The revisions for the Second Edition of Bhagavad-gītā As It Is were done by Jayādvaita Swami. Jayādvaita Swami had served in Kṛṣṇa conscious book production for nearly ten years during Śrīla Prabhupāda’s physical presence. He served first as a typist (one of his early engagements was to retype the entire edited manuscript of Bhagavad-gītā As It Is). Later he served as a transcriber (he transcribed much of the Kṛṣṇa book). He then went on to typesetting, proofreading, and editing. He served as an editor for Śrīla Prabhupāda until Śrīla Prabhupāda’s very last days on earth.
Critics of the second edition of Bhagavad-gītā As It Is are essentially criticizing Jayādvaita Swami. Implicitly or explicitly, they are saying he edited recklessly, heedlessly, without authority. Who does he think he is, to so arrogantly change Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words?
Yet while Śrīla Prabhupāda was physically present, “changing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words”— that is, editing—was Jayādvaita Swami’s prescribed duty. Śrīla Prabhupāda trusted him to do it well.
We know of no instance in which Śrīla Prabhupāda expressed anything other than confidence, pleasure, and satisfaction concerning Jayādvaita Swami’s editing. Devāmṛta Swami remembers:
A year or so later [1976] I was the production manager of the BBT, as well as final copy editor. One day I noticed a pile of manuscript pages on my desk. They turned out to be a mass of Bhāgavatam revisions, for a corrected version of the entire First Canto. Jayādvaita had painstakingly gone through the whole canto and carefully compiled many editing changes for an upcoming reprint.
Submitting the whole batch to Śrīla Prabhupāda, he expected, as did all of us, that Prabhupāda would personally comb through all the suggested revisions and accept or reject each one. After all, this was the Bhāgavatam, the lawbook for thousands of years to come. But Prabhupāda, after acknowledging the whole heap of revisions to his synonyms, translations, and purports, merely returned the mass. Accompanying it was a letter from him saying: “Concerning the editing of Jayādvaita Prabhu, whatever he does is approved by me. I have confidence in him.”
It is very much encouraging to see you are a good and scrutinizing editor. May Krishna bless you.
. . . do it at your best discretion as Kṛṣṇa will dictate from within you. I can rely on you.
Śrīla Prabhupāda was touring the BBT in 1975, to turn up the heat in the famous book production marathon. He came into my office and I explained to him my service as copy editor—doing the final checks on type-composed copy. Next he walked into Jayādvaita dāsa brahmacārī’s office. Sitting down on the chaddar of his chief English editor, he declared, “Jayādvaita means paramparā.”
Concerning the editing of Jayādvaita Prabhu, whatever he does is approved by me. I have confidence in him.
They [the BBT editors] were trying to make better English, but sometimes, to make better English, I think they were making philosophical mistakes also. There is no so much need of making so much better English. Your English is sufficient. It is very clear, very simple. We have caught over 125 changes. They’re changing so many things. We are wondering if this is necessary. I will show you today. I have kept the book.
Your original work that you’re doing now, that is edited by Jayādvaita. That’s the first editing.
He is good.
I think Svarūpa Dāmodara’s point, that all the books should now be checked before they’re reprinted again.. . . And they have to be checked not by some so-called learned Sanskrit man but by a learned devotee. Just like you always favored Jayādvaita because his Kṛṣṇa consciousness . . .
Jayādvaita, Satsvarūpa . . .