Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Mentor (1951), Mass Market Paperback, 143 pages
Description
Sanskrit for 'Song of the Lord', the Bhagavad Gita is a 700-verse Hindu epic that constitutes part of the faith's vast cornerstone work, the Mahabharata. The book provides timeless truths and indispensable advice for believers trying to overcome internal tensions, doubt and indecision. The teachings are conveyed in the form of a dialogue between the Pandava general Arjuna and the deity Krishna, who helps Arjuna understand his position in the Kurukshetra War, and guides him towards the right course of action. The Gita's treatment of duty and devotion has inspired many, including the peaceful activist Mahatma Gandhi, who referred to it as his 'spiritual dictionary'.
User reviews
LibraryThing member gbill
The Bhagavad-Gita, subtitled, Krishna’s Counsel in Time of War, if taken literally, is a little difficult to abide with. A young prince, Arjuna, is on a battlefield, but sees “no good in killing my kinsmen in battle”, and thus lays down his arms. This seems like a very good and enlightened
Along the way Krishna flexes his might, pointing out in one chapter that among other things he is Vishnu, Shiva, the Ganges, “the thunderbolt among weapons”, death, “indestructible time”, “the dice game of gamblers”, “everywhere at once”, “the beginning, middle, and end of creations”, etc etc. This heavy-handed commanding of Arjuna, similar to God in the Old Testament with Abraham and Job, is also off-putting at first glance.
One asks, how can this be a spiritual book, versus an alternate story which might have Arjuna remaining a nonviolent pacifist to the very end, accepting whatever punishment from this overbearing God that resulted?
One must read the Gita as countless others have throughout history, as a parable. I believe the “time of war” is the war within one’s own heart in times of difficulty, which are inescapable in life; the enemies one must kill are the desires and attachments which lead to suffering. The way to overcome these is through discipline and a sense of detachment from one’s emotions. This includes losing one’s fear even of death, since it is inevitable for all things, and in fulfilling one’s sacred duties (one’s Dhama) without regard for rewards or consequences. It takes discipline and a steadfastness to do this, but it’s through these means that one can have a tranquil mind, and transcend the limitations of worldly existence.
I believe the reason Krishna “flexes his muscles” in the text is to remind us that these things we feel, these powerful emotions which seem so important and like the entire world to us when we feel them, are nothing when compared against the eternity of time and the infinity of space. When put in that context, one sees that we shouldn’t concentrate on them, that they (and we ourselves) are meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but we can ironically use this knowledge to become stronger, and to overcome suffering.
Doing one’s sacred duty may in fact require one to be nonviolent, and it’s notable that Gandhi and other spiritual men have appreciated the Gita. As Thomas Merton wrote: “Arjuna has an instinctive repugnance for war, and that is the chief reason why war is chosen as the example of the most repellent kind of duty. The Gita is saying that even in what appears to be the most ‘unspiritual’, one can act with pure intentions and thus be guided by Krishna consciousness. This consciousness itself will impose the most strict limitations on one’s own use of violence because that use will not be directed by one’s own selfish interests, still less by cruelty, sadism, and blood-lust.”
It’s an impressive text at 2200-2500 years old, and also poetic. I still recall reading the line “I see…the moon and sun in your eyes” while camping in Yosemite National Park long ago, and thinking of it as recently as this past week. Oppenheimer is famous for having quoted the Gita when he saw the first nuclear test: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”. I don’t think it’s necessarily the pinnacle of philosophical or religious works, but it is profound and certainly worth reading.
Quotes:
On doing one’s duty, without regard for the results; just doing it:
“Be intent on action,
Not on the fruits of action;
Avoid attraction to the fruits
And attachment to inaction!”
On enlightenment:
“Truly free is the sage who controls
His senses, mind, and understanding,
Who focuses on freedom
And dispels desire, fear, and anger.”
On love:
“O Arjuna, only by the
unswerving love of a human heart,
can my supreme state be seen,
and known, and attained.”
Show More
thing to do. However, the lord Krishna, in the form of his charioteer, then instructs him through various teachings that it’s his sacred duty to fight, that he must do so, and in the end Arjuna agrees; his “delusion is destroyed”, something we may have difficulty accepting. Along the way Krishna flexes his might, pointing out in one chapter that among other things he is Vishnu, Shiva, the Ganges, “the thunderbolt among weapons”, death, “indestructible time”, “the dice game of gamblers”, “everywhere at once”, “the beginning, middle, and end of creations”, etc etc. This heavy-handed commanding of Arjuna, similar to God in the Old Testament with Abraham and Job, is also off-putting at first glance.
One asks, how can this be a spiritual book, versus an alternate story which might have Arjuna remaining a nonviolent pacifist to the very end, accepting whatever punishment from this overbearing God that resulted?
One must read the Gita as countless others have throughout history, as a parable. I believe the “time of war” is the war within one’s own heart in times of difficulty, which are inescapable in life; the enemies one must kill are the desires and attachments which lead to suffering. The way to overcome these is through discipline and a sense of detachment from one’s emotions. This includes losing one’s fear even of death, since it is inevitable for all things, and in fulfilling one’s sacred duties (one’s Dhama) without regard for rewards or consequences. It takes discipline and a steadfastness to do this, but it’s through these means that one can have a tranquil mind, and transcend the limitations of worldly existence.
I believe the reason Krishna “flexes his muscles” in the text is to remind us that these things we feel, these powerful emotions which seem so important and like the entire world to us when we feel them, are nothing when compared against the eternity of time and the infinity of space. When put in that context, one sees that we shouldn’t concentrate on them, that they (and we ourselves) are meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but we can ironically use this knowledge to become stronger, and to overcome suffering.
Doing one’s sacred duty may in fact require one to be nonviolent, and it’s notable that Gandhi and other spiritual men have appreciated the Gita. As Thomas Merton wrote: “Arjuna has an instinctive repugnance for war, and that is the chief reason why war is chosen as the example of the most repellent kind of duty. The Gita is saying that even in what appears to be the most ‘unspiritual’, one can act with pure intentions and thus be guided by Krishna consciousness. This consciousness itself will impose the most strict limitations on one’s own use of violence because that use will not be directed by one’s own selfish interests, still less by cruelty, sadism, and blood-lust.”
It’s an impressive text at 2200-2500 years old, and also poetic. I still recall reading the line “I see…the moon and sun in your eyes” while camping in Yosemite National Park long ago, and thinking of it as recently as this past week. Oppenheimer is famous for having quoted the Gita when he saw the first nuclear test: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”. I don’t think it’s necessarily the pinnacle of philosophical or religious works, but it is profound and certainly worth reading.
Quotes:
On doing one’s duty, without regard for the results; just doing it:
“Be intent on action,
Not on the fruits of action;
Avoid attraction to the fruits
And attachment to inaction!”
On enlightenment:
“Truly free is the sage who controls
His senses, mind, and understanding,
Who focuses on freedom
And dispels desire, fear, and anger.”
On love:
“O Arjuna, only by the
unswerving love of a human heart,
can my supreme state be seen,
and known, and attained.”
Show Less
LibraryThing member KendraRenee
Religious bullshit that sanctions violence because, according to Lord Krsna, men have souls so what does it matter if you kill them?? No thanks. I neither approve of nor recommend it. It claims truths simply on the authority of itself, which doesn't fly with me.
LibraryThing member danoomistmatiste
Reading this online using Google Books.
One of the most abstract of spiritual books, Easwaran has done a marvellous job of translating this into the language of the layman. All my previous attempts at digesting this complex work came to nought but now I would say that this should be your "User
One of the most abstract of spiritual books, Easwaran has done a marvellous job of translating this into the language of the layman. All my previous attempts at digesting this complex work came to nought but now I would say that this should be your "User
Show More
Manual for Better Living". Show Less
LibraryThing member PhoenixTerran
The Bhagavad Gita: Translated for the Modern Reader, translation by Eknath Easwaran
Eknath Easwaran is one of my favorite Hindu authors. His writing is always approachable, informative, and insightful. In his translation of the Bhagavad Gita he has provided a very accessible version for English
Experiments in Reading
Eknath Easwaran is one of my favorite Hindu authors. His writing is always approachable, informative, and insightful. In his translation of the Bhagavad Gita he has provided a very accessible version for English
Show More
readers. Instead of a direct verse translation, he has chosen to paraphrase the poem in prose form. By doing so, the readability and interpretation is more apparent to someone not familiar with the Bhagavad Gita. In some ways, this may limit the scope of understanding and interpretation found in the often ambiguous text. One difficulty is that he chose not to translate certain Sanskrit terms. Understandably, this would have been difficult since they often have no English equivalent. However, he did explain the terms in greater detail in the provided introductions to the book and each individual chapter. Notes on various verses are included at the end of the book, but might have been more helpful if the text had directed the reader to them. A very good interpretive, paraphrased translation of this magnificent text.Experiments in Reading
Show Less
LibraryThing member stillatim
Friends,
why do you love this book? This book is awful. It's very smart, yes, and of course a great classic. But I want you to imagine a dialogue between Jesus and Charlemagne in which Charlemagne says he doesn't want to kill all the Germans because, well, they're his relatives, and it seems a bit
Now, obviously I'm being polemical here. The BG has some very nice individual moments; it's a philosophical masterpiece akin to Boethius or Job; and, most remarkably for me, it essentially says that everything a benighted Westerner like myself thinks of when I think of Hinduism is wrong. The step from polytheism to monotheism is pretty much the greatest intellectual leap ever made, and who the heck am I to say that someone who makes that leap thousands of years before I was even born is only worth three stars?
Someone who thinks that determinism makes no sense in a religion, that Krishna is kind of a self-centered lunatic ("I AM THE CLARIFIED BUTTER! I AM THE HERB!"), and that justifying war by saying that if you're a warrior, you're logically compelled to kill your kin and besides, we have no option, is horrific.
And yet the hippies love this stuff. Almost as if they were really just repressing their inner Charles Manson.
why do you love this book? This book is awful. It's very smart, yes, and of course a great classic. But I want you to imagine a dialogue between Jesus and Charlemagne in which Charlemagne says he doesn't want to kill all the Germans because, well, they're his relatives, and it seems a bit
Show More
silly. And Jesus counters this by saying I AM FREAKING GOD DO WHAT THE F*** I TELL YOU YOU HAVE NO OPTION ANYWAY LOOK I HAVE STARS IN MY BELLY!!!! and follows it up by saying that he, Jesus, determines everything and there is no free will but you *should* do the following things in order to really get to know Jesus. Now, obviously I'm being polemical here. The BG has some very nice individual moments; it's a philosophical masterpiece akin to Boethius or Job; and, most remarkably for me, it essentially says that everything a benighted Westerner like myself thinks of when I think of Hinduism is wrong. The step from polytheism to monotheism is pretty much the greatest intellectual leap ever made, and who the heck am I to say that someone who makes that leap thousands of years before I was even born is only worth three stars?
Someone who thinks that determinism makes no sense in a religion, that Krishna is kind of a self-centered lunatic ("I AM THE CLARIFIED BUTTER! I AM THE HERB!"), and that justifying war by saying that if you're a warrior, you're logically compelled to kill your kin and besides, we have no option, is horrific.
And yet the hippies love this stuff. Almost as if they were really just repressing their inner Charles Manson.
Show Less
LibraryThing member PamelaWells
"As a Seeker you must learn a much higher code of conduct then just those taught to you as a child. This requires your willingness to integrate many points of view. What wisdom list would be complete without at least a few perspectives about the divine? Start with your own then try the Bhagavad
Show More
Gita. From the East. This version of the Bhagavad Gita is translated for easier reading for Westerners." Show Less
LibraryThing member anandrajan
I will always be grateful to Barbara Miller for her translation of the Bhagavad Gita for one overarching reason: her translation of Chapter 15, "The True Spirit of Man" pointed out the non-duality at the heart of the Gita, something that I had missed in other translations. Here's an
15:16
"There is a double spirit of man
in the world, transient and eternal-
transient in all creatures,
eternal at the summit of existence.
....
15:18
Since I transcend what is transient
and I am higher than the eternal,
I am known as the supreme spirit of man
in the world and in sacred lore."
This was very useful to me since it pointed out that Krishna - or the Supreme Spirit - is more significant and more fundamental than both the transient and the eternal. In other words, this is a non-dual insight which goes beyond polytheism, monotheism, henotheism and kathenotheism. There is only Spirit - there is only Ati - and Miller beautifully captures the heart of this wisdom teaching in 15:16 and 15:18.
Show More
excerpt:15:16
"There is a double spirit of man
in the world, transient and eternal-
transient in all creatures,
eternal at the summit of existence.
....
15:18
Since I transcend what is transient
and I am higher than the eternal,
I am known as the supreme spirit of man
in the world and in sacred lore."
This was very useful to me since it pointed out that Krishna - or the Supreme Spirit - is more significant and more fundamental than both the transient and the eternal. In other words, this is a non-dual insight which goes beyond polytheism, monotheism, henotheism and kathenotheism. There is only Spirit - there is only Ati - and Miller beautifully captures the heart of this wisdom teaching in 15:16 and 15:18.
Show Less
LibraryThing member antiquary
I find Mascaro's introduction too syncretistic in trying to reconcile Christianity and Hindium. Both may be good things, but they are very different things.
LibraryThing member Brothajohn
a great and necessary read for all. this translation is superb and accessible. I have read it three or four times now
LibraryThing member AtrixWolfe
The Bhagavad-Gita is a controversial book within the Mahabhrata. The Mahabhrata sets up the tale of two branches of a royal line: one destined to rule, and one desiring to rule despite the wishes of the gods. Within the Mahabhrata the ample reasons are set up as to why the good prince must battle
Aside from its religous implications, this is a good book to read to see all of the reasons for war. The prince is real, and knows that war is not without terrible cost. As Krsna seeks to explain why the war must happen he finally exclaims the fateful lines associated with the Atom Bomb: "for now I have become the Destroyer of Worlds". The final explanation is that people are made to be as they are by god, and they must be true to their nature, despite the costs. It isn't a smarmy "everything will be alright" answer - the cost in lives will still be there, the heroes will still be dead, and the land will still be scarred. There just isn't a choice.
Show More
his evil relative for the thrown - but the Bhagavad-Gita handles his doubts on the day of battle, as confessed to Krsna, who turns out not only to be god, but confesses to being the only true god, from which all others are pale reflections.Aside from its religous implications, this is a good book to read to see all of the reasons for war. The prince is real, and knows that war is not without terrible cost. As Krsna seeks to explain why the war must happen he finally exclaims the fateful lines associated with the Atom Bomb: "for now I have become the Destroyer of Worlds". The final explanation is that people are made to be as they are by god, and they must be true to their nature, despite the costs. It isn't a smarmy "everything will be alright" answer - the cost in lives will still be there, the heroes will still be dead, and the land will still be scarred. There just isn't a choice.
Show Less
LibraryThing member weeksj10
You really need to be interested and devoted to get something out of this text, but even if the material is not for you there are many wondrous scenes that can change the way you look at the world. So if you can stick with it and keep a clear head then this book has so much to offer, but if you
Show More
can't then chances are it will just be confusing and you will think it is a waste of time. Definitely not for everyone. Show Less
LibraryThing member bobcity
An excellent reading of the most read story in the world. Needleman, reads with the authority of someone who has studied the subject matter in depth for a long time.
LibraryThing member jasmyn9
I picked this up because it is one of the essential texts of Hindu culture and I enjoy learning the history of culture and religions. This particular text is a series of conversations between the Arjuna (a warrior/prince) and the god Krishna. There are some interesting sections on what is the basis
I don't like to rate books that can be viewed as religious texts, so I give them all 3 stars as a rule.
3/5
Show More
of action is and how we should approach it mentally and overcome our physical desires.I don't like to rate books that can be viewed as religious texts, so I give them all 3 stars as a rule.
3/5
Show Less
LibraryThing member thebadpandey
I am surprised at how much I appreciated the wisdom of this book.....
LibraryThing member dreamseeker
I have tried reading a couple of other translations of the Bhagavadgita and found them less clear than this one. Poetic, without being overly flowery, clear without being simplistic, this translation opens the text for Westerners, showing them the wisdom and beauty of this ancient (probably 5th
Show More
century B.C. ) book, which is so beloved in the Indian sub-continent. Show Less
LibraryThing member smith54a
Absolutely wonderful
LibraryThing member mlrakestraw
For me, this is the best Baghavad Gita translation. Van Buitenen does not seem to have as much of a philosophical agenda as many other translations. The Sanskrit is included (for those of you with a sanskrit dictionary) and the English on the facing page.
LibraryThing member benuathanasia
Very much like the other "wisdom collections" of the time. I kind of enjoyed the frame concept of it being a conversations between two characters, rather than the author talking at the reader, such as with other collections of wisdom, but at the same time, I kind of just wanted it to get on with it.
LibraryThing member Jaya_Kula_Books
A fantastic complement for anyone reading the Gita in Sanskrit. Contains a word-by-word analysis.
LibraryThing member Coyote111
If you are a seeker then you need to read this!
LibraryThing member xicanti
This religious classic is definitely an important read for anyone interested in comparitive religions. I found that it gave me a lot to think about, in terms of ideology and presentation. I found it interesting to see how the ideas discussed here fit in with other religions I've examined.
As far as
As far as
Show More
translations go, mine, (by Barbara Stoler Miller), is all right. There are some beautiful phrasings, but at times I found it difficult to stay focused on the book. Still, it's fairly acessible and is nicely presented in verse rather than prose. It's pretty inexpensive, too. Show Less
LibraryThing member tercat
I don't actually recall which translation I read.
LibraryThing member PhoenixTerran
Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation, translation by Stephen Mitchell
A very nice translation of this sacred text. I don't know how it compares to others, but I feel that it was beautifully done. The Bhagavad Gita gives a unique perspective on life; a handbook on how to live well according to Hindu and
Experiments in Reading
A very nice translation of this sacred text. I don't know how it compares to others, but I feel that it was beautifully done. The Bhagavad Gita gives a unique perspective on life; a handbook on how to live well according to Hindu and
Show More
Buddhist traditions that has immediate applications to everyday living. If you haven't read the Bhagavad Gita before, I highly recommend it. A short, but meaningful read.Experiments in Reading
Show Less
LibraryThing member markm2315
I read the folio society edition. A beautiful book. This is holy scripture, so there isn't a whole lot I can say about it, especially for a work that is this well known. I do find it reassuring that holy scripture from other cultures is also largely composed of platitudes and the obscure. Also,
Show More
unless I'm mistaken, Arjuna asks Krishna a particular question in the beginning - why should he go to war and slay his kinsmen, "Shall we not, who see the evil of destruction, shall we not refrain from this terrible deed?". But Krishna's best answers are only that it is Arjuna's duty to do so, that it doesn't matter if he kills or is killed since the soul is eternal, and that ultimately Arjuna should just give himself up to Krishna - much as Job is advised to quit complaining doesn't he realize who he is talking to. Anyway, many great people have found much in the Bhagavad Gita, and just as some do with Western holy scripture, some have claimed that it is allegorical (e.g. Ghandi). Show Less
LibraryThing member NatalieRiley
This came as a recommended translation of The Bhagavad Gita. This is a book that requires multiple readings and a serious study as there are so many nuggets of wisdom. I found the author’s explanation of each chapter, before the translated Gita chapter very helpful for my comprehension. Now that
Show More
I have completed my first read, I intend to revisit each chapter more slowly and deliberate. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
Sanskrit
Original publication date
400-100 BCE
ISBN
none
Other editions
The Bhagavad Gita by Anonymous (Paperback)
The Bhagavad Gita by Franklin Edgerton (Hardcover)