The presentation of Bhagavad Gita As It Is in English language has got a long, eventful and chequered history. According to Srila Prabhupada, there are about 600 editions of the Bhagavad Gita. We are not talking about any of these. We are specifically talking about ONE edition only and that is Srila Prabhupada’s rendition of Bhagavad Gita, which He called meaningfully and purposefully Bhagavad Gita As It Is.
In 19?? Srila Prabhupada first manuscript was stolen and He had to start again from the beginning.
Then, in 1972 and perhaps in 1983, we had two editions which, strictly speaking can not be called Bhagavad Gita As It Is by Srila Prabhupada because both unfaithful editors took too many liberties with their editing license. We would consequently rather call them Bhagavad Gita As It Is NOT by Hayagriva aka Howard Wheeler and Bhagavad Gita AS It Is NOT by Jayadvaita aka Jay Israel. These two versions of Bhagavad Gita are rather fake and counterfeited. Additionally they represent a great insult to Srila Prabhupada.
Among others, Srila Prabhupada Himself made a baffling move by calling chapter six of Bhagavad Gita “Sankhya-yoga.” Only He can answer the question as to why He did so and we shall decline to speculate on the subject matter. And for years, I have been trying to adjust to it and twist my mind and have found no plausible explanation how and why chapter six of Bhagavad Gita As It Is should be reasonably called sankhya-yoga and whether perhaps the question has got to do with my own philosophical shortcomings or not. Perhaps Srila Prabhupada is testing us all. Along the way, I also noticed how amazingly liberal Srila Prabhupada was with the attribution of the Bhagavad Gita transcript for editing work and proof reading.
My point is that Bhagavad Gita As It Is always seemed to remain an unfinished task, even though, in the mean time, we were able to derive significant transcendental benefits from available editions. At first the question was which of the two is better and recommendable. That brought me to have a closer look at the original transcript (OT) available here https://bookchanges.com/bhagavad-gita-as-it-is-manuscript/ and I was shocked to discover all kinds of counterfeiting and betrayals in both editions, the second edition by Jayadvaita being broadly based on the first edition by Hayagriva.
This situation needed to be addressed within the scope of Srila Prabhupada’s injunction: “Do the needful.” And of course the answer to the question is that none of these two editions are actually recommendable because of the general lack of honesty and faithfulness displayed by both editors. Honesty is definitely a characteristic of a Brahmin as per Bhagavad Gita 18.42
Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness—these are the natural qualities by which the brahmins work. The Sanskrit antecedent for honesty is arjavam, sometimes also translated as simplicity.
It would therefore appear that these corrupted editions of so-called Bhagavad Gita As It Is have been produced by third class men belonging to the vaishya or mercantile class, where truth telling and honesty are not always overriding principles. And they may be appealing to the same category of humans.
As Srila Prabhupada explains in purport of Bhagavad Gita As It Is 18.47: “In the business field also, sometimes a merchant has to tell so many lies to make a profit. If he does not do so, there can be no profit. Sometimes a mercantile man promises: “Oh, my dear customer, for you I am making no profit.” But one should know that, without making profit, the merchant cannot exist. Therefore it should be taken as a simple lie when a merchant says that he is not making a profit.”
The same verse BGAII 18.47 advises: “18.47 It is better to be engaged in one’s own occupation, even if imperfectly performed, than to accept another’s occupation, even if perfectly done. Prescribed duties, according to one’s nature, are never affected by sinful reactions.” In other words: Vaishyas may not interfere with Brahmins or Ksatriyas business.
Let the Vaishyas (mercantile class) mind their own business of “agriculture, trade, cow protection and banking” and not meddle in the Ksatriya’s and Brahmin’s business.
Full Prabhupada quote:”This means as stated in the Bhagavad-gita there are different symptoms of different classes of men — just like a Brahmana is truthful, clean, self-controlled, equipoised, tolerant, simple, full of knowledge, theist, and so on. Similarly a Ksatriya has symptoms — a tendency for ruling over others, martial spirited, charitable, does not flee away from the battlefield and so on. Similarly, the symptoms of a Vaisya is his tendency to agriculture, trade, cow protection and banking. And the Sudra’s tendency is to some way or other work anywhere and get some wages. Letter to: Janardana — Los Angeles 16 January, 1970
The Challenge BGAII 3.35 advises: “It is far better to discharge one’s own prescribed duties even though they are faulty, than another’s prescribed duties. If one is destroyed in the course of discharging one’s duty, that is also better than being engaged in other duties.”
To decipher the original transcript (OT) really belongs at times to the domain of literary detective work or hieroglyphic work, as some parts are in less than good condition, as one can easily see by visiting the above website. Photocopies can be of bad or very bad quality, some pages are missing, some passages are passionately scribbled out by some nasty individual counterfeiter (OTBGAII 7.15, purport, for example) with ulterior motives to the point of being totally illegible etc. etc.
It is generally accepted that Srila Prabhupada typed personally the first six chapters of the transcript of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is. And this can be seen practically. In OT, chapter 7 begins with a marked change of style, where for example the transcriber abbreviates Krishna to a “K.”, and Vedic literatures to “Vedic lit.” This particular typist also invariably renders “eternal” for “internal.” For the following twelve chapters, Srila Prabhupada used the following process. …. (Find info given by Dravida about what changes chapter 7 to chapter 18 went through)……He used a limited number of tapes, which was the medium of the time. Some were in transit. Some where in His possessions for recording and the last ones ones were with His typist for transcription on paper. When the tapes came back from the typist Srila Prabhupada, as a matter of economy, simply re-recorded on the same tape and in this way Srila Prabhupada’s original recording of Bhagavad Gita As It Is became lost. The last twelve chapters are therefore Srila Prabhupada’s words as perceived by the various typists, who were at times very confused. We can imagine two possible reasons for that confusion. ONE: Srila Prabhupada’s heavy Bengali English accent is not at all easy to understand for the unaccustomed. I remember having the very same difficulty in the beginning. TWO. It could well be that the typists were new recruits in ISKCON and were sincerely trying to do their very best. There was one typist who wrote “sewomen”. He could have been French, as he writes a way for the French to pronounce then article “the”. These were the glorious pioneering days of ISKCON when every atom of energy was to be used and spent in Lord Krishna’s service. The pressure was intense at the time.
For the inevitably missing Original Transcript passages and pages, after careful consideration, we have decided to leave these passages blank. Interested readers may consult the other two versions of BGAII to get some idea of what has been omitted due to circumstances and the passage of time.
We also need to thank profusely His Grace Madhudvisa Das for taking the bold step of publishing the original transcript (OT) on line. We estimate that this would otherwise not have been done by the group of persons in control of the Original Transcript, and ignorance and deceit would have prevailed. So thank you very much Madhudvisa Prabhu for contributing so significantly to justice in the matter of Bhagavad Gita As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
And if somebody challenges what is my authority in doing this work, the answer is very simple. Srila Prabhupada says two things:
One. He says “Utility is the principle.”
and two He says:”Do the needful.”
It has taken me over 50 years of meditation to come to this point of Bhagavad Gita evolution and vision.
For those interested in dwelling in details, on my web site http://www.krishnaculture.org I have given in my many articles a detailed and comprehensive analysis and comparative study of the Original Transcript (OT) and Hayagriva’s version one, and Jayadvaita version two of Bhagavad Gita as It Is, and I sometimes bark and bite, as one should always strive to remain the dog of one’s spiritual master.
So an attempt is made herewith to present a more faithful rendition of Srila Prabhupada’s glorious Bhagavad Gita As It Is, when the world is really looking for new answers.
All glories to the regal Sena Pati Om Vishnupada Paramahamsa Parivrajakacarya Shri Shrimad Bhaktivedanta Tridandi Goswami Srila Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of ISKCON, Originator of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, and The Back to Godhead Magazine, plus (not finished) highly respected author of some 80 or so top first class books on atma tattva (or self-realization ) and Sanatan Dharma !!! …..as well as our illustrious Guru or Spiritual Master.
Yadavendra Das
Diksha disciple of His Divine Grace.
Queensland, Australia
--The International Society for Krishna culture Ltd in short ISKCULTURE formerly The Australian Society for Krishna Culture or AUSKCULTURE, operation start 1984 -- ABN 65 231 425 870. 