and Co. agreed to publish the complete edition. Thus the present attempt is to offer the original manuscript of this great book of knowledge with full paramparā explanation in order to establish the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement more soundly and progressively."
So we can see the history of the manuscript right there in the 1972 edition. The manuscript to the 1972 and 1968 editions were the same. The main reason the two books came out differently is that Macmillan and Co. edited the book themselves by cutting "short to less than 400 pages, without illustrations and without explanations for most of the original verses". The other reason is that the manuscript was worked on more intensely by Hayagriva as we will show later on in this article where he says that he will double check everything and prepare for the 1972 edition.
Govinda dasi's personal account of Srila Prabhupada working on the 1972 edition of the Bhagavad-gita manuscript:
Govinda dasi: Hayagriva was living with Srila Prabhupada in ’68, and they were going over things, and that was after this book [the abridged edition] was printed. So that must have been for the ’72 one [Bhagavad-Gita].
In Hayagriva's book "The Hare Krishna Explosion", we find further proof that he worked for 3 months straight extensively with Srila Prabhupada on this manuscript to the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is in San Francisco:
January 17, 1967:
“Swamiji continues translating Bhagavad-gita. He is so eager to print it that we begin negotiations with a local printer. Prices are very high. In New York, Brahmananda continues his pursuit of publishers.”
“The days of February are beautiful with perfect temperatures in the seventies, fog rolling off early, skies very blue and clear, sun falling bright and sharp on the lush foliage of Golden Gate Park. The park encloses the largest variety of plant and tree life to be found in any one spot on earth. We are at a loss to identify plants for Swamiji.”
“I rent an electric typewriter, set it up in the back temple room, and continue typing up stencils for Back To Godhead, writing and editing [Bhagavad-gita] while Harsharani sends people after food, and cooks noon prasadam.”
“Apart from kirtans, I find myself spending many sunny hours in the park, walking past the tennis courts to large, quiet bowers surrounded with hybiscus and eucalyptus. And at times I sit in the shade beneath the white and pink rhododendrons and edit Bhagavad-gita. After editing, I sometimes visit the museum and stroll through the replica eighteenth century gardens, chanting my daily rounds while perusing the curlicues of rococo art.”
“Although I write on the Lord Chaitanya play through the spring days, my primary service is helping Swamiji with Bhagavad-gita. He continues translating, hurrying to complete the manuscript but still annotating each verse thoroughly in his purports. Daily, I consult him to make certain that the translation of each verse precisely coincides with the meaning he wants to relate. “Edit for force and clarity,” he tells me. “By Krishna’s grace, you are a qualified English professor. You know how grammatical mistakes will discredit us with scholars. I want them to appreciate this Bhagavad-gita as the definitive edition. All the others try to take credit away from Krishna.”
“I am swamped with editing. Since much of the text is equivocal due to grammar, I find myself consulting Swamiji on nearly every verse. It seems that in Sanskrit, Hindi, and Bengali, phrase is tacked onto phrase until the original subject is lost.”
April 9, 1967:
“Swamiji leaves for the airport. Before entering the car, he stops, cane in hand, and gives a long look at the little storefront temple. It is a look that says a great deal. Gurudas snaps a photo at that very instant. ‘That’s a farewell look,’ I think to myself.”
Srila Prabhupada and Hayagriva worked together on editing the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is manuscript daily, almost three months, while Hayagriva Prabhu was living with him in the San Francisco, from Janurary 17, 1967 until April 9, 1967.
So what was it that Jayadvaita actually did on the 1972 edition? Well Govinda dasi tries to pin him down on this and he replies;
Jayadvaita: ". . .Some of the very few verses that we had issues with, there’s no question in my mind that Prabhupada didn’t see them.
Govinda dasi: You mean there were errors?
Jayadvaita: Um, I mean there were, um, yes.
Govinda dasi: Typos?
Jayadvaita: No, I don’t mean typos. I mean, um, no, I’m reluctant to talk about it, Govinda dasi. I’ve always had the policy that as a matter of professional courtesy and personal courtesy, um, I talk about all positive things, um, in the editing of the first edition. And as far as possible I’d like to keep that policy.
Jayadvaita does not give us enough information to go on what exactly he did on the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is 1972 edition, he admits that the BBT staff had issues with "very few verses" so we guess that he fixed them, after all he was in discussion with Srila Prabhupada about it through letters, of coarse after claiming that Srila Prabhupada was "not involved".
Not only do we have evidence from Govinda Dasi's personal statement about Hayagriva and Srila Prabhupada and Hayagriva's own personal account "The Hare Krishna Explosion" that they were working closely on the revision of the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is 1972 manuscript, but we have evidence from Srila Prabhupada's personal letters as well.
Srila Prabhupada Letter to: Hayagriva: San Francisco 17 March, 1968:
"Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your letter dated March 9, 1968. I have come back to San Francisco on the 8th March, and while I was in Los Angeles for two months, I received the balance portion of Bhagavad-gita edited by you. I am expecting the foreword also, but I can understand that it was not yet dispatched. So, when it is prepared you can send it to me here in S.F.
Srila Prabhupada letter to Satsvarupa -- London 5 November, 1969: "So far as my books are concerned, I think there are materials for at least ten books which are ready for printing. Now all the manuscripts are with you. So now the editorial department is under you and Hayagriva, and you combinedly please get my books printed, one after another."
Srila Prabhupada Letter to: Brahmananda -- London 7 November, 1969 : "I am writing a letter to Hayagriva that he should take care of composition of our books."
Srila Prabhupada Letter to: Pradyumna -- London 27 November, 1969:
"I am also going there, so we shall sit down together and call also Hayagriva and Syama Dasi to hold a nice meeting of all the editors, printers, etc. We will chalk out a nice program so that our work may go on very smoothly without any impediments, and surely Krishna will help us."
Srila Prabhupada Letter to: Mandali Bhadra -- Los Angeles 3 February 1970: "I am asking Hayagriva to send you the MS [manuscript] for Bhagavad-gita, and you can also write him directly to send a copy."
Srila Prabhupada Letter to: Syama -- Los Angeles 23 February, 1970:
"Please ask Hayagriva Prabhu to finish the Bhagavad-gita As It Is with full explanation and text, and as soon as it is finished I shall send you some new tapes which you shall work husband and wife conjointly and you will be very pleased"
According to a conversation found in the Vedabase and correspondence, Rayarama also worked on the manuscript, for a short time in 1969 from April to June, this much is true.
But it is here (below) that we find that Jayadvaita is caught in a fabrication of the facts. Rayarama was not the "final editor" as Jayadvaita claims he was. Not only was he "NOT" the final editor, but he had left the movement entirely by November 1969! This would be three years before the 1972 edition came out.
Srila Prabhupada letter to Brahmananda on 11-25-1969.:
“The idea is that BTG is our backbone of Krishna Consciousness propaganda, and since you have taken charge from Rayarama’s hand, certainly it has improved in so many ways. Recently I have received one letter from Rayarama which he has signed his name to as “Raymond”. That means he has drifted from our society completely and his letter is very discouraging. He has accused everyone save himself. So I do not know what can be done with him.”
And then a month later on December 24, 1969, Boston. The following conversation takes place where we learn that Hayagriva is again working on the manuscript. He even says, "I'll have to go over it chapter by chapter."
Conversation: December 24, 1969, Boston:
Jayadvaita: There's another manuscript of Bhagavad-gītā also in New York, the original.
Prabhupāda: Oh. You have got?
Jayadvaita: Yes. It's in New York except for the first two chapters. Everything else is there.
Prabhupāda: So first two chapters might be with Janārdana. But you have got the whole thing, Hayagrīva.
Hayagrīva: Yes. That has been... I have gone over that, the one I have. The one that is in New York, no one has gone over that.
Jayadvaita: Some of it has been edited by Rāyarāma, but you can see around it and go to the original behind it.
Prabhupāda: So whatever is lacking, you ask me. I will supply you.
Hayagrīva: Well, I have nothing lacking. But I would like to see that version.
Jayadvaita: That's with a dictaphone. So it's...
Hayagrīva: I would like to see that in going over mine. I'll have to go over it chapter by chapter. But I will compare the version I have with that version, and... I know the translations themselves, they were somewhat changed in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is as it came out in Macmillan. Did you like those translations?
Prabhupāda: Whichever is better, you think. That's all. You can follow this Macmillan.
Hayagrīva: That was the second... They're good. I think they're very good.
Prabhupāda: Yes. You can follow that translation. Simply synonyms he can add, transliterations.
Hayagrīva: And we have all the purports. We can include everything. Nothing will be deleted. Everything will be in there.
Prabhupāda: That's all right.
Again Jayadvaita is caught in yet another fabrication, he claims that Srila Prabhupada never saw the "Galley Proofs" of the 1972 edition. Below is a testimony from a devotee who personally gave them to Srila Prabhupada in the summer of 1968.
Dear Srimati Govinda dasi,
Please accept my humble obeiscances. Srila Prabhupada jayatah.
I just came upon this in Folio – SPL Ch 4, “A Summer in Montreal” and I am
sending it to you just in case this point is not in your awareness.
Brahmananada had just come from Boston:
“I came up to show Prabhupada the galley proofs for both Teachings of Lord Caitanya and Bhagavad-gita As It Is. I just happened to have both galley
proofs that had arrived. So it was a wonderful thing to bring these galley
proofs to Prabhupada for checking. I was there only for a few days, maybe a
weekend or so. Prabhupada personally read through the entire galleys and
made notations in his own hand. He did the proof reading of the galleys.
Everything was done by Srila Prabhupada. It was a very personal kind of thing. Of course, that gave Prabhupada great pleasure because he wanted his books published, and we had started to do it. So Prabhupada took great pleasure in proof reading those galleys. And he handed them to me, and it was very wonderful.”
Now everybody knows that Srila Prabhupada never intended his Gita to be abridged. MacMillan did (abridged it) it for their own reasons. So the Gita here being referred to is the complete work.
With one exception I am not in touch with any ISKCON or BBT leaders or I
would be copying this to them. But I _have_ copied it to the BBT personnel
on PAMHO’s address list who I am at all familiar with.
Your servant
Rasananda das
Just to recap how Jayadvaita has been caught being dishonest and fabricating history:
1) Jayadvaita resorts to subterfuge in his public talks with Govinda dasi regarding the changes to the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is.
2) Jayadvaita has created a fictional history of the creation of the Bhagavd-Gita As It Is manuscript.
3) Jayadvaita claims that Srila Prabhupada was "not involved" with the manuscript, the exact opposite of the real history.
4) Jayadvaita again fabricates another fiction by saying the Srila Prabhupada never saw the Galley Proofs for the 1972 edition
In this article we have proved that:
1) Jayadvaita resorts to subterfuge in his public talks with Govinda dasi regarding the changes to the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is.
2) Srila Prabhupada was very involved in the creation of the manuscript to the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, both the 1968 edition and the 1972 edition.
3) Srila Prabhupada wanted and approved Hayagriva to be the editor of the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, as well as other books.
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